The Last Lap

Submitted into Contest #50 in response to: Write a story told entirely through one chase scene.... view prompt

9 comments

General

The Last Lap

Heart racing, blood pumping, his insanity rose with the soft glow of the moon. Through gritted teeth and with his hands wrapped white knuckled around the steering wheel, he leaned forward and negotiated the next turn with practiced precision.

Outside, beyond the roar of his engine, in a world that he did not understand, he saw the fans trickle out of the grandstand to congratulate the race’s cup winner and lift high their champion onto their shoulders.

“There’s a rumble in my back right tire!” the driver screamed in a voice thick with madness. “Hello?” he tried desperately to reach his pit crew, his team, which had packed up and left him a long time back. “No matter,” he thought to himself, pushing down the pain of desertion and shifting gears for the long straightaway.

As the track glided hypnotically beneath him, his thoughts drifted back to his tiny fists clutching his first go-kart trophy, his childhood bedroom festooned with the accolades of early achievement and the many hours he spent perfecting his craft. Looking back up, torn from fantasy and through the stinging sweat of reality, he saw the finish line recede further and further away from him, unattainable, yet, somehow, still within the sight of its youthful promise. With the delicacy of a surgeon, the driver cut free the ever-growing tumor of consciousness to return to the racetrack---his home, his womb.

“Let’s take this turkey to the fryer,” he snarled as the familiar wave of lunacy white-washed his vision and he, once again, became the leader of the pack.

Whipping mad hell around the turn, the driver had just realigned his car with the track when he heard a very distinct clanging noise coming from his engine and when he looked out across his window, he could see a wisp of smoke curl and dance from beneath the hood.

Terrified and as the two worlds collided, the man put his head down on the steering wheel. “Just one more lap,” he silently prayed to himself. “Just one more lap.”

*This is the end of this story, it's short, but it is intended to be so. To fill in the rest of the space, I will now rattle off famous quotes by some of my favorite people.

"Life, it's no way to treat an animal," Kurt Vonnegut

"Buy the ticket, take the ride," Hunter S. Thompson (also in regards to life)

"We promise with secrecy and devotion to the purpose of fighting slavery by force of arms to the extent of our ability," An oath taken by the John Brown family

"A house divided cannot stand," Abraham Lincoln (borrowed from the bible)

"The human conundrum is the fact that good outcomes rarely come from violent beginnings, but, change rarely occurs without violence," author unknown

"Hurt no one and do as thy please," not sure, but I personally am a big fan of the golden rule

"Please just wear a mask," author me, hoping to appeal to the common thread of human decency.

Listen, the kids are screaming, the wife is glaring and I need to go. No more time for pithy quotes, so, please accept this story as is and I fill the rest in with nonsense.

blah, blah, blah blah blah blah blah d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d dd dd d d d d d d d d d d dd dd d d d d d dd dd d d d dd d d d d d d d d d d d ddddddddd d d d d d d d d d d d d d  d d d d d d dd d d d d dd d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d.

Oh, one more thing, if you have any questions about what will happen with the current protests and the absolute need we have in this country for equality, please read Malcolm X take on the famous march on Washington and Martin Luther Kings, "I have a dream speech." It is priceless and as true and potent now as it ever was

Back to nonsense: ddd d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d dg g g g ds tg hyr g df fd g d g d g th rt h sfh hdf h df j dfj d hjj dsf j dg hj dgh dgjh j h dgh gd jh gdh jgh j fj j fghj hk fgk f j kfh kf fk hjk k jk fk k jk k jfk h f f

sdf ass f asddf asd g saddfg af g gf g wa hs fggh sg hg fsg h dfg h fgg h fh df fh dfg gh d h fg h d fh hdfgfg h ff gh df h fg hd h fdf h dh hdf h hd hf dhf  h hh fg h h h fgh ghh h  hg hg hg h dffh dfh fdhh fdsf fsg sdggd sddf sdff s g sdd gf sdf gs df sg  gfs gf d gdf g dff g df g fd g df g d fg d g d g d g d g dff g dfffg d  dg dg dfg df f dfg dfg  dg dg dg  g d gg d  d g d d gf gg gg g dg d  d dg g g g g g dg d gf dg gd  dgg dg dg g d g gd gd gd gd  g gd dg gd gd g d g gd g gd  gd dg g gd gd gd gd g  g dg g g  g gd gd gd gd gd  dg g gd g gd g g  gd gd g gd gd gd g g g dg d gd g gd g g dg ddg d g dg dg gd gd gd gd gd g d gd dg dg dg dg gd  gd dg gd g  gd gd g  gd g g  gd g  dg dg dg d g dg gd dg

July 17, 2020 14:37

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9 comments

Charles Stucker
00:51 Jul 19, 2020

Reedsy is certainly not the place for flash fiction, given the requirement for 1-3k words. So you have a crazed protagonist who is driving the track at night and imagining the races or other days. It's a metaphor for the futility of life, how it passes you by as you run the race and then you are left hoping to make one more day when it's already past the point where you enjoy the days. Joe Haldeman wrote a book called "The Long Habit of Living" which explores the same topic.

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13:18 Jul 19, 2020

Sure, if that's how you took it. Interpretation is, after all, arts greatest strength. Thank-you very much for reading it and I will try to stay within the reedsy parameters from here on out. The story just felt done and honestly, more people seem to like and follow much more than they actually read. I didn't think anyone would really notice. Thanks again for your time and comment!

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Charles Stucker
14:55 Jul 19, 2020

I only like if I read something all the way through. Anything less seems wrong. I usually post comments when I find an author worth giving a hand to help them increase their art. i spent over a decade practicing my craft alone. Read dozens of books, wrote hundreds of shorts and nine (going on ten) novel manuscripts. If I can help someone else, I feel compelled to make the attempt. the fact that you could put the possibility of variable interpretations into such a short piece is remarkable. Most of my stuff just tells a story, because that is...

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17:20 Jul 19, 2020

You're awesome, man! I really feel as though you understand the spirit of this website, which is to support, encourage and yes, help guide people to become the best writers that they can possibly be. On your other note, yep, nailed it. I don't think that most of my literary heroes would stand a chance in todays genre driven, formula style market. Symbolism and bigger picture type writing is long dead and gone. Don't get me wrong, I am relieved that people are still reading, it just sucks that my window, for what I read and write, is closed.

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Charles Stucker
22:15 Jul 19, 2020

You can always submit to the literary university press magazines. Just make sure your bio sounds really left leaning or they'll reject you for wrong political leanings.

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00:49 Jul 20, 2020

Got it, I'll mention my Karl Marx commenerative plate collection. Ha, thanks, I'll definitely look into it

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Leya Newi
14:55 Jul 18, 2020

I wasn’t sure about this at first, and it might not win any prizes, but this definitely made me smile, which is a success in my book. I personally really enjoyed this, so well done!

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16:39 Jul 18, 2020

Thank-you for reading my story Leya! Prizes? No expectations there, I just like playing with symbolism. Thanks again!

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Leya Newi
17:22 Jul 18, 2020

Truly, your nonsense was structured beautifully.

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