GREY DONKEY

Toshie could already see Steel Crow pulling ahead. The rider looked back at him with a smirk, flipping him a middle finger before he sped away. Grey Donkey began wobble while spurting out more smoke. Toshie clenched his teeth as he tried to bring Grey Donkey under control. He was watching the handlebars a little too closely as he was coming up on the railings. The motorcycle hit the pavement and jerked up, the front wheel riding on the railings.

Toshie pulled the throttle trying to hang on as the bike completed climbing the railings. When it reached the top, the bike jumped up and landed on the railings at great speed. There was a flash of fire followed by a plume of smoke that sent the bike jerking forward to catch up with Steel Crow. The bike wobbled like a tightrope walker losing his balance on a thin piece of rope.

“I want out of this race!” Toshie shouted in fear. “I quit! I quit!”

The wheels slipped, starting with the front, which landed on the road while the back wheel landed on the handlebars of Steel Crow’s motorcycle.

“G-Get off!” Steel Crow shouted while choking on the stream of smoke from Grey Donkey.

Steel Crow was able to separate their motorcycles by breaking, allowing Toshie to speed ahead of him.

“I… I can’t see!” Steel Crow shouted in horror as he realised that the visor of his helmet had been painted in soot. He opened the visor and his eyes widened as he realised he was heading for yellow crash barrels on the side of the road..

Toshie was too occupied with saying his prayers and trying to bring Grey Donkey under control to notice the crash and  the explosion of water that happened behind him.

Toshie heard rumbling. He looked back and saw two motorcycles come up from behind. He looked at one who pulled up beside him while other came up on the other side.

“Hey, can you help me?” Toshie shouted. “I’m trying to…”

Toshie had to lean back to dodge a knife that the man thrust towards him. He had to roll his head to dodge another attempted stab.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Toshie said.

He had to grab the man by the wrist as he tried to stab him again. The other biker withdrew a single sided axe ad raised it, readying to bring it down on Toshie while he was struggling with the knife wielding biker. Toshie lost balance again. His bike tipped over the side, his shoulder slamming into the axe wielder and sending him toppling off the bike while he pulled the other off his.

Toshie grabbed onto the empty bike and pushed off to right himself while both motorcycles on either side fell away.

“After this, I’m going to the temple to pray.” Toshie said.

Steel Crow was speeding down the road. He had to bring his bike to a stop . “Wha-What happened?” He glared at the two bikers on the ground.

“He-He took us out.” One of the felled bikers said.

Steel Crow’s gloved hands grasped the handlebars tighter as he shouted to the sky, “Who is this guy?!”

On roof of a building some distance away, a woman looked at the action through a telescope. She wore a leather outfit with a pair of shorts and torn net stockings with one covering the thigh area of one leg while the other covered the lower part of her other leg. The hair on the sides of her head was cut very short and dyed pink and the hair at the top being blonde and styled upward in a quiff.

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She spat out the toothpick she had been chewing on and switched from her telescope to a sniper rifle set up on the side. Digging into her jacket pocket, she withdrew a set of three bullets before slotting in two into her sniper rifle. She took aim through the scope, lining up the crosshairs with her target, before pulling the trigger.

“Beautiful,” she mouthed.

Below, Toshie still struggled with the chain around his neck. The chain suddenly snapped, allowing his bike to fall back down. Toshie rubbed his reddened neck. The gang member, threw the remainder of his chain away before he sped up.

Toshie looked back in fear but then the bike stopped moving and he pulled far ahead of it. The gang member got off his bike and saw that it  was leaking fuel. It seemed like the fuel tank had somehow been punctured.

The woman twirled her remaining bullet while looking at the smoking dot that was Toshie. “It’s up to you now.” she said.

Toshie made another turn. “Hey, I’m getting the hang of this!”

A chain came from behind him, wrapping itself around his neck. Toshie coughed as he was being strangled.

“I could pass that junk heap you’re on and win!” Steel Crow said. He tightened the pull on the chain which he used to strangle Toshie. “But I want to see you suffer!” He pulled the chain again tightening its grips on Toshie’s neck.

A figure shrouded in shadow sat atop a roof of a small skyscraper. The red scope of the figure’s sniper rifle shone through the shadows as they took aim below. Through the scope, they could see the bike race below. They could see Toshie being strangled by Steel Crow’s chain.

The figure dug out a bullet from their jacket and slotted it into the clip of the rifle. Cocking it back, the figure took aim and squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet flying out of the silenced nozzle of the gun.

Toshie leaned back to relieve the pressure on his neck but he didn’t work, he still could not breath, he still was losing consciousness. The chain suddenly snapped and with the tightness, he could remove it from his reddened neck.

Steel Crow pulled the broken chain back. “H-H-How?” He screamed in anger as he revved his bike forward to catch up to Toshie.

Toshie kept looking back, his eyes widening in fear as Steel Crow effortlessly decreased the gap between them.

“I’ll kill you!” Crow shouted.

Steel Crow drove beside him, the crowbar raised before he brought it down at Toshie with all his might. Toshie blocked the crowbar with his pink helmet.

“Dude, you have issues!” Toshie said as Crow pulled the crowbar out, sending pieces of helmet out before bringing it down again.

Toshie kept blocking the numerous crowbar shots with the half helmet on his head. With each shot, he took, he could feel each shot penetrating deeper into his helmet.

“How dare you break my crowbar’s chain!” Crow said as he continued his assault. “Die, you cheater!”

“Dude, this is a bike race and your attacking me with a crowbar and yet I’m the cheater?” Toshie said, blocking another blow with his helmet.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup and die!”

Another shit and they separated. Toshie felt the top of his helmet and to his horror, he felt the top of his head through a whole in the helmet!

Steel Crow laughed. “You can’t use that trick again!”

“No? Maybe I’ll use a different one!”

Steel Crow tuned into Toshie, raising his crowbar up. “DIE!”

Toshie also turned into him, putting his head down.

“I told you,” Steel Crow said as they came closer, “that trick won’t…”

Toshie slammed his helmet covered head into Steel Crow’s exposed side, launching Crow off his motorcycle.

“Yeah!” Toshie said as he focused on the finish line ahead. He had a look of disbelief as he realised he was going to win.

The motorcycle rumbled and coughed out a cloud of smoke before the engine died.

“What?” Toshie said, trying to start it up again. “No. No. No! Come on, Grey Donkey, don’t do this to me now that we’re so close!”

Toshie heard a cry and he looked back. To his surprise Steel Crow had leapt on his feet and was now sprinting towards him… no, towards the finish line!

“There is no ways!” Toshie said as he rode the remaining momentum of Grey Donkey to the finish line but Steel Crow was catching up.

“You’re not going to beat me, you bastard!” Steel Crow shouted as he gained speed.

Toshie looked at the finish line. He was much closer than Crow. “Come on!”

Steel Crow was now running beside him as they inched ever closer to the finish line. Toshie still had the lead, his bike being longer and more likely to cross the finish line. Crow gave another cry of passion as he dived! His body crossed the finish line before any part of Toshie’s bike!

Toshie stopped his motorcycle in disbelief. He had lost.

Steel Crow was rolling on the floor with laughter. He took off his helmet and threw it away, revealing the crazed look on his face as he stared at Toshie, while grasping his crowbar.

“I shall have the honour of killing him.” He smirked as he came closer to Toshie.

Toshie looked around. There was no escape for he was surrounded by the Machete Bike gang as Steel Crow, their second in command unnaturally moved towards him with nothing but the intent to kill.