The one and only rule: Don't kill anyone on the track and try to reach the finish line

I locked the garage behind me and put on my hood. Then I looked around the almost empty and quiet neighborhood before walking down the aisle to the train that would take me a little closer to the race venue.

As soon as I got to the train stop and bought my ticket, I turned to face the direction the train was coming from in a moment. In the corner of my eye, I looked at the people who happened to be there, too. Maybe it wasn't quite by a chance. Some of them seemed enthusiastically heading the same way as I did.

To my great luck, someone almost knocked me to the ground after boarding the train. Such a slightly much bigger guy. With a silent apology, he went to sit somewhere further away and I only managed to raise a questioning eyebrow. I didn't expect this. Such a quiet voice for that kind of figure.

In a few minutes, I was already leaning against the light grey wall of the train while looking out of the window made of dark glass at the surroundings, through which we were going to the end of the city. Buildings started to look like that too. More decayed, more overgrown, more abandoned.

The races used to be outside the city as there was a lot of an open space. However, they started on a wide street at the end of the city, which led straight from the center. It also looked a lot better than the not so clean alleys that led to it. So the route led between a few better looking buildings and then in the dark night on the road leading to the next city. I mean, almost. Someone tried to connect it once, but no one followed through on that idea, so the journey ended in nothing. Next city is quite far away, after all. And to get out of here, people use hovercrafts so there´s no need for roads now.

I got off the train with a few other people and walked down the street. It wasn't my first time here, so I got my bearings easily and headed in the direction where today's race was supposed to be. So I walked through a few quiet aisles before I heard a bit of noise. And with that came a little more light.

When I finally got out of the dark small aisle, a large crowd of people appeared in front of me, standing around racers´ hovercars of any colour. The music was much louder and everything was lit up with different colored lights as always. Weirdly familiar feeling as of home came to me with the view of it all.

I pushed my way through the crowd to get to my race piece, where a few people were already waiting. Zayd was there dressed like a gentleman chatting with two guys and then there was even Mali who waved at me as soon as she saw me coming to them.

"Hey," I said when I was finally with them.

The race was due to start in about a half an hour, so now was the time for everyone to have a look at tonight's racing machines. And, of course, the people who drove them were also an attraction. So I wasn't surprised when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a few people looking in our - or I should say my direction.

"Do you think Yuki is lost somewhere?"

I thought about the question Mali has just asked me. I couldn't say it wasn't possible. After all, Yuki was working at a completely different place now and probably haven't got here ever before. Unless the guy he was bodyguarding liked this kind of events.

I decided to check the hovercar borrowed from Zayd before starting, as I didn't trust anyone here for hundred percent and I didn't want to end up in flames in the middle of nowhere. Since I was racing for my so-called friend, he got me this beauty with black flames to compete with.

When I returned to calmness, Mali appeared next to me with some kind of packet of chips or something like that. I didn't examine it until she offered it to me and I could make sure it wasn't the chips. Crispy golden slices with green dots from spices. They were from this planet, but not far from the potatoes from the old Earth. Similar snack but different packages over the time - sometimes eatable, sometimes vitals for plants... everytime somehow reusable as scientists find new things all the time to make life better and easier even when that´s not always how it ends.

"Ladies, gentlemen,.. as you like.. spectators and racers! Everyone here!" an annoying voice suddenly called out. I rolled my eyes at his existence. He could have just greeted everyone normally instead of going on like this. "Let the stars of tonight sit in their fiacres."

Sighing, I rubbed my forehead with my hand. This part was my least favorite. He was just spouting some crap obviously to get some attention and to make people laugh. But he probably didn't realize that they were laughing at him.

"You know the rules! Don't kill anyone on the track and try to reach the finish line. And no one except the racers please get on the racetrack. Thanks, that'll be it."

"I'll be goin´ then, then," I nodded at Mali and Zayd and jumped into my hovercar at that very moment. I closed the dark roof over me and put on my seat belts. Then I drove to the starting line, where we all waited for the order to start.