One : 1

 'Where horses were once the wings of man, I now carry my own.' 

The words were etched deeply into the concrete and a horse galloped above them. Every muscle stood out and its mane flew, though a crack ran through the horse's body and out through its extended foreleg. 

Jensen couldn't remember who had said the line. He didn't really care, it was the words themselves that gave him comfort. They calmed his racing heart and gave him a moment of clarity. A moment of control. 

"I carry my own." He muttered quietly to himself. 

Below the mural stood the starting gates. Eight gaping mouths of steel waiting to swallow him whole. On either side of him stood fencing that held back hundreds of screaming and chanting people. Hands on his back pushed him into one at random and the barricade quickly slammed shut behind him. Chest high dented metal doors in front held him in place. Each barricade crashed one after the other as he counted them.

Six.

The man in the gate on his left threw his body against the doors and sides. The metal shrieked in protest, rattled with the strain, but didn't give. Cold spit flecked Jensen's shoulder as the man cursed and continued battering the chute.

Seven.

Three chutes to his right, a woman began screaming. Wailing cries that tore from her throat with ear splitting repetition. Jensen turned his head slightly to get a better look. The woman was fighting against two men as they tried to shove her into her gate, her navy blue wings unfurled and slapping them. 

"Pay attention." Angel's voice, followed by a harsh smack to the side of his head. Jensen quickly jerked his head back and stared ahead at the blue sky beyond the gate. The woman's screams were abruptly silenced and the last barricade banged shut. 

Eight.

The shrill screeching of the buzzer filled his ears and the gate flew open. Jensen launched himself forward, out of the chute, out into open air. 

The man on his left lurched to the side. Jensen quickly tucked his wings and dropped away. Using the tips of his flight feathers, he fell, following the inward curve of the crater. Its walls sloped gradually, terraced towards the center. 

Several hundred feet below the other racers he finally opened his wings and beat hard, using the extra momentum from his fall to surge back up. Jensen pinned his wings and lowered his head. His right shoulder crunched into the chest of Galavant. A yelp of surprise escaped his victim and the man peeled away out of sight.

A hand grabbed Jensen's ankle. It was the woman from before, her blonde hair whipping about her head in a tornado. Dipping his left wing, Jensen dragged the woman into the racer next to her. Their wings collided and snapped, sounding like a rifle shot. They fell away from him, a diminishing pinwheel of dark blue and red, crashing into the shallow water below. 

He was in the lead now, at least a couple seconds ahead of everyone. He just needed to keep this pace. Across the crater, the loop tower loomed high. He would be the first one to reach it. He tucked his wings just enough to maintain control and streaked towards the tower's edge. He curved around the structure, flipping over entirely to begin his return trip. 

#4, a woman fully clad in yellow with chocolate brown wings, hurdled around the tower with ease and came alongside him. She beat her wings hard and fast, matching Jensen's with each stroke. He grit his teeth and poured on the speed. He edged in front of her by several feet. The shimmering lake below was just a blur and the walls of the crater began to tilt inward as the starting gate approached. 

She was too fast. #4 easily surpassed him and held her position. No matter how hard he tried, Jensen could not catch up. The starting gate had been lifted up so that the warehouse was just an empty hole. #4 opened her wings and back beat hard to slow down. She tripped and crashed to the ground, sliding on her side for several feet before scrambling back up. Jensen landed next, his legs shaky with adrenaline, and his chest heaving for air. 

Angel came running from the fencing to his right. She grabbed his arm in an iron grip and dragged him to the side. The other racers were landing, none of them gracefully. Two tried to touch down simultaneously but crashed together into the concrete floor. Both stood, but one had a crooked wrist. 

The screams of the onlookers had slowly disappeared, muted by the blood rushing through Jensen's ears. Angel was speaking, but he could only see her mouthing soundless words. Danen materialized from the fencing next to her. He was also trying to talk, but nothing was coherent. 

He was being dragged again. Angel was pulling him forward and he shakily walked after her. They walked past the fencing towards the back of the warehouse where double doors stood open for them. 

Jensen glanced sidelong at Danen. He stood next to him with his hands in his pockets, listening to Angel talk to the doctor across the ward. Jensen sat on one of the many examination tables along with the other racers. They were spaced far enough apart to not be uncomfortable, but he could still hear everyone's diagnosis. 

From his count three of the eight were missing and one's crooked wrist was now in a thick cast. His mandatory check had gone well, not perfect, but far better than most of the other racers. A fractured clavicle, some bruising, but nothing seriously damaged. 

"It's not the end of the world-"

"She doesn't even have an alias yet." Jensen said quietly.

Danen nodded and swallowed, looking over to where Angel stood again. She was gesturing wildly with her hands, but not to the doctor. He had gone. She spoke to the game handler now. 

"#4 didn't land, she fell! Rook should take first!" 

"Her time clearly states she entered first, therefore she takes first, ma'am." 

Angel didn't bother responding. Turning on her heel, she marched back towards them. Jensen stood automatically but Angel shoved one finger into his chest. 

"You know what you just lost me?" She hissed low enough for no one else to hear. "Do you want to take a wild guess? Galavant was the only obstacle, the only one!" She paused to brush several stray hairs out of her face and take a breath. Danen seized the brief opening. 

"Beginner's luck."

Angel shoved him in the chest hard enough to make him take a step back. "You shut up. And you? I will get my money back, one way or another."