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"Hey, Annalise. Am I hallucinating right now or is there something coming towards us?"
"Huh? Where?"
X pointed beyond their campsite into the desert landscape where there was, in fact, a dark speck on the horizon slowly growing larger.
"Yeah, I see it. So weird."
"You think it's a coyote? A really big coyote?"
"Scaredy-cat. It's probably just another car that got lost like we did."
He hummed in response, still unsure. But as it drew closer, X squinted at the strange speck again as the formerly vague features resolved themselves into a familiar silver race car.
"Wait, is that the Mach 6?"
It seemed to be coasting aimlessly, not thundering ahead to the finish line like he would've expected. Was the car running on auxiliary power after running out of fuel?
"Guess those nerds really did take a wrong turn too."
"Maybe, but something's wrong. It doesn't look like anyone's driving it."
He stood, brushing the accumulated dirt off his pants, and started jogging over to where the Mach 6 was heading. It took him a few minutes to close the distance, but the car was moving so slowly he could just walk alongside it and keep pace once he made it over. It was hard to see inside the windows with the harsh glare from the sun overhead, but the three inside appeared to all be slumped over.
What?
He banged on the window, after trying the doors to find them still locked.
"Lucy! Speed! Conor! Open up!" He didn't know what had happened, but he needed someone to wake up and either start steering or pull the damn parking brake. He continued to pound on the glass, shouting their names as the Mach 6 crept forward. Then there was movement from inside, Lucy coming awake slowly. She jolted after a few moments, mental processes evidently catching up with the present. X could see her look over at him with wide eyes before she fumbled with the latch release to pop the door open. She started to say something, but X cut her off, pointing at the center console, "Handbrake!"
The Mach 6 shuddered to a stop with the mechanism now engaged, the APU whining in protest. Lucy took her helmet off and ran the back of her arm over her face to wipe away some of the sweat as she looked over at her companions. Speed and Conor hadn't stirred.
"What happened to you guys?"
Lucy sighed, thinking about what she last remembered versus now. "I think the heat got to all of us. The rockslide took out a lot of parts, including the A/C compressor. We were kinda in a rush to get the car running and didn't think about how hot it would get in there, I suppose."
"God, you three. Letting yourselves bake in that oven when it's already like a thousand degrees out?"
"We can't always be pinnacles of good decision making."
X snorted loudly despite the circumstances; he helped Lucy out of the passenger seat and leaned in to take Speed and Conor's helmets off too. His brother's skin was flushed, sweat-damp hair sticking to his face.
"Pfft, yeah. These two hardly have a braincell to rub between them half the time, but who did you lend yours to?"
"I think I lost it the second those boulders crashed down onto the front end." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm like the sweat dripping from her brow.
"Fair. Guess it doesn't really matter at this point," He was gently slapping the sides of the boys' faces in an effort to rouse them, "And they're still dead to the world over here."
Lucy shouted their names much like X had been doing previously, going so far as to flick Speed's forehead and cuff Conor's ear. The mechanic suddenly flailed upright, limbs flying every which way and forcing Lucy to dodge backwards to avoid getting smacked.
"Easy there Conor. Relax, nobody is gonna eat you."
Clearly that was the correct thing to say, because he calmed immediately and turned to offer Lucy a sheepish grin. Between X and Lucy, they got him up to date as well. But there was still the matter of Speed's lingering unconsciousness and how ill he looked.
X was the first to voice those thoughts.
"Speed looks… not great."
"It's probably even hotter for him with that racing suit on. We need to get him cooled off and fast." Lucy was looking around, but there wasn't much to see except more empty desert beyond the heat haze shimmering through the air.
"You feeling well enough to help me push this thing? Annalise and I set up camp not too far away. We can regroup there."
"Mhm. I'm good." She nodded, rolling up her sleeves. X offered her a thumbs-up and circled around to the back of the car. It was a pretty lightweight vehicle despite its size, and the terrain was flat, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get it over to the oasis.
"I wanna help too!" Conor announced excitedly, crouching like a sumo wrestler behind the Mach 6 with his arms extended.
"Dude, you're built like a twig. You sit in the car and steer for us, mmkay?"
As they entered the camp, bringing the Mach 6 to a stop aside the Shooting Star and Spoiled Brat, Annalise emerged from her portable shelter with an unimpressed look.
"And here comes the bumbling brigade of buffoons plus X."
"Knock it off, Annalise. They all got heat exhaustion and passed out so cut 'em some slack."
"That's even more embarrassing!"
"I said knock it off!" He was growling as he re-opened the car door and leaned his upper body inside.
"Geez, alright! Touchy, touchy. What's gotten into you?"
Her question was answered as she watched her boyfriend drag Speed's limp form out of the driver's seat of the Mach 6 and set him down in the meager shade provided by one of the spindly trees at the oasis.
Annalise wandered closer, curious despite it all. "What's going on with him?"
"We don't know for sure. But he's definitely overheated." X was already tugging at the zipper for his racing suit, trying to get him out of its suffocating confines.
But unlike X, he didn't simply have a thin undershirt beneath. "Why does he have so many damn layers on?" He scowled as he peeled the suit down past Speed's torso to reveal his normal ensemble of clothing. "Idiot. No wonder you were baking in there. One of you two wanna help me with him?"
With Lucy's aid, they got Speed's racing suit the rest of the way off as well as stripping him of the T-shirt he wore over the pale blue long-sleeve. He remained completely slack throughout the process which only served to add more worry to their addled minds.
There wasn't much else to do besides trying to get Speed comfortable and to wait, so the new additions to the campsite decided to get settled for the long haul. They staked two corners of the tent to the ground while tying another to the tree's trunk, making something of a canopy while still allowing the breeze to flow freely. It provided better shade than the palm's narrow fronds at the very least. Lucy located a relatively clean rag from amongst their things and soaked it in water from the small spring before wringing it out and draping it over Speed's forehead. His expression remained placidly neutral.
"C'mon Speed. You gotta wake up." She was murmuring quietly as she sat cross-legged next to him. His weak and raspy breaths were breaking her heart and adding to her stress. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.
Lucy remained by Speed's side, periodically re-soaking the rag with the spring's cool water, hoping it was helping at least a little to bring his body temperature back down. The others were just milling about with no real direction, the boredom having long since set in. X beat Conor twelve times in a row at rock-paper-scissors which was a statistical improbability he managed regardless. Annalise mostly just sulked in her pop-up shelter.
…
Despite his aloof personality, X still cared deeply for his friends and family. He made the rounds, checking on his little brother again. Conor followed him over as if he was tethered to the other teen.
"How is he? Any change?"
Lucy was shaking her head, looking a little out of her depth. "If he doesn't wake up soon, we'll have to get him out of here somehow. Even if that means dropping out of the rally."
Conor gasped, affronted. "Drop out?! But we need to beat Ranford!"
"We can't beat that stuck-up jerk without our Racer." Lucy looked down at him again, and he felt so far away despite being right there next to her.
"This day sucks. First the rockslide and Chim-Chim, now this. I want a do-over."
"Me too, Conor. Me too."
It was hard to judge how much time had passed since the Mach 6 had first arrived to the oasis. The sun still shone bright and high in the sky, but the day was dragging out into eternity. It could've only been an hour for all they knew. It felt like longer, with Speed unresponsive on the ground and nerves a live wire between the others.
Just wake up.
Lucy was starting to nod off again as she sat with her back leaned up against the tree. It was hard to stay mentally engaged with so little happening, despite the undercurrents of anxiety swirling through her. She let her eyes close, but she continued to listen to her surroundings. Gusting wind, the occasional bickering in the periphery. A scuffing sound, fabric shifting. A faint moan…
Her eyes shot back open.
There it was again. Speed's shoe moved, just slightly. His fingers twitched nearly imperceptibly. Lucy hollered for X and Conor who rushed back over, stumbling over themselves in their haste. Annalise followed, albeit much slower. She couldn't stand being ignored. And if lame-boy was finally rejoining the waking world, then she had a fun surprise for him.
X knelt down next to Speed as he began to stir. Lucy moved back a little, allowing the two some space. But she already felt the weight lifting from her chest. The worry starting to melt away. X called Speed's name, asking if he was alright, coaxing him back to alertness.
His eyes opened, bleary. As his vision focused, X moved into his line of sight. His brother looked relieved. What had he missed?
"Good to have you back. You were looking pretty bad for a while."