Beginning Word Count: 25,033
I am trying on a different title to see how I like it. We'll see if it fits.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Race to the High Road
Rating: PG
Part: Three of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Speed quickly pulled the gag out of Trixie's mouth while Sparky hunted for a knife to cut the ropes binding Trixie. "Trixie? Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" He held her tight for a moment.
Trixie nodded and tried to keep calm. Her eyes were watering, but she blinked away the tears. Speed was here.
"Sparky, how's that knife coming?"
"Can't find one. I'll go get one from the front desk, or the Mach 5."
"Call Inspector Detector," Speed said.
"I'm on it," Sparky said. He ran out into the hallway.
Speed turned to Trixie. "I'll see if I can't work on some of these knots, okay? Let me know if I'm hurting you."
"Okay," Trixie said with a very shaky voice.
While Speed was working on the knots, he asked her, "Did you see who did this?"
Trixie nodded her head. "But I don't know who they were. I've never seen them before."
"Do you want to tell me what happened, or would you rather wait for the Inspector?" Speed pulled on one of the ends and frowned. "I'll tell you this much, they know how to tie a knot. Trixie, I can't get this untied."
Trixie's breath hitched and she nodded. Speed immediately moved to hug her. "I'm sorry, Trix. I hate this."
He looked into her face and saw how strong she was trying to be and how close she was to breaking.
"Where is Sparky with that knife," Speed muttered. A moment later, the door opened, and Sparky came in.
"The man at the desk had a pocket knife which he loaned me. I've called Inspector Detector, and he's on his way over," Sparky handed Speed the knife, knowing that there was no way that Speed was going to allow him to cut Trixie free.
"Thank you," Speed said as he took the knife and immediately kneeled on the floor behind Trixie to start cutting carefully at the ropes.
When he finally got the ropes cut, Speed looked at her delicate wrists. He could tell how much Trixie had struggled to free herself, just by looking at the rope burns. They looked painful. "We need to get you to a doctor."
"Okay," Trixie whispered.
Speed finished untying her legs and pulled her to him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, princess. I'm so sorry," he whispered over and over.
Trixie nodded. "At least," she started then began again, "At least they brought me here and I knew you'd be back and find me."
Speed looked at her. "I will always find you."
She nodded, then looked down. Waiting for the Inspector was hard. She wanted to tell Speed what happened, what they'd said. But she did not know if she could go through that more than once. The truth was, she was very frightened, and what they had told her had her even more afraid.
Speed walked Trixie over to the sofa and sat down with her. Sparky looked on in concern. Trixie was rather quiet, and it just seemed wrong. She was not effusing over how glad she was to see them. She was just quietly sitting there, as if she was trying to keep herself together. Speed didn't seem to know what to say.
Trixie had not even asked about the race.
Sparky looked at Speed, then to Trixie. "So, did Speed tell you he won?"
Trixie shook her head. She didn't say 'congratulations' or 'that's wonderful' or 'I'm proud of you, Speed.' She just shook her head that he had not told her.
Sparky looked over to Speed, who met his eyes and nodded. That was certainly not a good sign.
In short order, Inspector Detector arrived. Sparky let him in. The Inspector and Sparky pulled chairs over and sat them across from the couch.
"Trixie, are you able to tell me what happened?" Inspector Detector said.
Speed held her hand as Trixie took a deep breath. She looked at the Inspector and started her story.
"I was watching Speed on the track. He was in the lead after the first reverse, and it was terrifying and thrilling to watch at the same time. But there was a big crash, about ten cars or so, and that's when it happened. One minute I was enjoying the race, and the next moment, I was screaming for help as two men grabbed me. But they were so busy watching the crash that they didn't even notice that I was begging for them to help me.
"They took me to one of the garages, one that didn't have a pit crew. I guess it wasn't being used for this race. But, you know those chains that are used to lift the engine?"
The men nodded.
"They wrapped me in the chains and lifted me up high above the floor. I was terrified I was going to fall. And they said that this was just one of the many things they could do. They could leave me in Speed's pit, or make it so no one would ever find me. I screamed for help, and no one came. They just laughed. Then they dropped the lever and I fell, almost to the floor. They laughed more at me as they took me out of the chains and tied me up. They drove me all around, showed me places they could leave me. Caves they could throw me in and collapse, abandoned wells they could drop me in. Abandoned buildings where no one would ever look. And if they didn't decide to kill me, they would keep me away, and use me to make Speed race the way they wanted him to."
Speed placed his arm over her shoulders and pulled her to him as he stared at Inspector Detector.
"Why did they do this Trixie?" The Inspector asked.
Trixie refused to look at either of them as she said, "Because they want Speed to stop racing. But I can't let that happen."
"What?" Speed asked. "What do you mean you can't let that happen?"
"Speed, I've been sitting here for a while waiting for that race to be over. I've had a long time to think about it. I can't let you stop racing because of me. I won't let you give up your dreams for me. And I will not be used as a pawn in some way to hold you hostage while your dreams slowly die, all becuase you've got to protect me. So no, I cannot let that happen. The way I see it, there are only two ways out of this: you give up racing or we break up," she paused with her breath hitching with tears she refused to shed. "We break up in a way that makes them believe you'd never care about me again." She turned away from him, trying very hard to be brave.
"Trixie, that's not going to work," Speed insisted.
"I will not let you give up your dream, Speed. I won't. You will resent me in the end, and we'll end up breaking up, only this time it will hurt so much more because you'll hate me. If we do it now, it will hurt but not the same."
Inspector Detector shook his head. "Trixie, if you and Speed break up, they'll just try to find another person they can use. Maybe it will be Mrs. Racer or Pops or Spritle."
Trixie looked at Inspector Detector in absolute horror, and her carefully constructed front of bravery after the ordeal crumbled. Speed held her tightly as she cried, and he glared at Inspector Detector. Speed was not used to seeing Trixie in this condition. She was always so brave, so strong. But her ordeal today had completely stripped that away from her and left her vulnerable in ways he did not know how to handle.
"I assume you have a third option, Inspector," Speed said through grated teeth.
Inspector Detector nodded. "I do." He looked at Trixie. "We need to discuss it, but I think that the young lady is in desperate need of a doctor."
Speed looked down at his girl, sobbing on his shoulder, and took note of the robe burns on her wrists, and the oval shaped bruises he could see on her arms that continued to where he could not see. Trixie was a mess and in deparate need of a doctor. He frowned. How could he have been so callous to have not taken care of her immediately, not demanded that she see a doctor before any of this was discussed.
"No, I don't want to," Trixie whispered.
"You need to, princess," Speed said softly. "But I don't care what they say, I'm not leaving you unless you ask." He glared at the inspector. "You can make sure that happens, right?"
"Absolutely," Inspector Detector said.
Trixie nodded. "I don't want you to leave me, Speed. Please."
Speed scooped Trixie up in his arms and carried her. Sparky followed with Inspector Detector. Speed took Trixie to the Mach 5, while Sparky rode with the Inspector.
While they rode, Trixie looked at Speed. "Did Sparky say you won?"
He offered her a half smile, "Yeah, Trix, he did. And the last hundred laps I was certain you were in danger, so Sparky was trying to find you while I raced."
"You knew? You knew I was in trouble, before I didn't show?" she asked him in awe.
Speed smiled. "You're my girl. I just wish I had known earlier. Maybe we could have found you before..."
Trixie shook her head. "I didn't want you to miss out on the race. It was important."
Speed pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked the car. He looked at her intently. "It was a race. There will always be another one. You are more important to me than any race, and there'll never be another you."
Trixie looked away, and Speed hooked his finger under her chin and turned her face back to his. "Believe it, Trix. You are far more important to me, despite what you might think."
Trixie nodded.
Today's Word Count: 1,773
Total Word Count: 26,806
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