Riding around in my Black Devil Car.

The lights flash by in an angry blur. I stare straight ahead. There exists nothing but the silence of the night and the grumbling of a hungry motor. The wheels grip the pavement with a fierce hold, one only replicated in a lovers embrace. They will never let go. They will never betray.

I remove my left hand and place it upon my thigh and tilt my laden head to the side. Something isn’t right. The purity of the moment has gone.

Yellow lights flash in my mirrors. I look down. It seems a menace with too much time and bravado in his hands has come searching. Do I give him the satisfaction? My brakes lights make that decision for me as they blink, indicating an acknowledgment and a start to the hunt. A wrist turns, a gear clicks. Game on.

Slicing through the air and a seemingly useless city we move through the streets. We remain not but a pair of pure black ghosts in search of their god. We dip; shoulders moving in unison, hips contorting to match the speed. Passer by’s stop and stare at the 2 second spectacle. Why? they ask, Why?

We pay no attention because we already understand. They will never know the exhilaration, the beauty, the subtlety of it all.

A high whine reaches my ears. My partner has raised his beast on its hind legs; a mocking smile plays on his lips. You will never catch me, comes the whisper.

I flatten myself down. My ego overrides.

No! This is stupid. You must stop now. You must!

I don’t. I won’t.

These speeds are dangerous. A pebble or a crack can mean demise. A wrong push can destroy.

Yet I continue.

A heartbeat passes and it all becomes too much. My lover has betrayed me with a vicious slap to the face.

I fall.

The sound of the plastic on pavement makes a sickening crunch, the smell of burnt leather and tire reaches my nostrils through the air holes. A dark liquid saunters its way down to a gutter. And here I lay in a crumpled heap; eyes still open for the moment.

‘Did I win?’ comes the gurgled cry through my lips.

Dead air greets me. I cough as a red speckled arc makes its way over my chin. It would be beautiful were it not such a tragedy.

Eyes close and my face relaxes. The purity of the moment returns and a smile finds its way onto my face. This. Here. Now