(Listening : Linkin Park - Points of Authority)
When the girl shouted, all three of us faced forward. The crowd erupted in loud cheers at the same time.
The roar of engines answered her call, and her smile turned into an excited grin as she waved the piece of cloth in her hand high in the air.
"Then… go!"
The moment the cloth dropped, both cars shot forward.
Holy hell.
I couldn't remember ever being in a car moving this fast. Like every teenager who got their license early, I'd had my fair share of speed experiments—and even speeding tickets—but this?
This was completely different.
Being in a car moving at this speed froze your brain. Adrenaline, fear, and excitement collided, and I was practically fused to my seat.
After forcing myself to adjust for a few seconds, I remembered the most important detail I'd missed and turned toward Rüzgâr's window.
Çağrı was driving beside us—not exactly level, but slightly behind. And with every passing second, he was falling further back.
At this rate, winning was guaranteed.
It seemed I'd been right to trust Rüzgâr.
I didn't open my mouth so as not to distract him, but something bothered me.
In every racing scene I'd ever seen in movies, weren't races held in backstreets or illegally blocked main roads and public areas?
So why were we racing on this dark, unpaved flatland, lit only by moonlight and headlights?
It wasn't like I knew much about racing, but to me, this kind of terrain seemed like the most dangerous place possible.
You didn't need to be a statistical genius to realize how high the risk of an accident was here.
I shook my head, trying to push away the horrifying images forming in my mind.
A sudden jolt slammed the side of my forehead against the window, and I turned to Rüzgâr in shock.
"What's happening?"
"Nothing."
His angry expression said otherwise.
As I looked at him, I noticed the distance between the two cars was far smaller than it should've been.
The front of Çağrı's car was just behind Rüzgâr's door. We were still ahead, but if that idiot didn't stop tailing us like this, there wouldn't even be a race left.
Oh God.
He couldn't seriously be thinking this, could he?
Logically, he'd have to be under the influence of drugs or a homicidal psychopath to go that far.
When I watched the car beside us anxiously and caught a glimpse of Çağrı's face, the disturbing expression I saw was enough to make every hair on my body stand on end.
What kind of sick person had I provoked like this?
Or better yet—why did every man I somehow got involved with turn out to be problematic?
At that moment, Rüzgâr's words echoed in my mind.
You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.
Was this what he meant?
But if he knew Çağrı was a psychopath, why had he agreed to race him in the first place?
I wouldn't deny that I'd escalated things, but even without me, single-celled excuse for a human being looked like someone capable of pulling this kind of madness.
Hesitantly, I looked back toward him and saw Çağrı jerking the steering wheel toward us.
Panicking, I turned to Rüzgâr.
At the same time, Rüzgâr swerved and slowed down. But that didn't stop the car from fishtailing violently, nor did it prevent the massive cloud of dust kicked up by both cars' sudden movements.
The dust made visibility nearly impossible in the darkness, forcing us to slow even more. Taking advantage of that, Çağrı surged ahead and opened a wide gap before Rüzgâr could regain control.
I couldn't decide whether to be relieved that we'd narrowly avoided a major crash or devastated that we were about to lose the race—and the bet.
Then I noticed something strange.
In the dim moonlight, there was a brief glint in Rüzgâr's eyes, and the corner of his lips curved slightly. He looked as if he'd just found exactly what he was looking for.
As I tried to figure it out, I muttered tensely.
"Rüzgâr…"
He didn't answer. I couldn't fully make out the words he muttered under his breath, but judging by his tone, he was cursing.
He was angry—but also, strangely, having fun.
Like when you ride a roller coaster, climb to the highest point, scream in terror right before the drop… and yet still feel thrilled.
That was exactly the look on his face.
Someone clearly had a serious adrenaline addiction.
At least now I knew why he'd said yes to Çağrı.
"Hold on tight."
Before I could say a word, the engine roared, and the car suddenly accelerated so violently that I grabbed the door handle with one hand and clutched my seatbelt with the other.
I'd said earlier that I'd never been in a car moving that fast.
Scratch that.
Compared to our current speed, the previous one felt like a family car headed to a summer vacation with a "baby on board" sign.
This speed?
I didn't even think I could describe it.
All I knew was that I didn't dare turn my head to look at Rüzgâr.
The distance Çağrı had gained through cheating shrank with every second. Soon, there were only a few meters between us.
When we finally pulled up alongside him, Çağrı stared at us in shock. This time, Rüzgâr was cautious and kept enough space between the cars that Çağrı wouldn't dare try anything.
The thrill of regaining the lead swept over me so strongly that, fueled by courage I didn't know I had, I grinned widely, raised my hand, and flipped Çağrı off.
Yes.
The look on his face alone was worth every second of panic I'd felt earlier.
Watching him grind his teeth in fury was priceless.
Now I was satisfied.
Laughing, I turned forward—and my smile vanished. My jaw dropped.
This had to be a prank.
Before screaming, I waited a moment, trying to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me.
Oh God.
It wasn't a joke.
The road ended.
There was a massive cliff ahead, and we were racing straight toward it at an insane speed.
"Rüzgâr, I don't know if you've noticed, but this road ends!"
What was his response?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
We were about to be reduced to atoms, and this maniac had no intention of slowing down—let alone stopping.
The irony?
I was going to die young with another lunatic just to avoid sleeping with a brainless psychopath.
And I had a boyfriend.
A damn boyfriend.
If I hadn't worried about getting Atlas in trouble and had called him to pick me up, I could've been having an amazing night with my boyfriend instead of starring in my own horror movie.
The one time in my life I wasn't selfish—and this was the result.
In a few minutes, I'd be crashing into a pit and getting shredded along with this wreck of a car.
"Rüzgâr, please slow down! Fine, I admit it—I'd do anything not to sleep with Çağrı. I'd even change my gender if I had to. But I don't think I want to take it as far as suicide!"
"I doubt being a man would suit you."
I pointed at him and hissed angrily.
"I'm saying you're about to kill both of us, and that's what you focus on? Are you sick or something? And for the record, being a man would totally suit me."
When that made him laugh, I smacked my forehead in frustration—then remembered my hand was free and grabbed the seatbelt again in panic.
Looking at him, I realized Çağrı was catching up again, and my tension skyrocketed.
Neither Rüzgâr nor Çağrı seemed willing to back down, and I had no intention of finding out exactly where "the end" was.
"Rüzgâr! I'm serious—stop the car right now!"
When he didn't respond and kept staring at the road with that confident, determined expression, my stomach lurched.
The adrenaline I'd felt earlier was long gone. My throat was dry, my limbs were freezing, and despite all the crazy things I'd done in my life, I couldn't remember ever being this terrified.
"Seriously! Is this your idea of kindness? I can't believe you caught the loophole in my prayer and used it against me! We just needed to win—not die for it! Do I look like someone who wants to die to you?!"
As I muttered angrily upward, I decided it wasn't fair to take it all out on the universe and turned back to Rüzgâr.
"When you die, don't you dare end up in the same place as me, Rüzgâr Atahan! If we do, I swear I'll make you regret it so badly you'll miss the devil himself! I swear! Did you hear me?!"
"Will you stop yelling? You're distracting me."
He was actually enjoying this.
It was insane.
I was seconds away from losing control, and this psycho looked like he was out for a peaceful seaside drive.
"You—"
I glanced at the road, and everything else I wanted to say vanished from my mind.
At that moment, I was certain I was going to die.
There was no life-flashing-before-my-eyes montage. I wasn't thinking about my family or my boyfriend.
All I could think about was leaving this world without making up with my friends or telling them how much I loved them.
I leaned back and stared at the endless void ahead.
The last thing that crossed my mind was this:
It was time to scream.
And I did.
I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed—but I wasn't even sure my voice came out.
Because my ears were ringing so violently that I couldn't hear anything.
Not the engines.
Not the stones hitting the car.
Nothing.
Just silence.
So this was what they meant by the silence of death.