Chapter 5 A Close Call

• Amanda was just turning up into the fifth lap all focused and eyes glued on the track when out-of-the-blue, she saw a black mist shaped like a human standing on her way.
• Startled, she turned the wheel sharply to the right in an attempt to avoid it. When she did, she returned to her track on the left, all focused but there was an unusual itch at the back of her head that the occurrence was far than normal.
• She returned to the race, trying to keep her head clear and her hands steady. But then, when she reached the eighth lap, a vision formed on the road of a woman that looked exactly like her mother, kneeling, wailing and reaching out her hand to her.
• Amanda gasped at the sight of it. She didn’t have time to avoid it so she drove through the apparition with her heart almost leaping out of her chest.
• Although it was unwise, she turned around to see if the woman was still on the road. She wasn’t there anymore which was a good thing. Amanda clenched her jaw and blew out a heavy breath to calm herself just as she returned to driving.
• “Okay, this is all just my imagination. Nothing is real, ” she told herself.
• Upon checking the progress board of the wide screen, Amanda found that she was already overtaken by two drivers, Dominico dela Santamaria of Argentina and Magnus Thacris of Belgium.
• She sprang into action, not liking the progress of the race at all.
• The engine of her race car accelerated into overdrive as she stepped on the gas pedals. With a tight grip on the wheel and a stronger will to win, she managed to get the lead again, passing the two male drivers as she went along.
• The crowd erupted into a thunderous cheer for this time the race was a close fight. What a contest it was; three of the very best on the field vying for the covered spot of the Belgian Grand Prix first-place winner.
• Amanda this time was sure to win. Three more laps to go and she would do so.
• But an unseen force seemed to think otherwise.
• Just as she was about to enter into the second-to-the-last lap, Amanda had another apparition and this time, it shook her to the bone. Her eyes bulged, her breath was caught up in her throat, and her pulse more than doubled.
• Matteo, as real as the sound of engines inside Amanda’s F1, stood right on the very spot of her track. He was wearing all white, white trousers and white shirt, boldly putting his hand up as if asking her to hold it.
• Amanda, this time, had enough chance to avoid him. She steered her wheel to the right but it was a wrong move.
• With the acceleration of her engines and the biting speed of her tires, her car was thrown out of the track, gaining air time for half a second and then plunging into the ground back first on the open field.
• The crash was nasty. Pictures upon pictures were taken of the unfortunate fate Amanda’s car experienced while the race still continued.
• On the sidelines, Noman choked out a cry. He covered his mouth with both hands and intuitively glanced over the area where Cord stood and realized he was nowhere in sight.
• Hopefully Cord had some special power wherein he could save Amanda from the wreckage. Noman didn’t care if the Master of Vampires would be exposed while doing so in front of the audience just as long as Amanda was safe. It would be a worthy sacrifice.
• He studied the wreckage as paramedics arrived on the scene of the crash. A human being wouldn’t survive such a catastrophe, this he was sure of. Amanda wasn’t just a human. She was a witch and a powerful one at that.
• If Cord hadn’t saved her, then she would have saved herself.
• Surely, she’d live to tell the tale, but when Noman saw her unconscious and limp body being hurled up into a gurney, he second-guessed himself.
• Standing in the sidelines near the accident area was Cord wearing an unsketchable worried expression on his face. He had seen Amanda’s car wiggle at the fifth lap and had already been on edge since then. He hadn’t seen her race before or anyone for that matter but he knew such an abrupt change of the car’s path meant something bad.
• Maybe it was possibly because of a slippery track? A heavy rain had poured last night after all. Or maybe an issue with her clutching or brakes? Possibly. Could be. But Amanda had personally checked the car herself. It was unlikely she’d miss out anything.
• So what could be the reason for the car’s sudden unstable movement?
• And then it happened again. This time, in the second-to-the-last lap and unfortunately, he wasn’t that fast enough to physically save her from the crash. He summoned his shadows to save her instead, giving her enough cushion so that her body wouldn’t take much of the impact.
• When all was done and the medics hauled her unconscious body out of the wreckage, Cord could only hope that Amanda would recover fast and tell him what really happened because he was as sure as hell knew her accident wasn’t just an unforeseen event.