seventy-two. She’s already halfway down the course. Seven hundred seventy-three. She can barely see where she’s going from her tunnel vision. But she can still see the black line. Seven hundred seventy-six. Mile six.
Still not fast enough.
Salt kicks up on either side of her at the edge of her vision, disturbed by the growing shockwaves of compressed air as she approaches the magic Mach number. Seven hundred seventy-eight. Mile seven.
Mile eight.
Seven hundred seventy-nine.
Mile nine.
Her whole world condenses down to a pinpoint. Five seconds tick down. She finds that extra step she needs.
Seven hundred eighty-one miles per hour at the last mile marker.
She slows from sprint to jog to halt in a few hundred yards, listening to the echoes of her sonic boom echoing off distant mountain peaks, satisfied for the moment with yet another speed record.
Her satisfaction will be fleeting, though; because as fast as she is, it’s never fast enough.
###
Want more JUST CAUSE UNIVERSE? Check out the additional novels:
Just Cause
The Archmage
Day of the Destroyer
Deep Six
Jackrabbit (coming Spring 2014)
Want more short stories?
The Scent of Rose Petals
The Steel Soldier’s Gambit
Tuesday Night at Powerman’s
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