Scarlett The Devil's Daughter by S J Crabb Page B

as my bike is lighter and
so am I. My brothers are heavier than me and their bikes more
powerful. As we gather speed they start to catch me up. I am
prepared for it and just accept what is bound to happen. I know
that as soon as we hit the bends to get us up the hill they will
slow down. As long as I can keep close behind them I should be ok.
I feel the rush as I gather speed. My hair flies behind me and I
can feel the wind whipping across my face. I feel so exhilarated
and alive and push myself and my bike to the limit. I feel its
power beneath me and channel all of my energy into it. It is as
though the bike and I are one and the same. We have merged into one
entity and I have never felt so powerful. We get to the bends and
as I thought they start to slow down. The problem will be getting
past them and I know that they will try and stop that from
happening. I have never ridden so fast before in my life and far
from feeling afraid it feeds my obsession. This is what I love; if
I could ride all day I would. We get nearer home and I know that
the only chance I have will be on the final bend. If I can pull
level with them I will have the advantage. The trouble is if
anything is coming the other way I wouldn't stand a chance. I can
see the final bend ahead of me and push closer. As Marius slows
down in front of me I sprint past him. Ash then does the same and I
take him too. That just leaves Caleb and I sit right on his tail. I
can see the house in the distance and know that if I am to make my
move then it must be now. However I see a movement in the trees
ahead and realise that it may be an animal that may run out. I err
on the side of caution and keep close behind Caleb. Today is not
the day to prove my point. I need him to win for the greater good.
He reaches the driveway half a tyre in front of me and spins his
bike to a stop. I follow suit as do my brothers and we all sit
grinning at each other. Caleb looks at me triumphantly. "Good
effort Sis but it will take a lot to beat me. Now I think you owe
me something." Raising my eyes up I reach inside my bag for a $100
bill. "Here you go Caleb; you won this fair and square." I toss him
the money and the others laugh as he holds it above his head like a
trophy. We all put our bikes away and I see Marius and Ash head off
inside. Hanging back I look at Caleb thoughtfully. He looks at me
and raises his eyes. "What?" Shrugging I reach back inside my bag
and withdraw another $100 bill. "You have connections don't you
Caleb?" He looks surprised. "What sort of connections?" Looking
around me I lower my voice. "I want you to place a bet for me on
the fight. I can't because I'm too young but you must know who to
go to so I wondered if you could do it for me." He smirks at me.
"Well well who'd have thought our little sis was into gambling.
What do you want?" Looking at him seriously I say, "I want you to
bet all of this on Dylan knocking Marius out in the first round."
Caleb looks astonished. "You really do like to lose your money not
to mention going against your own family. Do you have a death wish
or something?" I shrug. "Look the odds are sure to be long and I
might just know something that you don't know. That's all I'm
saying ok?" Caleb narrows his eyes. "If you know something then you
better spill or I'll beat it out of you." My eyes flash and I look
at him with a sneer. "All I know is that anything can happen in a
fight. Sometimes it's worth taking a chance on something that may
give you great rewards. We all know that Marius can beat Dylan with
his hands tied behind his back, but sometimes strange things happen
and that is what I am betting on." Caleb shrugs and pockets the
money. "And there I was thinking you weren't so stupid after all.
Well how wrong was I? Oh well it's your money to throw away so what
do I care." He storms off and I watch him go with relief. I don't
really think that Dylan stands a hope in hell of landing even one
punch on Marius let alone a knock out one. No