Tragedy on the Track

The ride down the track only took a few minutes, but to Asuka, it felt like hours. After Steeltrap broke his bindings, and started going crazy, Ruby hopped into the back of the EMS SUV, and insisted they get back down the track. At first, the driver was confused, but when he noticed what was going on through the live feed inside the SUV, they took off. The scene has been playing in Asuka's head, ever since it happened. Nar hops up onto a railing. Steeltrap sprays acid ahead. The railing snaps, and her brother tumbles over the edge, into the trees, and out of sight. With the height, and speed he fell, there's little chance Nar managed to survive the fall. Even if the tree branches broke his fall without causing serious damage, the footage of the ground below showed a jagged rock face. No doubt Nar would have been impaled if he hadn't managed to land in a tree somewhere. It almost feels unreal to Asuka. She, and thousands of other people, may have just watch her brother die, on live TV. Ruby has had her pulled closely into a side hug ever since it happened. She tries her best to console Asuka, but the shock of what happened is making it hard for Asuka to focus on anything else. She thinks she hears Ruby say things like "I'm so sorry", and "I shouldn't have agreed to this." As if she were blaming herself for what happened. When the SUV comes to a stop, Asuka's brain goes into crisis mode. She hops out of the SUV with her medical satchel, and hurries over to the grouping of trees Nar fell into. She can see Juno on the other side of the railing, searching through the trees as he continuously shouts. "Nar! Can you hear me?! Say something! This isn't funny man!" From behind the railing Ryuji also calls out. "Hey! Wake up dude! Yell! Shake a branch! Let us know where you are!" "Hey, what's that? In the branches up there?" The driver points up to a particular branch in one of the trees from behind Asuka. Everyone's attention then turns towards the branch he's pointing to. Asuka spots it in second. The tattered, bloody remains of the bright yellow Hawaiian shirt Nar always wore. She hears Ruby gasp a quiet "Oh no" next to her, before she's pulled into a tight hug. "Don't look." Ruby croaks into Asuka's ear, over, and over. "Don't look. Please, don't look." It doesn't work. Asuka's eyes remain fixed on the shirt. Tears begin to stream from her eyes, flowing freely, and in mass. Her mouth hangs open, but no words come out. Only quiet, choking gasps. The whole world seems to stop. Forget the race. Forget the battle of the bands. Forget everything else. Her brother is dead. It seems Nar's prayer was never heard.  #rp