I shook my head as he talked to Marco. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was he actually planning on racing? Marco went on to explain that they’d closed the track for a while after his crash, but the cars had started running again. Even so no one was faster than Dyson, not even Gunter.

Dyson dropped his head into the pillow, smiling in silence.

“You’re not really going to drive are you?” I asked.

Dyson rolled his head on the pillow and looked up at me. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, for starters, even if they clear you to leave the hospital, you’ve still got symptoms of a concussion. Those can take days, weeks or even months to fully present themselves.”

Dyson waved me off. Just then, the door to his room opened, and Darren appeared.

“I appreciate what you’re saying,” Dyson began, not breaking his gaze on me. “But if they cut me loose, I’m racing. Nothing is going to prevent it.”

“Don’t be so sure about that.” Darren said, walking inside the room and heading towards all of us.

Dyson shook his head and exhaled. “Don’t start, Darren. Really, I don’t even want to see you right now.”

Marco positioned himself between Dyson and Darren, extending one arm in Darren’s direction.

“Hey guys, not right now. Save it for the track.”

Darren glared at Marco but stopped walking.

“What did I tell you, Dyson?” Darren began, pointing at his driver. “I warned you about pushing it, and now look. Look at what you’ve done.”

Dyson pointed right back at him. “What you talking about? All I did was qualify in first place. That’s what I’m paid to do. Win. But, you wouldn’t know anything about that would you?”

“Watch it.” Darren snarled. “I’ve got the authority to suspend you, and you know it.”

“So go ahead and do it already, Darren!” Dyson exclaimed. “You keep threatening me with it, but you’re the same way as a manager that you were as a racer… no balls.”

Marco snapped his head in Dyson’s direction. “Hey Dyson, that’s enough.”

Darren looked at Dyson and shook his head. “Last warning. The next time you do anything like this, you’re off the team.”

With that, Darren turned and stormed out of Dyson’s hospital room. The door hissed closed behind him. Once it did, we all glanced at one another in silence.

AVA

As Dyson hoped, the doctors released him from the hospital and cleared him to drive. However, prior to his dismissal, Dr. Miller shared the results of Dyson’s concussion symptoms with me.

We agreed I would monitor him for any change over the next several days. He was clear about his concern Dyson be forced to abandon the race if any of the symptoms began to worsen. The morning of the race, Dyson’s family joined us in the team garage while the mechanics made last-minute adjustments to the car. After a bit of small talk, Dyson’s father brought up the subject of Darren and the fight they had in the hospital.

Dyson shrugged. “We worked it out. Everything is okay for now. We’ve agreed to just focus on the race.”

I frowned. Considering the way they’d been at each other’s throats, over the past week or so especially, the revelation caught me by surprise.

“So does that mean that you’re going to change the way you drive?” I asked.

Dyson stopped, turning to look at me before he replied. “What do you think?”

We all exchanged a series of uneasy glances with each other.

“What?” Dyson asked. He crossed his arms. “Look, I know you’re all worried, but I’m telling you, I’ve got it under control. What happened the other day was a fluke. There’s only one way to win out here, and I know better than anyone what that is.”

“I’m not trying to start a fight with you, Dyson.” I said.

He nodded. “That’s good, because that’s not something I need right now. The crash is a thing of the past. I’ve got a short memory.”

I decided to drop the subject and instead proceeded to check and make sure he wasn’t having any issues related to his concussion.

“Well,” I began, finishing up my brief examination a few minutes later. “You look to be okay right now. But remember, this type of injury can be tricky. If you have any problems at all, you’re going to have to come out of the race. It’s just too dangerous otherwise. Do you understand?”

“Yep,” he said, zipping up his fire suit. “I hear you loud and clear.”

Right around that time, Dyson’s family entered the garage and made their way towards us. We spent the next several minutes making small talk and wishing Dyson good luck. Afterward, his family made their way to the stands. Because of Dyson’s situation, Dieter and Darren insisted I remain with the team in the pits, in case something happened with him.

Within a couple of hours, the race was well underway. Although Gunter held the lead for most of the early laps, Dyson and Marco were right with him. However, after Dyson’s second pit stop, I happened to notice Darren once again showed frustration in the observation tower.

Over the next twenty minutes or so, Dyson began to fall further and further back, losing touch with the race leaders. Before long, he was outside of the top ten, then the top fifteen. By the time he’d dropped out of the top twenty, Darren was in a near rage.

He turned, and scanned the pits until our eyes met.

He motioned for me to approach the observation tower. I made my way to it, and after I climbed up, Darren gestured for me to lift my ear protection.

“Do you see what’s happening out there?” he yelled.

I nodded and yelled back at him, barely able to talk over the sound of the cars roaring past. “Yes. What’s wrong with him?”

“Dyson told me he’s having double vision and feeling disoriented.”

My stomach sank with those words.

There was little question the concussion was the underlying factor. My guess was that it wasn’t an issue until he was in a racing situation, where the stress was much higher.

Realizing instantly what needed to be done, I shook my head and leaned in towards Darren. “He needs to abandon! And he needs to do it right away!”

Visibly upset, Darren nodded his head in agreement. He turned away from me to give Dyson the news. I slipped the cup of the headphone back over the top of my ear. While I watched Darren talk over race radio, I noticed he began to shake his head back and forth, gesturing with his hands as well. Within a matter of seconds, he turned around towards me.

Darren made a motion with his hand for me to lift the headphones again. After I did, he leaned in to my ear.

“Dyson said he’s fine and that he’s not coming in!”

I shook my head, furious he’d disobeyed my order. After all, we’d agreed on it, and this was not a situation to take a chance on.

“You need to get him off the track, Darren!” I yelled.

I edged closer to Darren, trying to listen in to the conversation as best I could through the muted muffle of the headphones.

“Dyson, what the hell are you doing?” Darren exclaimed. “You know the deal with the doctors. Get out of there now!”

Darren went silent for a moment. The only sound I detected was the high-pitched whine of the engines roaring by in the background.

At last, he spoke again.

“No, you aren’t fine! Dyson… You’re not listening to me. Your judgment is impaired. You need to abandon the race!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Dyson was deliberately going back on his word, on what he’d promised me he’d do.

“Dyson, forget about Gunter and the points! If you don’t get off the track now, you could crash. Is that what you want?”

Chewing my lip, I crossed my arms at my chest.

“Dyson,” Darren began, waiting for him to respond. “Dyson… Dyson!”

Darren looked up for a few seconds before turning to face me. Dyson had turned off the radio. I didn’t even hear the background noise of the engines any longer.