The sun hangs in the west on the first warm day of spring outside Serenity as an anxious sixteen year old Jared Tharp check over his car one last time. The boys have gathered on this deserted stretch of highway to begin their spring ritual of racing. Jared feels his nerves on edge as he has snuck his father's 1967 Shelby out to kick off spring. He wanted to bring his 1968 Charger with him today, but a piston had cracked a few weeks before so he figured settle for his father's car since his parents had run into Wullerton for the afternoon. As he makes the last minute checks, the warm and caring arms of his long-time girlfriend Liz Evans wrap around his waist as she tries one last time to convince him to change his mind.
"You know if Papa Tom finds out you did this, he's going to kick your ass all over that farm, right? I've kinda grown attached to you over the years and don't wanna lose you so brutally." Liz gives a nervous snicker as Jared slowly turns in her arms wrapping his own around her before a quick kiss.
"Guess you better root for me to not screw up then, babe. And before you ask again, no you are not riding with me this time. I never like you riding with me anyways, but this time I don't need to worry about two things." Jared smiles as he pushes her long blonde hair back from her face as the Nevada winds begin to pick up as one of the early spring thunderstorms begins to pick up steam.
"If you hate me riding with you, why do you always let me?" Her question bring a smile to his face as he hugs her close to him.
"I still haven't figured out how to say no to you. Don't worry about it, everything will be okay. I promise." His smile reassures Liz as she gives him one last hug before he goes over to meet his first challenger of spring. Timmy Milliner has always been sort of an outcast to every one, but he hopes to change that with the joining of the street racing. Jared walks over to talk a bit before they run and check out his 1971 Camaro, the body of which is very rough outside but under the hood rests a customized 350 from hell. Jared admires the detail Timmy has put into the care of this engine and hopes he can possibly help him with his own car. The two spend a few minutes on casual talk as they await their turn to run as Jared quickly discovers this "weird boy" as everyone describes him is a pretty decent kid.
Race time comes as Jared gives Liz one last kiss for luck as the two boys start their engines and move into racing position. Both give a few pumps of gas revving at each other while they await the signal to go. Jared gives a slight wink towards Timmy and mouths the words "Good luck", prompting Timmy to smile and nod. Jared blows one last kiss to Liz as the flagger steps into position.
Engines rev and echo across the flat grounds as the flag comes down and rubber smokes as the two boys take off running down the road. As they run, they can see each other from the corners of their eyes almost shifting gears in unison as the two remain dead even. Reaching to 75mph mark, both settle in for a hard pressed run as the two fly down the road in a hard fought shot to take a lead.
A quick boom sends the front of the Shelby sightly out of control as the front tire blows out. The sound panics Timmy as he veers slightly to the left as Jared loses control slamming into the side of the Camaro as the rear end slides around and the angle sends the Shelby into a flip. Jared braces for impact thinking about what his father will do to him, but the thought is driven away as the car flips onto it's roof and the jar of the flip throws Jared to the side as his arm flops out the window and his hands is quickly pinned under the now sliding car.
Jared screams as he feels the bones in his hand slowly crack and break as the force of the slide drags him further down until his forearm breaks under the pressure and a feeling he can only describe as fire runs across the skin. He is soon yanked up through his belt against the roof of the car as his shoulder is at the top of the window as the upper arm snaps, a feeling already familiar to him and drowned out in his mine by the popping in his arm he knows are tendons ripping loose from the pressure. As a pitcher on the high school baseball team, he knows the feeling of a pulled tendon and this pain is magnified tenfold.
Everything around Jared begins to blur as he becomes numb to the feeling of his arm being ripped to shreds under the weight of the sliding car, but he knows the popping feeling of muscles pulled to tightly as he begins to feel consciousness slip away. The near eternity of pain he feels last a mere ten seconds before he blacks out as the car continues to slide.
At one point, Jared swears he awakens to a darker, rain filled sky as paramedics and emergency responders try to lift the car enough to remove him and his arm. Out from the responders, he sees Liz as her mother Maggie holds her while Tom and Linda Tharp fight to get closer to check on their son. As they remove him from the car, he begins to believe he imagined the pain he endured when he realizes he feels nothing as they adjust his arm onto the gurney to strap and load him into the ambulance. The last image he sees before the doors close is the face of his father and the fear that is frozen onto his face, it will be the last thing he sees for the next eight days.
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