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Mouse feigned a wounded expression. “Surely you’re not talking about me.”
“You’re just the fellow he’s talking about,” Grant agreed as he folded his arms over his chest. “But it wouldn’t be a bad idea for those people who arelesslikely to end their journey on the outside of their thunder.”
“I haven’t done that!” Mouse protested.
“What about that time on the Enastros Tract?” Chase reminded him.
“Or that time on the edges of the Werewald where you were almost eaten alive by a werewolf?” Grant added.
“She was just trying to give me a kiss after I, um, left my thunder prematurely,” Mouse protested.
“She was trying to kiss your face right off,” Chase quipped.
“Gentlemen, if you are finished I would like to test this wonderful machine,” Ben spoke up.
Chase patted the nose of the thunder. “Ready whenever you are.”
“Wait a minute,” Mouse chimed in as he rummaged through his pocket. After a moment he drew out a small bit of well-rubbed wood which he held out to us. “You might need this.”
Grant rolled his eyes. “Not another one of yourstupidcharms.”
“It got you through that race yesterday, didn’t it?” Mouse countered as he handed it to me.
“That was my expert driving skills in action,” Grant protested.
While they continued their bickering, I studied the little piece of driftwood. The stick was some four inches long and had a few holes in the top that made it look like it had eyes. “How can you tell these are lucky?”
“Because it was smiling at me while it was rolling around in the waves along the coast south of here,” Mouse told me, earning him a roll of the eyes from his compatriots. “So I stuck it in my pocket and have been carrying it around ever since.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “How long has that been for?”
“The better part of twenty years.”
“And it hasn’t done a damn thing for your driving,” Grant quipped.
Mouse stretched out his arms on either side of him and grinned. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”
Chase lifted his eyes to the lightening sky and furrowed his brow. “None of us should be here for very long. Not if we don’t want to be late for the morning meeting.”
Grant groaned. “But it’s such a waste of time. All they do is talk about the rules we already know about and the layout of the track, which we also already know about.”
“We have to attend these things, you goon,” Chase scolded him. “If we don’t go we’ll be considered forfeiting our spot in the race.”
“And on that cheerful note, we should head out,” Mouse added as he grinned at Ben and me. “Good luck with your fun today.”
“And good luck to you on the race,” Ben returned.
Mouse patted his pocket. “Thanks for that, but nothing’s going to go wrong with all the luck I have here in my pocket.”
Grant rolled his eyes as he grabbed the back of Mouse’s collar and dragged him off. “Come on.”
The trio soon drove off, disappearing into the distance in their thundering thunder. Their noise had barely faded into the background when Ben turned to me. “Are you ready for our own adventure?”
I eyed the machine with a little apprehension. “Do you think it’s safe? I mean, the people who built it are a little, um-”
“Eccentric?” he suggested.
I snorted. “I was going to say a little nuts, but that will work, too.”
