Chapter Text
It was a cold night in Minneapolis. The harsh January air bit at the skin of any soul unfortunate enough to be outside for more than a few minutes. And yet, a crowd of people lined up just outside the US Bank Stadium despite the cold, impatiently waiting to get in. The crowds around the stadium were usually a wave of purple and gold, but tonight it wasn’t fans of the Minnesota Vikings who were showing up. No, this was the once-a-year event that attracted a much different crowd.
A thick layer of packed dirt covered the stadium grounds. Towards one end of the stadium was a raised platform with ramps approaching it at every angle. On the other side was a school bus half buried underneath dirt ramps on either side of it. White lines were painted on the ground just outside of the two obstacles, forming a rudimentary track. The track had two small humps in them, just enough that if a vehicle ran over them with enough speed, it would get a little bit of air time. And finally, sitting on the very outer edge of the stadium was a covered trench box with, you guessed it, a ramp going up halfway and leaving the top of the container exposed.
Everything still looked neat and pristine, but over the course of the next few hours, it would be ravaged and destroyed by the power of twelve screaming monster trucks using it as their playground. And the queen of this playground was a young woman named Amity Blight, though her appearance usually gave no hint that she had dedicated her career to the most redneck sport known to man. She was tall and pale, with wide hips, broad shoulders, and mint green hair tied into a half ponytail that descended just past her shoulders. Bold, winged eyeliner only served to accentuate the smug and aloof expression she always wore.
Currently, Amity was making her way towards her throne: the driver’s seat of her truck, Abomination. Or at least she was trying to head over there until she felt someone nearly crash into her. She stumbled and spun to face whoever it was that had the audacity to dare and run into her. “Hey, watch it, nitwit!” She snapped, getting a look at her assailant. In the dim lighting backstage, she couldn’t gather many details, but it was a young woman, probably about Amity’s age, with light brown skin and dark hair pulled into a low ponytail. She had on a white and indigo race suit, contrasting strongly with Amity’s own black and purple one.
“Sorry,” the woman said sheepishly. “I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going. I got way too wrapped up in a conversation with Eda and I was trying to get back to my truck and-”
“Sounds about right for the Owl Lady. I’ve never met someone who loves the sound of her own voice that much,” Amity remarked coldly. She glanced down, trying to figure out what truck this woman was even driving. Across the front of her suit was a name Amity had seen several times, but never before on a monster truck.
“The Good Witch Azura? They made a truck for that kid’s book ?” She scoffed.
“Hey!” The woman shot back, “Good Witch Azura is a fantastic series and there’s nothing else I’d rather be driv-”
“Whatever,” Amity interjected. “I really don’t have time for this. I have an event to win.” She began walking off before adding, with venom dripping in her voice, “Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”
The woman said something, but Amity paid her no more attention and hurried over to Abomination, throwing her helmet on as she did. She ducked under the bright purple body of the truck and climbed up the intricate web of steel tubing that made up the truck’s chassis. While she was just getting the five-point harness over her shoulders, other trucks were already beginning to fire up. By the time she was all fastened in and had the truck ready, a couple of her opponents were already lined up at the tunnel entrance.
The sound of a monster truck idling wasn’t that loud, not usually, but when twelve were packed into a tiny room with concrete walls that the sound bounced right off of, the noise was deafening. And while there was a certain pride that came with driving the most iconic truck out there, being the very last truck out of the tunnel wasn’t always the most fun. In the distance, Amity could hear the muffled voice of one of the announcers welcoming the crowd to tonight’s event.
Not long after, she heard the roar of an engine as Stone Sleeper went barreling out of the tunnel. A few seconds later, the Golden Guard followed suit, and so it went as the rest of the trucks made their entrance. The number of trucks backstage dwindled down until finally, Eda Clawthorne was blasting Hooty out of the tunnel and Amity was alone. She lined herself up with the tunnel and waited for her signal to come. The stadium went quiet, and the twenty-two-year-old readied herself for her entrance.
On the loudspeakers, Amity could hear the beginning of a Poison song and the announcer building up hype for her. “Celebrating thirty years and still having nothing but a good time, the Purple Punisher, the Killer Queen and her Wrecking Machine, your two-time World Finals Champion, Amityyyyyy Bliiiiight!”
Amity floored the pedal and shot her way out onto the track as the chorus of the song blared out. The other trucks were parked around the edge of the arena, giving her plenty of space to run a lap around the track. She hit the jump at full speed, quickly tapping the throttle a few times to rev her engine while she soared through the air. The ground came up quickly, and Amity landed with a thud before pulling into a tight corner, cutting her way into the middle of the arena, driving up the ramp of the pod, and coming to a stop at the top of it so that the people in the audience could get a good look at the truck most of them had come to see.
Abomination was one of the most easily recognizable monster trucks out there. The truck had the rough silhouette of a hatchback, but the body crews had put plenty of time into giving the truck several bubbles, boils, and ridges that looked like trails of purple sludge dripping down, as well as painting several shades of purple trickling down it to give the truck its signature appearance of actually looking like some kind of sludge abomination. Two sunken eye sockets sat where the headlights on a normal car would go, with bright green lamps shining out of them, and the grill was the unholy mouth of the monster: a gaping maw with more goop dripping from its upper lip.
The crowd applauded her entrance, and as the applause died down she and the rest of the trucks, save for the first two to race, made their way over to the sidelines and parked where they wouldn’t be in the way of the racers. Amity looked up at the screen to take a look at the bracket for tonight. It looked like she, Hooty, Belos, and Warden Wrath had a first-round bye, meaning her first race would already be the quarterfinals. Knowing that she had a fair bit of time before she was up, Amity climbed out of her truck and took a seat on the hood to get a better view of the races.
All in all, the first round of races was nothing too crazy. Amity was surprised to see that the Good Witch Azura truck had managed to beat Gillette Razor’s Edge, but Adrian Graye was so often more concerned with being a diva than an actual driver that Amity wasn’t surprised that even a rookie could beat him. Amity found herself hoping she’d get the chance to go up against this new driver and show her what an actually competent racer could do; Azura would be left in the dust
As Good Witch Azura pulled back into its parking spot, Amity took a closer look at it. The body was a standard pickup truck with a simple paint job that matched the titular character’s robes: white on the top and indigo on the bottom, with a golden stripe separating the two colors. A banner popped out of the side of the truck with the name written across in large, bold handwriting, just like it was on the cover of each of the books. But the most striking feature of the truck was that bolted onto the roll cage was a giant felt hat, just like Azura’s. The whole truck really was true to the spirit of the character, and even though Amity tried not to let people know that the series had been a guilty pleasure of hers since she was younger, she could still appreciate the attention to detail that had gone into it.
Victorian Vengeance and Stone Sleeper were next, and while the race was far from flashy, Amity still made sure to pay attention, as she’d be up against the winner of this race in the quarterfinals. Stone Sleeper managed to edge out an early lead and kept it for the whole race, finishing almost a whole second before Victorian Vengeance. And then the first round was over.
The first couple of races in the quarterfinals came and went with little fanfare as Hooty and Triclops easily won their races against Golden Guard and Belos. As the third race came up, Amity clambered back into her truck and secured the five-point harness around her body, holding her tight against the seat of the truck as she watched Warden Wrath and Good Witch Azura take their spots at the starting line.
Amity watched with mild amusement as Warden Wrath landed his jump out of the first curve cockeyed and flipped over a few times, giving Good Witch Azura an easy win. Rutherford Rath was always putting up big talk; it made watching him lose so handily much more funny. And to top things off, it looked like Amity was going to get her wish. She was going to be the one to end this new driver’s streak of beginner’s luck.
But first, she had one small obstacle in her way: Stone Sleeper. Amity fired up Abomination, pulled out of the pit, and drove up to her starting line. On the other side of the arena, Bria was doing the same in her truck. From the plexiglass in front of the pedals, she could see almost directly below her, and she lined her front tires up with the starting line before coming to a stop and focusing her attention on the starting light in front of her. One hand gripped her steering wheel and the other the gear shifter, and her foot hovered just over the gas pedal.
Seconds later, the light turned green, and she was off, hitting the jump with her foot on the floor. She landed solidly on all four tires and quickly hit the brakes in preparation for the first turn. As she entered the corner, she hit the gas again, turning the wheel and flicking the switch for her rear-wheel steering to give her the tightest turn she could. She flew through the corner, going ever so slightly into a powerslide as she crossed the apex of the curve.
Amity quickly shifted her focus into straightening out and lining herself up for the second jump that was rapidly approaching her, making a quick glance toward the other side of the track. The dark blue truck was still trying to get out of the curve while Amity was already flooring it towards the jump. As she hit the air, Amity decided to show off a bit and feathered the gas pedal to rev the engine in midair. She hit the ground practically on the other side of the arena and quickly adjusted herself for the second curve.
Amity cut through the turn with a practiced precision that few other drivers possessed, and none of those that did were anywhere near as young as her. But when your father was the man who basically invented monster trucks and had already been racing for years when you were born, you get a pretty good headstart on driving. Amity was doing donuts in her backyard in Abomination when her classmates were just starting to take Driver’s Ed.
As she cleared the final corner and hit the final jump, Amity glanced over to see that her lead against Stone Sleeper had widened even further. Bria had put down a good run, but she really had no chance of winning from the start. Amity had no time to celebrate her win though. Hooty and Triclops were already pulling out, and she had to hurry with Stone Sleeper back to the pit so that they could stay out of the way of the next race. She parked right near the edge of the pit, making sure to grab a spot where she could still study the movements of both drivers; neither one was a threat to be ignored.
The old Owl Lady may have been eccentric, but she was also the most decorated driver to ever get behind the wheel of a monster truck. She’d already won more championships than Amity’s dad when he retired, and she was still going strong in Hooty today. Boscha Stryder, on the other hand, was about Amity’s age, and while she hadn’t been driving for quite as long as Amity, she was still fiercely competitive. Either one of them could be a challenge for Amity, and she wanted to know which kind of threat she’d be dealing with once she stomped Good Witch Azura.
The two trucks lined up at their starting lines, and when the lights went green they rushed forward, both of their front ends lifting up off the ground ever so slightly as the 1500 horsepower engines screamed out. They both quickly reached the first corner, with Hooty braking just a little bit earlier than triclops. Eda was always going on about how the owl-like wings on the side of Hooty weren’t just for show, and as she flew through the corner, Amity almost wanted to believe that they did give her truck some sort of advantage.
She looked over to the other side of the track, and Boscha had very clearly turned a bit too late. She was on two wheels, just barely staying upright and eating up precious seconds in the first curve. By the time she got to the straightaway, Eda was already hitting the jump in the center of the track, and Amity knew that it was over for Boscha. Thankfully, the races were short, and it wasn’t long before Eda had made her way around the second corner and handily won the race.
Amity made her way back out onto the track with Good Witch Azura trailing right behind her on the way out. They quickly split up and headed to opposite sides of the track before taking their place at the start. Still riding high from her easy win over Stone Sleeper, Amity decided to give the crowd a tease and rev her engine a few times. She was rewarded with applause and cheers and gave a little wave out her window towards the seats just to her right. But then, on the other end of the stadium, Azura revved her own engine.
Amity scowled. What, did this rookie who couldn’t even find her own truck backstage think that just because she’d won against a man that spent more time in his dressing room than in his truck and someone who crashed his truck think she had any chance against Abomination? Amity couldn’t wait to put this girl in her place.
The lights turned green and Amity once again was off, effortlessly landing her jump and sliding smoothly into the first corner. When she came out of the turn she saw her opponent was actually managing to keep pace with her, but Amity wasn’t too worried. She still had this in the bag. She blasted through the straightaway and kept tight against the corner before gunning it out towards the last jump. Good Witch Azura was still keeping pace with her, but as Amity soared over the ramp one more time, she felt confident that she had still crossed the finish line first.
Amity skidded to a stop as soon as she landed before ripping off her helmet and climbing out the side of the truck to see the results. When she looked up at the screen, she saw that they were playing the replay in slow motion, and she was admittedly a little surprised that the rookie had managed to come close enough to get a photo finish. But as she watched the replay, her expression shifted from smug satisfaction to horrified shock as the two trucks inched closer to the finish line frame by frame, until the screen finally paused where the first set of tires crossed the line.
They were Good Witch Azura’s.
Amity couldn’t believe what she was seeing. How had she lost to a rookie? She fumed as she slunk back into her truck and pulled it into the pit, Hooty coming out to replace her. She didn’t even bother getting out of her truck once she’d parked. Most likely her dad, or worse, her mom would be coming down to the pit to ask what had happened out there, and she really was not in the mood to explain her failure. She had put down an absolutely fantastic run, even better than her first one against Bria, but that wouldn’t matter to them. She still lost to the rookie.
Although it looked like she wouldn’t be the only seasoned driver losing to her tonight. Amity looked up to the race in front of her, and it seemed like Hooty had hit a rough patch of dirt and nearly wiped out, and now the Owl Lady was struggling to even stay on the track. Meanwhile, Azura was having the time of her life, powering through the track like it was nobody’s business. There was no question about this race; it belonged to the Good Witch.
And soon enough, Skara Jubal was on the ground, rushing up to the truck that should have been Abomination, and announcing, “Let’s give a big round of applause for tonight’s Racing Championship Winner: Luz Noceda in the Good Witch Azura!” Huh, so that was the rookie’s name. Amity had never even heard of her before, and now she was even more shocked that such a nobody could win the race tournament right off the bat like that.
Skara began to interview Luz, congratulating her on winning her first-ever Monster Truck Mayhem races and asking her the usual questions, but Amity could not be bothered to care. She slipped out of her truck, hoping to get some time to herself during the intermission, but unfortunately, she was interrupted by the presence of her father waiting just next to the truck.
Alador Blight was everything you’d expect the man who’d basically invented the monster truck to be. He was tall and scruffy, with an ever so slight pudge and messy, auburn hair; the same color as Amity’s roots. A barely kept beard lined his jaw, and more often than not grease marks smeared his face and hands. The sleeves of his Abomination crew jersey were rolled up, and he stood with a tired slouch.
For most of Amity’s life, he had made his living behind the wheel of Abomination, but despite being such a massive name in the monster truck world, at home he talked constantly about how he was tired of racing and just wanted to work on the truck. So when a young Amity told him she wanted to be a driver herself someday, an easy solution presented itself. He began training her on their property, and when he felt she was ready, Alador announced that he was retiring as a driver and moving over to being the crew chief for his daughter, who would take his place as the driver of Abomination.
“I saw your races. You did well tonight,” he said matter-of-factly, which was about the closest Amity would usually get to a compliment.
“Not well enough for Mom,” she shot back.
Alador put a hand on Amity’s shoulder. “Your mother only wants the best for you,” he said. “I know she can be a bit much at times, but that’s just how she’s always been. She wants to see you be the best person you can be.”
“I know,” Amity admitted, “and I’ll make up for it later tonight. I can still turn things around and win tonight. I just gotta do well in the next two competitions.” Monster Truck Mayhem events were split into three sections: racing, skills, and freestyle, with drivers being awarded points based on their performance in each competition. At the end of the night, whoever had the most points across all three competitions was the winner of the event. Amity had at least made it to the semifinals in the races, and she was much more confident in her abilities for the next two competitions anyways.
“I look forward to seeing your performance. You’ve got this, Mittens,” Alador smiled, and Amity forced herself to give him one in return. She thanked him before heading off to find somewhere she could be alone with her thoughts for a bit. When she got backstage, away from everyone else, she took a deep breath to mute her thoughts. It had sort of become a ritual she’d go through whenever she knew her performance wouldn’t live up to her mother’s standards. She scanned the backstage area, trying to remember where her usual hiding spot in Minneapolis was, but before she could find it, Amity heard the door backstage swing open.
“Hey, Amity!” A voice called out. Amity spun her head in the direction of the voice and groaned. It was the driver of Good Witch Azura, probably here to rub in her victory. Amity groaned as Luz approached her
“Ugh, what do you want, rookie?” Amity asked, rolling her eyes.
“I just wanted to thank you for giving me such a good race! I was a mechanic for Hooty for a while, and I always thought you were a great driver, and it was so cool getting to actually race against you! You were great out there!” She approached Amity as she spoke, a wide grin across her face, and in the properly lit hallway, Amity was able to get a closer look at her features. She had a soft, round face and dark brown eyes with a small scar on the far edge of her left eyebrow and messy, curly hair that was only barely contained by her ponytail.
And Amity would never admit this to anyone, but her first thought upon getting a better look was that nobody this annoying should be this pretty.
“Look, I’m not here to be some kind of wish fulfillment for some grease monkey that somehow managed to luck their way into getting behind the wheel of some cash-grab truck that probably won’t be around in a year. You wanna brag about beating someone, then go back to Eda and tell her about how you’re already so much better than her. I have an event to win.” And for the second time tonight, she stormed off away from Luz. Thankfully this time, she didn’t hear Luz try to keep talking to her.
Realizing that she was probably doomed to be interrupted wherever she went, Amity decided to just give up and head back to Abomination. When she got back into the arena, she was greeted by the whining sound of several two-stroke engines. The quad races were a common way to keep the crowd entertained during intermission, and Amity did get a slight kick out of seeing such tiny little vehicles racing on a track designed for trucks that utterly dwarfed them. She went over to Abomination and leaned up against the massive, six-foot-tall tire before pulling out her phone and scrolling through her Instagram.
Or at least she tried to, before another, somehow more annoying person made her entrance.
“Wow, Blight,” came the nasally voice of Boscha Stryder. Amity had known her since high school, where they’d mostly been friends out of circumstance; their parents were friends and they were both on the school’s rugby team for a time. When she graduated and took over driving Abomination full time, Amity was all too happy to let Boscha fade away, but, because nice things don’t exist, the other girl just had to show up a few years later with a truck of her own.
Amity really couldn’t catch a break tonight, could she? She tried to ignore the other driver, but then Boscha remarked, “I didn’t know you were just handing out wins to newbies now. Or is it only for the ones that are pretty?”
Amity fumed, and she could feel that she was probably going beet red in frustration. She quipped back, “wasn’t my time still like 3 seconds faster than yours? And didn’t you lose to the weird old lady who… fries up owls? Okay, I don’t entirely know what she does, but it’s weird!”
“Wait, do you not know why the person who drives a truck that looks like an Owl is called the Owl Lady?" Boscha asked.
"I don't have time to pay attention to why everyone gets their nicknames! This isn't some social gathering, this is my career that's on the line. I have events to win.”
"Well you just lost to the girl who definitely seems to think this is some kind of party, so what does that say about you?” Boscha poked a thumb behind her towards Hooty, and sure enough, Amity could see Luz talking with the Owl Lady. She cast a glance towards Abomination and looked… almost sad. Amity quickly looked away.
“It’s nothing. She had a lucky break. I’ll still win tonight overall,” Amity was quick to explain.
“Whatever,” Boscha shrugged and began walking away. “Good luck convincing yourself that you’re hot shit because your daddy is some big deal or something.”
Amity stood there, clenching her jaw and stewing over having to deal with both Luz and Boscha. She was so furious that she didn’t realize that she had stopped breathing, and she let out a sudden exhale. I really gotta stop doing that. I almost passed out there , she thought, and she focused on trying to calm herself down so she’d be ready for the skills challenge. Unfortunately, it was not to be. From not too far away, Amity heard the only two voices that could ever hope to be more annoying than Luz or Boscha.
“Hey, Mittens!” Her older twin siblings, Edric and Emira, called out. Amity turned to face them and pinched her furrowed brow.
“What do you two want now?” She growled.
“Woah, easy there,” Edric chuckled, holding up his hands and motioning for Amity to calm down.
“We just wanted to let you know that Mom wants to talk to you at the next intermission. She’s up in her suite,” Emira said.
“Of course she does,” Amity grumbled.
“Well hey, maybe next time don’t lose to someone who’s never actually been in a race before?” Edric offered.
“That’s it. Get. Out. Now, ” Amity snarled, and the twins started backing off.
“Okay, jeez, we’ll leave you alone,” Emira said, and as they were leaving she had the audacity to shout, “Good luck Mittens!” As soon as they were gone, Amity fell back against the side of Abomination. Was the world out to get her tonight or something? Between Luz, Boscha, and the Twins, her patience was stretched way too thin to focus on the tight, technical stunts she’d need to pull off for the skills challenge. And the looming dread of having to speak to her mother afterward was not helping with that.
Amity took a deep breath and tried to focus on calming down. She climbed back up into Abomination and sat in the custom-built seat. Each seat was molded to fit its driver’s form precisely, and while it was certainly a snug fit, Amity found it strangely comforting. Between her helmet, the neck braces, and the five-point harness pinning her to her seat, Amity could barely move anything besides her arms and legs when she was behind the wheel. But oddly enough, it was when she was so restrained that she felt truly free.
When she was behind the wheel of her truck, Amity was one with it. Normally, she was just a woman. A woman who was constantly standing in the shadow of her father, and whose accomplishments always seemed to fall just short of her mother’s expectations. But when she was locked into that seat? She was Abomination: The monster truck that put butts in seats, that was known to everyone. F rom the most die-hard monster truck fan to the people that thought that all she did was crush cars in a big truck, they all knew her truck, and they all remembered her name.
The quads were filing off of the track, and Amity could hear Gus Porter telling the crowd to give it up for the racers over the loudspeaker. A round of applause reverberated throughout the stadium, and when it finally died down, Gus said the words that Amity had been waiting for.
“Now, who’s ready to see our drivers take on the Two Wheel Skills challenge?” It was time to show the crowd exactly why Abomination was such a legend.