The Two Hour Tunnel

Raedis and Traveler were headed for the wilds of a planet settled by humans generations before the time the pair were currently in.

They had rented themselves a fantastic vehicle. It was slight on space, but superior in speed. Traveler was behind the wheel. They were about to enter what was known as: 'The Two Hour Tunnel' because, that's how long it took to drive through it at the posted limit.

The Two Hour Tunnel was created as a shortcut under a chain of extremely high and rugged mountains.

So much so, that paving a road over them would have been impractical. These mountains divided the portion of the continent Traveler and Raedis were on. In their speedy vehicle, they were escaping from the bustle and noise of the populated side of said mountains, to the vast forrests and pastoral fields that lie on the other side. It was their red little rocket of a rental that was the reason for their hasty departure.

It seems Traveler's zesty driving style was not only unwelcome within the cities but, mostly illegal as they were currently being pursued by various municipal law enforcement agencies. This included a very irate traffic warden who was only collecting parking tolls from their street-side podiums. The passing parade of patrol vehicles scattered the poor person's pouch of parking tokens all over the street. The warden jumped into their little, electric, three wheel vehicle and joined in the chase as fast as the thing could go.

"If you're not allowed to drive fast around here then why rent this type of rad car!?" hollered Traveler over the sirens. He then made a series of turns through intersections until he found a side street that only a skilled racing driver could get through at speed. Traveler was such a driver and even a normally unflappable Raedis braced himself a few times before his friend found a path to the Tunnel Freeway.

"Holy shit, man..." he said and managed to peel his eyes from the oncoming road and look at his friend. Traveler smiled and upshifted.

"This little red bastard really moves, huh?"

He added a nonchalant chuckle to annoy Raedis.

"Just get us to the damned tunnel, man." he said and turned his bright eyes back to the windshield.

And get them to it, he did, in which all pursuit ceased and they entered the remarkable construction.

Traveler had no trouble switching the little sports car from lane to lane around traffic. The Tunnel had twelve lanes. Six lanes in each direction with a center divide containing control, monitoring facilities and emergency services. More of the same were built into the outer walls and overhead. Progress and speeds through the Two Hour Tunnel remained consistent and quick with very few disruptions, ever.

"Well, they aren't chasing us anymore. I suppose they won't chase us in this tunnel at the risk of accidents." Raedis said, looking behind them.

Traveler, with a wicked sneer, readjusted his grip on the steering wheel and really gave the little sports car the beans. It's mid mounted motor whined as Traveler raised the revs through its gears. Raedis simply drew his long legs up and laced his fingers together over his knees as he braced himself against Traveler's evasive maneuvers.

The contrast in demeanor was like a palpable divide between them. On one side, a giddy Traveler skated his way through traffic, grinning like a madman and in the passenger seat sat a gloomy Raedis. The robot appeared to be sulking. This could hardly escape the attention of his best friend. Raedis was usually a jovial sort. He was quick with a smile and quite literally could light up a room with his very presence. As the adrenaline rush through his system subsided and his hair stopped tingling, Traveler ventured a sideways glance over at his sullen passenger.

"What? What is it? Why do you look like someone just stole yer bike?" he asked his friend.

"What..., no, I'm fine. It's nothing." said Raedis. There was no lying to Traveler, though.

"Bullshit. We just pulled off a marvelous getaway..." he trailed off and narrowed his eyes at Raedis while darting them back and forth to the road. "Look, you know what I mean. Tell me what's bothering you or lighten up. You're starting to piss me off." Traveler scowled and returned his attention entirely to the road. After a pause long enough to almost press Traveler's patience button, Raedis spoke.

"There's no wonder in the universe. No true weirdness." he complained. Traveler's head darted back and forth between the road and his friend. Raedis could see Traveler's eyes, popped out in comic disbelief at what he was telling him, behind the tinted glass lenses the man was wearing. As they progressed, his aviators flashed to the beat of the the overhead panels of lights that lit the tunnel.

"Says the time traveling, racing chanpion, living machine from a mobile planet!" he scoffed. "Ppfff...get bent, Raedis." He sounded the car's horn to denote his disdain. The thing was pitched perfectly to punctuate Traveler's statement and he grinned savagely, lenses strobing to the Tunnel lights.

"You want weirdness, my friend? Well, you came to the right dude. Just remember, you asked for this. We got some work to do first. Like get out of this stupid tunnel."

Traveler continued his high speed maneuvers through traffic as his complex mind began to piece together a plan to bring Raedis out of his rut. When the little red rocket of the coupé reached the apex of a curve within the mighty tunnel, the first of its countermeasures against dangerous or speeding drivers was engaged. Traveler encountered it moments later.

Safely controlling a quickly moving river of metal traveling under a mountain is no small task, as any civil engineer would tell you and, many methods within this mighty construction were incorporated into its design to prevent vehicles from moving through The Tunnel precisely how Traveler was at this very point in time. Simply stopping a vehicle could not be done for obvious reasons. All penalties and fines were amassed electronically. Traveler, under the credentials he rented the car, was currently, electrictronically amassing a small fortune in fines. The Tunnel, meanwhile, was preparing to remove his vehicle entirely from the flow of traffic.

Personnel within The Tunnel complex took up positions beneath a section of roadway that, when activated, would drop down like a ramp as the red rental was routed to the spot. Traveler was aware of this. To avoid this trap he merely straddled lanes as often as possible.

The man had all the advantages and he knew it. Tunnel Authoriries would do nothing that would endanger the traffic flow. What they reckoned was they would simply apprehend him once he exits the grand thing. However, Traveler had wagered correctly on their countermeasures and was preparing himself for whatever lie in wait at the end of the Two Hour Tunnel.

Raedis, knowing the kind of racing driver his friend is, was at ease with Traveler's zesty driving. He reached out and switched on the car's excellent sound system. Fat beats began thumping from the tube that took up most of the room in the back of the machine. He turned it up as thick as he could make it.

The result of this was a frame rumbling pulse of beats and bass. Traveler's grin widened at the outstanding sounds. He eased a little more speed out of the engine.

Raedis studied the car's numerous displays and readouts.

"Damn, this little bastard sure lets you know what's going on with it. Individual tire pressure. The weights of the driver and passenger..."

He began turning dials, pressing areas on the displays and basically, heedless of their pursuers, was playing. Traveler would occasionally glance from the rapidly oncoming road, to see what Raedis was doing when it would effect the vehicle's behavior.

"Whoa! Do whatever you just did again!" hollered Traveler over the now thunderous bass. Raedis pressed a virtual button on one of the car's little screens. Traveler laughed in amusement.

"What does it do!?" yelled Raedis.

"It stiffens up the suspension! Check it out!" Traveler answered back and laced the car through a pattern of slower moving vehicles. His skills were enhanced by the excellent responsiveness of the sporty coupé. Raedis could feel what his friend was talking about with every maneuver. He laughed as they easily sped around another rad looking sports car. The driver of which appeared to take as a challenge.

The other driver positioned herself behind Traveler and flashed her brights at him before repositioning herself in the lane to his left. Traveler's already maniacal grin widened and he nosed the red car a bit ahead of his challenger. Her car was gold and flecked with sparkles. Raedis laughed.

"What a garish color." he said of the gold, flecked paint. He checked out the driver. The steering position of her vehicle was so that she and Raedis were across from one another.

"What's she look like?" Traveler asked. Raedis studied her profile as she rode beside them. The tunnel lights flashing her face as they raced.

"She has dark skin. Ooh, really excellent hair. She seems excited but confident and relaxed."

This was awesome because for the first time since his sour mood started, Raedis sounded excited about something.

"That'll never do. Hells bells, Trav, she might beat us out of the Tunnel!"

"She's not going to beat us out of the tunnel. It's good to see you enthused, however, Raedis!" Traveler said with great relief. "Hang on." he added. Raedis steadied himself by widening his stylishly booted feet and gripping the door handle.

Traveller glanced over at his rival in the gold car. He then downshifted and mashed the accelerator to the floor. The mostly motor, sports car sped ahead of its garish rival. Its electric motor screaming with RPMs before Traveler upshifted into top gear. He saw the headlights of the gold car in his rear view mirror, but only briefly as the woman repositioned herself to pass.

Other motorists were a fantastic challenge to race around, at first, but quickly became a dangerous nuisance as their competition grew more intense and their speeds higher but more eratic. The pair switched from lane to lane, flashing their brights to move slower cars from their path. As skillful a driver as Traveler was, he could not shake the woman in the gold car.

"We have got to meet this lady." said Raedis as they raced.

"We definitely will. We have reached the end of the Tunnel." Traveler said.

A small dot of daylight quickly grew into the hexangular exit/entrance to this end of the Two Hour Tunnel. Once again, side by side, Traveler said to Raedis: "Motion to her, she can pass."

Raedis caught her attention as Traveler slowed slightly. He extended his hand, indicating to her to take the lead and, with a brilliant smile, she graciously did. She cleared the amazing tunnel barely a carlength ahead of the two friends.

Immediately upon exiting the Two Hour Tunnel, one is bombarded by a skyscape of holographic and floating billboards for all manner of places to eat, rest, refuel and, if required, repair. However, these were somewhat washed out by the strobing lights of dozens of police vehicles both on the ground and in the air. Those were buzzing around the opening of that end of the Tunnel like angry wasps, red and blue lights flashing furiously.

Neither Traveler nor Raedis spoke as the woman in the gold flecked car positioned herself in front of the friends and flashed them her lights.

"Oh, I'll follow you, lady. You bet." Traveler said with a smile after her signal. As the Two Hour Tunnel ended, its lights began transitioning to match whatever the conditions were outside the Tunnel. In this instance, it was mid-day. The lights slowly transitioned to a miday brightness and the red rental carrying Traveler and Raedis blasted out, hot on the heels of the woman in the gold flecked car. The planet's Earthlike sun sent sparkles off the woman's car as it hit the light. The effect was very disco and both of the boys blinked. Raedis' bright eyes flickered briefly and Traveler pushed his aviator style sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, securely over his brown eyes.

He took a deep breath at the variety of law enforcement arrayed against them, but again, the woman in the gold flecked car still antagonized him enough to continue his speedy progress, now turned heated pursuit.

The cops had tried to close down as many lanes as they could in an attempt to funnel Traveler into their clutches but they still had to leve lanes open for traffic to pass. Traveler had no trouble slipping the tiny little rental through a gap in their trap.

Once two dozen or so cops were left dumbfounded by their failure to stop their quarry, Raedis looked behind them, out his window. Traveler could hear him laughing over all other noise.

"What is it?" Traveler asked.

"Our golden friend seems to have slipped that trap, too. I wanna meet her!" said Raedis upon ducking his head back into the car.

"Yes. As do I. There's a rest stop coming up. Let's go there. You ready for her?" Traveler asked. His dark lenses reflecting the bright and cloudless, azure sky stretched scross their windscreen. The weather on this side of the mountains was much more clement that their opposite, it seemed.

"Oh yeah." confirmed Raedis.

The woman in the gold car turned off the freeway to follow Traveler. They both parked in a more vacant section of a vast sea of tarmac that was the rest stop's lot. It was designed to accommodate all manner of vehicles from large, cargo hauling trucks to family sedans and vans. Both parties faced their cars nose to nose. The boys got out of theirs first and waited, leaning casually against the red rental.

The woman took her time egressing her garish vehicle, but when she did, Traveler and Raedis were impressed. Her car's 'scissor' style door slid open and out stepped a sleek woman about five and a half feet tall in the excellent sneakers she was wearing. They made for good driving shoes, Traveler observed. She was stylishly dressed yet nondescript.

She wore colors that Traveler would call, because that's where he's from, Earth tones. These consisted of form fitting, brown pants, and a dark green jacket, cut short, over a black tank top.

"Nice." thought the man.

She removed the mirrored slash of lens that were her sunglasses and smiled at the two. It was dazzling to the pair, as all her teeth were gold. The effect was perfect.

"What do yous two think you are? Racing drivers, or something? I'll tell ya's what. Ya need practice."

There was a pause as Traveler and Raedis looked to each other awkwardly then back to the woman. Raedis shrugged.

"Well, actually, miss... We are. I'm Raedis and this is Traveler. We're from the Flat Earth Racing team. We're here for the-"

"For the Gran Prix this weekend. I knew who yous are when I saw ya's! Silly boys. I'm Zoria."

She then walked over to them as they stood to greet her properly. Hands were shaken. After, she took her right hand and reached into the inside pocket of her jacket.

She slid out a palm sized, black wallet and flipped it open. An ornate, golden badge flashed in the brilliant sunlight. Raedis and Traveler looked at it, each other, then back to the woman.

"Detective Chief Inspector Zoria, that is, and you boys are in some very expensive trouble." She smiled a golden smile. It replaced her flashing badge as she put it back in her jacket. Traveler and Raedis looked dejected. "Aw, boys, boys... don't look sad. Did yous not have a fantastic time racing through our remarkable tunnel? Plus, you got to race me! Now, if you'll just turn around and place your hands on the hood of my vehicle, here..."

Traveler and Raedis did as they were told because, growing rapidly louder from the distance, was the cadre of law enforcement initially dispatched to apprehend them at the tunnel's end. "Now, for the good of you's both, let me do all the talkin'." said Zoria. The boys simply nodded in response. Within minutes of her saying this, two dozen police cars rolled up to where the trio were parked, surrounding them as a half as many small helicopter drones hovered above.

Two officers exited each car, using their doors as cover. Every single police officer present then leveled their weapons at Raedis and Traveler. Once their dominance in numbers and firepower had been established, a voice boomed over a loudspeaker to complete the trio of procedure.

"All three of you lay down on the ground, now! Arms and legs spread!" the officious voice demanded. Traveler, Raedis and Zoria all complied. Officers rushed to secure them. However, once they drew close enough to see who she was, the lead officer holstered his sidearm.

"Oh, hey D.C.I. Zoria. Sorry. We didn't know it was you." he said.

"I'm getting up now." Zoria said to her fellow officer, rather tersely. The officer hollered over his shoulder at the others.

"It's okay, everyone! It's Detective Chief Inspector Zoria!" He looked down at the two men. "Who are these dudes?" he asked her.

"A pair of speedsters I apprehended." she replied as she got to her feet and dusted off her dark, form fitting clothes. She was short but of solid, athletic build.

"Yeah. We tried to apprehend them within and then again outside the Tunnel." said the officer. He was young and this little traffic adventure had been the most exciting thing he'd experienced since joining the police force.

"Oh, you wouldn't have caught these fellas. This is Raedis and Traveler of the Flat Earth Racing Team."

The officer, who was also a racing fan, couldn't believe who his superior had pulled over.

"Oh wow!" the young officer said starstruck as he too recognized the racers. "Raedis and Traveler! Zoria! Do you know who these guys are?"

"I sure do. And, apparently they think our amazing tunnel is their own, personal racing track." said Zoria. Her identity now being fully established as a police officer. Be that as it may, her skills as a driver were impressive enough to give Traveler an idea. Hell, sure they were in some expensive trouble, but it was nothing they couldn't afford and this Zoria's driving skills were seriously competitive.

Traveler craned his neck up to look at Zoria.

"Say, Detective Cheif Inspector... Ever think about switching careers? I know being a cop is a calling but so is being a competitive racing driver and from where I'm standing, well, laying, I'm looking at a fiercesome competitor, right here.

As you may have surmised already, I'm Traveler and that's Raedis. We're the principal drivers of the-"

"Flat Earth Racing Team! I watch yous all the time!" Her excitement mounted as identification was exchanged and she unshackled the boys and stood them up. Once they were free to move, unrestrained, Traveler offered the cop his hand, unsure if they even shook hands on this world. But, as most of the population were humans from Traveler's homeworld, only separated by half a dozen generations, the time traveller knew how to get along with D.C.I. Zoria.

She clasped his hand with the eagerness of a fan, and after a vigorous shake, moved on to Raedis.

As she took his hand, Traveler lowered his aviators to catch Raedis' eyes. Raedis knew the look meant they could possibly use their popularity with this police woman to mitigate what was about to be a massive speeding ticket. He, like Traveler, turned up the charm.

"Officer Zoria, is it? That is certainly a speedy name. And your skills behind the wheel! Believe me, officer, Traveler is not easily apprehended..." he then trailed off, realizing bragging on his friend's behalf may be more harmful than helpful.

"You are Raedis. Principal driver of the Flat Earth Racing Team." She shot a sly glance at Traveler. "Perhaps had he been driving, you might have escaped me." Raedis laughed at this while Traveler grew annoyed.

"All right, all right...

Can we get down to business, here? I wanna know how much this little jaunt is gonna cost us." he said, anxious to get this over with. So much for attempting to talk their way to into less trouble. Raedis rolled his eyes but anticipated his friend's impatience and just let the man deal with the law. The other officer was dispatched by D.C.I. Zoria to ease down the multitude of police at the ready, awaiting any sort of clarification about the situation.

Zoria returned to her police persona. She drew a small, thin , rectangular screen from her car and flashed it at their red rental.

The screen lit up with info about the car and its renter. Following this information was a list of infractions that took Zoria longer to scroll through than either of the boys believed. Raedis was impressed by his friend.

"Holy hells, Trav! I'm pretty sure your driving privileges on this planet are about to be permanently revoked." he said as his eyes ticked up a notch in silvery brightness.

"I should take yous into custody." Zoria said, looking up from her tablet. "But, despite setting a very poor example for others, you caused no damage, accidents, or any structural harm to the Tunnel..." she trailed off as she continued to calculate their fine.

Traveler looked over at the multitude of formerly eager and excited police officers, now all rolling out to continue to serve and protect.

All but one. After the parade of patrol vehicles had left the lot, a single vehicle remained. It was not a patrol car, nor was it a powerful, unmarked pursuit vehicle like Detective Chief Inspector Zoria drove.

It was a small, three wheeled, electric cart. Sitting in said cart was the traffic cop who was collecting parking tokens from their street-side stands when they were passed by the parade of vehicles in pursuit of Traveler. This resulted in hundreds of parking tokens being scattered into the street to roll where they may.

"What's this?" Raedis asked as he got Zoria and Traveler's attention. The traffic cop rolled over to where the trio stood sussing things out, then stopped. The whine of the little electric cart rose and fell with her approach. When she reached them, it cut out entirely as she shut it down with the press of a button. The thing was spent. A tiny whisp of smoke rose from within its housing like it was giving up its ghost. It never moved under its own power again.

She then planted two, functionally appointed, booted feet on the lot and rose from the machine, ducking under its roof to stand impressively tall before the three. The sun sent sparkles off the buttons and various accouterments on her meticulously maintained uniform that, even an afternoon's incredible chase couldn't tarnish.

"I am Parking Officer Debra Switz. One of you lunatics, I don't give a fuck who, owes me this much in parking credits or none of you will ever park your vehicle again on this world. Ever." She said this with a weight one did not fuck around with. Years of time and space had taught this to Raedis and Traveler. Zoria, however, made the mistake of assuming she was dealing with a contemporary.

"Hey Officer Switz. I'm D.C.I. Zor-" Zoria began. Officer Switz, however, wasn't havin' it.

"I don't give a fuck who any of you are. I need one of yous to give me the following amount in parking tokens or I'll have all your vehicles impounded." she said. Again, in a manner one did not mess around with. Zoria took the small pad proffered by Switz and signed for the loss. It would all get sorted out, eventually. Officer Switz wasn't kidding about being well within her jurisdiction to have their rides impounded. Zoria handed the tablet to Traveler.

"Put your thumbprint here." she told him as she tapped a space next to a rather large number. Traveler did as was directed. Officer Switz swiped her pad from him after it signaled its acceptance of his identity and credit.

This calmed down Officer Switz considerably. She adopted a much less officious persona once the fines were paid.

There were now four of them standing among their vehicles in a parking lot ocean.

"Now what?" Raedis asked.

"I'm gonna need a ride. Chasing yous burned out my motor." said Switz.

"Ride with me." offered Zoria.

"Okay. But, I'm driving." Switz demanded. Detective Chief Inspector Zoria raised her hands defensively.

"It's all yours, Officer Switz." she said, looking at the burned out electric cart.

"Anyone hungry? I sure am." said Traveler. His gaze panned across the parking lot to the rest stop at its center. Meals are on me!" he announced, gathering everyone up to follow him. Once the idea was proposed everyone but Raedis agreed that food was required at this time. He was indifferent, but offered to fetch all their orders. Traveler fell into step with Parking Officer Switz on the walk across the lot.

"Say Switz, is it? That was pretty rad, you keeping up with us through all that in nothing but your little scooter, there. Ever think of a career change?" asked the man. Because she was nearly as tall as he was, Switz met his brown eyes as they walked and laughed.

"Ha! Did yous not just make Zoria the same offer? You think I can race?" She laughed again. "No. I am a police officer here in this city. I'm cool with what I do." she answered, declining the offer.

"Well, you do it with exceptional tenacity. Nice work, Officer Switz." Traveler complimented her. He hoped to have smoothed everything over with the law. After a great lunch, it was time for Traveler and Raedis to continue their exploration of this side of the mountains. Their new friends had to return to their work, as well.

As a penalty, among massive fines, they were also restricted to their little red rental for the duration of their visit and, afterwards, their driving privileges while on the world were permanently rescinded. Once back on the road, Traveler smiled and smoked happily in the passenger seat while Raedis took the wheel. Like his friend, Traveler couldn't resist playing with the multitude of buttons and settings the vehicle offered until he was satisfied.

"I like this side of the mountains." Traveler announced happily between songs. "I wonder what else we can get into, over here?" He watched the sun slowly set over the pastoral setting sliding by at speed. Raedis switched on the car's outstanding exterior lights and shifted to the outer most lane of the highway they chose after the Two Hour Tunnel.

"Whatever happens, let's keep it less letigious and perhaps more economical. You paid virtually a first place finish worth of fines." chuckled Raedis.

"Agreed. However, we are free, still got a cool car and are speeding our way to our next adventure. I'm okay with these circumstances." said Traveler, sparking up another smoke.

Far up ahead, in the fading light, Raedis could make out a person. As they sped closer their headlights illuminated the figure of a hitchhiker, walking along the roadside, thumb extended.

"Well... That didn't take long." said Raedis as he prepared to pull over.