October 30^th – Darlington, South Carolina

Martin looked at the Halloween costume that hung in his closet.  He knew that if he had found out about the party earlier than a few days ago his choice of costume would have been better.

He turned when he heard Junior walk into his coach.  “So did you find anything?”

“Yeah,” Martin replied.  “If I would have found out sooner I would have had a better chance at a costume though.”

“What did you end up getting?” Junior asked as he sat down on the couch.

“The classic stand-by,” Martin replied.  “Dracula”

Junior shook his head, “That’ll be good.”

“It was either that or Pokemon, so it was an easy decision,” Martin said handing Junior something to drink as he got something for himself.  “So what are you going to be?”

“Well,” Junior replied taking a drink.  “Me and Harvick are going to be Jedi’[s and I know Ryan and Tony are doing something with Star Wars too, but I’m not sure what.”

~~~***~~~

The part was held outdoors that night in the driver’s area.  They had a huge bonfire going with music playing.  The food and drinks were setup on the side.  The full moon added the perfect touch for the night.

Martin made the rounds talking with his friends and other drivers.  He noted that they wall seemed more relaxed in this setting than out on the track.

He was trying to get to the drink table when he saw her standing there.  He had never seen her before.  Junior stopped Martin’s forward momentum when he pulled him to the side to ask him something.  Martin glanced back to her and she was still standing there as if she was waiting for someone.

“I don’t know, sounds good,” Martin heard himself say to Junior before he picked up where he left off.

He made it to the table and walked up to her.  “Good Evening,” he said taking note of her flowing black dress and her blonde hair that was pulled back with a few loose curls framing her face.

“Evening,” she replied accepting the drink he offered her.

“I hope you don’t think I’m rude,” Martin said.  “But I’ve never seen you here before.”

She smiled at him.  “I work for the track.”

Martin nodded as they continued to talk through the night.  They never left the tableside.

She looked up at the sky and then to Martin.  “I hate to end this here, but I really must be going.”

“So soon?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied stepping closer to him and kissing his cheek.  “Good night Martin and good luck.” She whispered in his ear before heading off between the coaches into the darkness.

Martin sighed to himself and wondered what drove her off.  He glanced at his watch and decided to call it a night.  Quietly he slipped away unseen just like she had.

~~~***~~~

Junior walked into Martin’s coach the next morning and found his teammate staring off into space.  He waved a hand in front of his face.  “Earth to Martin,” he laughed.

“Funny Junior,” Martin replied.

“What’s up man?  I saw you leave the party a little early last night.” Junior sat down shoving Martin’s legs off the couch.

“I needed some time to think,” Martin replied.  “Can I ask you a question? And don’t laugh.”

“All right,” Junior said slightly confused.

“Did you see who I was talking to last night?” Martin asked.

“You talked to a lot of people,” Junior replied wondering where this was going.

“I mean the girl,” Martin replied sliding the sunglasses he was wearing on top of his head.  “Blonde hair, black dress.”

Junior sighed before answering, “Wow”.

“What?” Martin asked confused.

“She’s struck again,” Junior replied.

“Who?” Martin asked even more confused.

“The Lady in Black,” Junior replied.

“I thought that was all a fable or folklore,” Martin replied glancing at Junior.

“Lets go talk to Tony and Ryan and you tell me if you still think that after you hear their stories,” Junior said getting up.

They walked over to the garages where their two friends were.  “Hey,” Tony said when they walked up.

“Do you and Ryan have a minute to go somewhere and talk?” Junior asked the other two.

Ryan shrugged, “Yeah”.  Tony nodded in agreement.

They were all sitting around Junior’s hauler.  “What’s up?” Tony asked.

“Martin saw her last night,” Junior replied.

The three men all shared a glance with one another.  “What?” Martin asked uneasy.

“Just listen to her and do what she tell you,” Ryan replied as Tony and Junior nodded in agreement.

“What if I don’t?” Martin asked wondering why it was such a big deal.

“I wrecked,” Junior replied.

“I blew an engine,” Tony said.

“I blew a tire with 10 to go leading the race,” Ryan finished.

“Wow,” was Martin’s only reply as the hauler door opened and Josh told them they had to go to the driver’s meeting in a few minutes.

“Or she’ll get tired of you and go find someone else and you’ll have the same problem,” Tony said as he patted Martin on the back before they headed over to the meeting.

Martin was in his own little world and didn’t pay much attention to the meeting.  Junior glanced over and knew he’d have to talk to him before they got out on the track.

“Just keep a clear mind and drive like you usually do and you’ll be fine,” Junior told Martin as they rode around the track for driver intros.

“Easy for you to say,” Martin muttered under his breath just loud enough for Junior to hear.

“Wanna go ask Tony and Ryan?” Junior asked.  “They’ll tell you the same thing.”

“No,” Martin replied hopping off the truck before it even stopped.  Junior just shook his head.

Martin climbed in his car and tried to prepare himself for the race.  He checked his safety gear and radio repeatedly until he was told to go onto the track for the pace laps.  He took a deep breath and tried to kill the bundle of nerves inside of him.

“You’ll do fine,” He heard her say.  “It’s a beautiful day for a race don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” he replied quietly.  He hoped if anyone heard him on the radio that they didn’t think he was nuts for talking to himself.

Martin heard throughout the race of the tire trouble other drivers were having.  He was driving a good race himself with no problems.

“Big wreck turn 3,” he heard his spotter say.  “Go low.”

“Go high,” she told him.  “Trust me Martin go high.”

Martin started to go low and then turned up the track to go high.  He sailed through the smoke untouched.

“What the hell are you doing?” he heard his spotter yell and then quiet down when he made it through.  “Good job.”

“Thanks,” Martin said over the radio and to her at the same time.

Martin finished the race fifth when all was said and done.  “When will I get to see you again?” he asked her while he packed up.

“Next year my dear, next year,” she replied before a gust of cold air blew through his coach signaling her departure.

“So was she there?” Junior asked walking onto Martin’s coach.

Martin shrugged, “I really can’t say.”

“That’s bullshit,” Junior replied.  “I heard about how your spotter told you to go low and you went high.  And don’t tell me that you could see through the smoke because I was right behind you when it happened.”

“It’ll be one of those things you’ll never know,” Martin replied as they headed towards Junior’s SUV to drive home.

Martin glanced behind him one last time before they pulled out and smiled.  He saw her standing there with a smile.  He turned to look at Junior who was asking him another question and when he looked back again she was gone.

Martin sighed. ‘Next year,’ he thought to himself. 

“Next year,” she told him softly as they drove up the Interstate toward North Carolina.

Series 1: First Sight, Second Time Around, Third Times The Charm, Final Destiny