Jax The Cyborg

• Eli-Tshiololoka Mwambi, Grade 11, Dale Christian School
• Short Story
• 2018

2nd in the 'Time To Write 2018/2019' competition

The engine roared a blanket of thick exhaust as Jax swerved jarringly to the right. Monstrous tires ripped through the asphalt like water, splashing rock and debris behind them as they slid. Another heavy belch from under the hood sent even angrier tongues of red, orange and yellow combusting from the exhaust. Still, Jax's metal foot wrenched deeper into the gas pedal. But somehow the creature was gaining. Escape was not an option, even with T1T4N approaching full speed.
Switching to Cerebro steering, Jax keyed his arm into the dashboard. A heavy and metallic click drowned under the engine's uproar. When his arm came out a moment later, a massive cylinder spotted with pseudo-alien, high-tech designs encased it.
The colossal cannon that wrapped around his arm from shoulder to wrist, sported a wide muzzle that protruded past his fingers and a mechanical joint for flexion. Its name was Mad-Dog and just the sight of it ended most of the ironclad titan's conflicts.
"Engage autopilot and eject!" Jax commanded mentally and T1T4N obeyed. Her armoured roof parted in the middle, revealing a bleeding sky above. A switch hit the inside of the monster truck, flipping the screens to an idle green before the steering wheel tucked itself mechanically into the dashboard.
Jax’s second seat belt hugged itself protectively around his chest before the driver’s seat rocketed through the opening, into the stratosphere. A single blue flame propelled him up like a fighter jet.
Air was scarce in the sky where horrible red streams weaved through diseased clouds like blood vessels through smoker's lungs. This place was sick and the tumour that caused it hurtled toward Jax impossibly fast. Massive, scaled wings that spiked at the tips and strained to support the round, glowing belly between them carried the beast. The creature's face was an enraged horse with ragged, deadly features and its scales like blades on its tail.
Jax's restraints released him and momentum shot Jax higher, into the clouds, the monster close behind. Silence dominated as Jax peaked and gravity greedily grabbed his legs. Like a cloth from a table, he was whipped downward.
Falling back first, Jax slept, watching the monster descend toward him like a hawk on its prey, and allowed Mad-Dog to spew a barrage of fiery blasts from below. All but two shots missed.
Brilliant scales deflected the first, but the second seared into the exposed flesh under the monster’s right wing. Words cannot describe what came from the creature's mouth next.
"Engage thrusters!" Jax commanded mentally. Quickly, a pair of soda-can sized rockets popped from the metal plates in Jax's back and shot him out of the way just as the beast hit the ground. A shockwave ran through the crusty wasteland, picking up loose rocks, with just the sheer force of the impact. The beast was down.
"Mission report," Jax said to his wrist and it projected a checklist before him as he hovered. "The youngling raptor-beast is incapacitated. Find me some real monsters."