Chapter 4: Rob and Jeremy begin to form a fierce rivalry.
Rob followed closely behind Richard’s bright red Challenger as the four presenters made their way deeper and deeper into the darkening woods. The sun was already beginning to set, reminding the four of them that they were in a race against the clock. They had to reach the campsite by nightfall, otherwise the challenge would be failed. Rob wasn’t too worried about meeting the deadline, as they had made fairly good time so far. The mud had slowed them slightly, but only by a little. The campsite was now just minutes away after several long hours of driving.
Rob stared into the distance for a while as he drove along, watching the woods grow thicker and darker. The trees seemed to be growing bigger and more intimidating as the presenters got closer and closer to the campsite. These woods, according to Jeremy and James, were rumored to be haunted by some of the most ferocious ghosts imaginable; Jeremy had told him about men who’d had their eyeballs ripped out and their limbs tied in knots. This had obviously been some bullshit that the two had come up with to try to scare him and throw him off. He’d just have to come up with some way to block out Jeremy’s stupidity.
Even though these ghosts didn’t actually exist, the trees and shadows alone were enough to send anyone who dared come close to them scurrying off in fear. Unfortunately, however, in their current situation, fear was not an option. They had to keep going, even if their eyes did get ripped out and even if they did get turned into human pretzels. They had a challenge to win.
The sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon, and the sky was growing darker and darker. The shadows from the trees began to slowly take over, stretching onto the worn, dirt road, threatening to reach out and grab one of the old vehicles at any moment.
After just a few more minutes, though, the presenters finally reached the large meadow that would be their home for the next week. It wasn’t paved, obviously; this being TopGear, luxury wasn’t an option, either. The place consisted of tall grass and a few colorful wildflowers. A stream gurgled in the distance; Rob didn’t know where it was, so it must have been somewhere in the big wall of trees that surrounded the meadow. The grass in the middle of the meadow was cut short to make room for the small campfire that had been left for them. In the sky, the sun was slowly beginning to dip below the horizon. They had arrived just in time.
The presenters parked their cars in a line on one side of the meadow. The four men got out of their vehicles and gathered around the warm campfire. As the bright flames flickered in the darkness, Rob started to feel a bit less uncomfortable with the place. It wasn’t the most happy place in the world, no, but camping out in the meadow was better than trying to sleep in the middle of the woods.
“Well,” Jeremy broke the silence, and then looked up at the deep, violet sky. Everyone was beginning to finally take in the situation. They were in a strange meadow that was deep in the woods, and they had to survive for an entire week with only four cars for shelter, and gold only knew how and what they were going to eat. The other three had been forced to eat roadkill in the past, so Rob didn’t see how this challenge would be any different. The camera crew definitely wouldn’t be sharing their food with them, either. And the greatest issue of all – each other. None of them were going to get along – there was no way any of them would make it. This was just great – absolutely perfect. “I guess we should head back to our cars and go to sleep now?”
“Yeah,” Richard yawned and stretched a little before backing away toward his big Challenger, “I’m pretty tired myself… well, see you idiots in the morning.” Richard opened the door of the big, red muscle car and got in. He squeezed into the back, curling up and dozing off on the seat. The back was fairly cramped, but Richard, being the youngest and smallest of the group, fairly easily fit. James turned around and silently walked back to his Thunderbird.
Jeremy started to head back toward gloomy Mercedes, but paused. He turned around for a moment glared at Rob. The flames from the campfire flickered and burned in Jeremy’s eyes as a troublesome grin appeared on his face. Jeremy then turned around again, heading toward his tomb on wheels. The tall man slowly but confidently climbed into the disgusting machine.
The look in Jeremy’s eyes alone was enough to completely destroy Rob’s sleep for the next week. Shaken, he slowly walked over to his Datsun. He cautiously opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. Rob sat there in silence, unable to think of anything but the demented look on Jeremy’s face. Rob sighed. He turned around and started to climb into the back seat, only to realize that he had none.
Wonderful.
Rob slouched back in his seat, laying his head against the cold glass of the window. He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but his efforts were futile. He opened his eyes again and stared at the ceiling. Thanks to Jeremy, whenever he closed his eyes the only thing he could see or think about was the nasty look he’d given Rob. Even with his eyes open, Jeremy’s voice and laughter still taunted him. This man was really, really starting to get to him. That evil glare… how did Jeremy even manage to pull something like that off? Just by looking into Jeremy’s eyes, Rob could see the pain and defeat that he had in store for the others.
Rob had to stop him.
But how? Jeremy, after all, had much more experience on Top Gear than any of them had. But maybe Rob would get just little pinch of beginner’s luck and be able to, by some chance, defeat Jeremy? Nobody knew that the mysterious producers had in store, so perhaps Rob could take advantage of that. Rob would still be just as unprepared as the others, but at least the score would maybe be a little more even.
As Rob continued to contemplate his plan of action, he slowly began to realize what the true problem was. It wasn’t his driving skills, or whether or not he was afraid of ghosts. The problem was that in his mind, he was still the lead singer of Pendulum. Right now, though, he needed to be a TopGear presenter.
He needed to become one of them.
