24th of November – Season 1 Mandla Xulu had always been a fan of motorsport. Like many South Africans just like him, for years growing up, he would have done anything to have South Africa represented in the top racing series. So, when Mandla heard about this weekly formula-one-like racing series that played on Monday nights, Mandla was intrigued. While Mandla had been too busy to attend any of the episodes of Fuel, he was...

27th of October – Season 1 Glen laughed. He was currently looking at a sheet of paper that was riddled with columns of numbers, but he was currently looking at the one right at the bottom. It was the sum total of money they had made on pay-per-view buys on the Formula-X streaming service. It was higher than the ones for the previous pay-per-view: Arbour Games. Glen found this very impressive considering that most of the r...

TWO HOURS LATER November 7th, 2040 - 12:18 Doug walked down the darkened corridor as stealthily as he could. He’d been exploring the compound all morning for all the secrets that they hadn’t told them.  If this was the future, then there had to be some cool gadgets lying around somewhere. On the south side of the compound, Doug came across a locked door. He used a hammer he had found to break the padlock.  He then sneaked...

30th of September - Season 1 Moodswing swore. They were behind schedule. The event was set to start at 6 pm and his first two racers were nowhere to be seen. A bead of sweat travelled down his brow as he looked. He looked at his watch again: 5:50. Dammit, he thought, where the hell are they? He looked up and saw Penny Potgieter and Brenda Koek. Well, at least they're here. They were also part of the opening relay race but...

FOUR WEEKS LATER November 7th, 2040 – 08:57 “Don’t worry,” said Sam.  “I’m sure they’ll rule in your favour. “How can you be so sure?” said Ripley. “Because Eduardo’s in one piece,” said Selena.  “And according to Sommer, she saved his life.  That means you were right.  So you have nothing to be afraid of.” “It doesn’t change what she did,” Selena.  “She attacked you and injured people on her way out.  They’re going to lo...

THREE DAYS LATER    October 13th, 2040 – 10:15 Sam stood in front of his best friend, Doug, and Selena. They looked at him with worried eyes. “You want us to do WHAT?” “Look, Sam,” said Selena, “Doug’s right. That sounds crazy. I know you feel bad and all with you being the one to awaken Sommer. But I just don’t think that risking your life is the best answer.” “Guys, I have to do this,” said Sam. “With or without your he...

The cave lit up at first sight of the sun. Sommer had already been outside the cave and back So when Eduardo woke up to find Sommer now fully clothed, he was surprised. “Where did the clothes come from?” “You forget. This is a war-ridden time. Dead bodies aren’t that hard to find. I got the clothes from the first one I found.” Eduardo made the symbol of the Cross out of respect for the dead, then kissed his small golden r...

Without another word, Ripley ran down the corridor. Sarah followed in hot pursuit. Sarah’s lungs felt like they were going to give out on her. They stumbled into the lab to find the group scattered around the floor again. “What happened?” asked Sarah. “It’s gone!” said Selena. “That damn pscybotic is gone!” “How did that happen!?” asked Ripley, shocked. “I set the remote. She... was reprogrammed. How could she be gone?” “...

“What do you mean... I haven’t changed a bit?” “Nothing,” she stood up from the other bed. “Wait... are you saying that... You know, I’ve meant to ask... where are the rest of us, like... from this time... from the future?” Ripley just blinked. “You knew me... from the future I mean. You just referred to me in the past tense.” “Sarah—” “Where am I? You told us the John Connor story about Sam. But what about me?” Ripley ro...

10 YEARS AGO  July 22nd , 2030 – 22:37 A young Ripley was playing in her room. She knew that she should have been asleep, but this wasn’t the first time she’d disobeyed her parents. She heard footsteps on the staircase and immediately ducked under her covers. When she realized that the footsteps were going the wrong direction, she peeked and looked at the door. Nothing. Suddenly, thunder rumbled outside her window. She ju...

The pscybotic was lying on top of Sam, too heavy for him to lift off. Sam looked over at Ripley who proceeded to talk into the remote like it was a two-way radio. “Stand up.” The pscybotic immediately stood up. It stood up straight as if it were at attention. Her nudity didn’t phase her at all. “You will not harm anyone in this room, understood?” “Understood.” The voice that came from the pscybotic was deeper than the ave...

Sam was leaning on the tank again, trying to look into the window. The blue liquid was making it hard to tell what was inside, but looking at the dimensions of the tank and the location of the window it wasn’t hard to guess. When he concentrated on where the head should be, he wasn’t shocked to see two eyes staring back at him. “What’s in the tanks?” Sam’s question caught all of their attention. “Because I’m willing to be...

The group was ushered down the corridor of what looked like an old factory, with all the pipes and tanks scattered across the place. They entered into- what had to be a lab. There were computers; blueprint sketches and dismantled high-tech weapons all over the place. Dominating the sides of the room, were man-sized tanks with small windows that showed a blue liquid inside. Sam had a mind to ask what was in the tank but th...

Many hours had passed, not that Sam could tell how many, but the plane had eventually touched down. Sarah and Selena had been quiet the rest of the trip, and the Latino Loner had suspended himself to praying in Spanish. Doug, on the other hand, was doing his best to make conversation with Sam. Sam knew that it was mostly because he was nervous, though Doug would never admit it. When the plane finally came to a stop, Riple...

36 HRS EARLIER  October 9 th, 2040 04:45 ‘What do you think, Rip? You think they’ll go for it?’ ‘I don’t know!?’ ‘But let’s be serious Rip. This is the military we’re talking about. They’re not going to commission a military plane to fly across the border. Not for the reason you’re telling them.’ ‘The frequency is important. You know that better than anyone.’ ‘Yeah, I know that, Rip. What I mean is . . . The real reason,...