Brain Drain Driven

Rachel and her husband Vic are happily married, just three years now, but while the honeymoon might not be entirely over, the happiness is being strained. Rachel needs her own car, and she knows exactly the kind of car she wants, having been a model for years so quite used to all the sporty cars she has posed beside in the past.

It's at a local police auction of seized vehicles that Rachel finds the perfect car, a sleek looking black Mustang, and so there she finds herself, new to the police auction world but determined to drive off with her brand new wheels.

The auction is fairly simple enough, just bring the cash and bid against others using the paddles assigned. Right from the start when the Mustang comes up for auction, Rachel knows she is going to win, and at a much better price than she ever expected.

It seems only one other couple is bidding and the man quickly stops the woman he is with when he notices what car she is bidding on. Some people, Rachel thinks, some people just can't get over the history of the cars at these auctions, the fact they were vehicles used in crimes of some sort.

The Mustang was not even a serious crime vehicle, merely used during some sex trade run from someone's home, certainly nothing that sways Rachel from bidding highest and realizing her dream of owning the car she always wanted.

As she was told when the car was up for bidding, this particular Mustang has a very high tech security and navigation assistance device installed. What Rachel wasn't told was that there are no manuals or anything included in the sale, so figuring out the navigation, assistance, and security system in this fancy sports car will be entirely up to her.

It isn't until she's on her way back, driving her winning car home, happy to hear the powerful thrust of the engine, that Rachel realizes maybe this car wasn't the best choice after all.

The engine shuts itself down, letting her drift to a stop in a neighborhood a few blocks from her driveway, the navigation screen instructing her that new owners must complete the registration process for the car to function.

Brain Drain Driven is the name of this fancy high tech automotive assistance system and for some strange reason that Rachel assumes is someone's idea of a joke, the system requires her to make choices.

According to the colorful touchscreen on the dash, she can choose everything from the fuel efficiency to the engine functionality, each choice having a price. The prices are outlandish and not because of any dollar amount. It seems someone, likely the previous owners, set it up to claim that percentages of her intelligence or inhibitions can be taken as payment, that choosing certain higher quality options results in larger breast size, and that vehicle reliability is somehow related to her own willingness to let strangers f**k her.

Given the fact the car was previously involved in some sex trade crimes, the joke isn't entirely surprising, but the point remains, Rachel can't drive the car until she answers the questions, makes her choices.

The last thing she ever expects is for one of these choices of payment to actually be accepted, for the car of her dreams to quickly turn her into every man's wet dream.

In the end, Rachel might just discover that this is the kind of sports car that drains more than a wallet at the gas tank. This is the kind of car that takes Brain Drain on the road, in Brain Drain Driven. Readers Choice Month takes readers on a ride they will never forget.