The Most Dangerous Race

by Chase Wheeler

  8

  ROADBLOCK

  Speed drove down the road, flashes of lightning streaking across the sky. Each time the thunder cracked, sheets of rain poured down from the sky. For a few miles, the Mach 5 was the only car on the road. Speed knew that he had to drive carefully in this weather, but at the same time, he had to win the race.

  As Speed strained his eyes to see the road up ahead, he spotted a group of cars. It was the Car Acrobatic Team, and it looked as if they had stopped. Speed pressed on the brake and slowed the car down.

  He drove up beside Snake Oiler. “What’s going on?” Speed asked.

  Snake looked at Speed in surprise. “I was sure you wouldn’t make it,” he said shaking his head. “But, look!” He pointed to a road crossing to the other side. The road had two large breaks in it, which meant the drivers would have to jump the gaps in order to continue on the course.

  “With the heavy rain, parts of the course have been completely washed away,” Snake explained. “It’s going to be tough.”

  “Maybe we could take another way,” Speed reasoned.

  Snake shook his head. “There is no other way. And when we try to get through, there’ll be more landslides. Besides, our tires won’t take hold in that wet ground. We’ve decided to draw lots to see which one of us goes first. It’ll be more dangerous for each one following.”

  Speed considered what Snake said. He was right. It would be dangerous for the first car to attempt the jump. But the first car would loosen rocks and kick up mud, making it harder for the cars that followed.

  “It is a fair way to do it,” Speed told Snake.

  Snake turned to face the other racers. “Everyone who wants to draw for being first, step f o rwa rd.

  No one moved.

  “What’s the matter with you guys?” Snake Oiler asked with an exasperated look on his face. “Are you race car drivers or chickens?”

  Slowly, a few drivers stepped forward.

  Snake turned back to Speed. “All right, now, come on. What about you, Speed?”

  “I’ll draw,” Speed agreed.

  Snake smiled. “Good. Well, finally, we know who the brave men are and who the chickens are! ”

  Just then, an avalanche of boulders tumbled down the mountainside. Seeing this, several drivers stepped back. They did not want to risk their lives on the jump.

  “Wait a minute!” a voice called out.

  Speed spun around. “It’s Racer X! ”

  “I’m staying in the race, and I want to join the drawing to see who the first driver will be,” Racer X announced.

  Snake made a small bow. “Be my guest,” he said. “But it won’t make any difference because I’m going to be the only one to get through!”

  Racer X turned to Speed and said, “I’m glad you’re safe, Speed. But you have only one life, so you better be careful.”

  Speed considered Racer X’s words. By being careful, did Racer X mean he shouldn’t race? Speed shook his head. He was going for it!

  “Now let’s get it over with. Let’s draw lots. I have six matches.” Snake held them out for all to see. “Each one has marks on it,” he continued. “One mark means that driver will go first. The other positions will be according to the marks on the matches.”

  The first driver stepped up to draw. With his hand shaking, he pulled a match from the bundle.

  “It’s just got one notch on it,” the driver cried out, looking at the match. “That means I go first! I go first! Wahoo!”

  “You draw next, Tiger.” Nervously, Tiger picked a match.

  “I’m in third place,” he announced.

  The next driver up drew second.

  Only three drivers were left-Speed, Racer X, and Snake.

  “I’ll draw last,” Racer X offered. “You go ahead and draw, Speed.”

  Speed reached for a match. “Oh! Six notches!” Speed cried. “I drew last position!”

  Snake laughed. Then he offered the matches to Racer X, who drew fifth position.

  “It’s all settled then, isn’t it?” Snake said. “I get the fourth position, don’t I?” He turned to the other drivers. “Start the engines!”

  The first car took off down the road. It sprung across the gap and flew into the air. But it missed the landing on the other side and tumbled into the chasm below.

  The second car also bounced over the gap and plummeted down.

  “Okay, Tiger,” Snake said. “It’s up to you to make it now!”

  Tiger took off down the muddy road and flew smoothly over the chasm. But at the last second, he ended up short of the landing and, like the cars before him, crashed down below.

  Upon seeing this third crash, Racer X shook his head. “The drivers on the Car Acrobatic Team are supposed to be better than that,” he said.

  “They are!” Snake countered. “And I’ll show you! Just watch. I’m going to make that jump safely and prove to you what a fabulous driver I am.”

  Snake hopped into his car and took off down the now very muddy road. His car wings jutted out and he jumped over the first gap, touching down on the ground. Then he flew over the second gap. The car landed with a thud, but then slipped off the cliff. As the car fell, large pieces of the road broke away and slid down the mountain. The other racers hung their heads as the sound of Snake’s car crashing into the chasm below echoed in their ears.

  Racer X turned to face Speed. “Every time a driver tries to make it, some more of the earth caves in, and it’s going to get even worse when we try to make the jump. But as a professional racer, I’ve got to meet the challenge.”

  Racer X jumped into his car. “If you’re smart, you’ll give up the race,” he called to Speed. “But if you don’t, good luck!”

  And with that, he took off. Speed watched Racer X land jump after jump until he disappeared. But Racer X had caused more earth to break away. But did Racer X make it to safety? The only way Speed could find out was to attempt the jumps himself.

  Speed took a deep breath. The wind was howling and the rain was coming down even harder than before. Without a moment’s more hesitation, he jumped into the Mach 5 and secured his seat belt.

  “Here I go!” Speed called out to the other racers.

  Just as he was about to pull away, three of his competitors ran up to his car.

  “Don’t go, kid!” one of the racers pleaded. “There’s no disgrace if you turn back now! ”

  “That’s right, Speed!” another racer put in. “You’re just going to throw yourself down into that chasm if you jump now.”

  Speed didn’t know what to do. He looked at the road on the other side of the gap. A lot of rock was gone, making the landing even more difficult than before.

  As he sat there, considering his options, he heard Racer X’s voice in his head: As a professional racer, I’ve got to meet the challenge.

  And that’s just what Speed was, too—a professional.

  Speed flipped down his visor and grabbed on to Spritle’s good luck charm. He was about to attempt the most dangerous jumps of his life!

  9

  THE MOST DANGEROUS JUMPS

  While Speed was getting ready to take the dangerous jumps, Trixie, Sparky, Spritle, and Chim Chim were inside an alpine house, taking cover from the storm.

  “That’s the worst storm I’ve ever seen!” Sparky said, looking out the window. The rain was pelting the house, and the wind was howling. Sparky blinked as lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the snowcapped mountains.

  “It’s awful!” Trixie agreed, covering her ears as a loud clap of thunder burst.

  Suddenly, the door swung open and a man in a trench coat ran inside the house. He shook the excess water off his clothing and stamped his feet on the wooden floor.

  As everyone stared at the man, he announced, “According to this bulletin, more than a dozen cars, including members of the Car Acrobatic Team and the Mach 5, have stopped near Yawning Chasm Pass. The course has been deemed too dangerous.”

  Sparky and Trix
ie looked at each other in alarm.

  “The Racing Committee is considering changing the course to a less dangerous area before the cars and drivers are completely wiped out!” the man continued.

  “Oh! I hope Speed will be all right,” Trixie said, sounding concerned.

  “I hope he won’t try to go ahead,” Sparky added.

  Spritle stepped up in front of Trixie and Sparky, with his arms crossed. “I’m not worried. He took my good luck charm along with him.” He patted Chim Chim on the head. “It’ll be just as lucky for Speed as it has been for me. Right, Chim Chim?”

  Chim Chim looked back at Spritle with worried eyes. It was clear that Chim Chim did not believe what Spritle was saying.

  Spritle took one look at the expression on his pet chimp’s face and grabbed Sparky’s arm. “Please say he’ll be all right,” he said, sobbing.

  Trixie put her arm around Spritle, trying her best to comfort him. But it was hard, especially since she had a feeling that something had gone terribly wrong ...

  Speed looked at Spritle’s good luck charm swinging from his rearview mirror. Grabbing the doll, Speed remembered Spritle’s words about the doll bringing Speed plenty of good luck.

  “I’m going to need it, Spritle,” Speed said out loud.

  Speed turned on the ignition, put the clutch in place, stepped on the pedal, and took off. By now, the rain was coming down even harder, making the road extremely muddy. Speed had to concentrate especially hard in order to control the car.

  The Mach 5 slipped and slid as it raced toward the first jump. Speed pressed the A button and the Mach 5 launched into the air.

  Next, Speed pressed a new button that Pops had installed on the dashboard. Zute! From under each door, small wings popped out, just as planned. The Mach 5 soared through the air, gracefully landing on the first platform. Phew! Speed thought as he touched down. But he only had a moment to relax. He needed to make a second jump.

  The Mach 5 took off again. The car leaped, but this time only the front wheels landed on the road on the other side. Speed tried to maneuver the car forward, but it was no use. The back wheels wouldn’t catch. The Mach 5 began to slide backward off the cliff! Down, down the mountainside the Mach 5 flew, Spritle’s lucky doll spinning in circles.

  Speed had lost complete control of the car! Tumbling down the side of the mountain at full speed, Speed saw a small avalanche of rocks following him.

  “Aaaah!” Speed screamed, closing his eyes.

  As he plummeted down the hill, he thought about all the warnings he had been given. Perhaps everyone was right. Maybe the ice and treacherous mountain course had been too dangerous for him.

  Suddenly, the Mach 5 slammed into something hard.

  And Speed’s world went dark.

  10

  BLINDSIDED!

  Back at the alpine house, two race car drivers burst through the door. They were dripping with rain and were white as ghosts. Their breath came out in deep gasps.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be in the race?” Sparky asked the men. But as soon as Sparky spoke the words, he knew that these men were in no condition to race-they looked as if they were about to collapse on the floor!

  One of the drivers dropped his head to catch his breath. “We barely made it back from Yawning Chasm Pass.”

  “The road’s impassable!” the second driver added.

  Sparky looked worried. “Do you know what happened to some of the other drivers in the race?” he asked.

  The first driver shook his head. “Most of them will never come back,” he answered.

  Upon hearing that, Trixie cried out in alarm.

  “They tried to make it from one cliff to the other and failed,” one of the men said, clutching his chest in pain.

  “Are you saying they didn’t make it?” Sparky asked in alarm. “Were their cars wrecked?”

  The driver walked over to the couch to sit down. “There was nothing left of them, including the cars of the Car Acrobatic Team.” He shook his head, as if trying to erase a bad memory.

  “They were stupid to try to go ahead when everybody could see that they wouldn’t be able to make it,” the second driver continued.

  Tears began to fall from Spritle’s eyes. “Poor Speed,” he said. Chim Chim stroked Spritle’s arm to try to comfort him.

  Suddenly, Trixie snapped into action. “All right, Sparky!” she called. “Come on!”

  “Where?” Sparky asked, confused.

  “Speed might need help,” Trixie told him.

  “I want to try to help him, too!” Spritle said, wiping his eyes.

  When the others in the room heard this, they tried to warn the group not to go out in the storm. It was too dangerous. They urged them to stay put until the storm blew over.

  But Trixie wasn’t going to listen. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll be all right.”

  “You can’t leave now. As soon as the weather’s calmed down we’ll send out a search party to look for him,” one of the men in the house said.

  Trixie was determined. “I’m sorry, but by then it might be too late. I’m going now.”

  “No, you’ll never get through,” the man insisted, grabbing hold of Trixie’s arm. “You better wait.”

  “I’ve got to try and help Speed Racer,” Trixie said. “Now, let go of my arm!” Trixie tried to free herself from the man’s grasp, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break away. Suddenly, Chim Chim jumped on the man’s arm and sunk his big teeth into it. With a loud scream, the man let go. As soon as she was free, Trixie made a run for it, with Sparky at her heels.

  “Come back here!” the man shouted. As he tried to run after them, Spritle tackled him to the ground.

  With the man down, Spritle and Chim Chim followed Sparky and Trixie to a Jeep that was parked outside. They jumped inside and took off heading for Trixie’s helicopter. As they drove through the torrential rain, they could hear the man yelling, “You’ll be sorry!”

  But Trixie knew that the only thing she’d be sorry about was if she didn’t try to help Speed.

  The Jeep raced along a mountain road, through the heavy rain and whipping wind.

  “I hope we find him,” Trixie said.

  Finally, the storm passed. The clouds parted, and the sky brightened. But things weren’t looking so bright at the bottom of Yawning Chasm Pass. Race cars-or what was left of them—littered the ground. Smoke rose from the wreckage, and moans could be heard from the injured drivers.

  Speed Racer lay among the ruins, his eyes shut, not moving a muscle. As the sun blazed in the sky, Speed began to wake up.

  He rolled over, stood up, and turned his face toward the sky. “Oh! My eyes, my eyes!” he cried, falling back on the ground. “I can’t see.”

  Desperately, he crawled along the road feeling for tire tracks. He came across something soft. “It’s Spritle’s good luck charm!”

  Speed was glad to find the doll, but what he really needed to find was the Mach 5. Blindly, he wandered around, clutching the doll in one hand and holding out the other as a guide.

  Thump! Speed tripped over something that felt like a car part and fell to the ground. “I hope the Mach 5 hasn’t been damaged. I’ll find a way to go on with the race even though I can’t see. I’ve got to beat the Car Acrobatic Team.”

  He stood up again. Holding his arms straight out in front of him, he began to walk.

  “Where is it? Where’s the Mach 5?” he called in frustration.

  Slam! “Who’s there?” Speed called out, hearing the sound of a car door.

  “It’s me, Snake Oiler. You’re still alive, Speed?”

  Speed nodded. “And I’m surprised that after that crash you are.”

  “What’s your story, Speed?” Snake asked. “Don’t tell me the Mach 5 isn’t running anymore.”

  Speed whipped his head around, but he still could not see a thing. “Where is the car?”

  Snake put his hands on his knees and started to laugh. “You can�
�t see? Well, isn’t that just too bad,” he said sarcastically.

  Speed had nothing to say.

  “Well, it looks as if I’m gonna win the Alpine Race,” Snake announced. “You better wait here until somebody rescues you. I’m glad to say your racing days are over for good, Speed! I guess that proves I’m a much better driver than you, Speed. I’m on my way to victory! ”

  And with that, Snake jumped in his car and raced away, forcing a cloud of dust into Speed’s eyes. Speed fell to the ground in pain. As he rolled around, desperately trying to clean his eyes, Speed smelled something. It was the oil of the Mach 5’s engine!

  “I’ve found it!” Speed cried as his finger touched the body of the Mach 5.

  He opened the door and stepped in. After fumbling around for a minute, Speed managed to find the ignition and turn the key. Then he pulled the clutch and stopped.

  “I guess the Mach 5 can still run,” Speed said. “But how am I going to drive without seeing the road?”

  For Speed Racer, the Alpine Race had just become even more dangerous!

  11

  RACE TO THE FINISH

  Speed held his breath and prepared to floor the accelerator. He had to get back into the race-and fast! Just then, he heard the sound of another car engine.

  “I recognize the sound of that car,” Speed said to himself. “It can only belong to Racer X and that must mean he survived the jump. Well, so have I—here it goes! ”

  Speed took off. He grasped the steering wheel, trying hard to visualize the road. Days before the race, he had pored over maps, studying the course very carefully. Now, he tried to imagine all the twists, turns, and bumps he had reviewed.

  “Watch out!” Speed called to himself as he felt some rocks hit the side of the Mach 5. With all the concentration he could muster, Speed guided the Mach 5 along the treacherous road.

  Racer X glanced in his rearview mirror. Even though he was still racing, he wanted to keep an eye on Speed. Racer X was worried about Speed, and he wanted to make sure nothing else happened to him. “Keep at it, Speed,” he said to himself. “You’ve got a chance to make it-if you’re lucky!”