Challenge of the Masked Racer

by Chase Wheeler

  At that very moment, an army of men appeared on the hilltop. They wore white uniforms and rode camels.

  The men shot grappling hooks into the sand, attached to cables. The leader of the men cried, “Haul!” As a unit, they began to pull the Mach 5 out of the pit.

  Speed lowered the top of the cockpit, and he and Kim coughed and sputtered as they breathed the fresh air once more. They had been rescued! But who had saved them?

  ANOTHER DARING RESCUE

  The truth became clear to Speed when he saw Spritle and Chim Chim on the hilltop. Spritle told Speed everything—how Ben Schemer had taken over the rebel army and imprisoned Trixie and Kim’s father. How they had escaped on a camel. How they were lost in the desert when the government army found them and saved them.

  But their desert adventure was not over yet. The government army led a charge against the rebel fort, led by Speed in the Mach 5. They rescued Trixie and the general—just in time for the Desert Race.

  Kim couldn’t race, because his Black Tiger was lost in the desert forever. Speed would never know if he could beat Kim—but that didn’t seem so important now. All that mattered was that Trixie, Spritle, and Chim Chim were safe.

  Speed looked around the racetrack, with its concrete walls and bright lights. It seemed like a piece of cake, compared to the brutal Desert Race he’d just run.

  The starting gun sounded. Speed grinned and stepped on the gas.

  Now that the danger was over, he could concentrate on what he liked best about racing—having fun!