Race for Revenge

by Chase Wheeler

Flash laughed with glee and edged the X-3 to the right, trying to force Speed’s car off the road. Speed resisted, edging to the left.

  Sparks flew from the wheels as the two cars touched. Speed fought the steering wheel, trying to keep from going over the cliff. He glanced over at the driver who was trying to kill him.

  Her eyes were closed. Her helmet had blown off and her long blond hair was blowing in the wind.

  “That’s Lily!” Speed cried. “And she’s not driving that car!”

  He looked up and saw the helicopter. So it was in control! How could he save himself without endangering Lily?

  Skillfully, Speed drove the Mach 5 off the racetrack, down a long gravel slope. He cut across a switchback, then slipped back onto the track again.

  There he saw that the X-3 had made a U-turn and was heading straight toward him!

  Speed downshifted and threw the Mach 5 into a controlled powerslide, barely missing the other car, then escaped on a long straightaway.

  “Darn!” muttered Flash, high above. “I have never seen such driving. I had better concentrate on the Three Roses cars for now. Later on, I’ll see that Speed Racer gets what’s coming to him!”

  12

  A BABE IN THE BOOT!

  Meanwhile, up in the grandstands, Pops Racer was pacing up and down. He was too nervous to stay in his seat. He, Sparky, Spritle, and Chim Chim were listening to the announcer’s voice over the loudspeaker:

  “The first group of racers has just passed checkpoint three! Car number six is in the lead! Followed closely by number twelve and the Three Roses club cars. Average speed right now is 143.7 miles per hour.”

  “Hmph!” muttered Pops. “Where’s Speed? Is he behind? Is he ahead?”

  “Take it easy, Pops,” said Sparky. “There’s nothing you can do right now. The race has three more hours to go.”

  “Three hours?!” cried Spritle.

  “Take it easy?! ” Pops exclaimed. “How can you expect me to take it easy when I’m worried about my son? I want to know how Speed is doing.”

  Then Pops looked around. “I wonder where Trixie is? Have you seen her, Sparky?”

  Sparky shrugged and reminded him, “The last time I saw her, she was standing beside the Mach 5.”

  “I bet I know where she is,” said Spritle.

  “Huh?” said Pops. “Where?”

  “In the Mach 5!” said Spritle.

  At that moment, the Mach 5 was straining up the steep grade to Danger Pass.

  The X-3, however, was pulling ahead. The Mach 5 was behind.

  “That car is too fast,” said Speed. “I can’t seem to overtake it. It’s an amazing car, and it might be even better than the Mach 5!”

  Speed studied the tachometer to see what the problem might be. His engine speed seemed okay. Something else must be wrong, he thought. Something else was holding him back.

  “Feels like extra weight!” he said. Then he remembered that he sometimes had stowaways. “Maybe Spritle and Chim Chim got away from Pops,” he muttered. “I’d better check the trunk!”

  Speed’s disk brakes glowed red as he pulled to a stop at the side of the track and jumped out of the car.

  “Spritle, are you in there?” he yelled as he flung open the trunk of the Mach 5. “Come on out! ”

  “Sorry, but Spritle’s not here, Speed,” said a soft, sweet voice.

  “Trixie?!” Speed gave her a hand and helped her out of the trunk. “What’s the big idea?”

  Trixie was cuter than ever in her red racing suit and helmet. “I want to be in a race with you,” she said. “And not in the trunk, either! Spritle is welcome to ride in there all he wants.”

  She smiled at Speed, but he was not so easily won over. In fact, he was furious.

  “Is that so? Let me warn you, Trixie!”

  His voice was drowned out by the roar of the other race cars speeding past.

  “No time, Speed!” said Trixie. She jumped into the passenger seat of the Mach 5. “We’ve got a race to win!”

  “You’re right—as usual,” muttered Speed, jumping into the driver’s seat.

  He threw the Mach 5 into gear, and with a squeal of tires, they were back in the race, heading up the mountain toward Danger Pass!

  13

  REMOTE CONTROL REVENGE

  The Three Roses cars sped faster and faster up the winding road to Danger Pass. They were under orders—to win at any cost.

  They soon caught up with the leaders of the race, who weren’t expecting foul play.

  “Get ready. We’ll start knocking some of the other cars out of the race,” said one of the Three Roses drivers.

  “Let’s do it!” said another.

  “Here goes!” said the third, as he rammed the bumper of one of the lead cars, sending it into a spin. His partner in crime weaved from side to side, knocking two other cars into the guardrails.

  The first victim spun into a boulder and crashed, while the second two smashed through the guardrails and disappeared over the cliff.

  All of the Three Roses drivers smiled. Now they were in the lead!

  They thought they were safe.

  They didn’t see the Mélange, two turns behind, catching up with them.

  “Hahaha!” Flash cackled. “Soon they will get what they are dishing out to others! ”

  Meanwhile, Lily was passed out at the wheel. As the Mélange careened around the sharp curves, racing to catch up with the Three Roses cars, Flash shouted into the radio mike:

  “Lily! Can you hear me? Lily, wake up! It’s me, Flash. You’ll be in Danger Pass soon—time to avenge our father! Lily, we’re going to get them!”

  Speed was following far behind, taking the curves on two wheels, making up for lost time.

  Trixie was right beside him, in the passenger seat..

  He pointed at the helicopter ahead and above. “I believe Flash Junior is up there, operating car number three by remote control! That’s Lily at the wheel.”

  “Oh!” said Trixie. “You mean car number three is really the Mélange?”

  “That’s what I think,” said Speed. “And I think he’s out for revenge! If we don’t stop him, he will wreck all the Three Roses cars, and maybe more besides!”

  “We’re out of radio range,” said Trixie. “I’ll use the homing robot to inform Inspector Detector.”

  She downloaded a voice message into the Mach 5’s homing robot. This was one of the many secret features of the Mach 5.

  “Car number three is really the Mélange, and it’s being operated from a helicopter by remote control,” said Trixie. “Lily Marker is at the wheel. She is in danger! We’re approaching the Danger Pass area, and we need your help.”

  “Go, robot!” said Speed. He pressed the G button at the center of the Mach 5’s steering wheel.

  A slot opened in the front of the car, and out flew a rocket shaped like a homing pigeon. It circled twice, getting its bearings, and then streaked out of sight.

  The race was now at Danger Pass, high in the mountains, far above the clouds. Snowy peaks loomed over the racetrack. The air was thin, the narrow track was steep, the curves were sharp—and so were the rocks below.

  The Three Roses cars were in the lead, running in a wedge-shaped pack.

  They didn’t yet see the X-3 closing in from behind. They didn’t see Flash’s helicopter, directing it from above.

  “At last! Here we are at Danger Pass, and now I’m going to take care of the Three Roses team,” Flash said. He pressed the joystick forward on the remote, and the X-3 approached the cars.

  Its horn honked: an eerie BEEP BEEP BEEP.

  The Three Roses drivers heard the sound and looked into their rearview mirrors. What they saw terrified them. They screamed into their radios:

  “Now it says X-3!” said one.

  “That’s the Mélange!” said the other.

  “Or its ghost! ” said the third.

  It was time for the final revenge. Flash wanted to share the thrill with his sister. “L
ily, wake up! Now is the time. Now we can get revenge for our father!”

  Lily finally managed to open her eyes. The car was speeding faster than ever. Above, she could see the red helicopter.

  “No, Flash!” she cried. “Please don’t go through with it!”

  The answer came with a sudden lurch, as Flash rammed the Mélange into one of the Three Roses cars, slamming it toward the loose gravel at the edge of the track.

  “Aaah!” cried the driver as his wheels lost traction. His car rolled over and crashed down the mountainside.

  “One down!” Flash cried triumphantly as the driver crawled out of the wreck and the car burst into flames.

  “You’ve done enough, Flash!” cried Lily. “Please, stop!”

  She turned the wheel desperately and hit the brakes, trying to stop, but the Mélange sped on. It was in Flash’s control, not hers.

  She heard his voice over the radio: “Two more to go, Lily!”

  The two remaining Three Roses drivers saw the wreck, and then the Mélange coming after them. They knew what was in store for them.

  “I’m sorry,” said one. “I was just following orders!”

  “Don’t wreck me,” said the other. “Show some mercy, please!”

  Flash heard their cries from overhead. “Mercy?” He laughed. He didn’t know the meaning of the word. With the remote control, he crashed the Mélange into the second Three Roses car, sending it into a spin.

  “Aaah!” wailed the driver as his car careened off the rocks and landed upside down in the canyon below. A battered driver crawled out of the ruined race car.

  Lily held on for dear life and screamed into the radio. “Please, Flash! You’ve done enough damage!”

  “Not yet, Lily,” Flash muttered in answer. “One more to go!”

  Still racing to catch up, Speed and Trixie saw both crashes from the Mach 5.

  “I’m too late!” Speed said. “I’ve got to do something to stop him.”

  “Oh, Speed,” said Trixie. “Be careful!”

  The Mélange and the last Three Roses driver were too far ahead. The switchback curves of Danger Pass were too tight. Even the Mach 5 couldn’t get through them in time to prevent another tragedy.

  But Speed knew that the Mach 5 had a secret weapon. Pops had added it for emergencies—and this was an emergency!

  “Hang on, Trixie! ” he said.

  He pressed the B button on the steering wheel, and a special traction tread extended over the tires. With the added traction, he steered off the racetrack, across the icy face of a glacier.

  “Oh!” cried Trixie.

  Taking full advantage of his added traction, Speed sped across the smooth ice, and then up a rocky cliff, back onto the racetrack.

  He smiled. The shortcut had worked, and now he was in between the two lead cars!

  From the helicopter, Flash saw the Mach 5 as it cut across the ice and then slipped back onto the track between the Mélange and the last of the Three Roses cars.

  Now Flash’s victim was out of reach!

  “What!” he shouted. “The Mach 5? How dare he get in my way.”

  Screaming with rage, he opened the emergency rescue kit and pulled out a flare gun. It fired bright rockets, like roman candles. They were distress signals, designed to help, not hurt.

  But they could hurt at close range!

  Flash flew lower toward the ground and opened the helicopter door.

  “Oh!” cried Trixie as she looked up and saw the flare gun in Flash’s hand.

  “No sweat,” said Speed. “Pops has prepared the Mach 5 for just such an attack.”

  Speed hit another button on his steering wheel. This one closed the cockpit, covering it with an impenetrable canopy of clear Plexiglas.

  The flares bounced off harmlessly.

  Above, Flash was furious. He worked the remote, trying to get around Speed so he could wreck the last Three Roses car.

  No good! Speed blocked his every move.

  He tried to crash the Mélange into the Mach 5, but Speed dodged him expertly.

  Flash roared with rage, his cries lost in the roar of engines below. Meanwhile, on a towering mountain above the pass, a snowfield shook, loosened by the blast of the helicopter’s rotors.

  The snow began to slide, faster and faster, down toward the narrow racetrack.

  Trixie screamed as she looked up through the Plexiglas windshield. All she could see was snow.

  Then there was a sound like thunder, and everything went white.

  Avalanche!

  Silence.

  14

  LET IT SNOW

  Everything was still.

  Trixie and Speed looked at each other in the dim light.

  The Mach 5 was buried.

  “We’ve got to get out of here before all our oxygen is used up,” said Trixie.

  “Right as usual,” said Speed. “Let’s try to climb out.”

  He pressed a button, and the Plexiglas canopy slid open.

  Cold snow poured down on Trixie’s head. Speed laughed and started to climb up through the snow, digging as he went.

  “What’s so funny,” muttered Trixie. She tried to follow Speed as he tunneled up through the snow, slipping and sliding.

  She was just about to run out of breath when she saw daylight above. And Speed’s smile!

  “Come on, give me your hand,” he said, pulling her up to daylight. “We’re safe now! ”

  “That’s what you think! ” said a cold voice, even colder than the snow.

  It was Flash.

  The helicopter was parked on the snow, with the Mélange right beside it. Lily was in the race car, looking dazed.

  “I get rid of everybody who gets in my way, and that’s what you did, Speed. Now I’m going to take care of you and your girlfriend.”

  “You’ll never get away with it,” said Speed. “The police will be here any minute.”

  “You will be toast by the time they get here,” cried Flash, swinging his crutch like a bat as he lunged at Speed.

  “No, Flash!” shouted Lily. She threw herself at Flash, knocking him down. Speed ran at Flash, fists clenched—then stopped when he heard a distant rumble getting closer and closer.

  It was another avalanche, triggered by their shouts!

  A wall of snow swept down the mountain as Flash and Speed, Trixie and Lily all started running. But they couldn’t outrun the snow. In a matter of seconds, they were all enveloped in a cloud of loose snow.

  Trixie and Lily struggled to their feet. Flash, looking dazed, was on his knees beside them.

  Trixie looked around. “Speed, where are you?”

  She looked in every direction. Speed was nowhere to be seen. The avalanche must have buried him!

  “Your precious Speed Racer is gone!” said Flash. With an evil laugh, he grabbed his crutch and started for the helicopter. “That avalanche finished him off for good!”

  “Oh, no!” cried Trixie.

  “Flash, wait!” cried Lily. “Don’t leave me here!”

  Flash ignored her. He got into the helicopter and the rotors started to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster.

  “Now to finish my revenge,” he said as he lifted off the snow. “There is one more Three Roses car left!”

  He flew off, leaving Lily and Trixie standing side by side. Beside them, the Mélange roared to life and sped off. This time there was no one in the driver’s seat. Flash was driving it by remote control.

  Trixie and Lily looked at each other. They were alone. Each was about to burst into tears, when—

  Trixie saw a hand emerge from the snow. Then another.

  “Speed!” she said as he crawled out of the snow and collapsed. “You’ve been hurt! ”

  Speed’s arm was bleeding where a jagged sheet of ice had scratched it.

  “He’s freezing!” said Lily. Speed groaned and fell down on the snow. His eyes were closed.

  “I’m going to get a first aid kit!” said Trixie. Luckily, the Mach 5 h
ad been partially uncovered by the second avalanche.

  “If he isn’t kept warm, he won’t pull through,” said Lily. “I’ve got to keep him warm!”

  Lily lay down and took Speed in her arms. Her tears fell on his face. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry for what my brother, Flash, has done to you and the others!”

  “Huh?” Trixie came running with the first aid kit from the Mach 5. She stopped when she saw Lily holding Speed in her arms.

  “Get away! ” Trixie knocked Lily aside and put her own arms around Speed.

  “Come on!” she cried. “You’ve got to pull out of it. Wake up, Speed! Can’t you hear me?”

  Speed opened his eyes and smiled. “Trixie?”

  “Who else?” she responded.

  15

  DIGGING OUT!

  Meanwhile, a convoy of police vehicles was climbing up Danger Pass. They had gotten the message from the robot drone.

  Pops Racer and Sparky were riding in the lead vehicle with Inspector Detector. Spritle and Chim Chim had been left behind—or so Pops thought.

  “I never suspected Flash Marker Junior was behind this whole plot,” said Inspector Detector. “It was clever of Speed to make the discovery. He’s a smart boy.”

  “Well, after all, he’s a chip off the old block! ” said Pops. “He gets his smarts from me! ”

  “What about the other chip, Pops?” said Sparky. “Does Spritle get his mischief from you, too?”

  “Well, uh—” Pops began.

  “Yes! ” said a tiny voice. Pops looked down and saw Spritle and Chim Chim, hiding under the seat.

  “You rascals!” said Pops, dragging them out. “Stowed away again, huh?”

  “Right, Pops. Chip off old block,” said Spritle.

  “Woo-hoo,” agreed Chim Chim.

  They all laughed as the convoy sped on toward Danger Pass. Even Inspector Detector.

  On the mountaintop, Lily was still sobbing. “I’m sorry all this happened because of my brother!” she said.

  “Don’t cry, Lily,” Trixie said. “You’re not to blame for the terrible things your brother has done.”