Free Canyon Chaos by Axel Lewis

functions. “Front offside tyre is a little worn, engine might need a little tune-up, spot of oil...and I need water. And fuel.”
    “Grandpa?” said Jimmy into the intercom. “Can Cabbie divert water from his water cannon and take fuel from the rocket-boosters?”
    “Erm, I don’t know, Jimmy. I’ve never tried it,” Grandpa’s voice crackled over the intercom.
    “Already done it,” said Cabbie.
    “Brilliant!” cried Jimmy. “We’re going on!”
    Grandpa stood open-mouthed as they sailed past him, past all the other racers, and went into the lead. In his mirror, Jimmy could see the small white-haired figure, bouncing up and down and punching the air.
    Over the intercom came Grandpa’s voice. “Go, Jimmy, go!”
    Jimmy cheered – and then panicked. He’d never seen a robot racer miss a pit stop before. What if it was the wrong thing to do?
    “How far is it to the next pit stop?” he asked anxiously.
    “Forty-two kilometres,” said Cabbie.
    “Will we make it all right?”
    “Make it?” cried Cabbie. “Of course we’ll make it! There are bits of me that spent twenty years on the taxi circuit! Those other racers might need their fancy paintwork touched up and their wheels massaged, but with enough water and fuel we can keep going for ever!”
    Jimmy grinned as Cabbie switched on the zoom screen to show the view behind them. He was sure the other racers would catch up soon, but for the moment, they were actually winning!

Chapter 11 - Dirty Tricks
    The road started to climb and Cabbie accelerated. They snaked left, then right, then left again, Jimmy growing in confidence all the time. The road began to narrow until the ledge they were driving on was only slightly wider than Cabbie’s bonnet. Jimmy glanced over at the sheer drop on their right and his stomach did a couple of nervous somersaults.
    “No one can overtake us here!” shouted Cabbie, just as the other robot racers appeared in their mirrors. They were gaining fast.
    “Whoa!” yelled Jimmy as they rounded a bend and Cabbie’s back end swung out over the edge of the cliff. “Let’s keep all four wheels on the road, Cabbie.”
    As the taxi found its grip again, Jimmy heard a faint cheer from the crowd watching from the canyon’s edge. Jimmy surged forwards before guiding Cabbie into another right-hand corner.
    “Look out!” cried Jimmy, slamming on the brakes as he saw that the road ahead was completely blocked by a huge rockslide. But the racer was still skidding towards the mountain of rocks and boulders...Jimmy stiffened, bracing himself for the impact.
    “Don’t worry, I’ve got this all under control,” said Cabbie calmly, hitting the retro-rockets, which fired instantly, bringing them to a stop just in front of the rockslide. As Jimmy peered through the windscreen he could see Cabbie’s front tyres smoking, and a cloud of dust had flown up all around them.
    Next to them the cliff dropped down to the river below, a tumbling slope of red rocks and dust.
    “I didn’t see this from the airship,” Jimmy complained.
    “It wasn’t there before,” Cabbie confirmed. “I think this is the first challenge of the race. You know there are always obstacles on each track.”
    Jimmy glanced nervously at the vertical rock face on his left, at the sheer drop down into the canyon on his right, and at the rock pile ahead. “Can we get over it?” Jimmy thought out loud. “Or through it? Or under it?”
    “The others are gaining on us,” said Cabbie. “Whatever we do, we need to do it fast!”
    “OK,” said Jimmy. “How do we get over it?”
    “We...” Cabbie paused and thought, his computer whirring. “We fire the pogo-thruster. The button’s flashing blue now.”
    “The pogo-thruster?” repeated Jimmy nervously. “What does it do?”
    “Rockets us into the sky,” said Cabbie. “We’ll land on the other side of the landslide and we’ll be away.”
    “But it’s a windy day. What if we don’t land on the other