Free Desert Disaster by Axel Lewis Page B

the race on.
    “We’re making great time, Jimmy!” said Cabbie.
    “Good,” Jimmy replied. “Because I want to make sure we beat Horace!”
    “But he’s miles in front!” said Cabbie.
    Jimmy shook his head and pressed his foot hard on the accelerator. “We’re faster than Zoom on this sand. He’s cheated us all out of points once – we can’t let it happen again!”
    Jimmy chased after Missy, whizzing through the sand, Chip following after him. They sped down a slope and they were soon back on track, just a few metres behind Sammy and Princess Kako!
    Poor Princess Kako looked tired, as though she might give up at any second. Lightning’s two fat tyres still didn’t make great desert wheels, and the sun was beating down on her exposed back, making her racing suit steam. Missy and Jimmy passed her easily, closely followed by Chip.
    “Almost there!” Jimmy shouted encouragingly as they drove by.
    Kako shook her head, and Jimmy could tell she was running out of energy. There was no way she was going to win this race now. It almost looked like she was driving through treacle. Every metre travelled seemed like a huge effort.
    All the other robots were gunning for the finish line, jostling for position. Behind Cabbie, Chip and Dug began to lag behind in the difficult conditions.
    But Cabbie was having his own problems...
    “Engine reaching maximum temperature!” the robot shouted. Jimmy gasped as he saw steam rising from his bonnet. He frantically looked around at the masses of buttons in front of him, but he couldn’t see any other engine-cooling gadgets.
    “Do something!” cried Cabbie. “Or the engine might melt!”
    “Melt?” The word struck Jimmy and he had an idea. “Cabbie – can you use the ice-cream machine to cool down your engine?”
    “Great idea, Jimmy!” A grinding sound came from Cabbie’s engine and then he beeped happily. “Press the ice-cream button, Jimmy,” he called.
    Jimmy hit the button, and gallons of ice cream went glugging under the bonnet with a satisfying hiss, cooling the engine down quickly.
    “Ah! That’s better!” sighed Cabbie. “Ooh, and raspberry ripple flavour? My favourite!”
    “Come on, Cabbie!” called Jimmy. “We can make this! Together!”
    “I’m trying, Jimmy,” said Cabbie, straining. “But it’s just too far. Unless...”
    “What?”
    “There is a shorter route.”
    As Cabbie said it, Jimmy saw the giant sand dune that rose up to their right.
    “What do you think, Jimmy? It’s all or nothing up that way...”
    Jimmy hesitated for just a second. Twice they’d ended up in trouble during this race because they’d taken risks. Then he pictured Horace’s sneering face mocking him for coming last. There was no way he was going to give up on the win when there was a chance of beating that cheater.
    “Let’s do it!” he shouted, and turned Cabbie sharply to the right.
    Zoom took the low path around the dune and the rest of the robots followed. All except Cabbie, who roared up the dune away from the others...
    Sand started to slip and slide under his tracks. Jimmy concentrated on steering while Cabbie’s engine creaked and groaned as he applied more and more power to get himself up the mountainous slope. Jimmy hit the windscreen wipers as sand streamed across the glass, making it tricky to see. They were nearing the top of the dune now, the wind battering Cabbie.
    Jimmy kept encouraging Cabbie as they reached the top of the dune. “Not far now, buddy! After this last bit, it’s all downhill.”
    Looking down, Jimmy could see Zoom and Missy racing ahead, inching closer and closer to the finish line. Jimmy shook his head, suddenly feeling like he’d made a massive mistake. They were still so far from the finish and they’d used up gallons of fuel pushing themselves up a massive sand dune. “We’ll have to go down the dune at full speed,” he said. “Are you ready?”
    “Actually, Jimmy,” said Cabbie with mischief in his voice,