Space Race (Space Race 1) Nathan Hystad (ebooks children's books free .TXT) 📖

“Arlo, Barret’s behind. They’ve been damaged. I think the others are playing easy, in hopes they can still knock you from the Race,” Holland told me.

“They can try, but I’m not going to give them the satisfaction.” I pushed harder now as I entered the next Ring in third position, with Orion right behind me. I checked the clock, and ten minutes had passed. There were twelve checkpoints remaining, with the last quarter getting closer and tighter as they looped low to the ground and through a narrow valley.

“Gun it. Destroy them.” Luther’s voice was loud in my ear, and I imagined my big teammate pounding a fist into his other palm.

I focused, urging the Pod to go faster while staying controlled and decisive. I passed through the next point, closing on the twenty-second gap from first place.

Another tense ten minutes passed, with Barret’s damaged ship still flying the track. I’d remained in the same position but had gained some ground on second.

“Why is Barret not landing?” Jade asked.

“Best guess? Someone’s planning to strike Arlo. Sacrifice their position to take him down, and then Barret will still place, giving them the final seven they want to continue. Without SeaTech,” Luther responded.

“He’s right.” I saw it now. Sage Industries had passed three more teams during the last five-Ring stretch, and Espace was drifting behind them, almost being guided to the front. Oasis moved to the side as they arrived. It was so obvious. “They can’t do this!”

Three checkpoints remained. “Arlo, you have to watch your back. They’re joining forces.” Luther’s warning wasn’t necessary. I’d expected the other Pods to make their move.

“Wait. There are a couple of things you can do,” Jade told me. Lotus’ Pod thrusters burned hotly ahead of me, and Orion was right on my tail.

I smiled as she listed them off, and listened intently while trying to catch first place. Lotus entered the Ring and turned sharply, with me taking a slightly larger loop.

“You could just stay out of the way, finish in a respectable position,” Holland said.

I’d had enough of these Corporations. “No. We’re going to win this race.” I scanned the maps, knowing which ship was likely to act. “Espace is coming for me. No one cares about their part in the Race, and they’ll do as they’re instructed.”

“I see them coming. They’re going to fry their couplers at this rate,” Luther said.

Sage took over second, and Espace’s sleek Pod entered the Ring. And as we expected, they made a beeline for my Pod.

Two Rings remained. Lotus was roughly fifteen seconds ahead, with Sage gaining ground on me, but all eyes were on Espace. Their pilot continued to use the overdrive, the blue thrusters pulsing as they were pushed to their limits.

The moment the Pod settled into my trail, I hit the vents. Steam and water shot from the sides of my Pod, turning to ice crystals. They battered the hull of Espace, and as hoped, she turned too hard trying to avoid the cloud. I took satisfaction at being able to return the favor from their early hijinks in the Race. The valley had come up quickly, and she had to veer even harder left to avoid a crash into the protruding red rocks.

“It’s not over yet!” I called back, finding Sage had replaced Espace as my tail.

“Sage won’t sacrifice themselves to take you out,” Luther muttered, and the Pod with the number one painted on its hull flew over, trying to clip my wing.

I’d anticipated the attack and shifted at the precise moment. The valley narrowed here, and the second to last Ring was only two hundred meters away. Rocks from each edge of the range met the Ring, making one path through, and with Sage and SeaTech side by side, we risked tearing a wing off on the hard edges.

“Come on.” Time was running out, and Sage veered over again, trying to intimidate me into moving. Instead of stooping to Sage’s level, I slowed, and Sage continued sliding to the left. Their wing clipped an overhanging rock, and the Pod began spinning out of control.

I raced past the battered Pod and entered the second to last checkpoint.

One Ring. One Pod ahead of me.

I’d had numerous races just like this when I was young, where I’d been forced to test myself in the final minutes of the contests. I’d rarely lost, even coming from behind. The years of experience filled my veins, calmed my mind, and the controls felt like an extension of my body.

I glanced at the footage on the live feeds as Sage threw all their energy into a spherical shield and bounced hard, skipping the forty meters to the Ring. Orion shot past them in third. Luna was back in fifth, which was surprising given the hype around their young Pod sprinter.

“Looks like Sage’s pilot is going to be okay,” Jade acknowledged.

The drones hovered over the crowds, and everyone was now shouting their support for Lotus. I didn’t think Orion was near enough to cause damage to our Pod, and I did everything in my power to maintain a straight trajectory. The final Ring returned the Pods to the starting line, and the roar of the corporate executives and their families was echoing into my earpiece.

Luther patched something through. “Check this out.”

“Baru, did you ever imagine anyone cheering on SeaTech? Where has Hawk Lewis been all these years? The once phenom childhood racer is giving SeaTech a real shot at victory over Lotus on their home field. This could go down as the greatest Pod Race in history.”

“Only if he wins, but something tells me Lotus won’t make it easy,” Baru predicted.

And then I heard it. Softly at first, among the overwhelming applause for Lotus. “SeaTech. SeaTech!”

“Hawk, they’re cheering for you!” Luther bellowed. “Show them what you’ve got!”

I didn’t respond, just shot the Pod into overdrive as the closing stretch appeared in the distance. The surface of Mars rolled so fast under me, it was blurry. My