Robot Racers by Axel Lewis

Author:Axel Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 9781434265708, 9781434279361, fiction, Stone Arch Books, Robot Racers, robots, action & adventure/general, transportation/general, sports & recreation/general, people & places/other
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2014-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

THE COMPETITION

The next day, at exactly 8:57 a.m., Jimmy and Grandpa made their way outside. The sky above them darkened. Lord Leadpipe’s giant airship floated overhead, blocking out most of the sun. It looked like it was still night.

Maverick drove out of the shed. “How do I look, Jimmy?” he asked.

Jimmy squinted at his racer. Grandpa had smartened up Maverick’s appearance. He looked more like a professional robot racer, but there were still gray patches and lumps and bumps. Maverick wouldn’t be winning a beauty contest anytime soon.

“You look amazing,” said Jimmy, hoping that he sounded convincing.

Jimmy and Grandpa packed a suitcase of clothes and Grandpa’s tool bag safely into Maverick’s trunk before climbing into the front seats. Jimmy looked around Maverick’s cockpit. There were even more buttons and levers and switches than he remembered.

Grandpa had spent half the night working on Maverick, making modifications. He kept saying, “Things are only going to get tougher from here on out, my boy. I want Maverick to be prepared for any situation. Who knows what Leadpipe will have planned for you?”

Before Jimmy could investigate the dials and knobs any further, there was a boom! that shook the earth. A huge platform was lowered from the airship on thick metal chains.

“Amazing!” said Jimmy.

“Incredible!” Maverick added.

“Show-off,” Grandpa muttered.

The platform reached the ground. Jimmy drove Maverick onto it.

Grinding and creaking, the chains were pulled up again. Jimmy peered over the edge of the platform as they rose higher and higher into the sky. The platform climbed above the trees, above the tops of the houses, and kept on going until it was high into the clouds.

Grandpa had his eyes squeezed shut. His skin had turned a nasty green color, as though he might throw up at any moment. But for Jimmy, this was one of the most exciting moments of his life.

I can’t wait to tell Max about this. I’m actually going to get to see inside Lord Leadpipe’s private airship! he thought.

Finally they heard a loud clunk. Jimmy looked around at his new surroundings in amazement. Everywhere Jimmy looked, people were rushing around carrying equipment or shouting orders. There were electronic signs pointing to places like the swimming pool, movie theater, and restaurants.

And the room they had been lifted into was actually the most enormous workshop Jimmy had ever seen. Under brilliant white spotlights, the mechanics and pit crews for each of the racers worked on their robots. None of them even noticed Jimmy, Grandpa, and Maverick make their entrance.

As they opened Maverick’s doors and climbed out, Jimmy saw that the platform had lifted them directly into their own work station. It had shelves, cabinets, and tool chests full of state-of-the-art gadgetry. It made Grandpa’s battered old tool kit look prehistoric.

But before he could say a word, Jimmy felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around to see a tall man with huge eyebrows grinning at him. The man wore a dark blazer with a gold L for Leadpipe on the breast pocket.

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