The racers drove down an on-ramp to get off the freeway and had to make a sudden right to stay on the track. About a mile down the road, A11_4_ON3 saw a glowing white beam. That must be the end of the course, he figured.
Looking to his right, he saw where they had come from. The glowing city seemed somehow bigger than he had imagined it. It was hard to believe they weren’t already outside the city limits. They had gotten off the freeway and driven into farm country—no sharp turns here. It was a straight shot to the white beam. They flew past crops and silos on a two-lane road. There was no traffic either, and the green team was still far ahead of them with a massive advantage.
The green pod that was tailing was catching up quickly.
“This guy’s moving up on us,” said STR33T_WIZE.
“See if you can cut him off,” ECHO replied. “Get in his way. Make sure he can’t pass.”
STR33T_WIZE broke from the line formation, sliding into the opposite lane where the green racer was trying to get by the red team. The racer anticipated his movement and dodged right, getting around the attempted block with ease. Z1P_ZAP tried to block too by moving into the center of the road. But the green racer simply let half of the pod hang off the pavement, passing Z1P_ZAP on the right. It dodged left around A11_4_ON3, then right around ECHO, and took off toward the rest of its team.
“Well,” STR33T_WIZE said, “we tried. That was it, right? We’re done for?”
“If we lost,” ECHO said, “we finish with dignity as fast as we can. It’s not over yet, and even if it is, we’ll do better next time.”
“I can see the end,” A11_4_ON3 said.
As they got closer, a building came into view. With half-walls and no windows, it was clearly a parking structure—one that seemed totally out of place in this rural area. It was huge—three times the size of any parking ramp A11_4_ON3 had ever seen. The beam shot out the top of it.
“We have to get to the top of the ramp,” he said. “That’s where the finish line is.”
The red team watched in disappointment as the green team pushed their pods to maximum speed and flew into the structure well before they had a chance to make it there.
“Well,” STR33T_WIZE said, “this was fun—no way we can beat them now. They just finished.”
“Not necessarily,” ECHO said. “The game hasn’t ended. I doubt that building is as easy as it looks.”
The red team approached the building together, driving up a ramp into an open area filled with vacant parking spaces.
“Wait,” ECHO said, “hold up.” They all stopped their pods. “Look at them. We’re still in this thing.”
The green pods had scattered once they’d gone into the building, all four pods driving around in different directions. Within the building, there were ramps that led up to the right and ramps that led down to the left. It also had waist-high concrete walls with chain-link fencing on top of them. In the center, surrounded by the fenced half-walls, there was a ramp going up, but the team couldn’t see how to get there.
“What are they doing?” Z1P_ZAP asked. “Why don’t they just drive right to the top?” One of the green pods flew past them going up to the right while another went the opposite direction.
ECHO laughed. “They can’t find it. This parking ramp is a maze.”
“What should we do?” STR33T_WIZE asked. “Two of us go left and two go right?”
“No,” A11_4_ON3 said, “we should all stick together. If two of us find the top, it will be impossible to describe where it is to the others. Everything in here looks the same.”
“Good thinking,” ECHO said. “Let’s go right.”
“Right it is,” Z1P_ZAP confirmed.
The team headed up a ramp to the right, but they reached a wall and had to take a left that led to a ramp going downward. They followed it to the opposite side of the structure where they had to make a choice to go left or right. They chose right and found they were on another ramp down.
“We should turn around,” STR33T_WIZE said. “We shouldn’t be heading down.”
“But it might be a trick,” ECHO replied as they continued downward. “We think we’re supposed to go up, so we should go down, and eventually we’ll find the way up. Does that make sense?”
“No,” STR33T_WIZE replied.
“Let’s just keep going the way we are,” A11_4_ON3 said. “We’ll either find the top together or fail together.”
They reached the bottom of the ramp and found they could either keep going straight on a ramp that led upward or make a right on a path that led toward the interior of the structure.
A green pod emerged from the path that led inward, paused at the intersection for a moment, then went up the ramp the red team had just come down.
“Well, he didn’t find anything in there,” Z1P_ZAP said. “Let’s go up.”
They went up the ramp, reached an outer wall and had to make a left. They could keep going straight or make a right. They kept going straight. Eventually they had to make a right and go up another ramp, but when they reached the top they had to make a left and go downward.
“Who designed this ramp?” shouted STR33T_WIZE. “I feel like I’m lost in an optical illusion!”
They went up ramps, down ramps, made rights and lefts, and crossed the structure more times than they could count. Every so often they would see a green pod drive by, just as lost as they were.
“Do you think any of them have found the top yet?” Z1P_ZAP asked.
“We won’t know until we get there,” A11_4_ON3 replied.
“Well, let’s get there,” STR33T_WIZE added. “I’ve never been so sick of a building in my life.”
It took nearly an hour. A11_4_ON3’s arms were getting tired from holding the wheel, but eventually they made a left turn that led up a ramp, and at the top they could see open air.
“I think this is it,” A11_4_ON3 said. “I think we’ve found the way out.”
They drove up the ramp, and there it was—the white beam at the opposite end of the building.
Just as they spotted the finish line, two green pods appeared at the bottom of the ramp in A11_4_ON3’s rearview. Only a second later, the other green pods appeared.
“They found it too!” he shouted. “Go!”
They all pushed their throttles to maximum speed, but so did all four green pods, and they could go a lot faster. As the red team crossed the flat surface of the parking structure, the green team was gaining on them at an incredible rate.
They’re going to pass us, A11_4_ON3 thought. We were so close . . .
The finish line seemed farther and farther away the closer the green team got to passing them.
“We won’t make it in time!” shouted STR33T_WIZE. “They’re gonna pass us!”
Suddenly A11_4_ON3 got an idea. “No they’re not,” he said.
“What are you going to do?” ECHO asked.
There wasn’t time to explain. “Win,” he said, gripping his hand brake and dropping back from the team.
When the green team was only a few pod lengths behind him, he yanked the hand brake as hard as he could, turning the wheel to the left. The pod violently turned at a ninety-degree angle and stopped cold. The green team didn’t have enough time to react. The first two pods smashed into the broadside of A11_4_ON3’s pod, and the following two crashed into the pileup.
The impact sent his pod flying fast enough to give him whiplash. He nearly smacked his head on the windshield as the vehicle flipped over. The dashboard began glowing bright red, just like when he was eliminated from the arena. The crash had destroyed his pod. He would come in last, but as his pod came to a rest upside down on the far edge of the parking structure, he saw that his plan had worked. The green pods were stuck in the pileup, and he caught sight of his teammates crossing the finish line.
Z1P_ZAP ended up taking first, ECHO took second, STR33T_WIZE took third, and A11_4_ON3 came in eighth. He was surprised to realize that it didn’t bother him. His name might not have been at the top of the list, but he had still won—they had won.
We did it, he thought to himself, still hanging upside down in his seat. Z1P_ZAP, STR33T_WIZE, and ECHO cheered in victory.
“Congratulations to the red team!” The Game Runner’s voice came out of nowhere. Suddenly the members of the red team were no longer in their pods and were instead standing together on top of a glowing L33T C0RP logo, surrounded by darkness. “You are the first victors of Pod Racer.”
“Not so bad,” ECHO said. “Good job, guys!”
“Yeah!” STR33T_WIZE shouted. “We did it! I’ll bet the green team is pretty mad at you, A11_4_ON3.”
“You guys helped too,” A11_4_ON3 said with a modest shrug.
STR33T_WIZE grinned. “Let me hear you say teamwork! Teamwork!”
ECHO and Z1P_ZAP took part in the chant this time, pumping their fists with STR33T_WIZE. A11_4_ON3 just laughed.
“That was pretty good,” Z1P_ZAP said, turning to him. “You really took one for the team there, A11_4_ON3. I never would have thought to pull that move. And hey, you didn’t even take first.”
He smiled to himself. “We took first.” He paused. “And call me CRU1S3R. I chose a dumb name in this race.”
ECHO laughed. “Yeah, you did. Well, CRU1S3R, what would you say to entering a few more team races? You know, as long as it’s all right with Z1P and STR33T.”
“Fine by me,” STR33T_WIZE said with a grin.
“Whatever, I guess . . .” Z1P_ZAP said, although he could see she was trying to hide the smile crawling up her face.
“In it to win it,” he said.
