The WASP zoomed across the desert. The lion was galloping now, sand flying as his pads hit the ground. He was outpacing the WASP. It would only be a matter of time before he caught up to them.

“Tranquilize him!” Ben yelled to Zoe. “It’s our only hope.”

“I can’t!” Zoe yelled. She held the cub tight. “Jossy will fall if I let go of him.”

They hit a small rock, sending a jolt through the WASP. Jossy yelped in pain.

Zoe risked a look back. The cub’s cry had spurred the lion on. “Faster!” she screamed. “He’s catching up to us!”

“We’re going as fast as we can,” Ben said through clenched teeth.

He could see the start of the sand dunes rising up ahead. His heart sank. That would slow them down even more — and maybe the lion, too.

Then the WASP hit the slopes. As it struggled to climb the sloping sand, Ben leaned forward, urging the machine up the hill.

“The lion!” screamed Zoe.

Ben glanced over his shoulder. The creature was in pouncing distance. He could see his sharp teeth as his lip curled into a snarl.

As they reached the top of the hill, the lion leaped. His claws scraped across the back of the WASP. At that moment, they surged over the peak and began to accelerate down the steep slope, sand flying behind them.

Zoe twisted in her seat. The lion was panting hard and trying in vain to stay on his feet. Laying in the sand, the creature looked scrawny and old.

“You did it,” Zoe cried. “We outran him!”

“I’m not slowing down yet,” Ben yelled back.

They zoomed down the dune and up the next, hurtling to the bottom at high speed.

“Watch out!” yelled Zoe.

They were heading toward a stretch of small, sharp boulders. Ben tried to swing the WASP around to avoid them, but it was too late.

CRACK! The WASP shuddered, lurched to one side, then flipped over. “Jossy!” yelled Zoe. She climbed out of the vehicle and scrambled to her feet. “Is he okay?”

Ben got out and crouched down to examine the motionless cub. “I hope so,” he said. “I saw him roll out of your arms, so he didn’t fall far.”

Zoe gently stroked Jossy’s head. The cub made a faint mewing sound. “He looks okay,” Zoe said, “but what about you?”

Ben grinned. “Just a few bruises,” he said. He went to inspect the WASP. It was tipped on its side a short distance away from them.

“Let’s see if we can get the WASP back on its wheels,” Ben said. As he walked around the other side of the vehicle, he let out a low whistle. “One of the wheels is broken. And the axle has snapped. This isn’t going anywhere.”

“Then we’re on foot,” said Zoe, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt.

Ben looked back at the way they’d come. “We seem to have lost the lion, thankfully,” he said.

“If we carry everything in your backpack,” said Zoe, “we can use mine to carry Jossy. No time to hang around here. We’ll update Erika after we’re absolutely sure the lion’s not around anymore.”

“We need food and water,” Ben said. He picked up Zoe’s bag and began to empty it. “And the vet kit, of course.”

Ben hurriedly unclipped the sail from the WASP. “This will make a good shelter,” he said. He folded it up and put it in his backpack with their sleeping bags and the rope. “Everything else has to stay.”

Zoe carefully placed Jossy in her backpack. Then she went to help Ben unfasten the water tank.

“In this heat, we’ll need all the water we can carry in this heat,” Zoe said. Then she noticed the dark wet patch on the ground beneath the WASP. She touched it with her fingers and gasped.

“Ben!” she said. “The tank’s been punctured. Our water’s gone!”