Ready, Set, Blast Off! Read online

  “Yeah, you are doing a great job!” added Drake.

  She opened her eyes and smiled. “Thanks, guys. I just—” Sally gasped and pointed toward the ring field. All the direction arrows had disappeared from the path. The Zoomers were lost!

  Chapter 6

  Collision!

  “Where did the arrows go?!” Seth yelled.

  The buzzer went off several times.

  “We are now in sixth place,” Cara announced.

  “What happened?” asked Drake. “We were just in first place.”

  “I do not know,” said Seth. “I have been watching the arrows like a Nebulon swoop bird. But the arrows switched and disappeared!”

  Just then a car flew past them.

  “We are now in seventh place,” said Cara.

  “Get with the program, guys!” Seth shouted. “Thanks for helping me . . . NOT!”

  “Sorry, but we can work together now,” said Zack.

  Sally and Drake agreed as they all searched for their next arrow.

  “There is one!” shouted Sally. The arrow was pointing backward.

  “Throw the spacecar into reverse!” yelled Drake. “Now!”

  Seth slammed down on the gears and steered the spacecar in reverse.

  “How do we find the next forward arrow if it is behind us?” cried Drake.

  “Sally, can you figure out which direction we need to go?” asked Zack.

  “All arrows on the next ring should point forward,” Sally said. “But we need to wait until the ring we are on connects with the next one. That is where we will find our next arrow.”

  “We need to switch rings now, or we will have to wait another lap before they line up again,” said Drake.

  “Got it. Do not worry, guys,” said Seth calmly. “I have this under control.”

  As the rings drew closer to each other, Seth shifted the car forward. He was driving onto the next ring when another spacecar suddenly appeared in Seth’s side-view monitor.

  “Everybody, hold on!” yelled Seth.

  CRASH!

  Chapter 7

  End of the Line?

  The Zoomers’ spacecar thudded to a sudden stop. The dashboard lights flickered off and then came back on again.

  “Is everyone okay?” Seth called out.

  “I am all right,” said Drake.

  “Me too,” said Sally.

  “Me three,” Zack called out. “Good thing we were buckled up. Cara, status report, please.”

  “Two cars are down. Emergency mode has been activated,” said Cara. “I have put up a protective force field around both cars. The other racers have been alerted about the accident. Your teacher, Ms. Rudolph, will arrive with the Stellar Robots shortly.”

  Minutes later, the pit crew set up a safe-dome around the wreck. Ms. Rudolph ran to the Zoomer’s spacecar.

  “Students, are you all right?” their teacher asked.

  “Yes, we are all okay. What about the team in the other car?” asked Drake.

  “They’re fine,” said Ms. Rudolph.

  “How bad does our spacecar look?” asked Seth as a Stellar Robot walked inside.

  “The left engine is broken,” the robot said. “Overnight repair is necessary. Towing back to mech-room now.”

  “Wait, but what does that mean for us?” asked Sally.

  “Unfortunately, this spacecar is not safe to drive,” said Ms. Rudolph. “Since you can’t finish this race, I’m afraid you will have to sit this round out.”

  “What? So do we lose?” asked Seth worriedly.

  “Oh no!” said Zack. He looked at his teammates, disappointed.

  “But this is not the end!” Ms. Rudolph assured them. “The official rules state that the final team rankings will be decided by adding up the two fastest times out of the three rounds.”

  “Does that mean we still have a chance to win?” asked Drake happily.

  “We sure do!” said Sally. “If we win the third race, then we can still take home the Interstellar Space Race first-place medal!”

  “Yeah! The race isn’t over until it’s over,” said Zack.

  Drake and Sally cheered, but Seth just gave a faint smile as a tow-tractor beam pulled them off the course.

  Chapter 8

  Zack the Pilot

  After traveling overnight, the Zoomers gathered at the spacecar port on Magna Stella 4. This planet was also known as the “star planet” because it was surrounded by the shining Star Speedway.

  Zack, Drake, and Sally watched as the Stellar Robots made the last adjustments to their car. The Star Speedway was made up entirely of tiny stars. To win the race, spacecars must fly from star to star. It was important to aim correctly because if they missed, they would get spun into space.

  Seth joined them. He had not said a single word on the trip from Circulus to Magna Stella 4. “I cannot believe that we are in last place,” he said.

  “Well, we did not finish the last round,” Drake pointed out.

  “And I suppose that is my fault?” Seth snapped.

  “Nobody is blaming you, Seth,” Sally said.

  “Rules are rules,” said Drake.

  Seth grumbled and walked away. Zack and Sally ran after him.

  “Hey, cheer up, Seth,” said Zack. “We all make mistakes. It’s how you learn from them that makes you a champion. This competition isn’t over yet, so don’t count us out!”

  “Plus, we saved the best spacecar for last!” said Sally.

  The Zoomers all admired their cool new design.

  “Look at the astro-powered hyper-jet engine with built-in ion blasters for extra speed,” said Drake. “That was your idea, Seth.”

  “It was a great one, too,” said Zack. “C’mon, Seth, we’re still a team, right? Let’s finish this race together.”

  Drake agreed, and Sally smiled too.

  “I am sorry,” said Seth. “I should not have been so pushy before. You are right, Zack. We are a team.”

  “Yeah!” the other Zoomers cheered.

  “And,” said Sally, “as a fellow team member, I think Zack deserves a chance to get behind the wheel!”

  Zack immediately felt nervous. “What? But you were going to drive this round. I’m just the engineer.”

  “Go for it, Zack,” said Sally. “You will do great. I know because with me directing, you cannot go wrong.”

  “Take us to the finish line, Captain!” said Seth.

  Zack looked at his friends. Even though he was nervous, he knew he could not let them down. They all climbed into the spacecar. This time Zack settled himself into the driver’s seat.

  “Okay, let’s do it!” said Zack. “Get ready to zoom to the stars!”

  Chapter 9

  Star Hopping

  “Remember the Star Speedway rules,” Ms. Rudolph said on their spacecar’s monitor. “You must bounce from star to star to reach the finish line. Yellow stars will help maintain your speed. There are speed bumps, too. Flaming purple stars will spin you out of control. Flashing orange stars will send you in the opposite direction. But floating comets are the worst.”

  “What do floating comets do?” asked Zack.

  “Well,” Ms. Rudolph answered, “if you touch a comet by mistake, it will release a smoke cloud that freezes your ship in place. However, there are also shooting stars that give you a one-minute power burst!”

  “Moving into starting positions,” Cara announced.

  Zack took a deep breath. He felt his stomach tense as the spacecar tipped upward, aiming toward the stars.

  “Good luck, Zoomers!” Ms. Rudolph said. “I’ll see you at the finish line!”

  The starting lights flashed as the sky twinkled above them.

  Red, yellow, green! Race time!

  Zack stepped on the pedal, and the spacecar rocketed forward.

  “Wow!” Drake called out. “These stars are amazing!”

  “I have never seen anything like it,” said Sally.

  Zack looked out the windshield at the
bright course. He stared in awe as they passed by a speeding yellow star. Then he saw a purple star with flames shooting from its surface. In the distance, he saw orange stars that blinked in and out.

  Suddenly, a bright light streaked across the track.

  “There is a shooting star!” Seth cried out. “Jump on it, Zack!”

  Sally did a quick calculation on her nav-chart. “We need to increase speed and move higher!”

  Zack pushed the pedal to the floor. They zoomed toward the shooting star as Zack steered the car higher. Soon the shooting star was right beneath them.

  “Now!” cried Seth.

  Zack went faster and headed right for the shooting star, but he missed the center landing spot. The spacecar shook with a jolt and started to fall.

  “Um . . . I meant to do that,” Zack joked as sweat dripped down his face.

  Zack noticed a yellow star and quickly steered toward it. As soon as the spacecar bumped into the star, it bounced back into the race.

  “Do not worry, Zack. There will be another shooting star,” said Drake.

  Zack relaxed. He could always count on Drake to keep him calm.

  “And that chance is now!” shouted Sally. “There is another shooting star!”

  Zack took a deep breath and flew straight at the shooting star.

  “You are lined up perfectly,” said Sally.

  “We are going to make it!” said Drake.

  Suddenly, the shooting star moved behind a floating comet! Zack tried to turn, but it was too late. Their spacecar was frozen in a cloud of comet dust.

  Chapter 10

  Team Zoomers

  “What do we do now?” cried Drake.

  “Cara, how long will we be frozen in place?” Zack asked.

  “The comet cloud always lasts ten seconds,” Cara replied.

  “Ten seconds!” Seth shouted. “That is like forever in this race!”

  “It is okay. Let us stay focused. We need to finish the course,” Sally said.

  Zack tried to breathe deeply and relax. The view from the spacecar was truly out of this world. Spirals of purple and orange stars stretched into space, with other racers bouncing off yellow stars below them.

  Hmm, purple and orange stars, thought Zack. “Hey, I have an idea, but it’s a little crazy.”

  “We need a crazy idea to have any chance of winning,” said Seth.

  “Yeah, Zack, you are the captain,” said Drake.

  “How can I hit the corner of that purple star, Sally?” Zack asked.

  “Oh wow,” said Sally. “You are going to use the speed bumps to win the race! Yes, aim slightly left to hit the corner.”

  “Everyone, hold on!” said Zack as the comet cloud lifted and they dropped forward. The spacecar hit the purple star and spun out of control.

  Then they hit another purple star and another and another. The Zoomers were bouncing wildly through the course. Buzzers were sounding off.

  “We are passing racers!” cheered Drake.

  Finally, the Zoomers bounced right into a flashing orange star, and instead of sending them backward, the star steadied the ship.

  “Nice move, Zack!” said Sally.

  “Yeah, brilliant idea!” said Seth.

  “We are currently in sixth place,” said Cara.

  “Not for long!” said Sally. “There is another shooting star!”

  Zack steered the car toward it, and this time hit the landing spot. Their spacecar blasted forward, passing several other racers.

  “There is the finish line!” said Drake.

  Zack pushed down on the pedal with all his might and sped under the waving checkered banner.

  There was a pause before Cara announced, “We have finished in third place.”

  “We did it!” cried Sally.

  Seth smiled and gave his friend a pat on the back. “You are one good driver, Zack.”

  Zack smiled back and steered the spacecar toward their parking spot. “I’m only as good as my team, so that makes me awesome.”

  That afternoon, a big ceremony was held on Magna Stella 4. Zack’s whole family came for the ceremony.

  “Nice job, Captain!” said Zack’s dad.

  “We are so proud of you,” said his mom.

  Zack’s twin sisters were happy for him too.

  “You did a great job, Zack. We . . .”

  “. . . were surprised, but we . . .”

  “. . . knew you could do it!” sang Charlotte and Cathy.

  Zack beamed with pride.

  Sally, Drake, and Seth’s families were there too. Soon, the ceremony started, and everyone listened closely as the winners were announced.

  “In third place for the bronze trophy are the Sprockets Academy Zoomers!”

  The crowd cheered as Zack, Sally, Drake, and Seth stood up.

  “Nice job, guys,” Zack said.

  “Yeah, we may not have won gold, but we finished as a team,” said Seth.

  “That is the real prize,” said Drake.

  “And the trophy is just icing on the cosmic cupcake,” said Sally.

  They all celebrated as they stepped up onstage to receive their trophy.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR

  RAY O’RYAN has loved space stories ever since he watched the very first episode of Star Trek. He loves to imagine what traveling across the galaxy might be like, and is a bit jealous of Galaxy Zack in this regard. Ray lives in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of upstate New York with his wife and two lovable, zany cats named Stitch and The Way.

  JASON KRAFT grew up with a passion for drawing. He has developed that passion into a humble career that has allowed him to work in all facets of the entertainment field all over the globe—from toy design to feature animation. He has now settled in Ottawa, Ontario, with his wife, Christina, and their daughter, Ivy.

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster

  New York

  GalaxyZackBooks.com

  Visit us at

  simonandschuster.com/kids

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Ray-ORyan

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Jason-Kraft

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Little Simon hardcover edition March 2017

  Copyright © 2017 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Also available in a Little Simon paperback edition.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Designed by Nick Sciacca

  Jacket design by Nicholas Sciacca

  Jacket illustrations copyright © 2017 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: O’Ryan, Ray, author. | Kraft, Jason (Jason E.) illustrator.

  Title: Ready, set, blast off! / by Ray O’Ryan ; illustrated by Jason Kraft.

  Description: First Little Simon paperback edition. | New York : Little Simon, 2017. | Series: Galaxy Zack ; #15 | Summary: “Picked to represent their planet, Nebulon, in the Interstellar Space Race, Zack and his friend
s navigate through an underwater maze, fly around planetary rings, and blast through the stars! But when trouble stirs within the team, Zack must take charge. Can he lead them to victory?”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016024847 | ISBN 9781481485951 (pbk) |

  ISBN 9781481485968 (hc) | ISBN 9781481485975 (eBook)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Racing—Fiction. | Space vehicles—Fiction. | Teamwork (Sports)—Fiction. | Competition (Psychology)—Fiction. | Science fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books. | JUVENILE FICTION / Science Fiction. | JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.O7843 Rd 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016024847