his hair was sticking up on end. This was the most dangerous fairground ride of all time.
Of course Dad had no clue that his son was clinging on to the roof of the Rolls-Royce. If he had, the man would never have:
driven straight through a red light…
swerved sharply to overtake a bus…
and crashed through a fence…
before speeding through the park.
The Rolls-Royce bobbed up and down on the grass.
The boy was bounced into the air, his body thumping up and down on the roof.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
“OOF! OOF! OOF!”
Just as he dared to open his eyes again, Frank saw that they were heading straight for another fence on the far side of the park.
Planks of wood exploded into the air. A large chunk whizzed past the top of Frank’s head.
Everything was happening so fast that there was no time to breathe.
The car was heading straight towards an alleyway, which was much narrower than the car itself. If Dad didn’t put on the brakes right now, it looked like the Rolls-Royce would
“STOP!” shouted the man in the passenger seat.
“ARGH!” screamed the pair in the back.
Instead the car’s engine revved and sped up.
“NOOO!” came shouts from inside.
Frank couldn’t take it any more. The boy had to close his eyes.
On one side of the alleyway was a pile of planks of wood. The Rolls-Royce turned sharply and the wheels on the left side
Frank opened his eyes again as he found himself sliding down the side of the roof. His fingers desperately clawed to get a grip.
Still on two wheels, the car just made it through the narrow alleyway.
“YOU’RE SQUASHING ME!” came a shout from inside the car.
Bursting out of the other side of the alley, Dad turned the steering wheel sharply and the car bounced back down to four wheels.
BOINK!
Just as Frank breathed a sigh of relief, a siren blared.
Blue shadows flashed on the buildings around them. The boy looked over his shoulder. A police car was chasing after them.
Dad put his foot down on the accelerator, and the Rolls-Royce whizzed off the wrong way down a main road. Frank couldn’t believe his eyes. The car was weaving in and out of the traffic coming straight at them! Lorries and cars swerved as Dad managed to twist and turn just in time.
It was thrilling and terrifying all at once.
Up ahead, a wall of flashing blue light was travelling rapidly towards them. For a moment, Frank struggled to work out what it was. He squinted. It was the POLICE! A line of police cars was travelling towards them at speed. They were driving in formation, blocking out the whole road.
There was no way round them.
There was no way under them.
There was no way through them.
They were trapped.
Dad was a champion race driver, but surely even he could not win this time.
Frank breathed a sigh of relief. This horrifying ordeal was over. He was going to see his twelfth birthday after all.
However, instead of slowing down, Dad sped up. Between the Rolls-Royce and the wall of police cars was a huge lorry. The lorry’s trailer was one that transported cars, though right now it was empty. The lorry driver must have panicked at seeing this car speeding straight towards him, as the vehicle spun round dramatically in the middle of the road…
SCREECH! … and came to a halt.
Dad seized his chance, and sped towards the back of the lorry. The ramp for loading cars was down. The Rolls-Royce powered on, straight at it.
It hit the ramp and raced up it. When it reached the top the Rolls-Royce took off and flew through the air.
The boy could feel his heart beating in his chest.
It was beating so hard it felt as if it was going to burst out of him. Time slowed down and sped up all at once. Frank was flying. He wanted it to end right now. He never wanted it to end.
The Rolls-Royce soared over the line of police cars,
