Chapter One: McQueen's back
"Ok mister git otta bed you naughty boy!"
I groaned and rolled over. My name is Andrew Skype. I'm a twelve year old orphan in Radiator Springs. Unlike other humans I'm cursed. My curse mark is like lightning bolts and I'm the only human in the world who is cursed. Some people who know recognise me by my fiery red hair and dark olive green eyes. At the moment Mater is getting me out of bed. Trying to.
"No Mater. Go away Mater. Let me sleep Mater" I mumbled.
"GET UP NOW!" Mater hollered.
"Ok I'm up" I answered tumbling out of bed. That's the last time I'm goin' tractor tippin' at night starting right after the next night. I made a mental note to myself.
In the deserts of Arizona, there's always the chance of getting broken down on the side of the road, even on Route 66. Luckily, there's always a certain rusty tow truck there to help when things get rough.
"Mater – Tow Mater, that's who – is here to help you!" Mater called as he approached a sputtering old car on the side of the road with me holding onto one of his mirrors. The old car's engine choked terribly, making a high-pitched squealing sound when he tried to kick up the power. "Hey Otis!"
"Hey Mater." Otis greeted with a smile, looking a bit sheepish. "I…..oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I thought I could make it this time, but…" He tried revving his engine, only to sputter uselessly. "Smooth like puddin', huh? Eh, who am I kidding? I'll always be a lemon."
"Well dad gum, you leakin' oil again." Mater noted, seeing the puddle of oil on the ground. He moved behind Otis and hooked his tow hook under the smaller car's bumper. "Must be your gaskets. Hey, but look on the bright side: this is your tenth tow this month so that means it's on the house."
"You're the only one that's nice to lemons like me, Mater." Otis said gratefully as Mater began towing him back to Radiator Springs.
"Hey, don't sweat it." Mater assured. "Shoot, these things happen to everybody, Otis."
"But you never leak oil!" Otis pointed out.
"Yeah, but I ain't perfect." Mater shrugged. "Don't tell nobody, but I think mah rust is startin' to show through."
"That's because it always does" I noted causing Mater to laugh.
Otis looked over and spied a billboard that read "Welcome to Radiator Springs: home of Lightning McQueen." "Hey! Is Lightning McQueen back yet?"
"Not yet." Mater said, sounding a little disappointed. He sure did miss Lightning when he went on his racing tours.
"He must be crazy excited about winning his fourth Piston Cup!" Otis guessed, sounding quite excited himself. "Four! Wow!"
"Yeah, we're so dad gum proud of him." Mater said, pride in his tone. "But I sure wish he'd hurry up and git back 'cause we got a whole summer's worth of best friend fun to make up for. Jus' me and—" Mater looked ahead as Radiator Springs came into sight, and he gasped when he saw a familiar red stock car. "McQueen!" He cried happily speeding up and seeming to forget Otis was still attached to him and I was holding his mirror.
"Mater!" Otis yelped. "I'm in no hurry! You don't need to go so fast!"
"Hey everybody! McQueen's back! McQueen's back! McQueen's back! McQueen's back! McQueen's back!" Mater cheered as he sped towards town, bouncing a bit and accidentally dragging Otis across the ground every time he landed and caused sparks.
Lightning who had been talking to the other residents looked up at the sound of a horn honking, and everyone turned to see a familiar tow truck come barrelling up the road. Lightning lit up. "Mater!"
"McQueen!" Mater called excitedly.
"Mater!" Lightning laughed, noticing Mater was hauling a car behind him and me at breakneck speed.
"McQueen!" Mater finally turned and skidded to a halt, the whiplash from his hook sending Otis spinning like crazy right into Ramone's shop and onto a lift and I went crashing in after him.
"Hey, how far did you make it this time, Otis?" Ramone asked.
"Halfway to the county line!" Otis said happily, not looking the least bit upset about his somewhat wild ride.
"Ooh, not bad, man." Ramone complimented.
"I know! I can't believe it either!" Otis said giddily.
After making sure he didn't accidentally smash Otis and me against a wall, Mater turned his attention to Lighting. "McQueen! Welcome back!"
"Mater, it's so good to see you!" Lightning said happily, having missed his best friend while he was gone. I came out of Ramone's shop as the two began their usual "best friend greeting," which usually never stayed the same.
"You too, buddy!" Mater said happily. "Oh man, you ain't gonna believe the things I got planned fer us!"
The townsfolk watched amusedly. It couldn't be denied that Lightning and Mater were definitely the best of friends.
"Oh, these best friend greetings. They get longer every year!" Mack noted with a warm smile as the pair finished their greeting.
"Hey, what happened? No love for me from my favourite racecar now is it? Do you think two can play that game?"
"Hey Andrew." Lightning said happily. "Oh boy did I miss you. Survived that wild ride on Mater I see."
"Yeah didn't get kill but I'm surprised the wheels on my skates didn't get worn out. I've been on wilder ones."
"You ready to have some serious fun?" Mater asked excitedly.
"Well actually, I've got somethin' to show you first." Lightning said.
Lightning led Mater and me to the racing museum and into Doc's wing. Resting near the wall was the Piston Cup trophy Lightning won, only now the trophy read "Hudson Hornet Piston Cup" and featured a small sculpture of Doc on the top.
"Wow!" Mater breathed. "I can't believe they renamed the Piston Cup after our very own Doc Hudson!"
Lightning smiled proudly, but his face fell as he drove to the other wall and stared at the newspaper clippings of Doc in his racing days. "I know Doc said these things were just old cups, but…to have someone else win it just didn't feel right, you know?" He stared sadly at the pictures of his old crew chief.
"Well Doc would've been real proud of ya. That's fer sure." Mater said, making the Lightning smile.
"All right, pal. I've been waiting all summer for this." Lightning said as we exited the museum.
"Oh-ho-ho! You sure you kin handle it?" Mater asked, nudging Lightning playfully.
"Come on, you know who you're talkin' to?" Lightning smirked. "This is Lightning McQueen! I can handle anything!"
"Oh I hate to see what happens" I muttered.
Plenty happened. First Mater and McQueen took off their tires and went rolling down the old railroad tracks.
"Uh Mater?" Lightning question uncertainty at the top.
"Just remember: yer breaks ain't going to help ya now!" Mater gave McQueen a shove. "Don't worry these tracks ain't been used in years."
I watched them zip down the hill and into the tunnel. Then a loud horn sounded and the pair came out top speed.
"Faster Mater!" McQueen called.
I burst out laughing when I saw they were running away from a small, old train.
Next they snuck up on a sleeping dump truck and tipped it then it backfired and blew them away. I disappeared so they didn't catch me laughing at them. It was hilarious.