Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am making any profit out of, Cars or its characters. The character Carmen Seville is mine, but we're going to ignore her horrid name. For now.
A/N: I loved Cars. This is an obvious testament to that. As for everyone being written in character, well, I can only try my hardest, right?
88
When you first wake up from being unconscious, and in a strange place, the first thing most people notice is how they are feeling bodily. It's a lot of strain to get yourself back online, or at least that's what it feels like. Your brain does a lot of guessing on you, your organs wobble a bit but continue functioning, and you are generally sleepy. But most of all, depending on your current position, you are generally in pain.
And Carmen Seville was in a whole lot of hurt at the moment, her stiff spine and aching head told her.
Something buzzed about her head, and a lazy hand swatted at the nuisance and connected roughly with a satisfying metal thunk! The hand paused in consideration at this new information.
'I might have hit my head hard…but when do bugs make a tinking sound like that?'
The disoriented dark haired nineteen year old sat up quite gingerly, before nearly tumbling ass over teakettle down a rocky crumbling ravine into a clump of cacti. She couldn't help it; she shrieked and grabbed at the gravel to slow her slide. It worked, barely, but she anchored herself further by digging her converses into the ground…though they really had little to no traction. Fully aware now of her surroundings, Carmen took in the scenery before her as she clung to the hill side.
It was hot, humid but not entirely unlivable in. Every so often a breeze caressed her sweaty forehead like a teasing kiss, and a cooling energy surged into her fatigued body as she held desperately to the dry dirt. The cacti were everywhere it seemed, all spines prickling this way and that and waiting for an inspecting victim to snare themselves on one of their thorns. They were brilliant green, refreshingly so, against the burnt umber ravine to which Carmen clutched to.
The terrain was unfamiliar, but possibly a desert. It did remind her of the Colorado Desert in California back home, dry, barren…yet somehow leaking vibrant life with its canyons and sediment carvings throughout the hills and valleys of pure stone. It was beautiful, yes, but not where Carmen wanted to be.
A few pebbles dropped loose and spilled down the hillside and Carmen gathered herself, sucking in air before shouting out above her, anywhere, for anyone to hear.
"Helllloooo! Hello, can anyone hear me! Please! Anyone!" 'With my luck I'll start a rock slide.'
After a sound ten minutes wasted of crying to the sky, Carmen tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before gripping to the brush her hands had found to cling to. 'Maybe I can pull myself up? It's worth shot.'
Just as Carmen made to begin the harrowing journey upwards, the sound a vehicle approaching above her could be heard. It sounded rather old, but a car was a car nonetheless, and cars meant people.
"Hey!"
"…Uh, who's that?" It was heavy southern accent, but Carmen made no notice of it, only thankful they had even answered in the first place. A person was a person.
"Please, can you pull me up? I'm stuck down here…I have been for the past few hours I think…please?"
The motor stopped all together, as if hesitant. The person must have picked up on her desperation, or just wanted to help, because the voice sounded instantly warm and friendly.
"Well, shoot, you's sure lucky ta find me, ain't cha?"
"Can you call someone then?"
"What fer?" Something rattled like clanking metal. "Ya'all got the best dern towing service right here! I'll have ya out ina jiff!" Carmen could have cried with relief. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on with out heading down to the cacti, let alone find someway up the steep incline all by herself. Not only that, but dusk seemed to be settling, and Carmen was not eager to find out what else lurked in this place besides metal sounding bugs. She thanked her lucky stars she had found someone with a tow truck.
How right…or wrong actually, she was.
Mater had heard the voice calling from a ways away, sound sure carried around these parts, and as he checked Willy's Butte for any more tourists at the end of the day, he was surprised to actually find one. The poor car must have taken a wrong turn around the track and ended up in the cacti clump. Nigh was falling, and while he did have one functioning headlight left, the other car didn't have any lights on. It didn't matter, he could see plenty, but to be on the safe side he did not head over the incline lest he get caught and slip down himself. He'd have to go fishing from a few feet away from the hill.
Now, the voice sounded like a female, so Mater hurried in his rescue and swung his cable end over the rock quicker than a cat on a hot tin roof.
Carmen watched a cable hook fly down at her, and caught the front loop on her jeans.
She swallowed. 'Man…this guys' got great aim with his tow truck cable. Geez. how is he aiming with a hunk of machinery anyway?' Stabling herself, Carmen grasped the hook tight anyway, as if she were rocking climbing.
The rusty truck felt his hook catch onto something, it always did, and he gathered himself up proudly, and gave his lead a quick tension check. Yep. Ready. "Y'all don't worry your pretty little hood, I'm a'gonna take it nice an easy and before you know it, you'll be safe and sound at Flo's!"
Mater gave the crank a great heave, as accustomed to towing up a car usually his weight or just below it. And nearly toppled over his front wheels. He let slack his cable an inch, shifting his two front wheels to look behind him to see over the side of the gorge. He saw only cacti protrude up at him, but he heard a startled yelp when he'd pulled.
"Well you alls just a lil thing! Ain't weigh no more 'an my hood I reckon! What kinda car is you, one a dem fancy new hybreeds is ya?" Excited by the prospect of meeting a new face, Mater cranked up his cable with definite easy, only to find a scrawny little pale thing hanging on to his hook.
It had it's wheels…things…wrapped so tightly around his line that he picked her clear up off the ground, and it turned it's face to him, it's eyes to his.
Both screamed bloody murder at each other.
Mater's cable went loose and the thing went plunging back down the rocky hill.
As much as the thing seemed scared of him, it was less happy to be plummeting back toward the cacti, and Mater, not one to be cruel, cranked his cable into lock, then drew it back up the side, slower this time, and he was fully turned around to see the thing emerge again.
It was shaking worse than he was this time, and when it met solid ground it let go of his hook and crumpled to the ground, tucking itself around its body.
He tiptoed forward on his wheels, still speechless. A small scared noise came from the figure, and it sniffled, as he was shaken from his thoughts.
"Uhh…Hey…aww, it's okay, whatcha cryin' fer? Shoot, I'm not gonna hurt ya, I promise." Mater shook his head, his mouth drawn done sadly. He lowered his body to the ground, thinking that if he looked smaller the thing would stop leaking and making such a sad sound.
Carmen watched the talking truck settle down with several clanks and groans, it was obviously very old, all rusted and missing it's hood and one headlight. But it had…eyes, and buck teeth! And it blinked and talked and moved on its own and it seemed so…so alive.
"What…What are you?" She finally asked, incredulous and scared.
The tow truck swayed its rear end and cable back and forth happily. Its face split into such a contagious grin Carmen felt herself relax at its demeanor. "Why, I'ma tow truck! Finest towing service in Carburetor County at yer service! Name's Mater!" His cable end shot out and swung around him proudly. It drew back with a cheerful clank.
Carmen blinked. "Mater?"
The truck nodded. "Like towmater, but without the ta!"
Carmen couldn't help it, she let out a laugh. So Mater chuckled too, completely at ease with this weird little thing.
"What's yer name?" He asked.
"Carmen."
"Carmen, huh? Perdy sounding, that is. What's all up with yer weird body? Ya don't look like any car I've seen before, though ya talk an' sound like one."
Carmen tucked her hair behind her ears at Mater's scrutinizing gaze. She swallowed and stared down. 'He's never seen a human before?' "I'm…I'm a human, Mater."
Mater seemed confused by this information. "But I thought ya said yer name was Carmen?"
"Well, yeah, it is. Human is like…what truck is to you! You're a truck and I'm a human. Your name's Mater and my name is Carmen. Understand?"
He stared at her, mouth slightly agape. "…not in da least."
Carmen stood up. Mater jumped a little on his chassie. "Well lookit that! You can stand up on yer back wheels! Hey, you gotta teach me dat sometime, okay?"
Mater rolled forward, circling around Carmen, studying her from top to bottom. He stopped, remembering something. "Hey…you still leaking. Ya got quite a beatin' from them plants, didn'tcha?" The brunette glanced around herself, seeing various nicks in her clothes and dirt and mud and small scratches. They only started hurting when she discovered them, but her head was pounding like mad. Mater turned toward the dirt track and started for the road back to town.
"C'mon and follow me! I'll getcha back to town, you don't need a towing but ya could use a helping wheel, right?" He was nearly up the bend before his rear view mirror flipped back and he saw Carmen still standing in place, holding her head. She took some shaky steps forward on her back wheels and called out to him, now rubbing her forehead.
He backed up immediately to her side, a small frown hiding his front teeth. "What'sa matter? Somethin' I said?"
The human, Carmen said "No. No, it's not you, Mater. I just…don't feel so good. Can-Can I sit in your truck bed, please? I don't think I could make it back to your town, that's all. Not walking, at least."
Mater turned his end toward her, dropping his tailgate. "Well, uh, sure I guess. Would this be considered a towing?"
Carmen crawled into Mater's truck bed, relieved to find a small tarp to lay her head on. "I don't know. …But thank you Mater." Mater watched the small thing settle in his back, curled up around his cable leg. It really was very light, no trouble to carry at all, and Mater found he didn't mind so much.
Whistling a nameless tune to himself, the rusty tow truck headed back up the hill, heading for Radiator Springs. Why, Lightning would never guess what he'd found this time!
66
Lightning McQueen was a racecar before anything else, and above all, he loved speed. The wind as it whistled around him, the feel of the road shooting underneath him, the scenery blending into various colors as he went faster, faster. It all enthralled him, and any day he could spend laying low along the road as he practiced his techniques was a day well spent to him.
Lately though, his trips to Willy's Butte with Doc were far and few in between. Between his and the town's new found popularity, his priorities took a back burner as he spent his days touring or giving tours to help out with the rush from Radiator Springs.
He didn't mind it, not really.
But even his gentle drives with Sally were getting slim. It was sad, really, he didn't want to lose his enjoyment, but he loved Radiator Springs as if he'd lived in the place his whole life, and he wanted it taken care of. To this day he wasn't fond of the road getting fixed by just any old car, Bessie needed special handling, and you had to have just the right touch and enough horsepower to even expect to get any where at all with the paving machine.
He frowned at the small cracks in the pavement on Main Street just outside Flo's. He had just repaired some holes from winter last month by Red's station. It was July after all, the tourist season wouldn't start up until mid fall, maybe even early summer. The racing season was coming to a close, but training any harder would not change it, and according to Doc, only wear him out faster. He needed to be in prime shape to beat Chick and the new rookies this year in the final rounds.
Rubbing his tire over a particularly deep crack, McQueen considered the possibility of doing a paving himself in the near future, possibly the middle of the week when traffic into town slowed considerably. It might be odd for a racecar like him to do such a menial task, but his friends wouldn't mind. If anything, they shared his views on who did the road. Satisfied by this prospect, the ruby red racer pulled into reverse, backed up under the awning of the restaurant and ordered a night drink to end the evening on a tasty note.
The Sheriff coasted up into Flo's just as the twins headed home from their shift, and Lightning greeted him, spirits lifted as he saw only his close friends remained in the station. Sarge and Filmore had turned in early, but Flo, Ramone, Doc, Luigi and Guido were all settled around the place, each relaxing after the day's work. He assumed Sally was still settling in the last of the Cozy Cone's newest arrivals. They had some families today, with two or one small tots racing about the place, and were likely to be worn out and tired.
"Hi there, Sheriff." Lightning greeted the patrol car.
The police car nodded affably to the young racecar, then seemed to remember something, because he backed up and fully addressed him. "Have you seen Mater any where, kid?"
Had he? Not for most of, if at all, of the day, now that McQueen thought about it. "I think I saw him giving tours this afternoon, could there still be some running, Sheriff?"
The gruff car shook its hood. "Not that I know of. Now where could that truck have run off to now?"
"Hey everyone, lookit what I found!"
Several headlights turned to see Mater stroll up Main Street, going extra slow and avoiding any major pot holes. 'That's it, I'm hooking Bessie up on Tuesday, tourists or not.' Lightning thought crabbily at the craters.
Mater, for his part, swooped around Flo's station and swung his back end around, revealing something small in his truckbed. The Sheriff looked less than pleased because he rolled his eyes at the tow truck.
"Oh for Ford's sake, what is it this time Mater?"
Ever curious, Lightning came forward first to see what it was. As he rose a little up on his chassis, he saw a…well, he didn't know what he saw, actually. It wasn't a car. It couldn't have been. It was too small. It was pink, and soft-looking. It had eyes, because they turned to look at him, and they were nearly the size of hub caps when they looked at him. It had a mouth too, presumably, because it opened it and gaped at him.
It made no sound, but he rolled forward, more interested than ever.
The thing…what ever it was, shrunk back at the sight of him. "Mater…what is it?" He asked, slightly troubled.
"Well I'll be…" Doc murmured as he rolled up as well, staring at the thing in the back of Mater's bed. "Never though I'd live to see one, let alone this up close."
"One what Doc?" Flo asked. Mater glanced back to his truckbed, where the 'whomen' was still curled up against him. He felt it shiver. Well if it was cold why didn't it just turn on its heater?
Doc cleared his throat, but spoke soft enough to not startle the human any more. "That there's a human, Mater. They aren't from around here, and haven't been so for more than nearly a hundred years. …Female, by the looks of it. You got a name, kid?"
This car, a blue, older, but still beautiful looking, addressed her directly at the end of his sentence, his voice was deep, a little soothing.
"Carmen. Carmen Seville." She found herself answering almost immediately. "Sir." She supplied quietly. The car seemed satisfied with this answer, and settled back further, but did not leave.
Carmen, for her part, had only just woken up from a short doze in the back of Mater's bed to find herself encircled by a series of living cars like Mater. Well, not exactly like Mater. But they had eyes instead of windows and mouths and everything. They all seemed so distinct, too. So familiar. She was glad her pop owned that car wash, and his extent of cars led her into the family business of knowing them. It took a while, but she began recalling the types of cars she could see.
'There's cars here! Only cars! What am I in… the living hell of the pedestrian!' Carmen thought incredulously. The red race car neared her more, its engine loud, causing Carmen to let out a shriek, and shoot out of the truck bed and right underneath Mater, who chuckled at the human's antics.
"In't she just the funniest little critter? Hey Sheriff, ya think I can keep her?" He took great care to not squish the girl, at the very least, but settled around her nonetheless.
"Mater, humans used to keep us, not the other way around. They could control us, drive us. Or so the legend goes. This one looks to young." Carmen wanted to tell that grumpy old Hudson that she did too have a license, but the look of shock and mild disgust over the rest of the other car's features told her to not speak up to loud about that fact. She gulped. She was surrounded anyhow, by a sleek blue Motorama, a bright neon yellow and purple Chevy Impala, an Italian Fiat and a custom little forklift looking thing. Not to mention a police car, who had the law on his side, and that Hudson Hornet. Then of course there was that red stock car, who seemed youngest and more curious about her than she was of him. He circled around to Mater's side, dropping low to peer at her. She scrunched up and tried to not notice him.
"This thing? This thing controlled us?" The race car asked the Hudson.
Doc's eyes were heavy lidded as he spoke, and Carmen found herself leaning forward to peer out at the Hornet. "Never understood that legend…didn't seem possible. Something so small racing so fast. In us. But now…I'm more inclined to believe that story."
"Oh my god. You're going to kill me as penance for the human race enslaving you, aren't you?" Carmen squeaked, peeking out from under Mater's front tire.
Everyone stared.
"Uh…no. No. I don't think so." Lightning was first to speak up, though he looked just as stupefied as the rest of them. Suddenly, everyone broke out in laughter.
The Impala snorted, "Like that little sparkplug could control us, man, that's a good one, Doc!"
The femine Motorama nodded, "Mhh-hmm, she's just a little darling! What could she all do?"
The two Italian models laughed in broken English and Italian.
Carmen left like they were laughing at her, and her face burned.
Even the Sheriff chuckled. "Aw c'mon, Doc, you're pulling our tires, aren't ya?"
"No I'm not!" Doc's voice broke through the crowd like a whip in the air. Everyone went dead silent, and Mater dropped a tire around Carmen, looking sheepish. "Now you listen here and you listen good, all of you, this human doesn't belong here, and it's got to go."
Carmen was tired. She was achy, but most of all, she was irritable now. Narrowing her eyes, she moved out from under Mater and clambered up to stand. She was not taller than Doc's hood, but standing in front of him made her look and feel bigger. She put her hand on her hips and glared at him.
"Well that isn't very fair, now is it? I think I have a say in all this, I am 'the human' after all! I want to go back as much as you want me gone, but I think I at least deserve a little kindness from you all!" She took a breath and kept on going. "I don't know where I am, I don't have anything to my name but the clothes on my back, I only know I am Carmen Seville, I am nineteen years old and I want to go back to California, USA. Or wherever 'humans' go to stay out of your way!"
A short stand off took place at that moment. Carmen spoke like an infuriated hurricane and Doc took one look in those eyes and saw a familiar spunk he'd seen only once before. The girls' words fell into silence as her rant ended. Even Mater was quiet, worry etched in his features. Lightning had a feeling he wasn't the only one uncomfortable with the situation as he stared between the two.
Finally, Doc spoke, his voice low, any surprise in his features gone. "There's another part to that legend, it says that humans are harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose."
Carmen dropped her façade of bravery and cocked her head. Mater moved closer to her and nudged her.
"And you've certainly just proved that right, sparkplug." Doc nodded, with the smallest of smiles as he backed away slowly. 'He-He smiled…Did I do something right?' Carmen thought.
"Stay as long as ya want, kid. …Just don't you go messing up this town!" Doc called a low warning over his mirror as he rolled away into the settling night.
66
Mater is very hard to write for, I'm just saying. I'm a pronunciation nazi, but I still find Mater's slang loveable. It's hard not to. Writing for his character, however, is a whole different subject in itself.
Should I continue?