Author's Note: (screams at document manager) I hate this document manager right now. It seems determined to mess up on me. (What has this thing got against asterisks?)

I've had the idea for this fic for some time, and I've gone through at least 5 different beginnings that I was never quite happy with. This one seems to be the best of the lot so far. I don't really know how fast this one will be progressing, compared to some of my other fics. I know the basic plot line, though I've not done any serious planning for it, I like letting my stories lead me on an adventure. I can't be sure how many chapters there'll be until I get close to the end of it.

Save Me

Chapter 1

A cloud of dust rose into the still, warm air as two cars sped along the dirt oval. Cheers reached them from across the far side as they raced. They rounded the end and came up to the finish line. Running across it they carried on around the monument in the middle of the track. A yellow shape suddenly appeared nearby, though none of them noticed it to begin with. The driver of the red car waved to his opponent as he passed him to take the lead. The opponent reacted quickly, closing the gap in seconds and drawing level again.

"Whoa." Lightning slammed the brakes on as a yellow car sped across his path. He swerved away from the track, the seatbelt straining to hold him in his seat at the sudden friction.

There was a loud screech nearby and a crash, then silence. Lightning unclipped the belt and emerged from the car into the settling dust. The navy blue car of his crew chief had stopped nearby, and he too was just getting out. The near accident had shocked their friends into silence.

"Are you ok, rookie?" Doc called across to Lightning.

"Yeah. What was that?" He followed the tyre marks as best he could across the scuffed ground.

"Delinquent Road Hazard." Doc muttered Sheriff's favourite phrase. "Stay here." He added to Lightning, and strode off across the short track.

Someone slid down the slope behind him and reached for his hand as they all watched the doctor heading towards the steep hill. They watched him slide gracefully down the slope and disappear from sight. There was no sign of him for some minutes, until the sharp ring of a phone disturbed the silence. Lighting reached into his pocket and pulled his mobile out. He pressed a button and raised it to his ear.

"Hey, Doc – uh, where do I find it – cabinet behind the desk, bottom shelf, got it." He lowered it again and turned to Sally.

"Doc asked me to get Sheriff and Mater down there. I need to go and get his medical bag from the clinic."

Sally nodded silently and moved back. Lightning went around to the open driver's door and slipped into the car. He slammed the door, pointed the car in the direction of the town and sped off. Sally turned to the figures on the hillside above the track. She scrambled up to them.

"Sheriff! Mater!" The two men looked over at her. "Doc needs you down there."

Sheriff half leapt down the incline and ran across the track. Mater hurried back to his tow truck and followed quickly. Sally felt someone put an arm around her shoulders.

"It'll be ok, honey." Flo's gentle voice said.

"Cabinet behind the desk, bottom drawer." Lightning muttered, leaping from the car and into the cool building. He spotted the cabinet straight away, hurried over to it and wrenched the doors open. He located the right drawer and pulled a large, black backpack adorned with a red cross from its depths. Then he was back into the car and speeding back to the racetrack.
Doc cursed himself for leaving the bag behind. He usually brought it with him when he came to the track but he'd completely forgotten to pick it up that morning. Lightning was a fast, safe driver. He hoped the young man would be able to find it quickly. He heard someone slithering down the slope towards him.

"Sally said you needed us." Sheriff slid to a stop beside him, determinedly not looking at the car.

"Lightning went back to the town?"

Sheriff nodded, slightly puzzled.

"I forgot to put the kit in my car when we came out here. I can't do anything for her without it."

Sheriff glanced into the car. The girl looked young, barely old enough to hold a licence. Her short hair covered her face, but a small area had been stained red from a wound on her head. One arm was across the top of the steering wheel. Beneath the sleeve of her jacket Sheriff could see a number of small cuts and a few bruises. He turned away, his gaze returned to the top of the hill as Mater's truck appeared at the edge.

"Come on, Lightning." Doc muttered.

Sheriff turned back uncomfortably. He'd not been very good around crashed cars since the accident that had made him go to Radiator Springs in the first place. That had been some fifty odd years ago, but the memory of it was easily brought back to the surface from time to time. They were suddenly bathed in darkness; the sun had disappeared behind a large cloud that had appeared rather quickly. Sheriff shivered a little in the cold wind it brought with it. A loud rumble of thunder rolled through the valley, masking the noisy arrival of Lightning with the bag. He tossed it to Doc and stood back as the older racer pulled the door of the car open.

Doc laid a soft hand on the girl's arm.

"Miss?"

She groaned quietly, raising her head off her arm slightly. Doc reached forwards and tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing a deep cut above her eye. He rummaged in his bag, pulling sterilised gloves and a large wad of bandages from within.
A few minutes later the wound was neatly covered. The girl blinked slowly and turned to face him. He gently helped her to sit back and rolled her sleeve back. She flinched when he touched her arm.

"What's your name?" Doc asked softly.

"Aiyana." The girl whispered her reply.

Doc turned to face the two men standing nearby.

"Lightning, give us a hand."

Sheriff, he knew, wouldn't cope with this very well. He would get the police officer alone later for a chat, but only if Sheriff felt he needed it. He had, over the years, come to need the chats less and less, sometimes completely refusing.

Doc felt the first few drops of rain on his head as he and the younger racer carefully got the girl out of the car and up the slope. Sheriff had agreed to oversee the rescue of the car. Doc and Lightning placed Aiyana in the front seat of Lightning's car and leaving Lightning to take her into the town to the clinic told Mater to lower the tow chain. He watched Sheriff place the hook under the back axle as the rain began to drive down in sheets. Doc jogged back to where his car sat, the rest seemed to realise the annual race was over and they too headed back to their cars.

Author's Note: I'm not really sure how well this one is going to work. There's a short reference to another of my fics in this chapter, A Most Painful Memory. References to that fic keep cropping up from time to time, so don't be too surprised if you spot a few more in the future.

I'm not really sure how to say Aiyana, it's a name I found on a website and totally loved. The way I've been saying it is Ae-ana. If there's someone out there who knows how to pronounce it, let me know would you?