You don't have to do this, but I recommend resizing your browser window to the size of the dashed lines. This is the width of the original writing and helps with the overall flow when reading, rather than the extended length FFnet normally displays in. Enjoy the chapter!
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Chapter 9
Sally sat alone in Cone 1, looking over the various themed decorations with a disinterested gaze. The Eiffel "Cone" by the window wrenched a slight chuckle out of her when she saw it. Wonder when we'll go to Paris, she thought. She sniffled and took a deep breath, taking a look out the window. The ambulance drove by, headed back towards Doc's garage.
Huh, where was he? She let the thought go quickly though, sure she had just passed him without noticing. Sally backed up a little bit, sweeping the room again. Where's the carpet? She glanced at the bare floor and remembered that it was sitting outside. I think I'll put it back. Get a different room ready. It wouldn't feel…right.
Sally turned herself around and stepped on the door switch, the sunlight flooding in. She drove out and blinked a few times, pulling the carpet back in with her. She made her way back out and arranged it to her liking.
Cone Six should do just fine. Sally drove over to the sixth room and pulled out the carpeting. She closed it up and went back over to Cone 1. Her body was shaded inside once again.
She sighed as a few thoughts of Lightning ran through her head. He's been gone for longer than this before. What's so different this time? Stress…I guess. The rationalization didn't erase the feeling of interest, at least as far as she could put a description on it, she was having for the wreck of a car laying unconscious in Doc's garage. Lightning, I love you, but what is this? It's nothing… It can't be anything.
She took to examining the radio. "Fixing," she said, almost unconsciously.
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It was going on 12:45 before she decided to leave the room and head back to Flo's. I hope I wasn't gone too long, she thought. I just needed some time to think.
The sunlight greeted her as she opened the door and drove back outside, letting the growing sound of voices lead her on. Mater spotted her first, giving a little shake in surprise.
"There she is!" he said, excited.
Everyone she had left was still parked at the Café. They all turned towards her as Mater announced her return.
"Hey everyone," Sally said, looking from person to person as she pulled up behind Sheriff and Doc. Red and Lizzie had joined them while she was at the Cone.
"How are you doin' Sally?" Doc asked as she drove around them, joining their circle.
"I'm alright," she said, her voice steady and unassuming.
Doc nodded. "That's good," he said.
"Yeah, I just took off earlier. I know…" she said, talking to everyone now. "I wanted to see it for myself. I didn't like taking off and leaving him alone." Doc looked like he was concentrating on her words.
"Well how is he doin'?" Ramone asked.
"Okay, considering the wreck," she said.
"How is he?"
"Did he break anything?"
"How'd he crash?" Flo asked, following Sheriff and Mater.
"Huh?" Sally said, suddenly swamped.
"Did he break…"
"How is he?"
"Hold on, hold on…" she said. It again fell silent. "He's doing alright, I think. He's unconscious, but they're working as hard as they can."
"He broke his front axle," Doc said. "It's bad, but it's fixable."
"And I don't know how he crashed. I mean, I guess he was practicing the town circuit when it happened, but I don't know why he'd be doing it in that storm," she said.
"We'll have to wait for them to finish and him to wake back up before we know anything more," Doc said, punctuating the conversation.
Sally relaxed, slipping neatly back into the group as they moved on to other topics.
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"Clear!" one of the pit crew yelled.
McQueen dropped back onto road and took off as fast as he could. He could already feel the difference in his tires on the way out, finding himself in position behind the red Ferrari again. I've gotta pass this guy, he thought, crossing the pit road line and accelerating hard.
The crew chief's voice came over the radio once again. "We're riding harder tires now, McQueen. The whole field switched out on that stop, but be careful."
Lightning said nothing in return as he pushed himself through the straightaway, unable to best the Ferrari's speed. They both passed the eighth-place car before heading into the first turn. McQueen barely made out a grumble coming from behind him before the intensity of the crowd's cheering rose as they saw the big overtake.
Lightning pulled out of the second turn a little fast, forcing his right tires to skid just slightly. Whoa! He slowed immediately and completed the turn just as close to the Ferrari ahead of him as he had been before the turns. They both sped up heading into the long third turn. The Ferrari's engine was loud and tinny as he accelerated, McQueen tailing him closely but not gaining anything.
They pulled out of the turn, separated by only a meter, going 200 miles per hour. The curbing had long since become a blur of pinkish red and the trees were indistinguishable from the next as they flew down the track. They were both moving up on the seventh place car.
The fourth and fifth turns came and went, their speeds much lower in the sharp S-curve. McQueen kept close behind his newfound competition, resolved to make it past the Ferrari before the end of the race.
The rush of chilled air flowing through his engine faster and faster, speeding up through the straights following turn seven, was refreshing as the position battle continued into the second half of the lap. I should have overtaken him by now, he thought, annoyed.
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Doc, Sheriff, and Sally took a few sips of oil from their near-empty cans. Only a few minutes had passed since Sally had rejoined everyone, but Doc had settled everybody down quickly. Sarge and Fillmore sat parked in their usual spots at Flo's, with the three of them facing them on the opposite side of the lot. Mater was strolling down the main street aimlessly, Red almost corralling him near the re-opened restaurant. Ramone had gone into his shop to design a paintjob for the post-repair Corey. For as fast as things had jumped into gear earlier, things had settled into their comparably slow pace without much of a fuss.
"I wonder if I'll be getting any customers later," Sally said. "The Wheel Well's empty tonight."
"Did you check everyone out before coming down here?" Doc asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. But I wonder if that family is still around? I'm surprised I haven't seen them since you brought me to the garage," she said.
"The ones with the two hyperactive kids?" Sheriff asked.
"Yeah," she answered with a slight grin. "I showed them around town after the Night Cruise and checked them out of the Well, just haven't seen them around. That father has probably got his hands full with sight-seeing anyway."
"Today does seem a little slow," Doc said. "But it's probably for the best."
"Yeah," Sally and Sheriff said.
They sat there for another minute or two, finishing their oil.
"I'm gonna go check on our guys," Doc said.
"Alright."
"Okay."
He drove off the lot, Fillmore's gaze following him as he went.
"What's he fixin', man?" Fillmore asked.
Sally and Sheriff glanced at each other and chuckled.
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Lightning and the Ferrari burned out as they hit the opening straightaway once again. McQueen had almost pulled off the overtake entering the last turn, but he had taken the turn too far inside and lost speed correcting himself. He hadn't gained or lost anything on the Ferrari ahead of him the entire lap.
McQueen pulled to the right of the track as the two of them edged themselves past the seventh-place car, another blue BMW, before moving back to the left side and entering the first turn. The tail of the Ferrari seemed slightly closer. No skids this time. He's not unpassable. McQueen gave his engine a little extra push as they started pulling out of the second turn.
The third turn was exhilarating, even on this eleventh full-speed run. The two of their engines roared and came out above the others as they steadily pushed themselves harder than the previous lap. The passing cheers of the fans in the secondary stands along the track were almost disorienting to McQueen, used to the constant crowd noise at the speedways, but he kept his attention on the track. And on the tail of the Ferrari.
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"Hey, I can't let you in," the ambulance told Doc. He had just rounded the building, headed towards the garage.
"What?" Doc replied. He didn't look happy.
"They're changing out the axle right now. I can't let you in until they've finished the operation."
"It's my garage," he said back.
"Yeah, yeah. I know, but I can't let you go in while they're working."
Doc studied his face for a moment. "Hey," he started, "where were you when Sally went in then?"
The ambulance's expression showed surprise, but then went blush. "I…" he said, trailing off.
"Don't worry. I'll wait," Doc said.
"Oh…yeah. Well, I saw this red Miata and…"
Doc rolled his eyes. The ambulance dropped the subject.
"Which one is Sally anyway?" the ambulance asked, trying to regain his composure.
"The blue Porsche."
"Oh…" he began. "She passed me when I was headed over to that Miata then," the ambulance said.
"I must not have been paying much attention to you. I was at the café with most of the other town residents," Doc said. "Are they almost finished?" he asked, glancing over at the closed garage doors.
The ambulance looked back, shaking his head. "I think they're still working on it."
Doc grumbled and shook his head. "Well, let us know when they are. And don't go chasing after Mia and Tia again while you're on the job," he said.
Doc drove off, back towards Flo's, leaving the slight racket of the garage and the ambulance behind. The ambulance settled on his frame but opened his eyes in sudden surprise. "Tia? There are two?"
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Now in sixth place, McQueen and the Ferrari ahead could finally see the race leader clearly, still ahead by a few seconds. It was a sleek silver car whose form he knew all too well—a Porsche. They were heading into the twentieth lap, coming out of the final turn of the circuit. Lightning had gained a few inches on the Ferrari ahead of him, but they were too evenly matched for him to make a sudden overtake, especially after the pit stop and refuel at the end of the nineteenth lap.
The silver Porsche leading the pack, followed closely by a small, boxy Subaru, was already over the starting line as McQueen hit the grids. He and the Ferrari cut left faster this time than they had before. He suddenly saw three sets of red lights ahead of him. Whoa! Whoa!
Lightning gritted his teeth as he braked himself hard. His tires squealed loudly from the sudden deceleration.
The crowd in the main stands gasped.
A wheel, tire still attached, flew over McQueen's head as he heard metal scraping metal and tires skidding on pavement. He knew those sounds all too well.
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