Route 66

The radio played softly as Hudson drove across the interstate in the early morning. It was around 6 AM. He was crossing the border of New Mexico. Hudson was surprised that snow started to appear on the ground as he drove through Oklahoma and down to New Mexico. It was a light snow and looked as if powdered sugar had been sprinkled across the ground. Hudson marveled at the sight. He had never expected it to snow in the desert, but then again, he really did not know much about the desert. He rolled up the windows as the air began to get cool and crisp. Now, he was looking forward to the drive.

Hudson headed down the interstate for another twenty miles before he tapped his Hornet's fuel gauge. The car was beginning to run low on fuel. He planned ahead and made sure he'd have enough fuel to search for a station in case he was lost. He cruised along the interstate, changed lanes, and took the nearest exit: a sign in blue, with the words "REST STOP." Under the words were a few icons, indicating a gas station, lodging, and restaurants. It looked like a small town. Hudson followed the directions to town. He pulled up at an intersection. The town was to the right, but to the left was a worn, old road. It was bumpy, and weeds and plants sprouted through the cracks in the asphalt. Nobody was traveling down it, at least from what Hudson saw. Most the cars were turning from the town and directly onto the highway. He wondered where the old road led to…Then he saw it. Ahead of the old, worn road was a faded and dented sign. There were two numbers on it, which looked a little blurry from far away, but Hudson could still read it. "ROUTE 66," the sign read. The sign pole looked like it had been run into, as it slouched over, rusting at the bottom. A smile crept up the corner of Hudson's mouth. He and his family used to take the famous route on vacations back in the 40's, though now the route seemed desolate. Hudson saw the town and the gas station, and he knew that's where he needed to go, but he felt as if the road was telling him to come. "Come relive the old memories, take a drive, slow down, and enjoy the ride," Hudson could almost hear it say. He couldn't get the old memories of the route out of his head. He shook off the thoughts and turned to the station. The Hornet pulled next to the nearest pump and then came to a stop. Hudson turned off his car, checked the price on the pump, and went inside to pay. He opened the door to the quaint little station's store. An elderly man sat at the counter, smiling warmly. He was dressed in a button up shirt and worn leather jacket. Judging by his appearance it was clear that he had been through a lot in his days. His face was scarred and wrinkled, but his friendly disposition and warm smile could make anyone's day better. He waved to Hudson. "Welcome," he said kindly. "Yah' need a fill-up?"

"Yes sir," Hudson said as he reached for his wallet to pay. "Get me however many gallons this ten-dollar bill with pay for," he handed the money to the man. "Pump 2."

"I'll send my boy out there to fill your car up." He looked to his left, where his grandson sat, reading a book. "Richard, the pump," he reminded the teen. Richard stood and hurried outside.

Hudson stayed quiet as the old man took his time trying to get the register open. Hudson tapped his finger on the counter, before out of the blue, he piped up. "Is Route 66 still active?" He asked. The man shrugged. "You can drive it, but there's nobody else on it, I promise you that."

"If I get on the route over here, will I run into any towns or shops?"

"Probably. It's a nice drive, but if yah' break down, nobody is gon' come and getcha'."

Hudson smirked. "I'll take my chances."

"You want a map?" The man asked. "I've got some free ones here," he pointed to the little stand of maps with a shaky, wrinkled hand. "They'll get yah' home if yah' pay attention."

"Then I'll take one," Hudson said as he reached for a map. "Thank you," he said, as the man handed him a receipt.

"Good luck out there and enjoy the drive," he said kindly, as Hudson waved and headed back out.

Hudson got into his car once again and cranked up the engine. It sputtered and gurgled to life, the deep rumble coming back once again. He waved goodbye to the teen who filled up his car, then quickly took off and headed back down to where he saw the old road sign. He stopped at the intersection once again, but instead of turning onto the highway, Hudson smirked and drove down the old road: Route 66. Hudson couldn't help himself. He had so many good memories of his family back down this road. Maybe he could bring them back, just a glimmer of happiness on this long, long trip. And besides, it would only be a few hours, and he could get back on the highway when the two roads paralleled again. Hudson checked the map. He knew where he was, but the road he was turning down was unmarked on the map. It was simply a long, curving red line that branched out from the interstate. Hudson was confused, but he knew it was 66 since he saw the sign. His car was reliable and he had a full tank. He would be fine. He just kept driving. The view was beautiful, and though the road was old, it was exciting to drive on. Hudson loved every turn, every curve, every drop, and climb. It was so much different than a straight, boring highway. How could people ever take the highway, when there was so much fun to be had on a real, genuine, historical road? Hudson asked himself why he didn't get on the route earlier. He forgot it existed, that's why…

He wondered if everyone else forgot too…

Hudson kept driving for about three hours. It only felt like an hour, he was having such a good time. He rolled the windows down, turned up his radio, and let the wind blow his hair wild. He watched the horizon ahead of him, but it was hard to because the scenery around him was beautiful. Above, were the tallest and most beautiful red-rock mountains. Out of all the states that Hudson drove through, New Mexico was now one of his favorites. The red dirt started to dust and dirty his Hornet again as he drove down the old road. Tall, green cacti lined the roads and fell deep into the hills and ravines. The tall mountains were layered with multicolored rocks, like a sweet, six-layered birthday cake. Hudson was so distracted by the scenery that he drove right past an old, wooden road sign completely unnoticed…

RADIATOR SPRINGS

Gateway to Ornament Valley

Hudson continued driving, even swerving in and out of his lane just for fun. There was nobody on the road anyway. Hudson laughed a little bit, remembering his father driving the same way. His mother would screech and squeal and beg him to stop, as Hudson and his siblings would cheer with excitement. Hudson straightened the car back into his lane. He leaned back into his seat and watched the horizon. The Hornet started to make a sound, a strange sound, that Hudson was not familiar with. He raised an eyebrow, checking his gauges. He didn't see anything that looked bad until there was a pop sound. Then there was a "bang." Hudson jumped in surprise and looked behind him. There was some sort of white exhaust coming from the tailpipe. He quickly pulled over on the side of the road, and the engine sputtered and coughed violently. Hudson quickly shut off the engine as he caught his breath. He sat in the car for a few moments, gathering himself before he stepped out of the car and popped the hood open. Hudson slowly opened it and looked around. He couldn't see anything right away, but he knew something was wrong. After a bit of examination, Hudson started to see that something was seriously wrong. Something had blown out. He slammed the hood of the Hornet and slapped the car.

"Curse you!" He yelled at the car, kicking the bumper, before storming back to the front seat.

He searched through his map, trying to figure out how far it would be until he reached a town. Only thing was, there were no towns on the map. There was nothing written on the map, down Route 66 at least. It was blank and barren. Hudson had no clue. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. He would be fine. Somebody would come by… Until then, Hudson would try and fix the problem, though he wasn't a mechanic. He opened the trunk and lifted the heavy metal box up and out of the back end of his car. Hudson had lost a lot of weight on the trip and was having a hard time just getting the heavy toolbox to the front of the car. He opened it, staring at it for a while. The young man really didn't know what to do…

Hudson fiddled around with his car for an hour. He probably made it worse, as he pushed things, opened gauges, then opened and closed and tightened caps…He wiped his forehead and sighed. How was he sweating? It wasn't even hot! Hudson sat on the front of his car and sighed. As he sat and pouted, a faint rumbling sound started coming from up the road. Hudson ignored it, just thinking maybe an airliner was flying somewhere nearby, but as he looked up the road, he spotted a vehicle. "Yes, yes, yes!" He whispered to himself, as the car got closer. Hudson was in luck…It was a tow truck. He flagged the truck down. It turned around and pulled in front of the Hornet. The man set his car into the parked gear and then opened the door. Hudson couldn't help but chuckle at the truck. It was originally a minty green, but rusting very badly. Hudson could barely make out what the sides of the car said… The doors were painted with an old-timey font:

TOW MATER

–Towing & Salvage–

Radiator Springs

The driver wiped off his overalls and headed over to Hudson. The driver himself was just as unique as the old tow truck. His face was scruffy and aged. He was dirtied and tan, but his toothy smile could brighten anyone's day. "Good day tah' yah'!" He yelled, adjusting his hat. "Tow Mater towing business, at yer service! Name's Mater, like 'tuh-mater,' but it don't got dah 'tuh' in it!" He extended a dirty and worn hand to the younger man. "Whas yer name son? Did yah break down?"

Hudson shook his hand. "The name's Hudson. And yes, I did break down, about an hour ago," he said, a little ashamed that he, a veteran racer, broke down and didn't know what to do.

Mater puffed a little laugh. "Pft, shoot, what're yah doin' all the way out here anyways? Git lost or somethin'?"

"No. Decided to take the long way, for old times' sake."

"Ah yeah buddy, well, yah' gotta make sure yer car can make it if yer gonna try that!"

Hudson grumbled in frustration. "I know that. My car has been reliable, until now, it figures…"

Mater slapped a hand on Hudson's shoulder and laughed. "Well dontcha worry, I'll give yah' a tow back intah' town."

"There's a town around here?"

"Well, where'd yah think I came from? Course' der's a town! Just'a few miles from 'ere."

Hudson sighed in relief and wiped his brow. "Thank you, Mater. Let me get my things picked up and I'll be ready to go."

Hudson packed the toolbox back up and loaded it back into the trunk. Mater quickly hooked the Hornet up to the tow truck and prepared it for the haul back to town. Hudson made a quick check to make sure Mater secured everything properly, then hopped into the passenger seat. Mater started up his old truck again and slowly started to head back, towing the Hornet behind him.

"Is there a place in town to get it repaired?" Hudson asked. "I've got to get to California soon."

"Oh yeah, Ramone will fix 'er up for yah, don' worry 'bout it!"

"Good. Thank you."

"Anytime," Mater said as he swerved out of the way of a tumbleweed in the road. Hudson looked back at his car, to assure himself it was okay. Mater looked at Hudson and sniffed.

"A nice car yah' got der'," Mater said as he pulled into town.

"Yeah, yeah," Hudson said, looking back ahead again. What he saw next completely shocked him. This was the town? Were they here already? No. It couldn't be. It was an old, run down dead town. It looked as if it had been frozen in time from the 1950's. It was rusted, worn, and aged, though it had a unique and special feeling to it. It looked like a ghost town, in Hudson's honest opinion. Some of the buildings outside of town were crumbling and falling apart. Old signs saying "70% sale," or "We're closing" were littered across the ground by the old shops. It was completely quiet, and the only sound Hudson could hear was the rumble of Mater's old truck. Hudson couldn't believe his eyes. At the end of the town stood a tall brick courthouse, and behind that was a tall, radiator-shaped rock with two white letters written in the stone: "RS"

"Welcome to Radiator Springs!" Mater exclaimed. "The cutest little town in Carburetor County!"