I'm so glad you guys seem to like Herman; I was worried you'd think he was just weird. What do I have in store after the watermelon incident? Well, you'll find out in this chapter...
The story so far: It is a lovely day in Thomasville and Herman is a horrible goose!
Chapter 28- Look Who Finally Showed Up
"I got somethin' I wanna show you", Smokey announced to a dejected Lightning that night. "I think this might help."
"I doubt that", Lightning mumbled. So far, nothing had been helping.
"You think so? Well, you won't know that unless you see it."
As Smokey, Lightning, Cruz, Fudge, Guido and Luigi headed round the side of Smokey's garage, they could see that a projector had been set up by Sammy and the Legends. Sammy had even made popcorn!
"This is one of Hud's old races. I want you to see this", Smokey informed Lightning. "Watch very closely."
Lightning nodded, but didn't say anything.
"Magic is about to happen", Fudge whispered as she made herself comfortable in a lawn chair and took a handful of popcorn.
The projector lit up the wall with an old film from the fifties. For the first couple of minutes, everyone was completely engaged in the film. Only Lightning couldn't figure out exactly what Smokey was trying to show him. Until, at one point, when Hud was so close to the rear bumper of the car in front of him that he was practically touching it, Smokey called out excitedly, "See that?"
"See what?"
"Hud was a master at letting the other cars do the work for him", the pickup truck explained.
"He used to say, 'Cling to 'em'", River piped up, "'like you was two June bugs on a summer night.'"
"He stole that from me!" Junior chimed in.
"Drafting?!" Lightning questioned incredulously. "I've never had to do that."
"Yeah, that's when you were fast", Smokey reminded him bluntly. "Now, you're slow."
"And old!" River called out.
"And rickety", Louise put in.
"And dilapidated", Junior joined in.
"Aged, ancient, elderly, mature, fossil, senior, along in years, broken down, over the hill, senile-" Sammy and Fudge chanted together, reading from a thesaurus on the former's phone.
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Lightning shouted over the top of them as they laughed. Then he looked back at them questioningly. "Senile?"
"The new you has to look for opportunities you never knew were there", Smokey explained.
Not only did Lightning let those words sink in, but Fudge and Cruz did too, still engaged in the film. "Look for opportunities you never knew were there." Interesting words. Great advice.
Fudge was still thinking about them as she followed her half-sister back to the house until Herman showed up. Fudge had never really liked Herman, but ever since the watermelon incident, she made sure to avoid him like the plague. So, she hurried up the stairs to the front door as fast as she could (there were stairs and a ramp for the vehicles).
Sammy laughed. "I think what happened yesterday was a personal vendetta against you, Fudge. He hates being locked out", she remarked.
"But you're still gonna lock the door, right?" Fudge quizzed the rainbow-haired woman.
Another laugh came from Sammy. "Sure. I'll just feed him some dandelions to make up for it and then I'll lock the door."
"Dandelions?" Fudge repeated, puzzled.
Sammy nodded seriously. "Oh, yeah. He loves them. Watch this." She picked up some dandelions that were growing close to the house. "Herman!" she called out in a singsong voice. "Herman!"
Herman ran over to Sammy and began to eat the dandelions right out of her hand. He was one very happy goose. Fudge smiled at him. He looked so innocent now that he was happily eating one of his favourite treats. He even looked kind of cute.
"There. You're a happy boy now, aren't you, Herman?" Sammy petted him. "See? You're not so scary... How could anybody find you scary, you beautiful boy?"
Fudge gave a soft chuckle.
"Here." Sammy gave some dandelions to Fudge. "You try."
"I don't know..."
"Come on. Just try it."
"Okay..." Uncertainly, Fudge held out her hand to the goose. "Herman."
"You gotta show him the dandelions."
"Okay..." the sixteen-year-old repeated, opening up her hand.
Herman approached Fudge and, although all of her instinct told her to run, she stayed.
"Oh, my God! I am so close to death right now!"
"Show him what you've got", the twenty-seven-year-old woman reminded her.
"Herman!" Fudge called again, showing him the dandelions.
Like he'd done with Sammy, Herman munched happily on the dandelions Fudge had in her hand.
The human girl giggled. "It tickles!"
"Why don't you pet him?" her sister suggested.
"I don't know..." Fudge repeated.
"Come on. He likes being petted right here." Sammy demonstrated.
"Okay..." Hesitantly, Fudge put her hand on the goose. She was expecting him to start honking and attack her again. Yet he remained silent. He even looked quite content.
Sammy smiled, seemingly proud of herself. "See? Nothing in life is to be feared, but understood, especially not someone as sweet as Herman."
"I guess you're right", Fudge agreed, standing up and going inside.
Now, Fudge never knew it, but Sammy left the door unlocked that night. Not that the teenager would've minded, had she known. As crazy as it sounded, she thought that if she could amaze herself by petting that damn goose, then who knew what else she could amaze herself by doing? In fact, she'd be sure to pick some dandelions first thing in the morning. She had an idea.
"Ready, Guido?" Smokey quizzed the forklift the following morning.
"Okay!" he confirmed.
"Fudge? You ready?"
"I don't know..." She still wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing.
"McQueen! Cruz! You ready?"
"Uh..." came two uncertain replies as they glanced around at the tractors nearby.
"All right, Guido... Now!" Smokey ordered.
At Smokey's word, Guido opened up the gate to free the tractors. Once again, Lightning and Cruz were caught in the middle of them.
"Sneak through the window!" Smokey repeated.
Cruz moaned. She couldn't believe that they were doing this again!
"Help 'em, Fudge!" Smokey added. "Sneak through the window!"
"I don't know what that means!" Fudge had always found tasks a lot easier when she was given simple, specific instructions, but what Smokey was telling her was the polar opposite of specific.
However, Lightning finally understood what Smokey meant.
"Sneak through the window!" he exclaimed softly as he saw a gap appear between two tractors.
"What?" Cruz shouted, still having no idea what was going on.
"When a window opens, take it!" Lightning instructed her. Another opening appeared between two other tractors and he shot forward to fill the gap.
"Oh!" Fudge cried in comprehension. "Lightning! There's a window open to your right! Cruz, to your left!"
Lightning was weaving through the tractors smoothly. Cruz seemed a little unsure, but managed to follow. Fudge continued to guide them both as best as she could.
"Whoa!" Cruz shouted when an opening closed in on her abruptly.
"Come on, Cruz!" Fudge encouraged her best friend.
Meanwhile, Lightning had spotted another one in front of him. "Yes!" he hissed, gunning forward.
Then, out of nowhere, Cruz shot out in front of him.
"Whoa! I made it!" she cheered.
"All right!" Lightning congratulated her.
Whooping all the way, the two sneaked through the last window! They'd slalomed through all of the tractors and they were free!
"Yes!" Fudge squealed, happy for them.
"You got it!" Sammy congratulated them, giving Fudge a high-five.
"All right!" Smokey sounded impressed. "You did it! Now, go around and do it again!"
This time, Lightning and Cruz were happy to.
Even better, when Lightning returned to the hay bale exercise, he'd improved dramatically at that too. He managed to avoid the hay bales Guido and Fudge sent his way skilfully.
"Go! Let's move!" Smokey shouted as he drove Guido and Fudge. "Reflexes!"
"Yeah, Lightning!" Fudge cheered as she tossed another hay bale.
"All right, Guido! Turn up the heat!" Smokey ordered.
"Okay!" Guido responded.
Lightning was surprised that the next items Guido threw were not hay bales, but much larger, solid items! There was even a tyre and massive anchor, all of which he managed to avoid.
"Not bad!" Fudge called appreciatively.
"Thank you!"
Lightning wasn't the only one improving in his training either.
"Come on now!" Smokey called to the blindfolded Fudge, shuffling across the dirt track. "Know the track!"
Fudge tried to block his words out and focus solely on her counting. She had taken to counting all of the steps with each step forward being given a number and each step sideways being assigned a letter (so, for example, one step forward and one step sideways would be step 1A) and memorising where the things to avoid were.
"Pebble number one hundred and forty-three!" she cried, narrowly avoiding it. "Ah ha! You will not trip me up again, pebble number one hundred and forty-three!" She kept going, counting out loud, knowing that she was more likely to lose count if she counted in her head.
The only thing Fudge couldn't be sure of was where the watermelon would be, but that was okay. She was prepared for that. As soon as she smelt the fruit close by, she came to a stop, waiting for that inevitable honking sound. There it was.
"Hey, Herman!" the human girl called out, reaching into her pocket and pulling out some dandelions. "I got something for you!"
Immediately, Herman gave a loud honk and came running up to Fudge to eat the dandelions out of her hand.
"There you go, you dumb goose!"
Smokey laughed. This wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting when he'd tried to encourage Fudge to think on her feet and learn from previous mistakes, but he had to admit, it was both funny and impressive.
"You better watch out, Herman!" he called out. "She knows your weakness now!"
Fudge scattered the remaining dandelions on the ground, shuffled past the distracted goose to avoid both him and the watermelon and was on her way around again.
When she removed her blindfold, Fudge could see that she had an audience again. Lightning, Cruz, Luigi, Guido, Sammy, Junior, River and Louise were watching her. Over on the other side of the track, Herman had finished off his dandelions and was breaking into the watermelon. He was very happy, which made two of them, now that Fudge had conquered the Walk Across the Track Blindfolded Challenge.
"Better", Smokey congratulated her once she got her bearings back.
"Although, I wanted to see you end up in the watermelon again!" Sammy added with a laugh.
"Not today!" Fudge vowed.
"Oh, yeah?" Lightning came forward and began chasing her. Without warning, Sammy and Smokey joined in.
"No!" Fudge squealed, running away as fast as she could. "No! No fair! I can't run!"
All of a sudden, Lightning, Sammy and Smokey grabbed hold of her and tackled her to the ground on top of the watermelon!
None of them had laughed so hard in a long time. Fudge lay on the ground and when the others heard the muffled sounds coming from her, they all thought she was crying. However, when River and Junior helped her to her feet, they all realised that she was laughing! The sight of her laughing made everyone else laugh even more. Although, she didn't just take it sitting down. She scooped up a chunk of watermelon and hurled it at an unsuspecting Lightning. He yelped in surprise.
"Guess you need to work on your reflexes some more!" she taunted, making everyone, especially Smokey, laugh even more.
"Oh, yeah?" Lightning picked up a chunk of watermelon of his own and threw it at Fudge, but some of it wound up over Smokey too.
Next, it was Smokey's turn to throw some watermelon at Lightning and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened from there. While Fudge, Lightning, Cruz, Luigi, Guido, Sammy, Smokey and the Legends were laughing hysterically, Herman did not look so amused.
Once everyone had been hosed off, it was time for the trailers again. Everyone climbed aboard the same trailers as the last time.
"Not this again!" Cruz groaned.
"All right!" Smokey yelled once everyone was in position. "GO!"
Lightning and Cruz grunted as they heaved the massive trailers. Last time, they'd been unable to move the trailers even an inch, but this time, they weren't exactly going at the speed of light, but they were keeping a steady pace as they each pulled the trailer forward.
"Dig for it!" Smokey on Lightning's trailer shouted. "Come on now! Show me somethin'! Keep goin'!"
"Reach for you lunch!" Cruz chanted to herself. "Reach for your lunch!"
"Hey! Come on, come on!" River called out from his spot on Cruz's trailer. "Let's go!"
"All right!" That was Louise, who was next to River.
"Faster, faster!" Fudge chimed in. She was sandwiched between Luigi and Junior on Lightning's trailer.
"You can go faster than that!" Sammy cried from beside Louise.
"Come on now!" Junior yelled. "Move it!"
"This is a better ride!" Fudge declared.
"Hold on!" Cruz shouted. "You'll never beat me, Mr. McQueen!"
Since Lightning was getting better at his training, it was obvious that the mood had improved amongst the group. The watermelon fight had allowed everyone to relax a little and now, everyone was cheering for Lightning and Cruz, laughing as they enjoyed the ride and just had fun. When Lightning and Cruz crossed the finish line, the cheering and honks (from both cars and goose!) grew even louder. It somehow made them all seem closer. Fudge and Junior, who'd barely said two words to each other, even high-fived.
By the time they got to another race, Lightning was full of confidence. When Smokey yelled, "Go!", he went like he'd never gone before. Everyone watched intently and Fudge called out tips she'd learned from her exercise with Smokey.
"It's a little rough once you get to turn three!" she called out. "You might wanna be careful of that. Oh! Watch out for pebble number one hundred and forty-three!"
Although he didn't quite catch up to Cruz, it was the closest he'd ever gotten.
"All right!" Smokey yelled. "Look who finally showed up!"
"That was better", Lightning commented to Cruz and Fudge later that night. They were chilling out near the track, waiting for Smokey and the Legends to arrive. They had something new planned, but they wouldn't say what. While they waited, Fudge changed out of her wet, watermelon-stained jumpsuit and into her denim jacket, a racing T-shirt, jeans and black running shoes with blue and purple stripes. Then the three of them watched the stars. That was one of Fudge's favourite things to do back home and Thomasville also provided some remarkable views of the night sky. Not only were there a lot of stars, but a full moon gleaming as well.
"Yeah", Fudge agreed from her spot stretched out on Lightning's roof. "I really had fun today."
"So did I", Lightning agreed.
"Me too", Cruz chimed in. "I think that's the closest I've ever felt to being a real racer."
"You were great out there, Cruz", Fudge assured her.
"Thank you."
"Do you feel a little more ready for Florida now?" Fudge quizzed Lightning.
"I guess. I mean, I know I've gotten better. But, still, you never know."
"Guess not. That's what Smokey was trying to tell me when he unleashed Herman on me!"
"Well, you've conquered your fear", Lightning pointed out. "And you've learned to laugh at yourself a little. Very impressive."
Fudge blushed. "Thanks..."
"You know, I didn't know you were scared of geese, Fudge", Cruz mused.
"Terrified", she confirmed.
"You should've seen her when we took her to the farm!" Lightning informed Cruz, laughing.
"Not that story!" Fudge groaned.
"Come on! You were only six and it has a better ending than you landing in fruit!" That story ended with Fudge escaping from an angry gaggle of geese and crying in Guido's arms.
"That doesn't mean Cruz has to hear it!"
Lightning proceeded to tell Cruz the story anyway. The two cars were laughing while the human covered herself with her denim jacket to hide her shame.
"It sounds like you were such a cute kid!" Cruz commented.
"She was a cute kid!" Lightning agreed, giving Fudge a nuzzle. "She still is!"
She grinned. "Thanks."
At that moment, a shooting star streaked across the sky.
"Oh! A shooting star!" Fudge exclaimed. "Make a wish!"
The sixteen-year-old closed her eyes and did just that. I wish Lightning could win the Florida 500! He doesn't want to stop racing just yet! Please, just let him win!
Lightning wasn't sure if he should wish for the same thing. He had never really believed in the power of shooting stars and other ways to make a wish. Well, sure he had as a child, but never as an adult. He knew he wasn't going to win the race merely by wishing for it. Then again, he thought about Fudge. The doctors said that it was a miracle that she survived the accident. Who was to say miracles couldn't happen?
"I wish I could win the Florida 500", Lightning whispered to himself with his eyes closed. He doubted that a shooting star alone would cause it to happen, but that didn't matter. There was no harm in making the wish.
"It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" Fudge declared.
"Yeah", the other two agreed.
"I really like Thomasville", the human girl decided. "I can't wait to go to Florida and get back home, but at the same time, I don't wanna leave." It wasn't until that moment that she realised that this was their last night in Thomasville. "We'll have to come back some day."
"Well, your sister lives here, so you've got an excuse", Lightning pointed out.
"That's true."
"And Mr. McQueen, you can go with her", Cruz added. "I'm not sure I can, though."
"What do you mean?" Fudge wondered.
Before Cruz could answer, Smokey, Sammy and the Legends showed up.
"Hey, guys!" Lightning greeted them as Fudge slid off his roof.
"You ready?" Smokey quizzed them.
"For what?" Lightning wondered.
"We're goin' for a little drive."
"But first", Sammy piped up. "Fudge." She tossed a racing helmet, special goggles to go over Fudge's glasses to prevent them from falling off her face and magnets her sister's way. "Happy birthday."
"I mean, my birthday was eight months ago", Fudge teased as she strapped on the magnets, "but it's the thought that counts, I guess." She was excited, but nervous. Ever since the accident, she'd only been racing once with Cal when she was fourteen, against her family's wishes. She got caught and was in a lot of trouble.
"Wait. Why does she need those?" Lightning demanded.
"I know how you feel about Fudge racin'", Smokey assured the stock car. During their time in Thomasville, he'd made it more than clear. "After what you and Sammy have told me about Fudge's accident, I don't blame you. I just think it's important that Fudge comes with us for this."
"Come on! We want Fudge there!" Sammy begged as she suited up in her own helmet and magnets. She climbed up onto River's roof. "Don't worry. She'll be perfectly safe."
"You promise?" Lightning seemed a little unsure, as did Fudge for that matter. Like she'd told her brother, she would want to get back into racing, should she ever be given the chance, but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid.
"We promise", all five of the Thomasville locals chorused.
The stock car still wasn't convinced, but gave in nonetheless.
"So, Fudge, do you wanna ride with me?" Junior offered. Sammy had suggested one of the Legends offer, knowing how much Fudge would love that.
"Sure! Let's go!" Fudge cried excitedly, trying and failing to play it cool as she leapt up onto Junior's roof.
"This is gonna be fun!" Sammy proclaimed.
With Smokey and the Legends leading the way, the group headed out of town for a drive.
Under the full moon, Smokey led them all into the woods.
"This is where we cut our racing teeth!" he explained.
"In the woods?" Lightning questioned sceptically.
River pulled up alongside the younger racer. "Let's just say the moon was always shining on us!" he attempted to clarify emphatically.
"Huh?" Lightning didn't get it.
Louise tried. "If the moon didn't shine, we didn't have to..." Then she seemed to give up. "Oh, never mind."
"We ran moonshine, dummy!" Junior yelled from ahead of them.
"Oh!" Lightning understood finally.
"Moonshine?" Fudge repeated in astonishment. "You guys really are bad asses!"
Sammy grinned at her from River's roof. "You don't know the half."
"And I'm not sure I want to."
"By the way", Smokey added, "no lights! Instinct only!"
"Wait!" Fudge cried. "You don't really mean-"
In answer to her question, one by one, Smokey and the Legends switched off their headlights, all whooping away.
"I thought you said I'd be safe!" Fudge protested. She was thrown all over the place as Junior picked up speed through the rough terrain. She was nervous enough to try racing again to begin with, but this just seemed like a suicide mission.
"Don't worry. We know what we're doin'", Junior assured her.
"You sure?"
"Sure I'm sure", he insisted.
"Whoo-hoo!" Sammy shouted.
Smokey and the Legends were tearing through the woods in total darkness, guided by nothing but the light of the moon and instinct. Lightning and Cruz had switched their lights off as well, but they weren't as sure as the others. Lightning screamed as he struggled and narrowly avoided smashing into a tree.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cruz yelled as she skidded into some bushes.
It took Lightning a little while- and several close calls with bushes and trees- to get the hang of it. However, finally, he found his rhythm.
"Yeah!" he yelled, beginning to enjoy the different kind of racing he was doing. For the first time in a long time, he found himself racing for the sheer fun of it.
Fudge had gotten used to this racing too and racing again in general. After a few times of thinking they'd hit trees, but they didn't, she'd learned to trust Junior and could see he knew what he was doing. This was the fastest she'd gone in years and she'd forgotten how much she'd missed it. She wasn't sure if Smokey wanted her to get into crew chief mode, but she couldn't. She was just smiling and laughing too hard as she found herself caught up in the sheer thrill of it, unable to speak, but occasionally, joining the others in whoops of pure delight. She felt like she was flying!
Back to Lightning, he was whooping and hollering gleefully. Nobody, not even he himself, noticed that as he brushed up against twigs and bushes, the electronic suit he got at the Rust-Eze Racing Centre was beginning to tear. He caught up to Cruz, who was also squealing and laughing with joy and having the time of her life. The two made their way deeper and deeper into the woods and Lightning's suit was tearing more and more. Finally, when Lightning jumped down a hill, the entire thing fell apart, revealing the paint job Ramone had given him before he left Radiator Springs. Still, he didn't notice and rocketed off after the Legends, who were surprised when he and Cruz caught up.
"Hey!" Louise cried as Fudge called, "Hi!", laughing hysterically and waving into the darkness when she saw her older brother.
"Whoo-hoo!" Lightning hollered.
"How was that?!" Lightning quizzed Fudge when they all met up on the edge of the woods at the end of their run.
Fudge pulled off her helmet and removed a loose strand of hair from her face. "That was awesome!" she exclaimed with pure glee and a huge grin on her face.
"I have never done anything like that before!" Cruz proclaimed. "That was awesome!"
"Yeah! Me neither!" Fudge slid down from Junior's roof.
"You don't get that on a simulator!" Cruz went on.
"Nope", Sammy agreed. "The midnight run is one of a kind."
"Yeah! Take that, simulators!" Fudge cried jokingly. "Forget the trailers too! That was the best ride!"
"And Fudge is still in one piece", Smokey pointed out, looking at Lightning.
Lightning couldn't even laugh. He was reminded too much about Fudge's accident and had been very worried something would happen to her. So, he was almost relieved when Fudge questioned fearfully, "What was that?"
"What was what?" River asked.
"I thought I heard something", Fudge whispered and they all went silent, listening.
Cruz looked around, concerned. "Are there any bears in these woods?"
"Nope", Smokey assured her. "No bears around here."
"I don't care if there is. I'd take bears over geese any day", Fudge voiced her opinion. That made everyone laugh.
"So, do you know what happened to Fudge when Mr. McQueen took her to a farm to see geese?" Cruz asked Sammy, Smokey and the Legends.
"You mean when she ran crying into Guido's arms?" Smokey laughed with the others.
"Ha, ha!" Fudge taunted in a singsong voice, pointing at Cruz. "They already know it!" Then she looked back at the Legends, surprised and confused. "Wait. What?"
That just made everyone laugh even more.
Sammy grinned. "Who would've thought the great Fudge Rossi-Topolino was scared of geese?"
"Hey! What happened to your suit?" Cruz wondered abruptly, looking at Lightning.
The surprised 95 racer looked over his body to see it was gone. "Huh!"
"Guess that means Mr. Sterling won't be able to keep tabs on you anymore", Cruz commented.
"I guess so." Though he didn't sound so upset.
As the group of eight went their separate ways that night, all of them felt empowered and excited by what had happened that day. If Fudge could win Herman over and Lightning could get so close to beating Cruz and let Fudge try her hand at racing again, then anything was possible. Preparing to sleep on her last night of her first trip to Thomasville, Fudge's mind travelled back to flying through the woods on Junior's roof under the moonlight. It got her thinking maybe Lightning was right. Racing was the reward.
As you may have guessed from this chapter, Junior Moon is my favourite of the Legends. River Scott and Louise Nash are still cool too, though! :)
And if you've watched the video of them using the trailers, you may recognise some of the dialogue.
I like this chapter and I hope you do too. Please let me know what you think! :)
