Author Note: To my lovely, patient readers, here is an update! Thanks for liking this story and following it! Thank you for all your comments and support! It means so much to me that you are enjoying the story and encouraging me!

Enjoy the new chapter of the Tangled Trail adventure,

Adventurelife

~Two Years Prior~

Lightning glared out the window of his current foster home. It was in a decent part of town, but his bed was a tattered mattress laying on the floor of the attic. His foster family decided he didn't deserve a nice bed like their real kids. He knew why they took in foster kids. No, he wasn't a stupid fourteen-year-old, he'd grown up quick being in the foster system for a good portion of his life. All they wanted was the money they could swindle from the system. Money that was meant to take care of him, not to pamper their stupid kids.

Angrily he picked up a ragged tennis ball he'd found on the way back from school. Bounce…bounce…bounce… His greatest entertainment was bouncing a ball off the attic wall. They wouldn't let him watch tv with Stacey and Greg. Nope. It was a normal routine. Get up and survive. They'd made him start going to the school counselor after a fight at school. It wasn't his fault that the kids at school were jerks. It wasn't his fault that he was an orphan. He slammed a fist against the floor.

It didn't help that Tommy was in a different foster home. He wasn't allowed to see him…He slammed a fist against the floor again. It will help if you're separated. The teen spat on the floor. He was sick of the lies, he wasn't an adult, but he knew a lie when he heard it. Years of training had made sure he didn't trust any adult.

There was no question in his mind. He had to find Tommy. He swallowed remembering why they were in the foster system anyway. The redhead leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Red. After three years it was vividly in his memories. They'd killed her.

His eyes pricked with unshed tears. He couldn't cry, Tommy needed him. He had to get them to safety. Sharp eyes snapped open and he collected the box he'd found in his locker. There was a threatening letter and an empty handgun. A warning. It reminded him of the day his mother died.

Those people had been after something. He'd only been eleven. Tommy was four and they were headed home from a trip to the library and the ice cream parlor. Lightning was holding a sleeping Tommy and his mother was by his side. It was perfect. Until the rain had started.

With the rain there came a stalker. Delanie could feel eyes on her, it was unsettling. She placed a hand on her eldest son's back. Her gut churned painfully.

"No matter what you hear, keep running. You understand Lightning." She'd gripped his arm tightly and made him look her in the eyes.

"Mom?"

"Promise me that you'll take care of Tommy." She tightened her grip, her grey eyes cut into his chest. Something was wrong…his mom had never sounded scared before.

"I promise. But you'll help me take care of him."

"If anything happens. Find a Sheriff Crawley. He'll help you both. He lives in Radiator Springs."

"Ok…" Lightning's eyes filled with worry.

"Don't look so down, Champ." She ruffled his hair. "Everything will be ok."

"I don't believe you."

"You need to be fast." The young mother ignored his statement.

"Mom…I'm slow."

"Speed. Lightning. You. Are. Speed." Her lips formed a thin line. "Say it."

"Mom…" Lightning frowned again and started to protest.

"Say it." She waited impatiently. "Say it Lightning. Believe it. It's the truth." She kept hold of his arm. "Speed. Lightning. You. Are. Speed."

"Speed. I. Am. Speed." He nodded firmly as if trying to convince himself.

"Good…Good." She kissed his red hair. "I love you both. Now when we turn the corner I want you to run." She shoved him and turned to face their stalker.

A gun went off… distant yells echoed in Lightning's ears. He ducked into an alleyway and hid behind a giant dumpster. He waited a long time; the screech of tires made his ears ache…and then there was silence. Earth shattering quietness made him restless. Slowly he crept out from behind the dumpster and snuck back to check on his mom.

There was nothing left. Only cold concrete stained with a puddle of red. His eyes darted around the area and he spotted a rolling tube of lipstick and a box no bigger than the palm of his hand. He snatched them up and felt a lump rising in his throat. Tommy mumbled in his sleep…How he'd stayed asleep was beyond him. His mom was gone.

Lightning's eyes snapped open and he wiped stubborn tears away from the corners of his eyes. He was back in the present. His mother's disappearance was three years in the past. He wasn't eleven anymore. He wasn't helpless…no he was fourteen and ready to take control. The young man wanted protection for himself and his brother. With a shaky hand he decided on a course of action and packed his backpack with everything he'd need.

It had been tricky getting everything he'd needed. He'd had to steal a couple bags from his foster siblings. Then he'd proceeded to collect things that could be used for Tommy and himself later. He knew the time frame of when the others were in the house, so he carefully waited for the perfect time to disappear.

They thought he was in bed, but they were so wrong. He dashed down the road with two bags over his shoulders. With a little bit of hacking he'd discovered exactly where Tommy was. His heart was in his throat one minute and then back down in his shoes. There was a lot riding on the success of his little escapade.

Limbs shaking slightly, he snuck up to the back door of Tommy's foster home. He pulled out a lockpicking set he'd acquired through unusual means. With practiced ease he unlocked the door and slipped inside. This house was a fire hazard. His nose wrinkled in disgust at the trash littering the floors. How could they put his brother in a house like that?

The teen picked his way through the house until he found his little brother huddled in a back room. He scowled. They'd left the seven-year-old by himself. His resolve hardened…he had to get his brother and himself out of the foster system.

"Lightnin!" Tommy launched at him. The little boy was trembling and he clung to his brother with all his might.

"Shh…it's ok. I'm here." He crouched down in front of his sibling. "Get what you need and we're leaving."

"Together."

"Together."

Tommy was off like a shot. He bounded over to the corner he was previously in and collected a small bag. Without second thought he ran over and gripped Lightning's hand. He was ready to leave.

Hurriedly Lightning and his brother left the house and the equally seedy neighborhood. The older boy had a plan, it had been rolling over in his mind for a couple days. He'd used some hacking skills to get the answers he needed. He knew who could help them. Luck was on their side.

It took them two hours but finally they found their destination. It was near a park in the city. Somewhere he and Tommy had gone before their mother had died. Lightning's sharp eyes landed on a sheriff car. There it was! He glanced around and spotted the man from the pictures he'd hacked. It was Sheriff Crawley.

"Tommy, you have to be quiet." He ruffled the boy's hair. All at once Lightning felt on edge. He glanced behind him and spotted a far too familiar figure. It was one of the men that had taken their mother. His time was short. Heart pounding frantically, he grabbed Tommy into a firm hold and dashed to the law enforcement car. He jerked on a back-door handle and found that it was mercifully unlocked.

"Lightning…."

"Shh. I want you to lay in the floorboard." Lightning waited until the little boy had complied. "Don't move. Don't say a word." He grabbed an old blanket from one of his bags and tossed it over his brother. It effectively shielded him from sight. He made sure Tommy had his bag.

"Lightning…" Tommy's voice was filled with fear.

"Shh…it's gonna be ok. You just have to listen to Sheriff Crawley. OK?"

"Ok…Where are you going?"

"Um…I'm going to make sure nothing happens to you." Lightning closed the door carefully. He looked around for their stalker and found him a block away. Time to make good on his promise to his mother. "Speed. I. Am. Speed." He was off like a shot, drawing all attention away from his little brother.

A warm breeze blew over the two teens and Lightning felt his eyes snap open. He took a harsh breath and shook himself from the dream…no from the memories. A shiver ran down his spine. There was a valid reason he'd kept lying through the years. That reason was fear. Fear for his brother and fear for himself.

The racer glanced at Sally. She was relaxed and playing with a withered piece of grass. He wondered if he got too close to anyone…if they'd be taken away just like his mother. Teeth clenched he stared at the sky. No one would believe him if he told them about what happened. No one ever believed a kid until it was too late. He sighed. Guess I'll just have to stick to the shadows.