Chapter 9. - Disaster Strikes -
Late in the race: Lightning winced as pain shot down his axle. Bearing his teeth, Lightning raced around Chick and into first place.
"Good job, Kiddo!" Doc said "Now, stay there until the race is over."
"Isn't that the whole idea?" Lightning laughed "You miss one race and now you think I don't know how to win."
"You know what I mean." Doc snapped "So, stop goofing off and pay attention!" One hundred laps later: Lightning pulled in for a pit stop.
"Looking good out there." Doc said "How's your axle?"
"I'm good." Lightning said "I'm very sore, but good. I'm definitely going to need an ice pack once the race is over." Lightning winced as a pity quickly changed his front right tire.
"I'll have one ready for you, so just hang in there." Doc said "You've only got sixty laps left. Go get 'em."
"Will do." Lightning said, racing out of his pit "Speed, I am speed." When Lightning returned to the track: He was in third place behind Chick and Sapphire. Sapphire had not pitted in a while, so Lightning easily passed her and ended up behind Chick. Lightning knew he had a big challenge ahead of him.
Chick's racing strategy was blocking, so it was incredibly hard to pass him. Lightning stayed behind Chick for twenty-five laps, blocking Sapphire the entire time. He sighed in relief as Sapphire finally pitted. Lightning knew she was a talented racecar, but he also knew that there was not enough laps left for her to challenge them for the win.
"All right Kiddo, this is it. It's between you and Chick." Doc said, as Lightning attempted to pass his rival, but he was blocked "Be patient, an opening will appear sooner or later. Chick is tiring and he won't be able to hold that line for much longer. Until then, stay as close as you can… like an old racing buddy used to say, stick to him like 'two June bugs on a summer's night!"
Despite being in pain, Lightning chuckled.
Several laps later: Lightning saw an opening between Chick and the infield. Making his move, Lightning charged through the opening, just barely getting through. Chick saw him and attempted to cut him off, but Lightning was too fast. Chick's specialty may be blocking, but Lightning's was speed. Lightning pulled away from Chick and sprinted the remaining laps until he crossed the finish line in first place.
"Good job, Rookie!" Doc said "Great finish!" "Thanks Doc." Lightning said "I'll meet you in Victory Lane after I take a few cool down laps."
The superintendent grabbed Lightning as soon as he left the track and took him to his tent. "You know what I need Champ." Fabio said as he handed Lightning a cup "Fill it up."
They had a long wait before Lightning's win was made official. "This is why we went through the trouble of documenting your injury." Doc said while they were waiting "I had a feeling the antibiotics would show up."
Once Fabio cleared Lightning of any wrongdoing, the results were made official. Lightning accepted his first-place prize and answered questions from the press. An hour later: Lightning drove back to his pit. "Good! you're back!" Doc said "How's the axle doing?"
"It's sore." Lightning said "But, it's a lot better than it was a few days ago."
"Good." Doc said, obviously pleased "I want you to take it easy for another week." Doc helped Lightning and the pit crew load the trailers. By the time they were done, Lightning was in a fair amount of pain.
"This sucks. Sometimes I really hate being a race car." Lightning said as he limped around "When can I get my staples out?"
"In a few more days, Kiddo." Doc said "The more time you have to heal the better. If we're done, it's time to hit the road." Doc wrapped an ice pack around Lightning's axle before he headed to his trailer.
Three days later: Lightning was training at the Seattle track.
"You're looking good." Doc said through the intercom system "I want you to pick up a little speed."
"Okay, I'm going to try." Lightning said "I forgot how much I hate this track." Going down the backstretch, Lightning sped up to one hundred and twenty-five miles per hour. He drove deep into the corner only to spin out and hit the wall.
"Ouch!" Lightning said "Damn it…that hurt!"
"Are you okay?" Doc asked "Do I need to call someone to come and get you?"
"No, I'm fine. I didn't hit that hard." Lightning said as he shook his hood "These turns are tricky. How in the hell am I supposed to drive at top speed?"
The track he was on is unusual. It was more of a triangle than an oval, and a lot more challenging for the racecars.
"It takes a couple of days to get used to it." Doc said "That's why everyone has more practice time than normal."
Lightning picked up speed again and tried a few more turns, bumping into the wall each time.
"All right! I've had enough!" Lightning said frustratingly "I'm coming in for a break." Moments later:
"I have an old-school method that might help." Doc said as Lightning stopped in front of him "Try power sliding around the corners."
"I'm not on dirt, Doc." he said "I'll just burn rubber."
"You'd be surprised." Doc said "Just try it."
"Okay." Lightning said, almost hesitantly "Give me a few minutes and I'll head back out." Twenty minutes later: Lightning drove into the corner and threw his axles to the right. To his surprise, he effortlessly slid around the corner without losing speed.
"This is awesome!" Lightning exclaimed as he slid around another corner "I'm sorry that I doubted you."
"Good job, Kiddo." Doc said "That'll do for today."
"Okay, I'm coming in." Lightning said, driving down pit lane "So I'm supposed to power slide around every turn?"
"Yep." Doc replied "Now go ice your axle."
Over the next few days: Lightning perfected power sliding around all the turns. Once the other racecars saw how well Lightning was doing in the corners, they started power sliding too. Sapphire and a few of the other veteran racecars also perfected power sliding. However, most of the cars still struggled with the corners. This included Chick and the rookies.
"You've got it down." Doc said Friday after Lightning's final training session "You can take tomorrow off."
"I was hoping you would say that." Lightning said "I'm a little sore."
"I want to check your axle." Doc said once they were off the track "I want to make sure you're not putting too much strain on it."
"When can the staples come out?" Lightning asked "I've been pulling power in the corners. I was afraid that the power sliding was going to hurt my axle… It hasn't been bothering me too much, but I don't want to re-injure it this close to the end of the season."
"That's why I want to look at it." Doc said "After that we'll go to lunch, I'm hungry."
Lightning followed Doc to the medical building. Once he checked in, they were led to a examining room. Lightning drove onto the table as Doc washed his tires in the sink.
"Your wound looks really good. We're lucky that you're a fast healer." Doc said after examining Lightning's wounded axle "It has some swelling, but that should go away in the next week or two."
"That's wonderful." Lightning said "Maybe… the staples need to come out?"
"I doubt that." Doc said, giving Lightning a humored glance "But I'm going to take them out anyway."
"Thanks!" Lightning said happily "The last few days the staples have been incredibly itchy."
"Uh huh, I know that it would a least shut you up." Doc said, getting an appliance from a drawer that resembled a giant crow bar. "Just bear with me, this is going to sting."
Doc drove back to Lightning and took the staples out one by one. Once the last staple was out, he examined the wound again. Then Doc took a flexible bandage and tightly wrapped Lightning's axle.
"You'll have to leave this rap on until after the race." Doc said "Your axle is not completely healed and I don't want you re-injuring it."
After Doc was done, Lightning backed down the ramp. "Thanks, Doc!" Lightning said "My axle is very sore, but it feels better already!" "No problem Rookie." Doc replied "You're going to be sore for the rest of the day. Just don't do anything stupid." Lightning nodded as he followed Doc to the track restaurant.
Sunday, early morning: Lightning woke up to a deafening boom of thunder. He opened his ramp and saw it was pouring down rain.
"Oh, that's just great!" Lightning grumbled "Wow, the weatherman was right, it's going to storm all day. *his stomach growled hungrily.* I guess if I want breakfast, I'll have to get wet… I hate the rain… I don't really hate the rain… It's just the Viper oil(blood) in me, I mean look at mom, she hates getting wet period. In fact I don't know any Viper that likes getting wet… well except for Merida, but she grew up with me and Brody, so I guess she has an excuse to be a tomboy."
Later that morning: "Has the race been delayed?" Lightning asked, as thunder rumbled overhead "There's a long line of storms heading our way."
"No, it hasn't." Doc said, obviously outraged "The storms aren't severe, but they should postpone the fucking race. The other crew chiefs and I have been bitching about racing when it's raining, but the fucking officials won't listen to us. This fucking track is difficult enough without having to deal with the fucking rain."
"Somehow, I'm not surprised. The racing league worries more about upsetting the sponsors and losing precious TV time, than they care about us. Remind me to bring that up in our annual meeting." Lightning said "What time is it?"
"A little before ten." Doc said "The race starts in three fucking hours."
"Then I should start getting ready." Lightning said "Should I still power slide in the corners?"
"No… absolutely fucking not." Doc said "The fucking track is going to be fucking wet, which means you're going to have fucking traction problems."
"I understand." Lightning said "How many cars have scratched?"
"Three." Doc said "But none of the top competitors."
"I can tell you're upset." Lightning said "I lost count of how many times you said the f-word in the last two minutes. *Doc growled angerly.* Okay, okay! I'm going…" Lightning quickly drove away.
Three and a half hours later, lap 423 of 500: Lightning raced along the backstretch. It was raining hard, every now and then thunder rumbled overhead.
"What place am I in?" Lightning asked, squinting through the downpour "I can't see the infield tower."
"I can't see it either." Doc said "This is fucking ridiculous, I don't understand why they don't suspend the fucking race until the fucking rain slows down."
"Probably because it's so late in the race." Lightning said "The officials want to get it done and over with." A yellow light suddenly lit up on Doc's console.
"There's a caution flag." He said "But I have no clue where or what the problem is."
Lightning kept going down the backstretch at one hundred miles per hour. Three quarters of the way down, he saw the faint glow of taillights.
"I think I'm coming up on the wreck." Lightning said "I'm gonna slow down until I get around it."
"Just be careful." Doc responded "I don't have any details."
Lightning kept going, just at a slower speed. Seconds later: The taillights wasn't a faint glow anymore. It was a full-defined set of taillights, three feet away from Lightning's hood. He gasped and threw his front wheels to the left to avoid the wreck. He heard a crack and Lightning felt a severe, intense pain coming from his axle.
"Doc! I need your help!" Lightning groaned his voice full of pain. "I'm pretty sure I just broke my axle."
"I'm on my way." Doc said "Just breathe, a medical team is also been dispatched."
The thirty seconds Doc took to get to Lightning were agony. Pain radiated from Lightning's axle. It was so overwhelming, Lightning started to get dizzy and sick to his stomach. Before he knew it, Lightning vomited.
"Oh boy, Rookie." Doc said once he arrived "Just stay still, I'm going to need help with this."
Lightning glanced down and saw the odd angle of his tire. That movement triggered another wave of nausea, and he vomited again.
"I'm sorry Doc!" Lightning said with tears in his eyes "I can't control it."
"It's okay Kiddo." Doc said "Here, lean on me. We'll get you cleaned up and taken care of." Lightning nodded and shut his eyes.
"I wouldn't stand too close." He said "I think I'm going to be sick again. The pain is making everything fuzzy."
"That's normal." Doc said "What did you try to do?"
"I was trying not to hit the car in front of me." Lightning said "I swerved and it snapped." They could hear sirens, and they were getting closer.
"Hang on, the medics are coming." Doc said, as Lightning tried not to vomit "Kid, don't try to hold it in. It won't be the first time I've been barfed on."
Lightning shook his hood. Pain ripped along his underside, causing another wave of nausea to hit. Lightning managed to turn just enough not to vomit directly on Doc.
Twenty minutes later: The medics stabilized Lightning's broken axle and loaded him into an ambulance.
"The medics are taking you to the clinic." Doc said quietly "You'll be fine."
"No! I won't! My axle is broken!" Lightning said, tears of pain and frustration spilling down his hood "I'm out for the rest of the season. At this rate I'll never win the cup!"
"We're not going to worry about that right now." Doc said "I'll get you fixed up and you'll be back to racing. You're going to get a Piston Cup. I promise… You're in pain and not thinking straight, we'll talk about this later."
The medics shut the ambulance's door and they headed to the clinic, with Doc following close behind.
COMMENTS:
Guest 2- So crazy you get driven from your finance or fiancee filling your head with more wedding plans when you've got pain shooting around your body even in the sensitive spots. -Sally doesn't know that Lightning is hurting. Although Sally knows him pretty well, she is preoccupied with planning the wedding and Lightning does a good job hiding his pain.
Doc really lost it there talking to Lightning like that but at least with Doc's story about his past life Lightning took nothing personally and understood Doc for his distant behaviour.- Lightning knew something was bothering Doc, he just didn't know what it was.
Getting serious this case with the doctor who didn't treat Lightning's wounds properly.- You'll find out what happens in the next chapter. If you have already read the original story, you already know what happens.
I love Lightning and Doc's level of banter. I hope Lightning puts on a good show in this race and holds the lead for the title. Chick's clearly trying to get in Lightning's head but Lightning knows better. Yeah the Fast And Furious franchise are causing a fair loss of interest from customers. There's a ninth film on the way but I wouldn't bother - I haven't seen the first movie. So it's not a big deal if I don't see the new one.
IrishScottDragonGirl? I'm sure you remember the Cars films as much and what brought Lightning and Sally to a loving relationship. -Yes, I do.
I've read stories made by authors about them cheating on each other and being in love with others. Humanized ones as well. Didn't bother commenting. For someone to do that with these two main characters after we can clearly see what they've done to win each other over and be so passionately in love is just insulting. Why would do that after all you've done for each other like Lightning and Sally!? Treat it like it meant nothing.- Who knows, some people just like conflict.
Lightning is more of a brother figure to Cruz. Lightning and Sally would never leave each other for another. Like you said they're kindred spirits IrishScottDragonGirl? I like to talk to you as well as reviewing.- I like talking to you too… You know, weirdo to weirdo! :) I have a question for you. How do you like the new format? I haven't gotten any feedback, so I don't know if everyone likes or hates it. If you guys don't like the new format, I'll go back to using the old one.
Here I have something you might be interested in. I read these humanized stories made by another. The beginning was about Lightning and Sally cheating on each other throughout the story and trying to move and forgive each other. It continued as a saga. Only thing was the author put it out of line ruining it with diabolical plots and with Lightning and Sally cheating and divorcing all over again. Their lack of development and ignorance upset us and explains why he or she lost readers. They were open to ideas but paid no attention. As a result the story was ruined and didn't live up to it's title. You've probably read some humanized ones but I know they're not your sort and I'm guessing you never reviewed. I thought I could follow it but the minute that happened I stopped.- I don't read humanized stories, I did when I first joined FFN, but not now. I don't know which one you're talking about. The story you're describing sounds extremely boring if you ask me. If you don't like it, then stop reading it. That's probably why they lost readers. I've discovered that readers come and go, so I don't get worked up if I lose some people. I can tell when I've written a boring or slow chapter by the number of views/comments it gets. It's very hard to write an exciting chapter every time, some chapters are boring by nature, but it helps to tell the story.
I haven't had very many ideas to offer as I prefer to be surprised by you with your own. If I ever have any I'd like them to fit in with the story.- I like your ideas and if they fit somewhere, I try to use them.
I have an idea here that might fit. Say Lightning opens up about his sex life to Doc and he has a flashback about a time with Kori where she takes a statement from him after a race, gets flirtatious with Lightning and goes back to Lightning's trailer. Reporters have probably ended up getting it on as well you know. See what you think- I like the idea. However, I'll not use Kori, she's too professional. I'll probably use an unnamed reporter, or something.
I do not own Cars or any of its characters. PIXAR AND DISNEY CLAIM THAT RIGHT. READING ENJOYMENT ONLY
Please read and review! I need criticism and encouragements! Rated M for language and sex.
