12

McQueen

Everyone leaves the pit stop. Oh goodness, no! Not Caleb! He's so young! He's only seventeen! Not my poor boy. It shouldn't have been Caleb. Caleb didn't deserve this fate. He didn't deserve the fate Doc Hudson and the King suffered through.

When Caleb was seven, I reassured the teary eyed kid. He gave me a note. It said "I love you, Dad! Keep it up!" Sometimes, his rivalry towards competitors drives me crazy. Good thing he gave me a second chance. Adelaide and Zachary haven't done it. I focused on training Cruz . It's my fault! Everything's my fault! I try giving the kids plushies, and I go tractor tipping with them and Mater. However, it didn't suffice Adelaide. She only saw me as a racing legend, Cruz's crew chief, 'her father,' and nothing else. When will Adelaide realize I love her? When will she see me the same way?

Adelaide was never like this, right? Was it just my racing status that mattered to her? Are we even close in the first place? Was Adelaide not what she seemed? She probably was just building a wall on me just like Doc.

Doc kept building walls on me when we met. Even when I learned the error of my ways, Doc cut himself off from me and myself only. It turned out that the racing world turned his back on him, and he turned his back against the racing world back at them.

He only saw me as a selfish racer and nothing else because of my pride and selfishness. However, he helped me at the tiebreaker race in LA. Did he just realize how much I changed during my one week stay with everyone?

Caleb has just crashed, and everyone grieves. Sally, Zachary, Mater, Cruz, and I approach Caleb's body. The rest cry after eyeing the sight. We all cry. Caleb's broken body lies on the ground. He lays silent, no sign of breathing anywhere.

Dents and Scratches cover Caleb like a blanket. Smoke comes out of his trunk and hood. His tires lay flat on the ground. It's just like before, a cycle of tormented racers suffering a nearly fatal crash and suffering the consequences. Caleb doesn't deserve this! He doesn't!

"Caleb," I say as I try to move him from his fender.

Caleb lays there. Sally and Zachary try the same thing, but Caleb still stays in his place. Caleb didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve his crash at all. What kinds of competitors would do such things?! It leaves me sick with sadness. The racing world is sickening.

I'm not surprised about these crashes. Sometimes, competitors play dirty and cause the racers harm. That's what happened between me and Jackson Storm. It was brutal. I stayed in Doc Hudson's garage for four months.

Those four months were a pitch black void. The outside is nothing. Everything falls onto the ground. I got Doc. I get the bitterness he felt before we met. No wonder he was like this before we trained for three years.

Now, Caleb lies right here. Cruz approaches me, and she sheds a tear. Cruz, it's not your fault. It was Leah's fault. Why did Leah look hesitant? All she did was slam him anyway. What's the full story of Leah Tran? Who is Leah Tran?

"Lightning," Cruz cries, "I'm sorry."

"It's going to be okay. I hope Caleb's alright," I say.

"I hope so too."

I join in and help Sally and Zachary. Their grief keeps on going, and mine does too. They miss him. I miss Caleb too. Everyone keeps on mourning. All of this grief reminds me of Doc Hudson's funeral. The loss of Doc Hudson broke my heart, and Caleb's crash reminded me of his crash and his death.

Everyone told me about my crash, and two crashes lay in my sight. They probably panicked about my absence. Even the four months felt that way. My isolation gave them misery and fear. However, Sally and Mater kept watching over me, and they made me forget all of the pain. I guess everyone was like that when Caleb crashed.

A crash is a career crushing life for every racer. After it happens, everyone will turn their back on you, and no one can come back ever again. It happened to Doc, it almost happened to me, and Caleb…

"It couldn't have been Caleb. He was too young." Sally weeps.

"I hope Caleb survives this," I say to both.

"Same too," Zachary cries.

Tires crunch near us. More grief continues. Tears grow even further. Zachary and Sally's grief turns into heartbreak. Mine does too. The rest have it bad, but ours hit worse. It hurts seeing our son like this. At least, he held his ground often.

The King went through the same before Caleb. If only I was in the racing season when Doc crashed, it would've been first. Doc wouldn't have been so grouchy, but he wouldn't have come to Radiator Springs and met me.

Hopefully, Caleb gets another chance. Caleb wasn't old. He was young, but the rest of us were old. He was so young, so young! However, the screen read "Two way tie: Leah Tran and Adelaide McQueen."

Uh oh, I forgot about Adelaide. She must be in victory lane. Victory lane, here we go. Sally and Cruz accompany me. Where was Adelaide and Leah? I don't know. Caleb's crash gives everyone attention.

We make it, but Adelaide and Leah aren't there. However, the press and fans crowd the whole place. Questions about Adelaide spread like wildfire, but I have to find her. Sally and Cruz end up lost in the crowd.

"Great job on your daughter's win! Aren't you proud of her?" Someone asks.

"Yeah, but I gotta go. Bye," I say.

We steer clear of all the crowds, but the questions spiral again and again. I lift my tire a little bit. All of the crowd handling helps us reach the front. However, Adelaide and Leah's non presence makes the stage empty. Sally and I go back and return to the pits. Zachary probably can't take it anymore.

Zachary probably feels bad for Caleb, but what about Adelaide? Why not her? Adelaide crossed the finish line, right? Was it Leah instead? Was it a tie? We had ties before, and we also had a three way tie in the Dinoco Four Hundred in the Motor Speedway of the South.

Too much things were going on tonight. My kids' debut wasn't a great debut. It ends in Caleb's crash, and it strikes everyone's attention. It was a bit thrilling, but it ends up rather a debut in vain.

Cruz stays at victory lane, and Sally and I leave her behind with the press and fans. Did we leave without a winner? This can't be! Adelaide and Leah crossed the finish line at once while Caleb crashed.

"Cruz, are you coming?" I ask.

"I'm going to stay," Cruz says.

"Suit yourself."

We leave victory lane without Adelaide on our side. Where was Adelaide? Did she betray us? She shouldn't. Everyone would be crushed. Adelaide's too loyal to stay with us. She wouldn't? Would she? She can't! She can't do this to us.

What will my friends say about this? Some of them love Adelaide, but the rest can't tolerate her being carried away. Luigi couldn't tolerate Adelaide's behavior during one racing season. Well, it's probably more.

Zachary lost sight of tolerating Adelaide. He just enjoyed Adelaide getting in trouble. Has Zachary lost a sense of love while I was training Cruz? He can't! I swear he can't! Zachary is a loyal kid and can help compensate for Adelaide in case she's lost it.

Caleb always tolerated Adelaide, and he at least was more loyal. I can't believe a sweet kid is willing to be loyal to us no matter what. He's perfect out of the three. The three of them have their different ways, but they're them.

Zachary compensates for everyone's faults. If Adelaide's issues get carried away, Zachary can just compensate for Adelaide's issues of getting carried away. He's technically older than Caleb, so…

about Caleb tolerates everyone at home. He looks beyond everyone's faults. He's always trusting and forgiving. At least, he's a loyal friend to all and loyal brother except…for those outside of home.

Adelaide has her…hard work and determination, and she makes sure everything's done. She also keeps everything going. She's very willing to keep the Hudson Hornet Legacy going. Out of all of them, she has the will to keep something alive for a long amount of time.

These contributions bring out the worst in them. Zachary chooses to nitpick on everyone else for being faulty, Caleb doesn't trust competitors and outsiders, and Adelaide is too arrogant and prideful about the Hudson Hornet legacy.

Sally and I return to the sight of the crash as the ambulance arrives. The paramedics check on Caleb and pick him up. Where's the nearest hospital? We won't be home for long. We won't. We're stuck, stuck at Charleston. We're stuck in South Carolina.