Author's Note 3/6/2017: Hello again! Just want to remind everyone that if you enjoyed this chapter or the story in general please leave a review and my inbox is always open if you want to talk!
I also put up a blind poll on my profile here regarding the future of this FanFiction in light of Cars 3 existing. Vote if you'd like!
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 29 - "Back to the Future"
"Daddy's got ya," Lightning whispered to the warm baby Porsche slumbering on his hood.
"She looks so calm," Sally commented. She made sure to keep her voice soft so she didn't wake their little car.
She was a little white Porsche. Her tires tucked into her wheel wells, breathing softly. Lightning could feel her tiny breath panting against his metal.
"I think she'll be okay," Sally continued, "When I was studying law, we learned about children who experienced an event in their lives that-"
"Mister and Missus McQueen?" a gentleman's voice called from an open door. He poked his hood through the doorway and waved them into the room with his tire.
Sally and Lightning looked at each other, then made their way into the office.
The car who called them in, a 1997 Mercedes e320 painted in medical white, pulled around his large oak desk. Right in the middle, facing the new parents, was a plaque with his name which read:
Dr. Freudliner
Automotive Pediatric Developmental Psychologist
"Let's get started," he said, eyeing the sleeping baby with a gentle gaze, "And who is it that we have here?"
"This is our daughter," McQueen leaned his hood down slightly, presenting her to him.
"Her name is Jane Taylor," said Sally.
"Hi there, Jane Taylor," Doctor Freudliner smiled, "She sure looks a lot like mommy."
Jane continued to sleep, comfortable on her father's hood with her mother next to her.
The doctor looked up at the McQueens, "How long has she been asleep?"
"She's been napping for at least three hours," Sally turned to Jane, "Honey.."
Lightning tried to wake her up as well, "Little Star, we're here."
Jane's mirrors twitched at the surrounding sounds from the different adults. Her eyelids opened, taking a glance at her father and then her mother.
"There we go," Lightning let his engine purr underneath her, "There's someone here to see you, cutie."
Jane looked back and forth, assuming there would be another car there. She heard the doctor's voice behind her, but didn't look in her mirrors.
Doctor Freudliner chuckled, "Hasn't developed mirror checking yet."
"She's usually very good. She's used her mirrors before, but lately-," Sally brought her wheel up to Jane's rear and tapped it softly, "Over here, sweetie.."
Jane cooed, turning her wheels, and eventually her entire body around. Once she was turned, her eyes widened at the stranger, "Ooboo!"
Doctor Freudliner laughed again, "You can call me 'ooboo' if you'd like. I don't mind at all."
Jane's mouth hung open.
"May I begin?" he asked, making sure he had Lightning and Sally's permission.
They both nodded.
"Jane Taylor, I was looking forward to meeting you. It's nice to finally do that."
She tilted her body in confusion.
"Your mommy and daddy are here because they want to make sure you're feeling okay."
Sally frowned, taking in a deep breath.
"They told me a story. I'm sure you love hearing stories too, right? Well...I heard that you met a lady recently. Is that true?"
Jane thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah…," Doctor Freudliner picked up a plastic board on his desk. He held it in front of her. On the board there were silhouettes of generic cartoon cars in different colors.
"Can you see these colors?"
Jane nodded again.
"Can you point to what you look like?"
Jane looked at each car color by color. First blue, then green, then yellow, but then her eyes locked on a red car.
"Mm..," Jane turned her wheels in and her pupils constricted.
Doctor Freudliner paid very close attention to her eyes, and repeated himself, "Jane Taylor...can you find what you look like?"
Jane anxiously pressed her tires into Lightning's hood.
"Doctor, she's really clenching onto me now," Lightning mentioned, "She's holding on very tight."
"I see," Doctor Freudliner put the plastic board down on the desk, "If you don't mind, Mister McQueen, I would like you to try to get her here on my desk. It might be easier for her."
"Jane, let's go over here," Lightning coasted forward, then let Jane roll off of his hood. Her wheels squeaked, as they didn't rotate at all while she slid off. They were frozen and she really didn't want to let go of him.
Her grille whimpered and her eyes opened even wider now that the stranger was closer to her. He looked so big.
"Hey there," Doctor Freudliner picked up the plastic board again, "Can you put your little wheel on the color of your paint?"
It took a moment, but Jane glanced at the board again, then finally rolled forward. She brought her wheel to the doctor's cheek.
Sally smiled through her saddened eyes.
"Oh!" Doctor Freudliner laughed, "You're right. I'm painted white too. I was built just like you. My paint never faded into another color."
Jane moved her tire off of his cheek when he stopped speaking.
"But...now that I know you can understand me," the Mercedes moved the plastic board in front of him a little more, to deter Jane from choosing him again, "What color was that lady you met in mommy and daddy's story?"
Sally's smile quickly faded.
Jane scanned all of the colorful cars, then pressed her tire up onto the red car. She kept her wheel on the car, but after a moment her entire axle trembled.
Doctor Freudliner swiftly pulled the board away as soon as he saw the anxiety building up inside of the young girl, "It's alright. She's not here," he didn't frown, but he didn't smile either, "I'm sure it was a very scary story for you. In fact...I didn't like the ending of that story at all. At the end, your mommy and daddy told me that you haven't been talking as much as you used to."
Jane stared at his headlights, tracing their circles with her sight.
Doctor Freudliner reached underneath his desk again and fished around for another prop. He pulled out a stuffed toy car. Its eyes were little black buttons and the paint was designed from random patches sewn together. It had little plastic tires to keep it anatomically correct. Upon the gender neutral toy's front bumper was a stitched smile.
Jane saw the toy and immediately reached her tires out, "Car!"
"That's right, Jane Taylor, this is a car," he put the car down in front of her. Because Jane was a girl, he gave the car a female name, "Her name is Lady Spindle."
Jane grinned.
"Looks like you like her!" Freudliner smiled, "Well, she likes you too. She helps me talk to cars just like you."
Jane rolled to Lady Spindle and put her axles around her, "Mine."
"Lady Spindle belongs to you as long as you're here," Doctor Freudliner leaned in, "Though I have to admit I'm still very curious about that story. That car that you met, did she touch you anywhere?"
Jane looked up from Lady Spindle and nodded. Sally felt her rpms rise in anger. Sensing this, Lightning quickly brought his wheel to hers and held it.
"It's okay," the racecar mouthed to her.
"Show Lady Spindle where she touched you," the Mercedes continued.
Jane looked back down at the stuffed toy and pointed to where her cheek would be.
"Is that all?"
Jane nodded.
Doctor Freudliner looked up at Lightning and Sally, "Then we can rule out anything inappropriate in those regards."
Sally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," Lightning replied.
"Now, Jane Taylor, I noticed you were talking a little bit when I showed you Lady Spindle."
"Mine," Jane hugged the car closer. She closed her eyes tightly and giggled. Doctor Freudliner observed little Jane's behavior and took down a couple of notes.
"This is good news. Very, very good news," he said, as his pen scribbled, "She's not avoiding the toy and she's not mute from the incident. She's speaking to the toy and she managed to communicate with us, even though Jane Taylor was very limited at the beginning."
Jane heard her name and her mirrors perked up.
"Better news is that she's still developing. All of this means that even though the incident is fresh in her mind, her little brain is going to continue to expand. In that time, new memories will form. Even if those memories are as simple as an amazing butterfly she saw that made her unable to believe her eyes, so long as those memories are coded, they will overwrite the bad ones. This will heighten the chances of a positive development into a healthy young girl."
"So you're saying that it is better if she forgets," Lightning said, looking down at Jane.
The doctor nodded, "Yes. If Jane Taylor was an adult, then we would have to deal with her memories differently. Being that she's so young, the most simple course of action would be to make sure she is focusing on other things. She can and will remember what happened to her, but so long as the feelings attached to it are never coded into her long term memory-"
"We can't let anyone in town mention that car to her," said Sally, "Or it'll keep reminding her."
"I just want to make sure you understand that the likelihood of Jane Taylor forgetting it happened is unlikely. However, we can force how she's going to manage it if we start right now. The incident just happened so it's normal for her behavior to be a little abnormal for a while," the doctor motioned to the young car, "But take a look at this. She is reacting to positive distractions," with a smile, he said, "I think she'll be just fine. Just work on making her remember happy moments…and I know you were both interested in raising Jane Taylor to become a race car, but…"
"But?" asked Lightning.
"Mister McQueen...you can see what speed is going to remind her of now. Speed will only make her remember that Mustang. So you need to make sure you don't take her out for any racing lessons. It's best you remove any interactions she may have with the racing world."
"But...if she remembers what happened, she'll certainly ask us about it," Lightning pointed out, "Regardless of whether or not she races."
Doctor Freudliner agreed, "Naturally, but at that age it'll be up to you two to tell her if you'd like, but you have both driven here today because you put an amount of trust in my professional opinion. As Jane Taylor develops, I sincerely advise you to keep racing away from her."
"Baby," Sally tapped Lightning's fender, "We agreed that no matter what, we are going to raise her to feel like she never has to lie to us. If she asks, we should tell her."
"Mm…but the racing...," Lightning looked down at their daughter. She was still hugging Lady Spindle. He rolled forward and bowed his hood, "C'mere, Jane."
Jane looked up at Lightning and leaned her chin down on Lady Spindle, "I want her."
"You can come see Lady Spindle again in a few days," Doctor Freudliner promised.
Jane frowned and let go of the little car. She put herself in gear and rolled onto Lightning's hood.
"Good girl," he whispered. He looked right into her eyes, "I-...promise I'm gonna make sure I never put you in harm's way again. No more speed for you...no more racing lessons."
Time passed since the incident and her first appointment with her doctor. Jane became a little older and she was in her junior high school semesters.
"Doc," Jane said, driving next to him.
"Yes?" the navy blue 1951 Hudson Hornet glanced down at her, then right back up at the road.
"How much longer do I have to see Doctor Freudliner?"
Doc stayed silent for about half a minute, "Hm…"
"Am I gonna see him everyday for forever?" Jane's eyes widened in worry.
"No, not forever. You're gonna be in high school soon. He just wanted to watch you for a short while.
"Oh okay, good. I like him, but my friends want me to hang out with them too. I can't keep up with them and all of these appointments."
"I know...believe me, I understand."
They pulled into the familiar building with Doctor Freudliner's office inside. As they waited in the waiting room, the Mercedes poked his hood through his doorway. He waved for Jane to come on in.
"Want me to stay out here?" Doc asked.
Jane nodded, "I can do it all by myself," she followed Doctor Freudliner into his room.
"How was school, Jane Taylor?" Doctor Freudliner asked. He pushed his door shut to give them privacy.
"School was school," Jane replied, "I learned about stuff, had some homework-"
"Did you finish your homework?"
Jane nodded, "I did all of it...and I was supposed to hang out with my friend today, but I had to come here," she looked down at her hood.
"Wait, wait," Doctor Freudliner pulled around his oak desk and took out a pen. He scribbled some notes on his notepad and then looked back up at Jane, "Go ahead, continue."
"That was it."
"You sound like you're doing very well in school. You should be very proud of that," Doctor Freudliner raised an eyelid, "But your voice changed and you broke eye contact with me. You don't sound like you're very happy right now. Can you tell me why?"
"I just told you that I was supposed to hang out with my friend today."
"Yes, but I don't think we spoke about this friend of yours before," Doctor Freudliner continued writing some notes, "I'd like to hear about her."
"Alyssa," Jane responded, "I met her in volleyball."
"Volleyball sounds like a lot of fun."
"It is fun when you actually have someone to play it with...but I don't like it."
"It involves a lot of quick movements. It can be difficult."
"What? That's easy."
"I thought you said you were having problems with the game."
"Because I don't like it. It's boring. You just bash your hood into balls all day."
"Oh, heh, it's a lot more than that."
"But I'm very quick."
"Quick…," Doctor Freudliner really didn't like that word. As far as he knew it was one of her triggers, so he thought for a moment, "Bowling is an alternative. You don't have to move too much and you roll the ball away from you. No hoods being bashed."
"...bowling."
"I don't want to brag or anything, but when I was earning my degree, I was one of the best on our bowling team," Doctor Freudliner smiled up at a framed photo on the wall. It was in black and white, but it didn't make a difference for him, since he was painted white. Still, he looked much younger in the photo, and was smiling wide with a trophy that had a large golden bowling ball on top.
"Bowling...is...cool, I guess."
The doctor perked up, "I'm glad you think so! I could show you a few-"
"But I wanna race."
Doctor Freudliner dropped his pen onto his notepad, "Come again?"
"I said I want to race. And I want a trophy too," she looked up at the photo on his wall, "Like you."
Freudliner's front axles held him up as if they could barely support him while he was listening to Jane speak. His words flowed out of his mouth much quicker, "What kind of trophy? You can get a trophy in a lot of things. There are a lot of sports you can win a trophy in."
"Any race I win I'll get a trophy for, but what I really want is a Piston Cup trophy."
"Jane Taylor…," he took in a deep breath, "We have discussed this….you and I have discussed driving at high speeds."
"I know! So that means we can talk about it some more and-"
"We can't," Doctor Freudliner leaned into his desk, "I will remind you as many times as you need me to. Driving high speeds away from something might trigger something in your mind that you might not particularly enjoy. We've also discussed what a trigger is, but if you're unclear, I could explain it to you again."
"What about driving high speeds toward something?"
"I know you understand it's the same thing. It's the speed we're trying to keep away from you."
Jane spoke over him, "Imagine feeling all of that wind blowing in your face! Feeling so alive! The road rushing under your tires!"
"You were racing with that Hudson Hornet weren't you?"
Jane slumped on her axles, "But-"
"You were going against the treatment."
"I-"
"Which means-," Doctor Headliner flipped to the beginning of his notes, "-we need to review some of our discussions at the beginning of your sessions. You need to understand that you might not like what's best for you."
Jane's eyes drifted to the framed photo of Doctor Freudliner's win. She studied the way he was smiling, how his smile practically lit up the entire photo without any need for the flash of the camera. Keeping her eyes on the photo, Jane said, "...maybe there are things out there more important than what's best for me."
One of the clocks hanging in Principal Radner's office fought gravity as it passed the half hour. Principal Radner idled behind his desk organizing the attendance records for all of the students. The Ford Ranchero looked over every student's name in the entire school as if he could possibly memorize them. Only a few of the names ever actually stood out to him.
Gianna's name stood out because she was head of the cheerleading team, which meant she appeared in all of the school events. Some days, part of her job involved driving to Principal Radner and going over new ideas. Other names, like Murphy Hicks, stood out because they were troublemakers. The troublemakers were important. Besides their names, he had to learn the names of their friends. If any of them tried to come together and do a school prank, he would need to keep a close eye on all of their classroom attendance. Usually he only needed to worry about the seniors.
He stopped on one of the names and glanced up to a lone student parked at a desk. The student was viciously writing in his notebook. With every stroke of his pen, the aged classroom desk rattled and moved. It couldn't stand on all four of its legs anymore. It was bent out of shape at some point. The student was writing the same sentence over and over again.
I will not talk back to my school's teaching staff.
I will not talk back to my school's teaching staff.
I will not talk back to my school's teaching staff.
"How many sentences are you up to, Murphy Junior?" Radner asked. He peered above his gold wire glasses.
"Uh, I dunno," said the young stockcar.
"You should have been keeping count."
Murphy put his pen down sternly, "You never told me to keep count."
"A smart young man would have numbered his sentences."
"You NEVER-"
"Ah, ah, ah. Remember what your sentences say. You don't want to mess anything up on your last day of detention."
Murphy sighed.
"Go on," Radner smirked, "Say it out loud."
Murphy leaned back and mumbled, "I will not talk back to my school's teaching staff."
"I couldn't hear you. I would like you to say that louder."
He narrowed his eyes and kicked one of the desk's legs, "I SAID I will not talk back to my school's teaching staff."
His pen rolled onto the floor.
"That was much better. Good. Always project your voice. People will take you seriously. Now go count all of your sentences."
"There are pages of sentences here!"
"Then I'd get started."
Murphy rolled his eyes and snarled his lips. He looked down at his notebook and started tapping every sentence with his tire, counting them in his roof.
"Stop that tapping," Radner commanded.
"I'm counting," said Murphy. He looked up from his notebook, "I'm doing exactly what you asked me to do."
"Count quieter. Start over again."
Murphy exhaled heavily and brought his eyes back down to the pages. He bobbed his hood as he counted every sentence. In the meantime, Principal Radner watched him. He was still caught on the one name he saw on the attendance list, but he wasn't happy with the way Murphy was behaving. He waited for Murphy to turn a couple of pages in his notebook, then asked him a question on purpose, "Do you know why your friend Caleb was absent? I know you two aren't planning a senior prank. That would add onto your detention sentence."
Murphy ignored him and kept counting, focusing on every sentence, and still bobbing his hood.
"Murphy Junior, I am speaking to you. When I am speaking to you, I expect you to listen to me."
"I'm counting," Murphy looked up from his notebook, "And I'm not a senior."
"I'm aware. You were going to be a senior with him though. I wasn't built yesterday."
"No kidding."
"Tell me why he was absent."
"Dude, I don't know."
"I'm not your dude. Do not speak to me that way," he narrowed his eyes, "Let me catch either of you planning anything and I'll make sure that you not only receive an extension on your detention, but I will personally hold Caleb back from graduating with the senior class."
"You can't do that," said Murphy.
"I'll make sure he blames you. Don't challenge me, boy."
"You pull something like that and I'll report you."
Principal Radner chuckled, "Who will you be reporting my name to?"
"Whoever bosses you around and annoys you the way you annoy-"
"Watch the next words that come out of your mouth."
Murphy stopped himself, "You can't hold Caleb back for anything. You definitely can't hold him back for me."
Principal Radner pointed to his computer screen, "This is a computer. I'm sure you've seen one of these before."
Murphy slumped on his wheels, already feeling the sarcastic remark slap him in the face before he even said it.
"In this computer I control your lives. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you'll start behaving. You're pushing it."
Murphy checked the clock again. It barely moved.
"I'll make you a deal," said Principal Radner.
Murphy's mirrors flicked at the sound of possible freedom, "Yeah?"
"I'm sure you want to get out of here and never seen me again."
Murphy just stared at him. He wasn't sure if he was trying to trick him, but Radner continued.
"You'd love nothing more than to set that tattered notebook on fire and never roll a tread into my office ever again. Just like I'd love to never see you roll any of your treads on my office floor ever again."
"Just get to the point."
"I'll let you leave right now. I'll let you leave this very second."
"If?"
"If you tell me how many sentences you-"
"OH COME ON," Murphy hit the old classroom desk with his tire again, "I LOST COUNT. YOU STARTED TALKING TO ME."
Principal Radner let out a hearty laugh. His eyelids wrinkled in amusement, "Ahh, you'd better start with number one again."
As Jane was coming home from another long day at her high school, all fixed and shined up again after the fight, her eyes were completely drained of all feeling. She didn't like coming home to her disappointed parents. Even she knew that she knew better.
When she pulled into the town, she was stopped by Lightning and Sally. The young car turned her tires inward. She wasn't quite sure if she should look up at her intimidating parents, "I'm home...I didn't go anywhere...I've followed every rule since you grounded me."
"Then in that case," Lightning gestured behind them, "A few days were enough for you. Today's your last day of punishment."
"Really?" Jane perked up, "That's cool! Because I wanted to tell you that the frost on the track finally melted away!"
"Just in time," Lightning said with a smile.
"Yeah," Sally replied, "Plus, we even spoke to Gianna's parents. All four of us came up with what we think would be the perfect way to end your differences once and for all. You know, before you girls go to homecoming."
"I'm not going…and what do you mean 'you girls'? " Jane raised a lid.
Lightning smiled at Sally, then they both stepped aside. Between them, they revealed Gianna at the end of the road locked onto a giant road paving machine. Her teeth were clenched and she had narrowed eyes. Her front end didn't look damaged anymore either. She must have been fixed too.
"Her parents pulled her out of school early just to get her here on time," Lightning chuckled.
Jane gasped, "NO," and she reversed, "I am NOT pulling Bessie."
"We can't make you do anything you don't want to do," Sally assured her, "We couldn't make Gianna do it either."
"Mom's right, kid," Lightning pointed, "But he could."
"Howdy, little star!" called a rusty tow truck from behind Jane.
"This is not happening," Jane revved up her engine and went to speed away. Mater whipped his tow hook in the air and latched onto Jane's bumper. She grunted at the feeling of the hook effortlessly grabbing onto her.
Don't be rude to Bessie," Sally instructed, "She works very hard."
"You're gonna pull Bessie with Gianna all the way up to Tailfin Pass. Right in front of the wheel well," Lightning continued.
"All the way up THERE?" asked Jane, as her rear lifted into the air.
"We'll get her back down here," said Mater, "You just gotta worry about bringing 'er up there!"
"Thank you, Mater," Jane rolled her eyes.
"Once you two finish moving Bessie, no more punishment."
Mater began to pull away, but Jane asked her father one more question, "What road are we even paving?"
Lightning shook his hood, "No road. Bessie said she just wanted to see that view of Ornament Valley."
Jane groaned obnoxiously loud as Mater pulled her away.
Lightning leaned into Sally, "I don't think either of them are going to touch each other ever again."
Mater giggled as he pulled over in front of Bessie. He glanced down at Gianna, "You met this girl before!"
Gianna glared up at the rusty truck, then down at Jane.
Jane glared right back at Gianna, snarling her lips too. In the meantime, Mater let the young Porsche down gently and he hooked her bumper to the bubbling road paving machine.
"I'll see you later, Jane!" Mater grinned, "I'll go ask your mom and dad to take us all out for ice cream when you're done!"
Jane nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on the enemy, then Mater drove off behind them.
Gianna's stare seemed to burn a hole right through Jane's metal and she could feel this.
"Better watch how much ice cream you eat, racecar," Gianna sneered, "You don't want to get even fatter."
"I'm not fat," Jane snapped back.
"Shut up, McWhore."
Bessie's metal expanded, creating a creaking noise that distracted the two girls from each other. They both looked up at her until the noise stopped.
"We better get going," Jane said, "She's getting anxious."
"So pull us," Gianna replied.
"Excuse me?"
"You're idling there acting like you're all strong, so ahead. Pull us."
"I must be an academy award winning actor then, considering I had you writhing on the school grounds."
"One lucky grab. You can't touch me like that again."
"The only thing you're good at is flaunting your body around and throwing yogurt at people," Jane looked up at Bessie, "Ya hear that, Bessie? This all started because this girl threw food at me."
"Why are you talking to a road paving machine, you weirdo?"
Jane blinked, "She's alive."
"She's a road paving machine."
A shadow came over Gianna's roof. She glanced up and gasped, "What is that?"
A huge bubble of tar, just smaller than the cheerleader's roof, loomed over her.
"That is thicker than yogurt," said Jane.
The bubble popped and rained a splatter of steaming asphalt all over Gianna. She punched the ground with her tire and shut her eyes tightly to shield them. She opened her mouth and let out a loud high pitched scream.
"And that is road pavement," Jane giggled, watching some of the asphalt drip down her body and the rest of it harden on her like a statue.
Gianna's metal trembled and her bottom eyelids twitched, "L-Let's just get this OVER with," she revved up her engine and began pulling Bessie. Jane watch her and rolled her eyes. She revved herself up as well and pulled with her. The moment she began pulling, Bessie started to move much smoother.
They took a turn up the road, then groaned as they pulled Bessie to the left. The road pushed against them as it inclined. The girls were beginning their ascent up the mountain range. Bessie's weight pulled against their strength, challenging them to do more.
"Switch gears," Jane said, "P-Pull," her body jerked when she shifted.
Gianna replied through her struggle, "D-Don't tell me what to do."
"Gianna just DO it," Jane huffed, "C-C'mon, Bessie…"
"You eat that ice cream later and you're gonna be as heavy as Bessie."
Bessie's metal creaked again and suddenly stopped moving. Jane gasped, feeling Bessie start to roll backward.
"GIANNA!"
"Wh-Whoa!" Gianna switched gears and accelerated as hard as she could.
Jane shut her eyes, "Y-You insulted her! Apologize!"
"She's A MACHINE," Gianna's rear wheels began to smoke as they spun.
Jane's eyes opened to small slits and she saw the smoke rising into the air, "Gianna, i-if you don't apologize you're gonna blow out your tires and hurt us both."
Gianna kept her mouth clenched shut.
"GIA-AH!"
Bessie yanked the girls back, rolling backward down the mountain road.
Jane pawed at the road in front of her, "Bessie, I'm attached too! St-Stop!
Gianna yelped, "Okay! I'm sorry!"
Bessie locked up again and the girls gently bumped into her.
"Oof!" Gianna panted.
"Y-You believe me now?" Jane asked.
"Sh-Shut up and let's pull her."
The two girls struggled the rest of the way, all the way up to the Wheel Well Motel. An hour later of what would have been a twenty minute drive, they made it just in time for the afternoon sun to fall enough to welcome in the evening. It painted the sky deep purples and soft orange hues, practically reflecting both of their paintjobs.
Their breaths escaped them every time they took in more air.
"W-We made it..," Jane said, "We're done."
"No more punishments," Gianna added, "Gone."
They idled quietly, overlooking the same view of Ornament Valley that Jane gazed at with Austin. After a while, any sounds coming from Bessie's steaming body quieted down. As her metal began to relax, even more silence settled in.
"At least they picked a nice place to stop," Gianna admired the gradient of the fluffy clouds in the sky, "I can't wait to see this sunset from my dorm room."
"I get to wake up to it every morning," said Jane, "I never get tired of it."
"Yeah, well…"
The girls were quiet again. Suddenly, a soft click released both of their bumpers from Bessie.
Gianna smiled, "Finally."
"That's Bessie telling us she likes it too," Jane looked over at Bessie, "And she says 'thank you'."
Gianna didn't answer. She just drove to the edge of the cliff.
"Gianna?" Jane turned her wheels, "Be careful."
"I'm not going to jump, nimrod. I'm not crazy. I'm just...looking."
Jane pulled up next to her, slowly so that the sounds of her tires rolling on the rocky dirt didn't disturb the silence, "I don't get why you're so mean to me."
"I don't get why you want to steal someone that isn't yours."
"Murphy doesn't belong to you, Gianna. He's friends with a lot of other cars."
Gianna still didn't look at Jane, "Shut up and let me enjoy the silence."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," is all Jane replied with, before looking out at the view with the cheerleader.
About a minute later, Gianna replied, "I'm sorry I punched you."
Jane blinked fast, "Really?"
"Mhm," Gianna sighed, "You just...pissed me off. I know Murphy has a lot of friends. You both do. You're racing too. I'm a cheerleader. We all have a lot of friends."
"So what is your problem all of the time?"
"Because I'm not stupid, Jane," Gianna finally looked at her, "You can't talk to him. You're more than his friend."
Jane went to speak.
"No. Don't say anything word about it, okay? Enough," Gianna turned back to the view. Staring at it made her feel calm.
"Not another word about it. Fine," Jane looked back at the view again too, "While you're here, I want to know what you see when you look down there."
"Uh," she raised a lid, "Your town."
"No, besides that. Besides Radiator Springs, what do you see? Like, when you follow the road."
Gianna's eyes did exactly that. They followed the road away from Radiator Springs and off into the horizon, "Hm…I see-," her phone buzzed in her wheel well, "Hold on," she slipped her phone out from her wheel well and checked the message.
Jane couldn't help but look over, knowing it was probably Murphy. He hasn't spoken to her in days, so even indirect communication made her feel like she was talking to him, but when she glanced at the phone Murphy's name wasn't on Gianna's screen. The name read Zach and his name had two hearts next to it. Jane raised an eyelid while Gianna tapped away at her phone screen, typing a reply to the unknown boy. She could specifically remember Murphy's name in her phone with only one heart next to it. When Gianna hit send, Jane looked away as fast as she could.
"So?" she asked again.
"Oh, right. That road," Gianna was putting her phone away as she answered Jane, "I see a road moving away from something old and into something new."
"Interesting…"
The young Kia Sorento started to wake up again. He opened his eyes to find complete darkness. He had no idea where he was or what time it was. He could only rely on his other senses. His rpms shook in fear.
"Mm-," he tried to move forward, but his left rear tire was locked. He stepped his front wheels around to feel his surroundings. Wood grain touched the treads of his tires, telling him that he was definitely standing on a wooden floor.
The more he woke up, the more his other senses kicked in. Musty air penetrated his grille. He must not have been in a very clean place. He kept smelling the air until he heard the sound of the wooden floor bending underneath another car driving toward him.
His lips parted and he looked around underneath his blindfold. He couldn't pick up even a little bit of light.
"You don't have a single dime on you," said the woman's voice from the night before, "Your mom could buy you cigarettes, but she ain't giving you money for the road?"
"Wh-Where am I?" asked the Sorento.
"You're here," she answered, "With me."
"What do you want from me?" he kicked his locked tire around with no success of breaking it, "Y-You asked if I was rich. I'm not rich. My family i-isn't rich."
"I want your money," she rolled closer, "Not your life, but I won't think twice about taking that away if you don't shut your mouth."
"I-I don't HAVE MONEY," he yelled in a panic.
The woman grabbed the Sorento's chin with her tire, "Keep your squeaky voice down before I rip every last one of your vocal cords from your throat and tie them around your-"
"I-I just want to GO HOME."
She then pressed her tire up behind his front bumper, against his throat, "Last warning."
"O-Okay...okay…"
"Tell me your name. Tell me what you do."
"C-Caleb...college student."
The woman brought her mouth close to him so that he could feel her breath, "You don't sound like no college student."
"I-I'm graduating in a couple of months."
"Don't you start lying to me now."
"I didn't mean to lie I'm j-just so close to graduation and I-..I-I," Caleb's breathing escalated. He panted so hard that he almost hyperventilated, "I-I DON'T WANT TO DIE. PLEASE."
"You a high school student then."
"Y-Yes..yes, ma'am I am."
"Name of your school."
"Wh-What?"
"WHAT is the NAME of your school?"
"C-Carburetor County Hi-High."
"Hmm...that's the local high school…," her eyes widened, "Mmm…"
"Pl-Please don't kill me like you killed the others…"
The woman blinked, "The others?"
"Y-You're that murderer...you're that Mustang everyone is talking about...y-you killed some of the missing children they found in the desert that one t-time….y-you kidnapped Jane."
"JANE," the Mustang gasped and pulled her tire away from his throat, "You know her?"
"I-"
"Don't be stupid, Caleb," she caressed her tire underneath his chin threateningly, "Your life depends on it."
"I don't know h-her…"
"YOU," she went to press her tire into his throat again.
"I KNOW OF HER. I DON'T KNOW HER."
"Same thing," the Mustang said. She kept her wheel right by his throat to keep him scared, "I bet she's still that naive little thing she used to be."
"I wouldn't kn-know...I swear."
"You have sports at that school. I know you do."
"Y-Yes."
"Got racing?" she brushed her bottom teeth against her upper lip, "Bet she races."
"Tr-Track is frozen…"
"Huh?" she raised an eyelid.
"N-No one can race on the track right now. Sh-She hasn't raced yet."
"But she's gonna."
"Yes, ma'am. Su-Supposed to be tomorrow."
Vermella looked away, thinking, "Hm…"
"H-Hey you want rich right?" Caleb's breath shook, "R-Right?"
"Rip her apart," Vermella's tongue slid against her lips, "And sell her pretty Porsche parts for money."
"Y-You definitely don't want me then. I'm a K-Kia."
Vermella growled.
"Okay! Okay, pl-please... l-listen, if she gets on that team, she's going to California and racing for a real Piston Cup. Th-That's gold. Real gold."
"Mmm," Vermella smiled, "Go on."
"She wins a Piston Cup, she gets all the fame she could ask f-for and she gets that Piston Cup. That's pure gold with her name in it. Her name. Wr-Written in gold. You can't g-get richer than that."
"Jane's name written in gold…," Vermella's eyes seemed to glisten now, "My little expensive one. She's practically a daughter to me."
"Please. I'm begging you...i-it's not me you want. Please-...-uh.."
"You don't know my name."
"No, ma'am…"
"Good, 'cause if you knew my name then I would have to kill you."
"Y-Yes, ma'am…"
"There's only one problem though," she brought her voice down to a whisper and rolled to Caleb's side. She brought her tire to the blindfold knot and pulled it off of him.
Caleb blinked his eyes, trying to look around at his surroundings, but they were still in pitch darkness.
The Mustang rolled in front of Caleb again, "Turn on your headlights."
"Y-You said there was a problem, ma'am... "
"I also told you to turn on your damn headlights."
Caleb took a deep breath in and flashed his headlights on. They illuminated the Mustang from the evening before. She kept her poisonous glare on the young teenager.
"The problem," she said, "Is that between last night and today," her lips bent into smile, "You've seen my face. That's not good. You know what that means?"
"D-Don't..."
"That means I can tell you my name."
"PLEASE DON'T."
"I can tell you my name's Vermella. I can tell you that because I have to kill you anyway," she grit her teeth and slammed her wheel against his throat.
Caleb's mouth hung open, trying to scream, but his voice was too hoarse to make a loud sound. His front tires pressed against the floor, scraping them, begging for air. Vermella kept her eyes locked onto Caleb's. She waited for his eyes to shut. To watch his soul leave his body. She waited for him to slip away underneath her treads, but he just wouldn't go.
She growled loudly and pulled her tire away, then flicked a switchblade out from her other tire.
Caleb gasped for the air he was missing, then caught the sight of the switchblade. Vermella brought her axle up, aiming the blade at Caleb.
"PLEASE!" Caleb begged with a defeated voice.
"Like you said, kid. It's nothing personal. You're just another Kia," she swung her axle down.
"W-WAIT!" Caleb jerked his face to the side, "I'LL TAKE YOU TO HER."
Vermella froze her weapon in place, just in front of Caleb's grille.
"I-I will take you to Jane. I will take you to h-her and you can have wh-whatever you want from her. "
"I work alone."
"F-Fine but you can't get to her without me. I can make it so you catch her before she gets to California."
"That's...that's actually really good. I can make her earn whatever I need her to…"
"Sh-She can earn you even more than a trophy. Y-You can own her entire life."
Vermella smirked, "Kid, you're real smart. I can see why you're graduating."
"I-I am? Y-You're letting me go?"
Vermella dropped her weapon onto the floor and when she moved her wheel, a small card appeared. She presented it to him.
Caleb squinted, focusing on what it said, until he realized it had his picture on it with his address.
"My ID?" he asked.
"You tell a soul about this and I'll be at your home faster than the sheriffs can get to me."
Caleb collapsed his axles onto the floor, "Th-Thank the manufacturer.."
"You and your entire family won't exist anymore before them county officers get to me. You got that?"
"Yes...Yes, I-I-"
"Stop trippin' on your words."
"Y-YES, MA'AM."
Vermella picked up her switchblade and drove around Caleb's side. She pressed her wheel against the boot she restrained him in, "When I unlocked this boot, don't forget it."
When night came over the sky, everyone in town began closing their business and packing up any loose things. The only cars on the road were passing tourists driving through the night to their final destinations.
Jane was parked on the living room couch inside of the wheel well motel with Lightning and Sally. On their television, two sedans - male and female - were driving around an old mansion. Sally leaned against Lightning, then stretched her tire out. She pushed a plate of cookies sitting on the coffee table to Jane. She was stiff, keeping her eyes on the screen.
"Jane, have one of the cookies we baked," Sally suggested.
"I-I'm okay," Jane replied.
The characters turned the corner into a room.
"Hit the light switch," said the woman. The male car felt around the wall with his wheel until it bumped into a switch.
"I found it," he said. He flicked the switch, but no light turned on.
"He cut the electricity," said the woman. Her bottom lip trembled, "We-... we're gonna be trapped here forever."
Jane's pupils shrunk. She curled her tires up into her wheel wells. Lightning saw this at the corner of his eye and he smirked, "I know you're not afraid of a little horror movie."
Sally glanced over.
"I'm not scared," said Jane.
"It was your idea to show her a horror movie before her big tryouts," Sally playfully glared at McQueen.
"This is a perfect way for her to face her fears," Lightning smirked.
"You're only watching it because I wouldn't let you see it at the drive in."
"Shhh," Jane reached for a cookie and stuffed one in her mouth.
The male car looked over at the female car and answered her, "If we'll be trapped here forever, then I want to be trapped forever with you."
Forced Hollywood tears filled the bottom of the actresses windshield. She pulled forward and planted her lips right against the man's.
"So this is why you wanted to see it," Sally nudged Lightning.
"Ugh…," Jane looked away from the screen and grabbed another cookie.
Just as the two cars went to kiss each other even deeper, the female car opened her eyes to slits. A shadow loomed over the male car. The woman yanked her lips away from him and screamed.
"HE'S BEHIND YOU!"
Jane's curious eyes forced themselves back to the screen and she jumped, "O-Oh!"
"Alright, little star," Sally giggled, "Your father might have given you the speed to pull this qualifier off tomorrow, but allow me to give you some logic," she leaned forward and looked at Jane, "You should go to bed."
Jane nodded quickly, "Y-Yeah...yeah..I'll go to bed," she rolled off of the couch and wrapped her axles around her father, "Night, daddy."
Lightning shut his eyes and nuzzled Jane, "G'night."
Jane then drove to her mother and gave her a kiss on her cheek, "Night, Momma."
"Goodnight," Sally smiled.
Jane pulled around the couch and drove out of the living room. Once Jane was gone, Lightning picked up the television remote and muted the movie.
"What are you doing?" asked Sally.
"I need to talk to you," Lightning turned to her a bit so that he could see her better.
"You have nothing to worry about," she said, "Jane is going to be great."
"I used to be worried about her," Lightning admitted, "But I'm actually worried about myself now."
"You especially have nothing to worry about."
Lightning shook his hood, "No, Jane and I were talking about Chick retiring. She told me she spoke to you about it too...but she told me that she was worried about my career now. Because of Chick."
Sally nodded, "I could understand that, but you're younger than he is."
"I'm up there in racing age."
"Stickers," Sally laughed softly. She brought a wheel underneath his chin, "You are faster than fast. You're quicker than quick. There's nothing faster than Lightning."
He listened to his wife's words and he calmed his suspensions. His body lowered on his axles, "That's why I love you."
"Except Jane," she winked, "She might be a little faster."
"Just great," Lightning grabbed the remote again and unmuted the movie.
Jane drove into her bedroom and didn't even bothering turning on her light. She did, however, keep her string lights on, and took in a deep breath.
"I can do this," she said to herself. She rolled in front of her vanity mirror and checked herself before going to her bed. She looked herself right in the eyes and repeated Miss Relay's words, "I'm fearless."
She put herself in reverse and continued talking to herself. She turned to her bed and moved the blanket away, "I can do this. I'm fearless."
She grabbed her pillow in her wheels and punched it a couple of times to fluff it up again. She whispered, "Ka-Chow."
When she heard herself say her father's catchphrase she smirked. It was no wonder he always said that. She felt more ready already. She rolled onto her mattress and rested her front bumper onto her pillow, "I can totally do this. I'm faster than fast. I'm quicker than quick. I am-," she caught her reflection across the room in her vanity mirror, "-fearless."
She kept her eyes on herself then peeked at her bedroom window. A part of her hoped that a boxy stock car with an attitude would be out there bugging her. She sighed. Although she should have been sleeping, she slipped her phone out from her wheel well. She tapped open her text messages and opened the thread between her and Murphy.
All of the most recent texts were written by Jane. She tried twice a day for the past few days, but he just wouldn't answer her. At first, she knew it was because of Gianna telling him to ignore her, but she refused to believe he would go on without lying to her for this long.
Instead of sending him another text, regardless of whether or not Murphy was asleep for the qualifiers in the morning, Jane closed her text messages and tapped her phone. She went through her contacts and tapped Murphy's name. Within seconds, the phone started to ring. She stared at Murphy's name blinking with every ring. The phone rang for a little over one minute.
"Yo, it's Murphy."
Jane sighed, "It's so good to hear your-"
"Leave a message after the beep. Or don't. I really don't give a sh-"
beeeeeeep
"Hey, it's me. It's Jane. I-uh-just want to wish you good luck in the qualifiers...although we both know you don't need it. Goodnight."
She hung up the phone and went to put her phone away, but she cringed. She immediately turned her screen back on and called Murphy back.
The phone only rang twice this time and Jane could hear a click.
"Murphy! Hey! You probably didn't get my message but-"
"Yo, it's Murphy. Leave a message after the beep. Or don't. I really don't give a sh-"
beeeeeeep
He must have tapped decline on his phone when he saw her name again. All of the emotions pent up inside of Jane couldn't stay bottle up inside of her anymore.
"This is ridiculous. You can't keep telling me this is because of Gianna."
Her eyes moistened, although she made sure it didn't show through her voice, "Because then that means you're lying to me. I don't deserve that. Just tell me what I did," her voice cracked, "T-Tell me what I did."
She swallowed hard, then couldn't hold her tears back any longer, nor could she hide the feelings in her voice, "I-I hope you make it on the team. I know you'll make it. I-If you don't want me to be around you, then I promise I'll hold my speed back. Come senior semester, you'll never have to speak to me again."
She tried to hang up the call before she could sob, but just before she tapped the button, two huffy breaths recorded into the voicemail. She put her phone away and stuffed her face into her pillow. She didn't want Sally or Lightning to hear her cry, so she clenched her eyelids together and let the tears come out slower. She let her tears fall down her hood, her body jerking with every breath she tried to catch, and the tears soaking into her pillow case.
The aspiring race cried until her eyes had no more tears left to give and she fell asleep.
The bed underneath her turned into the desert dirt she was so used to. She felt it against the rubber of her tires. The sun was shining high in the sky and the air simply smelled like summer. She opened her eyes to find that she was right in front of Willy's Butte. She raised an eyelid. She definitely didn't remember driving there, but she had no ability to realize she was dreaming either.
She turned and began driving. She didn't speed. She just kept a modest pace. A commuter's pace. She came around the side slanted turn, but kept her wheels on the horizontal dirt. She even took the dangerous turn overlooking a bed of cactus slowly. No need to turn right to go left when you can just turn left at such a speed.
As she drove, the sun hid away behind some graying clouds rolling in. She frowned, but kept her drive going. Jane found herself just driving in that circle over and over again, lap by lap. Where exactly was the fun in racing anyway? There was no difference in what she was doing except for her speed.
It was just driving in a circle and making left turns.
Jane stared ahead of her, falling victim to her dream and driving in that circle for the next few hours.
Over.
And over again.
"Is that the best you got?" asked a voice which rumbled above her.
Jane stopped in her tracks and looked up. Above her, the clouds parted just enough for a few rays of sunshine to highlight her.
"Yes, you. You've given up."
Jane wasn't sure if she should answer, but she did it anyway, "I didn't give up."
"What do you call this then?"
"I'm taking a drive."
"There's a time and a place to take a drive and this ain't one of them, little star. This is a racetrack."
"...are you the manufacturer?"
"If I was, I would have never given you sideview mirrors. You have a bad habit of looking behind you in spite of everything right in front of you."
Jane lowered on her axles, "Who are you?"
"I'll admit it might be hard to tell from way up there," said the same voice coming from behind her then. This time, she could recognize it.
Jane gasped hard and quickly turned around. The gentle blue glow of a 1951 Hudson Hornet floated in front of her. She could see right through him. His tires weren't touching the ground at all. They faded into a mist underneath him. His eyes were glowing white and she couldn't see his pupils.
"Doc!" Jane called out happily, "Y-You're here!"
"I've always been here," he said.
"Dad!" Jane looked around the desert, "Mom! Dad! Come quick! Luigi! Guido! E-Everybody!"
"It's just me and you here," said the ghost, "I visit them when I need to, but right now it's just us."
Jane looked back at Doc, "I-I've missed you so much!"
"I miss you," he replied, "Not missed. I still do and I know you all still do," he floated closer. A cool breeze brushed against Jane's grille when he moved. As she breathed, she could practically smell the classic car.
"You've grown into one strong young woman."
"You think so?" Jane grinned.
"I know so. Look at you. Your eyes...they faded, huh? I thought they'd always be two different colors."
"They still are, it's just harder to tell."
"Well," he spoke of himself, "These eyes ain't what they used to be. You're beautiful, either way. Regardless, you have your mother's gaze and your father's smile."
Jane turned herself a little bit, presenting her side, "Like my new paint?"
"It fits you. It's the color you were meant to be anyway, with your mother being blue and your father being red."
"Ramone put on my spoiler!"
"I saw that," Doc chuckled, but he soon trailed off into a more sincere tone, "I saw that he put those lightning bolts on you too."
Jane nodded fast, "Yeah! They're so cool! They make me feel like-," Jane's expression dropped. She immediately reversed and turned her tires in, "-like daddy…"
"Why do you look so sad? It must feel great," Doc said, nodding with her, "To have a piece of him inside of your soul."
"And Momma.."
"That's where they both are, you know. They're both vigorous inside of you. Your mother never gave up and neither did your father. You're so worried about pleasing everyone in this race that you forgot what he still has in him, you got in you."
"What's the use?" Jane's mirrors slumped, "Momma quit what she set her whole life out to be... and daddy's being pushed out of racing."
"Little star, you come from a place where in the face of the impossible, they persevered," he pulled up next to her, then glanced down at her, "Do you know what that word means?"
Jane shook her hood, "No."
"Never giving up, but not just making sure you don't quit. It's about not quitting in the face of every reason to throw it all away. When it's really hard to find a reason left to stay."
Jane looked down at her hood, "I've been told to watch my speed my entire life...and when I don't and I show everyone how fast I can go, they perceive me as if I'm sinning. I-I had three great friends. Two of them only focus on each other now...and the other one-," she looked up at the false sky in her dream, "-pretends I don't exist," she stomped her wheel and turned to face Doc, kicking up rocks and dust, "I've had yogurt thrown at my face because of this."
"You were raised by a town full of different cars, all with different personalities and beliefs, but shared one common thing. One very important thing. They were cars who all lost their dreams just when they thought they had it all. Years before your parents were built. The town was bypassed by an interstate, taking a bunch of cars off of that same road you keep bringing your friends over to and asking them what they see."
"R-Really? You've been watching me…"
Doc nodded, "And all of your friends see what you see. They see their own dreams, don't they? Isn't it a wonder?"
"Is that why everyone in Radiator Springs stayed? Because of the road?"
"Because every time they woke up in the morning and looked down that road, they stared their failure in the face."
"I don't see how that could make anyone want to stay…"
"Because if you quit in the face of your failure, it wins. You rob failure of its power when you look it in the eye. They learned that, but now it's time for you to understand too."
"I've looked many cars in the face and every time I tell them I want to be a race car they shoot it down or they change the subject."
"And you always did it anyway. You raced anyway. And then what? You made your family proud. The entire town. You made your teachers excited for you. You made great friends - you said it yourself."
"So then why do some cars want me to fail so badly?"
"They're afraid of you and they have to look you in the eye when you wake up in the morning and decide to show up at school. You prove them wrong when you do that."
"Afraid?" Jane was taken aback, "Afraid of what?"
Doc just smiled and started his engine. He brought his tire to the side of Jane's face and slowly turned her toward the dirt road again. Once she was facing the makeshift starting line, he put himself next to her again, "You tell me."
Jane looked at the starting line and frowned.
"Tell me," said Doc, "Show me."
She then looked ahead of her and grit her teeth. She planted her tires down firmly and started her engine.
"I'm fearless," she said. She looked over at Doc, "Right?"
But Doc was gone. There was nothing - nobody - next to her anymore, except a passing whisper which said, "You tell me."