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Chapter 18: A Bluff
A Week Later.
"Good night!" Harley called out to the townies who remained parked at Flo's café.
"You are going to sleep already?"
"Di solito non dormi mai a sette e trenta!" Luigi and Guido questioned how early the young girl was headed to sleep.
"Um, hold on…" Harley went through what Guido had said trying to decipher it. "He said… um… something about it being 7:30?" she questioned.
"Guido says you never sleep at 7:30. You usually don't go to bed until 9:00." Luigi translated. Harley stomped her tire on the ground slightly.
"Dang, so close." She said. She had been desperately trying to learn Italian so that she could have a two way conversation with the small forklift. "Anyways, yeah. I'm off to bed; I'm really tired." Doc looked at her curiously.
"It is a little early… you feeling okay?" he asked and she nodded.
"Yeah, I'm just tired. It's been really hot outside today!" Harley justified. Doc shrugged his tires.
"I guess it was a little warm." he agreed. "Are you sure you don't feel sick?" Doc questioned again.
"Yeah, I'm fine." she drove over to him and nuzzled his side. "Goodnight, Doc. See you at the clinic." She said then turned to the others. "Goodnight everyone!" she went off to her room. She turned off her light letting the soft shine of the moon fill her bedroom. She sat there and waited for the town to become silent. In the process, though, she fell asleep herself, but after a few hours, she jolted awake, remembering why she wanted to stay up so late into the night. She looked at her digital clock. It read 11:58 p.m. Harley took a quiet deep breath then headed to the garage door. She opened it up ever so carefully then snuck out of her room. She had a plan. Tonight was the night she finds out what is beyond the rustic buildings of Radiator Springs. She had a plan to escape and drive down the historic Route 66 and come back before morning.
All without getting caught.
She drove by Doc's room as silently as possible.
"He's old, he won't hear, right?" Harley thought to herself. She slowed to make herself even more silent just in case. She made it out of the clinic unseen and looked around. "This must be what it like to live in… what did Sheriff call it?" she thought for a moment as she looked around at the seemingly desolate town. "Oh yeah!" she said out loud, then flinched. "I'm supposed to be quiet!" she scolded herself. "And it's a ghost town. He called it a ghost town…" Harley shook her hood. "Alright. Which way to go?" Harley looked to her left, then to her right, then back to her left. "I think… right!" she looked to her right then started to drive down the road going towards the courthouse. The air was cool, giving her chills. Taking another nervous deep breath, she neared the courthouse. She had intended to drive right last it, but she stopped once she caught a glimpse of the old statue of the town's founder, Stanley.
"I wonder what you saw here." Harley wondered aloud. "What made you want to stay? How far did you need to drive?" She looked up at him with curious eyes, as if the ghost of Stanley would speak through the metallic memorial. But no sounds could be hear. She began to slowly drive away, and almost made it passed undisturbed.
"What the heck are you doing?" There suddenly came a voice from behind her and she froze, knowing exactly who it was.
"I, uh, um…. I'm, uh, sleep driving! Sleeeeep driiiiving!" she said and closed her eyes with a blank expression and slowly drove forward.
Doc hadn't been to the courthouse in a while. There hasn't been much courtroom drama since the hearing, so there was not much need to go there. But tonight, he couldn't sleep. He thought going through his county paperwork would help, but it didn't. He was going to head back to the clinic, but stopped when he saw a familiar ten-year-old Cadillac driving by.
"Oh, of course. Sleep driving, why didn't I think of that?" Doc sarcastically said "Harley, it's late. Why are you up?" he asked, not buying her charade. Harley stopped driving and seemed to shrink.
"Um… I, uh…" She tried to think up of a story. She had never lied to Doc before, so as the gears in her mind started turning to think up of her first lie, Doc was quick to catch her.
"Harley, you're not about to lie to me, are you?" Harley looked up at him with wide eyes. She knew she had been caught.
"N-no! No, I would n-never do that!" stuttering, she felt nervous. Harley was scared about Doc being disappointed in her.
"Okay, so what are you doing?" Doc asked again, a little sterner this time. Harley sighed, finally giving in.
"I'm sorry, Doc. I just wanted to drive out there!" she gestured a tire at the road that disappeared into the night. "If wanna see the rest of the world!" she raised her voice then quickly lowered it. "Or at least the rest of the county…"
"Well…" Doc looked her over. "If you're going to do that, you'll have to turn on your headlights. And your high beams." Doc said and flicked his own headlights on. "Go ahead, turn 'em on." He said and Harley looked at him confused.
"Um… what?" She asked and a soft half smile appeared on Doc's face.
"You said you wanted to see what's out there. I think it's time I show you something." he explained. Even though Harley was happy to hear those words she still had to ask more questions.
"But, I thought you said it was late? You want me to stay up?" Doc shrugged his tires.
"I mean, I guess you're right. Maybe we should just get back home and call it a night." He waited to see her reaction.
"Wait, no! No it's okay!" Harley turned on her headlights. "We can go now! She nodded with a big smile.
"Alright then; lead the way." Doc gestured a tire down the road.
"But… you wanted to show me something. Shouldn't you lead?" Harley asked and he chuckled.
"You'll know when to stop." He said and gestured again to the road.
"Um… okay…" she said and turned to the road. She then took in a deep breath of fresh midnight air and began to drive. Her high beams came on and she picked up speed the further down they went. Doc followed closely behind her, watching carefully to make sure she was safe.
"Har, slow down. This road gets pretty windy the farther you go." Harley nodded and slowed as she listened to his warning. She slowed even more when she began to look around and really started to soak in the scenery.
"Wow….." she said, her eyes sparkling with starlight. Doc came up to drive beside her and admired all the wonder in her eyes.
"What do you see?" He asked while Harley's mouth hung open.
"I.. I don't know… trees and the sky, the moon."
"Yes, but what do you see in those things?" Harley kept looking, turned his question in her mind.
"Um… I'm not sure…. A story I think…" she said and Doc nodded. They continued to drive, the elder smiling warmly, the young one smiling brightly.
"Harley, look straight ahead." Doc said and she did so. She saw that they were headed to an archway. A hole in a giant rock.
"Did this rock get made like this?" Harley asked as they began to get close. "Well, a few cars had to make it look like this. It didn't just form like this." Doc explained.
"Really! How?" Harley asked astonished they drove through the giant arch and Harley's eyes widened even more. She saw in the distant a waterfall with what looked to be melted silver flowing down behind a dark bridge. Doc didn't bother answering her because he knew that her attention had drifted elsewhere. They drove and she slowed to an almost stop as the drifted over the bridge. Suddenly, she did stop and Doc stopped beside her. Their lights turned off and Harley closed her eyes. She let the mist from the water fall on her. She smiled as she felt the coolness of the mist hit her paint; it left her with chills.
"Didn't know we had a waterfall, did you?" Doc asked and slowly began to move past her.
"I wish I had known… I'd drive out here a lot!" she said and opened her eyes, seeing that Doc had moved on. Harley sped up to drive beside him. Together, they passed the bridge and went on, leaving the thundering sounds of plummeting water behind them. As they turned their lights back on, Doc smiled to himself because he knew it was close. The spot he wanted to show Harley. Harley noticed this, but for once, didn't ask why. Instead, she looked around at the walls and the land and the sky. She felt so comfortable here,as if she had been down this road a thousand and one times. She noticed that Doc was slowing down,so she slowed down with him, then she saw it. The biggest tire she had ever seen.
"What is this?" she asked looking at the land formation,not yet realizing it was actually a building.
"This here is Wheel Well. Use to be a busy place back when I first came here." he smiled nostalgically. "But that was before-"
"Interstate 40…." Harley finished as she looked up at the old motel.
"How do you know about that?" Doc asked her and she looked to him with an innocent smile.
"Sheriff told me!" she said then looked to her right. "What's over there?" she wondered aloud and drove over to the cliff.
"Careful, Harley!" Doc said, quickly following her.
"Oh," she braked slightly. "A bluff.." she said then continued to inch closer.
"A cliff, actually." Doc corrected.
"What's the difference?" Harley looked at him confused.
"A bluff is beside water, usually." he explained, but it didn't help much. Harley simply nodded then went over to the edge. "I'd prefer it if you'd scoot back some…" Doc said tensely.
"Oh, sorry." Harley said with wide eyes. She admired the view. It was one that sent a shiver down her body. The cool air moved slightly around her as she looked down to the empty town below. A dot of yellow flickered on and off, giving the town an eerie glow to it, ever third glow seemingly slower. She looked to her left and could see Willy's Butte. A place she hadn't been in a very long time now, not since she last went with Sarge. Doc eyed her for a moment, then softened when she looked up at him.
"Do you like it?" he asked and she nodded.
"It's beautiful up here!" she wondrously said about the view. She then quickly turned back. Her eyes landed on the town again and she followed the infamous Route 66 out towards the horizon. From there, her eyes went up to the sky, to the moon, then back to Doc. She smiled at him sweetly.
"I'm glad you like it." He had turned his own eyes to the view, so he didn't even realize her gaze had been on him. "I honestly thought you wouldn't react at all."
"How did you react?" she asked him and he smiled, no longer looking at the view, but looking at a memory.
"Similarly to how you just did." he said, still not noticing her wide, expecting eyes. She knew a story was coming, so she stayed quiet.
"The year was 1955. I was twenty-five years old and looking for somewhere to call home. I had been through alot in the last year, and I thought it was time to live a slower life. I kept driving and driving until one night, my headlights went out. It was hard to see where I was and I guess somewhere along the way, I ended up on Route 66. I followed it for a while until I came upon this place right here." he backed up and turned away from the cliff side and looked up at Wheel Well. "At the time, it was still in business. I drove in and asked for a room. I still remember the kind sir at the front desk. He was a Dodge Coronet. A maroon color. By my luck, he was still awake. Gave me a room that was on the house. He told me to talk to him the next morning. His nickname was Dcoro, but for the life of me, I can't remember his real name." Doc thought for a moment then slowly shook his hood. "I'll think of it one of these days. I wonder if he's still around…" he was unsure Harley knew what he mentioned by that, but didn't bother with asking her and having to explain a difficult concept. "Anyways, I talked to him as he told me to and said that he knew a guy in town that could replace my headlights. Well of course, I asked for his name and directions and that's when he led me to this view." Doc turned to cliff side. "I first saw it in the light of a new day. The sun was just barely rising. I saw that town glowing with the light of the dawn. I looked at it and saw salvation. I saw my new life. I thanked Dcoro then went on my way to Radiator Springs.
"I went down the street quietly until I found Ramone. He fixed me up in a jiffy and said it would cost hardly anything. Then he offered me a paint job, which I declined of course. Ramone then helped me find the V8 Café and I met Flo. Then, parked off to the side, I found the local authority. Or rather, he found me." Harley giggled, knowing who this 'mysterious' car was. "Sheriff came up to me and actually scared me. He told me he noticed my license plate read 51HHMD. He then asked is the MD meant I was a doctor. I told him yes and he said that their local clinic had been doctor-less for a few months. So he offered me a job. Actually, I waited to accept it. I had to think about it a lot. During that time, I came back up here every day and looked at this view. I got to know Dcoro pretty well. He was a business major and dabbled in law. Told me that he was the current time judge of the little town." Doc then chuckled. "Said he overlooked it both literally and metaphorically…. I came back to this spot quite often to think of what to do with my life. I felt…" he sighed. "Oh… I don't know…" Harley looked at the view again and took in a deep breath.
"Safe." she said and Doc looked down at her and smiled softly.
"Yeah, safe." He followed her gaze and nodded. "Well, I made a decision to accept Sheriff's offer as the local doctor and I've been here ever since. When Dcoro decided to leave town. He made a suggestion to the others that they should put me as the new judge. Then Mater said it was a good idea because I could fix anything." Doc chuckled softly to himself.
"He's right though." Harley said. Doc smiled at her again.
"Thanks, Har…" he said then continued his tale. "Well, after Dcoro left, I stayed and became the judge and remained as the doctor. Then a few years down the road I met this little Cadillac who was in the same predicament as me. A young girl who needed a home."
"That was me, right?" Harley said and Doc chuckled quietly.
"Yes, Har, that was you. And I thank my lucky stars that you decided to stay."
"Just like you!" Harley said and nuzzled his side with a yawn.
"Yeah…" her yawn was contagious and soon Doc did the same. "We should get back now, shouldn't we?"
"Well," Harley scoot back and turned to Wheel Well, "this was a motel at one point. We could stay here! At least for the night."
"I'm not too sure about that." but Harley was already of to find an opened door.
"Oh, Doc! I found an empty room!" she called out and he followed her off. "It's not too bad! We can stay here for the night." Haley persisted and Doc finally gave in.
"Okay fine, just tonight." He said and drove into the room with Harley. "No sneaking out, okay." Harley slightly blushed in embarrassment.
"Heh, okay. I won't." she said and Doc nodded.
"And I won't leave either." he said as Harley leaned against his side. "I won't ever leave you."
