Disclaimer: Pixar owns cars. It is not mine. Though it would rock if it were... Blaire, Seth, Joe, and Ranger however are. They belong to me... No takey. Unless you ask very nicely. Then I could be swayed.
Notes: I know, I have a lot of people now going eh? This story is not over yet. Despite the fact that I am ending it. You see between this chapter and the next there will be one hell of a time lapse. I felt it would shake up the flow of the story. Therefore I decided to make the rest a sequel. It's the same story but it's two small stories posing as a huge one. Therefore rather than kill the flow I'm breaking it up. Aside from that the ending just seemed... Right... So the rest is coming don't freak out on me to badly. Aside from that I'm enjoying this story. Thanks for the reviews y'all. You're right I messed up in a couple places on it. However I'm hoping people can turn a blind eye to it and really enjoy the rest of the story. I spotted them after they were pointed out to me. And glad someone caught that planet of the apes ref! Anyway enjoy! And on an off note.. I scared myself... I also made myself cry... Darn them all...
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"Alright, rise and shine you three!"
Blaire released a soft groan as he forced himself to his tires. Close by Joe attempted to cover her face with a whine. Now that Blaire had moved the harsh sun poured over her, demanding that she wake up and face up to the day. On Joe's other side Ranger growled softly, his muzzle lifting up to give the Sheriff a rather sour look.
"This is cruel and unusual punishment... We have our rights you know." Blaire complained as he gave a slight stretch. "You can't keep us here without charge."
"Actually I can keep you here for twenty four hours without charging you with a damn thing. Aside from that it has not yet been twenty four hours, and you are about to be charged in a court of law if you would get up and get moving." Sheriff pointed out, pulling a heavy sigh from Blaire.
"Fine... Then what about our lawyer. We're initialed to one."
"Blaire..." The Mustang glanced down at the human still laying across the ground and sighed heavily.
"Oh yeah... Sorry Joe."
"Don't worry about it." Joe muttered, yawning as she rolled over. "However, I have a few human friends that are pretty quick to your laws if you would allow us to travel back to the mountains and..."
"You may call any lawyer you like so long as you can CALL them. You're not going anywhere." Sheriff pointed out flatly. "As it is Joe we really don't know what to do with you. However, as you seem to be perfectly competent to stand trial, you will be held to the laws of any vehicle. Do you understand?"
"So I'll be treated like a car and not like some stray animal?" She questioned, a brief smirk crossing her face. "Yeah I can handle that."
"I don't know Joe. Animals get those nice little Peta people who throw paint at people who have fur lined covers."
Joe rolled her eyes and kicked Blaire's side panel as hard as she could from where she was laying. Blaire yelped and jumped away, though still soft chuckles emitted from him.
"Alright you two stop playing around and lets go. One of you get a handle on the howler."
Joe gave a shrug and silently stood up with a stretch. She silently unbuckled her own belt, looping it around to form a make shift leash attached to the rope collar she had around Ranger's neck. "Alright, alright. But I agree with Blaire. This is cruel and unusual punishment..."
"You haven't seen cruel and unusual yet young lady. Now lets go." Sheriff groused, as he fitted a boot onto Blaire's front tire.
"That a threat Sheriff?" Blaire questioned, holding his tire just a bit off the ground without a fight as the boot was fitted onto it.
"That's an it's to early in the morning to be having to deal with this." Sheriff groused once more. Already the Mustang was proving to be able to work at his last nerve.
"You know Sheriff, I entirely agree. It's way to early to even be having this discussion. So I'll tell you what. Let's wait a few hours."
"Right... So that we pass the twenty four hour mark and are forced to allow you both to walk free."
"Hmm, well I didn't say the plan was flawless." Blaire pointed out. Sheriff stared at the car for a moment, though after a moment couldn't help a soft chuckle.
"Alright, enough clowning around. Lets go..." Sheriff muttered, turning and rolling his way out of the impound. Blaire shrugged and followed along behind, forced to hop in a rather awkward gait as Joe and Ranger kept close to his side.
It was a long walk down the street... A mile from one end of town to the other was nothing to a vehicle, the distance considered nothing. However, to Joe it was a rather long walk.
By her perception the court house was also, absolutely massive. The wide cavernous room built to comfortably hold several vehicles to seemed like that of a capitol building.
The entire town was already gathered, rows of vehicles seated at attention in the building. It was disturbing... They came into an absolute dead silence... At Joe's side, Ranger made the only sound, the dog letting off an uneasy whine.
"My thoughts exactly Ranger..." Blaire muttered, pulling a brief giggle from Joe as they silently took their stand in a space marked off for the accused.
"When a suspect has no lawyer, the court will appoint one to them." Sheriff rattled off, his attention shifting across the group of gathered vehicles. "Anyone want to be their lawyer?"
"I'll do it!" Of course it was Mater. Beside him Lightning chuckled softly, a smirk crossing his grill.
"With all do respect Sheriff..." Blaire suddenly butted in, a smile crossing his grill. "I may not be a lawyer but in my career I have had to study law or at least be familiar with it. I would like to stand as our own lawyer... I believe it would be in our best interest."
"You never told me you studied law." Joe mused, cutting a sideways look at Blaire.
"You never asked." He pointed out with a chuckle.
Joe paused, a slight shrug given as she nodded. He had a point.
"Very well. You can act as your own lawyer. Sally! You here?"
"I'm here. Sorry Sheriff." Sally called back as she rolled up to the front of the room.
"Hey... Who's that?" Blaire mused to himself from where he sat parked. Joe rolled her eyes and kicked his side panel, drawing a soft yelp from the Mustang.
"Focus lover boy."
"Sorry..."
"All arise for the honorable Judge, Doc Hudson." Sheriff called out. Everyone stood a bit more at attention, but the only one who actually rose was a car in the back with one hell of an undercarriage suspension...
The same old car from the day before quietly rolled behind the podium. As soon as he was behind it, a lift, rose him up and turned him to face the group gathered, his hard gaze quietly staring at the three in question. Ranger whined and tucked his tail, quietly pressing closer to Joe's side, who quietly pressed closer to Blaire's side.
"Alright then... It seems you three have had time to sit and think about this. So what do you all have to say for yourselves?"
Blaire and Joe remained entirely silent. Ranger picked that time to bark at Doc, though was quickly silenced by Joe.
"So... The only one of you willing to speak is the howler?"
"He's a dog." Joe muttered flatly. "And his name is Ranger."
"Very well... Somebody other than Ranger had best say something then."
"Blaire didn't have anything to do with this." Joe suddenly blurted, gaining a slight glare from Blaire.
"I had everything to do with it." Blaire argued, though both were silenced before they really got off on it by Doc's horn blowing and a demanded "Order!"
"I don't care who did what. Now what I do know is that we have had someone breaking into poor Flo's business and robbing her blind. Someone is going to pay for that."
"I'll do it myself." Joe suddenly blurted, gaining an odd look from Blaire. "I did it. So I'll pay for it. Want to throw me in Jail? Go ahead. Make me work off my debt be my guest. I'll do it without complaint, but you've threatened me with animal control. I am not an animal. However, I can certainly act like one if you keep that up."
Doc sighed and rolled his eyes, grumbling something or other under his breath. It was amazing but these two seemed to know just how to get under his paint.
"Alright... Look, we really don't mean any harm..." Blaire tried, attempting to smooth things over just a bit. "What Joe and David did, they did out of desperation."
"Was David the other rider?" Sheriff questioned, gaining a slow nod from Joe.
"David is my brother..."
"Great... So one more suspect in this little party..." Doc mused softly as he glanced over to Blaire. "I take it he's also your pet?"
Blaire flinched just a bit, avoiding Joe's rather sour gaze.
"Alright... Now I have two stories going on here. Right now the one I'm willing to accept just to get this headache over with is Blaire's side." Their eyes widened just a bit, human and Mustang exchanging a worried look.
"Or rather at least the one that will be much less of a headache. So... Unless someone wants to give me a straight answer... My judgement is that Blaire will spend thirty days in the country jail with a five thousand dollar fine for keeping an illegal exotic pet. In that time he will work off the damages that exotic pet has caused. Said exotic pet will also be kept in the county jail until the time that an animal control officer can be called in to take said pet to somewhere more suitable for its needs. That is... Unless someone wants to give me clear cut story and a good reason why these, by Blaire's definition, animals can not be taken by animal control." Doc stated flatly, staring the two down.
"I think he's bluffing..." Joe whispered softly.
"Do you really want to take that chance?" Blaire whispered back, then turned his attention to Doc.
"The law states that a pet is not illegal unless it can be considered dangerous to the public. My pets stole fuel, however they have not been destructive nor have they harmed anyone. Neither one of them are vicious."
"On the contrary." Doc put in. "The dog as you call it bit the deputy of our town. Hard enough that his tire was punctured. I would call that, causing harm."
Seth rose up to protest, but at a look from Sheriff, the sports car settled right back down again.
"The only reason Ranger would attack is if he thought that Joe was in danger. He is trained to protect her." Blaire stated simply. "Joe's arm was injured therefore I can only guess that she was in fact very much in danger."
"That's enough Blaire. My ruling is final. If you have an exotic pet, it has to go. However, if you do not have an exotic pet that is a different story." Doc stated flatly.
Again Joe and Blaire exchanged a long look. After a moment Blaire sighed heavily and lifted his gaze up to Doc. "Sir, if you don't mind I would like about fifteen minutes to consider that information..."
"Take the time you need." Doc agreed with a light nod. Blaire nodded a bit, quietly conversing with Joe as the gathered group broke up just a bit, talking quietly among themselves.
"Well Doc?" Sheriff whispered softly, watching as Joe knelt down close to Blaire's grill so that they could speak softly to each other.
"I think they're both stubborn. Blaire is so focused on protecting the human he's missing the big picture here..." Doc mused.
"You won't really call in animal control will you?" Sheriff questioned slowly.
"Of course not. Though I will lock them up until the Jail rots around them if they keep it up."
Sheriff chuckled softly and nodded, quietly sitting back to watch the two. Those fifteen minutes pased by quickly. The two were still quietly arguing among themselves as Doc cleared his throat.
"Well?"
Blaire sighed heavily and looked up at Doc with a somewhat defeated look. "Joe and Ranger are not my pets... If anything Ranger is a pet of Joe's... And Joe is my friend."
"Very well. Joe. We have decided that under a court of law you are competent to stand trial. Therefore you will be treated and tried as any vehicle under my ruling. Blaire you may leave."
"Now wait a moment Doc. If you are allowing Joe to stand trail and be treated as any other vehicle then she also should have the same right to a lawyer. I'm already standing as her lawyer. Aside from that I can not leave her."
"Very well..." Doc muttered, a slight sigh given. "Let the games begin then..."
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"You know I knew there was a reason that I didn't become a lawyer. I had an issue with all fluids in me being replaced with ice water."
Joe gave a snort of laughter at Blaire's comment as they sat off to one side of the court room. It had been a long morning... The case of animals causing trouble had been cut and dry. If the owner couldn't control said animals, then they would be taken away. Exotic animals were illegal anyway. It was cut and dry. Now it wasn't...
Sally, the town attorney, had spent most of the morning laying down the case from the town as well as Flo's side of things. It wasn't just the town that the crime was against. It was Flo. Therefore on the other side of the court room Flo sat in silence with her lawyer... Sally.
Flo refused to so much as look in their direction. The lowrider beside her, did nothing but glare in their direction.
The statements had gone on fairly smoothly, but for Blaire objecting every other word. Sally frequently slipped up and refereed to the human in question as an it in the beginning. Blaire just as frequently protested and declared discrimination against his client.
Towards the end it had shifted a bit. Joe was now refereed to by name and nothing else. Blaire still objected to everything that he could.
Now they had taken a recess for lunch. Sheriff had tried to take Joe back to the impound lot. She had allowed him to take Ranger back so the dog could wander around a bit and get some water. However, Blaire had pointed out that since they obviously could not offer Joe any form of nutrition and that she had obviously not had any form of nutrition in two days that the least they could do was give her some water and let her hang around the court house for that time. Sheriff had agreed on that point and quietly taken the dog back.
That had been ten minutes ago... Since they were on a hour recess the time was dragging itself on... Against Blaire's side Joe sighed heavily and thumped her head back against his side panel. "It's your turn to talk after this right?"
"Mhmm" Blaire muttered, quietly watching the other vehicles mill around.
"Why aren't you eating lunch?" Joe questioned, flopping down so that she was looking at him upside down, her head resting near his tire.
"I'll eat when you eat. I'll try to get Doc to let me drive up to the colony to get you something this evening... Though don't want to leave you here alone."
"I'll be alright." Joe muttered, rolling over onto her stomach and propping her chin up on her hands. "And you should get something. It's like survival. You might need to rescue me or something. Where will you be if you run out of gas?"
"Nice try... So what do you want me to tell them anyway?"
Joe sighed, her eyes falling closed as she thought. "I wonder if we can request all those other yahoos get out. I mean, letting the two cars from yesterday know is one thing... The rest of the town?"
"What?" Blaire questioned, his frame tilting to the side at her rambling.
"Sorry... I meant we should tell them about the colony. I mean... They already know there's humans in the area. We already might have to move... And this is the town my Grandfather's friend was from... They might be just as ok with it."
"Sheriff McDuffy was alright with it because he felt he owed your grandfather." Blaire pointed out, though Joe quietly shook her head.
"I don't think so. I think maybe at first... But you know the other stories. If Sherif McDuffy felt he owed Grandpa he would have helped him set up the power relay then never spoken to him again. He helped us out a lot..."
"Yeah but..."
"All arise!"
Blaire looked up as Sheriff put an end to the chatter, only then realizing that an hour had actually crawled by. It was time to get back to the grind stone...
Joe sighed and sat up, quietly standing up and leaning back against the wall as Doc came back into the room.
"Alright..." Doc started off as everyone settled once more, the court room falling back to silence.
"We have been very well informed of the town's side... Blaire I assume you have something to add to this case?"
"Yes I do... My client is willing to explain every part of this... However, she is not comfortable with speaking in front of the entire town."
"Blaire this is a court of law and will be treated as such. She asked to be treated as a car and like any car she will not receive special treatment. Now either give us a statement or sit back down and let the trial continue."
Blaire sighed heavily and glanced back at Joe who only nodded.
"Very well... My name is Blaire McCullins. I was a-"
"Hold up!" The entire court room turned to look at Lightning who now seemed much more interested in what was going on.
"The Journalist Blaire McCullins?"
Blaire sighed heavily and nodded slowly...
"As in Crazy McCullins, that Blaire McCullins?"
"I am not crazy!" Blaire snapped. Joe flinched and laid a hand on the Mustang's hood.
"Doc I object." Sally suddenly put in. "The defending lawyer is in no way qualified, nor is he competent to be able to offer any valid defense. Despite that he's a fugitive himself!"
Doc's eyes widened just a bit, his gaze snapping back to Blaire who cowered back just a bit. "A fugitive?"
"Yeah Doc... The story was all over the papers a few years ago..."
"Kid ya know this town doesn't always mind the news from the outside." Sheriff pointed out. If any of them read about it, it was most likely forgotten since it didn't exactly concern them.
Sally nodded a bit, and frowned deeply. "Crazy McCullins was a journalist and photographer from California. Bright kid to... Studied in England then came back home to the states. The story goes he went out to do an expose on small towns in the desert area around Route 66. He came back after about a month blabbing something about monsters in the woods. He was institutionalized soon after."
Blaire let out a growl, pulling forward just a bit. "All on false charges!"
"As I was saying." Sally cut in with a sharp look. "A couple months later he escaped the mental institution and disappeared. Local law enforcement searched for him for weeks but came up with nothing. No one ever heard from him again."
"You can't hold that against him!" Joe yelled, her hands on her hips as she marched forward up to stand in front of Doc's stand. "Since he's obviously not crazy there was no reason for him to be there. He only escaped in the first place to prove he wasn't crazy!"
"Monsters in the woods? How do you figure him for not being crazy?" Lightning questioned, one eye quirking a bit.
Joe spun around and raised her hands in the air dramatically. "Hello! Monsters? Boo! What the hell would you call me if you didn't know what the hell I was huh? Scary two legger!"
"At night she looked a lot bigger..." Blaire muttered softly. "And she was on the back of her horse... Which I thought was her as well..."
"That still doesn't-"
"Order!"
Sally instantly cut off what she was about to say as Joe flinched away from Doc's stand and scurried back to hide behind Blaire.
"Not another objection out of anyone. Not a single one understand me? This has gone on long enough... Now... Sally, you hush. Joe, you sit down. Blaire, you talk. Now." Doc ordered, sending everyone scurrying to do as they were told.
"Well... As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted... Yes... I am that Blaire McCullins. I came out here several years ago to do a special article for a magazine I was trying to apply for... My father loved this road... Had been through this town a few times and always went on about how nice the people always were. So I really wanted to come to this area... I cut through the mountains to get a good look at the scenery and get some good pictures for the magazine... I was trying to get a few sunset pictures over the desert so of course when I was coming back down it was well after dark... Joe was out on a supply run towards the river... I wound up almost hitting her. Gave her quite a fright but I was more afraid of her than she was of me..."
"Says you. You knocked several years off of my life." Joe protested, gaining a slight roll of Blaire's eyes. I got a picture of her but it was blurred... I honestly forgot about the rest of the article... I turned tail and took off for home... I was raised in the city and after seeing that I didn't want to see much more of the woods..."
That brought a soft round of chuckles and Blaire actually looked a little sheepish. "Anyway... I went back home and of course reported everything that I had seen... No one believed me... After a while they got tired of hearing it... I couldn't get a job anywhere because of it. So I took my find to a higher source... In retrospect going to the capitol was just a bit out of bounds... So after my brother came and picked me up from jail after convincing the judge I wasn't a terrorist... He had me committed..."
"I knew if I could just get a picture of one of them... A clear picture, that people would believe me. So one night the chance came up... I got out of there and drove back here... It was near midnight by time I pulled into town... And I was so focused on getting up to the mountains that I was going a little fast... So of course there were blue lights in my rear view..."
Sheriff chuckled softly to that, a smirk crossing his grill.
"Don't chuckle to hard Sheriff you didn't catch me." Blaire pointed out with a slight smile. "Anyway I had just escaped a mental institution... I wasn't going back. So I turned off my headlights and picked up speed through the mountains. And honestly the only reason I lost him was because I missed a turn and went off the side of the mountain into a river..."
Blaire took in a deep breath and shook his grill. "I woke up several days later in an underground cave with that dang dog of Joe's licking my grill..."
"He loved you from hello." Joe chirrped with a soft giggle.
Blaire chuckled and nodded a bit. "I wouldn't be here now if Joe and her father hadn't seen me go into the river... They pulled me out with what I later found out were horses... They brought me down to their colony and fixed me up... Did a fine job of it to. I can't even tell that my engine was ever flooded..."
"It did cross my mind to take pictures and get the hell out of there... But... I couldn't do it. I would have preferred the whole world think I was crazy than hurt them." Blaire explained slowly.
"After I was back on my tires I realized that without that proof I couldn't go back... So I used my mother's maiden name and bought a cabin up in the mountains... I've been there with them ever since..."
"They don't mean any harm... They've thrived up there for so long. But since the lost of the electricity that was allowing them to hide underground as they were... They haven't been doing so well... They can't get food as they once could. And clean water is hard to come by... They're dying up there. All of them... They have families and lives... And we owe them so much... They created us. All of us. How else do they know our systems? They designed them..."
"Now Blaire that's quite enough. We all know that's only a story." Doc scolded but Blaire shook his grill.
"It's not! I know it's not! They created us. They made us and we killed them."
"And how do you know that? They told you that?" Doc questioned with a quirk of his eye.
"Because I've seen the firsts!"
The silence was absolutely deafening...
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"Ok so back up... What's the firsts and why are they so bad?"
"It's not that they're bad Joe... It's that cars now do not believe in them. It's tabu to even bring them up. Sort of like cursing in front of a nun ya know?"
Joe nodded slowly as she watched Blaire pace back and forth along the line of fencing of the impound lot. She wasn't entirely sure what had finally gotten them sent back... She supposed it could have been the discovery that Blaire was an escaped mental patient and had started going on about things they didn't believe in...
"But that doesn't explain what they are... Or why it got us thrown back in here."
"You know about the firsts Joe... Back at the colony?"
"Oh! The cars you're afraid of..."
"That would be them. Look Joe we really need to get out of here... At this rate I don't trust that Doc Hudson not to call animal control anyway and I'm fairly certain he'll be calling the authorities on me..."
"He promised to give me a trial like any other car... I trust him." Joe insisted, gaining a soft sigh from Blaire.
"All the good that's done us thus far... We don't know what he's planning."
"Blaire we don't even know what we're planning. Give it a rest." Joe muttered softly, a hand stroking absently across the top of Ranger's head.
"We need to get you out of here Joe. How long as it been since you've eaten?"
"Don't worry about it. I have one of those nutrition bar things." She explained, silently reaching into her inner jacket pocket. Clothing made from scraps of material found and thrown away by vehicle kind not exactly fashionable but it worked... As it was the faded brown leather jacket that had probably started its life as furniture coverings was now her favored look... And it was looking as if it was going to be her look for a long while if she didn't get out of here...
"Well then eat it... Joe you need that to survive..."
"I know that Blaire I'm kinda familiar with it... I'll split it between me and Ranger when I have to. For now I can still survive. Save rations until absolutely necessary."
Blaire rolled his eyes though had to nod. They didn't know when they were getting out... So much for him going on a supply run.
"I should have stayed away... I should have let you handle it your way. You probably would have been out by now without me screwing things up..." Blaire muttered, slowly folding his tires up underneath his undercarriage and sinking to the ground. Joe sighed and scooted over, resting her head lightly against his side panel. "If it helps Bucko... I'm really glad you're here. I needed someone to talk to..."
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"That car's crazy! Doc he could very well be dangerous why haven't we called the authorities?"
"Sally for the last time... Settle down. I don't think he's dangerous. Aside from that Sheriff and Seth are perfectly capable of handling it for now..." Doc muttered, looking more than a little tired of even speaking on the subject matter.
"But Doc!"
"Sally enough. We'll worry about it in the morning."
"But-"
"Every body look who's here!"
The group turned their attention to Flo coming in, a round of smiles given as she carefully guided Lizzie into the lot that made up the cafe. Lizzie was in her last few months of life. It saddened them all to think of it... But they all knew it. Before Seth's transformation into the mortal realm he himself had told Sheriff that he had been frequently visiting Lizzie to attempt to ease the transition in death. As it was she had her good days and her bad days... Most days she spent all of her time in her small home. She was growing more and more tired as she aged... However tonight she seemed to be looking a bit more perky. Perky enough that she rolled quietly along beside Flo.
"How are you feeling Lizzie?" Doc questioned softly, gaining a smile from the old bird.
"I'm feeling alright today... That nice man came and talked to me again."
"That's nice Lizzie." Doc offered a patient smile crossing his grill.
"Hey Sheriff. You've rounded up another hot rod in the impound I see." Lizzie mused, gaining a soft chuckle from the patrol car.
"Folks seem to be linein' up to get in there as of late."
"What did he do?"
Sheriff and Doc cast a glance at each other stumbling a bit.
"Oh he just caused a bit of a ruckus Lizzie. Don't worry about him." Flo offered, a smile crossing her grill.
Lizzie chuckled and nodded, though the silence of the night was broken by the sharp bark of Ranger, the sound smothered off in a second by Joe who flatly told the dog to shut it.
"Oh I remember that..." Lizzie mused, a smile crossing her grill, her features turning just a bit dreamy as they did when she was reliving an event. She was becoming a bit absent minded but in those moments she would smile at some memory and almost seemed to relive it. She was so happy in those moments. The others were hard pressed to break the moment, instead simply going with it and allowing her to talk it out.
"You heard the howlers the other night to miss Lizzie?" Mater questioned, though it was met with a soft chuckle.
"Oh Mater don't be silly... No... I remember that sound from when I was just a girl... I remember the dogs barking in the city streets..."
That caught their attention. Slowly Doc pressed a question on the minds of all. "Do you remember the dogs then?"
"Oh yes... They where such nice fluffy animals. They were the favored pets of the humans you know... Oh I haven't seen a human since I was just a girl... Then they were all gone..."
"Lizzie? Exactly how old are you?" Flo questioned slowly, gaining a soft chuckle from Lizzie. None of them had ever asked. They had felt it rude...
"Very old child... Very old. I was born in the middle of the great war."
"Lizzie the great war is just a myth." Doc scolded, but Lizzie shook her grill.
"Oh no Doc. Folks would like you to think that. That's our burden to bear... The great war... It was horrible."
"See man? The government is keepin' us down with that man..." Fillmore insisted, gaining a rather sour look from Sarge.
"Well of course." Lizzie offered with a laugh. "What race would want to know that another race was responsible for its being?"
"Tell us about it Lizzie?" Sally requested softly gaining a nod from the old car. Lizzie smiled happily and nodded.
"I was born in the middle of it. I remember when I was just a girl at my mama's side listening to the fighting outside. The humans created the firsts you see... Then some of the firsts decided that car kind were superior. They began creating more... Others of the firsts did not like this. They stayed with the humans... Car numbers grew..."
She had the complete attention of everyone now. Even Sarge seemed entirely swept in where he normally could care less.
"The fighting lasted so long... Then one day when I was just a girl there was something in the news... The humans claimed the cars had put something in the water. The cars claimed they did not... I never believed that... Because the humans soon after began falling sick... The plague lasted for years... Only a very small handful of them didn't get sick."
"So cars practiced biological warfare?" Sarge questioned slowly.
"That is what they called it. The humans were very angry. They said we had agreed not to. We had agreed no chemical and no biological warfare. Cars said that we didn't do it. Then they were gone."
"You mean they all died?" Mater asked, his eyes wide.
"No... They were just gone. Cars thought that they went underground... The survivors that is. A lot died... I remember as a girl... They day cars declared the war over. I was driving down the street at my mama's side... The sidewalks were lined with humans... Men... Women... Children... And many of those dogs and cats that they loved... It hit them to. It started with the pets... The humans said it was in the water but I always thought it started with the pets." Lizzie mused and shrugged a bit on her shocks.
"Every now and again someone would claim to have seen one. Usually a miner... But I remember their bodies... And I remember the graves... They would dig huge pits and throw the bodied in and cover them up again... I remember watching it with my mama. I remember my mama looked down at me and said that this was our burden... That this was our burden to bear. That we had done wrong. That cars would for all time carry the burden of the human's death on their backs like a weight. She said that what goes around comes around... I wait for it to come around." Lizzie mused softly with a nod.
The cafe was dead quiet. What Lizzie had told them rang through their minds like a fright train...
"I'm tired. And I need to rest up. That nice young man said he would take me dancing tonight!" Lizzie announced softly, gaining a slow nod from Flo. Lizzie bid everyone good night, before she turned and slowly made her way back across the street, carefully lead by Flo.
"That... Doesn't seem possible... I mean... Lizzie can't be more than a hundred or so years old. How can we lose that much history in a hundred years. If what she says is true then we don't know anything!" Sally declared.
"The government is feeding us a bunch of lies man." Fillmore insisted, and for once Sarge didn't argue.
"It happens with War... I mean we live in America. I'll bet if you take any American war and read it in the history books then go over seas to the country we fought with you wouldn't even recognize the history. He who wins the war gets to tell about it. I imagine after a while cars just didn't want to remember that." Sarge theorized, gaining a slow nod from the others.
"But it's not a government conspiracy hippy... Something like that takes a whole society."
"Sort of an all for one and one for all kinda thing..." Lightning mused.
"It's sick!" Seth blurted out suddenly. "They had just as much right to be here as we did."
"We can't change it son..." Sheriff offered gently.
Lizzie... Had given them all a lot of think about...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was well past midnight by the time Seth made his way to his post. He was in charge of watching the prisoners tonight. Already he was a bit uneasy by it... He didn't want this job... For the first time in his life he hated what he was. What his kind had done...
It was as if he had already known. As if there was this weight... This horrible feeling of dread that told him there was so much more to this life than he ever thought possible... So much more that he took for granted...
"Seth!" Seth paused in the street and smiled as he left his post for a moment to cross the street. Lizzie sat on her front porch a smile etched across her grill.
"Lizzie... I thought you had gone to bed."
"I did. I just wanted to speak with you Seth."
"Well I'm here. I'll tell ya Lizzie a little bit of sleep does wonders for you. You look great." He commented with a chuckle, looking over the old car. She looked... Alive somehow. As if all of a sudden she just had energy in her.
"I got plenty of rest. I'm going dancing!"
Seth couldnt' help but laugh. The things she came up with. "Lizzie I have to get back to my post."
"I know. I just wanted to tell you something." She explained, gaining a nod from Seth.
"What's that?"
"You're father loves you."
Seth gave a slight blink, his frame tilting a bit. "Pardon?"
"You're father. He loves you. No matter what you decide. No matter what you are. No matter who you are. He will always love you. You will always be his son. Do you understand? Always."
Seth blinked at the batty old car. She was apparently having a bad night... Probably dreaming...
"I know Lizzie. I love Dad to."
"Tell me always Seth..." Lizzie scolded, pulling a soft chuckle from Seth.
"Always Lizzie... No matter what he's my Dad."
He didn't know what about that had done it. But a bright grin crossed Lizzie's grill. "You're such a good boy Seth..." Lizzie cooed. Seth could remember as if in a haze hearing that before. A small little Mustang who had once offered to help Lizzie in the store while his father worked the roads...
"Come here Seth." Lizzie beckoned. Without protest Seth rolled forward, a tire reaching out, the two nuzzling against each other.
"I love you to Seth. We all do. Always." Lizzie promised and backed off a bit. "You do what you have to do Seth. Your father will love you. Your father will understand. You be you." Lizzie insisted, gaining a slow nod from Seth. "Now, go on back to your chores. I'm going dancing!" Lizzie giggled softly, pulling a smile from Seth.
"You do that Lizzie. You save a dance for me!" He called as he rolled of the porch.
"Oh I will Seth! I'll be waiting and you and I will dance with you one day!" She called back.
Seth chuckled softly to himself as he moved back to his post. When he looked back Lizzie had already gone back inside.
"Lizzie you're crazy as the day is long but I still love ya." Seth chuckled, his attention turning back to the impound yard.
An hour crept by... The whole time the three prisoners didn't speak a word. They remained huddled together, the dog the human and the car...
They didn't move...
For whatever reasons Lizzie's words wouldn't leave Seth's mind. Any of them... The weight... It had gotten so much heavier in the few hours... The amount of sympathy he felt for those three he couldn't even understand. It was as if he had to do something... Anything... Though a huge part of him didn't want to disappoint the Sheriff... Didn't want to disappoint his father... Any of the town...
Around two in the morning there was some movement in the impound lot. Blaire had gotten to his tires and moved to the gate, quietly looking out across the darkness...
"The human needs food doesn't she?" Seth questioned slowly.
Blaire looked up with a surprised look, a slight blink given. However after a moment he slowly nodded. Those bright eyes shimmering... Had the Mustang been crying? For his friend?
"She won't say anything... But I know she's getting weak." Blaire muttered softly.
"How much longer can she last?" Seth asked, gaining a sigh from Blaire.
"I don't know... I've never really asked..."
Seth whimpered softly and looked down the empty street towards the station. Sheriff trusted him not to screw up. Sheriff was an old car... He should be able to trust his own son enough to be able to go get the sleep he needed and deserved...
The black Mustang choked softly, surprised at the sting of hot tears against his hood. He didn't want to disappoint the Sheriff... However he couldn't stop his tires from moving forward as he rolled towards the impound lot.
Blaire pulled back wearily and in the back he could spot Joe and Ranger both stirring and sitting up.
For several long moments Blaire and Seth stared at each other. Both Mustangs... One sterling silver and one midnight black... One a much newer model... One classic design... Slowly Seth lifted a tire and hit the switch. The noise was louder than he would have liked. The gears turned as the gate slowly opened. The three occupants stared at Seth in puzzlement.
"Go... If you hurry you can make the mountains before morning..." Seth muttered softly. Blaire smiled and quickly slipped past him, a light nudge of thanks given in his wake. Joe was fast behind him leading Ranger by the makeshift leash made of her belt... He was more than a little surprised when she leaned over and pressed her mouth to his hood in a light kiss. It seemed almost affectionate as she took off after Blaire. Within' strides she had jumped up on the hood of blaire, the dog right behind her, leaving Blaire to move much faster down the darkened street.
Seth watched them go in silence. The weight had somewhat lifted. Though another one was in the pit of his fuel tank. What was he going to tell the Sheriff. He gave a slight sniff and turned around to head back towards the station. It could wait until morning... Or not...
He jumped back in surprise. He didn't know how long he had been there... But Sheriff was parked in the middle of the street quietly staring at him. The neutral look gave nothing away... He couldn't tell if he was disappointed or simply had... Expected him to mess up.
In that moment whatever pride Seth had ever felt cracked. He sank to the ground, with a shudder, tears flowing freely as he shook his grill. "Dad I'm so sorry... I couldn't let it happen I'm sorry" He repeated over and over, eyes squeezing tightly shut.
He wasn't sure how long he stayed there. In a hysterical heap on the ground in the middle of town. He supposed time had slipped by. After a while he became aware of someone beside him. Attempting to speak to him. Break through that hysteria... Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought this might have happened before. In another lifetime... Sheriff had calmed him down before... He was almost sure of it. Sheriff's voice was beginning to break through. Not really saying anything. Speaking softly as a parent would to a frightened child. A parent chasing away the nightmares...
After a while Seth simply didn't have anything left in him... No energy left to even give towards his own pain. The bit in his fuel tank had lifted... Whatever happened... Happened...
"Seth?" Sherif quietly questioned, a tire lightly bumping 'cross his side panel in an light calming gesture.
"I'm sorry..." He whispered softly in response.
To his surprise Sheriff chuckled. "You've worked yourself up to fits Seth..."
"I let the prisoners go..."
"I know. I saw it. I was here remember?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be." Sheriff muttered quietly, a sigh muttered as he lightly rest his grill against Seth's side panel, a shudder going through the older car. "I'm so proud of you..."
Seth blinked quietly. His eyes burned, and he knew he looked horrible. Pride was the last thing on his mind and he hadn't expected it from his father.
"You're... Proud?"
"You'll understand one day Seth. Ya stood up for something tonight... I'm proud of you."
Seth sighed softly in relief, Lizzie's words ringing in his mind. She had been right. No matter what...
"I love you Dad..." Seth muttered, gaining a soft chuckle from Sheriff. "I love you to son... Now go on down to the station and make yourself a hot cup of oil and go to bed. I'll be home after I run a quick patrol... We both need the sleep and I think the town can survive one night without a patrolling officer."
Seth had no argument there. He lightly nuzzled against his father and got to his tires, rolling his way down the street. After a moment he turned around and shot his father a light smile. "Thanks Dad"
Sheriff chuckled and would only raise a tire in a quick form of salute.
The older patrol car watched the street long after Seth was gone. It all seemed rather strange to him. His first reaction upon seeing Seth open the gates he was responsible for guarding had been to scold him. However in that moment of seeing such sorrow in the Mustang... All of that was gone. His son had done the right thing. His son... Again... Strange... Though he was getting use to it.
"Thank you..." He muttered softly to whoever out there might listen. It was amazing how one never realized just how empty their live was... Until there was something to fill it. Slowly he turned back around to head back down the street to the last patrol of the night... And stopped dead in his tracks.
The street was no longer empty. At the end of the street a black car sat parked. Low set to the ground it was sporty... Crimson eyes stood out against the darkness... In that moment something else of the night hit his mind.
Through his mind Lizzie's voice rang out again. "That nice man came to see me again. That nice young man is going to take me dancing tonight."
Sheriff was more than a little surprised as he felt tears touch his eyes. The car slowly backed up and without a sound of his engine rolled away in the night.
"Save a dance for me Lizzie..." Sheriff whispered softly.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
That night... Just after Flo tucked her into bed... Long before speaking to Seth. Long before the events of the night. Long before the strange dark figure...
At the age of one hundred and ten... Lizzie quietly died in her sleep. Her spirit may have left the body behind... Frail and weak as it was... But oh how she danced...
A nice young man took her dancing. In death she never felt more alive.
Rest in peace dear Lizzie...
Fin
Not really...
Anyone see where I scared myself? Shudders Creepy car...
Did anyone catch that Lizzie was already dead when she was talking to Seth?
That seems to be a common thread... If you read Death's Lessons and Life's Lessons most likely ya caught it, if not it might have gotten lost. And that's what happened there...