Chapter 3
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Sprung from cages out on highway 9
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected,and steppin' out over the line
~Bruce Springsteen, Born To Run
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The rough sensation of dirt grinding up against Lightning's tires brought back happy memories of days in Radiator Springs. He might have savoured the memory, if not for his current rather terrifying situation.
Behind him, the motorbikes were picking up speed, and worryingly, it seemed both he and Chick were slowing down.
"Man, they're fast," Chick yelled above the roar of engine.
"You're telling me," Lightning was only relieved they weren't actually slowing down, and that maybe his melodramatic thoughts of near impending doom might not just be exclusive to himself. The motorbikes were incredibly fast.
A vast plume of dirt dust gushed into Lightning's face, and he coughed and spluttered through it, to see Chick had accelerated ahead.
"Get movin', McQueen!"
Lightning struggled to navigate through the dust Chick had left behind, but spurred ahead anyway. The motorbikes sounded frighteningly close, to the point where Lightning could smell their gastric fumes.
"Wh..where are we going?" he yelled blindly. "We don't know where we're going!"
At last the dust cloud had cleared and Lightning found himself dangerously close to Chick's rear. He swerved round so that he was by the green car's side.
"Look ahead!"
Lightning followed Chick's gaze; and there, about a hundred metres or so in front, was a great, long gorge. Lightning could not help the small squeak which came from his mouth.
"We're gonna have to jump it!" Lightning found himself saying in quite a controlled voice, despite the whole coming‑to‑an‑impending‑death thing..
"Are you kiddin' me, McQueen?" Chick sounded incredulous, "No way!"
"That or get left to the bikers!"
Behind them, the bikers had picked up momentum, so much so that one of them had sided up to Lightning. He attempted to dodge away, but ended up bumping against Chick.
"Hey!" Chick growled, struggling to maintain control for a moment, before casting Lightning a quick glare. "Whatta you doin', McQueen?"
"They're right on us!"
Chick glanced over with wide eyes before gunning his accelerator once more and tearing ahead. Lightning followed suite, and he could feel a nagging ache in his engine. Even as a race car, he was testing himself now. He knew that Chick was probably feeling much the same. They wouldn't be able to keep this up for very long...
And suddenly the gorge was upon them.
Lightning couldn't remember a time he had kept up such a consistent speed; probably the Piston Cup, and beside him Chick was racing at the same manic rate. So now was as good a time as any to jump a lethal gorge, he supposed.
Through gritted teeth he yelled;
"Let's jump it!"
"Are you crazy? We turn, you idiot!"
Lightning frowned at the insult, causing him to become distracted. His engine began to lull down.
"Fine," he responded cooly, as the gorge was almost on top of them. He turned jaggedly to his right and kept driving as fast as his straining engine might allow.
He guessed, although was not overly concerned, that Chick had opted to turn left at the last minute. He also guessed, with a fair bit more concern, that the bikers had chosen to pursue Chick instead of himself, as the brutal roar of engines seemed to die away the further he drove.
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Chick's engine throbbed with an intense stinging sensation, and with it a terrible heat prickled all about his undercarriage. His tires were burning up and he knew that if he didn't slow down soon he'd face some serious mechanical bills.
Still, he could definitely hear a bike on his tail. To his mild comfort it had slowed considerably. All he could do now was hope that the bike bust his tires before he did.
With a last surge of energy, he pressed ahead. He was thankful that the land around him was so open and barren, because if the dirt had contained any sort of winding track he was quite confident he'd be loose on his wheels right now.
He swerved and turned about the ground, hoping to confuse the bike, before speeding straight on again. It seemed to do the trick, as the bike's engine seemed to fade away. But Chick wasn't going to take any chances trying to find out. He floored his accelerator once more, and kept up a speedy pace for a good while.
When he eventually slowed, it was completely, and he came to a creaking stop.
He sighed happy relief and took a moment to indulge in the simple pleasure of just not moving at all.
"Now that's what I'm talkin' about," he sighed, closing his eyes against a white hot sun which burned down on the terrain.
He vaguely thought about the Piston Cup. And how he was so hopelessly far away from it, how lost he was. How he should probably just keep moving in case those bikers decided to start moving again... And McQueen.
Where the hell had that stupid rookie got to, anyway?
Chick blinked open his eyes with reluctance, rising up slightly on his axles. They groaned an unhealthy protest.
"Oh man. This sure isn't good for the Piston Cup." he rolled forwards, cringing against the tender feel of his tires. They hadn't burned out, but they'd come pretty close to it.
Feeling sorry for himself, Chick rolled slowly about the bare terrain, hoping to spot civilisation of some sort. He was only to be disappointed. There was nothing. It was a long stretch of nothingness.
"Damn it!" he yelled; his curse echoed about, redundantly.
"What's wrong, Thunder?"
"Huh?" Chick sprung round, and was shocked to see McQueen wheeling toward him at a slow rate. The rookie wore a slight, cocky smile. One which Chick particularly disliked.
"What happened to you, McQueen?" he asked with practised indifference.
"I could ask the same," Lightning said just as cooly as he neared the other car. He winced a little; "Thought I nearly bust a tire back there, though."
"Poor you." Chick was unsympathetic. "I nearly bust all my tires, stupid hotshot."
Lightning looked doubtfully down at Chick's wheels. "They look alright to me,"
"I said nearly, didn't I?" Chick replied with exasperation. He rolled his eyes and looked away from McQueen; the insolent rookie was watching him with that unbearably smug grin.
"So where are we headed?" Lightning turned about the area with some curiosity. "Looks like we're lost out here."
"Looks that way," Chick said through gritted teeth. "You got any clever ideas, rookie?"
Lightning looked at Chick through narrowed eyes, "Not yet, and you're not helping with your attitude."
"Me? An attitude?" Chick was affronted. "Take a listen to yourself some time, rookie!"
"Don't call me rookie!" Lightning scowled. "I'm into my third season, already!"
Chick shook his head with amused cynicism. "Sure, McQueen. Sure." he rolled forwards and hummed into gear.
"Hey‑what's...what's that supposed to mean?" Lightning trailed after him.
"Nothin',"
"Where are you going?"
"Doing the only thing that makes sense? I'm gonna try and find the interstate."
"Interstate? But we don't know how far away that is. Or even if there is one round here! We don't know where we are!"
"Then I'd suggest we start lookin'," Chick almost enjoyed the state McQueen had gotten himself into. He might even have taunted him about it, if only he didn't feel exactly the same way about their dire circumstances.
McQueen was right. They had no idea where the hell they were. And who were they to be sure that there was a motorway nearby?
Chick sighed heavily, giving in to his weariness. He looked at their deserted surroundings with apprehension, and then picked up his pace. To his vague annoyance, Lightning followed and overtook him.
Chick's well used competitive streak reared up, and despite a still rather tender engine, he pushed up a gear and drew level with McQueen.
The rookie eyed him sharply and edged in front a little more. Chick followed, and soon the two were vying pettily to overtake one another.
"Not so hot on dirt, are you?" Chick jeered, bumping the other car in the wing. He sped ahead as Lightning was knocked out of the insignificant little race.
"Hey!"
Chick laughed to himself as Lightning cursed behind him, leaving thick clouds of dirt in his wake.
"You quit, McQueen?"
"No!"
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Lightning spluttered against the dust which enveloped around him, making his eyes sting. He could just make out of the sticker ridden green car making his getaway. And despite a protesting yell, Lightning knew he'd somehow lost.
"Cheat," he mumbled to himself.
He hurried to catch up to the other car, vaguely thankful that Chick had slowed, though he was chuckling and jeering as he did.
"Nice steering there, McQueen. And I thought your stint in Radiation Stinks was supposed to help you on the dirt tracks!"
"Yeah, well," Lightning coughed, angrily glaring at Chick, "Since when were you so good on dirt?"
"I've had practise," Chick said rather elusively. He hastened ahead.
But Lightning, despite himself, was intrigued. "What do you mean? Have you raced on dirt tracks before?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but yeah. Not everyone starts off on the circuit, McQueen."
"Yeah, I know," Lightning snapped, not wanting to be patronised. "But you still had to resort to cheating, didn't you?"
Chick looked at Lightning through narrowed eyes, "I don't need to cheat. It's just so much fun seeing you spin out." he said nastily.
"Oh yeah, real fun. Come on, Chick. Be honest. The only reason you do so well is cos you're a cheat. It's the only way you can win!"
"What?" Chick halted sharpy and turned to Lightning, his expression dangerous; "You don't know what you're talking about, rookie."
"I told you, I'm not a rookie anymore! Stop calling me that!"
"So stop calling me a cheat!"
"Well what else would you call it?!"
"I don't cheat!" Chick was indignant, "those other cars should just keep their distance. They're asking for trouble if they get close enough for me to bump them out!"
"Asking for trouble from you," Lighting glowered. "Just face it, Chick. Cheating is the only way you can win. No other cars play so dirty!"
Chick looked at him; "Yeah well, I'm not your other cars. Maybe some day you'll realise that and learn to stay outta my way, rookie."
Lightning watched as Chick sped ahead, silently fuming.
"Oh yeah?" he called, "Well if you hadn't crashed the King, you'd have come last! The only reason you won was cos I chose not to!"
Chick braked hard, reversing back to face Lightning.
"You little brat!" he raced forwards without warning, and Lightning cried out, barely dodging the other car's angry attack.
But Chick was quick to recover himself, and he was on the attack again. This time Lightning was a little more prepared, but was cuffed in the wing all the same as he swerved out the way.
"You jerk!" Then, incensed in his own anger, he charged back at Chick.
Chick didn't seem too intent on dodging the attack, in fact he met it with his own charge. The two collided in an angry crush of metal. Lightning winced backwards, not daring to think about the state of his paintwork.
Though he had little time to contemplate, as Chick came at him again. Lightning braced himself and raced forwards.
The two clashed once more; another unpleasant clunk of metal against metal.
"You think you're so great, McQueen!" Chick panted, as he made another turn to hit him.
Lightning swerved out of the way, but met Chick with a quaking slam in the side. He was slightly disconcerted when he felt an abnormal tinkering about his innards.
"Oh yeah, well you're nothing but a dirty, rotten cheat!" Lightning braced himself as he rammed once more against Chick.
The two crashed and collided against each until a thick plume of smoke snaked out of both their hoods, and telling shudders seemed to come from both their engines. More than anything, Lightning's anger had been exhausted, and as they both drew back, suddenly the entire ordeal was put into ridiculous perspective.
Welcomed silence hung around them for a few minutes as they timed out.
"Ow." Lightning groaned, feeling ill and tender. "I think I've broke an axle or something."
"It's not that bad," Chick said, but seemed to grimace as he reversed back a bit.
"Woah man, you guys are hardcore!"
Both Lightning and Chick blinked up to see four cars looking down at them, awed grins on their grills. They were all pretty hardy looking; their paintwork was scratched and had clearly seen better days, but their gently humming engines suggested great speeds.
Lightning was wary. "Excuse me? How long have you guys been here?"
"Long enough," the first car, an army green in colour, laughed. His comrades joined in. "You guys rock! Man, you were trashing each other real good."
"Yeah, how'd you guys fight like that?" another car asked.
Lightning was confused; "What...we..."
"‑look at this, he totally got you, man." the gang leader interrupted. He was wheeling about Chick with interest. "Man, you must be some tough car."
Lightning blinked over at Chick, and for the first time took notice of the green car's various bruisings. Chick certainly did look a sorry sight; his bumper had been unhinged, so that it dragged slightly on the ground. His windscreen was cracked a little, leaving him with a black eye of sorts, and there was a definite puncture in his front tire.
Lightning might have felt bad for him, if not for his own tenderly aching wounds. Plus the fact that Chick had started the entire stupid fight in the first place.
"He got you good, too." the gang leader was looking at Lightning now. "Right in the side, man."
Lightning turned a nervous grimace to his side, and for the first time he saw an admirable dent.
"Oh man." he groaned, before offering Chick a glare.
Chick looked nothing but irritated. "Hey, whats the deal here, boys? Do you guys know where the interstate is? I need to get fixed up before I go beat Mc‑Drama‑Queen's butt."
"You wish," Lightning rolled his eyes.
"Interstate?" the gang leader repeated, then laughed along with the others.
"What's so funny?" Chick snapped.
"Good luck with that, my man. The interstate is a looong way away."
"What?" both Lightning and Chick chorused in alarm.
"Pretty far away. I'm talkin' a few days driving straight, at least." the gang leader elaborated. "But there's a few stop offs on the way. Pretty few and far between, though. You boys'll need a stop off pretty soon, I take it?"
"That would be helpful," Lightning said, vaguely sarcastic.
"Well, there's a place not too far away. I guess you can make it there before it get's dark."
"Great," Chick said, sounding as tenderised as Lightning felt. The green car veered through the gang, a determined, agitated look on his face.
McQueen, more automatically than he might have liked, tailed after him.
"Happy drivin, hard core guys!" the gang whooped behind them.
Lightning winced as he caught up to Chick, noting the battered side of the other car; he could only wonder at the extent of his own injuries.
"My poor paintwork." he moaned, self-pity enveloping him.
"Aw, quit your whining, McQueen," Chick sounded quite furious.
"Hey, you know that I'm putting the mechanical bill on you for this, right?"
"The idea is mutual. And while I'm suing your precious Rust‑Eze pals I'll be sure tell them about your entire crazy car‑napping scheme."
Lightning's expression twisted in disbelief. "I can't believe you still think I'm behind all this! Surely the whole me‑driving‑for‑my‑life thing gave it away?"
Chick was not swayed. "You rookies are all the same. Crazy, deluded. More flash than sense..." he seemed to have a small epiphany. "Hey, I think the King was right. You really are stupid."
"Of course the King was right!" Lightning felt himself explode. "I was pretty stupid."
"Still are," Chick nodded.
"No, I'm not," Lightning said, then testily added; "well, sometimes I am. But everyone's entitled to some stupid days, right?"
At this, Chick raised a windshield at Lightning, for the first time acknowledging the other car wholly since their fight.
"Then this was perhaps your most spectacularly stupid day ever, McQueen." he stated. "I mean, what was with the whole‑oh let's jump over the gorge! thing? I mean, what was that about, McQueen? Do I really have to be the one to point out to you that cars don't actually fly?"
Lightning frowned petulantly. "I could have jumped it. I was at top speed."
"And so was I. And believe me when I say this; there's no way you could have jumped it."
"Maybe you couldn't, but I could." Lightning said with more insistence than perhaps was completely necessary.
Truth be told, he was just intent on winding Chick up. When he chanced a smug glance at the green car, to bode his reaction, he was a little disappointed to see Chick was just not biting anymore.
Huffing, and blowing out a sigh of irritation, Lightning persisted; "Hey, do you think that because we're gonna be suing each other, it won't make a difference anyway? I mean, you'll be getting compensation and so will I. Kinda funny when you think about it." actually, Lightning didn't think it was really very funny at all, but he allowed himself a small chuckle anyway.
And he was nicely rewarded with a frown from Chick.
"When I get outta here I'm seriously gonna be merciless on that track, McQueen," he said with dangerous sincerity.
"Ooh. Is that a threat?"
"Could be. Do you consider being bashed into the shape of twisted metal threatening at all?"
"Er." Lightning snorted. "Depends whose doing the bashing."
"Is that a threat?" Chick's eyes, quite oddly, were glowing with anticipation, and for a moment Lightning was amused. Chick sure was a wild card.
Bizarrely encouraged by the green car's expression, Lightning felt himself laugh shortly. "Could be a threat."
Then Chick laughed too. And it was sort of strange that they both should share in a moment of amusement, no matter how brief. And without taking into account they were both amused by the idea of the other being bashed into a piece of twisted metal, of course.
Both caught themselves before the laughter could even be considered amiable. Lightning noticed as Chick picked up a notch of speed, and so he was quick to follow, pressing ahead a little faster.
But this time Chick was not drawn into any meaningless races, and simply kept up his steady yet determined pace.
Lightning felt childish as he slowed back a bit. And then hideous regret, when a terrible stinging invaded his innards.
He groaned and slowed down against his will quite considerably.
"Oh‑ow‑ow‑ow!" he yelped, and puttered to a piteous stop. His engine croaked and strained, but would not start, and so he watched through vain eyes as the gap between he and Chick widened gradually.
"Uh...hey..." he called meekly.
Chick came to a grinding halt; reversing round to face Lightning.
"What's up, McQueen?" his expression was uncompromisingly hostile.
"I...I..." Lightning floundered in his own embarrassment for a second, before lowering his gaze sulkily to the ground. "I don't feel very well." he said in a small voice.
He dared not venture a gaze at Chick. He already felt idiotically pathetic as it was. And now he thought the ground was incredibly interesting, and much more preferable than facing a gloating Chick Hicks, at any rate.
He was surprised, not for the first time in such a short space of time, when a quietly humming engine veered to his side. Blinking up, Lightning offered Chick something in the way of a thankful smile.
"Well, what's the problem?" Chick sounded anything but happy to help. He looked agitated and quite tired, really.
"I don't know. My engine just gave out."
"Hmm." Chick didn't look very concerned.
Lightning felt impatient. "Well? Any ideas?"
"What do I look like? A Mechanic?"
Lighting fidgeted on his tires, not sure if he could trust Chick's judgement. But then again, what other choice did he have? It wasn't as if Doc was handily just over the horizon, about to drive by with a helpful diagnosis and remedy.
"I bet you could use your old pal Doc right now, huh?"
Lightning blinked at Chick, observing his amused face with a little surprise.
"He would have been useful." he admitted grudgingly.
"Well that's too bad," Chick sniped. "And to think, you thought you could handle that gorge."
"Okay, okay. No need to rub it in, Chick."
"Oh, I'll be sure too." now Chick was beaming. "When I get back to the Piston Cup, I'll be practically rubbing it everywhere!"
"What are you saying?" despite himself, Lightning was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, and the strange sort of smile preening Chick's face did little to assure his confidence. He watched, with unfolding horror, as Chick began to roll away at a steady pace. "Hey where you going, Chick?"
Chick grinned. "So long, McQueen,"
"What? No...wait!" Lighting yelled after him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like?" Chick called back, "I'm outta here! Sorry, McQueen. But you really think I'm gonna help out a fellow competitor in the final race of the cup? And you, of all cars? You got another thing coming, rookie!"
"Oh...Chick!" Lightning yelled furiously after him, "You...you jerk!" he strained to start his engine; but it barely pulled another feeble croak. Lightning was quite stuck, and with it, terribly enraged.
Not just with Chick, but with himself.
As he watched the green car close off into the distance, Lightning wondered at what point did he ever even consider Chick might have had decent gear in his body.
Whatever point it was, Lightning was now quite sure it was the point that he had temporarily lost his mind.
"Oh." he moaned, feeling hopeless and alone.
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