Chapter Seven: To Stay or Not To Stay
When Harley and Doc headed out to check on Lightning's progress, they found Mater parked at the end of the construction zone. A sheet of sleek asphalt stopped in a clean line at the "End Construction Zone" signs. Doc and Harley rolled up beside Mater.
"He's done." Mater realized. "He must've finished it while we was all sleepin'."
"Good riddance." Doc muttered, driving off. Harley stayed behind, watching as the rest of the Radiator Springs' residents came out to join them. They all stared off into the distance with sad looks, realizing what happened. Harley sighed softly, her heart heavy. Her words from yesterday echoed in her skull. Geez I can be a jerk sometimes. Her heart felt a little torn. While she grew to actually like the red stock car, he seemed to make her father rather upset. She knew if she said what she said, he would leave. She felt half of her want to call Lightning back, but the other half wanted him to stay away to make Doc happy.
Sheriff sniffled a bit. Ramone cast a sympathetic look to the police car. "Oh, dude. Are you crying?"
Sheriff blinked, his voice rough but stern. "No! I'm happy! I don't have to watch him every second of the day anymore. I'm glad he's gone!" Red instantly began blubbering, and he started sobbing as he took off.
"What's wrong with Red?"
Everyone jumped and turned to see a familiar red stock car. Most of the townsfolk smiled warmly, but Mater didn't seem exactly excited as he explained Red's sadness. "Oh, he's jus' sad 'cause you left town and when ta your big race ta win the Piston Cup that you've always dreamed about yer whole life and git that big ol' sponsor and that fancy heli-copter you was talkin' about." He stared at Lightning, the stock car smirking.
"Three, two, one." Harley counted.
At the end of her counting, Mater brightened up with a gasp. "Wait a minute!" Everyone laughed, some of them shaking their hoods. "I knowed you wouldn't leave without sayin' goodbye!" Mater nudged Lightning teasingly.
"You stuck around to say goodbye?" Harley asked, eyebrow raised.
"What's the matter, Harley? You miss me?" Lightning asked with a soft smile. Harley looked down, but smiled softly back.
"What're you doin' here, son?" Sheriff asked. "Don't worry. I'll give you a police escort, and we'll get ya to yer race as soon as possible." He clicked on his light and began driving down the road.
"Thank you, Sheriff." Lightning said, hardly moving. "But you know I can't go just yet."
Sheriff paused, turning to stare at him in surprise. "Why not?"
"I'm not sure these tires….." Lightning said, causing Luigi to gasp excitedly. "….can get me all the way to California."
"Peet stop?" Guido asked.
"Yeah, does anybody know what time Luigi's opens?" Lightning called.
Within five minutes, Lightning was in Luigi and Guido's shop while everyone else gathered outside. Harley noticed Sally coming over to investigate the commotion. "Sally! Come check this out!" The Porsche drove over, parking next to Flo and blinking in surprise at the sight of Lightning in the store. Harley heard the sound of someone else's tires on the road and turned to see Doc was rolling up. He raised himself up a bit on his axles to stare suspiciously into the shop. Harley could hear Luigi talking excitedly, something about whitewall tires, and Lightning agreeing with him. The girl looked to Doc, but blinked in surprise when she saw him glare and snarl a bit as he turned and drove off.
Uh oh. Harley thought. She snuck away from the crowd and hurriedly followed Doc back home. "Hey Doc! What's up?"
"What's up is that car's gonna kill me with his idiocy." Doc growled.
"Oh come on, he's doing something good for the town, isn't he?" Harley reasoned.
"You think any of that is sincere?" Doc scoffed.
"Well, it looks like it." Harley shrugged.
"All he's doing is testing my patience." Doc insisted stubbornly, driving into the kitchen.
Harley bit her lower lip. She never argued with Doc much; never found a reason to until now. She took a breath and rolled into the kitchen, leaning on the refrigerator door as Doc pulled out the iced tea. "Or…maybe your talk knocked more sense into him than I could with a shovel."
Doc stared at Harley for a moment before shutting the fridge door and turning to find a cup. "I don't think so, sweetheart. I know his type." He paused, staring off into space. "I should know…"
Harley looked down, but nodded. "Okay. If you say so. But I'm afraid that's not going to get him out of town sooner." She skated off, plopping down on the couch with her book. Doc left the house several minutes later, most likely to take a drive to clear his thoughts, and Harley sighed. She set her book aside and turned on the TV, scrolling through the channels with a bored look. She knew Doc was adamant about getting Lightning out of here, but he couldn't exactly force him out. His need to get to his big race used to be the main motivator, but now it seemed Lightning couldn't care less. It was quite the improvement on his character, but Harley began to wonder if it was really for the best considering his effect on Doc.
"…..search for Lightning McQueen…"
Harley jumped a bit, jolted from her thoughts, and she hurriedly flipped back a channel. A reporter was talking about McQueen, with a picture of the racecar in the corner of the screen with the word MISSING stamped across it. Harley scooted forward, eyes glued to the screen.
"With the race for the Piston Cup fast approaching, people are beginning to wonder if the rookie will have to be disqualified by default. Search efforts are getting desperate, and some are fearing foul play may have been involved in McQueen's disappearance. With no word whatsoever, it's hard to determine just what happened to the racer. News stations across the country are asking that if anyone sees Lightning McQueen to call the number on the screen."
Harley quickly grabbed a pencil and notebook on the coffee table and scribbled down the number on the screen just before the story switched over to a new story. Harley stared at the phone number, her mind racing. This is it. This is how we can get Lightning out of town. When he realizes everyone's looking for him, he'll go racing back to win that Piston Cup! Harley looked around for the phone, but suddenly paused. She stared at the number for a moment before setting the notebook on the ground. Sighing, the girl leaned back to rest her back against the couch. She stared off into space, the sound of the TV hardly heard.
She had the means. So why couldn't she bring herself to call them? This was Lightning's big race; the one thing he always dreamed about. He could leave, go to his race, and be happy. Then he'd never come back, which would make Doc happy. A win-win. Didn't Lightning want to go anyway?
Didn't he?
Harley suddenly stood and skated out the door. She almost ran into Doc on the way, skidding to a halt. "Sorry, Dad."
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Doc asked.
"Just going skating for a while." Harley shrugged. "See ya!" She gave him a quick kiss before skating off, hoping she wasn't going so fast Doc would suspect anything. She noticed Lightning going into Lizzie's shop, clearly making his way into every store still open in town. She grinned a bit, seeing that genuine smile on Lightning's face. The racecar noticed Harley and gave a small wave. Harley waved back, still smiling as she watched Lightning disappear into the shop. But her face fell as she continued down the road. The smoothness of the new road didn't excite her this time as she found her way to the remains of her house. She sat on the ground, curling into a ball and staring off into space.
Why was she so conflicted over this? Didn't she want things to go back to normal? Then again, Lightning was beginning to feel like a part of the town already. Maybe the red stock car didn't even know it yet, but he had unintentionally wormed his way into Harley's heart. Suddenly, the thought of Lightning leaving made Harley very sad. But she thought back to Lightning's race. The race for the Piston Cup. The way he described it two nights ago made it clear how passionate he felt about it. What right did Harley have to keep him from his dream? But if he willingly chose to stay, risking the fact that he could miss his race, what did that say about him? What about Doc? Harley grew to care about Lightning, but ultimately she loved Doc more. He was her father; he took her in without a second thought after the fire. Harley couldn't find a single thing wrong with her life, so she made it her job to make sure Doc was happy. Lightning being here only made him more and more upset, and Harley just couldn't have that. But what about Lightning's happiness? What about Harley's own happiness? Well, she was happy as long as her friends and family were happy. But how could she choose between helping Lightning stay and forcing him to leave for the sake of her father?
Harley sighed heavily. "Man, I'm too young to be thinking about this."
Harley ended up staying at the remains of her home for the rest of the day, not returning to town until it got significantly dark. She skated down the street, looking around before discovering most of the residents standing outside Ramone's shop.
"Hey there, Harley!" Sheriff greeted. "Where ya been?"
"Just around." Harley shrugged. I've got to ask him now. It's his decision, but he has to know he still has the option of leaving before he misses the race. "Say, where's Speed Racer? I gotta talk to him."
"Here she comes!" Mater suddenly called, alerting everyone to their positions in front of Ramone's shop. Harley heard Lightning's voice, but couldn't get a word in before Sheriff hurriedly pulled her beside him, everyone trying to act natural as Sally approached. Everyone greeted Sally warmly, but the Porsche instantly caught on.
"All right, what's goin' on?" Sally asked as she approached.
"Ladies an' gentlecars!" Mater announced. "Please welcome the new Lightning McQueen!" He and the rest of the residents moved back to allow Lightning to exit Ramone's shop, and Harley blinked in surprise to see the racecar had a new, sparkling red paintjob complete with lightning bolts on white spots and whitewall tires.
"Whoa." Harley breathed.
Lighting smirked as he approached Sally. "What do you think? Radiator Springs looks pretty good on me."
"I'll say." Sally laughed, purring a bit as Lightning circled her. "You're gonna fit right in in California. It looks like you've helped everybody in town."
"Yeah, everybody except one." Lightning noted. "Hey, is it getting dark out?"
"What?" Lizzie asked. "What did he say?"
"Let me say that again." Lightning raised his voice. "Is it getting dark out?"
"Now what was I supposed to do after that?" Lizzie asked herself, only for Red to quickly turn on her radio and kick up the volume.
As the music played from the speakers, Harley watched in amazement as neon lights flickered on across the entire town, lighting up the street perfectly as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Her jaw dropped, staring at the bright lights of the town as the residents flipped them on, one by one. She giggled at the sight of the townsfolk beginning to drive around the street, bouncing to the music as they celebrated. Harley, completely forgetting what she wanted to ask Lightning, hopped onto Red as he passed by to join in. She laughed with joy as Red bounced, the young girl hanging onto his ladder to not fall off. Her eyes sparked in the lights as the glow bounced off her glasses, illuminating the night. Even some of the parties the town threw in the past were never this lively; at least, none of the parties Harley attended. If only my parents could see me now. Harley sighed, still hanging onto Red. If only they could see the town now. I bet Stanley's real proud of us.
"Psst, Sissy!" Mater called softly. "C'mere! Come help me with somethin'!" He moved to drive behind Red, allowing Harley to jump onto his roof and listen to his plan. She giggled furiously as they drove/skated off towards where Lizzie had dragged Lightning to during their cruise. Harley skated into Lightning's line of sight, distracting him long enough for Mater to hook the stock car and begin towing him down the street with Harley circling them. She winked at the racecar as Mater dropped him off, right next to Sally.
"Thanks Mater!" Sally called.
"Good evenin' you two!" Mater said slyly as he drove off. Harley laughed, skating away to join the townsfolk once more.
Sheriff smiled warmly as Harley moved to skate beside him. "What do you think, kiddo? Look pretty nice?"
"No." Harley shrugged and shook her head. "It looks amazing." She nudged Sheriff playfully, the two of them chuckling.
"Is that what I think it is?" Flo suddenly piped up, gathering everyone's interest to the edge of town.
Everyone followed Flo's gaze to see a swarm of headlights in the near distance. "Customers?" Sally gasped.
"Customers, everybody!" Flo called. "And a lot of 'em! You know what to do. Just like we rehearsed."
"Anybody else hear somethin' weird?" Harley asked as she skated up beside Lightning.
A bright light suddenly flashed on, shining right on Lightning and Harley and making everyone jump.
"It's the Ghost Light!" Mater whimpered.
Harley squinted through the light to see a pair of helicopters in the sky, vaguely hearing one of them say "We have found McQueen!" over the sound of the rotors. In a matter of seconds, Lightning and Harley found themselves surrounded by cars, now revealed to be reporters, who started snapping pictures and asking a thousand questions at once. Sally and the residents were inadvertently pushed back as the media began to almost swarm them as well. Harley pushed herself against Lightning, her eyes beginning to sting from the camera flashes.
"Sally!" Lightning called, trying to see the Porsche amongst the dozens of reporters and cameras around him. "Sally!"
"Hey, take it easy with those things!" Harley snapped. "I'm already half-blind!" Suddenly, a car began complaining she was in the shot and shoved the girl to one side. Harley hit the asphalt hard, curling up in a ball as the cars swarmed around her.
"Hey!" Lightning revved his engine as loud as he could, forcing the reporters to back up in surprise. Lightning pushed through them to approach Harley, staring at her worriedly. "Harley! Harley, you okay?"
"I'm fine." Harley nodded, sitting up but not quite brave enough to stand yet. Suddenly, the sound of a loud truck horn rang out, and the reporters scattered as a huge, red semi-truck approached.
"You're here!" the semi called. "Thank the Manufacturer! You're alive!"
"Mack?" Lightning asked, looking surprised but nonetheless excited to see his friend. Harley finally stood and followed Lightning as Mack looped around to talk to him.
"You're here!" Mack cried happily. "You are a sight for sore headlights! I'm so sorry I lost you, boss."
Lighting still smiled, despite being a little overwhelmed by everything. "Mack, I can't believe you're here."
"And who's this little cutie?" Mack asked, looking to Harley. The 12-year-old stuck close to Lightning, a little overwhelmed and terrified at the moment and wishing Doc could be there with her. She wanted to find Sheriff or Mater, but no way was she going to fight through the sea of reporters between her and her family. So Lightning was the next best thing.
"This is Harley." Lightning introduced. "Harley, this is Mack. He's a good buddy of mine."
"Um, hi." Harley waved shyly.
"Well hello there!" Mack greeted, albeit loudly. "Aw, aren't you just the cutest thing?" Harley blushed madly, giggling a bit.
"Is that the world's fastest racing machine?"
Lighting paused. "Is that Harv?"
"Yeah. He's in the back." Mack said, unhooking from his trailer. He pushed his way between the reporters and the trailer, giving Lightning and Harley a chance of privacy. Harley still stuck close to Lightning, wondering who this Harv guy could be.
"Harv!" Lightning called excitedly as the trailer door lowered. But it was empty. "Harv?"
A square-shaped phone popped out from the wall. "Kid, I'm over here!" A voice called from the phone. Based on the name on the caller I.D., Harley could guess this was Harv.
"How you doin', buddy?" Lightning asked.
"My star client disappears off the face of the earth!" Harv shouted. "How do you think I'm doing?"
"Harv, I can explain." Lightning said.
"I'm doing great!" Harv said suddenly. "You're everywhere, baby! Radio, TV, the papers! You can't buy this kind of publicity! Where are you? I can't even find you on my GPS."
"I'm in this little town called Radiator Springs." Lightning explained, sounding excited. "You know, Route 66? It's still here!"
"Yeah, that's great, kid." Harv said, sounding bored. Harley frowned, not liking the sound of this Harv fellow. "Playtime is over, pal. While the world's been trying to find you, Dinoco has had no one to woo. Who are they gonna woo?"
"Chick." Lightning muttered bitterly.
"Bingo." Harv confirmed. "In fact, check out the plasma."
Lightning and Harley looked up to see a green racecar covered bumper to bumper in stickers, being interviewed by the press. The reporters began asking for the "thunder," which turned out to be the green racecar (Harley assumed to be Chick) flashing light off a sticker on his fender shaped like a cloud with a lightning bolt and a C. He began chanting "Ka-chicka!" quite obnoxiously.
"Hey!" Lightning whined. "That's my bit."
"You've gotta get to Cali, pronto!" Harv urged. "Just get out of Radiation Stinks now, or Dinoco is history. You hear me?"
"It's Radiator Springs, and all I hear is a jackwagon who needs a serious head gasket check." Harley snapped sassily.
"Who the heck is that?" Harv asked.
"None of your car wax, punk!" Harley growled. "Honestly, the very sound of your voice is like a knife to my brain!"
"Harley, let me handle this." Lightning requested, staring at something around the side of his trailer.
"Kid, didn't you hear me?" Harv said. "You need to be in Cali like five minutes ago."
"Just give me a second here, Harv." Lightning said, rolling around the side of his trailer and ignoring Harv's protests. Harley stared at the inside of Lightning's trailer for a moment before wheeling around to stand in front of Mack.
"Hey, big fella." Harley caught the truck's attention. "Is this legit? Has the entire world really been searching for him?"
"Of course!" Mack nodded. "The guy's a legend in the making. Why wouldn't they search for him?"
"Legend in the making?" Harley repeated.
"Well, you certainly don't get this kind of attention for being a regular racer." Mack pointed out.
"But how did you…how did all of you find him?" Harley wondered aloud. "This town is practically in the middle of nowhere. You don't find this place unless someone gives you directions."
"We did get a phone call that tipped us off." Mack said. He jumped when Harv suddenly shouted for him, and he turned his focus to the man on the phone.
Harley stared at the ground. A phone call tip? But who could've known Lightning was here and know the number to call? Unless… Harley's eyes widened. "Oh no." She turned and began skating off towards the clinic, only to skid to a halt and see Lightning being forcefully herded into his trailer. Panic seized Harley as she resumed her skating. I left the notebook with the phone number out in the open! Somebody must've seen it! Maybe one of the townsfolk saw it and accidentally gave away Lightning's location. She noticed Doc coming out of the clinic and she skidded to a halt beside him. "Doc! Doc, they're making him leave!"
"Hey." Doc and Harley turned to see an aqua-colored car approach them. "Are you Doc Hudson?"
"Yeah." Doc confirmed.
"Thanks for the call." The car said before driving off to join the reporters following Lightning's trailer.
Harley stared at Doc, mentally kicking herself for not realizing who the culprit could've been sooner. Well, I did want to call them for Doc's sake anyway.
Doc and Harley suddenly spotted someone else before them: Sally, with a look of shock on her face. "You called them?" Sally asked, focusing on Doc.
"It's best for everyone, Sally." Doc reasoned.
"Best for everyone?" Sally scoffed. "Or best for you?" She glared a little as she drove off. Doc glared a bit, but her words hit him hard as he and Harley moved out to the main road. The entire town gathered as they watched Lightning's trailer leave. Sally drove after the trailer and swarm of reporters, stopping at the Cozy Cone and watching the lights disappear into the distance. It seemed everyone except Doc and Harley were staring sadly at the departing racecar.
"I didn't git ta say goodbye to him." Mater finally said, sorrow in his voice.
Doc blinked in surprise, not expecting that reaction from Lightning leaving the town. Everyone watched Sally stare at the departing trailer for a moment before slowly making her way into the Cozy Cone, switching off the lights. Doc tried to keep his casual glare, a look he often wore, but couldn't help but stare as the residents slowly began making their way to their homes. Everyone was slumped low on their axles and wheels, staring at the ground. One by one, the neon lights of the shops began to flicker off as the residents shut off the power. Soon, the entire town went completely dark, seeming to blend into the landscape and disappear completely just as it seemed to do when the Interstate opened. Only the streetlamps provided dim lighting to show there was still a town. Doc was alone now, with only Harley by his side. The blinking yellow traffic light clicked on and off, periodically bathing the two in a golden glow. Doc stared up at the light for a moment before slumping down, regret filling him.
Harley sighed, resting a hand on Doc's side. "I'm not angry, you know. I was planning to call them anyway."
Doc didn't answer. He didn't even look at Harley.
"Just…..I gotta know something." Harley said. "I know you called them because Lightning had an effect on you. Clearly a negative one based on your reaction. I just want to know this: did he remind you of your racing past, or did he remind you of yourself?"
Now Doc looked to Harley. The two stayed locked eyes for a moment before Doc closed his eyes and sighed the heaviest sigh he ever let out. Harley sighed too, nuzzling her head against Doc's side.
Harley jerked awake the next morning to the sound of someone knocking hurriedly on her window. She groaned, irritation building. She was already in a bad enough mood considering what happened last night caused her to lose sleep. She tried pulling her pillow over her head, but the knocking continued. "Chrysler in heaven….." Harley growled, grabbing her glasses and pulling them on. She crawled across her bed and saw a tow hook outside the glass. She pushed her window open, sticking her torso out. "Mater, Ford damn you! It is too early in the morning for your tomfoolery!" Indeed it was; it was barely dawn.
"Harley, I'm goin' after him." Mater said firmly, not seeming to notice Harley's harsh language.
Harley blinked. "Speed Racer?"
"I didn't git ta say goodbye!" Mater nodded. "And I didn't want 'im ta leave! I was gunna teach him ta drive backwards!"
"So why are you telling me this?" Harley asked curiously. "Go after him."
"I want ya to come with me!" Mater insisted. "Come on! It'll be fun!"
Harley thought for a moment before nodding. "Okay. Let's go!" She hurriedly but quietly jumped out of bed and changed her clothes. She snuck out of the clinic, careful to not wake Doc, and jumped into the back of Mater's flatbed, hanging onto his tow cable as he sped off. Harley knew when Doc found out he was going to kill her, but ultimately this felt like the right decision to make. She stared back as the town got smaller and smaller before disappearing in the distance. She felt a twinge of fear, having never left Radiator Springs before, but she shook it off as Mater picked up speed. "Mater, you do know where we're goin', right?"
"Uh, yeah!" Mater said, not sounding very convincing. "Don' worry. We'll be fine!" He continued down the road not pausing for a moment. But after a few minutes, they heard police sirens behind them.
"Oh great!" Harley groaned as Mater slowed down. But they blinked in surprise to see a several familiar faces pull up. "Sheriff? Doc? What's going on?" She stared at what looked like the entire town of Radiator Springs pulling up, with the exception of Sally, Lizzie, and Red.
"Well, I'm goin' to assume you're headin' to the race." Sheriff guessed with a smirk.
"We gotta git ta McQueen!" Mater insisted. "I gotta tell 'im goodbye!"
"Mater, you're not goin' anywhere. Especially not with Harley." Doc said firmly.
"Doc—" Harley protested.
"You're not goin' anywhere….without the rest of us." Doc finished, smirking. Harley and Mater blinked in surprise, and suddenly Harley caught sight of Doc decked out in his old racing stickers. She smiled broadly and nodded. Doc matched her smile as he pulled up. "All right, let's pick up the pace!" Doc called as he and Sheriff led the way down the road. "We got a race to catch!" The group cheered as Sheriff lit up his siren to allow them to speed down the road.
We're comin', Lightning. Harley thought happily as the wind sent her short hair billowing behind her.