Ride

Chapter 26- A Night In the Caverns

"We've already told you, son!" Sheriff pointed out. "There's nothin' we can really do till first light! We can't hold a proper search in this weather! I'll call in helicopters in the mornin' if I have to, but if I tried tonight, they'll tell you the same thing."

"Well, what are we supposed to do between now and then?" Lightning demanded.

"Fudge needs her medication!" Luigi cried hysterically. "What are we going to do?!"

Sheriff looked at Lightning. "Like I said, I'll call in extra help to find Fudge in the mornin' and you can get some rest." He looked at Luigi. "There's nothin' we can do about that either. All we really can do is find Fudge as soon as possible and give her her medication once we do."

"You want to find Fudge as soon as possible, but you want it to wait until tomorrow", Luigi muttered.

Sheriff sighed, trying not to get too exasperated. "Look, I ain't happy about this either, but I don't know how many times I gotta tell ya. There's nothin' we can do!" He took another look at the crowd around him and added, "Now, you should all go home and get some rest."

Okay. Even though she couldn't really be sure of how much time had passed since she first got stuck in the caverns and now, Fudge was still certain that someone should've found her by now! Where were they?! It was really dark and scary in there. Not to mention cold. Plus, there were lots of weird noises.

"Ah!" she cried as she heard what sounded like a loud whistling noise. "It's probably just the wind", Fudge whispered to herself, thinking that maybe speaking out loud would convince her more. "It's just the wind. The weather's really bad and wind kind of whistles sometimes."

The next noise to freak her out sounded like someone coughing.

"Hello?!" she called out fearfully. "Is someone there?! Hello?!"

Once again, her only response was echoes.

Well, not exactly.

"Fudge!" a familiar, gravelly voice called from the darkness.

A smile spread across the human girl's face as she recognised that voice. "Doc!"

The cobalt blue Hudson Hornet gave her a warm smile. "Good to see you, Fudge-O!"

She returned his smile. "Yeah. You too."

"I just have one question for you", Doc announced seriously.

Fudge grew nervous. "Yeah?"

Doc broke out into a huge grin. "What have you done, kiddo?"

The two of them burst out laughing.

"I'm glad you're here", Fudge proclaimed.

"So am I. I'm here to help you now."'

"How?" she wondered.

"Don't lose hope, Fudge", Doc instructed her. "Those cars back home are your family. And you never give up on family. They'll find you."

"I won't", the thirteen-year-old promised.

Doc stayed by Fudge's side for a very long time. He protected her like a guardian angel. Even so, all too soon, Doc announced seriously, "I should go."

"You're leaving?" Fudge asked.

"Fudge", Doc took her hand, "you know I'll never really leave you. It's just that this storm's getting worse. So, it's only a matter of time before you-"

KA-BOOM!

Fudge awoke with a jolt at the sound of thunder. She was still in the caverns and Doc was nowhere to be seen.

"A dream", Fudge murmured to herself softly. "It was a dream." Then she stopped and smiled as she felt something. "But Uncle Doc is here."

Feeling the presence of her grandfather figure filled Fudge with hope. She was cold and she was scared, but she knew that she most definitely wasn't alone. So, after a quick drink of the rainwater, she was back to sleep.

Meanwhile, over at the Cozy Cone, Lightning McQueen watched the rain pour and the storm rage on from out the window. Sally had made him a cup of tea. It wasn't something that he drank often, but it was just what he needed then. He stared out the window silently, occasionally sipping the tea. After a while, Sally joined him. He was still quiet for a moment when she did, but then he started to talk.

"I hate this weather", he informed his girlfriend quietly without looking at her. "This was just what it was like on the night of... you know..." He didn't want to use the words the night of the accident, but that was what he meant and Sally knew it.

"I know", she whispered comfortingly. "I know it's hard on you."

Lightning sighed heavily, still not looking at Sally. "No one else was there that night. No one will ever really know what it was like for me."

Although he was glad that Sally hadn't seen the things he had, as soon as those words left his mouth, Lightning wished that the Porsche had been there that night. She, like Sarge and Sheriff, was calm in any emergency. Not only would she have been able to help Fudge a lot better than he had, but she could've given him the moral support he had desperately needed then.

In fact, now that he thought about it, it occurred to Lightning that had Sally- or Sarge or Sheriff- been there, Fudge's accident could've been avoided altogether. When Fudge had insisted on going for those last few laps, it was quite likely that one of those three would've been the voice of reason if they were there. They would've told her no, that they were going home; just like he should've done.

"Stickers?"

The stock car was brought back to Earth by the sound of his girlfriend's voice and looked at her for the first time. "Yeah?"

"I said, 'Are you okay?'"

He sighed. "I don't know, Sally."

"I know you're worried about Fudge", she sympathised gently. "I am too."

"She shouldn't be out there", Lightning murmured softly. "She can't walk, she must be cold and scared and in pain..." He trailed off. "Wherever she is, I just hope she's okay."

"I know", Sally repeated gently. "So do I. I'm sure everyone else wishes they could do more too." It was her turn to sigh. "We'll wake up first thing in the morning and keep looking."

McQueen nodded. Then he gave her a soft smile. "Yeah... I love you, Sally."

She returned the smile. "I love you too, Stickers."

On the other side of town, Luigi and Guido were also staring out the window at the wild weather.

"Oh, Guido!" Luigi exclaimed. "Where do you think she could be?"

"(I don't know)", he replied sadly. "(If I knew, she would be here tonight instead of... wherever she is.)"

Luigi's eyes filled with tears at Guido's choice of words. "Do you think she is out in this weather? Or do you think she has found shelter?"

"(I don't know)", Guido repeated. "(I hope so. I hope she will be home soon.)"

"Me too", Luigi agreed. He gave another sigh. "This is all McQueen's fault! None of this would have happened if he had never told me to let her go."

Guido rolled his eyes. He was long used to Luigi's rants, blaming Lightning for their problems. He had mastered the art of tuning out ages ago.

It's supposed to be open for interpretation whether Doc is really there or if Fudge is just imagining it, so feel free to decide for yourself.