Everybody had noticed it. It was in the way he walked. The way he talked. His body language just screamed it. Gone was Cal Weathers, that cheerful, brash speedster, replaced by...some hollow shell. He walked aimlessly in the trailer parking lot, as weeks of grief had taken its toll upon him. All of his friends knew that something was up, but none of them knew exactly what to do.
He had pushed them away when they had tried to confront him, lashing out like a wounded animal any time they tried to console him or plead him to get help. "Too headstrong" some would say. "Too proud" others still. But none of them realized the gravity of the situation until that one, fateful day. The day that Cal Weathers finally snapped.
After the race, Lightning was helping Mack his hauler as he did, he saw Cal walking around.
He stopped as heade his way to his best friend. "Cal!" Lightning called out!
"Huh..." Cal looked over to see his friend Lightning approaching. As Cal looked at his friend, the hollow shell that he had been for the last month looked at the blue haired speedster.
"What do you want?" He said dryly, a hint of hurt and a small bit of sadness in his voice. It was so very close to his normal tone of voice. It was as if he wanted to speak with his friend, but something forced him to say those words to push Lightning away.
Lightning saw how tired Cal looked. "Woah..." He exclaimed.
Cal's hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked tired.
"Are you... Okay?" Lightning asked.
Cal's eyes widened, as he heard those three words, and that comment he lashed out at Lightning McQueen.
Cal's voice snapped as he shouted "Of course I'm not okay! Of course I'm not okay! Nothings okay! My whole world is collapsing!" Tears were welling up in Cal's eyes and he turned away from his friend. "Just let me be!" Cal barked, not wanting any help or advice, even though he knew he needed it.
Lightning was taken aback as he looked at his friend. "Dude, I was only-!" He tried to explain but his friend cut him off.
"Shut up Lightning. Just shut up!" Cal shouted, turning back to face his friend. "You don't know what I'm feeling. You can't help me." He said, trying to push his friend away.
Lightning looked shocked and hurt as Cal spoke. He just wanted to help his friend, but he couldn't seem to even communicate with him. Cal's words cut him like a knife, and he turned away.
Lightning glared at him. "Fine! Leave! It's not like I need a dumbass bubble like you anyways..." He mumbled something under his breath.
Cal stopped and turned around to face Lightning and wanted him to say that again.
"What the hell, did you just say..." Cal asked.
"I said... that you're a dumbass bubble." Lightning repeated with a roll of his eye. Cal couldn't do anything but stand there, stunned by the sudden burst of rage from his friend. The words stung and Cal felt hurt by them.
Lightning then continued "A bubble filled with nothing but idiocy." He said, his voice harsh and cold as he turned to head back to his hauler. He wasn't about to stand around and fight with Cal. He was done with being nice to him.
Lightning started walking from him as he looked annoyed, then...
Cal jumped on him-he ambushed him!
Cal threw his arms around Lightning, causing him to stumble. A look of surprise and confusion flashed across his friend's face as he tried to process what was happening.
As the two toppled to the ground, Cal found himself on top of Lightning, his full weight pressing Lightning down into the pavement. Cal's eyes were full of anger, his face contorted into a mask of rage as he stared down at the surprised Lightning.
After a moment of surprise, Lightning quickly reacted. He rolled to the side, getting up off the ground from where Cal had pinned him. As Cal was still sprawled on the ground, Lightning stood up, and kicked him on the side, knocking him down to the ground.
Cal rolled onto his stomach and then rose up to all fours, growling, baring his teeth, and slowly circling around Lightning, like a predator stalking their prey. Lightning stood his ground, not letting Cal corner him. "Cal what the hell is wrong with you?!" Lightning shouted.
Cal and Lightning fought, grappling with each other, punches and kicks flying. Lightning was faster and more agile, but he was smaller. Cal could pack a wallop, and with his muscles was able to hold down Lightning.
Lightning quickly ran out of the energy to fight such a large and strong opponent. He felt Cal's hand clamp down on his throat, cutting off his wind pipe and preventing him from breathing properly. Lightning couldn't fight back in this position, all he could do was struggle to free himself of this grip.
The blow caused Cal to loosen his grip, but he didn't let go of Lightning just yet. He grunted, but managed to hang on until he could get a better hold on Lightning.
Cal wrapped his arms around Lightning again and pulled him close, holding onto his neck tightly by the throat. This time, he didn't just clamp down on his wind pipe, he squeezed until he heard the sound of his friend choking.
Lightning strained and he threw dust in Cal's eyes. Cal blinked furiously as he tried to get the dust out of his eyes. He couldn't help but let go of Lightning's throat in order to try to rub the dust out of his eyes. He was stunned for a moment, blinking and rubbing his eyes vigorously.
Lightning could only take advantage of Cal's vulnerable position for a moment before Cal was able to see clearly again.
Cal pounced on Lightning, his full weight crashing onto his already battered friend. He used his full advantage of being bigger and stronger and grabbed the small Lightning in a headlock and pressed his knee into Lightning's back.
As Cal pressed down on Lighting, he could feel his friend struggle and try to get up. But everytime the smaller Lightning would get a small bit of traction and get back on his knees...Cal just used all his weight to press down on him again, keeping his friend on the ground.
"Say it." Cal demanded, his voice filled with anger and fury.
Lightning struggled, as he did, he headbutted Cal in the face with the back of his head.
Lightning groaned. "Make me!"
Cal looked down at Lightning and growled, his anger and grief taking over any rational thoughts he may have had. "Fine." He hissed and punched Lightning in the stomach, which he knew was weak due to the amount of racing that Lightning did.
"Say it or I'll kill you." He demanded again, squeezing his friend's throat tighter.
Lightning then used his legs as he kicked Cal in the stomach hard and painful. Cal stumbled back, pain coursing through him from the hit to his stomach. He let his grip on Lightning go loose enough for the smaller car to roll out from under him. As he did, Lightning rolled onto his back and got back to his knees, where he looked at Cal, with hate and rage in his eyes.
Lightning then lunged at Cal with all the strength he had left in him, trying to knock his opponent off their feet.
Cal then got on top of Lightning and started lifting Lightning up and down, Lightning kept hitting the ground until...
WHAMP!
Cal accidentally hit Lightning too hard. Lightning fell back against the ground, and after a moment, Cal noticed that he wasn't moving or making any sound. Suddenly, Cal's anger dissipated as he realized what he had just done. He dropped to the ground, beside Lightning in a panic.
"Lightning? Lightning wake up!" Cal shouted as he put a hand at his friend's throat to feel for a pulse.
Cal breathed a sigh of relief, but it did little to calm his racing thoughts. How had this all escalated so much? He and Lightning were fighting, but then...
He knew.
He knew the reason that everything had gotten so crazy, why Cal had snapped, why he had done this to Lightning. Cal had been grieving, but not dealing with it in any healthy way. He'd bottled up his emotions, and because of that, he'd hurt Lightning.
One of the racers came in. "Cal?! What the- What the hell happened?!"
Cal knew that he had to lie, that he found Lightning like that.
Cal scrambled to try and think of a lie, he couldn't just tell the other racer that he had attacked his best friend and possibly killed him. "I walked by and he was like this." Cal lied, trying to cover up the fact that he had done this. If he told the truth, it might ruin his reputation, and possibly even his whole life.
He wouldn't dare tell the truth, he couldn't.
Cam came into the scene, and picked up Lightning. "He's still breathing! But we gotta take him to the hospital!"
Cal couldn't go with them, he ran away to a secluded area of the parking lot.
Cal curled up in the empty, dark parking lot. His emotions were all out of sorts, he didn't know how to handle his grief and it had finally caught up to him. He felt like his whole world was falling apart now, and it was all his fault.
He didn't know what to do at this moment, and as the night closed in, he was alone in the darkness with the demons in his mind.
Cal closed his eyes, trying to shut out the world, trying to block out the painful memories that were flooding through his head. He squeezed his eyes so hard it felt like they would burst, while he rocked back and forth, as though that would somehow erase everything that had happened. But he knew nothing could change it. The damage was done.
Suddenly, a noise behind him made Cal open his eyes again. He turned around slowly, his heart pounding in his chest, filled with dread. This was it. The moment all his fears would come true.
Cam Spinner was still mourning the loss of his friend Lightning, but Danny Swervez was doing his best to comfort him. They were sitting in the hospital room waiting to visit Lightning, and Cam Spinner was holding a flower for him. Jackson was waiting patiently while reading a book, and Goldie was reading a chapter book to pass the time. Everyone was trying to stay strong in this difficult moment, and hoping for the best outcome for Lightning.
The Nurse came in as she smiled. "The good news is, That Lightning McQueen is going to be okay, and we managed to replace the blood he almost lost!"
She said. "The bad news is, that hid arm is broken."
Danny then spoke out. "Uh, Doctor, do you know who could've done this?" He asked, politely.
The Nurse took a second to think. "Yes, I think, I do believe, Lightning said something under his breath, It started with a "C" was it... "Cal?"
Danny asked the doctor if he knew who had injured Lightning, and the nurse took a moment to consider her answer. She eventually said that Lightning had mentioned the name "Cal" as the person who hurt him. This surprised Danny, and he wondered what Cal could have done to hurt Lightning so badly. He also wondered why he hadn't told anyone about this until now.
To be continued...