Well, I once again spoiled what happens in this chapter, didn't I? I need to stop doing that! XD Either way, I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 28- Finding Fudge
That night, it rained. It was really late. The entire town of Radiator Springs, the spies and the search crews were all gathered at Flo's. All of them had drinks in front of them, but very few were actually drinking them. They were all losing hope.
"So, what are we gonna do now if she has been kidnapped?" Lightning wondered.
"We'll probably have to get her photo on TV and see if anyone has any information on her whereabouts", Sheriff replied.
Everyone nodded silently.
"That reminds me", Sarge piped up. He glanced at the spies. "How did you know Fudge was missing?"
"It was on the news in the States", Finn explained. "We had a mission in New Mexico. Well, it didn't actually mention her name. It just said something about a missing thirteen-year-old girl in Radiator Springs, Arizona. We just assumed..."
Again, they all nodded quietly.
Luigi glared at Lightning again. "What are you going to do if Fudge has been kidnapped?!" he demanded angrily.
The stock car was taken aback. "What... What do you mean?!"
The Fiat's voice rose. "First, you almost kill my daughter! But then, that is not enough for you! She gets lost and unable to get home because she cannot walk and now she is missing!"
"You can't blame me for Fudge going missing!" Lightning cried defensively. "She got upset because we were all fighting!"
"Yes, but wherever she is, if she has gotten stuck somewhere, then maybe she would have been able to get out if she was not in that wheelchair!" Luigi repeated angrily. "Because of you!"
All of them had seen Luigi seethe with rage every time he saw Lightning, but still, nobody was prepared for what happened next. Luigi lunged forward at Lightning like he did on the night of Fudge's accident. Only this time, nobody had time to stop him. He rammed into Lightning as hard as he could.
"Luigi!" just about everyone cried at once.
He ignored them all and rammed into him again! Lightning winced and cried out in pain. Luigi was about to ram into him a third time when Sarge, Sheriff and Guido lunged for him and grabbed him.
"If you do that one more time, I will put you in the impound!" Sheriff informed him and it wasn't a threat; it was a promise. "This has gotta stop, Luigi!"
"We know this has been hard on you", Sarge added, "but you can't keep blaming McQueen for all this. Maybe Fudge's accident was avoidable, but this was no one's fault!
"Or, if anythin', it was everyone's fault", Flo voiced her opinion.
Luigi just grunted in disgust and stormed off.
"You all right, McQueen?" Sheriff wanted to know.
"I'll be fine!" he assured the squad car.
Ramone studied the race car's sides. "You got a lotta nasty dents there, man", he observed. "You should probably get those fixed up. I can do it right now if you want."
Lightning nodded. "Yeah. I probably should." Even though it was late, it wasn't like he was going to be able to sleep with everything that was going on. "Thanks, Ramone."
It was nearly one o'clock in the morning by the time McQueen returned to the Cozy Cone Motel. Even with all of his dents and scratches taken care of, he was still feeling pretty sore. So, he was grateful when Sally provided him with some painkillers when she returned from showing Finn, Holley and Sammy to their respective cones for the evening.
"They're the drowsy ones", she informed him. "I thought you might need something to help you sleep."
He gave her a smile. "Thanks, Sally."
Luckily, the painkillers worked like magic. It wasn't long before Lightning was fast asleep.
It was just like old times. Lightning found himself dreaming that he was racing by Willy's Butte with Doc. Lap after lap, their speed increased, they turned right to go left, they overtook each other. After what felt like a long time, the two of them came to a stop.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again", Doc declared, sounding out of breath. "You got a lot of stuff, kid."
"Thanks, Doc. And you didn't do too bad either. You know, for an old-timer."
Doc just laughed.
"So, are we gonna head back to town?"
"Not just yet", Doc replied. "There's somewhere else I wanna go first."
"Really? Where?" Lightning wanted to know.
Without a word, Doc started down the dirt track and gestured for Lightning to follow.
"Doc!" Lightning called, trying to keep up with the older car. "Where are we going?!"
Doc didn't answer. He didn't even look back.
"Doc!" Lightning chased him. "Doc!"
Since when did Lightning struggle to keep up with Doc? That had never happened before. Oh, well. Doc knew where he was going. Lightning didn't.
"Hey, Doc! Where are we going?!" Lightning tried again as they drove over the Rolling Hills.
Doc still didn't answer.
"Doc!" the race car shouted for the third time as he saw the Hudson Hornet was about to enter Tail Light Caverns. "Will you please just tell me where we're going?!"
It was as if the older race car couldn't hear the younger. He just disappeared into the caverns. Lightning followed him.
As soon as he entered, he was unable to see Doc.
"Wow..." he murmured softly at the sight of the glowing caverns, even though he'd seen them before. "This place is beautiful! Hey, Doc! Where are you?"
The only response he got was his echoes. Where did Doc go? He seemed to have vanished.
However, after what felt like a long time, he heard Doc's voice. "Look to your right!"
"What?" Lightning did as he was told and he saw something: a wheelchair. He made a beeline towards it.
"Lightning!" a voice cried out. "Help me!"
McQueen knew exactly who that was and rushed over to help her.
"Fudge!" he sighed with relief.
Lightning awoke with a jolt at the sound of thunder. A dream. It was just a dream. But what if it was trying to tell him something? What if Doc was trying to tell him something? He was going back to Tail Light Caverns! He would've gone right then if it hadn't been for the drowsy effects of the painkillers overtaking him once again.
In the morning, everyone, except Lightning, who was still asleep, gathered at Flo's. Nobody mentioned Luigi's behaviour the night before. There didn't seem to be any need to. They just parked there in silence for a long time before Sheriff spoke.
"It's been nearly two hours now. We're gonna have to really expand our search area. If she still ain't found today, it may be time to start searchin' more of Arizona and into New Mexico and California. Maybe even Utah and Nevada if she still ain't found after that."
"Right..." several of the others murmured quietly.
"We'll find her", Sheriff assured them all.
Nobody looked convinced.
Hours later, Lightning groaned. He hadn't felt this physically unwell since Fudge was still in her coma and he was so depressed that he got drunk. His eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. Finally, he opened his eyes and peered at the clock. It was 10:08!
"S**t!" he groaned.
He grabbed his radio off the desk and raced out of the Cozy Cone into the pouring rain as fast as he could and found a quiet and empty town (at least that meant Sheriff couldn't give him a hard time about speeding!), which wasn't surprising. Everyone else must have already started searching for the day. He had to get going! He had to search Tail Light Caverns as fast as possible! He had to find Fudge!
As Lightning made his way towards Tail Light Caverns, full of determination, he couldn't help but worry. What if he was wrong? He might've just had a dream about finding Fudge there because that was where he'd searched the day before and he was hoping to find her. Then again, Doc had visited him in his dream. Fudge had always said that she had dreams about Doc whenever she got sick or hurt. Everyone had pointed out to her that this was Doc watching over her to make sure she was okay. Maybe this was Doc's way of helping him help Fudge. Anyway, even if he turned out to be wrong, it didn't change anything. They'd be no worse off than they already were. He had to try!
This is it! he told himself once he arrived at his destination. This was the moment of truth. Taking a few deep breaths, he ventured into the caverns once again.
"Fudge!" he hollered as loud as he could every few seconds. "Fudge!"
Close by, Fudge lay in her little ditch, hoping that help wouldn't be too far away.
That was when she heard it. The sound of an engine was getting closer, not fading away. Not only that, a familiar voice made her heart leap.
"Fudge! Fudge!"
"Lightning?!" the thirteen-year-old responded. "Is that you?"
When Lightning first heard it, he was sure he imagined it, but it was real, all right.
"Fudge!" he cried with relief. "Oh, thank Chrysler! Yeah, it's me! Listen, sweetie, I can't see you. Just keep talking to me till I find you, all right? I'm gonna try and follow your voice."
"What do you want me to talk about?" Fudge wanted to know.
"Well, for starters, why don't you tell me what happened?" he suggested. "How'd you get stuck here?"
Fudge recounted the whole story of wanting to clear her head and how she fell out of her wheelchair and down the ditch.
By the end of her story, Lightning had figured out where her voice was coming from. When he finally peered over the ditch to see her, both of them started crying.
"Fudge!" he exclaimed. "Oh, I am so glad to see you!"
"I'm so glad to see you!" she wept. "I heard you yesterday, but then you left! I didn't think you would come back!"
"You knew I was here yesterday?" the race car asked incredulously through his tears. "Why didn't you call out to me?"
"I tried! I was asleep, but then I heard you leaving and I called you, but I guess you didn't hear me! I thought I'd never get found! You didn't think I was here!" She cried harder.
"Ssh, ssh, ssh!" Lightning whispered in his most soothing voice (which was very soothing!). "It's all right, Fudge-O! I'm here now! I'm gonna get help." He frowned at his radio. "I guess this won't really work in here. Fudge, I'm really sorry, but I'm gonna have to leave you for just a sec. I promise I'll come right back."
"All right", she murmured softly. Of course, she believed him.
A matter of minutes later, the rest of the RS gang- except for Sheriff- gathered at Flo's, out of the rain, to check in with each other. They were all pretty sure everyone would have the same answer.
"Haven't seen her", everyone reported one by one.
"Where could she be?" Luigi wondered, shaking his hood.
"I don't know, honey." Flo came forward and gave him a hug.
"Where's Sheriff, man?" Ramone wondered, looking around to find an absence of the squad car.
"I don't know", Fillmore replied. "Guess he's still searchin', man."
"He'll be here soon", Sarge added, although he had no idea.
As if on cue, Sheriff came into view. Only, he didn't stop at Flo's. He just raced past. He seemed to be in a hurry.
"Sheriff!" Mater called. "What's goin' on?!"
The police car didn't answer. He just kept going. He was followed by several members of the search crew.
"What's goin' on?!" Mater repeated to them.
Only one of the forklifts stopped. It was Brian, the head of the search crew. "Mr. McQueen's just radioed!" he reported breathlessly. "He's found her! She's alive! She's going to be fine!"
Immediately, the entire town gasped.
"Really?!"
"Are you serious?!"
None of them seemed quite ready to believe it. Even so, both Guido and Luigi started crying with relief.
"We're on our way to go and get her now", Brian went on. "She's going to have to go to hospital in the helicopter."
"Let us come with you!" Luigi pleaded.
Brian agreed to let the two Italians come. The others offered to stay behind. They didn't want Fudge to be overwhelmed. Besides, they could see Fudge later. Right now, knowing that she'd been found alive was enough.
It felt to Fudge like Lightning was gone for a long time. When he returned, he announced, "It's gonna be all right, Fudge. I just spoke to Sheriff and the search team. They're on their way!"
"Okay."
Lightning sighed. "All right. Well, it's kinda cold in here. What do you say we get out of here? We'll wait for Sheriff outside."
"How am I gonna get out of here?" Fudge wondered.
"I'm gonna pick you up", her brother answered as if it was obvious.
I'll spare you all the details. Just know that it took quite a long time, but after what felt like an eternity, Lightning was in the ditch with her and had pulled her up onto his hood. Then it seemed to take even longer for him to get out with her.
"All right. Come on." Lightning grabbed her wheelchair and carried her out the way he came. He was a little nervous. He hadn't carried her on his hood or roof since the day of the accident, but it really was the best way to get her out. He just had to be super careful.
"Are Papà and Babbo mad at me?" Fudge wanted to know. She was still crying.
"No. Of course not. Why would they be mad at you?"
"Because I ran away and I got stuck here and also because I... because I... I broke my glasses!"
"It's all right", McQueen assured her. "Luigi and Guido don't blame you for going missing" (he didn't mention that Luigi blamed him instead) "and they're gonna be so happy to see you, I guarantee the broken glasses will be the last thing on their mind."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Even so, she was a little nervous when she exited the caverns and found Sheriff, a bunch of forklifts she didn't recognise and Luigi and Guido. Although, her fear melted away as soon as both her fathers rushed forward in tears and began kissing her.
"Fudgie!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Are you okay?!" Luigi demanded.
"I'm okay", Fudge assured them. "I mean, I'm cold and hungry and kind of thirsty. I'm kind of sore... but I'm okay. Really!" she insisted.
"You're a little scraped up", Brian noted, checking her over. "Luckily, there doesn't seem to be much else wrong with you. You don't even seem dehydrated."
"Well, I did drink the rainwater that was close by", Fudge explained.
Everyone listening seemed impressed by that. Still, Guido and Luigi continued to fire question after question at their daughter, wanting to know how she'd gotten stuck and how Lightning had been unable to find her there the day before.
"Guys, I think Fudge is a little overwhelmed right now", Lightning came to her rescue. "She's already answered these questions for me and I promise I'll explain later."
As he'd done a million times before, Luigi glowered at him, but said nothing.
"Can I go home now?" Fudge demanded.
"Sorry, kiddo", Sheriff replied. "The only place you're goin' is the hospital."
"The hospital?!" she whined. "No! Why?!"
"We just want to have you checked over", Brian explained. "You've had a rough couple of days and we want to make sure you're okay."
Fudge pouted, but didn't say anything.
"Hey, Fudge-O!" Lightning cried abruptly. "You're gonna take a ride in a helicopter! Doesn't that sound fun?! Remember when I got you a ride in the Dinoco helicopter?"
The human girl smiled. This was something Lightning had often done ever since she met him. Whenever she didn't want to do anything, he would come up with some way to make it sound like a lot more fun than it really was. That was one of a million reasons why he was the best, nicest, coolest brother in the whole wide world.
Brian took Fudge from Lightning and carried her all the way to John the rescue helicopter, who was waiting just outside of the caverns. He lay her down on a stretcher inside the helicopter.
"I'll take her wheelchair back to town", Lightning offered. "And I'll let them know Fudge is going to the hospital."
Sheriff nodded. "Thanks, son."
The race car sped off.
Fudge was the only one who went in the helicopter with the search crew. She wished that Lightning, Luigi, Guido and Sheriff could've gone with her. However, in the end, it didn't really matter. Not even five minutes into the helicopter flight, she was fast asleep.
Fudge felt a lot better when she awoke. She felt warmer, she felt cleaner, she felt extremely refreshed. Best of all, though, the entire RS gang, Sammy, Finn and Holley were crowded around her bed.
"Hey, Fudge!" nearly everyone greeted her in unison softly.
A slow smile spread across her face. "Hi, guys..."
"How you feeling?" Sally questioned.
"I'm okay", the thirteen-year-old assured them. Obviously, she was still feeling a little hungry, thirsty and tired, but even so, she felt great! She was so glad to be out of the caverns and to see her family. She braced herself for all the questions about where she'd been. Yet nobody said anything. Lightning must've filled everyone in like he said he would. "I'm sorry I ran away."
"It's okay, honey", Flo assured her gently. "We're sorry we were fighting."
"Yeah, sorry, Fudge", everyone else murmured sincerely.
"That's okay", Fudge insisted.
"But we certainly don't want you to run away again", Sarge informed her with a smile.
Sally sighed. "I guess it's true. A family crisis does bring out the best and the worst of every member of that family."
"Yeah..." the entire group murmured in agreement.
"But we're not going to fight anymore, are we, guys?" Sally continued.
"No way! Of course not!" was the general response.
"I can't promise anything ", Luigi muttered, prompting everyone to roll their eyes.
"When do you think I'll be able to come home?" Fudge wanted to know. She was sick of hospitals.
"The doctor wants to come and see you first", Luigi explained, coming over and taking her hand, "but it may be as soon as tonight."
"Really?"
"Maybe not, though", Luigi pointed out. "Don't get your hopes up. Wait until the doctor comes in to see you, okay?"
"Okay..."
Luckily, the doctor did say Fudge could go home later that night. Fudge got driven home in Mater's truck bed. The girl slept most of the way there, but woke up upon their return to town, feeling a lot better. She stayed awake just long enough to eat some soup that Flo had heated up for her. Then she slept all through the night.
"Hey, Fudge!" Flo called out, entering the girl's room the next morning. "Are you hungry?"
"Starved... Why?" Fudge questioned, even though she knew why. The former show car had her breakfast.
"Do you feel up to eating some pancakes?"
The human girl grinned. Those weren't just any pancakes! They were the delicious, awesome chocolate chip pancakes with ice cream and strawberries! Flo only ever made it for her on special occasions. Although being in the hospital would've been a special occasion, most of the time, Fudge was too sick to eat them.
"Thanks, Flo!"
"No problem, honey! Now, eat up!"
Fudge thought it would be a little harder to eat without her glasses. She couldn't see properly where the food was. Luckily, Flo touched it up against her lips every time. Just as Fudge was finishing up her breakfast, Guido and Luigi came in.
"Buon giorno, Fudgie!" they greeted her warmly in unison.
"Buon giorno!" she returned the greeting.
"We have something for you", Luigi informed her.
"You do?"
"Yes." Luigi pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on her head. "Is this better?"
She nodded, blinking as she adjusted to the clarity of her surroundings. "Much better. Thanks."
Luigi smiled and gave her a kiss.
Lightning came by later and things started to seem a little more normal, to how they'd been all year, anyway; not normal to the rest of her life. She lay in bed in her pyjamas as she and Lightning watched their final disc of Friends. Later on, they talked about their experiences while she was missing.
"Doc came to me in a dream when I was in the caverns", Fudge recalled. "They were there a lot."
"Doc was there with me too", Lightning informed her. "He was the one who told me to go back to Tail Light Caverns to find you."
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
"I was worried nobody would find me and he said he'd take care of it."
Lightning gave her a small smile. "He always did."
The others came by to visit her and talk to her too. Even though Fudge still wished things could go entirely back to normal, she knew that this was a baby step and was grateful for it nonetheless.
Luigi finally lost it at Lightning! Will they ever get their friendship back on track? I guess you're just gonna have to wait and see!
By the way, Brian the search forklift and John the search helicopter are named after John Lasseter and Brian Fee, the directors of the Cars movies!