Worlds Collide: A Cars Fan Fiction

First Impressions

Mater's voice was getting a little hoarse from yelling. As much as it saddened him, he was starting to realize that no one was going to hear him. He was wondering what to do next when he heard a stick break. 

He straightened up, and looked around, using his eyes and his rear view mirrors. He couldn't see anything but rocks, tumbleweeds, and a few weird-looking cacti. He started to shake a little.

"Hello?" Mater called, trying to sound less scared than he clearly was. "Who's there?"

No answer came, but now the tow truck was certain that he could hear whispering...

---

After leaving the rock ledge, Nikki had led her friends through the desert, following the sound of the music. The rain stopping, as well as the temperature going up a few degrees, put everyone in a better mood. To pass the time, Zhara and Zane had even gotten into a joke-telling contest (although they were equally bad at telling them).

For a moment, Nikki had even forgotten about the events of the past few hours. That moment ended, however, when someone screamed.

Everyone froze. Elsie reached into her bag, a black tote with purple stars, and pulled out her flashlight. Nikki shook her head "no", and signaled for them all to be quiet.

"Help!" The scream came again. Zane took a step towards the sound of the screamer, and looked at Nikki with pleading eyes. Nikki felt her heart melt. Zane had never been able to sit still when someone needed help.

"Okay," she said quietly, "we'll go in for a closer look. But be very quiet."

Everyone nodded. They followed the sound of the screaming, hiding among the rocks and foliage as best as they could. Eventually, they came across the screamer.

It was a tow truck. A really old, really rusty tow truck. Like the other cars and vehicles they'd seen that day, he had two eyes and a mouth (as well as noticeably large buck teeth). 

Zane, while trying to get a better look, accidentally stepped on a twig. The truck jerked a bit, as if startled. Nikki gestured for everyone to get down and ducked behind a cluster of rocks. 

"Hello?" The truck called. He had a thick Southern accent, and sounded very nervous. "Who's there?"

"What do we do now?" Hector whispered to Nikki. 

"We have to help it." Zane said. He already had his first aid kit out. Still, before he got up, he looked at Nikki. 

She really didn't want him to go. Abbey was still in danger, and there were probably cars, trucks and other vehicles out looking for them. She told herself that there was no logical reason for them to make themselves known. 

But then she looked at Zane. They'd been best friends for most of their childhood. And she knew that he'd never risk himself or his friends unless he truly felt that it was worth it. 

She took a deep breath, and looked Zane in the eye. She nodded. He turned to the tow truck, hugged his first aid kit to his chest, and stepped out from behind the rocks. 

"Good evening," he said, clearly trying to sound casual. 

The tow truck turned, as best as it could, to look at him. It only had one working headlight, but it shone directly at Zane. He shielded his eyes, but smiled all the same. 

"What are you?" The truck's eyes were wide, and he sounded scared, confused, even a little curious. 

"I'm a human. My name is Zane Shing. It...it looks like you could use a little help."

"You're not....a monster or anything, are you?" Now he sounded very curious.

"I promise you, I am not a monster. What's your name?"

"My name's Tow Mater. And, if you do want to help..." He tried to drive forward, but couldn't. Zane went over to his back left wheel, which Nikki could now see was stuck in some type of trap. It reminded her of a bear trap, but for a car. 

She looked at her friend's expression. He didn't look worried anymore. His brow was furrowed, and she realized that he couldn't actually see the trap; it was too dark. 

Nikki remembered Elsie's flashlight. She turned to ask for it, only to see Elsie holding it up. The thirteen-year-old pointed to herself, then the flashlight, then back at Zane. Nikki thought she understood, and nodded. Elsie got up, and walked slowly towards the tow truck. Zhara made as though to follow her, but Nikki grabbed her arm. 

"Not yet," she mouthed. Zhara looked very uncomfortable, but nodded. 

Mater noticed Elsie approaching, and pointed his headlight at her. He looked a bit surprised, but he wasn't scared this time. 

"Are you a human, too?" he asked. Elsie nodded, and gave a small wave. Zane, hearing the truck speak, turned to see Elsie. She turned on her flashlight and held it out to him.

"Thank you," he said. "Mater, this is my friend, Elsie Anthony. Elsie, this is Mater."

Elsie pulled her purple glitter pen and notebook from her bag, wrote a quick note, and held it up so Mater could see.

"'It's nice to meet you.'" Mater read aloud. "Nice to meet you, too!"

Elsie beamed, then went to hold the flashlight for Zane. Now that he could see it better, he tried to get it off. Mater kept talking to Elsie. 

"Thank y'all for helpin' me! I like your bag! Is your favorite color purple?" Elsie nodded, grinning. Nikki felt herself calming down. This was going well. She realized that she'd lost feeling in her fingers, and looked to see that Zhara was crushing her hand. Nikki felt bad, remembering how protective she was of her sister. She tapped her friend on the shoulder. Zhara turned, startled. 

"Go ahead," Nikki mouthed. Zhara got up so fast that she almost fell down, and nearly scampered up the hill. Hector followed her, having become impatient.

"Hi! My name is Hector Vasquez!" Mater, Zane, and Elsie were all startled as Hector leapt forward. But Mater recovered quickly. Elsie smiled, went over to Zhara, and began signing, with Zhara translating. 

Hector went to help Zane with the trap, but it was clear that neither of them knew what they were doing. Nikki realized that she was the only one who could possibly dismantle the trap; she alone had taken tech classes in school. She'd have to reveal herself. She took a breath, and walked away from the rocks. Mater saw her, and smiled. 

"There anymore humans I need to meet?" 

"No, no one else is behind the rocks. My name's Monique Washington. Call me Nikki." She made her way over to the trap. "Now let's see if we can get this off of you."

"I opened the access panel on the trappy-thing," Hector said, sounding proud of himself.

"Unfortunately, that's all we managed to do," Zane admitted, looking sheepish. "It's really complicated."

Nikki gazed at the circuits and wires within the trap. They were intricately woven within, and made up a complex web of circuitry. She knew what every piece was and what it did. She grinned.

"Give me twenty seconds."