Worlds Collide: A Cars Fan Fiction

Gone

"...and all they ever found of him was his boot."

Everyone shivered. Zhara put down the paper Elsie had written her ghost story on, looking at her sister incredulously. Elsie beamed. She told the scariest ghost stories out of anyone in the group, and she knew it. 

"Why don't we take a break from ghost stories for awhile?" Zane asked. 

"Anyone want to play 'Truth or Dare'?" Abbey asked eagerly.

"No," Nikki shook her head, "you always win. Besides, your dad said you couldn't play that anymore after last time."

"Dang it. You jump off of one roof--"

"How's everything going?" They all looked up to see Lightning McQueen and Sally pulling up to the fire. The kids all greeted them.

"Want to join us?" Nikki asked.

The cars parked as close as they could to the fire without knocking anyone off of their crates. They both seemed a bit uneasy.

"Something wrong?" Zane asked.

"Believe it or not," Sally answered, "neither of us have been to a campfire before. What happens?"

"Nothing too difficult," Zhara answered. "We eat junk food, tell stories--"

"Funny and scary," Elsie signed.

"--and play 'Truth or Dare'!" Abbey said eagerly.

"No," Nikki said firmly, "we don't play that anymore."

"Okay," Abbey relented.

"We used to play that game," Hector explained to the cars, "but Abbey's dad won't let her anymore. He says that she gets too wild."

"Well, what does her mom say?" Sally asked. 

Everyone suddenly went dead silent. Zane put the half-empty bag of marshmallows into his backpack. Elsie stuck her nose into her book, apparently not noticing that it was upside-down. Hector suddenly became very interested in his shoe. Abbey looked around and sighed. 

"What's wrong?" McQueen asked before Sally, realizing her error, could shush him.

"It's okay," Abbey said to her friends. She turned to Sally and McQueen. "My mom and dad split up when I was five. She lives in Sicily now, with my aunt. Dad and I lived in Seoul, his hometown, for a year before we moved to where I live now. I haven't seen my mom in a long time."

It was obvious that neither of the cars knew what to say. Hector went over to Abbey, sat down, and gave her a hug. 

"I'm sorry," Sally finally said. "I didn't know." 

"It's okay." Abbey flashed a big grin that Elsie immediately knew was fake. "Let's tell some more stories. Elsie! Do you have any other scary ones?"

Elsie, knowing that Abbey needed a distraction, quickly tried to think of a good one. Her thoughts turned to what Mater had told her that morning. 

She jotted down the story (she could write very fast) and handed the page to Zhara. 

"'Who here has heard of the Ghost Light?'" Her sister read. The humans looked confused while McQueen and Sally rolled their eyes.

"You heard that from Mater, didn't you?" McQueen asked Elsie. She grinned and nodded. Good stories must be shared, she thought.

Even though the story was only scary if you were a car, and even though McQueen and Sally had heard it before, it was still solidly entertaining. Everyone was in a much better mood by the time Zhara had read the final line. 

"Good story," McQueen complimented Elsie. He then pulled back a bit, looking at the sky. "Nice night. I think I'm going for a drive. Wanna come, Sally?"

"Sorry, Stickers. I've got a long day tomorrow. I'm heading home."

"I'll go," Elsie signed. She felt like she hadn't spent much time with the race car, and that this was a good opportunity. Plus, she'd been meaning to get a good look at the stars from the desert. She shoved her books into her tote and hurried after Lightning. He seemed surprised that she had decided to come with him, but he still smiled and drove beside her as she walked. 

"I saw you reading a book on stars earlier," McQueen started. "Is it true that they all have names?"

"Most of them," she signed while nodding. They were quiet for a few more minutes.

"What do you miss the most?" He asked next. "From your home, I mean?"

She pulled out her notebook and wrote down her answer. My mom.

"What's she like?"

Kind, funny, sometimes strict. She worries about me a lot, but I guess that's just part of being a mom. She likes that I like to read so much, but it's embarrassing when she brags about it to her friends. I can't wait to see her again.

"Don't worry," McQueen said after reading what she'd written. "We'll help you get home soon."

"Thank you," she signed, smiling.

"That's far enough." They were both startled at the sound of a strange voice. They watched with shock and horror as a car with a security badge on his door pulled up from behind a bush. 

"Elsie, go!" McQueen shouted, revving his engine. He did a doughnut, sending dust into the eyes of the car in front of them. He then shot off in the opposite direction of the town. She realized that he was leading them away from her.

She hesitated, then took off back towards the town.  She hadn't gotten far before a car of a similar make and model to the last cut her off. She stopped so quickly that her tote swung forward and fell off of her arm. 

The darkness of the night combined with the sound of McQueen's engine kept the car from noticing the bag. Instead, he just sneered at her, his disgust obvious on his face.

"Come on, little human," he growled as he moved towards her. "Dr. Moteur wants to meet you."

She scowled, but she knew that she was caught. She used all of her willpower not to look at the tote. Zhara would come looking for her soon. And her sister knew that she never went anywhere without her bag.

The car snapped at her to move. Having no choice, she began walking in the direction he wanted. There were a lot of things she wanted to sign at him, most of them rude, but she kept her hands in her hoodie pockets. 

McQueen eventually joined them, being flanked on three sides by cars similar to the one escorting her. He shot her a worried glance, seemingly realizing that she'd lost her notebook. He started to say something when she put her finger over her lips. Quiet.