I do not own Cars, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. I do, however, own all the Original Characters.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Like a loving caress, the touch of a mother, gentle waves of warmth steadily coaxed him awake. He felt the heat long before he opened his eyes, and when Brian finally came to, he was met with the vision of flames weaving through a stack of chopped silver birch. Rendered weak by his deep haze he cared very little to question his surroundings, swiftly becoming entranced by the fire before him. Flashes of bright yellows and oranges reflected in the whites of his unblinking windshield.

Brian stared into the glowing red embers, wondering how long he had been asleep. He felt neither weary nor well-rested. For what seemed like hours the flames kept him lulled and content with a calmness new to him. Had it been hours, or days? He remembered nothing of the pain or the cold. The green and black car slowly glanced down to his hood when an unusual glimmer caught his eventual attention. The smeared mixture of mud and oil had been cleaned from him, his dents fixed with only lines of bare metal from cracked paint indicating where they had once been.

It was only when he attempted to gather his tires beneath his frame that a jolt of shock coursed through him. They were brand new. A first in his life. With grille agape he kneaded his treads into the fibers of the round rug he had been laying on. A mixture of confusion and excitement rose within him but nevertheless he was enthralled with a quality he had never known before. As quickly as he raised a tire to admire it, he dropped it back down to the floor with a thud when he realized he was not alone - to his left, in the kitchen, was a woman he failed to notice.

Brian stared at the car who still had her cab turned to him. Her paint was so dark he would not of known it was sapphire without the flames illuminating the smooth flare of her rear fender. The young car was captivated by the presence of this angelic, beautiful woman. He felt her smile as she hummed softly to herself with a tone so sweet it defused Brian from even his most latent fragilities, and as he quietly fell in love with the joy she exuded, he considered the possibility he might be dead.

The humming stopped. She glanced into her side view mirror and dropped the cloth she was using to wipe the countertops, gracefully turning to greet him. Elated to see he was awake, her smile deepened if possible. He became caught in her strikingly bright green eyes and absently stammered. Before either of them could speak, Brian heard two male voices approaching from the right. Failing to hide his initial panic, he shifted defensively on his tires.

Up the ramp and across the porch came cars with all black primer paint, one distinctly larger than the other but somehow the smaller of the two held a stronger presence. They shook the snow from themselves before entering the cabin accompanied by a gust of cold wind. The more dominant of the two was amused by his choice of stance and smiled briefly. "Well, you're not snarling anymore, so that's a start," Jackie commented. He rolled forward to approach the kid, ignoring the strong scowl fixated on himself as he closely inspected the repairs he made. He reversed just enough to meet his eyes. "It's Brian, isn't it?" he asked.

He recognized his voice. That night came back to him as striking as the first punch. The younger gave a single nod. "Who the fuck are you?"

"You don't cuss in front of the ladies," Jackie corrected with a glare. Brian understood the tone to be a rule, not a suggestion in politeness. "When you're feeling up to it, me and my brother could use some help down by the lake."

Brian watched the two turn to exit from where they entered and drive back down the ramp. He then glanced over to the woman who had resumed cleaning.

She smiled to herself. "It appears my husband has taken a liking to you," she began softly, sparing him the question. "and is giving you a job…"

The green and black car inspected the cabin from where he sat as the humming continued. He gazed beyond the porch and to the mountain range he was now in, watching the snow flurries dance and twirl in the wind while he listened to the crackling from the fireplace beside him. His thoughts were heavy but unyielding, and after a few quiet moments, Brian wordlessly followed the path Jackie and Mackey had taken.

February, 1950

After a long day of track practice, Brian and Colton found refuge from the weather in a diner on the outskirts of the county line west of Charleston. The sun had set hours ago but their conversations felt as though only minutes had passed. Brian stared at Colton with unwavering amusement, hardly paying attention to the ramblings of his friend as he was far too captivated with the enthusiasm the racer expressed with every story.

In preparation for the big season, and with Cassie working less before her resignation, nights with just Colton were seldom. Brian reveled in his company much like the coffee he cradled closer to his grille for the warmth. But when it occurred to him that it was a year later from their beginnings, Brian could not shake the memories which played before his eyes. The green and black car slipped into his own thoughts while he absently focused on Colton. During the same moment of this realization, however, he could not overcome a surprise twinge of loss in the pit of his tank.

He felt the cold seeping through the window beside him and he glanced over into the black abyss beyond the glass. He met his own eyes in his reflection. Was it worry that he felt? He tried to be happy but there was a lingering selfishnesses. Maybe it was concern. Life was changing and forever would. He tore his gaze down and away from his reflection when he felt as though it was judging him, but Brian did not have time to hide his dejection before the aura interrupted Colton.

Colton pushed his coffee aside and cocked a windshield at the trainer who sighed . "Are you alright? You… you don't seem happy."

Brian glanced up at his friend. "Of course I'm happy, Colt," he said, forcing his trademark smirk. "just more tired than I thought, the coffee ain't doing it for me." There was a moment of silence in which Colton was unconvinced but Brian would not allow him to push the subject further. "So, you feel ready?" he asked before taking a sip.

The orange car shied and reversed away from the table every so slightly. "For the big race? Oh I'm so nervous…"

"No not that," Brian clarified with a chuckle. "Marriage."

The bright beaming grin was the only answer needed. At the reminder of his soon to be wife, Colton checked the clock up above and behind the register. Two in the morning. "Cassie should be home soon," he noted aloud, and Brian knew that meant their night was coming to an end. The trainer placed a few dollars on the table to settle their tab before following Colton outside.

A winter night thick with moisture was a biting cold he could not brace for. The brisk wind stung his eyes and caused his windshield to water. He cursed under his icy breath when he heard Colton inhale deeply to embrace the weather he considered refreshing, pulling away before Brian had time to mock him. Not wanting to be alone, he stifled his misery and kicked on his engine to chase after Colton. He closed the gap in a matter of moments.

Save for the sound of their motors, they drove side by side in silence down the long black road illuminated by pale yellow street lamps. The light of the bright stars above filtered through the thin clouds and cast a white glow over the canopy of the live oak forests on each side. The bitter temperature became tolerable like Brian knew it would when his engine warmed. The more he focused on the darkness, the void before him, he became entranced in the unmistakably familiar way. Beckoned by the natural allure that was to run, he surged forward.

The crew chief succumbed to the thoughts of his greatest temptation and, feeling that he was not alone with this instinctual calling, glanced to his right at Colton who was eagerly matching his pace and found that his friend had already been staring back at him. Brian knew Colton was in his mind purely by the gleam in his eyes. He smirked, and just as he was about to express their shared thought, Colton dared to ask it first.

"Wanna race?" came the expected question from the younger car.

What Brian did not anticipate was the impact of the proposition. The uneasiness from the diner struck him sharper than before, now laced with insecurity he was willing to admit only to himself. Refusing to submit to the void inside, the green and black car had barely given a nod before the two bolted into the night. With miles of emptiness ahead, he pushed his engine harder than any track could ever allow. The street lamps began to blur. He heard Colton cheer from beside his fender who was driven by the excitement and competition, and perhaps too caught in the thrill to recognize his friend was running rather than racing.

It seemed all too effortless for Colton to hold this speed. They swapped gazes just as often as they traded lead position by the edges of their grilles. A glimpse of the city lights in the distance meant they were approaching town. Colton swerved ever so close to Brian to gain his attention. "Hey!" he called out above the sound of their deafening engines. "wanna make this interesting? Whoever wins-"

Brian only saw the headlights. Never the truck that turned in front of them.

The sound of Colton slamming into the side of the truck would sicken Brian for the rest of his life. He did only what he could and veered left, feeling shards of glass pelt the back of his cab before the grille of the truck caught his rear quarter panel and sent him into a wild spin. Fighting to regain control he listened helplessly to the unmistakeable sounds of a rollover crash above his tires squealing across the asphalt.

When he finally came to a stop he was a few lengths away from the truck who lay upside down in the grass by the forest edge, one wheel spinning, silent and unmoving. To his right was a gas station with patrons too stunned to move… all of them staring at a sight that devastated Brian. In the middle of the intersection lay Colton beneath a caution light. "No no no no no," Brian whispered as he hobbled over. Instant tears rolled down his hood as Colton became less and less recognizable as he approached. The trainer was crying aloud by time he halted before his friend.

A hollow, trembling breath escaped Brian who surveyed the damage through blurry eyes. What remained of Colton's grille was mangled and left him unable to speak, on a twisted frame his smoking motor lay halfway out of his engine bay on the road, and his upwardly bent hood failed to hide the shattering of his windshield. Brian sobbed. He felt a wet warmth and glanced down at his own tires - every flicker from the caution light above illuminated the growing pool of oil seeping out from under Colton. The orange car struggled for breath and gave a wet cough thick with what oil remained in him.

Brian stared at the increasing stream of smoke pouring from his engine. Incapable of holding Colton he grimaced and wept. Through the tears and the smoke Brian saw the flicker of a flame. He watched helplessly as a burning wire dropped to the ground and ignited the oil beneath Colton, engulfing his engine and marred fenders into a blaze. Brian screamed, feeling himself being dragged backwards just as he lurched forward to hold onto Colton with what remained of himself.

Four o'clock in the morning. The phone was ringing… ringing… ringing. Dave was awoken by the sound of his house phone. He would have let it ring had it not been for Joanna's incessant prodding of her tire into his side that convinced him to roll off the bed. Ringing... ringing... The tolling resonated throughout the chambers of their empty home, pulling Dave out of his drowsy confusion and into concern as he drove down the blackened hallway.

Ringing... ringing... His pace quickened. Dave was wide awake when he reached the wall-mounted phone in the kitchen. He picked up the receiver and cleared his pipes. "Hello?"

FIN