The Otherworld (M)

[drewster]

The DRH boys mysteriously end up in the human world....

Prologue

"Run!" Boost yelled. The four young, highly modified cars took off down Route 66. It was nearly midnight in Radiator Springs when the gang broke out of impound. They were serving a second sentence for causing mischief. Mater was in charge of watching them this time and the old tow truck had dozed off.
"Man, that was too easy," DJ commented as they wound their way towards Wheel Well.
"Guys, they're after us," Snot Rod said as Sheriff's siren wailed in the distance.
"We gotta hide!" Wingo panicked and scanned the sides of the road for a suitable hiding place. "Over there," he said, spotting a cave in the side of the cliff.
The four took refuge in the cave as far back as they could see to go without their headlights and silently waited. Snot Rod held back a sneeze. Soon, Sheriff and a group of others sped past, missing the boys in the cave. The siren grew fainter and eventually disappeared.
"That was close," an exhausted DJ sighed.
"Yeah, man," Wingo seconded. "We should get outta here."
"No," countered Boost. "Let's stay here for the night. They lost us and will quit looking."
"Good. I'm tired," Snot Rod yawned.
The four cars settled down and were starting to doze when, from somewhere deep in the cave, an odd bluish glow appeared.
"Yo, DJ," Boost scolded. "Turn off your neons."
"It ain't me, man," DJ replied.
"What IS that?" Snot Rod puzzled as they watched the glow brighten.
"I got a bad feelin' about this," Wingo trembled.
The four huddled together as the light continued to brighten, until it engulfed the cars and culminated in a blinding flash. Then it was gone, and along with it, so were Boost, Wingo, DJ and Snot Rod. Vanished....into thin air.

[drewster]

Chapter One

Burbank, Southern California. It was just past midnight on an otherwise typical southland day. The Verdugo Hills above the sleepy city of Burbank were especially quiet, more so in Wildwood Canyon, as if all of the people and wildlife had left. At the very top of the canyon, a strange blue glow emanated from a small hollow in the side of the hill. The glow grew brighter and ended with a flash. Then it was gone. In its place, four small, frightened anthropomorphic cars huddled together, their eyes shut tightly.
Silence. Then Boost was the first to open his eyes.
"Guys," he whispered. "It's gone."
"What was that?" DJ asked as he and the others opened their eyes too.
"I dunno. It was weird." Wingo said and rolled towards the opening of the cave. The others followed and they peered out onto the canyon road.
"I don't recognize this," Snot Rod nervously said.
"This road is dirt, not paved," Boost commented as he rolled out onto the road. "We were on a paved road, I'm almost sure."
The boys ventured out onto the road and drove through the canyon. They passed through a park, then emerged into a quiet residential neighborhood. Everything was still and dark, save for an occasional street lamp.
"Okay," said DJ. "I am officially freaked out right now."
"Yeah, none of this looks familiar," Wingo replied, looking around.
"YIKES!!!" Snot Rod exclaimed and pointed a tire at a car parked at the curb. "That guy is HUGE!"
They stared for a second or two, then slowly approached the parked car. Boost circled it, his eyes growing wider.
"There's something not right about this," said Boost, sounding nervous. "I can see right through his head and he has no eyes..."
"I'm scared," Snot Rod panicked and shut his eyes. "Please let this be a dream..."
Wingo poked the parked car with his tire but got no response from it. He jumped back.
"I think he's DEAD," Wingo said, his voice quavering.
"What the hell kinda place is this?" Boost backed away from the parked car, then the four of them took off, racing as fast as they could, terrified. On the way down the hill, they saw more parked cars. They came to a stop light, where they witnessed something that had the four of them beside themselves with fear and caused them to slam on their brakes - moving cross street traffic.
"AAAHHHHH!!!" Wingo yelled. "They have creatures inside them!"
What the boys didn't realize is that somehow, they ended up in the human world. The cars were not alive and were operated by the humans. Completely terrified, the boys ran, flying through intersections and, at one point, being chased by a police cruiser. They ducked into a dark alley way, where they waited until the police siren passed.
"That was close," DJ whispered, then paused at the sense of deja vu.
"What do we do now?" Wingo asked. He, DJ and Snot Rod looked at Boost, who shrugged, at a loss for words for the first time in his life.
"Can we stay here for now?" Snot Rod begged, tired of running. "At least it's quiet and dark."
"I guess." Boost looked around. "Let's park over there by that building." He motioned towards a converted garage at the end of the alley way.
Boost, DJ, Snot Rod and Wingo, scared and exhausted, parked as close to the building as they could and slept uneasily in the shadows, fearful of what the daylight would reveal.

[drewster]

Chapter Two

"Mrowr." One of my cats, PC, jumped up on the bed to get me up. I hadn't set my alarm, since it was Saturday.
"Okay," I mumbled. "I'm getting up."
I stretched, then got up out of bed. PC rubbed against my legs as I opened the curtains. The other cats began stirring, waiting for me to fill their kibble dishes. I then fixed a pot of coffee and was pouring myself a cup when a noise outside caught my attention.
The old garage, which I had converted into a flat, abutted a quiet alley way. There wasn't much traffic and a few small businesses were my neighbors. On the weekends, the neighborhood was nearly abandoned.
I quietly cracked open the back door and peered outside.
"Who's there?" I called out but there was no answer. I opened the door and went outside. I could see the back bumper of a small orange car on the other side of a dumpster at the closed end of the alley. I slowly and cautiously approached, not sure of what was going on.
"Huh? Who's cute little miniature muscle car is this?" I thought to myself as I peeked around the dumpster and spotted the little hot rod. I reached out and stroked the trunk, admiring the small 'Cuda. Suddenly, the car jumped and spun around to face me, and scared the wits out of me.
"AAAAHHHHHH!!!" I yelled and jumped back. I noticed the little car did the same and was backed up against the side of the building. I just stared and blinked, not believing what I was seeing. The car seemed to be alive, and blinked its big green windshield eyes at me from behind its large blower, returning my stare.
"What the...?" I began, and glanced furtively around the alley way, then met the gaze of the orange car again. It appeared to be quite afraid, so I slowly approached it.
"Where did you come from?" I asked, not even sure if the car spoke or understood English. It whimpered and tried to back away from me, but it was trapped between the building and the dumpster.
"Awwww, I'm not gonna hurt you," I tried to assure it. "You're sure cute." I stopped and sat down on the asphalt in front of the frightened little car, which blinked its green eyes at me again.
"Yo, Snot Rod, we found a..."
Three more small living cars entered the alley way, then stopped and froze when they saw me. The blue Scion tuner spoke up.
"Don't hurt him, man," it charged at me. "He did nuthin to you."
"Whoa...whoa!" I said, becoming a little frightened myself. The blue car stopped a few inches from me and glowered at me. The other two tuners, a violet Viper and a wildly painted green and purple Silvia, slowly pulled up alongside the Scion. All of the cars were no bigger than ponies, but they had me more than a little nervous.
"Guys....errr, I'm guessing you're guys," I stammered. "I'm just as freaked out as you, but I wasn't gonna hurt anyone."
I glanced over at the the orange 'Cuda, who was still wide-eyed and looking back and forth between me and the other cars, who continued to glower at me.
"We saw what yo do to cars," the Silvia said.
"What?" I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Me?? What'd I do?"
"You kill us, then possess and control our bodies," the Viper growled.
I stared blankly, trying to imagine what on earth these car-beings were talking about. Then it came to me. They had seen people driving their cars.
"Ummm, guys," I began, trying to find a way to explain. "I dunno where you come from, but here our cars are not alive. Er...never were. We manufacture them to help us get around. Yes, we sit inside of them and operate them. I see how that could be confusing..."
"Yo is LYING!" the Silvia lunged at me, interrupting me, only to be stopped by the Viper.
"Cool it, Wingo," it said calmly, then turned to me. "Prove it to us."

[drewster]

Chapter Three

I got up from the ground and walked over to the garage where I had my car parked. The car-beings followed me, not wanting to let me out of their sight.
"Relax, guys. I'm not gonna run or anything!"
"We dun trust yo, " the Silvia sneered.
I opened the garage bay doors. My tuned VW bug was parked inside. The little cars stopped at the entrance; their eyes grew wide as they checked out my car. It was a 1969 Beetle with red flake paint and gold flames, sporting a large rear wing.
"Well, come in," I motioned to them. "Let me show you."
The cars slowly came inside. The little orange 'Cuda froze. I could tell the tuners were also a little afraid, as my VW dwarfed them.
"Come on," I coaxed the 'Cuda. I opened the driver's side door of the beetle and sat in the seat. The car-beings backed away, then one by one approached me.
"Weird," the Scion commented.
"See, guys," I pointed out. "This is the inside of our cars."
They all peeked inside, their eyes were very wide. I showed them how humans operate their cars.
"I don't get it, " the Viper seemed confused.
"Hmmmm, I don't get what's going on here, either, but there's nothing to be afraid of," I reassured them. "We're not car cannibals, or anything."
"We like yo car," the Silvia said, driving around the VW.
"Yeah, umm, what's yo name?" the Scion asked.
"People call me Drewster," I replied. "What's yours?"
"I'm DJ," he replied and showed off his sound system.
"Boost," said the Viper. "It's on my sides here."
"Yo can call me Wingo," the little Silvia butted in, showing off his spoiler stack.
"Nice," I said. "What about you, little 'Cuda?"
The little orange car shuffled his front tires bashfully. "I'm Snot Rod, cuz I sneeze a lot."
"How cute! So how didya get here in this world?" I questioned.
"We dunno," Boost answered. "We were running from the Sheriff..."
"And we hid in this cave that I found," Wingo boasted.
They proceeded to tell me about the bluish light and how they emerged in the canyon and drove through the city. And how they were chased by police and hid in the alley way.
"Wow, it's like you came through some kind of portal from an alternate universe," I pondered as I got out of my car and locked the door. "Do you guys wanna come inside my house? Are you hungry or thirsty?"
"Do yo have coffee?" Wingo asked.
"And cookies?" DJ added.
"Of course," I said and opened the door to my flat and went inside. The cars hesitated and I wasn't sure they completely trusted me, even though they weren't as nervous as before.
I turned and looked at them. "Guys, I'm not gonna eat you or anything. Come in. Get comfortable."
We went into the living area and the little cars parked in a semi-circle around the coffee table, looking around. I went to fix another pot of coffee.
"AAAHHHH! What is THAT???" Boost pointed a tire at my cat, PC, who had come out to see what was going on. The other cats were hiding.
"That's a cat...a pet animal. He's friendly," I explained. "Don't you have pets where you come from?"
"Not like that," DJ said. "Ours have wheels and they're not all fuzzy."
"Oh. There are five more of them around here somewhere," I said as I set a cup of coffee and a cookie in front of each car. "Uh, how are you gonna drink that?" I asked.
"Like this," Wingo replied and somehow managed to pick up the cup with his tire and drink. I watched him and the others as they drank the coffee and ate the cookies. It was going to be very interesting learning about these four little car-beings.

[drewster]

Chapter Four

"So..." I said, finishing my cup of coffee. "What do you guys want to do?"
"Well," pondered Boost. "We don't have any idea."
"AIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!" Wingo exclaimed. PC had climbed up his spoiler and was perched on the very top. I giggled and lifted PC down.
"Sorry. He likes to climb things," I said as I put him on the floor. PC then jumped up onto DJ's hood.
"Ummmm...your cat-thing...," DJ motioned towards his hood with his tire.
"PC!" I scolded and picked him up off DJ's hood. "He is just checking you out 'cause you're new to him."
Just then, the other cats began slinking from out of hiding and cautiously approached the car-beings, who sat very still, anxiously watching as the cats sniffed them over. I observed the whole scene and found it amusing. The cars started to relax and actually warmed up to the cats as they rubbed against them and purred. The little grey furry Toby purred the loudest.
"They have motors?" Snot Rod asked, wide-eyed. Mac, the orange tabby, seemed to hang to him.
"Yeah," I replied. "I like to think so."
"They is funny-lookin'...but cute." Wingo stroked the little black one named Molly. The calico, Calli, jumped up on Boost's wing and stretched out. Boost watched her in his rear view mirror. Furgus, the tail-less tuxedo cat, sat down and blinked at the cars.
"Well!" I remarked. "Looks like you fellas have passed inspection!"
Boost smiled. "Can we stay here with you?" he asked, obviously comfortable with the cats and me, and realized that I was no danger to them.
"Yeah, I don't mind, and since you don't have anywhere else to go...," I answered.
"Thanks, man," DJ said gratefully, relieved that he and the others were safe for now.
"Why don't we just stay here and hang out for the day?" I suggested.
The cars concurred, so we spent the day getting acquainted and learning about our respective worlds. We ate pizza, Chinese food and drank coffee. We played with the cats, watched movies and listened to music. We were having a great time, and I was growing fond of these four car-beings. I sure hoped they felt the same....

[ebonyviper]

Cool story. I like how the DRH are pony-sized in the human world.

[drewster]

Chapter Five

It was getting late and I started yawning. Although I tried not to, I couldn’t hold back and the cars noticed.
“Getting’ sleepy, yo?” Wingo asked.
“Yeah. This is the most excitement I’ve seen in a while,” I replied and stifled another yawn. “Where you guys wanna sleep?”
“This is fine,” Boost answered and settled down onto the rug. He closed his eyes.
“That was fast!” DJ remarked as he watched Boost fall asleep.
“Same for me,” Snot Rod mumbled, then sniffled and settled down. He, too, quickly fell asleep.
“I guess we’ll sleep here,” DJ said and sank down onto his tires. Wingo parked next to him and both boys nodded off, exhausted.
“Goodnight, guys,” I whispered and turned off the living area lights. “C’mon, kitties. Let’s go to bed.” The cats and I retired for the night.
I was awakened later in the night by movement on my bed. I opened an eye to see what was going on. I could see the outline of a spoiler stack at the end of the bed and I sat up.
“Can I sleep here, yo?” Wingo asked.
“Whatsa matter?” I asked him. “Your homies snore?”
“No. I dunno,” he said and pulled up alongside me. “I can’t get comfortable.” He settled down and leaned against me. He dropped off to sleep and I stroked his hood.
“Poor guys,” I whispered to myself. “You’ve been through so much.” I lay back down and went back to sleep.
I awoke the next morning to find my cat PC was on the bed with me, but Wingo was no longer on the bed. I never felt him get down, so I got up and peeked into the living area where the car-beings were sleeping. Wingo had rejoined his buddies sometime in the night and they were all still sound asleep. Not wanting to disturb them, I went back to my bed and worked some crossword puzzles.
About a half hour later, a groggy Boost rolled in. He raised up and placed his front tires on the edge of the bed, blinking his eyes.
“Good morning,” I greeted him.
“Morning,” he replied, sleepily.
“Did you sleep good?” I asked, watching him try to wake up.
“I don’t even remember falling asleep,” he said.
“You guys were tired,” I said and gently patted his hood. “Are the others awake yet?” I got off the bed and headed toward the kitchen. Boost followed.
“Yeah, they are.”
The other three cars were stirring. My cats had joined them and were milling around. I poked my head around the corner and watched for a second.
“Hey, guys,” I called. “Want coffee?”
Wingo’s eyes popped open. “Yeah!” he said enthusiastically.
I fixed a big pot of coffee and pancakes for breakfast, which the car-beings really enjoyed.
“So guys,” I said. “There’s a car show in the park today. Wanna go?”
They looked at each other then back at me. Snot Rod looked a little scared.
“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” I continued. “But there are some really cool cars there to see.”
“Might be interesting,” DJ said. “I’m game.”
“Me too,” Wingo chimed in.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Boost said and nudged Snot Rod, who nodded in agreement.
I grabbed my backpack. “It’s not far, so I’m gonna walk. Follow me.”
We took off together down the street to the park. It was a really beautiful day.