My Heart Will Go On

Chapter 2- Doc!

It happened about a month after my birthday, in the middle of July. Maybe, looking back, I should've seen it coming. After all, Uncle Doc had been tired and unwell a lot for several months now. Still, it came as a massive shock to me.

It was supposed to be another day of training down by Willy's Butte. Lightning and Uncle Doc were lined up at the starting line and I was up on Lightning's roof, ready to go.

"Speed", Lightning whispered. "I am speed. Float like a Cadillac..."

"Sting like a Beemer!" Uncle Doc and I finished in unison.

"Do you wanna say it, Fudge?" Uncle Doc quizzed me.

"On your marks, get set... GO!"

We zoomed off, laughing and hollering. As it often did, making the left turn brought back memories of the first race Uncle Doc and Lightning had against each other.

"That was funny!" I proclaimed, giggling.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up", Lightning groaned.

"Well, you were too cocky for your own good", Uncle Doc reminded him. "But you learned way faster than I thought you would!"

"That's right!" Lightning responded. "I'm not gonna end up in a cactus today!"

Uncle Doc grinned. "We'll see."

I giggled, but I was also a little nervous. What did Uncle Doc mean by that? He may have just been joking, but I wouldn't put it past Uncle Doc; he could be very cruel when he wanted to be.

As it was, he didn't have anything planned, but he ended up scaring me all the same. After several laps going around the dirt track, we made the left turn again. Lightning nailed it. I remember twisting my head around to see how far behind Doc was. Despite the fact that he hadn't been well lately, he still managed to keep up a good pace while we were racing. Not this time, however. He was still a fair way behind. Not only that, but he was a bit shaky. It was obvious, even from a distance.

"Fudge?" Lightning called out.

I faced forward again. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I don't think Uncle Doc is."

At those words, Lightning stopped and spun around. I nearly went flying off his roof.

"Doc?"

If he hadn't have stopped, we never would've seen it. Uncle Doc was making his way towards the left turn. He still wasn't going that fast, but as he drifted across the dirt, he lost control all the same. I guess that was because of how much he was shaking. Uncle Doc failed to make the turn and skidded uncontrollably. I watched, horrified, not sure if he was going to stop. The good news was he did. The bad news was that when he did, he rolled over onto his side and couldn't get up.

"Doc!" Lightning yelled, just as shocked as I was.

I slid off his roof and the two of us raced over to the older Hudson Hornet.

"Uncle Doc?" I called fearfully. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" he assured me. He made another attempt to get up, but he just couldn't do it. Not only that, but he sounded very much out of breath. That's when I was really starting to panic. Something was wrong. I had no idea what, but it was definitely something.

"You're not fine, Doc!" Lightning insisted. He turned to me. "Fudge, you stay here with Doc. I'll go back to town and get help."

"I can go", I offered.