Cars: Shadows in Their Lives

This is the sequel to Cars: Out of Control. However, unlike OoC, this is in first person. If all goes well, this will have 12 chapters and will hopefully be finished quickly. However, I will do the preface later.

## Preface- Thunder's view

Hello. This is Thunder. I'm kinda worried about Abby and her adoptive family. She said Midnight was practically depressed and the younger ones are really worried for him. And also, she keeps disappearing to the Economy Section and well... I'm honestly afraid she'll get hurt. Midnight has gotten kidnapped so many times and what if that happens to Abby? Midnight's mental state will get 10x worse! Anyways, I have other concerns as well. Big buinesses are overtaking me and my father's place. As for little Star, she is also in bad shape. She has mentioned that her father refuses to do other things. Ira seems to be always off in her own world- Possibly imagining what would happen if his daughter and adoptive daughters went missing.

## Chapter 1- Star's POV

I miss the old Dad. He didn't mope around the home. He talked more than I do on a daily basis. Ira and me are worried. I dunno why Abby is less worried for Dad, but I sense she knows something we don't. Nothing major. As for Ira, she is in her own world- Always. I'm worried that Abby will get hurt on her little visits to her friends. Who knows what that will do to my father!? I'm still distrustful of Thunder and his family, even though he checks up on us alot. Anyone I'm not close to or have not been introduced to I'm kinda scared of. Ira understands why and so does Abby, to a extent. When we ask Dad if he's stressed out to the point of giving up, he doesn't reply. It seems he loves Abby and Ira too much to leave them on the streets. Especially Ira. She's close to my age, so that makes sense. Dad decides to come out of his room. He fakes a weary smile and says, "Let's play a game."

Ira hugs him. I go over to Dad and kiss him on his headlight. Abby's not home. Dad looks down. "Do you both know where Abby is?"

"No."

"Sorry, Midnight."

## Chapter 2- Abby's POV

I wonder if I should return home. Midnight's probably gonna give me another weary 'Don't wander off without my knowledge' chat. Honestly, I probably should just stay home at this rate. If I get kidnapped or killed, Midnight's just gonna give up on Ira or even poor Star, most likely. I know he isn't gonna kill himself, but I also know he is very stressed out. I have to help him with taking care of the younger ones, bye.

**........................................................................**

Hello again. Midnight was glad to see me. And yes, he did give me his 'don't wander-off' chat. Whatever, I understand why. Ira is... a handful at 13 years old. She's feisty. No wonder Midnight's tired. Star is pretty chill. Thunder came over and helped me babysit as Midnight was resting.

Thunder turns to me. "Do you like, like me?"

"Why?"

"Because... You go to my home every day."

I look down. *Maybe?* I turn away. "To be honest... Most likely."

Midnight's in the doorway. "I heard that."

## Chapter 3- Ira's POV

I don't like Abby babysitting me. Midnight's more loose while Abby is always following me. She thinks I'm feisty because I can be, but I'm really just trying to escape her! Star is just rolling her eyes at my antics. Abby shows visible annoyance as I speed around, extremely bored and Star says, "Let's play tag!"

"Ooh! Sounds fun!" We both speed off outside and run into a white BMW. She rolls her eyes and looks at us. "Was that really nessesory?? You dented me!" She says with a Dutch accent. "Watch where you're going, kids. You never know if you ran into a criminal- Until they kIdNaP you." She smiles and is clearly trying to scare us. She seems to be a civilian, but as she said, we never know what side the car we run into is. They could be evil and be willing to kill a tween and young teenager. They could be willing to hurt us in ways that are very cruel. A fate worse than death, some would say. "Ira! Stop it!" Yells Abby.

"No!" I shout back. A teenage car who is blue with orange eyes looks in confusion at me and Abby. Abby fake-smiles at the young car. "Babysitting sucks."

Star is... There.

"I can help. My name is Cartor Carson. Nice to meet ya."

"OK. I'm Abby."

Cartor drives over. He looks around and sees a green car with brown eyes. "He's a baddie, avoid him."

"OK," Me, Star, and Abby say.

## Chapter 4- Midnight's POV

Hello. This is Midnight. I'm so tired, both physically and mentally, so I made my adoptive daughter babysit young Star and Ira. She's not a very good babysitter. I heard her talking to Thunder and went out.

He's asking if MY DAUGHTER has a crush on him.

NOPE! "I heard that."

He turns to me. "Bye, Abby."

I gesture her outside with the two younger ones and go back in my room. *If Thunder comes back, he's getting in trouble,* I think. I faintly hear Ira yell "NO!" and I sigh. She's probably being a little handful.

I miss Gabby. And the kids are worried. Specifically about my mental health. I probably should tell them some things. I'll do it when little Star is 13 years old. Ira will be 14. Abby will still be 16. Soon, I come out. Abby is tired-looking. A young male car Thunder's age is watching the kids play hide-and-seek tag.

*He better not be another boy Abby is seeing.*

"Hey!" I approach him. Abby sighs. Hmm. Strike one. "Who are you?"

"Cartor Carson. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Do you know Abby?"

"Do you count introductions?"

"...Depends. Now, since I'm done resting, you can go back home."

"OK."

## Chapter 5- Thunder's POV

Ugh, Midnight's too protective. As much as I care for the guy, he doesn't let me talk to Abby! My sister speeds around me, screaming, probably because of my younger brother. I sigh and glare at her. "Shut it."

"B-But... SAWYER SCARED ME!"

"Go cry to Mommy and Daddy then, not me."

"WHERE ARE THEY!"

"Stop shouting. Plus, you're 14. You should be able to handle a 8-year-old scaring you."

"SAWYER IS A GOOD SCARER."

"Shut up already."

"You're a bad big brother!"

"And you're an annoying little sister," I say, smirking.

Mom yells, "Guys! Stop fighting!"

"OKKAAAY MOOM!"

"SEE? MOM'S ON MY SIDE!"

I push Tanya away. "Shut up!" I whisper-yell.

"MOOOM! THUNDER SAID SHUT UP TO ME!!!"

I sigh in obvious annoyance. "JUST SHUT UP!"

"TANYA! LEAVE YOUR BROTHER ALONE!"

"BUT MOM-"

"NO BUTS!"

## Chapter 6- Star's POV

I miss Mom. She did not deserve to die the way she did. Dad does not deserve to suffer like this. Ira drives over to me. "Wanna play a board game? Midnight found it."

"Sure- Is Abby playing?"

"Yep."

"OK."

We head off to play. Dad looks sad. "Me and your mother used to play this..."

Ira looks away and whispers, "Let's start."

She looks at me. There's hidden sadness in her blue eyes.

Dad says, "Pick your piece."

I pick a commercial truck and Ira picks a van.

I look over at Abby's piece. She had picked a truck. Dad has a gold car piece. He holds it up. "The gold piece is for the car who started the game."

He puts the piece on the board. "This game is about escaping an evil group known as the Taken. You will stop at shops for basic supplies such as medication and nourishment."

"Sounds cool!" Abby says.

"Put your pieces on the board. Also, the last time I've played this was when little Star was 5." He sadly eyes a piece in the box. He picks up a small ladycar (ladybug-car). "This is the piece my wife used."

He gestures to the board. "Put your pieces on the board."

He walks us through the game.

## Chapter 7- Abby's POV

After the game, which was pretty dang fun, Midnight takes us to the market. "Guys! Hide!" yells Midnight. We see a old car chasing a younger American car. The old one seems to be Canadian juding by his accent. The American seems to be terrified and quite young, only a teenager. I reconize him. "Midnight! It's Cartor!"

"I know..." Midnight whispers. We all hear a younger, terrified female voice. Midnight is the first to see who is yelling. A young teen who seems to be related to Cartor. "He has a sister!"

The older car crashes into Cartor and Midnight gasps.

"LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!" yells the young car.

"CARRIE! STAY BACK!" Yells Cartor. He's grimacing in pain.

The Canadian glares at Carrie. Midnight says, "Ira, can I barrow your pocketknife?"

"Sure-"

He makes a move toward the chaotic scene. Cartor punches the old car, and hard. While the car is stunned, he grabs his sister's tire and speeds off. Midnight sees the car try to get up and injures him, letting the kids escape. However, the Canadian isn't dead. Far from it. He makes an attempt to kill Midnight, but he repeats it, causing him to lose consciousness for a few minutes. After cleaning the small weapon at home, we decide to rest- And hope Cartor and Carrie are safe. They're still so young!

## Chapter 8- Ira's POV

We're just chilling when we hear a home explode and shortly after, a loud thump on the roof. Midnight comes out. "Kids!" He yells, "Go to the back of the house!"

A small black car nearly hits him on the cab. He picks up the car and puts him in the house before the tank can see him. "A child?" He frowns, "No way that tank is trying to blow up a harmless child."

I say, "He fell from the roof though-"

"Be quiet. He still can't hurt that gigantic tank." Midnight goes out of the home. He notices the posed guns. The house our single working neighbor is destroyed. Midnight looks serious.

"Mr. Geer's home has been destroyed."

Then, the child is restored to his senses. He fights Midnight! When he's about to kill Midnight, I grab his tires and show my pocketknife. "No."

He growls at me. Abby looks at the child. "Where were you born? Where are your parents?"

He growls again.

Obviously not an English speaker. He tries to hit me but Midnight takes him to his room and closes the opening.

Midnight puts Abby and I in charge of watching the aggressive child. "I'm gonna talk to Mr. Geer." He goes to the green van with light brown eyes.

Meanwhile, the kid continues to smack the door.

Midnight comes in the door with our neighbor. I leave and Mr. Geer looks worried. He looks at me. "Who do you have here?"

"My adoptive daughter, Ira. She's quite the feisty one."

"I've heard."

## Chapter 9- Midnight's POV

I'm worried about Mr. Geer. He is now homeless. I'll try to pay for a new home for him. As for the child, I'll try to do something about him. He seems to know how to fight like a pro. I'll find a way to get care for him beceause I cannot take care of an extremely-aggressive ninja child. Ira is hard enough and she ain't even a ninja. Wait- All ninjas have a group! I look at his symbol. It's a light red symbol with four slightly-different-colored 'pie pieces'. All of them have very well-designed car designs in them.

*Those must be the senseis.*

The name of the group is in a different language and its letters is foreign. I release him. He goes toward an old green car and the car gives him something. It's food from what I could see. The green car had knocked out the tank so he didn't kill him or the extremely-young ninja, who still seems dependent on the much-older car. He may be aggressive and tried to kill me, but he's still a child in need of help from an elder. A group speeds off with their young charge and the child's caretaker so they were erased from the residents' memories. They will not leave MY memory for a long time- And hopefully it'll leave the tank's memory quickly.

## Chapter 10- Thunder's POV

Ugh, I'm so tired. Me and my father head to the Agriculture Section. The tractors are just chilling. My sister comes for her first time taking care of them. She's still young, but we start young. However, Tanya just heads straight for the tractors. I pull her back. "No. They're 10x bigger than you are."

I sigh. Dad had gotten the gas and is not watching his daughter as he should be! Tanya's gonna kill herself at this rate. I show her how to approach the large tractors without frightening them. They would easily crush her. A much-smaller tractor approaches Tanya nervously.

"It's a baby, it's OK Tanya." (How does this whole Cars thing work exactly? Oh well, I'll improvise)

"I know." She gently but awkwardly pats it on its larger back wheel.

Dad comes over. The mom of the smaller tractor (this is confusing) speeds toward Tanya and Dad yells, "Stop!"

The mom stops, thank goodness. I did NOT want to see my 14-year-old sister get crushed to death. Dad hugs her. "Sorry I left you, baby."

She starts to skirm out of his tight hold. Our neighbor looks at Tanya.

"You REALLY left a 14-YEAR-OLD with a baby tractor??"

Dad smiles sheepishly. "My son was watching her..." He's not hugging her anymore. He stopped when he heard her say, "DAAD!"

"As if HE would be able to stop an ANGRY MAMA!"

"A'ight, a'ight, don't rub it in."

"Alright. But don't leave your children unattended, ya hear me?"

"OK.."

Our neighbor goes back to his wife and young daughter.

## Chapter 11- Star's POV

"Dad!" I yell.

Dad comes over. "Yes, honey?"

"I want to play a game."

"OK. What one?"

"That adventure game."

"OK. I'll get Ira and Abby." He drove off.

Both of them are playing a video game. Ira laughs at something in the game. Shortly after, I hear something in the game blow up. Dad sighs and gets them off the game, and both sigh. They play that game alot. I played it once with Abby and it's not really my thing. It's definitely aimed at teenagers. Not that it contains inappropriate or super-dark content, like no killing the other players or civilians like in Dark Legend, the game Ira and Dad plays alot together. Ira really seems to be into fighting, fantasy, and dark fantasy games whereas I like more-realistic games. Dad's into fighting games. I mean, dark fantasy seems fun, but it's not my thing.

We start playing Journey Into Dark Valley, the adventure board game I really like.

## Chapter 12- Abby's POV

I guess we're playing Dark Valley! I was hoping me and Ira could play another round of Magic in the Realm, but I suppose we can play something OTHER than that... Star's entertainment matters too! She's not really into fantasy, I noticed. When we're in the middle of the game, Midnight turns to Ira. "Wanna play Dark Legend after?"

"Sure," replies Ira, off in her own world. Star is just chilling with her gold piece. Midnight is getting tired. Maybe he's a little bored of the same game? That's highly possible. After the game is finished, I decide to go outdoors. I see a young zebra-striped car. She's purple. Ira goes over to her and greets her.

"Hello? Who are you?"

"I'm Ira."

"Oh cool. I'm Alisa."

"Nice to meet you. What games do you like?"

"Fantasy."

"Ooh me and my family play alot of fantasy games! Do you like fighting games?"

"Not generally, but I'll play if someone offers."

"Yay! Can you play a game called Dark Legend with me?"

"Sure! Where's your home?"

"It's the first one and it's light blue."

"OK! Let's go!"

I smile softly. My adoptive little sister had made a friend! I go back inside, kinda tired. I watch Midnight, Alisa, and little Ira play.

They're... Kinda aggressive toward each other and the NPCs. Oh well, at least it ain't real life.

## Authors' Notes

Hello, world! This is Sisi again! God bless you! Well, I guess it's time to move on! We finished Shadows in Their Lives and I gotta move on to the 3rd main story of the World of Midnight! The chapter amount will shorten to maybe 5-10 chapters, but I've got to think of something. If your character isn't featured in the third one, they will appear in other series and side-stories, I promise! As for new series, who knows? I've still gotta think of a name for the third story! Maybe something game-related, 'cause their family life is occupied by games? Like something like 'Game of Life' or 'Gaming Family Life'?

*Love, Sisi* <3