Chapter Text
He did, in fact, lose their ‘race.’ The beautiful scenery just outside of town had distracted him so much that, for once in his life, he drove slowly. Silas was waiting by his car, the gentle breeze stirring his hair, back turned to Lightning as his car crept up the final stretch of the hill.
In the late afternoon lighting, Silas looked… majestic. Lightning wasn’t sure which was prettier, the scenery or the man near the cliff edge.
“Wow! What is this place?” Lightning was in awe as he climbed out of his car, taking in the sight that greeted him.
Silas chuckled, amused by the sheer wonderment painted across their face
“An old hotel. Wheel Well. Used to be the most popular stop on the mother road.”
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The view was gorgeous. The cliff overlooked the highway, the people in their fast-moving cars entirely oblivious to the town they sped past. Behind the two of them, the remains of a hotel built into the rock face towered over him. Lightning almost longed to have seen the town in its heyday. Seeing it teeming with life must have been amazing.
“What’s got you so deep in thought Stickers?” Silas walked up behind him, abandoning examining the run-down hotel entrance.
“I just- they’re driving right past! Do they even know what they’re missing…? Imagine what it must have been like to stay here…”
“Yeah… I’m sure it was wonderful. But it wasn’t always this way. Before the Interstate was built, Route 66 took drivers across the country in a whole different way.” He wandered as he spoke, running a hand along an abandoned gas pump.
“The road used to move with the land instead of cutting right through it. People didn’t drive on it to make great time, they drove it to have a good time.”
Lightning, with one last look at the view, turned to walk to where Silas was standing, by the doors of the once-grand entrance.
“Then what happened..?”
Silas was quiet for a moment
“The town got bypassed just to save ten minutes of driving.”
“Oh…”
They stood in silence, a gentle breeze picking up the dust around their feet, the distant hum of cars on the Interstate underscoring what Silas was talking about. Lightning changed the topic in an effort to lighten the mood.
“So, you know, I don’t get you. How does a fancy, Porsche driving, lawyer like yourself wind up in a place like this?”
“Well…” Silas sighed, leaning against the 95, watching Lightning look around
“I was an attorney in LA, living life in the fast lane. But you know what? It never felt… happy.”
“Oh. Really…?” Lightning paused, considering the lawyer’s words. How could someone with everything they- he- had ever wanted be so unhappy?
Maybe Silas had a point.
Lightning thought he had everything he wanted- a hugely successful racing career, going to be the first rookie to win a Piston Cup, but… was something missing?
“Yeah. So I left California. Just drove and drove and finally my car broke down right here. Doc fixed it for me, Flo took me in and gave me a place to sleep. Well, they all took me in. And I just- never left.”
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Lightning had gotten the hotel’s grand front doors open while Silas was talking. He hadn’t really meant to open them, he’d just been fiddling with the jammed lock. Until it clicked open.
The hinges creaked loudly as he attempted to push open the doors, years of built up cobwebs broken in less than a minute.
The creaking of the now open door caught Silas’ attention, tearing him from his reminiscing.
“Adding breaking and entering onto your list of crimes?” He strolled over, peering curiously into the dark room as he admonished Lightning for being the one to open the door.
“Haha, very funny.” The blonde rolled his eyes.
“First of all, I didn’t think the doors would actually be openable. I was just messing with the lock for fun, promise”
Silas waited for the rest of this list, attention directed back to Lightning.
“Second, aren’t you even a tiny bit curious about what it’s like in there? It must be a time capsule of the town’s past!” He continued, bouncing on his feet as he spoke, eyes glimmering with excitement and curiosity
Silas looked between Lightning and the open doorway, debating.
“…You do have a point, I have thought the same.” Before he could say anything else, Lightning was pushing past him, phone out and being used as a flashlight as he slipped through the doorway and inside.