Jenna

The series pilot; a worldwide recall is issued on any car made before 2010, and anyone that refuses to release their vehicles to the government are arrested and heavily fined.
A lonely teenage Objectum-Romantic named Jenna is appointed by one of her family cars in the distant future to become his race's savior. With the power to bring any car to artificial sentience to help her on her adventure for equality, Jen sets off to rescue any car she can before she and all of her new found friends are scrapped.
Jenna is the first person throughout.

Hey. My name’s Jenna Luikart. I used to be a terrific-ly normal human being. I went to school, had the mundane friends, used to live on a farm but my dad couldn’t keep up with it after my mom died.

One second; a guy just cut me off at the intersection.

“Freaking jerk!!” I roar, shaking my fist. “I’m a ped on a bike!! I have the right of way!!” He drives on, oblivious to the wreck of one he had about caused. “Dang you and your sexy ATS!! I’ll suit you and own your car!! It’ll live in my house and forget ya!!” I heave a sigh and pedal on.

So, yeah. I was a normal person, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel alone in my world. I was one out of one, I was always convinced. There was nobody out there looking to get with me; I was no naïve schoolgirl.

And I was just fine with that; I liked to be by myself, and I even almost preferred it. No friends to feel obligated to was nice. Being left out was cool, too. The conversations were never any I could get in on, anyways. I was too timid to ask any boys out, and they'd leave when they got to know me anyhow.

I was the cool kid of my own little world inside my head. Just think of that one Lorde song, Royals; that was me for sure, the entire song. Even the parts where I’m driving Cadillacs in my dreams.

So long as I wasn’t like that guy gunning down bike-riding kids.

Little did anyone know this mundane face was a soon to be hero of millions; millions of unexpected rescues, and a mundane hero that hides behind glasses—and about gets hit on her bike by a Cadillac.

I knew how to drive. But I could always just ride my bike to school. We had four cars: A GMC Suburban, an older F-150 Lariat truck, a Dodge Ram 2500, and an older Jeep Cherokee, the first actually mine. They, too, were normal vehicles, despite being loved more than a car is usually loved. But it’d all change soon…

Where was I riding home from? I was heading home from my first day at my new school, well equipped with my heavy backpack. We had just moved from Point Pleasant, West Virginia after we finally sold our farm. My mom was the one with the animals; after she died the summer before last from cancer, it was too much for dad and I to handle during our depression. It took a long time to pack up and move, but we finally arrived a couple months ago. Taking care of our vehicular fleet gave me something to care for through my grief, and with older cars extra care is always required.

Thankfully, I was much more of a car girl than an animal person.

I glide into my driveway, still thankful to be alive after my encounter with a moron. The Ford was parked in the middle of the driveway, as usual. And, as usual, I jump off my bike and lean it up against the house. Our two dogs, Denali the Boston terrier/Chihuahua mix and Luanne the dingo-looking mutt run out, also not out of the ordinary. I run inside. My dad was asleep on the couch—not unusual at all. He works midnights these days, since I was old enough to be alone anyway. I run up to my room, and jump on my computer. Oh, how I enjoyed electronic music; there was just something about the sound of metalstep to embrace your anger and depression while you heal your pain with more pain. It worked to make you feel better somehow, like listening to breakup music at 3AM after you break up with your lover.

I type for awhile until I finished the episode, and go down for dinner. We never really had any home cooked meals anymore; instead throw-in-the-oven type meals were the norm. I grab my Banquet platter from the microwave and put another one in as Dad sips his Ginger Ale.

“So... How was school?” He grunts. I sit at the table and open my TV dinner.

“Good. Good. Find a second work, yet?”

“Nope. I’ve been looking, though.” He nods. "Uh, anything about your first day, eh?"

"It wasn't even really my first day, turns out." I grumble, forking the mildly concerning faux Salisbury steak smothered in a brown goo that somewhat resembled gravy. "They duped me into attending a pre-season meet and greet assembly. I felt like an idiot because everyone had their parents; I went by myself because I thought it was actual school."

"You're 16; I don't think anybody will think of you as an idiot for not having your parent with ya." I slowly nod and finally bite into the meat. Dad would have to leave right after dinner. My “nightly nanny” comes in the door. Dad hired her to spend the night every night, just in case. “Hey, Patricia.”

“Howdy, Frank.” Pat waves. “Jen. You guys eating?”

“Yeah. Help yourself.” Dad nods. Patty grabs herself the now-warmed platter. She was younger, about 25, who was in need of a real job. I watch her, curiously, as I often wondered if my dad was already dating her. He was cheating on my mom before she died; why wouldn't he be with somebody else while there was still warmth in her body? She wasn't really his type, but again; neither was the married woman he got with.

“Uh, can I be excused?” I plead.

“Go ahead. Goodnight, dear.” Dad smiles. I go back upstairs, and get ready for bed. Slapping my headphones on and singing to a song I knew well, I brush my teeth in the way undersized upstairs bathroom. It was hard to brush your hair in there, man; you'd constantly slam your hand into the door directly behind your head. My ginger locks visible from my headphones gleam in the mirror as I eye myself, dryly. Of course, I personally thought I was an okay looking girl; I wasn't ugly by any means, albeit a tad overweight from all the stress eating and cheap meals recently.



I hold my good luck charm as I fall back in bed, and stare up at the ceiling. I hold my crystal between my face and my ceiling fan’s lights. The light shines through the purple, clear charm; it seemed to glow indigo. I found it in a parking lot a few years ago. I guess someone just left it. My dad says it was probably amethyst or fluorite, but my science teacher doesn’t agree. He’s never seen any mineral like it before.
But none of us has seen everything. I turn out my light and slide my crystal under my pillow. It glints in the moonlight before it disappears. I lie down and toss a couple of times, and fall asleep.
Then I began to dream.

In my dream, it was as I woke up rather than fell asleep. I was me; I knew I was me, but only 20 years older, at least. I was standing in a field—no, a yard, I decided after I spotted a huge mansion. Or was it an apartment complex? It was larger than any house on Earth, I was sure. It was built of wood, like a giant log cabin. I stare in awe of the flourishing gardens that grew everywhere. There was a town that surrounded the house, with smaller, normal sized homes and some shops, a doctor’s office, and even a bakery. Behind the house was a big mountain, even larger than the house itself. The ridge created a bowl around the town, and houses sprawl up it as well. At the town's far corner, there were jets and jumbo jet-type ships parked out of the way. Two out of the 5 big ones were possibly the size of the town, the olive, black, and gleaming gold Quadra-copter-type air craft being the largest and most dramatic by far. I could tell this wasn’t a human development.

Or at least this is what Area 51 looked like.

"I've dreamt up some places before, but nothing like this." I blink. "Wait; I'm lucid dreaming! I've never done anything like this before."

“Welcome! Hi-ya, there!” A voice cheerfully says behind me. I slowly turn around and freeze. The voice came from a Green Jeep Cherokee, and yes, who had eyes and a mouth.

“You… you…” I point.

“Take it easy! Everything's okay.” He laughs, like this was all normal. “Yeah, I’m alive. Yeah, I have eyes on my windshield. Houstin told me to talk with you. You must be Jen! Talking to anthropomorphic cars probably wasn't on your to-do list yet, but you can check that off as of this evening, I think.” I try to wake myself up, but with a start I realize I couldn't.

“Where am I?” I pant. “And who’s Houstin?!”

“You’re at a wonderful place called Dawnrise.” He smiles, cheerfully. “I’m Grassly. You don't need to be afraid, Jen; I'm your friend!” Unconvinced, I give Grass a wary, sideways look. “Well, this is the future, as you’ve guessed.” Grass continues. He looks to the house. “Or the possible future, if you help.”

“Possible future? What do you mean?” I breathe. “You’re real?”

“You are here, because we have a job for you.” Grass nods. “In a few weeks, in your time zone, the president is going to place a warrant for every single car made prior to 2010. We'll be taken away and scrapped. It’s an emissions thing, so go figure none of us are sacred.” He sadly closes his eyes. “You’ll have to lead our rebellion to safety.”

“Wait, so this is the future.” I start.

“Possibly.” Grass corrects.

“Fine! Possibly the future! And if you’re here, you had to have come from somewhere already!”

“Ah-huh.”

“Does that mean there’s a Jenna before me?”

“Of course!” He giggles. “Do you not know who I am yet?” He pauses, and I shrug. “I’m your Cherokee, sis. Right now, I’m parked in your drive way.”

“Woah! That sounds like a threat!”

“I know! Thankfully, I'm a bit sleepier in your dimension and I can't jump up to happily greet you just yet. But the Ford, Grayson. The Dodge, Felix. The Suburban? Domic.”

"So the last me obviously succeeded. That means this me will too, right?"

“I don’t know.” He admits “This is an alternative universe from yours.”

“Wait a minute.” I point. “If I don’t help—or worse, I fail—will you be here?”

"I'm no scientist so I can't answer that, Jen. But I have a bad feeling about our existence if something happens to you. Us aside, I don't want anything to happen to you, either."

“Hey, Grass. Who’s this?” A younger woman wonders. She looked very similar to me; red hair, aqua eyes. But she had gunmetal glasses, freckles, a rounder face, and more serious eyes.

“Uh, sis? This is the younger, previous you.”

“Oh. Howdy!” She laughs. “Huh. It’s weird what you call strange after you were picked up out of another dimension by talking cars, have flown on dragons and turned into dragons, married an Ram HD, and have had 5 kids. And yet I don’t consider this strange at all.”

“Was that sarcasm?” I wonder.

“It might have been.” Jen winks. “That’s up to me to decide. Pun intended.”

“I think I like you!”

“So, are you in?” Grassly pleads as I give the strange ginger a hi-five. She looks passed me, like she was expecting someone.

“…Okay. I’ll do it.” I nod, not noticing her eyes light up. “What do you need me to do?”

"Will not be easy, not even with our guidance." A guy with a deep German accent warns behind me. I look over my shoulder, and then look up. The speaker was a lifted Ram 3500 Mega Cab who was like Grassly. He gives me what I guess was a keen squint. "I am Jorgen, better known as Titaniumhitch, President of Dawnrise. I had Houstin tell Grassly to call."

"...I guess you know I'm Jenna already." He nods and pointedly glances at Jen, who slyly beams and crosses her arms. I pause and hysterically crack up. "Hoo, boy. I went to bed a nobody, woke into a dream known by a president. Well played, dream world."

"Not dream." Jorg corrects. "Well, is still dream, yes, but it is very real. And what do you need to do? Hm. The impossible, it seems. You need to get the cars of Earth to safe place."

"See, they'll hunt them--us--down without mercy. They won't stop until we're all dead and gone." Jen agrees, darkly. "It's a selfless and rewarding job, being hero. Extremely dangerous, but if respect is what you're after, there's no better job."

"How am I supposed to rescue millions of cars; go house to house and steal them one-by-one?"

"Your keepsake crystal charm is not just for decoration. Is nice to look at, but is capable of much more. Expose it to the front end of any car no matter age and it will become conscious and sentient as Grassly or I."

"It might prove pretty valuable to your adventure. You can't steal a living being with complicated emotions, of course." She gives her apparent husband an amused look. "Emotions so complicated; they can wake up happier than Leprechaun, cry the entire duration of breakfast, scare a full sized dragon with rage after lunch, and be the same doofus y'know by bedtime again."

---

"I don't know, sis." Grassly mutters as I slowly sit on the porch step with my hands covering my face. "We're doomed. So why are we still trying?"

"We aren't doomed. Not yet." I say, sternly.

"But it's useless to resist!" Domic cries. "I was almost scrapped before! You saved me! But it looks like despite all our efforts and yours, destiny has its way to screw you when you're up and when you're down." I look around at the four (and Rudy plus Redline). Felix was quietly gazing at his hood, Grayson paces behind him, Domic was looking at me, pleadingly, as if he was waiting for an order, and Grassly sallenly parked beside him. Rudy was just kicking a ball around. And once again, Red was pacing in terror.

"You all might be cars," I reason. "But I know you helped raise me the best you could. Grassly, I've known you all my life."

"Oh no, a last speech." He moans.

"No. Not a last speech, but a beginning speech." I smile, standing up. "You were the first family SUV here. You saw me through my most annoying and damaging stage. Domic, you came next. You gave Grass the break he needed to raise me a little more. Felix then took me on when you no longer could. And Grayson just helped Feel by distracting my dad onto him so Feel could do his job. But we have all been together for years. We're an established family, us 5. We're a fleet. It's amazing how a human, a Dodge, a Jeep, a Ford, and a GMC can band together with such a bond same model cars could only dream of! Sure, we bicker like old trailer park ladies, call each other names, and just overall cause a ruckus, but what close knit family doesn't?"

"You do have a point." Gray agrees. "I may be the oldest, the most experienced, and the most practical, and Felix is the total opposite, but I still love him like a brother! I only nag him because he's a big tailpipe."

"Even though you replaced me, and then he replaced you, you're my best friend, Domic." Grass bows. "I couldn't imagine my life without your big, stupid rear end up my grille and complaining I'm the one sniffing your bumber! We really are a fleet."

"We're a fleet!" Felix cheers.

"Yeah. Go you." Rudy snorts.

"And Rudy is our extended fleet." Gray bows. "You can be in ours, guy. We accept you." Rudy gives us a considering glance before sighing.

"Fine! If you really want this hot mess screwing up your bond, I'll accept your offer." He grumbles. "Benz, you people are annoying!"

"You're welcome, Rudy." We all chuckle.

"Well, what now?" Domic wonders. "Are we giving it one last shot, even if we go out with a bang of glory?"

"One last shot." Felix nods and turns his tires.

"One last shot." Grass smiles, drives up to Felix, and touches tread with him.

"One last shot! Duh!" Dom giggles, pushing his way into the tire bump. "I'm no Volvo! Let's do this!"

"I'll give all I have left in me." Grayson winks, joining tires, too. I slap my hand down on Felix's tire as well.

"Count me in, baby." I smile. "Fleets stick together!"

"...I'll give it a shot." Rudy bows, managing to squeeze in close enough to press his grille into my back. "What else do I have to lose?"

"Welcome aboard, Rudester!" Grass yips. "Yeah!"

"Holy Dodge, you suck at nick names." Rudy grudgingly chuckles. "But you're a Cherokee, so I expected that." I glance over my shoulder to see Red wistfully gazing at our group nuzzle. He sadly hangs his front end. I shake my head and lift an arm (that was not hugging Felix or Grassly!)

"Red!" I crow. "You're in this fleet now, you big, sexy hatch-pain! Get over here!"

"...R-really?" He gasps. "Yeah!" He barrels over and about rolls Rudy trying to nuzzle up to me.

"Our honorary fleetmates." I giggle. "Blood doesn't relate us, and model doesn't, either. It's the love."



We back off and admire each other.

"Let's do this." I clap. "We rise together, we fall together. If we get busted, I'm never going back. I'm going down with this ship of freaks no matter what!"

"Did I miss an inspirational speech?" Loki cries, driving over. "Benz! Can we repeat that?"

"Oh, Loki." I sigh. "You beautiful mess, you."

"I am a pretty boy, eh?" Loki smugly shakes his hatch at Grassly.

"The plan?" Felix laughs.

"Okay, crew. This is what we're going to do. But first, we need the Magnum Pl theme song."

"Will the EDM remix do?" Rudy offers.

"Sure. Whatever floats your land boat." He blares the thumping remix. Indeed, it was pretty awesome. Loki starts slyly prancing around.

"The land boat is floating awaaaay!" He crows.

"Awesome. Totally unexpected." I nod, slapping down my map. "Okay, this is the shuttle." I drop a rock at the location the shuttle would be. "And here we are." I take a fistful of small gravel and sprinkle it on our current location. "We're going to go through a corridor here, take a left turn there, and then ram through a crowd of expecting guards. The big boys will lead the charge to ensure we get through."

"Oh. Sounds...intense." Domic gulps.

"After the guards, we sneak through a heavily secured area, crash through some fence, and shoot at the wild cow/buffalo hybrid thing running around with sunglasses and heart boxers."

"What?" Red blinks.

"Just making sure you were listening."

"Trust me; you had me at the first set of armed guards!"

"Anyways, then there will be an uneventful area before we hit another wave of security. But if we burst through that, we'll be home free." I push our stones straight to the big stone, pick it up, and throw it at a tree. It bounces off and hits Grayson.

"Owww!" He cries. "I didn't realize I was representing the new galaxy!"

"Sorry, Gray." I wince.

---

Without warning, a heart shattering explosion sounds. The bridge ramp. leading up to the entrance, along with the last dozen or so cars, detatches from the ship.

And Red was half on and half off the bridge, as he was trying to herd some of the slower members aboard.

"Red!! Red!!" I shriek. Through miraculous ways, he fights back his panic to slam a back tire on the tipping bridge, stopping it and all the other cars from plummeting to their doom.

"Let's go, LET'S GO!!" He screams. "Everybody, LOAD UP NOW!!" The last squadron, shaking like idiots, manage to race up the ramp and leap. aboard. But that still left one. I shakily kneel down in the entrance as Red quivers terror. I put a calming hand on his hood, and he looks up. "Jen!! Help!! Don't let me die!!" He shrieks.

"Nobody's gonna die! Easy, now, big boy. Don't look down; look into my eyes." Red stares into my eyes, and for a moment, I could have sworn we traded essences. I felt his true fear in my heart even as he started to take slower, easier breaths and gain focus. Time seemed to slow to a halt all around until it was just us; a terrified truck on the verge of death and a human desperate to save him. "Okay. Okay. This is what we're gonna do. Okay?" He nods the best he could. "Okay. We're going to get Axwell and his winch over here and we're all going to pull your lardo tailgate up." Felix's voice barely broke through my trance.

"Sis, they're bringing in the tanks!!" Red doesn't even flinch in acknowledgment; he was still softly staring into my eyes, borrowing whatever courage I even had left.

"Will it be strong enough to pull me up?"

"Yes. It'll get you up, hun. Don't worry. It's all going to be just fine."

---

"The winch isn't rated for this much weight!!" Ax screams. "it can't pull him!!"

"We can't fight off the Humans much longer!! We're running outta ammo!" Domic bellows.

"We have approximately a thousand rounds left, and when you be aiming at an army, that 1k runs out really fast, man!" Levi agrees, urgently. "So either dump the load and c'mon, or pull him aboard!"

"We aren't giving up on him!! PULL!!" I scream. We all get in on the cable and pull. TATATATA!! PPPPPPow! P-pow!! Guns blaze all around us, from both enemy guns and Ally rifles. All I could think about was the poor essence on the border of death before me, being unable to do a thing after everything he's done for me.

A real leader doesn't take the front. I stop and blink in realization. They ride the rear to help the stragglers along.

"We need a second cable on his rear bumper!" I plead. "He's just too long; we need leverage! Does anyone else have a winch?!"

"I can rig a pulley system!" Derrik waves, grabbing a scrap line of old cable car wire from the bed of Ricky. "Hang in there!"

---

Finally, the land ship of a truck slowly tips forwards and falls into the shuttle, though landing on his cab. "Are you okay?!" He heaves in terror exhaustion, gaping as he gasps for air. "Red! Red, are you okay?" He shakily looks over at me as I firmly pat his fender. "Look at me! Deep breaths! You're alive! We saved you! Focus! Foooocuuuuss!"

"Alive. Alive!" He pants.

"Yeah! Alive!" Red glances me over for a moment and gives me a rather tired, thankful, in love sort of smile, though still gasping for breath. Meanwhile, all the cars who almost didn't make it excitedly dance around.

"Old, but not obselete." Grayson pants, proudly lifting his front end. "Now, can you please get us off this planet?"