It was dark out, and tiny Volkswagen beetles were bashing their heads against fluorescent lights as usual while the residents of Radiator Springs were parked at Flo's.

"'Ave y'all evah thought of da afterlife?"

Mater was the first to speak after prolonged silence, and soon all eyes were on him.

"What makes you wonder that?" Lightning McQueen raised an eyebrow, "It's not somethin' any of us mentioned."

Mater smiled sheepishly, "Ah jus' thought ah wou'da spark a conversation."

Lightning eyed the rusty tow truck intently, "It's not somethin' ya usually think about, eh?"

"Ahem," Lizzie interrupted, "If there is an afterlife, where's my Stanley?"

The question would have made anyone else laugh, but the founder's death was still a touchy subject for the old Model T, so nobody did.

"He's looking for you, still." Sally drove closer to the Model T, comforting her a little.

"He's still lost and hasn't died after all?"

Sally opened her mouth, but decided against saying anything.

"Uh, to make the conversation a little less heavy, why don't we listen to a story?" Flo offered.

All hoods pointed towards Sheriff.

"C'mon, Sheriff, man! You're the town's best storyteller." said Ramone.

The old police car looked around for a second.

"They do say that the Grim Reaper is a tow truck."

Everyone eyed Mater.

"Oh, Honda no! Ah'm not goin' through anotha' ghostlight prank!", the rusty tow truck backed away. Sheriff flashed on his lights as a warning, prompting Mater to pause.

"Stay for this one, rust-bucket. You'll like it, trust me."

Sheriff cleared his throat, Mater was now behind Lightning, painfully visible and already shaking.

"Us cars are pretty sturdy, we know that. But we still do die. The most common cause of death of all cars is engine failure–a tragic and scary thing, nobody wants to experience one…" He took a quick look at the Doc Hudson museum, and continued.

"So, when a car dies, what happens? Well, a common tale told 'round these parts is that there's a tow truck to help tow these cars once they've kicked the rust-bucket for good; they call him the Grim Reaper. He's black and gray, with red eyes and sharp fangs."

"Are you sure that's not just Count Dodgeula?", Sally giggled.

Sheriff shot her an angry look. "I'm pretty sure. It's a coincidence, all right?"

"Anyway," he resumed, "Once the Reaper comes, you know there's no goin' back. Sometimes he'll even go for the healthy youngsters, just cause he feels like it. Being a tow truck can be boring sometimes."

"Hey!", Mater scowled.

"But he's no ordinary tow truck, after all, he has the power to drag the dead into the Great Junkyard. Down there in the Great Junkyard, it has everything you can dream of; scrapped car parts, spilled oil, a musty and noxious aroma, and best of all, permanent darkness. A treat, right?"

The others nodded, albeit unwillingly. Lizzie had long fallen asleep, so Red bumped the old Model T gently to wake her up.

"So, once you're there, you don't usually return. Usually, because some unfortunate souls in the Great Junkyard do get a second chance. That's when the afterlife comes in. Seems like ol' Grim Reaper has a soft spot…but still! He'd come out for just anyone, mind you."

it grew even darker around Flo's V8 Cafe, the listeners whipered to each other after the story had finished, and Mater was nowhere to be seen.

"…Mater? You can come out now. Story time's over."