Propwash Junction had become a booming town after Dusty had defeated Ripslinger in the race. But that was shattered after Dusty damaged his engine. He couldn't race anymore. That meant fewer visitors would come. All those thoughts went through his mind as he was parked beside the runway late at night. "I can't believe it.", he mumbled to himself, "I shouldn't have stressed my engine that much. I'll never race again." Tears started started to well up in his eyes. He knew it was all his fault. Knowing his career was over as he knew it, Dusty started his engine and taxied to the end of the runway.
FLASHBACK. "Dusty, we can't keep going on like this.", Ishani told him sternly. Dusty asked her, "What do you mean?" "You've been focusing on racing more than us.", she replied, "I'm sorry I have to say this, but we're through. Goodbye, Dusty." END OF FLASHBACK. Dusty jolted at the memory of the breakup. He gently increased the throttle and released his brakes. Once airborne he headed in the direction of the rising sun.
After three hours, Dusty found himself flying very low and very fast through a valley when he saw a plume of smoke in the distance. He climbed higher to get a better view of the scene. What he saw was astounding. There were acres of pine trees engulfed in flames. Dusty's eyes widened in horror. Then he spotted something to the left. There were four dots moving in the sky over the fire. "Smokejumpers.", he thought,
"I've got to get a closer look." Indeed, there were aircraft dropping fire retardant along with vehicles. He was so distracted that he didn't notice a helicopter in his path. "Get out of this airspace!", the red helicopter yelled. Dusty saw him and maneuvered to narrowly avoid a collision. "Sorry!", Dusty apologized. Still not paying attention, he accidentally flew through a cloud of fire retardant. A few hours later, he was on the ground at an air attack base in a national park called Piston Peak. He was all alone in a hangar, crying a little. Another airplane, a super scooper, peeked around a corner to see him like that. "I'll cheer him up.", she thought as she rolled over to him.
THE END