A few months had passed of Dusty helping us out. He'd come by every morning with food, and fertilizer for our own crops. He didn't mind dusting them, as long as someone was willing to hose him down after.

I didn't know what he and my sister were talking about. After mucking out horse stalls since I was six, I was immune to a lot of things scent wise. Vitaminamulch didn't smell as bad as horse manure, which we usually recycled into fertilizer for the crops.

"The smell is the first thing to go Andy." Dusty had said to me the first time I said I couldn't smell anything wrong with it.

"You grow up with getting treats in exchange for basically being a poop scoop and you'll be immune to everything else."

Needless to say when the discussions got 'gross' Olivia practically ran for the rows or for home. It was actually kind of nice having a friend who was just glad to be there. He was curious about us and we were curious about him and what life as a machine was like.

But the person who really had taken to him was my little sister and he had taken a liking to her too. She loved being with him and he was good to her. Let her sit on his wing and talk or even play some games with her. Dusty was careful though with her, made sure to remind her to be careful around certain parts because of how hot they could get. She was careful though.

I wasn't jealous..Just glad someone cared enough about my sister to let her hang out with him and be basically herself.

But alas things couldn't just stay that way...The new simple lifestyle we had gotten used to.

Dusty helped with ensuring we won't starve if something happens to our crops and was helping take care of them for now...But my family and I were still taking precautions with my grandfather's farm. Putting up barricades, starting a new pasture opposite of where it might go through.

But...It just wasn't enough.

I woke up one morning to hearing a weird loud noise. Our house was closest to the fields so I went down with my mother and what we saw...It startled and horrified us.

"Oh my god…" Mom murmured bringing a hand to her mouth.

I was stunned.

Our crops...What we had spent all year working on, all of us, were ruined...Instead a racing checkpoint and path was in it's place.

I felt sick to my stomach, we had harvested as much as we could but it looked like we were going to be relying on Dusty more than ever unless we got our own private gardens set up...And that could take months. Plants me and the neighborhood kids nurtured from seedlings and had grown back year after year..Gone.

Our wheat field, my personal pride and joy decimated.

It was all...Gone.

For the first time in a long time...I felt scared.

Just...What was going to happen now?

"Andy...Go up to the farm and warn your grandfather. Now!"

I nodded and took off running, I swear I hadn't run like this since the last harvester attack. Having Dusty around his presence was more intimidating to the local 'creatures' then welcoming.

But now I was running as fast as I had that day, as if something was out to get me.

I guess in a way something was.

"GRANDPA! GRANDMA"! I yelled rounding a corner nearly slipping on a puddle as I sprinted up the old stone path.

There it was...The same ranch house, painted white with the black shutters...The same pasture...Still barricaded. And my grandmother I could see her shadow from the window in the kitchen. Grandpa was outside polishing a rifle when I went up to him. "You...You gotta be ready grandpa…" I panted slumping down beside him.

"Andrew…" I inwardly sighed, everyone knew I hated being called Andrew including him but he did it anyway. "I am 78 years old..Do you know what that means?"

"What?" I asked, this one was new.

"It means...I almost wound up on one of them boats inward bound for Germany during the second world war they had...I was young enough to see those fancy Corsair jets and you know what I realized that day?" He asked looking very serious.

"What?"

"Human kind are scared pathetic creatures, I saw them tear down the crops today, well they can try to take this farm but this territory is human...And I don't mind proving it...See the sign?" He gestured to something painted messily on a stake by the side of the path.

I squinted and grimaced.

"ALL TRESPASSERS HUMAN OR MACHINE WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT."

"Gramps...Do you want them to decide us squishies aren't worth it? Cause we're gonna be relying on a 'machine' if we wanna eat and feed our livestock."

"Andrew..I am unafraid of whatever they throw at me. Tell your mother she doesn't have to worry about me neither does my fool son...Tell me...Has he attempted to dissect your plane friend?" He asked before aiming skyward and lowering it. It was thankfully empty.

I felt myself sweat a little. My dad was not the crazy researcher people had labeled him with a long time ago. He himself said he wasn't going to kill one of them just to figure out how they lived. That was barbaric he had said. He just wanted to find answers on his own.

Can't say I blame him...There's a lot about the machines we don't know. All we know here at least is that Dusty Crophopper can be trusted and treated as a friend not a source of irritance or a threat.

At least...I thought all of us agreed on that…

There was a time not long after that day with Grandpa when….Dusty just vanished.

We didn't know where he was, heck we even radioed in Propwash Junction but there was no sign of him.

I was worried both for him as our friend as well as worried for how we were gonna handle things.

It typically was a thing for families to can their vegetables and stuff, make preserves with what we can but that'll only last so long.

But nothing was as bad as Olivia running to the end of the road hoping to spot her friend and looking heartbroken.

"Andy...What if he's hurt?" She asked as I picked her up one of those many mornings. She looped her arms around my neck loosely to hold on while I carried her.

"I'm sure he's fine...What if he decided to go AWOL just for the sake of an important race? It is his dream." I said quietly as to not gain attention. Walking through the town now was getting awkward since 'we' technically brought the 'free' food delivery and now we were getting dirty looks.

"Bah! Who needs 'em?" My grandpa had huffed and pointed (in a rather rude gesture I will add) at the garden Grandma had tended to herself for years. "I got plenty of food. If we have to...We'll have a huge pig roast."

We had to pry his gun out of his hand, he was not exactly happy we were relying on a plane but he knew the line.

He knew not to cross it.

Still, I was starting to get worried. Not only did no Dusty mean no help, it also meant no protection from the wild vehicles.

Our crops may be gone but harvesters are too dumb to realize there's nothing worth chasing us around for.

Please Dusty….Come back safe…