Chapter Three: How to Save Propwash Junction

As if things couldn't get worse, a huge yellow and white Oshkosh Striker 3000 vehicle came into Propwash the next day, accompanied by a forklift assistant who put caution tape across the burnt remains of the Fill N' Fly and then proceeded to surround Mayday with several orange cones. The poor old fire engine seemed so small compared to the large tanker staring him down with a hard glare. A badge on his fender read "Ryker." Sky, Skipper, Sparky, Dusty, Chug, and Dottie stood off to one side, watching worriedly. Sky's ankle and foot were bandaged, luckily with only a sprained ankle and mild second degree burns. But the pain of walking still required her to lean on a pair of crutches. Sky couldn't help feeling sorry for Mayday, and she wished Max could be there with him for moral support. Max, Mayday's human firefighting partner, had sadly passed away fighting a forest fire near town about four years ago. Mayday still didn't like to talk about it. Neither did Sky, as the young woman took quite a liking to both of the firefighters while she lived in Propwash Junction. She still had Max's old firefighting helmet he gifted to her, and in the months following Max's death she often stared at the helmet and wished the old human firefighter was still around.

"Mr. Mayday." Ryker said in a very official, very serious tone. "Were you at the specified point of attack and applying an extinguishing agent within three minutes of the time of alarm?"

Mayday tried to not stumble over his words too much. "Well, I didn't have time to look at a clock." He noticed the forklift scribbling on a clipboard.

"Can you provide me with your self-inspection records and emergency procedure plans?" Ryker asked/demanded.

"Well, emergencies don't happen very often." Mayday said with a small chuckle. "At least we got the fire out."

"Is that your contingency plan, Mr. Mayday?" Ryker demanded. "Every time there's an incident you topple a water tower?"

"Of course it's not the contingency plan." Sky growled, limping forward and glaring at Ryker. "It's just what needed to be done at the time."

"Sky, don't." Sparky hissed warningly, staring worriedly at the large TMST agent. Unfortunately, he knew Sky was plenty bold enough to give a piece of her mind to anyone, no matter what their rank in any field.

Sky ignored Sparky, her eyes locked onto Ryker's dark blue ones. Ryker matched her glare. "And what determined that such action was required?"

"I don't know. I didn't see." Sky said in a snarky tone. That wasn't a lie; the smoke was so thick she couldn't really see a thing. "But I trust Mayday's judgement. He thought quickly and I'm confident he wouldn't have toppled the tower unless he felt he had no other option." She spied Mayday perking up a bit, happy to have some support. But Mayday knew if Sky didn't watch what she said, they were all in even more trouble.

Ryker still glared at her, and his eyes suddenly moved to stare at her ankle. "And just where did you get those injuries?"

"None of your car wax you overgrown fire hydrant on wheels!" Sky snapped.

"Skylar Amelia Riley!" Skipper barked, making Sky flinch. "Get. Over. Here. Now."

Sky looked to Ryker and grunted in disgust as she made her way back to Skipper. Ryker stared after her, mentally smirking at the sight of her father lightly whapping her on the shoulder. Then the TMST agent looked to Mayday. "I received reports of a victim injured during the incident."

"Yes. That was her." Mayday confirmed.

"Mayday!" Sky complained, only for Skipper to shush her sharply.

"And was the safety of said victim taken into account when you decided to pull down the water tower?" Ryker asked, sneering a bit.

Mayday allowed a small glare to appear in his eyes. "I did what I had to do because I feared for her safety."

"This is my fault." Dusty suddenly piped up, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Dusty, it was an accident." Mayday assured.

Ryker cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. "It's clear this airport has no plans for an emergency and equipment from last century." Skipper gave Sky another whap with his wing to keep her silent, despite his own irritation at Ryker's comment. "I am pulling this airports Certificate of Operation for noncompliance of rescue and firefighting regulations until Mr. Mayday is refurbished and acquires a second firefighter."

Mayday slumped down again. "Oh, Chevy."


By the end of the day, everyone in Propwash Junction heard the news about the airport being closed. Not everyone heard the details, but they knew the gist.

One, there was a fire that apparently required the toppling of the water tower.

Two, TMST shut down the airport.

Three, the only way to reopen it was to fix up Mayday and find another firefighter to work with him.

Skipper had called everyone to the airport to discuss the problem, but first he had to deal with the uproar of concerned citizens before him. "Keep calm, everyone.."

"Calm?" Brodi repeated. "I already got the motel booked! This Corn Festival is what butters my corn." Several other residents murmured in agreement. Even after Dusty's and Sky's rise to fame, what kept Propwash Junction going was the airport and the Corn Festival.

"Brodi, we've already figured this out." Skipper assured. "Dottie?"

Everyone looked to Dottie and Sparky, standing a few feet from Skipper. Sparky pointed to a drawing of Mayday up on a stand between them. "This is Mayday now." Dottie began. "We'll add a new 400-watt siren, a 2,000 GPM roof turret, and a high-capacity water tank with integrated class A foam cell—" Sparky took the drawing away to reveal a second one of Mayday looking refurbished. "—and we'll have an all-new Mayday."

Sparky nodded proudly. "See? No problem!"

"And to get Propwash reopened, we just need to find a…..second firefighter…." Dottie trailed off a bit at the end.

"What? You expect us to find a firefighter during fire season?" Leadbottom snapped. Immediately, another uproar began as the Propwash denizens began chatting worriedly amongst themselves.

Sky stood beside Skipper during the entire talk, leaning on her crutches. She noticed Mayday quietly drive off, looking quite dejected. Dusty followed the old fire truck soon after. Good. Dusty always knows what to say to make people feel better. Sky heard the people of Propwash still shouting worriedly, demanding answers they weren't going to get anytime soon. That was the only flaw in their plan to get Propwash Junction reopened: how to find another firefighter. Sky felt a little guilty. If only she hadn't gotten hurt; maybe then Mayday and the town wouldn't be in so much trouble. That, and maybe she shouldn't have ticked off the government agent. Sky didn't believe a simple ranking deserved eternal respect if the one who had said ranking was acting like a jackwagon. So she wasn't afraid to speak her mind in front of the agent. Still, maybe she could've at least held back the sass just this once.

The raven-haired girl looked out to the panicking citizens before her, and she glared. "All right, that's it." She muttered, tossing her crutches to the ground. She limped forward a bit, standing in a spot where everyone could see her. Skipper, Sparky, Dottie, and Chug stared at her with confusion. Then they braced themselves when Sky brought two fingers to her lips. Her shrill, loud whistle caught everyone's attention.

"Hey!" Sky shouted. "Shut up!" Immediately, everyone fell silent. They all knew that when Skylar Amelia Riley called for attention, you give it to her. Sky nodded in satisfaction at the silence. "Look, you are all blowing this situation out of proportion!"

"Honey, the airport is what made Propwash Junction a town." One of the humans in the crowd said. "In the end, even with the Corn Fest and you and Dusty racing, it's the airport and runway that keeps this town thriving. Without it, we're sunk!"

"We won't be able to last until the end of fire season to wait for another firefighter." A plane added. "And who knows how long it will take to actually find one?"

"All right, point taken." Sky admitted. "But listen: it's a big problem with a simple solution. Dottie, you can fix up Mayday, can't you?"

"Of course." Dottie nodded.

"Great." Sky nodded. "First problem solved."

"And what about the second problem?" Leadbottom demanded. "It's not like a firefighter is just gonna pop out of the blue!"

"You let me take care of that." Sky said, standing straight and tall. "I'm going to become Propwash Junction's second firefighter."

"What?" Skipper asked in surprise. Several of the other residents also expressed their surprise and some skepticism.

"The deal is we need to find a second firefighter." Sky reasoned. "It was never said it had to specifically be a human or vehicle. So I'll ask Mayday to help me get certified. And I'll do it as volunteer work; I don't need to get paid to keep my home safe."

"You're gonna be a firefighter?" Leadbottom scoffed. "On that ankle?"

"It's a minor wound that will heal." Sky snapped. "And it won't prevent me from getting certified in time for the Corn Fest, which will go on as planned!" Several of the residents murmured to each other, still unsure. Sky frowned. "All right. Anybody else want to step up to the plate and be a hero? Who here is brave enough to take on one of the most dangerous jobs known to human or vehicle?" She glared at everyone around her, but the Propwash residents went silent again. "No one? Then shut up! I will become a firefighter and I'll work with Mayday as a second job. Propwash Junction will reopen in time for the Corn Fest and everything will work out. I promise."

"That's an awfully big promise to keep." Brodi noted. "You sure you can keep it?"

Sky looked determined. "You bet."

It was quiet for a moment before a somewhat hesitant applause rang out from the Propwash residents. Soon, everyone began to disperse and head home. Skipper approached his daughter. "Now, are you sure about this?"

"Positive." Sky nodded. "Mayday needs a new firefighting partner. Not just to keep Propwash open but for the sake of his emotional health. I know I can't replace Max, but I can be there for Mayday like he's always been there for me."

"It'll be dangerous." Sparky noted.

"I know." Sky nodded. "I was in that fire, remember? And Mayday did everything he could to help me. I owe him one."

Skipper sighed. "Well, all right." He pushed Sky's crutches back to her, the girl picking them up. "I don't know if I completely agree with this, but it may be our only shot at getting Propwash reopened. Let's go talk to Mayday and see what you need to do to get certified."

"I'll start drawing up the plans for Mayday." Dottie said, driving off. Sky leaned on her crutches and made her way to the fire house, Skipper right beside her.

"Hey Dusty!" Sky called as she and Skipper approached. The orange and white plane backed up and smiled at them. Mayday rolled out of the fire house to greet the pair, looking much happier now. "Hey Mayday. I'm going to be Propwash's second firefighter. What do I have to do to get certified?"

"You?" Dusty blinked in surprise.

"If everyone starts applying for the job, I won't be needed anymore." Mayday chuckled.

"Everyone?" Skipper repeated.

"I just told Mayday I would be the second firefighter." Dusty explained. "Sky, you don't have to worry about it. It's my fault the fire started and I'm the one who got you hurt."

"Yeah, but I'm the one who ticked off the TMST agent." Sky shrugged. "So we're both in the same boat." She looked to Mayday. "I suppose if two firefighters joined you, they'd definitely have to reopen Propwash Junction."

"Only if you two are really up for it." Mayday said. "I'd be happy to have ya."

Dusty and Sky shared a look, a silent agreement passing between them. They always worked together as a team when racing, why not when firefighting? "Mayday, just tell us what to do, and we'll do it." Dusty said.


A/N: And so their journey begins! What do you think? Was Sky foolish or bold in her decision to speak up against Ryker?