She disappeared.

She had just disappeared.

It was a thought that stuck in his head, welded into his thoughts. It nagged him, ate away at his consciousness. It was like a little sibling that won't just leave you alone.

She had just....disappeared.

~~~

The second her propeller stuck still, she had already started her rapid descent, whimpering with panic. He hadn't even had a second to catch his breath before she disappeared underneath the darkening clouds, her shadow melting into the sky. Her pleas for help melted away into the howling wind. Gasping, he dove down, forcing himself through the clouds, holding his breath as if it were water. Already, he could feel the starting effects of the cold, and it had only been...a second. The clouds left a light cool mist coating on his wings and stabilizers, already colder than that one wrench they had used while taking off his sprayer the previous year. And he hadn't even entered the storm yet.

~~~

Dusty stared out the frosted window, out at the navy blue sky that cried large white flurries. The snow piled up on the runway, as workers hurried to clear it. His eyes scanned the sky, searching for that stray shadow, faint light, glimmer of metal that would mean she was near. As far as he knew, she was still up there, probably freezing her stabilizers off. With a failing propeller, he saw no way for her to continue up there. But, after chatting with the other racers, which had arrived before him, neither of them had seen the plane. In all honesty, he didn't care that he was currently second to last, last even, if the rookie didn't....didn't...make it. Of course, he didn't know who this was, nor did he know why he cared so much. Maybe it was because he had respect for a racing female. Or because he had been so impressed at her agility back at the training court.

Or maybe it was it was her first large race, and he sympathized her. After all, he had been in that very same position only a few months ago, and he knew how nerve-wracking it made you feel and how much pressure was placed on your wings. All eyes were staring at the rookie, no one roots for the rookie. You're surrounded by all these professional racers, who know their stuff, and train professionally, while you're just a small plane, unknown by any of them, just hoping to survive the race. It was honestly one of the most tank-wrenching feelings in the world.

"Something is bothering you, amigo." Dusty turned at the sound of the Spanish-accented voice. He sighed at the sight of his closest racing friend.

"Oh, it's nothing." He muttered. El Chu narrowed his eyes, staring straight into Dusty's, who looked back with a confused expression.

"Do not lie to me, I know all!" The stare off intensified as El Chuy pressed on. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. oh, he had an idea of what was going on, and he wasn't going to let it go anytime soon.

"I-I don't...." Dusty sighed, and tried again. "I don't know, it's just...."

"You are having girl problems, no?" The interruption froze his mouth wide open.

"W-What?! No!! El Chu, you couldn't be more wrong!" Dusty recoiled, rolling back.

"Ah, my friend, denying means your lying. I know that look in your eye. I kn—."

"HAVE YOU SEEN THE ROOKIE?" Dusty snapped, shattering El Chu's  sentence in half. He stared at the little orange plane, who looked back with furious blue eyes. He wasn't used to being snapped at like this.

"The new plane? Eh, no, not since the starting line." His eyes narrowed. "Wait...the rookie...?" He asked in an all-knowing tone. "Oh....Dusty..."

"What, no?! El Chu, you know I don't like anyone...."

"Except for IsHaNi..."  Dusty flushed a deep tone of red.

"No! Wh-that's not the issue now! Point is, she's still out there." El Chu's excited expression melted away like ice in on a hot summer day, his eyes wandering from Dusty's face to the darkened window. His mouth dropped open, and he stared at the falling flurries.

~~~

Dusty's wings seem to shudder as he broke through the clouds, at the swirling snow and ice. The wind pushed against his wings, sending his flight plan out of focus. His fuselage shuddered under the heavy air, as his eyes scanned the darkness, for the lights that would surely be shining out of the plane's headlights. He saw none. Nor did he hear an engine or propeller anywhere near. His comm crackled, and a gruff voice came on the other end.

"Iceland control to Crophopper 7. Over."

Teeth chattering in the cold, he managed to mutter "This is Crophopper, over."

"You have missed the runway. Please turn around and proceed through the path of lights. They will guide you to the camp."

"Ok..w-wait!" His cry was too late as the comm crackled off. Now, he felt stuck. On  one end, he had to find that missing plane. In these frigid conditions, there was no way he could see her lasting long. But on the other, he wasn't exactly going to last long either.

As he leaned to turn around, a faint red light caught his attention. Then, another popped up, about 20 feet to the side of the first. One by one, small lights appeared in the snow, forming a path. He was lined up perfectly to land without issue.

Groaning with his decision, Dusty lowered his landing gear, but not before he took one last long glance around, hoping to spot the plane last minute.

He saw nothing.

~~~

"Why didn't I try harder?"

"Do you mean to say..." Dusty nodded, answering the unasked question. El Chu's eyes bounced back and froth from the plane to the window and back. All of the sudden, the communication channel crackled, and Skipper's voice filled the room.

"Dusty, are you there?" Both pairs of eyes slowly drifted to the mic. The room fell silent, where the only sound was the low buzzing of the heat lamp in the corner.

"I'll...leave you now." The large plane quickly taxied backwards, sliding the door shut.

And Dusty was alone.