Skipper and Dusty's Father-Son Relationship Stories (All Humanized)

Chapter 10: Skipper's Sudden Cancer

    6 months after the WATG, Skipper was at the Fill N Fly gas station. So far, his relationship with his considered young charge, Dusty Crophopper, was growing deeper than ever, and at this moment, Skipper was thinking about adopting Dusty. What did happened to his family anyway? That got him curious. He was about to ask when- "Well that's just great. Coming over today? Well, see ya then, amigo."

    Confused, Skipper went to Dusty's house, where he found Dusty putting up his phone. "What's going on, Dusty?" he asked.

    "One of my fellow racers is coming over today," Dusty replied.

    "That explains it," Skipper said with a chuckle. "I could tell who it was when I heard you say 'amigo'."

    Dusty chuckled. He knew Skipper was taking about El Chupacabra, one of the racers that raced in the WATG. He and Dusty had first met each other in New York the day before the 1st leg even began. They became great friends since then, with El Chu promicing that they would have many adventures. During one part, Dusty helped El Chu win the heart of the French-Canadian racer Rochelle, and in return, when Dusty nearly drowned in the Pacific Ocean during a storm, El Chu returned the favor by helping dusty get back in the race. That kind act of friendship paid off when Dusty won, much to El Chu's happiness. They had become great racing pals ever since.

    Dusty smiled, remembering. "You've got that right, Skip. It's definetly El Chu," he said with a laugh. "I missed him for sometime. We were great fellow racers to each other. I just hope he gets here before sundown."
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    A few minutes later, Dusty was resting underneath a tree when suddenly, he heard uncontrollable coughing. The next thing he knew, Chug was shaking him like he was a maraca. "Dusty! Dusty! Skipper's not feeling so good! Come quick!"

    Alarmed, Dusty followed Chug to Skipper's house. "How did it happen?" he asked.

    "I don't know, Duster!" Chug replied. "I was just walking by his house earlier when Dottie alerted me to the scene! When I saw him, it looked like tiredness had hit him full speed like a jet or something!" What Chug said made Dusty more worried than ever.

    When the two friends entered, there was Skipper, who was on the floor in a coughing fit. He was coughing so much, he was on his hands and knees. "Skipper!" Dusty exclaimed as sadness hit him like a pile of bricks.

    "Keep am eye on him, Dusty! I'll call the hospital!" Chug said as he rushed over to the telephone.

    By then, Skipper was coughing so hard, he was actually coughing up blood. Dusty filed down next to him, continually screaming for help while sobbing uncontrollably. Finally, Skipper stopped coughing. He sounded like he was very ill. There was a small pool of blood-about 6 feet wide. Feeling tired, Skipper rolled onto his side like a sick animal. Still sobbing, Dusty pulled Skipper onto his lap the best he could. "Don't worry, Skip. Your gonna be fine. The hospital's gonna make sure of it, alright?"

    This broke Skipper's heart. It hurt him to see his young charge so sad and so full of distress, so to comfort him, he said, "A-Alright, I-I'll trust you, Dusty."

    Soon, the ambulance arrived, got Skipper in a stretcher, loaded him into the ambulance, and sped off. Dusty was overwelmbed. While Chug went over to help Dottie on her shed, Dusty started to go over to the tree he had been resting under before he heard the news. But once he got there, he started stumbling as though he was somehow dizzy before he fell to the ground-off the edge of the cliff. But as he fell through the air, he was aware of someone catching him before soon,  everything instantly went black.
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    Light pats on the shoulder woke Dusty up days later. Sunlight was streaming through the window of his bedroom. Skipper and his sudden sickness soon hit him hard again. He wanted to cry, but he was too weak to do so. "H-H-How long...? *cough, cough* W-Where..?" He could barely finish the questions. His voice was somehow dull and knowingly filled with sadness.