Life Is Strange: The Boy From Another Dimension

Chapter 13 Bad Coal

Soon after, Thomas came back to help Daniel. He had noticed his new paint job. "Cinder and ashes... when did that happen?" Thomas asked when he saw it. Daniel smiled and giggled. "Do you like it?"

"It looks splendid! It really fits you! I remember you said your love wolfs"

"Yep! I'm now actually Superwolf!" Daniel said smiling. He was so excited he had "Superwolf" painted in a white color, with gold outlines. Thomas smiled.

Thomas had reversed, went down the track, and then turned at the switch, to connect up to Daniel. Thomas slowly touched his front buffers, to Daniel's back buffers. A work man came out, and connected Thomas's connecting chain up to Daniel. "Hm? What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna pull you out. You must be low on coal and water" Thomas said, and he started his pistons, and backed out off the Steamworks. "By Victor!" Thomas said. "And thanks for looking after my friend!"

Daniel smiled at Thomas calling him a friend, then he said "By Victor" too. Victor blew into is whistle. "Goodbye!" He smiled. "Don't come back too soon! The less broken engines, the better."

Thomas pulled Daniel out, and into the yard just outside of the steam works. He had un coupled from his friend, and was about to help Daniel become an engine. He was going to teach Daniel the basics of being an engine. "Ok.. I wanna see how you move on your own. You see that coal towers over there? On the left?" Thomas said. Daniel looked to the left off him, but saw two coal towers. "Yeah... but theirs's two-"

"Exactly. You would need to get the coal, from the first tower, and not the second one"

"First one? And not the second one?" Daniel asked. "Precisely" Thomas said.

Thomas was about to talk more, but then he heard someone calling his name out.

"Thomas! We need you over here! An engine had a small accident and we need your help!" It was a workman, and he was trying to get Thomas's attention. Thomas sighed. "I'll be back Dan. Hold on"

Thomas puffed away, leaving Daniel alone.

Daniel waited for Thomas to get back, but he was getting impatient. He looked down the track, and saw how the lines zigzag all over the yard. But, it seemed like all the points where switched, to reach directly at the coal tower. So Daniel started.

He rolled along the lines, and switch after switch, he arrived at the coal tower. "Well, that was easy!"

But, there was trouble.

Daniel didn't realize, he was at the second coal tower. The first tower what he saw, wasn't a coal tower. It was a tower, yes, but it wasn't for coal. It was for sand.

He had mistaken that for the coal tower, and ended up at the second one, what Thomas told him not to go to. But he didn't know.

The tower unloaded, and the coal came tumbling down, falling into Daniel's coal bunker that was behind him. The dust from the coal erupted out of the bunker, and went all over Daniel's face.

"*cough!* ugh..." Daniel said while be coughed. Daniel backed up, back to the track he was at, before Thomas had left. "Need some help?"

A workman offered help to Daniel, but Daniel was confused on what help he could of possibly needed. "Uh? Excuse me, what help?" Daniel asked. "To stoke your firebox?" They asked. Daniel tilted, as he was confused, but then he realized what the workman had ment. "Oh! Yes, I'd love some help with that"

Apparently, the sentient steam engines from this world, needed help to start up, but no help to drive. The workman climbed up into Daniel's cab, and opened his firebox, and used a shovel that was hanged up on a rack, and shoveled some coal in. Daniel felt the fire getting warmer, and the fire rose up into his boiler. It felt really good. He sighed, contented. "I can see why Thomas loves that feeling"

The fireman looked out of Daniel porthole. "Alright, you're ready to roll."

"Thank you!" Daniel said with a smile. The workman had left, and Daniel decided he just wanted to roll back and forth a little. "Maybe I can practice moving before Tom gets back"

Daniel let the steam run into his pistons, and he started to move. He started to go a little to fast. "Oh crap!"

He flipped his breaks down, and with a small "scrrreeeeccchhh" sound, he had stopped. "Ok... gotta take it easy with that apparently"

He slowly released his breaks, but then he felt his boiler rattle. "AH!" He yelled. "What the heck is that feeling?" He had felt it before, while he was talking to Victor, but right now, he just thought it probably was something that normally happens with steam locomotives. It probably was the water inside his boiler bubbling.

He decided to have another go, and started to puff forward. Chuff after chuff, he slowly inched across the yard. He was slowly getting the hang of it.

"Ok! This... isn't too bad...*COUGH!*" The smell of burning coal, made him nearly choke on his own voice. "What the? *cough* what's that burning smell?" Daniel looked around, but saw no sign of any smoke in the distance. "What the?*cough*"

Just about then, he saw little fire sparks raining down in front of him. "*cough!* where is that coming from?"

Daniel was so confused. He quickly backed up, but it's as if the fiery smoke was following him. "Huh?!"

He looked up, and then saw what it was.

The fiery smoke, was coming from his funnel. "Oh no! What's happening to my funnel?" A whole bunch off dark ash, with sparks was shooting out of his smoke stack. Ash and soot was falling everywhere.

"Hey, I'm back Dan. Just had to hel- CINDER AND ASHES!"

Thomas had came back, from helping the engine, and saw the fiery smoke coming out of Daniel's funnel. "Daniel, I told you to get the coal from the first tower! Why did you get the bad coal from the second one?!"

So that's what it was, Daniel thought. Bad coal. Some coal doesn't burn properly, and makes a whole fiery mess. "B-But I did get it from the first tower!"

Thomas looked at the towers, and saw how the sand tower, could of made Daniel get thrown off. Thomas sighed. "Oh... bother. I see what could of made you get confused." He said. "But... you should of waited for me, I did say I was going to help you. If you really want to get back to you world, you mustn't get in anymore accidents!" Thomas said.

Daniel sighed. He knew his friend was right.

"Come on, let me pull you out of here, and onto the main track." Thomas said.