TTTE: Trains and the Supernatural (short stories)

The Werewolf Engine

It was a cold autumn evening on the island of Sodor when Edward the Blue Engine was making his way over to Brendam Docks. As for every year, Salty the dockside diesel would be telling Halloween stories to the other engines, who'd come and listen. Edward wondered what he would tell them about this year. Last year he had a story about the Flatbeds of Fear, which had spooked Henry, Thomas and Emily so much they actually believed it was true. He chuckled by the thought of them all running away from what was actually just the wind, blowing through the metal pipes they were delivering. 'What are you so cheerful about, Edward?' His driver asked. Edward smiled, and answered. 'I'm thinking of the stories Salty told the past few years. You know, the Flatbeds of Fear, and the Ghost Engine?' His fireman laughed. 'Oh I remember the Ghost Engine! Turned out to be Henry, all covered in glow in the dark paint!' His driver wheezed. 'And remember the troll, under the bridge at the windmill? Thomas and Percy were so scared they asked Toby to get them over!' Edward laughed too now. 'But in the end, it was just a sheep that had escaped farmer McColl!' Passengers started to hang out the windows, curious what the fuss was about. 'What do you think it will be about this year?' the fireman wheezed. Edward struggled to answer, getting interrupted by laughter with every word he managed to squeeze out. 'It will probably be about Gremlins, causing trouble at the dieselworks!' His driver slapped his knee, to the further concern of the passengers. 'No, you got it all wrong! It's about a sea monster, falling in love with a mermaid!' The fireman almost choked, making him and Edward laugh even harder. As they stopped at Suddery most of the passengers got out, glaring angrily at the engine and his crew. But Edward didn't care, and neither did his driver.

They arrived at the docks, just as fog started to roll in. Salty was busy shunting trucks. 'Down by the docks...' he hummed as he pushed a brake van into the line trucks waiting to become the Flying Kipper. Some workmen were already loading the fish, while others piled up wood for a campfire. 'Careful! I'm trying to unload a ship here!' Cranky the crane roared, his arm swaying in the salty sea breeze. 'Hello to you too, Cranky.' Edward laughed. 'Have you seen the others yet?' The crane grumbled. 'How am I supposed to keep track of you little engines crawling about below me, when I'm here spinning round and round to keep up with the ships coming in?' But something in his tone assured Edward he wasn't cross. Suddenly they heard a whistle, and then three more. Gordon, Henry, Thomas and Percy thundered onto the dockside, pulling trucks filled with wood and supplies behind them. Emily arrived shortly after.

About twenty minutes past, and Gordon sighed. 'Now we only have to wait for-' He was cut off as a bright red engine screeched into the docks, pulling his brakes hard as he shouted. 'Heeere's JAMES!' '-James.' Edward chuckled, as Gordon rolled his eyes and blew steam off. Salty rolled closer. 'Now that we be all together, I can finally start my story.' All the engines got quiet, as their crew hopped off and sat around the large campfire they had built.

'This is a story my driver told me. It be about an engine, but not just any engine you'd see every day. It's a story about,' He paused dramatically. 'the werewolf engine.' Percy gasped, and James snoofed. 'Long, long ago, when most people believed in holy spirits and gods, there was an engine who loved being in the woods. He spend as much time there as in his own shed.' Henry gulped, he loved the woods as well. 'The other engines of his railway thought he was crazy, but found themselves liking him anyways. He was very kind to all living things, so kind that he stopped for people who wanted to cross the tracks and helped the animals in the forest. But one day, as he was rolling trough the woods, something strange happened. A thick fog began to roll in, and he could hardly see a thing. He slowed down, as not to cause any accidents, but then he saw a shape on the tracks. "An animal on the tracks! Stop!" He braked hard, stopping right before he was about to hit whatever lay on the tracks before him. "Hey, don't worry buddy, I'll get you out of here." He called to the creature. But right as he finished his sentence, the thing jumped up, straight onto his face and buffers. The engine screamed and shot backwards, but the wild beast wouldn't let go of him. It had white fur, and red, glowing eyes. That creature be...' Again he paused dramatically. 'A werewolf.' Edward silently chuckled at the faces of the others. Salty continued. 'It scratched him, and ran away. They say that the beast still roams around, waiting for his next victim, to turn into the next werewolf engine.' Percy sighed. 'It's only a story, right? What happened to the forest engine? There must be a happy end, right?' Salty laughed darkly, making Percy's expression drop. 'The poor engine later got scrapped, as the controller of his railway thought he was possessed by a demon. They burned his body, then dropped it in holy water. He was never seen again.' Everyone gasped, even Edward, and stared at the little diesel. 'Of course, this be all made up fantasy. There be no werewolf, and there be no werewolf engine.'