TTTE: Trains and the Supernatural (short stories)

Trees, Trucks and Tiny Engines

Romulus is the smallest engine on the island of Sodor, even smaller than the Arlesdale Engines. His funnel only reached up to the manager's knees! He doesn't mind being small though, he actually quite likes it. 'From my level, the world looks extra special!' He would say, to anyone who wanted to hear. He works on a railroad close to Harwick, where he pulls logs out of the woods. The decision to make him tiny was so he could fit in the manager's backyard, where his daughter Lilith could take care of him.

One day, Romulus woke up from a loud bang coming from the manager's office. 'DAMNIT!' A voice he recognised as Lilith, his driver, echoed over the yard he lived in. She wasn't in a good mood. 'Lilith, are you okay?' Romulus rolled slightly out of his shed to see what had happened. 'Romu? Good that you're awake!' Lilith peeked round the corner, her face covered in sawdust. 'One of the oldest oaks blew over the night, part of the line's blocked.' She patted the little engine. 'We're not strong enough to lift it, we'll need your help.' Romulus' firebox fizzed up with excitement, he liked it when Lilith let him help with big jobs. 'I'll do my best!'

Ten minutes later Romulus stared at the biggest tree he'd ever seen before. Chains were fastened to his buffers and the thick branches, and trucks stood ready to take the cut parts away at once. 'Ready?' The manager shouted. Romulus peeped, and took off. He strained, the chains tightening painfully as slowly the tree moved. Lumber jacks helped by pulling long ropes attached to his front, and together they pulled the wooden barrier from the line. Once it was done, everybody cheered. Romulus, as red as his paint, smiled brightly at the workmen around him, and peeped cheerfully at the jacks who helped him. Lilith was proud too. 'I'd call that a job well done!' She laughed, a strand of her long blonde hair falling over her face. Suddenly she jolted up. 'Oh my, I forgot to tell you! Tomorrow, sir Topham Hatt is coming by to see us!' 'WHAT?' Romulus almost derailed at the news. 'BUT WE ONLY HAVE THIS AFTERNOON-' Lilith quickly pressed her hand against his mouth. 'Shhh, dad's very nervous about it. I've been cleaning the yard all morning because he thinks Topham needs it spic and span.' She groaned, as the voice of the manager rang over the terrain, yelling something about trucks needing cleaning. 'I'll be back in a sec, don't make yourself dirty!' She ran away, leaving Romulus alone with the lumber jacks.

About an hour passed, and Romulus started to get impatient. 'Where did she go now...' He hissed as he stared out in the direction Lilith had took off in. 'No one here ever notices me except the manager and Lilith.' He angrily let off steam and sulked in his little corner of the yard. People came by, chatting and laughing with each other. Bernard and Wayne, both hard working men, snuck behind some bushes close to him. Romulus could see a strange twinkle in their eyes, something he only saw once before when Lady Mellow visited them. The manager had had that same twinkle every time he dared look at her. Finally Lilith returned. 'Trucks cleaned, now it's your turn.' She drove the little engine into the wash down, careful not to drown him in the mountain of bubbles left from washing the trucks. 'Warm or cold?' She asked, fumbling with the hose. 'Warm is nice.' Romulus murmured. He liked the water running over his boiler, it made him nice and fuzzy. Unfortunately he didn't get washed very often, water bills and all that. And after one job he was covered in sawdust and branches anyway, so it didn't really matter. He always cherished these moments, piece and quiet, covered in warm bubbles underneath the tall trees surrounding the manager's house and office. He could fall asleep anytime he wanted...

Except not, as Lilith quite rudely awoke him from his pleasant nap. 'Come on silly, sleeping is for in the shed.' She gently pushed him away from the wash down, into his little shed. Some said it looked more like a henhouse, maybe because it actually was before they rebuilt it. 'You don't need to worry about tomorrow.' Lilith said as she carefully poured water into his firebox. 'Why do you always do that?' Romulus hissed, the sudden cold taking him by surprise. 'You tell me another way to put out your fire, puffball.' She laughed, as she finished readying him up for the night. 'Well, since it's your big day to prove yourself worthy of having NWR painted on your shed, I guess I'll clean your old carriages too...' Romulus jolted up. 'Carriages? I get to pull passengers again? Oh Lily thank you!' If he had arms he would hug Lilith so tight she'd probably be as flat as a flapjack. 'Oh don't thank me yet, I have no idea if we'll ba able to fix them up. They've been out of action for so long...' But Romulus didn't hear, he was far too excited for tomorrow now.