The Storm Rolls

Loosely based on Stormy Night Comfort by The Alice Killer - Storm

"Watch out, Henry. There might be a storm coming!"

"Oh, be quiet, James!"

If ever you were introduced to Henry, the first thing that comes to mind, would be Henry's Tunnel. A long time ago, Henry hid in the tunnel, because he said that the rain would spoil his lovely green paint with red stripes. As punishment, he was bricked up in the tunnel. This event led to the famous, yet ridiculous rhyme:

'Once an engine attached to a train,
was afraid of a few drops of rain.
It went into a tunnel, and squeaked 
through its funnel, and wouldn't come out again.'

Henry grew very touchy on the subject. Whenever the engines asked if Henry was alright, Henry would shrug it off; leaving the other engines very confused.

One night, Henry was alone in the shed with Edward and Gordon. They could tell that Henry looked unhappy.

"Henry, are you alright?"

"It's fine, guys, don't worry about it."

"Henry, we can tell something is up." Gordon puffed.

"Henry, if there's something wrong, you can tell us. Besides, we're your friends. All three of us have been together for so many years. We can tell something is wrong."

Henry knew that he should tell the truth. 

"What I am about to tell you guys, no one else must know, promise?"

"We promise." Puffed Edward and Gordon

"Alright, there's a real reason why I'm afraid of the rain, and thunderstorms."

And this was the story Henry told...

'The year was 1920, two whole years, before I came to the Island of Sodor, I worked on the Great Northern Railway on The Mainland along with me and my brothers. However, on that particular day, it started to rain; it wasn't your everyday rain, it was the strongest rain you have ever seen!'

'One night, the manager walked up to us engines.'

"We have a goods train that is needed up north from here, do I have a volunteer?"

'Of course, I volunteered. But I found out that it would be a big mistake!"

"What happened next?" Asked Edward.

'The journey up north wasn't too bad, but that was when I was wrong. Up ahead, was trouble: the rain had weaken the slope, and the ground under the tracks had been swept away. I was too distracted to realized this, until it was too late!'

"HENRY, LOOK OUT!!!!!!"

'But it was already too late! My driver and fireman jumped clear before the crash, but I laid dazed and surprised.'

"And that was the real reason why I was afraid of the rain and thunderstorms."

Edward and Gordon were speechless!

"Henry, is that true?"

"Yeah, that historical part happened, but a storm like that could never exist!"

"It is as real as trains with faces."

The three engines were silent for the rest of the night.

Later that night, the other engines were fast asleep in the sheds, when the storm kicked in; the engines didn't mind at first, but Henry did mind! The wind shook the shed, as if the roof was about to be blown away! Then, it happened. The lighting cracked, and the thunder boomed! Henry jumped, and let out a loud whistle! It woke the other engines up by surprise, all eyes turned to Henry.

"Henry, what's wrong?" Edward asked.

Henry was too shaken up to speak, his eyes were wide with fear. 

"Henry, it's okay." Edward huffed.

Henry took a deep breath, and looked at his friends.

"I'm sorry, guys. I just have a horrible nightmare."

"What was your nightmare about?" Asked Percy.

Henry looked at Edward and Gordon, and back at his friends.

"My nightmare was not a very nice one, I dreamt that I was running away from the storm, I always thought Azul would be there to help me."

"Who's Azul?" Asked James.

"He's my twin brother, he looks like me in my old shape, but he's painted blue. Anyways, back on my old railway, Azul would comfort me if I had another nightmare, but I don't know what happened to him after I left for Sodor."

All the engines looked sadly at their friend.

"Henry, we're all here for you." Smiled Thomas.

"Even if we're all not related or the same engine class, we'll always be a family." Added Edward.

Henry smiled; though he didn't have his twin Azul with him, Henry knew he had a family of friends to comfort him in times of need.

The end