A/N: I'm so sorry guys. I was trying just to work on An Unexpected Friend, but this one was too good to pass up. Coal is a steam engine with a dark past, and is my OC. If you want to use him ask me, or just credit me in the summary for him. I was listening to You Are My Sunshine by Alone. It is a minor key version of the song, and I couldn't help, but picture Coal in his withered state. Anyway, enough talk. Let us begin.
Coal slowly opened his eyes, and held back a scream as agony ripped through his body. That was nothing new. He looked around, his amber eyes smoldering with both pain, and rage. It was dark, but he could tell by the shapes of the shadows around him that he was in a workshop. Someone had found him, and brought him here for repairs, poor fool. If only that human knew what he had in store for them.
He grunted, and slowly sat up. He touched his abdomen, and grimaced, and hissed as he felt all of his mechanical parts inside him. His front plates of his armor, his metal hide, were still missing. They had rotted away over the years, revealing every working mechanical component inside him. He checked his right leg. It would be a miracle if the humans would be able to repair it. It was far too rotten to stand on, but he made do with dragging himself across the ground. It helped to build up strength in his arms, one of which was completely bare, revealing an endoskeleton of some sort, with razor sharp finger tips. He was built before the humans made the fingertips more dull as a safety precaution. He was a safety hazard to everyone around him.
He touched his cheek, and felt the warm metal underneath his fingertips. The skin on the side of his face was almost completely gone, revealing the bare metal underneath. His withered state was the result of those arrogant humans trying to scrap him. He was in perfect working condition, but the railway needed money. He escaped the scrapyard, but others were not so lucky. He witnessed his closest friends get torn apart by those barbarians. He felt the fire inside him rise as he recalled the memories of that forsaken scrapyard. He stood up, using the workbench he was sitting on as leverage. One day, one day, he would make those humans pay.
He slipped, and fell onto the concrete floor. He cursed, and rolled over onto his belly. He pounded his fist on the floor. The concrete cracked underneath his hand from the brute strength of the steam engine. He looked back at the workbench, then decided it was best to just lay there, and wait until morning. He perked up when he noticed the silhouette of a human standing just outside the workshop, and his tiny spark of anger turned into a raging inferno of rage. It was man who made his life a living Hell, and now he was going to return the favor. He slowly stood up, bent on revenge, only to fall, and hit his head on the concrete floor.
He heard the distinct footsteps of a human running towards him. His prey was coming right to him... perfect. The lights flickered on, and the human came to a sudden stop, and covered his mouth in shock when he saw the withered steam engine. This human clearly didn't work here, and was oblivious to the danger of working with such volatile machines.
"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" the human knelt down, and offered a hand to help him up.
"I'm fine." Coal's voice was raspy from the lack of use, and distorted from his vocal cords rotting away, making it painful to speak, but he managed to become accustomed to the pain. It was amazing what the mind was able to train the body to do, such as ignoring the pain Coal felt everyday all the time. He took the humans hand with his left hand, his good hand, and sat up.
"I just fell. Where am I?" he might as well ask a few questions before making his move.
"You're in the Apollo Victoria." the human replied. Coal grunted in acknowledgement. He had heard about it from a few racers that were in the train yard he used to live in, before he was left to rot away, and die a slow, and agonizing death. The event never interested him. He was never very confident in his speed, but a human, a human wouldn't stand a chance.
Coal held up his withered hand, and the human froze, eyes wide in terror. Coal smiled to give the human a false sense of security, and the human returned a weak smile. The human was still nervous.
"It's alright. I don't bite." Coal coughed, sparks flew out of his mouth. He was playing with the human, toying with his mind to get the human to trust him, and feel sorry for him. It must have worked because the human let him put his arm on the his shoulder, using him for support to help him stand up.
"Okay, on three...one...two...three!" the human grunted as he pulled Coal up from the cold, and unforgiving floor. Coal wobbled on his right leg a little bit, but the human caught him before he could fall, such a kind young fellow. Too bad that didn't make up for what happened before he arrived here.
"Thanks, and uh, can you lend me your ear for a sec?" Coal had to time this perfectly, or his cover could be blown. The human leaned in close. Coal smiled, and whispered in the human's ear. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' ?"
The human gave him a puzzled look. "Y-yes, why?" the human was uneasy, perfectly normal for what Coal was about to do to him.
Within the blink of an eye, Coal wrapped his hands around the human's throat, and began to squeeze, planning to strangle the human. The human's legs gave out, and Coal fell to the ground, releasing his grip on the human's neck. The human gasped for air, stood up, and ran for the office, stumbling the whole way. Coal hissed like a cat, and stood up, his rage filling him with the determination to stand, and give chase, and limped after him. He pressed his fingertips against the flimsy tin walls, letting them scrape against the walls, and create sparks.
He was toying with the human. He enjoyed playing with his victims, and this human was no exception. If he is to slaughter any human he sees, he might as well enjoy it. He entered the office just as the human was reaching for the phone. Coal bellowed, and rammed into him at full force. The impact sent the human flying, and slammed him against the wall. The human fell into a heap onto the floor. Coal actually smiled this time, an unsettling wolfish grin. He stumbled over to the human, and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. The human looked up at him, tears forming in his eyes.
"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" the human sobbed. Coal heard the human's lungs gurgling. One of the human's ribs punctured his lungs. Coal's smile grew bigger, almost to the point his cheeks his hurt.
"Don't you see? I am the voice, the one that speaks inside your head. The one that whispers wicked things, evil, vile, terrible things... I am the cold cascading down your spine that tells you are not alone here... I am your worst nightmare, Death, and I have come to collect my dues." Coal placed a hand on top of the human's head, and the other under the human's chin, and jerked to the side before the human could scream. Coal released the corpse, and looked down at it with satisfaction. A monster had been born...
A/N: I know this one is darker than normal, but what do you expect? If you want to read more on Coal, he appears in An Unexpected Friend, and you can learn more about him in my profile. This is actually the first time I directly told you guys what one of my characters symbolizes. Coal is the monster that lurks in all of us, and sometimes that monster wins, as Stephen King has quoted, and proven with his books. Well, see you later in the next chapter for An Unexpected Friend!