The Black Wolf

It was a cool fall night on the Island of Sodor and with the Halloween season underway, the engines at Tidmouth Sheds spent their nights telling scary stories. James told them about the Phantom Express, Edward told his story of the Faceless Engine, but now it was Erika's turn. She grinned from her slot in-between Gordon and Henry as a light fog began to approach the sheds. It was the perfect night.

"Have any of you ever heard of the 'Black Wolf?" she asked calmly. There was silence before she was answered with a chorus of no's. The Daylight chuckled at the response, "Well of course not. Anyone who's run into him was never seen again."

"What's the 'Black Wolf?" Percy asked, a little bit frightened and interested at the same time.

Erika grinned. "Well! Let me tell you!"

Once, there was an island just off the southern coast of Greenland and on that island lived an all black engine known as the Black Wolf. He was an emotionless, mean tender engine who slept through the day while the little engines worked on the railway. However, they all made sure they were in their sheds once the sun a started to set and the wolf began to stir. The sound of 12 drivers hitting the rails as he prowled through the dead of night in search for prey, his whistle echoing throughout the island as it howled. Though they knew about him and stayed clear, there would always be a few engines who didn't believe it and dared to stay out for the night.

Those engines often did not come back home.

The Black Wolf would chase these engines until they'd run out of steam, his silver eyes piercing through the darkness, washing over them as he closed the gap between them. Before they knew it, they were on their sides, derailed. Sometimes, he'd leave them there for a while, playing with them, leaving them guessing and giving them the slight chance that they'd be saved. However, no such mercy would be blessed upon them. After he had his fun he'd add them to his train. A train filled with the twisted corpses of other engines, some still alive but all unaware of what was about to happen.

Many thought he was doing it to be mean, that he found pleasure in terrorizing his fellow engines. Whether or not that was actually true has never been proven. But, every engine has a master, there's always someone behind the scenes pulling the strings.

As the train nears the end of the line, the smell of burning metal taints the air, the area lined with the scattered remains of the fallen. At the end lies the wolf's cave, lit by light of burning flames and where his master lies in wait. She's a cold, bitter old woman dressed in all black who despises engines. Don't let her kind words fool you. She is a fallen angel in disguise, tricking poor engines into leaving their homes to work as slaves on her railway only to later be fed to her pet.

Inside are even more corpses and tangled frames, begging their dark executioner to throw down the axe already. But he won't. The Black Wolf does not care; he only does what she says. Some say he was pure once, but life and time have not been good to the old engine and his soul has been lost to the darkness, corrupted by the soothing words of his master, leaving behind an empty, lifeless husk of what once was. Perhaps there is some good left in him but it's buried deep within and no has bothered to recover it.

At the center of the cave lies the true monster. The Black Wolf only delivers; the one who eats is the Red Beast, a huge creature of fire who slowly devours the engines. Their cries slowly fading as the flames engulf them, slowly melting and contorting their frames until there's nothing left, giving them the mercy they oh-so deserved.

The little engines on the railway hoped and prayed for a savior, someone to protect them from the wolf and his master. One day, their pleas were answered. She was beautiful and as big as the Black Wolf. Her livery shined like new and her blue eyes were filled with kindness. She protected them and they loved her very, very much. She would do anything and everything to protect them… until one night.

The Guardian was on a patrol of her own, looking for stragglers to escort back to safety when she saw him. He sat across from her, the faint light of the moon illuminating his frame slightly. She had never seen him before but she knew very well who he was and what he was doing. She frowned and approached him, his silver eyes following her silently.

"Black Wolf," she said in a threatening voice. "What are you doing here; this is not your territory."

He stared at her deadpan for a few moments, his glowing eyes staring at her intently. The sudden sound of steam shooting from his cylinders broke the silence. The sound made her jump and finally he spoke, his voice low and deep but eerily calming.

"Territory? You have no territory, Guardian." He rolled up to her, allowing the moonlight to reveal his face. He dimmed the light in his eyes, his cold, silver eyes made her shudder. He was quite handsome actually and that threw her off. She expected some hideous creature behind all this but that was clearly not the case. How could an engine so beautiful be so evil? He continued, his voice quiet and threatening.

"Zhis entire island is my domain and I do as I please. You should take heed from your followers and stay out of my way."

He was about to leave when she followed him, astonished by this beautiful piece of machinery before her.

"Tell me Wolf, who is your master? Surely you aren't doing this alone," she was hoping he was being forced against his will. No engine would do this without being forced, surely.

He shot her another glare and turned his lights back on, blinding her. "Go home, little cat. Zhe night hast many secrets and you are prepared to face none of zhem."

The guardian watched as the Black Wolf took his leave, the darkness concealing him once more.

The next morning, she told the little engines about her encounter with the Black Wolf. They gasped in awe at her story and the fact that she returned unharmed. Still, she couldn't help but think about the other engine. She'd never say it out loud or to anyone else but deep down, she was curious about him.

Try as she might to heed her friends' warnings to stay away from him, she couldn't. She was fascinated by him. So every night when the moon was hidden by the darkness, she went out in search for him. Every night she waited to hear the Black Wolf's howl, the sound of his 12 massive drivers at work as they rolled him along the tracks in search of prey. And every night they ran into each other, he gave her the same warning,

"Go home, little cat. You test my patience."

But she didn't, she couldn't; she was hypnotized by him, she wanted him. Her growing love for him slowly transformed her and his rejection drove her mad, she wanted to please him, earn his affection. The little engines began to fear her, and with good reason, but none of them expected what was about to take place one cold winter's night.

It was one of her closest friends, a red and gold tank engine who always snuck out at night. She approached him slowly, the little engine jumped but settled once he realized who it was.

"Guardian, you scared me! I thought you were the wolf!"

But she gave him no response and stared at him blankly, her warm blue eyes had gone cold. She knew what she had to do; she knew how she could earn the Wolf's love... Slowly, her wheels began to turn...

He chuckled, thinking it was a joke, a game of chicken, but he soon realized this was no game as she began to pick up speed. The tank engine tried to get away but she was too fast. She rammed him once...

BAM!

Then again...

BAM!

And again...

The little engine cried out in fear and in pain at every hit, whistling loudly hoping someone would hear him but no one did and if they did no one would come to his aid anyway. Every time they came into contact he could feel more of his bunker caving in on itself. The pain becoming more and more unbearable as pieces of his frame began to break off with each hit. He couldn't take it; he couldn't believe it! Tears began to sting his eyes as the pain grew and his vision went black.

There was nothing left but a mangled heap by the time he finally succumbed; you wouldn't even know he was once an engine unless someone told you. She dragged the twisted form of what was once one of her best friends along as she searched for the wolf. Like a cat delivering a dead bird to its owner she presented the corpse to him as a gift once she found him.

"A token of my love for you, my dear Alpha. Did I do well?" she asked him, her eyes wide and full of hope.

He looked down at her in disgust but said nothing. He simply rolled away without a word, rejecting her offer completely. The Guardian looked down in despair. She had failed but she wouldn't give up hope. So the next night, she tried again, this time the engine was still alive.

"A gift for you, my dear Alpha. This one sings!"

The engine in question screamed in agony, his bunker had been smashed, his livery coated in the blood and guts of what was once his crew. This engine was a little bigger than the one before.

"Did I do well, Alpha?"

He rejected her once again, but the morbid gifts kept coming. The little engine's numbers were falling rapidly. It had gotten to the point where the attacks happened in broad daylight and they could do nothing to stop it. One night she had bought back to him a small tender engine. The Wolf watched silently as the Guardian destroyed it, its cries falling on death ears, its eyes looking up at the Wolf for some sort of mercy. For help, but as always the wolf remained motionless, watching quietly as the engine slowly and painfully went quiet.

One early morning, the Guardian was bringing a small train filled with latest kills to offer to her love when she spotted a lake. She looked down and stared at her reflection before gasping slightly. Her livery was now black and faded, her eyes an icy blue that glowed in the dim light. And suddenly all at once, she realized what she had done. She had killed the ones she once held dear just to please someone who wouldn't accept her feelings. She looked away from her reflection in guilt but something made her look back again.

Next to her stood the wolf, staring at her reflection as well, they looked nearly identical now. He gave her a gentle lick, his hot tongue running along her cold cheek. It was strangely comforting.

"Now, my little kitten." he said quietly with a dark grin on his face. "You are just like me..."

"Together, the wolf and his new mate continued their dark work until the controller died and the railway closed."

"So… what happened to them?" Thomas asked nervously.

"Some say they met the fiery maw of the Red Beast. Some also say the Guardian came to her senses and attacked the one she once loved. Others say they're still out there, going from railway to railway in an attempt to keep the beast fed. Every line has a Red Beast of its own. So… Stay inside your shed and don't go out at night or you may just hear that bloodcurdling whistle of the Black Wolf!" There was another pause; the sheds fell silent aside from Percy's teeth chattering in fear. Then suddenly, they heard a wolf-like whistle and they all jumped, even Gordon. Erika giggled, "Man you guys are easy to scare."

James gave her a look, "So it was just a story?"

"Now, now James… I didn't say that."

He didn't know why but there was something about the way she said it that sent a cold shiver down James' boiler. As he gazed at the American streamliner, he couldn't help but see a faint glow in her blue eyes.