Chapter One

My name is Jaden. I am a ex-Southern Railway KS-1 2-8-0 Consolidation and I work for the EVWR.

I have been working on the Arlesdale Branch Line of the Evansville Western Railway for about a year now. I found myself assigned to the DuPont Nylon Industrial Park, switching boxcars around to be loaded and then taken to the mainline interchange where the loaded cars will be taken away and empty cars will dropped off for me to take go and get them loaded.

I was navigating my way through the close clearances of the warehouses when I heard a small whimpering noise. I stopped and activated my holoform and proceeded my way down the alley to investigate the noise.

My holoform makes me appear as a 35-year old man with black denim jeans, a gunmetal gray shirt with the number 630 on it, a Jean jacket with the Southern Railway logo on the left side, size 16 brown steel-toe boots, an developing afro, with a beard trimmed in an unusual pattern.As I stopped to looked around my surroundings, I saw a small stack newspapers fall over and then saw the source of the whimpering. It was a little girl who was shivering and looked to be crying silently. I approached her and she tried to hide away as if I were going to hurt her. The girl had messy black hair, a battered pink t-shirt and light blue shorts along with worn out socks and pink and white tennis shoes. What stood out to me the most was her cobalt blue eyes.

"Don't worry, young one, I will not hurt you." I said softly.

"You no take me back to mean man?" she asked me in return.

"To what do you refer by 'mean man'?" I asked back.

"My daddy very mean. He yell and hit me a lot. He hit mommy all the time. I went to get her and she no wake up." She replied to me.

I was enraged. No child should have to suffer abuse at all. If I see of find that man, I'm going to hurt him for sure."You have name?" she asked in curiosity.

"My name is Jaden." I replied, "What's your name?"

"L-L-Laura." she replied.

"Well Laura, do you want to live with me and my shedmates?" I asked her.

"Yes, pwease." she smiled happily.

I picked her up and took her to my alt-form. I sat her in my seat. While doing this, I noticed that her eyes weren't focused on anything.

"Laura, can you see out of the window?" I asked her.

"No, I don't see Jaybee or window." she replied.

I was confused. "To what do you refer by you can't see?"

"Mommy said I was born like this. Can't fix it." she replied.

"I have to pick up a few boxcars and we'll head out together."

1 Hour Later

"Mr. Penn, Mr. Zorro. I'm requesting clearance to proceed into Wyevern yard." I radioed the boss and manager.

"You may proceed." Mr. Penn replied over the radio.

Where in the pit were you?!" Mr. Zorro yelled.

"Mr. Zorro, I happen to have a little girl in the cab with me. Can you please tone down on the swearing?" I asked him back.

"I don't give a slag, Jaden." Mr. Zorro continued. "I just want to know what kept you?"

"He say bad words, Jaybee?" Laura asked.

"Yes, he said bad words. They should not be repeated." I replied to her.

"Oooohm, you go to time out and naughty step or you get grounded." Laura told Mr. Zorro.

I found myself smiling at the whole ordeal.

"You can't tell me off, I'm older than you." Mr. Zorro yelled back.

"No you are not. Old people are nice, you are cranky mister and need a nap." Laura fired back.

Mr. Penn and the yard crew erupted into laughter at Laura's reply.

"I will address the situation when I get there." I said smiling.

30 Minutes Later

As I carried Laura into the boss's office, Mr. Penn and Mr. Zorro looked at me in suprise

"By the name of Baldwin, what happened to her?" Mr. Penn asked me.

"I found her in an alley in the DuPont Nylon Industrial Park. She said her 'father' yelled and hit her and her mother. I believe that her mother might be deceased as a result to the violent abuse."

Mr. Penn thought about the situation and spoke to Jaden.

"Jaden, you're one of the most reliable engines in my fleet. How would to adopt Laura as your daughter?"

"It will be an honor, sir." I replied.

"Laura, would you like for Jaden to be your dad?" Mr. Penn asked her.

Laura squealed in delight. "Yes, pwease!"

"Before we set things in order, we need to give you a last name, Jaden." Mr. Penn added.

"I was always called Ketchum on my old line. They said that I was the fastest engine out of my siblings and I could catch runaway cars faster than anyone." I replied.

"Mr. Ketchum. I like the sound of that." Mr. Penn smiled.

I noticed that Laura was exhausted, due to her falling asleep in my arms with her head on my shoulder. I thought it would be a good time for me to head home.

If only I knew that this was the calm before the storm.