Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

The Ogre of Sodor

During night-time of the Island of Sodor, engines gather in their sheds and listen to stories of days long gone by. Some stories are funny and some are spooky but the engines appear to enjoy them all the same. For those on the Skarloey Railway, Duke is the provider of their stories whilst for the Fat Controller's engines, Edward is their storyteller. The stories are varied but they all provide everyone with the entertainment they want before they finally go to sleep. Tonight, Edward was telling one more his infamous spooky tales.
"It is said that on certain nights, when the light is just not there, something lurks under all the bridges and viaducts on Sodor…" Edward began to say. "Those who pass over the bridges and viaducts when it begins to emerge are said to be scared for the rest if their days." The other engines looked on but they didn't seem too scared.
"It's just a story!" spluttered James.
"Ah…" said Edward. "But would I make up a story about the Ogre of Sodor?" he then smiled.
"An Ogre?" yelped Percy. "Ogre's are nasty!"
"They don't exist…" said Gordon. "Sheer nonsense…"
"But Edward doesn't make up stories!" pointed out Henry. "All the stories so far have been true!" he added sheepishly. Edward just smiled as he knew everyone know was feeling that bit more on edge. As everyone then began to get ready to go to sleep, there was a grunting noise in the distance and then a roaring noise. James and Percy seemed the most scared and thought it was the Ogre, but was it?

As the night became even darker, engines further afield on Sodor were becoming wary of the fog that was enveloping the black night sky. Fergus the traction engine was on his night shift taking trucks of electrical cables to the market where new lighting was being fitted in the coming days. The fog was now getting thicker and a high wind was developing too. Fergus was rattling along the lines but carried on despite the troubles he was facing.
"Not long now…" he said to himself. Rain was now also beginning to slowly pelt down against Fergus' side and his driver was getting drenched. In the distance, Fergus could see with the little light his lamp was providing that the viaduct was fast approaching. It now had lights around it to help out in the darkening nights of the year and the engines and their crews appreciated it a lot. Even with the new lights, Fergus and all engines passing over the viaduct had to go slow. It was for safety and Fergus was happy to abide by the rules. "Safety first!" he said proudly as he slowed down as he began to cross the viaduct. The wind, rain and fog were still around but Fergus didn't seem to mind.
"I think we'll slow down a bit more…" warned Fergus' driver. "The fog is the most dangerous thing of all here…"
"Safety first…" smiled Fergus as he happily slowed down. His smile soon faded though as a growling noise was heard around him and then roaring noise too. At first, he dismissed it but the noise was then heard again and again. It was beginning to worry him and his driver a lot.
"What is it?" wondered Fergus' driver.
"A fox? An owl?" asked Fergus.
"Not very likely…" said his driver as he looked down to the side of him and saw the vast gap between him and the bottom of the viaduct. It was a very, very long way away. The noise, whatever it was became louder and louder and was definitely echoing loudly. It was most certainly coming from underneath the viaduct. Fergus and his driver were concerned and began to speed up along the way to avoid the noise. As Fergus hurried away, the noise got louder and louder still and then just as he left the viaduct, a laugh was heard, a cackling laugh.
"Help!" wailed Fergus as he steamed off. The laugh continued for many more minutes as the lights around the viaduct began to flicker on and off. Something very odd was happening indeed…

Soon, Fergus and his trucks of cables came to a stop. He felt exhausted from the terror he'd encountered and this showed a lot.
"Are you alright?" then came a voice nearby. Fergus looked and saw that it was Miles the fussy engine.
"No…" gasped Fergus. "I'm not alright. I think there's something scary under the viaduct!" Miles looked on shocked and soon Fergus began to tell him everything. Miles didn't seem too pleased at all.
"But I've got to go that way to take my trucks!" he said horrified. "I don't want to be gobbled up by whatever that thing is!"
"Go quickly then!" warned Fergus and Miles did. Within a couple of minutes he rushed off taking his trucks with him at a speed he'd not been at in years. The deep, dark night was also getting to him too but the sight of the viaduct was getting the better of him.
"Can we take a different route?" Miles asked to his crew. They considered for a moment as they had talked with Fergus' driver and the viaduct seemed very spooky tonight. Too spooky for even them.
"We'll see what we can do." replied his driver. Soon, Miles was redirected onto another track that would also get him to his destination and thankfully there was no viaduct in sight.
"Phew…" sighed Miles but the spookiness wasn't over yet. Miles and his crew soon came across a little bridge and as they cautiously went across it due to maintenance work, they began to hear noises. There was a distinct growling noise from deep under the bridge.
"What is that?" wondered Miles' fireman.
"Something strange…" then said his driver.
"Something spooky!" corrected Miles. All of them then fell silent as the noises began to get louder around them. There was a deep, bellowing noise that then led to more growling and as Miles and his trucks passed over the bridge, he couldn't be sure what was making it.
"We need to hurry…" said Miles' driver and soon they sped on despite the maintenance work on the bridge. As they left, a growl was heard for many minutes. Something was most certainly living under the bridge.

When Miles got to the safety of the station, he could see Cordelia the coach waiting for some late night passengers to depart. It was obviously her last duty of the day as she was smiling widely. Miles was breathing deeply to catch his breath and Cordelia soon noticed.
"Racing the moon were we?" she joked before she yawned loudly. "Do excuse me. It's been a long night!"
"It'll be an ever longer one for those going near bridges or viaducts…" Miles then said warily. Cordelia seemed confused.
"What on earth are you on about?" she asked indignantly.
"Something spooky is alive and living under the viaduct." Miles panted. "…and there's something under a bridge I passed over. I think all bridges and viaducts are affected."
"Don't be so ridiculous!" said Cordelia, but as Miles then began to explain everything Cordelia then remembered that she would have to go over many little humpback bridges to get back to the Depot. She gulped loudly as her driver then began to pull her away.
"Be careful!" warned Miles but Cordelia was too worried to even acknowledge Miles was there.
The twisting, winding roads despite being illuminated by street lights seemed very spooky now Cordelia had heard about the weird goings-on below the viaducts and bridges. The fog from earlier was atleast beginning to clear but there was an eeriness to the night now – a very empty one at that.
"Please let there be no spooks about…" Cordelia said to herself as she could see one of the many humpback bridges she would have to pass over on this ever darkening night. As she slowly made her way over the bridge, a noise then began to rumble from underneath. Cordelia's driver then stopped her in the middle of the bridge as the noise had spooked him a little.
"What was that?" he wondered.
"Nothing!" declared Cordelia. "Now please carry on!" but her driver didn't as the noise was heard again and again. Nearby bushes began to rustle and branches on trees creaked in the night.
"Is someone there?" Cordelia's driver called out. No-one replied. He then went to look over the edge of the bridge. "Is it some children playing a prank?" he then called out. Again, there was no response. He then peered over the side of the bridge as Cordelia looked on very worried.
"Be careful!" she cried.
"Whatever for?" her driver asked. Cordelia didn't reply as her driver then leant even more over the bridge. Then, something got a hold of him and pulled him over. He yelled for help but all then fell silent. Cordelia was horrified. She couldn't move without a driver and even if he was there, she'd be frozen in the shock. She didn't know her driver was alright – he'd just hit his head on a rock as he fell and was unconscious, but something had definitely pulled him down, but to Cordelia, she feared the worst.
"Something's gobbled up my driver!" she then cried as the fog then began to return around her….

When morning came, Edward was passing nearby and could see Cordelia was visibly distressed. He soon stopped and his crew went over to see if everything was alright. She soon informed them about how her driver had gone over the bridge and Edward's crew then went round and found him. He was fine but an ambulance was called from a nearby telephone for precaution. Cordelia seemed relieved but Edward couldn't understand what had happened.
"Why was your driver unconscious under the bridge?" he asked.
"I'm sure something took him…" Cordelia replied. "Something is alive and waiting under all the bridges on Sodor."
"Who told you that?" Edward then asked.
"Miles. He said something had spooked him and his crew over a bridge aswell. It's more than just a coincidence." Cordelia replied anxiously.
"The Ogre…" Edward then muttered under his breath.
"An Ogre?" said Cordelia. "There's an Ogre on Sodor? I don't want that to gobble me up!"
"It's just a story…" pleaded Edward. "A story I tell every so often…"
"Obviously it's true…" Cordelia then said.
"But that's not possible…" retorted Edward as suddenly a deep grumbling noise was heard from underneath the bridge. Edward's crew couldn't see a thing down there and this was all the more puzzling.
"A work of fiction has become fact then…" Cordelia said nervously as another growl was heard once more from under the bridge. "And it's all down to you, Edward…"
"It can't be…"Edward then pleaded once more. "…it can't be real. It's a story!" But again, there was a deep growling noise from under the bridge. Whatever was causing the noise was here for good…