Hey guys! As it's nearly Halloween, I've decided to write a new story to celebrate the occasion. After much thinking, I came up with this Thomas one. This is a bit of a mix of comedy and horror - although I feel the former with outweigh the latter. I'm not sure whether you'll find any of the scenes creepy - but I sure hope they make you laugh. :P
Disclaimer: I don't own Thomas the Tank Engine. It belongs to HIT Entertainment.
It was a dark, misty night on the Island of Sodor. In fact, it was actually the scariest night of the year; Halloween!
All over the island, children were celebrating. They were making the most of this night where they could be nasty little blighters. They were partying at parties, stuffing their faces with sweets, playing horrible tricks on any adult mean enough not to give them any and trying to scare the jeepers out of anybody they met. It sure was another fun-filled Halloween for the children.
For the engines, however, it was just another working night. Their overweight master, the Fat Controller, was keeping them very busy to make sure the railway would bring him plenty more money. So with their fires burning and smoke pouring from their funnels, the engines were steaming busily through the foggy night.
All except for Thomas and Percy, who were alone at Tidmouth Sheds, doing absolutely nothing.
Percy peered out nervously into the darkness that filled the yard. His whole boiler was shuddering in fear. "I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared."
"Why are you scared, Percy?" Thomas asked.
"It's Halloween! I'm supposed to be scared tonight! And you should be, too, Thomas!"
Thomas was just sighing over the fact he didn't have any hands to facepalm over Percy's stupidity when the Fat Controller arrived.
"Ah, Percy!" he boomed. "There you are!"
"Well where else would he be?" one of the Fat Controller's assistants in blue whispered to the other one. "He didn't give him any jobs to do today."
Fortunately, the Fat Controller didn't hear the exchange going on behind him. He was too busy focusing on the little green engine. "I've got a very important job for you tonight!"
"Really?!" Percy gasped. He didn't want to go out on Halloween. He was really terrified now.
"I want you to take a goods train to Brendam Docks!"
"Sir?" Thomas wheeshed. "Can I go to the children's Halloween party at Knapford Station?"
The Fat Controller glared angrily. "Thomas, you've asked me that question ten billion times today, and I've told you, the answer is no!"
"He's actually asked you only twenty-two times, Sir," the second assistant in blue corrected.
"Don't interrupt me!" snapped the Fat Controller, elbowing the assistant. "You're supposed to keep your trap shut!"
"But, Sir," whined Thomas, "you haven't given me any jobs tonight. So I don't see why I can't go."
"Because I might just have something for you to do later! In the meantime, you just stay there like a good little engine! As soon as there's a new job to be done, I'll come straight for you!"
The Fat Controller swung around and wobbled back to his car. The two assistants followed him - with the one ruefully rubbing his ribs.
Thomas sulked bitterly over not getting what he wanted, but Percy was too petrified to notice. He was gazing out timidly through the blankets of fog that made all the familiar shapes in the yard look very obscured. Any other night, he would've happily steamed out through the fog to do his work without an ounce of fear in his boiler. But this was Halloween. Percy knew this was the night dedicated to all things scary - and he was certainly scared!
"I don't wanna go out!" he wailed unhappily.
"Neither do I," muttered his Driver. "My kids are at the Halloween party and my wife's gone to stay with her sister for the weekend. I was hoping to have a lads' night in with my mates to watch Nightmarish Nights Are Nigh."
"Are you kidding?!" the Fireman scoffed. "That's one of the worst movies ever in existence! Not even my kids could be scared by it! I tried showing it to my goldfish to prove how bad it was - and he lost interest five seconds in!"
While the Driver and Fireman argued over whether the movie they were discussing was good or not, Percy puffed slowly out of the sheds. The glow from his lamp barely pierced through the fog which swirled mysteriously around him. He gulped nervously. He had no idea what was going to happen to him. All he knew was that this was the worst night of the year to go out and do a job.
And all just because it was the night when kids wear spooky costumes.
Soon, Percy had left the yard. He had taken the sound of his puffing and his crew arguing with him. Thomas was now the only engine left in the shed.
And he was making the only noise that filled the yard, which was his childish sulking.
Hope this first chapter has got you wanting to read on. This story will only be about four chapters long, though I do hope I can get them all done before Halloween arrives!
Stay tuned for the next chapter. :)