The sky slowly turned bright orange with the sunset as a young man began to depart for home. His name was William Richardson, though most people called him Will. He was 19 years old, had short, brown hair, grey eyes and an average build. He had moved to the small town of Chamberlain, Maine a few months ago in, order to experience life there. Will was able to get a job working at the Chamberlain Railway as well as a small apartment for himself.
He met some fairly nice people and overall enjoyed his stay in Chamberlain. However, he soon had his fill of Maine and proceeded to quit his job and move out of the apartment. After saying goodbye to the friends he made, Will took what little possessions he hade and began the journey home. "Goodbye" he told them and they wished him safe travels. Although he couldn't help but feel a little sad as he walked by the box cars.
He had heard that the local high school, Ewan High, had burned down last night during its senior prom and was wondering how many people were able to make it out alive. The young man had no info on how the high school had burned down. He didn't really watch television, so he relied on the newspaper and word of mouth for news. As he thought about this, Will suddenly caught sight of someone running quickly behind one of the box cars, as if they were trying not to be seen by anyone. "Who could that be?" he wondered and carefully walked over to investigate.
A small female figure hurried quickly out of sight among the box cars, hoping she hadn't been spotted. Taking one look at the car in front of her, she waved her hand and the car door slid open on its own. The girl wasted no time and jumped inside, closing the door behind her with another motion of her hand. Once she was in complete darkness, she sat against the back wall among the car's contents with her knees up to her chest. The girl, who's name was Carrie White, hoped that a train would soon take her as far away from Chamberlain as possible.
She couldn't remain there after the horrible tragedy she had committed last night at her senior prom. Both students and teachers killed by Carrie's telekinetic abilities in an act of revenge for being covered in pig's blood in front of everyone by Chris Hargensen. All of the major news networks had been covering Carrie's mysterious disappearance after the prom massacre and her picture was shown all over TV. She herself could hardly believe she'd survived the destruction of her house.
Last Night
Stones continued to demolish the White household as Carrie cradled her deceased mother, who she had killed in self-defense, while the girl awaited her own inevitable death. One stone finally managed to strike her in the side of the head, sending her into unconsciousness. The house then caved in around the two, reduced to a pile of smashed wood and glass.
On the sidewalk, Sue Snell, a former tormentor of Carrie at Ewan High, looked on in despair. She wanted to make up for all the trouble she had helped cause the bullied teen over the years by having her boyfriend, Tommy Ross, take her to the prom. That plan had ultimately been ruined by her former friend, Chris, and her boyfriend, Billy Nolan, with the pig's blood. The two were later killed by Carrie's hand. Afterward, sue at least wanted to comfort the traumatized girl and save her from her home's destruction, but she even failed at doing that.
Now Carrie was gone. Knowing that there was nothing else she could do, Sue started off towards her own house. Tears pouring out of her eyes as she did so. But if she had stayed just a few minutes longer, she would've seen the debris of the White's house shift and part to allow Carrie to float out onto the front lawn. A kind of self-preservation function had been triggered inside her as soon as she was knocked out, which caused her to form an invisible shield preventing her from being crushed underneath the collapsing house as well as lift herself out from the wreckage. After this, she shakily walked away from her old home, eyes nearly closed as if she were sleep walking. Carrie only regained consciousness an hour later and found herself in the middle of a wooded area.
Present
Carrie's eyes watered as she remembered the events of the previous night. After avoiding certain death, she discarded her nightgown for a large, filthy brown hoodie, a pair of dirty black pants, ruined sneakers and a slightly torn red t-shirt that she knew wouldn't be missed from a dumpster. Carrie had been too physically and emotionally drained to make any long-distance trips. So, she found a secure place to keep hidden, spend the night and make plans to leave chamberlain the next day.
The girl now suffered from an enormous amount of guilt over the number of people she had slaughtered, whether they had a hand in Carrie's life long torment or not. She could only hope to put as much distance between herself and Maine as possible and make a quiet new start someplace where she wouldn't be recognized. Though she would be forever haunted by what happened at her senior prom. Suddenly, Carrie heard movement outside the box car. She tensed as she heard footsteps. Someone was slowly approaching the car door.
Will finally reached the box car that he had heard the figure vanish into. Taking out a flashlight from the bag he was carrying and switching it on, he prepared to confront whoever it was inside. Placing a hand on the door, he slid it open and shown his light through. He was then met with the sight of a teenage girl, probably 17 or so, who jumped up from where she was sitting, eyes widened in fear. Will could see that she had long and unclean blonde hair, was wearing a most filthy outfit and had patches of dried dirt covering her face and hands.
"What are you doing in here?" he asked in his soft British accent. He then noticed she was beginning tremble slightly. "Hey, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you" Will told her, raising his empty hand in an attempt to keep her calm. "I was simply curious to know why you were hiding yourself inside this car." The girl was still shaking but made no other movements. "What's your name?" the young man asked. He got no response. "My name is William, but you can call me Will" he said, choosing to use a more friendly tone to put her at ease. Carrie was somewhat surprised. This man somehow hadn't recognized her face despite all the media coverage she had gotten recently.
She was, however, considering using her powers to get out of this situation, but she didn't want to draw anymore attention to herself. And there was a chance he hadn't learned the connection between her name and last night's massacre. So, deciding to take a gamble, she finally spoke. "C-Carrie" the girl told him in a shaky voice. "Ok Carrie, would you care to tell me why you were hiding inside of this box car?" Will asked. There was a pause before she said "I wanted to leave Maine". "In a box car? You didn't have any money for a train or bus ticket?" asked the young man.
Carrie shook her head. "Do your parents know your out here?" The girl stared at him warily. "Look, I won't report you to the police or anything like that. It's just that your mother and father must be worried about you" Will told her. Carrie's expression saddened, looking down at the floor of the car as tears began to run down her face. She replied in a low voice "They're both dead." William felt sorry for her. "Oh, I'm sorry" he said simply. "So, you don't have anyone else to look after you? Other relatives or friends perhaps?" Carrie sniffed before responding with "No, I don't have any other family. I never even had a friend in my life." She began to lightly sob while she said "Everyone here just enjoyed hurting me. No one ever loved me. I just wanted to get out of this place." While all of this was true, Carrie didn't reveal the other reason why she so badly wanted to leave Chamberlain.
The girl was being sought after by the local authorities for her actions at last night's prom. Will now was saddened by what Carrie had told him. "Oh dear. I see" was all he could say. For someone to never have even one friend in their life was simply dreadful. He wished there was something he could say or do to make her feel better. Then he finally thought of something. "Well, seeing as you haven't anyone to take you in, how would you feel about accompanying me back to my home. It's far away from Maine. I was just in the process of moving back there and you could stay at my place for as long as you'd like. I'm sure you'll find it preferable to living on the streets."
Carrie thought about what this young man just told her. She wasn't really sure if she could trust Will. On the other hand, she needed to leave Maine as soon as possible and he was offering her a way out. Not to mention a place to stay. So, after a minute of silence she said "Ok. Thank you" giving William the faintest of smiles. And with that, Carrie slowly climbed out of the box car and stood in front of him. "Alright then, glad that you'll be joining me." He then held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you Carrie" he said. She carefully took his hand a shook it. "Nice to meet you too" the girl replied in a quiet voice, looking down shyly.
The two then started walking in the direction Will was originally headed before meeting Carrie. After going some ways along one of the tracks she asked "So, where do you live exactly?" Will glanced at her before saying "I actually live on a rather large island. It has many breathtaking sights as well as a magnificent railway that I happen to work on." Carrie looked at him for a moment then said "Well, what brought you to Chamberlain?" "Eh, I merely wished to see someplace new and experience life there for a time. What about you? Have you ever wanted to travel somewhere you've never been before?"
Carrie had remembered many times when she wished she was anywhere but her home in Maine. There were many locations in the outside world that she would've love to see and experience. Alas, her fanatically religious mother would always hold her back. "Ye-yeah" she answered sadly. The two kept on walking until they reached a concrete bridge with a railroad tunnel underneath it. Graffiti covered the sides of the tunnel's entrance and there were many piles of garbage scattered everywhere.
Will then stopped to get something out of his bag. Carrie watched him pull out a bronze colored railroad lantern, which confused her. Were they going to use this to see inside the tunnel? Didn't he already have a flashlight? "Ok Carrie" Will started "I should probably explain how we'll be getting to my island." This confused Carrie even more. Up until now, she had assumed they'd be taking a boat to get there, which made her a little nervous since she had never traveled anywhere by boat before. Will continued "now, I do hope you can keep an open mind because basically this lantern I've got here will allow us to get to our destination."
Carrie furrowed her brow a little while giving him a strange look. "I promise I'll explain everything once we arrive" he told her. The girl grew slightly wary, hoping this wasn't some sort of trick. She watched as will lit the lantern. "There we are. Now, shall we?" he said and gestured to the tunnel. The young man walked forward as the young girl followed cautiously behind. Both were soon deep inside the darkness of the tunnel with the lantern being the sole provider of any visibility. After a while, they spotted the end of the tunnel at last. Once the two emerged from the other end, Carrie was in for a surprise.
She was expecting them to come out from beneath the concrete bridge. Instead, she found that they had exited out of a rolling green hillside. The sun was still setting, but up ahead to the right of the tracks was a wide open field dotted with trees and patches of flowers. Carrie took all this in with wide eyes. They had somehow ended up in a completely different location. She would've enjoyed the scenery much more if she hadn't been as frightened at that moment.
"Wh-where are we?" she managed to ask. "Carrie, relax it's ok. We made it" Will said as she calmed down a bit while turning towards him. He then started to explain. "You see, this lantern isn't an ordinary lantern. It was enchanted long ago by unknown means. It can allow travel to other worlds when carried through railroad tunnels while lit. I received it from my father and he got it from my grandfather before him. It's also how I traveled to Chamberlain." Carrie stared down at the lantern. "That's-th-that's incredible" she finally breathed.
"Quite" said Will. "Now that the explanation is done, welcome to the Island of Sodor, Carrie" he told her as he gestured out to the field before them. "It's beautiful" she said with a smile. "Well, this is only a small part of it. There are many more wonderful sites all over the island that I'd like to show you" he said. "Let's get going. There's a station not far from here. I'll phone someone from there to pick us up and take us close to my house." So the two set off once again and after 20 minutes they finally reached a small train station.
"I'll be right back. You can make yourself comfortable inside or on one of the benches out here" he told her. "Thanks" she said and Will went inside to use the telephone and maybe catch up with the station master if he could. Carrie, in the meantime, walked over to one of the benches and sat down, removing her hood and letting the warm sun wash over her face. The girl reflected on the events of the past hour. Carrie would've never guessed that in her attempt to escape Chamberlain, she'd end up traveling to another world entirely. She was still trying to wrap her head around it.
The last time she was amazed by a supernatural concept like this was when she discovered she had telekinesis. Carrie was also relieved to be someplace where no one would know of her dark actions at the Ewan High Senior Prom. She started to become depressed once more after thinking about that event, letting out a sad sigh in the process. After a while, Will returned. "Sorry it took so long. I was having a chat with the station master an…are you alright?" he asked, noticing the saddened look on her face.
"Huh, uh um n-no I'm fine" she replied. "Well, I called up a friend of mine who should be here shortly to take us to my residence" said Will. "Ok" Carrie said in a low voice. The young man sat next to her. "So, what do you think of Sodor so far?" he asked. "It's very nice. It seems very peaceful. I-I just hope I can have a good life here" she said. "I hope you will. Like I said, feel free to stay at my place for as long you wish" Will said. "Thank you" Carrie replied. Just then, both heard the sound of an approaching train in the distance.
They got up and looked down the track. Carrie could make out more details as it got closer. It looked kind of small and had green paint. However, her eyes slowly grew wide with shock as she saw more of it. The train rolling into the station…had a face on its front. And it was looking right at them. It let two high-pitched whistles as it got nearer before it finally came to a stop next to them. Will knew this engine very well. "Hello Percy, it's good to see you again" he greeted cheerfully as he walked up to him. "Hello Will" said Percy happily "It's good to see you again too. Driver and I missed you very much. How were your travels?" "I only went to one place actually, but I saw and learned many different things that were quite extraordinary. I'll tell you and the other engines all about my stay later at Tidmouth Sheds. Oh, and I also met someone from there who decided to travel back to Sodor with me. Percy, I'd like you to meet Carrie" Will said, introducing the steam engine to the girl standing behind him.
"How do you do?" Percy greeted in a chipper voice. "Carrie, this is Percy. He's one of my closest friends and we both work together on the island's railway." Carrie just walked slowly back away from the two. She was getting more and more freaked out. The train was…talking to them. It was alive! This freaked her out so much that she unknowingly caused some of the station's benches and potted plants to slide across the platform a little, but no one took any notice of this. "Carrie, are you alright?" Will asked. He knew that there weren't any engines in her world like the ones in his and hoped she wouldn't be too frightened when Percy met her.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. Then Carrie instantly fainted and Will had to rush over and catch her before she landed on her back. "Oh dear!" exclaimed Percy at the sudden turn of events. "Is she alright?" he asked. "Uh yes, don't worry" as he carried the unconscious girl over to him. "It's just that she's never seen a steam engine quite like yourself before." This puzzled Percy for a moment. His driver then helped Will gently set Carrie down in the corner of Percy's cab.
"Ok, were ready to head back now" the young man said to the driver and they all set off. Looking back down at the girl, Will knew he'd have a lot more explaining to do once she woke up.