An Unusual Christmas
Part one
It was snowing hard; a blizzard blanked the whole city. Nothing moved. Not even in the forest.
Well, almost nothing.
"I'm cold!" a voice complained.
"Shut up Greaseball!" another snapped back.
"Guys!" a female said.
In a small area near the edge of the forest, a group of strangers slowly filed out from the underbrush and halted. None were dressed to be out in this weather, that was clear at a glance.
"Where are we?" the observation coach asked, looking around as she halted by the young steam engine.
"I don't know, Pearl." he answered, slipping an arm about her and frowning. He was worried as he felt her shiver.
"I want to know how the hell we got here!"
Both turned some to see the buffet coach as she and the smoking coach came over, with the French engine.
"That's a thought…" Rusty said darkly. Pearl elbowed him in the ribs as Bobo gave him a dark look.
"Ok, everyone, get over here!"
"Gonna make us, Greaseball?" Turnov sneered back, halting and shaking the snow off his shoulders. By him stood his rival and friend, Ruhrgold.
"Guys!" Dinah rolled here eyes. "Com on, will ya listen to reason for once?"
The engines shared looks among themselves as they moved, everyone gathering into a half circle by the dining coach and the Union Pacific, who was standing besides Rusty.
"Any one seen Poppa?" he asked, looking at his gang, who shared looks.
The others looked around.
"Where's Belle?" Pearl spoke up, worried.
"Don't worry, we're hear." came the reassuring voice of Poppa as he and Belle, with Electra and his group, joined them. It was clear to the others, though, that Poppa wasn't gonna be going much farther before he collapsed.
"So, now what?" Espresso asked, breaking the silence that followed the old Steamer's arrival.
"We have got to find shelter." Rocky said, sharing a look with the rest of the freight, who nodded.
"Yea, well…"
The deep sound of an approaching diesel engine made them all look over towards the blurry buildings, realizing for the first time that something was out there.
"Ok, that was a strange whistle." Buffy said.
"I don't even want to know who that is…" Rusty shuddered.
"Hey, listen…"
They fell silent.
The roar of an approaching train was coming closer and getting louder…and then a light appeared, seeming to come right at them.
"What the hell!?" GB said, backing up fast, pulling Dinah back with him.
They started as a huge engine rumbled slowly into view and came up along side of them, although separated by nearly 15 feet.
"My Starlight!" Dinah gasped, shocked.
So were the others. They could only stare as the massive train rumbled past: three engines, seven boxcars, three freezer trucks, two flatbeds, another two engines and a caboose.
"What is that?" Princy asked, his voice shaking as the huge train-thing faded into the swirling snow.
"I don't know…" Greaseball looked scared, holding Dinah close to him. Then again, they all were scared, even his gang.
"Now…"
"Shh!"
"CB?"
"Listen! Bells!" he said. "There!"
A new form began to appear and the sounds of bells grew louder, followed by a switching sound. Then two strange dark and huge creatures came into view, long manes and tails flowing in the wind created by their trotting. They were pulling some sort of sled and there was something sitting at the front of it, behind the creatures.
That something was looking at them. A second latter, a voice rang out and the creatures slowed. "Whoa!"
The sled came to a halt before the group. The driver of the creatures turned to look at them. It shook its head.
"You guys shouldn't be out in this blizzard." the voice was female but they couldn't see much over her because of the heavy cloths she wore. "No wonder Brice called in earlier. you'll be dead by morning. Come on, there's enough space for you all on the sled."
She turned and opened the low door.
They shared looks then looked at Poppa. GB nodded and they started over. The closest creature turned its huge head and snorted, watching them. GB wasn't the only one who jumped and a couple of the group fell on the packed snow. The others helped them back to their wheels. Then they got into the sled, looking around.
"There are blankets under the seats." the stranger said, looking back at them before making sure the door was closed. She turned back forward and lifted reins, slapping them against the huge creatures' rumps.
"Get up there!" she called out. "Trot on!"
The sled started forward with a small jolt and continued down the trail alongside of the huge rails that engine and its train had passed them by on. Soon, they reached an open area, a huge one. There were fencing and more creatures like the ones who pulled the sled. The Trains sitting in the back weren't sure what to make of this…
"Hey, look!" Dustin pointed.
They looked to see that huge train sitting on the tracks as they turned, the creatures trotting along and crossed over in front of the huge engine, causing the trains to gasp in shock. The driver looked back, a little started by the strangers' reactions to the Train.
"That's just old Kuga." She said. "He runs by the farm every so many days but with this blizzard, his crew's staying the night."
"What is this place?" Rusty asked, moving to the seat by the driver.
She looked back at him and he realized she wore glasses. "This place is my home, known as TLC Stables. We breed horses mainly, but also rescue cats and some dogs." she answered. "I'm Cera."
"I'm Rusty…" he answered. "What's a horse?"
"Them." she laughed. "Those two before you." she wondered why he'd asked that but shrugged it off.
"Are all the trains here as big as that one we passed?" Rusty asked next, looking over as GB joined him.
"Yep. They do the heavy hauling, besides the trucks." she answered. "Why?"
"Well…" Rusty shrugged, sharing a glance with GB.
"Whoa there." the girl, Cera halted the horses at a huge house. "Here, you go. Go on inside the house. I've got to take care of Pete and Brad, the horses. Mom's expecting you."
She smiled, watching as they got out of the sled and headed into the house. She then sent the team on to the stables. She'd learn more about their unexpected guests soon enough.
Part two
Down at the stables, she halted and unhitched the two Percherons and tied them in the grooming stalls, stripping off the harnesses and giving them a once over before turning them out into the small paddock with hay. She then took care of the harness, hanging it up and making sure there were no problems with it before she headed to the house.
Meanwhile, the group of trains shared looks, halting on the porch before Rusty headed to the door and opened it, cautiously heading inside, the others following.
"Hello?" Rusty called out, pausing to look around the entrance hall. Off to one wise was clearly the living room. Off to the other was a small dinning room and the kitchen was beyond that. Form that direction came the smell of food and fresh backed cookies.
"Come on in" a female voice called. "I'm in the kitchen…"
They shared looks and carefully skated over to the big doorway, looking about. On some shelves in the dinning room were plates, glasses and other things. The table was set with a small turntable and had some things to put in drinks. On the walls were some Christmas decorations, something new to them. They halted in the doorway of the large kitchen, where a single, heavy set woman worked at the stove.
"Hello there, come on in." She looked over with a smile. "I'm Lee. Cera's taking care of the team, I take it? No matter…" She didn't seem surprised to see the whole group.
They, on the other hand, were startled and clearly not sure want to do.
"Please, sit down. You don't need to stand." Lee moved quickly about the kitchen, bringing over a plate of cookies, clearly fresh from the oven. They shared looks, and moved back some, sitting at the table. It was larger than it had seemed at fist look.
"I'll help!" Pearl was quick to skate forward. This woman was a youngster, that was for sure!
A fair-sized dog came over to them, sniffing. "Oh, Millie! Go!" Lee told the dog, shooing her out of the way.
"Thank you, dear." she said, as Pearl took the plate. "Now, may I ask what you all are doing out here in such a storm?"
They shared looks among themselves.
"We…don't know how we got here." Rusty said, looking down at his cup of cocoa, as Dinah was now helping Pearl and Lee pass out the drinks.
"Oh?" Lee paused, studying the strangers. "I see." she smiled, kindly, at the young steamer.
They looked at her, not sure what she met, then at each other. Poppa and Belle both had looks as if they were suddenly going to laugh.
Lee gave both the elders a look. "You two know what I mean, don't you?"
"And how often do you get Trains as guests, Miss Lee?" Poppa asked, laughter lacing his voice.
"First time, sir." Lee answered, hearing the back door open and closed. "We're in the dinning room, Cera." she said, before turning back to the trains. "Last year, we had a group of Cats stranded here. The year before that, Dragons." she settled into a chair.
They stared at the older lady, startled.
"But…how?" Flattop asked.
"You see, the area where Brice spotted you is an old, old gateway. And every time this year, one group or another finds themselves here in our time. Happened every since this Farm was founded thousands of years ago."
"That's a long time…" Ruhrgold said, sharing a look with Turnov and Espresso.
"Shh…" Buffy shot them a look.
Lee just smiled. "That it is. May I know your names?" she asked as Cera entered the dinning room, halting in the doorway and watching them, before moving to a chair by Princy. They shared looks.
"I'm Rusty."
"Dinah."
"Greaseball."
"Pearl."
"Electra."
"Poppa."
"Belle."
"Ashley."
"Buffy."
"CB."
"Flattop."
"Dustin."
"Rocky."
"Rocky 2."
"Rocky 3."
"Bobo."
"Espresso."
"Ruhrgold."
"Turnov."
"Prince of Wales." (Rockies, "He's just Princy!")
"Krupp."
"Joule."
"Purse."
"Volta."
"Wrench."
"Nice to meet you all." Lee said, smiling. They were looking so nervous and uneasy! "Please, relax. I don't think you'll be stuck here for too long. None of our visitors had stayed more than a few days…and with this storm, it'll be a while before it's over, too." she looked out the windows, at the whirling snowflakes.
"Well, we are worried about that." GB spoke for the first time, besides saying his name.
"Understandable, Greaseball." Lee replied. "Since it's so late, we can talk more in the morning. Let's get you guys settled in the guest rooms." she rose.
Shrugging they followed her and Cera. Cera wondered how her mom would place them, but she silently thought how it would go: partners together, the rest in same sex rooms. Five minutes later, she was right and managing not to laugh at all. Shortly, she headed off to bed herself, wondering about the strangers…
The next morning, after chores, Cera back up to the house to find them up and about. The storm and come to a halt, and everything glittered with morning sunlight. The coaches were in helping Lee out, the guys were in the living room, talking.
Rusty wondered over, curious. "Hey there, Cera…"
"Hi Rusty." she replied. "Anything wrong?"
"Not really, beyond this…thing." he shrugged, glancing past her towards the somewhat distant barns. "How does this place run?"
She smiled. "Kinda like a train yard, only with out the trains, Rusty. Come on I'll show you the "map" of the place." she headed for the "Den" where a lot of the basics ran out of. He followed, curious.
"This is the map, shows everything on the Ranch." she explained it to him. "This area's for the horses, this for the Members. Over here's the Railway, where our local BNSF runs through."
"BNSF?" Rusty asked as Joule peeked in, then skated into the room, curious.
"That's short for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad." She answered. "Hi, Joule."
"Hi…I was jus wondering where you two took off too…" Joule answered a little shyly.
"It's ok." Cera replied with a shrug. "I don't mind. I was just answering Rusty's question about the Ranch."
"Oh…" Joule looked as curious as Rusty. Cera continued explaining about the place, including showing them the picture books on the place.
Part 3
They gathered later in the living room, as the sun vanished completely from the sky and they were wondering about a lot of things about this world. It was Christmas Eve. Outside the snow was falling in large, wet flakes and light was reelected off the snow, lighting up everything. It was beautiful. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, something that fascinated the Trains, and got Rusty teased by GB. Of course, he couldn't seem to find his "nasty" streak, which did kinda surprise him.
Poppa and Belle were in the kitchen with Lee, while Cera and the others sat in the living room. She was trying not to laugh as Rusty and GB teased each other, causing the others to giggle. She knew, like her mother, that these friends wouldn't be staying here much longer. The Gateway Guardian wouldn't allow it, understandably.
They were sharing stories about their "gatherings" when the three from the kitchen finally joined them in the living room, bringing fresh made cookies and drinks. Lee and Cera shared a look and she looked away. It was always a sad moment for her when newfound friends had to leave. Midnight was nearing and the Keeper would be arriving soon. They spent the last hour having fun.
There came the sounds of a train, causing everyone to fall silent. A quick glance at the clock showed it to be midnight. They headed outside into the calm night and stood on the porch.
"Where's the train?" several wondered.
"Look up. He's coming now." Lee said, she was the only one on the porch as the others had slowly moved down the stairs to the ground.
Many looked back at her, others looked up at the clear, starry sky. Lights appeared in the distance, seeming to run along the horizon and the sounds of a Steamer came closer with the lights. Soon, a train rumbled into the front yard and halted. There was no mistaking the Engine who stood there.
The group looked surprised as hell.
"Who are you?" Greaseball asked.
"Come on, GB, you don't recognize me?" the engine joked back.
"You're…Starlight?" Bobo half asked.
"The one and only, Bobo. Come on, I got to get you guys home before morning…" he laughed at their looks, turning somewhat as poppa chuckled.
After a couple of somewhat confused minutes, they coupled into along train behind Starlight. He turned towards the two on the porch and waved.
"See you in your dreams, Cera!"
With that, he started off, easily pulling the group and they soon were airborne and lost among the glittering stars.
The two women shared a happy look and headed back into the house. Once again, they shared a special time with ones most people believe to be only alive in their imaginations…