I Can't Lose (A request for johnny cdaman.) Hope you enjoy!
...
It was a bright and beautiful morning on the Island of Sodor, and everyone was very busy at the Blue Mountain Quarry.
Except for two little engines- one was Rusty, who had been taken away to the Diesel works for repairs an hour ago.
The other was...
"Oh ho -great biff Luke!" Owen the Incline Engine grinned, looking down at his friend, an Irish green tank engine known to everyone as Luke.
"Thanks Owen!" He called back.
Owen watched the engines down below shunt their trucks around the Quarry, and thought for a while, before turning to Luke.
"Luke, how quickly can an engine shunt?"
"Oh, very fast, Owen-why do you ask?" Luke inquired.
"I've just seen it go on down there, and I've always wondered how fast an engine can shunt." Owen replied.
"How about I show you with a little contest Luke challenged, feeling a bit cocky and confident. I bet that I can faster than you can move them up and down your incline. Whoever wins...oh I don't know- I haven't thought that far." He admitted sheepishly.
"Well, we'll discuss that after." The incline engine replied. "Right now, we'll just settle this score with this friendly contest you proposed."
"That's fine by me, Owen." Luke replied, with a smile that suggested that the challenge was on.
...
Once the rules for safety and fair play had been discussed and agreed upon, Luke and Owen both got into position, ready to begin the competition.
"Three, two, one GO!" Owen's operating manager called, waving a green napkin.
Luke immediately began shunting heaps of trucks as fast as he could, determined to win the wager.
Meanwhile, Owen hummed happily as he moved his trucks up and down the incline, being careful not to make mistakes.
...
They had also decided to split the contest into two periods of twenty minutes, with both Owen and Luke being timed and amount of trucks moved recorded.
Although they had agreed that it was only a friendly contest, when the results for the first block were announced, he found that Owen was winning.
"Hm, looks like I need to shunt a lot more." He said to himself, as he was ever so determined to win.
"Alright, chaps, break's over!" And the operating manager once more waved his green napkin and the two set down to settle scores.
...
The second half went well, albeit Luke pushed himself a lot harder than in the first round, feeling sure that he would win.
Then there was trouble.
Luke had been so keen on winning that, regardless to the safety rules he and Owen had agreed on, he decided to shunt six trucks in one go- twice the agreed limit. They were unreliable, and were prone to either sticking or screaming like banshees on wheels after rolling loose.
"Right, that should do it!" Luke cheered and biffed the trucks- very hard.
Unfortunately, they sped down the line as fast as Gordon with the Express. When Luke realised that they wouldn't stop, he whistled in alarm.
"Horrors!" He gasped. "I must go after them!"
But just when he moved barely an inch, he heard a horrifying scream.
The trucks, still screaming like suffering devils, had plunged down off the cliff, jamming Owen's platforms!
...
The engines below had been scared out of their wits by the accident, but Luke was so upset that he burst into tears and found it hard to calm down again.
The Thin Controller was contacted, and he drove to the Quarry, feeling very furious. This was not the sort of behaviour he expected with his engines!
After his arrival, he surveyed the damage. He was pleased to find that Owen was going to be okay, but was most unhappy about the accident happening in the first place.
"Who was responsible for this?" He asked, a steel look in his eye and a tone stronger than iron.
The engines were silent before a tiny voice said "I am, sir."
"Luke, I am most surprised and disappointed in you. Please, explain to me what happened."
So Luke told him of his bet with Owen, and of how his competitive had spiralled out of control.
"I really am sorry sir." The little green engine added miserably.
"I know you are, but this must not go unpunished. You are to apologise to Owen immediately, and then I am sending you to work on the Skarloey Railway until I deem that you are fit to come back."
"Yes sir." Luke said quietly. So he puffed away, and saw that workmen were inspecting Owen. He boarded the Upper Terrace and set off to apologise to Owen.
"Owen!" He called out. "I'm sorry for what happened today."
But Owen said nothing. The Irish engine noted that Owen looked unusually angry. Feeling close to tears again, he made his way slowly down the hill, ready to face his punishment.
Merrick the crane stopped him on his way, however.
"Luke," he said. "I know it's unusual to see Owen angry, but he does feel that way sometimes."
"He looked furious with me. He... he didn't say anything." Luke said numbly.
Merrick smiled sympathetically. I can't blame him- he will be out of work for a long time. But he wouldn't stay mad at you."
The young locomotive looked up sharply. "How do you know, Merrick?" He demanded, before wincing at how he said it.
"Well, he's Owen- he can't hold grudges. "Also, he does care about you- a lot. Why when you were first here, he was concerned about how quiet you were a lot of the time." Merrick replied, ignoring the way Luke had asked it.
"Thanks Merrick." The Irish engine said, and whilst he was still feeling bad, Merrick could sense that his friend had gained back his usual trademark pluck.
And as Luke puffed away to serve his sentence on the Skarloey Railway, the crane had a feeling that Owen would come around and that the pair will be friends again-especially since he caught a glimpse of sadness in Owen's eyes for a brief moment, before he blinked it away.