Authors note: I don't own any of the characters; they all belong to HIT Entertainment. Alex however is my own creation. And please excuse my poor English, I'm Norwegian and didn't pay too much attention in my English class...
From Sodor with love
Chapter 3: Feeling down
Bert sighed sad as he drove out of the shed in the morning. Throwing a quick glance at his brother's empty space. Another day without him. He oiled to the smelters yard, working hard and effective without feeling anything at all. The days were just grey and dull without Arry to joke and have fun with. He also missed their talks in the shed at night. They could talk about everything.
He felt lonely, and at the same time he was worried about his brother. It had been over a week now, and he still hadn't got any message from the Fat Controller about when Arry would return.
What if he found a new best friend at the mainland and forgot about him?
He bumped into a flatbed, feeling tears stinging in his eyes by the thought. Arry would never forget about him, would he? They were related after all. Blood was thicker than water, right?
He didn't feel too sure. Arry was the one who had no problem talking to others and be alone without him. He was probably having a great time over there, probably not being homesick at all.
"You've always been so independent and…" he growled as he biffed another flatbed. "… damn brave and… and… fuck you! Why did you have to shunt that car into the pit, bro!?"
He shunted some empty trucks together, coupling up to them to take them to the shunting yard.
"I miss you so damn much!" he yelped, looking into the horizon as he oiled away from the Ironworks.
"Who are you talking to?" a voice said beside him.
He looked over, seeing James glaring at him. He glared back.
"None of your business, you steaming piece of scrap metal!" he barked to the red engine.
"You know… talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." James smirked, teasing him.
"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Bert sped up, pouting as he pulled the long train with him.
James sped up too, wanting to tick the diesel off even more. He enjoyed seeing him miserable.
"OH… you're missing your brother, aren't you?" he said with a voice only used when talking to a baby or a toddler. "Poor, little Bertie."
"Cut the crap, teapot. I have work to do! Get lost!" the hazard-striped shunter growled.
"It must feel so lonely in your shed without your precious brother there to hold your coupling chain and sing you a lullaby…" James teased, his words poking Bert like sticks.
"Do you wish to die, James?" the diesel snarled, being utterly annoyed. "If that's so, then keep teasing me…"
"Oh… I'm so scared! Big bad Bertie is coming to get me. Boohoo!" James mocked. "You know what? I think Arry is much happier at the mainland, now that he doesn't have to be with his whiny twin who can't live without him. It must feel like a relief to him being rid of you!"
Bert grit his teeth, trying hard not to let his words affect him. But they stung him like bees anyway. He decided not to say anything, it would only feed the troll. James obviously enjoyed seeing him upset.
"Do you cry when you're alone at night, thinking of all the fun your brother has without you? I have a teddybear you can borrow if you need someone to cling to." James chuckled.
Bert bit his lip, wanting to tell him where he could stuff that damned teddy of his! But he managed to remain silent. Just pulling the train, like nothing else mattered in the world.
"James!" a voice boomed behind them. "It's enough now!"
Edward puffed up behind them. "I've been listening to you for a while and I am very disappointed in you, James! Mocking other engines is wrong, he didn't even say anything mean to you before you started hammering him with insults!"
James squeezed his lips shut and sped up, disappearing in distance. He wanted to get away before Edward demanded that he apologized to Bert.
Edward sighed as the younger engine raced away from them. Then he looked sideways at Bert, the diesel sure didn't look merry.
"I'm sorry for James behavior, Bert. That was uncalled for." He said fatherly.
"Whatever…" Bert muttered, not wanting his pity.
Edward chugged alongside him down the hill, wanting to cheer him up. He hadn't cared much for the scrap yard diesels before, they usually kept to themselves and scared others away by their menacing attitude, so he hadn't bothered trying to talk to them before. But Bert looked so miserable it touched something inside him.
"You miss your brother, don't you?" he said softly, looking at the hazard-striped diesel.
"Whatever…"
"You don't have to play cool to me, Bert. I see through that mask of yours." Edward insisted.
"I have work to do, I don't have time to talk." Bert grunted.
"Nonsense. I know you're going to the shunting yard with those trucks, we can talk along the way." The blue tank engine offered.
"I don't have anything to talk to you about." The diesel mumbled.
"If you say so… but I want you to know that if you need a friend to talk to, you can rely on me." Edward said friendly.
"Whatever…" Bert grumbled, speeding up to shake the blue engine off. He didn't want to talk to a steamie! The only one he wanted to talk to was Arry… and he wasn't there!
He trundled into the shunting yard, carelessly dropping the trucks off before returning to the smelters. Maybe James was right… maybe Arry HAD forgot about him, maybe he really was relieved to be away from him… the thought made a desperate sob escape him. He looked around, hoping nobody had heard it, forcing the tears back.
He hid in his shed as soon as he came back, there wasn't much more to do until lunch now, he might as well try to take a nap. Time went faster if he slept.
On the mainland, Arry was sulking outside the shed he shared with Alex. He didn't want to go inside, she would only pester him with chitchat and annoying questions. She had tried to befriend him all week, but he kept her at a safe distance, not wanting to make friends at this forsaken place. All he wanted was to go home. But that damned pink shunter never gave up on trying to talk to him. He hissed by the thought. That girl talked from they woke up in the morning until they went to sleep at night! Sometimes he wondered if she kept talking even after he was asleep…
He stared up at the sky, wondering how his brother was doing. Bert had never been very independent, he preferred to be following orders rather than giving them. So Arry had always been the dominant one, while Bert was the one who followed in his tracks.
Maybe it would be good for Bert to be a bit alone, making his own decisions and plan the work by himself?
"I hope you behave, so I can return as soon as possible…" he mumbled into the air. "I miss you, bro."
Alex slid out of the shed, looking at him with dismay. She was sure not amused by his gruff attitude.
"If you're going to sulk all the time, you're going to have a really awful stay here." She said as she passed him. "Loosen up a little!"
Arry snorted, not appreciating being told how to behave.
"Why should I?"
"Because you're like a dark cloud, making even my own days sour and hard to get through." She grumbled, giving him a push towards the yard as she switched to his track.
"You're welcome." He muttered, slowly picking up speed to go back to work.
Alex groaned and rolled her eyes behind his back. She was getting tired of this grumpy iron-diesel, he was a hard nut to crack. She had looked forward to work with someone, have someone to talk to, but now she would have preferred to be alone… hell, she felt even more alone now, than she felt before Arry arrived. He was impossible to keep a conversation with!
"I really hope you'll go home soon…" she mumbled to herself.
To be continued…
