Let it be known that I don't own Erika, Madison, they belong to The Raging Blue Flame, Scarlett and Daemon(mention) belong to Darthmaul90. I have obtained permission from these people to use their characters.
Nothing Like A Little Daylight to Warm Your Pistons (part 2) :
Sodor, 2013:
Casey spent all day trying to think about where he had met Erika before this morning, he knew it had to have been when he went west on his final run before retirement. He saw multiple flashbacks that were jumbled all over the place as far as what was when. Why? Why must his memory go all screwy now? He might be old but he's not THAT old, he's known the famous "General", a Baldwin 4-4-0 that was captured by Union Spies and forced to run to Chattanooga during the Civil War and was the main part of the "Great Locomotive Chase", and he doesn't have bad memory, so why Casey? The Alco spent all day trying to think of how to gather up his memory of his run, he thought so hard during that time span that he didn't notice until he started to rotate on a turn table that it was evening and his job was done.
"What in blue blazes? Have I really been think'n that hard?" he asked rather out loud.
"Yes, you were." called out Jerry.
"We didn't want to bug you while you were trying to figure out where you met Erika before today." Brittney chimed in with her sweet Florida voice. Casey looked around at the shed, he noticed the only engine there was Gordon, who looked at him as if he was a little crazy.
"What?"
"Oh nothing, it's just that you seem to be thinking out loud." Gordon replied.
"You know, I have been think'n a lot today haven't I? I was just try'n to figure out where exactly I met Erika before this morn'n." Casey said as he backed into a stall that skipped over one from Gordon's.
"So you finally met Erika did you? Well you might want to keep your wheels to yourself, she's my girlfriend!" Casey was now more confused than he had been all day.
"What the Hell are you talk'n 'bout? I barely even know her, much less find any kind of attraction but as an acquaintance!" now it was his turn to look at Gordon like he was crazy. Gordon blushed, for a moment he felt a little embarrassed, he cleared his smoke box and spoke again but in a much calmer tone.
"Forgive me, she's just known a lot of men in her life and I don't want to have to find out she was still with another."
"Ah, yes, I know that feel'n, don't you worry none, we're still good"
"Thank you"
"...What in the world are you do'n here anyway? Shouldn't you be pull'n some express?"
"Oh, I will, I'm just resting here so that I can double-head with Erika to pull the evening "Nor' Western Daylight Express", as her driver would call it." Gordon grinned.
"Lemme guess, she always leads?" The only answer Casey needed and got was a blushing, yet sly grin from the big AO.
"I thought so."
Minutes later, the girl in question rolled up to the nearby station and signaled Gordon that it was time for their express, and with a simple "see you later" Gordon puffed away from the shed, leaving Casey completely alone.
Oh well, maybe I can put my thoughts together/i he thought, and he began to remember when he went out to the station he left in '52. /i
Alexandria, Virginia, Semptember 30, 1952:
It had been an hour since Casey left Joe cussing in the shed in Richmond, he was now awaiting his freight train next to a platform. The peace and quiet he was enjoying was short live however, on the other side of the platform, was the famous Southern Crescent passenger train for the longest time it was pulled by steam, but now it was being pulled by a green, white and gold EMD E8 diesel number 6909 along with five other diesels of the same model. Casey knew and disliked the lead diesel too, but at least she respected his accomplishments and feats that many would deem impossible at the time.
"Good morning Old Timer, what's got you down in the dumps this time?" she asked smugly.
"The fact that the most illustrious of passenger trains is being pulled by you idiots, I can't wait for Scarlett to come home!" he snapped. Scarlett is Southern's Pacific Class 4-6-2 number 1401. She usually runs The Tennessean to Memphis to meet up with some guy she wouldn't stop talking to Casey and her other friends about. Wasn't his name Daemon? Casey wasn't sure, but she has pulled The Southern Crescent from time to time. But over the spring and summer she was taken in for a complete overhaul and these diesels are her replacements. He hasn't met the ones that run The Tennessean but with all the dirt-cans he's met, he didn't want to.
"Touchy" and with that she and her sisters left him be. Minutes on the platform pass as a switcher brought Casey's freight cars to be filled up, this one remained respectfully silent as he did his job. Of course, again the silence was short lived. This time, a J class 4-8-4 streamlined engine number 611 pulled up to the platform, this one worked for the Norfolk and Western railway, and Casey didn't know her too well from the few times that they have met since her debut in 1950, except that she's egotistical and kind of spoiled. Casey always tries to be nice to her and teach her important life lessons whenever they meet, but she always scoffed him and never took his advice seriously. Today, the old Southern was in no mood for her attitude so he said nothing, but she looked over and recognized the old Southern.
"Morning Casey, lovely day to run The Pocahontas isn't it?" she asked. That was her premiere passenger train for Norfolk and Western, "The Pocahontas". It was to Norfolk and Western what the Southern Crescent was to the Southern Railway.
"Madison, don't start with me today, I've got a long way to go and I don't need a boiler ache all the way there." Casey groaned. Madison was upset by this, she knew Casey would always try to lecture her and stuff, but to see him snap at her like that? This was unacceptable! Inconceivable! It was, harsh.
"What's your problem?"
"I believe it's known as "A final run before retirement"."
"Oh come on, you can't be serious!" Casey shot her a glare that told her that was not kidding, she stopped and then Casey sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry I'm in this here mood, it's uncalled for, but I don't need any smart aleck'n before I get to California."
"You're going to CALIFORNIA!? WHY!?"
"I wish I knew Madison, I wish I knew..."
Sodor:
"I still don't know how she's managed to be to be the one saved from scrap," Casey said a little bit loudly.
"Who?" came a voice. Casey looked over to find Brittney sitting on his pilot, Jerry had already gone home to his wife in the town of Knapford.
"Madison."
"You mean that egotistical sausage train from Norfolk and Western?" Casey laughed at this.
"Yes, that one."
"I don't get it either, but she's still around. Oh well, at least she can't annoy us to death any more now that we're all the way out here."
"Praise the LORD!" Casey sighed and both of them got up to laughing to that. Of all the Firepeople he's had, Brittney is probably the closest he's had to Matthew and he loves having her in his cab, she just has this gift of understanding locomotives, and a real love for railroading. It's no wonder he was overjoyed the day she told him that she was coming with him to the Island of Sodor, she even had an offer from Norfolk Southern to be driver for them at the time. Anywho she does this every night, she stays with him for an extra hour or two before going home, and just enjoys watching other trains go by, of course she has fallen asleep on his pilot before, which Casey finds humorous. This night she watched the Scottish twin 0-6-0 tender engines Donald and Douglas working together as usual to pull one of their usual freight trains, Percy and Thomas beginning to run their nightly mail train, and James pulling the last local of the day. After all that, she checked her watch, it read 8:30 pm, and suddenly, her cell phone rang.
"Dog gone that dang phone of yours I was enjoying the quiet" Casey complained.
"Who could be calling me at this time? Hello? Yes? ...Oh hey Mark, how's it go'n? ...I'm fine, just sitt'n out here with Casey before I head for home. ...Boy I'll tell you what, it's amazing what Sodor is like, you have to come out here and see it. ...What? ...oh sure, hold on a minute." Brittney then pushed the speaker button, a voice came out so Casey could hear, it sounded like a young man.
"Hey, Casey, how's it going man?"
"Mark? Is that you?" Casey asked, still confused with how the cell phone worked, he understood the basics but beyond that he was clueless.
"Yeah man, we're all wondering how's Sodor treating you? But from what Brittney says it seems you're having a wonderful time"
"It's unbelievable, I haven't felt this useful since World War II started. I'm love'n it out here."
"That's good to hear, hey, I have a couple more people who wanna say hi to you." And then a few more voices came from it.
"Little Brother!" called in Cassidy excitedly.
"Hi Casey" came in Sarah, she sounded much better then she did a year before during her restoration, that had yet to be completed.
"Good to hear your voice Soldier!" that one was obviously Sarge, nobody else talked like that in the museum.
"It's great hear'n y'all too." and then it hit Casey
"Oh, are any of y'all familiar with a GS-4 Daylight named Erika?" There was a few moments of silence and a few "nos" until Sarah remembered.
"Yeah, I've met her before, she came eastward with her freedom train in the 70's I was part of it and I got to meet her, and now that I think about it, so did Mary." Mary was a Baldwin 2-8-0 Ks-1 class consolidation number 722 that was built in 1904 for Southern Railway. She spent most of her time pulling passengers with minor freight every now and then during her career. She was sold to the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad from the National Railway Historical Society of Asheville, NC and now she sits disassembled in Dillsboro, North Carolina awaiting funds for her turn of restoration.
"Okay, I think I remember you tell'n me about her, reason I ask is because I finally crossed paths with her this morning and she seems very familiar to me." Casey said.
"Well you did meet her in California back in '52 on your last run before Southern retired you." Cassidy said.
"Yeah, I figured that, I just can't quite remember what happened out there."
"Well, keep trying, I'm sure it will came back to you soon enough." Sarge replied.
"Thanks Sarge."
"Alright guys, I hate to cut the reunion short, but we still have a few excursions to do today. We just wanted to see how you're doing." Mark spoke up.
"Before we go Casey, say hi to Erika for me!" Sarah said.
"Will do baby." Casey replied. And they all said their good byes just in time for Henry pass by with the flying kipper, followed by Erika and Gordon's return to the shed.
"Well, there goes the last bit of peace and quiet..." he mumbled.
"Don't worry about it Casey, at least you can get to know Erika better." Brittney piped up quietly at the engine in question puffed into the stall next to him and Gordon rolled into the one next to her.
"Hi Casey, how was your day?" Erika asked.
"It was fine, can't really complain." Casey replied.
"Kept busy?"
"Eh, I was given a break for that all-nighter the other day."
"Cool, listen uh, I've been thinking, about today, you seem really familiar to me..." Erika said slowly. What would Casey say to her? would he be creeped out, flattered, or just plain confused?
"I've been pictur'n in my head how the first time I met you went down in '52."
"I don't remember seeing a southern passenger in California back then!"
"I wasn't green at the time, my paint was still black, and I was pulling freight."
"You were?"
"Yeah, in fact my remembrance train was at the point where I was leaving Madison in Virginia."
"Madison? You mean that bitch streamliner from Norfolk and Western?" Erika was now steamed, she hated Madison, and Madison hated her...best friends forever!
"Yup, that one, the last thing I said to her before I left was that I didn't know why they were sending me with a train all the way to California and back as my last run. I still don't know why." Erika calmed down a bit to listen. It was certainly not the time to let rivalries start a possible new friendship on bumpy tracks.
Virginia:
The crews spent forever trying to load Casey's train, in that time span, a few diesels came by and hazed the old steamer, except for one switcher who wished him well. Finally the important "ALL ABOARD" was called from the caboose, the signal jumped to green. Casey hesitated to look ahead, he sighed as Marcellus pulled the lever and got him moving with a pair of whistle blasts. The journey to California, has begun...
