A/N: Finally! Another chapter! A brief warning of some violence in this chapter if you're not into that. Yes, MeC470 (Guest) I will be including OCs, and try to include as many characters as possible. However, I cannot create Riders for all the engines. It's a bit overwhelming, and anyone is free to create OCs of their own. I created the Riders and the curse, so that everyone can enjoy it, just credit me for the curse. That's all I ask. Anyway, on with the story!
Back at the scrapyard on Sodor, all of the diesels and their Riders had gathered for their monthly meeting to catch up on the news, and to check up on each other's Riders. Laura, Diesel's Rider, was in crutches, wearing a cast on one of her legs, and wore bandages to cover the stitches used to close the enormous bite wounds the steamie had inflicted on her. She was one of the lucky ones.
Everett sat down beside her on Diesel's buffer plate. It killed him to see her like this. The woman he had grown to see as a friend rather than a mentor was crippled, and in pain.
"Hey, how are you feeling, Laura?" Everett asked her. Laura grimaced and grunted in pain. Her pain medications must be wearing off.
"I'm doing better. My meds are wearing off though." Laura tried to re-situate herself but the pain was too much for her to bear. She couldn't even make herself comfortable without being in pain. Diesel gently nuzzled her with his nose.
"No, Laura, stay put. It'll only make it worse." Diesel murmured. He had been keeping a close eye on her, and making sure she didn't disobey the doctor's orders. She was to avoid strenuous activity, and to change her bandages at least twice a day. She was stubborn at first, but eventually complied when Diesel gave her an earful. She needed to rest if she wants to recover from such gruesome injuries.
"Is there anything I get for you right now, Laura?" Everett raised an eyebrow. Laura shook her head, typical Laura. The day she was attacked however, there was no way she would be able to escape unless he had intervened. The memory was still fresh in his young, now scarred, mind.
They were walking past the steamworks, and made sure to keep their distance from the rails. However, they were unaware of the narrow gauge rails that wound through, behind, and around it. It was quiet, too quiet. It was strange. Usually, the steamworks was swarming with steamies. Perhaps this was their lucky day. Their luck quickly turned for the worst when they heard a lion like roar. They had been spotted. Victor charged out of the steamworks at full speed, bent on slaughtering them both. Everett scrambled out of the way, but Laura wasn't fast enough. Victor sank his teeth into Laura's tender flesh, and Laura screamed in both agony and fear as Victor started to drag her back to the steamworks where he would have killed and devoured her.
Diesel, who was there to witness the horrific ordeal, quickly leaped into action, and rammed into Victor's side as an attempt to save his Rider. Victor released her, but turned his anger towards Diesel, and returned the devastating blow, but much harder than the shunter had rammed him. It knocked the breath out of Diesel, and derailed him. Helpless, he screamed his Rider's name as Victor quickly returned his attention to Laura, and crushed one of her legs in his powerful jaws. The scent of her blood had driven the steamie mad.
Everett feared that Victor would devour his mentor right in front of him, and desperately contacted Diesel 10, the engine he was bonded to. Thankfully, Diesel 10 wasn't too far away, and raced to the scene at full speed to save Diesel's precious Rider, and his own just as Victor was about to move in for the kill. Diesel 10 delivered a quick blow to Victor's flank, and Victor had finally had enough. The steamie retreated to the steamworks. He was smart enough to know he was no match for the warship. Laura was rushed to the hospital, and Diesel was sent to the dieselworks to be repaired.
The experience traumatized the boy, and he had been petrified of steamies ever since. If an engine Victor's size could do that much damage to a human, he could only imagine how gruesome an attack from a much larger steamie would be. That wasn't the worst part. Unlike the diesels, who just left the body to be found, the steamies usually devoured their victims. It was a sickening thought.
Belle, one of the fire engines on Sodor, was a prime example of that. She had already killed a workman, who had gotten a little too close to her Rider, within the first week she was here, or at least that's what he heard. He feared Belle the most for that reason. She was one of the worst, and was one of the steamies that killed the most people. She had a fiery temper, and an appetite to match. She was to be avoided at all costs. Not even Diesel 10 would mess with her. It didn't matter if her next victim was a diesel Rider, or someone who simply worked at the Search and Rescue Center. If they got too close to her Rider, they were good as dead.
Everett himself hadn't seen her Rider, and he would rather keep it that way. However, he had seen a little boy in her cab several times before, and he swore one time he heard the boy call her "Momma". She was always gentle with him. It was amazing how such a bloodthirsty monster could be so sweet, and gentle with such a small, and fragile child. Perhaps, she had a soft side after all. That meant she wouldn't attack anyone in front of the child. She wouldn't be that cruel right?
A/N: Belle, and her Rider will be introduced in the next chapter, and it is already in the works. We will be able to see just how bad she really is, but until then, see ya later!
