CAPTAIN'S CALAMITY
Henry the Green Engine had just finished his work, and gone to visit his favorite place on the whole island; the forest. He breathed in the fresh air and rolled to a stop on a siding. However, he smelt something funny and noticed a trail of smoke rising from some trees in the distance. That could only mean one thing.
"Fire!" Henry shouted in alarm, quickly beginning to reverse. He had gone to call the Sodor Search and Rescue Center. They would know what to do.
Quickly, Belle and Flynn, the fire engines, arrived on the scene. The small fire from before had turned into a bright blaze, and they quickly got to work trying to put out the fire.
"Come on, Flynn!" Belle called, as she shot water out of her cannons to try and control the blaze. Flynn smirked.
"Easy peasy!" He replied, and the two attacked the fire with ease. All traffic had been halted, so other engines came to watch Belle and Flynn put out the fire; they were all very impressed.
"Go, Belle and Flynn!" Percy cheered, stopped at the beginning of the forest with his mail trucks.
"Show that fire who's really useful!" Emily agreed.
"Right on!" Duck encouraged. Belle and Flynn shared grins and continued shooting the fire with everything they had. Henry watched nervously as the blaze was finally under control. The engines cheered as Belle and Flynn smiled at each other proudly. Henry rolled up to them, filled with relief.
"Thanks so much, guys!" He smiled gratefully. Belle chuckled.
"It's no problem at all." She looked to Flynn, who smirked proudly.
"No need to thank us!" He added, and the two began returning to the Sodor Search and Rescue Center, accompanied by cheers from the other engines.
When Belle and Flynn returned to the Rescue Center, Harold, Butch, and Rocky were there, and cheered when they arrived.
"Splendid job putting out that fire, chaps!" Harold said.
"Don't know anyone else who could have been better for the job!" Rocky added. Flynn chuckled and smirked.
"Thanks so much, guys. But, really, we're just doing our jobs!" He grinned, leaving Belle to roll her eyes. However, one rescue vehicle was not at the Rescue Center, and a storm was brewing out at sea...
A small fishing boat had collided with some rocks out at sea, and Captain the Lifeboat had been sent to rescue its passengers. However, on his way out, a terrible storm had started, and the sea was rocking up and down. Captain hooted his horn as the tiny boat came into view.
"Don't worry, everyone! Captain's here to help!" He called. One of the fishermen called out as Captain approached.
"Be careful, Captain! You're getting close to the rocks!" Captain frantically turned on his motor and began reversing, which due to the strong currents, just kept him in place. Captain frowned as he squinted to see the boat on the rocks.
"You're going to have to jump!" Captain called.
"It's too far! You're going to have to get closer!" The fisherman replied, and the others nodded in agreement. Captain squinted, and began intensely focusing.
"Right." Slowly, he eased off his resistance to the current, and moved towards the rocks at a snail's pace.
"Is this close enough?"
"Not yet!" Captain moved slowly forward again.
"How about now?"
"Little closer!" Captain was beginning to get dangerously close to the rocks.
"This good?" Captain frantically revved his engine to stay stable. His crew ran out onto deck to help the fishermen jump.
"Yes!"
"Jump one at a time!" He called. One at a time, the fishermen got a running start and jumped from the rocks to Captain. Just as the last fisherman was onboard, Captain frantically reversed engines and began moving away from the rocks. The fisherman's boat slid from the rocks to the depths of the ocean as soon as they were a safe distance away. Captain sighed in relief and slowly began to return to the Search and Rescue Center to give the fishermen some time to rest.
A soaking wet Captain soon emerged from the storm and arrived back at the Search and Rescue Center, where the rain had stopped but the skies were still grey. Captain eased up into his shed, and soon enough was stopped. His crew helped the fishermen off Captain, and inside for some hot cocoa.
"Thanks, Captain! You're a life saver!" A fishermen called. Captain chuckled.
"No problem at all!" He replied. However, he noticed a buzz of conversation across the yard between Belle, Flynn, Rocky, and Butch.
"Hey, guys. I'm back!" But they didn't reply. He looked to Harold on his helipad curiously.
"What are they talking about, Harold?" Harold chuckled.
"Belle and Flynn put out a forest fire today. Did a cracking job, too. Got rid of it before it could really spread." Captain raised an eyebrow.
"That's it?" Harold chuckled.
"Yes. Is something wrong, Captain?" Captain's crew reboarded, and the lifeboat began preparing to leave.
"No, Harold. Just have to make a routine inspection." Captain "blasted off" from his shed, leaving a worried Harold behind.
"I wonder what's up with him..."
As Captain made his way around the island's harbours looking for any boats in distress, he saw all sorts of engines and vehicles passing by on land. He tried to hoot hello as he passed Brendam Docks, the Fishing Village, and even Harwick Harbour; but no one acknowledged him. Captain sighed.
"No one appreciates me..." He muttered.
Captain rolled into the port of Arlesburgh Harbour to take on fuel when he heard a familiar voice calling from above.
"Hi, Captain! Up here!" Captain looked up and saw his friend, Skiff the Railboat, on the line above.
"Oh, hello, Skiff." Captain frowned. Skiff looked down at him and smiled.
"Is something wrong? You seem kind of down." Captain sighed.
"It's just that...well...no one appreciates the rescues I do because they're on the sea! Belle and Flynn put out a tiny fire, everyone is overjoyed! I almost get my hull ripped in half, no one bats an eye! They always cheer for Belle, Flynn, Rocky, Butch, even Harold! But never me!" He looked at his reflection in the sea miserably.
"Sometimes, it would be nice to know if what you do is worth it..." He sighed sadly. Skiff smiled wistfully at his friend.
"Captain, you save lives! Of course your job is worth it! The most important jobs of all can go thankless, but you're still helping people just as much as the other Rescue vehicles." Captain looked up at Skiff, still frowning.
"I guess, but..."
"And besides, your job isn't to get glory and praise; your job is to help people, and you're really good at it! Now stop frowning, and let me see the smile of a really brace lifeboat." Captain gave a tiny smile.
"Bigger..." Captain's closed-lip smile stretched across his face.
"Show me some teeth!" Captain did so, and Skiff chuckled. His driver came and turned him around.
"That's more like it! I've got to give a tour now, but perk up! It's not like you to be so down in the dumps!" Skiff began sailing away, leaving Captain behind. As soon as Skiff was gone, Captain frowned again and cast off to return back to the Rescue Center to await any rescue calls.
Skiff finished his tour and rolled into Arlesburgh station, where Daisy and Ryan were arguing.
"Trains have to run to time! We can't just close off a section of line for a little bumpiness!" Daisy insisted. Ryan frowned nervously.
"B-but I almost fell off into the river today! And the storm is going to make it worse!" He said, looking up at the grey sky. Daisy scoffed.
"The only reason you almost fell off is because you are a goods engine. You ride roughly with Troublesome Trucks! I am a smooth, highly sprung and up-to-date diesel railcar! My passengers couldn't feel bumps if I were climbing a mountain! I can manage a little dip in the line!" Ryan's eyes darted around nervously.
"B-b-but-"
"Are you a chicken, Ryan?" Daisy taunted.
"W-what?"
"Cluck-cluck!" She smirked. Skiff finally decided to butt in.
"What are you two arguing about?" He asked. Daisy rolled her eyes.
"Ryan here thinks that we should close our branch line until an 'unstable' section of track can be repaired."
"It's on a hill and if one of us derails, we could fall into the valley! It's not safe!" Ryan insisted. Daisy hooted her horn and began moving away from the platform.
"Whatever, Ryan. You have to go there next anyway, so you can find out if it's safe!" Ryan's eyes widened as he was coupled to his goods train.
"Oh dear." He gulped fearfully. Skiff looked to him, worried.
"Good luck, Ryan!" He called as the guard's whistle blew and Ryan left with his trucks.
"Thanks! I'll need it..." He muttered.
Ryan rolled along the line that he was referring to, and noticed the dip in the line ahead. He gulped and began to slow down. The Troublesome Trucks giggled as Ryan slowed to a crawl.
"Cluck-cluck!" The trucks teased. Ryan groaned as he slowly rolled over the dip. However, nothing happened. He crossed safely, and continued on with his train, feeling considerably relieved.
"Phew. I guess it is safe!" He chuckled and continued on. Unfortunately for Ryan, it had begun to rain, and the dirt under the line begun to slide out, making the dip even more drastic.
Daisy was relaxing in her shed when the stationmaster arrived.
"Daisy, you need to take some passengers back to Arlesburgh from Harwick. They need to get home before the storm hits again." Daisy groaned.
"It's muddy and wet! Why can't Ryan or Gator do it? They're already at Harwick! The rain will spoil my mascara!" The stationmaster frowned.
"You're the only engine available, Daisy. You have to do it." Daisy groaned, and grumbled away.
Daisy glided along the line as quickly as she could. It had begun to rain, and she wanted to get out of the storm as soon as possible. She approached the unstable section of track, and noticed that the valley was flooded below.
"Ugh." She spat. She sped up and rolled over the unstable section of track. As soon as Daisy's rear bogie had cleared the dip, more dirt fell. Unbeknownst to Daisy, the entire section of track had collapsed, and this was bound to cause problems on her way back.
Daisy collected her passengers from Harwick and began racing home. By now, it was raining hard, and she was desperate to get out of the storm.
"Come on! This downpour is bound to be terrible for my swerves..." She muttered. She approached the dip in the line, and saw that the earth had fallen away. She gasped and slammed her brakes on.
"STOP!" She wailed, but the rails were far too slippery for her to stop in time. She left the rails and rolled down the hill through the mud and into the flooded valley. Her gearbox sparked as she rolled through the water and collided with a tree. She groaned dizzily.
"Ow..." Luckily, no one was hurt, but Daisy and her passengers were stranded, and it had begun to rain even harder than before. The guard swam to what remained of the muddy hill, and climbed it to go and get help.
At the Search and Rescue Center, the rescue vehicles received the call.
"Daisy and her passengers are stuck on a flooded line between Harwick and Arlesburgh! Someone needs to get up there as soon as possible!" Rocky announced concernedly. Belle and Flynn shared a glance.
"We can't really help..." Flynn said.
"There's no fire!" Belle added.
"I can't carry that many people..." Butch replied, "It's up to you, Harold!" Harold grinned.
"Certainly!" Harold prepared to take off, but lightning stuck and his propellers stopped twirling.
"I can't fly in this weather, it'll put the passengers in danger! That means...Captain has to go!" Captain's eyes widened from his shed.
"It's all up to you, Captain!" Butch called.
"You're their only hope!" Belle added. Captain grinned determinedly, flew out of his shed, and sped off into the storm towards Harwick.
Captain soon enough got onto the river, and rolled as gently and quickly as he could through the flooded waters. The water level was quite high, and Captain was very nearly level with the trees. Finally, after pushing a few branches aside, Captain spotted Daisy, with her passengers standing on her roof.
"OVER HERE!" Daisy cried, her makeup running due to the rain, as well as her own scared tears. Captain motored over.
"Come on, everyone! We have to get you out of here quickly!" The passengers jumped onboard Captain one by one, and soon enough Captain was preparing to leave.
"Don't forget about me!" Daisy sobbed. Suddenly, Captain heard a creak and gasped, looking at the tree Daisy had collided with. It was beginning to lean towards her, and Daisy looked up at it. Her eyes widened in terror.
"AGH!" She cried, more tears rolling down her cheeks and making her makeup run even more. Captain looked up at the tree and frowned.
"Don't worry, Daisy. You'll be safe. Driver, get a chain!" Captain's driver got a chain, and carefully looped it around Daisy's coupling hook, just above the water. As soon as everything was ready, Captain roared into life, and began slowly moving Daisy out of the way.
"Please hurry up, before I get CRUSHED!" The rail car cried melodramatically. Captain had just pulled Daisy clear of the tree when it creaked loudly and fell into the floodwater with a splash. Daisy sighed in relief as a Captain pulled her beneath a cliffside, void of trees.
"Oh, thank you, Captain." She sighed gratefully. Captain smiled.
"No problem at all. You should be safe here; no trees around. I've got to get your passengers somewhere safe, but I'll make sure someone comes to rescue you when the storm blows over." Captain sped away to navigate out of the flooded valley, leaving Daisy behind, safe.
Captain was soon enough back out on the open ocean, battling the current. His passengers were huddled up in his cab, and rain battered his face.
"I can't be swept off course...I have to get them home!" He motored ahead, and soon enough saw the Search and Rescue Center.
"Almost there!" Finally, he rolled up the ramp into his shed, and sighed in relief as he was finally out of the storm. His passengers thanked him profusely as they disembarked from the lifeboat and went inside for tea before a train could take them back to Arlesburgh.
"You saved our lives!" One said.
"Thank you so much. We would have been stuck in that storm for hours if it hadn't been for you." Another added. Captain grinned happily.
"You're welcome." He sighed in relief as the passengers were finally safe. He grinned out into the storm.
"No one beats Captain on the water..." He chuckled.
The following morning, the storm had blown over, and Harold was inspecting for damage all over the island. He was flying over the Arlesburgh-Harwick Branch Line when he heard a voice.
"HELP! HELP ME! DOWN HERE!" Harold hovered lower and noticed a mud-covered Daisy lying on her side against a cliff-face. Harold gaped.
"What happened to you, miss?" Daisy scoffed.
"Fell down a hill during the storm. Now GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Harold was about to fly away when he heard Daisy call out again.
"Oh, by the way, give Captain my thanks! That tree would have fallen on me and my passengers if it weren't for him!" Harold saw the fallen tree and raised an eyebrow.
"Huh. Solid show, chap." He muttered, and returned to the Search and Rescue Center to get help for Daisy.
Ryan fetched Rocky from the Search and Rescue Center and pulled Daisy out of the valley and onto a flatbed. Daisy scowled as she looked at Ryan's innocent smirk.
"Cluck-cluck!" He said simply, leaving Rocky confused and Daisy furious.
Captain was resting at the Search and Rescue Center with the other emergency vehicles waiting for Harold to get back to give them a damage report. However, when Harold landed, he had something different to say.
"Did you chaps hear what Captain did during the storm?" He asked. Captain raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" He muttered.
"No, what?" Flynn asked.
"A tree almost fell on Daisy while he was rescuing her passengers, and he pulled her out of the way just in time!" The rescue vehicles were amazed. Captain looked away, red in the face.
"Well, I-"
"Good job, Captain!" Flynn said.
"You must be so strong!" Butch added.
"And brave!" Belle finished. Captain smiled.
"Aw, you guys..."
"I don't know what we would have done without you in that storm, Captain. Those passengers would have been stranded all night!" Harold said. Captain chuckled.
"Just doing my job, guys. Just like we all are."
Captain doesn't feel as left out now. He knows that sometimes, the things you do go thankless. But that makes the times when they don't all the more special.
THE END
This story was a nice, fun simple one. Captain is an infamously neglected character in the series who I think deserves more story opportunities. Maybe when there's more boat characters he'll get his shot. I also got to write more Daisy, Ryan, and Skiff, which was a whole lot of fun as I love their dynamic, and yes, Gator is still on Sodor helping build Harwick Harbour. Daisy especially was fun to write, as we haven't really seen much of her makeup dealing with rain. This isn't the most intricate story in the world, but I like it and I hope you do too. Leave a review to tell me what you thought of this story, and other ones, and I hope you are enjoying Set 2 thus far!
What's next:
- Wee Engines
- Percy & The Watermill
- Vampire in the Tunnel
- The Duke & The Earl
- Thomas Gets Locked Out - When Arthur comes to stay at Tidmouth Sheds for a night, much to Thomas' chagrin, the number one engine ends up being locked out of the sheds and has to find a place to sleep.