Chapter 1 - Strange People
The Island of Sodor was such a beautiful place on Earth. Tourists from around the world travel to come and view the stunning terrains, and of course, all the engines.
Today was just any ordinary summer day for Sodor, but that was set to change the world, literally.
It was just past noon, and at Knapford Station. Tyler and Patrick were signing autographs for some fans, they also noticed some of the people walking around the station looked a bit different.
" When will we actually get a chance to travel the world and for everyone to see our talent? " - Patrick
" That would cost us fortunes. Scratch that, 5 fortunes. " - Tyler
" You make a point, but you're also wrong. " - Patrick
Tyler rolled his eyes and walked with his brother, only to accidentally bump into a bystander.
" My bad sir. " - Tyler
The gentleman turned back and looked at Tyler, but just waved at him and turned away. That made Tyler realize the new people.
" Have you noticed how different some of the people are here? " - Tyler
Patrick looked around aimlessly and was befuddled.
" Yeah. What do you see? " - Patrick
" You know. How some of them are wearing the same shirt, and hat, and eye color. Is there something going on that I don't know about? " - Tyler
Patrick wanted to answer, but he wasn't that interested.
" No, I don't think so. Let's just head home. " - Patrick
" Well then. " - Tyler
The two brothers went back to the motel, only for some of the strange people to look at them, and one of them talk into a microphone that was inside one of their gloves. What was that about?
At the motel, the other members were getting dressed to go to a fan meet up near downtown Sodor. They were surprised to hear that a good amount of people would be there.
Patrick and Tyler walked in to see Jake trying to put on his tie and Anne Claire brushing her hair, even though it was already straighten.
" Jake, you know it's just a meet and great, not a funeral. " - Patrick
" Yeah, but I'm sure some girls will be there and will want to see me all spiffy. " - Jake
" Tell that to Ginny. " - Anne Claire
Jake glared at her. Those two never really got along.
" Anyways. Is everyone else ready? " - Tyler
" Go upstairs. " - Anne Claire
Tyler and Patrick were intrigued and went upstairs to see for sure. Jake meanwhile wanted to try and have a regular, friendly conversation with Anne. And instead...
" So do you like fruit? Cause I heard the orange comes from..." - Jake
" No! " - Anne Claire
" Right. " - Jake
As he walked away, the twins went upstairs to the wardrobe room to find the others in there with a surprise.
Tyler opened the door to see the other members all dressed up and holding up the first album the band released.
" What's this all about? " - Tyler
" I found out that our first album just reached over 1 million sold copies. " - Ellie
" One million. That's like, 999,999 less. " - Hailey
" Uh yeah. So we'll be sure to tell Caleb. " - Erik
" Awesome. " - Patrick
They all went downstairs to get a nice, quick drink in celebration before heading out to the meet and greet. Tyler and Patrick wanted to talk about the people they saw earlier.
" Hey guys. Have you noticed some weird people around here? " - Patrick
" I guess. I saw one guy wearing a polka dotted hat and weird blue plants. " - Hailey
" No, that's just Mr. Grayberry. I mean like the ones wearing the same hat, same shirts, and just the same thing all around. " - Tyler
" I have a little bit. Maybe their's some convection somewhere, or maybe a shin ding happening tonight. " - Ginny
" Yeah, cause that's what I want at a shin ding. Everyone wearing the same clothes as me. " - Anne Claire
" Do you wanna come or stay here? " - Ginny
" I'm going, cause I'm part of the band. " - Anne Claire
" Okay, I wasn't sure. " - Ginny
Anne then threw her hair brush at her, but it hit Erik, in the groin.
" Oh god! I'm gonna go fix myself up. " - Erik
" Have fun. " - Tyler
They remaining 7 finished up their drinks, and were just about ready to head out. But Jake had another problem.
" God! How do people wear these ties? " - Jake
He tangled his arms everywhere trying to fix his tie, only for it to fall off his suit.
" You know what? Stay on the floor. " - Jake
He stomped away, leaving the tie. Patrick picked it up and was able to tie it on himself perfectly. Then he showboated at Jake.
" Easy. " - Patrick
That made the others laugh, and they all left the motel. Erik also coming as well. But Ellie and Tyler stayed behind. Tyler went up to Ellie.
" Have you ever thought about how maybe in a few years, we all might start living in a mansion and becoming much bigger stars? " - Tyler
" That would be great. But you know Sodor is our home. " - Ellie
" I know, and Thomas and Emily are our family. " - Tyler
" Then let's go have fun with them and our fans. " - Ellie
Tyler smiled and gave Ellie a kiss and the two went as well.
The 8 band members went to Tidmouth to get their engines to bring along to the meet and greet. They at first didn't feel like bringing them, cause they thought the engines would be noticed more. But they were special to them and the reason why they became a band, so they decided to bring them along.
The engines saw their drivers all dressed up and nice.
" Look at you guys all nice. " - Emily
" Hey. I mean you can't lie. We look hot. " - Jake
He posed getting groans from Gordon and Erik.
" You guys ready to go? " - Tyler
" Maybe. Are you sure you want us to come. I mean it's your fans. " - Thomas
" Hey look. We love you guys. It would be nice for you all to come as well. " - Ellie
" I'll say yes to that. Come on let's go. " - James
" Easy there cowboy. " - Percy
Everyone laughed and were hoping for a good time. That would be true to start off.
Tyler and the others all entered their engine's cab and they were off. Rebecca and Nia decided to stay behind because their drivers weren't part of the band. Natalia and Ruby didn't take kindly to that, but was okay with not going.
" See you soon sweetie. " - Gordon
" Have fun Gordon. " - Rebecca
" You stay nice Henry. " - Nia
" I will darling. " - Henry
He got a blush from Nia and snickered at Gordon.
" Let's go. " - Gordon
The band and engines would arrived downtown in about 20 minutes. The meet up was outside and their were already lots of fans waiting.
Tyler was the first one to notice.
" Turns out we are fairly popular. " - Tyler
Him and the others started waving at the fans. And in response the fans cheered for them.
The 7 engine would stop nearing a siding for all of them to wait and watch their drivers have a great time. Anne Claire however had to drive herself there, since Annie and Clarabel couldn't be driven unfortunately. She parked near a crowded part of the area. She left her car and already got complaints from a group of guys.
" Hey girl. The spot is not preserved for you. " - Guy
" Is this preserved? " - Anne Claire
She wacked him in the bad area in just a flick sending him to the ground and his buddies running away, along with the unlucky dude later.
Once she caught up to her band, they all went to their tables where they would sit and have their fans come up one by one and give autographs, be given gifts, and some other things fans like to do.
Back with the engines who were watching and also getting some hellos from fans. Thomas noticed some of the people walking around looking different.
" Who are those people? I haven't seen them before. " - Thomas
The other 6 engines looked and saw them as well.
" Tourists? Maybe? " - Edward
" Kind of interesting outfit to where. " - Percy
" Or their spies. " - James
" Why would they? " - Gordon
" Beats me. " - James
" I'm sure it's fine. Thomas, why do you and I go for a stroll. " - Emily
" My pleasure. " - Thomas
The two nice loving engines went for a nice circle around the city. While they were doing that, they once again noticed some of the strange people. Their were regular civilians walking around and then their were them. Something was going on, not so sure what.
Back at the fan meet up. Jake got probably the coolest gifts, probably because he was the most good looking member, even if most of those gifts were from men.
" Their you go, have a great day. " - Patrick
Pat was just signing autographs as he likes to do it. But he noticed one card he got it from a fan.
" Hey Erik. I think I got a phone number from a nice girl. " - Patrick
He showed Erik and the blonde one was not so sure.
" 11? " - Erik
Patrick was confused and looked at the card.
" Maybe she forgot to write it all? " - Patrick
" Yeah. Forgot. " - Erik
Patrick then got grumpy and threw the card away. And it hit a man in the leg. Patrick felt bad and ran over to get the card.
He came to the man, who was wearing a suit and an earpiece.
" My bad sir. " - Patrick
" No problem son. " - Man
Patrick looked at him and thought he knew that face.
" Are you here for us? " - Patrick
" Why yes, I was hoping to get an autograph for my daughter from all of you. " - Man
" Oh, well sure thing. Come on over. " - Patrick
He brought the man over to the table.
" Hey guys. It's time for another group autograph for this man's daughter. " - Patrick
The others responded well and all autographed a picture of them all together. While he was signing it, Tyler also noticed the man's face.
" I've seen you. Aren't you a scientist? " - Tyler
" You are right. I'm Dr. Joe McMahon, and I've been impressed by how beautiful this island is. " - Joe
" Oh it's beautiful alright. Even in crappy weather. " - Hailey
" Hailey. " - Ginny
" No that's fine. In fact, I was hoping I could start my next, big experiment here. I'm sure the people would be impressed. " - Joe
The way he said that though, was really slow and his voice sounded a little creepy.
" Yeah, that would great. " - Tyler
" Thanks for stopping by. " - Jake
Joe smiled and waved goodbye, but the 8 friends weren't so pleased.
" That was weird. " - Erik
" Are you sure he should be here? " - Patrick
" Hey guys, relax. He's just a guy. It's not like he's a criminal mastermind. " - Tyler
Joe ended up hearing that, and then walked in a different direction. He then talked into that earpiece he had and then just disappeared.
After that, the band was planning on having a quick performance for their fans before heading home.
As they were getting set up, back with engines, James was getting a photo from a girl who was definitely crazy for him.
" Thank you James. " - girl
" Sure thing sweets. " - James
That made Percy really uneasy.
" Okay bye! " - Percy
The girl ran away excited.
" These psycho fans, I don't like them. " - Percy
" You're just jealous. " - Gordon
" If I were, then I would just ask to be painted red like James. " - Percy
" Don't do that Perce. You are perfect with that green paint of yours. " - James
He earned a wink from James, and Percy laughed.
" Hey, I'm right here okay. " - Henry
" Sorry. " - James
He then whispered " I'm not sorry. " to Percy.
" I heard that. " - Henry
Gordon got a laugh from that. Meanwhile, Edward was focused on the television. As a news broadcast was talking about something really interesting.
" No additional information has been announced, but police and federal forces are still on the hunt for a group of individuals that are believed to be part of an ethnic group called the PDK. Their last known location is said to be in Ireland, but no sightings have been seen for the last few weeks. " - News reporter
" Interesting. " - Edward
" What is? " - Henry
" Oh, um nothing. Just the news talking about a group that the police are looking for. They say they were last seen in Ireland. " - Edward
" That's pretty close. " - Henry
" But I'm sure we're safe. We have the nicest people in the country. " - Edward
Unknown to him, another strange person was hiding in the bushes just near the siding the engines were sitting at.
Back with the band, Erik and Jake were getting some punch just before the band would sing. Erik looked up and saw how cloudy and dreary it was.
" How can we perform in this weather? It's gross out here. " - Erik
Jake also looked up at the sky, and their was nothing but clouds.
" Weird. It was clear skies just an hour ago. " - Jake
" Weather is a joke, we know that. " - Erik
" I'll clink to that. " - Jake
The two clinked their glasses of punch together and chugged them down pretty fast and quickly ran to the backstage area.
After about 15 minutes, the stage was set, and fans were all waiting for the band to come out. The drums player came up to the middle of the stage to introduce.
" Ladies and Gentlemen. You know them, you love them. Here is the Steam Team! " - drummer
The crowd cheered and the curtains opened to reveal the band posing, mics attached to them, and the drums and guitar players in the back beginning the song.
Song starts here:
You're my one and only friend, the only one in the world. I've watched you try hard and fit in, but I keep thinking your gonna win. Even if it's too late, too late. I will still keep giving you motivation. Even if I get tired and want to rest, I extend my hand and help you up. - Patrick
This feels like a race and you feel like you are gonna lose, lose, lose. But the reason why you think that is because your using a ruse, ruse, ruse. I'm not the only one, we are all in the same place. Just trust me and I'll push you to the side and show you how to grace. - Jake
Make me run more. Make me run more. Even if my feet are full of wounds. You still make me smile when I see your face. - Erik
I said, stop, stop stop, but you keep on running. Said stop, stop, stop, you didn't listen to me. - Tyler
In my defense, I can not stop you. I can't do anything besides watch you. - Ellie
You said, stop, stop, stop, even if I choice not to. Said stop, stop, stop, but it didn't want to hurt you. - Tyler
You and me will keep on trying. The fool in me feels like destiny. - Ellie
Stop! - Ginny
Don't tell me goodbye bye. - Patrick
Stop! - Ginny
You are so kind kind. - Patrick
Stop! - Ginny
Luck is a lie lie. Don't say it, don't say it. Don't say that's why why. - Patrick
You may think it's all over now, but you can't be so sure. Everyone is sweating from the fear and tearing from the failure. But my fate is fast like typhoon winds. It just makes me want to run and jump into the ocean and look right into the sun. - Hailey
Make me run more. Make me run more. Even if my feet are full of wounds. You still make me smile when I see your face. - Anne Claire
I said, stop, stop stop, but you keep on running. Said stop, stop, stop, you didn't listen to me. - Tyler
In my defense, I can not stop you. I can't do anything besides watch you. - Ellie
You said, stop, stop, stop, even if I choice not to. Said stop, stop, stop, but it didn't want to hurt you. - Tyler
You and me will keep on trying. The fool in me feels like destiny. - Ellie
It's not time to give up, it will just fall apart into pieces. - Erik
From the tip of your tongue, from underneath your feet. You will see that we all are here to help you. - Tyler
I was chasing a butterfly, and felt it like watching you run away from me. It made me wanna cry. - Anne Claire
If you look into the sky, you will see the road, that will lead to your greatest chances. - Ellie and Tyler
I said, stop, stop stop, but you keep on running. Said stop, stop, stop, you didn't listen to me. - Tyler
In my defense, I can not stop you. I can't do anything besides watch you. - Ellie
You said, stop, stop, stop, even if I choice not to. Said stop, stop, stop, but it didn't want to hurt you. - Tyler
You and me will keep on trying. The fool in me feels like destiny. - Ellie
Stop! - Ginny
Don't tell me goodbye bye. - Jake
Stop! - Ginny
You are so kind kind. - Jake
Stop! - Ginny
Luck is a lie lie. Don't say it, don't say it. Don't say that's why why. - Jake
Song ends here:
The music stopped playing and the band stopped moving as they finished the song. The crowd gave a very long cheer after hearing this song. The song "Stop" was released on the band's second album and has been one of their most popular songs.
The band gave a bow and then Tyler was handed a microphone to talk to the crowd.
" Thank you all for coming out. We love all our fans and we are glad that you all are here for us. " - Tyler
Then Ellie took the mic from Tyler.
" Any questions in the mean time? " - Ellie
About 40 hands went up and Ellie was befuddled. She chose a girl standing near the front.
" You right there. " - Ellie
" My only question is how did you guys come up with that song? " - girl
" Let's just say that we get most of our songs from our special friends right over there. " - Ellie
She pointed along with the others at the engines near the siding. Everyone in the crowd turned and looked at them. The engines were a bit embarrassed from everyone looking at them, but James and Thomas didn't care.
" Thank those guys. We wouldn't have become a band if it wasn't for them. " - Tyler
The crowd clapped for both the band and the engines, mainly for the Steam Team in general.
Tyler looked into the crowd and some other areas with groups of people, and once again saw some regular people cheering and the stranger people just standing there and watching and not reacting. At that point, Tyler wanted to head home.
They would get ready to go home in a half hour as they packed everything up and said thanks to their fans and workers.
Patrick saw Dr. Joe McMahon in the distance talking on the phone, and Patrick yelled over to him.
Joe heard him and saw Patrick waving. He waved back at him, but walked away aimlessly. Patrick then saw the back of Joe's jacket and saw a little abbreviation on the right sleeve. It said PDK. Patrick had no clue what that meant, but didn't really seem to care.
Tyler and the others soon went to the siding where the engines were and quickly hopped into their cabs.
" Where's Anne? " - Erik
" Where do you think? " - Ginny
Then a car quickly zoomed away near them. That had to be Anne's car.
" That was quite a performance. " - Thomas
" Yeah. Except I think I pulled a muscle. " - Hailey
" You can't pull what you don't have. " - Jake
" Hey I chose not to work out with you. " - Hailey
" Guys. No fits. We had a great time. Let's just head home and then have a nice sleep. " - Ellie
" Yes to that. " - Patrick
" But before we do. I'd like to give Thomas this. " - Tyler
He grabbed from his pocket some stickers given to him by a fan. He peeled off two star stickers. And he put them both on Thomas's cheeks.
" That to show you how you're more than just a star. You're a double star. " - Tyler
Thomas laughed and was flattered.
" Trust me, I'm more than that. " - Thomas
That made Tyler laugh and pinch Thomas's cheek.
" Okay, let's go home. " - Tyler
The 7 humans and 7 engines went home to Tidmouth after a very enjoyable night, well for some of them it was. Some were still very suspicious about the "interesting visitors" they kept on seeing.
They returned home at about 8pm. At Tidmouth, Nia and Rebecca were there waiting for their special someone. Gordon and Henry just happened to be the first two to enter.
" Hi Henry. How did they do? " - Nia
Before Henry could answer, Hailey jumped down in delight.
" We. Were quite exhilarating. " - Hailey
" Yes. They were. " - Henry
The other drivers came down from their cabs and gave a goodnight to their engines and went to their motel.
The engines meanwhile were about to go to sleep, but Edward wanted to tell the others about the news he saw.
" Did you guys hear that a group of criminals are on the loose and being hunted? " - Edward
The engines were quite shocked.
" Where exactly? " - Percy
" They said they were last seen in Ireland not too long ago. " - Edward
" Yeah, but doesn't mean we're in any kind of danger. " - Emily
" I'm sure they'll be caught and we won't be affected by it. " - Nia
" Okay, let's hope that's the case. " - Edward
They all drifted off to sleep. Edward later would forget about the news.
At the motel, the 4 boys and 4 girls all had a quick sitting in the living room to talk about what they thought about today.
" Maybe those strange people will be gone tomorrow. " - Jake
" Like magic. " - Ginny
" You know magic doesn't exist. " - Erik
" Not literally. Like they'll leave in the morning and we won't have to look at them again. " - Ginny
" I'm pretty sure I saw one of them stare at me the whole song performance. " - Patrick
" Okay guys. Let's just forget about those people. They haven't done anything, so let's not get so worked up over it. " - Tyler
" We'll work tomorrow and surely by the end of the day, they will be out of your minds. " - Ellie
" We have work tomorrow? " - Hailey
" Yes. " - Ellie
" Just what I need. Weird people and working all day. " - Hailey
" You sure about that? " - Anne Claire
" You know what Anne. Why can't you stop being so rude to us for one day? " - Jake
" Cause that's what I like to do. " - Anne Claire
" You sure? " - Jake
" Jake, buzz off. " - Erik
" You buzz off then Erik. " - Ginny
The 4 began to argue more. Patrick and Hailey then joined in and began screaming at them. Tyler and Ellie both sighed at their friends fighting.
" These are our friends. " - Tyler
" We have to suffer through this. " - Ellie
After the 6 friends stop screaming and shoving. They all ran upstairs to their rooms to get some alone time after that.
Despite that ruckus, they all still decided to try and forget about the people they say today and hope tomorrow will get them out of their heads.
It is now the next morning, the sky was still cloudy like yesterday, but some of the clouds had some kind of color to them though.
At Knapford, it was partially full. But half of the people there were regular people and the other half were again the suspicious people. Still wearing the same outfits and not interacting with anyone.
Erik and Jake were walking around waiting for Edward and James.
" Hey man. Again, I'm sorry from last night. I love Anne and I'm fine with her rudeness, even if she does it to me. " - Erik
" Hey, as long as you can handle it. Then you be you. " - Jake
Erik then saw a note on Caleb's office door. It said " Will be gone until tonight. ".
" I wonder where he's at. " - Erik
" Probably playing poker with the mayor. " - Jake
" No one plays poker anymore. " - Erik
" You don't know that. " - Jake
The two friends continued walking. Then they got a glimpse of the people in the station. They again saw the strange ones walking around.
" Just don't think about them. Pretend they're not there. " - Erik
Jake decided to close his eyes, but ended up walking into a stranger. That stranger happened to be one of the goons.
" Oh. I, uh, sorry. I didn't see you. " - Jake
The person didn't say anything, just took it and walked away. Jake heard him say 8:59. Jake looked at the clock and saw it was exactly that.
" Weirdos. " - Jake
Nia then came in and saw the two.
" Hey guys. " - Nia
Erik and Jake turned around and saw the orange engine.
" Hi Nia. " - Erik
" Where's Edward and James. " - Nia
" I'd say James is fooling around with Percy and Edward...I don't know what Edward does when he's alone. " - Erik
" If you want, I can help you guys with something. " - Nia
" We'll be fine Nia. Thanks though. " - Erik
" Anytime boys. " - Nia
Erik and Jake waved goodbye and walked away, then they went to the outside.
" Can this weather be any worse? " - Erik
" Ask yourself. " - Jake
Behind them was another goon, who then looked at his watch.
" 9 o, clock! " - Goon
Before you know it, another goon pushed a button and a loud siren began blaring and the clouds in the sky began to turn purple somehow.
Jake and Erik were frozen and looked behind them and saw absolute horror going on in front of them.
" What's happening? " - Jake
What was happening in fact? The beginning of something that would change the world.
TO BE CONTINUED
Cliffhanger 1, what is going to happen? Chapter 2 will tell you.
This is the beginning of this big story, and it will continue to be more intense later on. This story will feel like a movie and the conflict is just about to start.
Next chapter may be out in a week since this 1st chapter took about a week to write. Still be sure to stay tune.
The song Stop I wrote myself. I did the best I could, so if you think the lyrics don't make sense. Sorry.
Be ready for chapter 2. It's going to be big.