Meanwhile, back at the Blue Mountain Quarry, the other engines were working hard to get the trucks tidied away properly. Strangely, Rusty discovered some gelignite had been delivered, and raised the issue with Mr. Bailey, as it wasn't supposed to be in the quarry.

As neither Paxton, Diesel or any other standard gauge engines were coming in and out of the quarry, Luke began venturing out from the tunnel to offer to help his friends shunt the rest of the trucks away.

Of course, they were hesitant, as they had way too many close calls before. But Luke was persistent; and Sir Handel reasoned that as the standard gauge engines were gone for the holidays, and Mr. Bailey was busy elsewhere, Luke should be safe enough to help.

The plucky Irish engine soon proved himself to be a valuable worker. He shunted, he hauled, he kept puffing and he showed a solid determination which everyone came to admire. Unfortunately, he was also quite a fast worker, and he ended up skidding down the line on several occasions.

"Be careful, Luke!" Richard Wilson reminded him. "You'll cause an accident!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson. I just work like this a lot." Luke replied, sheepishly.

"Well, you do need to slow down lad." Geoffrey Heron agreed. "The workmen here can only do so much to help you, and you're too traumatised to visit the Steamworks."

The mention of it made Luke shudder.

"I'll be careful." He promised solemnly; and for the rest of the day, he was; by ensuring to slow down and use his sandbox to provide grip on the icy rails. He was determined to do his friends and his crew proud and was diligent in following all safety procedures.

Owen hated not being able to help his friends out at all; and he loathed being stationary. So, he decided instead to call out supportive words of encouragement.

"You can do it, all of you!" He called out, triumphantly.

"Erm, thanks, buddy," replied Sir Handel uncertainly, before muttering darkly "Peppy Welsh cheerleader!"

Luke, on the other buffer, felt bolstered by his best friend's words, so he gritted his teeth, and struggled on, still keen to get the job done.

….

"You've done us proud, Luke!" Owen exclaimed later in the day, as the engines standing near Luke all murmured in agreement. "Well, you've all done very well." He amended.

"Thanks, Owen." Luke replied, blushing.

The incline engine regarded his little friend on the ground. He was a good engine and had proven himself to be a very valuable team member. It was a pity his secret kept him from being Really Useful- he would have done the Thin Controller proud.

"Owen, I wish I could help out more." Luke added sadly. "I may have done well today, like you said, but I want to do that every day."

"I know you do, but that secret of yours-"

"It drives me insane!" Luke interrupted, suddenly looking upset and angry. "I'm sick of hiding all the time! I feel cooped up, and when I'm alone my guilt comes back. Back home, I sometimes worried about hurting others, even though I had no desire to."

"Luke-"

"And then the first thing I do on Sodor is send an engine to his doom!" The Wren burst out. "I don't want to feel like this anymore Owen. Nothing I do makes a difference here. As much as I love you all, I just..."

"Yes?"

"Tá mé ag iarraidh a dhul abhaile."

Owen had no idea what Luke had said, but the look of despair on his friend's face, combined with the heartbroken tone he said his statement in was enough to bring tears to Owen's eyes.

"Please, don't give up, little friend." He pleaded, before he could stop himself, and he was surprised with the emotion. He wasn't one to show sentiment like that so easily, but he was upset for Luke, and he didn't want to see a sweet, gentle and innocent little engine like him be brought down to a former shell of himself due to guilt. He couldn't forgive himself for thinking it, so what would happen if it did actually happen?

But much to Owen's surprise, Luke gazed up at his friend, almost as if he was staring through Owen. This lasted for nearly two minutes, before the little green engine smiled, and he was instead looking at his friend.

"Thank you Owen." He said, quietly. Owen heard, however, and he smiled back.

"Just remember – you're not alone, little buddy- never."

"I know, and I thank God for it every day."

...

Luke found himself in a happier mood, as he kept remembering his conversation with Owen. He was happy that Owen was his friend, and he considered him a very close friend too.

At last, when it was nearly the time to wrap things up, Peter Sam announced that Rheneas had returned to the quarry.

Everyone was eager to hear about the MPs' visit, and every engine, excluding Luke, went to talk to him.

"Hello Rheneas!" The engines greeted cheerfully.

"How was the MP visit, Rheneas?" Peter Sam asked politely.

"It went alright." Rheneas replied. "We had our highs and lows. I'm afraid one of them is why Skarloey isn't back with me."

"What happened?" The engines asked.

So Rheneas explained everything about Skarloey's fire bars collapsing, and of how he pushed him and took both of their trains to Crovan's Gate, and then headed back alone.

When he finished, the others were sympathetic. They were most sorry of Skarloey's plight, and also felt that Rheneas had been most admirable, and they all offered to shunt him home.

But whilst this was going on, Old Bailey saw everything, and came over to see what was going on.

"I'm glad to see you have returned, Rheneas, though I'm afraid we're finished for the day." He explained sympathetically.

"I know sir, but Skarloey and I were told to come back here after the visit by the Thin Controller." The old engine explained. "Skarloey broke down, so I had to take the whole train and it slowed me down."

"I am sorry to hear that." Old Bailey replied kindly. "Rusty, would be so kind so as to take Rheneas home?"

"Yes sir." Rusty replied respectfully.

"Excuse me, sir?" asked Peter Sam politely. "What do we do with the trucks of gelignite?"

"That's just what I was coming to." Mr. Bailey answered. "Peter Sam, Sir Handel, I need you for a few more minutes; but you two can go home now." He added to Rusty and Duncan.

With a toot and a whistle, the two engines set off for home, with Rusty shunting a sore and weary Rheneas back to the Depot.

...

"Now you two, I need you to help me by shunting these trucks of gelignite." He explained. "However, you must be careful. I shouldn't have to warn you, but it contains nitro glycerine, and it's a very powerful and dangerous explosive, so it requires gentle handling. I have no qualms with you, Peter Sam, and I know I can trust you wholly, Sir Handel, but I am also aware you can be irascible, so please be careful."

"I will sir." Sir Handel replied. He felt cross, but he also tried to forget it for the time being, as he knew what consequences his temper could have. He didn't want to risk repeating a stunt similar to the one that caused Peter Sam's accident at the incline.

"Good." Just shunt them into the sidings, and I'll get my early bird to deal with them early in the morning." He winked at them, and he walked away to start for home.

"I wonder who he means by 'early bird'" Peter Sam said thoughtfully to Sir Handel.

"I have no idea." His friend replied. Then his eyes widened as he suddenly realized something.
Only, he never voiced his concerns to his younger brother.

...

As Sir Handel carefully finished first, he decided to wait for Peter Sam to finish so they could head home together. Whilst he waited, he decided to check on Luke.

But as he puffed towards the tunnel, he thought he heard strange noises; and just as he reached the tunnel mouth, he saw Luke deep in the throes of a dreadful nightmare, and he was screaming about the 'blue demon.'