Chapter 14: Boulder strikes again. Part 1

[Warning #1: This chapter might have some content from the episode "Rusty and the boulder," but it takes place directly between season 21 and the movie "Big world, big adventures."]

[Warning #2: I might also be borrowing a little bit of content from a YouTuber called "Big engine's 87."]

It was a bright sunny day on the island of Sodor, and a very busy day at that. There was too much work going on down at the yards of Boulder quarry, and Sir Topham Hatt had to send some more of his engines down to help out. 3 of these engines were Edward, Bill, and Ben, but Edith and Agnes were invited to tag along with them. Agnes was driving her track cycle, and Edith was sitting in the passenger seat that was equipped behind her. Edith and Agnes were riding alongside Edward, and Bill and Ben were puffing along right behind them.

Agnes: "Golly Edward, it was nice for you to invite us along to this job of yours."

Edward: "It certainly is, but are you sure it's safe for kids like you to be hanging out at a quarry?"

Agnes: "Don't worry Edward, we won't cause any trouble…..right Edith?"

Edith looked up at Agnes glaring at her, then she thought about the time she helped Duncan play a spooky trick on Luke. But she didn't wanna get in trouble again (or another spanking), so she had no choice but to agree.

Edith:(sigh) "Yes Agnes."

Bill and Ben were listening in on this, they knew Edith wouldn't last as long as she says she would.

Edward: "You 2 will still need hard hats, I'm sure they'll have spare ones already at the quarry."

Bill:(chuckles) "Yeah, maybe."

Ben: "Unless you wanna get your head crushed by a boulder."

Edward: "Quiet, both of you!"

?: "Hey, slow down you guys."

A short ways back, following behind them was their good friend Boco. Boco was a bright green (same shade of green as Percy and Henry) BR Class 28 with a white roof. He also had 1 of the usual British Railway symbols on each side of his back half, and his D5702 logo on each side of his front.

Boco: "Can we slow down a little, we aren't running a race."

Bill: "Aww, don't be so boring!"

Ben: "Yeah, why don't you just pick up the pace!"

Edward just rolled his eyes in annoyance, Edith and Agnes even knew how Edward felt right about now.

Before long, they finally arrived at Boulder quarry. Edward slowed to a stop, Agnes parked her track cycle on his right side while Boco stopped on his left side. Bill stopped on the right side of Agnes's track cycle, and Ben stopped right behind it. They all got a good look at the quarry yards, and it looked almost as busy as expected.

Skarloey and Duncan were resting in their sheds while Rusty was doing most of the shunting, but there were only 2 standard gauge engines working.

But the 1 who had broken down on the far right side and looking very sad was Derek, he was a dark green BR Class 17 with the base around his face being yellow along with his rear end. There was black smoke coming from his engine, that meant his engine had overheated.

The other engine who had just shunted a couple trucks full of stone into place was Rosie, she was a cherry red USATC S100 Class/SR USA Class. She had red wheels with white outlining, and the number 37 on each side of her cab. She also had the NWR symbol on each of her sides, and a dark gold headlamp.

As Rosie peeped her whistle and went to collect some more freight cars, Agnes, Edward, and the others could see that there was a lot to do.

Edward: "Well gang, seems like there really is a lot to do."

Agnes: "Well, can't argue with that Edward."

Edith: "Me neither,(turns towards Boco) but at least we have a big strong diesel like you helping us Boco."

Boco: "Umm, I hate to break it to you guys. But I was only called here to pick up a few trucks loaded with quarry stone, and take them to Brendam docks."

After hearing that bit of sad news, Edith and Agnes just slouched in disappointment.

Agnes: "That's a shame, we could really use an engine like you helping out here."

Boco: "Yeah, I'm even the one who usually watches over poor Derek."

Edward: "Don't worry Boco, I'll watch over Derek."

Agnes: "And I'll keep an eye on Bill and Ben over here."

Suddenly, Bill and Ben went wide-eyed in horror.

Bill and Ben: "Oh no."

After a quick laugh from everyone else, the group went off to work.

A little later, Edward carefully puffed forwards and biffed into an old 7-plank truck full of stone. The truck rolled amongst a few other trucks scattered across the yards in front of the 2-birth sheds, and then it softly thumped against a set of buffers.

Sitting right next to that truck was an all too familiar 7-plank open wagon, and this said wagon was none other than S.C Ruffey. S.C Ruffey was a dark brown 7-plank truck (like I obviously just said), and he had his name along with "ballast contractors, Tidmouth, and Sodor" written in white on each of his sides.

S.C. Ruffey: "Ugh, another day another quarry shift."

Sitting beside him was Hector, he was a black ICI hopper with his name in bold white on each of his sides. They used to call him "Hector the horrid," but he changed after Thomas showed him that being loaded with coal wasn't scary.

Hector: "Oh relax S.C Ruffey, things could be a lot worse."

S.C. Ruffey: "Yeah, I could have Oliver rip me into pieces again!"

?: "Ugh, will you guys please stop complaining!"

Over to their side a little ways, the person who spoke was a yellow standard tanker named Tank. Tank was indeed a yellow standard tanker, but he also had a shiny teel stripe on each of his sides.

Tank: "Geez S.C Ruffey, you never stop complaining about the purpose of life!"

Sitting somewhere else nearby was Burl, he was a dark brown utility van with a faint yellow stripe on each of his sides.

Burl:(laughs) "Love it when Tanky here gets angry."

Tank: "Don't call me Tanky, big box-o!"

S.C. Ruffey: "Oh please, I always complain about life. Also, why would they need trucks like you 2 at a quarry!?"

Tank: "Believe me guys, every engine is a weirdo. They often drop us off back and forth from every single yard on this gosh-for-sakin island, it's driving me nuts!"

Somewhere near where Hector was, Reginald was also taking part in the conversation. He was a navy blue 7-plank truck with the words Co. shipping written in white on each of his sides, and he wore a pair of large glasses like Whiff.

Reginald: "Either way you describe it Tank, Sir Topham Hatt is just wanting his engines to make this railway the best in the world."

Burl: "Yeah,(laughs) Sodor forever baby!"

Tank: "You have no life."

Burl just stared at Tank while grinning.

Meanwhile, Boco had picked up his train of 15 7-plank trucks loaded with quarry stone that Bill and Ben had arranged. With a deep tone of his horn, he slowly purred out of the quarry on his way to Brendam docks. Over by the narrow gauge sheds, Edith and Agnes now wearing dark orange hard hats were watching Skarloey, Rusty, and Duncan pulling trucks of stone and shunting them into place. Edward shunted Derek against a set of buffers, but Derek's engine was still smoking.

Derek: "Phew, you managed to get me here in 1 piece Edward."

Edward: "I'll have to agree on that regard."

Edith: "Why do you say in 1 piece Derek?"

Derek: "Because my engine has a knack for seizing up whenever I climb up hills, it's flexible but it almost makes me useless whenever this problem comes up again."

Agnes: "Well I'm sure the workers are trying to help fix your engine, probably need some more parts that could help your engine work more effectively. Who knows, we might probably let Sir Topham Hatt know about this."

Edward: "Don't worry, I'll tell him the next time I see him."

Duncan: "Oh joy, you guys get to chat amongst yourselves while we're getting overworked as usual!"

The group looked to see Skarloey, Rusty, and Duncan approach the sheds and rest there.

Edith: "So what's been going on with you 3?"

Duncan: "Work, work, and more work! We get no rest, my wheels are close to breaking off their shafts!"

Rusty: "Oh please Duncan, we all know that's a load of rubbish. Mr. Percival expected us to work our hardest, otherwise we'll be useless."

Skarloey: "You should know better than this Duncan."

Duncan: "How do you know Skarloey, name 1 time I would agree to work my hardest!"

Agnes: "What are you getting at Skarloey?"

Skarloey: "Well, I remember Rusty telling me this funny story of Duncan's ghost encounter from the old Iron bridge."

Duncan: "Oh for pete sakes Skarloey, please don't mention that!"

Edith: "Oh, that story again?"

Skarloey: "Rusty told me that he had to take a train over the bridge, and he spotted fireflies at the end of the bridge. But Duncan didn't know that and he actually thought it was an engine, and (snickers) his driver threw a rock over the bridge and into the river to give the illusion of the ghost story. He was scared coalless, and he turned back to the sheds not moving a muscle.(laughs)

Then the entire group laughed, but Duncan just grew very cross and didn't say a word.

?: "Good afternoon comrades, am I too late to help out?"

When the group looked ahead, they were a bit surprised by what they saw. Coming towards them was a dark brown Ffestiniog Railway Small England with matching side tanks, a thin red stripe outlining his boiler, and bright red buffer beam.(no buffers)

Rusty: "Bertram!?"

Skarloey: "Haven't seen you around these parts old boy."

Bertram: "Yeah, Mr. Percival just wanted me to get into something new."

Agnes: "Umm, who is Bertram Skarloey?"

Skarloey: "Bertram was 1 of the lost narrow gauge engines that we thought were never seen again around the old mine, but Toby later discovered him and was brought back into service. Heck, he even calls himself "The old warrior" because he's so brave."

Edith: "Wow, that's an awesome title!"

Duncan: "Wait a second, how come I've never heard of this old geezer!?"

Rusty: "Hey, watch your tone Duncan! Sorry about Duncan Bertram, he tends to get very grumpy and likes to complain about everything."

Bertram: "Duly noted my orange friend."

Skarloey: "Hey girls, you wanna ride with Rusty to the quarry branchline?"

Agnes: "Now that would be awesome!"

Rusty: "Well girls, let's ride."

So after Rusty collected a couple narrow gauge trucks (type 2) along with a light brown narrow gauge brake van, Edith and Agnes climbed inside his cab. After Rusty pulled a honk of his horn, they set off down the tracks away from the yards.

Edward: "Be careful out there girls!"

Derek: "And don't go smoking!"

Suddenly, Edward looked towards Derek with a confused look.

Derek: "What?"

Meanwhile, Edith and Agnes were feeling pretty good as they rode with Rusty through a small forest along the quarry branchline. Agnes looked back at the 2 trucks he was pulling, and she started feeling a bit confused.

Agnes: "Hey Rusty, Why do you have these trucks?"

Rusty: "While we're out here, we need to collect some extra wood. Mr. Percival uses the kind of lumber that grows out here for his fireplace, and he's already running low."

Edith: "Ugh, I usually hate this kind of work."

Rusty's driver: "Now now Edith, let's not get fussy. You should try getting used to this kind of work, it would make Sir Topham Hatt and your father proud."

Edith: "Ugh, fine."

Soon enough, Rusty rolled around a corner going by a large cliffside and stopped there. Rusty looked over to his right and saw a clearing with a few stumps along the edges of it, and he got only 1 thing on his mind.

Rusty: "Alright girls, this looks like a good enough spot."

With that said, Edith and Agnes hopped down from Rusty's cab and took a look at the area around them.

Agnes:(inhales and exhales) "Wow Edith, doesn't it feel good out here?"

Edith: "Yeah, whatever."

With that, Edith and Agnes started helping Rusty's driver collect as much wood as they could. 1 moment when Agnes was working over by Rusty, she carefully put down her wood so she could talk with Rusty for a moment.

Agnes: "Rusty, can I ask you something else?"

Rusty: "What's on your mind Agnes?"

Agnes: "I should've asked this earlier, but why is it called Boulder quarry?"

Edith: "Uhh…..

When Rusty and Agnes looked towards Edith, she looked like she was nervously looking up at the cliff on their left side.

Edith:(points up) "Does that answer your question?"

Agnes: "Huh, what are you talking abo-WHAT THE!?"

At that moment, Rusty and Agnes were looking up at the cliff where Edith had been pointing. Unlike Rusty, Agnes was rather shocked by what she saw. At the very top of the cliff, there was a massive round boulder sitting calmly in view. The boulder looked so dirty, it looked like it had been sitting there for a very long time.

Agnes: "Uhh Rusty, w-what is that?"

After a few seconds, she got no reply.

Agnes: "Rusty?"

When Edith and Agnes each looked towards Rusty, it looked like he was looking up at the boulder with a serious glare. Whatever was on Rusty's mind about the boulder, it did not seem to be a good thing.

Rusty: "That…...is Boulder."

Edith and Agnes suddenly shared confused looks.

Edith: "We know it's a boulder, but-

Rusty: "No no, I mean Boulder is it's name."

Edith: "What, why would some random boulder have such an original name!?"

Rusty's driver: "Oh, that boulder isn't just an everyday boulder."

Rusty: "He's right, this boulder has a very serious backstory. About 19 years ago, this boulder came loose and tried to destroy anything in its path."

Edith and Agnes softly gasped in awe.

Rusty: "Back then, it nearly ran over Skarloey and Rheneas. But right before it finally stopped, it nearly squashed Percy."

Agnes:(gasp) "Oh, poor Percy."

Edith: "Yeah….cool."

Suddenly, Agnes turned towards Edith with an annoyed look."

Edith: "What?"

As Rusty looked out into the clearing, he saw that Edith, Agnes, and Rusty's driver had already gathered up 3 large stacks of wood that were cut into drifts.

Rusty: "I think we have enough wood for now, let's pack up."

Rusty's driver: "You're right, come on girls."

With that said, Edith, Agnes, and Rusty's driver loaded all the wood into Rusty's trucks. After all the wood was packed up, Edith and Agnes climbed back into Rusty's cab and Rusty reversed back down the line. But as they headed back, Agnes still had the backstory of that boulder swarming around in her head.

That night, Edith and Agnes had even been offered to stay in an old apartment building somewhere at the quarry yards. But Agnes had snuck back down the quarry branchline, she wanted to have just 1 more look at that boulder.

But when she arrived at the cliff where Boulder was, she got a shocking surprise. Shown from the glow of the full moon, Boulder seemed to have a face that was a bit similar to 1 of Gordon's faces.

Aside from how freaky that was, Agnes wasn't gonna let that scare her. She carefully climbed up the rocky slope, reached the top without a scratch, and then sat herself beside Boulder and spoke to him in a slightly hushed tone.

Agnes: "So Uhh you're Boulder, right?"

Boulder said nothing.

Agnes: "Yeah, Rusty has told me about you. So, how old are you?"

Boulder still says nothing.

Agnes: "Wow, that's really old. Anyway, I even hear you caused a lot of damage 19 years ago."

Boulder still says nothing.

Agnes: "I know you were really upset back in the day, but you don't have to feel that way anymore. Your home right here is safe enough, even for you. Even with this nice view, it's perfect for a big brute like you."

Suddenly out of nowhere, Agnes heard a quiet rumble coming from Boulder. She was a bit startled by this, but the rumbling soon stopped.

Agnes: "I see, perhaps you'd like to be alone. Oh well, I'll see you tomorrow big guy."

With that, Agnes began climbing back down the cliff and down to ground level. Once her feet jumped onto the ground again, she started walking back down the tracks. But before she went around the corner, she took another glance back up at Boulder. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she felt like wanting to learn more about this boulder tomorrow. After that, she finally disappeared around the corner leaving boulder gazing up at the moon with a sigh the sound of the calm nighttime breeze.

To be continued.