5:55 a.m., Tuesday, July 15th, 1980
Muffle Mountain
Far away, hidden by the twin entrances of an abandoned mine shaft, was secret only known by Burnett and Tasha Stone, and now, with her dead, it was just Burnett. He walked into the dark crevasses of the cave, looking around. He knew it all too well the point where even in the darkness, he could find the light switch on his right-hand side. He flicked it on. The lights came alive, dim and dull, but still bright enough for Burnett to see.
He placed all of his concentration onto an object that was covered by a canvas. He lifted the canvas up to reveal the most beautiful painting one could ever see.
It depicted a pink-purple tank engine with four wheels, a golden funnel and dome, a small cab with a half-open rear, a large coal bunker, golden traction rods, golden lanterns and golden letters written on the middle of her nameplates, was the name:
Lady.
Burnett ran his fingers over the painting, sighing nostalgically.
"I know that if you can survive, so will this valley, but I'm sorry that I can't understand about magic anymore. I must be losing my will to try. My childhood seems so long ago."
And it was that long ago, about forty years ago, before Germany made for the advance on enemy territory. He could remember himself as a little boy in his playroom with all his toy trains and tools around him, confronted by the tiny figure of Mr. Conductor's father.
"It's good you like trains, Burnett. Our family has a little steam engine that lives in the mountain, and she travels on her own railroad which has wonderful energy because of her. She takes us on journeys to a magical island that's filled with talking engines. We'll take you there, Burnett. If you want to."
"I would love to!" he remembered saying.
One touch of the hand, and he was off to the island in a wave of gold dust.
It was April 1940, and the days were bordering between hot and cold. Burnett got meet everyone on Sodor, including Thomas, and all the other engines that lived there, save for one rail-zeppelin that Mr. Conductor had no intention of meeting due to his German heritage. He also got to meet the Fat Director and his family as well. During his long stay, Burnett helped to fix some of the engines, wrote to his parents so that they wouldn't worry about him and he even got to take picnics on Duke's train. It was the perfect spring holiday.
Then, by the first of May, it was time to go home. Burnett knew this when the older Mr. Conductor told him this:
"Now that you've had a nice holiday here, I have to leave for a long time. Someday, one of us will return. But until then, I have chosen you to take care of our engine. Guard her well, young Burnett."
"Guard her?" the young Burnett sounded confused. "But I'm just a kid. I'm not experienced with driving engines."
"You'll soon learn," the old Mr. C said softly. "When you are old enough to drive one. But until, then, take good care of her."
Before long, Burnett was back in the present, frowning.
"But I didn't guard you well."
The sun was rising high above his stone constructed cottage by the time he came outside. And there, standing on the front gate beside his motorcycle, was P. T. Boomer.
"Hello again, Burnett Stone," he sneered. "Aren't you surprised to see me?"
Burnett kept a straight face.
"No. I always know you'd return someday, Boomer. But why now? Haven't you already caused enough harm in my life? Tasha's dead."
"So I've heard," Boomer said, as though Tasha was an unwelcome object. "But I have more important matters at hand. I'm looking for that engine, whatever her name was? I don't suppose you know where she is?"
"Why? So you can wreck her again? You're far too filled with hate for her and this valley."
"Well then," Boomer said callously. "Looks like I'm just gonna have to level this mountain."
"You'll never do such a thing," but Burnett just stood his ground, thinking Boomer was bluffing.
"Why not? After all, people who work in parking lots and skyscrapers make money, not magic. You see, Burnett, it's money that makes people happy, not magic. Magic is so childish and immature, and it can make people unhappy. Don't you agree?"
Burnett's temper began to rise.
"No, it doesn't! It made me and Tasha very happy."
"Until she died of course," said Boomer with a heartless tone in his voice. "If she married me, she could have had all the money in the world."
Burnett felt a strong urge to punch Boomer senselessly and throw him off the mountain, but he kept his cool and walk back towards his house, but he kept the door open long enough for him to turn back, replying to Boomer:
"Do you want to know why Tasha chose me over you?"
"Cause I'm a drop out?" Boomer tried to find an answer of his own.
"Because you're an asshole!"
And he slammed the door. But Boomer was not daunted by this brief encounter. He knocked on the door, he knocked on the window, and he even kicked on the door three times, but Burnett never came out.
"I'll be back Burnett Stone! And you can bet on it!"
And he left the cottage, flipping the bird as he mounted on his motorcycle.
9:00 a.m., Big City Central Railroad Station
The sky was completely clear of all clouds and storms. Cars and trucks were crowding the front entrance of the five-track station that was operated by Amtrak. Most of these platforms held passenger trains with shiny new passenger cars of sleek, steel construction that were pulled by diesel engines. The Rainbow Sun, standing on the fourth track, stood out like a fish out of water with its old-fashioned carriages, baggage car and steam engine, with some viewing it as a curious oddity.
After kissing her mom goodbye from the front seat of her car, Lily, suitcase and knapsack in either hand, walked into the station. She paid her ticket to Muffle Mountain at the front office and went in search of her train. She had only traveled to and from the station at least twice or once in all her twelve years, mostly to visit her grandparents on Muffle Mountain or if they came to visit her. Confident that she could make it on her own without the assistance of an adult, she made her way into the main concourse. But she had little time to wait, the train was due to leave in ten minutes.
The terminal was cavernous with a thick sea of adults crowding the platforms, going off to work, going on holiday, business meetings, visiting relatives, ad infinitum. The occasional tumult of a crowded urban train station with people hurrying this way and that way. Two cops were standing by a newspaper kiosk, reading the morning headlines. Three boys, all of them brothers, were looking for a hot dog stand as they waited for their train. A crowd of new age teens were listening to Eddie Van Halen via radio, while others listened to calmer, gentler tunes. Punk rock bands, a few who were trying to make a start in this world, chanted "Down with the president! Let the people rule!" in their own twisted philosophy. They mixed in with occasional greetings from more friendlier individuals like well-behaved children, upper class grownups and even pets from the likes of Mutt.
Mutt had traveled with Billy to the station, hoping to find someone who could help Mr. Conductor with his problems. His strong ears picked up a man making the last-minute announcements over the public announcement system.
"Attention passengers, the train for Muffle Mountain will depart from Track 3. Last stop Muffle Mountain. The train for Shining Time will depart from Track 4."
The dog saw Lily looking around. He ran up to the girl, jumping around and wagging his tail. His sixth sense had told him that was the right person.
"Follow me!" he barked.
Lily heard him and kneeled down.
"It might be strange of me asking a dog, but I don't suppose you know where Track 3 is. Do you?"
Mutt's friendly face reassured Lily. The dog walked off towards the carriages of the Rainbow Sun.
"Is it that one?"
Mutt barked "yes."
Lily shrugged.
"Well, why not?"
She heaved her shoulders and followed him onto the first passenger car. As soon as she was on the rear platform, she stood there and looked back at Mutt.
"I hope you're right!" she said sweetly.
"I am!" the dog barked.
Now, Mutt was feeling pleased with himself. He had put Lily on the wrong train for the right reasons.
As Lily sat down on the first seat, placing her suitcase and knapsack on the floor, the minute hand on the station clock told everyone that the time was 9:10 a.m. At that same moment, the Rainbow Sun's whistle blew. The wheels of the train let out a burst of steam. The great wheels began to turn. The passenger cars started to move, and Lily, a city girl who knew little about the more rural areas of the countryside, watched the tall buildings of the metropolis growing smaller and smaller, giving way to trees, fields and bushes. Upon passing Farmer's Dell, Lily could also see cows and horses.
The other passengers on the train were busy talking to each other to even notice Lily, a girl in an apple green shirt who stood out amongst the duller shades of red, grey and a greyscale blue on some of the men's jackets. Soon figuring, and understanding their own persona situations, Lily began to reflect on her own issues as well.
"Well, Blue Bird," she sighed to her stuffed bird. "Here we are on our way to Muffle Mountain. We've been there a few times before, but mostly when I was really little. But I wish that we were going to some place different, don't you? There are so many places in the world to see. I'd like to go to the most magical one of all."
11:15, Sodor time
All of the other engines were going off to work, except for James who was having his nose scrubbed by Mr. Conductor with a ten-foot-long push brush. Mr. Conductor was finding this task to be struggle and he was getting visibly weaker.
"There, James," Mr. Conductor said after the job was done. "Tickle all gone now?"
James gave a happy "peep-peep".
"Good, now off you go to work please."
After seeing Mr. Conductor give out a yawn, James began to show some concern for the poor man.
"Why are you so tired, Mr. Conductor?" asked James. "Is it because I'm red? Diesel 10 says red is a really tiring color."
"No, James, it's not that at all. Red's really reliable. Now please find Thomas and ask him to meet me at Rainbow Ridge. I have to look for something really important if I want to get my sparkle back."
"I could take you, Mr. Conductor," said James eagerly.
"Thank you, but no. If I travel in an engine, Diesel 10 is sure to suspect that I'm still having problems with my sparkle and I don't think that hiding in your cab will help me either."
That being said, James puffed away. Mr. Conductor blew his whistle and sparkled out, very slowly indeed.
Rainbow Ridge was located a few yards away from the Culdee Fell Railway Viaduct. It was so called that way because the top of the ridge had the surreal sight of a deserted wagon resting on it, framed by a rainbow that seemed to disappear into an old rain barrel.
It had taken Mr. Conductor a long climb in order to reach the top, since he had sparkled at the very bottom. On the way, he blew his whistle and nothing happened. This, apparently, was his defining moment.
"Well, that settles it," he sighed sadly. "I am out of gold dust."
If I can't find the source for making more, the consequences will be as bad as my dream last night. The family never really told me what to do in a gold dust crisis. All they ever told me was that I'd find a clue on the rockface behind the old wagon. Why didn't they tell me any more than that? I guess they wanted to protect the secret of the source, since I was too young for the right of passage. Guess I'll have to figure out the rest by myself. I need to reach that wagon.
And he continued to climb.
At Ffarquhar, around 11:20, Thomas was taking on passengers, conversing with Percy a few minutes after he brought in the post train from Knapford Junction. Richard was on the platform as well, listening to them.
"I don't know about you, Percy," Thomas was saying. "But last night, I had a strange dream. It was about Christopher. He was a little boy again and he was standing on top of a mountain cliff and we heard someone calling for Mr. Conductor. The last thing I heard from that voice was that the magic was all gone."
"What does my father have to do with Mr. Conductor's magic?" asked Richard in perplexed confusion.
"Our friendship is a strong one," Thomas said. "Perhaps Christopher's subconscious is trying to lead me to something."
"Like the source of Mr. Conductor's gold dust?" Percy asked.
"Maybe…" Thomas mused.
Before he could continue, Clarabel's guard blew his whistle and he was off. On the way, he met Terence the tractor, who was plowing in his field and Bertie who was travelling wheel to wheel with Thomas.
"How 'bout a race, Thomas?"
"Not today, Bertie. I have to be a really useful engine for Mr. Conductor."
Thomas' driver pulled on the chord as they reached the level crossing, which produced a very strange sound.
"I think it's stuffed up," he said to the fireman. "We'll look into it at the next station."
Meanwhile, Mr. Conductor was exploring the top of Rainbow Ridge. The sun was falling on a rain barrel, and a rainbow appeared over the top of the ridge in a flickering effect on the rock. Like God writing the Ten Commandments, it wrote a message that was big enough for Mr. Conductor to see as he stood on top of the wagon.
"Stoke up the magic in the mountain and the Lady will smile, then watch the swirls that spin so well."
Then the writing disappeared. Mr. Conductor, who had been expecting more, watched the rainbow and the writing, disappear into thin air.
"Where had it gone?" he asked himself.
He turned to examine the rock again and heard a long whistle. It was Thomas coming to meet him. But when he shifted his weight, the wagon began to move and within the next five seconds it was tumbling down the ridge, taking Mr. Conductor with it.
When Thomas came to the ridge, he could see no sign of Mr. Conductor. He grew extremely worried, so worried that he blabbed out loud to all of the engines.
Back at the quarry, Diesel conversed with his subordinates.
"We have to make sure that Twinkle-Toes never gets home, so we might as well look for him and kill him."
"Kill him?" asked Splatter.
"By running him over?" added Dodge.
"Like I said," Diesel 10 explained. "I'll settle Twinkle-Toes with my claw. In addition to making life miserable for those steamies, I've added a little extra help to our cause."
The extra helped turned out to be George the Steamroller, who had his own vendetta against steam engines. When he first arrived on the island, he was hired as part of a construction crew that worked on a new road beside the Skarloey Railway. George had made enemies with its #3 engine Sir Handel and a few days after they first met, he refused to give Sir Handel's train room to pass and rammed his front wheel into the first truck. After that George finished his job and so far, had spent the next twenty years brooding over how railways were no good, threatening to turn them into roads, but no one else took him seriously.
"George here is going to smash all the buffers on this island so that the engines will be damaged beyond repair and when they're destroyed and more diesels will come to the island. We'll be able to rebuild them. In return, I'll even give George his own roller rink for all the other road vehicles to enjoy."
To George he said.
"Do you remember our motto?"
"Of course," George smiled. "They add, we subtract."
"Could you be a little more specific?" asked Daisy.
"Buffers, steam engines and Twinkle Toes," Diesel 10 said with venom in his voice. "Which means, we are going to destroy them all."
"What if we hurt somebody?" asked Dodge.
"Or something?" finished Splatter.
"Soooo…?" Diesel 10 acted as if it was obvious.
To prove this, he waved his claw around for emphasis, but it accidentally struck the coal hopper, which dumped his lao all over him. Splatter and Dodge snickered, George tried not to laugh and Daisy whispered to Mavis.
"Shouldn't we warn the others?"
"Maybe," whispered Mavis. "But we'd better not do anything now in case D10 gets suspicious of us."
An hour later, the engines and Richard held an indignation meeting around the turntable.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Gordon. "Now that Mr. Conductor has, lost his sparkle, has gone up and left us and fallen off the wagon?"
James was feeling little hysterical.
"Oh my goodness, Diesel 10 is going to destroy us. We need help, but who is going to give it to us?"
"I think we're all in danger," said Henry whose nose was looking pink. "Not to mention my smokebox is feeling stuffed up."
"The best idea is to help each other," Toby instructed. "That's what the Fat Controller would have done."
"Pity he went away in the first place," Gordon muttered. "That Yank knows so little about running a railway that he decided to make us fend for ourselves."
"I heard that, Gordon," Duck said loudly.
Before they could argue, Thomas let out a great big sneeze. White powder flew everywhere.
"Great," moaned Donald and Douglas. "Now Thomas is ill too."
"He's got a dusty funnel," Richard told them. "But we should look for Mr. Conductor again."
He hopped aboard Thomas' cab and they drove off towards the main line.
It was fortunate for Mr. Conductor that his flaxen haired younger sister, aptly called Sister Conductor, lived in a small cottage nearby the ridge. But what was even more fortunate was that he survived the fall, a little dazed, yet weary. He noticed the cottage a few yards off and after dusting himself, he walked his way over there.
The cottage was made of grey stone, with a darker grey roof and a green wooden door. Next to the cottage was an aeroplane that Sister Conductor used to travel to Shining Time, via gold dust to make the trips easier for her of course. Mr. Conductor hoped that maybe she would at least have an extra supply. Desperate, he let himself in without knocking on the door, and his found Sister standing by the kitchen stove cooking eggs. She turned to see her brother in her own house, confused and said.
"When did you get here?"
"About a day ago. I wish I could be dropping in for a social call, sis, but this is a matter of life and death. I'm out of gold dust. Do you have any?"
Sister continued with her cooking.
"Nope. Don't need it anyway. If there's one thing you've taught me, bro, is that you can't go through life the easy way. That's why I use my plane."
"So, you're out too?" Mr. Conductor was crestfallen.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sister shook her head. "Well, anyway…I'm happy here. I don't want to go anywhere else. Sodor is all so magical."
"And it won't be like that forever unless we find more gold dust. There was a clue at the ridge which said, 'Stoke up the magic'…"
He struggled with his memory.
"I must have hit my head too hard. I can't remember the rest."
"Maybe my omelet will help you to remember."
She placed two plates of eggs on the dining room table, but Mr. Conductor had idea.
"I think vegetables are better for the brain. Do you have any carrots or celery?"
"Sure," said Sister. "They're in the Frigidaire."
Mr. Conductor opened up the refrigerator to find a wide assortment of vegetables, from broccoli, to lettuce to carrots to cucumbers and onions. First, he took a carrot and bit off the top. His memory began to refresh.
"Plane…train…"
Then he took a small bit of some celery.
"Sausage, bicycle, mountain, fountain, toothpaste, beach…"
He hiccupped and then it hit him.
"Beach! That's it!"
"What is?" Sister asked curiously.
"I have to make a call," replied Mr. Conductor with zeal. "Maybe Junior can help us."
There were at least three known members of the Conductor family that he was close with: a British cousin of his who worked in the North Pole, Sister of course, and Junior.
At the age of twenty, Junior was a lover of the beach. He spent most of his days on the small beach of a Hawaiian paradise. It was a nice secluded area where nobody would notice him, except for a plastic flamingo, two beach balls, a red chair that was much too big for his size and a radio on a glass table playing the Beach Boys and the Four Seasons back to back. Next to the radio was a large chocolate sundae, which Junior once covered himself in after sipping on it too hard. Junior was just resting from a thirty-minute surf when he heard his "shell-phone" ringing. Being a magical object, it could interact with any kind of phone. It let out the sound of a seagull squawking. It woke Junior up from his sleep and he looked around frantically for the shell-phone, turning the radio off before noticing that he had placed it right next to it. He picked it up.
"Hello?" he asked curiously.
"Junior, is that you?"
Junior recognized his cousin's voice.
"Oh, hi, cuz. You up for arraigning a visit with me?"
"It's not a social call, Junior, this is an emergency. As in the whole universe of our family is in jeopardy. I've run out of gold dust and because of that, I'm losing my energy as well."
"Did you ask Sis?"
"She's out."
"Well, what a coincidence, I've used up most of my gold dust too."
Mr. Conductor could not believe what he had heard. He decided to pull rank give his cousin what would become the most important adventure of his whole life.
"Junior, listen to me carefully. Considering the gravitas of the situation, I need you to go to Shining Time, then look for the box under staircase in my signal house. It contains my emergency whistle with the last of my supplies. Once you have found it, bring it to me on the Island of Sodor. Please take care of this, and whatever you…"
He looked around, hoping that Sister was the only person who was within hearing range.
"Don't talk to anyone about the buffers!"
"What buffers?" Junior yelled at his whisper.
"Ssh! Just get my supplies, I am counting on you!"
And he hung up, just like that.
Junior considered this for a moment, then he had an epiphany.
"Well, any action's better than just sitting around here, especially if my family's at stake."
He packed his beach bag and with one blow his whistle, he was off. As much as he was a quintessential surfer dude who spent his spare time waiting for the perfect wave, Junior was finally beginning to understand that there were far more important things in life besides those trivial matters.
2:15 p.m. Indian Valley time
So far, after nothing but all-natural scenery, Lily had seen the interesting event happening outside around her window: the boy of her dreams riding his horse alongside the passenger car. Lily waved at the horse's rider, but given that half of his back was turned to her, he didn't wave back. Then she noticed two other things: the train was slowing down, but the other passengers were gone. She was the only one.
They must have gotten off at the other stops, thought Lily.
Also, at first, she assumed that she was pulling into Muffle Mountain, but the train wasn't stopping, so it couldn't be. Bored, she took out a picture she had taken from her mother's dresser (with her permission of course) and examined it. It featured her grandparents at a high school dance. She remembered Burnett telling her that Tasha's dress was as red as the apples on a summer apple tree. Lily also noticed another detail in the background, a boy, green with envy unlike all the other wallflowers, looking on in disgust.
With the silence overwhelming her, Lily started to play her harmonica, a birthday gift from her father along with Blue Bird. She picked up the rhythm of the train wheels. With enough practice, Lily was very good at it, but the silence now making her nervous.
"I want to go home," she murmured, hugging Blue Bird. I miss Mom and I don't want a baby brother or sister. But at least I have you. It's very quiet, isn't it? Do you really think we know where this journey is taking us?"
Then, she felt the train coming to a stop. She saw the sign.
"Shining Time? What does that mean?"
She was completely bewildered. But Mutt's barking snapped her out of it. Lily saw him sitting on the platform, wagging his tail.
"Do you want me to get off here?" she asked.
"Yes!" the dog barked.
Lily got off and Mutt led her along the platform. She saw a twirling hat, bored porter and some litter blowing alongside it. Nearby, Billy was handing his engine over to a railroad worker for cleaning. He had just passed the bouquet tree, reaching in for the map that kept in its slot on the wall of the station, when Patch rushing in with Silvermane.
"Mr. Twofeathers! I saw the stranger. Boomer, was it? And I saw him pulling some roots out of the mountain. What he could he be doing?"
"I think," Billy said. "Boomer wants to settle an old score with Burnett Stone. Had something to do with an engine. He also wants to make a lot of money without a care for the damage he'll do in the process. Not even Schemer is that callous."
"Could this engine have something to do with the shadowy lines on your map?" asked Patch.
"Yes, she could…and she could have something to do with why this has always been a peaceful land."
Billy looked out over the meadow that was drenched in light. Everywhere was still, filled with flowers and grasses. But then, Patch noticed two almost imperceptible thin straight lines where none of the flowers grew.
"Why are there no flowers growing in those parts of the meadow. I never really noticed that before. They look almost like the lines on your map, but I think it's just the light playing tricks."
Billy kept to his beliefs.
"If we knew the answer to that question, Patch, we'd be able to understand the mystery of this valley. And what we need to do, is to make it better again, or Boomer will make things even worse. He likes to exploit the vulnerable."
All over Shining Time, the town of lively families and cars was now turning into a ghost town. There were only a few individuals, and two cars that did not stop for each other. The sense of community was vanishing. The sign of the ice cream shop was swinging with no one there. The juggler who often spent his time entertaining the kids was gone as well, leaving behind his bat, his balls and his silly hat. And as if that weren't enough, Burnett had discovered that Lily did not arrive at Muffle Mountain. He had been waiting for half-an-hour before he realized that something was wrong and went to the phone booth to call Stacy.
"Make sure she's safe," Burnett explained in a concerned voice.
Speaking of Lily, she had sat herself down on a bench by the mural to Mr. Conductor's signal box house. There, she was greeted by the kids.
"Hi!" Matt was the first to greet her. "What brings you to Shining Time Station?"
"I was supposed to meet my grandfather at Muffle Mountain. I'm Lily, by the way."
"I'm Matt, this is my cousin, Dan and our friends Tanya, Becky, Kit, Kara and Vickie."
All of them said their greetings. Then Becky asked.
"Your grandfather wouldn't happen to be Burnett Stone, would you?"
"Yes, he is," Lily said proudly, but not that proudly.
"How funny," Vickie said. "You know, I was just reading this book called Heidi which is about a girl who goes to live with her grandfather on top of a mountain. Isn't that a coincidence?"
"I guess so," Lily said.
Before should say anymore, the silence was broken by a clatter of noise and remarks….which came from the mural. A light went on in the signal house window. Lily seemed pleased with the situation, but she could help but feel curious. The other kids watched as well, trying to get a peak. There could hear a voice coming from inside. But given his accent, they knew in a moment that this wasn't the first Mr. Conductor who left for the North Pole years ago. It was a younger voice.
"Who does cuz think I am? Houdini?...there it is….mmm cake…oh, how cute, six little, five little glass figurines."
Lily knocked on the door.
"Oh! Hello!"
Soon there was a big sparkle and Lily jumped back into the arms of the other kids. Junior appeared right in front of the little red-painted door, brushing gold dust off of him. His clothes were adorably disheveled, with a nifty bandana around his neck.
"This is too much, got to get to island, got to get to cuz…"
Then he saw Lily.
"Hey, kids. Who's this?"
The others wanted to answer, but Lily took this with stride.
"I'm Lily."
"Aw, just like my other cousin's name. I'm Conductor Junior."
He saluted and looked around the door.
"Did I drop some sunglasses when I came in here?"
"I don't know," Lily shrugged.
Junior tried to turn the knob on the little red door, but discovered it was locked.
Then Lily had an idea.
"Let me try this."
She took out her ticket and tried to use to door to open it by the side.
"I'm always losing my key at home."
But of course, ticket paper and wallpaper don't mix, so she was unable to open the door either.
"Usually it works."
Junior looked at his whistle.
"Might as well use up the more of this stuff. See you, Lily, kids."
He sparkled out, and as he did so, some gold dust fell on the ledge. Lily peered through the painted window for any sign of Junior, and then spotted the gold dust. She picked some of it up.
"What is this stuff?"
"That's the gold dust that Mr. Conductor and his family use to travel from place to place," explained Tanya. "He's away on the Island of Sodor for a while."
"Where's that?"
"Far from here," answered Becky.
"You know who runs this place?" Lily asked the kids.
"My Aunt Stacy does," said Dan. "But it's Mr. King who runs the railroad."
"Where is your aunt?"
"She's out now. Why don't we play a song while we wait?"
Becky took out a nickel and inserted it into the machine. It awakened the sleepy band inside.
"Finally, a chance for us to play something!" Rex said to Tex.
The song selected was "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain", after the first bridge, Lily played along with her harmonica. The boys and girls danced along, but Lily just sat there, playing away. The song finished by the time Stacy walked in.
"Excuse me," she said to the girl in green. "Are you, Lily?"
"Yes."
"Oh, thank goodness. I'm Stacy Jones, the manager. I see you met my nephews."
Matt and Dan smiled proudly. Stacy's tone and face turned severe.
"Your grandfather's very upset. You must have gotten on the wrong train. I should take you to Muffle Mountain myself."
Then, Billy came in, followed by Schemer, Schemee, Felix, Midge Smoot and Ginny. The quartet was looking harried and worried.
"Thank goodness you're still here, Stacy!" Midge said. "People have been disappearing from Doodlehaven and now here?!"
"A lot of folks tend to do that," Schemer tried to pacify her. "It's called moving."
"Not at this rate!" Ginny said. "They're disappearing faster than sold vegetables!"
"Which means, no extra rides," mourned Felix.
"And the train schedule is out of whack," Stacy said, pointing to the schedule on her desk. "Which also means that trains are all late today."
Stacy remembered similar incident involving Schemer doing the same in order to have people staying at his arcade for an hour and a half.
"Schemer, I don't suppose you had something to do with this."
Schemer laughed like it was nothing.
"Moi? Certainly not, Miss Jones! I'm clean as a whistle."
Stacy had his doubts.
"We'll see about that. Anyway, everyone, I'd like you all to meet Burnett Stone's granddaughter, Lily."
"Burnett Stone, the grumpy hermit?" asked Schemee doubtfully.
"The very same," said Lily.
"We knew him when we were in high school," Midge Smoot was one to say.
"Along with your grandmother," added Ginny.
Billy tickled Mutt's chin.
"Hey old boy. I'll bet this was your doing, wasn't it, you naughty dog?"
"Is he your dog?" asked Lily.
"Yep," Billy replied. "And this station is where he lives."
"He came all the way from the city with me. He got me on the wrong train."
Suddenly, a loud noise came from the painting. It drew everyone's attention. Schemer, having his own suspicions that the station was haunted, was growing paranoid.
"That has to be Junior," Lily explained. "He's the little man that lives in the wall?"
"In the wall?" Schemer said out of fear. "He's probably a ghost! Let me know when this station has been ghost-busted!"
And he ran out with Schemee following him.
"I don't know about ghosts," Miss Smoot said to Felix and Ginny. "But I think I need to rest for a bit."
The three adults sat down on the bench opposite of Lily, leaving Billy, Stacy and the other kids free to whisper amongst each other.
"It's been a while since Junior was here," Billy said to Stacy. "When did we last see him?"
"It was around Christmas," Stacy replied. "Back when you first came to the station."
Then she turned to Lily.
"Come on, Lily, I'll drive you to Burnett's."
Lily picked up her knapsack and suitcase and walked with Stacy to the front doors, but not before she stopped for one last goodbye from Billy who said.
"I'd better get going, too. The Sunset Flyer is due to leave in the afternoon."
"Bye, Billy."
Lily waved goodbye and Stacy took her outside. The kids went to work at fixing the schedule.
They stopped a few minutes after to hear Junior moving about in the signal box.
"What's that doing here? Mmm, nice bed. I'd better rest for a while., then I'll be ready for action."
He turned out the light and yawned.
Outside, Lily asked Stacy.
"What does Shining Time mean?"
"The name of this station goes all the way back to when the railroad was first founded in 1885. My grandmother Gracie Jones, who used to run this station, stopped a runaway train from colliding with a wagon using her lantern. Nowadays trainmen use it as a slang term for the beginning of a journey."
On the platform, they noticed a mother holding her little girl and giving her kiss. Seeing them reminded Lily of herself at that age. Then she turned to Stacy.
"Stacy, I don't I got on the wrong train. Maybe I got on the right one. And I think I'm beginning to find out why."
Nearby, on the right side of the station was Stacy's Ford Mustang. It was as red as her uniform. Could you imagine James the Red Engine expressing jealously over a car? Not even Bertie the Bus could make him jealous.
2:33 p.m., Sodor
And speaking of engines, Thomas had gotten as far as Wellsworth when he saw BoCo, another of the friendly diesels coming from the junction to Edward's branch line with a train of tankers.
"Hello, BoCo."
"Hello, Thomas, if you're looking for Edward, you won't find him on the branch line. He's still in Bournemouth, remember."
"I know, but I am looking for Mr. Conductor, have you seen him walking this way from Rainbow Ridge?"
"No and I wouldn't ask Bill or Ben either even if they behaved."
"Maybe you can help us look for him," Richard exclaimed.
"I'd love to help," said BoCo, sadly. "But I have work to do and Daisy and Mavis have been passing info on to me and Bear about Diesel 10's plots, so I had better stay out of his way. Same with you two."
"Sure we will," Thomas tooted before puffing away.
Little did Thomas know that Mr. Conductor was having a healthy dinner of potatoes, carrots and green beans in Sister's cottage, calling it the best meal she had cooked up yet. She was even kind enough to let him sleep on the couch for a night of philosophical thinking.
3:00 p.m., Muffle Mountain
It was almost a half hour drive to Muffle Mountain, even without traffic. Stacy had to drive carefully when she drove on this particular road, which ran towards a lake with the mountain in the distance.
Lily, who was feeling bored, showed Stacy the photograph of Burnett and Tasha at the dance.
"Stacy, did you know my grandma?"
"My mother did, she said that Tasha was a wonderful dancer, and Billy said that Burnett was once the finest engineer in the valley."
"I think Grandpa like to call Grandma 'Lady'."
"Lady?"
This seem to ring some distant bells into Stacy's memory.
"Yes, I've heard them say that name when they were talking."
Stacy could have sworn that she also heard the name Lady from the last time she met Burnett and Tasha.
"I wish…"
But then again, the idea sounded silly to her at the time.
"Oh, never mind."
Further up the road, at a crossroads with four paths leading to Shining Time, the Bigg City, among other places, Burnett was collecting firewood from a nearby field when Boomer roared in on his Harley.
"Boomer, don't you have anything better to do with your life? Like riding the free road?"
"I will be, once I find that engine. She's in that mountain, isn't she?"
But Burnett kept loading the logs into his blue pick-up truck.
"Even if she were, she'd be no good to you now."
"Oh, but you're wrong, Burnett Stone. Just like you're always wrong. I'll tell you what she's good for: scrap!"
He cackled and set off on his motorcycle. At the same time, Stacy and Lily stopped by the truck, having noticed the motorbike.
"Who was that?" Lily asked curiously.
"A man who despises beauty."
She looked at the picture again.
"Lily, could I borrow that photograph? I promise to take care of it."
"Sure. And Stacy, why did you say 'I wish'?"
"Well," she tried to find a good answer. "I wish you would come back and see us tomorrow at Shining Time. That is if your grandpa lets you."
Lily looked to see her grandfather out by the truck and felt like she was sinking on the inside.
"I'm a little nervous."
"Well, your grandpa is too. It's been a while since you last saw him."
Now with a mutual feeling steadying her heart, Lily grabbed her knapsack, opened up the passenger side door and walked over to the trunk. She picked up her suitcase after Stacy opened it for her and she carried it all the way to Burnett's truck. Once their eyes met, everything became still and silent. Given the amount of time Burnett had last seen his daughter and granddaughter, he found it hard to believe that Lily was standing there, right in front of him. But after that short unnerving moment, he found his voice and recognized her long brown hair.
"Hello, Lily."
"Hi, Grandpa."
Stacy, not knowing what else to say, greeted farewell.
"Well, have a good evening, Burnett. And I hope to see you again, Lily."
"Goodbye, Stacy," Burnett waved.
Stacy walked back to her car. As it drove away, Lily, hoping to spark an interesting conversation with her grandfather, tried speaking to him as he secured the firewood to his truck.
"Grandpa, I saw this really cool guy at the station. He looks a bit older than me, but he's four inches tall, very handsome and he sometimes disappears in this gold stuff. Can you believe that."
But Burnett's reply was something that only a disillusioned man, preferably Boomer, would have said.
"I used to believe in little men, but now I only believe in what I see with my own two eyes."
Lily placed her suitcase in the back of the truck, carefully so that it wouldn't damage the firewood and went to join Burnett in the passenger seat. Off they drove to the cottage, saying nothing all the way. When they arrived, Lily could see that every window was shuttered, and as she stared, Burnett walked out of the car to fetch both her suitcase and a handful of the firewood.
4:44 p.m., Sodor
There had been no sign of Mr. Conductor for the last hour in the areas that Thomas and Richard had covered. Now they were at Ffarquhar sheds, pondering and worrying over his supposed loss.
"What now?" Richard asked.
"I'm certain that Mr. Conductor will show up when we least expect him. We'll look for him tomorrow, and this time we'll make sure that no stone gets left unturned."
At the word "stone", a random memory popped into Thomas' funnel.
"For some reason, I seem to remember a boy, another boy…Burnett Stone."
"Who is he?" asked Richard.
"He came here a few months before Christopher did."
"I don't know how, but I think it had something to do with another Mr. Conductor. His father, I believe."
"Mr. Conductor's father? What was he like?"
Thomas took notice of the sun going down.
"I'll explain on the way out. Right now, we have to get ready for the mail run."
6:06 p.m., Muffle Mountain
Lily and Burnett were sitting down to a quiet dinner of steak sandwiches on the round table covered by a yellow cloth with peas on the side. The room itself was big, but not as small as Lily's apartment, with an old radio, a fireplace, a few lanterns, grey walls and, very oddly, no photographs. There were nothing but pale square silhouettes on the walls were they once hung. Lily couldn't help but ask.
"Don't you like photographs anymore?"
Burnett wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"No."
"How come you don't live in the valley?"
"I don't like trains," Burnett said after a scoopful of peas. His tone was fittingly misandrist.
"But the trains come to Muffle Mountain."
"The other side, maybe. But on this side, we cannot see or hear them. That's why this place is called Muffle Mountain."
But Lily knew that Burnett could never be so coldhearted, even when she was younger. She liked trains just as much as he did, or least before her grandmother passed away.
"Are you sure you don't like trains?" she asked again.
"I'm sure," Burnett wiped his mouth again, not even bothering to give Lily eye contact.
But Lily how to win over her grandfather's heart. After wiping her mouth, she walked over to her knapsack, which was sitting on the green chair and took out a piece of string made from red and yellow yarn.
"Here Grandpa, I made this for you. This is a friendship bracelet. Grandma taught me how to make one when I was little."
She was about to tie it around his right wrist, but Burnett's left hand took it out of hers.
"Thank you, Lily. I'll do it myself."
Lily went to put the dishes in the sink and left for her bedroom, taking the knapsack with her.
Now alone, Burnett could confine himself into his own solitary peace of confinement, nostalgia and a romance that seemed so far away. He turned on the radio, and the first song that came out from it's speakers was a familiar tune, one that he had first heard all the way back in 1950 when he and Tasha were younger. It was called "He Loves, She Loves".
If there was one photograph that Burnett kept in his possession, hidden from plain sight behind the radio, was a headshot of Tasha. He held her monochrome face close to her head, remembering…
He was a young man of twenty again, dancing a slow, graceful waltz with her, her hair that seemed close to Lily's and almost close to his own daughter. They frolicked around the apple tree, exchanged sweet kisses and whispered sweet nothings.
"That's Grandma's favorite song, wasn't it?"
Lily's voice snapped Burnet out of his memories and into the present.
"Yes, it was," he sighed sadly.
A silent moment passed between them.
"Good night, Lily."
"Good night, Grandpa," and she closed the door behind her.
It was 8:00 p.m. when Lily heard the most unexpected noise. An engine blowing its whistle. It sounded soft, it sounded sad and it sounded like it was coming from all over the place. She walked up to her window, trying to find the source. After minute of peering her eyes into the darkness, she gave up.
"How come I can hear a train engine's whistle if the mountain is supposed to muffle the sound of the trains from the other side."
Outside, on his family's ranch while lunging Silvermane, Patch heard it too.
Fortunately, for him, Boomer didn't hear it. He was too busy digging his way into the mountain on a small noise excavator.
With Burnett, it was a different case. He was lost in thought, still thinking about Tasha.
Back at Shining Time, as soon as Schemer, the kids and the other adults had gone home, Billy and Stacy, with Mutt by their side, were sitting on a bench outside, discussing the photo of Burnett and Tasha at that school dance. Far above them, the full moon glowed white and bright.
"Burnett and Boomer had a big quarrel about an engine, then Boomer left town and we never saw him again…until now," Billy was saying.
"Did you ever see the engine?" Stacy asked.
"No, but I believe she exists. She's important to both Burnett and to this valley."
"As important as life itself?"
Billy nodded.
"Burnett had three passions in his life: Tasha, trains and this valley."
After a moment, Stacy confessed.
"It's almost as important as Mr. Conductor's sparkle. I've taken it for granted that's all he needs to get to the Island of Sodor. But maybe he also uses a secret railroad. And maybe the beauty that we know is all around us because of the gold dust and the railroad….and that the mysterious engine is connected to all of this."
Then she noticed the bouquet tree.
It's losing it's blossoms and it's much too early for that.
Billy noticed it as well. But he pushed those fearful thoughts aside when he got up from the bench and gestured Mutt to do the same.
"I should get going. Mutt needs his supper. Good night, Stacy."
"Good night."
After Billy left, Stacy looked at the photo again. She seemed to be making up her mind about something.
8:53 p.m., Sodor
Thomas and Richard had spent the last twenty-eight minutes waiting for Percy at Tidmouth Station with the last of the parcels from the post train. Oliver was already there with Toad and his coaches Isabel and Dulcie, ready to take his passengers home to the Little Western.
At last, Percy arrived, out of breath and low on coal and water.
"Sorry, I'm late, Thomas. But there was something wrong with the points and I ended up going onto the loop. I went the long way around."
"Never mind, Percy," said Thomas, sympathetically. "Mr. Conductor would still be proud of us."
"Funny you should mention him," Percy added. "He was talking about buffers in his sleep last. Buffers are on the end of a railway, and I think that's how he travels here: on some kind of secret railway."
But then, Oliver sensed danger.
"I don't think we should talk anymore," he whispered. "My wheels feel wobbly. I think Diesel 10 might be around here."
Mavis and Toby pulled up next to Percy.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," the quarry diesel said grimly. "But it looks like Diesel 10 heard everything."
"Great," moaned Thomas. "Just great. If we had known he was here, we would have followed him around now."
"We know where he went," tooted Mavis. "He and some other diesels hold meetings at a scrapyard in Barrow."
"If you're planning on taking us," said Oliver. "Count me out. I'm not going back there again."
"And neither can we," said Thomas. "After taking the mail, I'm ready for a good night's sleep."
"No need to," said Toby. "Mavis here has been acting as a double agent. Which means she has been passing most of Diesel 10's plans onto me."
"You and Mavis are both very brave," Percy smiled.
"Absolutely," Toby said proudly. "Diesel 10 may be able to tolerate Mavis, but he wouldn't be able to bother with an old engine like me. He thinks I'm really useless."
And he and Mavis puffed away.
"Really useless," Percy mused over Toby's last words. "That would be a good pick-up line in case we see them again."
The scrapyard at Barrow-In-Furness outside of Sodor had been recently fitted with a smelting shed, which was basically what a gas chamber was to steam engines. It sure was a terrible place, with its red-hot flames, scrapping equipment and trucks that were already filled to the rafters with rusted parts. Diesel 10 stood silently in the shed, waiting for his allies.
Outside, Toby waited on a siding while Mavis took another track in the shed. She was soon joined by Daisy, Splatter and Dodge who were pulling George on a low loader, Devious Diesel, Derek, D199, Iron Arry, Iron Bert, Sidney, Paxton, Ulli, Den, Dart and Dennis. All of them were gathered under a steel shelter that served as an antechamber to the smelting shed.
"Come in my friends," Diesel 10 announced sinisterly. "And join the party!"
The other diesels cheered excitedly.
"Hurrah! Hurrah! We're going to have a party! Who's got the balloons?"
Diesel 10 gave a withering look.
"Correction…join the party that's over. Just like Twinkle Toes' magic railway is going to be over. Gone! And the buffers busted."
Splatter and Dodge looked terrified and so did Derek, Ulli, Sidney, Paxton and Dennis. Toby was furious, and so was Mavis, who was looking for Toby amongst the scrap piles.
"We don't know where the entrance to his railway is," Diesel 10 continued. "So we don't know we are the right buffers. Therefore, we've got to destroy all of them. George will help us."
"What about you?" asked Sidney. "What will you do about it?"
"I will be the one to personally kill Twinkle Toes, myself…after I get him to reveal the location of the buffers."
"Then I get back at Duck for good," Devious Diesel chuckled evilly.
"Then we can show those steamies who's boss," said Arry and Bert together.
"Then we can take over the railway for good and I can finally put that traitor in his place," said D199 with zeal.
But Toby wouldn't hear any of it, and neither would Mavis. Out loud, she blurted.
"Haven't you considered the idea of steamies and diesels working together? I'm sure my controller would want that instead."
"You're talking nonsense," Diesel 10 laughed. "We are the engines of the future my dear, and don't you forget it."
"I agree with her," said Daisy. "Without steamies, the engines of the future will never understand the past. I would love nothing more than to move to a different club, if you please."
"Not so fast!" cried Diesel 10. "If you even think about betraying us, I will kill you the same way I'll do it to Twinkle Toes."
He raised his claw, ready to strike. But for some unexplained reason, the claw malfunctioned. Mavis and Daisy fled the shed just as it took a swing at the right front support beam. The other beams gave way, and the shelter roof fell on top of the diesels with a crash. The last thing that Toby saw was the claw smashing through the roof, clanking in vain to go after the turncoat diesels.
"Good show, you two," said Toby when he met the two female diesels at the Vicarstown Bridge.
In the fallen shelter, all was quiet save for, Splatter who asked his boss.
"Did you mean to do that?"
Diesel 10 groaned at his naivety.
"I always mean what I do…"
Until Barrow's fire department could get them out, it was going to be a very long night.