Chapter Three: Theories vs. Facts

When Henry asked that question with fear, Edward gasped silently with wide eyes. It seemed like Spite might be a ghost or an evil spirit that's filled with vengeance and hate, yet he never expected to believe this theory as he was always the logical type. Now it makes sense. Plus, her appearance and her abilities have added evidence to what she could be. There, he looked at Henry and replied, "Only one way to find out."

This got everyone surprised. Did they hear that Edward was determined to figure out that Spite was a supernatural engine or not? This got Thomas surprised the most as he felt the same as Edward, "I'm going to find out who she is!", he spoke sternly as he mustered up his courage.

What made the others gasp more was when Rebecca stood up, "M-me too!", she stuttered as she wasn't as brave, yet she was determined to help and solve this case.

"But… what if she tries to kill you?", Percy cried.

"Or get you brainwashed?", added James.

"Or worse… become like her!", screamed Henry.

All but Edward began to panic as Edward managed to control them like a shepherd herding his flock of sheep, "Everybody. Calm down. We aren't sure if she's a ghost or not, but we will put an end to it. Me, I'll figure it out.", he assured them.

Gordon, however, begged to differ, "I say it's just nonsense.", he snorted as he tried to deny the possibility, "It would be ridiculous to solve this Spite engine's case like Sherlock. I say we all go to sleep."

However, many couldn't shake it off as Edward could tell that Gordon was secretly afraid as his dilated eyes didn't match his frowned lips. There, Edward knew that if he was going to figure it out, he would do it when the others were asleep, and with that, he figured out a plan, "I saw we should get some sleep. If we forget about her, she will vanish.", he suggested.

Hearing Edward's comforting voice was enough for everyone to feel a bit better as their weary eyes got the better of them, "Agreed.", some of the engines chimed together.

"Alright, we should get some sleep.", Edward faked his yawn to make sure others would go to sleep as he closed his eyes.

With that, many of the engines closed their tired and teary eyes as they prayed to themselves that Spite wouldn't show up again. They all hoped that her terror would end but tried to forget about her, but the question that remained with them was would it work? When everyone seemed to be fast asleep, Edward slowly opened his eyes and looked to his left and right to make sure that everyone was sound asleep. Once he felt confident enough, he turned his headlamp on as he slowly puffed towards the turntable and went to the sidings so he could figure it out all alone.

What he didn't expect was that Thomas opened his eyes not long after Edward left the turntable as Rebecca also opened her eyes, "Where is he going?", Thomas asked himself as he knew that something was up.

There, he decided to investigate as he pursued the wise engine as he followed his lead with his headlamp on. As he left his berth, Rebecca got curious, yet she felt scared, "What's going on with them? Is it something to do with Spite or is it something worse?", she trembled as she didn't want to think about the bad spirit again.

However, as she tried to control her wobbling wheels, something in her boiler to go after them, and that if she needed to figure out about Spite, she needed to do it now. She tried to brush it off that boiler feeling, but that feeling kept growing stronger and stronger until she bit her lip, wondering if she should follow her instinct or not. After a minute of the battle between her fear and her boiler feeling, her bitten lip was turned into a frown of determination as she narrowed her eyes as she spoke to herself, "Come on, Rebecca. You can do this. You need to know more about her. It's now or never!"

With that, she slowly puffed out to avoid waking the other engines as they seemed on edge in their sleep. Once she went to the turntable, it moved subtly until it was placed for her to exit. There, she turned her headlamps in and departed her way from Tidmouth Sheds. Although she felt scared, but she felt like a lioness that exited from her den to face her fears or problem.

…

At the sidings, where the trees covered the area like a little natural shed, no one could spot the sidings as some squirrels resided inside the hollow trees. Feeling confident that nobody was around, he felt safe to figure out more about Spite without getting a negative vibe from the sheds or any distractions. The siding was quite close to home yet far enough for the others to hear his voice if he dared to speak. Just as he thought he was alone, he saw a larger silhouette of an engine coming closer with a headlight shining on him. This made him jump, if engines can jump as he thought he saw Spite. He felt so scared that he reversed back, begging "her" to go away.

Suddenly, the silhouette became two, and their shapes looked so familiar that he sighed silently in relief. There, the silhouettes became more apparent to him to confirm and made him feel relaxed, "Thomas. Rebecca. What are you two doing here?", he whispered.

"We were going to ask the same question.", Rebecca replied as quiet as a mouse, yet it was audible to Edward.

"Yeah, and you said we should get some sleep, yet you left. Why did you leave?", Thomas questioned as he needed the answer.

However, Edward didn't want the two engines to be involved as he thought it would be too difficult for them to handle if it was going to be supernatural. Then again, Edward never experienced something supernatural himself. Yet, he always liked to find answers before he could get a better understanding, and with Spite, this was going to be intense as she was full of terror and manipulation. After a minute went by without any response, Thomas then asked another question as he looked scared like a missing child, "Edward? Do you think Spite is real? Me and Rebecca think she is."

This got Edward surprised as he didn't expect them to believe that Spite could be real. He paused for a moment to find the right way to answer his question. After a moment of silence, he sighed as the two engines' mouths were slightly agape in both curiosity and fear, "I believe she's real, yet… something isn't right.", he answered Thomas's question.

This got Rebecca puzzled as she raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I believe she's real yet not alive.", Edward replied.

"I knew it!", Thomas exclaimed as he narrowed his eyes with a frown, "No wonder why our nightmares feel so real, and she seemed to know everything about us as if she watches our every move!"

Edward was surprised about this as he didn't expect Thomas to have the same belief, and he was even more surprised when he heard the words from Rebecca, "I believe so too.", she trembled, "Plus, it seemed like she's with us, yet we can't see her. Something in my boiler told me she's here somewhere, yet I don't know where."

This made Edward take some notes as he then asked a question, "Thomas? Rebecca? What do you believe about Spite and her motive?"

Thomas and Rebecca were stunned by his question for a few seconds as they looked down, pondering to themselves as Thomas looked up and replied, "I believe she's a bad spirit, yet it seemed like she has a habit of showing us our past trauma or our biggest fear."

Not long after, Rebecca looked up and added, "I also noticed that when I dreamt about her again, she seemed to get more and more powerful and more aggressive. It seems like she takes pleasure to feed our fears."

Edward agreed as he then explained his theory to them, "Well, I believe your ideas. I say Spite must have been an engine once before something happened, and she became a vengeful spirit. It seemed like she only came to replay our horrible events, and she seemed… seemed…"

He paused for a moment as Thomas asked in a shaky voice, "Seemed… what?"

"Seemed lost.", Edward replied.

"What?", Thomas raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean she seemed lost?"

Even though Edward seemed to get the picture about Spite, yet he didn't have the definite answer on how she seemed lost, "I'm not sure, but with all things been happening, I think you two should forget while I'll sort it out and solve this once and for all.", he said in a caring yet stern tone.

However, both Thomas and Rebecca disagree, "That's not a good idea.", Thomas replied, "With her dangerous behaviour, how can you do this on your own, let alone you have to confront a ghost engine with an evil intention?"

"Plus, if it's that bad, shouldn't we work together so it would be quicker to solve this case about Spite?", Rebecca suggested.

Even though Edward knew Thomas way longer than Rebecca, he knew that these two were the type that wanted to help and wouldn't take "no" for the answer. He tried to persuade them not to get involved, yet they both made a fair point.

After being stumped for a minute with his mouth opened a bit with defeated eyes, he sighed and replied, "You both made your fair points, but this is supernatural. We're potentially dealing with the supernatural."

With that being mentioned that they could be facing something much more powerful and dangerous, Thomas was still fully committed to assisting Edward as he spoke boldly, "I don't care! I wanted to help! If it happens tomorrow and the day after, this needs to stop, and we need to put an end to it!"

Edward always admired Thomas's bravery and selfless action as he could tell that he was willing to help, no matter the cost of the aftermath. With that, Edward smiled gently at Thomas as Thomas gave a mutual response to him. For Rebecca, she felt conflicted on the idea of whether she should help Edward and Thomas or not take the risk. She heard some ghost stories, and many of them were scary for her, and knowing Spite could be a ghost was even more terrifying. She kept looking left to right as she frowned a bit, struggling to make her decision.

As she battled her decision, Edward and Thomas noticed her behaviour as they both looked concerned as Edward knew what was wrong with her. There, he asked her gently to make sure that she chose her decision wisely, "Rebecca? Do you want to come? It's up to you."

When she heard his question, she thought to herself quickly, "I got to help. Something inside me told me so. It's now or never."

After thinking, she took a slow deep breath and huffed, "I-I'm still not sure, but…", Rebecca paused for a moment before she made her final decision, "Alright… I want to help. I'll do it.

With that being settled, Edward decided that before they could Spite or find something that could answer some questions, Edward explained to them what ghosts could do as his driver believed in ghosts and heard a lot of stuff about them and their history. This got them intrigued yet frightened as they soon learned that ghosts are very complex beings. When Edward was done explaining, he then finished his sentence, "We aren't sure about Spite's origin or if she's a pure evil being, but we need to understand more about her."

Thomas and Rebecca agreed as they knew it would be a difficult task to complete, yet they all knew that they needed to solve it right away before it got worse or out of control. However, before they could discuss more with her, the three swore that they heard an eerie whisper from the wind that blew the tree leaves, "You will suffer. You will fall. You will break, and you will fail."

This made the three shaken, yet Edward managed to maintain his strength mentally as Thomas looked at his surroundings while Rebecca shook violently, "It's her.", she whimpered, "It must be."

However, Edward had made a vow to not allow her to get the better of them as he spoke with determination and a warning, "Whatever you do, if you hear her voice, ignore her. She's trying to get the better of you."

And with that, the three exited from the sidings as they decided to share their ideas and information more in detail while just puffing from Tidmouth to Knapford so they could clear off their minds and can get back to sleep with ease for the next day's work. However, whenever they go, they feel a presence nearby. They decided to ignore it and focus on helping each other out.

As they headed to Knapford Station quietly in the middle of the night, a glowing silhouette of an engine swiftly went past them by far away from them as she watched them in anticipation. There, she gave a substantial sharp teeth grin as she whispered, "They can't save anyone. They can't save themselves, and they can't save… me… I need help… ugh… nobody! They will fail, and they all deserve to suffer as I did!"