Chapter 1: Awakening
"Songbird, welcome home."
That sentence was the first thing that greeted Shaina McKin as she gradually woke up. She silently laid in bed, puzzling over her dream. It was so real; she could have sworn that she was really there. However, there were other things to wonder about. Even though her eyes were still closed, there wasn't as much light as she usually saw in the morning. She slowly pried her eyes open to discover something incredible.
It was her room. And yet, it wasn't her room. Her mind said this room was hers; however, she didn't recognize it. The walls were painted a sky blue, and the carpets were a dark, grassy green. Wall clings that depicted red flowers and yellow butterflies were set in a tasteful manner, giving the room the feel of a flower garden. A hammock was strung up in the far left corner of the room, and a full-length mirror stood in the far right corner, with a window in between. To the left of the mirror was a small side table, and to the right, a dresser. On the same wall as the dresser was a large bay window with drawers under the window seat. To the left of the hammock was a desk. Well, it looked like a desk, from what she could see. There was a line of shelves in the way.
Shaina's bed was a Queen size with a light pink sheet, two pillows with pillowcases in the same color as the sheet, and a flower-decorated comforter. A homemade Rapunzel blanket was folded up at the end of the bed. There was a nightstand on either side; one holding a lamp with books and her iPad mini, the other holding another lamp with her iPhone and a glasses case. There were three doors, one next to the line of shelves and two on the wall that held her bed, one on each side of it.
Shaina reached for her glasses but stopped when she saw something that made her blood grow cold. She was fully dressed. She had gone to bed in pajamas, but now she was wearing a Disney t-shirt and sweatpants. Then, she saw the pink jacket folded at the end of her bed.
Shaina raced towards the door near the shelves. It opened to a landing with two doors, one of which was her own. There was a small alcove to her right that had beanbags, pillows, and shelves. A quick glance showed her that there were toys and games on the shelves. She blew past them in an effort to get downstairs, creating a loud ruckus that awakened her brother, Joel, though she didn't see.
The downstairs level was spacious with the living room, dining room, and kitchen in the same general area. Shaina came thundering down the stairs just as her parents were leaving their room. Not watching where she was going, the girl almost ran into them, but let them catch her and hold onto her.
"Woah, easy! Calm down!"
As her brother came downstairs, Shaina was gently guided out into the living room, where the family cat, Blacky, was snoozing on the back of the sofa. Her father was the first to speak up.
"Shaina? Are you alright?"
Shaina looked down at her hands, worry projected on her face. Her father knelt in front of her and grasped her hands, startling her out of her worry. "I-I'm not sure. I had the weirdest dream last night..."
"What dream?" Her mother asked, seeing Shaina's distress.
Shaina shook her head slowly. "Colors. Blue, green, red. Voices. Too muffled to make out, but familiar. Sounds. Bells, hissing, and..."
Before Shaina could say anything more, whistles filled the air. She grasped the sides of her head as she remembered. Those whistles were from her dream! Her eyes flew open. "No..." Shaina raced past her family, ignoring their questions. Opening the front door, she stepped onto the front porch and saw it. The sheds - with THOSE engines there.
Shaina was near panicking by this point. She stumbled back inside and slumped onto the couch, disturbing Blacky, who jumped down and made herself comfortable on Shaina's lap instead. Shaina muttered song lyrics under her breath to try and calm her racing heart as Joel sat beside her.
"What on earth?!" Her mother screeched as she looked out the window to see what was going on. "How on-... Why… We're.."
"Yes," Shaina said, still looking a bit out of it. "We're on the Island of Sodor."
"How?" Joel spoke up.
Shaina threw up her hands and started to pace. "Who knows!"
Before she could go into a rant, the family heard a voice outside the house. "Hello? Is anyone in there?"
For a moment, the house was quiet before Shaina managed to gather up enough courage to peek her head out the door. There, sparkling in the sunlight, was a long green engine with the number 3 on its tender.
"Hello," the green engine greeted.
"Hello," Shaina replied, still not quite coming out onto the porch.
"Did you just move here? I've never seen you before."
"Yes, in a way."
The green engine, named Henry, as Shaina finally remembered, looked confused and just opened his mouth to ask a question when a deep whistle sounded from somewhere behind him.
"Henry! Don't just sit there dawdling! We have work to do!"
Henry rolled his eyes, muttering, "Bossy boiler… I don't have time to deal with him today…" He smiled to Shaina. "I hope I'll see you later, Miss." And, just like that, he was steaming away with no idea of what kind of catastrophe he left behind.
A/N: Wow! So much interest already! Thanks to LaaLaa and Destiny for leaving reviews!
Anyways, Shaina's awake, and she's seen exactly where she is. I debated a bit about who I wanted her to officially meet first, but I chose Henry since he's my favorite. :) Also, congrats to the show for their big special debuting today, Thomas and Friends: The Royal Engines!
One more thing! All chapters are being Beta read by The Broken Mask and she's awesome. Take a look at her stories if you get a chance!
Keep an eye out for the next chapter, where we meet the engines and a whole lot of other people! It's gonna be a long one!