A/N: Hey, guys! I'd like to officially announce that, as of July 12th, 2020, The Island has passed 1,000 views! Thank all of you guys who have been keeping up with the story so far and I hope you enjoy what I have in store!

Well, I'm afraid no one tried to guess the stories from the last chapter, so I'll give you guys one more chapter to figure it out.

Either way, more notes are at the end of the chapter! On with the show!

Chapter 7: Lost Yet Found

Shaina was pretty darn sure that she was gonna get back at Ben. Somehow.

He had given her false directions to the walking trail on purpose. She knew it. Oh, he meant no harm, sure enough, but Alice warned that he had been itching to pull a prank for weeks. Shaina supposed she should have been expecting this...

At the moment, she had reached a more overgrown part of the island. Swinging her arms wildly, she tried to clear the branches that hung low in front of her face away and somewhat succeeding. She was seriously regretting not taking someone with her when she happened to stumble across some railroad tracks. Well, nearly tripped over them is a bit more accurate. However, these were overgrown with weeds, and the wood was rotting in places. If there was one thing she knew about this island, it was that following railroad tracks would either lead you to civilization or something really cool. And, thus, she followed them.

After a fairly short distance, the trees became thicker, as if they were trying to hide something. The rails had a thicker covering of weeds as well, and most of the wood underneath was all but gone. It was hard going, and Shaina had to walk on the rails for a little bit. But, once the trees and shrubs cleared, Shaina gasped.

There, in the middle of a clearing, was an old brick house.

From how it looked, Shaina could tell that it probably hadn't been lived in for a long time. It was at least three stories tall and had vines trailing up the walls. The rails Shaina had been following came up fairly close to the house. There was a large oak tree sitting to the right of the house, close to Shaina. From one thick branch, a handmade swing hung, twisting and moving in the slight breeze.

Shaina cautiously walked up to the porch and the front door. The porch had a blanket of leaves where they had piled up over who-knows-how-many autumns. There were two rusted metal chairs, separated by a side table. Both chairs were decorated with metal flowers and vines that spiraled around the legs and back. The table, with its glass top, was decorated in a similar fashion to the chairs.

But what intrigued Shaina the most was the front door. It was really two doors, not like the one door that most houses had, including her own. Both doors had stained glass in them, creating a beautiful mosaic in blues, reds, and greens. Carefully, she knocked. As she thought, no one answered. Still, she knocked again. Thinking that her knocking might not be loud enough, she called out. "Hello?" Still, there was no answer. Instead, she placed her hand on the doorknob. To her surprise, it wasn't locked. A voice in her mind warned her that this was probably a bad idea, but Shaina's curiosity had made up her mind. She walked inside and closed the door behind her.

Inside, the sun filtered dimly through the smudged and dirty windows. There was a thick layer of dust covering anything within sight. And what a sight it was! There was a grand entryway that led to what Shaina assumed was the living room. There was a large couch and two chairs at the corners of the couch. The couch faced a beautiful fireplace that looked as if someone had painted railroad tracks along it. Looking closer, she could see it was a basic map of the mainline, though a bit outdated. There was a dining room with a long fancy table, though a thick layer of dust had settled over it. It was set, like someone had been expecting guests. The kitchen was just through a pair of swinging doors. The fixtures were somewhat outdated, but they all looked very expensive for their time. The cupboards were well stocked, even though everything was long since expired.

There wasn't much else of note downstairs, so Shaina climbed up the grand staircase to the second floor. Here she saw three bedrooms. What she assumed was the master was fairly large, with a good-sized closet filled with moth-eaten clothes. The second biggest was also very nice, with pictures crowding the walls and dresser, though Shaina barely stopped to look at them. The third bedroom looked more like a guest room, as there were very few signs that it was ever really used. But, something that really caught Shaina's attention was the nursery. It was two rooms joined together. One was filled with toys and there was a small table with a counter nearby. The other didn't have as many toys and there was a trio of beds. In between the two, there was a very tiny bedroom where the nanny would stay. However, like the guest room, it didn't really seem as well lived in.

Finally, Shaina had gotten to the next flight of stairs. However, this set wasn't like the others. It was much thinner, and pictures of a young boy and some of the engines that she had met, as well as some that she hadn't, adorned the wall on her right. There was one picture that caught her eye. It was of the young boy, what looked to be his father, and Thomas; laughing and smiling to one another. Just then, she reached the top of the stairs.

In this loft-type area, someone had set up an office, with a few bookshelves along one wall and a desk pushed near a large window overlooking the tracks. Shaina started looking around. In the corner nearest the stairs, Shaina saw a large model train set that looked like an older version of the island. Many of the original engines were there as well. Looking at the walls, she could see framed pictures of various engines with golden nameplates that stated their name, class, and arrival date. On the opposite wall, she could see a map, albeit an older one. Looking closely, she could see a date in one corner of this map: 1992.

From there, she walked over to the bookshelves. In some of them, oddly enough, there weren't all that many books. Most of the space on these shelves was filled up with more pictures and various trinkets, such as a camera and models of famous trains in glass cases. However, most, if not all of the books that were there had yellowing pages. Some of them were simply pages sewn together! Shaina carefully slid one of the covered books out, looking at it. A handmade drawing of Edward, Henry, and Gordon greeted her. The title said proudly: The Three Railway Engines. Shaina carefully put the book back where it belonged and turned to the desk.

It was fairly simple, with drawers filled with paper, pencils, pens, and ink. But, sitting on top, was a thick leather-bound journal. It was closed by a leather strip that was attached to the book's spine. There was nothing too interesting about it, except for the initials W. V. A. imprinted into the leather.

Shaina stood still for a minute. She knew that she shouldn't open it. But, something in the very back of her mind pointed out that there could be some answers as to how and why she came here. So, she slowly began to unravel the leather strip from the book. Carefully, Shaina opened the cover and found the first entry. It read;

April 14, 1944

Journal,

It seems that, overnight, I, along with my family, have traveled to an island. We were awakened by a whistle outside our door. And who should we find? Edward! He was very nice to us and offered to show us around the railway. Of course, Christopher was very excited about this. I agreed to it. We'll be heading out tomorrow. I only hope that we can get some sleep!

W

Shaina stopped, her heart pounding in her ears. Reverend Wilbert Awdry, the creator of this island, had been through the same experience that she was currently going through. She turned the page, reading the next entry;

April 15, 1944

Journal,

This morning, after breakfast, Edward showed up right outside our door. Christopher, Hilary, Veronica, and my dear wife got into a coach that had been coupled up to the engine, while the driver and fireman let me ride in the cab with them. It turns out that the stories I had told Christopher were fairly close to what really happened! We were able to see the sheds and meet Gordon. Henry was still bricked up in his tunnel, but I was able to go and see him. Of course, Christopher promised Edward that he would bring the model I made. Because tomorrow's Sunday, we will probably stay at home, then see the engines again afterward.

W

Shaina quickly closed the book, binding it up. She had read enough for now, even though her curiosity was screaming at her to read more. She carefully took a couple of steps back from the desk, glancing over her shoulder to see out the window. She could almost see Edward or Henry pulling up to say hello.

For a little while, Shaina lingered in the room, touching and studying. There was history here, the beginnings of something timeless. Eventually, she left, closing the door with respect. And she quietly promised herself to contact the person who owned this house. Somehow.

A/N: Thanks so much to Codi, Diva, and all of you who have reviewed thus far! I love reading reviews, so keep them coming!

So, Shaina's not the only one who's woken up in another world... Seems like these people are pretty important somehow. But...why is their house so abandoned?

I have to admit, this chapter has been in the works for ages. I had it written up for my first attempt at The Island and I kept it for the rewrite. I went into a lot of detail for the house, considering it hasn't been properly lived in since... The 1970s? The late 1990s? Somewhere around those times.

Anyways, what can we expect from the next chapter? Well, Shaina's going to get to spend some time with my favorite engine and there are stories to be told!

Also, shout out to my awesome, awesome beta reader, The Broken Mask, who just published new fanfic recently! Go check out The Tale of the Halloween Engines and keep an eye out for when her engines appear!