????
It was cold and silent.
The top of the mountains of were covered by dark black clouds.
The diesel rumbled along the line slowly, he was confused. He couldn't remember anything, not who he was, not where he came from and what he was doing in such a dark but obviously beautiful landscape like this.
His eyes darted fearfully around the unfamiliar area. Suddenly, a ringing was heard inside him and he groaned, clenching his eyes tightly.
"Ahhh, I see the signal isn't so bad over there," said an unfamiliar voice, who was rasped this a glitchy.
"W-What happened?" cried the diesel.
"You're one of our greatest achievements," chuckled the unfamiliar voice, "you are to help pay way to the future and to stop the old-timers from rebelling."
Then, the diesel felt something on top of him, he looked up and gasped, eyes widened in shock and terror. "W-WHAT IS THAT?!"
"That my dear diesel," said the voice, "is a claw, and you're one of many to help us control the engines."
"W-WHO AM I?" cried the diesel, "WHY AM I HERE? WHERE IS YOUR VOICE COMING FROM!!!!???"
"You are special," began the voice, "a tragic hero with so much to be burden with, but shows great hope for the revolution of mankind."
The diesel looked around his surroundings, he was on a single track, with no lights near him at all. But some yellow, sparkling ones could be seen ahead. It was beautiful to the diesel.
"Travel down this very same track until you reach the end," ordered the voice, rather harshly, "you'll find out who you are there, but don't be seen by any engine, especially steam engines. Y'know who they are right?"
"Y-Yes, they're the round ones which have steam puffing out of those chimney-things," described the diesel.
The voice hummed a response and said nothing. After a few seconds silence, the diesel decided it was best to do what he was told, and crept forward towards the lights on his single track.
He tried his best, but when got to the town, he looked to see a station with a few people. He gasped quietly and looked around frantically to see where to go next, then he saw some points. Luckily, they were set towards the yard. The diesel knew he could go through the yards and out to the other side, it looked darker that way so he might have a better shot. He quickly darted over the points and rumbled into the yards. He went in-between some trucks, some were asleep, but some glanced up at the diesel in pure shock.
The diesel said nothing and came to a quiet stop. He then heard voices and didn't say a word.
He then saw two steam engines, one was a tank engine shunting whilst facing the opposite direction to the diesel whilst the other was medium-size tender engine which was facing the same direction as himself, but he couldn't see his face.
The diesel listened curiously, as the two engines talked.
"Y'knoow," said the tank engine, "I always wondered what it's loike to be a famoos engine."
The tender engine scoffed. "Yae can dream lad," he replied rather snootily, "but I'd rather keep my distance from cameras."
The diesel then looked around his surroundings quickly, he then remembered the strong accents the two steam engines had, he was in Scotland! No wonder it was so beautiful here.
The two engines continued to chatter. "Well... don't yae have twoo brothers on Sodor, they're kinda famous!"
The tender engine sniffed. "Those two who ran away there? Och, they definitely would've caused havoc," he said, "I'm tellin' yae Drake, they're silly ol' folks. What even are they're names again."
"Believe they're called Douglas and Donald," said Drake, "and they're not silly! They managed to get away with something that any engine would think impossible, imagine what we could do!"
"I wouldn't get yae hopes up lad," sighed the tender engine, with that Thomas the Tank Engine bloke being in the headlines all week with him getting his noosy smokebox into places where he shouldn't belong. Pfft, he was a fool tae think he was immune to anythin'!"
The diesel immediately recognised the name, it was well-known to many engines, he knew that. But an odd, strange feeling of guilt crept through his engine.
"Aye I know," said Drake, "and that rumour of the diesel with a claw, that scares me!"
"I think we all are," said the tender engine grimly, "let's hope it's not true."
"Aye," said Drake. The diesel looked up at his claw and gulped, wondering how he had gotten such a curse as that... thing on top of him. He tried to move, but he couldn't, it wouldn't budge.
"Tell yae what lad," said the tender engine, "I'll shunt those vans whilst yae go and off to fill on water."
"Really, are yae sure Maxwell?" asked Drake.
"Positive lad, now off yae go!"
Drake scurried off happily, the diesel tensed up a little, hoping Drake didn't see him. Fortunately, he didn't. And Maxwell, ran over the points and began to shunt the vans away. The diesel looked either side of him, the trucks still cowering over him. The diesel said nothing and rumbled slowly off, trying to get away from yards and back onto the singular line. The points were set for him, but just as he was going to make it happened.
"IT'S THE DIESEL WITH THE CLAW!!!"" screamed a truck from behind, the diesel stopped and looked back, with railway staff turning and gasping in shock in what they were seeing. Maxwell stopped shunting the vans and they rolled into the siding on their own, he glanced over and his eyes widen.
"YOU," he all but said.
The diesel gasped and pegged it down the line.
"Don't make him escape!" cried a workman.
"Quickly!" called the tender engine's driver, "switched the points so Maxwell can go after him."
That was all the diesel heard as he thundered away. His breathing had become heavy and was extremely frightened, he rattled down the line. A few minutes later, he was running along a massive lake, then he heard a steam engine's puffing getting louder and louder. He looked back and cried out in shock as the Scottish tender engine came chasing after him.
"THERE YAE ARE YAE WEE BLIGHTER!!" screamed the tender engine.
The diesel whimpered in terror and sped up, trying to get away from the engine.
As they rattled down the line, travelling through the dark green trees, the diesel heard thunder up above and saw he and the engine were heading straight towards the storm. The diesel looked back and saw the engine was slowing down. They were now about to head into a thunderstorm in the middle of the night.
They rattled over bridges and raced round bends, the steam engine was getting closer and closer. The rains then began to hit them hard. The diesel whimpered again. He then heard the engine coming up behind, and then there was a sharp bump from behind.
The diesel wailed. "PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!!" he cried out.
"OCH!!! NOT FOR WHAT YAE DONE!!" shouted back the engine.
"GO FOR IT MAXWELL!!" called the driver.
The diesel rumbled down the line, trying to see if there were any points for him to be diverted away from the engine who was coming after him like a lion chasing his pray. There were none. He was alone, in the rain and being chased down by a steam engine and his crew.
"STOP RUNNING YAE WE GRONK!!" called the engine.
The diesel was then bumped harshly once, he almost jumped off the rails and he groaned.
"PLEASE! STOP!" he cried again, tears almost streaming down his cheeks, joining the rain. "I DON'T WANT ANY TROUBLE!!"
"OCH! KEEP TELLIN' YAESELF THAT!!!"
The diesel clenched his face and braked a bit and hit the engine hard. Not enough to derail him, but enough for him to go backwards a bit. Finally, two tracks appeared as they came across another massive lake which seemed to connect to the sea.
And the diesel rumbled over the points, there was a loud, booming whistle, and the diesel looked back to see the engine coming up along side the other track. He seemed like he was going to try and over take him and stop him before reaching the end of the line.
The engine began to run along the left side of him with a wide, sly smirk at him. "Pathetic," he said thickly, the diesel's eyes widen in terror. "Yae cannae escape us! Yae going towards the end of the line lad, where will yae go then?"
"SOMEWHERE WHERE I'M SAFE!" cried back the diesel.
"TRUST ME GRONK," laughed the engine, with a laugh so evil to the diesel it couldn't of exist in a world so beautiful like this, "YAE'LL NEVER BE SAFE!! NAE UGLY DIESEL WILL BE!! YAE'LL FOREVER BE FUCKIN' POISEN TO THIS WORLD!!
The diesel's eyes widen in shear shock, The thunder became more louder than ever and then, a sharp, electrical pain hit the diesel. He clenched his face as the engines were now running almost side by side, the steam engine raised a brow curiously as the diesel winced and growled in pain. Then the clutched expression relaxed, and then the diesel's eyes opened, it looked over at the steam engine who was now fully showing his face, a beard nearly showing with chocolate coloured eyes and a stubby-looking nose.
The engine's confidence face turned into horror as blood red eyes pieces at him, emotionless and deadly.
The claw then lifted up, the diesel sped forwards, the crew in the cab wailed in terror as the claw turned to be above their engine. It's fangs opened and grabbed at the steam engine's smokebox. He yelped in pain, as the claw's fangs went deeper into him and finally, his right eye popped out and black blood squirted out with shards of his metal skull coming through his flesh. The claw lifted the engine up as it wailed and chucked him off the rails, and ran into the rocks which were between the embankment and the lake connected to the sea.
The explosion was deafening, enough to make the blood red coming from the diesel's eyes to disappear, the claw dropped from it's tall position and laid off the diesel's top, jaw dropped and unwilling to move no more. The diesel blinked as he thundered towards the end of the line, where he noticed the town where the line ends next to lake. The dark clouds had lighten now and the thundering rain had now become light spitting. He saw the station which took a curve around the town and sighed.
The signalling waves came back on through his mind. "Ahhh, I can see you coming now," chortled the voice, "and I see you've got yourself busy whilst coming here with your claw like that!"
"Don't speak," spat out the diesel bitterly.
The voice paused through the signalling channel for a split second. "What was that?"
"I know the answers now," said the diesel, "I know why this thing is attached to me, I know what happened to me, I know who I am, I know what happened to... to Thomas..."
There was no reply back. The diesel looked on towards the sharp bend and began to speed up.
"I know who you are too," he continued, "I know what you want from me and you will not receive it."
"You are a fool," came the reply.
"No," said the diesel, in a confident tone, "you are."
He rushed around the bend and tipped over managing to slide along the ground on his side, crash through a fence and fall into the lake.
A man at the station looked on in disbelief, as he watched the waves ease back to normal. He cursed under his breath and walked away. He headed to the ferry in which he would be transported in, he had to make a new plan now, but first, he needed to lie low.
But he will come back... eventually.