Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

Mud Pit

It was raining heavily on the Island of Sodor but people's spirits weren't dampened as a famous rock band, Slippery Socks, were set to perform in front of many that night. Excitement was building all around for those concerned as the booking of the band had been quite a coup for Sodor. Jeremy the Jet Plane was bringing them in from the Mainland before Henry was to pull them through to the main station. It would here that the band would be picked up by Cordelia the coach, and she was extremely proud of the occasion.
"This emphasises how important I am…" she said grandly in front of the other buses at the depot. The others sighed. "The manager picked me because I suit these occasions well." she added.
"We get it…" grumbled Bulgy. "You're important, we're not. Just get on and do the job." Cordelia smiled and slowly zoomed off to the station. Pride was clearly etched across her face.

The rain was casting a bed spell upon the night but fans of the band were revelling in the excitement of the grand occasion. Cordelia had never heard a rock band play before but she knew they were popular with young people. She wasn't keen on music at all really but an important job was an important one nonetheless even if she didn't like one part of it. Soon, she swayed into the pull-in at the station where just across from her were Gordon and Thomas.
"I'm here to collect the band…" she declared grandly. "Are they here yet?"
"No, not just yet." said Thomas. "Jeremy got delayed and Henry's running behind as a result." He then explained. Cordelia wasn't pleased and scowled.
"See this is where it's proof that buses and coaches are the most reliable forms of transport going." she then said indignantly.
"Huh…." huffed Gordon. "You're only getting to take the band because rails don't go to the performance area."
"Indeed." she agreed. "But you know this band is extremely popular and if I'm carrying them, I'll be popular too."
"Rock bands are not proper bands." denounced Gordon. "They swank about on stage and prance before shouting at the top of their voices. The music's too loud and the crowds scream too. It's just not right."
"Come on Gordon," said Thomas. "They are only a bit of entertainment. Rock bands are fun."
"Fun?" questioned Gordon. "It's a funny way of describing it. Give me the brass band any day over Slippery Sunglasses or whatever they're called." He was just about to complain even more when Henry slowly chugged into the station. His green paint glimmered in the evening night as street lamps reflected his colour all around. Crowds were eager to see the band and were shouting and screaming before they'd even got out of the carriages. Cordelia could see this was an important occasion and as the band slowly transferred from Henry's carriages to her pristine self, she couldn't help but smile.
"Welcome aboard…" said Cordelia's driver with an equally big smile.
"Hey…cool retro coach, man." said the band's lead singer as he shook his hand. Cordelia first thought he wasn't being kind but soon discovered that all of them spoke in the exact same way all of the time. The four band members weren't even sitting in her lovely red seats properly either as they decided to slouch across them as if they were beds.
"What on earth are they thinking?" she thought to herself as she slowly pulled out from the station.

The rain wasn't relenting and Cordelia's windscreen wipers were in full use throughout the journey. The band though weren't concerned by the rain and just played card games to pass the time. Occasionally they sang out the odd line from one of their songs but neither Cordelia nor her driver appreciated it as it was more akin to screaming than actual singing.
"Maybe this isn't such a great thing to have after all…" Cordelia then thought as the journey progressed slowly along the roads. It was getting pretty dark by now and with headlights on in full flow, Cordelia soon found herself stopped by a policeman blocking the continuing section of road she was meant to go along.
"This section of the road is closed I'm afraid…" said the policeman sternly. "The rain's been so heavy over here that its crumbled away old parts of the road. You'll have to take the side track section of road to the right I'm afraid." he added as he pointed to the adjacent muddy section of road. Cordelia and her driver weren't pleased though.
"You do know who were taking don't you?" said the driver. "This isn't just a general coach trip."
"I understand the situation," replied the policeman "but you have to do as you're told."
"But my paint will be ruined by that mud!" Cordelia then fumed.
"I'm sorry." insisted the policeman. "But that's all we can do. If you stick to that route, you'll have to stay as far right as you can though. The mud is incredibly thick on the left. It is the best we can do." he added sternly. Cordelia and her driver weren't pleased at all. The band members weren't seeing a problem with it at all though.
"Mud is cool…" said the drummer. "We've played concerts in conditions worse than that."
"It can be washed off." pointed out the guitarist with the long black hair. "Trust me, I know…" he added. Cordelia was in a quandary and so was the driver. They didn't want to go through the mud but they had to take the band to their location. This was the only way if they didn't want to be late.
"If you take that route, I swear you'll be the coolest coach and coach driver in the history of forever…" smiled the band's lead singer in encouragement.
"Cool?" wondered Cordelia. "I'll be cool. The coolest of cool. That'd be something to tell the others." she then thought. After a brief chat with the driver, the pair agreed to proceed and slowly made their way along the muddy path.

The rain wasn't weakening and the expectant crowds at the rock band's gig were growing more and more concerned. It was near the start of the concert and the band was nowhere to be seen. There were good reasons for it though; Cordelia was struggling to make her way through the sludgy terrain. Her wheels squelched and sloshed against the mud and however much she tried to avoid splashing the mud, she couldn't prevent it splatting on her sides.
"Urgh…" she said. "This…is….disgusting."
"Were getting there though…" said her driver more buoyantly. The band were getting a little concerned with how slow Cordelia was going but sang to keep their spirits up. This wasn't helping Cordelia or her driver though as it distracted them greatly. With their concentration affected, they moved ever more towards the left side of the road. They'd been warned against this and as they rounded a bend, the slipping and sloshing of Cordelia's wheels got ever worse. She carried on and then suddenly she began to lean over to the left. Her wheels slipped one last time and then she tipped on her left to an awkward angle.
"AAARGH!" Cordelia cried.
"Woah!" called the band as they held onto their seats. As Cordelia came to a halt with a creak and a slosh, she felt embarrassed but smug at the same time.
"I told you this wasn't the right thing to do!" she said to the driver trying to prove a point. The driver just sighed.

Time ticked and soon the start time for the concert had gone by. The fans were getting anxious and so were the guests of honour; Sir Topham and Lady Hatt.
"I know fashionably late is very popular, Topham, but this is taking it a bit far…" commented Lady Hatt from her reserved seat.
"Hmmm…" agreed her husband as he then went to ask some stagehands on what was happening. None of them knew and concerns were growing for everyone. The rain wasn't relenting and the crowds were starting to get rowdy. "Maybe they're caught in traffic…" said the Fat Controller doubtfully.

Meanwhile, Cordelia still felt awful. She was lodged into the sticky mud and however much the band tried to free her, they were getting nowhere. Suddenly, everyone could hear the whirr of an engine coming from in the distance and then round the bend came Austin the works lorry.
"Oh…dear…" he gulped as he saw the severity of the situation. "Someone didn't listen to the policeman."
"We were…." insisted Cordelia. "We just got momentarily distracted. I didn't think it would be this bad anyway."
"Ah…" smiled Austin. "He didn't mention that the deep mud was disguising big potholes in the road then. That's what you've fallen into. It's quite a mud pit!"
"Can you help us out please?" the lead singer then asked kindly. Austin was surprised to see the band. He and his driver were big fans but were unable to get to the concert as they out on duties.
"You're Moth McCoy?!" Austin said in amazement as he couldn't quite take it in.
"I am indeed." smiled the lead singer.
"I'm a big fan. You're my favourite band of all time." Austin then said in an excited voice. Cordelia couldn't help but roll her eyes at Austin. The day had been odd enough as it was and now she was going to get rescued by one of the band's bigger fans.
"If you help us out then," said Moth. "We'll make sure you get a good spot at the concert - both you and your driver. Fans deserve to see us perform." Austin and his driver agreed once he'd message base from his walkie talkie about the change in schedule, and soon they set about helping out the stricken coach. At first they went past Cordelia and then got out a tow rope and tied it on as tightly as possible. Soon, Austin began to pull as much as he could and with the band and Cordelia's driver helping to ease Cordelia out of the mud, it wasn't long before she was righted and freed.
"As good as mud!" chuckled Austin as he began to tow them along to the concert venue. Cordelia just couldn't care anymore and let the band sing as much as they wanted. She just wanted to be back at the depot and cleaned of all the mud. Those thoughts were eventually broken by the loud noise of the crowds who cheered loudly when they arrived. The band couldn't help but smile.
"Better late than never…" grinned Moth.
"It's good to see you're all alright…" said the Fat Controller as he welcomed them onto the stage. As the band prepared themselves for the opening song, Cordelia and her driver slowly went away and left Austin to smile for the whole evening.
"Were dedicating this song to Austin," sang the band before the music began. "He got us here!" Austin just couldn't help but smile and as the crowds cheered and rocked along, Cordelia just tried to shut the music out from her mind as she left the venue.
"Rock music and mud….not a good combination…" she muttered to herself as she swayed back home. She didn't feel cool at all, she just felt tired, muddy and grumpy. This was certainly something Cordelia wasn't to go and brag about come morning…