Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

Graham's Getaway

Graham and Olga are the open-topped bus siblings on the Island of Sodor. They used to only come to the island in summer but due to their popularity with tourists and residents alike, the bus depot brought them in permanently. Graham's blue paint shimmers wonderfully in the sun, while Olga's deep green hue matches her bold personality well. They do get along well with the other buses and enjoy their life on Sodor, it's the best time they've ever known.

One morning at the depot, Graham was waking up from his sleep and began to chat with Bertie.
"Do you know what, Bertie?" he asked with a smile across his face.
"What?" asked back the red bus.
"Moving here permanently was the best decision ever." said Graham. "I've always got passengers, even if the weather isn't too great."
"You and Olga have certainly fitted in well." agreed Bertie. "It's hard to imagine what life would be like without you two here." he then added as Agnes the yellow bus came reversing into the hold.
"Morning!" she beamed brightly. "I canny believe how many people I've just had to take around in the early hours." she then announced through her Scottish accent. "It was incredible, I think my wheels are gonna need a good rest."
"It was the work traffic, Agnes." cut in Bertie. "Hardly that busy..."
"It was too!" retorted Agnes. "I would never lie."
"Well what about the time you said we were all going to be painted yellow?" Graham then asked with a wry smile upon his face. It was a fond joking smile that Graham did as he recalled one incident of Agnes getting too big for her own boots.
"Well, I er..." struggled the yellow bus. "Ooh, I obviously misunderstood. I was sure I heard that correctly." she tried to explain but it clearly wasn't working.
"Hmm..." sounded Graham. "Of course." Agnes felt embarrassed and just stayed quiet for some time. It wasn't long though before both Bertie and Graham's drivers arrived and soon they were off.
"Mind the shed!" joked Bertie. "We don't want any more yellow buses there when we return!""
"Pah..." snorted Agnes as she watched the pair leave.

It was a beautiful morning on Sodor and Graham was delighted with the weather. It meant his tours would be full and he could show off the benefits of not having a roof.
"This is perfect." he muttered to himself as passengers boarded. "Come on, come on!" he cajoled. "You don't want to miss a brilliant tour." Just then, Olga came into view. She too was full with passengers.
"My, my Graham. You're only just filling up with passengers?" she joked. "I've been full for hours." Graham didn't respond and just beeped his horn and he was off. Olga loved teasing her brother and revelled in the fun of it all. Graham though wasn't so keen on the teasing and just carried about his tour for a good part of the day. Passengers came and went with praise constantly being aimed in his direction, this was what he loved the most and sometimes it went to his head.
"I'm obviously the best bus on Sodor." he said. "Better than Bertie and miles ahead of Cordelia. I am the best bus."
"Don't get too cocky," warned his driver. "We'll never hear the end of it otherwise." but much to Graham's driver's dismay, the blue bus carried on talking himself up for hours on end. Even at times when he wasn't full of passengers, Graham was confident that he was the best bus. When he came to drop passengers off at stations, he continued to brag even then to trains waiting at the platform.
"You do know you're in the company of Sodor's best bus, don't you?" he asked with a wide grin on his face.
"Really!" said James sarcastically to him. "Hmm...I never would have thought it was you."
"Well it is." said Graham definitively. James just rolled his eyes and waited for the guard's whistle. Graham found James to be rude but carried on and went back to the depot.

When he returned, his driver found a lone man still sitting on the top deck. He looked somewhat nervous.
"Sir, the tour is over, you're going to have to leave." said the driver firmly.
"If you say so," said the man as he staggered down the steps. Graham couldn't believe it but was thankful when his driver sent the man on his way.
"Who does he think he is?" asked Graham.
"Hangers on. They're nothing new." said his driver as he was just about to switch Graham's ignition off, but the depot manager called him into the office for a quick word. What happened next came out of nowhere and Graham was unaware of it until the last moment. Idly waiting about for his driver to say goodbye, Graham didn't hear the man who'd just been waiting on his top deck return. He'd crept back into the depot out of sight and had gone for Graham's driver's seat. With the engine still on, the man easily began to drive Graham out of the depot.
"Driver!" called Graham. "Driver! I'm moving!" he then called out but before anyone else could hear, the man had driven Graham out of the depot.
"Oh my..." said Graham's driver when he saw what had happened. "Telephone the police at once." A call was soon made with Paul the police car dispatched on the lookout for Graham.
"Well this is new." said Paul. "Someone making a getaway in a tourist bus." Night was beginning to draw in now and lights along the road made some of Sodor's sights even more beautiful than before, but Graham wasn't enjoying this at all. A strange man was driving him and he didn't know where he was headed.
"Sir, please stop!" called out Graham but the man wasn't listening and he just increased speed. Graham whizzed along the road and passed by Olga at speed.
"Woah!" she called. "There is a speed limit Graham!"
"Help!" called out the blue bus but no-one around was listening. To them, Graham was just speeding down the road for no reason, they didn't know what had happened, but Paul the police car did and with his siren blaring out he raced as fast as he could to catch up.
"Move out of the way!" he called. "Police business in progress." Cars duly swerved out of the way and Paul was soon catching up with the fast bus. The man was taking Graham onto winding roads but he didn't decrease speed. Graham wasn't enjoying this at all.
"Sir, please." he tried once more but the man didn't listen. In the distance, Graham could hear Paul's siren and was relieved but wasn't sure how this chase was going's to end. It ended much sooner than thought though when the man swerved Graham all of a sudden and ploughed straight through some bushes and into a ditch. "AHHH!" called out Graham as he crashed through the shrubbery before finally coming to a stop. The man tried to get away but Paul's driver got out just in time and duly arrested him. Paul was his usual jokey self though.
"Ello, ello, ello, what do we have here then?" he smiled to Graham.
"A very worn out bus..." huffed Graham. "Thanks all the same though."

Within an hour, Graham was removed from the ditch and slowly driven back to the depot by his usual driver, not some stranger. He wasn't damaged but his pride had been hit.
"That man obviously thought you were the best bus to get away in..." said his driver. "He was a robber on the run. The police are delighted they've got him now."
"I'm not that fast though," pointed out Graham. "Bertie or Agnes would have been much quicker."
"Oh, so you're not the best at everything then?"
"No," admitted Graham. "I'm sorry if I did rabbit on about it all day. I didn't mean to."
"The main is that you're safe." smiled Graham's driver. "You are a good bus lad but pride does come before a fall."
"And I've just had my fall."
"Indeed," agreed the driver. "But let's get you back home and let you rest. You definitely deserve one even if Agnes doesn't think so!" and Graham just smiled in agreement.