Chapter 4: Paintwork and coaches.
Selena returned to the sheds one night, a week since Emily had left for repairs, feeling very exhausted.
"Man, all this goods work is starting to take a toll!" she groaned. "I feel like I'm gonna fall apart!"
"I know how you feel," Edward said. "I'd find myself feeling exhausted with heavy loads back on the Furness during the summer. Especially when it came to taking express trains to Coniston."
"If you think you had it bad," said Selena, "the Midland had it worse, what with needing to double-head constantly."
"That's what happens when you decide to go for a small-engine policy," said Olive. "Too much work and not enough power."
"Tell me about it!" Selena huffed. "I mean, sure it was a result of their infrastructure being unable to handle bigger engines, but come on! We all have limits!"
"I agree," said Edward. "Companies shouldn't save money by making only small engines. If anything, double-heading only leads to extra money needing to be paid to the crews."
"The money would indeed be better spent upgrading the infrastructure," Olive put in. "I don't even see why they wouldn't! They have the money for crying out loud!"
Olive couldn't help but feel sorry for Selena.
"How about this, Selena?" Olive suggested. "Tomorrow, you and I swap jobs. I'll take your goods trains, and you can do my passenger runs."
The other engines stared, speechless! Edward broke the silence.
"Are you serious?!" he asked.
"Of course I am," said Olive. "This is war we're talking about. We all have to pitch in and do whatever."
"Have you ever pulled trucks before?" Selena asked. Olive scoffed at this.
"How hard can it be? And yes, I've pulled cattle trucks every once in a while!"
"But not all trucks are the same," said Selena.
"Open trucks, cattle trucks, makes no difference. I can pull anything easily! Besides, haven't you always wanted to pull passengers? They'd be sure to love you."
Selena sighed: it was clear Olive wasn't going to change her mind.
"Very well," she said. "Tomorrow, we'll talk to the Fat Director and make the job swap."
"Thank you ever so much!" Olive beamed. "I'm just about ready to get going already!"
"That'll have to wait until tomorrow," said her driver. "Right now, you need to get to sleep."
"Of course," said Olive. She fell asleep soon after.
The other engines couldn't help but worry.
"Will Olive be alright?" Selena asked. "Sure, she's pulled cattle trucks, but that's about it."
"I'm sure she will be," said Edward. "She may have a hard-side, but she is quite the charmer."
"Someone's in love, eh?" chuckled 98462.
"Oh I'm sorry, do I know you?" Edward asked. 98462 groaned: ever since he and 87546 had lost their names, the other engines had pretended to not know who they were every chance they got.
"Come on, old iron! It's me! I'm Max!""
"If that were true," said Selena, "you'd have a nameplate. But you don't."
"And what about you, huh? I don't see a nameplate on you!" 87546 pointed out.
"I don't think I've seen you before," chuckled Selena. "I'm Selena, what's your name?"
"Knock this goddamn shit off!" 87546 shouted. The other awake engines, barring 98462, began hooting with laughter. "Screw this, I'm going elsewhere!"
"As am I!" snorted 98462. But they couldn't: their fires were out and their crews had gone home. The two engines had no choice but to stay where they were and try to tune the laughter out.
After it stopped, Edward turned to Selena.
"Have you ever pulled coaches before?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not," Selena admitted. "Always been stuck on goods traffic."
"In that case, how about I teach you how to handle coaches tomorrow?"
"Thank you, Edward! I greatly appreciate that!"
"Of course! Now we should get some sleep! We have a busy day tomorrow!"
The next morning, all the engines were confused when Lord Harwick came up to them instead of the Fat Director.
"What brings you up here, my Lord?" Olive asked. "And where's Sir Topham Hatt?"
"I'm afraid Sir Topham won't be here today, or a while," Lord Harwick said. "This morning, he was summoned to court."
The engines gasped!
"Summoned to court?! For what?!" they all asked in unison.
"Fernby sued him. He claimed he assaulted his daughter, Rebecca."
"He's lying!" Thomas shouted. "I was there, it was Conan who got assaulted, not Rebecca! And it was Fernby who did that! I saw it, and so did Emily's passengers and crew!"
"I agree with you, Thomas," said Lord Harwick, "and you're right: there are witnesses who saw the truth. I know: I was one of them. Trouble is, the Court simply won't listen to this fact. Either that, or Fernby bribed the court and jury to ignore these witnesses."
"No doubt it's the latter," snorted Olive. "He'd do anything to escape the truth."
"No direct proof of that," admitted Lord Harwick, "but I do have reason to suspect you may be right, Olive: I was told I would not be allowed to testify, which shouldn't be legal."
"That just proves the court was bribed," Selena said.
"I've told this to Sir Topham's cousin, Bertram. He's a politician who vowed to never be bribed. As we speak, he's trying to find something that will prove there's corruption going on. Or at the very least, a loophole to allow at least one of the witnesses to testify."
"Will you be looking after the railway until the trial is over?" 87546 asked.
"I will indeed," Lord Harwick confirmed. "That said, who knows how long this trial will go on. Could last years. But no matter how long it goes on, we must continue. That's what Sir Topham would want. But don't worry: I made sure to give him the best lawyer living on the whole Island. I'd have gone with Stanley Kersowki, but Fernby already got him. Thus, I went with Loey Wright, who lives in Tidmouth."
"That's a far distance to travel," Olive pointed out.
"You're right, it is," Lord Harwick agreed. "Which is why I've had to make a special train for him to take all the way here. W&S #3 is taking him here as we speak. Hopefully, things go smoothly. Now then, so long as there are no more issues…"
"Actually, Sir, there is something I'd like to bring up," said Olive.
"And what would that be?" Lord Harwick asked.
"Selena and I would like to swap jobs."
"Is this true, Selena?" Lord Harwick asked the 3835.
"Yes sir, we agreed to it last night," Selena confirmed. "Goods work has become too heavy for me to handle."
"Very well, I approve of this change," Lord Harwick said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to the duties Sir Topham performs. I'll also have to make calls to other railways so I can borrow a shunting engine to cover for Thomas while his week off is still going."
And with that, Lord Harwick walked away.
"God, I hate rich people," snorted Edward. "Always using money to get what they want."
"Not all rich people are rotten, Edward," said a familiar voice. "It's only people like Rebecca and her parents who are hellspawn itself."
Conan walked up to Edward.
"Morning, everyone," Conan said.
"Morning, Conan," said the other engines.
"I heard you and Selena are switching jobs? That's gonna be surprising for signalmen."
"Not really," said Olive. "Lord Harwick will make sure to let them all know."
"Well in that case, you want me to clean you anyway?"
"There isn't really a need to be clean when pulling goods trains," said Edward.
"Not…but…could you clean me, please?" asked Selena.
"Right away!"
Conan set to work, cleaning Selena, while Olive's crew prepared her for the day.
"I'll have to oil your axles, Sele," said Conan.
"Leave that to me."
Her fireman began oiling her joints. It felt very pleasing.
Conan continued to clean Selena until there was not even a tiny speck of grime on her.
"You're ready, Sele?"
"Sure I am."
"In that case, follow me." Edward puffed out of the shed, and Selena followed. Olive rolled out of the sheds once they were gone. The yardmaster was waiting when she arrived at the yard
"Your first train is a milk train," he explained. "Due to depart in 20 minutes."
"Right away, sir!" said Olive. She saw the milk vans and came up to them.
"Good morning!" she said. The vans were taken aback!
"What did you just say?!" the lead van asked.
"I said good morning," Olive repeated. "What, Selena doesn't usually talk to you?"
"Uh, well…" the van stammered.
"Well, I'll be your engine today," said Olive. "So let's have ourselves a pleasant journey and talk along the way." With that, she buffered up to the train, making sure she was very gentle. This too took the vans by surprise: Selene normally gave them a little bump before setting off. This engine, they saw, didn't even try to bump them!
As the vans were loaded, Olive started talking to them.
"How long have you been carrying milk?" she asked.
"Whole life," answered the van behind her tender. "It's what I was built for."
"Do you ever…carry anything else?"
"Like what? Marmalade jugs? The King?"
"Gee, I just thought I'd have a conversation," said Olive.
"If it's a conversation you want, tell us about you," the van insisted.
"Alright," said Olive. "I was built in May 1903, as GWR number 3443, after my last brother 3442 City of Exeter, and the brother before that, 3441 City of Winchester, and before him was 3440 City of Truro. He was the first to go over 100 miles per hour, didn't you know?"
"You're kidding me, right?" the van asked. "There's no way any engine can go that fast!"
"Well then," said Olive with a smirk, "why don't I prove it…"
"ARE YOU NUTS?!" the driver shouted. "You do that, you'll turn the milk into butter!"
"Really?!"
"He's right," said the van. "Milk turns to butter if you shake it around too much."
"Oh…I didn't know that. I once took some milk on an express, back in the GWR, but I never thought the milk could become butter."
"I always wondered how the GWR managed to carry milk in their syphons without the milk turning into butter," the van said. "I guess that was one of the few exceptions."
"I heard the process is more complicated than just syphoning," said another van. "Or maybe it has to go faster than 90. And to answer your question about hauling other goods, in theory, we could. We are vans after all."
"But we never have," said a third van. "And likely never will."
"I'll be sure to fix that after this journey," Olive promised. The vans went into silence, unsure of what to think: carrying goods other than milk churns had never been on their mind before. They couldn't ponder this too much though: the guard blew his whistle at that point, and Olive steamed off with her milk train.
Back at the yard, Edward was showing Selena how to handle coaches.
"Coaches, unlike trucks," he explained, "dislike being bumped. They will pay an engine out if you bump them too much. Back up to them slowly, 5 miles per hour will do."
Unfortunately, Selene was too rough on her first try: she banged into the coaches!
"Ouch!" they screamed. "Be gentle!"
"Sorry!" said Selena, embarrassed.
"It's alright Selena," said Edward kindly. "It's only your first time. Just remember to start slowly. You'll get the hang of it soon."
"Hey, Edward…which coaches am I supposed to take? There's so many different types!"
"Around this time, Olive would be pulling a fast train," Edward said. "The corridor coaches would work best for that. These have a gangway at each end."
On a close siding, standing proud and shiny with their cream and green livery, stood said coaches, alongside some saloons.
"The four-wheelers or the eight-wheelers?""
"That depends: which ones have a gangway at each end?"
"What exactly is a gangway?"
"See that black thing on the front and rear?" Edward asked. Selena nodded. "That's what a gangway is, also called a corridor connector." Selena steamed over and made sure to slow down to the right speed. Just like that, she was able to couple up to the coaches gently.
"There you go, you're getting the hang of it!" Edward said proudly. "Just remember: a gentle stop and start is all that's needed."
Selena gave a smile.
"Thanks for your advice, Edward," she said. "I think I'll be good for a while." With that, she gently pulled the coaches out of the yard and into the station.
The passengers didn't seem to mind that Olive wasn't pulling their train: they gathered around her.
"Look at how shiny and beautiful this red engine is!" they exclaimed. Selena found herself enjoying the attention.
"Wow! This is amazing, I'm popular!" she said with pride. "That's it, I'm never going back to pulling dirty trucks!"
The coaches became nervous when they heard this: already, this engine was starting to get a big smokebox.
"Alright, everybody, that's enough!" said the stationmaster. "Train's due to leave soon, get on board!" The passengers did so, much to Selena's fury.
"What did you do that for?!" Selena asked angrily. "I was enjoying their attention!"
"You can enjoy their attention more after you finish this journey," said the stationmaster firmly. At that moment, the guard blew his whistle. "Right, that's your cue! Now, get moving."
Selena gave two blasts of her whistle and began to pull away, but the train was heavier than she expected. Her wheels began to slip as she strained to start the train!
"Come on! Come on!" she huffed. "Get moving!"
"Pull harder! Pull harder!" said a coach.
"You're too weak!" taunted another. Selena was now furious.
"I'll show you weak!" she shouted, and she went to full speed. At last, she felt herself moving.
"There we go, there we go," said Selena, relieved that she was finally underway. Her driver slowed her down after that. Edward saw the whole thing and gulped.
"I sure hope she doesn't get too cocky," he said.
As Selena left the yard, Conan was taking a bite out of a sandwich, while Thomas, who was now back in service, told him about the lawsuit.
"He did what?!"
"Yeah, I find that hard to believe too," the E2 admitted.
"That's how a coward acts…want a bite?"
"No thanks: I'm an engine, no need to eat," said Thomas.
"Still, have you ever actually tried?"
"No, actually…could you give me a bite?"
Selene made her first stop at Crovan's Gate, where Rheneas was waiting with Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemina, and Beatrice.
"Not everyday I see you on passenger trains, Selena," said Rheneas. "I must say, you do look good pulling coaches."
"Good? Only the best," Selena boasted. "After all, I'm a splendid red engine, everybody knows it. They all come in crowds just to see me and admire my beautiful red paint."
Rheneas suddenly frowned.
"Don't you think you're getting a little too big for your buffers?" he asked.
"Oh please!" Selena scoffed. "You're just jealous that you can never be as bright and beautiful as me!"
"Then that must make you colour-blind: we're both painted red," Rheneas said, a cheeky grin on his face.
"Well…my red is brighter!" Selena snapped. "And ten times better than that ugly blue your coaches are wearing!"
"Ooooooh!" screamed the coaches. "How dare she!"
"Jeez, for such a bright and beautiful engine, you certainly are rude," Rheneas pointed out.
"Oh, so being honest is rude now, is it Rhen?" scoffed Selena.
"There's a time to be honest, and a time to be kind," replied Rheneas firmly. "And your honesty wasn't welcome: even if what you said is true, these five coaches are still beautiful."
"Whatever," Selena snorted. The guard blew his whistle and Selena went on her way once again.
"She's gonna be in for trouble," Rheneas sighed.
While Selena had been chatting with Rheneas, Olive had arrived at Maron. She waited in the platform as the milk churns were unloaded.
"You better be careful here," the lead van warned. "That incline you're about to go down is really steep."
"I know: I've been down it millions of times," Olive said in a deadpan way.
"With coaches, yes," said the van. "But have you ever taken trucks down it before?"
"No, I haven't," Olive admitted.
"Then I'll tell you now: we trucks have handbrakes. They must be applied manually by the guard and your crew. You fail to stop and do this, it can cause a runaway. And trust me, nobody wants to become a runaway. Except for maybe a few trucks that are idiots and don't know better."
"Yikes! I had no idea pulling trucks could be so dangerous!"
"It gets safer after a while," the lead van said. "The more you practise, the easier it gets."
"Thanks for the encouragement," said Olive with a smile. The guard blew his whistle.
"Wait, what about the handbrakes?!" Olive pointed out.
"We'll apply them when we're close to the incline," her driver explained. "It'll be too long of a drag if we apply them now."
Olive gulped as she approached the top of the incline, unable to help feeling nervous.
They stopped at the top, near behind a sign that said, "All trains stop to pin down brakes." Olive waited patiently as the brakes were pinned down by the crew and guard. Once the guard gave the all clear, they set off once more. With the brakes pinned and her own brakes applied, Olive managed to make it down the incline with no trouble. When she reached the bottom, she stopped and waited for the brakes to be released. Afterwards, she pulled into Wellsworth.
"Right on time!" said the stationmaster.
"Why, thank you."
The last remaining milk churns were unloaded, while Olive told more stories of her time in the GWR to the vans.
"I miss the GWR at times…" she sighed.
"Why?" asked a van.
Olive opened her mouth to speak, but a familiar whistle interrupted her thoughts.
"That sounds like Selena," she said. It was indeed Selena, who glided gracefully into the station platform. Well, gracefully in her eyes. In truth, she was very rough as she braked to a stop. Selena didn't care about that though: the passengers on the platform started to admire her paintwork.
"Yes, that's right people, adore me! I'm much better looking than that drab Olive!"
"I'm standing right here, stupid," Olive said.
"Ah, Olive, so nice to see you at your new job," Selena said proudly. "I hope you enjoy it: you're stuck with it now."
"You're kidding me right?" Olive asked, annoyed. "Our agreement was to only swap for today."
"Well there's been a change of plan," Selena said smugly. "I'm not touching dirty trucks again. I mean, look at everybody: they're admiring my shiny red paint!"
"You best be careful with that, youngster," Olive warned. "You'll get yourself into trouble."
"Of course you'd say that, mule, being unable to accept that you're now a low, grimy goods engine, while I will be taking all the glory with these passenger trains!"
"It's not just about glory," Olive said. "There's also the need to be gentle."
"Well you just wait and see how gentle I can be when I fly by with this express on my return journey!"
At that moment, Selena's guard blew his whistle. The 3835 departed, bumping the coaches slightly once more.
"This is why I hate red engines," Olive sighed. "Always putting their appearance over doing a good job. Even so," she continued, her face becoming one of worry, "I've never seen Selena act like this before!"
"That's what happens when you pull a passenger train for the first time and people start admiring your appearance," the van said in response. "You start to only want to pull passenger trains. I just hope she realises how stupid she's being soon."
"Me too, friend," Olive said. "Me too."
Arriving at Tidmouth in grand fashion, Selena stopped and stood at the platform, happy to be admired.
"There's no time to waste," said her driver. "We have to get you ready for the return journey."
"Oh, shut up! You'll never be as admired as I am. Let me have my time."
After 15 minutes, however, the driver had enough.
"It's time we go, Selena: we need to prepare for our next train."
"Fine! I'm going."
After being turned, Selena collected the 6-wheeler coaches for her next train, banging them just as hard, and stopping on the platform just as roughly.
Her trip back to Vicarstown was equally rough, with the addition of more rough stops in every station Selena passed. She didn't notice, however, nor care. She was too busy enjoying herself and being horrid to everyone else.
The hours went by, and soon, Selena returned to Vicarstown for the final time, as the last express of the day had reached its destination. An engine from the Furness railway was waiting at the platform, coaches ready to take some of Selena's passengers towards the mainland.
After being praised for her paint a bit more, Selena whistled, and went back towards the sheds.
At around the same time Selena had finished her final journey of the day, Conan found himself walking around Vicarstown, worried about the trial: Mr. Fernby was clearly making sure all the odds were stacked in his favour and he couldn't see a way out of it. Conan tried very hard to think of ways he could help prove the Fat Director's innocence, but none came to mind. And even if he did get an idea, he knew all too well it would be complicated by all the legal stuff he couldn't understand.
"Guess it's over," he said to himself, sitting down on a bench. "There's no way Sir Topham can win this."
Nearby was a field where some cheerleaders were practising their routine, many young girls were given a chance once the war began and boys of all ages were sent to the front, Conan had only managed to avoid the draft because his brother volunteered for the army. The leader of these, an orange-haired girl around Conan's age with hair going down to her waist, was about to jump off the ground and do a flip when she spotted Conan. She stopped, noticing how unhappy he looked.
"Is everything ok Jewelie?" one of the other cheerleaders asked.
"Lucy," said the lead cheerleader, "take over. I have something to do."
Without waiting for an answer, the girl left the cheerleaders and walked over to Conan.
"Hello there," she said. "Is everything ok?"
Conan looked up, hearing the unfamiliar voice.
"What concern is it of yours?" he asked.
"Gee, I was just asking," the girl said, sitting down next to him. "I can tell something is upsetting you. If you tell me, I might be able to help you."
"You have any knowledge of how law works?" Conan asked. "Don't see how you can help me otherwise."
"I may not have any knowledge of the law," said the girl, "but maybe I can help you if you tell me what the problem is."
Conan tried to think of something to say, to hide the truth, but he just sighed and confessed everything, from Rebecca damaging Emily, to her father's lawsuit against the Fat Director.
"Oh my!" exclaimed the girl when he finished. "I don't understand how anybody could sue Sir Topham Hatt!"
"Me neither," said Conan. "Worst part is Fernby's rigging the whole thing to make sure he wins: no witnesses are allowed to testify. It's like he knows he'll fail otherwise."
The two sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. Eventually, the girl spoke.
"Listen, you see this uniform I'm wearing?"
"It's a cheerleading uniform, right?"
"Yes, that's right. I'm the head cheerleader of my cheerleading squad. I've been cheerleading since I was 10 training under my dad, who's also a cheerleader, and been working hard. Cheerleading isn't easy: it requires a lot of stamina just to do one stunt, and the training can often lead to injuries. But through hard work and determination, I managed to get to the position of head cheerleader right after trying out at school! Hard work may not be able to stop Sir Topham Hatt getting found guilty, but things always have a way of turning around when they get bad. I myself once broke my leg doing a stunt, and I thought it was all over. But my fellow cheerleaders and my family helped me through the healing process, and I'm still cheerleading!"
"Are you saying a miracle can happen?" asked Conan.
"Of course!" the cheerleader replied with a smile. "You just gotta look on the bright side and hope things will get better!"
"Not sure hope can help," said Conan with a sigh. "Fernby's got way too much money: he could easily crush any of that with bribes."
The cheerleader thought about this, then stood up.
"How about this? You come over and watch us practise. You never know: you might get inspired."
"Don't know what else I can do," said Conan. He followed the girl back to the field.
"Jewelie, why are you bringing this boy here?" Lucy asked. "This is a practise session, not rapid dating."
"Lucy, try to be nice," said Jewelie firmly. "This boy, uh…"
"Conan, the name's Conan."
"Thanks. Anyway, Conan here will be watching us, he's been feeling down and needs something to lift his spirits. So please, just tolerate him."
"Alright, only because you're the head cheerleader," Lucy said. "Now come on, let's get this practice over with."
"Any of you got eyemasks?" Conan asked. "I don't want to accidentally see your panties should the wind blow up your skirts."
"Not everyday you see a boy who isn't a pervert," one of the other cheerleaders remarked. "Unfortunately, we don't. Just try to look away whenever the bottoms become visible."
"Of course," Conan promised, and he sat down far enough that he wasn't in the way, but close enough that he could see the action.
Conan watched as Jewelie led them through an elaborate display of stunts. He couldn't help but feel amazed.
*Insert cheerleading routing here*
When it was over, Jewelie walked over to Conan.
"See that, Conan? All of us put ourselves at great risk to do such stunts. If we can do that, then something can happen that will expose Fernby's corruption."
"You really think so?" Conan asked.
"I know so!" Jewelie smiled. "Just smile and hope for the best! And even if it doesn't work out, there's always a bright side!" Conan couldn't help but grin at this: Jewelie, he thought, was a really helpful girl.
"Thanks Jewelie!" he said happily, standing up. "See you around!"
And he ran off skipping, his spirits now lifted.
"Wait," said Lucy, "he just said Fernby. Does he mean…"
"Samy Fernby, I think so," added a cheerleader. "He once tried to bribe my dad into giving his daughter the lead role in a production of Peter Pan."
"Did he give it to her?"
"At first, no," said the cheerleader. "But didn't have a choice when Fernby threatened to frame him for a crime if he didn't take the bribe. Doubt it was worth it: the daughter was not a good performer."
"Don't tell me she ruined the play!"
"Nearly did."
As they kept talking, Conan ran back to the station, an idea on his mind.
"If only we can sneak a witness, or play by Fernby's own rules…"
"Hey, Connie~"
Conan stopped dead in his tracks: he knew that voice.
"Oh no, not her."
But it was: Rebecca ran up to him, hearts in her eyes.
"How are you, my dear? Ready to become my boyfriend?"
"In your dreams," said Conan.
"Connie, we are in my dreams," Rebecca said. "The dreams of our eternal love together!"
"And what makes you think I'd date you after what you and your dad did to Sir Topham Hatt?"
"He was in the way of our love!"
"I've told you a million times, I don't love you!"
"Yes, you do. You're just in denial."
"You're the one in denial," Conan retorted.
"I'm not, Connie. And where were you?"
"Why do you care?"
"You're my boyfriend, I should know what you're doing at all times," Rebecca insisted. Conan rolled his eyes, tired of Rebecca's stalking. He turned around and walked away.
"You weren't with another girl, were you?"
Conan stopped hearing this: how did she know?! Was she spying on him?
"You were! Who was that homewrecker?!"
"That's not your concern," Conan said. "My life is my life, and you've no right to get involved in it." He continued walking off, unaware Rebecca was glaring intently at him.
"Oh you're wrong," she said. "I DO have a right to get involved. I'll find out who you're seeing and make her back off. Nobody steals my Connie and gets away with it…"
She began to run towards him. Considering she always wore heels, that was a feat.
"Can I show you something, Connie~?"
"Not interested," Conan said firmly.
"Are you sure? It's quite the sight~"
"I said no, and that's final."
Suddenly, he felt something hit the back of his head.
"OW!" He stopped and rubbed the spot where the object had hit him. "What was that?!"
"My intent was to flash you to get your attention," said Rebecca. "But since you ignored me…"
"I didn't ignore you," said Conan. "I said no, plain and simple."
To Rebecca, it wasn't plain and simple. If something was not done how she wanted, she would have to take it herself.
"You're coming with me."
She reached out to grab his hand, but Conan thought quickly and slapped hers away.
"You don't control me and you don't own me, I'm my own person and you need to stop bothering me!" Conan ran off before Rebecca could reply.
"We shall see about that…" she muttered.
Later, Conan arrived at the sheds, where Thomas was arguing with Selena.
"You're only a tank engine, you don't know…"
"I know well enough. Letting you pull coaches was a bad idea."
"What is going on here?" asked Conan.
Thomas noticed his partner approaching.
"What's going on here is Selena is refusing to pull goods trains," Thomas answered, feeling annoyed.
"Why is this going on? You never had a problem with goods trains before," Conan pointed out.
"That was before this morning: the passengers all admired my red shiny paintwork. That was when I realised: my paint was too shiny to be exposed to dirt."
"Not all goods trains are dirty," Conan pointed out. "I mean, milk for example…"
"That's not the point!"
"What is the point, then?"
"The point is, splendid red engines like me shouldn't be on any goods train, we should only pull passenger trains," Selena stated. "Goods trains are bad for our swerves!"
"Pah!" snorted Thomas. "Engines are engines, we do whatever jobs we're given. Honestly, you're beginning to sound like Lily."
"Don't compare me to that Yorkshire bitch!" Selena shouted. "At least I don't give other engines orders."
"You're still acting immature," Thomas pointed out. "Refusing to pull any trains that aren't passenger trains, Edward tells me all jobs are important."
"What does that old iron know?" Selena huffed. "He'll be stuck in the shed before long."
"So that's how you see me, is it?"
Selena jumped: she hadn't realised Edward was also in the shed!
"No, Edward, I didn't mean anything by it!" she faultered.
"The way you're acting tells me differently," Edward said sternly. "Thomas is right: you're starting to act like Lily. Since this is how you feel about me, I'll take my leave. But know this: pride comes before a fall."
And with that, Edward went onto the turntable.
"I'm coming with you," said Thomas. "I don't want to be anywhere near this red monster right now."
"I wholeheartedly understand your reasoning," Edward said kindly, buffering up to Thomas and coupling up. "Let's head down to Crovan's Gate: Skarloey and Rheneas will love to see you again."
"At least those two red engines don't boast about their paintwork as much as she does," Thomas remarked. "She's like a siren with all the attention she gets!"
The two engines laughed and left Selena alone. Conan just glared.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Selena asked. Conan didn't say anything: he turned around and walked away, planning to catch a bus to take him to Crovan's Gate. "Silly stick-in-the-muds," huffed Selena. "What do they know? Edward was painted red once, I feel all that blue made him forget that."
On his way to the bus station, Conan ran into Jewelie again.
"Oh, it's you! Hello again!"
"Uh, hey Jewelie," said Conan. "I see you're done with cheerleading practise."
"Wouldn't exactly say I finished," Jewelie admitted. "We just got into a discussion about all the immoral things Fernby did with his money and, well, I'm not sure. I guess we decided we didn't have the heart to practise anymore."
"Can't say I blame you," Conan admitted. "Whenever he or his daughter want something, they'll stop at nothing to get it. Sadly, I'm included in that."
"You are? How?"
"His daughter Rebecca keeps trying to make me her boyfriend. I tell her no, but she refuses to accept that."
"How long has she been chasing you?" Jewelie asked.
"Two years. It started one day when me and my brother, Noah, were working on Fernby's yard. He accidentally stirred a hornet's nest, and the bugs proceeded to attack us. I had to protect Rebecca, else we would lose our job there. Unfortunately, that act convinced her I was the right man for her."
"And she began to stalk you?"
"Very much so. No matter what I try, she never understands I don't like her."
"It's not your fault, Conan: that girl is trapped in a fairy tale," Jewelie sympathised. "I don't know what exactly, but it's clear something is wrong with her brain."
"Tell me about it," said Conan. "They say violence isn't the answer, but…I don't know. I feel like slapping her is the only way she'll see sense."
"I know the feeling," Jewelie admitted. "Honestly, if violence isn't the answer, why is all of Europe fighting in a war? If you ask me, society is hypocritical. In fact, I'm willing to bet the guy who first said that violence isn't the answer didn't even think of trying to use it."
"I agree with you. Thanks, Jewelie."
"No problem, Conan," Jewelie smiled.
At that moment, the bus arrived, and Conan entered, kissing Jewelie's hand goodbye before getting on.
Jewelie blushed a bit, but smiled and waved.
Later, the yard at Crovan's Gate was under heavy operation, both in the standard and narrow gauge tracks: Skarloey was taking a turn on the trains, leaving Rheneas to talk to Thomas and Edward.
"I did try to warn Selena not to let her appearance get to her smokebox," Rheneas said, "but she's become a near-clone of Lily. She even had the audacity to insult our coaches!"
"It's like she's become a completely different engine," Thomas remarked. "She even called Edward an old iron! What did he ever do to her?!"
"Skarloey was like that when he first arrived too, Thomas," said Rheneas. "He only wanted to pull coaches, not trucks. Of course, men in those days didn't understand engines as much as they do now, and after many failed attempts to steam him up, they just sheeted him for a while to avoid looking at his sulky face."
"So why's he in steam now?" Thomas asked.
"The manager at the time, Mr. Mack, brought over the man who helped build him and I, Mr. Bobbie, who helped Skarloey see sense. But not really enough: he was bouncy and cocky for a while."
"At least he learned sense," Edward sighed. "I fear it may be too late for Selena."
"If you fear it's too late," said Rheneas firmly, "you'll have to force her to see sense."
"And how exactly do we do that?" Edward asked.
"Trickery. If she doesn't know that there's mud in the line, for example…"
The two standard gauge engines knew at once what Rheneas was getting at.
"Well, we can certainly give it a try," said Edward, "but we'll need to check with Lord Harwick first: can't cause too much disturbance to other services."
"Why Lord Harwick?" Rheneas asked. "Isn't your Fat Director the one who looks after the railway?"
"Haven't you heard?" Conan asked. "Sir Topham Hatt's been framed for abusing the daughter of Samy Fernby!"
"I shoulda known Fernby would be behind this," Rheneas huffed. "Skarloey and I never liked him: he once tried to buy out our railway through a hostile takeover, and I mean hostile. Fortunately, he didn't succeed, but his wife, Amy, didn't take it too well."
"Why would Fernby want to own your railway?" Conan asked.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe he wanted the power that comes from owning a company. Amy, however, is worse."
"Define worse," said Edward.
"I'd rather not," gulped Rheneas. "Just thinking about it makes my wheels wobble!"
"I agree with him," said Conan. "I've spent more time near that family than I should have."
"Then why not leave them?" Edward asked.
"If I could, I would have by now," Conan said. "Trouble is, Fernby threatened to sue my family for something. I don't really know all the details, but I do know my grandparents can't afford to fight a lawsuit. Working there once a week is the only thing stopping Fernby from ruining my grandparents."
"There's also his daughter, Rebecca," Thomas put in. "She'd never let him leave! And even if he did manage to leave, she'd just follow Conan wherever he tries to go!"
"Those Fernbys are really despicable people," said Rheneas. "The day one of his lawsuits backfires, I'll ask our owner, Mr. Handel Brown, to throw a party. Honestly, where do they get the idea money gives them power over the world?"
"I met this cheerleader named Jewelie. She told me that miracles can happen… And that's what we need right now."
"And what kind of miracle would help us?" Thomas asked. "Fernby's ensured none can happen: he bribed the judge and jury to allow the trial to run his way. I mean, why else would they not allow witness testimony?"
"We shall see, Thomas," said Edward. "Maybe we can still turn this around."
"I hope so," Thomas said, feeling worried. "I know what Fernby will demand the Fat Director give him should he win."
Rheneas was about to ask what that would be, but he soon found he didn't need to: a shudder from the E2, as well as the worried look, told the well tank everything he needed to know.
"You?! Why?!"
"Rebecca threatened to have me scrapped after I insulted her," Thomas explained. "I think her dad wants to make sure she can do that."
"Gee, talk about being petty!" huffed Rheneas.
"What's this I hear about being petty?" Skarloey asked, pulling up next to Rheneas.
As the situation was explained to him, Skarloey grew angrier and angrier. "Why that insolent son of a…" and he bumped some trucks hard. The pair were sent racketting down to a siding where Conan had seated, and hit him square on!
He wasn't hurt, apparently due to sheer miracle.
"I'm alive! But how?"
"Good question!" Rheneas admitted. "No human could survive something like that without getting broken bones at the very least!"
"Didn't you say you took a drink of black water, Conan?" asked Skarloey, causing Edward to pale.
"B-B-B-B-B-Black water?!" he shrieked. "He took a drink of Black water?!"
"Relax, It's not…" Conan was cut off by Edward.
"Of course it's a big deal! You've bound your life to that of Thomas! Do you have any idea of what that entrails?!"
"Eh…no?"
"You have a permanent bond! Anything, be it feelings, emotions, and also physical damage is now shared between both of you! That's why you were unhurt: those trucks were loaded too lightly!"
"I see…what do you know, exactly?"
Edward looked down at his buffers sadly.
"I used to have a Water Bond when I lived on the Furness," he admitted. "We got along well until he fell in love. When she rejected him, he didn't take it too well."
"Don't tell me he killed himself!"
Edward said nothing.
"My God…how are you still alive?"
"It's a good question, Conan," Edward admitted. "I've often wondered that myself. Most bonded engines and people die when the other dies."
"Did you know or feel when it happened?" Thomas asked.
"I felt some kind of pain in my boiler, four years before coming to this railway," Edward answered. "It felt like somebody had struck a sword through me."
"That must've hurt!" Thomas exclaimed.
"Very much," Edward confirmed. "I'm still surprised I didn't die that day."
"Ok, I'm confused: why is it Black Water that bonds people to engines? Shouldn't it be Green Water?" Rheneas asked.
"I know something Clive told me when he was still alive," answered Skarloey. "An old legend from the days of King Godred, that talks about how life springs from death."
"How does this legend go?" Conan asked.
"It's quite an interesting story," Skarloey said. "But I don't know if I'll have time: I have another train to take out soon."
"Not anymore you don't," said Rheneas. "I'll take this turn."
"But you aren't in steam," Skarloey pointed out. "You'll be very behind schedule by the time your fire is burning nicely."
"Better behind schedule than no train at all," said Rheneas. "Besides, we each run one at a time: there shouldn't really be any delays."
"Alright, if you insist," Skarloey said. "I'll tell the story to you when you return."
Skarloey's fireman began preparing Rheneas while the driver went to inform the manager of the Skarloey.
Hot coal was shovelled from Skarloey to Rheneas, and by the time the driver returned, the latter was producing a large quantity of steam. Rheneas collected the empty trucks and then did the same with the coaches. He was coupled on and waited for the guard to blow his whistle. Agnes, of course, wasn't pleased to have trucks in front of her.
"I'm a first-class coach!" she complained. "I shouldn't be travelling behind dirty, smelly trucks!"
"That's quite enough out of you," Rheneas said firmly. "These trucks are needed back at the slate quarry. There shall be no nonsense."
Agnes just sniffed.
"Well, you three," asked Skarloey, "shall I begin?"
"Of course," said Edward, Thomas, and Conan.
"Very well then," said Skarloey. "The legend behind black water is as follows: "
"Back during the days of Godred MacHarold, better known by us as King Orry, a river was discovered, flowing with black-coloured water. Someone brought a cup of said water to the king, hoping it would kill him. Instead, the king is said to have seen the future."
"What did he see?"
"Nobody knows. The most accepted theory is that he saw a place called "The Magic Railway." Where the magic water flowed from, and, as the legend says, he saw said water give rise to sentient vehicles many years after his own death."
"That's impossible!" snorted Thomas. "Railways weren't a thing back in Mediaeval times!"
"That's why it's called a legend, young Thomas," said Skarloey. " Nobody knows for sure if it's true or not."
"Just because railways didn't exist back then doesn't mean he wouldn't have seen a vision of them," Conan pointed out. "As he said, magic is said to be involved."
"All the same, Thomas is right about something," said Edward. "Even if he did see a railway, he wouldn't have known what it was."
"Yes, that is true," Skarloey said. "Some details may have been lost to time."
"I see…"
For a while, nobody said anything, until Edward noticed Olive approaching with the late night goods train.
"Hullo!" she whistled. "Lovely night , wouldn't you agree?"
"Yes, a very lovely night indeed," Edward said slowly. Olive thought nothing of this, but one of the trucks behind her did.
"He sounds…sad…concerned…" he said to the truck behind him.
"Not our problem," this truck replied.
"Of course it is: Edward treats us well! Why shouldn't we be worried about him?"
"We're trucks, not therapists. Our job is to be loaded with goods and deliver it to wherever it's needed."
"I really hate you sometimes, ULP."
"Everything ok back there trucks?" Olive asked.
"Yes, dear Olive, everything is fine," said ULP. But the truck behind her wasn't so optimistic.
"Edward sounded rather sad when he responded to you asking him if it was a lovely day," the truck told her. "That's not normal for Edward. Do you think Selena said something that really hurt him?"
Olive thought about this.
"Maybe," she said, "but Edward's not the type to get offended so easily. If Selena said something that hurt him, it must've been extremely bad!"
"Maybe he's just being sensitive over nothing."
"Shut up, ULP!"
"Alright, alright! Geez!"
Olive was starting to see why engines preferred coaches.
"Do you trucks really need to argue?" she asked. "We are almost there. Wait until we get back to the yard."
"Sorry."
Once Olive arrived at Vicarstown with her late night goods, she was told to go to the sheds for a rest. Good thing too, as it had started to rain.
There, Olive ran into Selena, who seemed deep in thought for some reason.
"Everything ok, Selena?" Olive asked. Selena didn't answer. Olive blasted her whistle, but still nothing. "How'd you enjoy pulling passengers for a change?" Olive knew this wasn't the best question to ask, but Selena wasn't usually this quiet. "Well," Olive said, realising Selena probably wasn't going to speak, "if you ever want to talk, just let me know."
Selena was mostly thinking about how to pay back the other engines. She could, however, think of no convincing plan, as she was too focused on how she was praised.
"I'm truly splendid," she muttered. "I'll show them, I'll soon be the new express engine full-time."
Her driver had informed Lord Harwick the switch would last another day. If she managed to impress him, however, she could become an express engine permanently.
It was raining hard the next morning, as Thomas brought the corridor coaches to the platform, for Selena had refused to collect them herself. Once he did that, Selena backed down onto the train, giving the coaches a bump.
"Ow! Be careful!"
"Oh relax, girls," said Selena. "It wasn't that hard!" But it was: the front coach noticed something felt off with her front gangway. She was about to inform the stationmaster, but then she remembered how roughly Selena had treated her and the other coaches throughout the day before. This was the chance for payback!
"You're right, Selena!" the lead coach said, acting as innocently as she could. "It wasn't that hard, I must've misjudged it. Please continue on, you grand, spending engine."
"Why thank you, my dear lady," Selena said proudly. "Enjoy the ride: we'll be on our way in no time!"
At that moment, Thomas passed over a muddy section of track on the second platform. The mud splattered all over Selena!
"Ew! You stupid tank engine, you ruined my paintwork!" Selena screeched.
"Haha! Serves you right, stick-in-the-mud!" laughed Thomas, and he ran off back to the yard.
"Is there any time to get me cleaned?" Selena asked her driver. "I cannot be seen pulling a passenger train like this!" The guard blew his whistle at that moment.
"Sorry girl," said her driver. "We have to get going. Perhaps you should've thought of that before being rude to everyone yesterday."
Selena was about to complain and refuse to go without a cleaning, but then she realised that this was something Lily would do. Deciding she didn't want to be anything like Lily, the 3835 reluctantly whistled and tried to depart. Once more, her wheels spun as she tried to move the heavy train.
"Come on! Come on!" she groaned. Suddenly there was a crunching and banging sound from the train and the coaches became a lot lighter! Selena soon found herself on the move. "There we go, there we go," she said. But her driver, concerned about the sounds, looked back, then applied Selena's brakes.
"What's going on?!" Selena asked. "There's no need to stop here!"
"Yes there is," the driver said. "Look behind you." Selena did so, and gasped: the gangway had been torn off the coach and was now lying on the ground! The coaches were still at the platform, and the passengers buzzed out, shouting angrily.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" Selena panicked. "We need to get out of here before another engine sees me!"
But it was too late: Olive rolled towards her, having heard the commotion. She stopped before the station, and surveyed the scene. It didn't take too long to figure out what happened.
"Flying by with the express, are you? That's a good engine. But here's a tip: you should really take the whole train, not just the gangway." Selena was too embarrassed to reply. "Nevermind, Selena," said Olive with a smile. "We'll soon have this all cleared up."
"Well we won't be travelling behind her!" a passenger shouted. "That red engine's way too violent!"
With no time to repair the coach on the spot, a new one had to be collected to replace it. After the damaged gangway was taken off the tracks, Olive moved the damaged coach into a siding, then collected another brake coach and shunted it onto the train. There also wasn't any time to turn Olive around, meaning she had to run to Tidmouth tender-first once the passengers in the previous coach boarded the replacement. Selena just went into a siding, thinking about how horrid she had been to everyone else.
"You want me to clean you now?" her driver asked innocently. Selena just sighed.
"No," she said sadly. "Leave this mud on: I deserve it after how horrid I was to everybody else."
For the rest of the day, Selena returned to pulling goods trains. She didn't think about her paint, she didn't think about glory, she just thought about doing her work, contemplating her behaviour while doing so.
When night fell, Selena returned to Vicarstown Sheds, and parked herself next to Olive.
"Olive," she said, "I'm sorry for my rude behaviour. I don't know what came over me!"
"That's alright, Selena," said Olive. "We're all like that in our younger days, especially when we pull coaches for the first time. Tell you what: I can teach you how to haul coaches without pulling away corridor connectors and letting the compliments on your appearance go to your smokebox."
"That's very kind of you, Olive," said Selena, "but right now, I'll pass: I'd rather stick to goods trains for a while:, it's what I was built to haul anyway."
"I might ask Lord Harwick to let me keep helping you with goods anyway," Olive said. "Did you know trucks make good conversation partners?"
Selena listened as Olive told her about all the conversations she had with trucks throughout the day before. Needless to say, the two engines had started to become good friends. Olive fell asleep eventually, but Selena waited until Edward and Thomas returned.
"I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday and today," she said to them. "And for calling you an old iron Edward."
"Humph!" snorted Thomas.
"Now now, Thomas," said Edward sternly, "it's not healthy to hold a grudge. She said she's sorry."
"Well don't expect me to forgive her so easily," Thomas said, and he went to sleep.
"Don't worry, Selena: I forgive you," Edward said soothingly. "I could never stay mad at you."
Selena just smiled: she didn't need to say anything.
The next morning, an unfamiliar whistle woke the other engines up.
"Who was that?" asked Edward.
"I don't know," said Olive. "But I have to guess, I'd say it's our new heavy goods engine."