Welcome to the first Spooktober story of 2023!

First up is an original story involving the pack and its canceled character, Nigel.

Enjoy!

"Nigel"

Starring
Liam Fitzgerald as Buster

David Boyle as Kelly

Narrow Gauge as Nelson

and
Shunter Productions as Nigel

It was another day on the Island of Sodor.

Miss Jenny's Pack was making a new engine shed at Great Waterton. It was to house more engines.

"When was the last time we had a project to do here?" asked Jack.

"Probably since we helped restore the whole town." said Oliver.

"Any word from Nelson with the structure supports?" asked Kelly.

"He should be on his way now." said his operator.

Buster rolled over the rough surfaces for the shed floor.

"Look at that! A work of art!" Buster said proudly.

"Good work Buster." Miss Jenny praised. "Keep this up there won't be any bumpy floors for any crew or workman to walk on."

Buster beamed. "Thank you Miss Jenny!"

At that moment, Nelson pulled in. Timber and tiles were on his low loader flatbed.

"Here we are Miss Jenny!" Nelson called. "The timber needed for the structure of the sheds."

"Spot on Nelson! You make a mother proud." Miss Jenny praised.

"How come none of the engines dropped off the timber?" asked Brenda, pushing some dirt aside.

"Sir Topham Hatt's engines are all busy with their own work." Miss Jenny replied. "And I didn't want to overwork Kelly since he's doing a lot of the heavy lifting."

Buster watched the scene ahead of him. "Must be nice being able to transport goods." he hummed.

Jack pulled up alongside the steamroller.

"You daydreaming again, Buster?" he teased.

"Just commenting on Nelson's job, that's all." Buster replied.

Jack looked at Nelson. "He does do a good job with transport." he said. "Whether it's those of us that are slow, or building materials from the engines when they can't reach the sight."

"He's just as good as Nigel." said Patrick as he rolled past.

Buster blinked. "Nigel? Who's Nigel?" he asked.

"You got me." Jack said, unsure himself. "I've heard the name Nigel from time to time but I've never actually got the chance to ask about him. I mean, we are busy almost all the time."

Buster hummed in thought.

As the day passed by, Buster still couldn't help but think about Nigel. But he was so focused on figuring out who Nigel was that he almost flattened some stacks of slate.

"Buster stop!" shouted Isobella.

Buster skidded to a stop.

"Watch what you're doing clumsy roller!" Isobella said crossly. "You almost wrecked the slate for the roof!"

"Sorry." Buster said sheepishly.

Buster decided to try to get some answers when he wasn't busy. He decided to ask the Pack members that had been around more than him.

He rolled up next to Byron.

"Do you know a Nigel?" Buster asked.

"Can't say I have." said Byron, moving some rubble to the side. "I've been a part of the Pack for a long time but I never met a Nigel before."

"Hey Byron! I need your help over with this part of the foundation!" called Brenda.

"On my way!" said Byron, rushing to help his fellow bulldozer.

Next he tried Oliver.

"Oh my no." Oliver said politely. "I've never heard of any Nigel around these parts. And I've been here for a long time."

He was tempted to ask Max and Monty… but decided against it.

"You were supposed to dump that rubble there!" scowled Max.

"No you were!" Monty snapped back. "I dumped it in a better spot out of the way!"

"How was it 'out of the way' when I almost crashed into it?!" Max growled.

"Knock it off you two!" Kelly said crossly as he came up. "Miss Jenny doesn't want any trouble around here and we don't need you two arguing and getting in a tizzy!"

"Yes Kelly." the dumptrucks sulked.

Buster realized that Kelly might be the answer to his question. But he was called away to do another job. So he decided to do it tonight.

That evening, the work was over for the night.

"I will see you all back at the sheds." said Miss Jenny. "Remember to take care. It's gonna be foggy tonight by the time you get back."

"We'll do our best Miss Jenny!" Jack piped up.

"We'll be careful." chuckled Kelly.

With that, the vehicles began to head back for home one by one after being refueled.

Buster traveled down the road at night as a thick mist coated around the island. The red steamroller looked around. The trees looked pretty spooky in the dead of night. Even the stars in the sky couldn't help ease things up as Buster traveled down the road.

"I never knew the night could look so spooky." he commented.

Buster began to feel uneasy as he continued on his way. But then he started to feel like he wasn't alone, and he didn't mean just his driver. He began to hear a whirring noise behind him.

"Hello? Is someone there?" he nervously asked.

"Just me Buster." his driver chuckled.

"No not you driver." Buster said. "Don't you hear that whirring noise? I think-"

Buster was suddenly cut off when a large shape whizzed by him. It almost looked like an old road truck of shorts with its headlights on, shining through the mist, stopping right in front of him.

Buster skidded to a stop in shock.

"Bust my roller, what was that?!" Buster cried.

"I dunno." said his driver. "But that was VERY close."

Buster saw the lights up ahead suddenly go out.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Buster called out crossly. "You almost caused an accident!"

But then the mist cleared. And to Buster's shock, the vehicle was nowhere to be seen.

"What the… where did it go?!" Buster asked in shock.

"That's strange." said his driver before he spotted something. "Holy sidewalks it's a tree branch!"

Buster looked and saw that a large broken tree branch was on the roach. It wasn't just the log part but it was covered in various sticks sticking out all over the place like a prickly porcupine.

"It must've broken off of that old tree." his driver said, noticing a tree by the road. "If you hit it, you might've swerved off the road."

"I could've flattened it." Buster pointed out.

"True but given all the sticks on this thing it might've gotten caught on your roller or even against your face." his driver pointed out. "Then you would've swerved off the road from shock or pain had we not seen it in time."

Buster was taken aback. "Oh my. Well then I guess it's a good thing that vehicle stopped me." he said. "But… who was it?"

Buster eventually made it back to the sheds.

Most of the Pack was asleep. But Kelly was still up on the far end. Buster pulled up to him.

"There you are Buster." he said.

"Hey Kelly." Buster greeted before he looked around. "Kinda empty tonight." he commented.

"Well some of our friends are needed elsewhere on the island for tomorrow's jobs." Kelly replied. "Darcy's needed at the quarry, Jack and Alfie are clearing old scrap at Wellsworth, and Isobella's gonna be helping around the Skarloey Railway."

"I see." said Buster. He paused. "Say Kelly, I was wondering something… who is Nigel?"

Kelly froze like a deer in headlights.

"N-N-Nigel?" he stuttered. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Patrick mentioned it earlier during work today." Buster replied.

Kelly was silent for a moment before he sighed. "I should've known that this day would come… the day Nigel's name would come up again…"

Buster was confused.

"W-Why? Did he do something bad?" asked Buster.

"No, not bad…" Kelly said. "It's just… it's a bit of a long story. Not one we like to talk about very often."

"I'd be happy to listen." Buster said with a cheerful smile.

Kelly took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright Buster. It was back in the 1960's…"

1962:

Back when the Sodor Construction company first started, there were four machines owned by Miss Jenny's father, Mr. Packard.

Kelly the Crane, Isobella the Steam Lorry, Ned the Steam Shovel, and Patrick the Cement Mixer.

Mr. Packard walked up to the group one day.

"Good morning Mr. Packard. Lovely day today, isn't it?" asked Kelly.

"Sure is Kelly. And I have some news for you all." Mr. Packard replied. "I feel as if you guys need more help."

"What kind of help did you give us sir?" asked Isobella.

A horn honked in the distance.

"Is that the help sir?" asked Ned.

"Sure is." Mr. Packard said with a smile. "Vehicles, allow me to introduce you to… Nigel the Transporter Lorry!"

At that moment, an unfamiliar lorry pulled up to the sheds. He was cream and green with red wheels, had the number 21 on the sides of his doors, and a license plate that read 137NGL. He also had his own transporting flatbed.

"Hello there! My name's Nigel! I look forward to working with all of you!" Nigel said happily.

"He's a friendly sort." Ned grinned.

"I hope he's professional about his job." Patrick muttered.

"Lay off Patrick, give him a chance." Kelly scolded. He turned to look at the newcomer. "Welcome Nigel. I'm Kelly, they're Patrick, Isobella, and Ned. And we look forward to working with you too."

"Great! Let's get started!" Nigel said happily.

"Hold on there Nigel, I have to give out the orders first." said Mr. Packard. "Now then, I need you to pick up some supplies from Tidmouth Station. James will be there to deliver them. Kelly, show him the way. And remember."

"Safety first!" the four regular machines said in unison.

"Uh yes safety first!" Nigel said, trying to fit in.

Later the two machines were driving down the road towards the station.

"This island is really beautiful." said Nigel.

"We're glad you think so." said Kelly. "You'll get used to the scenery around here the more deliveries you make."

"Sounds great to me!" Nigel beamed.

The lorry and crane arrived at Tidmouth Station. James was already there.

"About time you showed up Kelly, I wanna get to my passenger train as soon as possible." James huffed.

"Easy James, we're all on schedule." Kelly said calmly.

James spotted Nigel. "Who's the new lorry?" he asked.

"Name's Nigel!" Nigel said cheerfully. "You must be James! Your red paint's really shiny. Pretty impressive."

James' mood brightened from Nigel's words. "Why thank you. Having this kind of paintwork really does make me a really splendid engine."

Kelly rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Alright let's get this delivery onto Nigel's trailer." he said.

Kelly got to work lifting the crates and packages from James' train onto Nigel's trailer.

All was calm until…

"Railways are no good! Turn them into roads!"

"Oh no…" James and Kelly groaned.

"What's wrong?" asked Nigel.

"It's George." the steam engine and crane said in unison.

The grump steamroller came into view.

"Oh great, it's that rusted pile of scrap iron!" George snarled, looking at James.

"And what are you doing here, you road rebel?" James said crossly.

"Doing what you're too useless to do yourself: hard work." George snorted. "Do yourself a favor and find a scrap yard to rust away in! Let the roads takeover!"

James was red as his paintwork.

"Now that's not very nice!" Nigel said crossly. "You oughta be nicer to the engines!"

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" George snapped.

"Someone who actually respects vehicles of all kinds, whether on the road, rail, or anywhere else!" Nigel replied.

"Pah!" snorted George. "Rail vehicles are useless! It's the roads that rule!"

"You wouldn't even have a road to work on if it wasn't for both types of vehicles!" Nigel sneered. "It was like that back in my old home. You respect the engines, maybe they might just respect you back. If not, you can just shove off, you grumpy steamroller!"

George spluttered in disbelief at a road vehicle defending the engines. "Well I oughta-!" he began.

"Alright George that's enough." Kelly said firmly. "Now why don't you get back to work instead of causing a fuss around here. Or do you want Sir Topham Hatt to deal with you again?"

"Oh yes that wouldn't be fun for you now would it?" Nigel smirked.

Realizing that his efforts were futile, George left in a huff.

James was impressed. "I must say Nigel, that was impressive how you stood up to George. On your first day no less." he said.

"Well I want to try and make good friends with both vehicles and engines alike. I'm really not one for the whole 'roads or railways are better than the other' thing." Nigel replied.

"Now that's the kind of behavior we like on Sodor." said Kelly. "Anways, you're loaded up Nigel. Let's head back to the site."

"Perfect!" Nigel beamed. "Lead the way Kelly!"

Kelly chuckled as he drove away. Nigel looked back to James as he followed the blue crane.

"Nice meeting you James!" Nigel called.

And soon they were out of sight.

"Looks like Nigel's gonna be a lorry I can actually enjoy." James commented.

Throughout the years, Nigel was a hard worker for the pack.

He never hesitated to carry any amount of loads for projects.

Nigel picked up a large order of wood from the lumber yard. Edward was nearby, having dropped off some of the workman in his old orange coaches.

"That's a lot of wood Nigel." he said.

"Well someone's gotta get it to the site for the new sheds." Nigel replied. "It's not easy to access by rail. I gotta do what I can do to help the Pack."

Edward smiled. "I really admire your dedication Nigel." he said.

"Thank you Edward." Nigel smiled as he drove off.

He arrived at the construction sight. Patrick was already there talking with Mr. Packard and the workmen.

"Right on time Nigel!" Mr. Packard praised.

"You got all the lumber?" said Patrick, looking at the load. "That's amazing!"

"Gotta do what I can to help out." Nigel smiled.

Another time, Ned was needed on another part of the island.

"I need to get to Suddery to help knock down an old building, but my fuel is very low." Ned said to Nigel. "And we're all out of it here."

"Didn't Isobella pick some up?" Nigel asked.

"The order was delayed thanks to rough seas." Ned replied, sighing. "And it's a long way to the nearest fuel pump."

Nigel smiled. "Don't worry Ned. I can take you to Suddery and we can both get fueled up. It's a win-win!" he offered.

"Thanks Nigel!" Ned beamed.

Ned rolled onto Nigel's flatbed and the Pack's Number 21 took off down the road.

At Suddery, Thomas was waiting with some freight cars to take the debris away after Ned knocked it down.

"Where is that Steam Shovel?" Thomas asked out loud.

At that moment, a horn sounded out. The little blue engine looked over and saw Nigel pull in with Ned on his trailer.

"There you are Ned!" Thomas peeped. "I didn't expect you to come on board Nigel."

"I was very low on fuel and didn't think I would mek it without running out in the middle of nowhere." Ned replied. "But Nigel helped me out."

Thomas smiled at Nigel. "That was very nice of you Nigel." he said.

Nigel smiled back. "I do what I can to help out. I like working with the Pack."

"And we like working with you." Ned said as he rolled off the trailer towards the fuel pump.

Present:

"Wow. Nigel sounded like a nice lorry." smiled Buster.

"Oh he was." Kelly said fondly. "He was a hard worker."

"So whatever happened to him?" asked Buster. "How come you don't talk about him?"

Kelly sighed. "It was 1968, 6 years after Nigel came," he said.

1968:

The sun was beginning to set at the Sodor Construction Company as Mr. Packard exited the office and approached his 5 machines.

"Something on your mind Mr. Packard?" asked Patrick.

"Madge has broken down." Mr. Packard replied. "Tidmouth Station needs it's supplies delivered from the docks and all the engines are busy."

"Isobella can do it when she gets back from Dryaw." Ned suggested.

"Isobella's going in for service tomorrow." Mr. Packard said. "I don't wanna wear her down anymore."

"I can do it sir!" Nigel quickly said.

"Thank you Nigel." Mr. Packard smiled. "But it's gonna be foggy tonight so please be careful."

"I will sir!" Nigel said.

After picking up the load from the docks, Nigel was going down the road.

But as he made his way to Tidmouth, fog began to roll in. He turned his headlights on.

"Mr. Packard was right. Fog is rolling in fast." Nigel said.

"Just take it easy on the road old boy." said his driver.

Eventually, Nigel made it to Tidmouth. The workman unloaded the boxes.

"It's getting late." said Nigel. "I'd better get back to the sight."

"We're all done here." said a workman.

"Stay safe on the road." said another.

"I will!" promised Nigel.

And he took off down the road.

Suddenly the stationmaster came out of his office.

"Wait!" he shouted. "The weatherman said that the fog is getting thicker! Nigel get back here it's too dangerous!"

But Nigel was already gone.

"Blast it!" the stationmaster groaned. "Oh god I hope he's careful…"

Nigel was going down the road at a steady pace. But the fog had gotten thicker, making it hard to see. His headlights weren't helping matters.

"Agh! I can't see a thing!" Nigel cried.

"Neither can I!" his driver said. "Ok Nigel we're pulling over. We'll spend the night on the curb."

"I suppose it's better than nothing." Nigel murmured.

But then there was trouble.

No one knows when, but at some point, Nigel made a wrong turn in the fog and ended up going down a different road.

He didn't know that this road was closed do to it being very bumpy.

Nigel suddenly crashed into a barrier blocking the road, starling him.

"Oh my goodness!" he shouted.

He was so startled he accidentally sped up and hit the bumps hard, making him lose control. No sooner did he leave the bumpy area of the road, he crashed through another barrier and began to serve out of control.

"DRIVER STOP!" Nigel yelled.

"I'm trying!" his driver shouted.

They served off the road and Nigel suddenly crashed through a roadside barrier… near a bridge. Nigel and his driver screamed as they fell off… and the lorry crashed violently against the tracks.

The impact of the crash was bad. Nigel's driver jumped out in the nick of time, albeit not without several broken bones.

But Nigel… was wrecked.

Present:

Buster was shocked.

"You mean that one crash… killed him?" he timidly asked.

Kelly just sighed. "I'm afraid so." he replied. "Nigel was already old. And his engine couldn't take the impact. That and the way he landed. I'm afraid there was no saving him."

Flashback:

The fog managed to cease a bit as Edward arrived with the breakdown train cranes, Jerome and Judy. Nigel's remains were lifted onto a flatbed to be taken away to be scrapped.

Since it was still pretty foggy, Douglas had come with a coach to take Nigel's driver to the hospital so an ambulance wouldn't crash in the fog either.

The Pack was saddened by the loss of their Number 21.

"From now on, of the fog is that bad, we spend the night wherever we are until it goes away." Mr. Packard said firmly. "I don't want any of my machines suffering the same fate as our poor Nigel."

The Pack could only agree.

Present:

"Nigel was scrapped after that. And we wouldn't get any new members of the Pack until Oliver and Byron came along." Kelly continued.

"What about his driver?" asked Buster.

"His bones managed to heal but he struggled with a full recovery for a while." Kelly answered. "But he eventually did but decided to work in the office from now on. That accident scarred him. But his family understood." He paused. "We never forgot about Nigel."

Buster was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "How come you guys never told us about Nigel?" he asked.

Kelly sighed deeply. "It was a hard subject for us. He was a good friend to us for many years and then he was killed in an accident. If the subject about Nigel lasted a while we could almost see the horrible wreck he was in. Landing face and engine first against the tracks while already being an old lorry was not a good way to go…" he replied.

"I understand." said Buster. "Did anyone else hear about the story?"

"Just Miss Jenny after she took over." Kelly replied. "We wanted to tell the rest of you, it's just the subject was a hard one to talk about and well, other stuff came up as the years went by."

"I see." murmured the red steamroller.

"But that's not the end of it." Kelly suddenly said, drawing Buster's attention back to him. "About a year after Nigel's death, a few strange things started happening at night on the road. Some claim that a cream and green lorry would zoom right past them in the dead of night, bringing them to an alarming stop. Some also caught a brief glimpse of the number 21 on the side of its doors. Some would even see just it's headlights if it was dark or foggy enough."

Buster was surprised. "Wait… you don't mean it was… Nigel? R-Right?"

Kelly was silent for a moment. "I'm not saying it was. But some rumors had sprouted up since then about Nigel's ghost seemingly haunting the road. But a lot of people were skeptical. Maybe they just guessed they saw the 21 or the livery. Perhaps it is perhaps it isn't. I haven't seen any sights of the spirit of our old friend."

Buster thought over Kelly's words. "Well… that was an interesting story... thank you for telling me Kelly." he said with a small smile.

"Of course Buster." Kelly smiled. He yawned. "Let's get some sleep. We got another busy day tomorrow."

"Good idea." Buster said

Buster rolled into the sheds and began to get some shut eye. But as the did, he thought over Kelly's story. He then thought of his little incident earlier that night and the vehicle that stopped him from storming the prickly tree branch.

"Was that… Nigel's ghost?" Buster softly asked himself.

He decided not to think about it any further as he went to sleep.

Unbeknownst to them, Nelson had heard them in his sleep since he was right next to Kelly.

"Ghosts. Pah." he muttered. "But still, poor Nigel…" he murmured to himself.

It was work as usual the next day for the Sodor Construction Company. The Pack worked further on the sheds at Great Waterton or anywhere else they were needed like Kelly told Buster.

Nelson was refueling. Kelly's story was on his mind.

"Another transport lorry before me huh? That's pretty interesting." he mused. "But his ghost roaming the roads? I doubt it…" he snorted.

Alfie pulled up next to him. "I call next on refueling here when you're done Nelson." the small excavator said.

"Sure thing Alfie." Nelson said. He paused. "Alfie… do you believe in ghosts?"

Alfie was confused. "What brought that on Nelson?" he asked.

"Just popped in my head." the ballast tractor replied. "Do you?"

"Well… kind of. Strange things happen on this island all the time." Alfie said. "The magic buffers, that incident with the boulder, ghosts aren't really that much of a stretch Nelson."

"Well I won't believe in them until I see them." Nelson said firmly. "Especially if they happen to be the ghost of an old transport lorry."

"Ok…?" Alfie said awkwardly. "What lorry?"

"Ah nevermind." Nelson said dismissively.

"All field up Nelson!" said his driver.

"Alright Alfie, you're up." said Nelson, driving off.

Alfie pulled up to the fuel station. Jack pulled up next to him.

"You told him you didn't believe in ghosts even after what happened at Hawin Lake with Henry and Oliver?" he asked.

"We promised Old Bailey we'd keep that fogman ghost a secret until they see him." Alfie replied.

"Fair." Jack agreed.

Dusk broke over the clouds as Nelson dropped his trailer back at the yard. Darcy the Tunnel Boor Machine pulled up.

"Hey Nelson! Miss Jenny wants you to pick up some more building parts from Knapford Harbor." she said. "They came in early and they want them out of the way before the other ships get there, especially with the one with fish for the Flying Kipper."

"I can do that." Nelson said.

"Yeah but just be careful. There's a chance of fog tonight so make sure you drive slow. If it gets bad park and spend the night there." Darcy added.

"I… can do that too." Nelson managed to say. He knew that fog could be dangerous to road vehicles more than engines. The rails do the work for them while the one could go off the roads much easier, which made accidents more common.

Knapford Harbor:

That night, Nelson was being loaded up with the supplies for the sheds at Great Waterton.

"Alright, you're all ready to go!" said a workman.

"Just be careful out there. The fog may not be around that much tonight but it can still be dangerous." said another.

"Thank you. I promise to be careful." said Nelson.

Nelson drove down the road. But the fog seemed to get thicker. The ballast tracker began to slow down.

"I think we should pull over driver." he said. "This fog's getting dangerous."

"Good idea." said his driver. "I think-"

Suddenly, a horn honked out. Suddenly, through the fog, Nelson was able to make out what looked like a cream and green lorry whizz by thanks to his headlights.

"Hey what are you doing?!" Nelson shouted.

He was cut off when two headlights appeared through the fog. Nelson skidded to a stop.

"Who's there?!" The Pack's number 10 shouted.

The vehicle said nothing.

"You should know that traveling that fast in fog like this is incredibly dangerous!" Nelson said crossly.

The vehicle said nothing.

Nelson was puzzled. "Hello? Why aren't you speaking?" he asked.

"Look… down…" came a whisper.

"What?" Nelson asked. "Look down?"

The headlights turned off. And then the fog disappeared. To Nelson's surprise, no one was there.

"Flatten my fender! Where did he go?!" Nelson cried.

"I think we should focus more on what's in front of us down below." said his driver.

Nelson looked down and gasped. There were holes in the road.

"Pot holes!" gasped Nelson. "If I had kept driving in this fog…"

"You would've either flattened your tires or fallen off the road and gotten into an accident." his driver finished.

Nelson was silent as he thought over what had just happened. "So that lorry… helped me?" he asked.

"Looks like it." said his driver.

"A cream and green lorry… and I could've sworn I saw a number on him…" Nelson murmured. "The number… 21…"

Nelson's eyes widened.

"Nigel…"

The next morning, Nelson had asked Buster and Kelly to speak with him.

"So you're saying you saw Nigel last night?" asked Buster.

"Like I said, I overheard Kelly's story about him." said Nelson. "The crema and green paint and that number 21 on the side."

"So his ghost does haunt the roads at night." Kelly said grimly.

But then Buster realized something. "Hold on Kelly… I don't think he's trying to haunt us." he said.

Kelly looked at his steamroller friend. "What do you mean?"

"Well, whenever he appeared on the road, he did seem to stop us from getting into accidents." Buster replied. "Me with the spiky tree branch, Nelson with the holes in the road, that can't be a coincidence… can it?"

Kelly thought it over. "You are right Buster… it doesn't seem like a coincidence." he said.

"So he's helping us even as a ghost." Nelson murmured.

"Well from your story he was helpful in life." Buster said to the blue crane. "Helping out the Pack, standing up to George, defending James and the other engines, always willing to lend a helping hand."

"It looks like it." said Kelly. "And it seems as though he wants to prevent road vehicles from having bad accidents in the fog, especially at night… just like him."

"I wish we can thank him for his help." said Buster. "He did sound like a nice lorry to be friends with."

Kelly smiled fondly. "He was indeed. And I think it would be nice to speak with him…"

"That depends if we're working late tonight… or even if there's fog." Nelson said.

Buster smirked. "I think I have an idea on how we can do that." he said.

Great Waterton:

Work resumed as usual for the Pack. The sheds were near completion.

"At this rate we'll be done by the weekend!" grinned Jack.

"Mmhmm." Oliver said in agreement. "As long as nothing else goes wrong."

They then heard the sound of stuff being knocked over.

"Nice going Max you knocked the pile of lumber over!" shouted Monty.

"Not my fault! No one told me that the pile was behind me!" Max snapped back.

"Spoke too soon." muttered Oliver.

Kelly lifted up some tiles for the workman to use on the roof. Buster rolled up.

"So we're clear on the plan?" he asked.

"Yes. You, Nelson, and I will be the last ones to leave for the yard when we're done here." said Kelly. "We'll see if Nigel's ghost is about."

"The weather lady said there is a chance of fog tonight." said Buster.

"Which is why we will be extremely careful venturing out tonight." Kelly said.

Buster was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "What if Nigel doesn't show up?"

Kelly thought to himself. "I don't know Buster… but I suppose we will cross that bridge when we get to it."

Buster could only agree.

That night, the work was done for the day. All the machines were heading back to the yard.

"Another day of work done and dusted." said Patrick.

"I could sleep for a week…" said Jack.

"Don't go all Dennis on us Jack." joked Isobella.

The machines laughed.

Brenda saw that Buster, Kelly, and Nelson weren't following.

"Hey are you three coming or what?" the female bulldozer asked.

"Uh yes we are." said Nelson. "We just need to top off on fuel."

"It has been a very long day!" added Buster.

"Alright if you say so." said Brenda.

"Just be careful. There's a possibility of fog tonight," said Miss Jenny. "If it gets too thick, park yourselves on the side of the road and wait it out until morning to avoid any accidents. And remember."

"Safety first!" the trio of machines said in unison.

After the machines finished fueling up, they set off down the road. Since Buster wasn't that fast, Kelly and Nelson kept to his top speed.

That was when the fog came in.

"Alright, keep your eyes peeled for any sign of Nigel." said Kelly.

"What if he doesn't show up?" asked Buster.

"We go back to the yard." said Nelson. "But if the fog gets thicker, we'll park here for the-"

Suddenly they heard a horn honking behind them.

Kelly's eyes widened.

"Flatten my fender… in all my years, I still recognize that horn." Kelly said in shock.

Suddenly something sped right past the vehicles. Through Kelly and Nelson's headlights, they were able to make out something within the fog.

"It's a lorry like me!" said Nelson.

"It's cream and green!" said Buster.

"It's Nigel! Something must be wrong!" said Kelly.

The road vehicles braked hard and stopped. They looked up and saw two headlights through the fog.

Kelly bravely moved forward a bit.

"Nigel? Is that you?" the crane asked.

The vehicle in front of the group was silent… before the fog cleared up.

And there in front of them… was the ghostly form of Nigel the transport lorry. He stared at the vehicles with a small smile on his face.

Buster was in awe. "Wow… a ghost lorry…"

Nelson was shocked. "An… actual ghost…" he whispered.

Kelly smiled. "Hello Nigel. It's been… quite a while, old friend."

Nigel retained his smile.

"And I see you're still trying to help us even after your tragic accident." Kelly continued. "While I will admit it is a strange method, it warms my old heart that you still care about us."

"Yeah you stopped us from getting hurt in fog like this." said Buster. "So… what was the emergency?"

Nigel looked behind him. The vehicles followed his gaze and were surprised.

A landslide blocked the road.

"Oh boy…" muttered Kelly. "Must've happened before we got here. We'll have to inform Miss Jenny in the morning."

Nelson plucked courage. "Well… Nigel I gotta say… Thank you for your help. As my predecessor transporter in the Pack, while I was skeptical about the idea of ghosts, it is nice being able to meet you." he said.

"And I hope the afterlife is treating you well, old friend." Kelly said with a smile. "And… thank you for looking out for us."

"Really shows how you can still be a caring, helpful, and really useful transport ghost." added Buster.

Nigel smiled from ear to ear at the vehicles. And then he slowly backed away. And just as he was about to reach the avalanche he disappeared into thin air.

Buster, Nelson, and Kelly were silent for a moment.

"Wow… we just saw an actual ghost!" Buster said in awe. "And it was one of our own from back in the day!"

"I'm still in shock over it." said Nelson. "I honestly thought I was gonna pass out."

Kelly chuckled. "You did fine Nelson." he said. "It's natural for one to be scared of the unknown."

Kelly glanced back at the landslide.

"Well it looks like we won't be going this way tonight. But thankfully it looks like the fog is gone.." he said. "Come on, let's head back a different way back home."

The vehicles turned around and began to drive off once more to the yard.

From that day onward, there weren't that many sighs of Nigel's ghost. Some speculated that it was because there was barely any fog the vehicles had to drive through.

Buster, Kelly, and Nelson didn't tell the Pack about who they saw that night. They weren't sure if they would believe them. They decided to keep their ghostly encounters with Nigel their own secret. At least until the machines had their own encounter with the ghost lorry.

"Do you think we'll ever see Nigel again Kelly?" Buster asked as the Pack worked more at Great Watertown.

Kelly smiled. "Perhaps." he said. "Either if we're in danger in the fog again, or if he decides to pay us a formal visit."

Buster could only hope so.

CAST
(In Order of Appearance)

Jack - NWR1991

Oliver - Luke Ryan

Kelly - David Boyle

Buster - Liam Fitzgerald

Miss Jenny – LizProductions5784

Nelson - Narrow Gauge

Brenda - Aj8890

Patrick - 22Tesla

Isobella - Mika Michelina

Byron - Geebmachine

Max and Monty - TheBlueE2

Mr. Packard - WildNorWester

Nigel - Shunter Productions

Ned - Kanefan701

James - Andrew Homer

George - Andrew Homer

Edward - EnterprisingEngine93

Thomas - JakerBraker123

Alfie - Victor Tanzig

Darcy - LizProductions5784

Other voices by me

And this year's Spooktober has begun.

Rate and review and I'll see you all soon!