Chapter 187: James's Unlucky Day

To say James had a rough day would be an understatement. For starters, he had to shunt his own trains because Percy was elsewhere. Then, some workmen thought it might be fun to set the brakes, making his train late. Finally, he had to apply his brakes hard to avoid hitting sheep on the line, banging the coaches. And to top it all off, he had been blamed for the whole series of events.

He was hoping for some peace and quiet when he got home that night, but to his dismay the house was livelier than ever. Rosie had helped put out a fire near Wellsworth, and everyone wanted to hear more.

"You must have been scared, I could never do something like that."

"Oh, not really. Its important in a situation like this to remain calm."

"Where was it? Were you the first to spot it?"

"An old shed near the station caught fire. No, the stationmaster was the first, but I called the fire department."

James got tired of this real quick and left. Molly saw this and went after him.

"James, what's wrong?"

"This whole day has been nothing but one disaster after another, and all I wanted was some peace and quiet. But now everyone's crowding around Rosie, and I can't even hear myself think!"

James rubbed his temple in annoyance, trying to soothe his headache. Molly could sense her boyfriend was stretched and gave him a gentle massage.

"There, there, honey, everything will be alright. This will die down soon, and everyone will focus on something else. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't find the story that interesting."

James sighed, feeling a little better.

"Thanks Molly, I needed that. I love you."

"I love you, two."

The next morning, Sir Topham Hatt came to see James.

"James, your to take the express as far as Crovan's Gate. Once there, Henry will take over and you are to take your engine into the Steamworks for its overhaul."

"Yes sir, of course sir."

This made James feel better. Perhaps a good run would help clear his head.

He arrived at the station to find the coaches at the platform, Rosie having shunted. To his frustration, his passengers were so busy admiring her heroism that they almost missed the train.

"Bye James!"

James tooted his engine's whistle in reply, but was still in a foul mood.

"Its just a fire. All she did was save the firemen some time."

But he soon forgot all about Rosie as the train reached open country side. Even in his loathing state, he couldn't help but smile as the breeze rushed past him.

"Ah, this is the life."

He soon reached Crovan's Gate, where Henry was waiting to take over.

"Good on ya, James! Five minutes early."

"Thanks, Henry. Have a good journey."

"I will. And when I get back, maybe Rosie will have more heroic stories to tell!"

James resisted the urge to bang his head against the cab as Henry drove the train off into the distance.

The workmen did wonders for the engine, looking it over from top to bottom. Within a week, his engine was back in working order.

"All set, James! She's as good as new."

"Thanks, Victor. A fine job as always."

But as James was driving out of the works, he didn't know he was driving into trouble. Kevin was driving his crane dangerously close to the line, carrying a load of oil barrels. James didn't see him, and by the time he did it was too late. With a mighty crash, oil spilt everywhere. Most of it covered James and his engine.

"KEVIN!"

"Sorry, James. It was-"

"A slip of the hook, I know!"

Victor clenched the bridge of his nose in grief.

"Kevin, go get something to clean up this mess."

"Right-o, boss!"

"I'm sorry James, but I can't let you leave until this mess is cleaned up. It wouldn't be safe."

"I understand, Victor. Its not your fault."

The workmen soon had the mess cleaned up, and James was on his way. But it wasn't until he was nearly out of the yard that Victor noticed a large trail of oil behind him.

"James, wait! JAMES!"

But James was too far away to hear him.

James coasted his engine down the line as he headed towards Tidmouth, feeling the breeze flow through his hair.

"Ah, a fella can get used to this!"

Just up ahead, he could see Rosie driving light engine in the same direction. This gave James an idea. Pulling up along side, James whistled to get her attention.

"Oh, hello James! Nice to see you back."

"How about a race to Tidmouth? First one there is the winner."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Sir Topham Hatt doesn't like us racing at high speeds."

"We'll keep it on the low end. Come on, what do you say?"

Rosie thought about it for a minute. It had been getting boring.
"Alright, you're on!"

"Great! Last one to Tidmouth is a rotten egg!"

And with that he shot off, leaving Rosie spitting up dust.

"Hey, no fair!"

James laughed as he charged up the hill. He'd be at Tidmouth in no time.

"Better apply the brakes. I don't want to crash."

He pulled the lever, but the train didn't slow down. As it crested down the hill, it picked up speed at an alarming rate. James pulled it over and over, but it did no good.

"Oh God! HELP! I CAN'T STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!"

Rosie heard James's cry for help, but by the time she had reached the top James was disappearing off into the distance.

"Hold on, James! I'm coming!"

But not fast enough, she wasn't. James and his engine slid into the yards, screeching like a banshee. But worse was yet to come, as up ahead...

"GOOD LORD, THE SHED!"

James tried once again to brake, but to no avail. A loud crash was heard from miles around. Gordon, Henry, and Edward came running to find the shed in flames and James's engine badly damaged. James's still form lying a few feet away, having been thrown clear in the crash.

"Good lord, the shed's on fire!"

"Henry, you call the fire brigade! I'll check on James."

"I'm on it, Edward!"

Gordon just shook his head in disgust.

"Typical of James to do this. When he comes to, I'll-"

"Gordon! There's something wrong with James!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"He...he's not breathing!"