Chapter 3: Something Very Unexpected
(Inside the Fat Controller's Office)
Carrie slowly opened up her eyes and focused them upon the white painted ceiling above her, before she slowly sat up, rubbed her forehead, and tried to remember where she was and what had just happened before she blacked out. Then she noticed a familiar crackling sound and, turning her head a little, saw the fireplace close by, where the fire was burning brightly and merrily. And it was then that she suddenly remembered the near-accident that had happened by the cliff not too long before and gasped in shock.
"Woah, hold on there miss, it's all right. It's okay. You're all right now." Ralph said to this young woman reassuringly, trying his best not to startle her too much. Ralph's mind was full of questions; he knew from the photo that Margaret White was this young girl's mother, so he had a strong feeling that she could be his daughter…but it wasn't just these thoughts that made him very nervous.
Carrie turned her head to see both Ralph and the Fat Controller sitting near to her and she froze in shock, unsure of what to say or do to these two strange men before her.
"It's okay, there's nothing to worry about, miss. You're not in any trouble at all. You're safe now." the Fat Controller said, trying to calm the worried girl. Taking a few deep breaths to calm down, Carrie knew she had to ask these people where she was, but then she noticed Ralph holding the photo of her and her mother.
"It's okay miss, this fell out from your pocket when my fireman and I helped you into Arthur's cab after you fainted when we stopped just before the rockfall." Ralph said, as he handed the photo back to Carrie.
"A-Arthur…is that the red engine's name?" Carrie asked, as she took the photo from this unfamiliar man and then put it back into her pocket. It was only then at that very moment that she noticed the accent of this man was American, and not British like she had expected, which got her wondering somewhat.
"It is indeed. You were lucky not to get hit by him when you warned us of that landslide, and I'd like to thank you for warning us about it. What's your name, by the way?" Ralph asked the shy teen.
Carrie, for what seemed like ages but was actually only just a few short seconds, didn't respond to the question, worried about what would happen to her if they found out why she was on Sodor in the first place.
"My name's C-Carrie…" she said nervously.
"Nice to meet you, Carrie. My name's Ralph." he said calmly, trying to discover if maybe she was his daughter.
"Well…my momma told me my father's name was Ralph." Carrie said, as a small smile came across her face.
"Your father Ralph, Carrie…if you don't mind me asking…do you know whatever happened to him?" the Fat Controller asked.
"Well…momma told me that he passed away…after a terrible construction accident way back in 1995…not too long before I was born." Carrie said in sorrow, at the thought of never knowing her father.
"And where about did that accident take place?" Ralph asked, his suspicions now higher than before.
"It was just outside of the town of Chamberlain, in Maine." Carrie said. Then Ralph smiled a little, his suspicions as to that little story now confirmed. He paused, and then, taking in a deep breath, he spoke again.
"He…he didn't, Carrie. Your father actually didn't die in that accident. He actually came here to Sodor many years ago…and he's now working as a driver on this railway." Ralph said, as he tried to shock Carrie, now knowing she definitely was his long-lost daughter.
It took a moment for all this to sink into Carrie's head, but then her eyes widened and she slowly gasped; she now realised who this man before her was…
"You mean…y-you're…you're…my father…?" Carrie said, in complete shock.
"Yes, Carrie…it's me, Ralph White. Your father." Ralph said calmly, though a tad emotional now realising that he'd been a father all along and had never known it.
Carrie sat back on the sofa in stunned silence she had never experienced before; the sudden and unexpected news of the fact her father was still alive and standing before her was still sinking in, having believed for all her life that he had died not long before she'd been born.
"Ah…Carrie, would you like some hot tea to drink? You must be frozen from having been out there in that freezing cold weather." the Fat Controller said.
"Yes please, that'd be nice. Thank you." Carrie said.
A few short minutes later, with her heavy coat, scarf and hat off and hanging over on the coat-stand, and with a large mug full of hot tea in her hands, Carrie began to feel a little bit more comfortable after having been outside in the freezing-cold winter weather for the past few days. She took a long sip of the tea while it was still hot and allowed the welcome warming effects to go through her body, as she then looked up as her father took a sip of his own tea before he looked at her and set about his next set of questions.
"So, Carrie…why are you doing over here on the Island of Sodor all by yourself? Does Margaret, or anyone else back over in Chamberlain, know that you're over here?" Ralph asked, with some genuine concern in his voice. Carrie paused a moment; she knew that she had to tell him the reason why she was on Sodor and not back in Chamberlain where she'd lived most of her life. Taking in a deep breath, she spoke.
"No, she doesn't know that I'm over here…and neither does anyone else in Chamberlain for that matter. I hope. In fact, I'd rather hope that they all didn't know that I'm over here…considering how they were all like to me back home over the years I was living there." Carrie said, as a few bad memories from her childhood and her more recent teen years flooded her mind.
"What happened over there, Carrie? Did any of those back in your hometown hurt you in any way shape or form?" the Fat Controller asked, with some concern in his voice.
"Yes, they did…I was badly bullied and harassed at school, and my momma treated me quite badly at home too…which made me an easy target for almost all of the bullies in my school." Carrie said, trying her best to stay calm and not to break down as she told her tale.
"And what did Margaret do to you? Did she ever hurt you when you were at home?" Ralph asked with his concern increasing a little.
"S-she did. Many times…she would often...hit me quite hard across the face with a bible that she always had with her…and would, if she thought I did anything sinful, lock me in the closet under the stairs for long periods of time." Carrie said, as Ralph and the Fat Controller looked on in horrified shock.
"Oh, my goodness…that's just horrible." the Fat Controller said, as his hand moved up to cover his mouth and his eyes opened a little wider in horror.
"Hang on a second…that bible you mentioned...did it have a heavily worn black leather covering with gold letters on the front cover and along the spine?" Ralph asked, his suspicions now up. Carrie looked towards her father, a slightly stunned look on her face and her lower jaw dropped in slight astonishment.
"Yes…yes it did." Carrie said as she nodded her head, astonished her father knew that, and thus fully confirming what Ralph had suspected all along.
"Just as I though..." Ralph said quietly, as he rubbed his chin.
"Hold on a second, Ralph…do you know the bible that your ex-wife carries with her?" said the Fat Controller, who also had a stunned look on his face. Ralph then turned his attention to his boss and sighed heavily, while nodding his head at the same time.
"It's...not the easiest of things in the world to forget about, sir…she hit me across the face with it on more than a few occasions as well when I was with her, particularly if I disagreed with her on her overzealous, fanatical and frankly…silly religious views." Ralph said, as Carrie let out a small gasp on hearing that.
"Well, I never." the Fat Controller said, as he slumped back into his chair. He was stunned to hear this revelation; he'd always known Ralph White as one of the railway's most faithful and respected employees, but he had never fully known some of the details of Ralph's marriage to such an abusive, controlling and unstable woman until now.
"You mentioned school bullies as well, Carrie. Who were they and what did they do to you?" Ralph said, as he turned back to Carrie, wanting to know more. He was hoping the bullies wouldn't be the offspring of anyone from Chamberlain he had known personally before he left that town.
"Well…due to how momma raised me and sheltered me from the outside world and prevented me doing all the normal things that teenagers would usually do with each other…almost everyone at school, including some of the teachers…treated me like a convenient outcast and scapegoat. But my gym teacher Miss Desjardin never treated me in that kind of way…one of the few people in school who treated me properly. But the worst of all the school bullies who went at me day after day after day were a group of girls led by one of worst bullies in the whole school, a very popular brunette girl named Chris Hargensen…" Carrie said, and Ralph's eyes opened wide with shock.
"Whoa, whoa, hang on a moment…Hargensen?" Ralph said, cutting in when Carrie mentioned the word, Hargensen. Carrie nodded and Ralph lifted his head up and closed his eyes while sighing heavily and shaking his head grimly at some more bad memories that came flooding back; "Oh, I knew that family was trouble from the start."
"Wait...you're familiar with that family too, Ralph?" asked the Fat Controller, as Ralph looked to his boss, sighed heavily, and then grimly nodded.
"Way back when I was in high school, sir...which, believe me, is a VERY long time ago now...one of the boys who was in my classes was John Hargensen, the father of Chris Hargensen, and now one of Chamberlain's most respected lawyers…who already had that particular reputation in the courts at the time when I left Chamberlain all those years ago. He's easily one of the most self-centred, arrogant, manipulative and ruthless people you could ever meet. A real nasty piece of work through and through...that's my impression of him. Very few people got on well with him, and he always seemed to have it out for some people in class. Nothing but a bully at heart, that's what he is." Ralph said, trying to avoid the use of much stronger words that more accurately described such a person, before he turned back to face Carrie and, after apologising for interrupting her, asked for her to continue with her story.
"Well Chris and most of her followers in her group, including Tina Blake, Donna Kellogg and quite a few of the other girls, would always bully me…day after day for no reason at all…and it just got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. So, I decided to run away from home to get away from them and to start my life all over again. I couldn't take their bullying anymore...enough was definitely enough. If they want to bully someone now, they'll need to find someone else to take my place." Carrie said, and then, after taking another sip of her tea, she spent another two or three minutes telling what'd she'd done to get here, including the large copybook with the information she'd left in her locker at school before she ran off from Chamberlain, and then how she managed to runaway from Chamberlain without raising any suspicions and how she had managed to stow herself away on a large freighter in the harbour of Portland, Maine, that had arrived at Knapford Harbour only a few short days before, leaving both Ralph and the Fat Controller in shock on hearing the story.
"…and so, because of all that, here I am." Carrie said, as she finished her story.
"Oh Carrie, I'm really so desperately sorry to hear about all of that. Really, I am…and honestly, I don't blame you in the slightest for running away from home like that. I'm quite sure that I would've done so too if I'd been in those similar circumstances. What about you sir?" Ralph asked, as he looked towards his boss.
"Oh absolutely, I think I probably would've done the exact same thing as well if I'd been placed in that same position." the Fat Controller said.
"Thanks sir, thanks dad…I'm quite sure that everyone back in Chamberlain have all probably discovered that I'm missing by now. But still…I very much doubt that they'll kick up any fuss…not for a social outcast like me." Carrie said.
"And Carrie…do you…um...how do I put this...ever plan to return home anytime in the future?" asked the Fat Controller, with some concern. Carrie looked over towards Sir Topham Hatt for a long and silent moment, and then finally she shook her head.
"No sir, whatever future that I had stretched out before me back in the United States will have to wait. Now that I've left Chamberlain…I don't plan on ever returning to that horrible old town for a long time to come. It's best for my own mental health, my sanity and for my own personal safety that I stay away as far away from there and all the people I used to know back there for as long as I can. I intend to do as I set out to do and make a fresh start for myself...away from all of that." Carrie said.
"And you can; I had the exact same thoughts when I left Chamberlain too. I always intended to, considering what your mother was like to me, as well as a few other people. I didn't want to leave…particularly as it was my hometown that I'd spent my early years in…but I'd no choice…I couldn't live my life that way…and especially with the way that Margaret was treating me in that old house. Certainly, that experience did put me off practicing religion of ANY kind for as long as I live. And when that accident occurred at the construction site I worked at then, I took the opportunity created by that fall and the ensuing fire and resulting confusion and mayhem to quickly leave. I emptied out a number of secret bank accounts I had beforehand and then left town for good, ending up here on Sodor." Ralph said.
"Like I did?" Carrie asked.
"Of course. And if I'd known beforehand that Margaret was pregnant with you Carrie, I'd have certainly waited a little bit longer until after you were born and then I'd have taken you over here with me, even if I'd have resorted to kidnapping my own kid. Now yes...I know that such a move would've been the wrong thing to do, but considering what Margaret's like, and everything that she did to you, I think it would've been the right choice to make. Margaret is just NOT a good person in any way, shape or form…and certainly she gives the White Family quite a bad name with all her antics." Ralph said.
Carrie took everything in that she just learned about her father and was able to think far more freely than what Margaret would've allowed her to.
"I'm sorry dad…but after everything I've been through…maybe I can get over the past just like you did." Carrie said, with a growing determination in her voice.
"I think that's quite a wise decision you're making, Carrie…" said the Fat Controller with a smile, "…and also Carrie, because you've not finished your education yet, you might struggle to find suitable employment. But there is a silver lining to that issue; I do have a new recruitment apprenticeship scheme due to start up in the first week of the new year on January 9th, 2012, in about… six weeks from now."
"The idea with it being teenagers, like yourself, who may have fancied working on the railway will be given the full experience of how to work on a railway. And it'll be covering everything from basic maintenance, to cleaning out fireboxes, smokeboxes and boilers, how to light fires, oil up moving parts and even how to drive and fire a locomotive out on the mainline. It'll be a very hands-on approach where you learn by doing the things railway people do every day." Ralph said, as he handed Carrie a flyer with all the information about the scheme.
"And will I get a chance to try working on all the different engines while I'm on the scheme?" Carrie asked.
"Absolutely…you'll get to try working on all the different steam locomotives and find out how they work and do all sorts of work…from branch line work to express trains on the main line and freight trains, and even doing work at night as well. Your father and many of the other people who work on my railway will be lending the new recruits a hand too. Now yes, there will be some things that will need to be done within a classroom setting, but the vast majority of the railway work here will be actually going out and doing it for real in the field. And you'll be given good pay as well." said the Fat Controller.
"And many of the new recruits are around your age, Carrie…and you shouldn't have a problem making friends with them…or any of the engines on this railway. Many of them have their differences, just like humans, but all the same they all strive to be really useful." Ralph said.
"And once for start working on the scheme, Carrie, you'll be able to make many friends easily. Within a few weeks of starting, you'll feel a very different person and won't have to worry about being a social outcast anymore." said the Fat Controller.
Carrie though about everything for a few moments; here was a major opportunity to kick start an early career and to make new friends, as well as the chance to make money…and try to forget her troubled past. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up.
"I think that would be a good idea…thank you very much, I accept your offer, sir." Carrie said, as a small smile came across her face. The Fat Controller smiled, as did Ralph.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." said the Fat Controller, and a second later a man in a smart blue uniform came in.
"Excuse me, sir, but Tim the foreman's down on the platform ready to receive instructions from you about clearing the landslide." he said.
"Excellent, could you tell him that I'll be down in just a moment please?" said the Fat Controller, as he, Ralph and Carrie finished their tea and stood up.
"Yes, sir." the man said, as he left, closing the door behind him.
"Shall I bring my suitcase along with me, dad?" Carrie asked, as she put her coat, hat and scarf back on.
"There's no need, Carrie…you can leave it here and pick it up later. I want to introduce you to some more of the engines that work on this railway first." Ralph said.
"And don't worry about your things, Carrie. They'll be quite safe while they're in here." said the Fat Controller.
"Thank you, sir." Carrie said, as they left the office and headed downstairs.
Stepping out onto the platform, Carrie was briefly shocked by the sudden cold, having just gotten used to the warm fire within the Fat Controller's office. She and her father watched as the Fat Controller went over to speak to a tall man dressed in blue overalls and wearing a hard hat and orange high-visibility coat. But one thing Carrie noticed was that Arthur was no longer at Platform one, and neither was his short freight train. But then, she noticed a small, bright green saddle tank engine with an 0-4-0 wheel arrangement with the number 6 on the sides of his bunker sitting at Platform Two.
"Ah Tim…you know what the problem is on Thomas' branch line and where it is?" asked the Fat Controller, as he turned to the head foreman standing before him.
"Yes sir, I've just been brought up to speed on what the problem is with the photos the guard has shown me, and my men and I are ready to head over there at once to get the line cleared of debris and ready for trains again." the foreman said.
"Good man, and how much work do you think will need to be done to get the line cleared for traffic again?"
"Well…it all depends on what we see when we get up there to that stretch, sir. We'll also have to check that jagged escarpment on the top of that cliff along its entire length to see if there's any other sections along it that might give way. And if we do find any such sections, then we'll need to demolish them too and then clear away the rubble from that work. After all, I don't want to have to clear away the mess that's already there, and then suddenly find out that we have to come back all over again and clear away another fall in that stretch next week." the foreman said.
"I think that's a good idea, Tim; you just do whatever you think is best when you and your men get there." said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir." Tim said.
Then there came the sound of a deep-toned whistle, and Arthur came back alongside Platform One and gently came to a stop, but behind him were half a dozen well wagons loaded with heavy equipment, including diggers, bulldozers and breakers, as well as a dozen empty trucks for carting away the debris and rock, as well as a few other wagons with equipment, like diesel generators and portable light systems, as well as plenty of digging and drilling tools.
Just behind the back of the train was another tank engine; this one was maroon red, just like Arthur, but had a crane fitted over his boiler and was pulling two larger green painted breakdown cranes behind him with two crew support coaches, two vans filled with handheld equipment, one van that was filled with the explosives for demolition work and some flatbeds. After some more talking with the Fat Controller, Tim the foreman and his men clambered into the support coaches of the breakdown train and waited to set off for their job.
"We've swapped engines with Percy's crew. We were due to do that once we got back here after delivering our other train, but I think there's no harm in doing that now." said the fireman who had been with Ralph in Arthur's cab earlier on.
"Very well; and you're due to take Percy over to Tidmouth Sheds for his next job?" asked the Fat Controller, turning to Ralph.
"Yes, sir. Though that was meant to be a little later on today after we got back from delivering that freight train." Ralph said.
"Never mind about that, Ralph. But before you do…why not take Carrie over to Tidmouth Sheds and introduce her to the other engines there? I'm sure she'd like to meet them." said the Fat Controller.
"Good idea, sir." Ralph said, as he turned to Carrie who simply smiled and nodded.
Ralph then led Carrie over to Arthur to introduce her to him.
"Hello, Ralph." Arthur said, as Ralph and Carrie approached.
"Hello Arthur…this girl here who warned us of that landslide and saved us from a nasty accident a little earlier on is Carrie White…my daughter." Ralph said.
"Ah…h-h-hello there." Carrie said nervously, unable to believe she was talking to a steam locomotive that had a face on its front.
"Thank you very much for warning us, Carrie. It's really nice to meet you. And I'd like to thank you from saving us from a nasty accident." Arthur said, as he smiled warmly. Carrie paused a moment, unable to believe she was talking to one of the engines with faces that she'd seen for the past few days.
"You're very welcome, Arthur. It's nice to meet you too." Carrie said, still a bit stunned but deeply appreciating Arthur's warm welcome. Suddenly, the guard blew his whistle and the signal dropped indicating they were clear to go.
"Oh, gotta go Carrie. We'll see you later." and with a blast from his whistle, Arthur set off, pulling the wagons with the equipment needed for clearing the line behind him. As the brake van passed the platform, the other engine with the crane over his boiler came chuffing past, blowing his whistle to say "hello" before passing by and following Arthur up the line. Carrie could see the engine's name on his side tanks, Harvey, and the number on his crane, 27, and then watched as he and his train disappeared into the distance.
"Come on, Carrie. Let's introduce you to Percy, and we'll then take you to Tidmouth Sheds and introduce you to the other engines there." Ralph said to Carrie.
"Okay, dad." Carrie said, as he led them over across the tracks to Platform 2, where Ralph would introduce Carrie to Percy.