Chapter 12: A Spooky Night Trip
(Monday, February 13th, 2012 – 6:00pm; Brendam Docks)
The sun had fully set over the western horizon nearly a full hour before, and now it was fully dark all over the Island of Sodor, with the many of the dockside lights brightly illuminating everything in the docks. They had been sitting on the quayside with their train coupled behind them for quite some time now, and they were really eager to depart and head back to Knapford with their long and heavy train.
Standing together on the footplate of Henry, Carrie and Simon were waiting within the shelter of the cab and had the firebox door open, and were keeping close to the warm fire. They had mugs of hot chocolate in their hands and were slowly sipping away at them. They should've clocked out and been back home by now, but due to a mix-up of some sort somewhere during the course of the day, they were here at Brendam Docks instead and collecting a freight train that should've left the docks and been brought to the yards Knapford hours before. They were on the stretch of track that went under the large green weathered building that said "Sodor Shipping Company" on its façade, which was weathered in some places by both the sea and marine weather.
There were plenty of different noises to be heard, including ship horns sounding, and chains clanking together as cargo was loaded and secured.
Outside on the quayside beside the train, the driver was chatting with the harbour master about the makeup of the freight train behind them, which was a very mixed freight train consisting of between 35 and 40 wagons, while the fireman took the opportunity to oil up around the motion and coupling rods before they left. Along the quayside, a number of ships of various sizes were moored securely to shore and being unloaded of their cargoes, which meant that work at Brendam Docks was gonna continue all night long as freight trains left with the cargoes for various parts of the island, and even for the British mainland at Barrow-In-Furness. Those dock workers who were unlucky enough to be assigned to work on the night shift were due to start work about eight o clock that evening.
"You know…we really should've been back at the sheds by now." Carrie said, just before she sipped down the last of her hot chocolate and placed the now empty mug onto the warming plate over the open firebox doors.
"I know…but unfortunately, we were asked, by the Fat Controller himself don't forget, to come down here on Henry and take this late freight from here back to the yards at Knapford." said Simon, as he too put his now empty enamel mug back down on the warming plate over the firehole doors before he went and double-checked the two water gauge glasses to make sure that the water level in the boiler was okay. The water level in both gauge glasses was fine, and a quick check of the main boiler pressure gauge showed the steam pressure was at a steady pressure of 215psi.
Just then, the driver and fireman stepped up onto the footplate, and both of them were looking quite pleased, which interested Carrie and Simon.
"Well…does this mean that we can head off at last?" Carrie asked.
"It does indeed, Carrie." said Henry's driver, relieved to know they could at last set off with this last train of the day. Both Carrie and Simon smiled in tired, but grateful relief; both of them were very pleased to know that their long day was at last nearing its end and they would soon be able to clock out for the day and then head on home.
"I'll be glad to get back home and getting myself into bed, especially after the long day we've had." Simon said, as he reached for the shovel and prepared to stoke the firebox with more fresh coal.
"Me too…me too." Carrie said, as she sat herself down on the front of the tender and took the chance to rest her feet, having been standing for much of the day, since she and Simon began their work aboard Henry's footplate at 8:30am that morning.
"Well old boy…" the driver said to Henry, as he leaned out from his side of the cab, "…it's time to leave with this train, and then we can get you back to the sheds."
"Thank goodness for that. I was afraid we would never leave." Henry said, pleased they were to leave with this last train of the day. He was quite eager to leave, as he knew that fog could easily form at this time of year along the route home. The fog made everything seem spooky, and at this time of year with no leaves on the trees, the fog made the trees seem quite sinister, and memories of his spooky nocturnal trips on the old line by the lake with the spooky dead trees on both sides of the line filled his smokebox.
Soon the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, before he climbed aboard his van at the rear of the train. With a whistle, Henry set off from the docks with the long freight train following along behind him. As they puffed out of the docks, Carrie looked out from the driver's side of Henry's cab and watched everything as they left; surprisingly, things were still quite busy, even though it was now fully dark, with activity being seen in many of the workshops, including welders with their bright flashing torches as they cut metal to make new parts or welded something together for a ship tied up to one of the nearby quays.
In one of the sidings, Carrie saw Salty, the dockyard diesel who worked at the docks, and who never seemed to be at all short of nautical stories, being refuelled in readiness for his last jobs of the day. As they passed by with the long train, Henry gave a friendly toot on his whistle, to which Salty replied with a short blast on his horn.
However, as they rolled onto the long straight stretch of line that led out from the docks and back towards Wellsworth, the fog rolled in. Looking out from the fireman's side of the cab, Carrie had never seen fog like it before in her life; there was a thick ground fog that swirled just above ground level up to the level of Henry's running plate, with a thinner fog floating above that. Both fog types made everything seem very spooky, particularly with the addition of night; the mast of boats on the water to the right seemed like strange creatures that lurked within the darkness, waiting for the right moment to strike.
As they left the brightly lit area round the docks and then moved past the extensive shunting yards, as well as the junction that led over to the nearby China Clay works and the nearby quarry, the fog distorted everything and made even the most familiar of things, such as buildings, trees and trucks in the sidings seem very sinister and haunting.
"Oh…I really don't like it…" Carrie said, as she looked round anxiously at the passing distorted, foggy scenery they went by.
"This is quite typical fog for the Island of Sodor, Carrie…" Simon said, as he too looked out from the cab, "…but even so, I've never really got used to this fog in all the time that I've been living here."
From the very front of the train, Henry looked round anxiously as they rolled along the line. It was very spooky, and the ghostly shapes of the bare trees, the roofs of buildings and other things along the side of the line were made even more spooky by the swirling fog, particularly as things would suddenly appear without warning from the mist. As a result, the driver had to go slowly so he could see the signal lights that he knew he would see.
Then, the driver noticed something appear ahead just off to the left and strained ahead to see what it was; as they closed in, he saw it was only a signal light, and the light showed bright green, showing that the line ahead was clear for them to proceed.
"All clear ahead!" he called to the others in the cab, as he then blew Henry's whistle. Giving him a nod, Simon carried on with stoking the boiler, shovelling another shovel of fuel into the glowing hot firebox and making sure that this shovelful was placed within the back left corner.
Carrie then moved over to the driver's side and leaned out from the cab side; in the darkness and fog, she couldn't see much ahead, apart from the outline of spooky bare trees and other odd shapes passing by a little off to the side of the line. It was a very eerie sight, and nothing like Carrie had experienced before back home. Off to the left, just after they passed under a stone bridge, she then noticed that they were passing by the silent freight yard at Upper Suddery where a line of vans stood silent alongside the platform. Beyond the platform as they went by the yards, Carrie could see the buildings and warehouses that towered over and occupied much of the yard were silent and dark, as the men who worked there had long since gone home for the day.
They carried on up the line, and they soon passed through the station of Lower Suddery, where the station lights shone on two platforms that stood quiet and empty with only a few lights on within the main station building, particularly in one of the offices.
Crossing over a river, they soon went by the Vicarage Orchard, where the thick fog made the bare apple trees within the grounds seem very sinister. They soon passed the scrapyard only a mile or so ahead, where the two buildings, including the one with the tall chimney, piles of scrap metal and other pieces of machinery stored on one side of the yard could barely be seen in the swirling ghostly fog. To Carrie, it almost seemed like the piles of scrap and yard machinery were monsters lurking about within the fog, and waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prey that came too close.
They soon reached the junction ahead, where the signal light showed bright red, meaning it wasn't safe for them to proceed onto the mainline just yet. The driver shut the regulator and put on the brakes, and Henry came to a stop just before the signal.
"What's going on? Why are we stopping?" Simon asked, as he looked up from stoking the firebox.
"A red signal light at the junction close to Wellsworth, Simon. Something's coming down along the mainline in a short while." the driver said, as he looked out the side of the cab and up ahead of Henry to see what might be coming.
"I wonder who it could be." Carrie said, as she too looked out ahead, but on the fireman's side of the cab.
"It could be any engine, Carrie. After all, there is a lot of activity on the Sodor railway system at night, with many of the slower trains generally running at this time when the railway isn't as busy as it is in the day." Simon said, as he looked out from the driver's side of the cab.
For three or four minutes they waited, until they heard the sounds of a whistle coming along the line from the direction of Gordon's Hill. Then a moment or two later, with the whistle sounding loudly again, the train came rolling by; it was a late passenger train being hauled by Southern Railway Maunsell Lord Nelson Class No.851 Sir Francis Drake, on his last train of the day (17). His Southern Railway semi-matt Malachite Green livery was polished to a high shine, as were all his brass parts, and he seemed to be making good time with his train despite the heavy fog that swirled around everywhere.
(17): The Southern Railway's Lord Nelson Class 4-6-0's, designed by Richard Maunsell and of which only 16 examples were ever built, was one of the most powerful 4-6-0 designs ever built for the Southern Railway and were for a time the most powerful steam locomotives to run in Britain. Built between 1926 and 1929 at Eastleigh Works, they were intended to haul heavy express trains, as well as the Continental Boat Trains that ran between London Victoria and Dover. With 6ft 7in driving wheels, a boiler pressure of 220psi, and four cylinders - two inside the frames and two outside - each being 16.5in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, giving a tractive effort of 33,500 pounds, the Lord Nelson Class was one of the most powerful of any British steam locomotive class at the time it was built.
Numbered from No.850 to No.865, the class were named after very famous admirals who had served in the British Royal Navy and were allocated to various depots within the Southern system, including to Stewart's Lane and Nine Elms in London. They were coupled to large tenders with a capacity for 5,000 gallons of water, a necessary thing due to the lack of water troughs on the Southern Railway system. Special care was taken to ensure that the class' weight was kept to a minimum, so the engines didn't have an axle load weight of more than what the civil engineers were allowing at the time.
The numbers and names of the Lord Nelson Class were;
No.850 Lord Nelson, No.851 Sir Francis Drake, No.852 Sir Walter Raleigh, No.853 Sir Richard Granville, No.854 Howard of Effingham, No.855 Robert Blake,
No.856 Lord St Vincent, No.857 Lord Howe, No.858 Lord Duncan, No.859 Lord Hood, No.860 Lord Hawk, No.861 Lord Anson, No.862 Lord Collingwood,
No.863 Lord Rodney, No.864 Sir Martin Frobisher, and No.865 Sir John Hawkins.
In service, the Lord Nelson's weren't as free-steaming as the King Arthur Class were, and many crews were unfamiliar with them, as only sixteen were ever built to begin with, which meant that few crews could get experience on them. The long fireboxes were a challenge for many firemen to fire properly, especially for crews who had never worked with them before, and so specific crews were assigned to the Lord Nelsons. But in the hands of a highly experienced crew who knew how to get the best out of them, often exceptional performances could be obtained from the class. The engines were always highly regarded by their crews, and they also proved highly reliable when in service.
One member of the class, No.E859 Lord Hood, was fitted with slightly smaller 6ft 3in driving wheels in an effort to improve the performance of the class, and used on the graded main line from London to Dover. Although the smaller driving wheels did increase the tractive effort to 35,300lbf, the difference in the locomotive's ability to climb the heavy grades was only marginal at best. No.E860 Lord Hawke was fitted with a longer heavier boiler to try and improve its performance, but again little improvement was noted in the experiment.
When Oliver Bulleid took over as the Southern's C.M.E. from Richard Maunsell in 1938, he set about making some modifications to the Lord Nelson Class. They were refitted with larger diameter chimneys and Lemaitre multi-jet blastpipes, which transformed their performance and made many railwaymen respect them greatly.
For a period of time after they were introduced, the Lord Nelson Class held the title of the most powerful locomotive in Britain, which was based on its tractive effort. However, the G.W.R. soon introduced the 6000 King Class in 1927 which regained that coveted title. Although the 500-ton trains the class were designed to pull never materialised, the Lord Nelsons were regularly used on trains such as the Golden Arrow that ran from London to Dover.
In World War II, No.852 Sir Walter Raleigh suffered a direct hit from a bomb during a German air raid on 18th April 1941. Due to the damage the locomotive sustained, she didn't return to service until June 1942.
The class continued running on the Southern, and then the Southern Region of British Railways up until they were replaced on their regular top-link duties by the large numbers of Bulleid Pacifics, including the Merchant Navies, as well as the lighter West Country and Battle of Britain Light Pacifics, each of which proved more than capable of hauling the heaviest passenger trains within the south of England. Upon nationalisation, the class had 30000 added to their numbers, so No.850 Lord Nelson became No.30850, and so on with the rest of the class.
In 1959, the Lord Nelson Class was assigned to Eastleigh Shed, where they finished out their last days in service working on the boat trains from London Waterloo to Southampton, and on trains from Waterloo to Bournemouth. The first withdrawal of an example of the class from regular service took place in August 1961 when No.30858 Lord Duncan was removed from service, and by the end of 1962, the last members of the class, No.30861 Lord Anson and No.30862 Lord Collingwood, had been withdrawn from regular service.
Thankfully, one example of the class has survived into preservation. This engine is the doyen of the class, No.850 Lord Nelson, named after Horatio Nelson, the famous Royal Navy admiral who won the famous naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and from whom the Lord Nelson Class takes its name. Built in August 1926, she was saved for preservation after she was withdrawn in August 1962. by which time she had covered 1,349,617 miles. She's part of the collection at the National Railway Museum in York, and has run on the mainline extensively, as well as on various heritage railways. She's currently in storage on the Mid-Hants Railway and awaiting an overhaul, having been withdrawn following the expiration of its boiler certificate back in 2015.
With the coaches, of which there were eight, running smoothly along behind him, Sir Francis Drake quickly went by the junction on his non-stop run through the fog from Vicarstown to Knapford Station with his passengers, many of whom were on their way to Knapford after a long trip from London.
As the sounds of the passenger train faded into the distance, there suddenly came the sounds of another whistle - this time a deeper toned one - from the direction of Wellsworth Station and about twenty seconds later, the engine came into view; it was S160 No.96100 heading by on his way to Vicarstown with a long line of fully laden B.R. 21-ton steel hopper wagons rattling along behind him. From Henry's footplate, both Carrie and Simon leaned out from the right-hand side of the cab and watch as No.96100 headed on towards Gordon's Hill with his long and heavy train. Then there came the sounds of another locomotive passing by as one of the 9F 2-10-0's assigned to banking duty at Wellsworth went by the junction, pushing from behind the long train as it went by. Carrie and Simon watched as the train, with the banking 9F go by, with the sound fading away the further the train got from them.
In a few more seconds, the junction was clear again but for a few moments the signal didn't drop. But then, it dropped and showed its bright green light, showing that the way was at last clear, as the points were switched, and Henry and his train could proceed with their journey.
"Okay…and here we go again." the driver said, as he released the brake lever and then, a few seconds later, opened the regulator. With a whoosh of steam coming from his cylinder drain valves, and a loud blast from his whistle, Henry rolled forwards with his train out from the spur leading to Brendam Docks and out onto the Southern Main Line.
(Insert soundtrack – Henry's Danger Theme – Haunted Henry / Something in the Air)
Now they were finally back on the main line, they could pick up some speed and try get this freight train back to Knapford as soon as they could. Passing through Wellsworth Station, where only members of the station staff could be seen about along the brightly lit platforms, they picked up some more speed and proceeded through the dense fog at about 40mph.
Looking out from the fireman's side of the cab, Carrie couldn't see much ahead of them although she could see lights at various points along the line, including from the signal boxes they passed regularly along the sides of the line, and green signal lights could be seen shining brightly as they rolled along, showing that the way was clear. The lights appeared as very faint glows ahead through the fog, but got brighter and clearer the closer they got to them.
"Hey Carrie…do you want a try at shovelling?" Simon asked, as he offered the coal shovel to her.
"Sure would, Simon." Carrie said, as she took hold of the shovel and set to work at stoking the firebox, making sure that she placed the lumps of coal to where they were needed into the white hot and brightly glowing firebox.
Up in front, Henry was trying to keep a sharp eye out on what was ahead of them as they rolled ahead, but with the dense fog swirling in the air all around him, that was proving to be a very difficult task. Luckily though, the signal lights he could see as they went by all showed bright green, indicating that the line was all clear ahead and they could proceed safely. Then, just after they puffed over the viaduct not too far before Crosby Station, the fog seemed to get even thicker than it had been before, and the driver closed the regulator and gently put the brakes on so as to to slow them down to a safer speed.
"I can't see!" Henry cried in a slight panic, as he slowed down. Nor could his crew, Simon, or Carrie, who was getting very nervous at going at this speed in fog as thick as this. She just hoped that the driver knew what he was doing.
In the distance ahead, they could see the white-orange lights from Crosby Station, and it appeared that there were no other trains standing at both platforms. The signal light was showing green and, after giving a whistle, Henry passed through the station. Carrie had already moved over to the driver's side and leaned out; after passing by the platform, they went by the large yard with its lengthy sidings, some of which were occupied by lines of wagons. Carrie could also see some buildings standing at the ends of some of the sidings, all of which had their interior lights turned off, as the businesses occupying them were already closed for the night.
A few more miles further on down the line a few short minutes later, at a point between Crosby and the tunnel where he had been shut up in many years before, Henry soon saw a yellow signal light shining brightly ahead of them and, as they went past the signal, his driver closed the regulator about halfway and gently put the brakes on to slow the train down.
"Proceed with caution." the driver said, as the speed began to slacken off somewhat. Carrie and Simon looked out from the driver's side to see what may be ahead, and whether or not the next signal light they came upon a little further on down the line would be either green or red.
A very long minute later, the next signal came into sight ahead…and it was bright green; the way ahead was clear for them to go. Opening the regulator, the driver adjusted the reversing gear back closer to mid-gear, so as to use the steam in Henry's boiler more economically. As the train picked up speed, Carrie felt somewhat relieved that they didn't need to stop, particularly as she was very tired after such a long day of work, and wanted to get home after such a long day of work, and she wanted to get some sleep, in readiness for the following day.
After going through the single line tunnel, the very same one where Henry had been bricked up in many years before, the train was soon on the final part of their journey towards Knapford Station, and the freight yards where the train would be left in the sidings, and then it would be back to Tidmouth Sheds, where Henry would be able to go to sleep for the night.
(A short while later)
After they went by the junction that led up towards the Farquhar Branch Line, at the point where the Knapford Bus Depot was, Carrie, Simon and Henry's crew, as well as Henry himself, were pleased to round the curve and see the familiar lights of Knapford Station ahead of them in the fog. After whistling, Henry rolled along by Platform 5, which was nearly deserted of people at this time, except for a few members of the station staff, and on towards the extensive yards near the station where he would park the train in one of the long sidings there.
Soon, the train was parked in the yard, but due to the length of it the train had to be divided into two sidings. And with the last half of the train parked in the siding out of the way, Henry's long day of hard work was over.
"Oh, I think it's time to go back to the sheds now. I think I'll sleep well tonight." Henry said, as he took a long yawn.
"Me too…I'm absolutely knackered after this long day of work. And I think I'll sleep quite well tonight as well. And there's gonna be more hard work tomorrow." Simon said, as he too yawned while stretching his arms out.
"I wonder what's on for tomorrow. I hope that it'll be something interesting." Carrie said, as she yawned while covering her mouth with her left hand.
"Well, Carrie…tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I imagine that it might be something to do with a special Valentine's Day Special." Simon said, as he went to check the two water gauge glasses on the back-head of the boiler and firebox; the water level in the boiler was fine.
A few minutes later, Henry left the yards and made his way back to Tidmouth Sheds, where the other engines sat in their berths and talking about their day of work. Rolling forwards onto the turntable, Henry was slowly turned round before he slowly reversed into the last empty berth at the sheds. As they came to a stop, Carrie pulled her sleeve aside a little and looked down at her watch; it was 6:40pm and it was exactly 100 minutes after she and Simon were meant to have clocked out for the day and gone home. But never mind, at least working overtime for a while did mean that there would be extra money paid out for them both.
"Hello Henry, a hard day today?" Thomas asked, as Henry came to a stop.
"Yes, and I'm quite tired after it too." Henry said, as Carrie, Simon and his crew stepped off the footplate and walked forward out of the shed, as the shed crew then took over.
"Well, Simon, Carrie…how are you both feeling after your longer than expected day? I bet you're both feeling very tired." Edward said, as he looked from Simon and then to Carrie.
"We're all right, Edward…but we're both very tired after this ling day…and I'm feeling quite hungry as well." Carrie admitted, as she smiled at Edward.
"And I'm eager to get myself home and then get an early night." Simon said.
"And I think that's a good idea there, Simon." came a familiar voice. Simon and Carrie turned to see the Fat Controller standing a few feet away from them.
"Oh, good evening, sir." Carrie and Simon said.
"Make sure that you both get a really good night's rest. For tomorrow, there's gonna be more work, especially with the Valentine's Day Special." said the Fat Controller.
"Now that sounds quite interesting." Simon said, as he rubbed his chin at the thought of working on a special Valentine's Day train.
"And what can we expect to see when working a train like that, sir?" Carrie asked.
"Just wait and see." smiled the Fat Controller, with a wink. Carrie and Simon looked at each other and wondered what he meant, and what the next day would bring.
"All right then, sir." Carrie said.
"Very good, you two…now get yourselves cleaned up, and then get yourselves home and get an early night. I reckon you both need it after the day you've had." said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir." Simon and Carrie said together, as the Fat Controller turned and left.
"Anyway, let's go and get ourselves cleaned up. I definitely need it." Simon said, as he looked down at his overalls, which were covered with a layer of cost dust, soot, sweat, small splashes of lubricating oil and his face covered with a light dusting of coal dust.
"Yeah, I agree. Come on then, let's go…and then we can head on home…and get some hot food into us as well." Carrie said, as she and Simon set off for the changing rooms.
"Goodnight, engines!" Simon said, as he turned to look at the engines.
"We'll see you all in the morning!" Carrie said, as she too turned to give her own "Goodnight" to the engines.
"Good night, Carrie! Good night, Simon!" all the engines said, as Carrie and Simon walked off the depot grounds and made their way over towards the building where the crew changing areas were.
"I'll be glad to get to bed tonight!" Simon said quietly, as they went along.
"Yeah...me too, Simon. Me too." Carrie said, and she felt herself smile at the thought of her nice warm bed.
(A little later; 10:45pm; the White Residence)
After Carrie got back home with her father, they both had a hot dinner, and then spent some time in the living room talking with each other about how their day had gone, as well as what the following day might bring. The TV had been turned on with the evening news, but there was nothing really there to catch their interests, and besides by that point of the day, both of them were too tired to really care about it.
Eventually though by 10:30pm, with the night drawing in, and with tiredness coming over her after such a long day, Carrie decided to turn in. After bidding her father a goodnight, Carrie left the living room and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. After changing into her pyjamas, she went into the en-suite bathroom. After using the toilet, she went over to wash her hands and brush her teeth. While she was brushing her teeth, Carrie went over to the small bathroom window, pulled the curtain aside a little and looked outside; there wasn't much to see out there, due to the fact there was still a thick grey swirling fog that blocked out much of what could be seen out there. In fact, the heaviest layers of fog just seemed to hug the ground in a way that Carrie had never seen before. It wasn't anything to be concerned about, but was just a little unnerving to see.
Once Carrie was finished in the bathroom, she switched off the light and closed the door behind her. Stepping over to her bed, she thought long and hard about how spooky all the scenery had looked in the fog when she and Simon had been out on Henry's footplate earlier on in the evening, and even now the sight of everything in that ghostly fog had certainly been unnerving.
Shaking away those thoughts, Carrie pulled the duvet aside, slipped into bed, covered herself with the duvet, and then turned off the bedside light. As she laid her head upon the pillow, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep and apprecitive sleep at once, exhausted from working longer than ha dbeen expected today.
(Chamberlain, local time: 02:00am, Tuesday, February 14th, 2012)
It was the middle of the night within Carrie's hometown of Chamberlain, Maine, and almost everyone in town was fast asleep in their warm beds within the safety of their own houses. Out on some of the streets, police officers in their marked police cars went along on their nocturnal patrols, as some of the late workers and a few other people who had been unlucky enough to be assigned to work the night shift went on with their nightly tasks in the buildings that had to work round the clock 24/7.
Within the Snell Residence not too many streets away from the town centre, Sue Snell slept quietly in her room as different visions danced within her head. But the visions she could see were not very pleasant ones; she was in the depths of another nightmare very similar in some respects to the one she had experienced in the very early hours of Christmas Day less than two months before, only that this one was very different.
(Start of dream sequence)
Sue found herself standing right in the middle of a well-used forest pathway, in the dead of night with the pathway before her only lit up by the brightness of the full moon in the sky high above. Almost all of the trees were bare of their leaves, with the branches giving a very spooky and eerie sight, almost like they were hands reaching out for her. There was a very light fog floating about in the air, and it was swirling all around her and throughout the forest round the countless trees on both sides of her, giving a very scary sight. From somewhere on one of the old and bare trees close by, an owl hooted out loudly for a moment before it flew off.
(Insert soundtrack – Beware of the Viaduct – Haunted Henry)
Sue walked slowly along up the pathway, unsure of what she would find or where the path would lead to…and hoping that she didn't bump into anyone unpleasant as she went along. Then she suddenly heard a noise from somewhere close by, and, gasping in fright, quickly stopped while half kneeling down and cocking her ear to try and hear what it was. But she couldn't hear anything, and she could feel herself hyperventilating as the looked all around.
"Who's there?!" she shouted as her voice echoed all around her, while hoping that someone would respond. No one replied from anywhere, or from the ghostly shaped trees. Gathering up all her courage, Sue took in a deep breath, slowly stood back up and then crept slowly onwards along the pathway. On and on she walked, through the swirling ghostly fog, which seemed to be getting a little thicker with each passing minute.
Sue shivered, both from the cold and from being afraid, as she walked along the lonely forest path, and looked left and right at any instant that she heard even the slightest noise coming from somewhere within the forest, and it didn't matter how small a noise it was. Then after a short while, she finally reached a sort of crossroads where another path going from left to right went over the path on which she was walking. A little off to the side of the path was a bright, white-shining electric light to show where the crossroads was. There was a signpost in another corner, but the white painted writing on the four different pointing boards was old and heavily faded, so it was impossible to see which places they were pointing towards.
Sue was now unsure of which direction to she should go, whether or not she should go left or right, straight ahead, or turn round and go back the way she came. Deciding to continue on, she walked straight ahead and along the path leading back into the dark and spooky forest.
She wasn't sure how long she continued on for along the pathway, but then she reached a wide-open area with dense and dark spooky forests lining the edge of it. Taking a few more uneasy steps ahead, she suddenly heard a low noise, which sounded almost like someone breathing, and became aware of someone standing somewhere very near to her. Suddenly swinging round 180 to look back in the direction she'd just come from, she suddenly froze in a fear she'd never experienced before. There, standing before her, was the ghostly figure of Carrie White; she was dressed in a white dress that behaved almost like it was in water, with parts of it flowing in different directions.
Sue stood in frozen shock for what seemed like hours, but it was actually only for about 10 or 20 seconds, if that. Then, gathering her wits and what courage she had, she took a step towards Carrie with her arms outstretched, relieved to see she was all right. Then as she approached, the ghostly outline of Carrie suddenly vanished into the mist. Sue stopped, unsure of whether or not to believe what she had just seen take place before her eyes.
Taking in deep breaths, with her breath clearly visible in the cold night air, she looked around again and then saw Carrie standing in a different place a few steps away. But when she stepped over to her, this time being more cautious in the process, the ghostly shape of Carrie again vanished without trace.
Sue stopped and looked around but saw nothing around her but the mist getting thicker and thicker, until it finally got so thick, she eventually lost sight of the forest and the pathway over which she had gone along. She wanted to scream for help but found that she couldn't.
(End of dream sequence)
Sue suddenly woke up with a gasp; she quickly sat up in bed and switched on her bedside light, while trying to calm herself down and reassure herself that it had only been another awful nightmare. Reaching to the bedside table, she checked her phone to see what time it was; it was 02:45am. Getting out of bed, Sue quietly stepped over to her window and pulled the curtains aside; everything outside was quiet, with no one about on the dimly lit street at this time of the night. So, she turned round and went into her ensuite bathroom and took the chance to use the toilet before she went back to sleep.
Finishing a few long moments later, she stood at the sink and washed her hands. Looking into the mirror, she could just see her own exhausted, knackered reflection looking right back at her, with her tired eyes that seemed to say to her "It was only a dream, Sue…just take it easy…it was ONLY a dream. Get your butt back into bed and get back to sleep." Deciding to take her own advice, Sue quickly finished up in the bathroom, dried her hands before she switched off the lights and went back to bed.
Turning off the bedside light, Sue settled back down under the warm quilt and, as her head hit the inviting comfort and coolness of the pillow, she fell back to sleep. Though relieved to get back to sleep, her mind couldn't help but worry about Carrie.
