Chapter 28: A False Alarm (III)
(Wednesday, May 16th 2012 – 15:00pm; Chamberlain, Maine)
Okay everyone, I intent for most of this chapter to be a fairly short one, and will concentrate mainly on the people back in Chamberlain, Maine, but in particular with those who go to Ewen High School. But I will include a scene of Carrie working on the Island of Sodor as well.
It was the end of another long day at Ewen High School, and almost all of the students were getting ready to leave the school and head on back home after another day. There were a few other students who were staying behind, as there were a number of different sports groups taking place in the school until late into the afternoon, including baseball, football, basketball, and tennis. The school's gym teacher, Rita Desjardin, in particular had a sports group to train for about an hour or so after the end of the school day.
Among those who were leaving the school after their long day was Sue Snell and her boyfriend Tommy Ross, and they were feeling tired after their long day. With them was Norma Watson and her boyfriend Freddy Holt, and they were both just as tired from the long day of school, having done a maths test that day, as well as the fact that they had been in Rita Desjardin's gym class earlier on in the day.
"I'll be glad to get home after the long day we've had." Tommy said, as he stretched his arms out.
"Yeah, me too. Especially after Ms Desjardin worked us out ragged during gym class earlier on today." Norma said, as she covered a yawn with her hand.
"You know, I'm a bit surprised that we haven't heard anything about the search for Carrie in the last few days. I wonder if anything's wrong." Sue said.
"Well, there's probably a reason for it, Sue. Maybe they've come across something and don't want to release anything about it until they're absolutely sure of it. Or maybe they have found something and they're keeping everything low-key about it, until they feel comfortable enough to make any sort of statement." Norma said.
"Well…regardless of that, it's been well over six months, nearly seven actually, since we last saw Carrie, and I just hope that she's all right…regardless of wherever she is." Sue said.
"Yeah, I hope that she's all right too. I'm also quite sure that once we finally hear the news that Carrie's all right, and that we see where she is right now, I'm sure that we'll all be very surprised." Tommy said.
"I'm sure you're right about that, Tommy. I'm curious as to where she may have ended up, and to see what's she's up to now." Norma said.
"I think that it's simply best that we all just wait and see until something comes up, either from the press or from the authorities." Freddy said.
"Yeah, that seems to be the best plan." Sue said.
"Anyway, shall we all head off home now?" Tommy asked.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. See you guys in the morning." Freddy said, as he and Norma set off down the pathway.
"Good night, you two!" Norma called to Sue and Tommy.
"See you tomorrow!" Sue and Tommy called, as they too set off on their way.
(Later in the evening, Snell Residence)
After getting home, Sue set about getting changed into fresh and more comfortable clothes, and then started on the few items of homework that she had to do afterwards. She soon finished up her homework and just in time, as her mother called upstairs to her that dinner was ready.
As Sue, her younger sister Sierra, and her parents sat at the table and ate dinner, they could hear the sounds of the T.V. in the living room; it was the evening news, and the family could clearly hear the familiar voices of the two announcers on the news channel as they gave the latest news bulletins from within the United States and around the world.
At one point, just as Sue finished off her dinner and had drained her glass, an announcement from the T.V. caught her attention.
"…and now the latest report with regard to the missing Carrie White, we have a picture of a possible sighting of her from somewhere very close to Boston…" and on hearing that, Sue quickly stood up and went into the living room to have a look at the T.V. to be sure that if this picture was of Carrie.
After a few short moments, the picture came up on the T.V. screen, and Sue, as well as her sister and parents gathered round to see it. Then, Sue's hopefulness changed to disappointment; she could see at once that this girl on the T.V. screen wasn't Carrie White at all. For one, her hair was just a little too dark, while Carrie's hair was more of a yellow blonde, and to add to that, the girl she could see this girl was also somewhat taller than Carrie White. At once, Sue knew at once that this news report was just ANOTHER false alarm, and that Carrie was still missing.
Sighing heavily, Sue turned away from the T.V. and went back into the kitchen.
"How are you feeling, Sue?" her mother asked, as she followed her eldest daughter back into the kitchen.
"Somewhat disappointed to be honest. I had some hopes that this time it would be Carrie that we'd see." Sue said, as she set about cleaning up the dishes on the table and putting them into the dishwasher.
"Well, don't feel too downhearted yet, Sue. There's still hope that Carrie could still be found somewhere, and it's only a matter of time that she'll be found alive and well." her mother said, as she tried to reassure her daughter.
"I hope you're right about that, mom. I hope Carrie is doing all right…wherever she might be." Sue said, as she looked outside the kitchen window.
(Meanwhile, at the Hargensen Residence)
As Sue continued to have some concerns for the missing Carrie White, Chris Hargensen, her boyfriend Billy Nolan, and her two best friends Tina Blake and Donna Kellogg, were socialising together at Chris' place. With Chris' parents having gone out for the evening, Chris and her friends were hanging out together and enjoying the evening. The T.V. was on and they too had just seen the news report about a possible sighting of Carrie White, and the girls could see at once that this girl on the screen wasn't Carrie at all. And Chris was particularly pleased that it wasn't Carrie who had been sighted.
"Well, I guess that it's for now." Tina said, as she smiled at Chis and Donna.
"Yeah, that's clearly not that freak. Which means that we don't need to worry about her coming back anything in the future." Donna said, as she smiled and stretched her arms out. For a few moments, Chris laughed a sort of evil laugh before she spoke again, with a sort of nefarious, evil look on her face.
"And I really hope that we'll never see her again. She's such a freak, and I really, really hate her. Particularly for the way she ratted us out like that." Chris said, as she picked up a glass of liquor from the table and took a sip from it.
"Yeah, and I hope that she's in big trouble wherever she might be, and will be running away from the people in the place where she is in fear." Tina said, and all three girls laughed in an evil way with each other for a few moments before they quietened down again.
"I agree, but there's a chance she might be having a good time wherever she is too." Billy Nolan said, with a chuckle.
"Hey! Don't even mention that, Billy! I'm hoping that Carrie is having a horrible time where she is now, and I hope it will continue for as long as possible!" Chris said, as she shot her boyfriend a rather stern glare.
"Hey, I was just suggesting it." Billy said, as he gave another chuckle.
"Don't even go there, Billy. We have a view in our minds, and we don't want anything to disturb it." Tina said, as she too shot Billy Nolan a rather stern glare.
"Okay, Tina. Sorry." Billy said.
Then Tina and Donna turned their attention to Chris.
"So, because we got detention or suspensions, what have you got in mind to get revenge on Carrie for ratting us out like she did?" Tina asked her best friend.
"Oh, I don't know how I'll go about it yet, but whatever method we choose to do it…I hope that it'll be a real big shock for that freak." Chris said, as she gave another evil chuckle at how she might get revenge on Carrie.
"Well Chris, if you ever have an idea, do tell us. Or if we ever get an idea, we'll let you know about it." Donna said.
"Thanks, Donna." Chris said, as she looked towards her friend.
"No problem at all, Chris. Happy to suggest anything to you." Donna said, as she too reached for her own glass of liquor on the table and took a sip from it.
"Here, here!" Tina said, as she too took a sip from her own glass of liquor, and Donna and Chris also sipped from their glasses too.
(At Rita Desjardin's house)
In her living room, Rita Desjardin, the gym teacher of Ewen High School, had been having dinner in front of the T.V., as she had always done on many an evening during the time that she'd been living there. After such a long day of work at the school, especially with all the physical moving about and the different exercises she had done with her various classes, she was eager to relax for the rest of the evening and recharge her batteries ready for the next day. She had swallowed a bite of dinner, which tonight was spaghetti bolognaise, and had just been sipping a glass of wine when the news report came on the screen, and she paused her eating and watched the report. Yet, she too could see at once the girl in the picture wasn't that of Carrie at all, because she knew all the differences between what this girl looked like and what Carrie looked like.
Putting down her cutlery on her plate and leaning back on the sofa, Rita signed heavily and looked up to the ceiling. Sometimes, she wondered why the press would just put a picture like that onto the screens of thousands of televisions everywhere without comparing it to any of the other pictures of Carrie that had already been on T.V. or on any of the internet articles regarding the disappearance of Carrie.
Sighing heavily, Rita reached for the remote control on the table, and switched over to the other channels to see if there was anything else on this evening, even something that was more uplifting than the news. She reached a movie channel where a movie, The Devil Wears Prada, was just beginning. Deciding that a movie was better than the news at the moment, Rita continued on with eating her dinner while she watched the movie.
In fact, it was pretty much the same all over Chamberlain, as well as to a few places outside of it, to anyone who saw this latest news report; anyone could clearly see that the girl on the screen before them wasn't Carrie White at all, though a few people did voice some concerns or opinions at times. It was clearly another false alarm, and caused by people in the press who were clearly not thinking about what was on the pictures before looking at photos of Carrie that had been on the news before.
(Very late that night; the Snell Residence)
A heavy silence hung along the street, with hardly any sounds to be heard from anywhere, barring the odds sounds of a barking dog from somewhere along the street, a police cruiser going by on the odd occasion, as well as the other odd sounds from elsewhere in the area. Within her room at home, Sue Snell slept on quietly in her warm and comfortable bed. After the long day she had gone through at Ewen High a few hours earlier, she was exhausted and grateful for a good night of sleep before having to do it all over again the following day.
As Sue slept in her warm and comfortable bed and trying to get rested up for another day of school in the morning, various thoughts and visions were going through her head of what could be happening to Carrie, and a vision began to appear within her mind as she tried to sleep on.
(Start of dream sequence)
Sue found herself walking along in the middle of a rocky landscape, and she was all alone. The path she was on was quite narrow – only about six feet or so wide – and she looked up to see some of the rocks above her didn't go up too high, and so she continued on down the pathway. Looking up to the sky, she could see that there were no clouds, and the moon was full, and shining its light brightly over the landscape. In the sky high above, she could see a canopy of bright stars, which were shining brightly. It was a mesmerising, and awe-inspiring sight to see so many countless stars shining brightly in the dark heavens above her. The air was very chilly, but Sue didn't feel cold at all, but she could feel the fear level rising within her; she didn't like it at all, especially with being in such a strange place on her own, and in the middle of such a night.
It was very quiet…too quiet in fact, with no sounds coming from anywhere, and not even the sounds of a light breeze, other than the sounds from her own rather nervous breathing and the sounds of her own two feet walking along the path she was on. Deciding she didn't want to stay in this spot for long, and somewhat curious to see what lay ahead further on from where she was, she continued on her way along the path.
(Insert soundtrack – Duncan gets Spooked Theme)
Sue wasn't sure exactly how long she went along this rugged and rocky pathway, which twisted and turned one way and then the other as she went along, but then she reached an arrow-straight section of path along a very gently sloping stretch and, after walking along much of it, she then came upon an old bridge that crossed over a wide and rocky ravine, which also looked to be very deep. Sue could feel the air getting colder, and suddenly there came the sounds of an owl hooting from a tree somewhere very close by, and the sound echoed everywhere.
At that moment, she started shivering for the first time, both from the cold and from fright, as she knew something was about to happen. Looking ahead, she could see a thick, white mist was rising from the deep ravine, and swirling all around the bridge before her, and it was very spooky. Some mist was spreading along the ground where she was standing, and swirling all around her feet. Sue didn't want to go any further, but she felt herself still going forwards towards the bridge, almost as if being drawn towards the bridge like a magnet to metal, one reluctant step at a time.
She stepped slowly and cautiously onto the bridge, which she could feel groan slightly under her weight as she stepped along it, one step at a time, heading from one side of the ravine towards the other. The bridge, which was made of iron, was very old, and looked like it hadn't been properly maintained in quite a long time. And the handrails that were fitted on its sides didn't go up very high; in fact, they were barely at waist height, and appeared to be very rickety at the very best, which meant that one wrong move would cause the handrails to break and anyone could fall over into the ravine far below to a certain death. The bridge was also very narrow; it was barely four feet wide - narrower than the stony path she had just been on, with hardly enough room for two people to pass side by side. Sue didn't want to look down over the side of the bridge, but she couldn't resist the temptation; she couldn't see through the mist that was swirling all around the bridge, but she could tell that it was a very long way down from where she was, and so she turned her gaze away from looking down to looking back along the bridge.
Then she suddenly stopped, and right in the middle of the bridge, as she thought she could hear, or sense, something unusual; it was clear that she was in the presence of someone or something. She knew that something was out there, and seemed to be getting closer to where she was in the middle of the bridge. Staying quiet, she took in a deep breath, looked ahead and braced herself for what might be coming.
She waited for a time, for what seemed like several seconds to nearly a minute, and then in the moonlight, being diffused though the mist, Sue could see the very faint outline of someone approaching her through the swirling mist from the other side of the ravine. Then, after a few seconds and after giving her eyes a few seconds to adjust, Sue could see that the person was Carrie White, and she was a ghostly apparition, with Sue being able to see through her body. The eyes of the ghostly Carrie apparition were staring straight ahead, and not even looking off to the sides. It was almost as if the ghostly Carrie was looking straight into Sue and trying to see what was there. With Sue's eyes wide open in shock and her jaw having dropped, Sue wanted to scream out in sheer fright and run away from this spectre, but found out to her own horror that she couldn't. She stood mesmerised in a horrified way by the sight, as the ghostly shape of Carrie came closer, and closer to her, without speaking, rushing, blinking her eyes, or even moving her arms.
At one point, Sue found herself looking directly into the face of the ghostly Carrie. She could see that Carrie's eyes seemed to be full of sadness, and which did look like the appearance of someone who was just at their lowest point in life and wanted to end it all. Carrie's eyes were staring straight ahead, and Sue knew that Carrie seemed to be so badly depressed, and looked like she really needed help.
Then, just before Carrie reached her, the ghostly shape of her suddenly vanished in the mist without a sound. However, the worst was yet to come, as several seconds later, and much to Sue's personal horror, there came the ominous sounds of a loud splash coming from the water deep below within the ravine, and then the sounds of it echoed very eerily around the ravine. It was followed after by the sounds of screaming from under the bridge, which were loud and chilling. It was then that Sue realised that Carrie had either jumped from or fallen over the edge of the bridge and down into the ravine far below her.
Frightened out of her wits by what had just happened around her, by what she had just seen before her, and what she had just heard, and not wanting to stay on this bridge for any longer than she already had been there, Sue turned round and ran off the bridge back the way she had come, as fast as her feet would carry her.
(End of dream sequence)
Sue suddenly shot up into a sitting position in her bed, gasping for air, and her forehead sweating somewhat from the unnerving nightmare. Quickly switching on the bedside light, Sue took a few moments to catch her breath, and she took in several deep breaths to calm down and relax from what she had just experienced. Reaching for her phone on the bedside table, she checked the time; it was 2:31am.
She stepped out of her bed and went into the ensuite bathroom. Switching on the light, she turned on the tap and rubbed some cold water onto her sweaty face for a few moments. Turning the tap off, she rubbed a towel on her face, and then looked at her reflection for several long moments, which seemed to say to her "Get back into bed, Sue." before she turned the light off and slowly walked back through her room to her bed.
"God, that was very disturbing...it was just a dream...just a very scary dream. Get back to sleep...try get back to sleep." Sue said quietly, as she reassured herself she was okay while she climbed back into bed and then switched off the bedside light again. Laying her head back down on the pillow, she closed her eyes again and tried to get herself back to sleep after her very disturbing nightmare.
(The next morning: Island of Sodor: local time; 9:25am)
(Location: Knapford Station)
Carrie was feeling ready for another day of work after another good night's sleep, and was standing on the footplate of Henry, who was standing at Platform 5 at Knapford Station. And coupled behind Henry's tender were eight polished coaches, and the passengers on the platform were getting aboard the train for the journey northwards to Emily Road, on the very north side of the Island of Sodor. In the sky, it was a perfect day to go out, as there were no clouds in the sky and the sun was shining brightly as it rose up into the morning sky. In fact, the train they were taking out of Knapford today would be full of people who were on their way to the seaside along the northern side of the island, where some of the most popular beaches were.
As it promised to be a warm day on Sodor today, Carrie was again wearing a set of overalls that were opened at the top, where heat could easily escape from under the overalls. She was leaning on the right-hand side of Henry's cab with a hot cup of tea in her hands, and she was sipping from it as she, the driver, fireman, and Henry waited for the guard to blow his whistle and wave his green flag, as well as for the signal to drop so that they could set off on their way with the train.
Carrie leaned out of the cab a little more and called up to Henry.
"Well Henry, I can't wait to see how today goes." Carrie said.
"Me too, Carrie. I'm hoping that things will go smoothly today, and we'll get these passengers to where they need to be on time." said Henry, as he smiled.
"Yes, after all on a nice day like this, all the passengers will want to get up to the seaside with plenty of time to enjoy the sea and sun." Carrie said, as she took another look up to the sunny sky.
It wasn't too long until it was time for them to leave with their train; seconds after the last door on the coaches were shut, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. At the same time, the signal dropped and the points were switched, which meant they were all clear to depart from Knapford Station. As Carrie called out "Right away!" to the driver, the driver sounded Henry's whistle, and then released the brakes and opened the regulator. Slowly, Henry moved out of the station, with his eight coaches following along behind him.
"Pull hard! I can do it! Pull hard! I can do it!" Henry puffed, as he moved out over the points and onto the line that would take his northwards.
(Insert soundtrack – Henry Season 1 Theme)
Soon, they were running nicely along the main line, passing by the busy yards at Knapford on the red-brick viaduct that went over the yards, and then going over the steel girder bridge over the estuary, where they were able to pick up some more speed and head on past the junction to the Little Western, and then northwards towards their destination with no stops between Knapford and there. The coaches followed along very smoothly behind them, with the passengers settling in for the short journey north.
In the cab, Carrie took first go at the shovel, and placed several shovelfuls of coal to where they were needed in the firebox, thus keeping a good steam pressure on the main boiler pressure gauge. The fireman, who watching from the side, was very impressed by how Carrie checked to see where the coal was needed in the firebox before she then placed the first shovelful of coal onto the firebox. Carrie did this around half a dozen times before she then stood up straight again.
"And there we are." Carrie said, standing up straight and pressing her left hand into her lower back.
"Are you used to the hard work and bending over to stoke the boiler, Carrie?" the fireman asked, as Carrie handed him the shovel.
"Oh, I am by now. But at the same time, it is a bit demanding to be bend over all the time, especially when moving all that coal on the shovel from the tender to the firebox. Nonetheless, I'm impressed by how well Henry steams." Carrie said.
"Well Carrie…it wasn't always like that. Many years ago, Henry was a poor steamer, and the firemen who worked on this footplate would build up his fire but it wouldn't give enough heat to make the steam. Then there came a point where bad coal came along and gave all the engines a difficult time, but Henry felt its effects the worst. But the problem was solved when the Fat Controller brought in Welsh coal to Sodor for Henry to use, and as a result Henry's performance massively improved." the fireman said.
"Well, that must have been a good thing for Henry when that happened." Carrie said, with a smile.
"Yes, but then shortly afterwards, Henry suffered an accident early one very cold winter morning when he was pulling the Flying Kipper, and he ended up coming off the rails and ending sprawled up on his side after he was diverted into a siding by some frozen points and crashed straight into the back of a freight train. And the signal before the siding, which should have been at "Danger" had been forced down by snow that had gathered on the arm, giving a "False Clear" signal." the fireman said.
"Oh, that must have been a horrendous experience." Carrie said, as she shuddered at the thought of such an accident.
"But there's a happy ending; Henry was sent to Crewe Works to be rebuilt, and when he came back in the spring, he had the shape he has today and he steamed far better on regular coal, which meant that he didn't need to use Welsh coal anymore." said the fireman.
"Well, that's quite a good story." Carrie said, with another smile.
The trip northwards along the main line went very smoothly, with the coaches following along nicely and all the passengers aboard them really enjoying the journey immensely. Henry too was really enjoying the journey too, and he was looking forward to getting his passengers to their destination, as they would be able to go to the beach and enjoy the nice late-spring/early-summer day.
As they reached the small junction very near to Arlesburgh North Station, they came upon Murdoch, who was waiting to go onto the Little Western line with a long freight train that needed to be brought southwards back to the yards at Knapford. Murdoch was running a little ahead of schedule, and so he didn't need to rush too much this morning.
"Morning Murdoch! I've got lots of passengers to take to the seaside this morning!" Henry said to the orange-painted 9F, as he went on past with his whistle sounding too.
"I wouldn't mind taking passengers to the seaside too." Murdoch said quietly, as he thought of how nice it would be to bring passengers to the seaside, especially on a day as nice as this one. After a few seconds, Henry's coaches had gone on by, and so the way was clear for Murdoch to continue on his way with his freight train. With the points set and signal dropped to show the way was clear, Murdoch's driver sounded his whistle and opened the regulator a little, and Murdoch was on his way again.
In the meantime, Henry continued on his way with his train, he had to pass through the major junction complex just a little to the north of Heathfield, and he had to slow down somewhat as he passed through the area. He passed by one of the factories which had long sidings going into the factory complex from the main line, and this factory was one that made wooden furniture for sale on Sodor and for export to the main land. Sitting in the longest siding in the factory complex, Donald and Douglas were seen and they were coupled to a long train of vans and some flatbeds that were all loaded up with freshly completed furniture that was ready to be sent to Barrow-in-Furness on the main land.
"Hello, you two!" Henry whistled, as he passed by the Scottish twins with his train.
"Good morning there, Henry!" called Donald, as he whistled in greeting.
"And get your passengers up to the seaside safely, Henry!" Douglas called, as he too whistled in greeting to Henry, as the green engine went on by.
Back in the coaches of the train, many of the people who were travelling in comfort were looking out the windows as the train made its way along, and looking for the first signs of the beach they would be going to. Many of the young kids and children aboard the train were also looking outside in anticipation, as they were all looking forward to a good day at the seaside with family and friends, and were hoping to go swimming, enjoy ice cream, as well as the warm sunny weather, and maybe even have fish and chips in view of the sea close to the end of the day before they had to go home again.
(A short while later; Emily Road Station)
It wasn't too long before Henry finally arrived at Emily Road Station, and two minutes early, despite having had to slow down so as to go through Heathfield Junction. After coming to a stop at the station with a gentle squeal of the brakes, the passengers disembarked from the train and then made their way down to the beach, which wasn't too far away from the station and so they could walk there without a problem.
From the cab, Carrie looked back as the passengers got off the train. She could see people, including families with younger kids, getting off the coaches and they all had a variety of different things, including buckets and spades, picnic baskets, bags carrying different things, drinks coolers, and a variety of other different things to enjoy a day at the seaside. After a few moments of watching the passengers get off the train and make their way out from the station, she turned to look down towards the beach which she could clearly see only a few hundred yards away; she could see that the waters of the Irish Sea were calm with gentle waves breaking over the sands, and with the clear blue sky above, she knew that the passengers would enjoy a good day at the beach.
"You know, I really wouldn't mind being going down to the beach with Simon and our friends today." Carrie said to the driver and fireman.
"Yeah, and I wouldn't mind being there as well today too, as would many other people we know as a matter of fact. But then again, how would the railway be able to get everyone to the seaside if we went there instead?" the driver said, with a chuckle.
"I know, but then again…there is still the whole summer to go." Carrie said quietly, as she turned her attention back to the beach spread out before her. She could hear the different sounds one would normally associate with the seaside, including the sounds of the waves breaking over the beach, music being played from the various sideshows that lined the beachside walk, the sounds of laughter from people, the seagulls as they flew through the air above, as well as the sounds of a very light and gentle breeze blowing over the area.
Up front, Henry also smiled as he watched all the people make their way down to the beach. He always enjoyed seeing people with smiles on their faces as they went off to the seaside to enjoy themselves, and he also enjoyed seeing them when they came back at the end of the day and he had to take them back home again.
"Let's hope they enjoy themselves at the seaside today." Henry said, as he watched his passengers head over to the beach.
"I'm sure they will, old boy. After all, the weather forecast last night said it would be warm and sunny all day, along with clear skies and light breezes." said the driver.
"And will we be picking them up later on today?" Henry asked.
"We sure will, Henry! After all, that's what we've been assigned to do today once we've finished with our other jobs." said the fireman.
"That's good!" smiled Henry.
(Meanwhile: Chamberlain: local time; 8:05am)
As Carrie was helping to take people to the seaside resorts on Sodor in bright sunny weather, her classmates back in Chamberlain, Maine were starting another day of school, and their day was starting with heavy rain falling from a dull, grey sky. The rain had been falling for most of the night, starting at about 3:00am and continuing on into the early morning, when the students and staff were arriving at Ewen High School for another day.
Sue Snell arrived at the school shortly after 8:00am, and after going inside the school, made her way over to where her locker was. She was still feeling somewhat disappointed from seeing the news report the evening before, and that the girl hadn't been Carrie White after all. She soon reached the area of the corridor where her locker was located and, taking out her key, unlocked the door, before she then began sorting out what books she would need for her morning classes.
As she worked at getting what she needed, Sue's mind couldn't help but cast back to the bad dream she had the night before, where she saw Carrie's ghostly shape in the mist on the old bridge before it suddenly vanished before her. In fact, Sue's mind was so focused on her bad dream, that she didn't notice her boyfriend Tommy Ross, as well as Heather Shyres and her boyfriend Brian Maxwell, as well as Norma Watson and Freddy Holt coming towards her.
"Hey, good morning, Sue." Tommy said, and him suddenly speaking caused Sue to jump a little as she turned round.
"Oh, Tommy. Sorry…I…thought you were someone else." Sue said, as she rubbed her forehead down.
"Is something wrong, Sue? You look as though you've seen a ghost." Heather said, with some concern for her friend. Now the others could see the look on Sue's face; she looked somewhat paler than she had the previous day, and her face was sweating a little.
"Well…you're not far off, Heather. I didn't have the best night's sleep last night, and I had the most disturbing nightmare last night too…" and Sue took a few moments to tell them about her disturbing nightmare. When she finished, the five of them looked at her in a stunned way of what she had described to them.
"Sue…that…that sounds like one of the most disturbing nightmares ever." Brian said.
"It…it was, and just one of a number of similar nightmares that I've had over the last few months ever since Carrie disappeared." Sue said.
"Oh, Sue…those…those nightmares don't sound too good. Have they been occurring quite frequently? Norma asked, with some concern.
"No, not too frequently. But when they do occur…they just show me these really disturbing visions of these horrible things." Sue said, as she wiped her forehead down again.
"Well…you should really tell someone about those nightmares if they keep occurring that often, Sue. Maybe they could help you." Brian suggested.
"I'll…I'll keep it in mind, Brian." Sue said, as she closed and locked her locker door.
"Come on, Sue…there's still plenty of time before the first class begins, so let's go down to the cafeteria and get you something from one of the vending machines. I think it might help you." Tommy suggested.
"Thanks…I'd like that." Sue said, as she and Tommy set off together down the hall to the cafeteria, with their arms round each other. Norma, Freddy, Heather, and Brian remained where they were for a few moments, watching Sue and Tommy head towards the cafeteria.
"I wouldn't like to have the nightmares Sue is experiencing. I don't think I'd be able to sleep very well at all during the night." Norma said, somewhat disturbed by the nightmare Sue had described to them.
"Neither would I. I hope Sue will be okay." Freddy said.
"And I hope any of us don't start getting similar nightmares after hearing about something like that." Brian added.
"Yeah, me too." Heather said.
Elsewhere within the school, Chris Hargensen and her two friends Tina Blake and Donna Kellogg were feeling somewhat better, especially as after seeing the report the previous evening. Those other students who saw them knew why the three girls were looking so pleased, because most of the other students themselves had seen the report as well, and knew it had been a false alarm. All feeling somewhat disgusted by how the three girls were, as well as being aware of Chris' vile personality, most of the other students quietly avoided them.
Yet, Chris, Tina, and Donna didn't care at all about that; Carrie was still missing and hadn't been found yet, and that was good enough for the three girls. After getting their things at their lockers, the three met up and went down to the cafeteria. As they walked along, some of the other students quietly glared at them as they watched them go on by. By this time, with almost all of them having read through the PDF of the copybook Carrie had left behind, almost all of the other students were now somewhat wary of Chris, particularly with how she had lashed out after the first anti-bullying talk.
(Later on; Island of Sodor; local time 5:10pm)
With the sounds of gently hissing steam from his pipes, as well as the other sounds of the seaside and people going by the station, Henry stood at the platform of the station at Emily Road Station and was waiting for the passengers who had been at the seaside that day to board his coaches so he could take them back home. As Henry stood and waited for the passengers to arrive at the station, his driver and fireman, as well as Carrie, were resting on the footplate and were enjoying fish and chips that the driver had bought from a nearby food vendor a few minutes before.
"Hmm, this is delicious..." Carrie said, as she enjoyed the taste of the fish and chips she was having.
"Yeah, and a good fish and chips is just to thing to finish off the day like the one we've had!" said the driver, as he took a bite out from his deep-fried battered fish piece.
"Indeed!" Carrie said, as she ate some more chips and savoured the taste of the chips, which were covered with salt and vinegar. As she swallowed what she'd just eaten and then took a long drink from a bottle of Coca Cola she had, she took a look out from the side of Henry's cab out over the seaside and over the sea towards the west. The sun was still quite high in the air and, although it was slowly setting, there would still be several hours of daylight left to go before it got fully dark. After a few moments of watching the late afternoon scene, Carrie turned back to continue enjoying the rest of her fish and chips.
It wasn't too long before Carrie, as well as the driver and fireman, had finished their fish and chips and had placed the used wrappers into the firebox to burn away. And it was just in time that they had finished, as the passengers arrived back on the platform with their things and began to board the train. Leaning out from Henry's cab and looking back along the train, Carrie could see that many of the passengers, including the children and younger kids, were very tired from their day at the seaside, yet they all seemed to be very happy from their day out. At the same time, Carrie could also see that some of the passengers also had familiar white packages in their hands, which meant they had also gotten fish and chips from one of the food vendors just before they arrived at the station.
"Looks like some of the passengers are also gonna be enjoying fish and chips on the train on their way home." Carrie said, as the driver leaned out and looked back as well.
"Yes, I imagine so. And I think they all deserve something like that at the end of a good day like this one." the driver said.
It wasn't too long before everyone had gotten aboard the train, and all the doors on the coaches were closed up. At the same time, the guard blew his whistle loudly and waved his green flag to show the crew that they could leave the station.
"Okay, right away, driver!" Carrie said.
"All right! Let's get going, Henry!" the driver said.
"All right!" Henry said, as his whistle blew loudly for a few seconds before he started moving slowly forwards out of the station. As she felt Henry move out from Emily Road Station, taking up the weight of the heavy train behind him, Carrie sat down on the front of the tender and waited for her turn to take the shovel and stoke the boiler with it.
Well, everyone...this new chapter takes my story to well over 300,000 words so far!
