Chapter 168: Fire!

One bright, sunny day, Thomas and Percy were taking some old toys and clothes to the local orphanage. The head caretaker was there to greet them.

"Morning, you two! Thanks so much for the donations, the children could really use them."

"Don't think anything of it! Happy to help!"

Sure enough, the young orphans were climbing all over them, thanking them as they happily accepted the donations. Thomas and Percy smiled, happy to bring some joy to their lives.

But as they were about to leave, they couldn't help but notice a small girl who had kept to herself. Worried, the two of them walked over.

"Excuse me, but is something wrong?"

"We just saw you sitting over here by yourself, and thought you might like some company."

The little girl sighed sadly, brushing her long hair out of her face.

"I'm fine. I just…didn't feel like it."

And she walked away. Concerned, Thomas and Percy talked to the head caretaker.

"She's Myra, a recent addition to our home. And well, she…let's just say she didn't come from a loving family. Poor girl's had a hard life, and just kind of shut herself out from the world."

Thomas and Percy were saddened by this news. They wished there was a way for them to help her, but they didn't know how.

Later that day, James was taking a train of oil tankers to the refinery. He took a deep breath of the spring air, and smiled.

"Ah, now this is the life! There really is nothing quite like it…hey, what's that smell?"

Sniffing the air, he could sense the distinct smell of smoke. Looking back, he was aghast to see his train up in flames!"

"Oh no! Help!"

Rushing his train into a siding, he had the signalman phone for the fire brigade. They got there in short order, and soon had the blaze under control. Thomas and Percy, having seen the blaze from afar, rushed onto the scene to find the firefighters putting out the last embers.

"What happened?"

"Looks like a spark from the engine's funnel set the lead truck on fire, causing a chain reaction. Lucky we got here when we did, fuel is dangerous when it's set ablaze."

"Is Jim alright?"
"Don't worry James, your guard jumped out as soon as he heard your call for help. Said he would've called us, but you beat him to it."

"You always did say that the countryside got you fired up, James, but I didn't think you meant it literally!" Teased Percy.

"Shut up! It's not funny."

"You're right James, it's not. Fire is no laughing matter Percy, and should always be treated as serious business." Scold the fire chief.

"Yes sir, sorry sir."

"James, I'm going to need you to stay here for a while just to make sure you weren't hurt. Don't worry, I've already sent a message to Sir Topham Hatt explaining the situation."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"As for you two, nothing to see here. Move along."

"Right!"

Later that same day, Myra was walking back to the orphanage from school, her usual sad self. As she was walking past the workman's hut, she saw something that made her shutter. The hut was ablaze, smoke billowing out of the open windows. No one was inside, but if it wasn't put out soon, there could be trouble. Running to the station, Myra told them what had happened and the fire brigade was called. They got there as soon as they could, but they ran into trouble.

"We've run out of water! And we can't use seawater, it'll clog the pumps!"

"But what about the fire?"

"I'm afraid we'll just have to let the hut burn."

Just then, Myra got a good idea.

"Thomas and Percy are at the station, I'm sure they won't mind if we take some water from their engines' tanks."

"Good idea, kid!"

Thomas and Percy were happy to help, and soon the fire engines had enough water to keep going. Soon, the fire was out, but the hut had burned completely to the ground.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Yes, thanks to Myra. If she hadn't seen it, who knows how long it would've taken for help to arrive?"

The police chief thought for a minute, then approached her.

"You live at the orphanage, right?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I was dropping some old clothes off there earlier, and I thought I saw you. You know, my wife and I had been talking about starting a family. How would you like to come live with us?"

"You…you mean it?"

"I do. A fine girl like you deserves a good home."

Myra smiled, and hugged her new father. Now she's as happy as can be, with a loving family and a good home. She still sees Thomas and Percy from time to time, and they're glad to see that she is much happier now.