I do no down Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. They are strictly the property of both the Awdry family and Britt Allcroft, this story is purely for entertainment purposes only and never for profit.

Episode 18: Percy Runs Away, Original Airdate: 4th December 1984

It was a miserable rainy day on the Island of Sodor. All over the island everything was soaking wet and as a result people who wanted to be out and about doing things were forced to cancel them and stay indoors where it was nice and dry.

In the Billinton household in the village of Ffarquhar Lucy Billinton was feeling bored. Thomas had originally planned to take her to the playground, but it was far too wet for it, Thomas had come in with a tray of ham and cheese sandwiches, glasses of milk and some McVities chocolate digestives for the two of them. He noticed the look on her face and decided to check on her.

"You okay Lucy?" Thomas asked his daughter.

"Bored daddy," said Lucy.

"I know sweetie, I know" said Thomas as he put the tray down on the sitting room table, "I know you were looking forward to the playground but I'm afraid we can't go until the rain stops".

"Story daddy?" Lucy asked hoping that her father will tell her one of his stories.

"A story Lucy?" Thomas asked, "will a story cheer you up sweetie?".

"Yes, please daddy" Lucy said happily.

Thomas gave his daughter a smile, a story would be just the thing to cheer her up.

"Alright then" said Thomas as he picked Lucy up and sat her down on the couch, "how about I tell you of the time Uncle Percy ran away from Uncle Gordon?".

"Uncle Percy runaway from Uncle Gordon?" asked Lucy.

"That's right Lucy" said Thomas as he began his story, "this happened a week after Uncle Gordon, Uncle James and Uncle Henry were punished by Sir Topham Hatt for their silly strike which left me, mummy, granddad, granddad Burnett, Uncle Percy and Uncle Edward to run the North Western Railway".

(Story Begins)

Henry, Gordon, and James were in the kitchen at the Tidmouth bunkhouse feeling miserable. It had been a week since Sir Topham Hatt had suspended them for causing trouble with their strike, they were now truly sorry for what they had done and longed to be let out again.

"What made us think that the strike was a good idea?" moaned Gordon.

"Us" said James annoyed, "the whole thing was your bloody idea Gordon".

"That's right Gordon" agreed Henry, "if you had just talked to Sir Topham Hatt, we wouldn't be in this mess".

Gordon said noting and just looked down at his feet, he knew that what both Henry and James said was true. Just then the door to the kitchen opened and Sir Topham Hatt entered as the three of them stood up.

"Sir" the three of them said together.

"I hear that you three are sorry?" asked Sir Topham Hatt.

"Yes Sir," said Gordon.

"We never meant to cause such trouble for you Sir" said James solemnly.

Sir Topham Hatt saw that the three drivers really meant what they were saying.

"I hope that you realize that every job on the North Western Railway is important" Said Sir Topham Hatt, "we have a new tank engine driver named Percy whose been helping Lady with coaches on the branch line, Thomas and Edward have both run the mainline nicely. I've decided to let you three out, but only if you promise to work hard and if you behave yourselves".

"Yes Sir," said Gordon.

"We will Sir" promised James.

"We won't let you down Sir" declared Henry.

"Good and please remember that this no shunting business must stop" said Sir Topham Hatt sternly.

The three drivers agreed and went to fire up their engines. Sir Topham Hatt then left the bunkhouse and went to Thomas, Lady, Percy, Edward, Howard, and Burnett. He them that he was so pleased with their work that they could all go back to their branch lines.

"I'll miss working with you Lady" said Thomas sad that his girlfriend was going back to the Kirk Ronan branch line.

"Don't worry Thomas" smiled Lady kindly, "we'll still be able to see each other".

Then Lady brought herself to Thomas' ear.

"And besides I'm always a little magic away" whispered Lady.

Thomas smiled as he kissed his girlfriend as Howard, Percy, Edward, Burnett, and Sir Topham Hatt smiled at the sweet scene. Then Lady and Burnett both hopped into her engine and drove back to Kirk Ronan, Sir Topham Hatt then turned to face Edward.

"As for you Edward I have something I want you to do for me" said Sir Topham Hatt.

"Sure, thing Sir" said Edward, "may I ask what it is Sir?".

"I just hired to engine drivers, twins to be precise working in the China clay pits on your branch line" said Sir Topham Hatt.

"Twins" said Edward in surprise, "what are their names Sir?".

But before Sir Topham Hatt could answer, something hard and wet hit Edward in the cheek.

"Ow" said Edward as he picked up the object and saw that it was a spit ball, "alright who did that?".

Just then Edward, Sir Topham Hatt, Thomas and Howard heard a mischievous laugh coming from behind a line of trucks at platform 4. Sir Topham Hatt then looked towards the trucks with a stern look on his face.

"Alright wise guys I know its you" Sir Topham Hatt said sternly.

A pair of identical twins with black hair, both dressed in a yellow drivers suit each and in their early twenties came out of from behind the trucks and onto the platform. They both had a mischievous smile on their faces, whilst trying to look innocent at the same time.

"Alright you two" said Sir Topham Hatt sternly, "what's with the spit balls?".

"Spit balls Sir" said the slightly taller twin who pretended not to know anything, "I don't know anything about a spit ball, do you Bill?".

"No Ben" said his twin, "I've never seen the spit ball you just fired in all my life".

"Ah-ha busted," said Thomas.

"Oops" said the slightly shorter twin, realizing that he just admitted that it was him and his brother who shot the spit ball at Edward. His twin Ben looked at him and gave him a scowl.

"Bill you stupid prick" he said angrily.

"Alright that's enough you two" said Sir Topham Hatt as he turned to face Edward, "Edward let me introduce you to Bill and Ben Bagnall, they will be working in the China Clay pits on your branch line. Please can you take them there and show them ropes?".

Edward wasn't sure about it; he was certain that Bill and Ben would be cheeky and troublesome. But Sir Topham Hatt was relying on him, and he couldn't let him down, so he decided to suck it up.

"I will Sir," said Edward,

"That's a good man" said Sir Topham Hatt as he turned and walked away.

"Right, you two" said Edward as he turned to face Bill and Ben, "you're going to have a busy day, so we better head to the China Clay pits right away".

Edward then left with Bill and Ben following behind him. Thomas, Howard, and Percy then decided to get to work themselves. Annie and Clarabel were both so happy to be working with their brother and father, Percy was left to shunt trucks in the yard.

Percy enjoyed his work and shunted all morning until the trucks were tidily arranged, even the workmen were impressed by his work ethic.

"He's very good" said one workman to his colleagues.

"He sure is John" agreed another.

"Sir Topham Hatt was sure wise to hire him" declared another.

Percy was left alone but he didn't mind at all. He liked seeing the others driving their engines by and being cheeky to Henry, Gordon, and James.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry" he would call to them, and they would get very cross.

Later he shunted down 7 plank trucks into a siding on Edward's branch line and went to the signal box near Wellsworth station. He then waited for the signalman to switch the points so that he could get back to the yard at Knapford, unfortunately he was being rather careless and wasn't paying attention. He had also forgotten what Edward had told him earlier that day.

"Be careful on the mainline" Edward had told him, "When you get to the signal box, remember to whistle the signalman to let him know that you're there".

But Percy didn't remember to whistle and so the busy signalman had forgotten him. Percy waited and waited; the switch was against him so he couldn't move. Then he looked along the main line.

Peep, Peep!

Percy whistled his engines whistle in horror, for rushing straight towards both him and his engine was Gordon with the express.

"OOOOOOHHHHHH" shouted Gordon in shock, "GET OUT OF MY WAY!".

Percy shut his eyes and threw his arms in front of his face expecting a crash. Gordon very quickly managed to slam on his A3's brakes just in time, bring the engine and the express to a screeching stop.

When Percy opened his eyes, he saw that Gordon's A3 had stop just inches from his engine's buffers. Gordon then hopped down from his cab to see if he was alright.

However just as Gordon was approaching Percy's cab, he looked down and saw that Percy's engines wheels were beginning to move.

"I won't stay here" said a frightened Percy from the cab, "I'll run away".

Percy then threw his Avonside Class into reverse and went straight threw Edward's station, he was so frightened that he drove straight up Gordon's Hill without stopping. He was soon rushing down the other side of the hill and down the main line.

Eventually Percy grew tired, but he couldn't shut off his engines steam and apply the brakes.

Eventually his engine rolled through lower Suddery station. The signalman noticed that Percy was in trouble, so he kindly set the points for him. Percy's end was diverted into a nice empty siding, ending in a big bank of earth. But Percy was too tired now to care where he stopped, his engine hit the bank and came to a gentle stop.

"I want to stop; I want to stop! I have stopped" panted Percy as he wearily hopped down from the cab.

"Never mind Percy" said the workmen kindly as they dug his engine out, "we'll give you a drink, your engine some coal and then you'll feel better".

A workman gave Percy a Pepsi Max, which he drank down immediately as he was so thirsty. An hour later Gordon arrived with a tow cable attached to his A3's front, so that he could pull Percy's engine out. As the workmen attached the cable to the front of Percy's engine, Gordon hopped down from his cable and walked up to Percy.

"Are you okay Percy?" asked a concerned Gordon.

"I' am thanks Gordon," said Percy.

"Well done I admit" said Gordon, "you started so quickly that you stooped a nasty accident".

"I guess that's right and I'm sorry I was cheeky to you Gordon," said Percy.

"All is forgiven," said Gordon.

At last Gordon pulled Percy's Avonside SS out of the bank, the two drivers are now good friends. Although Percy is still cheeky because he's that sort of driver, but he is always most careful when he goes on the mainline.

(Story Ends)

"And ever since then, Uncle Percy has taken care when he's on the mainline" Thomas said as he finished his story.

Thomas then looked outside the window and saw that it had stopped raining. The sun had now come out and was beginning to dry up the ground.

"Hey, look Lucy" said Thomas, "its stopped raining".

"Playground Daddy?" asked Lucy.

"Yes, playground Lucy" smiled Thomas.

Lucy clapped her hands happily as Thomas went to fetch their shoes and coats. 5 minutes later they were heading to the playground, Howard and Tanya had both decided to come along with them. As they were walking along the path, they heard a rustling come from the bushes and then a whisper.

"Psssh Thomas" whispered a familiar voice.

"Percy" said Thomas in surprise, "what are you doing behind the bushes?".

"Could you be so kind to come here please?" asked Percy.

"Why can't you come out yourself?" asked Thomas.

"Eh me and Daisy are not exactly decent for Lucy's eyes" said Percy awkwardly

There was an awkward silence as Thomas, Howard and Tanya put two and two together. When they did a look of shock came over them, Thomas then turned to his mother.

"Mom, could you take Lucy to the playground while me and dad see what the problem is with Percy and Daisy?" asked Thomas.

"Sure, thing honey" said Tanya as she took Lucy's hand and hurried away.

"Why Daddy and granddad not coming?" Lucy asked her grandmother.

"Because Daddy and granddad need to help Uncle Percy and Aunt Daisy," said Tanya.

Once Lucy and Tanya were out of site, Thomas, and Howard both went behind the bushes to see what the problem was. They saw much to their shock and embarrassment, Percy and Daisy who were both completely naked and covering their modesty with bushes.

"Okay what is going on?" asked Howard.

Both Percy and Daisy looked at each other, their faces red as James' with embarrassed.

"Uh it's a long story short Thomas," said Percy.

"How so?" asked Thomas.

"Me and Percy were taking a walk by the river when we got a little bit frisky," said Daisy.

"Frisky?" asked Howard.

Both Percy and Daisy nodded.

"Yes, me and Daisy decided to answer the call of nature along the riverbank" said Percy in embarrassment, "but then it started to rain, and our clothes fell into the water and got washed away".

"Percy was only able to save his keys and our wallets," said Daisy.

"I was wondering if you two could run to my apartment and grab us a spare change of clothes?" asked Percy as he tossed them his front door key.

Thomas caught the key and looked at his father, who nodded at him.

"Sure" said Thomas, "we'll be back a few minutes".

Both Thomas and Howard rushed off, leaving Percy and Daisy behind in embarrassment.

"What made us think that this was a good idea?" Percy asked Daisy.

"I don't know, but from now on we do it in your apartment" Daisy told her boyfriend.

"Agreed" said Percy in agreement.

And done. As always please leave a preview and as always see you next time.