THE MONSTER OF THE LAKE

Based upon "Bad Day at Castle Loch" by Jenny McDade

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Donald and Douglas have been working on the North Western Railway for several years now, and love their jobs as utility engines. And since the arrival of their old friend Murdoch, the duo had become even happier.

"Sae, Murdoch," said Donald, "how hae ye bin settling in?"

"Fairly weel, thank ye," he replied. "Ah hae missed Scotland, bit Sur Topham Hatt has bin very welcoming."

At the mention of their old home, Donald and Douglas looked sadly at Murdoch.

"It… wis hard tae lae Scotland," Douglas said quietly. "If Ah wasnae withdrawn suddenly, Ah know Ah wid hae hesitated tae run away."

"Did… a' oor friends mak' it tae safety?" asked Donald.

"Some weren't sae fortunate," sighed Murdoch. "Hamish regretted that he didnae git th' chance tae say goodbye."

"Whit aboot Duchess?" asked Douglas; he remembered seeing Harriet during the London trip as one of the engines standing in for himself and Edward.

"Lest Ah heard, she wis bought oot tae become pairt o' a holiday camp in th' Isle o' Wight."

Donald and Douglas gave small smiles. "At least Duchess is okay," Donald said weakly. "Bit poor Hamish…"

"Aye," agreed Murdoch. "Tis a sobering thought. Ah wonder if he's made peace in th' Great Railway."

"Sae dae we," added Douglas wistfully.

Just then, the twins' crews arrived, and they had to go back to work. They whistled goodbye to Murdoch, as he too set off.

The large goods engine met up with a concerned Duck, Old Slow Coach, Oliver and Toad the following day.

"Are ye four okay?" asked Murdoch.

"It's Donald and Douglas," Duck sighed. "They aren't very chipper today."

Murdoch explained about Hamish and how he was scrapped.

"Oh…" winced Oliver. "They told us about how Hamish tried to help them escape."

"They need time to grieve," Old Slow Coach sighed. "It's hard to lose your friends."

"There has to be something we can do to help them," Toad said quietly.

The orange engine pondered as the guard whistled. "Ye keep thinking aboot it," he said. "Ah hae these trucks tae deliver."

Murdoch went down a line a little ways away from Henry's Tunnel. He had been given the task of bringing building materials to a structure a short way down the line. The orange engine hadn't asked too many questions about this task, he had just been happy to work in a quiet location. But today, he saw an unfamiliar person chatting with a workman.

"It wull be a barry celebration!" Much like Donald, Douglas and Murdoch, he had a Scottish accent.

"We are very close to being done with construction," said the workman. "We just need– Ah, Murdoch! Right on time too. Well done."

"Thank ye, sir," said Murdoch. "Oh, an' whit is yer name?"

"Laird Callan," smiled the Scottish man. "'N' Ah hear ye'v bin workin' efficiently tae git this project dane. We shuid be finished by neist week, cheers tae ye."

"Thank ye, sur," said Murdoch. "Ah… also thought Ah heard something aboot a celebration."

"Ye did," grinned Lord Callan. "It'll be th' grand opening o' th' castle. We'll be glad if ye cuid attend that tae."

Murdoch looked down at the tracks. "That's very kind o' ye, bit… it's nae really mah thing. However," he continued, "Ah know of a couple o' engines that wid love it." And he quickly explained his idea.

"That's a barry idea, Murdoch!" smiled Lord Callan.

It was the day before the grand opening of the castle, and Sir Topham Hatt addressed Donald and Douglas in the main yards.

"I've got an important job for you two," he said. "Lord Callan's castle is opening tomorrow."

Both twins were surprised. "Laird Callan?" asked Donald.

"He moved from Scotland a few years ago," Sir Topham Hatt explained, "and had started to have an old castle on the eastern side of Sodor restored to former glory. Murdoch has been working on the project for months."

"Losh sakes!" gasped Douglas. "'N' he ne'er told us?!"

"Ye ne'er asked," chuckled the heavy goods engine, coming up alongside. "'N' tae be fair, neither did Ah until last week."

"You two are to take the banners, bunting and bagpipes to the grand opening," Sir Topham Hatt explained. "Murdoch made the recommendation to me that you do this task."

"Whit a grand surprise!" smiled Donald. "Thank ye, Murdoch."

"That's a'richt, ye two."

"It a'maist feels lik' gaun hame again!" said Douglas to his brother as they set off.

The twins headed off to their train, where Harvey was loading the supplies on board.

"There ye go, lads," Harvey beamed as he loaded the last crate. "You're goan love it down there. Maybe ye can tak' Dilly fur a swim at th' lake."

"Och, nae doon thare!" gasped Douglas. "Th' Loch Ness Monster micht git her!"

"Douggie, she'll be fine!" insisted Donald. "Thir's na monster!"

"Ye ne'er know," argued Douglas. "Thare cuid be."

"As likely as pigs wull fly," scoffed Donald. "You're nae afraid o' th' monster, urr ye?"

"Ah'm nae, bit Dilly micht be," Douglas retorted. "She's much smaller than us."

Just then, the guard's whistle blew, leaving Harvey lost for words. "Oh dear…"

Douglas was still fuming as he and Donald continued along the main line.

"Come noo, Douggie," sighed Donald. "Ah wouldnae send Dilly doon tae th' lake if Ah assumed it was dangerous, if that's whit's bothering ye."

"That wasnae it," said Douglas. "Weel, it was pairt o' th' issue, bit… ye dinnae believe me?"

"We a' heard th' tales whin we wur newly built," Donald insisted. "Ah thought we hud a mutual agreement that th' story wis made up."

"Ah… thought it wis," Douglas sighed, "bit then, whin oor crews cam wi' a book oan Australian animals, Ah… stairted tae question things again. Yin sic animal, th' platypus, wis wance said tae be animal parts sewn th'gither. Bit it wis real!"

Donald chuckled. "Aye, sometimes, thare ur things we juist cannae explain." The older twin sighed. "Mibbie ye hae a point, Douggie. If Ah promise tae nae send Dilly doon thare, wull ye be a'richt fur th' rest o' th' run?"

Douglas smiled. "Aye," he replied. "She's bin aroond fur quite a while noo."

"Eight years auld," Donald agreed. "Hopefully she'll be aroond fur mair years tae come."

Later, after being turned around at Vicarstown, the twins were exiting Henry's Tunnel. Down the line going right was where Callan Castle was located.

"Thare it is!" called Donald.

"We're a'maist thare!" remarked Douglas. But there was trouble ahead; a loud cracking sound echoed through the clearing. "Donald, brakes!"

Both engines slammed their brakes on, as a tree broke off its stump and crashed onto the railway line.

"Douggie, urr ye a'richt?" called Donald.

"Aye, juist a wee bit shaken," Douglas replied. "We'll hae tae back up–" Again, he got no further, for the earth behind them rumbled, and then the brake van toppled over on its side.

"Losh shakes!" gasped Donald. "Ah hawp th' guard is okay!"

Luckily, the guard had jumped clear, having seen the oncoming landslide before it hit. "It's a good thing you two didn't have Toad with you."

"Aye," shuddered Douglas. "If Oliver found oot Toad hud gotten hurt oan this trip, we wouldnae hear th' end o' it."

"'N' we'll ne'er git tae th' castle noo," sighed Donald.

"What about using that track by the river?" asked the guard.

"It's tae dangerous," insisted Douglas' driver. "Th' lest thing we need is fur oor engines tae git hurt."

"We'd better ca' fur hulp," said Donald's driver.

"That's a splendid outfit, sir."

Sir Topham Hatt was trying on a new outfit Lord Callan had given him for the grand opening of Callan Castle. A black and white cat ran over and purred at Sir Topham. "Do you like it too, Tux?" he asked. Tux just bumped his head against Sir Topham's hand in response. "Heh, I'll take that as a 'yes'!"

Just then, the phone rang. "Oh, bother!" cried Sir Topham Hatt. "Tux, could you entertain our guest while I get that?" Tux meowed playfully and went to find his toy mouse.

"Heh, aww, good boy," smiled the tailor, as Tux batted the toy mouse back and forward.

"Hello? What's happened?" asked Sir Topham Hatt. He was quite surprised at the response he'd been given. "Donald and Douglas are stuck by the loch?" he exclaimed. "I send for an engine to bring Judy and Jerome over as soon as I can."

"Trapped?!" gasped Murdoch. "Oh no! Ah shouldnae hae sent Donald 'n' Douglas doon that wey!"

"Murdoch," soothed Duck, "don't be so harsh on yourself. Donald and Douglas will be fine; they just have to wait until one of us is able to go and help them."

"You did a kind thing for them," added Oliver. "This trip to the castle is sure to perk them up. That being said, someone will have to cover for Douglas' midnight goods run tonight if the cleanup takes too long."

"I'm sure Mr. Bear can," Toad assured. "He's done it before. Don't worry too much, Mr. Murdoch. Someone should be free to go down there shortly."

Unfortunately, everyone was busier than Toad realized. Back at the loch, it was now very dark, and the air had become very cold.

"Dae ye think hulp is ever going tae come?" asked Douglas.

"Ah hawp sae," whispered Donald. He gulped as he saw the dark shadows. "Och… it reminds me o' whin Arry 'n' Bert a'most git me…"

"They're nae here," assured Douglas. "Ah am. There's nae wey they'll ever shaw thair presence oan Sodor again."

"Aye, that is something tae be thankful fur…" Suddenly, he spotted something strange through the mist. "Wh-whit's that?!" he cried.

"Whit's whit, Donnie?" asked Douglas.

"I-is it th' Loch Ness Monster?!"

"It cannae be! Ye said it yersel'!"

"B-bit ye said it micht be real!" Donald then called out to the monster, "Look here, ye! Ah dinnae care wha ye are, but if ye lay yin claw oan mah friends, then you'll be sent back tae th' depths o' th' Underground Railway!"

"Claw?" asked a familiar voice. "There's only one engine Ah've heard o' wi' a claw 'n' it's nae me."

"Harvey!" Douglas said that in relief, while Donald's was more of surprise and embarrassment.

"Sorry aboot that, Harvey," the older twin said, abashed.

"And he's not alone!" came two other voices.

"Judy 'n' Jerome!" gasped Douglas. "We urr glad tae see ye three."

"Now, what's this aboot a claw?" asked Harvey.

"Er… Ah thought ye three wur th' Loch Ness Monster," Donald admitted. "An auld Scots legend."

"I think you've been letting the mist play with your minds, haven't they, Jerome?" said Judy as she got to work.

"I'll say that they have, Judy!" chuckled Jerome. "Whatever will the engines believe in next? The Abominable Snowman?"

At this, Douglas and even Donald couldn't help but laugh. Now that was something that they were sure no one would be silly enough to believe.

Harvey, Judy and Jerome worked late into the night to clear away the mess, but by early morning, they'd finally finished.

"Thank ye, Harvey, Judy 'n' Jerome," said Donald.

"We'd better hurry, Donnie," said Douglas. "If we wait much langer, we'll be late." The twins whistled goodbye to Harvey and the breakdown cranes before heading on their way. As they departed, no one noticed a small head popping out of the water.

At Callan Castle, the workmen stood waiting on the platform when they heard a pair of deep-toned Caledonian whistles.

"Ah, good timing," smiled a workman. "We were getting worried about you two."

"Nothing that Harvey, Judy 'n' Jerome couldnae handle," Douglas said casually.

The workmen and Lord Callan quickly got to work putting the decorations up. Before long, Callan Castle looked very festive for the celebration, and a few more guests arrived. Donald and Douglas stood side by side at attention.

"Ye twa ur a splendid pair o' engines," Lord Callan complimented. Donald and Douglas glanced modestly at each other.

"And very useful," added Sir Topham Hatt.

"We shuid thank Murdoch fur letting us come here today," Donald said quietly to Douglas.

"Aye," agreed his brother. "We needed this."

And as if to prove how good their trip was on their emotional wellbeing, a ghostly tank engine appeared behind them and smiled.

THE END

Author's Comments

The tenth story of Series 6-7 Redux: Part 2 features the Caledonian twins; I swear, this was not intentional! But anyways, Bad Day at Castle Loch is not a bad episode, but it could've done with more character interaction, particularly between Donald and Douglas. Here, the former is more of a skeptic regarding mythical creatures, and the latter is a bit superstitious. They still have their argument from the actual episode, but it's resolved with more light-hearted banter between the pair. It also reveals what happened with Hamish the Scottish Jinty from Come Sail Away, and Donald and Douglas learning about his demise is what drives the story, giving them more of a reason (courtesy of Murdoch) to head up to Callan Castle, which is now the first station of the Great Waterton branch line, between Vicarstown and Bluebell Valley, although no one knows about it at the time.

Upcoming rewrites:

- Not So Hasty Puddings

- Jack Frost (Jack Frost/Scaredy Engines)

- Toby, Percy and the Windmill (Toby's Windmill)

- Buster 1, Moles 0

- Bulgy Rides Again - retooled