Here now is the second part of the Blue Mountain Mystery adaptation for this series. The original version was done up in 2014 by yours truely, and this 2016 edited version was done by SF64Rules. Also, in case of you are wondering, yes Episode 31 is complete and will be posted later next week, so make sure to keep your eyes open for it.
Sodor High School: Thomas & Friends Tales
Written by: ThomasZoey3000/Edited by: SF64Rules
Based on the Railway Series by: The Rev. W. and Christopher Awdry
Based on the Television Series by: Britt AllCroft, David Mitton, Lionsgate, and Universal Pictures
Episode 29: The Lost Man
Based on "Blue Mountain Mystery The Movie"
Work continued on repairing the damaged section of the school, but that was the least concerning thought on both Thomas and Rosie's minds. They were talking, in private, about the man in Luke's story.
"He couldn't have just vanished without a trace," Rosie said to Thomas. "There's got to be more to the story."
"I can agree with you there Rosie, but I don't know if we'll ever learn of who the man was. This was a while ago after all."
"But still..." Rosie paused and looked back. Thomas looked back and saw Luke, looking around rather nervously. From that point, Rosie continued. "I really want to help clear his name. He's a good kid and shouldn't have to hide for something that wasn't his fault."
"Indeed," nodded Thomas.
There was silence between the two, then Rosie went ahead and broke the silence.
"Where do you suggest we start looking?" she asked.
Thomas immediately had an answer. "The place where it happened; Brendam Docks. We'll go there after school."
The pink-haired girl nodded. "Alright then."
"But first I need to ask Percy to walk Emily safely home," Thomas added to that.
He immediately pulled out his mobile phone and texted Percy, saying that he was going out for a little bit after school and asked if it was okay that Percy walked Emily back to the house and wait with her until he returned. A few minutes later, the green-haired boy replied back saying he would.
"I'm sure we'll find the answers, it'll be easy," smiled Rosie.
Her expression changed though when she and Thomas arrived at Brendam Docks later that day. The harbor was gigantic, and there were lots of places for ships to dock.
"...then again, it might be like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
"Oh, don't you worry Rosie. I'm sure we'll get our answer," said Thomas. He was making sure that Rosie wasn't going to give up on helping Luke by keeping the hope up. "Maybe someone here saw what happened. I'll just ask around."
Rosie nodded...but then started wincing. "You do that then. I need to make a little stop in the little girls room."
"Okay, but don't take too long!" Thomas stated.
Rosie took off and Thomas went on to ask his questions. Ten minutes later, just as the pink-haired girl was walking out of the ladies' room, she saw, just down the hallway in the cafeteria, Paxton talking with Diesel.
"What are they talking about?" Rosie asked herself.
Curiously, she sneaked over to the nearby corner to listen in as best as she could.
"...and that's when that boy Luke pushed the man off the railing into the ocean. The man was never found ever again, and he's been hiding in our school amongst the Junior High students."
Rosie gasped. Paxton was telling Diesel about Luke's accident.
"How did he hear about it?" she thought in shock.
"You were right in telling me all this Paxton," said Diesel. "We don't want someone like him around here. He could do the same to any of us, maybe even you."
Paxton gasped, for he didn't like the sound of that.
"Isn't there anything we can do to stop him?" asked the green-haired Smelter teen.
"There is," nodded Diesel. "The little guy is hiding right now, but if we were to reveal who he is and what he did, he'll get sent away and never be able to return to Sodor ever again. We'd be hailed as heroes of the school."
Rosie was cross. "That stupid jerk Diesel is. He'll do anything to hurt someone else. I'd better go find Thomas and warn him."
Rosie turned, but kicked over a soda can by accident, making Diesel and Paxton both look in her direction.
"Who's there?!" demanded Diesel.
"Shoot!" cried Rosie, and immediately ran off.
Diesel got an angry look on his face. "We must hurry Paxton. Otherwise, Rosie and her foolish boyfriend Thomas will try to put a stop to our efforts. Now let's go."
"Uh, sure."
But Paxton had the sinking feeling that he had done something very wrong. He even began to regret telling Diesel about what he had heard.
Meanwhile, outside the building, Thomas was talking with a man named Cranky. Now, Cranky was not his real name, his real name was actually Baxter...but everyone calls him 'Cranky' because he is usually, well, Cranky.
"Did you see a man get pushed into the sea once?" Thomas asked.
"Maybe, but I'm not in the mood to answer questions. I'm very busy today," Cranky replied in an important tone.
He picked up a small crate and took it to where it needed to go. Thomas got cross, and so he followed Cranky and asked him the same question again and again. Cranky was getting annoyed with Thomas' constant questions before he finally caved.
"If I give you your bloomin' answer, will you leave me alone?" The man grunted.
"Yes, I'll leave you alone," Thomas answered with a nod.
"Well to be honest, the answer is no. I haven't seen anyone get knocked off a ship...but my father did. He said he saw a man fall into the sea, who was then later rescued. He spoke in a language my father couldn't understand at all."
"Good, at least the man is alive," thought Thomas to himself.
"There was one word my father said he could understand, it was 'Victor'. There, now I answered your question and now you can leave."
Thomas thanked Cranky for his help, then ran to find Rosie.
"Good news Rosie," The blue-haired boy said to the pink-haired girl. "That man did survive the fall off the boat and I believe he was on his way to meet Victor, the bike shop owner."
"Well, that is good news...but I also have a bit of bad news. Diesel and Paxton both know about Luke and they're going to try and have him sent away."
Thomas kicked at the ground in anger. "Curse that Diesel!" he growled quietly, making sure to not mention Paxton...since it was clear that Diesel had forced Paxton to tell him about Luke. "Come on then, let's get to Victor's shop and ask him some questions."
Rosie climbed onto the back of Thomas' bike, and they both went to catch a train.
Soon, they reached the town of Ffarquhar. They rode off the train and hurried over to Victor's shop.
"Slow it down, you two," chortled Victor. "Anyone would think you were in a race."
"You could say that, a race against time," panted Thomas. "Victor, we have some questions to ask you."
"I live to help, but I have a very busy day today."
"We'll be quick," said Rosie. "Do you know a man with a different language that came here, but had a small accident at the docks?"
Victor's eyes lit up and his facial expression changed to one of shock. He then said something that neither Thomas and Rosie could understand at all. However, it didn't take the two long to figure it out.
"It was you Victor!" gasped Thomas in realization. "You were the man that fell off the boat!"
Victor was quiet at first, but finally he broke his vow of silence to confess who he was.
"Indeed, you are correct. I was the man that fell off the boat, but how did you know that?"
"Uh, well, we heard from a reliable source," said Thomas, trying his hardest not to mention Luke. "And from what we heard, someone pushed you into the sea."
Victor shook his head. "Well, that is not true."
"Could you tell us what happened?" Rosie asked kindly.
Victor sighed unhappily. Then they all heard a crashing sound coming from the back of the shop.
"Sorry boss. I just tripped!" called Kevin from the back room.
"It's fine Kevin, just clean up your mess!" Victor called back. He turned back to face Thomas and Rosie. "I've never spoken of this to anyone before. It was a while back, you see."
Thomas and Rosie both stayed silent as Victor began to tell them what happened on the boat.
"After spending my entire life in Cuba, I decided to explore the world and the best place to start was on the Island of Sodor. It was also the perfect place to learn how to speak English since I only knew how to speak Spanish. Anyway, we sailed for many days and many nights, but I didn't mind because the trip was very relaxing. Before we arrived, we stopped at another place to pick up passengers. One of them looked a little frightened, so I tried to strike up a conversation, but he couldn't understand me, so he just smiled."
Thomas and Rosie looked to each other and nodded, the story was matching Luke's story perfectly.
"Shortly after we left, we entered into stormy seas," Victor went on. "I didn't mind it, and neither did the boy I was talking to...but some of the other passengers wound up losing their lunch as we bobbed up and down. Soon though, we reached the harbour. We started walking off when the boy was shoved, who then bumped into me and pushed me into the guardrail, which broke. I went into the water, stomach first."
"Ouch, that must've hurt," winced Rosie.
"It did and it knocked me out cold. Next thing I knew, I was on the dockside before going to the hospital, but still no one could understand what I was saying and I couldn't understand them either."
"So what did you do?" Thomas asked.
"I learned the English language. My first word was 'red'," Victor answered.
Thomas was puzzled. "Why red?"
"Because my friends, after my accident, the doctors offered me some new clothes and I chose the red jacket you see before you. Over time, I learned more and more words, settled down and opened up this shop, and that's pretty much it."
Rosie sighed in relief. "At least now Luke doesn't have to..." But she was cut off by Thomas, who covered her mouth with his hand.
"For crying out loud, we're suppose to keep his name secret," The blue-haired boy scolded.
"Sorry," came a muffled reply from Rosie.
"Luke? Is that the boy that bumped into me?" Victor asked.
Thomas groaned. "Well since the cat is out of the bag...yes. Luke is the boy that bumped into you."
And thus, he told Victor about what Luke had said to him and Rosie.
"He blames himself for what happened that day," added Rosie.
"But he didn't do anything wrong, it was an accident."
"Well, we know that now, but he doesn't," said Thomas. "But if you were to come to our school tomorrow, he might just believe it."
"Don't worry my friends, I'll be there," Victor said reassuringly.
After finishing their discussion with Victor, the two teens both set off for their respective homes. They were glad to have found the answers and were looking forward to telling Luke everything tomorrow.
But as they neared their temporary classroom next day, they saw a terrible sight. Many of the bad Smelter Class teens (Diesel and his gang for instance) were marching down the hallway and heading for their classroom.
"What in the world is going on?" Rosie asked.
"I have a bad feeling about this," muttered Thomas.
As they got closer, they could hear the words: 'Send him away! He's a danger to our school!' being repeated. This...was very bad.
"This isn't good," Rosie thought, echoing Thomas's potential thoughts.
The two teens hurried to their temporary classroom and closed the door behind them. All of the Junior High students, including Luke, were in there, and were shocked by the shouts coming from down the hallway.
"They're all shooting for Luke," said Freddie in panic. "But how did they learn he was here?"
Sir Handel and Duncan both looked at Thomas and Rosie with suspicious looks.
"It wasn't us who told them," said Rosie. "We promised Luke we'd never say a word and we didn't." She didn't want to mention telling Victor by accident, not just yet anyways. "It was Paxton. He must have overheard everything and told Diesel."
Skarloey slapped his forehead, but Peter Sam was confused.
"How did you know that Paxton heard and told Diesel?" he asked.
Rosie didn't realize she was blurting everything out. "I saw them yesterday at the docks," she said simply.
Rusty raised an eyebrow this time. "And what were you doing at the docks?"
Rosie gasped, finally realizing that she just blurted everything out again. Thomas sighed and explained about their search to find the man Luke bumped into, and how they found him.
"His story matches yours in every way Luke, and he's coming here to talk to you," he said to the green-haired boy.
There was silence in the classroom, then Luke asked... "He's still alive?"
Both teens nodded their heads.
"And he's coming here to see me?" he asked again.
They nodded again, making Luke sigh with relief.
"That means I'm not a fugitive anymore. I won't need to hide again...except from my parents."
Just then, they all heard banging coming from the door. The Smelter Class teens had arrived and were trying to get inside.
"We have to hold them off long enough until Victor gets here," said Thomas, taking charge immediately. "Skarloey, Rheneas, help me with the door."
The two brothers didn't need telling twice. They and Thomas went to the door and pushed on it. It was a good thing they did, cause the Smelter Class teens were able to open it.
"You won't be able to protect your friend Thomas!" snarled Diesel. "We'll make sure he gets sent away, and you get expelled for hiding him!"
"In your dreams Diesel!" snapped Thomas.
The three teens were doing their best, but it was clear they were losing the battle. Sir Handel and Peter Sam both joined in and all five pushed with all their might.
"Why don't you fools go back to your classroom and leave us alone!" cried out Sir Handel.
"I don't think your comments are helping out this time Sir Handel." groaned Thomas, pushing with all his might.
And indeed it didn't; that comment only encouraged the Smelter Class teens to push and bash harder.
Diesel looked back to Paxton. "Go get Sir Topham Hatt and Mister Percival. They both need to be here so I can tell them about Luke."
Rosie growled and stormed over to the door to help. Once there, she called out to her friend.
"Paxton, if you really are our friend, you'll bring Victor, our friend in red, here. Don't be so foolish as to follow that jerk Diesel's orders. It's only going to lead you into trouble again."
Paxton paused with a conflicted look on his face, for he didn't know what to do.
"Go Paxton! Now!" Diesel roared.
Without being told twice, Paxton ran off. It was to either to fetch Sir Topham Hatt or find Victor...no one knew for sure.
Diesel chuckled. "That's too bad Rosie, you foolish lot can't save your friend now."
"Oh, yes we can!" cried Rosie, and began to help to push back.
Owen and Merrik both heard the commotion and once they saw what was going on, they tried to shoo the Smelter Class teens away, but they just kept on pushing, much to the dismay of Thomas, Rosie and the Junior High students.
"Boy, and they say girl scouts are pushy," grunted Rosie.
Then it happened. The door finally broke off it's hinges, pushing Thomas, Rosie, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Skarloey, and Rheneas all back and knocking them onto the floor, while the Smelter Class teens finally came storming into the room.
"Like I said, you'll never be able to save your friend," smirked Diesel.
Luke sighed unhappily. He stepped forward, much to the surprise of his friends.
"Thanks for trying guys, but it looks like my luck's finally run out. Let them take me out of here, then you'll be able to get back to your studies in peace. I don't want you to get into anymore trouble because of me."
The other students stood in shock and silence. They didn't know what to say. However, just as Luke took another step, he stopped when he saw Rosie stand in between himself and the Smelter Class teens.
"Forget it Luke. I'm not going to let these selfish jerks take you away," she said bravely. "I'm your friend, and I would never turn my back on you. I would stand up for you if I have to...even in the face of impossible odds. Friends don't give up on friends, and you know that."
Diesel laughed harshly. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. Now stand aside foolish girl, and you won't get hurt."
"If you want to get to Luke, you'll have to go through me first!" Rosie snapped.
"Better make that us!" Thomas said firmly, and stood beside Rosie.
The other Junior High students soon joined in and made a long line, blocking the bad Smelter teens off from Luke. They all stood with firm angry stares and refusing to move. Luke smiled, he felt very lucky to have such good friends. But did this worry Diesel? Not even close. He only chuckled evilly in response.
"So be it," The black-haired boy said with a dangerous smirk. "We'll beat you guys up, and then drag the Luke boy to Sir Topham Hatt."
"Good luck trying!"
The Smelter Class teens marched forward. Just before fisticuffs could even break out, there came a shout...
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Hearing that voice made all the Smelters Class teens, except for Diesel, back out of the room. Moments later, Sir Topham Hatt and Mister Percival both came into the classroom, and not looking happy in the slightest.
"What in blazes is going on in here?!" Sir Topham Hatt bellowed crossly. "Smashed doors, shouting, and no one is studying. I demand to know what's going on this instant!"
"I can explain that Sirs," said Diesel oily. "Thomas and his little friends here have been hiding a murderer in our school. That boy; Luke, once pushed a man into the sea after running away from home. We, the Smelter Class teens, were just making sure this troublemaker didn't hurt anyone else. Honest truth Sirs."
"That's a fib!" yelled Sir Handel, but was immediately hushed by Peter Sam.
Sir Topham Hatt and Mister Percival both stared at Luke, and then at both Thomas and Rosie.
"That's not the whole story Sirs," protested Rosie.
"Indeed it is not," called another voice.
Everyone looked to the doorway and saw Paxton come in with Victor.
"Way to go Paxton!" cheered Rosie. "I knew you would remain on our side."
Paxton blushed just hearing that.
Luke was in shock, but then he looked confused. "But...you can't be the man that fell off the boat. He had different clothes on and spoke in a different language."
Victor chuckled and spoke in the Spanish language.
"Wait a minute... that's the language!" Luke gasped.
"That's right my young friend," smiled Victor. "The language is Spanish. At the time you and I met, that was the only language I knew."
"But the clothing..."
"Well, I changed my appearance after I got out of the hospital," explained Victor. Hearing that made Luke look down to the ground sadly. "But it wasn't your fault lad. You were shoved and the guardrails weren't strong enough. They were built on the cheap side from what I know. That's how I fell off the boat."
"But it doesn't explain why you're here young man," said Sir Topham Hatt with his arms crossed.
Luke sighed and told off his story. When he was finished, he braced himself for the harsh speech to come, followed by being dragged out of the school and to a boat which would take right back to his home in Ireland...but that never even came. Why? Well...
"My dear lad, you should've waited," Mister Percival said kindly.
"Huh?" Luke raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you see, your parents actually had you transferred here a few days after you ran away. They had decided to look into your old school and discovered just how bad it was. Since you were already on your way here, they figured it was the best thing for you."
Luke was amazed. "So does this mean I can stay?"
"Of course you can," smiled Sir Topham Hatt. He then turned over to Diesel, and was not pleased. "As for you young man. You have caused damage, disorder, disturbed everyone's study time, and nearly started a big brawl. You are riding on a fine line right now."
"But Sir..." Diesel tried to protest.
"I don't want to hear another word. Your parents will be notified, and should I hear you caused any more trouble like this, you will be dealt with and expelled at once." Sir Topham Hatt then turned to the other Smelter Class teens. "As for all of you; don't judge someone when you don't have all the facts. Because what really happened is what really matters. Now, back to your classrooms and no causing trouble on the way."
They all nodded and left for their classrooms. Before leaving, Paxton went and spoke to Luke.
"I'm sorry for what happened. I never wanted this to happen. Can you forgive me?" he asked.
Luke smiled. "Of course I will Paxton. Just...don't do it again."
"I promise," and with that, Paxton went to join the other students. Sir Topham Hatt and Mister Percival gave Luke a proper welcome, then left for their offices.
"Alright class, now that all the excitement is over and done with, let's get back to work," said Mr. Duke. "After all, you do have exams coming up."
The students all sat down at their desks and opened up their books.
Luke just smiled, it was like the weight of the world was finally lifted off his shoulders and he felt free. He couldn't have felt more proud to be a student of Sodor High School. All the same, the green-haired boy was looking forward to calling his parents that evening and telling them the great news.