Bad Look Out (TTTE fan fiction)

Bad Look Out

        It was early morning and the sun was covered by thick clouds. The brand new railway was recently opened a month ago. From the sheds awoke two nicely dressed men. They were both dressed in purple waistcoats with their long hair tied up neatly. "The coaches, Godred." said one of them to the other. "Right, right..." answered Godred. Godred was always errant and never completed the tasks that were given to him on the railway. Godred made his way to the yard where the coaches were stored for the night. He was in charge of taking passengers across the mountain everyday. He pushed them back to the station where the first round of passengers were waiting. "You know, Culdee," said Godred. "You don't always have to tell me what to do. I can remember on my own." Culdee was carrying some sleepers that were going to be used to build new track. "If I don't remind you, you'd probably be fired by now." said Culdee in a playful tone. Godred was ready to take the passengers up the mountain, he was already late, he didn't want them to wait any longer. "Careful up the mountain," said Culdee. "The rails are surely slippery from last night's snow. I already know you bash the coaches around, you can't risk an accident today." Culdee placed the sleepers down next to the platform. "Yes, I know..." said Godred. The guard at the station finally waved the flag and blew his whistle. Godred slowly set off.

         The rumor that spread around the railway was that Godred's prideful personality and arrogance came from his name. At least, that was what Culdee believed. He was named after the old Sudrian king, King Godred. Legend had it that King Godred was a graceful ruler who fought off invaders and protected his people in the middle ages. His reign on Sodor was long and memorable by many. Culdee was the polar opposite of Godred. He was humble and cautious, but sometimes too careful and his blatant commands to stop Godred from wrecking were enough to drive Godred mad. Godred believed that Culdee's superior hero complex comes from him being named after the very railway they were working on. As Culdee was organizing the sleepers and rails, a workman came by to let him know when it would be his turn to take passengers. After hauling all the sleepers and rails to the yard, Culdee waited patiently.

       An hour had passed, and Culdee finally spotted Godred heading down from the mountain. He was going at a very fast pace and swayed side to side thinking he was being furtive. Culdee was not the slightest of pleased. Upset at Godred, Culdee yelled out to him. "Godred!" Godred realized that Culdee was watching him descend from the mountain. "Yes?" waddled Godred innocently toward Culdee. "What are you up to this time?" interrogated Culdee. "What are you talking about?" asked Godred. "Don't act like I didn't see you," said Culdee. "I saw you come down!" "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" barked Culdee. "Here you go again with your useless tirade on how I should live my life..." responded Godred. "I'm not telling you this to boss you around, I'm warning you because I don't want you to get hurt." said Culdee."I told you not to go rushing about," added Culdee. "You'll come off the rails you know." "Anything you say, Culds," said Godred. "Nothing will happen to me, I always stop in time." Culdee brushed Godred aside and stormed off to the station platform. It was now his turn to take the passengers up the mountain.

      Once all the passengers boarded the coaches, the guard blew his whistle again. Culdee slowly pushed the coach up the mountain. He was still thinking about Godred's careless habits. Culdee wasn't exactly angry at Godred, instead he was concerned. After a few minutes of traveling uphill, he was on the track at the side of the mountain. He looked at the ground below and only thought of the thing he feared most. Not himself falling off the mountain, but watching someone else fall to their death. His fear is always wildly misunderstood as a fear of heights. It is similar to that of someone fearing large bodies of water, not because of what's in it, but because of losing the ones they love. Culdee was more than halfway to the other side of the mountain now. He was traversing carefully and gently so as to not slip off the rails. His assumptions of the track being slippery were correct. Culdee was passing through Devil's Back. It earned its name for being the most difficult part of climbing the large mountain. It was the windy stretch of track that stood in the way of reaching the summit. Weather was always cold, sudden, and brutal. The rough ice that formed at the side of the track was clear and gave off an appearance of opalescence. Culdee finally reached the apex of the mountain and he eyed the scenery below. He was always charmed by the view from the top of the mountain, it was one of his favorite parts of working on the railway.