Nothing Above a Whisper

{♤~Hide And Seek~♤}

Welcome to the first chapter! Enjoy your reading! <3

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{◇~3rd person POV:~◇}

Thomas traveled along the line, hauling scrap to the smelters yard, he wasn't happy about it. A mist had formed that night and the morning hadn't quite let go of it yet. Thomas finally arrived at the smelters yard and glanced around. There were many horrifying stories surrounding the smelters yard. Thomas decided it'd be best to leave the flatbeds and get out of there quickly. When he switched tracks and went to back up he heard something. He looked around a bit frantically, all those stories Edward had told him were getting to him.

"Hello?"

Thomas heard it more clearly this time, was that a voice? Couldn't be. It sounded nothing like Arry or Bert, it was much softer and quieter. Thomas looked around, he couldn't hear anything now. He tried to block out the sound of his own breathing to hear better, even holding his breath until he was gasping for air. He'd shrug if he could, deciding that he'd only been hearing things. He let off steam with relief and went to leave but something stopped him, the sudden urge to stay put held him down like heavy chains.

"Hello? Who's there?"

"Whose talking?" Thomas asked, he backed up farther. On a siding a few lines down sat an old, sad looking, tender engine. Their eyes were droopy and sad, they were covered in rust and plant growth. Thomas' eyes widened, "who are you?!" He asked. The engines gaze wavered, they looked around. "I've no name to give you I'm afraid," the engine sighed quietly, barely speaking above a whisper. "Oh..." Thomas trailed off, "where are you from then?" He questioned the engine further. "I'm from a small railway, far from here," the engine looked up to the sky, eyeing the rain clouds that were rolling in with dread.

"I doubt anyone here has heard of it, but that's alright, it was called the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad." The engine said. Thomas was puzzled, "you're right, I've never heard of that railway before. What country was that in?" He asked to keep conversation going. "America." The engine said, reminiscing in old memories. "Oh! I've heard a lot about Amrica! Which state was it? Texas? Or maybe New York?" Thomas asked, trying to name all the states he knew hoping he'd guess the right one. "Oh no...it was Iowa," the engine said quietly.

"Iowa? What's Iowa??" Thomas asked. "One of the fifty states." The engine told him, "fifty?! My drivers only told me of ten!" Thomas pouted, feeling a bit betrayed that his driver would withhold such basic knowledge from him. The engine chuckled, "well...I'm not exactly surprised you've never heard of it, nobody else has.". "Will you tell me about it? Please!" Thomas asked, "oh...it was lovely, awfully quiet, but still lovely," the engine paused drawing in a deep breath to fuel their whispery voice. "The sunsets and sunrises were my favourite, the way the sky was painted in light pastels of pink, purple, and blue in the morning and drenched in vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows in the evening is something I'll never forget." They said.

"Wow..." Thomas gasped, "oh but something I don't miss is how fast the weather could change, from nice and warm to dreadfully cold in a matter of minutes was frightening in a strange way." The engine chuckled again, they gave Thomas a slightly concerned look. Thomas was confused by this, "is there something on your mind?" Thomas asked. "Well... shouldn't you have left by now? Working engines usually have times tables to keep to." The engine said, "oh! You're right! I'm sorry but I have to go!" Thomas said before hurrying to back up.

"Oh my..." he trailed off, finally seeing the engine fully. Scrawled across their boiler, cab, and tender were spray painted phrases. "Don't leave me!" Read one, "I don't want to die!" Read another. Thomas felt the colour drain from his face. "Who painted those on you?" Thomas asked in shock, "oh...those? My driver and fireman wrote them, hoping someone would read them and take pity on me, It's a shame it didn't work, you'd best be on your way now." The engine shoo'd him away. Thomas knew he had to go but he was still curious about how the old engine ended up at the smelters. Alas, his curiosity wouldn't make time slow down, he had to leave the engine as they were.

Alone.

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That's the first chapter done, I'll add more later but that's all for now.

-Moss