Scaredy Engine Chronicles

Never Island

Silence.

Complete silence.

Not a word to be said.

Not a noise to be made.

In this silent darkness sat a structure. This structure was old, two small clock towers stood on either side of a colorful pathway. The towers were made of brick and stone, a soft green glow coming from behind the clock faces as the lights flickered on and off. Between the two towers was a large curved roof, and a worn down and broken sign sat on top, the remains of a much older sign with a large face laid nearby in the dirt, the old yellow lights flickering softly. The words "Never Island" are barely visible on both signs. Stepping through the gate was a wide open area, an old, elaborate structure sat in the middle, a strange combination of a clock and a water fountain...but that wasn't what was important. Just beyond the old creaking rides, and beyond the old advertising...was a small train station. Narrow gauge tracks going to and from the station with a single coach sitting at the platform.

Reaching the station, more things became clear. The rails were old and rusty, clearly thrown together from different rails purchased by the park due to them varying in thickness. The soft hum from a nearby Faris Wheel is one of the only things to break the dead silence that makes your head hurt. Looking over, the old coach groaned in the soft breeze. This coach was an open coach, painted in a deep blue, and rust and spider webs coated the entire thing. The coach had been built on the frames of a truck and...something else, the stench of something rotting inside causing you to step away before turning your attention towards the station itself.

The station was older than the park itself. Painted in a faded yellow and brown, the station was rather big. More fitting for a standard gauge train than a narrow gauge one. Looking at the rails again you notice that the ground below them had been built up so the coaches can reach the platform with concrete and wood. Turning your attention back to the station more things catch your eye, along the side of the building was a small, boarded-up room, a broken board hanging from the window giving you enough space to take your flashlight and peer into the room to look around. Inside there was a series of old posters and timetables, an old bookshelf stood in the corner, and a computer sat in the far corner on a desk with sticky notes all over it. The computer was old, almost as big as the table itself with several things hooked up to it, and everything was caked in a thick layer of dust that almost made everything look...blurry? Almost.

Stepping back, you turn your attention back to the railway. The rail line cut through the old park like a knife held by a drunk man, swerving in and out before disappearing behind a restroom building. Following the path, you find yourself under the many looming rides...frozen in time as if shut off for the night. The occasional flicker of a rouge light is all the life these great machines show. Yet...all remained quiet besides the soft hum of electricity and the sounds of shoes on the ground. Soon though, you reached the end of the line.

Sitting there, was an old roundhouse...if you can even call it that. The roundhouse had 6 sheds, and only one line out, the sheds sitting at a right angle facing the entrance of the park. These sheds were made of wood and painted sheet metal...or patched up with the sheet metal, it's honestly hard to tell. In front of the sheds is a small turntable that looked to have been dropped there with very little work done to it. The control room for the table was blocked off with chains and rope, and it wasn't pointed at any of the lines.

Stepping closer you approach the closest shed door to the mainline. All it took was a soft tap to open the door. The groan echoed across the yard as the flashlight shined into the sheds. Standing in front of you is a small engine...no...a dummy unit. A small 0-4-0 tank engine that resembled Thomas with a dirty brown and purple paint job. Clearly an engine that was once used for Day Out with Thomas but the theme park must have lost the rights to do such events. Looking to the side a few more engines could be seen, some loosely looked like the engines of Sodor just highly botched. But one engine caught your eye...the only engine that seemed to not be a dummy unit. The engine was small and boxy, painted in a deep blue with black frames and tramplates. It was some kind of Simplex with a cab..a face on its back... its eyes closed.

This engine was much dirtier than the rest, covered in grime and rust. An old number plate sitting just above its cab with the number 2 and a set of lights strapped poorly to the top. The soft wind whistled through the open door of the shed causing the sheds to groan. As you approached, you felt the hair on the back of your neck start to stand, a chill shooting through your spine as you looked back to see the door moving back and forth in the wind. Turning back to the engine you saw it staring at you, stumbling back and bumping into a dummy of Molly, you found the engine staring at you... its eyes partly open, as if it were judging you...before it spoke.

"Hmm...wel...come," the diesel said in a quiet yet simultaneously loud voice. The engine cleared its throat as silence filled the park again. "What is a" she paused to take a series of gasps "A person like you doing-" the engine broke off into a coughing fit. "Doing in a place like this? We aren't open for services" she said with a soft smile before coughing again...all you could do was stare at the small engine, almost...frozen in place, frozen in the engine's gaze. The engine coughed again, this time dust fell off its body to reveal several dents and cracks in its bodywork. "Haven't seen someone....here in such a.....long time" the engine said between gasps, coughing up dust and a few rocks. The engine softly shook as their body creaked and groaned, and bits of rusted metal fell off the old diesel as she sat there, getting up again you began to inspect the engine. This engine's left side was badly bent and covered in dirt and grime, the side plate had been completely removed to show that the engine had truck wheels placed on its axles and many pieces were just welded together.

"Heh...yeah that wasn't a pretty incident," the engine said softly, her eyes following your every move. "Hmm... it's been so long that I almost forgot what you humans look like" The old diesel grinned before coughing aggressively, her face went red and the rails vibrated. The shed doors softly shook and you stumbled back again, slamming into a repainted dummy of James. "Heh...probably been decades since I left this shed.." the old diesel continued "You see, I used to run this line when the park was opened, I was bought from the War Department and a few trucks were snatched up when the original engine running this line went...well" she coughed again and then stuck her tongue out and made a sound. "When she was scrapped after proving to be too hazardous with the passengers...heh" she looked down "Evil bugger she was" she coughed and groaned, her body creaking loudly as if its metal was being bent from the inside.

"I replaced her. Her body was cut up. Turned into rollingstock...all she is now...is an old coach" She let out a soft snicker. "Probably not the...best idea, she did figure out how to spite us all anyway," she said as she wheezed and looked over at the remains of a dummy unit...a destroyed one...one that still had Percy's green color on it. "It was during our last Day Out with Thomas event. I was pushing the train when the coach that the old engine was rebuilt into derailed...several people were hurt and the dummy unit was destroyed. After that, not as many people came to our park, and the models were repainted to avoid paying for the copyright." She said as oil dripped from her mouth, the old engine sighing as she sat there. "I was repaired the best they could get, but after another incident with the coach, we shut down the railway...then the park shut down months later. I made sure to shunt that damn coach away from the rest, where she will rot for all eternity" She growled and coughed so hard that metal came from her mouth and her radiator fell onto the ground beside her.

"Heh...sorry" the diesel groaned as her body creaked and she looked up...the remorse and despair for what she had become showed in her eyes like a window to her soul. "I would give ya a ride if I could" The diesel smirked...but you remained quiet before reaching into your pocket and pulling out a phone, after a quick message sent you sat down on the old sleepers in front of the engine and laid against its front, closing your eyes as you listen to the soft noises of the dead carnival echoing outside. Before a heavenly voice filled the air, singing, glancing up you saw the diesel, singing a soft lullaby, despite the scratchyness to the voice, it was lovely and soothing as you close your eyes as you wait, gripping your phone as a message popped up.

"Alright, on my way with a truck, from Mister Percival"