The Abandoned Island

Filling in the Engines

(Back on Sodor)

"I'm telling you, I heard horns honking in the distance."

"No, you didn't. The island has been abandoned for years."

"We did hear that noise a few weeks back."

"It did sound like Boco's engine."

"But WHY would Boco be out and about, and HOW would he have the necessary fuel to get here, and most importantly, HOW would he have gotten out of the shed at Wellsworth?"

"I'm not sure, but I agree that it did sound like Boco's engine. But why is it so hard for you to believe that someone might be on the island?"

"Because it has been many, many years, and no one has come, but now suddenly someone might be here? Unlikely. You have just misheard something or have finally gone crazy from being cooped up so long."

"It is a good thing you aren't a motivational speaker."

(Back on the Mainland)

Zeph was impressed by Mr. Percival. He had been able to get her a similar sized barge and had her original one taken away to be unloaded somewhere else. In this new barge was the boiler she had come for. She smiled at Mr. Percival, "Thank you for buying the clay and getting me a new barge to take back. I still have a lot of work to do, but it is coming along well enough." "Of course, dear. Our mutual friend believes you'll take care of everything, and I think he is right." She felt honored that both of the controllers believed she would get the island up and running again, though it was still a daunting task. "Is there somewhere that I should go look?" She asks, thinking about the map in her head. The gentleman pondered the question, clearly thinking hard on how he should answer the young girl. "Hmmm, I'd recommend going to Knapford. There was a large goods yard there, along with a station, and a six lane shed." Zeph pulled out her phone and looked over the map, "Knapford... Knapford.... is it this one past Tidmouth?" she asked, holding her phone up towards him. Leaning down, he looks over the phone before smiling and nodding, "That is from the Vicarstown station, isn't it?" He asks, refering to the map. She looked shocked and nodded, "Yeah, I took a picture the first time I went a few years back. Even after all these years, you remember such a minor detail?" He nodded as he thought back to the island. "After spending so much time there and becoming friends with everyone, it is hard to forget everything." he said quietly, clearly reminiscing, with a big smile on his face. "Well, maybe soon I will be able to go back." He grinned at her, obviously hinting at her work. She chuckled softly, "Well, I'm going to spend today with my best friend, but after that, I will head back and get back to work." She flexes her arm and pats her bicep, "I will work extra hard!"

Mr. Percival laughed a bit, "I trust you will. Just don't overwork yourself." Zeph nodded and sighed, "Yeah yeah. Thank you for buying the clay and buying it in the future." He nods, straightening his hat, "If you ever need anything, feel free to call or email me. Sir Topham and I both will help in any way we can as we are still friends with some people in Britain in high places." She could tell this really did mean a lot to him. She nodded, "I will, and again, thank you for this." She took his hand and gave it a firm shake. With kind words exchanged both ways, they parted. Zeph grabbed her best friend, and the two of them went out to eat and spend time together. They would spend the rest of the day together before departing after lots of kind words and goodbyes.

She climbed back on her boat and slept through the night and, in the morning, headed back towards Sodor, with a big smile on her face. She had been gone longer than she had planned, but it was ok as she was headed back now. She listened to her boat puttering as she thought how happy her friends would be to learn about one of their old friends is buying the clay from them and having a consistent job now. Thinking, she had to first go check on Ms. Jenny's crew to oil and rufuel them, and also inform them of the news. She also had to get the boiler to the Steamworks without the others noticing. Well, she could tell them about the other engine, and she was confident they'd understand, but she didn't want them to feel like she didn't care about them. She was just prioritizing the engine that needed the most repairs, plus, as bad as it sounded, she couldn't afford to repair a lot of steamies as she didn't have the coal to run them all. She was also one person, and even though they could drive themselves, they still needed someone to shovel fuel into them.