The Abandoned Island

A Step Back

The trip back to the Depot was surprisingly light-hearted, despite the condition of their little friend. Stanley didn't say anything, as it seemed he was still lost for words, but the rescue party was happily chatting. They had set out to find the little engine, and they had succeeded. Everyone was in high spirits for the entire trip to the Depot and were ready to go out again immediately. Zeph had to calm them down and remind them that first, they had to get Stanley back to the Steamworks, and secondly, she had to take the clay shipment soon. So, finding Smudger would be on the back burner for a little bit.

That dampened the mood slightly, but everyone, excluding Madge, drove back into the Depot when they arrived. Madge waited outside as Zeph hurried to the brothers who were napping in the shed. When she threw the door open, the both snorted awake. "Aye, what is the hurry, little miss?" asked Arry as he yawned fully awake. "We found Stanley! We need to take him to the Steamworks slowly and carefully, ok?" The could see the worry on her face, so they knew the little engine must be in a horrible state. They started their engines and, with her help, got hooked up to the breakdown train and the empty troublesome truck. The truck, having not been able to fit in the shed, had to be left outside, but Zeph had turned the cranes and ran a tarp over the arms so they made a mini shelter for the truck. The truck was incredibly grateful, but reminded her that they would be sitting outside once the island was reopened, to which she responded, "Until that day, you all will be treated with respect and kindness."

The truck was taken aback, but it couldn't hide an appreciative smile. The train was coupled together before they all moved over to the Depot. When Stanley saw the twins, his eyes went wide, not in happiness, but in fear as he saw "Sodor Ironworks" witten on their side, despite it being quite faded. His voice, having not been used in forever, came out as quieter than a whisper, so quiet no one heard it. Zeph, though, could see his fear and looked between him and the brothers before she hit her head, "Duh. That was a stupid thing of me to do." She walked over to the scared, little engine who was clearly thinking he was going to be scrapped. "Don't worry. That was their prior profession before the island shut down. We are taking you to the Steamworks so you can, eventually, be restored to fully working order as an ENGINE on the railway, not a pump or generator." The little engine looked down at the girl, fear still in his eyes. He didn't know her, she apparently knew him, and if she knew him she knew his past. However, she went to great lengths to find and rescue him, and her kindness seemed genuine. He took a deep breath before barely managing to squeak out quieter than a whisper, "ok."

Zeph smiled warmly and nodded before transferring him to the flatbed of the breakdown train and restrapped him down. Afterwards, she made sure everyone was comfortable in the Depot before closing the doors, climbing into Bert's cab. The group then slowly headed back towards the works. This trip was much quieter than the return trip to the Depot. No one talked, in an awkward silence, the entire trip. The hours crawled by as slowly as the brothers were crawling along the tracks. By the time they finally arrived at the works, it was nightfall. Zeph climbed out to switch the points to the left side of the works, the same side as Mavis. Before she let the brothers move, she walked up beside Stanley, who was gazing at the narrow gauge sheds. "Don't worry. You'll meet them all once you are repaired. Though, considering how damaged you are, I might send you to the mainland to be repaired. I'll have to ask to see if that can be arranged." Stanley looked at her, mixed emotions playing across his face and many questions dancing through his smokebox. He said nothing, though, and she just nodded and helped the brothers inside. Everyone inside was asleep, except for Edward, who had a shocked look on his face. Zeph closed the doors and walked over to him, nodding.

"This is Stanley. He'll be staying here till I can repair him, or hopefully, Mr. Percival can make arrangements to have him repaired on the mainland in secret." Edward looked up past the girl to look at what could only be called an engine long ago. Metal was rusted, big holes and dents, broken weld likes and seams. Edward knew of faceless engines that had been scrapped in better condition. "What if neither is an option, ma'am?" he asked, asking the question neither of them wanted to acknowledge. Without skipping a beat, she answered, "We will go through every possible option until that is the only one remaining, and even then... even then, I'll look for more options. I'm not giving up on anyone here." Edward could see the emotions in her eyes and saw she meant every word. He could only smile, "As stubborn as ever, and you'll have all of us supporting you." Zeph smiled and nodded, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to email Mr. Percival to see what he can do." With that, she walked off to contact the man himself.