Unnatural Disasters of Sodor

More Missing

December 5th

I warmed up in Harvey's cab and added some more coal to his fire before heading over to the standard gauge shed. It is similar to the Ffarquhar crews shed where there are three doors, but a shared interior. I had to dig out the doors but was able to yank one open enough to look inside. I found Duck and Donald inside, but the third berth is empty.

"Hello, Zeph. Why are you all the way out here in this weather?" Duck asked, making me look over at the green pannier tank engine. "Well... For now, I think I'm going to squeeze Harvey and Toad in this berth." Before they could respond, I leave and begin to do exactly that. I did feel bad for the rest of the trucks, but the best I could do was put them under the ballast platform to block the wind. Once Harvey, Toad, and I were in the shed, I shut the door and sat close to his fire. "To answer you further, Duck. We are out and about looking for anyone and everyone. The storm hit, and we've lost contact with everyone. Besides Zeph, I haven't seen another person. As for engines, several are missing. Douglas being one of them." I look at the Donald, who had a worried look on his face as soon as I had mentioned Toad. "I'm sorry, Mr. Donald. The trucks snapped the chain, and I couldn't get his attention in the storm." The Caledonian sighed, "It's ok, Toad. I know you did ya best. I'm just worried for Donnie, is all." I look at the two engines from within Harvey's cab before I step out and look down at Toad, "I assume you two were running a ballast train?" The kind brakevan looked up at me, "That is correct, Mr. Alex. We were supposed to head to Brendam docks for a shipment to the mainland. We would then drop off the trucks at Knapford and head back here." I nod slowly before crossing my arms and closing my eyes in thought. With any luck, Zeph would find the missing twin at Brendam. Deciding it was best to get some sleep, I climbed into Toad and lay on the floor before going to sleep, letting Harvey's fire burn out naturally.

December 6th 4 A.M

I woke up early the following morning due to being cold and my teeth chattering. I immediately climbed out of Toad and fumbled to get Harvey's fire lit in my hurry. I didn't know how cold it was, but I didn't want to stay this cold for long. When I finally got the fire lit and burning warmly, I was practically hugging his firebox to warm up. Maybe ten minutes later, my radio crackled faint, "....lex...re....there?" I shakily grabbed it and keyed it, "Y-yeah...I'm here. " There was a moments pause before I received an answer, "Salty and Porter are here. Bill and Ben are at the clay pitts." I waited for him to continue and say Douglas was there, but he didn't say anything. "What about Douglas? Is he there?" "No. I'm guessing you are asking because he is supposed to be. Let me go ask the others." There was a several minute long pause as I waited nervously, before, eventually, Zeph spoke, "Douglas never made it, and the ship departed without the ballast before the brunt of the storm hit." Donald, who had been half asleep, instantly fully woke up, "We need to look for Dougie! He might be hurt or trapped out there!" I had to agree with the Caledonian twin, but this wasn't something we could rush. I sighed and thanked my friend for the information and filled him in with my side of the findings. Deciding to explore further, he would head east towards Vicarstown, while Harvey and I head to Elsbridge and then up the Ffarquhar branch. There was a chance the points froze and diverted Douglas up that line. Of course, Donald wanted to come along, but I reminded him that he had no driver or fireman to crew him. "Then you crew me! Put me snow plow on, and I'll pull Harvey and the crane! I need to go find my brother!" I sighed heavily. Granted, there was nothing Donald could actually do if I said no, but getting on the bad side of them wouldn't be fun. I groan but relented and used Harvey's crane to attach Donald's snow plow to him. Retrieving some of the burning coals from Harvey's fire, I used it to start Donald's fire and get him steaming. When he his fire was roaring and he was steaming nicely, I pried open the shed doors in front of both engines. With a little shuffling, we were able to get Toad and all the trucks we rescued into the shed with Duck. "Be safe, you three, and good luck." With a final goodbye, I closed the door to the sheds, and we headed off down the line, Donald having a most determined look on his face, even as a light snowfall began.

December 6th, 5:25 A.M

It's been a little over an hour since I last wrote. We were going to take the part of the loop line that connects nearest to the Little Western, but the points were frozen solid. We decided to back along the main line and just go up the start of the Ffarquhar branch. We are hopeful that Toby and Daisy are ok. Mavis is almost certainly trapped in the quarry, but Harvey, Donald, and the train are probably too heavy to cross that old wooden bridge that crosses that river and I am not walking all they way there. With any luck, we'll be at Ffarquhar in an hour, assuming the line is clear, and hopefully, Thomas and Percy made it make to their sheds. I swear this weather has a mind of its own.

December 6th, 7:30 A.M

We finally made it to Ffarquhar station. We got held up at Hackenbeck tunnel as the snow was piled up thick. It took both engines' power and several charges to clear just one side of the tunnel, not including the other side. I didn't bother checking on the Kyndley residence as they left in the fall to go on vacation in Europe. But now we are here, and looking over towards the sheds, it it going to take another hour at least to clear the snow that has built up over these few days. I write when we finish.

December 6th, 9 A.M

That took a lot longer than we anticipated due to ice hidden under the snow. Thankfully, both engines had their sandboxes full, so we used a little to help for grip. When we finally cleared the doors of snow, it was up to chest deep in the piles. I was able to open the berth doors closest to the carriage shed. Inside, I found Percy and Toby, but no Thomas. According to Percy, after his first two stops, he saw the storm was going to be very bad and rushed back here. Him and his crew put the mail vans in the carriage shed where Daisy was and still is. They haven't heard anything about Thomas since they parted ways at Tidmouth. That makes three engines missing. Thomas, Gordon, and Douglas so far. This island isn't very big, so I'm wondering where they are.

December 6th, 11 A.M

Despite my better judgment, Donald and I are going by ourselves to the Anopha Quarry to check on Mavis. I don't have a great feeling about this, but if it comes to it, we can bring her back to Ffarquhar so she isn't alone. I'm just hoping that bridge will hold our weight. It should since Thomas is technically heavier than Donald.

Ok, instead of writing dates and times for every entry, might just start a new paragraph under the same date. Anyways, that wooden bridge held and we were able to make it to the quarry. It is a little eerie when there aren't trucks everywhere, but they were tucked away in a large covered building for the winter. Guess you could say they were lucky compared to most trucks. We made our way to Mavis' shed, and she was quite surprised to see us. We told her why we were there and offered to bring her the sheds at Ffarquhar, but she politely declined, saying she was enjoying the peace and quiet. So we left her to herself and headed back to the station to pick up Harvey and the train. We're now making a plan to see where we should go next.

(For those that read this story. Sorry for not posting in so long. Also, I will ask if there should be a supernatural-ish element this or to keep it more grounded? Also, should I continue with date and time for every "entry"? ^^; )