The Abandoned Island

Two Sides to Everything

That night, Skarloey couldn't sleep. He was thinking about what Zephyra had said to him on the trip back to the sheds and watching her and Stanley head out into the night to go looking for Smudger added salt to the wound. His brother was concerned for him as he hadn't said a single word since returning, "Skarloey, what's on your mind? Are you ok?" The railways namesake sighed heavily in thought, "I'm not sure, Rheneas. Zeph made a good point regarding Smudger, which is why her and Stanley are heading out. They are going to go look for him." Rheneas looked at his brother, seeing the troubled expression on his face and immediately knowing what he was thinking without a single word being spoken, "You think we acted too harshly. Right?"

"Yes. She said despite his flaws, he is a friend and part of this railway. It definitely made me stop and reflect. Imagine if our younger selves had seen that. They would have been appalled at our behavior. Even when Duncan first arrived, and he was pretty bad, we never acted so horrible."

"To be fair, though, Duncan never put any of our friends in danger or destroyed months of hard work. Of course, there was the tunnel incident, but that tunnel needed maintenance anyways," Despite saying this, Rheneas agreed with what his brother was saying. Thinking about how his younger self would have reacted, he could imagine that he would have reprimanded Smudger before helping him fix the problem he caused. Afterward, he might tease the engine occasionally about the accident, but they'd stay friends or colleagues, at least. As they sat there in thought, coming slightly muffled from their left through the wall, was Duncan's voice, "Do ya see me as just an annoyance and trouble maker? When we were all working, I was given all the horrible jobs and worked off my wheels!" There was a soft chorus of groans from the other engines. "Duncan, you were given those jobs due to your bad attitude and because all you did was complain," Rusty pointed out. "Not to mention you always argued with whoever was in charge," added Peter Sam.

Duncan would huff loudly, "I argued because I was overworked and I would get the bad jobs, but they would saddle me with more work even though I already had more than anyone else!" "Well, look at you now. After the passenger day, you complained you didn't get to do anything. Regardless if you have work or no work, you just complain for the sake of complaining," Sir Handle chimed in with a smirk that Duncan obviously couldn't see. "To be fair, besides their initial encounter, Zeph hasn't chastised Duncan for complaining. If anything, it seems like she encourages it." The others stop and think about what Ivo Hugh just said. They hadn't even thought about that. They were so used to his behavior that they just imagined that Zeph would yell at him, but besides, when the pair first met, they couldn't recall her ever scolding him again. Even Duncan couldn't think of another time. "Now that you mention it, Ivo, she hasn't scolded any of us, not even Smudger, I don't think. She acts more like a friend than our controller." "I don't think the standard gauge crew has asked her to become the controller of the island yet, Rheneas. From what Edward told me after the passenger day, even Sir Topham Hatt and Mr. Percival agree to her becoming it, but no one has said anything yet," Rusty pointed out.

Once again, silence fell across both sheds as the engines thought. "Well," Peter Sam started, "Playing devil's advocate, what if she doesn't want to be our controller?" "If she didn't want to be our controller, why would she go to such lengths to restore the island?" Sir Handle said rather gruffly. Duke spoke this time, "Maybe because she sees all of us as friends. She wants to see us happy and healthy, so when she passes control of the island to someone more experienced, she knows we'll be well taken care of." "But, Granpuff, why can't she be both? Sir Topham and Mr. Percival could both be considered our friends and controllers," pointed out Peter Sam. "I don't know, Youngster, but if she doesn't want to be our controller, then we can't force her. We'll have to respect her decision." Despite their own thoughts on the matter, everyone did agree. It was her choice, and they had to accept and respect it, whatever it would be. Just then, there was a distant, low rumbling that was rapidly approaching. "What's that?" asked Ivo. Both sheds had their doors open as Zeph would normally close them when she was done for the day. Since Stanley and her went out that night, she had left the doors open so the little engines could enjoy the faint breeze and the night sky. Before anyone could answer, they watched Stanley and the crane race backwards past the platform, cross several points, and run into the shed with a loud metal screeching, followed by a loud bang as buffers stopped loco and crane.