Sodor Fallout: A Thomas The Tank Engine AU

July 9th, 1973

8:39 Am

So much had just happened in the span of an hour, it's insane. We woke up to Toby having an episode with fireface, and he sounded like he was fighting for control. He was begging for it to stop, and was able to roll himself back and forth, like someone pacing in circles while in deep thought. Something was going to happen, and I woke up the others. We stood back as Toby screamed in pain, his bell ringing continuously. He was at his breaking point. The voices inside of him telling him to end it, that he was just a pile of wood ready to rot. Toby told Thomas to take care of Henrietta, and then it happened. Topham knew what was going to happen and ran towards the engine who had taken him out on their holiday trip all those years ago, but it was too late. The tram engine rolled back, and slammed his wooden body into the arm of the breakdown crane in front of him, which struck straight into his front and face. The sound of splintering wood and flesh was heard, as the tram engine fell apart. The arm struck Fireface too, and the hook snagged his face and killed it on impact. It was one of the most gruesome scenes I have ever witnessed. Topham, Charlie, Leonard and I watched in horror. Topham fell to his knees, and broke down crying in front of the collapsed shell of his beloved number 7. he tried to consolidate him, but he did something none of us expected. He got up, and took off his Jacket. he laid it down upon the remains of the engine, and with his top hat as well. It was a final send off to our favorite tram before we had to go.

Surprisingly, it was interrupted by the sounds of two horns blaring. From the line beside the sheds, Mavis, Daisy, a Fuel Tanker, and a Van pulled alongside. The sight was shocking. Mavis had parts of a Stone truck on her front, much like Henry, but it only covered her front near the buffers, and had bullet markings on her body with cracked windows. Her cowcatchers, however, were covered in dirt, dust, and what I can only assume is blood. Daisy, on the other hand, was quite different. She was boarded up with wooden boards and track sleepers covering most of her windows. The most surprising thing however, was her lack of makeup, which her fitter usually painted on her every morning. Instead of her blush and eyeshadow, she had what looked to be war paint under her eyes. She was full to the brim with workers, armed with guns and machines that could be used as weapons, like Shovels, Pickaxes and Nail guns. We gathered around after making sure people weren't mutated, and asked what happened.

Apparently, the quarry was attacked by people in lorries, and started to shoot down at the workers from the cliff sides. Luckily, it was a blasting day, and they had blown the ledge where they were shooting from. Workmen were brawling those men like a professional wrestling match. Mavis ran over some that were trying to block her track, and she managed to escape with a van, a truck and fuel tanker before they could blow it up. The van they had contained rail replacement sleepers and equipment, and they decided to lay low with one of the canvas barriers stored in the van, using it as camouflage, moving at the slowest speeds possible. Eventually, they found Daisy in her shed, which was detached from the line as it had been blown up. The living workmen who stayed with Mavis in the truck were experts and fixing rails. with the supplies they had in the van, they worked stealthily to roll her onto the line off her siding. the points were quite a pain to temporarily repair, but after a few days, they managed to get her back onto the main line. To protect themselves, they used the old truck Mavis had to make a shield in case they ran anyone else over, and some of the remaining planks and sleepers were fastened to Daisy. After fending off the last of the people with guns in hiding, they started to honk their horns for attention, since they felt they could locate survivors in the general vicinity. After not being able to locate anyone, they made their way to Tidmouth Sheds.

We all decided it would be best to stick together and get going. We then realized something. We went to use some of the coal Edward had in the truck he found at Tidmouth, but Topham told us it wasn't Welsh coal. The thing was, it didn't make a difference.