FanFic:Saving Sodor Part 10: Crash

Saving Sodor Part 10: Crash

Characters: (in order of appearance)

• Diesel 10
• Diesel
• Duck
• Troublesome Trucks
• Edward
• Rocky

Chapter 10

After following the line for some time – without running into any other steam engines – Diesel 10 arrived at a large railway yard, where Diesel was waiting.

"So you've finally arrived," remarked Diesel rudely. "I got here ages ago. What took you so long?"

"Shut it, Diesel! I didn't take that long! Now stop with your stupid remarks, and get on with what you've brought us here for!"

"Well," scoffed Diesel. "You wait here, and I'll take a look to see if our target has arrived. If he has, I'll talk to him for a while, then blow my horn to you. That's your signal to come and destroy. Got it?"

"Yeah, got it."

With that, Diesel rounded the corned, travelled forward a little, and then stopped. There, he saw his target.

Duck was there, parked in one of the three sidings ahead with the mixed goods train he was pulling through Knapford. Beyond these sidings was a fence, which was on top of a grass slope, at the bottom of which was a brick wall. Once, when boasting about winning a race against Bertie, Thomas had fallen down this slope and crashed through this wall.

Duck stood in the siding, facing the buffers, feeling exhausted. The trucks, who always loved to misbehave, had been hard work for him, teasing him and holding back to make pulling them hard for him.

They were right now giggling at their behaviour throughout the journey. They were not in the least bothered what Duck thought of them, nor was Duck surprised at their behaviour. For this was common behaviour for all of the trucks on the Sodor railway; to play tricks and cause bother for the engines. Because of this, the engines christened them as 'Troublesome Trucks'.

"Why do you like causing trouble for us engines?" asked Duck wearily.

"What do you expect? It's the only fun we get out of the journeys," snapped a box van.

"You can do other things for fun which aren't so naughty," suggested Duck. "Like count how many stations we pass on the way."

"But that's boring!" moaned a stone truck. "Playing tricks on engines gives us a laugh.

"Well it certainly doesn't give me a laugh. Honestly, is there any goodness in you trucks?"

"There's no goodness in me! That's for sure!" Came an oily voice, and then, Diesel rolled up on the line furthest away from Duck. He pulled up when he was level with the Great-Western engine and sneered.

"What are you doing here, Diesel?" Duck scowled sourly.

"Oh, nothing. Just bringing a good friend for you to say 'Hi' to." Then with that, Diesel blasted his horn loud, and then, Diesel 10 rolled up on the line next to Duck, giving him his most evil grin. Duck gasped in shock.

"D-D-D-Diesel T-T-T-" he stuttered.

"That's right!" Diesel 10 boomed. "I am Diesel 10!" Then, he raised his claw, and turned it to face Duck. "And you, I'm afraid, are scrap!" Then he snapped his claw aggressively.

Duck shuddered in fear, too frightened to move. But then suddenly, the trucks, just as frightened as he was, surged him forward. "On! On! On!" they screamed. Duck cried out in fright. They pushed Duck out of the way of Diesel 10's claw quickly, and the brake van on the end of the train managed to get out of the way before Diesel 10 could grab it.

Before the big diesel could retreat, he and Diesel watched in surprise as the trucks pushed Duck through the buffers which broke to pieces as he smashed through them.

The trucks continued to push Duck through the fence, and then he rolled unstoppably down the slope and hit the wall with a sickening crash, bringing them to a stop.

The wall smashed and pieces of broken bricks flew around Duck. His Great-Western green paint was badly scratched, and his front end was badly damaged. The trucks lay around him. Some of them had stayed on their wheels, but others had fallen onto their sides.

The two diesels were still surprised; they didn't realise it was the trucks who made Duck crash. From what they saw, it looked as if Duck had done it himself.

"Well, well, well," sneered Diesel 10. "Looks like the Great-Western puffball has lost his mind!"

"As he keeps reminding everyone," exclaimed Diesel. "There are two ways of doing things; the Great-Western way, or the wrong way. Well, have I got news for you Duck," he called. "That was the wrong way! Well, for you at least. But it's the right way for us, for it saves us the bother of having to destroy you."

"All the same," grumbled Diesel 10 sulkily. "I've still yet to destroy a puffball myself. And that's what I'm here for."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Diesel remarked. "See ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya!" He called to Duck, before leaving the yard with Diesel 10.

"Now what did you make me crash for?!" Duck snapped to the trucks. "I was in danger then. There was no time for your silly tricks!"

"Well, that's gratitude," sighed a coal truck. "We were not playing tricks on you! We just saved your bunker! If we didn't make you crash, Diesel 10 would have destroyed you."

Duck then realised this. "Oh, yes, so he would have. Oh, thank you all. Not only did you just save me from being scrap, but you've just proved that trucks are good, as well as troublesome after all."

"Hey," laughed a salt wagon. "If Diesel 10 destroyed you, then you wouldn't be around for us to play tricks on you."

All the trucks proceeded to laugh at this comment, and Duck couldn't help but laugh too.

After a while, a passing workman, having noticed the broken buffers, spotted Duck down the slope. Surprised at this, he immediately ran to the telephone box in the yard and telephoned for help. Then he ran back to the top of the slope.

"Edward is on his way to help you," he called down to Duck. "So just wait there."

"I can hardly do anything else," muttered Duck.

Soon after, Edward steamed into the yard, pushing a large dark red breakdown crane with yellow stripes. He was puffing along the line Duck had crashed, but with the breakdown crane in front of him, he couldn't see the siding with no buffers on top of the slope. Fortunately, the breakdown crane did.

"Whoa, Edward!" he called warningly. "That's far enough, or we'll be joining Duck down there!"

Edward stopped just in time. The breakdown crane's front wheels were just on the edge of the end of the rails.

"Thanks for the warning, Rocky," exclaimed Edward. Then he called out to Duck. "Hello?! Duck?! Can you here me?!"

As Duck was facing away from the slope, he couldn't see Edward, but could hear him clearly. "Hello Edward! I can hear you!"

"It's okay! I'm here with Rocky!"

"I'll get you back onto the rails into no time!" The breakdown crane called out loudly.

Some workmen who had travelled with Edward and Rocky took hold of the hook on Rocky's crane arm. Then, they walked carefully down the slope towards Duck, extending the chain out, as it unravelled from the cylinder on Rocky's crane arm.

When they reached the bottom of the slope, they connected the hook to Duck's rear coupling.

"All set!" One of them called out to Rocky. With that, Rocky started to pull his chain back in. The cylinder on his crane arm started to sping, as the chain wrapped itself around it, slowly pulling Duck back up the slope. The chain strained, but pulling the Great-Western engine up the slope wasn't too difficult for the big breakdown train. So it didn't take long for Rocky to heave Duck back up to the top of the slope and back onto the track.

One of the workmen examined Duck. "You'll have to go to Croven's Gate for repairs."

So while Edward left the yard to turn around on the nearest turntable, Rocky lifted Duck onto a flatbed that was parked on the line on the left of Rocky's. When Edward returned, he was coupled to the flatbed carrying Duck, and pulled away, leaving Rocky to bring the unhurt trucks back up the slope.

On the way to the repairs shed, Edward asked Duck what had caused his accident. Duck then let the story spill about how Diesel showed up with Diesel 10, much to the shock of Edward, to learn that their old enemy had returned.

"Diesel 10 is on Sodor?"

"Yes," replied Duck. "And it seems he's going to destroy us all. He would have destroyed me too, if it weren't for the trucks." Duck then told Edward how the trucks had rescued him, by making him crash.

When they reached the repairs shed of Croven's Gate, Edward parked Duck's flatbed next to the brick engine shed. The nearby shunter uncoupled him.

"See you later, Duck," whistled Edward. "I'm going now to spread the work that Diesel 10 is back, and make sure all steam engines are aware. I hope he hasn't found them first. Wish me luck." With that, Edward puffed away.

"Goodbye, Edward," replied Duck, feeling worried. "And good luck. Don't let Diesel 10 catch you…"