//------------------------------//
// I Rang a Silent Bell 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: Northern Soul 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

At first all seemed to be going fairly well for proceedings. As the light continued to fade, the trains continued going up and down the line, either picking up or dropping off passengers either getting on or off at Burr's Country Park to watch ongoing proceedings at the concert. Or to try and escape them, depending on whose context it was regarding the music.

The girls, at least, were having a whale of a time, enjoying the sound of the music of Ruby Jubilee. Misty was especially enthusiastic.

"You're cheerful!" Pipp called over the noise.

"I know all her songs off by heart!" Misty replied. "Her music really helped me settle into regular life in the world, and to see her performing live is a blast!"

Proceedings rattled onwards as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky. Eventually, as time went by, the sun was gone, and the plantlife in the park began to glow a variety of interesting colours which lit up the trees and landscape in all sorts of interesting colours and shapes.

The perfomance rolled towards its conclusion as it did so, the speakers and sound systems continuing to blast out beat after beat. It was as if nothing could go wrong.

Ruby shifted her mike slightly. "Hello, Bury!" she called.

There was a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Phew, time flies, huh? We're nearly at the end of my setlist. But before I go, I have one last song to perform for all of you. It's one I wrote specially for this event, and embodies this place, the landscape, but most importantly of all my fans. Because without you guys I would be nothing."

She looked over to the technician regulating the recordings. "Hit it!"

The technician nodded and pushed a button on her console, and new music began to play.

(Iconic... Iconic...)

Backing vocals flooded into the speakers as Ruby confidently strode back onto the stage and turned back to the audience. "This song is called 'Iconic', and is my gift to all of you!"

"Oh, tell me, can you hear that rockin' sound?
(Oh, oh, oh-oh)
If you listen, you can hear it comin' 'round?
(Oh, oh, oh-oh)

"Yeah, we're movin' to a brand new beat, oh-ohhhh!
(Oh, oh, oh-oh)
And you can see us dancin' in the street!
(Oh, oh, oh-oh)

"So call your favorite bestie and bring 'em along/
'Cause we're movin' and we're shakin' to our favorite song!
Oh-ohhhh!
Yeah, it's always in style!"
(Yeah, it's always in style!)

A visitor got his phone out to start filming, but suddenly noticed something strange. "That's weird. I had signal a moment ago."

Pipp overheard this and checked hers. "Yeah, I haven't got any myself. My phone plan's in date, though!"

On stage, Ruby launched into the song's chorus.

"Iconic, ooh, yeah, you know it's magic!
Iconic, ooh, yeah, you know it's classic!
Iconic, when we are together!
Iconic, yeah, we are forever!
Iconic, yeah, we are forever!"

(Iconic... Iconic...)

The light equipment continued to switch between colour patterns and rotation patterns to light the stage up in an incredible kaleidoscope of colours and sounds. There were some odd warnings on the panel though, so the technician lowered the volume slightly to avoid overloading the speakers.

"Yeah, you can see them movin', young and old, oh-ohhhh!
(Oh, oh, oh-oh)
Dancin' together, yeah, they feel it in their soul!
(Oh, oh, oh-oh)

"We're with all of our friends, yeah, we're singin along/
To the sparkle and the magic of our favorite song!
Oh-ohhhh
'Cause they're always in style!" (sty-y-yle)
(Oh, yeah!)

Proceedings were building up to the climax of the song, and Ruby winked at the audience as she launched into the final chorus. "See you soon, Bury!"

"Iconic, ooh, yeah, you know it's magic!
Iconic, ooh, yeah, you know it's classic!
Iconic, when we are together!
Iconic, yeah, we are forever!
Iconic, yeah, we are fore-"

Before she could sing the final syllable, the stage suddenly fell quiet, and the lights failed, plunging the area into darkness.

"Who turned out the lights?" asked a voice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, we are currently experiencing some technical difficulties. We should have the problem resolved shortly, so please stay calm and remain in your current position."

Suddenly, the speaker system switched back on- but it wasn't the friendly voice of the announcer. "You thought you knew better than the legends, didn't you?"

"Who's that?" Zipp asked.

Izzy's face had drained of most of its colour, and she looked around in fright. "It's Black Annis!" she squeaked.

"I warned all of you that to defy me was to suffer. And nobody defies Black Annis. You will pay the price for your foolishness. "Now go, my minions! Bring me a harvest of voices!"

In terror, people started to run, using their phones as flashlights. But the lights started to fade as loud buzzing began to fill the space.

Sunny saw somebody next to her turn to her friends. "Come on! This wa-"

She never finished her sentence as buzzing was near her, and she collapsed to the ground, coughing violently.

"What's going on?" Zipp asked.

Izzy looked around. "The Troggles are stealing their voices!" she said.

"Well, how do we stop them from stealing voices?" Hitch asked.

Misty smelled the air, and covered her mouth. "Guys... do you smell gas?"

Hitch pointed. "Grab an air tank and strap it to your back! Use it to breath!"

Hitch guided the others over to the first aid tent, and began to pass the emergency air tanks to his fellows, all whilst the buzzing continued all around them. The Troggles were certainly very noisy if nothing else.

Once they were all on, Pipp had an idea. "I remember from the Festival plan that this place has a backup generator. Hitch, Zipp, you go get that started! I'll dial 999 and get the emergency services out here!"

Misty began to make her way back towards the stage, using a nearby torch to light her way. The scene was horrifying. People were lying everywhere, coughing, and spluttering, and struggling to breath or speak. Almost as if something had stolen their voice.

The speakers suddenly cut in again, and a loud gasping was audible. Misty knew exactly where it was coming from, and dashed over the landscape as best she could, dodging buzzing objects and the rest of the objects brought down in the incident.

She made her way up the stage steps and adjusted the light, seeing several members of stage crew writing about in pain. A roadie looked at her. "Help... Ruby..." he wheezed. "She's... not... in a good... way!"

Misty nodded, and headed across the stage, continuing to breathe from an air supply. She bent down when she saw Ruby, and removed the face mask before placing it over Ruby's mouth and nose.

The musicians abrutly stopped writhing as life saving air flowed into her lungs, and her eyes looked up in recognition at her saviour. "Misty?"

Suddenly, the lights cut back in, lighting the place up. "Looks like Hitch and Zipp got the generator going!" Misty said.

Suddenly, the objects kept buzzing about, until a blast of orange light lit up the area. "LEAVE THESE PEOPLE ALONE!"

The objects fell to the floor, one crashing near Misty's position. Misty looked at it in confusion. "Do Troggles usually have propellors?"





The ambulance services arrived a few minutes later to administer care to those who needed it, and the fire brigade were on hand to help with any other issues. A group of policemen had also arrived to start an investigation. With the lights restored, they could finally put face to their enemy.

A police technician looked over from a display. "I've got evidence of external intrusion into the system," she said. "Somebody accessed the control systems for the lights and sound before broadcasting the message."

"Send it to the lab for decoding," the Sergeant replied. She then looked at the object that had landed near Misty, which appeared to be some sort of drone. "Hmmm. This drone has some capsules in it, connected to nozzles. Each capsule was loaded with some sort of noxious gas that left the victim unable to speak or move properly."

"So, no Troggles?" Izzy asked.

"No," the Sergeant replied. "This was a certain and deliberate attack. And whomever did this shall be brought to justice."

Suddenly, an engine started nearby, and a machine raced off down the line.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!" shouted a policeman who began to give chase.

Sunny and her friends ran to their engines to try and get them moving. But something was wrong. "Guys?" Sunny called. "Salty's fuel tank is empty!"

"So is Sophie's!" Pipp called.

"And Charles'!" Zipp added.

"Somebody's thrown Rebecca's fire out!" Hitch noted.

"And as Porter and Bellerophon are in the middle of a formation, we can't easily move them out!" Izzy noted.

"What sort of scallywag did this?" Salty asked.

Suddenly, the voice of Ruby Jubilee surprised them. "I can help. Follow me!"