It was a beautiful, bountiful, bright morning, and Misty stood by the lineside looking excitedly forward. A familiar sound had started up in the distance, and that meant only a single thing.
A train was coming!
Misty leaned excitedly against the fence as she waited for the train to arrive. It was always fun seeing the trains go by. The speed at which they passed was always exciting to see, as well as seeing the passengers as the children waved. They always thought the children were waving to them, whereas of course the children knew who the real stars of the show were.
But as the train approached her position, a strange voice began speaking, and the sky began to darken. "Misty..."
Misty looked behind her. "Who's there?"
But nobody replied.
Just as the train roared into position, its whistle blowing loudly at the crossing, Misty opened her eyes as a figure lumbered out of the darkness. Before Misty could react-
-She suddenly woke up, and looked around her room in confusion. "What in the world?" she asked herself, aware she was the only person in the room. She pulled herself out of bed and placed her feet on the floor. The clock revealed it was the middle of the night, and this meant several hours before anybody else woke up.
She'd been having those strange dreams for a bit now. And all of them had taken place in a location that was completely flat and near a railway line. None of it made sense, and yet somehow the place was familiar to her.
"What in the world is going on with me?" she asked quietly, glancing back at herself in a bedside mirror. "I need to talk with my friends before anything else strange happens. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep a bit more before I have to go talk to them."
The next morning, Misty sent a message to her friends, asking them to meet outside the Fisherman's Arms in the morning. Sure enough, she found them there, all doing a number of different things. Sunny was reading, so no surprises there. Zipp had brought a magazine with her, which seemed rather like her. Izzy was eating an enormous ice cream (quite why she was doing this in March was anybody's guess), and Hitch was checking something on his phone.
Pipp, on the other hand, was watching a music video on YouTube. Misty quickly recognised the song. It was the one the bands at the East Lancashire Railway event had sung.
"We don't hang our heads/
When things get too hard!
We put our hands together!
'Cause we're forever frie-"
Zipp quickly nudged Pipp. "Pipp, Misty's here."
Pipp stopped the video and looked up. "Hey Misty! How ya doin'?"
"I have something important to tell you!" Misty said.
"Well, we figured as much from the message," Hitch answered.
"Is it Opaline? Is she coming?" Sunny asked.
"No," Misty replied.
"Then she may already be here!" Izzy said.
Pipp gasped. "No. Way! Cheval de Lune is not the correct clothing line for doing batle with a crazy woman!"
"Your idea to wear posh clothes, not me," Zipp replied. She fiddled with her jacket. "Seems fine to me."
Misty then grabbed a megaphone and shouted down it. "EVERYBODY, PLEASE BE QUIET!"
There was a moment's silence. "My eardrums," Izzy said quietly.
"You see," Misty said, "I've been having bad dreams."
"Haven't we already done this plotline?" Izzy asked.
"Yes, but rather differently," Zipp said. "That was to do with the subconscious, but this probably won't. Anyway, Misty, from the top."
Misty nodded. "I was standing by the lineside somewhere, and a train was approaching. Then the landscape turned dark, and somebody walked towards me. Then it ended."
"That sounds like it was cheese inspired," Pipp said.
"Yeah, we could do with some more details," Zipp said. "Was the figure Opaline?"
"I don't think so," Misty said. "I couldn't really make them out in the light."
"Evil is often poorly lit for some reason," Sunny said.
But the weird thing is a recognise the place it happened in. I think it's somewhere from my past," Misty said. She then spotted the magazine Zipp was reading. "In fact, the engine was that one!"
Zipp looked at the front of the magazine. "Oh, this? That's the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch. Miniature railway in Kent."
"It could mean that you used to live in Kent!" Hitch said. "Izzy, can you get some images up from the line?"
"Sure!" Izzy said, humming as she consulted her image searcher. At last, she had some images up on the display, and began scrolling through. "This is adorable! Those engines are so small!"
Misty was looking over her shoulder, and glanced at the display. "There!" she said. "That's it! The level crossing next to the children's playground!"
"Well then, there's no time to waste!" Zipp said. "To Hythe we go!" She began to confidently stride away.
"How are we even supposed to get to Hythe?" Izzy asked.
"I'll figure something out!" Zipp replied.
The bus pulled into the car park at Hythe station on the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch, and the crew got off. "Thank you for travelling Arriva Kent Buses," said the driver. "Have a nice day out!"
"That was bumpy," Izzy said. "But I had fun going flying on the speed bumps!"
Sunny rubbed her back. "Hopefully the trains have padded seats. My back's in a mess."
"Tell me about it," Pipp complained. "My vertebrae have been shaken loose!"
"Wheeling out big words, are we?" Hitch asked.
"I'm an influence, not an airhead," Pipp replied. She then brought her phone up and hit a button. "Heya, Pippsqueaks! Just to let you all know I'm goin' unplugged for the day. Sometimes it's super good to move away from screens for a bit. See ya!"
She stopped the stream and popped her phone in a pocket.
Zipp looked over. "You're not really stopping because of that, are you?"
Pipp snorted. "Well, duh! The signal out here is TERRIBLE!"
"You might need to see a doctor about this."
Pipp groaned. "For the ten billionth time, Zipp, I do NOT have a phone addiction! If I did, you wouldn't be able to talk to me any other way! Sheesh, it's hard enough playing the extrovert without you breathing down my neck all the time!"
Zipp rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She glanced over to Misty as they entered the booking office. "Anything yet?"
"Yes, actually," Misty said.
Zipp took her phone out and hit record. "Hit us with it!"
Misty looked at the wall. "This painting is nice. Painting machines is a real skill!"
Zipp groaned, and stopped the recording. "Not what I meant, Misty!"
Sunny walked over. "Be patient and give her time."
Zipp checked her watch. "How can we dilly dally when Opaline could strike at any moment?"
Meanwhile, Pipp was paying for the tickets, and Misty was looking at a selection of objects in the gift shop which were about the line. "This looks familiar," she said, as she took a look inside a guidebook.
Suddenly, something formed in her mind. She was smaller, and standing underneath a vast trainshed. Steam was pouring into the air, and people were getting on and off the trains as they arrived and departed.
When the imagery ended, Zipp was standing next to her. "Anything yet?" she asked.
"Something under a station roof, but it was rather inconsequential," Misty answered.
Zipp rolled her eyes. "We're getting nowhere at this rate!"
"Shall we go to the platform?" Pipp suggested.
"Good idea!" Hitch said. So they went to the platform, stepping under the overall roof of Hythe station. It was very large and grand, and this made the station feel a lot bigger than it actually was.
"This is pretty impressive!" Izzy said, as she looked to the coaches. "These coaches are tiny!"
"The rails are only fifteen inches apart," Zipp pointed out. "It's the world's smallest public railway for a reason."
"Actually," Sunny said, "that honour is held by the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway, which is 10 and a quarter inch gauge."
"Not sure that really counts, Sunny," Zipp replied, as a whistle sounded through the area. "Sounds like a train is coming."
Just then, a passenger train rolled in from outside the station, consisting of many green coaches and a dark green express engine with a long tender. It had a long, sleek boiler with a round topped firebox, and was painted light green with white and black boiler banding.
"It's Flying Scotsman!" Pipp said, jokingly.
"Green Goddess is my name, actually," said the engine, revealing them to be female.
Izzy bounced over. "Awwww! She's just like a toy train!"
Green Goddess looked annoyed. "I may be smaller than most engines, but I function in precisely the same way. In fact, I probably work harder than most heritage engines, as at my size 25 mile per hour running is like 75 miles per hour for the bigger engines!"
Misty looked at the engine. "I don't think she looks familiar."
"Do you know a Misty?" Zipp asked.
Green Goddess thought for a moment. "Hmmmm. Name doesn't ring a bell, but I have an idea. One of the other engines at New Romney might know. Hop aboard and I'll take you there on the next train."
So they hopped onboard, and once Green Goddess had been turned and watered they were on their way.
"Where could they have gone?" Lady Haven asked, checking the house CCTV. "It's not like them to just suddenly up and vanish!"
"They probably went to the town or something like that," Lord Haven said. "Let's look around Falmouth and see what we find."
So they did, but their search turned up no results. "Why not try phoning Pipp?" Lord Haven suggested.
"I did, but it went straight to voicemail," Lady Haven replied. "It's not like her to have her phone switched off."
Lord Haven nodded. "Well, you did suggest she try a day where she doesn't use the device."
"Yes, I did. I remember all too well the tantrums that resulted when I confiscated the device and replaced it with a brick for a few days."
"Whilst being off devices is good for health," Lord Haven conceeded, "we no longer live in an age where we can afford to disconnect for too long. It's all a process of moderation."
Outside the Fisherman's Arms, they bumped into Alphabittle. "Good morning, Alphabittle," Lady Haven said. "Have you seen Misty anywhere?"
"No!" Alphabittle said. "I'm looking for her myself. I have no idea where she might have gone."
"Hold on a minute," Lord Haven said, looking at the table. "Zipp was reading that this morning. Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch?"
Alphabittle's eyes looked at the page, and he nodded. "I think I know where they are. I'll get my motorbike so you can follow me there."
He headed off as Lady Haven produced her radio. "Parker? Procure the Bentley."
"Yes, m'lady."
Out on the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch, not much progress was being made- apart from the journey of course. Izzy had slid the door open and was leaning out. "THIS FEELS SO MUCH FASTER THAN IT IS!" she yelled, her face being blasted by wind.
Sunny and Zipp, however, weren't paying attention. "Zipp, you really need to dial it back a bit," Sunny said.
"We can't afford to dial it back!" Zipp snapped. "We're going slow and wasting time, all whilst our enemies are probably preparing to strike! You know what Opaline is capable of!"
Misty, however, had zoned out. Another train had flown by on the other line, pulled by a dark green engine with smoke deflectors. This had triggered a memory.
She was sitting in her dad's lap, whilst he was at the controls of that engine. They were whizzing along and enjoying the speed, which was exhilerating.
Just as the vision ended, Misty glanced about. "Guys, I think I used to live here," she said.
"Fill us in!" Zipp said.
"I was riding on one of the engines in my dad's lap. Did he used to work here?"
"Alphabittle never mentioned living in Kent at any time I worked on the East Lancashire," Izzy noted. "Doesn't mean he didn't though."
"Any more details?" Zipp asked.
"Not really. I just somehow know it was that dark green engine that passed us," Misty said. "I'll let you know when I have more information."
"Take all the time you need," Sunny said. "This takes time." She then glared at Zipp. "Right, Zipp?"
Zipp shrugged. "Whatever. But if we get jumped before we've figured this out don't come crying to me."
There was suddenly a whistle. "WE'RE APPROACHING A BIG STATION!" Izzy called.
The train speakers then started up. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now approaching New Romney, where this service terminates. Please alight for connections to Hythe and Dungeness. We hope you enjoyed your journey and enjoy your day out on the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch Railway."
As the train pulled into the station, another service was passed on the right, pulled by a huge, dark blue engine. "Morning, Green Goddess!" he called.
"Hello Samson!" Green Goddess replied. "Nice weather for it, eh?"
"For what, I wonder?" Pipp asked, and then she saw it. "CRAFT STALLS!"
The train came to a stop and the team got out to take a look.
"How long have we been on the road?" Lady Haven asked.
"A few hours at most," Lord Haven replied. He picked up the radio. "How much further, Arthur?"
"Just a few more miles and we'll be in New Romney!" Alphabittle replied over the radio.
After those miles had rolled by, they entered a small town. "Of course!" Lady Haven said. "Alphabittle said he used to live here!"
"Seems curious the others would come here, then," Lord Haven admitted. "Seems an oddly specific place to go for them."
"Like a sailor to the sea or a kight to battle, railwaymen are always drawn back to the rails," Lady Haven said. "And railwaywomen, no less."
"We're here!" Alphabittle radioed. "I'll show my heritage railway pass to let us in."
Inside, Zipp found Pipp on a phone, googling something. "Pipp, I thought you weren't using your phone today."
Pipp looked over. "Well, I found a delightful little loophole in mom's words."
"Namely?"
"She said 'stay off your phone today'. She said nothing about using somebody else's phone. And this vendor is letting me check whether I already have something in stock!"
Zipp facepalmed. "It's the spirit of the request, Pipp, not the letter, that counts."
Suddenly, there was the sound of breaking up ahead. "Somebody got here in a hurry," Hitch said.
Minutes later, several familiar faces appeared. "How in the world did you two get over here?" Lady Haven asked her daughters.
"Too many buses to count," Pipp groaned. "My back still hasn't forgiven me."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Lord Haven asked.
"Pipp's not using her phone and mine has no signal," Zipp replied. "Service around here is seriously spotty for some reason. But how did you figure out where we were?"
Lord Haven passed her the magazine. "You left this on a bench outside the Fisherman's Arms. You really should be more careful with where you put things."
Alphabittle sighed. "Been a long time since I was last in here."
"You used to work here?" Sunny asked, who had wandered over.
"I sure did," Alphabittle replied. "Although I've lived in Bury for a long time, I actually grew up in Kent. But enough about me. Have any of you seen Misty anywhere?"
"Come to think of it, I haven't," Izzy said. "Misty? Where are you?"
Misty had somehow made her way into the lower levels of the building. "Hello? Is anybody there?"
Suddenly, a figure grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream, but a cloth was soon shoved over her face and pulled. Misty tried to fight back, but her focus began to fade. Things were drowsy... and then they went black.