//------------------------------//
// Ghosts of the Past, Part 2 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: Tales from the Mainland Volume 3 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

The market had turned into a scene of chaos. Hitch was peering into several nooks and crannies, looking for his friend.

"Have you found Misty yet?" Zipp asked him, also looking underneath objects.

"No luck," Hitch said. "Then again, it is hard to find somebody in a market that stuffed full of people."

"Fair point," Zipp conceded. "Well keep looking."

"She's not at the cake stand either!" Pipp added, who had just arrived. "Where in the world could she be?"

"She could have bashed into some buffers," Hitch offered.

"Or dropped down into a mine," Zipp added.

"Or fallen in the ocean as she passed a danger sign!" Pipp said. "Look how close we are to the sea!"

"Pipp, what's in your mouth?" Zipp asked.

"Macaron," Pipp replied. "It's a free sample, though I'm thinking of buying some for mom."

Sunny and Izzy then arrived. "We've searched the station yard, but there's no sign of her either!" Sunny said.

"This yard is huge!" Izzy said. "It's amazing that nobody gets lost around here!"

"So where in the world could she be?" Zipp asked.

"Perhaps she found a secret door inside a tree," Izzy suggested.

"Well that's patently ridiculous," Pipp said. "Let me guess; said door leads to a place full of dragons."

"How did you know?" Izzy asked, amazed.

"Perhaps she ended up on some island that's unknown!" Sunny suggested. "I mean, that's how we ended up on Sodor."

"How can there be an island near the British Isles that's unknown?" Hitch pointed out.

"What if it was always covered in mist?" Izzy suggested.

Zipp snorted. "That sounds very 'misterious'!"

"Now isn't the time for cracking bad jokes!" Sunny protested.

"Just trying to lower the tension a bit."

"It doesn't help we don't really know the area," Hitch said. "I'm already lost around here."

Pipp sighed. "Shame I can't use my phone to call her, you know. I might actually be able to find out where she is."

"Less complaining, more looking!"





Shapes and sounds slowly began to form in Misty's mind as she began to regain consciousness. She looked around her, aware of a voice and some light. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Ah, good, she's awake," said a familiar voice. Misty looked behind her and saw none other than Boomer standing there. "Nice of you to wake up."

"Boomer?" Misty asked. "Is that you?"

"No, I'm the Queen of Sheba. What do you think?"

"How am I here?" Misty asked, quietly, trying to move. "Wait. Why can't I move?"

"Because you're tied to a post, that's why," Boomer said, as he walked around her. "You really need to work on not getting captured. You're giving the Blossomforths a bad name."

Misty looked at him. "Why?"

"It's good to see you back in the fold," Boomer smiled. "You've caused us a lot of trouble whilst you were away, and having you back where we can keep an eye on you makes our lives so much easier. After all, this is the price you pay for betrayal."

"I didn't betray you!" Misty snapped. "You tried to kill me!"

Misty's head snapped to one side as Boomer's fist slammed into her cheek.

"I don't recall giving you permission to speak, worm."

"My name is Misty."

Boomer glared in her eyes. "Your name is whatever I decide it to be." He took out a knife. "Your life depends on the course of action you take, so I would strongly advise you think very, very carefully about what you do or say next."

Misty hung her head, unable to apply ice or anything to her now swollen cheek. "What do you want with me?"

Boomer turned around. "It's not what I want with you. It's what I want from Alphabittle."





The continued search at the market had produced no results, and everybody was growing frantic. "Any clues yet?" Izzy asked.

"Not a sausage!" Sunny answered.

"I found a hot dog, though," Hitch said, unhelpfully.

They then encountered Alphabittle, who had been conducting his own search around the place. "Where could she be? It's not like her to run off."

Suddenly, his phone went, and it was her number. "Thank the Stars!" He answered it, placing the receiver to his ears. "Hello?"

"Hello, Arthur," said the voice. "Your service with the LLF has not been forgotten. Know that the names of all the traitors are written down."

"What do you want, Boomer?"

"We have Misty, and her life depends on you doing the right thing. We want the key, Arthur. If there's any sense left in that brain of yours you'll do as you're ordered and hand it over."

Alphabittle tensed up. "You'll regret this."

"Unless you want your child to go splat I strongly advise you do as told. After all, you don't want to lose her again, do you?"

Alphabittle sighed. "Alright. I'll do as you ask. Just don't hurt her."

"Give us the key and I can promise you I shall do her no harm."

"What was that about?" Izzy asked.

"Boomer's got Misty hostage," Alphabittle said. "I'm going down there to rescue her."

"What was that about a key?" Zipp asked.

"He wants this key." Alphabittle produced it from a bag. "I'm going to give it to him."

Sunny glanced over. "If I had a penny for the number of times a family member of a friend has been used as a bargaining chip I'd have three pennies. Which isn't a lot, but it's strange it's happened three times."

"Oh, I remember now," Hitch said. "Your mom, right?"

"Are you sure giving him the key is wise, Alphabittle?" Zipp asked.

"I've already lost her once before," Alphabittle said. "I can't afford to lose her again." He began to head for the engine shed. "I'll get us down there by train. Are you coming or what?"





Once they had arrived at Dungeness, they saw the scene before them. The tide was starting to move, and Boomer stood next to Misty, his troops surrounding him. Sunny couldn't help but feel they looked better equipped than before.

"Got the key?" Boomer asked. "If you don't, Misty's life will be made a living hell."

"You did that to me anyway," Misty replied.

The knife glinted in the silvery moonlight.

Alphabittle looked at Boomer with a look of fury on his face. "You're a monster, Boomer."

Boomer laughed. "You never cease to amaze, Arthur. I'm not a monster. Unlike you, I've never killed anybody."

"That's a lie! That accident was that driver's fault!"

Misty looked up in shock. "What's he talking about, dad?"

"Enough talk," Boomer said. "Give me the key."

Alphabittle nodded, and handed it over. "Here you go. Now release her."

Boomer nodded to the soldier, and he cut her binds. He then raised the butt of his rifle and smashed her over the head.

"MISTY!" Izzy shouted.

Alphabittle looked in disbelief. "You said she'd be safe if I gave you the key!"

Boomer snorted. "No, I said I would do her no harm. I said nothing about my men."

The troops moved forward to block them from Boomer, and fired several warning shots into the air before withdrawing.

Alphabittle helped Misty up. "Are you OK?"

Misty's speech was slightly slurred, but comprehensible. "Is... he... gone?"

"Yes, he is." Alphabittle pulled her into a hug. "And he's never going to have a chance to hurt you again."





The return to New Romney was conducted in silence, but afterwards they made their way into the station cafe, where food was soon ordered for the team.

Misty had questions, though. "Dad, what did Boomer mean about the accident?"

Alphabittle sighed. "It happened before you were born. I was driving a service here, Hercules I believe was the engine. As we approached Dymchurch, an idiot motorist decided to jump the crossing, figuring he could beat the train. I don't remember the crash at all. One moment I was in the cab, the next I was in hospital with several broken limbs."

"What happened to the driver?"

"He was killed instantly when his jeep crashed into a fence post. His family decided to take me to court for alleged reckless driving, but I was cleared of all charges." Alphabittle looked down. "It weighed so heavily on my mind that I just found myself unable to take the controls of an engine again."

"Hey, at least the fight ended in our favour!" Izzy said, completely ruining the mood.

Lady Haven, who had been talking privately with her daughters, suddenly perked up. "What did you say? A fight?"

"No fists were thrown!" Zipp insisted, looking awkward.

Lady Haven looked at both her girls. "I think you have some explaining to do."





Boomer's truck rolled to a stop at a dark, secluded spot, where only a scattering of abandoned military buildings stood. He walked over to one, and pushed the key into the door before turning it.

"At last," he said, and switched his radio on. "Opaline, we've found the Strategic Reserve."