//------------------------------//
// Fear and Loathing 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: Tales from the Mainland Volume 3 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Harvey the crane tank is a valuable member of the Falmouth community, often seen running up and down the line with the odd errand or to help with freight work. One day, he was being oiled over by his driver when the foreman came to visit.

"Hello there Harvey!" said the foreman. "Is your driver around?"

"She's currently in the inspection pit," Harvey replied. "Goldie's just checking my bearings."

Moments later, Goldie popped out of the inspection pit. "Good morning," she said. "How can I help?"

"I just got a call from the yard at Truro," the foreman explained. "They're in a spot of bother- Nigel's gone down with a damaged crankshaft, and they need another engine to help process all the freight that's arriving. Could you help them?"

"We'd be glad to!" Goldie said, and walked over to Harvey's cab. "It's not often mine and Argyle's days off coincide- he's so often doing marking for the University at weekends, which can make timing time together quite challenging."

"Just be careful to be back before nightfall," said the foreman. "There's a bad fog predicted for tonight, and it's easy to get lost in the fog."

"We'll be sure to be back in time," Harvey said, as he pulled away.

The foreman nodded. "I hope so. I've heard bad stories of engines going missing in the fog."





Later that morning, Harvey rolled to a stop at the yard. "Hello Brookes!" he said.

"Harvey!" Brookes said. "It's been a while. You ready to help out?"

"Anything for a friend," Harvey replied. "Are those trucks for me?"

"Of course," Argyle said. "And there's plenty more to process afterwards."

"Well, nothing like an honest day's work!" Goldie smiled, and shifted Harvey's cutoff lever forward.

The two engines worked very hard the entire day. It was hot, dusty, and grimy work, and many cups of tea were consumed. But neither engines nor drivers minded. Working in the company of friends is always good fun, and the fact the two drivers happened to be married simply made the deal sweeter.

As they kept on working, things got dustier. But as before, nobody minded. The change of scenery was certainly appreciated by Harvey, as the sea, although nice, does get a touch bland afterwards.

As they continued to work, the sun moved through the sky above them, until the evening rolled in. Argyle checked his watch. "Well, just one more job for me to do. There's a shipment of oil to be taken to the oil refinery at Burngullow. I'll see you later."

Goldie looked at Argyle. "How about myself and Harvey take it for you? That way you can have an early night."

"Are you sure?" Argyle asked.

"Positively," Goldie replied. "After all, you've always ensured there's less for me to do when I get in from Plymouth. I think one good turn deserves another."

Argyle smiled. "That's very kind of you. I'll put Brookes away and then start my trip back to Falmouth."

However, neither of them spotted a figure watching from above with a pair of binoculars. "Now's my chance," he said, rubbing his hands with glee. "If I can't have her, then nobody shall."

Not only that, but Goldie had forgotten the warning about being back by sundown.





After about half an hour of shunting, the train was ready. The yard manager was there, and spoke to the crew. "Be careful out there," he said. "The line looks very different at night, and there's lots of fog due to move in. Take extra caution- your engine lacks projecting headlamps, so your visibility will be impaired. Also be careful with the firebox- the glare from that could easily blind you if your eyes have adjusted to the night."

"Thanks for the warning." Goldie already knew this, of course, but appreciated the sentiment. And with that, the train was on its way into the night, powering into the tunnel and out into the Cornish night.

The run down to Burngullow went without much trouble, and once the tankers were dropped off and shunted into the sidings, Harvey was refilled from the water tower. Once this task was completed and all paperwork was signed off, Harvey set off once more back towards Truro.

This was when the trouble began. The fog began to roll in, and visibility soon dropped to virtually zero. It was very hard to see where they were going, so the lights from the signals gave the only clues as to where they were.

As they clattered through another station, a signal loomed out of the darkness. "The light is green, so we should be good to go," Harvey said. He rattled onto the line.

Unfortunately, in the fog he had gotten hopelessly lost. He didn't know it at the time, but nobody had been expecting them. Instead, he had been routed onto the wrong line entirely.

They only realised their mistake when they approached some large buildings. An overhead gantry hung over the buildings, and things were piled up on the lineside. Orange lights flickered behind doors, and the sounds of cutting were audible.

"Where in the world are we?" Goldie asked. "This doesn't look like Truro at all!"

Just then, the fog lifted... and the strange shapes at the lineside soon became clear. Bogies and traction motors were carelessly scattered across the embankment. Parts of locomotives were dumped. Shells of diesels were stacked on top of one another.

Harvey, to his horror, realised where they were. "We've taken a wrong turn! We're in a scrapyard!"

Just then, puffing echoed from behind them, and a large tank engine stopped behind them. "You're not going anywhere," he said.

"Who are you?" Harvey asked.

"You're not in any position to be asking me questions, freak," the tank engine said. "You, get off his footplate and keep your hands where I can see them."

"Or what?" Goldie asked.

"Or I push your friend here into the blast furnace," the tank engine said. "I haven't got all day."

Goldie reached into her pocket and pushed a button on her phone before stepping out of the cab, where guards surrounded her.

One looked at her. "Good. Boss'll be pleased." He then glanced to the tank engine. "Buffer him."

The tank engine slammed into Harvey very roughly, and began to push him into a building whilst the guards dragged Goldie off.





They took her to a large control room overlooking a machine. Harvey had been placed under said machine. And standing in the room was a face that Goldie didn't want to see. "Fancy seeing you here."

"You and I have unfinished business," Boomer said.

"That was over twenty years ago, Boomer," Goldie said. "If you're still unable to get over me you're even more pathetic than I thought possible."

Boomer bristled at the insult. "What do you see in him?"

"Precisely what I don't see in you; a man who actually cares about somebody other than themselves, and doesn't treat women as objects."

Boomer leaned menacingly into her face. "How could you say that about your ex, eh?"

"Oh, trust me, I know you better than most people on this planet do," Goldie said. "And breaking up with you was probably one of the best decisions I ever made." She shifted her left hand so that her wedding ring was reflected in the light from the overhead lamp. "See this band of gold? It symbolises something you will never understand- love."

This seemed to really tick Boomer off. "That Argyle brainwashed you with his nonsense!"

"He's not the one acting like a nutcase", Goldie said dryly. "Do you have any idea how much I gave up to be with him?"

"You're a middle class woman with an Ivy League education and a well paying job," Boomer snorted. "Doesn't sound like you gave up a lot, sweetheart."

Living on the other side of the planet from your family is hard," Goldie said. "Although I didn't sever connections, being a world away from the rest of my folks has been hard."

"Is that really so bad?"

"And it's not always been plain sailing," Goldie said. "It was a massive struggle to have Sunny, for instance. But Argyle has always stayed by my side and supported me through my troubles, instead of cutting and running. Which is what you did, isn't it?

"SHUT UP!" Boomer thundered.

But Goldie was unmoved. After all, she was used to people like him. "Oh, I hit a nerve. At least one of us can hit something."

Suddenly, there was the sound of sirens in the distance.

"Boss! The police are here!" shouted a guard.

"Bother those meddling fools!" Boomer said, as he dashed away. "Ready an engine for my escape!" He then pushed a button, and the machine above Harvey fired up.

"What have you done?"

Boomer smiled. "You have a choice, dollface. Either chase me, or save your friend. The choice is yours."

"You monster."

"Clock's ticking. Soon that device will close around his boiler and rip it clean off his frames. Have fun!"

Boomer sprinted out of the room as Goldie jumped to the controls nearby and began to check the levers. "OK, lifting mechanism, grabber controls, angle controls... think, Goldie, think!"

Harvey looked terrified. "THIS ENGINE'S NOT FOR SCRAPPING!"

Goldie pulled back on the lifting lever, but that sped the equipment up. She shifted the lever back the other way to slow it down, but it didn't seem to have a stop function.

"OK, so I can't stop the grabber. But I can move it out of the way!" She shifted the lever to one side, and the grabber moved closer to the control box.

"Will that do it?" she said to herself. "Wait... why's it speeding up again?"

"WARNING! WARNING! DESCENT CONTROLS DISABLED! GRABBER ENTERING FREE DROP IN THIRTY SECONDS."

Goldie jumped out of the chair and dashed down the steps into the room, which was full of dark red smoke and intense heat. "I'm coming, Harvey!"

"Hurry it up!"

"WARNING! WARNING! DESCENT CONTROLS DISABLED! GRABBER ENTERING FREE DROP IN TEN SECONDS."

Goldie leaped into Harvey's cab, released the brakes, and pulled his reverser handle back. She opened the regulator, and Harvey shot back.

It was just in time. The grabber arm began its drop, and slammed into the ground just inches from where Harvey had been.





Sure enough, the police had swarmed the facility, and were searching through it for any evidence. Goldie had been questioned, as had Harvey, but both were eventually free to go. Goldie walked back through the site to find Brookes and Argyle there, waiting to pick them up.

"So, you picked up the distress call," Goldie said.

"Distress call?" Brookes asked.

"My phone has a mode which allows it to broadcast an emergency signal to the police. That's how they knew where to find me. I presume you followed the police."

"We sure did," Argyle said. "When you hadn't returned home at the usual time I got worried and contacted the authorities. What happened in there?"

"One word: Boomer," Goldie explained. "He organised this as some sort of revenge against me for breaking up with him- over twenty years ago, may I reiterate. Then he tried to destroy Harvey. Hopefully this evidence will help them track him down."

"I should hope so too," Argyle said. "That man's a menace. Repeated threats against us, attempted revolution in Canada, terrorism- is there no low he won't stoop to in order to get what he wants?"

"I doubt there is," Goldie said. "Shall we head back to Falmouth? I'd rather not spend the evening in a crime scene.





Sunny was looking out of the window of the kitchen, waiting for her parents. Her face lit up when she saw them walking towards the steps, and she opened the door. "You're OK!"

Goldie shook her head. "What a day," she said. "Still, if that's taught us anything, it's no matter where you travel in the world, there's no place like home."