The next morning, Sir Toppham Hatt arrived at the sheds to speak to the engines. "There have been reports," he said, "of a railway accident at Brendam Docks, where a train went clean through the buffers and into the water. This is most concerning, not least because the buffers will need repairs to make them usable again. However, there is some positive news. I have been able to secure additional funding in grant money from the goverment, and this will help us get through our current financial troubles."

The engines kept quiet about the events of the previous night, as they did not want Sir Toppham Hatt to find out what they had done. As the days went by and October turned into November, with Christmas around the corner, the story of Timothy was slowly forgotten. There were no further sightings of the ghost train, and life continued as normal on the Island of Sodor.

Thomas, however, was worried. The last few days had shaken him, and he feared that history may repeat itself. One day, whilst waiting at the junction for Gordon to arrive, he confided in Luster Dawn. "What if Timothy isn't truly gone?" he asked. "What if his spirit is still lingering here, haunting our railway?"

"I really don't know," Luster Dawn replied, sounding exhausted. "I only know it's affected us in different ways. As you've probably observed, First Base, Cherry Pie, and Percy refuse to talk about it, whilst Toby has his doubts that Timothy will ever return.

"Well, whatever the truth is," Thomas said, "I can only hope that Starlight Glimmer's soul is finally at rest."

"Me too, Thomas. Me too." At long last, Gordon arrived with the express, and the passengers transferred to Thomas' train. With a blast of the whistle, he was on his way to Ffarquhar, the horrific events of the last few months finally behind him.

CAST-IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Sabrina Pitre-Luster Dawn
Vincent Tong-Typhoon Blast, Flash Sentry, Knapford signaller, First Base
Tabitha St. Germain-Charity
Tim Stourton-Thunderbolt
Claire Corlett-Blue Angel
Alexandra Carter-Cherry Pie
Kelly Sheridan-Starlight Glimmer
Richard E. Grant-Timothy
Nigel Pilkington-Percy, Pound Stamp
Robert Rackstraw-Toby
John Hasler-Thomas
Nicole Oliver-Azure Dawn
Keith Whickam-Henry, Vicarstown signaller, Sir Toppham Hatt
Andrea Libman-Fluttershy

Lemon Crumble wasn't scared of anything. A young boy with lemon skin, green eyes, and brown hair, he was currently in his scuba diving suit, ready to check out what he could find in the Brendam Bay area. He rolled off the shore and dived in, swimming through the water. He didn't find anything interesting though as he swam along.

However, a giant red object suddenly caught his eye. "Guys, I've spotted something," he radioed.

"Cool! What is it?"

"It looks like a steam engine. It's red and has the number 150 on its side." Lemon Crumble swam over to the engine to take a closer look. It must have fallen in recently, given the superb shape it was in.

He swam around to the front to investigate the engine's face. Its eyes were shut. As Lemon Crumble studied the face, he heard a deep laugh. "Who's there?" he asked.

Suddenly, the engine opened its eyes.

"READY FOR ROUND TWO, THOMAS?!"

With Richard Ian Cox as Lemon Crumble and Ben Small as the radio operator.

A Story by The Blue EM2

Copyright MMXX

This is it for this story, and what a journey it has been. I hope you found it as spine chilling to read as I did writing it.

And yes, this does confirm one thing; this setting is firmly alive and kicking. I have a new anthology currently in the works, and it will be coming out some point in 2021.

Until then...Happy Nightmare Night.