Rusted Rails

Tongahs go down the long train track.

Tongahs has many time to think for thoughts. Tongahs has many thoughts he want to think about. Thinking thought make Tongahs feel happy, happy like Tongahs can being.

Tongahs feel sun on the track. Tongahs like the sun. The sun is bright, and the sun make Tongahs feel good weather.

Keep going forward, Tongahs keep his engine forward. Tongahs see lady on track. What lady doing on track? Tongahs know now not of nothing of no lady doing no nothing on track.

Tongahs call to lady.

"Choo-choo"

Tongahs is sad. Lady does not hear. Tongahs make call again.

"Choo-choo"

Tongahs feels sad increase. Tongahs doesn't like feeling the increase sad. Tongahs think that increase in sad feel unhappy.

"Choo-choo"

Tongahs move forward faster. Train track only goes in single direction, and Tongahs can't turn around. Tongahs does not want to turn around because Tongahs good train engine.

Tongahs good train engine indeed.

Good train engine don't turn around, and Tongahs is a good train engine indeed.

Katie groans as her systems finally start up. She feels awful, head swimming from some odd combination of a concussion and hangover. Blinking rapidly, she makes a vain attempt to get a good grip on the situation. only to find herself grasping at straws.

Well, maybe moving around would help. She tries to get up. Her eyes are heavy, and she can't quite seem to get control of her body. Eyes watering, limbs heavy, she makes an attempt to raise her body, only to fall back down in a heap.

As her senses slowly return, she hears something...something off in the distance. Something weird. It sounded like...a train whistle?

"Choo-choo"

She turns around, but there's nothing there. It must've been the wind or something. Yeah, it was nothing but the wind.

"Choo-choo"

A small beeping catches her attention. Looking down, she sees that her abdominal panel is open, displaying a delightful cocktail of distressful error codes. Strange thing is, Katie just had her checkup a few hours ago. It was weird that her systems are acting up so soon.

Actually, now that she's had time to properly think, everything was kind of weird.

A few moments ago, she was just going through some basic maintenance. She vaguely remembers a doctor of some sort running a scan, then...some sort of music? No, but hypnotically rhythmic nonetheless, a strange undercurrent flowing through the vast expanse of...

Of...

...

Hang on.

Where...where exactly is she?

Tongahs always is as Tongahs always is, and Tongahs is a very good engine.

Tongahs stay on tracks, and Tongahs does things a good engine does.

Now, Tongahs sees person on his track. Tongahs feel confusion because good people don't go on track. Track is only for good engine, and Tongahs is a very good engine indeed.

Tongahs knows that good engine keep tight schedule, and Tongahs is running behind.

Tongahs moves faster because Tongahs is a good engine, a very good engine indeed.

The weird noise...the strange, rhythmic rumbling...she swears that she can hear it. It's just outside her field of view, but, every time Katie tries to focus, it suddenly goes away. She must be imagining things, stuck in the middle of nowhere, laying on some rusty train tracks.

She looks at her diagnostic.

Still stuck at 34%, it looks like.

She sighs. Her wireless connection wasn't working anyways. Since she couldn't move anyways, there's nothing to do but wait for diagnostic to finish. In the meantime, she might as well get comfortable and enjoy the weather.

It was a pretty nice day.

Katie likes it when the sun is shining.

Tongahs is moving very fast, very fast now Tongahs is moving indeed.

Tongahs is running behind, and Tongahs doesn't want to be behind.

Good engines aren't supposed to fall behind, and Tongahs doesn't want to not be an engine that's not a good engine.

No no no no no no no

Good engines don't fall behind.

Tongahs is the most good of good engines, and Tongahs needs to go fast.

Katie sits up and frowns.

Her diagnostic was reading a respectable 64%, but there was....

"Choo choo hiss, choo choo hiss"

Seriously, what is that sound? What is it? Now that Katie can hear it clearly, she knows it's not her imagination.

Something about it feels like a train engine, but...there's something else. There's a pattern. Something in the background, syncing itself to the beat.

It was almost as if..

Tongahs ask the conductor if Tongahs should stop. Tongahs see peron no want moving, and Tongahs no want to cause problem.

Good engines get permissions, and Tongahs is very good engine indeed.

A loud, hearty laugh sounds from Tongahs back.

"Forward, Tongahs! Forward through this railway!"

Tongahs thinks to Tongahs self, and Tongahs ask question about person on track.

"Faster, faster! This is no time for a delay!"

Tongahs smile, big smile on Tongahs face, big smile of happy, good engine.

Loud trail of steam from behind as Tongahs moves closer.

It's like...it's like there's something in the background, talking.

Talking to itself, talking about her, talking to...someone else?

Katie looks around. Maybe someone's coming looking for her. At the very least, she could try asking for help.

However, try as she might, Katie couldn't quite figure out where the sound was coming from. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere, just...everywhere at once.

If she didn't know any better, it might've even been coming from inside of her.

She'll look into it. Her diagnostic was reading 97%. She would have time to--

A pebble suddenly jumped.

Then another.

Then another still.

Katie turned to look down the tracks.

Scrapper Man look at person on track, and Scrapper Man laugh in big Scrapper Man laugh. Tongahs laugh too, as Scrapper Man makes his command.

"Screams, screams, screams on the track!"

"Smile wide and don't look back!"

"Scrapper Man shall have his game, or you will find yourself to blame!"

And Tongahs laughed

First, there was nothing.

Then, there was this thing.

A twisted thing, a mess of metal and piping made in the image of a train. It smiled at her, a gaping wound that stretched across its maw. Rows and rows of teeth lined the jaws, each a different size and color.

In its cabin, there was another thing, this one also smiling. It looked at her, and it smiled wider.

"Choo choo hiss clank choo choo hiss clank"

"Scream, scream!"

Tongahs drove even faster.

Tongahs kept smiling. Tongahs had to keep smiling. Good engines keep smiling.

And Tongahs is a good engine, a very good engine indeed.

She couldn't move.

She couldn't get away.

The more she tried to move, the more she stayed in place.

Her diagnostic finally finished. Frantically, she tried to pull it up, to at least figure out how to best get away. She pulled it up, and--

Pulling herself away, she looked for something, anything that could buy her time. She could see that thing in the train, still laughing at her. Still laughing, and still making those horrible faces...

Tongahs could hear the track person screaming.

Tongahs felt sad for track lady. Track lady scream too smalls. Track lady need scream bigger for Scrapper Man.

"SCREAM! SCREAM!"

Katie kept screaming.

Katie could only scream.

She could see the train thing clearly now.

It wasn't smiling. It wasn't even happy. It was screaming.

The thing in the cabin was looking at her, grinning far wider than its own face. She could somehow tell she had made it unhappy. She could feel its taunting, sickening gaze upon her.

She could feel it, the sheer malice, the sheer gleeful insanity.

But...

"Choo doo doo choo doo doo clank hiss"

She couldn't move.

All she could do was watch it.

And it was getting closer...

And closer...

...

D

SCRappER MaN COmeS ScrAPPEr maN TAKes tonGAHS neEDs a BrANd nEW faCE

Rusted Rails

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