Starlight Express - The Novel

The Dream Train

Rusty searched the crowd for Pearl. He squeezed between the rolling stock and engines and suddenly spotting a glimpse of the pastel-pink coach. She was beaming, excitedly bouncing and staring at the commotion around her, bubbly chatting with anyone who provoked her with conversation.

"Pearl!" Rusty called, rushing up to her. "Hi, Pearl!" He had caught her attention. She looked over to him.

He had finally got her by herself— no other coaches or stupid diesel engines around to influence her conversation with him.

"Rusty!" She smiled. "I thought you'd been avoiding me," she said softly. "Oh, no, no, not at all!" Rusty replied, "in fact I thought you'd been avoiding me! I figured you'd been mad at me," he said, his cheeks going red. "Pearl, I was just wondering, would you...like to race with me for heat one?" He bit his lip, awaiting her answer.

Pearl's face dropped in sadness. The same look she had given him yesterday when he had approached her again. "Rusty, I already told you... I—I can't," she sadly said. "Why not? Did Buffy, Ashley and Dinah talk you out of it?" He poked. Pearl sighed. "In a way," she avoided eye contact with him. "They said— it wouldn't be cool to race with you. Y—Steam engines— are outdated and old—" She looked back to Rusty, who was visibly heartbroken.

"It's me, isn't it?"
"What?" Pearl questioned.
"They talked you out of it because I'm old and rusty and small,"

"Well—"
"Well what?"

"Maybe. Plus— I have—" she paused.

"A what?"

"A dream train."
"Dream train?" Rusty softly repeated.

"Last night I had this dream of this train. This steam engine. Oh, he was wonderful. So strong and handsome and shiny like a star! He took me away down the coast on a mainline and had this whistle... like none I had ever heard before!" She dreamily became lost in thought, her eyelashes fluttering.

"Well maybe, I could..be the engine of your dreams-" Rusty smirked.

Pearl was yanked from her dreamy thoughts by Rusty. "No, no—" she started. "The whistle... it wasn't like yours... similar, but not the same. I'm waiting for my dream train, Rusty. And I'll wait until he arrives. Whether it be now or five-thousand years from now." She sternly said.

Rusty breathed, sighing softly. "Fine." He huffed. "I'm sorry I asked," He turned sadly and chuffed away. Pearl opened her mouth to reply, but he had gotten too far away.

***

"Hey, girl, what's up? You look blue." Buffy and Ashley approached Pearl not long after Rusty had left. "Rusty asked me to race again." Pearl explained. "And? What did you say?" Ashley asked. "I told him no." Pearl replied. "There you go! Don't feel bad! If he wants to race, let him race with someone his own size." Buffy comforted. "You're deserving of someone more—- well, strong. And hot," she bit her lip playfully. Pearl giggled softly. "You're right." She smiled.

The three coaches jumped as the power suddenly drained from the yard, the engines stopping suddenly from lack of power. The lights fizzled and electricity buzzed as alarms began to ring from the outage. "What's going on?" Pearl asked. "Power outage. Control probably forgot to pay the bills again." Ashley rolled her eyes, her lit cigarette crackling with smoke and causing Pearl to cough. Laser beam lights pierced the sky, dramatic fog creeping around the engines and rolling stock. Buffy gasped. "It's Electra!" She elbowed Pearl.

A train of coaches and trucks appeared from the thick sea of fog and lights, stopping in front of the crowd.

"Make space for superstar Electra! Make space!" A truck cried.

Buffy gasped, "he has a gun!"

"Halt! I am Krupp, Electra's armaments truck." The truck introduced himself. The other coaches and trucks introduced themselves as Volta, Electra's freezer truck, Wrench Electra's repair truck, Purse, Electra's money truck, and Joule, Electra's dynamite truck. Together, they were his entourage of Components. They paused, glamorously posing: and from behind them appeared the shiniest, most gorgeous engine any of them had ever seen.

Electra the electric engine of the future: a sleek, long red, white, and blue engine with a stunning mohawk of striped hair. He grinned to the crowd, his sharp fangs glistening in the laser-light.

"Greetings, yard! I am Electra, the Engine of the Future and challenger of engines! I'm here to choose a partner: My coach has a headache and is unable to race," he looked over to Volta. "Now, where is this championship I've heard so much about?" Electra looked around at the stunned crowd, who seemed hypnotized by his waves of electric light that practically radiated off of his body. "Nobody knows?" He asked sarcastically, wide eyes looking around. "Maybe I made my dramatic entrance at the wrong yard." He whispered to Krupp.

"No, no, this is the right yard," Greaseball's booming voice echoed from the other end of the crowd. "And you are?" Electra glared at him. "Greaseball. Five-star champion diesel engine of the present." Greaseball snarled, Dinah beside him to back him up.

"Oh! Looks like we have some competition!" Electra snarked to his Components, who giggled. "I'm electric, taking over, baby!" Electra laughed hysterically. "Yeah? You'll have to beat diesel to take that title." Greaseball snorted. "Yeah! Take on diesel!" Dinah parroted.

Electra looked around the crowd, his eyes landing on Pearl. "You, there!" He pointed to her, Buffy squealing in excitement. "I told you, girl!" She elbowed Pearl. "Krupp, go get her! I want to race with that one! Second to none," Krupp weaved through the crowd, who parted for him.

Rusty watched from the sidelines, his heart shattering. Surely she wouldn't go with Electra rather than him, right?

He watched as Krupp brought her forward to Electra, who looked her up and down.

"A perfect, shiny coach for a perfect shiny engine," he smiled, "what do you say?"

Pearl noticed Rusty from the corner of her eye. He was watching intently to see what her final decision would be.

What should she do? Sure, Electra was hot and glamorous, but Rusty had truly made her smile that first time they had met. He seemed sweet and honest underneath his looks.

No. Buffy is right.

"Can you whistle?" Pearl asked, Electra raising an eyebrow. "No, AC trains don't," Krupp filled in for the superstar.

Rusty needs me, which way should I go?

Pearl was silent for a moment in thought, reluctantly making her decision.

"Sure. I'll race with you," Pearl smiled to Electra, who grinned with a chuckle.

Rusty's heart sank. How could she fall for the poser? Fall for the star?

He watched as the other trains got ready to race, coupling to their partners and heading for the track. He went to search for Dustin again.

Once coupled to the star, Pearl looked over to where Rusty had been. He was gone.

She sighed, before loosening up. She had made the right decision.

Buffy was right.