The Abandoned Island

The Tunnel

Sunlight soon washed over the trees and grass of this mysterious island, the wind just a chill and biting as the previous day. Despite all of that, the trespasser still slept in her sleeping bag and only woke up when a bird flew down and perched on her head. The young girl sat up slowly with a yawn and stretch, her long black hair falling from her shoulders, the blue ends of her hair almost seeming to glow in the early morning darkness.

She slowly stood up and dusted her jeans and t-shirt off before reaching up and putting her hair into a braid as she walked around, attempting to wake herself up fully. She would groan as the sunlight filtered through some of the thick trees and beam right into her blue eyes, causing her to squint. Finding her way back to her little campsight, she had a light meal of fruit and water before packing all of her belongings back into her bag, and after givning a thorough check that she hadn't missed anything, she walked over to the tracks and began to follow them deeper onto the island. Even walking for a few minutes showed how overgrown the whole island was. Roots, grass, and other vegetation had eaten away at the sleepers and pushed up, through, and in between them and the ballast. Holes were worn through the rails in every direction, and the firm breeze that was blowing made eerie howls as it whistled through the holes.

None of this detered the girl, despite its creepiness. What she WAS worried about was the dark clouds that were already lining the sky as she walked. The forecast had called for rain, but the dark grey clouds promised much more, and it was showing. As she continued following alongside the tracks, the wind would blow steadily harder, causing the low howls to almost become shrieks of those that had lived here. It would send a shiver up the girls spine and cause goosebumps to break out across her body, but she wanted to find out about this island.

Over the course of an hour, she would follow the tracks, the weather seeming like a guardian, wanting to push the visitor off the island where she didn't belong. But this visitor was stubborn and refused to give up, which paid off as she soon came upon an abandoned town. All the buildings were decrepit, windows broken, roofs caved in or collapsed all together, and there, laying on the rails, was what was left of a large canopy station. The metal twisted and rusted, the glass all shattered, and the colors all faded. To one side, there was a small marshling yard and a signal box, with tracks criss-crossing all throughout. Zephyra stood in shock and awe. She could picture steam trains puffing about pulling coaches too and fro, and could hear the sounds of them and the passengers talking as they waited for their engine. It saddened her to see such a place in a sorry state, but it also filled her with even more questions about this island.

The wind began to blow harder, so she hurried over to what was left of the station, observing the sign that said Vicarstown. She didn't have much time to ponder it as it began pelting down with rain, so she hurried into the station properly and tried one of the doors. Unsurprisingly, it was unlocked, and she let herself into one of the office rooms. She looked around and smiled. It was like going back in time. Everything was clearly left where it layed, though coated in a sheet of dust. As she set her stuff down and wandered, she saw that it was posted up on the wall that was a map. Looking it over, she saw it was a map of the island.

"So I'm here..." She said, resting a finger gingerly on the spot that marked Vicarstown. "So if I follow the main line, the next station would be....Crovan's gate. But first I have to pass through 'Henry's Tunnel'.   I wonder why it is called that? Maybe after the designer of the tunnel." Tracing her finger back and forth between Crovan's gate and Vicarstown, she sighed softly. "That is gonna be a few day walk, and that is assuming the tunnel isn't collapsed after all these years. But I didn't come all this way for nothing!" She quickly pulled out her phone and took a picture of the whole map so she had something to go off of.

Deciding not to disturb the place any more than she had, she grabbed her backpack, and after pulling out her hat and placing it on her head, she put on her backpack and left the office. The rain still bucketing down, she huffed and headed out at a slow jog down the main line. For the rest of the day she would go back and forth between jogging and walking along the main line, only resting occasionally, but as dusk began to approach she saw a large hill and two tunnel mouths. Smiling, she hurried into just inside the mouth and panted a bit, leaning back against the dirty wall. "Ugh, I'm soaked down to the bone, but I made it to Henry's tunnel. Just have to walk to the other end, and then I can set up camp." She slowly got off the wall, dug out her flashlight, and headed deeper. Scanning around with the bright light, she saw roots had pushed their way through the ceiling of the tunnel, broken bricks laying here and there throughout, but it seemed to still be intact. That didn't mean she'd just disregard safety, though, so she walked slowly through the tunnel, ballast, surprisingly still there, crunching under her feet with each step that echoed deeper.

It would take another hour of slow, careful walking before she'd reach the end of the tunnel, but after making sure it was safe, she would set up camp inside the eastern mouth of the tunnel. Making herself some food and getting her bag laid out, she would eat and soon find herself to sleep, excited for what the next few days would hold for her.