The Abandoned Island

Work and More Work

Zeph woke up after only three hours of sleep, sitting up and stretching as she silently yawned. She had a lot of work to do, so she couldn't sleep all her precious time away. Being careful to not wake the engines, she crept over to the mystery engine who smiled at her. "Another round of late night working?" It asked her in a whisper. She smiled and nodded to the engine before picking up where she left off. Currently, she was carefully taking off everything she could without needing to do any cutting. So that meant loose or bolted on parts. That way, she could keep track of everything that the engine had, and also note what it needed. Plus, it let her see what parts she could fix up versus having to replace. She made sure to use oil to help loosen things to not cause the engine any pain as she worked, and the humming she always did seemed to relax and cheer up the engine.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess, dear." The engine apologized quietly. Zeph chuckled, "You aren't a mess by your own choice, so it is ok." She continued her work. "I've been meaning to ask, but what is your name?" The engine went quiet, and at first, Zeph thought she had upset or offended the engine before it replied. "I have one, but I rather you give me a new name. This is a new start, even if I can never move under my own power again, so I'd like a new name from someone who actually cares." The engine smiles, though now it was Zeph's turn to go quiet as she thought.

"If that is what you want, I'll give you one, but please give me some time. I'm not good with names and I'd like to give you a good one." The old engine smiled warmly. "Of course, dear. Take your time. I'm also guessing you are wondering what my class is?" Zeph blushed faintly as she had been thinking that. If she knew what the engine was, she might be able to find technical drawings and parts for it. "I'm a SECR P class. I was the last one produced and the only one to be non-faceless." Zeph stood back and looked at the engine before nodding. Now that she knew it, she could definitely see the resemblance, even under all the damage and such their old owner did to them. She immediately pulled out her phone and sent a text to her friend; with any luck, he'd find what she was asking for. After that, she started working again but had another question to ask. "So, are you a guy or gal train? Because at the docks, there was both male and female cranes, and I met a female steam lorry and..." "Yes dear, I am a female engine." Chuckled the engine. Zeph blushed more and quickly went back to work. "I wasn't trying to be weird or anything, just...." "My voice is still raspy from lack of use, and you didn't know. It is fine, I completely understand. Please don't feel bad." Zeph nodded and focused on her work, softly humming for the next two or so hours before she yawned. "Ok, time for me to go back to bed. Besides a few other items, I have everything dismounted." The engine sighed softly, not able to see the pile of parts. "So how much is actually still usable?" Zeph looked over at all the parts. "Well, none of them as I have to get them cleaned and fixed, but in general, I think we can use almost all of them. We'll have to replace the bolts and all the rubber and such, and the glass on the gauges, but for the most part, what is here is usable." The engine let out a relieved sigh. She had hoped a few pieces were still usable, but hearing the majority could be fixed and reused sent a wave of relief over her. "Goodnight, and sleep well." said Zeph as she stretched and yawned. "You too dear, and again, thank you." The engine said with a big smile. Zeph would nod and go back over to Edward, crawling into her sleeping bag and falling asleep till morning.

When she eventually woke up the next morning, the engines were all awake and chatting. They were in good spirits as they were talking with Kelly, Victor, and Kevin, who were explaining that Kelly's repairs were almost finished. Zeph had some bad news for them, though. "He is almost fixed, but we have a big issue." Everyone went quiet, and those that could, looked at her. "What do you mean, ma'am?" Kelly asked worriedly. She got up and walked over, stretching and groaning a bit. "Your arm has a long crack in it, and being as you can feel pain and such, I can't weld it back together." The room was silent before Victor coughed to get her attention. "Well, Ma'am, that is what Green Water is for." She looked very perplexed. "What do you mean by that?" Victor looked a little sheepish. "I never explained it to you as we hadn't needed it yet. It is a liquid you pour into non-faceless vehicles and rolling stock, and it puts us into an unconscious state. It is a sedative for us to put it simply." Poor Zeph was shocked, surprised, and a little worried.