July, 29. 1998.

After we got to the Mainland, I spoke to the general, and he agreed to my plan. Since so many engines were still somewhere on the island, I thought that some of us should go back to the island to help search. So, we arranged for Duck, Henry, and Diesel to go back. Duck wasn't super thrilled about Diesel, but that was when Diesel rolled up beside Duck, and asked if they could go somewhere private. Since Erick was now gone, Duck would need a replacement fireman, and thankfully for us, Percy's fireman Greg volunteered as Percy needed to stay back for treatment of his infections along with everyone else who'd been infected. We took Duck and Diesel to a quiet place in Barrow yards, and he said something I never thought I'd hear him say. He apologized to Duck for all the horrible tricks he'd played over the years, mainly with when he first came to the railway, and when he was rude towards him and Percy at the harbour. Then came an even bigger  shock, Duck surprising forgave Diesel! He said he was sorry for holding the grudge all these years and that right now, it was more important to be a team rather than enemies. Diesel agreed, and finally after all these years, the fight between Duck and Diesel had ended! Once that was done, we brought the engines back out to get ready to head to Sodor. While Duck did have a small infection, I asked if he could come anyway which was allowed. Before we were to leave, the engines got fitted with guns on their roofs for protection and us crews were given pistols. Once we were all ready, we set off back for Sodor.

We made our way down the line, and decided to head down the Kirk Ronan branch first since we hadn't gone down there yet, so it was set. Just as we were approaching the chocolate factory, we heard 2 whistles, one of them sounding distorted. Through the junction came Arthur with a train of vans being chased by Murdoch! We were all dumbfounded as we thought he was dead, but that didn't matter right now, as we had an engine to save.

Since we had Henry, he was our main source of power; Greg was operating the gun from some new controls in the cab as we sped down the line. Just as we were approaching the yard before Kirk Ronan, Arthur was sent into it and smashed into another goods train that was in one of the sidings! Murdoch went in for the kill, but we were all firing at him now! Suddenly, we saw Bear and Hector race into the yard and buffer up behind Murdoch trying to pull him away! The rest of us got behind the 9F and managed to pull him away from Arthur, but that wasn't the end; one of Murdoch's tendrils came toward us and it jabbed straight into Hector's face, slowly infecting him! We had luckily gotten past a set of points and Greg used our gun to hit the switch changing it! We all bashed Murdoch onto that line as we broke him free from Hector! Murdoch let out a loud roar from being in pain but quickly reversed towards us again as we raced forward into the siding where Arthur was; Murdoch quickly got behind Henry's tender and smashed into it with Henry now fighting Murdoch! At this point, I had no idea what to do as this was just going back and forth; Greg got the gun ready again and started firing straight at Murdoch's face! Seems that Murdoch gains memories as when a few bullets went through his face, it scared him off which was a relief to all of us! Finally now being able to settle down, we checked over the engines and Hector. Hector only had a small infection in his lower right cheek, Bear made it out alright, and even though he was heavily damaged, Arthur seemed alright! We settled into the yard for a short while to hear their stories.

Bear's Story:

He was at Crovan's Gate with the train of flatbeds when the plane showed up and started dropping the mist! He raced away faster than he had ever gone before and decided the Ironworks was his best bet. He  thankfully made it to the junction and stopped before racing backwards down the branch.

He went as fast as he could, while making sure he wouldn't derail either. He soon reached The Ironworks, and raced into the smelting shed as the doors shut behind him! He slammed on his brakes and came to a stop in front of Arry, Bert, and Diesel 10! He was relieved that he was safe, but the other diesels weren't too keen to see him. 

He stayed there for several days with getting almost nothing out of the other diesels before deciding enough was enough. His engine roared into life, and he left the Ironworks. He took his train of flatbeds with him that he planned to use for protection and sped back along the branch. He passed by James at Hawin Lake and didn't pay much notice to him as he continued on. He made it back to the junction, and went backwards along the mainline. He was planning on going to try and get off the island, but he needed to stop and take a break at the junction for the Kirk Ronan branch, and decided to go down there instead.

He arrived in the yard and found Hector in the shed nearby as he was in need of a few minor repairs. Bear got settled and started having a conversation with Hector; Hector said he'd seen Whiff and Scruff race past heading for the station so Bear decided to go and see if they were alright. After a few minutes of traveling, he pulled into the station and found that Whiff and Scruff had crashed through the station wall with a train of trucks like Gordon had a few years ago. He felt bad for them, and headed back to the yard. Bear and Hector stayed here for several days before deciding to move up to the station for a little better protection until they heard the commotion and came to help.

Arthur's Story:

He was at Tidmouth harbour filling up on water when he saw a plane dropping the mist nearby and decided to book it! He grabbed his train of vans he was meant to take for protection and sped out of the harbour while passing by Toby coming in on the other track! When he approached Toby's shed, he came to a sudden stop as he heard Ryan screaming in agony from the inside as he reversed down the other track. He luckily managed to make it to the Repair Yard and got himself into the works shed before his driver shut the doors. Inside were several workmen who had taken shelter when they noticed the planes in the distance. After that, they all decided to camp out there for the next 4 days as the men had plenty of food and water so they were able to survive. Once they were sure that it was safe enough to go out, the men pilled into Arthur's vans and they set off.

They reversed down the line and turned around before heading through Tidmouth and onto the Little Western where they arrived at Tidmouth Hault to set up camp. Luckily, the surrounding buildings had plenty of supplies so they all stayed there for the next 5 days before heading out again, and that was when they encountered trouble.

Arthur made his way off the branchline and got onto the mainline without issue, but as he passed through Crosby, that was when it all went wrong. He and his crew didn't notice Murdoch sitting in one of the sidings as they passed by, but that was until he was soon chasing after them! Arthur sped down the line as quick as he could, and he managed quite well going up against a 9F. Once he raced through Killdane, he got switched onto the loop heading down the Kirk Ronan branch, and I think we know the rest.

After they finished up their stories, we told them that we evacuating all the remaining engines to the Mainland where they'll be safe, and after they set up their consist, Arthur, Bear, and Hector set off for the Mainland.

After they left, we started to think of where we wanted to go next; after a little bit of planning, we decided to head down to Killdane to set up camp for the night and head further down the line tomorrow, so I'll write again once we're all settled.

Alright, we're all set up now and we got a small fire going. Tomorrow, we're thinking of checking around the Knapford area for any civilians that are still around that area we couldn't pick up during our evacuation train yesterday; hoping we won't encounter Murdoch or any of the men behind this whole thing, but that's a slim chance.