Chapter 25
25
Libby had had no time to sort out a Halloween costume as she had been working flat out on the chocolates around the clock. So she had opted at the last minute to wear her flight attendant’s uniform which the airline had never asked her to return. It had felt a bit strange to be getting back into her old clothes, along with making sure her hair was in a perfect bun. She hadn’t realised just how free she had felt being able to wear her own clothes every day.
Arriving on the platform and catching up with the last-minute panic, Libby thought that it was particularly true to form that Dodgy Del’s van wouldn’t start so he ended up staying to help, although that meant keeping out of Ethan’s way. He seemed very stressed that evening and she just wanted to help him however she could.
Thanks to Ryan’s quick thinking, all the friends rushed to help decorate the train carriages with whatever they could lay their hands on that was child friendly.
To everyone’s relief, it turned out that a couple of the boxes of decorations that Del had given them weren’t quite so extreme as the rest. They were able to use the plastic skeletons and some netting, although they all decided that the fake tarantulas were far too realistic and would give the adults nightmares, let alone the children.
Inside the train carriages, Libby and the others added various decorations, such as fake velvet pumpkins, witches’ hats and the odd broomstick. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing, they thought.
‘We should have handed out hot chocolate,’ said Libby. ‘Or at least some trick or treat bags.’
But at least the train would be running in the darkness outside, despite the meagre decorations. Wouldn’t that be enough ambiance for a spooky night for everyone?
Just before six o’clock, all the families began to arrive. Unfortunately, a slight drizzle had turned into a torrential downpour. But at least everyone was still in a good mood as they oohed and aahed at the train, despite the bad weather.
Tom, the editor from the local newspaper, The Cranbridge Times , was also in attendance to record everything with the promise of a front page spread including photographs.
As Bob, Eddie and Ethan climbed into the driver’s cab to get ready, all the passengers went onboard and Libby joined them.
She heard the train whistle to signify that the engine was ready and called out, ‘Here we go!’ down the corridor.
Everyone looked around excitedly and then, with a lurch, the carriages began to very slowly move.
‘This is great!’ said one man, smiling at Libby from his seat. ‘I haven’t been on a steam train in years.’
It was certainly charming, despite the tacky decorations, thought Libby.
She looked out of the window as they passed the end of the platform and saw her dad waving from the back fence in the semi-darkness, holding an umbrella against the rain which was now lashing down. She waved back and smiled, thankful that he seemed to have at least taken an interest in this special outing.
She had, of course, invited him along but he had inevitably declined. There had been no change in her dad’s withdrawn personality since she had been back full-time. She was beginning to think that things would never change at home for either of them.
They had just left Cranfield behind and were in the middle of the dark countryside when suddenly the overhead lights went out. For a second, all she could hear was the heavy rain on the roof of the carriage. But then there were a lot of screams, from both young and old.
Libby called out for everyone to hold on tight, wondering if this was part of the event. What was going on?
She quickly text Katy, who was in the next carriage. Her swift reply confirmed that their carriage was also in darkness and that it was most definitely not planned.
The screams began to magnify and Libby peered around in the darkness to try to work out what was upsetting everyone so much.
The tacky fake skeletons and witches they had retrieved from Dodgy Del’s boxes had looked pretty harmless in the light. However, in the darkness, Libby quickly realised that they were downright frightening. Because what nobody had spotted were the words written in illuminous paint, which was only now showing up in the pitch black. The skeletons had the words ‘Death To All’ scrawled on them and the witches had the word ‘Kill’ written over and over in what appeared to be fake blood.
There was a lot of crying now and Libby desperately tried to cover up the awful words. But as she tugged at the skeletons, it seemed to trigger some kind of ghostly sound effect. The witches, meanwhile, were beginning to cackle and scream.
Then, just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, the whole train braked hard and abruptly stopped. What had happened now?
Then, just to add to everyone’s fear, she could hear thunder rumbling nearby. Only a second after they had stopped, there was a crackle of lightning across the nearby hills. It would have been funny if it had been a fake effect, she thought. But it wasn’t.
Worse news was to come as suddenly she heard Bob’s voice over the tannoy.
‘Sorry about the abrupt stop, everyone. Unfortunately, it looks as if there’s a fallen tree up ahead. We can’t get past it, I’m afraid. So the only thing we can do is reverse back to the station. We will of course refund your tickets.’
And so the train slowly made its way back to the station, only minutes after it had left.
All the passengers were looking unhappy as they climbed down from the carriages with some of the younger children looking downright terrified.
‘I can make everyone a hot chocolate, if you’d like,’ offered Katy in a cheerful tone.
But most people wanted to head home as the rain lashed across the platform from the open fields beyond.
‘What a disaster,’ muttered one man as they went past.
Katy and Libby looked at each other with worried glances.
‘I thought it was the scariest thing ever!’ said a young girl, looking thrilled.
‘Excellent!’ replied Libby, nodding in fake enthusiasm.
But the majority of people looked disenchanted and miserable.
Once they were alone on the platform, Libby looked at Katy. ‘I was sort of hoping it would be like Harry Potter on the Hogwarts Express. This was more like a Stephen King movie.’
Katy grimaced. ‘Trick or treat?’ she said, giving her a weak smile.
Libby blew out a sigh. Between Dodgy Del and the weather, it definitely hadn’t turned out to be a treat. It had been a disaster, not only for Ethan but for the whole family. It was likely the idea for any further Cranfield Steam Engine train rides might be over after their very first run.
Ethan stood in the driver’s cab and saw that all the passengers had left the station.
‘They’ve all headed home,’ he said to his dad and grandad.
His dad and grandad nodded but didn’t reply. They didn’t need to, thought Ethan. The disappointment of having to abandon the very first train ride had depressed them all.
Ethan looked back down the track, making a mental note to clear the fallen tree the following day.
As he looked out along the dark track, he realised that given his own skills with lighting, he should have thought harder about how lights could have helped the atmosphere. The train was in darkness, but he could have lit it outside somehow. Of course, it was too late now, but he wondered if he could make a few suggestions for the Christmas train. If it ever ran, of course.
Ryan and the rest of their friends gathered on the platform, no doubt to give their sympathies at the disastrous outcome. Ethan was grateful for their support and help that evening and realised how much he would miss his brother and friends when he flew off to America after the weekend. He had been looking forward to escaping at first, but the help and support that he had received that evening had made him appreciate just how lonely he often felt when he was away from home.
He looked at his dad and grandad and realised that they too would be needing some support. The disappointment might well mean that the Christmas train wouldn’t run. Their dream was over. It seemed a bittersweet anticlimax to what had been such a driving force in both of their lives for such a long time.
For once, there was no excited chatter as Ethan, Bob and Eddie began to shut the train safely down for the night. His grandad was particularly pale and quiet, thought Ethan. Probably the shock of the disastrous evening.
Once all the checks had been made, Ethan climbed down the steps first. He looked across at Libby, and even from a distance away, he could feel her sympathetic gaze. He knew then more than ever that it wasn’t just his family he would miss when he left on Monday.
Bob climbed down next with a heavy sigh before turning to ensure Eddie stepped down safely from the cabin.
However, Eddie’s foot slipped slightly and Ethan rushed over.
‘Steady there, Grandad,’ he said, holding Eddie upright with both his hands until his grandad was safely standing on the platform.
He figured that Eddie was probably a bit overwhelmed by the whole evening. And that he must also be exhausted from the final few months of pushing to get the steam engine working in time for their self-imposed deadline.
But as Ethan stepped around to face his grandad, he saw something else in Eddie’s eyes. Pain and confusion.
And before he could react, his grandad collapsed onto the platform.