The Mysterious Shadow

The Mysterious Shadow is the seventeenth episode of Sodor High School: Thomas and Friends Tales.
==Synopsis==
A mysterious figure begins tailing Rosie, and Thomas is convinced it's Brad.
==Plot==
When school starts up again in January, Rosie is still feeling as miserable as a result of what had happened on New Years Eve between her and Brad, and that let to her staying with the Brighton siblings and Emily. One morning, Rosie walks with Thomas and Emily to school and says she misses her parents. Emily voices her certainty that she can ho home once Brad's no longer a threat to her but Thomas knows it won't be easy.
Behind them, James is about to get their attention when he spots the trenchcoat-wearing figure watching them from within the bushes. He chucks a snowball at him blowing his cover, which Thomas, Emily, and Rosie see. Thomas assumes it's Brad and is tempted to drive him off by force, but to everyone's surprise, he simply walks off. The trio proceed to explain what happened at the party to James and they plan on telling the rest of their friends at school, not seeing the mysterious man watching them head to school and commenting that Rosie has friends looking out for her.
At lunchtime, Thomas, Rosie, Emily, James, Henry, Gordon, Toby, Donald and Douglas are having lunch in their classroom when Rosie explains to everyone how George had a grudge against her because he didn't want a sister and that Brad started acting like him after George was sent away; even Toby finds Brad to be a complete monster. Thomas asks if Rosie's heard from George since he was sent away, but she hasn't and wouldn't want to anyway. Percy enters the room to join the conversation and Thomas approaches Emily (who's distancing herself due to her concern about almost kissing Thomas) and lies to him about being okay. James, Gordon, and Henry all vow to give Brad a piece of their minds, but Rosie tells them not to take action. James moves on to talking about the guy from earlier, shooting down Thomas' repeated claim that it was Brad since he didn't attack Rosie on sight; everyone concludes that someone else is watching Rosie and hopes they're friend rather than foe.
After lunch, the group prepare to leave for their afternoon classes. Rosie walks out first and nearly bumped into Spencer who questions what everyone's talking about and threatens them when they refuse. Thomas and Emily warn him not to repeat what he tried to do to Hiro and Percy adds on the consequences of what doing so will bring, forcing him to back off and walk away in a huff. Rosie thanks her friends for sticking up for her and Donald & Douglas split off from Thomas' friends as they all head to class.
When school ends for the day, Thomas asks Percy to walk Emily home while he accompanies Rosie to her home to pick up her things that her Mother packed up for her and so he can keep Brad from attacking her again. Percy agrees to the request, and Thomas & Rosie set off for Knapford. As they reach a bus stop, Rosie starts feeling paranoid and spots the mysterious man on a bench. Thomas calls out to him and with nary a sign of hostility to be seen in his eyes, he walks away and the duo run to get onboard their bus. During the journey, Rosie grabs Thomas' hand which leaves them feeling awkward for the rest of the trip.
When they reach Rosie's home, the pink-haired girl nervously approaches and knocks on the front door as Thomas remains close. Rosie's Mother opens the door and hands her two packed suitcases before telling her she and her Father have punished Brad for what he did. They leave (but not without awkwardly keeping up the lie that Rosie is staying with Emily's family) and return to Knapford Station. They get their tickets and prepare to wait for their train to arrive but see the mysterious man in the waiting room and leave to wait outside, to his annoyance. He goes to catch them but Thomas is punched by Brad, who was waiting for them. Thomas tells Rosie to run as Brad proceeds to stomp on his face, but Rosie too paralyzed by fear to get away. As Brad begins to approach her and her attempt to reason with her fails, the mysterious figure arrives and fights him off, telling Rosie to get on the train with Thomas, calling himself a friend before she does. Before they leave Rosie assumes the figure is George, to Thomas' shock. Brad realizes too late that the mysterious man intentionally stalled him so the train could depart with Thomas and Rosie getting away from him before punching him in the chest and forcing him to retreat before the figure leaves as well, satisfied that Rosie's safe from him now.
Rosie and the battered Thomas return to the Brighton household and tell Annie, Clarabel, Percy, and Emily what had happened as Emily treats Thomas' wounds, Rosie confusing them with her George theory. As Rosie goes to put her things away, Percy pulls out his phone to update their friends about things but Thomas tells him he's already done so, so Percy goes home.
The next day, Percy, James, Edward, Toby, Donald and Douglas come over to Thomas' house to talk, the twins keeping an eye out for the mysterious stranger and Brad. Someone knocks on the door and Donald pulls them inside, the person in question being Spencer. Everyone assumes he's trying to butt into their business again, but Spencer tells them that he's passing on a message from the man in the trench coat. Rosie asks for it, and Spencer says the figure wants to meets her at Knapford Station to explain everything about her brother, and that Thomas may accompany her. Thomas and Emily thank him, and then the twins kick Spencer out when he demands to know what's going on. Rosie figures it's dangerous to meet up and talk in Thomas' house, so she and Thomas decide to meet him at the requested location while everyone else remains there until they return.
When the duo arrive at Knapford, the quiet atmosphere from no trains and very few people around leaves them unnerved until the man in the trench coat makes himself known just outside the waiting room. Once they're inside, Rosie asks if he was looking for Brad, only for him to say that it isn't Brad who's trying to kill Rosie; it's her other brother George, and the real Brad was sent to military camp in his place. Rosie soon pieces the man's identity together while Thomas, having had enough of the man's enigmatic nature, thhrottles him enough to make his hat fall. To Thomas and Rosie's shock, the figure is Brad himself, sporting a scar on his face.
==Characters==
* Thomas
* Emily
* Percy
* Rosie
* James
* Gordon 
* Henry
* Edward
* Toby
* Donald and Douglas 
* Spencer 
* The Vulcan family
** "George"/Brad (Debut)
** "Brad"/George
** Mrs. Vulcan
** Mr. Vulcan (mentioned)
* The Brighton family
** Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
** Dalton (mentioned)
** Andrea (mentioned)
* Sir Topham Hatt (mentioned)
* Lady Hatt (mentioned)
* The Duke and Duchess of Boxford (mentioned)
==Cast==
==Trivia==
* It's revealed that the Brad who has been antagonizing Rosie is actually George, with the real Brad being the figure who's been looking out for her.
* This episode reveals Rosie is 15 years old and Brad and George are 20.
* Donald speaks some lines of dialogue (a few of which are modified) from the "Thomas & Friends" Season 2 episode "Break Van" when talking to Spencer.
Category:Thomas and Friends
Category:Sodor High School
Category:Episodes
Category:Fan Fiction