Creature

**Creature** is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the Stories of Sodor and the sixty-third episode overall.

Creature/Transcript

## Plot

 In the aftermath of Andreas' death, more passengers visited the Skarloey Railway to offer their condolences to them, which helped them get through their grief, while their expansion into the Nartwin Valley kept them busy. Throughout the next several months, they made excellent progress, even in winter, despite the numerous incidents and mistakes.

One day, Stuart's train had broken away from him on a hill and derailed on a bridge. Sir Handel scolds him, and Rusty confesses for also being at fault because he had to bank Stuart up the hill. Stuart says that the coupling on his brakevan broke and he didn't know how close a replacement was. Sir Handel reminds Stuart to carry on with his work and to be more careful before turning to Skarloey. He had been having problems and Sir Handel decides to take him out of rotation so he can be mended. Duncan then volunteers to do Skarloey's work as well as his own, although Skarloey begs him not to push himself before Duncan sets off. As he does so, Skarloey says he's never seen Duncan acting like this before. Stuart is still worried about his mistake as when the trucks derailed from the bridge, he seemed to hear a roar and saw something leave the crash site. He thinks it was a bear and even though Skarloey points out most animals are in hibernation, Stuart is still curious. That night, at one of the worksites in the valley, a workman sees suspicious occurrences before he is attacked by an unseen force. The next morning, Rheneas, his crew and some workmen inspect the aftermath of the scene.

Later, Rheneas is recollecting what he saw to Duke and Rusty. Rheneas thinks the culprit could be a bear from the hair around the area, as Jack, also known as Old Bailey, arrives, having been asked to work around the railway by Sir Handel and introduces himself to Rusty. He warns Rusty too about how whenever an owl hoots a mist or fog begins to roll in, it is never wrong. Just then, a workman tells Jack that the area is only for railway workers, but before a fight can break out, Jack offers to help the workman around.

That night, Ivo Hugh is taking a works train into the valley. While crossing the causeway, he and his driver hear bullets in the distance. Ivo stops and his driver gets out to look around. They suddenly hear a roar and a man frantically runs over to them. They hear stomping and once his driver helps the man into his cab, Ivo reverses away. At Crovan's Gate, the man recollects what was happening, as Sir Handel tells him he has called the police and invites him to his office. The engines discuss what the man was talking about, and Skarloey fears things are going to get worse.

The next morning, the police found what was left of the hunters. The survivor's testimony created fear and the army was called in to prevent the situation from getting out of control. They set up checkpoints and roaming patrols all throughout the valley and surrounding communities, as well as a curfew. Some of those in the valley didn't like this, leading to clashes and arrests, one of which included Old Bailey. At Crovan's Gate, Rusty is talking to Skarloey and Duncan about it. The latter expresses his disdain for force being used to break up protests, before apologising for being rude to Rusty and thanking him for helping his derailment. Duncan then heads off into the valley to take the Little Kipper. Skarloey and Rusty are amazed with Duncan's change in behaviour. Skarloey thinks something happened on Duncan's old railway, which he had never answered, and neither had Mr. Peter Sam. They plan on asking Duncan that night.

However, that night, Duncan never arrived back to deliver his load to Henry's train. Rheneas then tells Rusty, Skarloey and Ivo Hugh that Polwich said Duncan had left with the Little Kipper. Rheneas decides to go out and look for Duncan, despite Ivo and Skarloey's concerns. The four engines set off into the valley. When they arrive at the first checkpoint, they find it suspiciously quiet. Facing a fork up ahead, Skarloey decides they should split up but before they can go their separate ways, Skarloey gets a cramp, making him unable to continue on, so he and Ivo return to Crovan's Gate while Rheneas and Rusty set off on their own. As they do so, an owl hoots and as Old Bailey predicted, a heavy fog comes down. Soon, they hear gunshots and a roar. An object suddenly emerges from the trees and dashes in-between the two engines, just as another figure appears from out of the trees, Old Bailey. He then goes back to fight in the trees again as Rusty and Rheneas decide to leave.

The next morning, Sir Handel demands to know what the four engines were doing in the valley, and when they explain about Duncan, their controller reveals that Duncan had been involved in a collision with a lorry in the Valley and due to his damage he was brought back by road. Sir Handel had been away because the lorry belonged to the army and apparently had broken down at a crossing, which Duncan had crashed into while speeding, and Sir Handel had been trying to get details out of them ever since. He decides not to receive compensation from the army as they can easily afford Duncan's repairs.

Rusty and Rheneas explain to their controller what they found the night before and the story spread across Sodor. The next day, the area was searched but nothing was found. Old Bailey had disappeared for a while and when he returned, he denied being there due to the curfew. Without this, Rusty and Rheneas' recount didn't have much backing and more so when the army got rid of the threat: a female bear. The trucks from Stuart's train that fell off the bridge had landed on the bear's cubs, making their mother go on a rampage. The hunter's recount was also discredited after it was revealed that he had a drinking problem. Skeptics to the explanation were also ignored, as the people wanted life to return to normal. Neither Duncan or his crew could remember the accident and due to no other witnesses being present, the investigation concluded that Duncan was speeding. Thankfully, the Skarloey Railway would recoup the losses and the expansion would continue on.

## Characters

* Skarloey
* Rheneas
* Rusty
* Duncan
* Ivo Hugh
* Duke
* Falcon
* Stuart
* Stanley
* Old Bailey
* Edward *(narration only; does not speak)*
* Henry *(cameo)*
* James *(cameo)*
* Toby *(cameo)*
* Atlas *(cameo)*
* Bertie *(cameo)*
* Andreas *(mentioned)*
* Ivo Hugh's Driver

## Trivia

* It is heavily implied that Duncan and his crew can't remember the circumstances of the crash because they saw the creature's true form, and were administered amnestics by The SCP Foundation. It is also heavily implied that the mother bear explanation was created by the foundation to cover up the existence of the creature. But the entire region of Britain doesn’t have any live bears native to that country.
	+ The most-likely agent administered to Duncan and his crew was a Class A, General Retrograde amnestic.
* Events and dialogue from Duncan Gets Spooked take place.