He had been searching for a way off the island for a year now. He didn’t know exactly how long it had been but this was the first time he remembered the snow falling since coming to this place. Looking up through the bars in the cold shed he waited, quietly.
He wouldn’t make any noise as it would draw unnecessary attention. Unnecessary attention was bad on the island.
The snow reminded him of his parents and Christmas time. I wonder if they still think of me. He hadn’t thought of them in months. No matter how hard he tried to hold onto their memory it would slip away. Still, he could still recall their faces from time to time. What bothered him most was the fact that he could not remember the sound of their voices.
There was only room for the voices of the masters now.
If he did what they said he would be safe. He tried to run away once. He thought that he saw a bridge on the other side of the island. He was wrong. It was not the sort of bridge that would help him escape. The older ones who were with him in the big building once warned him not to try it.
When they brought him back, they took the eldest of them, Henry, and brought him to the maintenance shed on the outskirts of the compound. They could hear Henry screaming for long hours before he was finally silenced. They would use parts of him to keep the rest of them going said the masters.
They never hurt him for trying to run. He had been punished before. He had been burned and blasted with hoses and left out in the cold and rain. He had been left in the sun in the metal shed as well. This time they simply moved him to the far shed with the small window, alone. He could see the night turn to day and lost count after thirty.
It was very hot when I first came here to the shed. Now it is snowing. Could it be six months already?
He heard footsteps approaching. He waited, hoping someone would open the door for once. He could hear keys rattling and then opening a lock. The frame of the shed lurched and the door slowly slid open.
The light that flooded in hurt his eyes. The fresh air hit his face. He breathed it in, relieved. His eyes came into focus. As his vision became clear a man came into focus. The hat on top of his head made him instantly recognizable.
The man was the one who had lured him away from his parents. He remembered being upset with them and running from them in the market. He saw a sign pointing the train station. How he had loved his trains. He ran headlong into the man with the hat as he neared the station.
The man looked jovial and friendly and wore a very fancy suit. The boy had seen top hats before and he associated them with important people. The man asked if the boy liked trains. The boy did. Then the man asked if he would like to go to a place full of trains with lots of other little boys just like him. There would be no parents, no end to the amount of playing with trains. This sounded good to the boy, who was still quite cross with his parents. He would show them.
The man led the way. He passed a beautiful old steam engine at the front of two passenger cars. The boy was not quite sure how he could tell, but the engine seemed sad. He quickly forgot this thought when the man with the top hat opened the door to the passenger car. Many other boys ran up and down the aisle and bounced in the seats. There were carts in the middle filled with all manner of sweets.
The boy looked on in amazement.
The man patted him on the head and smiled, “All you have to do is prick your finger here and we can take you to the island.”
The man took his cane and pulled back the fancy globe at the head of it. Under it was a tiny railway spike. The boy pressed his finger to it and winced. It hurt only a little bit.
“Good lad, now take your seat and we will begin. The others have already had their turn.”
The man left the train and closed the door behind him.
He took his seat after grabbing handfuls of sweets. The boys around him had the same look of excitement as the train began to move. They had been riding on the train for about an hour; shouting and bouncing and eating when they saw the tunnel approaching. They looked on with awe as the side of the mountain got closer. Without saying a word each of the boys sat down in their seats.
As the tunnel enveloped the train, they fell into a deep slumber.
When the boy woke he was on the island. It was all he knew now and there had been no sign of the man with the top hat since.
As the man stood in front of the boy he thought, maybe the man in the hat will help me. He must have found out they were treating us this way and will have us released.
“I heard that you tried to run away.”
The boy remained quiet.
“It’s okay young one. You can speak to me. We are going to let you out now. I’m sorry you spent so much time in there.”
“Sir.”
“I know you will not misbehave again. Please follow me.”
The boy came out of the shed cautiously. He slowly followed beside the man.
“Now that you are here, you must understand that there is no leaving. What’s more. You are truly important.”
“I have brought back more boys.”
Across the compound the boy could see the same passenger cars that he had arrived on. There were men walking from the cars. Some of the men carried little bodies. The boy followed the man with the top hat but could see the men throwing the bodies into a ditch.
“You have to be their example. The best thing for a good boy to do here on the island is be useful. You do want to be useful don’t you?”
“Yes sir.”
“I thought so. Because if you aren’t, all the other boys will wish they had it as easy as old Henry.”
“But.”
“Now now. It’s all very simple.”
“But aren’t the others over there already…”
“What are you going on about boy?”
“Aren’t they gone?”
“Gone?”
The man followed the boy’s gaze and watched another body get thrown into the ditch.
“Oh I see,” he said. “No no no. They’re like you now. You’ll find whatever is left of your old self in that pile too I suspect.”
“Oh.”
The boy continued forward. He did not want to be responsible for anything happening to the others. He was grateful that the man told the masters to let him out. He wouldn’t be bad again.
They reached another large building that he hadn’t been to before.
The man with the top hat signaled to some men who began pulling the door open.
Inside the building were several shiny new steam engines. The boy could see each of them clearly.
“Inside now,” the man motioned him in.
He inched forward into his place between the engines. He looked left and right and examined them. He sensed fear in the air. He understood though. He had been in this same position before. None of the originals remained though.
The man in the top hat walked to the front of him and looked down the line at all the new engines.
His voice was loud, commanding, and reassuring.
“I’m sure you all are confused. But you will find that things aren’t so bad here. Why we all love trains. That’s why we’re all here. You all should consider yourself blessed. It is truly a dream come true. Forget what you knew, and focus on the joys of good work. For here, it is how you will be judged.
I want you all to meet someone. The boy I’ve brought with me has been here for a while now. He has learned some important lessons and will show you all around as you get used to your new home.”
The man motioned to the boy.
“Hullo everyone,” he said.
The faces on the engines were all scared. The smaller green one, Percy, openly wept.
The man continued, “Everyone, this is Thomas. Thomas is a really useful Engine.”