It had been three weeks since the cataclysm closed off the cretaceous period. Mr. C had just been woken up by Mrs. P having the same nightmare for two weeks in a row. He had hugged her and let her lay back down to get more sleep, but Mr. C just sat in the ground nest and rubbed his hand through his head feathers as he looked up at the still night time ridge.
"At least Tiny and Don have grown used to it." he mumbled to himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep as every time she woke up like that, it sent his heart racing and no amount of relaxing would quell it. He grabbed his vest that he had been using as a pillow, and pulled out his watch, his darkness attuned eyes seeing that it would still be another hour or two before dawn, making him sigh. He put the watch back into the pocked and hugged his knees as he looked up at the sky as he lost himself in his thoughts.
He'd set in motion the able Troodon at the station to do the best repairs that they could on the train, to at least let it get back to the beginning of the line, even if it needed to be pushed. Because of the potential of said pushing being a reality, he asked Laura if she would want to keep her job, even if she couldn't be a proper lookout due to the loss of her binocular vision. She was rather ecstatic. Mr. C smiled, remembering that she quite literally jumped for joy before regaining her composure. He also recalled the Troodon going to work on the train as best as they could with who they had on hand, and the good news is that they would be able to get the train running, but it'd take time. Time that he wasn't sure they had.
The more he thought about what had happened, the more he wondered if there was even anything left on the other side of the tunnels. Was the planet blown apart? Was the atmosphere burned away? Even if the impact was more local in it's effects, how long would the survivors last in such a changed ecosystem? He knew it removed entire forests, leveled entire mountains; just those two factors alone would turn areas onto deserts that were once lush and plentiful. The stress of these thoughts made him rub his head again.
There was a soft noise as Mrs. P rolled over in her sleep, making Mr. C look at her before he looked back up. Stress was indeed a killer and he didn't know how he was going to keep handling his own, much less Mrs. P's. He recalled what he did two weeks back with her and was extremely regretful that he had done so. He noticed she was calmer for a day or two, but that changed as every night since then had her with a repeating nightmare. Worst of all, it didn't affect just her, but Mr. C as well. She still wanted the comfort his company provided, but every night resulted in her having the dream about Buddy. She slowly told him more and more every time it happened, but seemed to outright refuse to elaborate on a specific detail, namely Buddy's eyes. Was he blind? Did he have something nightmarish replacing them? It was a dream and the mind can do horrible things.
Horrible things... his mind went back to the night he had "relieved her stress" and just hated himself even more. He was true to his promise since then and never touched her past the belly when they lay together. Every time he held her, he thought of it and every time he thought of it, he hated himself. He didn't know why she still trusted him or even why she sought his comfort anymore. Soon the train would be running, he'd go get more Troodon to excavate the tunnels and they would go and get Mr. P and Buddy and they could forget the whole thing.
At least, that was what he tried to reason, but his chest ached when he thought of it like that. He knew there was no guarantee that either were still alive. Still, he envisioned Mrs. P finding a slightly beat up and soot covered Mr. P and Buddy and smiled at the image, yet... He looked down to find his hand clasped on his chest, reacting to an ache he felt. He knew that when things got to normal for them, he'd no longer live here, it just wouldn't be right. He also wouldn't be able to fess up to Mr. P as to what he did. He hung his head as he knew he'd no longer be here and would need to find living space elsewhere. A twisted amusing thought as he realized he spent all this time taking care of this family, but not spending hardly any time taking care of himself. He ran a hand along his head one more time, feeling his feathers and being amazed he wasn't bald from all the stress he was under.
---
As he drifted in his thoughts, eventually he felt a warmth on him and a rising light. Turning to glance at the horizon, he could see the sun rising. Taking a deep, steady breath, he put his watch back into his pocket and slipped on his vest, buttoning it up before grabbing his cap, fluffing his feathers and putting it on over them. He thought about waking Mrs. P, but knew she needed the rest. Silently, he left the nest and made for the station for his daily visit of Shiny and Gilbert.
The walk was a bit uneventful; a few nocturnal folks going to sleep while diurnal ones woke up, but nothing worth noting. He gave a few cheerful hellos and waves before he made it to the station.
Laura was standing outside next to the train as she conversed rather quietly with the Troodon working on it, the scarred left side of her face turned towards Mr. C, her now damaged-beyond-repair eye having a patch over it, and thus rendering her blind to his presence. This was well and good since he wanted to talk with her, just not at the moment. He needed to see Shiny and Gilbert first.
Upon entering the station, it was a lot different compared to three weeks ago; there were no beds being taken up beyond some of the employees taking naps, save for the one in the back that Gilbert had been assigned to. Upon reaching it, he could hear some soft giggling and hushed voices. Smiling as they had to be up but keeping it quiet so as not to wake the employees, he pulled the curtain.
"Why hello-" his greeting was met with a brief shriek, along with Shiny and Gilbert flailing in the bed for a few moments before they settled down, laying and staring up at Mr. C. Mr. C himself was clutching his chest as that sudden outburst startled him fiercely. He calmed down as he looked back at the two; both blushing fiercely but with a gap between them as they tried not to make eye contact.
"H-hey uncle." Gilbert finally spoke up, swallowing and giving a brief cough before he spoke in a normal tone. "You're here early. Have trouble sleeping?" he asked. Gilbert was laying on his side, his leg having the remains of a slight sore look to it, but the splint had come off. His tail was still bandaged, but Mr. C would be removing it today to check on the progress of that.
"Y-yeah, hi. You sleep okay?" Shiny slightly echoed. She was laying on her back and looked the same as always, though her shine was a little soiled as she didn't wash up as frequently when her mother wasn't with her every night. That might explain the smell coming from them.
"Hoo, not really." Mr. C said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Your mom has still been having those bad dreams about Buddy and every time they wake her up, it wakes me up, only I can't get back to sleep." he said, shaking his head before he looked at Gilbert. "So Gilbert, what's say we remove those bandages and see how you're doing?" he said as he stepped away from the two to go and grab the medical tray of supplies, holding some tools and new bandages. Upon coming back, Shiny and Gilbert were more relaxed and had closed the distance between them again, once more hugging each other. The sight always made him chuckle and he really had to admit it was cute. Pulling up the stool, he sat down and tapped Gilbert, who moved closer to Mr. C with practiced ease since they had done this each day. Mr. C snipped off the bandages, tossing them on the tray before he gently handled the stump of Gilbert's tail, looking around it. "Hmm, Shiny... come here." he said.
"What is it?" she asked with simple curiosity as she slipped from Gilbert's grasp and moved next to Mr. C. She certainly smelled "ripe" today. A bath was in short order as the smell coming off of her was enough to make Mr. C's nose burn. Still, he kept his stoic expression as he lifted up Gilbert's tail to show to Shiny; it had been healing quite nicely and looked to be completely sealed up. Mr. C grabbed the bottle of alcohol and the wash rag, pouring the strong liquid into it. Shiny quickly plugged her nose, as did Gilbert, but Gilbert also sunk his teeth into his pillow (which had to be changed out several times due to him biting holes in it). Mr. C first rubbed the cloth in his hands before he started dabbing Gilbert's tail Both Mr.C and Shiny expected to hear him yell into the pillow, or at least voice some displeasure, but he didn't make a sound, and in fact, he looked over his shoulder.
"Hey... that doesn't hurt." he said. Mr. C tried rubbing the cloth carefully over his stitches and Gilbert's expression got rather puzzled before returning to normal. "That feels weird... but it doesn't burn." Mr. C didn't restrain himself from grinning earhole to earhole.
"Congratulations, Gilbert; your tail has healed up enough that you don't need bandages anymore." he said as he gave the tail stub a little rubdown before he set the rag down. "And since your leg healed as well, I'd say you're free to go." he said as he stroked Gilbert's head. Shiny practically hit the ceiling as she jumped before she hugged Gilbert.
"Yay! You get to go home! You're all better!" she said as Gilbert hugged her back, but didn't speak. She stopped hugging him when she didn't feel him hugging her back as he broke the hug early. She pulled back and looked at Gilbert's face, seeing his expression being rather downcast. "What's wrong?" she asked, though Mr. C knew the answer.
"Shiny, Gilbert and I CAN'T go home. Not in troodon town in the cretaceous... just like you can't go home." he said. Shiny deflated as she hung her head.
"Oh yeah... I forgot..." she said, very mournful as she flushed from embarrassment.
"But, there is good news." Mr. C said. Both youngsters looked at him. "You have a home, Shiny, and I know Gilbert would be welcomed there, at least until I find a new place to live where he can stay with me." he said as he rubbed both of their heads. "Now come on, let me take you there. Gilbert needs his daily leg stretches and you need to be there to help." The two hopped up as Mr. C stood up, assisting Gilbert to the floor as Shiny jumped down next to him, being there as a brace in case Gilbert needed it. To compensate for the lack of a tail, Gilbert had been standing vastly more upright to center his body. The stance made his neck ache slightly, but he was growing used to it as it at least allowed him to walk without falling on his face. Mr. C walked behind them as they started slow, Gilbert's healed leg originally having a limp, but it was hardly noticeable after the splint was removed.
It didn't take long for the three of them to leave the station, but upon stepping outside, he saw Laura standing in the Observation car, and a crew in the train. They looked to be prepping to move the train.
"Mister Conductor!" came Laura's voice. He looked up to see the giganotosaurus quite literally hop out of the observation car and walked over to him.
"Well hello Laura, what's going on?" he asked.
"The crew has fixed the train!" she said, excitement in her voice as she clapped her small hands together. "They needed to get the train properly back on track, repair many of the internal workings with our limited supplies, and remove some debris from the engine, but now we are ready to take it to the beginning of the line!" Mr. C's eyes lit up as he smiled. "The train is prepared to leave now. Will you be conducting with us?" she asked. Mr. C almost reflexively agreed, but remembered his two little charges. Shiny didn't know the location of her new home and he couldn't risk the idea of something happening to Gilbert if he wasn't with them.
"Gee... I really want to, Laura, but..." he waved a hand at the two kids. Laura looked down at them before looking back at Mr. C. "I need to take them home and I don't want to leave them on a pathway they aren't familiar with."
"Are you sure? I'm certain I could take them." Laura offered as Mr. C shook his head.
"No, the electronics and communications systems are too badly damaged to risk the train stalling on the way back, so if anything happens to the train at this point, you're the giganotosaurus for the job." he said, to which Laura thought a moment before nodding her head.
"This is true..." she said with a chuckle. "Well, we depart immediately." she said as she jumped into the observation car. "Be safe on your way home, Mr. C! You too, kids!"
"Bye Laura!" the trio waved as the train blew its whistle before the old steam locomotive slowly hissed to life, the wheels squealing as they started up and the train huffing to life as the engine began pulling and soon, the old Dinosaur train was rolling down the tracks once more, though it was something of a limp as the damage manifested in how it wobbled as it moved. Mr. C watched it continue down the line, the view from this station letting him see it travel for several minutes before it finally rounded a corner and he lost sight of it. The sight of the train moving coaxed him to shed a few tears. Soon they would get more help and could dig this tunnel out, and if all was safe on the other side, they could go back... if not, this station would most likely be turned into a new roundhouse station. As it was, he knew they would need two engines on the train, one on either end, to get it from station to station.
With a brief wiping of his face, he smiled at the kids.
"All right, let's get going!" he said as he pointed in a direction, to which Shiny and Gilbert turned and began walking.
---
The walk had some simple questions and modest talk, but a lot of the talking was not heard by Mr. C. His mind was focused on telling Mrs. P the good news and how the train was moving.
Upon snapping out of his thoughts for a moment to ensure they were still on the right pathway, he looked at Shiny and Gilbert, who'd taken to whispering things to each other and giggling again, similar to what had happened in the morning. He chuckled to himself as he recalled that he startled them, but his sharp eyes had caught a flash of how they were laying before he surprised them. There was something familiar about it.
An idle breath in let him sample the wind, but he also picked up Shiny and Gilbert's unwashed bodies. Yeah, that was still the first order of business. Still, the smell was familiar.
Mr. C finally put it all together and his walking pace made him stagger as he bumbled over to a tree, spooking Shiny and Gilbert. He rested his forearm on the tree and bowed his head slightly, blinking several times.
"Mr. Conductor, are you okay?" Shiny asked. Mr. C looked pale as his mind raced. The combination of the smell while he was thinking on the image of the two laying together suddenly made it clear up and the image had his heart pounding hard.
"I... I'm fine kids... just a bit tired is all..." he said, swallowing his dry throat as he looked up, doing his best (and failing) at putting on a brave face as he stepped away from the tree. "It's not too much farther." he said as he pointed and resumed walking.
He found himself rubbing his arms as he put it all together; mainly that they were doing to each other what he had been doing with Mrs. P two weeks back. The same position and everything, but the smell coming from the two of them was so strong that it was sour, and so he easily could tell that they had been doing it rather frequently, possibly any time they were alone. And not just Shiny but Gilbert had to be getting a similar “treatment” from his appointed nurse.
The idea of them being intimate like that wasn’t what bothered him, other than the fact that he wanted to tell Gilbert about a few things, but... it made the reality of him having done what he did to Mrs. P that much more real and recent in his mind.
The more he thought about it, the more he knew that he couldn't live with the pteranodon family. He was the train conductor and a friend and teacher. He wasn't family, nor Mrs. P's mate.
The last thought made him hang his head and clench his eyes shut as he mentally slapped himself.
"MOM!" was the word Shiny exclaimed that broke Mr. C out of his depressing thoughts and look up, finding he had voided a large portion of the walk as his mind wandered, finding himself and the kids standing at the lake with Mrs. P jumping from the ridge and gliding down to see her other daughter.
He made a mental note of how dangerous it was to daydream like that.
---
The reception of Shiny and Gilbert showing up at the nest made everyone quite happy. Mrs. P picked up and hugged her daughter while Tiny and Don ran up to an unsteady Gilbert, looking him over and having a hard time believing that he lost half his tail. The kids wanted to play, but Mrs. P evidently smelled Shiny and Gilbert and soon told them to play in the lake shallows for a while before they played elsewhere.
This story really had me hooked from the first chapter. I've read it so many times, so seeing more illustrations just fuels my fascination with it. Personally I never really liked Dinosaur Train as a kid, I considered it to be very noisy, and the voice actors that dubbed in my country tended to have this squeak to their voice which really annoyed me, and actually they still do to this day whenever I try to catch up with the show, in order to get a better understanding of the characters for the specific reason of reading fanfictions online.
Come to think about, will there be any further chapters in this storyline? Like a follow up maybe a year or two after the disaster, in which you tell about how the lives of the characters have evolved after the story ended?
This story really had me hooked from the first chapter. I've read it so many times, so seeing more i
I suggest trying to find the english versions of the show since it was made for that audience.
I'm really glad you enjoy the story and how it's coming to life via images.
I almost considered making another chapter, but found that it isn't exactly needed. They have their happily ever after and things will only get better from here on out. So take it from me, the writer, that in my story, things only become better for the family as the years tick forward.
I suggest trying to find the english versions of the show since it was made for that audience. I'm
