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Toby and the Ghost Train
It was the 31st October and the annual Halloween fair had come to Lynwich. Toby Jennings, like the rest of the town, were excited about its arrival. At school, he didn't talk about anything else. After school, he ran home to get dressed in his costume and then waited patiently for his friends to come and collect him.
Once at the fairground, they saw that all the attractions were decked out in ghoulish displays of purple, green, orange and black, traditional Halloween colours. Toby and his friends went on the Warewolf Waltzers, The Vampire Vertical Drop and the Frankenstein Funhouse. After feeling incredibly giddy with the whole experience, they took a break gorging themselves at the various food stalls, on burgers and hotdogs. It was during this pause in activities, that Toby saw the Ghost Train.
However, there were something different about this sideshow compared to the others at the fair. While the other sideshows looked like fairground attractions, this ghost train looked real. As if the fairground had been put up around an abandoned train station!
"What are you looking at Toby?' Asked one of the friends.
"The ghost train. Don't you see it?" He pointed towards it.
"Stop joking with us. There is nothing there!"
Toby couldn't believe he was the only one seeing it. His friends tried to pull him away, but something was dragging Toby over to the ghost train. Now left alone, Toby walked up to the entrance of the attraction. There were no disgusting the fact, that although in need of repairs, this was the facade of a real train station. It even had a wooden luggage barrow outside complete tatty leather trunks. Toby looked through one of the windows into a deserted waiting room. There were still a fire in the fireplace waiting for passengers to warm themselves. Toby was intrigued and looking into the dark mouth of a large open door, he walked through.
He was surprised to see that he had in fact stepped out onto an old train station platform and standing in the station was a huge steam train, literally. A massive train that was entirely made out of steam!
The platform was deserted except for the station master who was holding in his hand a green flag. "Come on Toby Jennings." said the station master, "Come on, hop onboard the train is about to leave."
The station master was a tall thin man, with a voice like someone practicing the violin. He wore a black suit with a stopwatch hanging from his waist coat pocket. Upon his head he wore a peaked cap. Around it were an orange band. And written on the band was his name. 'Grimesludge'.
"Where are we?" Toby enquired.
"Well," began Grimesludge. "No trip to the fairground would be complete without a ride on the 'Ghost Train!'.
Toby stood looking at the train that was made up entirely of steam. It glistened, shimmered, and shifted in and out of focus. Toby waved his hand through a carriage, creating a hole as the steam temporarily lost its shape before watching it reassembled itself.
"No time to dilly-dally Toby Jennings, you need to board the train, now!" urged Grimesludge as he came waving his green flag.
Toby had no idea how to board a train which was comprised entirely of water vapour. He could see the step at the foot of the carriage door as well as the handrails. So, with some trepidation, he placed his foot on the 'steam' step and to his amazement it was solid! The same was for the...
Once at the fairground, they saw that all the attractions were decked out in ghoulish displays of purple, green, orange and black, traditional Halloween colours. Toby and his friends went on the Warewolf Waltzers, The Vampire Vertical Drop and the Frankenstein Funhouse. After feeling incredibly giddy with the whole experience, they took a break gorging themselves at the various food stalls, on burgers and hotdogs. It was during this pause in activities, that Toby saw the Ghost Train.
However, there were something different about this sideshow compared to the others at the fair. While the other sideshows looked like fairground attractions, this ghost train looked real. As if the fairground had been put up around an abandoned train station!
"What are you looking at Toby?' Asked one of the friends.
"The ghost train. Don't you see it?" He pointed towards it.
"Stop joking with us. There is nothing there!"
Toby couldn't believe he was the only one seeing it. His friends tried to pull him away, but something was dragging Toby over to the ghost train. Now left alone, Toby walked up to the entrance of the attraction. There were no disgusting the fact, that although in need of repairs, this was the facade of a real train station. It even had a wooden luggage barrow outside complete tatty leather trunks. Toby looked through one of the windows into a deserted waiting room. There were still a fire in the fireplace waiting for passengers to warm themselves. Toby was intrigued and looking into the dark mouth of a large open door, he walked through.
He was surprised to see that he had in fact stepped out onto an old train station platform and standing in the station was a huge steam train, literally. A massive train that was entirely made out of steam!
The platform was deserted except for the station master who was holding in his hand a green flag. "Come on Toby Jennings." said the station master, "Come on, hop onboard the train is about to leave."
The station master was a tall thin man, with a voice like someone practicing the violin. He wore a black suit with a stopwatch hanging from his waist coat pocket. Upon his head he wore a peaked cap. Around it were an orange band. And written on the band was his name. 'Grimesludge'.
"Where are we?" Toby enquired.
"Well," began Grimesludge. "No trip to the fairground would be complete without a ride on the 'Ghost Train!'.
Toby stood looking at the train that was made up entirely of steam. It glistened, shimmered, and shifted in and out of focus. Toby waved his hand through a carriage, creating a hole as the steam temporarily lost its shape before watching it reassembled itself.
"No time to dilly-dally Toby Jennings, you need to board the train, now!" urged Grimesludge as he came waving his green flag.
Toby had no idea how to board a train which was comprised entirely of water vapour. He could see the step at the foot of the carriage door as well as the handrails. So, with some trepidation, he placed his foot on the 'steam' step and to his amazement it was solid! The same was for the...
