Chapter 3: Bird Brain

But I didn't see Christopher again for a whole week.

He didn't appear at the window when I came home, and I didn't hear anything from his house. Wilbert would occasionally go out, but no one else did.

"I'm telling you, Chris, Hillary, and Veronica are being held hostage by their dad. Why else would they not come outside?" I asked.

My dad kept his eyes on his notepad, which was full of different ideas for TV episodes. "Did you ever think that maybe they just like staying inside?"

"No, they WANT to go outside. I could see the look in their eyes!"

My dad flipped through his ideas. "Just like that time you saw that living ventriloquist dummy at the book store?"

I turned away, mumbling "I swear he belonged in a horror book."

"Look Jess," said dad, looking over at me "maybe you're just being overprotective. You're worried about your new friends and don't want anything to happen to them. You think this so strongly that everything strange makes you worried."

I stomped my foot in frustration. "But dad, I know what I saw. I swear that steam wasn't from a water pipe. And I DID hear a whistle. Why can't you believe me?"

Dad walked over to me, putting his hands on my shoulder. "I want to believe you Jess. But…there really doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Maybe you just need to calm down and see where things go."

I wanted to scream in frustration, but I knew I couldn't. Dad wasn't right, but I didn't know if I was to.

"Why don't you head up to bed Jess? Tomorrow is Friday, which means then comes the weekend!" said Dad, wearing is goofy smile.

"Yeah…okay." I said, before walking out the door and up to my room.

But the next day, I was still thinking about Chris and his sisters. Math and Science were almost a blur, and I didn't even pay attention in English. And my train of thought continued until the end of school.

I was getting my books from my locker, when Amy walked up to me. She wore the same outfit she'd wear when we met, but this time it was blue.

"Hey Jess, are you ready for tonight?" she asked with a big smile.

I was so busy thinking, I had almost forgotten about the dance tonight. The school hosted one every year during the fall months, and was the most attended event of the year. Girls had been asked to go by almost every guy in school.

But it seemed that no guy wanted to go with me or Amy, because neither of us had dates. But Amy still said we should go, since there may be some loner guys there to. The thought really didn't interest me.

"Sorry Amy, but I really don't want to go to the dance. It just doesn't sound fun to me," I said while closing my locker.

Amy's face began to turn down. "But what if it is fun? You could end up having the time of your life!"

"Sorry Amy, but I'll pass." I said, turning to walk to the doors.

"…oh…okay then. I'll, uh, see you next week." said Amy, and she slowly walked away.

Great, just what I needed on my conscious: Guilt. Not only was I going to spend my night bored, but I had also made my friend sad. What kind of person was I?

Sighing, I walked to the door so I could head home.

When the bus reached my street, I jumped off and headed for my house. My dad hadn't gone great, and I didn't want anything else to ruin it.

But it looked like fortune was on my side.

I was walking up the front steps, when I heard a voice.

"Psst…Jess!"

I looked over at the fence, and saw Christopher looking over at me. He quickly glanced behind is shoulder, as if looking to see if anyone was watching him.

"Chris!" I screamed running over to the fence. "Where have you been the last few days? What happened to you? Are Hillary and Veronica alright?"

Chris held his hand up, stopping me from speaking. "Look Jess I don't have much time. My dad's sleeping and I have to get back inside before he wakes up. I've hated not being able to talk to you, and my sisters feel the same."

I felt my cheeks began to become red, and I held a hand up to my mouth. "Awe, that's sweet."

"Thanks, but I have a way we can hang out. My dad's going out tonight, and he said he'll be gone until eleven. I was wondering if you'd like to come over and visit."

I was a little surprised at the offer. "What, really? You want me to come over to your house?"

"Yeah," said Chris, looking behind himself again, "if you want to."

"What…of course I would. That would be awesome."

This was really turning my day around. I'd gone from having nothing to do tonight to getting to hang out with Chris and his sisters.

But then, I started thinking about Amy. She wanted to go to the dance tonight with me…not in a weird way. And what had I done; I'd told her no.

"Hey Chris, would you mind if I bring a friend along?" I asked.

Chris looked at me questionably. "Uh, I guess so. As long as they don't break anything."

"Don't worry, she's super nice. She won't cause any trouble."

"Well, alright then. Come over at around seven; that gives dad a half hour to return home. You should be good after that," said Chris.

"Alright, I'll come by then," I said smiling.

"Sweet, see you later tonight," said Chris. He stepped away from the fence and ran back to his house.

I got up to and ran to my door. My grin couldn't have been any bigger. Chris and his sisters were safe, and wanted me to come over to chill.

"This is so awesome…I've got to call Amy."

Later that night, after telling dad where I would be, I walked over to Chris' house. I'd watched Wilbert leave a half hour earlier, and he hadn't come back. That meant the coast was clear.

I was walking across my yard when Amy came running up from down the street. She wore a cute pink top with a long blue skirt and red shoes. Her brown hair was tied in ponytail with a green ribbon.

"Wow Amy, you sure got dressed up," I said as we walked over to Chris' house.

Amy's cheeks began to turn red. "Well, when you described that one guy's name…Chris wasn't it…I thought I might want to look nice."

I raised an eyebrow at her questionably. Did she do this because she wanted to get Chris' attention? For some reason, that made me feel a little mad.

But soon we arrived at the front door, with the Sodor sign still hanging from it. For some reason, Amy smiled when she saw this.

"Ah, that brings me back. I wish I had a sign like that," she said with a smile.

"Why?" I asked as I rang the doorbell.

She looked at me like I was asking if she was a boy or a girl. "You did have a childhood right?"

Before I could comment on that, the door quickly opened. Chris stood in the frame, still wearing his blue jeans and hoodie. His smile showed off his gleaming white teeth, which caused me to stare.

"Glad you could make it Jess." He looked over at Amy with a welcoming smile. "And this must be your friend. Nice to meet you, my name is Chris."

He held out his hand, which Amy eagerly took. Her eyes were locked right on him, and sparkled with wonder. "Nice to meet you to, my name is Amy."

I watched the two, with a frown starting to form on my face. The whole scene got me feeling down inside, and I had the sudden urge to tackle Amy to the ground.

I had a feeling Chris could sense this, because he quickly ended the handshake. "Well, uh, come on in. Hillary and Veronica are in the kitchen making treats."

Chris stepped aside, allowing me and Amy to walk inside. I looked around the area, amazed by what I saw.

Pictures of steam trains were all over the walls. Passenger trains, freight trains, coaches, cars, coal hoppers, and everything else that was on a railway. Occasionally there was a picture of Chris and his sisters, but it was mostly trains.

The furniture was all old fashioned, likely coming from the 1940's. A modern TV system sat in a corner, currently turned to the History Channel. (How many shows about WW2 can you show?)

"Wow…you guys sure do love trains," I said as I walked into the living room. Amy fallowed close behind me.

"Yeah, my family has an interest in them. My father's the real train nut, but I guess we had to get something from him," said Chris with a small laugh.

As I looked around the room, I noticed something above the fireplace. It was a model of a…what was it called…oh yeah, tender engine. It was green, with four wheels on the front, four in the middle, and a tender at the back. There was a small nameplate on the stand it was on, and I had to squint my eyes to read it.

"City of Truro…what engine was that?" I asked.

Chris walked over to the model, eyeing it with fascination. "It was, supposedly, the first engine to ever reach 100mph. I know a lot of people think Flying Scotsman was the first, but I really don't care. City of Truro, first or not, is still a great engine."

"That sounds cool. I always loved trains as a kid. My dad had a model trainset that he'd let me play with sometimes," said Amy, beaming grandly at Chris.

Chris smiled, but edged away slowly. "That's…great."

I rolled my eyes at the scene. But before I could say anything, Hillary walked into the room, followed by Veronica. They had plates filled with cupcakes balanced on their arms.

"Welcome Jess and friend to our humble home," said Hillary as she placed the plates on the coffee table.

"Telling them about Truro," asked Veronica as she placed her plates down to.

Chris ran a hand through his hair. "They asked, so I informed them. I didn't do it out of nowhere Veronica."

Hillary picked up a cupcake and became devouring it. "Well it wouldn't surprise me if you did." She looked over at us. "You don't have to be shy; go ahead and dig in. We've made plenty."

Chris and Veronica each took a cupcake and began eating to. "Alright," said Amy as she did the same.

I smiled at the whole thing. For the first time since I moved here, I felt like I had real friends.

So I picked up a cupcake and began chatting with the four of them.

And two hours later, my fingers were covered in frosting and my belly was fit to burst.

"Wow, that was some good cupcakes," said Amy, who was lying on the couch. Frosting covered her mouth and fingers, and surprisingly her nose and ear too.

"I agree, but it was pretty messy," I said, looking at my frosted fingers. "Do you guys have a bathroom I can use? I want to get this stuff of my hands."

Chris, who was helping collect the plates, pointed to a set of stairs and lead up. "Upstairs, first door on your left, can't miss it," he said.

"I think I'll go with you," said Amy, who was slowly getting up from the couch. "I think I might have some frosting in my ear."

The five of us laughed at the comment. But then Chris looked at me with a serious expression. "One more thing: don't go into any other rooms up there."

I smiled smugly at him. "What, you don't want me to go into your room and see your My Little Pony collection?"

Hillary and Veronica giggled at the joke, but Chris remained serious. "Just promise me you won't go into any other rooms."

I looked at him, a little concerned with the tone he was using. "Yeah, sure, I'll stay out."

"Good," said Chris, giving me a playful punch on the arm. "Get back down here soon. We're going to be making Ice Cream sundaes next."

My stomach let out a groan of protest, but I ignored it. After tasting those cupcakes, I could move some room for Ice Cream.

"Come on Amy, let's get cleaned up," I said as I walked towards the stairs. Amy, slowly, fallowed along behind me.

Once we climbed the stairs, we found ourselves in a long hallway. Doors lined the walls, with all but the bathroom door closed. More pictures of trains hung along the walls, and a table with books sat a few feet away.

"Looks like a hallway from a haunted house," I said as I walked into the bathroom. It was fairly big with hanging lush towels and a gleaming bathtub.

"You ever notice these guys live a pretty good life. I mean, the whole house seems to have an old rich feel to it," said Amy as we washed our hands. Amy splashed water on her face to get the frosting off.

"Well maybe their dad has a pretty good job. Probably a doctor or a scientist," I said, drying my hands.

"Maybe we should ask them," said Amy.

"I guess," I said as we walked out of the bathroom.

We were turning for the stairs, when we heard something. It was the squeak of an old door opening slowly. I looked along the hallway, and saw a door slightly ajar a few doors down.

Amy began to walk towards the door. "Amy, what are you doing," I asked.

"I just want to see what this room is. Plus, shouldn't I close the door too," she asked as she got closer.

I mentally cursed myself and walked up to the door. There was a sign on the front that read Study.

"See, just a study. Now let's go back downstairs," I said hurriedly. We were already breaking the one rule Chris had asked us to follow.

Amy put her hand on the door, and then looked at me. "Come on Jess, a little look wouldn't hurt. There might be something in here that tells us what Chris' dad does."

I didn't want to go snooping around Chris' house, much less a place like this. But a small tug at the back of my head told me to check it out. What's the harm? You'll just have a look then leave. It wouldn't be so bad, and Chris doesn't have to know.

"Well," asked Amy with a raised eyebrow.

I looked at the floor, and then up at Amy. "We'll have a quick look, and then we head back down."

"Awesome," said Amy. She pushed the door open, and then we both walked in.

I couldn't see inside the room. The lights were off, and the hallway light didn't give us much to work with.

"Let's see…ah, here's the light switch," said Amy. I heard a click before being blinded by light.

I blinked my eyes while they adjusted to the light. When they did, I looked around the room.

"Wow."

The whole room was very, very large. A large and colorful carpet covered the floor. Bookshelves ran along the length of the walls. At the other end of the room sat a large oak desk with a computer and desk lamp. Papers lay in neat stacks at the end, while a box of pens sat on the other end.

To the right of the door sat a large glass display case. I walked over to it and peered inside. Sitting underneath the glass was small model trains, like the one downstairs.

There was a large blue tender engine with a number 4 on the tender. Another blue tender engine sat next to it, with a number 9 on its tender. Behind them sat four small engines all in a row. They had the names painted on their sides, but I couldn't read them. They were also all painted red.

"Hey, check out this Jess," called Amy.

I looked to my right, and saw Amy standing over a large table. Small buildings sat around it, with green hills rising in around them. I walked over and stood next to Amy.

"This is a great railway," said Amy.

I hadn't noticed it, but now I saw all the train tracks that ran along the table. Different kinds of trains were sitting on the track or in a shed. There was a long green diesel engine, and a red tender engine at a station. A black diesel was pulling wagons of stone down a small track.

But what caught my eye was a small engine at the other end. It was long, and painted blue with a number 1 on its side. Two brown coaches sat behind it as it waited at a station.

"Guess this explains all the model trains," I said. It was almost scary how interested in trains Wilbert was.

Amy looked up from the table, and instead scanned the bookshelves. But she stopped when she got to the part behind the desk. "Hey, look at that."

She walked over to the desk, and I quickly fallowed her. I saw that a whole bookshelf had been placed behind the desk, with its own lighting. Brown leather books sat in rows along the shelves, each with a tag on the spine.

As Amy looked at the books, I saw her eyes widen. Her mouth dropped open so wide a whole orange could fit inside.

"Woah, look at these. Tramway Engines, Duck and The Diesel Engine…WOAH, Thomas the Tank Engine," said Amy as she pulled a book off the shelf. The label on the front said Thomas the Tank Engine.

"What are these," I asked as I looked over the other books. Strangely, they all had the word ENGINE in the title.

Amy looked over at me, still with a face of shock. "What, you can't be serious."

I looked nervously at her. "Uh, I am serious."

Amy sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "These are all Railway Series books. My mom used to read them to me when I was little. Once I got back into reading, I read them myself so I could understand them better."

"Uh, what are they about?"

"Seriously, did you even watch the TV show?" asked Amy.

I just looked at the ground nervously. Amy sighed loudly, before putting the book back on the shelf.

"These look like they're the manuscripts for the books. Chris' dad must be a huge fan to be able to get all of them. Why'd you think the Rev. W. Awdry sold all of them?"

"Who," I asked as I looked at the other books.

"The Rev. W. Awdry; he's the one who wrote the Railway Series books. He disappeared a few years ago, and no one's be able to contact him since. I would love to meet him one day," said Amy.

As she looked among the other titles, she smiled at one near the top. She pulled it out and looked at the cover happily.

"Hey look at his, Percy the Small Engine! I loved this book growing up. I still remember the song that the driver sang to Percy when he beat Harold in a race."

"Please don't start singing," I said, holding a hand up. "Listen, we should head back down. Chris will wonder where we are."

Amy didn't seem to hear me, because she was examining the book with a look of confusion. "Hey, why are these all locked?"

I looked down at the book, and saw what she meant. A small latch with a lock was attached to the outer binding of the book.

"Maybe Awdry didn't want the original copies to get dirty. Now come on, we have to go," I said, moving around the desk.

"But just think of what the words look like beneath the cover. Original words, not touched by editors and publishers," said Amy.

I groaned, and looked around the desk. There were just papers, pens…and a key. It sat under a glass dome near the computer. I picked up the dome and grabbed the key. Walking around the desk, I grabbed the book, put the key in, and turned it until it clicked open.

"There, read till you're sick. Now let's go!"

I quickly walked around the desk and headed for the door. Amy followed behind me, giggling with glee. I turned off the light, and once Amy was out, I quietly shut the door.

"This is awesome," said Amy, eyeing the book like a kid eyeing a candy bar.

"I find it strange you're excited to read a kids book," I said as he headed for the stairs.

"Hey, don't hate." said Amy.

I rolled my eyes as the two of us walked down the stairs.

Amy and I walked into the kitchen. Chris sat at the counter with bowl full of Ice Cream. Sprinkles and chocolate syrup covered the top, while whipped cream was at the bottom. Hillary and Veronica were both making their own sundaes at the table.

"There you are," said Chris when we walked in. "What took you so long?"

I tried to smile and not look nervous. "We just, had a lot of frosting on us."

"I told you we put on too much," said Veronica.

"Alright, you were right. I'll listen to you next time," said Hillary, rolling her eyes.

"So are you two ready to make some awesome sundaes?" asked Chris.

"You bet," said Amy as she took a seat at the counter. "I can eat something sweet and read a good book to."

Chris smiled, keeping his eyes on his sundae. "Sounds great to me; nothing like reading a good book. What book is it?"

"Only one of the best kids' books every; Percy the Small Engine."

CLANK.

I looked over at the sound of the noise. Veronica and Hillary sat frozen at the table. Their eyes were wide open, and their mouths started shaking. Their spoons sat on the ground below them.

Chris was the exactly the same as his sisters.

"What…what book did you say it was?" he asked. I could hear the fear in his voice. It was the most I'd see/heard someone frightened in my whole life.

"Percy the Small Engine, you know from the Railway Series. But this one's special, because it looks like it's the manuscript. That means no changes to the original story," said Amy. She grabbed the front cover eagerly.

But suddenly, Chris lunged at Amy. His eyes were in full focus, and his arms reached for the book on the counter.

"DON'T OPEN THAT!" he screamed.

But it was too late. Amy pulled the front cover open.

What happened next was almost too fast to witness, but I was able to see everything.

As soon as the front cover opened, a bright blue light shown out of it. Amy and I covered out eyes, but Chris looked unaffected. But what came next was even stranger.

I heard was sounded like a bell ring. Then something slammed into my and pushed me against the wall. The book flew off the counter and landed on the floor. The blue light grew brighter and the wind started to pick up.

Hillary and Veronica started at the book with the fear someone would have when being robbed. Veronica held onto Hillary, who was almost frozen with fear.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" screamed Chris.

Hillary took a second to register this, but then she rushed to a door near the book. She yanked it open, and I saw what look at the back yard beyond it.

I saw Chris run towards the book, but he didn't pick it up. Instead he gave it a swift kick with his foot. The book flew through the open door and landed in the backyard.

Chris rushed to the door, with Hillary and Veronica joining him. My legs felt like jelly, but I ran over to them to. Amy staggered over to us. She held her head tightly, but I didn't see any blood. She probably had a bad headache.

I looked outside towards the book, but it almost wasn't visible. It looked like a miniature tornado was swirling around the book. Then, the lines from the book began to MOVE! The letters swirled around the tornado, and soon the whole thing was completely black.

And that's when I heard the sound of whirling blades. Looking above the tornado, I saw three blades beginning to form from the letters. Soon a cockpit followed, then the lower body. Finally, as the tornado died down, two large floatation devices attached themselves to the bottom of the object.

When the tornado disappeared, I looked up at the object. It was large white helicopter with red lines painted on it. It's rotter blades spun around, keeping it in the air. I couldn't see anyone in the cockpit, so who was piloting it?

But then I looked at the front of it, and nearly screamed.

On the front of the helicopter was a FACE! It had it's eyes closed and mouth shut. It could have been sleeping…but then it opened it's eyes.

"Wha…what…what happened?"

My mouth hung open as I stared at this…this…thing. "Chris, what is going on?"

Chris quickly put a hand to my mouth, making sure I didn't say another word.

"Don't say anything. He'll harm us if he sees us. Keep absolutely…"

"OH MY GOSH! IT'S HAROLD THE HELICOPTER!"

Me and Chris looked and saw Amy with the biggest smile on her face. Her cheeks turned red, and she hopped up and down eagerly.

"Hu, somebody call my name," asked Harold as he turned towards us.

As he did, I saw that a smile was plastered on his face. Maybe, since he was from a kid's book, he'll be alright.

How wrong could I be?

When he turned to look at us, his smile disappeared. Instead, his eyes narrowed, and his smile became a frown. His eyebrows slid down, making him look REALLY mad.

"Christopher…Hillary…Veronica. It's been a while hasn't it?"

Chris rubbed his arms nervously, while Veronica hid behind a very scared Hillary.

"Harold, hey buddy. Yeah, has been a while. Uh, how ya feeling?" asked Chris nervously.

"Oh I'm feeling fine, at least I am now. You wouldn't know how bad it is being locked in a book, would you," asked Harold angrily.

Chris rubbed the back of his head. "No, not really. But hey, no hard feelings right?"

"Ha, ha, ha…of course there are." said Harold with an evil smile.

Suddenly, Harold's rotor blades began to spin faster. The wind swirled around the yard, blowing dust everywhere. A few flowerpots were plucked off the ground, before being flung far. One smashed through an upstairs window, and I swore I could hear the sound of something crashing to the ground.

Harold leaned over, making his rotor blades only a few inches from the ground. He quickly turned left, his blades coming right at us. "Bye Bye," he said.

"Not now," said Chris. He grabbed me and Amy and pulled us into the house. Hillary grabbed Veronica and ran in after us. The wooden porch we were on became splinters as the blades cut through it.

Harold rightened out and glared at us through the doorway. "You can't stay in that house forever kids. Until then, I'm got some flying to do."

And with that, Harold turned away and flew up into the sky.

My breathing was becoming faster, and my brain was all but fried. I had just watched a make-believe helicopter fly out of a book. Not only that, he had tried to kill us!

Chris was lying next to me, with Amy on his other side. Hillary and Veronica sat slumped against the doorframe, both breathing heavily. All their eyes were wide with shock.

"Chris," I said, my voice cracking "what just happened?"

But instead of answering, Chris quickly got up off the floor. Hillary and Veronica got up to, and all of them ran outside.

"Hey, what are you guys doing? He could still be out there!" I screamed as I got up. Amy started getting up, but I ran ahead to catch up with Chris.

He ran up to the now empty book and scooped it up off the ground. "He probably won't go far. I'll fallow with my motorcycle, you two take the car. If you see him, call me and I'll come as fast as I can."

"Keep your ears open; you'll probably hear him before you see him." said Hillary.

"Oh no…dad is so going to kill us," said Veronica nervously.

"That's if Harold doesn't beat us to it," said Chris.

The three of them ran around the house, leaving me and Amy standing in confusion in the back.

"Well…what are we going to do now?" asked Amy.

I thought about everything that was going on. Chris and his sisters were going after that thing, even when it was our fault. I couldn't just leave them like that.

"We're going after them," I said, and began to run the direction they'd gone.

Amy slowly followed behind me, looking nervous. "Couldn't we just go watch a movie?"