Based on a uncopywrited, uncompleted story by TwistedZero titled "The Engineer" which was abandoned in 2003.

 

Re-Written and Re-Vised by Justyn Case 2008. Characters names and event's have been changed.

 

 

This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters,places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.No harm or slanderous intent is implied or intentional.

 

This story ("Haunting of Michael Haley") contain's some strong language of a graphical nature which may not be suitible for readers under 18 years of age.

 

Haunting of Michael Haley

 

Prologue:

 

 

They say the Devil lit the match, when Micheal Haley jumped the tracks. Sent flying from the stoney wall, his engine like a fireball. Now dead and buried in his train, where still are heard his screams of pain. No longer does he burn his coal but in Sedona River Valley stirs his soul.

 

 

"Derailed in October of 1968, Micheal Haley age 21 at the time was one of only five train-related deaths in the entire history of Riverton. The others were all basically normal, for example one guy had a heart attack while driving a train, just simple things like that, but the story goes.. Michael was chugging along up in the hills, where it gets all steep and rocky and he'd been running that line for about four years so he knew what he was doing. Anyway, there was apparently an explosion, or just a freak break-away of like a million rocks and boulders, because something happened that they never quite explained. A bunch of land gave way under the tracks and the rails snapped and his train went down. The area was charred pretty bad, but they don't know if that was from his train blowin' up, or what. Unfortunately, so much rubble went down with him that after digging about forty feet down, they gave up. It was taking so long and the family just wanted closure. I mean, everybody knew he was down there presumed dead. So, they stopped, gave a brief memorial service and left it as is. Michael's body and his train were never recovered. No memorial marker was ever erected. No investigation of what caused the wreck was ever conducted. He was forgotten. Was Michael still alive in that wreckage? Did Michael hear them digging for him but was too injured to somehow let them know he indeed was alive? Had they not given up and recovered his body and gave him a proper funeral his soul would have been at rest. Yes Michael Haley and his train is still buried there and the mountain side is still charred and black and there are stll a few twisted rails from the wreck of so long ago...evidence of something horrible took place. Now 30 years later Michael Haley is back from the dead. This time he will not be forgotten..

 

Chapter 1

 

Riverton is a major train town. The amount of train tracks in this town is about equal to half the amount of roads. On the way back into town, Stony and I stopped at the only railroad crossing that we'd passed on the way in, as the lights were blinking, the bell was dinging and the bars were down. There were trees all around and the lights gave them an erie throbbing glow. I had stopped my car about ten feet from the tracks. We waited about fifteen seconds and finally I was getting antcy.

 

"Where's the damn train?" I asked leaning over the wheel trying to see down the tracks.

 

At this point there was a sudden jerk of the car and it started slowly creeping toward the rails.

 

"Whoa!" I yelped and just as startled as me.

 

Stony then asked "What was that Justyn?"

 

"I don't....Oh Shit" I said, lifting my foot then hastily slamming it back down on the brake. This is when we heard the first whistle blow. "f**k! Why are we moving?!" I yelled, becoming scared. "Hold On!"

 

I took my foot off the brake and the car started heading to the rails at a very quick pace. As the train came into veiw I damn near jumped on the brake pedal and slammed the transmission into reverse. The train was fifty yards away and gaining speed when I gunned the engine. The train was very very big and long and there were at least 20, maybe 30 cars behind the single Engine. The Engine was one of the old coal burning ones of yesteryear. It looked like the Silveton train in Durango Colorado that takes tourists from Durango to Silverton except this one was bigger, much bigger. The Crossing Bars began to raise and although the tires on my car were squealing and burning out in reverse the car was still very slowly sliding its way toward the tracks. Now I had a 1968 Delta 88 Oldsmobile with a bigass 455 Rocket, 4 barrel, V-8 engine with Posi-Traction and regular 15X tires in front and wide 15X18's on the rear with American Standard Slotted Mag rims and the heavy powerful car was still heading for the tracks like sliding on wet glass. The Crossing Bars were totally vertical the lights and bell doing double-time and the train was like exploding thunder cause it was so loud. The car was about a foot away from the tracks when the Engine was directly in front of us and neither of us capable of rational thought so all we could do was scream and hold on. The train reached a distance of about five feet past the right side crossing lights when a jagged, flickery band of light appeared in an arch around the Engine. The train continued through disappearing as it went but the band stayed in place, seemingly consuming the twenty-some cars that followed the speeding Engine. The Delta 88 stopped dead and then suddenly the entire train was gone. The lights quit flashing. The bell went silent. Stony and I just sat there listening to the slow but steady ker-tunk, ker-tunk, ker-tunk from the left turn signal in the car. Neither of us dared to move. We were paralyzed with fear. A train just came out of nowhere, my car almost drove itself infront of said train and then said train vanished into an archway of white light. This was odd. We just sat there, silently staring straight ahead for I don't know how long.

 

"What just happened?" Stony asked calmly.

 

I took a moment to put my response together then slowly stated

 

"Either we are in the Twilight Zone or we almost got hit by a ... ghost train."

 

Stony nodded Yeah. I restarted the car and slowly but under my total control, drove the car over the tracks and made it safely to the other side. I then slammed the gas pedal to the floor and both rear tires spun and we were off in a flash. Well let me rephrase that. The train was gone in a flash. We left very fast. Like a f**king bat outta Hell. Yeah that sounds better.

 

 

Once in town I spoke finally breaking the silence in the car. "I think I'm gonna need a new set or rear tires sniffing the air in the car which smelled of burning tires."

 

"Nobody's gonna believe us" Stony said simply.

 

"I know" I said "but we're gonna tell somebody anyway right?"

 

"You're damn straight we are" he stated sternly.

 

I gave him a a raised eyebrow then he said

 

"Ummm heh heh wrong choice of wording ?"

 

I just rolled my eyes and said

 

"Always a goof-ball arent ya?"

 

We pulled up to Tanner's house and snuk up to his window and started tapping like crazy till he peeked out his curtain and opened his window and asked

 

"What are you two butt-monkey's doing here at 1 am? Gotta another wacked out idea?"

 

"It's important" Stony finished imposingly.

 

"Fine get your ass's in here" he said sliding the the window open and we hopped on his sill and into his room.

 

"Alright what did you guys do or gonna do" he asked?"

 

"Something just tried to kill us!" Stoney blurted.

 

"What?!" Tanner asked in disbelief and surprise.

 

"Dude, I kid you not!" stated Stony excitedly but serious. "We were out driving around and then we stopped at a railroad crossing but there wasn't any train even though the signals said there oughtta be and then something started .. like--pulling the car onto the tracks! That's when the train appeared outta like nothingness and Justyn threw the car into reverse and he was all peelin' out but the car was still moving and the train kept coming and just as the train got in front of us, the car was like two feet from total decimation then the car stalled out dead and the train disappeared into a tunnel of light and the signals just quit and it was weird as f**k and scary as hell!"

 

Tanner sat there mouth open and eyes cocked kinda funny just staring at Stony the Babbler. I put my hand on Stony's shoulder and said

 

"O.K good work Stony, how 'bout I give it a try?"

 

"O.K" said Stony, ignoring my sarcasm.

 

"Tanner" I started, and he looked right at me. "Everything that the Flash here just told you was exactly true. What we at least believe to have been a ghost train was again we think trying to run us over err sorta."

 

"A ... train ..." Tanner said at length more trying to confirm it to himself than ask us.

 

"A train" said Stony nodding.

 

Tanner closed his eyes and grimaced.

 

"What kind of train?" he asked.

 

"Trans-f**kin'-lucent Tanner! We told you this thing was some kinda f**king ghost thing man!" yelled Stony.

 

"I mean what kind of train was it as in freight, passenger ect Stonewall, and if you don't calm down right now and stop your god damned yellin you can get outta my house cause I dont need my rents waking up and catching you two tweaks in here at this hour!"

 

Tanner shot back putting a certain irritated emphasis on Stony's name.

 

"I'm not sure myself" I said. "It didn't look like anything I'd ever seen...I mean not a modern Freight or Am-Trak Diesel but some kind of Steam Engine, or Locomotive like The Silverton Train in Colorado but bigger. I mean it was f**king huge and definitely not modern."

 

"Wow..." said Tanner rubbing his temples. "You guys are aware of what this sounds like?" he asked making it sound more like a statement.

 

"Of course we are" said Stony. "But we had to tell somebody."

 

"And you do know you can't say anything about this to anybody else right?" Tanner asked.

 

Stony and I stopped for a second and looked at each other in confusion then back to him.

 

"Why not?" I asked.

 

Tanner looked at both of us like he was apalled at our ignorance.

 

"Helll-lllooOO guys. Last night? Cute little couple in their car on the railroad tracks, now they're really on the railroad tracks and nobody knows...." and then, just above a whisper, he finished, "...why?"

 

I turned my head to meet Stony's shocked expression and noticed that his jaw had dropped. I became aware that mine had too.

 

"Oh...my...God," said Stony, looking down at the floor and holding his head up with both hands.

 

"I can't believe we forgot about that" I said to nobody in particular.

 

Tanner's door opened and his brother Jamie came in rubbing his eyes like he'd just gotten up.

 

"Tan-Tan whats all the racket about?" he asked.

 

When he saw Stony and I in the room with Tanner he stopped abruptly and his voice was astonishly awakened though his head still hung at an odd angle, his hand frozen to his eye, the left one darting between the two of us.

 

"Hi guys. W'sup?" he asked.

 

"Hi, Jamie" said Stony from beside the window, sleep much?"

 

"Not when two long haired lunatics are screaming at one o'clock in the morning in my brother's room which is right next to mine" he answered. "Speaking of which, why was that happening?"

 

"You are about to find out" I said to Jamie.

 

"Tanner your car is out back right?" I asked

 

"Uh...yeah?" he said cautiously, his eyes narrowing a bit.

 

"Got plenty gas?" I asked.

 

"Half a tank" he said glancing once to Stony and then back to me.

 

"Good" I started but Stony cut me off.

 

"f**k that!" he said sternly. "I'm not going back there."

 

"Hey Stony! Do want anybody to believe us or not?" I asked loudly. "Look, no one will believe just the two of us but with four witnesses they just might".

 

He was about to protest again but I started in..

 

"Look dude we get over there, we wait for it, we show these guys what happens, if anything even does happen. However instead of being in the car, we will all be sitting near the trees at the side of the road so nothing can happen."

 

Stony looked more agreeable though still not happy. I looked at Jamie and said

 

"Get dressed, we gotta trip to take."

 

In ten minutes Stony , Jamie, Tanner and I were in Tanner's Chevy Lumina. Twenty minutes later we'd made the last turn onto the road that led to the crossing at which Stony and I had witnessed the "event". After a few bends the crossing came into veiw.

 

"O.K now slow down" I said from behind Tanner putting a hand on his shoulder. "Get up to about ten feet away from the tracks then stop the car."

 

He did as he was told and when the proper distance he put the emergency brake on and slapped the console gear shift into park.

 

"Here?" he asked in a slightly tired voice.

 

"Yes Sir" I said, staring straight ahead. "OK now everybody out."

 

"Wait..what?" asked Jamie.

 

"I said get out of the car Jamie. So...get out of the car." I said.

 

At this point Stony and I both had our doors open and by the time we were out Jamie was looking quizzically at Tanner who just shrugged and followed suit. Tanner had gotten about half as far as Stony and I when Jamie stood up out of the car. Suddenly and without any warning at all there was a sinlge "ding" from one of the crossing signal bells. This caught Jamie's attention and he turned where he was and looked at the signal on our side of the road but nothing came of it. He took about four steps away from the car and turned and pushed the door shut. Tanner had gotten to us by now and joined us sitting by the side of the road. It was at this point that the signals were activated both bells and lights. The Crossing Bars wobbled a bit as if something were holding them and keeping them from lowering.

 

"Hey" called Jamie from beside the car "You guys do have great timing."

 

"Jamie get away from there!!" I yelled standing up.

 

The train blew its whistle from the distance and the wind picked up blowing leaves and dust in circles and swirls.

 

"I'm coming" he said, rolling his eyes and taking two more steps to get around the car.

 

Unfortunately Tanner left his driver side window up. I say this was unfortunate because had he left his window down and then when the invisible force had spun Jamie around and picked him up and shoved him head-first into the driver seat the glass wouldn't have been there for him to have to break through. Stony and Tanner jumped to their feet and all three of us simply stunned.

 

"Holy f**k!!" shouted Tanner, running to assist Jamie.

 

"Come ON guys!" he shouted back to us and we snapped back to reality rushing to meet them.

 

The whistle blew again, closer this time. We got to the car, Tanner frantically asking Jamie if he was O.K., and Jamie, only semi with it, was mumbling something in return about not knowing. The Crossing Bars on the signals suddenly received a bright jolt of electricity and were blown off. The wind was ferocious now, nothing at all like the circumstances of the earlier encounter. Tanner had been trying helplessly to open the door but it wouldn't budge.

 

"Grab his ankle, grab his ankle," I directed and we each pushed Jamie's legs down under the steering column.

 

I reached in and grabbed one of his hands and pulled him into a sitting position. The car jerked.

 

"Oh shit, not this again!" yelled Stony, his hands running through his hair as he stood behind us, unable to help for lack of room.

 

"Take an arm," I hollered and Tanner yelled back that he had one.

 

The car began to move forward as we had Jamie pulled halfway out of the car. Stony ran in front of it and gave a loud "Oh, shit!" when he saw the beaming pale blue light of the oncoming train, then ran at the car slamming his hands onto the hood and started to push, slowing the car's pace.

 

"Come on Jamie, you gotta help us out, buddy!" I yelled and he seemed to wake up a bit kicking his legs out from under the wheel.

 

As soon as he had done this the three of us fell back onto the road and seeing as we were out of immediate danger Stony let up off the car and bolted over to us quickly scurrying us off the road. We looked up and saw that the car had been pulled up onto the tracks and stopped and its lights matching the superfast alternating pattern of the signal's. The train came and its noise louder than any other. It looked like Tim Burton had a bad dream about a Steam Engine. It was purple, black, silver and blue, and warped and twisted like no train I'd ever seen, nor you, I'd imagine. The weirdest thing about how it looked though was that you could just barely see right through it. It smashed right through the car crumpling it like tin foil, ripping it in half and sending shards of metal spinning and flipping as far as fifteen feet around although no explosion occurred. About twenty feet past the car the train's emergency brake switched on and the train slid another fifty feet before completely stopping. (Now how could a train of that size stop so quickly when usually it takes over a mile to stop a train going as fast as this one was going had really tripped me out.) We laid there in total shock, the four of us hudled together, yet strewn upon the grass beside the road. Slowly the train back tracked until the Engine was a good fifteen feet behind the spot where it smashed Tanner's car. We all uncovered our heads enough to look up and see the train when it hissed loudly as it came to a complete stop. There was a moment's pause and then a voice boomed out over the area. A deep voice, but not Freddy Krueger, or Darth Vader deep. It was even more gravely and mad , (no not mad but PISSED) and deep, but it was definitly scary to everybody.

 

 

"OK that's it!!" the voice said loud as the Fourth of July.

 

"I got one good hit in and then the next two were f**kin' blood free in the same f**kING night!! Well no more giving you f**ker's head starts. From now on if I see somebody on the tracks ... BAM!!! They're f**king DEAD...!"

 

The sounds of gears moving and steam hissing were heard and the voice added with a faint chuckle

 

"Heh heh....See you kids later."

 

Then starting at the light at the front of the Engine the train was consumed in a bright bluish-white light and vanished. The four boy's rose to their feet not breaking from their stupified gaze toward where the transparent train had been not one minute ago.

 

"What the f**k is going on here?" murmured Tanner.

 

"Oh...my...God," said Jamie.

 

The first two words were normal enough but "God" came out more like "Goo-awwwd" and it sounded like he was about to throw up.

 

"Dude...are you OK?" I asked.

 

"Yeah" Jamie said

 

"Tanner, we oughtta get you to a hospital to get checked out" I said in a concerned voice.

 

"I don't need a goddamned hospital!" he yelled, shoving past me and walking stiffly toward the wreckage on the tracks.

 

"THE CAR...is what needs the hospital!"

 

He got right beside what was left of what used to be the back end of Tanner's car and held his hands out uselessly and dropped to his knees.

 

"We are so dead." he stated calmly then looking at the destruction before him.

 

"Hey Jamie, you're lucky you got out in time," said Tanner coming up behind him.

 

He was about to put his hand on his brother's shoulder but Jamie turned his head just enough so that he could barely see Tanner's oncoming hand.

 

"Don't even start in with that kinda bullshit Tan." he snapped.

 

Tanner pulled his hand back wincing a bit.

 

"At least if I was in the car right now or rather spread out with the car right now you guys could explain this. But like this? "Jamie, how did this happen?' Oh umm well see it's funny story dad, one of Tanner's f**k-brained friends told us to leave the car as bait for a psychopathic GHOST TRAIN'!!!"

 

Jamie turned back to the wreckage and looked ahead of him. It was not mangled car parts that he saw but a pair of old scuffed up brown boots. This was new. Slowly he looked upward. He saw the ragged old jeans, the frumpled violet-pink, puce-like colored button-up shirt, the purple bandana tied around the neck, the gnarled, angry, half flesh-ridden face, with what skin was left being a gray-purple color, and the tall, dark gray engineer's hat. Behind the figure the train sat motionless. He was scared shitless.

 

"Who's your daddy now you little f**ker?" asked the Ghostly figure.

 

He grabbed Jamie by the collar and pulled him close so that Jamie's nose was only inches away from where the tip of the Ghostly figure's nose would've been had it not been decayed already.

 

"You got a bloody future alright boy!" He began to laugh and started to lift Jamie by the collar.

 

I picked up a long jagged piece of wreckage and speared the Ghostly f**ker in such a way that Steven Seagal himself would be proud. The Ghostly Engineer doubled down releasing Jamie and falling right on his back.

 

"Yesssss!!" Tanner screamed throwing a fist in the air.

 

"Get the f**k outta there!!!" screamed Stony.

 

We had of course made plenty of space between us and the tracks.

 

"Let's go!" he yelled.

 

But it was only now that Jamie's brain was clear enough to allow him to scream which was he started to do. The Ghostly Engineer had already started to stand when I grabbed Jamie by the arm and yelled

 

"Move it!".

 

Thankfully it registered that time and Jamie took off with Stony leading the way. The Ghostly Engineer stood up fully and watched us all make a b-line around the bend. We could hear him laughing for at least a quarter mile further wether it was the echo or just him being that strong winded. Once we stopped hearing him we all slowed down, weak and scared. Jamie fainted. We were all sweating and out of breath and Stony was kneeling in the right lane of the road, Tanner was holding Jamie in a sitting position, and me bringing up the end of the group just beside the road. We knew there was no way we could run any more especially if we had Jamie's dead weight to take along.

That's when we heard it.

 

To Be Continued?