The Garbage Gremlin - ThomasNATION Fanstory
October 31, 2025
"Bother!" sighed Scruff. "Why isn't this storm letting up? I feel like the wind's about to tip me over!"
"I think it's supposed to kick up until the end of the week." Whiff bemoaned. "And trust me, the sooner it's over, the better. All the rain is turning our rubbish into sludge!"
"Well, at least things can't get any worse, eh?" Scruff chuckled before a gust of wind blew sludge onto his boiler.
"Uh, Scruff?" Whiff stifled laughter. "You've got a little, er..."
"Ah." laughed Scruff. "Well, it's not like I could get any dirtier. It's just a little rubbish anyway."
"Oh, that reminds me," Whiff gasped, "I need to run to the Main Line and pick up some rubbish trucks before the storm gets to it. Mind keeping an eye on things?"
"Yeah, no worries." Scruff smiled. "I'm just gonna be working with the cranes."
"Great." Whiff peeped. "Be careful with them, by the way. I think they're starting to show their age."
As Whiff left, Scruff headed towards the crane next to the compactor with a truck load of rubbish.
"Alright, let's get scrunching!" Scruff declared. Nothing. The crane didn't move an inch. Scruff scowled. "...let's try that again. Let's get scrunching!"
Still, nothing. Scruff was starting to get annoyed. A workman climbed down from the crane. "Hey, what gives? That crane was working perfectly yesterday."
"I don't know what it is," the workman told Scruff. "but the crane's operating system just stopped working. I think it's a gremlin."
Scruff was baffled. He had never heard of a gremlin before. "A what-lin?"
"Trust me, if there's a gremlin in there, we may be in trouble." said the workman. "Those little beasts are nothing but trouble."
Scruff started to get worried. "Beast? There's a beast here?"
"I could be wrong," thought the workman, "but I don't want to take any chances."
The workman left, but Scruff was frazzled. He didn't know about any beasts! But then, he stopped and thought for a second.
"Nah..." Scruff chuckled. "Monsters aren't real. That guy was just making it-"
Scruff was interrupted by a strange noise. Kind of like the tittering of a chipmunk. It was unlike anything Scruff had ever heard before.
"NOPE." Scruff yelled as he raced away from the dump. He wasn't gonna take any chances with whatever hid in there.
Scruff stopped to catch his breath in Knapford Station. He had never been that frightened in his life.
"Scruff?" asked Thomas, who was collecting passengers. "What are you doing here?"
"I think there's a beast in the dump." panted Scruff.
"A beast?" gasped Philip. "In the dump?"
"Yeah. One of the workmen told me there were gremlins in there." Scruff whimpered. "They wrecked one of the cranes."
"Wait a minute, a gremlin?" scowled Thomas, unsure. "Are you sure?"
"I heard a funny noise inside the crane." Scruff explained. "It was so disturbing and scratchy!"
"Oh, dear..." gasped Philip. "I think I heard one of those gremlins fiddling in my radiator the other day!"
"What if the gremlins are going around destroying machines?" Scruff gulped. "And what if me and Whiff are next?"
Gordon laughed. "Scruff, you're being ridiculous. Driver tells me that gremlins are just an excuse when things go wrong."
"Then how would you explain that weird noise?" asked Scruff.
"Maybe the machines are getting rusty?" suggested Thomas. "The rain can do that sometimes."
"Maybe...but I still need to be sure." Scruff declared. "I need someone to check with me."
"Ooh! I'm not busy!" called Philip. "I'll go!"
Scruff and Philip headed into the waste dump. They didn't have a plan on how to defeat the gremlin, but they just knew they had to defeat it.
"Okay. Let's do this." Scruff declared. "Any ideas?"
"What?" gasped Philip. "I thought you had an idea!"
"...so we have no plan."
"No."
"Okay, we're winging this." Scruff sighed. "Now, we don't have long before Whiff gets back. How do we get the gremlin down from the crane?"
Philip thought before an idea rattled in his radiator. "I know! We can knock the crane down!"
"Whoa!" Scruff gasped. "We can't just knock it down! We need those cranes!"
"We can repair it." smiled Philip.
"...good point." Scruff thought. "Fine, if this is what it takes...then let's do it."
Scruff and Philip got into position and got ready to push. That strange noise grew louder and louder.
"It's getting angry!" whimpered Philip. "It's now or never!"
Scruff and Philip started pushing. It took every ounce of brawn they had in them, but they managed to knock it off its hinges. Everything looked all clear...until...
"SCRUFF!" shouted Whiff. "What are you doing!?"
"This is for our safety, Whiff!" Scruff panted as he and Philip knocked down the crane.
"Haha! Yes!" Philip chanted. "Now, let's get the garbage gremlin out of here!"
But from out of the crane crawled...a little squirrel. It was miraculously unharmed, but a little frightened by the day's events as it scurried away.
"A squirrel?" pondered Scruff. "But where's the gremlin?"
"There are no gremlins!" panted Whiff. "I told you, the machinery is old. It was starting to break down."
"...oh." Scruff and Philip realised their mistake.
Scruff and Philip had to raise the crane again once the rain stopped. Sir Topham Hatt was inspecting the damage aboard Toby, and needless to say, he was not happy.
"Scruff the Scruncher," scowled Sir Topham Hatt, "you and Philip are in a great deal of trouble. To say you two caused confusion and delay would be an understatement! What were you two thinking?!"
"Sorry, sir," Scruff explained, "but we thought there was...um...a monster."
"A monster?" laughed Sir Topham Hatt. "Honestly, Scruff. You're usually so sensible. You should've known the cranes were old. And now, you've gone and made the damage-"
"Worse, I know." Scruff sighed.
"Now, you and Philip are to work extra hours to make up for the time lost until the crane is repaired." Sir Topham Hatt finished. "Maybe next time, you'll think before you jump to conclusions."
Scruff and Philip understood. They brought this on themselves.
"I'm so sorry about this, Whiff." Scruff sighed. "I wasn't thinking."
"It's fine." Whiff smiled. "Just as long as no one got hurt."
"Yeah...though, a squirrel did get very confused."
"Besides, we both know we could take a gremlin. Those little guys don't stand a chance against us!"
Whiff, Scruff and Philip laughed and laughed. And as they repaired the crane and worked their extra shifts, Scruff learned to never jump to conclusions again...and also that rain can do a lot of damage to an old crane.
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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