Thunderbirds Are Go!
The Further Adventures
By Lee Homer
Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.
On Guy Fawkes Night
by Gordon Tracy
I love Guy Fawkes night. It's one British tradition that I make sure I never miss. This year even, however, was set to be special from the start, but not always for the right reasons. I took the night off to attend of the displays at a Heritage Park in London. Lady Penelope accompanied me to it as she was... you know... my date for the evening. We had been seeing each other for almost a year now and had decided to make things official. I love spending time with her, so much so that we decided to celebrate our new found relationship after the event had ended. You should have seen the number of people who left their homes to attend this thing. Young families with their glow sticks pierced the dark cold night that surrounded us. As soon as the bonfire was lit, it became quite cozy.
We stood there near the front of the fence. I had wrapped my arms around Penelope to keep her warm as we admired the bright magnificent fire in front of us. Not once did we think that anything could go wrong. While we waited for the fireworks to start, we stood there and discussed where we were going to go afterward.
"So, where were we thinking of going afterward? Hopefully, Parker bought something to keep him occupied for a while?"
"Well, I can't get too drunk, if that's what you're thinking," Penelope said playfully. "I have a meeting to go to tomorrow and I don't want a hangover for it. Maybe we can get a take out and take it back to mine?"
"You and your takeouts." I chuckled. "Why don't invest in one and run it someday?"
She looked at me with a confused expression. "Are you serious?"
"I think "Lady P's Pizza Express" has a distinct ring to it," I added.
"Me and my takeouts?" She replied. "More like you and your Pizza."
"I'm sure I was Italian in a previous life," I said.
Just as she leaned in to kiss me, My ears tuned in to the sound of screams coming from the bonfire. I jerked myself back, prompting Penelope to listen out for the sound herself. Sure enough, the cries came again, only this time it was a distinct call for help. We battled our way through the crowd of confused people as we searched for the venue's security stewards. A steward, wearing a glow in the dark orange vest, had already seen to the source of disturbance and was trying to keep the crowds at bay. He was trying to calm a frantic woman. Penelope approached them and offered to help calm the distraught parent.
"It's okay. What's going on here? We're from International Rescue." She said.
The scared woman looked up at her. Her tear stained eyes conveyed the severity of the situation.
"I can't find my son." She said. "He wanted to get a look at the bonfire but I lost him in the crowd. The man here said that he saw a kid crawl under the fence. I hope it's not my son. Please find him!?"
Watching Penelope trying to console this poor woman made my stomach drop. I just had a hunch that her son had wandered by the bonfire and was now in serious danger. I looked out across the dark field and sure enough, there he was. This small child had wandered too far. He was just standing there, fixated with the bonfire. As I tried to guess his distance from the crowd, another steward came up to us and reported an even greater problem.
"We have a situation, we can't stop the auto sequence for the fireworks. They're primed to launch in five minutes."
"But we can't fire them. There's a kid out there!"
The sudden development sent the mother into an even bigger frenzy. I couldn't call base to help. They wouldn't have made it in time which meant that I had to improvise.
"Ma'am. I'm going to retrieve your son." I said as I walked up to them.
"Gordon, No! Are you crazy!" Penelope screamed as panic set in. "You'll never reach him in time!"
"Penelope, We can't just stand here and do nothing!" I replied as I handed her my coat. "It's now or never."
Without another word, I began to scale the fence. My International Rescue skills kicked in. It was pretty interesting in a bizarre way because I could vividly remember seeing my eyes adjust to dark within a matter of seconds. The kid remained in my sight. The dance of the flames had placed him in a trance-like state. I bolted towards him as fast as I could. It was hard to keep momentum because the ground was soggy from the day's rainfall. My clothes felt heavy. I had never done an impromptu rescue before.
As I got closer towards him, the young boy's facial features became clearer. If only he knew the danger that he gotten himself into. He skidded over to him, saving valuable seconds and scooped him up in my arms. The sudden move snapped him out of his trance as he looked up at me with confusion and fear.
"Who are you? Where's my mum?" He asked with a tremble.
"Hey. It's okay. My name's Gordon." I replied calmly. "I'm from International Rescue. Quickly. Your mum is waiting for you."
However, the boy was more concerned about something else. "Okay. Is my mum mad at me?"
I had to think of a quick answer. "She'll be happy once I get you back. Come on. Let's get you back."
Carrying him, we made the run back towards the fence. The problem was, carrying him had slowed me down even more. Sweat poured down my face along with a gradual shortness of breath. I was getting too old for this, but in hindsight, I was being a bit melodramatic. We were almost there, when all of a sudden, I slipped on the wet grass and lost my balance. The boy leaped out of my arms as I rolled along the ground. My arm hurt at that point. I had landed on it pretty bad.
"Run!" I shouted at the kid. "I'm right behind you!"
The frightened kid continued to run towards the fence that was just a few yards away by this point. I picked myself up and hurried along. When we finally reached the fence, I had the painful task of hoisting the kid on my shoulders. Carefully and cautiously, he began to climb the fence and back down towards the awaiting stewards and his mother. Despite Penelope's constant cries to get hurry me along, I didn't climb. Not until I knew that the boy had gotten down safely. Penelope called out again.
"Hurry it up! The Fireworks are going off in ten seconds!"
My Adrenaline finally caught up with me, giving me that boost to scale the fence. Just as I made it to the top, a huge explosion took me by surprise. I turned round to see the amazing, Fireworks erupt from where I had previously fallen. I climbed back down towards the crowd as the people were captivated by the spectacular colors. I watched as the boy ran into his Mother's arms. Then Penelope ran into mine. She buried her head in my chest.
"You are such an idiot." She said, looking up at me. "And I love you for it!"
I kissed her gently. "You love me for being an idiot? That's a first."
We then turned to look at the fireworks that had lit up the night's sky. While we calmed down with a hot drink, Penelope then said something that I never thought I would here.
"You know, you proved something tonight."
"Oh really? What's that?"
"You proved to everyone here that International Rescue doesn't always need the Thunderbirds and all these gadgets. Sometimes all you need is motivation and assurance with some common sense on the side."
She was right. See these events only become dangerous if you don't follow the signs. Fireworks and bonfires maybe an amazing to look at and appreciate, but the barrier fences are there for a reason. They are there for your protection. Now I'm not saying that it was the mother's fault that her son wondered over towards the fire. That's not my place to say, but it serves as a warning to what could happen. Have fun and Stay safe.
That's pretty much it. Once the show ended we went and got our pizza. There's nothing to tell after that because of... well that's private. Why don't you all stick around? I'm sure that my brothers have some interesting stories to tell.
End.