They may as well tie me to a chair with an unyielding metal rope, for the
restraint I feel isn't much better. The inside of Thunderbird 2 isn't an
enjoyable place to be when all the action is on the other side of the
substantial green walls. I press myself against the thick glass, trying
desperately to see what is happening below. The craft's bulk restricts my
view and all I can make out is what is happening in the distance.
I lower myself into Virgil's chair, knowing if he were around he'd make me get out of his seat faster than I could even place my hands on the wheel. I lean back and stare out at the burning building in front of me, the flames licking at the foggy sky and debris falling from hundreds of feet above the ground. Clouds of smoke billow from the broken windows as people buzz around below, curious about the men in blue that have just disappeared into the skyscraper.
Gordon and Virgil only let me come along because I protested staying home so heavily. Alan's in Thunderbird 5 for the month and John's been ordered to stay in bed because of his sprained ankle. I keep telling him he has to have Brains fix the gravity control - one false move and it gives out entirely, which is exactly what happened. Poor John got half the control panel on his foot while he was trying to fix it. Jeff and my father are busying themselves with anything they possibly can to keep their minds off the rescue and hanging around in a quiet house with two worried men isn't my idea of fun.
I'd much rather be where the action is, at the danger zone itself.
I see a flash of light as another strand of yellow-orange fire hisses through the doorway, reaching out to anyone in its limits. The onlookers scream and jump back but don't make any moves to leave the site entirely. Through one of the windows, a blur of light blue catches my eye and I turn my head towards it. I can make out Virgil's running form as he chases after a young child trying to get away from the stranger wanting to catch him. I smile despite the danger the youngster is in and can almost hear Virgil's calm voice rising in pitch as he yells reassuring words to the kid.
They disappear around a corner and I lower my gaze to the parking lot below, seeing Gordon emerge covered in soot. He has a young woman in his arms, and before she can even show her gratitude after he's set her down, he vanishes back inside the blazing structure. I watch in amusement as Virgil dumps the squabbling child he was pursuing next to the woman, who I assume is his mother, and hurries after his auburn-haired brother.
What happens next is something I, peacefully sitting in my seat, am not prepared for. The top of the building caves in, taking most of the remaining floors with it. I jump out of the chair, and yell the two Tracy's names in anguish. I don't know where they are, and, worst of all, whether they are safe or even still alive.
Ashes float like paper on the breeze, surrounding the crushed apartments as I stare, riveted in place, at the horrible scene unfolding before my eyes. People are crying, screaming at their fellow spectators about inhabitants of the building, wondering, just as I am, if they've gotten out in one piece. I find tears of my own falling noiselessly down my cheeks, concerned and mourning the individuals that I know have been exterminated by the roaring inferno.
It seems like an eternity before I distinguish two men in matching blue outfits leaving the building. Almost as soon as they've escaped the fire, the rest of the edifice is consumed by the blaze. I watch in horror as the remnants explode and realize that anyone who had not gotten out before the blast is most certainly dead now. I wipe hurriedly at my tears, relief flooding through my body now that I know both Virgil and Gordon are safe. I don't want them to see me crying, it may upset them even more.
They join me in the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 a few minutes later, and I can tell by the disheartened expressions on their faces that they too are feeling the pain of failure. We stand in a triangle, me by my seat at the back, Gordon by his and looking down at the map laid out on the control panel and Virgil next to the chair I had just been sitting in. We stare at each other in silence, unsure of what to say.
I can see the tears in Gordon's golden eyes as he turns his head away and I know mine must mirror the emotion. The forlorn look Virgil is wearing as he glances out the window at the heap of rubble beneath his craft confirms my suspicions that they hadn't managed to get everyone out before the building buckled on top of them.
"How many?" I croak hoarsely.
"Eleven saved, twenty six still unaccounted for." Virgil answers, his words gruff and uneven as he tries to hold back tears.
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
He shakes his head. "The police ordered us out of the way and we had no choice but to listen to them. There's nothing more we are able to do."
I choke down a sob, knowing this must be one of the worst failures International Rescue has ever suffered. Knowing also that we're helpless now and that so many lives were placed in our hands only to be lost in such a tragedy renders guilt in my system. I was up here, all alone in the cockpit, while they were salvaging what lives they could amidst the sweltering heat from the flames. I wish now that I had griped against their commands to stay on the ship.
Gordon hasn't said anything, and as he turns back to us I can see the trails of wetness on his cheeks. My own tears escape once again as I think of the poor people killed in the fire and how I let them down by not assisting the two brothers. Gordon comes to me and I hug him tightly, crying freely into his shoulder, not able to hold it in any more. I can feel him trembling against me as he tries to compose himself.
Within seconds, another body is a part of our embrace and I wrap one arm around Virgil as we stand there, holding onto each other, thankful for our lives more than ever at that moment. We pray together for those whose existences were stolen by the conflagration, for their families and for the survivors.
I look up at the two crying brothers and, not for the first time, see them as heroes. Virgil and Gordon risked themselves for others and because they didn't accomplish what they set out to do, are grieving for those they disappointed by not pulling through. I know the responsibility they're feeling won't soon leave, but I console myself with the knowledge that the entire world thanks them for their loyalty.
If it weren't for them, the eleven people that they did manage to save would have met the fates of the others. I push the thoughts out of my mind and hug them both tighter, representing the Earth's population as I thank them myself.
I lower myself into Virgil's chair, knowing if he were around he'd make me get out of his seat faster than I could even place my hands on the wheel. I lean back and stare out at the burning building in front of me, the flames licking at the foggy sky and debris falling from hundreds of feet above the ground. Clouds of smoke billow from the broken windows as people buzz around below, curious about the men in blue that have just disappeared into the skyscraper.
Gordon and Virgil only let me come along because I protested staying home so heavily. Alan's in Thunderbird 5 for the month and John's been ordered to stay in bed because of his sprained ankle. I keep telling him he has to have Brains fix the gravity control - one false move and it gives out entirely, which is exactly what happened. Poor John got half the control panel on his foot while he was trying to fix it. Jeff and my father are busying themselves with anything they possibly can to keep their minds off the rescue and hanging around in a quiet house with two worried men isn't my idea of fun.
I'd much rather be where the action is, at the danger zone itself.
I see a flash of light as another strand of yellow-orange fire hisses through the doorway, reaching out to anyone in its limits. The onlookers scream and jump back but don't make any moves to leave the site entirely. Through one of the windows, a blur of light blue catches my eye and I turn my head towards it. I can make out Virgil's running form as he chases after a young child trying to get away from the stranger wanting to catch him. I smile despite the danger the youngster is in and can almost hear Virgil's calm voice rising in pitch as he yells reassuring words to the kid.
They disappear around a corner and I lower my gaze to the parking lot below, seeing Gordon emerge covered in soot. He has a young woman in his arms, and before she can even show her gratitude after he's set her down, he vanishes back inside the blazing structure. I watch in amusement as Virgil dumps the squabbling child he was pursuing next to the woman, who I assume is his mother, and hurries after his auburn-haired brother.
What happens next is something I, peacefully sitting in my seat, am not prepared for. The top of the building caves in, taking most of the remaining floors with it. I jump out of the chair, and yell the two Tracy's names in anguish. I don't know where they are, and, worst of all, whether they are safe or even still alive.
Ashes float like paper on the breeze, surrounding the crushed apartments as I stare, riveted in place, at the horrible scene unfolding before my eyes. People are crying, screaming at their fellow spectators about inhabitants of the building, wondering, just as I am, if they've gotten out in one piece. I find tears of my own falling noiselessly down my cheeks, concerned and mourning the individuals that I know have been exterminated by the roaring inferno.
It seems like an eternity before I distinguish two men in matching blue outfits leaving the building. Almost as soon as they've escaped the fire, the rest of the edifice is consumed by the blaze. I watch in horror as the remnants explode and realize that anyone who had not gotten out before the blast is most certainly dead now. I wipe hurriedly at my tears, relief flooding through my body now that I know both Virgil and Gordon are safe. I don't want them to see me crying, it may upset them even more.
They join me in the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 a few minutes later, and I can tell by the disheartened expressions on their faces that they too are feeling the pain of failure. We stand in a triangle, me by my seat at the back, Gordon by his and looking down at the map laid out on the control panel and Virgil next to the chair I had just been sitting in. We stare at each other in silence, unsure of what to say.
I can see the tears in Gordon's golden eyes as he turns his head away and I know mine must mirror the emotion. The forlorn look Virgil is wearing as he glances out the window at the heap of rubble beneath his craft confirms my suspicions that they hadn't managed to get everyone out before the building buckled on top of them.
"How many?" I croak hoarsely.
"Eleven saved, twenty six still unaccounted for." Virgil answers, his words gruff and uneven as he tries to hold back tears.
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
He shakes his head. "The police ordered us out of the way and we had no choice but to listen to them. There's nothing more we are able to do."
I choke down a sob, knowing this must be one of the worst failures International Rescue has ever suffered. Knowing also that we're helpless now and that so many lives were placed in our hands only to be lost in such a tragedy renders guilt in my system. I was up here, all alone in the cockpit, while they were salvaging what lives they could amidst the sweltering heat from the flames. I wish now that I had griped against their commands to stay on the ship.
Gordon hasn't said anything, and as he turns back to us I can see the trails of wetness on his cheeks. My own tears escape once again as I think of the poor people killed in the fire and how I let them down by not assisting the two brothers. Gordon comes to me and I hug him tightly, crying freely into his shoulder, not able to hold it in any more. I can feel him trembling against me as he tries to compose himself.
Within seconds, another body is a part of our embrace and I wrap one arm around Virgil as we stand there, holding onto each other, thankful for our lives more than ever at that moment. We pray together for those whose existences were stolen by the conflagration, for their families and for the survivors.
I look up at the two crying brothers and, not for the first time, see them as heroes. Virgil and Gordon risked themselves for others and because they didn't accomplish what they set out to do, are grieving for those they disappointed by not pulling through. I know the responsibility they're feeling won't soon leave, but I console myself with the knowledge that the entire world thanks them for their loyalty.
If it weren't for them, the eleven people that they did manage to save would have met the fates of the others. I push the thoughts out of my mind and hug them both tighter, representing the Earth's population as I thank them myself.