Visitor
I received a wonderful review, kindly informing me of the horrendous amount of typos in this story. So I've done some extra editing, hope this is better.
Disclaimer: I don't own the boys, I just play with them...
A splash; and then it was quiet. Gordon held his breath, allowing the diving weights to slowly drag him under. He kept his eyes closed, feeling the silence around him. But this was water, not the emptiness of space his older blond brother loved so much. Sound needed a medium to travel and water qualified as a medium. His ears adjusted like his eyes would to darkness. He could hear the water around him, the waves lapping at the hull of the boat above him; he could almost feel the vibration of life in the water. The faint hum of the ocean, Earths life source, pulsing with energy and being.
Pressure started building to an uncomfortable ache in his ears and he gave in. Drawing in a breath, filling his lungs like a balloon fighting for the surface against his diving weights. Gordon opened his eyes; the water was clear, sunlight casting bright columns of shivering beams into the depths of the ocean around him. He heard a splash and glanced up at his older brother's body breaking through the surface in a billowing cloud of bubbles. He smiled as Virgil struggled to right himself in the sudden weightlessness, arms and legs flailing out in all directions.
Finally Virgil stopped his thrashing and turned his masked face to Gordon, bubbles squirted from his mouthpiece as he signed for okay. Gordon returned his gesture. The artist grabbed for the camera around his neck, checked the screen and kicked off to the reef. The aquanaut remained drifting, allowing the currents to push and pull at his floating limbs. He could hear the music that Alan blasted on the boat above. He closed his eyes and listened. The notes were dulled and distorted but Gordon recognized the melody, although, in that moment, he could not name the song, and in that moment, he did not care. He opened his eyes again and kicked after his brother to the reef.
The artist was going through an aquatic phase. For the past two weeks Virgil's artwork had reflected his new found obsession with the ocean. He had been drawing, painting, even sculpting underwater scenes; his studio was a collage of blue. And when Virgil wasn't painting he turned to Gordon for inspiration. Not that the aquanaut did not enjoy sharing his passion with somebody, but Virgil had become infuriatingly persistent. Constantly nagging the younger man for a more detailed description of a sea cucumber, amongst other things. The redhead had finally deterred his tormentor with a promise of a months' worth of uninterrupted pranks, only to later find that Virgil had pillaged his room for all his marine books. So when Alan returned from his rotation on Thunderbird 5, the terrible two decided to, for once, combine their talent to help a brother. The plan to bring Virgil out to the reef with a camera was probably a new personal best for the pranksters. Here he had an endless supply of live inspiration for his muse.
Gordon glanced up from his own musings; Virgil had found a sea anemone. He had the camera aimed and ready, waiting for the clown fish that had fled for the cover of the tentacles to re-emerge. Gordon smiled, imagining the bright oranges that would be brushed onto a canvas in a few hours and relaxed again. He drifted above the reef, he had spent so much time exploring this jagged piece of rock, he knew every detail, almost better than he knew the control console within Thunderbird 4. He brushed a hand over a piece of rock, feeling the smooth surface, careful to avoid the sea urchin that clung to its surface. This was his home, this is where he belonged.
The hair on Gordon's neck prickled as the water suddenly changed around him. Years of diving experience gave him a keen sense of his surroundings and he could feel a presence approaching. He spun, taking in his surroundings, his hand immediately reaching for the shark stick strapped to his leg. He had never had any trouble with the sharks in the area; he had even named some of the ancient predators that frequented the reef. They had grown accustomed to his presence, sometimes coming close enough for Gordon to run a hand over the glossy body. But Virgil was a bit more skittish and Gordon was not going to experiment with his brother's reactions. His gaze settled on a dark shape far beyond the fore reef, his visibility was limited by the murky water of the deeper sea. He kicked off towards where he had last seen Virgil without taking his eyes off the approaching shadow.
Gordon grabbed onto the older man's arm, bubbles spurted from Virgil's mouthpiece, glaring accusingly at the redhead for startling him. Gordon waved his open palm, turned down, back and forth, something was wrong. He pointed his fist in the direction of the growing figure, revealing the direction from where the danger was coming from. Virgil followed his gesture and the camera dropped from his hands, catching on the sling around his neck. Virgil pointed his thumb up, Gordon shook his head, moving his open palm up and down. Whatever was approaching them was still far away and the aquanaut's curiosity was taking hold of him. They drifted, suspended above the reef, neither diver taking their eyes of the creature swimming toward them, neither diver daring to make a sound.
Gordon felt relief flood through him as he realised that the figure was moving up and down and not sideways. Gordon turned to his brother; he made his hand flat, fingers vertical and placed his thumb against his forehead. He shook his head. Not a shark. Virgil looked sceptical, but he trusted Gordon's experience and nodded. With that Gordon kicked off, swimming toward the approaching shadow. At the fore reef, he stopped and waited. Virgil drifted in next to him. It was a whale, but still too far off to identify.
When the animal finally broke through into the clear water, Gordon found himself once again holding his breath. It took a moment to realise what he was looking at, but he had never imagined that he would ever see one. The massive Southern Right Whale drifted closer to the two divers. Gordon's legs started to move him toward the 80 tonne animal. The whale turned to look at him. Slowly the animal drew closer. Gordon lifted a hand and placed it against the whale's nose. He felt a giddiness surge in his stomach and he had the strangest craving to start giggling and crying at the same time.
Suddenly the whale pulled back and dove into the depths. Gordon watched as the whale disappeared under an overhang on the side of the reef. He looked at Virgil and his brother pulled the camera from his face, shaking his head in awe. Just then a splash rippled through the water and Alan broke through the surface. He was wearing a snorkel and heading toward them. He carried an underwater slate in his hands. Gordon moved closer towards reef so that he could read the illiterate writing of his only younger brother.
'JOHN CALLED STORM APPRO.' There was no more room on the little whiteboard and Gordon filled in the blanks for himself. Signalling okay, he froze at Alan's expression. The blond had dropped his snorkel, his mouth gaping, flooded with salt water, eyes wide. Virgil was grabbing for his camera again. Gordon turned just in time to see the whale emerge again from the depths. The animal ascended with incredible speed and broke through the surface, disappearing almost completely above the surface. A moment of silence passed. The whale crashed back into the ocean, sending a massive wave out in all directions. The force of the displaced water hit the divers and pushed them back over the reef. Gordon splayed his limbs like a skydiver, increasing his body surface and slowing down. The whale looked at the three brothers and suddenly every hair in Gordon's body rippled with vibration as the water was filled with the animal's call. With that, the whale turned and disappeared into the murky water beyond the reef.
The brothers drifted in the water, marvelling at what they had just witnessed. Alan was the first to react when he suddenly flailed in the water and kicked for the surface, the remaining air in his lungs depleted by his muscles. Gordon fought against the laughter boiling in his chest; he was in no mood to choke on his mouthpiece. He made a bowl with his hands, signalling the boat. Virgil signed for okay. They should start heading back before the storm catches them, or worse, before Scott came to get them.
Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think.
Happy new year! 2015, the year of the Thunderbirds Are Go! Lets hope that this one is better than the movie!
CreapyCreature