Summary: Alan and Tin-Tin go exploring in one of the caves on Tracy Island. When they discover a new tunnel, it leads the residents of Tracy Island on a journey they will never forget.
Author's Note: The quotes at the beginning and end of this story are from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
PERCHANCE TO DREAM
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream...
"I've never been this far in," Tin-Tin commented as she picked her way along the uneven cave floor.
"Me either. I didn't even know there was another tunnel in this cave."
"I'll bet the cave wall has only recently fallen to make it visible. It's amazing that it's big enough for us to walk upright."
Alan nodded as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I can't understand why it's so hot down here. Usually these caves are much cooler than this. What could be causing it?"
"Don't know. Possibly a hot spring further along?"
"Guess so. You sure you don't mind if we keep going?"
She flashed him a grin. "Not at all. I enjoy exploring new places. Who'd have thought there'd be one right here on the island?"
"Yeah, wait'll we tell Scott and Virg. They're gonna be sorry they decided not to come with us!"
"I sure wish we'd gone with Alan and Tin-Tin."
"Oh, stop complaining, Virg, it's not that bad."
"This from the man not hanging upside-down."
Scott chuckled as he looked down and eyed his brother's flushed face. Virgil reached out and grasped a piece of rock jutting out from the cliff face. Hanging from his harness, he thanked the heavens again for the fact that he'd put it on to begin with. He hadn't been rock climbing in ages and had readily agreed to Scott's suggestion that they wear safety harnesses. For he'd just lost his footing and free-fallen over six feet, the harness catching him in mid-fall.
As he finally righted himself, he rubbed the bottom of his ribcage and grumbled, "That's gonna leave a bruise."
"You okay, softie?"
His face darkened. "Softie?" Then his eyes narrowed as he began his ascent again. "I'll show you softie."
Scott's eyes lit up as he reached out and grabbed the next outcropping. Muscles strained beneath tanned skin covered with a thin sheen of sweat as he hoisted himself up to the next foothold.
"Better hurry it up, old man, I'm gainin' on ya!"
"Fat chance!"
Virgil grinned as he continued up the side of the cliff. He was about halfway up and only a few feet lower than his older brother. Healthy competition was always invigorating, especially when things on the island were dead.
And dead they'd been. Dead as a doornail. International Rescue hadn't seen any action in nearly six weeks. Everyone was going crazy. So crazy that their father, who rarely left Tracy Island, had decided to take Gordon to New York City for a visit to Tracy Corporation's headquarters. Gordon had jumped at the chance. Which told everyone else precisely how bored he truly was.
"Hurry it up, Virg, you're slowin' down!" Scott called out as he neared the peak.
"Hurry this up, big brother!" Virgil yelled. Scott's eyes grew big as he watched Virgil's hand reach out to the length of rope trailing beneath him. He knew what he was going to do and knew there was no way to keep him from doing it. He let out a small yelp as Virgil yanked the rope, forcing Scott to lose his grip and fall toward him.
Virgil gracefully sidestepped on a tiny ledge as Scott whooshed past him. He was laughing at the grimace on his brother's face when it suddenly dawned on him...Scott wasn't stopping.
The eldest Tracy son had realized as much a split-second later and cried out, "VIRG!"
Virgil let go of the rock face and lunged at the rope, whose tail end was rapidly approaching him. He successfully grabbed it with both hands, but gravity and Scott's weight continued pulling it down, down, down. The rope slipped through his hands and he cried out as it burned his palms raw. His own fall, which had begun as soon as he'd grabbed the rope, meant that Scott was still falling, and fast.
"Virgil!"
"Scott!"
"Oof!" Scott grunted as he jerked to a stop. When he opened his eyes, he found himself upside-down, the rock-strewn sand merely a foot from his face. "God, that was close," he whispered. He righted himself and planted his feet firmly on the ground before looking up to see what state his brother was in. "Virg? You all right?"
Just then something fell from the sky, something that felt like a warm drop of rain. It landed on Scott's hand and when he lifted it up to look at it, he was surprised to see that in spite of the gathering storm clouds, it wasn't rain at all. It was blood.
"Virgil! Virgil, are you all right?"
Grimacing at the pain coming from his hands, Virgil nodded as he fingered the release on his harness. Slowly it propelled him downward until at last he was on terra firma. "Sorry about that," he ground out as Scott unfastened his harness for him.
"Not your fault. I obviously didn't stake my tether in well enough up top. Are you bleeding?"
Feeling like a horse's ass, Virgil nodded and held his hands out for Scott to see.
"Jesus, man. Rope burn?"
"Yep. Guess that'll teach me."
"We should get you back to the house so Brains can fix you up. Hey, at least you got injured for a good cause."
"I did?"
"Yeah. You kept me from breaking my neck."
In spite of the pain, Virgil smiled wickedly. "And that's a good thing?"
"It's getting hotter, Alan."
"I know. I'm sweatin' buckets here. Jesus."
"How much further do you think this goes?"
"I don't know, but it's been a downward slope the entire way. We must be at least two miles below sea level by now." Alan could tell his companion was fatigued, so he stopped and turned to face her. "What say we rest for a bit?"
She nodded gratefully and sank onto the cave floor. But as soon as her bare legs hit it, she howled and sprang to her feet.
"What is it?"
"The floor! It's as hot as an iron! I burned my legs!"
Alan came around behind her to inspect the damage with his flashlight. Sure enough, two red welts began to appear on the backs of her thighs. Frowning, he crouched down and touched his fingertips to the floor. He hissed and jerked his hand back. It was like touching a hot stove burner.
"What the hell?"
"Alan, I don't understand this. The rock in this cave shouldn't be anything but cold and clammy." Tin-Tin winced as she touched the back of one leg.
"You wanna go back?"
"Are you kidding? This is incredible! I have to find out what's at the end of this tunnel!"
"What if it doesn't end?"
She flashed him a quick smile. "Then we'll spend forever down here. Alone. Together."
He raised his eyebrows. "I think I could handle that. Are you sure you're all right, though?" He shined his flashlight on her legs again. "Those don't look so good."
"I'm fine. Let's keep going."
"A-And how did you say this happened a-again?"
"I fell. Virg caught me," Scott replied quickly. A little too quickly, he realized, as Brains eyed him suspiciously. The engineer had just finished wrapping gauze around both of Virgil's hands and cocked his head first at one brother then the other.
"We could really u-use a rescue," Brains said simply. "You two a-are gonna end up with broken, uh, bones if it stays this quiet a-around here."
Virgil chuckled as he got up off the hospital bed. "Right you are. Thanks, Brains. Any word from John?"
"No, 'fraid not," he replied as he began returning various tubes of burn gel and packages of gauze to a nearby cabinet. "I-I spoke to him briefly a-about the array, but Earth's pretty safe of late."
"Well, I'm hungry," Scott announced.
"You're always hungry," Virgil replied.
"Taking care of you is a full-time job. Gives a guy an appetite."
"Very funny," Virgil nearly pouted as he followed Scott out of Tracy Island's hospital ward. "And I suppose saving your ass isn't even gonna be mentioned."
"God, we need something to happen around here!" Brains said as he watched them go.
Sweat poured down Alan's face and into the fabric of his gray muscle shirt. Finally he couldn't stand the discomfort anymore. He stopped and Tin-Tin almost ran right into him.
"Warn a girl before you do that!" she chided.
"Sorry," he replied, sliding his backpack off his shoulders. "I've gotta take this shirt off. I'm dying here!"
"At least you can."
"At least I can what?" he queried as he pulled the shirt off over his head.
"Take your shirt off."
"Well, you could too, you know."
"Alan..."
"What? It's darker than night down here except for our flashlights. Honestly, who's gonna see you?"
"Uh...you."
He wiggled his eyebrows as she shined her light in his face. "I know," he grinned.
"Alan Tracy, you are hopeless."
"And you're beautiful. Even soaking wet with sweat."
"Shut up and let's keep going before I melt."
He sighed as he stuffed the shirt into his bag and swung it over one shoulder. "Yes, ma'am. Can't blame a guy for trying."
She smiled secretly as they continued their trek. Truth be told, Tin-Tin Kyrano wouldn't have minded one bit taking her tank top off just now, but she enjoyed this game she and Alan had been playing for so long. She knew his brothers considered her a big tease, but that's just how their relationship was. They teased each other, mercilessly sometimes. And sometimes they fought like cats and dogs. But neither of them had ever taken that one little step that would move them across the line from flirtation to love.
As she picked her way along the gravelly floor, Tin-Tin watched Alan's strong, well-toned legs stride confidently along in front of her. She raised her flashlight up until it reached his firm behind then up along the well-tanned muscular back until at last the light reached his very blonde hair. He sure was gorgeous. All of the Tracys were, though, so Tin-Tin knew there had to be more to the fluttering in her stomach than Alan's looks. But at this point, she wasn't quite ready to stop and think about it enough to discover what exactly it was. No, for now she was content to remain just the way they were - best friends. For now.
