Storms, Bug Hunts, and Powercuts

by Great Beams of Plasma

There was a storm as I wrote this and I was on Tumblr at the same time, so this was born. For those who don't know, I Tumblr-roleplay as Alan Tracy on a Thunderbirds RPG. "Bug-hunting" was a thing Loopsta and I did, and it makes me laugh everytime someone makes a reference to it ;

Alan Tracy had never been afraid of storms.

Never.

Ever.

Not in his life.

Not of a stupid storm.

It was just that... Interesting bugs only came out in storms. And they could always be found in one of his older brother's bedrooms. Or under his father's desk.

There was no way Alan was scared of a little light.

Nope.

Okay.

Maybe just a little.

There was a storm raging over the island now. And boy, was it loud.

And Dad was busy with a customer – the office door was locked.

Scott was doing homework and didn't want to be disturbed.

John was reading and didn't want to be disturbed.

Virgil was drawing and didn't want to be disturbed.

Gordon was practising swimming on his bedroom floor, and had thrown Alan out for being in the middle of the "pool".

Wandering around with his bug-collecting buddy – Scott's old teddy bear – Alan decided to see if the storm bugs would appear under the kitchen table. Making his way slowly down the stairs, Alan hung on to the bannisters, squeaking in alarm with every rumble of thunder and flash of lightning on the way down. A shadowy figure appeared by the bottom of the stairs, just as all the lightbulbs went out with a small pop, and Alan yelled out in fear.

The figure swooped down, and revealed itself as Grandma Tracy when she picked Alan up, rubbing the child's back gently. Then the shouting started. "Is this someone's idea of a joke? Gordon!"

"I didn't do it!"

"Guys, it's just a storm!"

"Where is everyone?"

"All the power went off in the middle of my business deal!"

"Gramma, I don't like it!"

"Everyone just keep calm and-"

"Ouch! Who left a damn door there?!"

"-Follow the sound of my voice downstairs. Be very careful on your way downstairs, and come to the kitchen. And Scott, the next time you use language like that, you'll be tasting my soap!"

A couple of minutes later, the seven remaining members of the Tracy family sat around the central table in the kitchen, eating cookies (made before the powercut), and drinking stove-heated cocoa. Alan sat happily between Scott and Jeff, opposite John and Gordon, and close enough to Virgil and Grandma to be blissfully content as he dunked his cookie into the thick drink for the third time. Storms were okay, he decided, because you never got Grandma's cookies and cocoa on a bug hunt.