A LITTLE leafy suburb on the outskirts of Croydon, England. It was Halloween night and a group of ten children aged between four and twelve were walking around between the houses playing Trick-or-Treat. It was a strong tradition in this area where everyone got on with one another and every household got in extra treats knowing that children would come calling.

The children's names in this group were Marcus (aged 12) who was dressed as a wizard, Paul (aged 7) dressed as a pirate, Sarah (aged 9) dressed as a witch, Jackie (aged 12) also dressed as a witch, Simon (aged 7) dressed as a pumpkin, Joseph (aged 4) dressed as a ghost, Melanie (aged 6) dressed as an evil fairy, Emma (aged 10) dressed as a witch, Peter (aged 8) dressed as a pirate and Annie (aged 5) dressed as a ghost. All were well known in the area and dearly loved - except for one man who lived with his wife in a house at the far end of the close. He was Dr Kirk Langstrom, a workaholic scientist who had no time for anybody other than his beloved wife Francine who was also a scientist. Francine, unlike her husband, always had time

"No tricks tonight," Marcus said to the group. "Everyone's been nice to us."

Simon was grumpy. "Can't we just throw our eggs anyway?" he asked.

"No, little brother, we can't," said Jackie severely. "Nobody wants eggs thrown at their house! I know Mum and Dad won't."

"How many more have we got left to do?" Emma asked Marcus. "I'm getting tired."

"And it's almost Annie and Joe's bedtime," added Sarah. "Mum doesn't like it when they're out late."

"Then you'll be happy to know that we only have one more stop to make," Marcus said. He pointed towards the house in question.

"Oh, that one!" said Emma uneasily. "I hope its not him who answers."

"He won't, Emma," Jackie said. "He never does."

"Why does he never?" asked Annie curiously.

Marcus and Jackie exchanged a look. They knew that Dr Langstrom didn't like children but that was probably not the right thing to say to young Annie.

"He's a couch potato," Jackie said. "He always watches TV so gets his wife to do things for him."

"He sounds boring," Annie remarked.

The group reached the front garden and headed up the path towards the front door. Little Melanie then pressed the doorbell.

"Trick or treat?" Annie and Joseph said together.

"They haven't even opened the door yet!" Simon scoffed.

But nobody came to the door. Instead there was just silence. However, they knew that the Langstrom's were in because the hall light was on. Also their cars were parked on the driveway.

"That's strange," remarked Emma. "Why aren't they answering?"

"Maybe they're busy," said Sarah. "Should we leave them?"

Marcus bent down and peered through the letterbox. But he couldn't see anything inside. "Yeah, let's go," he said. "I've had enough."

The group headed back down the path and began walking up the road towards their respective homes located in the neighbouring streets. They'd only gone about ten paces when something rather strange began to happen. First of all the street lamps began to flicker. So did the lights in the houses around them. Then there was a rumble and the ground shuddered slightly. Some dogs began barking loudly and several car alarms began to go off. The children looked around in confusion.

"What's happening?" asked Joseph.

"Jackie, I'm scared," Melanie said grabbing hold of Jackie's hand.

"What is that?" Emma asked.

Suddenly there was a horrendous BANG which came from the direction of the Langstrom's house. All turned just in time to see all the windows in the building shatter whilst the lights inside went out and bolts of electricity began shooting out into the street. Marcus and Jackie began to quickly usher the younger kids back up the road.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Marcus shouted.

The terrified children began to run along the road as fast as they could. But they hadn't gone far when a loud shrieking noise made them all freeze. They turned and looked back but couldn't see much in the dark. The shriek came again. Marcus indicated to Jackie to keep the others behind her whilst he slowly moved back towards the house. Several adults had come out of their houses trying to see what was going on. Then came yet another loud shriek and something large came swooping down towards Marcus. He barely had time to notice as it knocked him off his feet before charging directly over the other children still shrieking loudly. The little ones all screamed and huddled together in fright, not daring to look up.

"Marcus, are you okay?" Emma asked hurrying over to see if he was hurt.

Marcus had a nasty gash on his head, but otherwise was unhurt. "Ouch!" he exclaimed.

"What the hell is that?!" a man from a nearby house shouted. He was pointing up into the sky. Marcus and Emma looked up. So did Jackie and slowly the other kids began to as well. They started in disbelief at the shadowy shape of a giant bat silhouetted against the Moon.

5! (DUN)

4! (DUN)

3! (DUN)

2! (DUN)

1!

*Thunderbirds Theme Plays*

"THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!"