Thunderbirds Are Go!

The Halloween Collection (2018 Edition)

By Lee Homer

Disclaimer: All rights reserved. The Tracy family return for the third installment of Halloween tales that have rocked International Rescue.

#2 The Klamath Creeper.

Told by John Tracy

Family vacations are essential to every family unit. Ours is no exception. Once a year, the boys and I take a week to go hiking around the island. Sure it doesn't sound like much, but it's usually the only way we can have a break without venturing too far away from the base. We would often take these trips with Dad when we were growing up, usually to celebrate one of our birthdays. We'd pack our tents and sleeping bags and usually make the most of it. Over time though, we were all starting to miss the whole adventuring side of our trips, so it decided that for this year, we'd actually go on a hiking trip somewhere else. As it was nearing my birthday, I got to pick our destination. I chose the Klamath Mountains in California as it was known for it's hiking trails and camping grounds. Everybody seemed on board for it. Scott, who had come down with a bad stomach bug and was unable to attend.

Using Thunderbird Two, we set off for Klamath. Our spirits were at an all-time high. Virgil and I scouted the area for a secluded spot to land, while Alan and Gordon browsed the hiking guides that I had downloaded the night before. We touched down in a small area which was nestled in amongst the trees. We were instantly isolated. Tucked away from civilization. It was perfect. Alan seemed restless as we were setting up the camp, so I offered to go on a short distance hike with him while Virgil and Gordon finished pitching the tents. They didn't seem too bothered and said that they would see us in a few hours. We grabbed our backpacks and followed a trail which took us into the hills overlooking our campsite. I can't explain the next part very well, but I'll try my best. The best way I can put it is that something felt very wrong. It was like the whole energy had shifted into something much darker. I looked over at Alan, who had happened to sense the same thing.

"I don't think we should up here, bro." He said with a slight tremble. "Maybe it's private land or something?"

"Klamath is a reserve, but it's also a public hiking ground," I replied as kept my nerve. "Just stick close to me. We'll be alright."

"I still think we should go back." Alan continued. "We can pick another trail. There are plenty of them around."

He wasn't wrong, but something about all of this kept on drawing me in. My curiosity wasn't about to release me anytime soon. Alan stopped in his tracks, refusing to go further. He called out to me to turn around, but I couldn't hear him. As I approached a bed in the trail, my eyes locked onto the source of the dark energy. A dark figure, fully cloaked in a dark coat and Stetson hat stood there on top of a small rock formation. He or it had no facial features except for a large, sadistic smile. I couldn't see the figures eyes, but I knew it was staring into my soul. The object in it's gloved hand was unmistakable. It was wielding an Axe. My flight or fight reflexes kicked in as I broke out into a cold sweat. I turned to run back down the trail just as the figure begun to let out a deep, smoky laugh. I skidded down the trail and grabbed Alan by the shoulder.

"We need to get out of here now!" I shouted. "Come on!"

Alan was frightened by this. "What's going on? John! Slow down!"

I could feel the figure's eyes staring at me as we ran back towards camp. Alan frequently looked around us, claiming that he didn't see anyone. As we made it back to camp, I stumbled and fell to the ground. A puzzled Virgil helped me up to my feet and say me down by the fire. My clothes were torn, my hair was a mess and although I didn't notice it at the time, I had acquired a cut on my cheek. Virgil grabbed a medical kit from his bag.

"What happened to you up there?" He asked as he patched me up. "You look like you've seen a ghost?"

"There's someone up there," I replied silently.

"Who?"

"A guy. It was a guy with an Axe. He just stood there and grinned at me like... like he was going hurt me."

Like always, Virgil tried to be rational about it. "Are you sure? There are other hikers about. Maybe it was one of the park rangers?"

"This was no park ranger," I said. The image still engrained in my head. "This was evil personified."

I don't think, Virgil believed me. He wasn't there. He didn't get to experience the dark energy up there. He sat next to me and looked up at the sky. Alan and Gordon sat at the table playing a card game. For Alan, it was as if the whole experience never happened. True, he didn't see the figure, but I did. The sun began to disappear out of view, plunging our camp into darkness. Virgil placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get some sleep. We'll go hiking in the morning and everything will be awesome. You'll see."

I tried to not get pissy at him despite feeling tired myself. Silently, I crawled into my tent and wrapped myself up in my sleeping bag. Gordon was the last one in bed. He loved camping out and would often spend an hour by himself in front of the fire with a cup of tea. I took comfort in that thought that with him out there, he would be able to alert us if something was going on. Virgil had packed a stun gun with him for added protection mostly to fend off the wildlife. Theoretically, we were safe. An hour passed by before I slowly drifted off into a seemingly restless slumber.

However, the night was far from over...

I awoke to the sound shuffling coming from outside my tent. I couldn't see a thing at first, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dark. I got the impression that there was no animal outside. The campfire still flickered away outside. The source of the shuffling approached my tent and hovered in front of the fire. My eye widened in horror. It was the figure from earlier. Its menacing silhouette stood inches away from my tent. I was certain that whoever it was was going to enter my tent and kill me. The Axe emerged from its side. I could hear the figure begin to grunt silently under its breath as it slowly began to move around my tent. It walked with a limp like it had been injured by something. I sat there in utter silence as I followed the grunts and groans. They were now coming from behind me. The back of my tent has a small netted window which is designed to let in light during the day. That night, I forgot to draw the flap over it. With sheer dread, I slowly turned to face it. The figure was staring directly at me. It presented it's disembodied smile at me once again. It's seemingly razor-sharp teeth could have torn through my tent if it wanted to. Instead, it just stood there and smiled at me. It let out another deep laugh which had the opposite effect on me. It wanted to scare me and it did at first. Now, it was pissing me off. How dare this thing come into our campsite and try to intimidate me. With this new found sense of anger, I crawled out of my tent. I bolted upright to face thing in person.

"You need to leave!" I growled as the figure stood opposite me. "I don't know who or what you are, but you don't belong here!"

The figure continued to grin. I was already getting sick of the disgusting grin.

"I'm serious, pal. Leave or there will be consequences! There's four of us and one of you. You really want to try it?"

He didn't find that very funny. I watched his grin disappear off his distorted face. What did I do? Why did I go and piss it off even further? Now, it was bound to hurt me for sure. After all, It did have an Axe. It advanced towards me one step at a time. It only came here to make a statement. I had only gone and made it personal. It snarled at me with each step, raising its Axe above its head. Fortune quickly reared it's head as Virgil leaped out from his tent, wielding his stun gun.

"I suggest you do what he says?" He growled as he trained his gun on the figure. "Get out of here or I'll fire."

The figure stopped in his tracks for a few moments. It felt like an eternity until the figure lowered its Axe and silently backed away from the camp. Virgil kept his eyes on the figure until it slithered away into the shadows. It's menacing laugh echoed into the night. Virgil looked over at me before waking the others up. It turned out that Alan and Gordon had witnessed the whole thing from their tent and were waiting to strike if needed.

"Okay, boys," Virgil said. "Let's pack up. Everyone will meet up at the Thunderbird in Thirty minutes. We're getting out of here now."

We didn't stop to question what had just happened. We scrambled to pack up our gear and hurry for the safety of Thunderbird Two. My heartbeat had quadrupled its speed by this point. Just knowing that the Axe wielding maniac could return at any moment was enough to send me running for the pod. As soon as we were onboard, Virgil secured the hatches. We had boarded Thunderbird Two not a moment too soon. Looking out of the window, I saw the figure return once again. It stood there like a gargoyle and looked up at us with its grotesque grin.

"I've had enough of this!" Virgil snarled as he hit the thrusters. "We're never coming here again!"

My brother made me feel guilty about the whole ordeal, but how was I suppose to know that there would be Axe wielding maniacs about? He didn't hold it against me though. He was just mad because he feared for our lives. During the flight home, we would try and talk about the encounter without freaking out each time. I sat there wrapping my head around the fact that I almost died that night if it hadn't been for Virgil. Close brushes with death are apart of our jobs, but when it's not related, it becomes a real eye-opener.

As soon as we returned home, we had a discussion about the whole ordeal. The explanations were endless. From mythical creatures to escaped convicts, we were never going to have the answers. From now on though, all of our future hiking trips will be closer to home. As for the figure with the Axe, I hope we never see him again.