He turned, arm against the cold wall, head resting on his arm as his chest heaved, as the pain finally began to subside. He remembered waking briefly, just as one of them had him in his mouth, as another was probing him from behind. He remembered lashing out against them, felt hands against his throat. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't breathe. Blacked out. He'd felt them touching him. Felt them inside him, on him. Push it down, push it away. Not now. Have to get out. Kaya's risking her neck for me, have to push it down. Get out. Get out. Leave now. Before they come again. Before they come again.
Shit. He heard them coming. He looked up into Kaya's wide eyes. Her voice was strong, but quiet. "We have to go. Now."
He nodded, stood up straight and squared his shoulders. She hopped into the basket again and he followed suit, this time with no stab of pain. She wrapped her arms around his torso. Surprised, he looked down at her. "Better hold on," she said, her hand on a lever against the end of the cave wall. He encircled her with his arms and heard a click.
All at once they were rising. Higher and higher and higher, faster than he'd expected. He felt her hair against his chest, felt her arms squeeze him tighter. He braced his feet against each side of the basket and steadied himself as best he could. When they stopped, it was abrupt, bumping them up off the floor a bit, the rope creaking above their heads. He opened his eyes to find himself greeted by twilight. Trees surrounded them everywhere on three sides, with a large, flat white rock in front of him.
Kaya pulled away and stepped out of the basket. Scott followed. He grimaced as his foot hit a pine cone and wished for the tenth time he had some shoes. "I have an idea," she said. She walked over to a large pine tree and stripped two pieces of bark off it. Then she took her backpack off and pulled out a med kit. From that she extracted a roll of medical tape. "Come here."
He dutifully approached her. "Lift up your right foot." He did, and watched in fascination as she put the bark under his foot, back side up. He stepped down onto it, relieved at how soft it felt to his worn and aching feet. She then ordered him to lift it again, her hand holding the piece of bark in place. Quickly she wrapped the tape around and around, the soft bark molding to the sides of his foot, tape holding it in place. She then did the same with his other foot.
"I'll have to remember that trick," he said as he tested them out. Not anything like flip-flops, but a damn sight more comfortable than nothing at all.
"You're welcome," she grinned. He found himself actually offering a smile back.
"Don't suppose you can make a shirt and shorts out of that one," he joked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at a tree with a much larger girth.
She laughed. "No, we don't have time. You'll be all right."
"Are you kidding? My skirt's about shot," he replied, re-knotting the blanket as best he could.
"You want me to make it into a diaper?" He shot her a look, then realized she was joking and laughed out loud. "That's much better," she grinned.
She turned and picked up the backpack. "Let me carry it."
"No chivalry. You're the victim, remember?"
"I'd rather not," he said softly as she hiked it onto her back.
"I know," she replied. "You know something?"
"Mm?"
She turned and walked out onto the flat rock, stepping down onto the next flat rock beneath it. "I don't even know your name. You allowed to tell me that?"
Christ, why not, she'd already seen more than anyone at Base probably ever had since he'd been diaper-age. "Scott."
She just nodded as he followed her. The bark shoes made it infinitely easier than it had been in the cave, and they made good time as darkness fell. Her light bobbed in front of them, but he kept his eyes glued to her. As long as he stepped where she stepped, he'd be okay in this unfamiliar terrain. Rocky flats gave way to a small clearing. He kept hiking the blanket up around him, trying desperately to tie it tight enough to stay on, but it seemed the blanket had other ideas. He cursed softly as it slipped from his hips again halfway across the clearing.
Kaya stopped and turned. "Issues?"
"You could say that. Damn thing won't stay on at all now."
"The diaper offer still stands."
He couldn't really see her face in the night, and suddenly wished he could. She was doing her best to cheer him up, keep him going. He knew the drill. Practiced it on every damn rescue.
"No thanks," he replied in mock annoyance. "I think I've been humiliated enough for one day."
He heard her return to his side as he folded the blanket the other way and wrapped it around to tie it on his left hip. "Your secret's safe with me."
Scott snorted. "Which one?"
She shrugged. "All of them. Park ranger confidentiality."
"There's no such thing."
"Would you rather I hit up the news agencies?"
"Fuck no."
"Didn't think so."
Suddenly there was a sound overhead. A sound Scott knew better than he knew his own name. At the same time, loud shouts arose from the west and he and Kaya turned on them. Then Scott looked up. "It's Thunderbird One!" he said as his sleek silver ship came into view. He'd never felt so much relief as he did at that moment.
"Scott! It's them!" Kaya cried. "I'm out of bullets! We have no defense!" She began backing up, her hand on his arm, pulling him with her.
"We have Thunderbird One," he said. "If only I can get them to understand. You have a flare gun?"
"Sure." He held his hand out. She took off the pack and quickly loaded a flare into the black pistol, then handed it to him. Half of him knew that if he fired the flare into the group of men that had appeared in the tree line, he'd burn them all to death. Probably burn half the damn mountain, too. Half of him wanted to. Desperately.
Perhaps the beast had left. Or, if not left, perhaps it had been let out enough that it no longer had the taste for blood. As his two sides fought the internal battle, he looked at Kaya, feeling her hand on his shoulder. And in that moment, he felt the sludge part a bit. Felt something else inside, bubbling up like the water of the hot springs. No, he didn't want to kill them.
He aimed to the right of the men and fired just in front of the tree line, enough to ignite a patch of grass and show whoever was piloting One what was happening. The eight men roared and yelled and headed across the clearing, some with guns, one with a large axe. Scott grinned as One fired a spray of bullets right in front of them, effectively stopping the mob from advancing.
They looked up, saw Thunderbird One, and fell to their knees. One lowered a bit and Scott could see it was John in the pilot's seat through the side viewing window. He shook his head vehemently and waved his arms back and forth to tell John he should under no circumstances land. Scott knew damn well those men would rush One and John...and he and Kaya...if his 'bird set down. As freakish as they were about the UFOs and them being gods, none of them would have a chance if the cult members thought their goal was within their grasp.
Funny, them bowing like that. Not dissimilar to his own feelings about his beloved ship. Christ, I'm as crazy as they are.
"How far to the base of the mountain?"
"Not far at all."
"We can't let him land, they'll mob him," Scott said as more and more people filled the clearing. They gaped in awe and astonishment at the hovering 'bird before falling to the ground with the others. "Let's go," he whispered. He looked up. John was looking right at them. He motioned toward the downslope and saw John give him the thumbs-up. As he and Kaya ran for the tree line, Thunderbird One turned in midair and followed them as low to the treetops as John could manage without burning their tops off.
They slipped and slid a bit in the dark of night, but Kaya's light was powerful enough that they kept on track pretty well. Thick bushes got in their way several times. To his surprise, Kaya produced a machete-like instrument and began whacking the hell out of the undergrowth. It was slow-going, but he could hear One directly above them and knew John was tracking them on infrared.
It entered his mind that he'd had the opportunity to do something horrific and that, thankfully, he hadn't. That he could've taken a good portion of the cult out with that flare. That he could've gotten his revenge. But even as the horror of his few conscious moments flashed through his mind, he knew that deep down it wasn't him. He was a Tracy, first and foremost. He was his father's son. He was his brothers' leader. He was the field commander for International Rescue. The pilot of Thunderbird One. In command of Base when Father was away.
No, the beast wasn't gone. It was still there. He felt it lurking, waiting for him to slow down long enough to think. But for the moment, it was re-caged, and he huffed a sigh of relief as they broke through the trees and out into the open. To their right, Mobile Control still stood, with Virgil at the panel. There were gasps as they emerged and Virgil's head snapped up. The relief Scott saw in his brother's face under the strong lights that had been brought in suddenly made him more than glad that he hadn't done all the evil things he'd wanted to do. And right then and there, Virgil ran up to him and enveloped him in a bear hug. It hurt, but it felt too good to complain.
Suddenly they were all there. One was landing, Alan ran up, Gordon ran up. He looked up in surprise as his father and Tin-Tin raced to his side. Even they were there. In the confusion, he lost sight of Kaya. In amongst questions from his family, from the local authorities. Teams were dispatched into the forest as John and One went airborne again to locate the cult members, to direct the locals on their search to capture them. Questions and more questions. Yes, he'd been tortured, beaten a bit. Yes, he'd been tied up. Yes, he was okay, Kaya had taken good care of him. Who's Kaya? She's the park ranger who helped me, rescued me. Rescued the rescuer.
He looked around as Virgil led him into Thunderbird Two's pod. "Where is she?"
"Who?"
"Kaya."
Virgil turned and looked out upon the dozen or so people in the area between them and the forest. "I don't know, Scott. I actually don't remember seeing anyone with you."
"What? Of course she was there with me!"
"Come on, I need to get you into the med bay."
"No!" he cried, wrenching his arm from Virgil's hands. "She saved me, I have to thank her."
"We'll find her, Scott. Okay?"
He turned and looked at Virgil, suddenly realizing how tired and ill he felt. He was drained. He hurt. Bad. Just had to keep the worst of it from Virgil. Couldn't let him see certain parts of him. Had to keep that from his family. He knew Virgil would go crazy if he knew, and he refused to burden his brother...any of them...with it.
"We're going to have to do something to keep you safer at MC," Virgil said as the 'bird lowered herself over the pod. "Maybe have you do it remotely instead of with that equipment."
"I guess I never figured myself for a sitting duck," Scott agreed as he stripped the blanket off and took the auxiliary clothing offered by Virgil. He deftly hid his ass from his brother's eyes as he pulled the underwear and sweatpants on, pulled the shirt over his head, dark blue emblazoned with the IR logo.
"Me either, not like that. And it's never going to happen again." Virgil put his hand on Scott's shoulder, looking him directly in the eye. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
Scott half-smiled. If only his brother knew. Maybe he'd tell him. Maybe later. "I need to find her."
"You need to rest." Virgil shoved him down on a bed. Scott winced as his ass hit the mattress. "We'll get you back quick and let Brains look you over."
"I'm fine."
"Bullshit."
Before Scott could protest any further, he felt the hypo in the side of his arm. "Damn you, Virgil."
Virgil gave him a lopsided grin as he pulled the silver blanket over his brother's body. "Yeah, I love you, too."
Scott felt his mind shutting down as the anesthetic took hold. Felt it slowing, saw darkness creep into the corners of his vision. He wanted to thank Kaya. Wanted to thank her for how she'd helped him. What she'd done. For keeping his secret. For surely if she'd told them what happened, they'd all be in there with worried looks on their faces. Sure, he'd get tested, there was always the danger of disease, especially with mountain-dwellers who very obviously didn't do a lot about taking care of themselves. There was always the danger of infection. But he could grab meds from their sick bay stores with no one the wiser, at least not until the next inventory.
The fact was now that he was safe. He was going home. And he would heal. Both outside and in. In fact, maybe he'd already begun.
He fell asleep.