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.
#4 The Infested
Told by Alan Tracy
Okay, so before we begin, here's a little backstory. In 2057, the space research vessel called "Trident" was launched to investigate a ring of newly discovered planets which were orbiting the fringes of our solar system. It was manned by a crew of six people, all of which were scientists that could operate the equipment that was onboard. They were ordered to observe the surface of these planets for the next few years before returning to Earth with their results. I can still remember the day when she launched. Dad made a huge deal out of it as he trained with the crew in his younger days. The whole family would watch this hist It is now 2065. This story takes place on the day when Trident was finally en route for Earth. However, it marked a more horrifying occasion than a memorable one.
John had been monitoring the Trident up in Thunderbird Five the very second it entered scanning range. He was puzzled at the fact that he couldn't detect any life signs on board. The ship showed no signs of external damage. Nothing that would indicate a hull breach. He had EOS perform multiple checks on her scanners but still found nothing onboard the Trident. He called in his friend, Captain Rigby to see if she could shed light on the situation. When she couldn't offer up any suggestions, It was decided to simply fly out and investigate for themselves. The GDF was aware of the situation by this point and asked us if we could go and take a look at the ship. That's where I came in. I didn't sleep well the previous night for various reasons which aren't relevant to this story. My fatigue had started to catch up with me, but I had to see this through.
"Now, Alan. As soon as you pick John and Rigby up, head straight over there to assess the situation." Scott instructed. "We don't have time for any fancy stuff."
"What fancy stuff?" I grumbled. "I've done this before. We'll see you in a few hours."
Scott just smiled. "Yeah, well good luck and try and have an early night okay?"
Thunderbird Three was go. My first port of call was Thunderbird Five. After a quick docking procedure, we set a course for the Trident. The readings remained the same. It was really mind-boggling. When the ship finally came into visual range though, our stomachs began to tighten. The Trident was just floating there.
"She looks like she's seen some action," Rigby said. "The hull is intact but look at those burn marks?"
"Perhaps her engines had burnt out?" John added. "How that would have knocked out her communications though is another mystery."
"We'll know soon enough," I replied. "I've located a docking hatch. Better get your thruster packs ready."
Gently docking with the Trident, we made our way towards the airlock. The door opened, revealing a dark and eerie interior. The corridors seemed to take on a personality of their own as we made our way towards the ship's command module. The mist was so dark that you could sew a button on it. It made everything feel so claustrophobic. Our flashlights couldn't penetrate the mist at times, so we held onto each other's hands for guidance. We eventually approached a heavy pressurized door. The power was out, but the manual switch was easy to use. Rigby and John frantically looked around them. The dark was beginning to take on many shapes that their eyes would try and create. We entered the next room where visibility improved. It was the crew's sleeping compartment only there was nobody here.
"Okay, now I'm starting to get the creeps," Rigby said as she inspected the crew's bunks. "These beds clearly haven't been slept in. It's like the crew have just simply vanished."
John frowned at his wrist scanner. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I'm picking up a life sign directly ahead. It's coming from the galley."
"We should check it out, but be careful bro," I said, placing my hand on my brother's shoulder. "Something doesn't feel right here. Like something is about to happen."
John nodded silently. "I know what you mean. We'll go in there together, okay?"
"FAB."
Swiftly and silently, we drifted towards the galley. Traversing this ship was something else. Imagine being a blood cell or traveling through someone's bloodstream. That's what being on this ship felt like. We all heard a pulsating sound coming from within. It was as if the Trident was a living body. Approaching the galley door, John suddenly stopped in hesitation. He could hear gurgling noises on the other side. It was a painful retching sound, enough to make anyone with a faint heart throw up. Taking a deep breath, John pushed the door open. The lights flickered wildly. A body flashed before us. It was a man who had curled himself up in a ball in the corner of the room. His space suit was torn in several places and had blood stains across the sleeves. His skin had this blotchy, slimy hue to it which looked kind of infectious. Rigby crouched down to inspect the man while I searched the room. Everything else had been left untouched like the previous room. Suddenly, Rigby let out a shriek as she launched herself into the far wall. John rushed over to comfort her before he locked eyes on what it was that scared her.
I froze on the spot as the man slowly rose up and faced us. He had no eyes! I'm not being dramatic. There were no eyeballs in his sockets. They were filled with this black, tar-like substance that trickled down his cheeks. As he dragged himself towards us, he started to spit more of this black goo all over the floor. Black veins crawled across his skin like worms. He made an agonizing grunting sound as he moved. Rigby panicked, kicking her legs in order to get away from him. John lifted her up and dragged her towards the door, beckoning me to follow.
"Come on, Alan! We need to move!" He yelled.
But, I couldn't get to them. The infected man was blocking my path. He stumbled towards me, making a grab for my chest plate. I kicked him away before making a sharp dash for the door behind me. I came to another corridor which ran adjacent to the one that John and Rigby were in. This one still had its generators running which mean that I could sprint towards the airlock without floating into the walls. I re-entered that state of oppression when I stumbled into one of the science labs. I frantically called out for John and Rigby, hoping that they were within an earshot of my position but instead, I attracted more unwelcoming guests.
Three of the crew members jumped me from the shadows. All of them displayed the same disgusting symptoms as the first man. They all displayed the same complexion and that same oily black liquid oozed from their orifices. It had become clear that the crew had been infected with some sort of alien bacteria. There was no way I could save them. I ran out of the lab and back into the network of corridors that made up the ship. As I burst into a sprint, I tried to put the pieces together. I figured that the crew had contracted this alien virus of some kind during one of their surface missions. Fearing that they would bring it back to Earth, the deliberately destroyed the engines so they would never make it home. It was a noble but tragic act on their part. Now, the three of us were open to catching the bacteria ourselves. Taking a sharp turn, I eventually caught up with the others who had also encountered other members of the crew. Catching my breath, I explained it all to John.
"If that is the case then we need to get off this ship at once!" He said as a blip appeared on his wrist scanner. "Come on! The Airlock is this way!"
The artificial gravity began to dissipate as we entered the next compartment. We ended up floating towards the darkness when Rigby was jumped from behind. She wrestled with a crewman as it spat black liquid all over her helmet. She punched him in the face and watched it float down the corridor into the shadows. John checked her over and said;
"Keep your helmet on. As long as we don't breathe the air, we won't contract the bacteria. As soon as we get to Thunderbird Three, we'll jettison your helmet into space."
Rigby looked up at him and replied with a silent "Okay."
We eventually made it to the airlock under the false impression that we were in the clear. I looked back in terror as I felt the icy cold hand of fear grab my chest. The entire crew was heading straight for us. All of them spewed that vile black liquid as they gargled and grunted like Zombies. John sent Rigby through the hatch first, before grabbing me by the back of my suit. He threw me into Thunderbird Three as the infested crew inched their way closer towards the hatch. John piled in on top of us. He reached out for the airlock door when one of the crew lunged out towards him. He pulled it shut and locked it in place with seconds to spare. They clawed away at the door in agony as we strapped ourselves in for launch.
Hitting the thrusters, we detached ourselves from the Trident, blasting towards Thunderbird Five. Gently removing her helmet as to not get any of the black ooze on her, Rigby placed her helmet in the jettison tube and flushed it into space. The three of us sat there in utter silence for the rest of the journey. As soon as we docked with the space satellite, we all headed for the decontamination booths. We had to stay onboard for the designated quarantine period until Brains felt that it was safe for us to come down. None of us got any sleep that night. Despite being beyond tired, I just couldn't close my eyes. Every time I did, I could see the cold lifeless faces of that crew eating away at my soul. However, a small ray of light pierced the shroud of evil that we had been caught in. I witnessed John and Rigby share their first kiss. I guess this experience really brought them closer together than ever before. They could have lost each other that day and all it takes is an experience like this to make them realize that they truly needed each other.
The story doesn't really end there though. What happened to the crew of the Trident? Well, the official word was that the GDF had dispatched a team of science and medical personnel to see if they could cure the crew and study the alien bacteria. Personally, I think that was a smoke screen to cover up the real mission in question. Just a few days later, EOS picked up an explosion from the same area of space where we had found the ship. The GDF had ordered its destruction so that the story would never get out to the public. I guess where Earth's safety is involved, it was the right thing to do. I'm out of quarantine now and am back on Tracy Island. I'm sharing this story today because they're holding a funeral for the crew of the Trident that I couldn't save. John and I are attending the service. I owe it to them that their families know the truth of what happened to them. We couldn't rescue their souls. But we admired their work and we'll help preserve their legacy forever.