Whumpay Day Six: 'Can You Hear Me?' / 'I Don't See You'

Scott shuddered in the cold and damp. At least, he attempted to, but his body was having none of it and protested – loudly. It hurt so much that he wasn't sure exactly where he hurt, the pain was all-encompassing. And as for the coughing, that was most definitely a bad idea. It was dark too, and that didn't help either. The lights on his helmet had gone out. Thank goodness he still had his helmet on.

'Ok, Scott. Time to take stock.'

Breathing hurt, and there was a definite creaking, so maybe a cracked rib or two. Left arm, hmm, left arm hurt to move but he was pretty sure he was moving it, even if he couldn't see it. He tapped his helmet and yeah, it hurt but it wasn't broken. A bonus. Right arm and both legs seemed to be pinned by something, probably debris from whatever had happened, so he wasn't moving any time soon.

It was then that he realised it was quiet. Well, other than the ringing in his ears. Where was John? Or Virgil? He must have damaged his comm somehow. Still, he needed to let his brothers know where he was.

'John? John, can you hear me?'

Nothing.

That wasn't good. How was he going to tell them what was going on, where he was, if he couldn't get through? Sure, they could read the telemetry of his suit and that would give them a good idea, but he needed to talk to John, to someone.

All he could do was try again. And again. And again.

All he got back was nothing.

So Scott waited.

'I lost him!' John cried out in alarm. One minute the rescue was going fine, then suddenly there was something interfering with the comms for a minute, and the next thing John knew Scott's connection was gone. He could, however, read his brother's suit, and the readouts were not good.

'Thunderbird Five calling Thunderbird Two. Virgil, how close are you and Gordon from wrapping up?' Virgil frowned. John sounded a little stressed, even if he spoke in the same calm manner he always did. Virgil could tell. 'Wrapping up now, Five. What's wrong?' He could see John tapping away, and suddenly Virgil felt it. His Scooter sense was going haywire.

'John, what's going on? Where's Scott?' Virgil watched as John ran his hands through his hair. 'He went on a rescue, couple of cavers trapped, one with a broken leg. It was supposed to be a straightforward in and out job or I would never have sent him alone.' Caves were one rescue they tried hard to do together rather than alone, but with Alan and Kayo out beyond the moon, and he and Gordon tied up here John probably had no choice. 'Don't worry, John. We'll be out of here in five minutes. Send us the co-ordinates and keep trying to raise him.' John nodded. 'FAB, Virgil.'

Packing Two up quickly wasn't a problem, and soon the pair were on their way, Virgil pushing his bird to maximum to get there as quickly as possible. It would still take them nearly 20 minutes, and while he concentrated on piloting them, Gordon kept on trying Scott as well.

The longer they went without hearing from their oldest brother, the more concerned they became.

As Two came in to land beside her sister, Gordon busied himself getting the Mole pod ready, just in case. John had reported a temporary disruption in communication, and that could often happen underground, but it also happened when there was a cave-in. John was dubious, though. There were no signs that the cave was unstable anywhere, and he hadn't picked up any explosions. Whatever had happened, they didn't know exactly where Scott was nor the situation they were facing, so Gordon was going to be prepared.

The entrance to the caves was clear, and there didn't seem to be an issue at all so far, so the two made their way to Scott's last known position on foot. Virgil could always bring the Mole down remotely if she was needed.

Reaching the correct coordinates, Gordon almost fell himself into the hole that was there, Virgil's quick reflexes saving him from the tumble they were almost certain Scott had taken. Shining his torch down, they could see the bottom, but there was no sign of their brother. Checking with John that there wasn't a strong possibility of another hole forming, they quickly set about rigging a single rope longhorn 8 system.

Virgil rappelled down first, checking in case it really wasn't safe, but it seemed that the rock was now holding. He could hear water in the distance, and he guessed there was an underground river that had probably caused the issue in the first place. He signalled Gordon and he followed swiftly behind.

They couldn't see Scott, though, even with their powerful torches. Testing the vibrations, Virgil gave a low shout, and, thankful nothing happened, raised his voice. Soon the cave was echoing his brother's name.

'Scott! Scott!' It was muffled by his helmet, but he could still hear his name being called, and Scott shouted his loudest, despite the pain it caused. 'Over here! I'm here!' It caused a coughing fit that hurt a lot, but the resultant 'where? I can't see you?' was worth it.

It took a bit of doing, figuring out the acoustics to pinpoint Scott's location, but they got there eventually, only to find him half buried almost in the water. Fortunately, the debris pinning his legs and arm down were not large pieces, and it didn't take long to clear him.

Unfolding the stretcher, they immobilised Scott as much as possible before setting off back to Two, a journey of almost half and hour. While Virgil settled Scott into the med bay, Gordon discussed with John the whereabouts of the original cavers who were waiting for a rescue. Once John and EOS had managed to find the right frequency to boost Five's scans they were easily located, not that far ahead of the cave-in that had caught Scott, so Gordon set off to retrieve them.

Soon Virgil was dropping the cavers and Scott off at the local hospital, where they had been 'guests' before, and the same song and dance whenever one of the boys was injured began.