Thunderbirds Are Go

Range of Horror

by Lee Homer

Disclaimer: All rights reserved, Inspired immensely by the true events of the famed Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, I wanted to write a small horror story that was originally intended for this year's Halloween Special, but I was worried that I'd lose the story ideas by then. Reviews are welcome and I hope you enjoy them!

Day #07

Gordon's Statement.

Before I get into this, I want to state that this account happened during Virgil and Kayo's encounter up in the rocks. We didn't know about their experience until after we had our own. As my brother mentioned, we began to investigate the activity. I decided to accompany Grandma into town to meet an old friend of my mothers. He worked for the SID (Supernatural Investigations Department) back in the days when Mum was alive and still living with Dad. He retired several years before we founded International Rescue without any clear reason. Only Grandma knew the truth. She told me that she had contacted this guy to see if he could shed light on what was happening at the ranch. I was dubious about it when he contacted her with instructions to meet him at an old diner outside the town. I aired my doubts, but she assured me with a smile that everything was going to be alright.

Out of respect for the guy's identity, I've chosen to call him Daniel for this statement. We met him outside the small downer during the afternoon. The lunch hour had finished which meant the diner sat empty for a few hours until the dinner rush. He seemed like a friendly chap. He was about Dad's age, maybe older, wore thick glasses and wore a standard flannel shirt. Grandma smiled and greeted him with a hug, before introducing me to him. Daniel offered us a seat at his booth and ordered us a drink. It didn't take long for Grandma to divulge everything to him. I was amazed at how keen he was to help. He wiped his glasses and set them down on the table next to his drink. He wiped the charming smile from his face, staring at us with a serious glint in his eye. I swear to you, when his expression changed, so did the aura around us.

"I tell you, Sally, what I'm about to share with you was never declassified by the World Government or the GDF," he said. "In 2056, the US Army launched a mission to recover a machine that was designed by a team of Bereznik scientists. It was said that they had managed to harness the potential of electromagnetic lay-lines, opening up portals to other dimensions and possible the astral plane. They called it "The Spectre." Now, it sounds fantastic and outrageous, but they recovered evidence from the tests that they carried out. They took this device out to a disused airbase and tested it. Within hours of activating it, they recorded strange lights in the sky, and a strange bipedal figure attacked and killed three of their scientists."

"You're kidding?" I replied.

"When the US/ Bereznik hostilities ended the following year, they recovered the machine and brought it here," Daniel continued. "They hired the GDF to transport it to the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. The truck never made it. When Colonel Casey led an investigation party, they found the truck and the bloodied remains of the driver and security detail. The device had vanished, likely stolen. It had never been seen since."

"But It's 2063, if that device was stolen all those years back, then who would activate now?"

"Son, your guess is as good as mine," he said, wiping the dirt from his glasses. "I suggest that you search the property for any electromagnetic energy wells that could be fuelling the activity. I know the Gran Roca Ranch from when your Mum built it. It wasn't built on sacred land at all. Something has disturbed the rift between our world and the spiritual plane. It's sending out energy signals and opening up doorways."

"And you think it's this machine?" Grandma added.

Daniel slouched in his seat with a solemn nod. I was willing to believe any explanation, but not this. So many things didn't add up. If such a machine did exist and was stolen then why did it take the thieves eight years to switch it on? I glanced over at Grandma who seemed to buy into the explanation. She offered Daniel to accompany us back to the ranch. He expressed his desire to witness the activity for himself, so he graciously accepted the invitation.

An hour had elapsed since Virgil and Kayo's encounter. We decided to stay at the diner for something to eat when I received a call from John at the house. He explained that something had happened at the mesa again, asking us to come back as soon as we could. We didn't wait around. As much as the house terrified us, we weren't prepared to leave the others for much longer. So we climbed into the car and took the long winding road towards the ranch. Our experience began when we arrived at the perimeter gate to the property. The quiet road took on a sinister presence. The three of us felt like we were being watched by something in the surrounding hills. That's when something compelled Daniel to look up at the rocks above us. He gasped aloud.

"Who on earth is that?"

"What's that, Dan?" Grandma asked.

"Up there on the slope. Look?"

We pulled over so we could get a look at what Dan had seen. Sure enough, there was the faint outline of a person standing up on the rocks above us. There were no trails that led up there. The man seemed to hunch as it shifted the loose rock underneath. Baffled by what it was doing, I called up to it.

"Hey, buddy! Get down from there before you break your neck!"

The figure heard me. It replied sharply with an eerie, blood-curdling cackle. The best way I can describe it is that it sounded like a banshee or a Hyena. He continued to laugh, and screech wildly into the air. I felt my blood run cold as I ushered Grandma and Daniel into the car. It started to throw rocks at us. We could hear them bounce off the roof of our car. Each rock had enough force behind it to leave a dent in the roof. Grandma floored the accelerator, and we continued our way up the road towards the house. When we got to the house, we were greeted by Alan and John who sat out on the porch. Before we could even say a word, we froze to a horrifying sound. That same cackle we heard from the figure had somehow followed us. It echoed throughout the valley, screeching and laughing maniacally at us.

Then, a second laugh appeared to our right. It seemed to respond to the first one with a similar laugh. Then, a third laugh came from our left. As we tried to figure out what to do, the screams morphed into a sequence of shorter cries. They appeared to be chanting at us like a tribe of warriors. A cloaked figure appeared from the rocks to the left of us. Its grotesque smile sent shivers running down my spine. I watched the colour run from Dan's face when two more figures emerged behind the first one. We didn't stick around to see what their intentions were. Grandma whisked all of us into the house when she saw four more figures appear to the left of us. She slammed and locked the door behind us, instructing all of us to go into the downstairs laboratory. I remained to help barricade the door and windows. I peered through the window to see the figures shuffle towards the house. This was a siege and it dawned on me that these "figures" were going to try and a break-in. As soon as we were done barricading the door, Grandma grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the Lab. Once we joined the others, she sealed the heavy blast door behind us.

We all paused for a moment to relax our nerves. The Laboratory was impenetrable from the outside which meant we were safe for the time being. We could hear the sound of chaos happening above our heads. They had gotten into the house through the smashed Windows after they tried the door. Furniture toppled and scraped along the floorboards. These beings had broken into the house! We then diverted our attention towards the heavy blast door which stood between us and them. About a half-hour later, tension set in amongst the family. Our cloaked intruders still had free reign of the house. Their disembodied laughs accompanied the damage they were dealing with. It was as if they were enjoying themselves.

"I hope it holds?" muttered Kayo. "Just who are these people?"

"I don't know, but they did warn us to leave earlier," Virgil replied.

"Yeah well we're not giving up this ranch to them!" barked Scott. "I'm sick of this!"

"We all are, son," Grandma replied calmly. "But we've got to keep our heads together. They won't get through there. We're quite safe."

"I'd feel safer inside Thunderbird Two," piped Alan. "Isn't there something we can do?"

Grandma had the answer to that. She directed the family's attention to Daniel who sat silently up against the far wall. He trembled at what was happening around us, but he composed himself enough to explain what he had told us in the diner earlier. He calmly shared his knowledge with the rest of the family. He stressed that it was only a theory, but it seemed like the logical answer we had been looking for. Virgil mentioned the electromagnetic well he and Kayo had discovered earlier. The pieces seemed to fit in place.

"It's clear what we need to do," Scott said as he stood to attention. "We need to locate the Spectre and destroy it. John, can you program EOS to follow the electromagnetic spikes to their source?"

John rubbed the back of his aching neck. "The entire property is drenched in electromagnetic energy. It'll take me all night to sift through it all."

"Then do it," Scott replied sternly. "We've got nothing to lose and it's not like any of us is going to be sleeping much anyway."

John didn't argue. He spun around on his heel and walked towards a computer terminal behind Thunderbird Two. He didn't move for the rest of the night. We made ourselves comfortable using the survival gear aboard Thunderbird Two. Alan spent the night inside the cabin as he felt safe there. I joined him. It seemed like the only place where you couldn't hear the chaos outside. Despite the calm quietness of the Thunderbird, none of us got any sleep. It would be Five hours before John completed his task. Five hours of hiding. We sat there and wondered if we'd ever make it out of the house. Would we even live to see another sunrise? One thing was for certain though. I couldn't wait to go home.