Chapter 18

"Scott you've got to get to that crew you have minutes before they're submerged." Jeff barked through his suit's comms.

"I'm almost at the stern. No signs of life so far." The ship groaned echoing around him as it listed a drop further, Scott grabbed on to the door hatch that was almost vertical. He had a bag of several emergency masks with ten minutes worth of oxygen and no idea how many people might need them as the head count above was still taking place with the survivors and the missing. He bit back at the queasy feeling building in the pit of his stomach, he did not want to play God today. What if he couldn't get them all out? He shook his head he couldn't think like that. He steadied himself using his arms to pull himself along the port windows. The water streamed off of him as he entered the dry section of the stricken cruise ship, not that it would be dry for long.

"I'm at the door now, standby."

"F.A.B Scott, standing by."

Scott pushed at the door but it wouldn't budge. He stopped braced himself against the window and the door frame and tried again, grunting with the effort. He hammered on the door. No answer. He risked taking his mask off, it hung loosely on his chest. "Hey! Anyone in there? Can you get the door open? I'm here to rescue you but hurry we don't have much time!" The onimous creaking of the ship almost drowned out his shouts. The sound made him gulp. He did not like this situation at all. Too many variables that made it hazardous. He could be as easily entombed as them if he wasn't careful.

"Help! Can you hear us?"

"Yes! It's international rescue! Can you let me in?"

"Hang on!" A male voice yelled back.

"How many of you are there?"

"Seven!"

He had ten masks as that was the largest capacity Thunderbird 4 could take, he would just have to hope it was just the seven here and that no one else was trapped. "Alright! Open the door and be careful! You don't want to drop into the water below." With that he hunched up against the port window crouched on top of it as he reapplied his mask. He then quickly hoisted the bag around to his front so he could easily hand out the masks. He glanced up his blue eyes focused on the scraping noises and shouting from above. It seemed the furniture of what he guessed was the kitchen area had blocked the escape route as the ship had started to sink. The water started sloshing at his feet as the port window underneath him cracked. Scott took a cautious step back feeling trapped. What he wouldn't give to be airborne right now.

Alan was straining from the level of control required to skim above the ocean, scowling in frustration at the occasional waver in concentration that caused him to dip every now and then. Scott always made it look infinitely easy to fly this thing but Alan found her jumpy in comparison to Thunderbird three.

"Can you see anything Alan? The Italian authorities reckon there are still at least sixty odd passengers missing. Two lifeboats from the ship have been recovered, Penny is just extracting the last passengers from the top deck of the ship." Virgil's jaw formed a tense line, he wanted her back here with him but she refused to leave the remaining passengers till she had them secured.

"Nothing yet Virgil, I'm not holding out much hope, its freezing down there, I can't imagine someone would survive long once they hit the water and this ship was almost sunk by the time we got here."

"Alright, keep at it and shout if you need back up."

"F.A.B"

Virgil detested not being able to see what was going on below. "Penelope how are you doing?"

"No better and no worse than five minutes ago, now if you will excuse me, I'm a little preoccupied. I will call when you can raise the platform."

"Fine." He replied tersely. It wasn't often Virgil lost his cool but when he did, he looked akin to a certain younger fairer haired brother.

Penelope landed catlike on the railings, she couldn't reach the last person from the platform where she had promised Virgil she would remain, so she had hooked a safety line on and jumped for it. Balancing on the railings she was able to lend an outstretched hand to a young woman who clawed her way up Penny, stepping roughly on her shoulder in a panic to get on the platform. Two men hauled her up the rest of the way, her sneakers forcibly leaving Penelope's shoulder. She rolled it out before bending down once again to offer her arm to another man, once on the railings he was tall enough to scrabble on. They were running out of room on the already crowded platform. Below the crowd of desperate people clawed at the railings, scrabbling for purchase.

Despite the chaos around her Penelope remained calm as she crouched on the metal rungs, it wouldn't do to lose her head, there were enough people doing that. The shouting, screaming and wailing could be heard above the clamour of the waves and the clanking of the liner as it got pulled under. There were at least another sixteen that she could see as she did a quick head count.. Another two managed to hop on of their own accord. Then the colour from her face drained in horror. Just to her left she saw a mother holding on one handed, cradling a young child to her breast.

Before she knew what she was doing she unclipped herself and started to traverse over to the left. Other people still tried to clamber onto the platform but there was still enough room, she judged they should all be able to make it with inches to spare. She had to concentrate on her every move, trying to step over people grabbing at her legs, the white knuckles of desperation clinging to the edge beneath her feet. The ship lurched and she windmilled before quickly grabbing on with all fours and steading her hold. She was almost there. Her eyes locked with the raven-haired women, her hair and olive skin dripping with sea spray, her pretty cobalt tunic in tatters. The babies' cries carried on the wind along with the mothers' desperate pleas, she was weakening, Penny could see it in the whites of her eyes. "Don't give up now I'm almost there." She called across. The woman nodded.

Little did Penelope know but a young man had been trailing her from the mid-point. Sensing the lady might need assistance and appearing to be on her own he had taken off after her rather than save his own skin on the platform with everyone else. Seeing him, two other men had followed. The captain who had refused till last minute to leave his ship and another tourist, his camera still attached around his neck. They pushed their way along, shoving people over them to the platform when needed, the occasional foot or elbow making contact with their faces, snagging on their clothes, the water was perilously close now soaking their trousers. The captain fell into step with the slim young man in front, he nodded at him. The kid (For he was no older than eighteen) nodded back, they could do this they had to. A fierce gust of wind ripped through stealing the captain's hat and tossing it into the seafoam below. He stared for a moment as it ssunkwith his ship before tightening his grip.

Penelope had reached the rung above, one arm outstretched. "Pass me the child please, come on you can do it." she called arm outstretched.

The young women tried to raise her the child from the crook of her arm but she couldn't. She sobbed. She was beyond exhaustion and fear, it had consumed her. Sometime ago the feeling had left her arm, the muscles spasmed into gripping the child hard enough to bruise but now her fingers felt dead. She tried; she had really tried but she was so weak. The thick sliver railing was too wide for her petite hand. It squeaked as her grip started to relinquish. She knew it was too late. She kissed her precious bundle on their head, tears streaming into their soft downy hair. She inhaled the precious smell of her baby girl one more time; and let go.

"Nooooooooo!" Penelope screamed, arm still extended as the little bundle started to slip, time almost slowed but not enough. She pitched herself off the stern into the tempest below.

Gordon has risen early to say goodbye to Henry who was returning home. He was sorry to see his friend leave, out of all of this, having extra time with him had been one of the best outcomes. They had promised to stay in more regular contact and Gordon hoped it wouldn't be as long till he next saw his friend. Tin-Tin was still asleep, the house was quiet as he padded through the lounge in socks and cream shorts. She had been so pleased to see him and you could see she wanted to pepper him with questions but had refrained as he had been tired by his guests before she arrived, so she had gone to bed early. Hopefully today he would find out a bit more about home and how they were all keeping.

He grabbed his t-shirt off the sofa and threw it on before heading to the fridge and pouring some juice. He leaned back against the cool marble counter. Today was the first time he felt more like himself. He downed the juice feeling energised, smiling in satisfaction. He headed over to the sofa and pulled out his tattered trainers from his original overnight bag. Gordon bent over, concentrating on lacing them up and trying not to be put off by the disconcerting way the floor swayed on his outer periphery.

He felt a tap on the back of his shoulder and almost jumped a mile high. Tin-tin tilted his chin gently with her fingers. He gulped. "Where do you think you are going?"

"Er to get breakfast."

She pulled back and folded her arms.

"Alright; I fancied a morning run. I need to keep my fitness up. Its very easy for me to lose muscle mass and I need my core strength maintained for my back, along with the physio that's the bane of my life, especially when I can't do my usual swim."

"Come with me." She crooked a finger towards her in case he hadn't heard her. For the first time he noticed she was in bright lycra leggings and a loose fitting shirt with her hair pulled into a high pony. Intrigued as to what exercise she has planned he followed her out onto the balcony. The early morning sun had warmed the decked area already, the balcony above providing some shelter from the glare of the rising sun that twinkled off the sleek sliver railings and glass panels. He looked at the mats in resignation. "Yoga. Not exactly what I had in mind, I was after something a bit more… athletic." He wrinkled his nose in obvious distaste.

Tin-tin claimed her mat to the left and rolled her eyes at him over her shoulder. "Gordon, I know you practiced yoga for a long time after your initial injury. It has many benefits that I don't have to explain to you. Technically we shouldn't even be doing this till you are better but you need some form of exercise."

He paused to kick off his trainers that he'd strained himself to put on, a small smile playing across his face. "You know I can't hear you?" She swatted his arm. He pushed her back just as she side stepped him easily and took a defensive stance.

"Fine, fine!" He held up in hands in exasperation. He knew she probably wouldn't spar with him today but he wouldn't come to harm even if they did, Tin-tin had evasion down to an art form and could create space in places where you thought she was cornered without expending herself in the slightest.

He resigned himself to doing as he was told. They both worked through a few simple warm up stretches of their limbs before moving onto a yoga warm up. Gordon bent and sat crossed legged before holding his hands palm up on his knees. He could feel the gentle but firm pull of his back muscles as he sat straight and focused on the magnificent LA skyline that stretched out before them. He glanced to see Tin-tin smiling back at him in encouragement before turning to face front again to stabilise his breathing.

Tin-tin followed his lead as he started on a seated twist. Her left hand on the floor and right supported on her left knee she slowly twisted to the left, looking over her shoulder away from him for five breaths before turning back. She noticed he didn't hold the position as long as her but his flexibility was good.

They continued with several other warm up poses ending with the child's pose before moving onto the more strenuous movements. They flowed from the Back bend before rising up into the warrior poses. He couldn't face the downward dog today, it would make him too light-headed. Despite his inner ear issues causing some balance problems initially, Gordon already maintained a strong core which helped him to keep his balance where others would have struggled. Tin-tin glanced over in occasional awe which led to a wobble or two but she quickly recovered. After thirty minutes she called time. "Time to wind down."

"Seriously? You're not saying that for my benefit are you because I could do this all morning." He was currently balanced one foot resting on the side of his knee, his arms outstretched above him in a straight arrow. He didn't even twitch as he talked, his body remained in total alignment as he remained fixated on his point of focus.

Tin-tin was already back in the child pose taking a break. She stood so he could see her, a healthy flush had broken out across her cheeks. "Trust me it's for my benefit." she gasped in the heat.

He laughed finally wavering. "Alright let's hit the floor."

They spent five minutes in the corpse pose just letting their mind wander. Tin-Tin's thoughts were pleasant – at first. The sun on her skin, the far way hum of early morning traffic, the birds overhead and the jet she could hear passing over reminding her of the aircraft at home and in turn her family. Alan's bright smile dazzled her senses causing her to frown. Against her will she wondered what he was doing right now, asleep most likely. The way he looked so peaceful and content, resting on the pillow next to her in the early morning light. Waking up next to him filled her with quiet contentment. Then the image shattered as she saw him with that brunette nobody draped across him, her silvery dress clinched where his hand met her thigh and his mouth connected with hers and not her own.

"Tin-tin?"

Gordon held his hand extended outwards from where he was crouched. He pulled her up into a sitting position, the hurt evident on her face caused him to reach out and wipe a tear.

She scraped at her face. "Hay fever, the pollen count must be awfully high today."

"Yeah, real problem in the city." He lingered holding onto her hand. "Are you sure your alright? You're very quiet about this weekend just gone."

"I'd rather not talk about it." She replied in a small voice.

"Sorry I didn't catch that."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course, you didn't" she mocked.

"I genuinely didn't you were rather quiet."

"Oh" She noticed his confused face for the first time and laughed. "Sorry"

"My fault for crying wolf. I told dad I couldn't hear him too when I thought he was going to kick off"

She gave a half laugh, half sniff. A little louder she replied. "I'd rather not talk about it, yet."

"Fair enough then. Come on, can't lie around all day. Got proper exercise to do." He struggled wincing out of the crouch.

"Let's stretch first"

"Agreed." He extended upwards slowly as she grimaced standing up. "Nothing to see here, just two young adults in their prime." They both laughed while trying to stretch fully without cracking. Gordon could always lighten her mood quicker than a flame could ignite. She couldn't help it, his good-humoured nature drew happiness even from the darkest of moments. It was in his nature to make others happy. She smiled tentatively as they broke off to their respective rooms to shower, maybe she could heal here.

The tides were quickly turning for Scott, sweeping him with them. he'd just passed the last mask to the remaining crew member after laying out the plan for them when the ship finally sank fully. Something heavy struck the stern above them as it shuddered on its way down sending them into a spin, bubbles sprouted upwards in a fountain, obscuring his view for a moment. The boat suddenly plummeted around them and for a time he was suspended as it all fell away around him, he watched the crew shoot off downwards not looking back like he told them. The speed of the ship sinking increased dramatically. Chairs, bins and possessions drifted down around him like he was incased in some giant snow globe. It wasn't till he was nearly struck in the head by the old stairway, that he got his bearings to push on. He kicked with all his might, pushing downwards towards what he thought had been his carefully thought-out exit but now up was down and down was up - he had no idea. He just caught sight of feet disappearing around the corner ahead and made a spurt for it. He'd never felt so off kilter during a rescue before, it was enough to shake him out of his daze. Somehow, he pushed off out of the final hatch (where he had cut the old external door off) to see the under-ocean expanse that for a moment seemed blissful in comparison to the wreck that was now crashing below him.

His thoughts turned back to fear, where were they? He should have been leading them out but somehow got left behind in the confusion. They only had minutes on those respirators, he had to find them. "Base to Thunderbird 4" Scott ignored the call pushing around wildly before he remembered to look up. he was so used to accessing situations below him. He he saw what looked to be figures clustered together high above. He inflated his BCD and shot upwards. He closed the valve again "Woah!" He was now a good ten metres above the crew they looked at him in surprise from where he had just signed rocketed. He quickly made his way back to them breathing hard and cursing himself for it, realising he was expending precious oxygen faster than a balloon with a puncture.

He got to the men and pointed east to where he knew the tracker indicated he'd left Thunderbird four. A quick count told him thankfully that they were better prepared than him and had managed to remain together. He pushed on them following behind. They managed to get back near the sub unscathed. Now he had to get them in and quickly. He hastily selected the first three who looked like they were struggling the most and went in with them to de-pressurise. The water drained away painfully slowly, Scott barely registered John trying to hail him. He literally pushed the men out before instantly hitting the button again. A few painstaking minutes later he was back out. Two of the men were supporting a tall, large man with a shock of red hair undulating in the tide, he was unconscious. Scott instantly helped them to pull him into the hatch. As the water got to their waist Scott removed his respirator and tapped the man's pale cheeks hard. They pulled him out the hatch. "Go we've got this!" They shouted. Scott immediately backed out to get the last man whose face was one of concealed panic. He was trying his hardest to remain calm but there was nothing left in his lungs to expel, he could hear his heart pounding in his ears whilst he tried to resist the urge to claw at his neck. As the water finally cleared, he inhaled nosily trying to suck in air as fast as possible on his hands on his knees, his white shirt practically see-through revealing dark skin underneath.

"Thank you, man, I thought we were gonners for sure."

"You're welcome that was certainly a close shave, let's get you guys top side."

Scott made it back into the now very crowded sub. The large gentleman that had collapsed was now sat upright in the corner but still looked weak. "How is he?" Scott bent down and checked his vitals. Luckily, he had a steady pulse if a little sluggish. Scott stood and leaned across one of the other guys to grab the oxygen mask and a emergency blanket.

"He's pretty out of it put then he just nearly downed so its to be expected. He's lucky to be alive, hell we all are!" A small wiry guy clapped Scott on the back. "Thank you amigo."

"You're welcome, I'm sorry I got caught up at the end. I should have got you to safety quicker." Scott was appalled. He'd nearly lost his guy through his own stupidity. He knew better than to lose his bearings and to deploy his BCD too much. He'd allowed the situation to get the better of him.

The last guy he had brought back in with him piped up. "Hey man, don't beat yourself up like that. What you just pulled off was a miracle! We were all waiting to die, you were our salvation. That was a hell of a situation to be in, none of us could have got out without you."

Scott smiled. "Thank you that's very kind of you to say" –

"Scott, will you come in!" He looked at the console distracted. "If you'll just excuse me…"

"Sure" with one final check of the guy on the floor Scott pushed his way through as they parted to let him get to the controls.

"This is Thunderbird Four to Base and Five. sorry for the radio silence, I had my hands full with seven of the crew that were trapped. Returning to the surface now, one needs hospital treatment immediately."

"Alright, head to the coordinates John just sent over and a rescue ship will be on hand for you to offload the crew, once completed check in for further instructions." His father tone concerned him; something had gone wrong but what exactly? He fired up the turbines and got ready to ascend. "F.A.B I'll report in as soon as I'm top side." He cut the transmission and turned to see five men ducked uncomfortably, the smallest with his hands resting on the back of Scott's seat was the only one with plenty of headroom. It was getting hot and stuffy; the inside of the screen was already condensing with droplets. Scott fired up the vents in an attempt to clear it, definitely time to go. "Hold tight guys, it might get a bit bumpy."

"No worse than what we've been through today."

Little did Scott know his experience was the tip of the iceberg to what had occurred above.