And here's the next. It's a little short, but I didn't have much time to write for this one and just wanted to get something up. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter Eight – Ashes to Ashes

The screen was slightly hazy with smoke, and the ground crunched under the feet of the person holding the camera. There were blackened, bare trees and off in the distance the charred remains of what looked like a house. The street the camera person was walking down had cracked from heat, and ash swept across it with a light breeze. Up ahead, Thunderbird Two loomed, like a beacon in a gray landscape. A fire had recently swept through wherever they were, and this was the after effect of the devastation.

Scott was seated on the Thunderbird Two's ramp, hunched forward to rest his arms against updrawn knees. His helmet rested next to his hip, and his sooty face was turned to look down at Alan, who was sprawled out on the ramp next to him. Gordon was stretched out on the ramp as well, lying on his stomach, head resting in his arms. Neither Alan or Gordon wore their helmets either, and both were just as dirty as Scott was.

They clearly didn't know they were being filmed, and the camera-person went completely silent, just training the camera on the three brothers. They looked exhausted, hungry and in dire need of a bath. This probably wasn't what the viewers were going to expect from a video. A lot of after-rescue media tended to come from the people being rescued, and often it was portrayed glamorously and with exciting detail.

"We good to go?" Alan muttered with a yawn, giving a small cough as he inhaled some ash.

"Just waiting for Virge to double check the Pods," Scott replied, sounding just as tired as he absently patted Alan's chest. He looked over at Gordon. "You okay, Gords?"

"Fine," Gordon said, opening a single eye before letting it fall shut. He shifted slightly, finding a more comfortable position. "Twenty-two hours of fire-fighting isn't exactly easy work, Scott."

Scott sighed. "Tell me about it. The FireFly Pod is never going to be the same," he muttered. "Thunderbird Five, we good to go?"

John popped up as a hologram, hovering over Scott's wrist. "Fire's died down enough that local authorities say that they can handle the rest. There are no more civilians in immediate danger from the flames," John said. He turned to look over at Alan. "Allie, I've got a ship in distress out here."

"How so?" Alan asked, although he didn't exactly sound capable of doing another rescue at that time.

"Their fuel line was severed by some space junk," John explained. "It leaked out and they're just drifting at the moment."

Alan blinked, turning just enough to give John a long look. "They're lucky there wasn't an explosion. How soon do they need to be pulled in?"

John paused, clearly talking to someone on a different line. "They're good for another three days if needed. GDF wouldn't be able to get to them for a week with where they are, but the captain says that you should get a good shower, food and a nap before coming up after having dealt with that fire."

"FAB," Alan yawned. "Yeah. Let me eat, get clean and get some sleep and I'll go get 'em."

"Sounds good," John smiled. "Good work with the fire. Let me know when you're about to lift off. Thunderbird Five out." John disappeared and Scott let his arm drop.

"You sure you're good to fly?" Gordon asked Alan, although he didn't bother moving from his prone position.

Alan shrugged, wiggling a little on the metal ramp. It wasn't very comfortable, apparently. "I'll be fine in a bit. The ship isn't in any immediate danger, so I'll be able to rest up enough."

"Nice that the captain was understanding of the situation," Gordon mumbled, falling silent again as he seemed to doze off.

Virgil came out of the depths of Thunderbird Two at that moment, looking just as dirty and exhausted as his brothers. He handed water bottles to Alan and Scott and shook Gordon's shoulder until the younger man took a bottle for himself. "Pods are good to go," he said, glancing around. He did a double take at seeing the camera. "Kayo? Why are you filming?"

"Lady Penelope has stated that a majority of your fans want to know more about rescues. She figured I would know what could and couldn't be filmed," a feminine voice answered. She stepped closer, the camera bobbing just a little. Scott was staring up at the camera now, scowling a little. Alan and Gordon hadn't bothered moving.

"More about rescues?" Scott said, running a hand down his face. "Well, I can tell you they're not glamorous."

"I can see that," Kayo replied. "Would you like to explain what happened here?"

"Fire," Virgil grunted, leaning against the side of his ship. "Over thirty thousand acres gone. Swept through a town."

Scott nodded. "We don't deal with wildfires until they endanger people, since we're in the people-rescuing business and all. Had to come in and evacuate the town as the fire turned so fast that most didn't have enough warning to leave on their own."

"And?" she asked.

"We got them all out," Virgil said with a relieved and slightly incredulous huff. "That was a good outcome. We weren't expecting it, to be honest, as we rarely have a case like this that comes out with zero percent loss of life."

"Still took us a good twenty-two hours though," Alan grumbled. His face scrunched up. "All this because someone threw a lit cigarette out a car window during a dry spell."

"Smoking kills," Gordon quipped tiredly, finally moving and carefully getting himself to his feet. Virgil's eyes narrowed a bit as he watched, but then he gave a nod and straightened himself.

Absently helping both Scott and Alan to their feet, Virgil stretched slightly, looking towards Kayo and the camera again. "You've been out here for six hours, Kayo. You good to fly?" The camera bobbed a bit, as though Kayo nodded. "Good. Alan? You riding with me or Scott?"

"Scott," Alan said, yawning again. "See you at home."

Scott clapped Virgil on the shoulder, waved at Gordon and threw an arm over Alan's shoulder. "Let's go."

Virgil blinked at the retreating pair, and then turned to Gordon. "Come on, let's get going. See you at home Kayo."

And the screen went black.

YusukeTomo 18 hours ago
I remember hearing about that fire I think. Over 30,000 acres destroyed and at least 500 homes gone. At least no one died.
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HarryStanley 16 hours ago
Dude, they look exhausted. And that's just from saving the people. Imagine if they did what everyone used to tell them to do and tried to save all the belongings and things. Frankly, I think they do more than enough already.
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MargaretLovesYou 15 hours ago
Crap. Poor Alan. Back to back rescues can't be easy. And he has to go to space next too. GDF needs better ships or something.
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BeLikeAHero23 10 hours ago
Yo, Kayo is like super sneaky. They didn't even notice her until Virgil came out and saw. She's gotta be awesome.
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UTooBrute39 9 hours ago
You always hear about the rescues that are all like action-adventure stuff and think Whoa! I'd like to be with International Rescue and save the damsels and be a hero! And then you see this, where they're tired and dirty and been working for almost a full day probably without stopping and it kinda brings reality back, you know?
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ForeverMeg 8 hours ago
This was a little depressing. Let's bring back the domestic fluff please.
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FamilyManGreg 5 hours ago
Thanks for getting us out of the fire. Homes and belongings can be replaced, but lives can't and you saved mine and my familys' that day. I am forever grateful.
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