WARNING: descriptions of injury.


Let's Break the Ice

Tap, tap, tap. Gordon cracked open one eye and glowered. Virgil just grinned back at him, unaffected. Although, under the glare of his helmet lights, he actually looked a little pale. He tapped the front again. Tap, tap, tap.

'I'm not sleeping,' Gordon grumbled, careful to keep his voice low. 'Just resting my eyes.'

His brother nodded, satisfied by the use of words. 'Just a few more minutes and we'll give it a go, okay?'

The 'it' Virgil was referring to was the act of popping his dislocated shoulder back into place. It was something they were all more than capable of doing. They trained for it, had needed to do it in the field on numerous occasions. Virgil probably held the world record for fixing dislocations. There was no one Gordon trusted more to do the job. Especially given the circumstances.

Ice caves were notorious for their beauty and their danger, coveted by the most daring of adventurers. There were plenty of them all over the world; some would collapse within days, others were more permanent fixtures. Situated in Alaska, the one they were currently occupying was the world's most recently discovered ice cave, though the first few scraps of evidence suggested that it had existed for years. It had simply laid undiscovered and unexplored until earlier this year. It was due to this fact that the local authorities had declared it unsafe, forbidding the general public from entering.

Which, to some, was like issuing the world's biggest dare. Since the ruling there had been instances of trespassing almost every week. Most people didn't get more than a mile in; security saw them sneak in, or their presence was picked up by their equipment, and they were quickly hauled back out into the light of day. This week's group of intrepid explorers, however, had managed to sneak past, and spent about eight and a half hours in the caves before they finally realised they needed help. They'd tried to convince John that the authorities didn't need to know, but obviously Thunderbird Two was going to be pretty hard to miss. And, of course, they needed permission to enter the caves themselves.

Permission, apparently, only came with the agreement of taking a guide with you. So, that was their group. Virgil, Gordon, their guide (Chaz Cook; nice guy with a wealth of knowledge and experience behind him), and three slightly rattled explorers.

With Mr Cook's expertise, it took them about six hours to reach the group. They were mercifully unharmed but had gotten themselves very lost. They said they had known it was time to call it when they ran out of water. John had muttered through their private comm link that it was a rather belated conclusion. Gordon couldn't have agreed more, especially when one member of the group – a scary-looking woman with a permanent frown named Philippa – said that she believed their 'brave decision' to enter the cave made them 'die hard' explorers as opposed to the 'tourist' kind. It was only Virgil's hand squeezing his shoulder, exceptionally tightly, that kept him from opening his mouth. Chaz had looked hard-pressed to keep his thoughts to himself as well.

So, after quickly rehydrating the explorers with a hydration solution thought up by Brains, they started working on hiking their way back out. Which, naturally, was when Mother Nature decided to put on a display of exactly how dangerous ice caves could be. Spectacular timing, as always – and while Gordon admired her for making a point, he just wished he hadn't had to be the one to pay the price for it.

The icefall had happened so quickly that their reactions had all been spilt-second. Virgil had thrown his body over Jamie (the youngest of the group), and Chaz had pulled Adam (Jamie's dad and Philippa's fiancé) well clear by racing forward. Gordon was at the back of the group with Philippa. He spun her very quickly and pushed her far out of the way. Unfortunately, as he did so, he lost his footing. He went down hard.

By some miracle, the icefall didn't kill him. The loose chunks mostly missed him. Mostly. A few of them had managed to clip him, but it was all scrapes and bruises. Plus, a pretty big tear in his suit which was compromising the integrity of the seal and letting all the cold in. But that wasn't actually the main concern because Virgil had scrounged up a patchwork job for him, and Chaz had offered him the spare thermal coat from his hiking pack.

No, the main concern was the dislocated shoulder he'd given himself when he slipped. With a good five hours left of their hike, it needed to be reset before they could go anywhere. Philippa and Adam were angry about the delay, but Jamie had been enthusiastic to try and help. Virgil had let him babble away to Gordon while they waited for the painkillers to do their magic. He was a good kid really and hadn't particularly wanted to enter the cave in the first place. Didn't like the outdoors, he said. If he could've been anywhere else, it would be down in his dad's basement, working on his latest film. He was perfecting the lost art of stop-motion.

Gordon forced himself to open his eyes, not certain of when he'd let them slip shut again. Virgil was knelt in front of him, frowning, drumming his fingers on his knees. Beside him, Jamie was chewing his lip.

'What?' he asked.

'Trying to decide how best to keep you quiet,' Virgil replied.

That was fair. Like most people, Gordon was a bit of a screamer when getting parts of his body brutally manipulated back into the right place. But screaming in an unstable ice cave, immediately after an icefall, was a big no-no.

'Just give me something to bite down on. I'll keep as quiet as I can.'

Virgil's frown deepened. 'If I give you something to bite on, I'll have to take your helmet off. You'll be exposed and –'

'He can switch with me,' Chaz suggested wandering over with Adam and Philippa in tow. 'I know his won't fit me properly, but as a temporary measure it'll work.'

'It's the best solution I think we're going to get. Thank you. Now –'

'OH!' Jamie flinched at the loudness of his own voice. He glanced nervously at the ceiling before lowering his voice and continuing, 'I've got a spare pair of gloves. Could you bite down on those?'

Virgil examined them and nodded. 'It's better than the sash, that's for sure.'

Gordon had to chuckle at that. Biting down on his sash was a bit of a habit of his. It drove everyone else crazy – especially Brains, who reminded him every time that he might damage the electronics, and Grandma, who said it would break his teeth if he bit the wrong place.

'Okay,' Virgil said. They switched the helmets and rolled up the gloves. Just before Virgil stuffed them in his mouth, he gave Gordon's hand a reassuring squeeze. 'Ready for this?'

He tried not to shudder. 'Just get it over with.'

One last squeeze, and the gloves were placed in his mouth. He shifted them slightly, moving them to the right place and shooting Virgil a nod. Taking several deep breaths, he tried to force his muscles to relax.

'Alright. One. Two. Three –'