Chapter Five: In The Dead Of Night
~~
Two days later, everything was beginning to return to normal. Gordon had almost returned to his usual self, showing this by playing an elaborate practical joke on Virgil and his piano, earning Gordon a dip in the pool. Alan was recovering well from his flu, far quicker than expected, which he claimed was due to his Grandma's delicious chicken soup. He would be making the exchange with John in Thunderbird Five the next day, twenty-four hours earlier than expected. The best news of all, for Scott, was that he had received three wonderful nights of sleep, minus the forewarning dreams. But, for the unfortunate Scott, that was not going to last...
~~
Scott looked around him, and found he was in a dark, murky cave, and the lack of light made it difficult to see. As he tried to get his bearings, he heard rumbling around him, and felt the earth shake slightly. A few rocks began to fall around him, and he held his hands over his head.
Once he was sure that the tremor had passed for the time being, Scott began to explore the area. The terrain was rocky, and unsteady underfoot, and Scott had to be careful not to lose his balance.
'Hello?' Scott said loudly, wondering who would be found in such a place. It looked to be a domain for goblins, dwarves and trolls, like in a computer game he had played in his youth. Arx Fatalis, if he recalled correctly.
Scott slipped slightly, and held out his arms to steady himself. On doing this, he noticed that he was clad in his blue International Rescue uniform. 'I guess I'm on a rescue,' Scott mumbled to himself.
He continued to wander through the cavern, unsure of what he was destined to rescue. 'Is anyone there?' Scott said, this time with more volume. He regretted doing this when the cave began to shake, rattle and roll. Scott stepped precariously, hands back over his head.
Once again, the quake passed, and Scott continued his journey. He hadn't gone ten paces when he saw a metallic glint out of the corner of his eye. Moving closer to inspect it, he found that it was one of International Rescue's hover-bikes, half-buried in the rocks.
'Hey,' Scott said quietly to himself whilst inspecting the vehicle. 'If I didn't arrive here on that, it means there's got to be someone else down there.' He looked up sharply when he heard what he thought to be a faint cry coming from deeper in the cave. He continued on, this time faster.
The gradient began to slope sharply, sending Scott skidding on his feet, and then his side when he fell to the ground. He rolled to the end of the slide, and luckily for him came to a stop about a foot away from a large drop into the unknown black below.
He sat up, shaking his head and dislodging dust and dirt from his hair. He turned around to look back at where he had come from, to find a way to return, as this area was evidently a dead end. He turned back sharply when heard a sudden cry from behind him. 'Scott!'
The oldest Tracy saw two hands clinging onto the side of the crumbling ledge. Peering over, he found that it was none other than his brother Gordon hanging onto it for dear life.
'Help me, Scott,' Gordon said, a pleading look contained within his terrified eyes.
Scott took one of Gordon's hands and began to pull. Seconds later, another forceful rock shower began. Put off by the falling rocks, Scott began to lose his grip on Gordon. 'Hold on,' Scott shouted above the clamour.
One rock landed on Gordon's other hand, which caused it to lose grip from the ledge and fall limply at his side. His weight shifted dramatically, and it was too much for Scott; Gordon's hand slipped out of his own, and the red-haired Tracy began to fall into the black hole below.
'Gordon!' Scott cried, agony filling his voice. 'No!'
~
'No!' Scott shot straight up in bed, panting, and coated in a thin film of perspiration. His heart pounded loudly inside his chest as he tried to get his breath back.
'Gordon's in trouble,' he said to himself, struggling out of the sheets that were wrapped around him. He grabbed his robe and hurried down the hallway towards Gordon's bedroom.
When he arrived, he found Gordon sleeping peacefully. Scott watched in the shadows for a moment. Gordon's auburn hair was tousled, partway across his eyes with one thick strand resting on the tip of his nose. He was lying flat on his back, with his arms open as though they were pinned down at the wrists. His sheet lay lightly across his front, gently rising and falling in time with his chest.
Scott had seen enough to know that his brother was safe, for the moment, and so he turned to leave and return to his own bedroom. As he walked, his foot caught the corner of Gordon's bookcase, sending pain shooting from his right big toe through into the rest of his body. Fighting the urge to yell, he bit his bottom lip hard and closed his eyes, thinking of anything except for his stubbed toe. It was pointless keeping quiet, though, as Gordon had already woken up.
'Scott? You had better have a good reason for waking me up. A really, really good reason,' Gordon said, using his balled fists to remove the sleep from his eyes.
Scott approached the bed, desperately trying to think of an explanation.
'Well?' Gordon said, prompting him.
'I, err, well,' Scott fumbled. Telling Gordon what he had really come into his room for was out of the question, so he settled for, 'You owe me twenty- five dollars.'
Gordon stared, open-mouthed, before asking, 'What did you say?'
Scott cleared his throat and repeated, 'You owe me twenty-five dollars.'
Gordon could not believe his ears. 'You woke me up at ten to four in the morning to tell me that? Couldn't it have waited?' Gordon's voice had risen in volume throughout his speech, and he was in danger of waking up the rest of the house. He didn't care though, if he had a rude awakening, it was only fair that everyone else should, as well.
'Erm, yeah, sorry,' Scott said, now flustered. He headed hastily to the door. 'Good night!'
Scott padded back to his room and into his bed. He could not sleep, though, as he was too wound up about the dream. He knew it had to be a premonition, as it had felt like the others, so real, almost like a trailer for what was to come later in real life. Although Gordon was not in danger when he had seen him a few minutes ago, it did not mean that it wouldn't happen. Determined to personally ensure that nothing happened to his little brother, he resolved to keep a hawk-like watch over him. With this decision in mind, Scott's eyes eventually closed and he was ready for another few hours of sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At breakfast the next morning, Scott walked into the kitchen as Jeff was enjoying his morning cup of coffee and newspaper.
'Morning, Scott,' Jeff said, taking a swig of his coffee as Scott buttered his toast.
'Good morning,' Scott said in reply, taking a large bite out of the slice.
'I hear you had an interesting night,' Jeff commented, not looking up from his paper.
Scott inwardly groaned. Nothing stayed quiet in this family for long, he thought to himself.
'The funny thing was,' Jeff continued. 'Gordon tried to think of when he borrowed twenty-five dollars from you, or even why, and he couldn't remember.'
Scott cursed under his breath before saying, 'Yeah, well, after waking him up last night, I've decided to apologise by calling off the debt.'
'That's very gracious of you,' Jeff said, his eyes still fixed on the broadsheet. 'So, any special reason you decided to wake him up at that hour to tell him?'
Scott had gone off his breakfast by that time. 'Not really,' he mumbled, finishing his toast in one mouthful and making a hasty exit from the kitchen. Jeff glanced up briefly, before shaking his head in amusement and returning to his newspaper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~
Two days later, everything was beginning to return to normal. Gordon had almost returned to his usual self, showing this by playing an elaborate practical joke on Virgil and his piano, earning Gordon a dip in the pool. Alan was recovering well from his flu, far quicker than expected, which he claimed was due to his Grandma's delicious chicken soup. He would be making the exchange with John in Thunderbird Five the next day, twenty-four hours earlier than expected. The best news of all, for Scott, was that he had received three wonderful nights of sleep, minus the forewarning dreams. But, for the unfortunate Scott, that was not going to last...
~~
Scott looked around him, and found he was in a dark, murky cave, and the lack of light made it difficult to see. As he tried to get his bearings, he heard rumbling around him, and felt the earth shake slightly. A few rocks began to fall around him, and he held his hands over his head.
Once he was sure that the tremor had passed for the time being, Scott began to explore the area. The terrain was rocky, and unsteady underfoot, and Scott had to be careful not to lose his balance.
'Hello?' Scott said loudly, wondering who would be found in such a place. It looked to be a domain for goblins, dwarves and trolls, like in a computer game he had played in his youth. Arx Fatalis, if he recalled correctly.
Scott slipped slightly, and held out his arms to steady himself. On doing this, he noticed that he was clad in his blue International Rescue uniform. 'I guess I'm on a rescue,' Scott mumbled to himself.
He continued to wander through the cavern, unsure of what he was destined to rescue. 'Is anyone there?' Scott said, this time with more volume. He regretted doing this when the cave began to shake, rattle and roll. Scott stepped precariously, hands back over his head.
Once again, the quake passed, and Scott continued his journey. He hadn't gone ten paces when he saw a metallic glint out of the corner of his eye. Moving closer to inspect it, he found that it was one of International Rescue's hover-bikes, half-buried in the rocks.
'Hey,' Scott said quietly to himself whilst inspecting the vehicle. 'If I didn't arrive here on that, it means there's got to be someone else down there.' He looked up sharply when he heard what he thought to be a faint cry coming from deeper in the cave. He continued on, this time faster.
The gradient began to slope sharply, sending Scott skidding on his feet, and then his side when he fell to the ground. He rolled to the end of the slide, and luckily for him came to a stop about a foot away from a large drop into the unknown black below.
He sat up, shaking his head and dislodging dust and dirt from his hair. He turned around to look back at where he had come from, to find a way to return, as this area was evidently a dead end. He turned back sharply when heard a sudden cry from behind him. 'Scott!'
The oldest Tracy saw two hands clinging onto the side of the crumbling ledge. Peering over, he found that it was none other than his brother Gordon hanging onto it for dear life.
'Help me, Scott,' Gordon said, a pleading look contained within his terrified eyes.
Scott took one of Gordon's hands and began to pull. Seconds later, another forceful rock shower began. Put off by the falling rocks, Scott began to lose his grip on Gordon. 'Hold on,' Scott shouted above the clamour.
One rock landed on Gordon's other hand, which caused it to lose grip from the ledge and fall limply at his side. His weight shifted dramatically, and it was too much for Scott; Gordon's hand slipped out of his own, and the red-haired Tracy began to fall into the black hole below.
'Gordon!' Scott cried, agony filling his voice. 'No!'
~
'No!' Scott shot straight up in bed, panting, and coated in a thin film of perspiration. His heart pounded loudly inside his chest as he tried to get his breath back.
'Gordon's in trouble,' he said to himself, struggling out of the sheets that were wrapped around him. He grabbed his robe and hurried down the hallway towards Gordon's bedroom.
When he arrived, he found Gordon sleeping peacefully. Scott watched in the shadows for a moment. Gordon's auburn hair was tousled, partway across his eyes with one thick strand resting on the tip of his nose. He was lying flat on his back, with his arms open as though they were pinned down at the wrists. His sheet lay lightly across his front, gently rising and falling in time with his chest.
Scott had seen enough to know that his brother was safe, for the moment, and so he turned to leave and return to his own bedroom. As he walked, his foot caught the corner of Gordon's bookcase, sending pain shooting from his right big toe through into the rest of his body. Fighting the urge to yell, he bit his bottom lip hard and closed his eyes, thinking of anything except for his stubbed toe. It was pointless keeping quiet, though, as Gordon had already woken up.
'Scott? You had better have a good reason for waking me up. A really, really good reason,' Gordon said, using his balled fists to remove the sleep from his eyes.
Scott approached the bed, desperately trying to think of an explanation.
'Well?' Gordon said, prompting him.
'I, err, well,' Scott fumbled. Telling Gordon what he had really come into his room for was out of the question, so he settled for, 'You owe me twenty- five dollars.'
Gordon stared, open-mouthed, before asking, 'What did you say?'
Scott cleared his throat and repeated, 'You owe me twenty-five dollars.'
Gordon could not believe his ears. 'You woke me up at ten to four in the morning to tell me that? Couldn't it have waited?' Gordon's voice had risen in volume throughout his speech, and he was in danger of waking up the rest of the house. He didn't care though, if he had a rude awakening, it was only fair that everyone else should, as well.
'Erm, yeah, sorry,' Scott said, now flustered. He headed hastily to the door. 'Good night!'
Scott padded back to his room and into his bed. He could not sleep, though, as he was too wound up about the dream. He knew it had to be a premonition, as it had felt like the others, so real, almost like a trailer for what was to come later in real life. Although Gordon was not in danger when he had seen him a few minutes ago, it did not mean that it wouldn't happen. Determined to personally ensure that nothing happened to his little brother, he resolved to keep a hawk-like watch over him. With this decision in mind, Scott's eyes eventually closed and he was ready for another few hours of sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At breakfast the next morning, Scott walked into the kitchen as Jeff was enjoying his morning cup of coffee and newspaper.
'Morning, Scott,' Jeff said, taking a swig of his coffee as Scott buttered his toast.
'Good morning,' Scott said in reply, taking a large bite out of the slice.
'I hear you had an interesting night,' Jeff commented, not looking up from his paper.
Scott inwardly groaned. Nothing stayed quiet in this family for long, he thought to himself.
'The funny thing was,' Jeff continued. 'Gordon tried to think of when he borrowed twenty-five dollars from you, or even why, and he couldn't remember.'
Scott cursed under his breath before saying, 'Yeah, well, after waking him up last night, I've decided to apologise by calling off the debt.'
'That's very gracious of you,' Jeff said, his eyes still fixed on the broadsheet. 'So, any special reason you decided to wake him up at that hour to tell him?'
Scott had gone off his breakfast by that time. 'Not really,' he mumbled, finishing his toast in one mouthful and making a hasty exit from the kitchen. Jeff glanced up briefly, before shaking his head in amusement and returning to his newspaper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~