Eighteen
Thunderbird Two swooped down low over the site. In the middle of Regnad Corp. they could see The Mole's trolley and the hole that showed where the tunnelling machine had started burrowing.
"Starting Mole retrieval." Gordon announced.
By the time they'd landed and rushed over to the hole The Mole had returned to the surface. Brains and Tin-Tin climbed in quickly, followed by Alan, all eager to see if there were any signs of their colleagues. Before he boarded it, Gordon scanned The Mole's exterior for any clues. What he saw brought him up short.
"Come on Gordon!" Alan said impatiently, sticking his head out the door.
"Alan look at this." Gordon said quietly. He reached up and wiped his fingers on the panel beside the doorway. The side furthest away from The Moles screw nose.
"What!" Alan said in annoyance. "I can't see anything, it's just water." Then he stopped as the realisation came to him. "Water! Gordon! That means that the rivers flooded and has probably filled the corridors."
"Yes" said Gordon.
"Then that could mean..."
"Yes" said Gordon sadly.
They climbed into The Mole. Alan took the drivers seat, Gordon sat at the Life-Support Systems console. Wordlessly Alan set The Mole into motion, homing in on the signals that were still radiating from his brother's edible transmitters. He remembered that one of those transmitters had technically been his and hoped that Virgil's final conscious contact with him wouldn't be an unpleasant tasting one.
Brains and Tin-Tin noticed the two Tracy men's preoccupation. "They'll be fine." Tin-Tin said hopefully trying to cheer them up. "You know Scott and Virgil. Nothing stops them."
"I hope you're right, Tin-Tin." Gordon said quietly. "We've just realised that the corridor they were in has flooded."
"H-How can you tell?" Brains asked in consternation.
Gordon explained about the water level.
"Brains?" Alan began tentatively. "Can our edible transmitters work if we're... they're... I mean, do we have to be... We're still receiving a signal... Does that mean they're still alive?"
Brains thought for a moment. "I-I don't know Alan. I-I've never done any experiments in s-subjects where, ah, b-body functions have ceased to exist. But I b-believe they should do."
***
Scott and Virgil were treading water as much as their frozen limbs and frozen minds would allow.
Virgil looked up. "Youmigh' be able reach zeiling grill."
Scott reached up and managed to hook his fingers through the grill. His fingers though were too numb to hang on and his hand slipped free. "Zo cloze." He said numbly.
Virgil was struggling to remain focused. He had to keep treading water, trying to keep warm and more importantly keep his head above water.
His headlamp was growing dimmer. A sure sign of his loss of body heat.
There was a water surge and their heads were banged against the ceiling grill before the water level dropped again. The waters began to churn, spinning them about the ventilation shaft.
"Wha' h-happenin'?" Virgil spluttered. Before he would have given his eye-teeth to be able to wash the dust out of his throat. Now he was being forced to swallow more water than he could stomach.
"Wh-whirl-pool?" Scott managed to say before receiving a face full of water. The cold was really getting to him. He could feel the pain start to spread through his muscles. It was only a matter of time now. Lose six degrees of core body temperature and you lost consciousness... and died.
Their boots were ripped away from them by the churning waters.
Another surge sent Virgil closer to the ceiling. This time he managed to hook his good hand through the grill. "Here Sco'!"
Scott tried to swim closer.
The churning seemed to ease off. Virgil took the opportunity to look up and, despite the numbness and pain and lack of co-ordination, managed to get a better grip. "Grab me!" He looked back at his brother.
Scott had disappeared.
"Scott!" Virgil yelled. He released his grip and began to frantically feel about beneath the water. "Scott!"
Nothing.
Not a sign.
Virgil had all but given up hope for himself, but there was no way that he was going to let his oldest brother die without a fight. He took a deep breath and ducked under the murky, freezing water.
He couldn't see anything. The cold was making his movements slow, sluggish and painful. But still he felt about blindly. Only one thought was in his mind. 'Scott! Where are you?'
Something pressed over his face and he tried to push it away, but the cold and exhaustion overcame him and he felt himself slip away into a world of blackness and warmth...
Thunderbird Two swooped down low over the site. In the middle of Regnad Corp. they could see The Mole's trolley and the hole that showed where the tunnelling machine had started burrowing.
"Starting Mole retrieval." Gordon announced.
By the time they'd landed and rushed over to the hole The Mole had returned to the surface. Brains and Tin-Tin climbed in quickly, followed by Alan, all eager to see if there were any signs of their colleagues. Before he boarded it, Gordon scanned The Mole's exterior for any clues. What he saw brought him up short.
"Come on Gordon!" Alan said impatiently, sticking his head out the door.
"Alan look at this." Gordon said quietly. He reached up and wiped his fingers on the panel beside the doorway. The side furthest away from The Moles screw nose.
"What!" Alan said in annoyance. "I can't see anything, it's just water." Then he stopped as the realisation came to him. "Water! Gordon! That means that the rivers flooded and has probably filled the corridors."
"Yes" said Gordon.
"Then that could mean..."
"Yes" said Gordon sadly.
They climbed into The Mole. Alan took the drivers seat, Gordon sat at the Life-Support Systems console. Wordlessly Alan set The Mole into motion, homing in on the signals that were still radiating from his brother's edible transmitters. He remembered that one of those transmitters had technically been his and hoped that Virgil's final conscious contact with him wouldn't be an unpleasant tasting one.
Brains and Tin-Tin noticed the two Tracy men's preoccupation. "They'll be fine." Tin-Tin said hopefully trying to cheer them up. "You know Scott and Virgil. Nothing stops them."
"I hope you're right, Tin-Tin." Gordon said quietly. "We've just realised that the corridor they were in has flooded."
"H-How can you tell?" Brains asked in consternation.
Gordon explained about the water level.
"Brains?" Alan began tentatively. "Can our edible transmitters work if we're... they're... I mean, do we have to be... We're still receiving a signal... Does that mean they're still alive?"
Brains thought for a moment. "I-I don't know Alan. I-I've never done any experiments in s-subjects where, ah, b-body functions have ceased to exist. But I b-believe they should do."
***
Scott and Virgil were treading water as much as their frozen limbs and frozen minds would allow.
Virgil looked up. "Youmigh' be able reach zeiling grill."
Scott reached up and managed to hook his fingers through the grill. His fingers though were too numb to hang on and his hand slipped free. "Zo cloze." He said numbly.
Virgil was struggling to remain focused. He had to keep treading water, trying to keep warm and more importantly keep his head above water.
His headlamp was growing dimmer. A sure sign of his loss of body heat.
There was a water surge and their heads were banged against the ceiling grill before the water level dropped again. The waters began to churn, spinning them about the ventilation shaft.
"Wha' h-happenin'?" Virgil spluttered. Before he would have given his eye-teeth to be able to wash the dust out of his throat. Now he was being forced to swallow more water than he could stomach.
"Wh-whirl-pool?" Scott managed to say before receiving a face full of water. The cold was really getting to him. He could feel the pain start to spread through his muscles. It was only a matter of time now. Lose six degrees of core body temperature and you lost consciousness... and died.
Their boots were ripped away from them by the churning waters.
Another surge sent Virgil closer to the ceiling. This time he managed to hook his good hand through the grill. "Here Sco'!"
Scott tried to swim closer.
The churning seemed to ease off. Virgil took the opportunity to look up and, despite the numbness and pain and lack of co-ordination, managed to get a better grip. "Grab me!" He looked back at his brother.
Scott had disappeared.
"Scott!" Virgil yelled. He released his grip and began to frantically feel about beneath the water. "Scott!"
Nothing.
Not a sign.
Virgil had all but given up hope for himself, but there was no way that he was going to let his oldest brother die without a fight. He took a deep breath and ducked under the murky, freezing water.
He couldn't see anything. The cold was making his movements slow, sluggish and painful. But still he felt about blindly. Only one thought was in his mind. 'Scott! Where are you?'
Something pressed over his face and he tried to push it away, but the cold and exhaustion overcame him and he felt himself slip away into a world of blackness and warmth...