CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Rising and Falling

Gordon grinned at his dad as they returned from the hectic rescue.

The rescue was a complete success, sir! And we managed to escape recognition from all WASP personel.

Very good, boys. You've done a great job. Jeff smiled proudly at his boys. Now just sort out the crafts and you all deserve a good rest.

Thanks dad, sighed Scott, and the four men headed down to make sure the crafts were all refueled. But no sooner had they touched down on the hangar floor when Jeff's voice came over the loudspeaker.

No rest for the wicked, boys. We've got another call out. A caving party are stuck in Australia. The helicopters can't get near them, and other rescue can't reach them. They're running out of time. They've got a ledge below them, but if they slip the chances are they'll fall off that too and then its a straight drop down into the cave below them. Make sure you're fueled and then get out there.

grumbled Scott. The others sighed.

Okay, we're gone, said Virgil. Lets go. These people need our help.

Enough with the heroics. Lets get a move on.

Within moments they were airborne, speeding to their destination. It only took a short time to get to their destination, but even in that half hour the party trapped down the cave was becoming in more and more danger. TB2 lowered Scott, Alan and Gordon above the cave entrance, where they quickly secured safety lines. Virgil stayed in TB2, keeping her steady. Gordon abseiled down the rock face to the waiting party. There were only a few people there, and with the Thunderbirds' assistance they got up easy enough. The hardest to rescue was a teenage girl, who was clinging desperately to the rock, terrified to move. Gordon moved closer to her, steadying his feet on a ledge.

"Come on, not far now." Gordon gently tugged at the girl's arm, pulling her up.

"I can't do it! I'm gonna fall!"

"You won't fall. Come on."

"I can't!" The girl clung tightly to the rockface, trembling and frightened. Gordon tugged at her.

"Come on, you have to climb up! I'm right here beside you, you'll be fine, I won't let you fall, I promise." He tugged at her arm, and she looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Here. Take my rope. It'll help you." Without a furthur thought, he unbuckled his safety line and wrapped it around her waist.

"Okay," she said, and, although she was obviously still terrified, she seemed to be reassured by Gordon's comforting voice. He smiled at her.

"That's the girl. Good. You can make it!" As she began to slowly climb, he kept reassuring her, assisting her the best he could. "Alan! Scott! Grab her!" he called up. Scott reached over the edge and grasped her hand. Alan looked at Gordon.

"Don't move until we get the line back to you," he called. Gordon nodded and grinned.

"I told you you could make it!" he called up. The girl smiled with relief and wriggled up, Scott pulling her. Then, just as she was going over the edge, her foot slipped as it crumbled under her, and she began to fall back. Alan and Scott grabbed her quickly, pulling her back up to safety. She collapsed onto safe land, trembling all over. Gordon looked up just as a rock, dislodged by her slip, smacked into his temple.

"Ugh." The world spun, and Gordon's grip on the rock loosened. He felt his skin drag against the rock, then a vague feeling of weightlessness for a second, before landing abruptly, knocking his jaw on the ledge below and biting his tounge, hard. The pain of it brought his head around to almost focussing, enough so he became aware that he was slipping. He dug his hands in, clawing for hold as he slid down, out of control. It was all in a split second. If he went off the edge of the second ledge, that was it. His fingers came in contact with a crack just as his body shot off the edge, and he grabbed at it, cramming his bleeding fingers into it and grabbing as hard as he could. He let out a cry of pain as his body weight and momentum yanked his arm out of its socket, and he dangled over the cave, just hanging for dear life. He couldn't even get his other hand up. He vaguely saw his brothers look down at him, and tried to wave, to ask if the girl was okay. Things were definitely going fuzzy at the edges, so he closed his eyes. He could feel his mind slipping away. How easy it would be to just let go- No! He opened his eyes, kept opening them, fighting to hold tight and stay conscious, until he became ware that someone wanted him to let go, but that's stupid, he'd die if he let go!

"Hey, Gordon, we're trying to pull you up, you can let go!" Was that Scott's voice in his ear? Well, Scott should know better.

"I'll fall," he mumbled, "I'll fall and die."

"You won't. We've got you now, you're fine. Let go." Gordon tried to shake his head. Stupid Scott! Did he know that he couldn't let go before the whistle blew? He'd get disqualified for a false start, and he hated to get out of the pool before he'd even done anything.

"No, I don't think so."

"Come on, how do we pull you up if you won't let go? Alan's holding onto you. Let go of the rock." The rock?

"Whatever you say, Scooter, but I still don't think its a very good idea," he informed his older brother. "Hey, something's holding my hand." And then black closed in.

The next time Gordon opened his eyes, he could have sworn there was a doctor leaning over him.

"This may wake him," the doctor was saying to someone he couldn't see. "But it has to be done."

"We understand, doctor," came Virgil's voice, but it was warped and funny. Gordon opened his mouth to comment that Virgil had better get some lessons in speech when tearing pain went through his shoulder, and he screamed aloud.

"Gordon! It's okay!" He looked up. Virgil was looking over him. "You dislocated your shoulder. We had to put it back into place." But it bloody hurt! "You've got concussion, a rock hit your head and you slipped- Gordon?" Things were going black again already.

"Did the whistle blow?" he muttered, and then fell back into the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness.