I have exams coming up very soon and so for a while, updating my stories will be impossible with my workload. However, a have a small treat for you. I was really bored one day and wrote this during a religion lesson (booooring! No offence to anyone who likes religion). Thankyou to all of those who have reviewed my work so far, your feedback has been immensely appreciated!
Buann
Tracy Island
Paradise.
And for once a quiet paradise
Usually the island's inhabitants were bustling around. Either creating soundwaves on the patio as the Tracy brothers enjoyed themselves at the pool, or by Onaha and Tintin clashing pots and bowls in the kitchen as they prepared another fantastic cuisine, or Kirano humming as he dusted.
…Or rockets launching themselves from underneath the pool…
Yep, life on Tracy Island sure wasn't dull
But this day was surprisingly different.
Kirano and Tintin were meditating in Kirano's quarters. Two of the brothers, Scott and Virgil were with their father Jeff on the mainland helping him with some business at Tracy Enterprises, Alan, the youngest brother on his summer vacation, was laid on his bed reading a magazine in his room and Onaha was sat at the dining table with Fermat, who was trying to show her his plans for a brand new kitchen stove he'd invented in his "spare time".
So that leaves just two people, Gordon and Brains.
Gordon was meandering around the house, driving everybody crazy with his mere presence. Gordon was the most energetic of the Tracy brothers and this dull peacefulness was making him act like he had an itch he couldn't get rid of. Naturally, his first instinct had been to try and amuse himself by pulling a prank. But the bucket above Alan's door trick had been plugged when an all-knowing Kirano had seen the booby trap and dismantled it. With no one else around to socialise with, Gordon had been floating around the house all day.
He was so bored!
Even cleaning the Mole-a job detested by all-seemed like a blissful escape!
He had been walking down the hallway when a soft voice had caught his attention. The voice was coming from Brain's lab.
Gordon tapped on the door and walked in, "Brain, what are you doing?"
Brains' head popped up amidst the equipment surrounding him, "Oh hey Gordon" he smiled, "Just t…t…making a few adjustments to Braiman"
"You're still working on that dopey robot?" Gordon scoffed
Brains knew Gordon had been joking, "Yes, I'm trying to t…t…get him to obey commands. Right now he s…s…takes a while to respond"
Gordon found a path through the mess around Brains towards the professor and surveyed the bronze robot, "Well, that new alloy suit you gave him looks great" he said
"Thankyou" smiled Brains, "He can now withstand h…h…extreme temperatures, and he's stronger and has a higher m…m…resistance to harsh environments"
"You mean he can be used on rescues?" asked Gordon
Brains laughed, "Maybe Gordon"
"Cool" remarked Gordon, "So what's wrong with him?"
"I g…g…installed a new system the other week and it's taking l…l…more time than I thought to get w…w…up to speed" explained Brains
"How does it work?" asked Gordon
Brains seemed exhilarated by Gordon's new enthusiasm in his work, "Well, Braiman is now controlled by a special c…c…software" he pointed to the almost invisible slot on the robot's neck, "The software is stored here and connected to his intelligence system"
"What, like a CD?" asked Gordon
"Yes, " nodded Brains, "Braiman will respond to any software differently, for e…e…instance, if you were to program a Celine Dion CD into him, he'd f…f…end up a complete romantic"
That made Gordon laugh, "Are you serious?"
Brains nodded with a smile, "I have got him to respond and obey simple commands, but cannot g…g…make him show initiative"
"I don't quite get you," said Gordon, puzzled
"Let me explain by example" said Brains, activating Braiman with a simple push of a button on the robot's chest, "Braiman" he spoke clearly, "Please walk to t…t…that window. Do you understand?"
The robot whirred for a moment, "Affirmative" it said
"Whoa cool" grinned Gordon
The robot began its walk, but was impeded by the lab bench between it and its destination. Braiman continued to try and walk, but failed, exclaimed, "Target blocked, target blocked"
"Any human would t…t…walk around the bench, find another w…w…route, but Braiman can't do that yet" explained Brains
"Ah I see," said Gordon, "Well good luck Brains"
Brains' response was interrupted by the radio
"This is Tracy One calling Tracy Island, please respond"
Gordon grinned as he recognised his father's voice
He jumped to the radio, "Tracy Island responding, Dad, what took you guys so long?"
Jeff's voice sounded tired, "We got held up. Requesting permission to land"
"Granted, see you in a few minutes" replied Gordon
"Thanks, oh and Gordon?"
"Yeh?"
"Get Onaha to make us some coffee would you?"
Gordon grinned, "Will do Dad"
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Less than an hour later, much to Gordon's relief, the house was up to its usual standards of noise again. Onaha and Tintin were preparing lunch, Kirano was cleaning, Brains was running post flight checks on Tracy One, and Fermat and the Tracy's were talking at the dining table.
"I felt my head would explode if I so much as looked at another piece of paperwork" moaned Virgil
"And the funny thing is, you were just putting them in envelopes" grinned Jeff
The other laughed.
Scott patted his Dad's arm, "Well, you officially have my approval to live to a ripe old age, so I don't have to deal with running that joint until I'm at least forty"
Jeff chuckled, "Why thankyou very much", he looked up to see Kirano approaching, "Kirano! Come and join us for a drink, you work too hard"
"It is a pleasure Mr Tracy, and I have already spent too much time to myself today" the man smiled, "I am merely here to pass on a message from Mr Brains, he needs help in Thunderbird 2 silo for the clean out"
A loud chorus of groans emitted from the table
"The cleanout" moaned Scott
"I completely forgot," sighed Alan
"Tell him we'll be there soon Kirano" instructed Jeff
Kirano bowed and left.
"Well, we'd better get moving. The quicker we start the quicker we finish" said Jeff
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Clean out.
Every six months, every single bit of equipment used on rescues was reorganised to sort out any mess, reassessed for wearing or damage and counted.
The size of Thunderbird 2's silo was enough to make anyone run away at the thought of this task. Not only did the silo hold the giant craft, it held the pods containing various equipment for different rescues, including Thunderbird 4. It also held a large shed where perishable equipment, or equipment that could only be used a few times, was kept. This included first aid kits, cleaning equipment, spare ropes and harnesses and some chemicals. It also held spare uniforms and helmets for the boys.
Every single item had been brought out of the storage shed and was now strewn out on the silo's floor in piles. The Tracy brothers worked as a team sorting this out while Jeff, Brains and Fermat inspected the vehicles in the pods.
Gordon was beginning to think the silent house was better than this enslavement. He dumped yet another box of God knows what onto the floor for Scott and Virgil, who were going around with a clipboard counting and inspecting each piece. Right down to the rags used to clean the machines.
"Watch it Gordon! You're putting that box in the stuff we've just done!" called Scott
Gordon sighed exasperatedly, "What am I? A mind reader?" he called back, moving the box over
Scott and Virgil could get so bossy when doing these kinds of jobs. Gordon and Alan got stuck with the heavy work and, by the time the job was finished, often wanted to throw the boxes at their older brothers.
Talk about human enslavement, thought Gordon, this job should be against human rights
He mind began to wander and he smiled as he saw Brain's robot Braiman sitting lifelessly near Thunderbird 2. Brains had brought him along to try and test his thinking and analytical skills.
Yeh, he thought, this'd be the kind of job for him
He suddenly had a brainwave
He looked around to see if anybody was watching, then slipped out of the silo and into his room. No one seemed to notice he had gone. When he came back, everyone was still working.
The new source of silence and seriousness was painful. Gordon nearly bumped into Alan, who was carrying a helmet with a visor and a small welding torch
"Where have you been?" he asked
Gordon shrugged, "Nowhere" he lied
Gordon knew Alan didn't believe him, but his brother seemed to give up trying to question him, "I'll try and repair those locker doors now Scott!" he called
Scott acknowledged him with a nod from where he was
"Keep out of trouble alright?" murmured Alan with a smile, before going into the shed
Gordon hid the grin on his face. Sometime he swore Alan was telepathic when it came to his mischief. It was one of the things that made his little brother almost immune to his pranks.
Gordon carried on his path, standing next to Braiman. He found the controls and ejected Braiman's control CD.
"Now for a bit of fun" he murmured to himself, placing the real CD in his jeans pocket and pulling out the computer game he'd grabbed from his room earlier, "Fancy a game of Raiders of the Lost Universe Mr Braiman?"
He slotted the CD into Braiman and activated the robot. He sped off as the robot whirred to life, spinning around when Braiman exclaimed, "Raiders rule! Okay!"
"What on Earth?" said Virgil
Braiman seemed to find his legs and moved towards them. He stopped at the foot of one of Scott's neat piles and picked up an item, before throwing it across the silo
"Alert companies!" he cried, continuing to chuck things around
Gordon was desperately trying not to laugh as the robot began to run amok
"Hey!" cried Scott, ducking a boot thrown in his direction, "Cut it out!"
He caught sight of Gordon, who was now unable to contain himself, "Gordon Tracy!"
He was interrupted by Braiman's cry of, "Mega-bombs in the ships hull!"
He threw more items, catching Jeff, who was coming out of Pod 3 with Brains and Fermat, in the face with a fire blanket, "Oi!" cried Jeff, "Okay, who decided to throw the towel in?"
"Good Heavens!" exclaimed Brains
Braiman seemed to be enjoying himself, "Raiders attack!" he cried, he threw a crate across the floor and its contents flew out.
"Hey!" cried Jeff as its contents were revealed to be containers of chemicals
Brains ran with him.
"Right" said Jeff, "I'll just have to take your brain out boy" he removed the CD
"Raiders of the Lost Universe?" Brains looked puzzled
Scott looked at Gordon, "Now I wonder how that got in there," he said sarcastically
Jeff looked sternly at Gordon, "The next time you want to pull a prank like that, do it where you can't destroy the hours of work everybody has put in here" he reprimanded
Gordon, "Dad, it was just a joke"
Jeff wouldn't have any of it, "Go to your room, I'll speak to you later"
Gordon had no choice to turn and leave while the others began cleaning up.
No one noticed the bottle of chemical lying on its side by the shed door, its contents slowly leaking out and creeping towards where Alan worked.
Alan held the visor over his eyes and he attempted to wield the locker door, which had been strained after years of use, back into a secure position.
Scott had assigned him to the task, telling him it was the easiest. Personally Alan had been happy to have a change from shifting boxes and equipment, but was by now almost wishing he'd given Gordon the job
"This job's more than I bargained for" he said to himself
He didn't notice it, but a clear liquid was starting to creep closer towards him, running along the large doorway and trickling inside with him. He continued to work, oblivious to the threat.
A tiny spark from his welder fell onto the liquid…
Alan gasped when giant hot flames burst from nowhere. Shutting off his welder and lifting his mask and visor, he began to call out for help.
Jeff, Scott, Virgil, Brains and Fermat were dejectedly trying to resort the piles of equipments. In order to sort things out, they had been made to move away from the mess, further down the silo, behind Thunderbird 2, which made things slower.
Suddenly a voice could be heard faintly.
Scott dumped the box he had been carrying and sighed, "That's not Gordon mucking about again is it?"
The voice became clearer, "Help! Fire! Fire!" it called, "Help!"
"Hold it Scott, that's Alan's voice!" exclaimed Jeff, running towards the shed, the other behinds him
They gasped as they saw the shed being consumed by red-hot angry flames.
"Scott! Virgil! Man the hose!" Jeff cried
Alan was still crying out from within the small structure, "Dad! Please! Help! Somebody!"
"Hang on Alan!" Jeff rushed towards the shed, where he was met with Scott, who was holding the nozzle of the hose attached to the wall, connecting to the island's water supply
"Water on!" cried Scott to Virgil, who was manning the taps.
Jeff helped Scott support the hose as water streamed out of it, "Scott" he called over the noise of the water and the flames, "It's too hot, even with a fire suit, I can't get in!"
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Gordon sat on his bed miserably, staring up at the ceiling.
His Dad had told him he'd talk to him later, and if he knew his Dad, he was entitled to fear the worst kind of lecture.
Work, work, work, was that all his father ever thought about?
He'd just tried to spice things up a little that's all.
He was so bored!
He got up and wandered around his room, looking for something to do. He stopped when he felt something in his pocket.
He took it out; it was Braiman's control disk
Maybe I'd better take it back, he thought
He'd seen the shock on Brains' face when he'd seen his precious robot acting like a maniac. Gordon had seen how much Brains prided himself on Braiman and it seemed only fair to return the CD with a quiet apology.
Grimly, he strode down the hall and headed towards Thunderbird 2 silo.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
The fire wasn't getting better and Jeff was no loner getting a response from Alan, which meant he was either unconscious from the smoke or worse…
Fermat had spotted the container leaking chemical onto the floor and Scott told Jeff Alan had been welding. The cause of the fire had been determined, but they still had no way of getting inside to get Alan out.
The fact that it was a chemical fire had worried Jeff even more. The chemical inside the shed might be letting off poisonous gases, which Alan would have no protection against.
Right now their only hope was to calm the fire enough to allow Jeff to get inside. But things were looking dim.
Then Brains had provided an answer, "Braiman! Yes! He could get Alan out! If I a…a…can just get him working again!"
While Scott and Virgil handled the hose, Jeff stood with Brains and Fermat and the robot.
Brains shook his head, "I need his control CD, without it B…B…he's useless"
"Gordon swapped the CD," said Fermat, "Maybe he has i…i…the original"
"Good thinking!" exclaimed Jeff, "Hurry and get him down here!"
Brains looked up, "I don't think that's necessary"
Sure enough Gordon was racing from the elevator towards them, "Dad!" he cried, coming to a halt, "What's happened?"
"There's no time to explain," said Jeff, "Do you have Braiman's disk?"
Jeff's heart began beating again when Gordon held it out to him.
"Great!" cried Brains, inserting the disk into Braiman, "Now Braiman, go through the flames. Get Alan," he instructed
Braiman whirred to life immediately, "Certainly Sir"
The robot scooted past Scott and Virgil and into the inferno.
Everyone stood at the door waiting, holding their breaths.
Jeff was sweating but he refused to move any further away. He didn't know what he'd do if Alan…he didn't even want to think about it.
"Look!" cried Virgil
Sure enough, Braiman emerged from the flames carrying a limp form in his arms. No one could hold in their cheers of relief
Braiman set Alan down on the floor well away from the shed and backed away to let Jeff bend down over his son
"Alan? Alan can you hear me?" Jeff called to his unconscious son
Behind a smoke smudged face, Alan was pale and hot, but soon gave a few rough coughs and opened his eyes
Jeff sighed in relief and smiled
Alan looked wearily up at him, "What happened?" he croaked, before letting out another round of sharp coughs
"Its ok Alan, just relax" soothed Jeff, pushing Alan's hair away from his forehead gently
"Fire's coming under control Dad!" he heard Scott shout
"Good job!" Jeff called back
Brains appeared out of nowhere with a stretcher and together, he and Jeff helped Alan onto it.
Gordon whispered to Fermat, who was beside him, "How did the fire start?"
"There was a p…p…container of chemicals that was leaking near the shed door" he said, "Sparks from Alan's welder came in contact with it"
Gordon nodded, then froze.
He didn't move. He watched as Brains and Virgil, who had come to help, carried Alan's stretcher away, whilst Jeff walked beside them, trying to keep Alan awake.
Gordon could hardly breathe as realisation dawned on him
Raiders attack! Braiman had cried, as he had thrown a crate full of containers of chemicals across the silo floor…
Gordon gasped quietly in horror.
It had been all his fault…
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Jeff stood over Alan in the infirmary, gently stroking his son's arm. They had managed to keep Alan awake until they got him here, where Brains checked his respiratory responses and put him on oxygen and an IV. Alan had fallen asleep almost immediately after that and Jeff had busied himself wiping away the smoke smudges on Alan's face with a wet cloth.
While sitting with his son, Jeff had been thinking. By now he'd worked out not only how the fire had been caused, but also how the container of chemicals had been spilled.
A few minutes later, Scott was by his side. Scott eyed his younger brother and went to sit on the other side of Alan's bed, "How is he?" he asked in a husky voice
Jeff nodded, "Smoke inhalation and dehydration, but Brains doesn't think he inhaled any dangerous chemicals"
"That's good news" said Scott, taking his younger brother's hand in his
"How are things down there?" Jeff asked
Scott sighed, "The structure itself is stable and nothing else was damaged except the lockers. Its a lot of mess, but nothing we can't handle"
Jeff nodded and for a while there was an awkward silence.
"Have you spoken to Gordon?" asked Scott
Jeff sighed, "You worked it out too?"
Scott nodded, "I think everyone else has to, which means that Gordon probably knows"
"I haven't been able to talk to him yet" said Jeff, "Have you seen him?"
Scott shook his head, "He wasn't in the silo when I left"
Jeff took this in, "Can I leave you to watch Alan for me? I wont be long"
Scott nodded and protectively started rubbing Alan's arm.
Jeff strode out of the infirmary and through the house, stopping at Gordon's room. He tapped on the closed door, "Gordon, are you in there?"
There was no reply, but Jeff opened the door.
After a quick sweep of the room, Jeff found Gordon standing on his balcony, leaning on the rail. Jeff silently approached him
"Gordon?"
Gordon jumped and whipped his head to face his father, "Dad" he gasped
Jeff frowned as he saw the remains of tears in his son's eyes, staining his face, "Are you alright?"
Gordon looked back out to the sea and the sun, which was now setting, "Fine" he said a little too quickly
Jeff wasn't fooled, "Did you know what caused the fire?"
Gordon agve a ragged sigh, "Dad, please, don't give me a lecture, I feel bad enough without you reminding me how stupid I am"
"You not stupid" said Jeff
"Yes I am" said Gordon. He looked as if he couldn't believe Jeff hadn't agreed, yet stubborn in what he thought
Jeff sighed, "Today was…a busy day. We all got caught up in what we were doing. Maybe too much. What happened was an accident"
"Yeah, but it could have been prevented if I just…" Gordon couldn't seem to talk, "If I were the youngest, maybe I would have an excuse for acting childish, but I'm not Dad. And all because of me wanting to have a bit of a laugh, Alan could have…"
Jeff wrapped and arm around Gordon and gently shook him, "Now listen to me. What happened happened and Alan is fine. It was an accident and everyone knows that. Everyone is used to your jokes and know its just who you are. Bad things happen. We would rather they did than you try and change who you are" he said
Gordon took a moment to take this in, before looking up at Jeff nervously, "Is Alan really ok?"
Jeff nodded, "Just a bit of smoke inhalation and no signs of injury. He'll be out of the infirmary tomorrow"
"Can I go and see him?" Gordon asked anxiously
Jeff steered his son to the door, "Come on"
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Gordon walked almost cautiously into the infirmary. He'd always hated the place. It housed a lot of bad memories. He saw Alan lying on a bed, an oxygen mask over his face and an IV in his hand. Gordon was glad to see he was awake. Scott was sat at his bedside, talking softly to him. On seeing Scott, Gordon hesitated, afraid of getting an angry response from his older brother, but his Dad gently nudged him forward.
Scott looked up and for a moment held a gaze with Gordon, then spoke something to Alan before getting up to leave.
Gordon avoided his eyes, but Scott's gentle hand of reassurance that rested on his shoulder made him look up at his brother. Scott gave him a small smile before leaving with Jeff.
Hesitantly, Gordon went to stand beside Alan. Alan looked up at him.
"Hey" said Gordon, "How are you?"
"I'm okay" Alan's voice was soft and somewhat muffled behind the mask
"Do you know what happened?" Gordon asked
Alan nodded, "Scott told me" he whispered
Gordon felt tears in his eyes, "Alan I'm so sorry. God I am so sorry"
"Don't…" Alan began coughing harshly
Gordon became scared, "Alan?" he spotted a glass of water on the bedstand, "Here" he said, he helped to sit Alan up slightly and removed his mask, holding the glass to his brother's lips
Alan tooks a few small swallows, which seemed to help, "Gordon, it was an accident" he tried to say weakly
"Don't try to talk" said Gordon, laying Alan back down and replacing the mask, "Thanks" he whispered
Alan gave a tired smile, his eyes drooping, "It…sounded funny" he said, "I wish I could have seen…the look on Brains' face"
Gordon gave a small chuckle at seeing Alan smile, "Go to sleep, you need rest"
Alan took hold of his hand and gave it a small squeeze, which Gordon returned before watching his brother's head flop slightly to the side as he fell asleep
Gordon took a seat by Alan, feeling the need to stay with him. It started to grow dark and in a moment lights dimly lit the infirmary. He realised he had fallen asleep. Brains was on the other side of Alan's bed, checking him over and replacing the mask with a small tube.
"How long have I been here?" Gordon asked aloud
"About two hours" replied Brains, "I didn't want to w…w…I thought it would be best to let you sleep"
"Thankyou" said Gordon sleepily, as Brains turned to go
"Wait, Brains?" he quickly said, "I'm sorry about what I did to Braiman. I know how much he means to you and I really am sorry"
Brains gave a small smile, "Its ok" he said before leaving
The door shut behind him and Gordon considered following him out and going to his room. But he hesitated and instead listened, nestling his head on his arms, resting on the side of Alan's bed.
The room was quiet. There was no noise coming from the halls or the rest of the house. Only the gentle sound of waves crashing against the sand coming from outside the window. It was peaceful, tranquil, and for the first time, he liked it that way.