TWO

His eyes snapped open and for a moment, confusion dominated his thought processes. Where was he and why was he now staring up at the ceiling? ...Ceiling? No, there was light coming from up there and . . . God, the cave! He jerked fully awake and sat up with a start. It was a mistake. The dull wave of pain that washed over him served as an instant reminder of what had transpired. He rubbed the back of his aching neck and winced as his hand came across the goose egg sized bump inflicted by the earlier falling rock. He swallowed hard, his throat burning like he'd just inhaled the ramjet thrust of Thunderbird One. What he would have given for just a sip of water. He coughed and the echo resonated from everywhere, reminding him once again of just how alone the two of them were down in that hell hole . . . Virgil. He glanced over at his brother's sleeping face. His color wasn't good. He was shivering and breathing with an effort now. Suddenly, the realization of just how dire their situation was hit him full force once again.

Damn! He must have passed out. He'd been lying here flat on his back when he should have been trying to get them out of there. He'd wasted precious daylight and he knew that if they were to be completely engulfed by the blackness, their chances of making it out alive would decrease exponentially. It was like waking into a nightmare.

Although still a bit woozy, Scott wiped his brow and willed himself up to a standing position. The damp air had caused his limbs to start stiffening up and he ached, the result of his fall from the ledge above. He shook it off as he contemplated his next move, determination burning in him once again. He looked up at the hulk of a machine still hovering over them and his blood ran cold. He needed to get some light on the subject, but how? He'd had a torch light with him earlier, but it was lost in the fall. It wasn't going to do him much good anyway, lying somewhere down at the bottom of this crater in pieces. The Digger had headlamps on it, but if he tried to get inside...

He pushed down the panic he was starting to feel as he desperately tried to think, but his mind was becoming clouded. What the hell was wrong with him? He shook his head to clear it and instantly regretted doing so. A nauseating wave of dizziness gripped him and he nearly lost his balance, recovering just in time to keep himself from falling over the edge of the ledge that they were poised on and down into the unending void. He staggered backward and tripped over the debris that had trapped his brother, landing smack on his back again.

"Mmmm, Scott?" A weary voice said. Virgil opened his eyes and tried to raise his head. He'd heard a soft groaning sound. He looked up to see his brother in a half sitting, half lying down position, propped up on one arm, with his other hand holding his head. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily.

"Scott, are you all right?"

"Um, yeah, Virg," he lied. "I-I just tripped."

"You sure?" He coughed and tried to clear his throat, causing Scott to shoot him a look of concern.

"Can you breathe okay?"

Virgil tried to take in a full breath and choked on it.

"There's my answer," Scott replied. "Don't worry, Virg, I'm gonna get you out of there."

"I know . . . you will." He managed a smile. "Just do it before Gordon and Alan . . . get a hold of my bird. The thought of either one of them . . . piloting Thunderbird Two . . . doesn't exactly make me want . . . to do the happy dance."

Scott grinned at his younger brother with a degree of relief, glad that both of them still had their senses of humor intact.

"Don't worry. I won't let them bang her up . . . too much."

He shot Scott a look of mock-indignation. "Funny guy."

They were interrupted by a creaking noise and both of them looked up to see the Digger lurching from its resting place, about 10 feet above their heads. Some of the loosened earth under it began spilling down on them and Scott instinctively placed an arm across where his brother lay. He lowered his head, eyes shut, expecting the worst. When it didn't come he looked up, a simultaneous sigh of relief escaping both his lips and Virgil's. They stared at each other. He knew he had to act now. There was no more time.

>>>>>+>>>>>+

As Alan Tracy sat at the controls of his father's ultra sleek looking private jet, he felt a rush of excitement. He turned to his brother Gordon with some semblance of awe in his voice.

"I can't believe Father actually let me fly his baby. Do you know how many times I've dreamed about this?"

"Yeah, well don't get too used to it. The only reason he let you is because it's so much faster than Tin-Tin's jet. He wants to make sure we get there as quickly as possible."

Alan saw the deep concern mirrored on his usually easy going brother's face.

"Yeah, I know. I'm worried about them too," he said.

"Al, I-I just never thought about what would happen if . . . if, well, you know how they're always there looking out for us. I just . . . just never thought about what would happen if they . . . "

"Well, they're not going to. We're gonna find them and bring them home. It's going to be all right, Gordo."

Gordon smiled wryly. "Aw, just shut up and try not to hit any birds."

They were interrupted by the radio's signal beacon.

"Base to Tracy One . . . Base to Tracy One, come in please."

"Alan Tracy here, I read you Base, go ahead."

"What's your position, Alan?"

"We should be landing in Kauai within the hour, Father. Any further news from John?"

"No, Alan, he still can't get through to them. Let me know the moment you've landed."

"F.A.B., Father!"

He glanced at Gordon. "Okay, time to see just what this baby can do . . . "

>>>>>+>>>>>+

Scott unfurled the thin but strong cable of the lifeline and tied one end off around a narrow portion of the cave wall near Virgil's feet. The slab was about 20 feet long and lying across him at an angle. After the fog in his brain had subsided a bit, he was able to remember that Brains had provided for the lack of adequate lighting in situations just like this. He had reached into the side pocket in his boot and found an illumination stick, a variation of the old children's toy that glowed in the dark when the capsule was cracked. This one though threw the same intensity of light used by road repair crews who were working late at night and wanted to make sure they were seen by oncoming traffic.

Scott placed the stick on the opposing side of the ledge. Normally, it would have been safer to use his blaster pistol to light it, since the resulting brightness would be blinding to anyone in close proximity, but the noise from the gun discharging might have brought the whole cave down on top of them, not to mention the Digger. He also wasn't sure exactly how safe they were, perched on the ledge that was currently supporting them. It seemed sturdy enough though.

Luckily, like all the wondrous items Brains had invented for International Rescue, this one too was disaster friendly and was adaptable to the many changing situations they might encounter while out on a mission. It was just a simple matter of breaking the outer seal, twisting the cap until it clicked...and viola! Bless you, Brains. He quickly covered his eyes with his forearm and backed cautiously away from the glaring beam, all the while feeling behind him for any obstructions in his way.

Now that he had overcome the obstacle of darkness, it was time to end their dilemma once and for all. His hands shook slightly as he approached the Digger.

"Scott . . ?"

He stopped in his tracks, but did not turn back to face his brother. "Yes?"

"W-What are you going to do?"

"Just what I said. I'm going to get you out of here."

Virgil looked around him and mentally surveyed the scene, the lifeline, the position of the Digger. His experience as an engineer told him what scheme his brother must have in mind, and also his chances for success. Virgil swallowed hard.

"But, Scott..."

"Look, Virg," he interrupted. "If you've got a better idea, I'm all ears. But you'd better make it quick."

He opened his mouth to protest once more and thought better of it as he could offer no other solution, given the circumstances. Scott turned his head to look at him briefly and for once, Virgil was able to see the internal struggle his brother was waging. That look wrenched his insides and threatened to force a sob from him. But he knew he had to be strong. He had to show his older brother that he had complete confidence in him, however this turned out. His frustration at not being able to help himself only grew as he lay there, almost completely immobile.

He was temporarily distracted from the turmoil he felt when he saw something fall from above onto the slab of rock covering him. It was dark in color and about six inches long. It was moving too...crawling to be exact. As it got closer to him, he could make out two raised, claw-like pincers. He recognized them as belonging to a scorpion. Virgil knew that most species could not cause death in humans, but that didn't negate the fact that they could cause one hell of a sting and a shock to the central nervous system. He was feeling just a bit vulnerable as it advanced towards his face. He didn't want to distract Scott from his monumental task, but any minute now, he was going to have to say something. Then, all at once the creature stopped crawling, seemingly confused by the blinding light surrounding it.

It is known that even though scorpions can't really see very well, they can detect subtle changes in their environment and this one seemed a bit distracted as it crawled off somewhere to the side. Virgil expelled a not so subtle breath and laid his head back down on the ground. He wouldn't have been relieved though had he known the creature's counterpart had positioned itself behind him with its poisonous bulb poised at his neck, ready to strike.