Chapter 5

Thanks to Nevair for Beta reading this for me.

"Thunderbird five to Thunderbird two. Come in Thunderbird two."

"Thunderbird two here, reading you loud and clear. What's up John?"

"Father's just briefed me. Have you found them yet Virg?"

"Not yet John, we're coming over the Himalayas now."

"Can I do anything?"

"Yeah, radio base for me. Tell Father our position, I promised I'd tell him once we got here, but something tells me we won't have time."

"FAB Virgil," John cut communications.

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On Tracy Island, Jeff was anxiously pacing the floor. Every couple of minutes he would glance up at the five portraits of his sons, as if trying to will them to give him some sort of sign that everything was going to be all right.

Suddenly a loud beeping noise echoed in his ears. He sighed with relief, and anticipation too.

"Go ahead John," Jeff answered his middle son's call.

"Father, Virgil and Gordon have arrived at the Himalayas. I'm afraid there isn't any sight of Scott or Alan." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

Jeff sighed. "Ok son, tell them to keep searching, and to contact me if anything occurs."

"FAB." John's once active image changed to a motionless portrait again.

Jeff put his hands on his head and slowly began to massage his temples. He looked up when he heard footsteps coming across the room.

It was Kyrano carrying a mug of coffee. He placed it in front of Jeff and bowed slightly. "Don't worry Mr Tracy, your sons will be alright."

Jeff smiled fondly at his long-serving friend. "I hope you're right Kyrano. I truly do."

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"Can you see them yet Virgil?" Gordon asked anxiously.

His older brother was checking Thunderbird Two's scanners, for any signs of life. "Not yet Gords," he continued scanning; suddenly he spotted something, well two things actually. "Wait a minute…. I found them!"

"Where?"

"Down there, about 4000 feet up."

"Are you sure it's them?"

"I hope so, unless there's two other people trapped there."

"Ok, so what's the plan?"

"This is the plan: I'm going to hover in as close to Mount Everest as I can, then we're going to lower ourselves down in the harnesses."

"But whose going to pilot while we're doing that?"

"I'm going to activate the APS."

The APS-or the Automatic Piloting System, was a computerised program invented by Brains that allowed Thunderbird Two to pilot without assistance. However there were a couple of flaws, which Brains had been working on. The result was that Thunderbird Two could only automatically hover and fly in straight lines. It couldn't reverse or turn, which was why the APS wasn't used much.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's our only idea. Unless you have a better one."

"No, I wish Scott was here. He'd have loads of ideas." Gordon looked sadly at his brother.

"I know Gordon" Virgil replied. "I know."

Gordon ran a hand through his red hair and gave a determined smile. "Come on then Virg, let's go save our brothers."

"FAB." Virgil manoeuvred his craft as close to the mountain as he could, and then activated the APS. There was a low hum as the computer system came to life and a robotic like voice echoed out of the speakers: "APS activated, awaiting instructions."

A list of options appeared on Thunderbird Two's screen. Virgil selected 'H' for hover, while at the same time giving a sigh of relief that Brains had made the system so easy.

The computerised voice was heard once again. "Hovering functions activated. All systems are go."

After hearing this Virgil left his pilots seat and went to help his brother into the harness that would lower him to his brothers.

After checking the harnesses restraints, Virgil watched as his brother lowered himself down, carrying the medical equipment and the stretchers. He then began to put on his own harness.

Gordon felt the cold wind rush through his red hair. He was now becoming increasingly worried; his eldest and younger brothers hadn't moved an inch. It wasn't impossible to tell that they were both seriously injured.

As he landed on the rocky ledge where his two brothers lay, the first thing he noticed, apart from the blood, was the rubble pinning Alan's arm down.

Gordon rushed to his younger brother and knelt beside him. With an expert eye and careful hands, Gordon checked Alan's injuries: Fractured nose, fractured ribs, over a dozen cuts and bruises, plus he seemed to be bleeding a lot around the chest area.

Carefully Gordon unbuttoned Alan shirt. He gave a small gasp of horror when he saw the bullet hole in his chest; the blood seeping around it like a small puddle.

"Oh Alan…!" Gordon thought, horrified. "Who did this to you?"

With fingers that were now trembling slightly, Gordon checked for a pulse. He almost cried out with immense joy when he found one.

Gordon began trying to stem the bleeding by bandaging the wound.

"What's going on, Gordon?" Virgil's voice spoke out of Gordon's wrist communicator.

Never letting his eyes leave his brother's chest, Gordon replied: "I've just checked Alan over, he's not good Virg. He's suffered a fractured nose as well as at least four of his ribs, cuts and bruises, he's also been shot."

"Shot! Where?"

"His chest. The bullet hole's situated at the base of it, just below the heart."

"Does he have a pulse?"

"Affirmative. It's weak though. His arm's trapped as well, I'll need you down here to help me remove some of the smaller pieces of rubble, then we should be able to free it."

"FAB. What about Scott?"

"I don't know. I'm about to check him." Gordon moved over to his eldest brother's still form, and knelt down. He checked Scott's injuries just as he had Alans. Scott had a fractured arm and leg, plus he had just as many cuts and bruises as Alan. Maybe more.

The redheaded Tracy then checked for a pulse. He found one. But before he could cry out in joy, he noticed the blood coming from Scott's arm.

"Not you too, Scott?" He carefully rolled up his brother's sleeve and was greeted by the bloody bullet hole.

Who would do this? Who would want to do this?

Suddenly Scott's eyes flicked and opened. He groaned slightly, seeing only shapes at first. Then a red head came into view. "Gordon? Is that you?"

Gordon had been busy trying to stem the blood flow from Scott's arm. His head snapped up at the sound of his brother's voice. "Hey bro, we found you. What happened?"

"I don't remember" Scott moaned, "one minute we were flying over the mountains, the next we were flying into them!"

"But how? Did you lose control?"

"No, we were shot at."

"Shot at! By who?"

"Don't know, Alan and I didn't see him……Alan! Is he ok? Please tell me he's ok?" Scott tried to sit up, so as to see his youngest brother, he was gently pushed back down by Gordon though.

"Don't move Scott. Alan's still unconscious, he was shot in the chest."

"The chest! Oh God!" Once again Scott tried to sit up- only to be pushed down again.

"Scott, would you do as you're told and keep still?" Gordon once again pushed his brother back down, he then spoke into his communicator: "Virgil are you coming? I really need your help and Scott's getting restless."

Up in Thunderbird Two Virgil checked the restraints and then replied: "I'm on my way down."

"FAB."

Virgil lowered himself down, feeling the cold wind rushing through his chestnut hair. A minute later he was at Gordon's side. "How is he?"

"He'll be alright, I've bandaged his arm and he's conscious so that's a good thing. I'm worried about Alan, he hasn't come round and his pulse is weak."

Virgil knelt down beside his older brother. "Ok Scott, me and Gordon have to go and help Alan, then we'll get you both back up to the Thunderbird, ok?"

Scott smiled weakly, "ok."

Virgil and Gordon went over to their other brother and began to remove the rubble. They were able to remove the smaller pieces individually, but the bigger ones took both of them.

Finally though Alan's arm was free.

Virgil checked it over. "It's fractured, hand me the stretcher."

Gordon did as his brother asked and handed over the anti-gravity stretcher, then both of them carefully manoeuvred their younger brother onto it.

"I'll take him back up," Gordon said.

"FAB Gordon."

Because the stretcher was an anti-gravity one it was possible for just one person to manoeuvre it. Gordon got hold of it and began to ascend carefully back up to Thunderbird Two.

Meanwhile Virgil went back over to Scott and knelt down again. "I'm gonna have to move you onto the stretcher in a minute, but first I need to splint your arm and leg."

"Fine by me" Scott replied. "How's Alan? Has he come round yet?"

Virgil began splintering Scott's arm. "No, not yet. Gordon's taken him back up to the craft; he's still unconcious."

Scott looked at Virgil sadly, "It's my fault," he said quietly.

"Why is it your fault? What happened?"

Scott explained about how they had been flying over Everest when all of a sudden they were fired at with missiles.

"But how is that your fault, Scott?" Virgil asked gently.

"If I hadn't of wanted to 'check out Mount Everest', none of this would have happened," Scott sniffed back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Listen to me Scott" Virgil ordered. "None of this was your fault, you got that? You didn't know this was going to happen."

Scott managed a weak laugh, "That's just what Alan said."

"And he's right….For once. Come on lets get you onto the stretcher, and into Thunderbird Two."

"Ok."

Working together Virgil managed to get Scott onto the stretcher, and then began to pull himself up into his craft; thanking God that the stretcher was an anti-gravity one.

Back in the Thunderbird, Gordon had Alan on one of the beds in the sick bay. He was checking his pulse again.

Virgil got Scott onto the other bed. "I'm going to give you a dose of morphine for the pain."

"Very well," Scott tried not to grimace as he felt the needle go into him. He breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly let his eyes shut as the sedative side of the morphine took over.

Virgil ran a hand through his elder brother's hair, and then went over to Gordon.

"I've checked his blood pressure and it's low, we need to get them to a hospital fast." Gordon said.

Virgil was de-activating the APS. "I know, I'll radio Father and tell him that we're taking them to the hospital in Hong Kong."

"Ok Virg."

Virgil activated the link to Tracy Island. "Thunderbird two to Tracy island."

His Father answered almost immediately. "Have you found them, son?"

"Affirmative Father. We're taking them to the hospital in Hong Kong."

"How are they?"

"Well Scott's got a fractured arm and leg, he's also been shot in the arm. Alan….Alan seems worse. He was shot in the chest, just below the heart. He's also got a fractured arm and approximately four fractured ribs, plus a fractured nose too."

Jeff Tracy felt sick. "Ok son, I want to you to take them to the hospital as fast as you can, got it?"

"Got it."

"FAB. Good luck son, and watch out for them, ok?"

"I will Father. Don't worry."

"I'm your Father, it's my job." With that Jeff closed the link. "Please let them be alright," he thought desperately.

Note: Well that was chapter five, sorry it took so long. Something tells me I'm going to need a sequel.

I'm also working on a horror for Thunderbirds. It involves a haunted hotel, thirteen terrifying floors, a mirror into another world, a headless guy and a hell of a lot of keys.

Once again I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed Stranded.

Feliz Navidad. That's Spanish for merry Christmas. I'm not actually Spanish I've just learnt it at school.