Chapter 4: The Big Hole

"Good job, Alan." Scott clapped a hand on his youngest brother's back and Alan couldn't help but look pleased.

They were both relieved that the rescue had gone well. A disused underground rail tunnel in West Germany had collapsed and an acre of ground above had subsided into a big hole. Unfortunately, this acre of ground had been occupied by a remote research outpost of the German Forest Research Organisation. Local rescue crews had tried in vain to help people trapped below ground level but the instability of the surrounding area had prevented them from getting close enough.

On the scene a rescue attempt had been made using Thunderbird 2 but its hover jets had worsened the problem. Virgil and Scott had to land a mile away from the rescue zone to make sure their aircraft were on solid ground. Precious time had been lost as a safe route was found for the Mole and the Excavator back to the hole.

By the end of the rescue, Scott was reasonably happy that they'd done a good job. Victims had been transferred to hospital and International Rescue was packing up, ready to leave. Virgil and Gordon had driven the vehicles back to Thunderbird 2 and just Scott and Alan were left collecting the remains of the small equipment into a heap to transfer to the pod on hover bikes. 'Waste not, want not,' their grandmother had taught them and, despite their wealth, they were careful to not leave even a small connecting bolt behind.

Scott was pleased with Alan's work. He had been in the thick of the action not only dealing with complicated equipment and procedures but also employing tact with the shocked victims. This is what had earned him the literal pat on the back from his field commander.

"Time for dinner?" enquired Scott, with a grin as he started to walk towards the bikes.

"Oh boy, roll out a ten course meal. I am starving," replied Alan following.

"Virg has some supplies that you can tackle on the way home."

"Uh, he used to. I just remembered I forgot to restock after I ate them during the last rescue," said Alan.

Scott swung around to Alan to admonish him for his neglect but Alan was gone. The ground where Alan had been standing had also gone and, belatedly, Scott heard a yell as Alan fell into a new opening in the ground. Scott began to run back but the ground shook. He stopped and dropped down onto his stomach and commando-crawled to the edge of the hole, trying to spread his weight so as not to increase pressure on the unstable ground.

"Alan? Al? Are you okay?"

Scott was mightily relieved to hear a groan followed by a cough. Alan's voice carried weakly up to him.

"I'm not dead, if that's what you mean. I'm not okay, either. I'm hanging onto some tree roots but I can't get much footing on the sides."

"Hang on. I'll get Virg and Gordon back. We'll get you right out."

Alan's reply was more urgent. "No time, Scott. The roots are shifting. I need to be out of here in less than a minute or I'm going to fall about…well, trust me, it looks a long way down."

"I'll be right back!" Scott crawled away from the edge, deliberately forcing down the panic and turning the adrenaline rushing through him to good use. He ran over to the heap of equipment. He spied a nylon rope. Not exactly International Rescue high-tech equipment but it would do. He ran and then crawled back to the hole, calling reassurances to Alan. He quickly tied the torch from his belt onto the end of the rope, flicked it on and then fed the rope over the edge.

"Look up, Al. There's a rope coming down. There's a flashlight on the end. Can you see it?"

"Yes."

"When you can get it, tie it around you. I'll haul you up." Scott waited for his brother to shout that he was ready. Instead, what Alan said made him go cold.

"It's no use, Scott. It's not long enough. I can't reach it and the roots are shifting. Scott!"

Scott cursed fiercely under his breath. He wished that the stupid rope was just a few metres longer. It was his one chance to save Alan. Suddenly he felt a tug on the rope and heard Alan shout.

"It's okay, I've got it. It must have been caught on something. I'm tying it around me. The roots are coming loose. Hold on to me, Scott!"

Scott braced himself and immediately felt the full weight of Alan on the end of the rope.

"Okay," he said as calmly as he was able. "I'm going to pull you up. Give me as much help as you can, getting footholds on the side."

It was a slow job. Alan headed towards the surface inch by inch and the ground continued to crumble away from the sides of the hole. Eventually he reached flat ground and both he and Scott crawled carefully away until they were able to scramble onto more solid ground.

There they looked at each other, watching the shock slowly recede from each other's faces. Suddenly they both broke into chuckles. Scott shook his head in relief.

"You know, Alan, sometimes, I really wish we hadn't gone into the rescue business."

But Scott had used up all of his three wishes. Which is just as well, isn't it…?

THE END