Thunderbirds Are Go!

Halloween Specials 2021 Edition

Disclaimer: All rights reserved. I do not own Thunderbirds or any affiliated characters with the show.

The Faversham Skinwalker

By Gordon Tracy

So as you've probably noticed from our previous encounters, a lot of our experiences and terrifying ordeals have happened throughout the United Kingdom. To be honest with you, it is perfectly reasonable. After all, the country was plagued by ancient rituals and an array of unexplained activity. You have the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident from 1980 or the haunted village of Pluckley. Hell, even the Blackpool Pleasure Beach is supposed to be active with spirits. So it isn't hard to imagine that the UK also had its share of bizarre Cryptid sightings. I just so happened to have one of my own. It happened during a camping trip with Lady Penelope and a few friends of mine from my college days. We all had arranged to go on a camping trip around Kent, the garden of England, seeing the sights and landmarks from the country's ancient history. Now, I'm not a huge history buff, but Penelope opened my eyes to it, allowing me to appreciate what was preserved in our modern, technological world. We began our trip down at the port of Dover, where we met my friends. They've asked me not to divulge their true names so for this story, I shall refer to them as Aiden and Rachel.

We planned our trip at a local coffee house, plotting the camping sites where we could pitch up our tents. We took two cars, one of which being FAB One and the other being their Jeep. After spending the day exploring Dover Castle, we left the town and took the road towards Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate. After a stop for dinner at Whitstable, we pressed on down the desolate M2 motorway. When we arrived at the town of Faversham, we decided to pitch up for the night in a remote area of trees. Known as The 'Oare Preservation Park', it was the former site of a Gunpowder factory that caught fire and exploded in 1916. Today, the site displayed luscious trees and pristine canals which complimented the park's beauty. Mother Nature had reclaimed the site as her trees and foliage engulfed the bricked foundations of the former factory. We found a large clearing just east of the former site which was large enough to pitch up our tents. By nightfall, we were able to gather some wood and build a fire pit.

It was a surprisingly mild night for the time of year as the light vanished around 7 pm. The four of us huddled around the fire, toasting marshmallows and regaling ourselves with stories about the area. The topics of conversation switched from the other stops on our trip to Ghost stories and folklore. Penelope laughed at Rachel's stories of a headless horseman, but the sincere look on Aiden's convinced her otherwise. His eyes flickered in the glow of the fire as he told a tale about the supposed paranormal activity that resided in the woods. I could feel Penelope grip my arm as his ice-cold stare chilled her to the core.

"Phew, I think that's enough Ghost stories for one night, don't you?" she said as she stood up to stretch her stiffened muscles. "It's getting late and I think I'll retire for the night."

Aiden sat back and smiled. The coldness of his stern expression warmed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out, Lady Penelope. I believe in this stuff and I just know I'd love to have an experience of my own."

Rachel nudged him with a smile. "It looks like the fire is getting low, I'm gonna go and fetch more firewood."

Aiden rejected the idea of her wandering off by herself in the dark. He placed his hand on her wrist and gently sat her down. Aiden was the protective sort. He always put his safety ahead of his friends and colleagues. That was the one thing we had in common and as friends, we had each other's backs. As Rachel sat down, he immediately stood up and grabbed a flashlight. With an assuring smile, he looked at us and replied.

"I'll do it. I'd rather have you sit here where it's safe. These woods aren't safe after dark."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at the remark. "Then why are we camping here tonight?"

Aiden laughed awkwardly at her as he turned to leave. We watched him as he faded into the pitch-black woods. His footsteps echoed in the distance as the light from his flashlight grew dimmer by the minute. A sudden wave of anxiety took hold of us when we could no longer see our friend. Minutes ticked by when the clock struck the 11th hour. The fire grew dimmer, robbing us of our light. We couldn't hear Aiden at all which began to panic us. What if something had happened to him? Penelope slumbered peacefully in her tent while the situation intensified. I looked over at Rachel was sat there, shivering from the cold night's breeze. I sat next to her, wrapping my thermal blanket around her. There had been a spark between her and Aiden that grew over the years. She wouldn't admit it until after this event, but she cared about him and even harboured romantic feelings for him. I held her and tried to warm her up when she whispered;

"Do you think something happened to Aiden? Should we go look for him?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I think I should go and look for him."

"No, we should go together," she replied. "Or at least wake Penelope?"

To tell you the truth, I don't know what we should have done. I didn't want to leave Penelope alone by herself in the middle of the woods. As we sat there, debating the situation, we heard the sound of rapid footsteps approach the camp. They gained momentum as they echoed through the trees, snapping sticks and crunching the leaves. We assumed it was Aiden, half expecting him to emerge from the dark at any second, but we couldn't see the beam from his flashlight. The sounds intensified as they came from around us. The trees rustled, owls hooted in reaction to whatever spooked them and a terrifying sensation overwhelmed us. As the tumultuous sounds continued, they disturbed Penelope from her sleep. Wearily, she climbed out of her tent, trying to find out what was happening. Before she could sit beside me, however, the sounds abruptly ceased and a cold gust of wind extinguished the dim light from the fire. As I fumbled around in the dark for my flashlight, my ears tuned in to a dark and foreboding presence. The sound of breathing sent a shiver down my spine. To my right, I could feel Penelope grab my arm and to my left, I heard the petrified gasps of Rachel. Something had entered the camp with us.

Still sure it was Aiden, back with a prank, I flicked on my flashlight and aimed it towards the trees. Aiden stood there within the beam of light. He looked disjointed and out of place as his head flopped down towards his chest. His hands remained at his sides as the flesh tone colour left his skin. He stood there motionless as if in a trance. His sudden appearance unnerved us, His right knee was bent inwards as if it had been snapped at the joint, his fingernails were long and dirty yet his clothes were immaculate. Had he had been in an accident, he would have been bloody and bruised, yet his ghostly white skin had no marks whatsoever. Going against every red flag in my mind, I called out to him.

"A-Aiden? Are you alright, buddy?"

Aiden didn't reply. Instead, he shifted his body in the dark, dragging his heels through the dirt towards the now extinguished fire pit. I kept my flashlight trained on him all the while he crept closer. He stopped ever so suddenly and lifted his head, revealing the features that had hidden in shadow. My mouth dropped as my stomach twisted in a knot. His eyes… his warm and friendly eyes….were gone! In their place were two black holes that gazed directly at me. It was as if some malevolent darkness had drained him of his soul and spirit. Rachel let out a shriek that made him stumble slightly. He reacted, revealing a set of razor sharpy, wolf-like teeth. He stank of putrefied flesh and faeces as he breathed like a hungry predator. He then snarled as he chilled us further with a sentence.

"Hey, Rachel."

Rachel screamed intolerably as Penelope did her best to comfort her. I was terrified yet pissed off by what I was witnessing. This thing, whatever it was had taken the form of Aiden and was using his appearance to scare us, possibly kill us. I balled my hand into a fist and began to threaten it. As I did, it looked at me and laughed, unimpressed by my threats. I reached into a supply bag and reached for a hunting knife that I had packed for the trip. I waved it about in the air, demanding the creature to leave us alone. It looked me up and down, probably deducing whether I was a threat to him or not. With a dirty, sickening smile, he said;

"Gordon,"

I don't know if it was the smell or the fact that it said my name in a disembodied voice with a full vocal tone, but I wanted to vomit. It then turned its dead eyes at Penelope and stared at her with that same grotesque grin. I don't know if was wanted to harm her or just freak her out, but it was succeeding with the latter. In my mind, Only one word could identify this creature that had invaded the sanctity of our camp and that was a 'Skinwalker.' I had heard the legends surrounding these elusive shape-shifting Cryptids, but I didn't imagine that I'd ever encounter one with my own eyes. Suddenly, another disturbance in the trees, startled this thing. It growled before backing away from the fire pit, spun around on its heels and bolted into the dark woods beyond. We all stood there, shaken up by our experience when the beam of a second flashlight lit up the camp through the treeline. Aiden had returned with the firewood. His complexion had returned as well as his eyes and his human sensibility. Perplexed and oblivious to what had just happened, he set down the firewood and lit it. The smile vanished from his face when Rachel ran towards him and held him.

"Aiden, is it you?" she asked him.

"What? I've only been gone a few minutes? What happened?" he asked, confused.

The fire raged on, restoring the warm and comfortable glow of our camp. One by one, the three of us explained to Aiden in detail what had happened in his absence. For the first time, he was speechless. His jaw dropped as he squeezed Rachel's hand. He came to the same conclusion that we had encountered a Skinwalker and theorised that it had stalked him so it could impersonate him. It was now 1 am when we decided to pack up and leave the woods. Sure, it might have left us alone, but we weren't going to take that risk. We loaded our gear into our vehicles and high tailed it out of there. Penelope wished that Parker had been here with us. In all honestly, he made the right choice not to come. We cut our trip short from there on, staying at a hotel in Rochester before heading home. If some good were to come out of this experience, it would be that Rachel finally confessed her feelings for Aiden. Today, they're happily dating and aren't deterred from planning future camping trips. As for Penny and me, we're gonna stick to our tropical getaways. I don't know if we had encountered a true Skinwalker or not, but if anyone has the desire to camp out at the Oare Reservation, keep your friends close and don't let them out of your sight otherwise you might have an unwelcome visitor come calling.