Oh, I feel so bad for leaving you all like that. But that is to be rectified. On with the next chapter.
Before I cruelly left you hanging: Jake has been rescued, and is now reunited with his family. The Tracy boys are trying to rescue their sister, but she has slipped under the waves. Will she survive?
Disclaimer: if I could, I would. (And then I would have Scott, John and Virgil all to myself! ;)) Ahem, sorry.
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"Scott! She's gone under!" On instinct, Gordon reached for his harness, about to unclip it and dive in after his sister. He was the strongest swimmer in the family; he would easily be able to grab her.
"What? Virgil, pull him up!" Gordon began fighting.
"Scott, I can get her! We can't leave her!"
"We're not going to. John, take over the winch. Virgil, get to Thunderbird 2!" The red haired Tracy understood now. It was safer for all of them if he used Thunderbird 4. But, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were too late. Then he saw her.
"Scott! She's resurfaced! Karol! Hold on to those rocks! I'm coming for you!"
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The current was winning its battle. Karol knew that if she wasn't rescued soon, her body would give up and she would be helpless. More times than she could count, she had slipped under water, being drawn further and further away from the cave wall, dragged along by the current. She could here her younger brother shouting for her. She could practically feel her twin's anxiety. The current dragged her under. It was deep, so deep in fact that she could almost reach up and touch the jagged and cracked roof of her watery prison. There wasn't much for her to grab onto. She reached for her brother, the current winning again. But, she felt something grab her hand. Gordon had her. She was saved! But her hope and relief were short lived, as a huge waved crashed into the small cliff, its power causing suction in the narrow, eroded hole. All too suddenly, she was pulled under water, her hand yanked free of his, her head submerged in the freezing depths. The air had been practically knocked out of her lungs, and the current was too strong for her to swim up. She began seeing stars, her breathing reflex about ready to kick in. She fought it as much as she could, knowing full well that if she breathed now, her airways would spasm and she would drown. Then it happened. Another wave pushed water in, the force pushing her up against the rock pile that had formed from the falling ceiling. Survival instincts kicked in, and she grabbed on for dear life, using whatever strength she had left to pull herself out of the freezing water. She was going dizzy from lack of oxygen. She needed to breathe! She forced her lungs to cooperate with her, almost losing when her head broke the surface. She drew in one long, painful, ragged breath and held it before letting it out. She clutched to the weak rock pile, dragging herself up. Above the roar of the waves, she could hear Gordon call to her and Scott shouting orders.
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Jeff sat at his desk, tapping his fingers against the hard wood. What was going on? Scott should've radioed in by now with a report. He had a good mind to contact them. At that moment, Tin Tin came over with a tray.
"Mr Tracy, father has made you some coffee."
"Oh, thank you Tin Tin." She sat the tray down on the desk.
"They'll be fine, Mr Tracy, you'll see."
"I don't know. I've got a feeling that something's wrong. Scott should've contacted by now." Tin Tin nodded. He was worried, she could tell, as any parent would be. And there was only one way to console him. They would have to wait for the boys to get back.
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Virgil blasted off from the ground, Gordon on board. Very soon, they were hovering over the North Atlantic, about ready to drop the pod into the depths. The winds had calmed now, as had the waves. In fact, it seemed the tide was beginning to recede. But Karol wasn't out of danger yet. She had been in the water for too long now. Gordon knew that she would have to be taken to the hospital once she was out of this, so that she could be treated for hypothermia.
"Right, Gordon. In position. You'd better get to Thunderbird 4."
"FAB, Virgil. I'll radio Scott when I'm seaborne." He had never ran to his Thunderbird before, but this time, he couldn't control his anxiety. The last time he saw Karol, she was paler than usual, and her lips were beginning to take on a blue colour. Hold on, Kit, just hold on. I'll get you out. Throwing open the hatch, he leapt in, activating the appropriate controls.
: Right, Virgil. All set:
"FAB. Thunderbird 2 to Mobile Control. Releasing pod now."
The green pod hit the water with a splash, the buoyancy compensators keeping it afloat. The pod door opened via remote, the platform on which his vehicle was sitting on tilting to a perfect 45 degree angle. He couldn't activate the engines fast enough and with in seconds, his craft was also floating in the still turbulent waters.
"Thunderbird 4 to Mobile Control. Submerging now."
: FAB, Gordon. Good luck, and be quick. I don't know how much longer she can hold out:
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It wasn't very long. The tide was beginning to recede, but the currents were still powerful enough to drag her out with them. Karol clutched on for all she was worth, telling herself not to panic. She had seen first hand what could happen when someone panicked, and it was pretty.
"J-j-just st-stay calm, Kit. They'll g-g-get you out." She could vaguely here her older brother calling to her.
"Karol! Karol, talk to me! Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Summoning up what ever strength she had left, Karol called up to him.
"Y-y-yes! I-I can h-hear you! A-as for being alright, w-well, I-I'm a little w-wet to say the least." She tried joking. She thought she heard him mutter something, but over the waves, she wasn't sure. What she did know was the wind was picking up again. She could here it whistling through cracks in the cave wall.
"Hold on, Kitten. Gordon will be with you any moment now. He's in Thunderbird 4." A wave crashed into the cave, catching her by surprise. Karol barely had time to cry out before she was pulled back under. Keeping a firm grip on the rock pile was not easy, but somehow she managed it. Coughing, she pulled herself up.
"Hurry, Scott! I can't h-hold out m-much longer! N-n-not in this cold and w-w-with this c-c-current!"
"Just stay calm Kitten. We'll have you out soon, I promise."
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Under the turbulent waves, Gordon finally reached the woman's watery prison. But there was a problem. The cave mouth was too narrow, even for his small craft.
"Thunderbird 4 to Mobile Control. I've ran into an obstacle, Scott. I'm not going to be able to manoeuvre through the cave mouth. It's too small."
: FAB, Gordon. You might have to use an explosive to open it: Gordon didn't like the idea, and neither did Scott. But there was very little else they could do. Karol was too far away from the crevice she had gone through for them to winch her up, and there was every chance that, with the receding tide, Gordon would be washed out to sea along with her if he tried to get her out himself. He was at a crossroads; did he blast his way in and risk bringing more of the cave down, endangering his sister even further, or did he try to go down for her? What was he to do?
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: Scott, tell Karol to pull herself away from the cave mouth. I'm going to use a low power explosive on the cave. Hopefully there'll be less rock brought down:
"FAB, Gordon. Be careful."
:Will do, Scott: Scott turned his attention back to the blowhole, John stood by him now that the winch wasn't going to be needed.
"Karol? Can you hear me?" he called down. There was still the echoing rumble of the waves as they pushed their way through. After a few seconds, there came the response he was hoping for.
"Y-yes, S-Scott. I c-can here you." Her stuttering was fading. That was a bad sign. Scott knew they had to work fast.
"Karol, you need to pull yourself away from the cave opening. Gordon is going to try to blast his way in with a low power explosive. Ok? Tell me when you've moved back." A few minutes passed with no reply.
"Karol?"
"O-ok, Scott. I've moved as far back as I can."
"FAB. Mobile Control to Thunderbird 4. You are good to go."
: FAB, Scott:
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Karol waited. She no longer felt freezing, but her time in Medical Class taught her that this was not a good sign. She was tired, she was getting numb and she was beginning to have difficulty in breathing. Hurry, Gordo. Please hurry. Then it came. The noise she had been waiting for and dreading. Above the sound of the waves rushing in and her own freezing body straining against the current, she heard the blast of an explosive being fired. Keeping herself alert, she counted down the seconds to impact, bracing herself with each passing second. 5, 4,3,2,1 BOOM! The cave shook, rocks fell and water crashed and steamed. With a cry, she pushed herself back against the wall in the hopes that she wouldn't be struck by the falling rocks. Up above, she heard Scott shout for John to get back. And then, finally, they stopped. Dazed, she saw the telltale lights of her younger brother's rescue craft powering through the still retreating sea. Allowing herself a weary, weak smile of relief, she let her guard down. The last thing she saw was Gordon reaching for her, the last thing she heard was him telling Scott that he had found her and that he was getting her out before her body let go of it's battle and her mind gave up to the darkness of unconsciousness. She was safe now. Gordon would make sure of that.
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Hurrah! Hope you all enjoyed this!
There are a couple of things I want to clarify before anyone picks up on it. In the first chapter, I made the mistake of calling Gordon- Gordon Grissholm Tracy. This was a mistake on my part. His name is Gordon COOPER Tracy. I kinda got mixed up with his and Virgil's middle name. Also, I don't know if they have a mobile winch at their disposal, so if they don't, then it is my creation. And now for an easy question. Can anyone tell me why I called the young girl Sylvia? Be the first to answer and I'll write you into my next Thunderbirds story (whenever that maybe).
Thanks for reading folks!