Codename Genesis
Chapter Two
The leaves rustled around them as they looked out from behind the door, they could hear something moving around out in the large room while hearing a few of the lone survivors breathing quietly behind them.
"What do you think?" Scott spoke softly from above him.
"It's just like Newbay, but last time we weren't surrounded like this..." He replied just as softly, feeling that they were being watched by the survivors.
Scott sighed softly, "OK, so we need to clear a path to get to that door over there right?" He asked looking down at his younger brother.
"That's right... it took.. took Gordon and myself to clear the way last time but think this time I can do something about it quicker" John replied, choking a little at talking about their family.
Scott rested a hand on John's shoulder before walking over to their packs, "Wondered why you always carried lighter fluid" He said with a soft smile before a crash came from above them.
"Damn it! Get down!" John yelled jumping up onto his feet and froze seeing the big thick vine, reminding him of a fuel line had bashed through the window, covering the survivors in glass.
The vine swung around the room, small hisses came from around them making the two young men tear their shirts off as they started to burn. Screams came from the survivors as the acid burnt through their clothes or into the open wounds.
"Get down!" Scott yelled and got hit by the vine, groaning as he sunk into unconsciousness.
"Scott!" John said and was torn between helping his brother or the survivors, that decision was made for him as pods fell from the large vine landing in front of him. They started to grow instantly, small whip like vines appeared as they grew, cutting him off from the survivors.
They lashed out, hitting everything and anything that got in their reach. John froze as the vines cut through the survivors as the acid continued to eat through the furniture, by the time he had brought his shotgun up to get rid of the Ivy monsters, the survivors were dead.
They turned to face him, ready to throw their own acid and hit them with the vines.
"S-Scott, wake up! I need your help! Wake up!" John called, glancing back at his brother bringing the shotgun up and fired at the Ivy monsters.
"Scott!" John yelled as he woke up, sitting upright in his bed and looked around taking in the gloomy sight around him as he forced himself to calm down.
He took slow deep breaths to calm himself down, feeling the handle of his dagger in his hand realizing that he had pulled it out from his place under the pillow.
Since coming back from Tracy Island, John hadn't been able to sleep without his rucksack but now he was getting a few more undisturbed hours. He was thankful that none of his brothers hardly came into his room, but he still hid his rucksack, Scott use to laugh at him whenever he hid a dagger under his pillow.
But that changed... John thought to himself as he returned it back to it's sheath then back to under the pillow.
He got up and stretched looking around, mainly out of the large balcony windows seeing that the moon was setting telling him that it could be a few hours before sunrise. Feeling his foot catch on something, he acted on instinct by pulling away and rolled around pulling himself as small as he could.
John groaned and sat down hard on his bottom seeing that it was the strap to the rucksack that had got caught around his ankle. He bent around to free his ankle and then checked on the contents of his rucksack, seeing parts of his different guns with boxes of ammunition and buried into a secret compartment was his chocolate.
Sighing heavily, he did his bag back up and stuffed it back under his bed and made sure that the straps were safely tucked under before making his bed.
Virgil listened carefully as he slowly opened his door, listening for his older brother knowing that there could be a chance that he would be awake.
Ever since they returned to Newbay, Virgil watched as John went from being the quiet yet interactive member of their family when he was on the island and not in Thunderbird Five to this stranger that kept himself closed off from the others.
He was worried for John even if his brother didn't want anyone to be worried for him, he could hear when John had a nightmare which would stop him sleeping for the rest of the night.
Just wish he would talk to one of us, he's still our brother even if he has changed... but we've all changed in a way Virgil thought to himself seeing John creep out of the bedroom and go down the ramp towards the rest of the complex.
Virgil followed, seeing Gordon poke out from behind his own bedroom. He raised a eyebrow at wondering what Virgil was doing, who shrugged and nodded towards the ramp. Gordon nodded and disappeared back into his room, Virgil thought about following John downstairs but sighed softly before walking back into his own room.
"John?" A familiar voice asked softly, making the blonde Tracy spin on his heels and duck down in case of a attack and sighed in seeing his youngest brother.
"Sorry Alan, just caught me off guard... what's the matter?" John asked, getting one of the warm clothes out of the sink and squeezed the extra water out of it before putting it on his arm near his shoulder.
"It's OK John, just wanted to see if you were OK..." Alan said softly, watching him as he moved to sit on the barstool that John must have moved from the breakfast bar.
"I've been better Alan, just a rough night... couldn't get comfortable" John replied with a soft sigh, opening up a bottle of beer being careful not to move the cloth around too much.
Alan sighed softly, "You haven't changed too much John, you're still our brother" He said softly watching his brother take a drink from the bottle. "I know what you said to Dad but I don't think like that..."
John looked over at his youngest brother, "You've only seen one city Alan... you saw how Scott became, how I almost turned into something like him but I believe that Scott couldn't help himself" He replied with a soft sigh, closing his eyes and leaned back against the counter.
"When we found out that the virus that was being held at Newbay was in its experimental stages then we fear the worse... guess it came to being true, how much I have changed since then and how much Scott changed" John continued and stopped to take another drink from the beer.
"But you're home now, back on the island... I know Scott is still out there and I know that Dad is doing his best to try and find him, and to put a stop to BioTech" Alan replied.
John shook his head, "Need to find the main headquarters of that company, it would be hidden deep underground and in the middle of nowhere... just in case a breakout happens and draws attention to them" He muttered.
"You think so son? Then there are few places where they could do that" Jeff spoke up, "I can get some people to search around, I still have a few pulls that I can use" He said with a soft smile.
"Thanks Dad, I would like that... I know a few people, survivors that are helping us with this battle" John replied, finishing his drink. "I know that they would help us search for the laboratories"
"OK I think we're almost ready for her test flight" Virgil said wiping his hands in a cloth standing back away from their hard work, they had been spending most of the day taking apart the scaffolding that had covered Thunderbird Two.
Now she stood ready to be painted and her first test flight would be decided once the last few finishing touches had been completed, Virgil and Brains were impressed by the amount of detail that had been put into the transporter.
"That's great Virgil, we'll get her set up and tested for first thing tomorrow" Jeff called down from the observation deck, he had been joined by Gordon and Alan from where they had been working on maintenance for Thunderbird Three.
"OK Dad, I'll pack up and get cleaned up... where's John?" Virgil asked as he tucked the cloth into his pocket, he had really pushed himself in the last few weeks and was thankful that John had been there just as long as he had.
Jeff sighed and shrugged, "I don't know son, Onaha has seen him before we came for breakfast but hasn't appeared for lunch" He replied watching Gordon and Alan talk amongst themselves. "Something on your mind boys?"
"Just that, we have seen John but thought better give him his space... we were jogging around the island after breakfast this morning and he was in one of the clearings" Gordon replied with Alan nodding next to him.
"He looked distracted so we just left him to his exercises, it reminds me of what Tin-Tin does with her family first thing in the morning" Alan added.
"I can try and talk to him later Dad" Virgil replied, "But first just really need a shower" He added with a grin, earning a tired smile from Jeff.
"OK Virgil, I'll leave you to it" Jeff said with a tired smile and left the observation deck.
John snuck out of his room, itching the back of his neck feeling the skin change between his normal pale skin and the dark scars that ran down the back of his neck and down his spine.
He could hear his brothers asleep around him, and his father was awake if the light appearing from under the door was to tell the blonde Tracy anything.
Inwardly sighing, he crept along the wall leaving the bedroom wing and entered the main complex by walking down the ramp. His beaten up boots not making any noise on the soft carpet which soon changed to the linoleum that ran through the rest of the house asides the main stairs leading to futhur parts of the complex.
John didn't know what to think as he crept through the place he once called home, and wished time and time again that Scott was here with him instead of being carted away by BioTech's headquarters or one of the many secret laboratories scattered across the planet.
Closing his eyes, he forced himself to relax but felt a sense of foreboding that he had had ever since this morning even when Gordon and Alan had disturbed his morning ritual that Kyrano taught him a long time ago.
He smiled a little on how Scott originally thought it was a foolish idea but soon was getting taught by his brother, finding that it woke up not just the body but the mind as well. Tai Chi was the correct name for the techniques but over the months they had been separated away from their family and home, it changed around to suit them, to what they had needed.
He continued his slow pace until he got to the underground hangers, he started off in Thunderbird One's hanger taking in the sight of the flagship of the International Rescue fleet.
You're missing Scott, you haven't got the same shine as you use to John thought to himself moving over the gantry to touch the sealed cockpit, looking up at the red nose cone of the ship.
We owe you a lot more than what we can ever repay He added and smiled when he thought how she could react in by asking for the return of her pilot. "I'll try my best, I promise"
The moon moved through the starry sky, casting its pure light through the cloudless night. Its beams shone light through the uncovered balcony doors of the bedrooms of the Tracy Villa, where some lay awake listening for signs of anyone that might still be awake.
Others had closed their curtains wanting to try and sleep as much as they could before the sun rose, to start a new day of the life that felt slightly strained to lead. A few tears were shed into the pillow before forcing themselves to sleep.
Unaware to them, something was brewing deep inside the island as they continued to sleep or think through their troubled thoughts.
What was brewing, no one knew but only time could tell.