Gavii asks for DAY 28: "no... not like this" any brother

Characters: Alan, John

Warnings: Avalanche

It wasn't fair! Once again his brothers were going out on a rescue and leaving him behind.

But this wasn't just any rescue.

This was an all-hands-on-deck rescue.

Even Kayo was going.

But not him.

Not Alan.

Not the baby.

And he hated it.

But more than that. He hated this rescue. This type of rescue.

Avalanche…

He sat at home on the floor in his room, supposedly too angry to listen in and killing zombies in earnest, but secretly Alan had already hacked the comms and was listening in.

It was slow going. There was a large area with quite a few victims and Two and her pods were in service.

Scott was jet-packing all over the scene, plucking people up from the surface where it was safe to do so and flying them up to Two. Virgil was manning Two's infirmary, high enough that her jets wouldn't set off more avalanches but low enough that he could take the people Scott was rescuing. When she was full he ferried them down to the triage centre. Gordon and Kayo had the Sherpa pods and were digging people out.

And of course John was directing it all from Five. Alan could picture his brother's fingers flying over holograms, pulling all the data that his earth-bound family needed.

And still Alan sat at home.

Of course, he knew the reason he was here was more to do with that other time they were all involved in an avalanche, but Alan couldn't remember that time and, 13 years later, he had hoped that his brothers would have been able to see the rescuer and not the baby brother they almost lost.

After all, they didn't react to Scott like that and he had been closer to death than Alan himself had been.

But no. He got left behind. When all he wanted to do was to help. To be like his brothers.

To be a Thunderbird.

'Alan!'

John's voice broke through his reverie. Huh – Alan must have zoned out. But then he frowned at the clear panic he could hear in John's voice.

John never panicked.

Never.

Alan tore off his headphones and was running for his chute before John had even spoken another word.

'Suit up. You'll be flying One but I'll be there every step of the way, Al.'

'Wh-what's happened? John? What happened?'

'There was another avalanche. Comms are down because of the snow.'

'And? John – what are you not telling me?'

'I can't contact any of them. Not even Virgil.'

Alan swallowed.

He wanted to be a Thunderbird.

Wanted to be out on the rescue.

But not like this.

No, not like this.