THERE is a saying that right before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. That seemed to be the case for both Penelope and Gordon as the Rock Snake spat its deadly ball of fire in the direction of Thunderbird 2. Virgil also saw it coming and without even thinking, applied all the power to Thunderbird 2's VTOL engines that he could. Thunderbird 2 shot upwards so quickly that Gordon lost his grip on Penelope and she fell away screaming in fright as she plummeted towards the Thames.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Gordon screamed as the fireball passed right underneath him. He could just make out Penelope hitting the water and disappearing. Panic-stricken, he unfastened himself from the safety-harness and dropped down after her.

"GORDON!" Scott bellowed as he saw his brother tumbling into the river.

Virgil hadn't realised and his heart skipped a beat when he heard Scott's yell. "Gordon?! Scott, what's happened?!" he asked frantically. "Was I not fast enough?"

"You were, Virgil!" Scott answered. "But it looks like Gordon lost hold of Penelope and now he's dropped down into the Thames after her!"

Virgil swore to himself. "Gordon? Gordon! ANSWER ME!"

Gordon had already landed in the Thames. After submerging briefly, he shot back up to the surface like a cork and looked around frantically. "PENNY! PENNY, WHERE ARE YOU?!" he cried. But there was no sign of Penelope anywhere. "SCOTT! VIRGIL! JOHN! HELP ME!" he pleaded.

None of his brothers had ever heard any of them plead like this before. Even Virgil hadn't despite being worried sick about Hayley on more than one occasion.

"Hang on, Gordon, we're coming!" said Scott as he manoeuvred Thunderbird 1 down closer to the surface of the water.

"SCOTT, LOOK OUT!" Virgil yelled.

Scott and Alan looked just in time to see the Rock Snake launch another fireball, this time at Thunderbird 1. "WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" they cried, as Scott ducked and dived his ship out of harm's way. The fireball flew over the top of where Gordon was caught in the outward going current and struck an empty barge near the South Bank. The barge was soon on fire, the latest in several that were being started by the attacking Rock Snakes.

Scott only just managed to get Thunderbird 1 before it collided with the bridges of Blackfriars. "Virgil, will get rid of that stupid snake!" he ordered.

"Gladly!" replied Virgil. He activated the drop-down turret and fired a demolition missile at the Rock Snake. The explosion caused the snake to be blown into several pieces which scattered around the area. Some of which landed in the river and Gordon had to dive in order to try and avoid getting hit. One particularly large one landed a few feet away from him and as he swam around it, he recoiled in shock when he realised that he was looking at the snake's decapitated head. Its deadly eye was still open and staring blankly at him for it was now dead and turning a pinkish colour.

Once he felt sure that no more rocks were falling, Gordon pushed himself back up to the surface where he found himself being carried underneath the Millenium Bridge between St Paul's Cathedral and the Tate Modern. There was another Rock Snake in this vicinity which had been starting fires behind the old power station which was now an Art Gallery. This one was emitting angry snarling noises and seemed to be heading in the direction of both him and Thunderbird 2 which was coming in overhead.

"Gordon, I'm gonna drop the line back to you," Virgil said. "Grab it and I'll pull you up."

"VIRGIL, MIND THAT SNAKE!" Gordon cried.

"ULLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" bellowed the Rock Snake which seemed to sound more aggressive than before. Anyone who heard it winced and cried out in alarm for it was a lot louder to those exposed to the air and not inside a vehicle.

From his position aboard Thunderbird 5, John was using the heat emitting from inside the Rock Snakes to track their movements and he'd noticed something alarming. "Guys, I don't want to alarm you but you'd better get out of there fast!"

"Not until I've got Gordon!" said Virgil.

"Not until we find Lady P!" added Gordon.

"What's the problem, John?" asked Scott.

"The other snakes are coming for you!" said John.

"Wait, they are?!" asked Scott.

Alan then clapped his hand to his head as a sudden realisation came to him. "Duh! Of course they are!" he said. "Virgil just killed one of their own. They don't like that."

He wasn't wrong. As Scott observed from above, he saw all four of the remaining Rock Snakes closing in on Thunderbird 2 from all sides almost. "Virgil, MOVE!" he ordered.

"Not…without…Gordon!" Virgil said stubbornly.

Jeff now cut in. "Damn it, Virgil! Listen to your brother!" he thundered.

But before Virgil could respond, Thunderbird 2 was hit hard by the fireballs fired from the angry Rock Snakes. "GAAAAAAAAAARGH!" he cried as he momentarily lost control of his ship with three of the four VTOL jets cutting out.

Scott couldn't take it any more. Seeing Thunderbird 2 get attacked was the final straw for him. He pulled Thunderbird 1 up into a steep climb, did a complete backward loop and then dived at increasing speed towards the city again. "Leave…my brothers…ALONE!" he bellowed in a rage, firing Thunderbird 1's forward-mounted laser at the nearest Rock Snake. The laser cut through the Snake's body two rocks down from beneath its head. It let out an agonised screech and dropped to the ground, its head ending up inside Cannon Street Railway Station. He then did the same to the second Rock Snake which was back around St Paul's near to where the first one had originally attacked and destroyed this one as well. He then cut across the river to attack the other two with one falling behind the OXO Tower and the other falling across the lawn in front of the Tate Modern. Its head hit the Millenium Bridge and demolished it. Luckily there was nobody on the bridge for anyone in the vicinity had been running for their lives to get away from the snakes. "Thunderbird 2, are you okay?" Scott asked once his rampage was complete.

Virgil had managed to regain control of his ship moments before it had hit the water. The VTOL jets were working although not quite at full power. As it rose up away from the Thames, they could see that the paintwork had been viciously scorched by the heat from the fireballs. "I'm okay, Scott," he answered. "Gordon?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Gordon answered from within the river. "I got the rope, Virgil. You can pull me up."

Virgil activated the winch to pull Gordon up out of the water and into the safety of the cockpit. "How does Thunderbird 2 look, Thunderbird 1?" Virgil asked.

Scott was about to speak but it was Alan who answered. "Well, er…do you remember how Thunderbird 2 looked after the rescue at the Crystal Spire?"

Virgil winched. "Great…" he said.

"Only three times as bad," Alan finished.

Virgil frowned. "I did not need to hear that, Alan," he pouted.

"Thunderbird 2 can be repaired, boys," Jeff cut in. "All that matters is that you're okay?"

"We are now, Dad," said Scott.

"No, we're not!" Gordon said. "We haven't found Penelope!"

"John?" said Jeff. "Any sign of Penelope? There can't be many people in the Thames?"

"I've already looked," answered John. "I'm not detecting anyone in the water. However there are several small boats racing around. It's possible she might have been spotted and picked up."

"Is there any way of knowing?" Gordon asked.

"Not without trying to make contact with each one individually," said John. "And that would take time."

Jeff shifted uncomfortably. He knew what he was about to say wasn't going to go down well with any of his sons, especially Gordon, but he felt there was no other choice. "Virgil, Thunderbird 2 has been badly damaged," he said. "Return to base so Brains can take a look."

"F-A-B," said Virgil.

"NO!" shrieked Gordon. "WE CAN'T! WE HAVEN-"

"Gordon, I'm sorry about this but-"

"I'M NOT LEAVING!" screamed Gordon.

"Gordon!" Scott butted in. "Alan and I will look for her. She can't have gotten far. As soon as we find her, we'll let you know immediately. Okay?"

But Gordon shook his head. "I can't leave…" he said. His voice was shaking and his lips were trembling like he was on the verge of tears.

"Gordon, you're in no fit shape to continue," said Jeff. "Virgil, bring him and Thunderbird 2 home."

"F-A-B," Virgil said again. He turned Thunderbird 2 around and applied power to the aft thrusters, taking them away from London before Gordon could protest any further.

"What do we do now?" Alan asked Scott once Thunderbird 2 was out of sight.

"What we promised Gordon we'd do," Scott replied. "We find Penelope."


Thunderbird 2 soon crossed the South Coast of England and picked up speed as it began the long journey back to Tracy Island on the opposite side of the world.

"Sorry about this, Gordon," said Virgil sympathetically. "But we can't defy Dad's instructions. You know that?" Instead of an angry response, all he got from his brother was sobbing sounds. He turned his head to look and saw Gordon shaking as floods of tears streamed down his face. "Gordo?"

Gordon slowly turned his head to look at him. His eyes were almost red. "I had her, Virg," he sobbed. "I had her. And I've lost her." He then buried his face in his hands and wept loudly.

Virgil felt his heart sink like a stone. He couldn't remember any of his brothers breaking down like this before. He put Thunderbird 2 onto autopilot and got out of his seat, moving over to Gordon to comfort him the best he could.


On Tracy Island, Jeff looked out of the window. Even though he knew it would be a while before Thunderbird 2 returned, he was already waiting for it to appear.

Grandma came up beside him. "I hope you're prepared for what's coming?" she said.

Jeff nodded grimly. "I am, Mother," he said. "No doubt Gordon's gonna have quite a bit to say when he gets here."


Thunderbird 1 circled over the Pool of London with Scott and Alan checking everywhere to see if they could make out any sign of a boat that might be offloading anyone onto dry land. There were many boats but none that looked to have just fished someone out of the river. There was nowhere for them to land either for any open spaces were filled with makeshift medical places where people who'd been injured in the Rock Snake attacks had been brought to, and unfortunately not everyone had survived.

"This looks bad, Scott," sighed Alan. "Those snakes really did a number on the city."

"Well at least they won't any more, little brother," replied Scott. He looked around at the city. Several plumes of smoke were still rising from the many fires that the Rock Snakes had caused. "But at least with them gone, the emergency services can do their jobs."

"Yeah…I guess that's something," agreed Alan.

They moved over to the makeshift medical site in the grounds of the Tower of London. "I can't land," said Scott. "I think you'll have to go down and ask if Penelope is there."

"Er, sure," replied Alan. He unfastened his seatbelt and stood up.

"ULLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The vibrations shook Thunderbird 1 hard as with everything in the vicinity.

"Ouch!" winced Scott. "Where the hell did that come from?!" He brought Thunderbird 1 upwards to look over the city. He stared in disbelief. "What?!"

The Rock Snakes were back. Only this time, there were a lot more than five. In fact, he lost count three times. There were at least a dozen or more on both sides of the river now, spreading outwards through the city and starting their attack once again.

"John…what the hell's going on?" Scott demanded. "The Rock Snakes are not only back, but…they've multiplied!"

"I thought you destroyed them all, Scott?" John asked.

"I DID!" said Scott angrily. "WHERE THE HELL DID THEY COME FROM?!"

"Sorry, Scott. I wish I knew," said John. "Colonel Jennings is sending in fighter jets as are the Royal Air Force. You'd best get out of the way. You don't want to be caught in the crossfire."

"But we still haven't found Penelope," said Scott.

"I know…but what can we do, Scott?" asked John.

Scott didn't know. He sighed and reluctantly moved Thunderbird 1 to a position directly above Tower Bridge where he was out of the reach of the Rock Snakes "Guess this nightmare isn't over yet, Alan," Scott said. "Alan?" He got no response. He looked back behind him, and then at the floor. "ALAN!" Alan was lying on the floor, face down and wasn't moving. Scott unfastened himself and jumped out of his seat to check on his youngest brother. He rolled him over. Alan was unconscious but alive. He had a small gash on the right side of his forehead. It didn't look too serious but a little trickle of blood was there. Scott then noticed a small speck of blood on the back of his seat where Alan's head had hit. "Goddamnit!" Scott cursed. "John, Alan's hurt! He must have fallen over when the sonic attack struck."

"How bad is he?" asked John.

"He's out cold but the injury looks minor," said Scott.

"Get him back to the island, stat," said John. "Grandma will need to take a look at him."

"But what about-"

"Scott, Alan's your priority now!" barked John.

Scott knew John was right. He carefully put Alan back into his seat and strapped him in. "Hang on, little brother," he said before returning to his own seat and pushing Thunderbird 1's thrusters to full, climbing away and leaving London at the mercy of the Rock Snakes.


Thanks to Thunderbird 1's superior speed, Scott actually got to Tracy Island before Thunderbird 2 did. Jeff, Grandma and Brains were waiting and they swiftly moved Alan to the medical bay to be checked over. By the time Thunderbird 2 did arrive and Virgil and Gordon had joined them, Kayo had arrived back from her Cabal Search patrol to be at Alan's bedside.

"Well there's definitely good news," said Grandma as she checked the medical tablet. "There's no concussion. Just a minor cut and some bruising. He'll pull through."

"And the bad news?" asked Scott.

"I'd recommend he not fly anything for at least a week," said Grandma.

"Looks like we're grounded for this Christmas then," remarked Virgil.

"S-Speaking of which, now that we know Alan will be okay, I'll get to work examining Thunderbird 2," said Brains. He turned and left the room.

Alan let out a moan and opened his eyes. "Ow…" he said. "Anyone get the licence of that sleigh?"

"Yeah, he's gonna be fine," remarked Kayo and the others gave a small chuckle. All that was except for Gordon.

Gordon gave Scott a nudge on the arm. "Did you…find her?" he whispered.

Scott shook his head. "Sorry," he whispered back.

Gordon hung his head and screwed his eyes up before unscrewing them again. "Don't apologise," he said. "It's not your fault." He then shot Jeff a very dirty glare before turning and leaving the room.

Neither Jeff nor Grandma saw this but Virgil did and he followed Gordon out to confront him about it. "Was that necessary?" he asked once they were in the kitchen.

Gordon stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Do I even need to answer that?" he asked without turning round.

"It's not Dad's fault either," said Virgil. "Nobody's to blame what happened out there."

Gordon now turned round and exploded in a rage. "NOBODY'S FAULT?! WHY DID YOU BRING ME BACK, VIRGIL?! YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT ME THERE!"

"AND HOW WOULD YOU HAVE FOUND HER?!" Virgil now shouted back. "YOU'D HAVE BEEN ALL ALONE IN A CITY FULL OF FRIGHTENED PEOPLE WITH SEVERAL DOZEN ROCK SNAKES SPITTING FIRE ALL AROUND YOU!"

"AT LEAST I WOULD HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND HER!" bellowed Gordon.

"WHAT'S ALL THIS?!"

The two brothers turned to the doorway that led down to the medical room. Jeff had appeared having heard the shouting.

Gordon advanced slowly towards his father. Virgil had a bad feeling he was going to have to grab Gordon and hold him back. But despite Gordon clenching his fists, he did not.

"Gordon…" Jeff began. "I'm-"

"Save it, Dad," Gordon said with gritted teeth. "I will not let this slide. If anything happens to Penelope…you won't hear the end of it!"

He turned and stormed away, pushing past Virgil and stomping up the stairs just as John appeared at the top. "Gordon?"

"Move!" Gordon snapped, almost pushing John out of the way before disappearing up the next flight of stairs towards where the bedrooms were located. There came a loud BANG as they heard a bedroom door slam shut behind it.

"Leave him, boys," Jeff sighed. "He needs time."

"He didn't mean what he said, Dad," Virgil said, trying to sound reassuring.

Jeff looked at his second-eldest son. "That's kind of you to say, Virgil," he said. "But I think on this occasion we'll have to agree to disagree. This is definitely on me." He then headed outside into the dark night that covered Tracy Island walking towards the beach without a word and his head hanging in shame.

Scott then came out. "John," he said.

"Scott, how's Alan?"

"He'll be fine," said Scott. "It's not as bad as it looks. Did I hear shouting?"

"Yeah, Gordon blew his top," said Virgil. "He's gone to his room to sulk."

"That might be for the best," said Scott. "Where's Dad?"

"Outside," said Virgil. "He's blaming himself for this."

"He shouldn't!" said Scott crossly. "I'll go talk to him."

"Best you don't, Scott," said John. "Leave him be. And the same with Gordon."

"Especially, Gordon," agreed Virgil. "I don't think we've heard the last of it from him."

Scott looked sadly out of the window at the sight of his father disappearing towards the beach. He then looked up into the night sky and the Moon which was glowing brightly in the sky. "Wherever you are, Lady P, I just hope you're okay," he said.


Hayley hadn't left Parker since he'd been brought in from the incident site at Creighton. She'd made a promise to Penelope to take care of him and she had no intention of letting go of that. They did however remove him from the country along with several other wounded people, transporting them in GDF Flyers across the Atlantic to the safety of the United States.

"How is he?" Colonel Jennings asked.

"Still out," Hayley answered. "But the doctors say he will recover. Any news of Lady Penelope?"

"Nothing," said Colonel Jennings grimly. "The Rock Snakes have invaded London. And even International Rescue have been forced to retreat."

Hayley felt her stomach churn. "Then we really are in trouble," she remarked. "Thank goodness that my parents are in Ireland. I sent them there as a precaution after the first cylinder landed."

"A wise idea, Madison," said Colonel Jennings. She patted the young captain on the back and headed off to talk to someone else.

Hayley then heard a groan from the bed. She looked down and saw Parker was starting to come around. "Hey, Parker. Welcome back."

Parker was groggy. He was confused by his surroundings. "Where…h'am…I?"

"Aboard a Flyer," said Hayley. "We're taking you to the hospital at headquarters for treatment. You got hit hard by that explosion."

"H'explosion?" Parker repeated. Then his eyes snapped fully open. "Where's m'lady?"

Hayley wasn't sure how to answer this. "She got away," she said. "I believe she was going to join up with the boys."

Parker moaned due to the pain in his head. "H'I do 'ope you're right, miss," he said weakly.

Yeah…so do I, Hayley thought.


For Penelope, everything was a blur. Slowly she started to come around. As her eyes gradually opened, she felt warm and comfortable, yet she felt a slight chill on her face. She blinked as her eyes adjusted. She looked up at what was above her. A white ceiling, which looked like it was made of canvas or something. Like a tent. She was wrapped up in warm clothing and some thick bedding. She had a big furry black hat on which she couldn't remember putting on. She sat up and looked around. She was in some kind of fold-out bed with medical equipment on the nearby tables and there was a machine that looked like it had been used for pumping something. The tank on the top looked to be full of water.

A nurse then came in. "Ah, you're awake," she said.

"W-Where am I?" Penelope asked, confused.

"Isle of Sheppey," said the nurse. "I'm Charlotte."

"Charlotte…Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward."

The nurse dropped the clipboard. "Whaaaa?!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, my God!"

"How did I get here?" Penelope asked. "I don't remember anything."

Charlotte picked up the clipboard. "According to my notes, you were found floating in the River Thames by the London Fire Brigade and fished out before being brought down here by river," she said. "You're in a makeshift hospital camp on Sheppey."

Penelope climbed out of the bed, still wrapped in the warm clothing she'd been placed in and peered out of the tent. There were hundreds of them in a large open area. Down the end of the row, she could just make out what looked like water. "That the Thames?" she asked.

"No, the Medway," replied Charlotte. "And I wouldn't go out there if I were you. "It's bitterly cold this morning."

Penelope blinked. "Morning?" she repeated. "What day is it?"

"Christmas Eve," said Charlotte. "And I never in my whole life did I ever think we'd be evacuating."

"Evacuating?"

"Yes. The Prime Minister has ordered an evacuation of the whole country," said Charlotte. "It's crazy. There are these weird snake-like creatures that are attacking London. Reports are saying they're in Gloucester, Bristol, Leicester and as far north as Manchester. Where they've come from nobody seems to know, but they're deadly."

"Yes…they are…" Penelope said out loud without thinking.

Charlotte didn't seem to clock onto this. "Everyone in this camp will be moved onto one of the boats when the right time comes," she said. "In the meantime. Please stay here until you're called, your Ladyship."

"Wait!" Penelope said, grabbing Charlotte's arm. "Are my parents here?"

"I have no idea, I'm afraid, Lady Penelope," said Charlotte. "But I'll ask around," she promised and then left the tent.

Penelope was left alone, trying to remember what had happened. She remembered being in London and chasing a criminal dressed as Father Christmas who she'd chased on a motorbike to Covent Garden. Then the Rock Snakes had begun their attack just as International Rescue arrived on the scene. She then remembered signalling to Thunderbird 2 and it coming over with her jumping joyfully into Gordon's arms. Then she remembered a Rock Snake firing a ball of flame at them and then her falling away from Gordon before hitting the water and then everything going black. She had no memory of what happened afterwards.

Despite having been told to stay where she was, Penelope's curiosity once again got the better of her. She walked out of the tent, still fully wrapped up in her warm clothing and walked down the two opposing rows of tents to the edge of the camp where she found herself looking out across the River Medway. It was crammed full of boats. From sailing boats to pleasure boats with the largest she could see being a Thames Barge. Several were just floating around or at anchor like they were waiting for something. Others were moving away from the shore, absolutely loaded with people. The smaller ones were taking people from a small jetty off to the left. On the right, Penelope saw a concrete dock where some larger vessels were docked. The one closest to her and the shore was probably the most distinguishable of all the vessels. It was the vintage Paddle-Steamer Medway Queen. Clearly it was a case of every available vessel that could float was being used to take people out of the country. But to where, Penelope wondered to herself. France? Belgium? Holland? Was anywhere going to be truly safe from the Rock Snakes? It wasn't a question she could think of the answer to.

Penelope looked over at the Medway Queen. Its deck was already rammed with people who'd been lucky enough to get aboard. Walking along the concrete wall of the shoreline to stand directly in front of the bow, she could see that Army soldiers were on the dockside and on the ship itself and there were some violent brawls going on about people desperately trying to get aboard. Some were resorting to try and climb over the fencing or even jump off the quay onto the deck of the ship. Some were succeeding and others failed miserably and fell into the water. When that happened, a small orange RNLI dinghy would appear to fish them out quickly and then bring them back to the shore.

Penelope couldn't help but feel envious of the people who were aboard. Seeing how crowded it was made her feel glad she was where she was and not on it. That was until she heard a voice calling her name from the bow.

"PENELOPE!"

Penelope blinked and looked towards the bow of the Medway Queen. It was a woman's voice, and it was a voice she recognised. Focusing her eyes on where the voice had originated from, they then darted wide open when she saw the unmistakable figure of Lady Patricia waving frantically to her. "M-M-M-MOTHER?!"

"PENELOPE, WE'RE HERE!" yelled Patricia. "PAT! PAT! IT'S PENELOPE!"

As Penelope looked on in shock, she then saw someone pushing their way through the many other people on the crowded deck to then appear beside Patricia. It was Lord Patrick. When he then caught sight of his daughter, he too began to wave urgently. "PEN! PENELOPE! OVER HERE!" he shouted.

Penelope began to shed tears of joy at the sight of her parents. She was so happy that she forgot to move. And then she suddenly noticed her parents shouting furiously to someone on the dockside. She looked and her eyes widened at the sight of a man unfastening the mooring ropes that had been securing the Medway Queen to the docks. She then noticed that despite the protests of those others on the dockside, the gangplank had been raised and a plume of thick black smoke began to emerge from the paddle-steamer's funnel. It then gave three sharp blasts on its whistle to warn everyone that it was departing.

Realising what this meant, Penelope ran forwards, forcing away the temporary safety fence that blocked the hospital camp from the dockside, finally alerting the security to her presence and she began to run along the dockside, on the wrong side of the railing in an attempt to try and reach the Medway Queen before it got underway.

"HEY! STOP! STOP!" shouted two Policemen who were on guard duty. They tried to grab Penelope but she was too quick for them. She'd almost reached the Medway Queen's bow when she bumped into the man who'd been undoing the rope on the shore. Both went down in a heap.

"WATCH IT!" said the man angrily.

But Penelope scrambled to her feet and forgot to apologise. She tried to catch up to the Medway Queen again but to her dismay it had picked up speed and was getting further away from the dock as it reversed out into the Medway estuary.

Desperation got the better of Penelope, and before anyone could stop her, she dived off the quayside and into the water. It was a move that she very quickly regretted when she realised how cold the water was. She tried hard to swim after the paddle-steamer, but she found herself unable to swim very easily with the warm clothing the hospital staff had put on her.

Patrick had seen Penelope jump into the water and frantically pushed his way back through the crowds on the deck and up the ladder to the Medway Queen's bridge. "STOP THIS SHIP!" he bellowed.

The Captain stared at him. "You're not supposed to be up here, sir. Please leave."

"I SAID STOP THE SHIP THIS INSTANT!" Patrick demanded. "MY DAUGHTER'S FALLEN OFF THE QUAYSIDE!"

The Captain trained his binoculars and saw Penelope struggling in the water. He was about to speak when the RNLI dinghy appeared and its occupants began to pull her out of the water. "It's okay, the RNLI have got her, sir," he said.

"Then tell them to bring her aboard," Patrick said.

"Sir, I've already asked you to leave," the Captain said, patience starting to get thin. "Please-"

"GET…MY DAUGHTER…ABOARD THIS SHIP…NOW!" Patrick screamed.

Just then one of the soldiers appeared on the bridge. "Sir…he's asked you to leave," he said.

Patrick stared between the two men. "Don't you even know who I am?" he asked. "I'm-"

"Sir, I don't care who you are!" snapped the Captain. "I need you to get off my bridge and stop interfering! Now, leave!"

Patrick seethed with anger. "You'll regret this, Captain!" he said furiously. "I'll see to it that you're stripped of your command!"

"Time to go, sir," said the soldier.

Patrick did so, with extreme reluctance.

Patricia could see that Penelope was safely out of the water but was now sobbing her eyes out at the realisation that she wasn't going to be brought aboard the paddle-steamer. Penelope too was upset as she was wrapped up in even more blankets aboard the small lifeboat dinghy. She pleaded with the men to take her to the Medway Queen but they said they couldn't. The ship was full and the Captain wouldn't take anyone else on.

The Medway Queen was now clear of the quay and had turned to start making its journey out of the Medway to the Thames estuary and then to the North Sea and its ultimate destination of Dunkirk. As it started to move forwards, Penelope's tears of sadness were lost amongst the droplets of water that covered her face from having landed in the water. She had never felt so helpless as she did right now.

"ULLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Penelope sat bolt upright, eyes wide with terror as the dinghy arrived back at the jetty. Everyone else had frozen solid at the sound of the strange howl which had come from the opposite side of the river on the land where the two rivers met.

And then it appeared. Out of the dark misty cloud that covered the shore on the far side of the Medway appeared the silhouette of a Rock Snake. Another came. And another. At first it was just their silhouettes, but then their glowing red eyes appeared before their rocky features became clearly visible.

Most people simply stared in disbelieving shock as the majority had yet to see the Rock Snakes in person. For those like Penelope who'd managed to escape from London, instantly began to panic and run away whilst several of the boats began to increase their speed whilst others that had been waiting decided they weren't going to wait any longer and began racing away in order to escape.

Within a minute of the howl being heard, five Rock Snakes had appeared on the far bank. They then began to spit their deadly fireballs out across the river indiscriminately trying to hit the escaping boats. Most simply landed in the water. Others were more accurate and a lot more deadly. One little motorboat got hit and instantly exploded. Only one person had been aboard but Penelope felt sure they couldn't have survived.

The Thames Barge then came under fire and unfortunately became the next victim. One of the Rock Snake's fireballs struck the mast of the barge which disintegrated and fell backwards onto the vessel igniting some flammable material and starting a raging fire forcing all those aboard to leap into the freezing cold water. Some brave boat owners did what they could to rescue survivors but most fled the scene, desperate to escape the attackers.

Three of the Rock Snakes then turned their attention to the next biggest target…the Medway Queen. All three shot balls of fire at it, but they fell short. The paddle-steamer had gotten far enough out into the estuary that it was out of their reach. This didn't seem to deter them though, for as Penelope watched on in horror, one of them began to slide its way off the shore and into the water. This was very unusual for none of the ones she'd seen before had gone anywhere near water before. In fact, the two with it seemed to be as confused by what it was doing as she was. But then they too slowly followed it into the water as well. Now they were moving out, mostly submerged but with their heads still high above the water, spitting at anything that was within their reach whilst still trying to hit the Medway Queen.

One salvo of fireballs landed within ten metres of the paddle-steamer, sending up columns of water high into the air which splashed down over the decks of the paddle-steamer and soaking those onboard including Patrick and Patricia who huddled together near the bow.

"If one of those hits…" Patricia realised.

"Then it's game over," Patrick finished the sentence. They pulled themselves tightly to one another and closed their eyes, accepting their fate and waiting for the end to come.

Suddenly, a loud blast of a ship's horn sounded out. Everyone fell silent and turned to look. Everyone on shore looked out as well, including Penelope who was now on the jetty being tended to by the medics. Even the Rock Snakes stopped their attack to look out into the estuary. Nobody could see what had sounded the horn due to the thickness of the fog, but it sounded fairly big. Then came a flash of light from within the fog, followed by the sharp sound of a large gun firing. A projectile then came whizzing out of the fogbank over the top of the Medway Queen and striking the lead Rock Snake right in the neck. The snake let out a screech as it was decapitated. Its head spiralling down and hitting the water. Lava-like liquid began spurting out from its neck where it had been severed as the rest of the body fell into the water. It seemed to react with the water and caused a huge burst of steam to shoot up in the air.

The other Rock Snakes screeched at the sight of their comrade being killed, and the other two in the water immediately began to make their way back towards the shore.

All eyes turned back to the fog, trying to see what had fired the projectile. Then, to the alarm of everyone aboard the Medway Queen, the silhouette of a large ship began to emerge from the fog, heading straight towards them. As it did, a lamp began flashing urgently in morse code at them.

The Medway Queen's Captain immediately took action. "HARD A-STARBOARD!" he yelled.

The helmsman frantically spun the wheel to the right and the paddle-steamer leaned over as it turned out of the way of the oncoming vessel. As it got clear, the other vessel emerged from the fog and became a lot clearer to everyone. It was a Royal Navy Frigate - one that Patrick instantly recognised when he saw the ID number on the side of the hull. "VERULAM!"

HMS Verulam was one of the ships that had been involved in the Gibraltar Incident some years before. It sailed past the Medway Queen and charged at speed towards the Rock Snakes. All the others vessels soon cleared out of the way to make room for it as it closed in on its target.

On the bridge, Captain Ant Godfrey and First Officer Dec Hodges issued orders to the crew to get ready for the next attack.

"Port twenty!" ordered Captain Godfrey.

The Frigate turned to the left, bringing its starboard torpedo launchers into the arc of the fleeing Rock Snakes.

"FIRE!"

A single torpedo was launched. It dipped beneath the surface and closed in on the nearer of the two snakes. The heat from inside its body was what its warhead had locked onto and was drawing it in. Neither of the snakes had any idea of the torpedo's presence until it hit the one it was targeting. The snake screeched as its body was blown in two and its upper part was thrown clean out of the water for a few seconds whilst the lava in its body once again reacted with the water and caused a throthing reaction like a volcanic cauldron as the head and neck of the snake then fell back into it.

The third snake in the water, enraged by the deaths of its two companions, turned its head round and fired a single shot at the Verulam. However it wasn't an accurate shot and whizzed right over the top of the Frigate, landing harmlessly in the water on the opposite side.

"Feisty things, aren't they, sir?" Hodges said to Captain Godfrey.

"You don't say," replied Captain Godfrey. "SHOOT!"

The forward gun on the front of the Verulam, now fired its second shot. This one struck the snake still in the water and blew its head completely apart whilst its neck and body dropped down into the water, once again causing the water to froth and bubble.

The two snakes that had remained on land were now moving swiftly along the shoreline, hissing and snarling furiously. It was quite clear that they didn't like being killed and would stop at nothing to avenge their fallen. Their bodies were glowing due to the lava inside them getting ferociously hot. So hot in fact they were starting to drip lava from their seams and setting the grass and trees along the shoreline alight.

"I think we ticked them off, sir," observed Dec.

"That'll work to our advantage, Hodges," said Captain Godfrey. "Bridge to Missile Turret. Fire at will!"

The missile turret was located towards the stern of the Verulam behind its funnel. The turret held two sleek Sea-Dart missiles. It was turned towards the Rock Snakes, and one was launched. Its heat-seeking sensors had no trouble detecting a target and homing in on the nearest of the snakes. A violent explosion tore the snake to pieces, sending pieces of it flying in all directions. Some landed on the land, others in the water. Then the second missile was fired. With only one snake left, it took seconds to complete its deadly run. Another almighty explosion resulted in its destruction.

Seeing this, an eruption of cheers began to erupt from both land and the boats. Especially those aboard the Medway Queen, which was now sailing into fogbank and disappearing from view.

"Was that all of them?" Patricia asked.

"I believe it was," said Patrick. "Thank you, Verulam."

"What about Penelope?" Patricia then asked.

Patrick took a moment before asking. "Maybe she'll be put on a boat and sent to join us," he said. "At least the danger is over now."


With the crisis over it seemed, Penelope was moved back to the medical tent she'd woken up in. Charlotte was there and whilst she wasn't happy, she chose not to vent anger on her. "Pardon me, Lady Creighton-Ward, but didn't I tell you to stay here?"

"Yes…Yes, you did, Charlotte," sighed Penelope. "I'm sorry. I saw my parents on one of the boats and I tried to join them." She sniffled and shed some tears. "I wasn't quick enough," she said miserably.

"Which one were they on?" asked Charlotte.

"That steamship that left before the attack," Penelope replied.

"Ah, yes. That's going to Dunkirk. I'll see to it that you're put on the next boat going there so you can join them."

Penelope managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Charlotte."

Charlotte gave Penelope a caring pat on the arm and then walked outside. "Don't go anywhere," she said with a wink.

Penelope intended to stay put this time as she sipped at the hot drink Charlotte had made for her. Dunkirk, she thought. How ironic. Over a century ago people were fleeing Europe to come here. Now the tables have turned.

Suddenly a cry from within the camp interrupted her thoughts. This was followed by a series of panicked cries and shouts. Despite Charlotte's instruction, Penelope walked outside the tent to see what the matter was. She turned to look behind the tent as that was where the shouts were coming from. Then she dropped the mug in horror, for rising upwards to tower over the site…was yet another Rock Snake! She was frozen in fear, unable to even scream herself as the snake looked around at the camp. It then reared its head back, and Penelope threw herself to the ground, covering her ears for she knew what was coming next.

"ULLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"ULLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Penelope's eyes snapped back open. A second howl had come from behind her. She turned and hurried back to the edge of the camp overlooking the river. Her mouth fell open at the sight of more than a dozen other Rock Snakes now moving around on the far bank.

The attack began again, with the snakes spitting their fireballs out into the water. The one in the camp then began ploughing its way through knocking tents, equipment, people and vehicles over. It didn't need to use its own fire. It didn't seem necessary. That was until a News Helijet strayed too close and it fired upon it, destroying it and causing it to plummet down into the camp.

Charlotte had run out to find Penelope. "LADY PENELOPE!" she cried. "RUN!"

Before Penelope had a chance to say anything, the Helijet crashed into the ground and exploded, destroying several tents and engulfing Charlotte in the fireball. Terrified, Penelope began to run away from the camp and the snake along with several others. Some got into vehicles to flee. Others just ran on foot like she was.

Aboard the Verulam, Captain Godfrey and Hodges were utterly startled as everyone else by the sudden appearance of a whole new group of Rock Snakes. "Where the hell did those come from?" Hodges exclaimed.

"I don't know, Mr Hodges," replied Captain Godfrey. "But they're targeting innocent people. We have to protect them. Reload the missile launcher and bring us about. We need to get our guns into play!"

"Aye-aye, sir!" Hodges said, grabbing the microphone. "Bridges to guns, standy-by!"

"HARD A-PORT!" ordered Captain Godfrey.

The Verulam began to turn round to the left. It had its stern facing the bank so needed to get around to the right angle in order to use its weapons. But it never got the chance to take on this group of Rock Snakes. The six that were along the bank closest to where the Frigate was all turned their attention onto the warship and simultaneously spat out their fire-beams at it. Six direct hits were scored. The force pierced the decks and penetrated some of the armour. One hit the missile launcher as it was being reloaded. It exploded. And then one beam went down an open hatch and into the ship's magazine. This resulted in probably the biggest explosion ever to have been heard in the United Kingdom. The whole area seemed to light up in a ferocious bright white light. The shockwave of the explosion deafened anyone within a five mile radius. The windows of every single vehicle and building within a ten mile radius shattered and it was heard from as far as twenty miles away.

Everyone on the Medway Queen, although deep inside the fog and out of harm's way, saw the bright white light and heard the horrendous explosion that came with it. Nobody said a word about it. They all knew what it was.

Penelope had been thrown to the ground by the shockwave. Once the light had dimmed down and she'd regained her senses, she scrambled up onto the concrete wall and looked back down the river towards the estuary. All she could see of the Verulam was a smouldering wreck which sank immediately, vanishing from view in less than two minutes of the explosion that had sealed its fate. It was pretty obvious that there were no survivors.

Penelope's ears were still ringing from the explosion. The Rock Snakes attack was intensifying. The one in the hospital camp had now made its way out of the site and was attacking the town. Knowing she couldn't stay, she turned and ran. She ran, and ran, as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't know how long she'd run for but by the time she'd stopped, she was out of the town and in the middle of a wooded area. She looked behind her. Smoke was rising from where the fires caused by the Rock Snakes were burning.


What should have been a joyous time of the year, Christmas, had for the people of the United Kingdom, turned into a terrifying nightmare. All across the country, Rock Snakes were popping up and attacking towns and villages whilst squadrons from the Air Force and GDF did everything they could to try and stop them. And yet, the more they destroyed, the more seemed to appear. Nobody had any idea why. By the time Boxing Day came around, the World President was given grim figures about what was happening, and he made the unanimous and reluctant decision with the British Prime Minister to stop the attacks and ordered all the ships that had been trying to evacuate people to leave the area. All aircraft on the ground were grounded and all those left in the country had no option but to either band together in groups for protection, or to fend for themselves. As of this day, England belonged to the Rock Snakes.


TO BE CONTINUED…