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“Is there really nothing else to do around here?” Alan whispered to Selene, jolting her awake from the sleepy doze she was enjoying stretched out on a sun lounger. “How can you just lay around here all day?”
“Like you don’t do the same every day at home?” she grumbled, stretching out in an effort to wake up. She'd never admit it, but she was getting a bit bored with having nothing to do, hence the impromptu nap time.
“That’s different, I’ve got things there to do.”
“You mean you have technology?” Selene grinned evilly. “Whereas here it’s-”
“Like I’ve gone back in time to 2015 and the graphics suck, " he groaned.
“Come on, it’s not that bad, don’t you like the peace and quiet?” Selene’s family home was indeed very quiet, set apart from the other houses on the street, it backed out into a small but flower filled garden that held nothing but the sun loungers they were currently occupying, the picnic table their drinks were on, a slightly rusted BBQ, some yoga mats and a bird bath in the shape of a frog on a lily pad.
Alan looked towards Selene's cool, but rather weird, younger brother who was currently doing some kind of yoga crossed with Tai Chi that seemed to have a little of that 1970’s disco type of dancing thrown in for good measure.
“Adam, help me,” he begged, trying to invoke the bro code.
“Chill out, little dude, it’s all good," Adam said, his sleepy tone the perfect accompaniment to his snail like movements.
“Nothing about this is good,” Alan huffed, feeling dismissed and beyond frustrated. He was seriously regretting offering to go with her for a visit under the mistaken belief that time spent away from his brothers with his cool sister-in-law would be awesome. But no, he’d been stuck there for three days and they’d done nothing but talk about boring things that he couldn’t really join in with because he didn’t share the same memories that they did and watch TV in the evenings. The only positive thing was the quality of the food on offer.
“How did you grow up like this and not die of boredom?”
“We made our own fun, we’d read, draw, do arts and crafts, go on days out and-”
“Days out? Where did you go?” Alan jumped on that information like John on a double cheeseburger after a month in space.
Selene thought about it for a moment or two. “The seaside?” she offered. "That was always our favourite place to go and somewhere we always looked forward to, a rare treat really."
“The beach? Yes! Can we go?” he gave her his best pleading puppy eyes and she was, as he well knew, powerless to resist.
“Well…” she dithered, caught between spending time in her family home with her mum as it came up to what would have been her parents 30th wedding anniversary and the need to do more than sit around and mope, especially if that moping meant that her littlest love had a crap time. “Ad’s, are you up for a road trip to Southend?”
Her brother paused in his Night Fevering to look at her. He seemed to think about it for far longer than was necessary before nodding.
“I could go for that. Wanna take my car?”
***
“I’m never getting in a car with your brother again,” Alan shuddered, still looking a little stressed out by the whole experience.
“Yet you’ll get in a jet with Scott?”
“Scott goes faster than 25 mph and he knows what road signs are,” Alan explained in the same tone that John adopted whenever he was explaining to her why she actually needed an investment portfolio.
“Road signs are all part of the conspiracy, man, they just want you to follow blindly and never question where they are sending you.”
“To the beach, they were sending us to the beach,” Alan continued to bitch. Selene couldn’t blame him, two hours in a car with her brother's sitar music, cloud of vape smoke and tendency to lose track of their destination was enough to make anyone a little antsy. Maybe now he'd stop complaining when she took too long to fly them to her flat.
They left the car park and headed towards the seafront. Thankfully, with it being a weekday and term time, there weren't too many people about. As always the sea was a dirty grey colour, nothing like the clear blue they were used to on the island and Selene could tell that Alan was looking at it with thinly veiled disgust.
Southend had been promoted to a historic seaside town back in 2038 and hadn’t changed since. The lights of the out of date arcades still flashed in welcome, drawing Alan’s attention almost immediately, the little beach huts still offered deck chair rental and the amusement park with its clanking, clunking kiddy rides and its ancient roller-coaster still drew some crowds.
“See that there?” she pointed out towards the sea. “That’s still the longest pleasure pier in the world.”
“Pleasure Pier? Did you have to make that sound so dirty?” Alan groaned.
“Sorry, but that’s what it’s called, there are different classifications and one that has no purpose but for leisure activities like this one, is known as a pleasure pier.”
“I didn't know that, but it still doesn’t make it any better,” he muttered as she slipped one arm through his and the other through Adam’s to tow them across the road.
The air was filled with a mixture of freshly fried donuts, fish and chips and the unmistakable scent of the sea and Selene was immediately hungry.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve been here,” she sighed happily, relaxing into the atmosphere of what had once been one of her favourite places in the world. She could vividly remember how exciting it had been to hear the announcement that they were going to the seaside for the day. That meant an afternoon spent playing on the beach, splashing in the sea, eating dinner out of a paper tray with a little wooden fork and, if you were really lucky, a trip around the sealife center and a floaty helium filled balloon to take home with you.
Looking out down the length of the beach she easily conjured up images of childhood days gone by, seeing her father chasing Adam down the beach as he attempted to make a break for freedom or tried to eat a clump of seaweed while her mother screeched at Rufus to run faster and catch him.
Maybe coming here had been a good idea in other ways too, she pondered. Her mother tended to favour being miserable if it was an option, and often when it wasn't, and had been mooching around the house sighing like she was a Victorian ghost haunting the place. She’d gone out to visit friends for the day, leaving them alone and that had been when Alan had seized his chance. And Selene for one was glad he had, he was always good at sensing when she was in need of cheering up and this time had been no exception.
“Can we start at the arcades?” Alan asked, looking more excited than he had in days. Who was she to disappoint him?
“Sure, lead the way!”
***
Two hours later and Selene had finally dragged her brothers away from the bleepy, shiny, flashy machines and back into the fresh air. Alan, it transpired, was almost as good on a claw machine as John and she was now lugging along a whole new family of stuffed toys, all slightly moth eaten and smelling a little suspect but cute nonetheless.
“I’m hungry,” Alan announced.
“Good call, little dude.” Adam, surprising Alan no end, had joined in rather enthusiastically at the arcade, being more active and alert than he’d ever seen him before, displaying a competitive streak that rivaled a Tracy's. But, now that the excitement of gaming had died down, he was back to his chilled and slightly lethargic self.
“Fancy some donuts?” Selene suggested.
“Sis…” Adam drawled.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Selene giggled, shoving the stuffed toys into her brother’s arms as she headed to the donut stalls. “I'll get them, you two meet me on the beach.”
Her arms now free of their burden Selene quickly ordered three dozen of the delectable little morsels, something the english called Dinky Donuts, small little ring donuts, freshly fried and drenched in a sprinkling of sugar. Knowing that they’d need them she bought some drinks too and took her bounty back to the boys, proudly displaying her prize.
“I got them!” she yodelled, but no excited sounds were heard in return. “What’s up?” she asked, nudging Alan as she reached his side.
“What the heck is this?”
“The beach, duh. What else could it be?"
He scuffed a toe into the stones at his feet. “This is not a beach, this is all stones. Where's the sand?”
“It’s a pebble beach, most of the British coast is,” she shrugged.
“It’s wrong.”
“If you say so,” she wasn’t in the mood to argue or defend the virtue of their beaches, she had hot donuts to eat.
“This is not a beach, there’s no surfers, no sand, no lifeguards, no nothing.”
“This is England, we take things at a more chilled pace,” she soothed, dumping a bag on each of the boys' laps.
She took her own and opened it, inhaling the rich scent. Oooh yeah, that hit the spot. She reached in to pluck one out, studying it from all angles, marvelling at it's perfection. She lifted it to her mouth prepared for the taste explosion that was about to assault her mouth in the very best of ways…
“Sel!” A sharp Alan elbow embedded itself in her side, making her drop the donut. She watched in horror as it hit the pebbles and rolled away.
“You had better have a good reason for making me sacrifice a donut,” she warned him.
“Over there!”
Selene turned, following the direction in which Alan was pointing.
“What? I don’t see anything?” All she saw was the relatively empty beach, nothing but a few seagulls pecking around hopefully, one coming close enough to snag her lost donut, racing off in triumph with it in its mouth.
“Them,” he pointed again.
“Them? What about them?” The them in question turned out to be a small group of school age boys, the oldest no more than ten years old. They were all holding a number of balloons from the pier, which were bobbing along above their heads and looked perfectly innocent. “They’re just having a day out, could be an inset day or something at school.”
“No, look what that one's holding,” Alan insisted, nodding towards the oldest looking boy who was carrying a small box with holes in it.
Selene squinted closer. “Is that an animal box?” She was amazed that Alan had even noticed such a thing, she hadn’t looked twice at the boys, just seeing a happy group of friends at the seaside on a rare day off school. Alan always seemed like he was paying little attention to anything, more absorbed in his games or phone, but here was the undeniable proof that he was just as good as his brothers and had inherited their danger seeking sense.
“Looks that way,” Alan agreed.
“It could be innocent,” Selene argued lamely. “Maybe they are just taking their pet on a day out too?"
“Sure, that’s what it’ll be,” Alan said, rolling his eyes.
“Honestly, it’s something I’d do,” she retorted, feeling the need to defend herself and her wish to believe that there was good in everyone.
“We’ll keep an eye on them,” Alan decided, finally reaching into his own bag for a donut.
As was usually the case, Selene was easily distracted by talking to her brother and just enjoying the novelty of being in a different place to one she was used to. She’d finally grown accustomed to hearing the sound of the ocean at all times of the day and night after so long in a city where traffic was the only ambient noise. b
But here the sound was different to the island, here the waves lapped gently over the pebbles rather than crashing against rocks and she was surprised that she could tell the difference.
She’d worried, when Alan had suggested going out, that this little beach from her childhood which stood out so bright and shiny in her memories, would look pale and dull in reality. Life was often that way, your memories and imagination creating a perfect picture that was rarely obtainable in the real world and she didn't want her memories tainted by the truth. Thankfully she had been worried over nothing and was finding it just as charming as she had remembered it to be.
“Not bad are they?” she asked, turning to Alan to see how he was enjoying his donut feast but the space next to her was empty.
“Allie?” she called, looking around like he might suddenly pop out of nowhere. Surely she hadn't ignored him for too long?
“Alan!” she yelled, trying again. He was a big boy now, an adult in his own right, but she got just as panicked when she lost Scott, which was actually easier if you could believe that. Alan was usually happy to hang near her and chill, Scott was always dashing off to look at something or other and would just vanish into the ether without a second thought.
“Ad’s, have you seen Alan?”
“Yeah, little dude, cool shirt, strange hair.”
“Thanks for that lovely description. I meant did you see where he went?”
Adam nodded, pointing further down the beach to where the small group of school boys stood, Alan beside them, waving his arms violently, clearly yelling at them though she couldn’t hear what he was saying.
“Shit!” Selene was up in a second, grabbing Adam's arm and towing him along in the process, forcing him to abandon his stuffed animal squad to the mercy of the seagulls as they barreled down the beach after Alan.
"Al," she panted, finally catching up, "what…doing?"
In answer the small box that the boy had been carrying was thrust into her hands, a disgruntled rustling noise along with a manic scrabbling, coming from inside.
"Oi! Give that back!" a boy yelled, his piggy nose turned up to the sky in indignation. "We 'ad ta catch that thing ourselves. Ain't no way you're gonna snatch it."
"You're not getting it back," Alan insisted, his arms folded as he firmly stood his ground.
Selene passed the box on to Adam who was standing there doing absolutely nothing to help, his attention on the balloons floating above them. Once her hands were free she immediately flanked her little brother, knowing that he wouldn't be doing this without a very good reason.
"What's going on?" she demanded to know, her hands on her hips. "What are you boys up to?"
"This idiot won't give us it back," the oldest boy and apparently the mouthpiece of the little hoodlum brigade, continued to yell. Selene had seen boys like him before, usually ones with overly aggressive parents that taught their kids that you got what you wanted in life by being obnoxious, rude and threatening. Well not on her watch and apparently not on Alan's either.
"You're right , I won't," Alan agreed. "Because that is a living creature that you were about to tie to a bunch of balloons."
"Weren't doin' nothin' of the sort. Yer lyin'."
"You were what?" Selene hissed, her attention fully engaged now that there was the potential for injury of an animal. "You were going to send an innocent animal into the sky on the end of some balloons?"
"Nah, we weren't," the little bully boy continued to argue, elbowing one of his friends when they opened their mouth to speak.
"We ain't doing nothin' wrong, were we lads? Nothin' at all. Just a little experiment for school, jus' like teacher said."
"Experiment? What kind of experiment?" Selene asked, narrowing her eyes in warning.
"Why should we tell you?" the mouthy one sneered. "You ain't nothin'."
"We were just seeing if he could reach space, like. Teacher said that people would send monkeys up in rockets a hundred years ago," another boy piped up, sounding pleased with himself. "Figured we'd try the same out ta sea like a note in a bottle."
"You are so not doing that!" Selene yelped.
"Yeah, 'ow you gonna stop us?"
"You wanna say that to the police?" Alan threatened.
"Police? Yeah righ', like yer gonna jus' call up the police like they actually care. An' then wot, 'ave em come running on the say so of a nobody? Fer this? I don't think so, mate. They don't give a crap."
"Listen up you little shit," Selene started, rapidly losing patience. "You're not getting that…Whatever that is-"
"Rat," one of the kids helpfully offered.
"Rat," Selene continued with a little shudder of horror at the fact that they had gone to all the trouble of capturing a dirty rat off the street just to do something cruel to it. "You're not getting it back and you're not going to hurt it. What's wrong with you all?"
"He's been to space," Adam suddenly piped up, like he was only just catching up to the conversation but still missing the main point, pointing at Alan helpfully.
"Space, yeah right," another of the boys, a weedy looking string bean that had previously been hiding near the back of the pack, looking at Alan judgingly. None of the boys looked particularly bothered by their threats or the fact that Selene was practically spitting, she was so angry.
"Al," she demanded, determined to win the little shits respect. "Show them that clip you took last Saturday, the one on your board."
"We can all board, you ain't nothing special," the mouthpiece sneered, not impressed in the slightest.
Alan pulled out his phone, fiddled with it for a second then showed them the screen where a video was playing, taken from his vlogging drone as he boogied around outside Five on his astroboard. The dark heavens were clearly visible all around him while the earth spun quietly below, and there, if you looked closely, was John, in the background, sitting on the outside of the gravity ring, clearly doing all the work while Alan filmed for Brandon’s channel. The Alan on screen zoomed in a loop the loop, the drone following, the camera angle changing to show Three securely docked to Five.
“That actually is space!” one kid gasped.
“And that’s...that’s…” another stuttered.
“Thunderbird THREE!” someone screamed in excitement.
“Still think I’m a nobody that the police won’t listen to?” Alan asked casually as he pocketed his phone. "Maybe I should skip the police and go straight to the GDF? What do you think, Sel?"
"Yep, sounds like a plan to me. They take animal cruelty very seriously, you know."
The ring leader visibly deflated before their eyes, but he valiantly tried to hold on to his ‘couldn’t give a shit’ attitude.
“So you know some people, what’s that got ta do with anythin’? You ain’t the boss here.”
“Knock it off, Wendle, it’s over,” one boy ordered, rolling his eyes.
"Wendle?" Alan mouthed to Selene who shrugged in return. Never had a kid looked less like a Wendle in the entire world.
“Yeah, I never wanted to do this in the first place,” another joined in.
The first one to have spoken walked away, followed by another, then the other that had spoken. Others trailing after them until the small group had dispersed as if it had never existed, all of them hurrying off down the beach with calls for getting donuts or having to head home.
Wendle managed to stand his ground for less than a minute before he gave in.
“Keep the stupid rat then!” he yelled, taking off after his friends.
Adam, being Adam, waved goodbye like it was the most normal thing in the world, still holding the rat filled box.
Alan let out the breath he’d been holding, visibly shaking, either from anger or adrenaline. He had never been one for confrontation no matter what form it took or who it involved.
“You did good, babe,” Selene praised, giving him a hug.
“Yeah, good, little dude,” Adam agreed, “here, have this, I insist,” he handed him the box with the rat in it like it was some great prize.
“Erm, thanks,” Alan said, gingerly accepting the box of rat, which rustled as the creature inside shifted around. He held the box for a second, looking completely bemused and a little disgusted, suddenly having a very real feeling of compassion for John when he walked in on Selene and Scott doing something weird.
“What are we going to do with the rat?” he finally asked Selene, who was the only one there since Adam had wandered off to rescue the stuffed animals they had abandoned, snatching up Alan’s dropped bag of donuts and picking one out to munch on.
“I don’t know,” Selene admitted, “I guess we should take it somewhere to release it. Not around here though, maybe back at Mum’s.”
“I guess,” Alan reluctantly agreed, not liking the idea of sitting in a car with a wild rat in a box.
Since they had gained another tag along, even if it was in a box, they decided to cut the day short, knowing they couldn't drag the rat around with them all day. It had clearly suffered enough, what with being caught and stuffed in a box and having survived a narrow brush with death. It would be better for them to take it straight home and let it go in the relative safety of the garden before it got even more stressed out.
"I'll drive," Selene insisted, leaving Alan to hold the rat in the back seats, Adam calling shotgun so he could 'pick the tunes, man'.
With Selene in the driving seat it was a far shorter, not to mention less frustrating, journey back to Casa de Tempest.
To Selene's intense relief their mother was still out when they got back. She would have pitched a fit if she'd seen them releasing a rat into her garden, she'd never go out there again.
Adam wandered off the second they got home, muttering something about a tofu log, leaving them alone to release the beast.
"You can do the honours," Selene smiled, nodding at the box he still held. "Since you were the one to perform the daring rescue. Seriously, you did good today, sweetheart, but I'm really starting to think that I need to stop taking a Tracy with me whenever I go places, you're all the same, nothing but trouble."
Alan blushed at the praise, as always finding it slightly uncomfortable to be the center of attention in such a way, but still happy to get the validation that he'd done the right thing. With so many big brothers who had all been there and done that before he had a lot to live up to and often felt like he couldn't quite match up to them.
Taking the box over to the bushes near the fence where Selene had indicated, he opened the flaps and stepped back to give the little guy some room.
The rat didn't move at first, staying inside the box, obviously scared by its experiences. They stayed quiet, giving it time to make up its mind. Finally they saw the box wobble as the rat made its tentative way out.
"Shit!" Selene yelped, launching herself off her seat so fast Alan barely saw her move.
"Sel, what are you…doing," he finished, stunned to see her hit the ground, the rat cradled protectively against her chest.
"Help me up," she wheezed and he did as she bid, helping her to her feet as her hands were occupied.
"What's wrong? Why did you catch it?"
"Allie, look," she carefully opened her hands, just a little. A small, pink nose poked out, followed by a pure white snout, a grey face and perfect pink petal ears.
"Is that…?"
"A domestic rat, yes. This was either someone's pet or it's come from a store. We can't let him go, he'll never survive in the wild."
"Wow, he's so cute. Can I hold him? He won't bite me will he?"
"I don't know, he seems tame enough but he's had a fright today so I can't promise anything." She carefully placed the rat in Alan's outstretched hands.
The rat, far from looking terrified, seemed to be perfectly fine now it was out of the box. It sat down on its haunches and began to wash its face with its little paws, one grey, one white.
"Aww, he's great," Alan cooed, cupping the rat in one hand so he could stroke it gently with the other. "I've always wanted a pet."
Selene sighed, knowing exactly what was coming next, there was no escaping it, it was going to happen…
"Can I keep him?"
***
"We gotta move fast," Selene instructed. "I've got the cage and the bedding. Have you got the food?"
"Yep," Alan held up the bag with the food, treats and water bottle they had purchased on their way home. The rat was curled up in his new travel bag, which was hanging from Alan's shoulder.
"Right, we make a break for it, we go straight to your room, don't look back no matter what happens and avoid John and Scott at all costs. Got it?"
"Got it," he nodded, grinning happily.
"They're gonna kill me," she sighed, not that there was much she could do about it. "OK, let's go!"
They raced up the back stairs from the hangars, straight to the upper floors of the villa where the bedrooms were situated, bypassing the more populated communal areas and managing to avoid any and all Tracys.
They dived into Alan's room, Selene struggling a little, burdened as she was with a three storey cage. Alan cleared a space on his desk and took the cage from her.
While Alan set up the cage, filling it with fresh bedding and tasty foods, Selene made herself at home on Alan's bed, the rat happily perched on her chest, enjoying an ear fondle.
"I didn't know you were back," a voice called from the hallway, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.
Selene and Alan both jumped, their heads turning guilty towards the door they had neglected to shut where a suspicious looking spaceman stood.
"Hey, gorgeous husband of mine, I've missed you!" Selene chirped, trying to divert his attention as she quickly grabbed the rat and stuffed it in the pocket of the hoodie she'd stolen from Adam.
John gave her a look that said he'd seen everything.
"What's that?"
"What's what?" she answered, trying to look innocent.
"That tail sticking out of your pocket."
"Tail? What tail?" she poked the tail gently back inside.
"Why does Alan have a cage on his desk that he's trying, unsuccessfully I might add, to hide by standing in front of it?"
"To put Gordon in?"
One sleek ginger eyebrow rose and they both knew they were wasting their time. They were well and truly busted.
Alan held out his hand and Selene passed over the rat, who was none the worse for its impromptu expedition into the depths of her pocket. It sat quietly in his hands, happily nibbling on a piece of cereal bar that had already been occupying his hiding place.
"Where did that come from?" John's foot tapped out a rhythm as he waited for them to spill the beans, leaning against the door frame, his arms folded.
"Have I told you how hot you look when you're all grumpy and intense like this?" Selene tried.
"Where did you get the rat?" he repeated, ignoring her blatant attempts at distraction.
"The beach," Alan admitted, caving immediately under the big bro gaze.
"The beach?"
"Yep," Alan looked at Selene for backup, cradling the rat who didn't seem to care about any of the drama he was causing.
"Some boys had him in a box and they were going to tie it to some balloons and let it go but Alan spotted them and stopped them," she explained.
John glanced at the rat, who was looking very adorable and fat.
Ever the master of managing her husband, Selene got to her feet and crossed the room to wrap her arms around John's middle.
"Alan was great, he sprung into action before I even knew what was going on. He rescued him, and really, isn't that what International Rescue does? Rescue people?"
"That's not a person, that's a rat," John argued, but she could tell he was weakening.
"Did I mention that I missed you?" she grinned, standing on tiptoes to place a little kiss on his chin.
John's sigh of surrender was epic.
"I'm banning you from ever leaving the house again with any of my brothers. What next, a dolphin with Gordon?
"No, don't be silly. We couldn't bring a dolphin home in my car."
John rolled his eyes ignoring his wife to face his brother.
"Does that thing have a name?"
"Yep," Alan answered, grinning proudly as he moved closer, holding the rat out for inspection.
"John, meet Fuzz Aldrin."