Title: Comeback-The Alternative Universe Ending
Chapter: 6
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG, Adventure
Archive: let me know where or visit the site
http://www.landofthegiants-tv.co.uk/Entrance.html
Feedback: treasured and adored
Why : because I can
Disclaimer: All IA's, never mine, just fun in the sandbox.
Promise not to bend them out of shape.

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Steve and Dan cut a hole in the lining of the jacket pocket, then attached a rope to the edge. Looking down, they could just make out the floor below. Steve first, followed by Barry, then Dan, they slide down and dropped to the concrete. Egor had made the rope from some wool he'd found in Manfred's office, having lost Dan's pack they had only limited resouces. The rope, at the very least, gave them something to work with. Having reached the floor the three would-be rescuers ran across the floor towards the boxes of costumes Dan and Barry had used for a bed the previous night. The corner was still dark, despite the spot lights trained on the jungle set. Once hidden inside one of the boxes, they contemplated their next move. Watching Egor being filmed with Baby filled them all with fear for their friends survival. Despite Manfred's protestations that he needed his tiny film stars, Steve didn't trust the man to take care not to 'lose' a couple of his actors along the way. They watched as Manfred reached into the set and did something that caused Mark to cry out. They couldn't make out the words but it was not an encouraging sign.

Egor, after finishing his scene with the Gorilla, had tried unsuccessfully to reach his jacket. Each time he attempted to collect it Manfred or Quigg called him over for a consultation. Dan queried why they were being so nice to Egor, after their bundling of the old man into the closet only the day before. Steve just shrugged and suggested they might need him for continuity. Whatever the case, they realised that counting on Egor was becoming a long shot.

" You're very quiet Barry, you okay ?" Dan asked, eyeing the silent boy with concern.

" Just thinking Dan. I was wondering if there was anyway we could cause all these lights to go out, all at once. Then we could try and rescue the others in the confusion. It gets pretty dark in here, even during the daytime."

Steve regarded the boy with surprise. Barry had just used more words in that one speech than during the entire day.

" You have a good idea there, Barry. If we could find the power board, maybe we could sabotage the power source and cause some confusion."

" There are several high voltage cables lying on the floor around the various sets," observed Dan, " if we cut, or shorted one, that might overload the board and cause a blackout."

" If we could find a plug board, or transformer we would have less chance of frying ourselves," said Steve, regarding his co-pilot wryly.

" I always was a lousy cook, Steve," Dan answered, a wide smile on his dark face.

" Okay, we need to find either the power board, or a transformer, preferably on the floor. Dan, you take Barry and seach the walls near the door for that power box. I'll skirt around the action and look for a transformer. With all these lights and stuff there should be something."

" We'll radio you as soon as we find anything," said Dan.

" Keep well out of sight, and keep away from the Gorilla cage, we don't need anymore captives."

Dan and Barry nodded grimly, then got up and left the box, darting around the back and skirting the mountain of cartons to reach the side wall. Steve crouched in the shadows and surveyed the expanse of floor he needed to traverse to reach the first cable. As he moved out he heard a scream that could only have been Valerie, the sound making his blood chill in his veins. Gritting his teeth, Steve ran across the dark floor.

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Valerie had seen Manfred reach into the set, further down the valley from where she was suspended between the wooden stakes. No amount of twisting or yanking made any impression on her bindings. She strained her neck to try and see what was happening, but only caught a glimpse of Manfred's hand moving. Then an unintelligable shout from Mark alerted her that all was not well with her would-be rescuers. After a short time she heard the crew applauding and saw Manfred straighten up, his face creased with a wide grin. She heard him mutter something to Mark and Fitzhugh, presumably, but she couldn't make it out. Manfred appeared to gesture in her direction so she deduced that either Mark or Fitzhugh, or both, would be reaching her soon. Her hands had gone completely numb and her arms were aching from all the twisting and pulling. Despite her ellevation, Valerie couldn't see much beyond the set wall, so when Baby appeared behind her she was completely unprepared. For a moment she was struck dumb with terror, her eyes growing wide as the Gorilla shuffled closer to the wall of the set. The sight of the Ape spurred the girl to greater efforts to free herself, twisting and pulling until she was sure her arms would pull out of their sockets. It was all in vain, her bonds were as tight as ever. Flinging her head back, now looking up into the wrinkled face looming over her Valerie gave vent to her fears and screamed.

Baby appeared taken aback at the sudden noise, but after a heartbeat the Gorilla reached down to try and grasp the 'doll' held between the two poles. Valerie screamed again, her terror at fever pitch as the hairy arm reached down and tried to pluck her out of the set. Mark arrived at the plateau in time to see Baby try to reach Valerie, only to be foiled by the girl twisting out of the way, within the limits of her tied arms. Mark tightened his grip on the hatchet and pushed his tired muscles to the limit, running across the open area and jumping up the steps. Valerie looked close to passing out when Mark reached her. A quick slash at the ropes on one of the poles released one arm which flopped down as the tension relaxed. Mark caught her as she slumped, close to fainting. Baby watched them closely, grunting and huffing to herself as the tiny figures struggled below. Valerie had revived somewhat with the pain of the returning circulation making her gasp and cry out. Mark held her up with one arm while he severed the remaining ties, then he pulled her unresisting body tight against his side as he turned to face the Gorilla poised above them.

Baby reached down once more, hooting as she flexed her massive fingers in readiness. Mark steadied himself, waiting for the right moment, then swung the hatchet up and took a swipe at the black digits, connecting with atleast two of the Gorillas fingers before the hand was withdrawn. Baby howled at the sudden pain, pulling back and sucking the offended fingers. Taking advantage of the lull, Mark swept Valerie up into his arms and carried her down the steps to the nearest hut, ducking under the low lintel to carry his burden into the dark interior. Baby had her back to the set so didn't see where Mark and Valerie went. By the time she had turned back to take a swipe at the hurtful creatures, they had vanished. Wanting something to vent her anger at she clenched her uninjured fist and smashed the two poles, flattening them into splinters. The force of the blow caused the plaster-rock base to shatter and the whole set to shake. Egor hurried over and waved a banana under Baby's nose as a stagehand tried to drag the angry Ape away from the set. Baby reluctanctly accepted the peace offering and squatted on the floor to consume the tasty morsel.

Inside the hut, Mark held Valerie as she clutched him, burying her face in his neck, trembling all over.

" Val you're safe, its okay,"

Valerie continued to clutch convulsively at his jacket, bunching the fabric in her fingers. When her trembling finally settled down, she lifted her face from his shoulder and cast a look around the gloomy, dust laden interior of their haven.

" Are we safe here ?" she whispered, not letting go of Mark's jacket for one moment.

" I'm pretty sure Baby has been taken away, I heard Egor talking to her and distracting her with something," Mark explained. Valerie took a shaky breath and leaned back a little, getting herself under control.

" You must think me the most weak willed fool," Valerie stated, a wry smile curving her lips briefly.

" I think you're stronger than you give yourself credit for," Mark replied, " there aren't many women I can think of, who would have survived five minutes in this situation,"

" Now I know how Fay Ray felt," said Valerie, taking another deep breath, her hands slowly untangling themselves from their death grip.

Without warning, Manfred's voice boomed like thunder over their heads.

" You can come out now, Baby's been put back in her cage."

Valerie had been relaxing, but with Manfred's voice she had tensed and clutched Mark again, her pupils huge in the dim light. She opened her mouth but Mark quickly covered her lips with his finger, quieting her.

Quickly scanning the hut walls, Mark saw a patch that appeared less well made than the rest. Indicating the wall, Mark released Valerie and went over to the weakened area. Pushing at the loose straw he made a sizeable hole.

" There's no need to be afraid, I know you're in the hut. Come out now, both of you," Manfreds voice had taken on a cajoling tone.

Mark pulled more of the straw out of the way and eased his upper body through the gap to take a look outside. The jungle was almost up to the back wall, effectively shielding them from any overhead view. Mark pulled himself self out then turned to help Valerie through. Taking her hand Mark bent low and scurried into the dense bush backing onto the hut, pulling Valerie along behind him.

Keeping as quiet as possible and bent over to make as small a target as possible they made their way through the undergrowth, getting further and further away from the huts and Manfreds voice.

" I'm giving you one minute to come out of that hut, then I'll just lift the roof off and take you out," Manfred continued to talk to the now empty hut, as the fugitives put as much distance between them as possible. Mark blessed the builders of the detailed set when he stumbled over the opening of a cave, shielded from the outside by a thicket of shrubs. Holding the branches back he helped Valerie through, then let the springy branches whip back, hiding them from view. Inside the cave they settled down to catch their breath.

Back at the thatch hut, Manfred had finished his countdown and reached down to lift the roof of the hut. His face was a picture when the hut proved to be empty. His shout of outrage caused Valerie to flinch in their hide-out. Mark drew her into his side, his arm round her shoulders giving her a squeeze of encouragement.

" If we're lucky, Manfred will think we got off the set somehow. Then while he searches the warehouse we can try and get ourselves out of here,"

" Thats a pretty big if....let's hope you're right, he's going to be hopping mad to have lost us as well as Steve."

" I hope Fitzhugh got a chance to get away," Mark mused, Valerie gave him a glance, surprised that she hadn't thought to ask about the older man.

" What happened to you both, I heard a shout, but couldn't see what was happening."

" Manfred used the old "cut the rope bridge" scenario, Fitzhugh and I just happened to be on the bridge at the time. It got pretty hairy for a while. We made it, but Fitzhugh was wiped out. I left him back at the ravine."

Before Valerie could voice her fears for Fitzhugh's survival, a noise outside the cave mouth caused her to shrink back. Mark crouched by the opening, the hatchet at the ready, as the bushes parted in front of them and a familliar figure pushed his way into the cave.

" Fitzhugh !" Valerie gasped, practically throwing herself at the man and giving him a hug.

" I didn't know you cared," said Fizthugh, exchanging a grin with Mark over Valerie's tousled head. Valerie released him and stood back to survey Fitzhugh disheveled appearance.

" What have you been doing, and how did you know we were here ?"

" My dear young lady, I have found a way for us to escape. As to finding you, I was hiding in the bushes and saw you enter the cave. I just had to wait for the way to be clear to join you," Fizhugh explained.

" You've found a way out ? Where ?" asked Mark, his voice terse with urgency.

" At the bottom of that ravine that almost cost us our lives. I was taking my ease when I decided to see how close I had come to death. Looking down at the bottom of the chasm, I noticed that at one end there appeared to be a tunnel. It would appear that water once ran through the rocks at the bottom. After assessing the situation closely I decided to come and look for you,"

" How do you propose to get us down to the bottom of the ravine ?" Mark asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

" When Manfred cut the rope bridge it fell down the side of the opposite cliff. When I looked over the edge I could see it reached all the way to the bottom. It must be a special effect, but the cutting isn't as deep as it was wide. We can use the bridge as a ladder and climb down," said Fitzhugh, smugly.

" Are you sure about the bridge ?" asked Valerie, her voice rising in excitement at the prospect of a real escape.

" Quite positive, having climbed up, I know we can climb down, just as easily,"

" Easily ?" queried Mark, raising an eyebrow.

" If it means our escape from this nightmare, I'd climb down a ladder made of snakes," spat Fizthugh, his expressive hands slicing through the air to emphasise his conviction.

" I believe you would. Valerie, do you feel up to a climb ?"

" Just show me the ladder, I'll be down it faster than greased lightening," Valerie replied, her face aglow with expectation.

" Okay, I'll go and check what's happening with Manfred. Stay here,"

Mark turned towards the opening, glancing back once at the anxious faces following his progress. Easing the branches back, Mark cautiously looked out of the cave, straining his ears to hear any clues as to the whereabouts of the Giants. He could see the camera and lights still set up for the last shot, but no sign of any Giants. He could hear voices shouting to each other, but they seemed far away and muffled. Mark was just about to push further out when a soft sound made him pull back and freeze. The wall of the set was closer than he thought, the figure of Manfred coming into view as he paced around the jungle set, peering hard into the foliage, trying to spy his missing actors. Every now and then Manfred would lean over and swipe at some bush or tree, the sound of snapping and ripping reaching Mark clearly. Keeping his movements small, Mark eased himself back into the cave and only straitened up when he was fully inside the entrance. Putting a finger to his lips he rejoined Fitzhugh and Valerie at the back of the cave.

" Manfred's just outside," he whispered to Valerie, his mouth close to her ear. She nodded in understanding, clasping her bent knees tight to her chest as she sat down on the hard ground, her eye's fixed on the opening of the cave.

" Did he see you ?" Fitzhugh queried, his voice barely audible. Mark shook his head and started back towards to opening. He hadn't gone more than a couple of steps when the entrance was blocked with something pushing it's way into the cave. Mark leapt towards where Valerie was backing up against the cave wall. Fitzhugh lurched towards the wall next to the caves entrance to avoid the questing fingers. Pulling Valerie up, Mark followed Fitzhugh's example and flattened himself and Valerie against the other side of the opening. Valerie appeared to shocked to make a sound, watching as the monstrous hand pushed further into the cave, reaching the back wall and scrabbling around for any evidence of the occupants. Fitzhugh was trying to meld himself with the rock wall, his pale face barely visible in the deep gloom. Mark pushed Valerie behind him as the fingers brushed the wall close to where they were pressed up against the rock. The hand dug into the floor of the cave, gouging deep ruts in the dust, then, as quickly as it had arrived, the hand was pulled back and disappeared. Light flooded back into the cave revealing the shaken trio.

" Are you okay Fitz ?" Mark asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

" Oh just dandy. I think I lost a couple of years just now," Fitzhugh replied, wiping sweat from his upper lip.

" Val ?"

" Still breathing, but only just,"

" Okay, stay here, I'm going to see what's happening," said Mark, moving to look round the edge of the cave mouth. Keeping himself flat against the wall of the opening, Mark peered past the now broken bushes and tried to see if Manfred was still in view. After a couple of minutes he came back and reported his findings to the others.

" I couldn't see Manfred anywhere, or hear him. I think he's looking elsewhere for now, this could be our chance," said Mark.

" I can take you straight to the bridge, its only a step from here," offered Fitzhugh, keen to leave the cave.

" Okay Fitz, you lead, Val and I will be close behind. When you reach the bridge, don't hesitate, start down and reach that drain hole. We'll be right behind you."

Mark exhanged a look with Valerie, then together all three started out of the cave, darting through the dense undergrowth as Fitzhugh, bent low, led them to the bridge, and a possible escape.

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Steve had found a fair sized power transformer, with numerous cables running from a plug box attached to it by a thick cable. Radioing Dan, Steve called them back and told them to look out for anything that could be used to short the transformer. Steve had inspected the large box and found an unused plug socket that could be used to blow the power out. While waiting in the shadow of the box, Steve heard a ruckus from the direction of the jungle set. Egor was enticing the Gorilla back to her cage with a couple of pieces of fruit while Manfred waved his arms about and directed the stage hands and cameraman to look around the set itself. Steve could only wonder what was going on, hoping that somehow Mark and Fitzhugh had succeeded in freeing Valerie.

It would certainly appear that one or more of Manfreds' unwilling 'actors' had flown the coop. All the Giants were searching around and under the set, Manfred himself leaning over the edge of the set and occasionally pulling out vegetation and props in his search. Steve spotted Dan and Barry making their way over to where he crouched, and he waved an arm to indicate his position and hurry them along.

Dan and Barry arrived panting from their long run, Dan carrying three long steel nails under his arm.

" I thought you might have a use for these, Steve,"

" I have just the place for those, take a look at this socket,"

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The three escapee's reached the ravine without being noticed, Fitzhugh quickly scooting over the edge and starting down the 'ladder'. Mark helped Valerie find her footing then started down after her. Fitzhugh had been right in his estimation, the severed bridge easily reached the floor of the canyon. The ladder swayed and knocked against the wall but stayed intact. Fitzhugh reached the bottom first and started off across the rock strewn ground towards the black mouth of the drain, now clearly visible. Valerie and Mark followed not far behind, negotiating the uneven footing. Reaching the drain mouth, Fitzhugh bent over and started in, seeing the end of the tunnel not too far away. Mark and Valerie were close behind and made their way into the drain without mishap. Reaching the far end they found the pipe extended beyond the bottom edge of the set for a few feet, allowing them to see out into the warehouse and down to the floor. The distance was too far to jump and it appeared that they had reached an impasse. Sitting on the floor of the drain Mark looked out at the Giants milling around, still looking for the missing Little People.

" Without a rope, we're stuck here. We could wait till dark and try to signal Steve and the others," said Mark, " or we could try going back and finding another way off the set,"

" I don't think I could climb that bridge again, Mark. My adrenaline reserves are all tapped out," stated Valerie, leaning back against the wall of the tunnel, her face washed out with fatigue.

" I agree with Valerie, I don't fancy our chances of making that climb unobserved again," said Fitzhugh, slumping on the floor of the pipe.

" Then we wait for dark and hope that we can signal Steve and Dan. Lets pray we can find them, before the Giants find us."

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