Title: Ghost Town-the alternative universe rewrite
Chapter: 15
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG
All the rest, see chapter one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lizzie let go another sigh, her patience nearly at an end. She had been listening for Mrs.Phall's return and grown more suspicious as the minutes ticked by. Finally she heard the woman's footsteps on the verandah outside the window. Jumping to her feet, Lizzie ran to the door and yanked it open. Sira was just coming through the glass panelled back door, shutting it carefully behind her. Looking up she saw Lizzie standing in the doorway, arms akimbo, glaring at her.

" What took you so long ?" Lizzie demanded rudely. Sira ignored her and calmly walked into the back room to report to Lizzie's Grandfather.

" Oh Sira, what was the problem ?" asked Ackman.

" It would appear that one of Lizzie's pets was making a bid for freedom," Sira told him, her tone light. " One of the big glass tanks was broken by a can rolling off the top shelf, I've been cleaning up the broken glass all this time."

" And my pets ?" Lizzie inquired, her stance less antagonistic in front of her Grandparent. Sira turned to confront the girl, her eye's meeting Lizzie's and holding.

" Your 'pets' are fine, the tortoise appeared to be asleep, I transferred him to another cage for the time being."

" I want to go and check on him, please Grandfather, can I go ?" Lizzie broke eye-contact with Sira and used her best pleading expression on Ackman. The old man huffed but capitulated.

" Okay Lizzie, you've done what I'd asked you, you can go check on you precious animals, but be back in time to tea, and don't go near the town."

" Thank you Grandfather," said Lizzie, flashing Sira a triumphant glare before tearing out of the room and out the back door, the slam reverberating through the house.

" I'll get the meal ready for you Mr.Ackman, then I'll be off," said Sira, unconsciously holding her breath while she waited for the old mans answer.

Ackman looked up absently, then waved his hand.

" Of course Sira, thank you for helping out, its been hard for Lizzie, but I think she's learnt her lesson. I'm only sorry we lost a golden opportunity....but never mind, maybe the chance will come again one day."

" Whatever you say Sir, but for now, I have a meal to prepare."

Without waiting for a reply, Sira left the old man to his contemplation and hurried back to the kitchen. She had already started preparations when the crash of the tank had interrupted her, now she hurriedly put together the other ingredients, her hands shaking slightly as a nervous reaction set in. She had no fear that Lizzie would look in the garage for the Little People, but the less time she spent in the house the better.

Washing her hands under the tap, partly to clean them and partly to calm her nerves, Sira started to put together the evening meal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lizzie hurried along the deck, jumping off at the end, then she ran into the lean-to, her eyes taking in the smashed tank and the remaining glass scattered on the floor.

" How the heck did you little maggots get out of there," she pondered. Looking around the floor and behind the shelves, Lizzie gave the whole area a thorough search, in case the Earth people were still there. She knew it was unlikely, but she had to look.

" I guess our friendly housekeeper helped you give me the slip, didn't she," Lizzie muttered to herself. She lashed out and kicked an inoffensive flower pot, the resulting pottery shards small recompense for her bruised toes.

" Ouch, damn damn damn..." Lizzie hopped around the enclosure, her toes smarting. Once the pain receded, she sat down on an upturned box and thought.

" If Mrs.Phall did help you, what would she had done ?" Lizzie asked herself. " She could have carried you almost anywhere, or just let you loose in the garden somewhere," Lizzie rubbed her injured digit and stared off into space. " Or maybe you would ask her to take you right away from here, back to where your home base is," Lizzie tapped her bottom lip in contemplation. " How would she transport so many Little People ?"

Snapping her fingers, Lizzie hopped up and started to look at the various cages and containers on the shelf, her second sweep finding what she was looking for. On one of the shelves a mark in the dust indicated where a box cage had sat. " So she took you away in a box, now where did she take you ?" Lizzie continued to puzzle out what had happened. She walked outside and looked around. In front of her stretched the back garden, the smooth lawn ending in the small coppice of trees that separated the house from the model town. " She wouldn't have taken you that way because she would've been seen from the back window," Lizzie turned around and looked back at the lean-to. " Which means she would have had to take you towards the front of the house....and the garage!!!" Lizzie ended her musing with a triumphant whoop, her hands clapping over her mouth to muffled her glee. Casting a quick look towards the back door, she started to walk beside the lean-to and approach the back of the garage where it squatted beside the house. Quietly sneaking up to the dusty windows, she wiped a clear patch and peeped in. The interior was too dark to make out anything in detail, except the bulk of the housekeepers car.

" Of course," Lizzie breathed, her breath fogging up the grimy glass. Stepping lightly to the door, she tried the handle. It turned freely and she pulled it open. Unfortunately for Lizzie the handle was free, but the hinges were rusty and they squealed in protest, the more so the slower she pulled. Wincing visibly, Lizzie opened the protesting door and stepped inside.

" Well, there goes my surprise," she grumbled. Leaving the door ajar, Lizzie approached the car, the light inside the garage even gloomier, the car's interior black. Biting her bottom lip in anticipation, she tried the front passenger side door handle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" How much longer must we wait ?" asked Fitzhugh.

They were scatted over the floor of the back seat, making themselves as comfortable as possible, no-one knowing how long they'd be cooped up inside the car. They had consumed the rations handed out by Dan and finished up the last of the water. Now they waited.

" That's the fourth time in half an hour, Mr.Fitzhugh, can't you think of anything else ?" said Dan.

" I wonder if Mr.Fitzhugh was one of those children that always asked 'are we there yet?' on those long car trips," mused Valerie from where she sat on the floor, a smile curving her lips, one eyebrow quirked above her closed eyes. Fitzhugh shot her a fulminating glance.

" Mock if you must, but I want to know how long we are expected to wait for this Giant...hours, days...weeks ?"

" Sira said she'd be at least an hour or so," said Steve, his voice carrying an edge of irritation. " Until then we wait and we rest, I'd have thought you'd have welcomed the break."

" I've rested all I want, now I want to get out of this tin box,"

" Well that's not going to happen until Sira returns, so let's just settle down and try and enjoy the peaceful interlude." Steve turned away and walked over to where Betty stood.

" I sometimes think that if I never see any of these people again, it'll be too soon,"

" How gallant of you Steve, but I know what you mean," replied Betty. Steve grimaced. He looked at Betty's face, seeing the lines of strain around her mouth, a frown of concentration on her forehead.

" Don't push it Betty, it'll return when it's good and ready,"

" Reading my mind Steve ?" said Betty, " If you are, let me know what you find, 'cos its still kinda fuzzy right now,"

" I almost envy you, there's plenty that I'd rather forget," said Steve quietly. Betty reached out a hand and laid it gently on Steve's arm, her mouth curved in an understanding smile.

A sudden noise outside the car made them both look upwards.

" What was that ?" Betty whispered.

" Don't know, lets get back to the others, quickly."

Steve ran back to the small group by the cage, all of them looking up towards the dimly lit windows of the car.

" Everyone scatter, get under cover, under the seats out of sight," Steve instructed, pushing Betty towards the back of the drivers seat. The others did likewise, ducking under the towering vinyl, into the deep shadows. Mark and Dan crouched down beside Steve, their eyes straining to see anything moving outside the car.

" What about the box ?" asked Dan. Steve shook his head.

" There's nothing to cover it with, we'll just have to hope it blends in with the dark carpet."

The three men waited tensely, their eyes fixed on the windows far above them. A shape moved beyond the glass, the car rocking slightly as someone leant against the door panel. Everyone shrank back further under the seats when the shadow approached the rear window, a face and hands pressing against the glass, breath fogging up the pane. Eventually the face left and they waited, hearing whoever it was walk around the car and approach the other side. Steve held his breath as the Giant tried the door handle on the drivers side, the car shaking as they pulled and pushed. A sudden thump made them all jump, a muffled scream coming from where the girls and Barry crouched in the dark. The figure moved away from the car, apparently trying all the door in vain. They heard a low voiced cursing and Steve recognised Lizzie's childish pitch. It fell silent for long moments then a face was once more pressed to the rear side window, then it was gone and they heard the muffled shriek of the rusty garage door as the Giant girl left the building. Steve waved to the others to keep hidden. Leaving the relative safety of the passenger seat, he ran over to the box and flattened himself against the side. Looking around the edge he had a clear view of the side window, but apart from a distant view of the garage ceiling, he couldn't discern any movement outside. Taking a deep breath to calm his racing pulse, Steve waved to Mark and Dan, giving the all clear.

" That was too close, lucky your friend decided to lock the doors," panted Dan when he joined Steve by the box.

" I don't imagine Lizzie will give up that easily," said Mark, " she'll be back, maybe next time with the keys."

" There's nothing we can do, we'll have to hope that Sira comes back before Lizzie does."

Valerie, Betty and Barry, still clutching Chipper's lead, made their way to where the men waited.

" Where Fitzhugh ?" asked Steve. Betty looked back to where they'd been hiding.

" He was back there with us, but I didn't see where he ended up,"

" FITZHUGH...where are you ?" called Steve.

A muffled cry could be heard coming from under the drivers seat. Giving Dan and Mark an exasperated glance, Steve started towards the sound, the two men following.

" Fitzhugh, where the heck are you ?" Steve called loudly, his eyes trying to pierce the semi-dark under the seat. Another muffled sound reached them, closer but no more helpful in locating their missing companion. " For heaven's sake Fitzhugh, stop playing coy and come out," said Steve, his patience running thin. A muffled scream made all three men look upwards, into the underside of the seat, a mess of material, matting and springs. Dimly they could make out a whitish mass suspended from one of the springs, deep inside the seat.

" What the hell is that ?" asked Mark, pointing to the wriggling bundle.

" More to the point, what the hell is THAT !" yelled Dan, a sudden movement drawing all their attention as a black, hairy leg appeared out of the darkness. Another leg quickly followed the first, the faint light glimmering off the oily hairs coating the appendage.

" Back off, slowly," whispered Steve, waving the others back as the spider crawled slowly out of its hiding place. Its pitch black eyes gleamed eerily, fixed on the three figures backing away. Behind the spider they could see the cocoon wriggle frantically, muffled moans the only sound as they retreated from the spider's lair.

" We can't leave Fitzhugh," hissed Dan, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the black monster stalking them.

" We're not, but we can't afford to get captured ourselves, Mark and I will keep it back, you get to Barry and the girls, get them into the box cage, its our only safe place."

With a last look at the spider, Dan scooted backwards and left Mark and Steve to face the multi-eyed monstrosity.

" And just what are we supposed to hold this thing back with, Steve ?" asked Mark, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

" You have your knife don't you ?"

" Oh...funny...you're a funny guy Captain...but really, what's the plan ?"

" On my signal, run.....NOW !"

Giving Mark no time to think, Steve grabbed his arm and yanked him around, pulling him back towards the open space where Dan was pushing the girls and Barry into the box cage. Racing a top speed the two men reached the cage as the spider left the shelter of the car seat, its huge black body clearly visible to the horrified humans.

" Oh no...no..no...no," moaned Betty, her inherent dislike of spiders overwhelming her. Barry clutched his pet in abject fear, his eyes fixed on the looming arachnid as it approached the cage. Mark and Steve reached the doorway and jumped through, slamming the door shut behind them. Dan reached through the bars and slipped the loose catch into place, securing the door. Just in time. They all shrank back as the spider reached the cage and peered closely at the occupants. Valerie buried her face against Marks back, shuddering as the spider cautiously poked a hairy leg against the bars, the space too narrow to allow the spider to get through. Betty had her hands over her face, quietly moaning as the spider decided to investigate the roof of the box, its huge body gliding easily up the side of the box and onto the top. Barry squeezed his eyes shut, not able to bear the sight anymore.

" Quickly, to the other side !" called Steve as the spider started to climb down the opposite wall, its front legs cautiously feeling its way over the unfamiliar surface. Inside everyone scrambled to get as far from the spider as possible. They watched as the black monster reached the carpet and continued on, it's hi-stepping gait carrying it further away with each carefully placed leg. When it finally disappeared out of sight under the passenger seat, everyone relaxed.

" What are we going to do about Fitzhugh ?" asked Dan. His gaze still fixed on the spot where the spider had disappeared.

Steve wiped a bead of sweat off his prickly upper lip and leaned against the wall of the cage.

" We need to lure the spider to where we can keep an eye on it, then we can rescue Fitzhugh,"

" Who's going to be the lure?" asked Mark.

Steve looked at Mark and Dan, his gaze taking in the terror filled looks on the women's faces, the boy still clutching his pet in a tight embrace.

" I'll be the bait, you and Dan will be the rescue party, the rest stay here in the cage,"

" Steve, what if the spider catches you ?" asked Valerie, unsteadily.

" I'll just have to make sure it doesn't, now let get moving, before that spider decides to make Fitzhugh its supper."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~