Title: Ghost Town - the rewrite
Chapter: Two
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG
See previous chapter for all the other guff.

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Fitzhugh was dreaming. His fingers twitched where they lay on his chest and his eyes darted about under his eyelids. Exhausted from the mornings excitement and replete from the food, he had decided to have a little lay down on the first comfortable surface he found. As luck would have it, he found a guest house down the first side street. Inside were rooms with beds, which, unable to resist the lure of the comfortable looking mattress, Fitzhugh decided to try out. Within seconds he was fast asleep. Now, in his dream, he found himself back in his old apartment, looking around and seeing all his smart furniture and tasteful belongings. It had been years since he'd seen this room, long before he'd got caught up in his latest string of bad luck. He had loved the view from the windows and in his dream he walked over to them, marvelling at the cityscape spread below. A noise drew his eye's upwards and he gasped, seeing the roof of the room lift away without a sound. He started to back away towards a door, but a face appeared above him. Fitzhugh let go a breath, glad that it was Betty's sweet face looking down at him, never mind that she was the size of a Giant. His next reaction was of horror as Betty's face changed to Inspector Kobick's, then to Ackman's, then to a cat's until Fitzhugh threw his arms up and screamed as a hand reached down to pick him up, carrying him high into the air, squeezing him until he couldn't breath. Looking down Fitzhugh could see his apartment getting smaller and smaller until clouds obscured his view. He screamed again and the hand opened, dropping him. His arms and legs flailing as he fell, Fitzhugh let go one last, sobbing, scream.

" Fitzhugh...wake up,....Fitzhugh ?" Valerie's voice snapped him out of the dream, his eyes flying open and his chest heaving in panic.

" Mr.Fitzhugh, are you okay ?" Betty looked down in concern at the sweating man on the bed. Fitzhugh covered his face with his hands as he tried to control the trembling in his fingers. The two women looked on as the older man swung his legs over the side of the bed, groaned, pushed his dishevelled hair away from his face and looked up.

" I must have dozed off,"

" I've been trying to wake you for the last five minutes, we heard your scream from the main street," said Valerie. Fitzhugh glanced up at the roof, half expecting to see it lifted off, or at least missing.

" I was having a nightmare," he explained, rubbing his arms as a sudden chill swept over him.

" We noticed," said Betty," do you want to tell us about it ?"

" No."

" Well atleast you seem to have found a place for us to spend the night, this guest house is perfect," said Valerie, wryly. Fitzhugh shot her a quick glance but she was already going out the bedroom door, looking up and down the corridor.

" Every room has a bed, I checked," Fitzhugh informed them, getting to his feet and feeling the horror of the dream starting to fade.

" Great, lets find the others and tell them," suggested Betty, giving Fitzhugh one more concerned look before turning to follow Valerie.

The girls ran lightly down the staircase and out of the front door, Fitzhugh following more slowly, occasionally glancing up at the roof for reassurance. Outside it was getting progressively darker as the clouds blotted out the sunlight, gathering over the town ominously.

" I reckon it's going to rain, and soon," observed Valerie, starting back down the road towards the Main street. They reached the corner and saw Mark and Steve, carrying Dan between them, making their way slowly towards them.

" What happened ?" asked Betty.

" Dan got zapped by the forcefield, we need to lay him down," said Steve.

" This way, we've got the perfect place, thanks to Fitzhugh," Valerie told them, turning back to lead the way to the guest house.

" Fitzhugh and I will find Barry and get the food and water from the bar then meet you back here," said Betty, grabbing Fitzhugh by the arm and starting to pull him away.

Without waiting for an answer Betty pulled Fitzhugh, protesting, after her, disappearing around the corner and calling for Barry.

Mark and Steve carried the still groggy Dan into the guest house, finding a room with a bed on the ground floor. Laying him down, the two men collapsed on the floor tiredly, leaving Valerie to check Dan for injuries.

" What happened out there ?" Valerie asked, looking at the two exhausted men then back at Dan, who appeared to be coming round slowly.

" We had made good progress with the tunnel when we realised the force field had been shut off," explained Steve, heaving himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. " But when we investigated, we found it had been a trick, when Dan walked through it was turned on again and he was caught square in the force field."

" Are you saying it was a deliberate trap ?" asked Valerie, incredulously.

" Sure seemed that way,"

" I'll head back and gather our stuff back up," said Mark, glancing over at the man on the bed. Dan was trying to get up but Valerie pressed him back onto the bed. Dan peered blearily up at her, a protest forming on his lips.

" Dan, you need to rest, take a load off, okay ?" Valerie admonished him gently.

" What is this place, it looks so normal," asked Dan, looking around at the Earth scale room.

" Fitzhugh found a guest house we can use to spend the night in, its got beds for all of us," Valerie explained, glad to see Dan's eyes losing their glazed look.

Mark got stiffly to his feet, flexing his tired arms, Steve followed suit, both men feeling their muscles protest.

" We'll be back after we collect the gear and camouflage our work," Steve told Valerie, " see if you can find some lanterns or candles, anything. We may not be back before it gets dark. Any sign of our hosts, while we've been busy ?"

" Not a peep, do you want me to go check ?"

" No, stay here with Dan until the others return, we'll check on the Giants when we get back,"

" Okay, Steve, take care,"

The two men left and Valerie turned back to regard Dan.

" I should be going with them," Dan protested, again trying to rise.

" You should be resting and getting your strength back, so don't argue," Valerie chided him. Dan, seeing her set expression, flopped back onto the bed and closed his eyes. The weakness from the electrical shock had left him feeling helpless as a kitten. For once, the thought of not getting up appealed greatly. Seeing her charge start to relax and drift off, Valerie got up and went to the window, seeing the figures of Steve and Mark disappearing up the street and out of sight. A quick glance down the other way revealed the trio of Betty, Fitzhugh and Barry, followed by Chipper, making their way back to the guest house, carrying the cauldron between them. Betty was also hauling a sack, bulging with something. Checking that Dan was indeed asleep, Valerie slipped out the room and ran outside to help.

" Hey, what a haul, did you get everything ?"

" We couldn't find anything to put the water into, is there anything we can use here ?" asked Betty, putting the sack down on the step and shaking out her hand. The sack chinked when it hit the ground and taking a look inside Valerie saw the plates and implements they'd used at lunch.

" I haven't checked, lets take a look,"

Picking up the sack Valerie carried it into the entrance, Fitzhugh and Barry following with the pot of food. Further down the hallway they found a door leading to a kitchen where they dumped the stuff. On the floor were three buckets.

" Bingo," Betty exclaimed, picking up two of the buckets and swinging them round. Valerie opened the kitchen door that led to the outside and let go a cry of triumph, coming back in with another bucket.

" Let's go get that water, come on Fitzhugh, Barry."

" I'm too tired, I can't move another step," said Fitzhugh, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

" Oh no you don't, we need water, so get on your feet and lets move, the light will be gone soon," Betty ordered, prodding Fitzhugh angrily. Finding three pairs of eyes regarding him frostily, Fitzhugh decided that the sooner he helped, the sooner he'd be able to return to his comfortable bed. Moaning quietly to himself, but getting up, he followed the two women and the boy out of the kitchen.

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Lizzie had been very pleased with her first trick played on the Little People. She had watched them return to the model town, then she'd hurried back to the gazebo where she found her grandfather already returned and fiddling with the control board.

" Where have you been, Granddaughter, I looked for the force field remote but couldn't find it," asked Ackman, looking sternly at the girl as she handed over the remote control box reluctantly.

" Just around," said Lizzie, vaguely, " have you had anything to eat yet, Grandfather ?"

" No, I was just thinking we should see what Mrs. Phall had left for us today, how about you run along and get things set up and I'll be there shortly, I just want to finish up checking these settings. Have you seen the Earth people ?"

" No Grandfather, I think their hiding," Lizzie lied smoothly.

" Never mind, I'm sure their just settling in." Ackman looked up at the threatening sky above. "I certainly hope the weather isn't going to be difficult, the flooding we had last time was very destructive,"

" I'll go and get things ready, you come along when you're ready," Lizzie soothed, turning to leave. Ackman waved absently and returned to his control board.

Skipping down the path Lizzie broke into a run when she was out of her Grandfather's sight. Reaching the house she ducked around the side to where she kept her menagerie. Under an overhang were a collection of boxes and cages set on shelves that held a variety of small animals and reptiles.

" How are my little friends today ?" Lizzie cooed, tapping her finger on the glass wall of a tank containing a large, colourful, snake.

" And you, my precious hairy friend, are you hungry today ?" she asked, looking into, then picking up another glass container. Inside was a large, black spider neatly wrapping a large brown bug in a silk cocoon. " Oh I forgot, I fed you already," she tapped gently on the glass and the spider jumped, its long front legs held up defensively. Putting the glass container down she carried on, along the row of boxes and cages, talking to her pets. After checking on each and every one, she blew them a kiss goodbye and ran back into the house.

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Mark and Steve had only just finished hiding the work site with bushes and branches when the first drops of rain splattered down. They hurriedly gathered the shovels and tin buckets, pushing them into the tunnel opening. Grabbing the rope and Steve and Dan's jackets, the two men started to jog back towards the town. The first few drops pattered harmlessly down, making large dark patches on the dry earth. Mark and Steve continued to run, knowing that if it started to rain proper, they would be quickly overwhelmed by the force of the water. Reaching the outskirts of the town they kept close to the buildings for shelter, seeing the dust of the road being flung high into the air with each huge water droplet. They had just skidded into the side road where the guest house glowed invitingly in the gloom when the skies really opened and a deluge pelted them, drenching them in seconds. Keeping to the partially sheltered walkway the two men reached the guest house porch and paused, gasping, as the rain drummed on the porch roof. The door was flung open behind them and they nearly fell through, Valerie shutting the door quickly behind them. They stood there, surveying the warmly lit hallway while water dripped steadily off their hair and clothing.

" We were about to send out a search party," Valerie told them, handing each man a large towel from a pile she'd had ready by the door.

Mark and Steve started to mop up the water, both of them staring curiously a Valerie.

" We found a supply of storm lanterns in a cupboard as not all the rooms have power," she explained, pointing to the switch on the wall. Only then did Steve and Mark notice the lightbulb hanging over their heads.

" Ackman has thought of everything," Mark murmured, towelling his hair dry and starting to rub down his sodden shirt. Valerie took his soaked towel and handed him another, dropping the dripping one into a bucket.

" Barry is already asleep, same with Fitzhugh, but Betty and I have some food keeping hot in the kitchen,"

" Lead on Valerie, I could eat a horse," said Steve, dropping his towel over the stair rail and grinning at Mark.

" I've eaten horse, I hope it's better than that," retorted Mark, making both his companions swivel round in surprise.

" It was a joke," Mark told them, making Steve grin ruefully and Valerie roll her eyes.

They walked down the hall, finding Betty in the kitchen setting out plates and serving up more of the stew. The two men sat down and set to with a will, ignoring their damp clothes and sore muscles.

" Anymore ?" asked Steve, Betty took his plate and filled it again.

" We managed to convince Fitzhugh to leave you plenty, by threatening him with digging duty when you were too weak from lack of food," Valerie told them, setting down glasses of water. A quizzical look from Mark prompted her to explain they had already boiled the water to make it fit to drink.

" We got a fire going outside, to heat the food and boil the water, the stove in here is for show only, I'm afraid,"

" Unlike the beds upstairs, which I am happy to say are as real as anyone could want, right down to the sheets and pillows. Ackman certainly paid attention to some details," said Betty. The two women seated themselves at the table, watching Mark and Steve make short work of their meal.

" How's Dan ?" Steve asked.

" Oh he's fine, he recovered quickly enough, he figured you'd want to post a watch so he's taking his nap now to allow you guys to sleep later, he said to wake him when you want him to take his watch." Betty told them.

" Still no sign of Ackman or the girl ?"

" Not a twitch, I reckon this rain will keep them at home for the rest of the day," said Valerie.

" In that case, it's an opportunity to check out Ackman's control centre, even if it is from a distance. There could be cables and switches we can immobilise or sabotage from our side of the force field."

" I think that's a good idea Mark, we might as well make the most of the opportunity. Betty, if Dan wakes up, let him know what we're up to."

" What can we do ?" asked Valerie.

" Did you come across any rain coats in your searches ?" Mark asked, getting to his feet.

" Sorry, nothing like that, no umbrella's either," said Valerie.

" Then we get wet again. Keep the lights burning, we'll need them to find our way back once its full dark,"

" No problem. Be careful, won't you ?"

The two women watched as the men left the kitchen and made their way back to the front door.

Steve and Mark slipped out the door into a torrent of water. Edging their way along the buildings they reached the Main street. Turning left they headed towards where Fitzhugh had indicated Ackman had his control centre. The rain had turned the surface of the road to a brown slurry, the water lapping up to, and over the pavement edge as the men dodged along the front of the shops. Ducking into a doorway, Steve tried to talk to Mark.

" If this keeps up, we'll be swimming back," he shouted, trying to be heard above the sound of the rain pounding down. Mark only nodded. Taking a deep breath Steve launched himself back out, followed closely by Mark. The two men reached the end of the Main street and saw, across from where they were standing, an ornate, colonnaded building next to a railway. Running across the footpath they struck out across the road, finding the dry surface had become a raging torrent. Mark slipped and fell, the mud of the roadway as slippery as glass. Steve managed to keep his footing and reached the other side before realising that Mark was no longer behind him.

" MARK !" Steve yelled, turning and trying to pierce the deepening gloom for some sign of Mark. The sound of the water was becoming deafening, drowning out Steve's cries. He thought he saw something in the middle of the stream of water, but the force of the downpour made it almost impossible to see. " MARK," Steve shouted again, making to step off the sidewalk. Just as he did a sudden increase in the rain created a wave of water to slew towards him, the waves cascading over the edge of the footpath and threatening to knock his feet from under him. Steve backed up, finding a flight of steps rising behind him. Unable to see or hear, Steve climbed the stairs, finding shelter behind the colonnade of pillars. Wiping his face free of moisture, Steve peered out and tried to see what was happening but the rain now formed a curtain of water, cascading off the roof of the building. Steve clenched his fists in frustration, unable to see, let alone do anything to help Mark. Looking behind him, he saw a door. Finding it open, Steve decided to see if he could climb to an upper storey and maybe spot Mark from there. The rain drumming on the roof became muted as he climbed the staircase to the next landing. Reaching the first floor he found a room that overlooked the main road below. The windows were unglazed, the rain splattering in, soaking the wooden floor. Steve leaned out of the window, trying to see the length of the Main street and finally saw a flash of white, which he hoped could have been Mark's shirt, further away and getting more distant by the minute. Taking a bearing from the window, Steve ran out of the room and raced down the stairs, hoping that he would be in time to rescue Mark before the water carried him out of the town and straight into the force field.

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