Title:Adrift
Chapter:One
Author:squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating:PG

........batten down the hatches.......

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

Barry Lockridge pulled the cape tighter around his face. A quick shake of his head dislodging a shower of water, the droplets splashing onto the sodden ground beneath him. The small rise that had seemed more than adequate to keep him dry during his watch now had the consistancy of spongy foam, the springy moss soaking through his already drenched trousers. Pulling the plastic cape closer to his body, Barry contemplated calling the ship and requesting an early relief but a check of his wrist watch showed that barely half of his time at the outpost had passed and his sense of duty kept the radio safety tucked away, dry for the time being, under his cape. Grimacing as a trickle of water found its way down his collar, Barry peered out and surveyed the depressing sight of the wet and gloomy clearing beyond the outpost.

They had been experiencing erratic weather for almost a month, one day fine the next day wet then one day they awoke to a sprinkling of snow. It hadn't lain on the ground long, as the air had remained mild and the sun quickly despatched the ice, leaving only damp patches as evidence it had ever existed. Dan and Steve had closely monitored the airwaves but the Giant's seemed as perplexed as the Little People, to the cause of the erratic weather changes. Since their arrival, the earthlings had experienced only small changes in the weather pattern of the Giant's planet. Mostly the weather had been mild, occasionally windy, but certainly never as erratic and changeable as the last twenty six days.

As he sat musing on his damp, mossy throne, Barry suddenly realised that the air appeared to be thickening in front of his eyes. As he watched in amazement, a thick rolling fog filled the gaps between the trees and covered the ground, in seconds obscuring all detail until Barry had difficulty seeing the tree trunk he was sheltering against. Perversely the rain appeared to have stopped, but the thick fog dewed his eyelashes and he swiped his hand over his face in an attempt to clear his vision. His actions seemed to have little effect, the fog so thick that his hand was nearly invisible only inches from his face. Fumbling to free the radio, Barry extended the aerial and pressed the send button.

"Outpost to Spindrift, come in please,"

"Spindrift here, you okay Barry ?"

"I'm fine Dan, wet but okay,"

"Anything happening out there ?"

"That's why I'm calling, a thick fog has just appeared and blanketed the woods, I can't see anything, not even my feet,"

"It's just arrived here at the ship as well, do you think you can find your way back, Barry ?"

"No problem Dan, it'll take a little longer in this, but I should be back within half an hour,"

"Good, I'll let Steve know you're coming in, see you soon Barry. Spindrift out,"

Repacking the radio, Barry took one more look around before slithering down the slope and starting to make his way slowly back to the camp.

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

"This is plain crazy, I can't see a thing!" exclaimed Betty Hamilton, the pretty blonde twirling in a slow circle, trying to discern any recognisable land marks through the dense mist.

"Betty, I can't see you, where are you ?" called out Valerie Scott, her voice just bordering on panicky.

"Just to your left Val, reach out your hand,"

"Thank goodness, for a moment there I thought I'd lost you,"

The two women had been out harvesting fruit from a small grove of bushes not far from the ship. They had half filled their thimble buckets and were taking turns holding the thorny branches out of the way for each other when the dense fog rolled over them, blanketing them and shuting off all visibility. Pushing back her hood, Valerie peered upwards, confounded to be unable to see anything but a grey nothing all around them. Keeping a tight hold of Betty's hand, the thimble clasped under her other arm, Valerie started to move forward but a tug from Betty halted her steps.

"I have no idea which direction we're moving in, do you ?"

"Well.....I figured that the bush was in front of us, which means the ships somewhere behind us,"

"Yeah, somewhere is right, I can barely see you, let alone the trail,"

"I know, but we can't stay here, so our choices are somewhat limited,"

"Maybe Steve'll send a search party ?" suggested Betty.

"Oh great, then we'll all be lost in this pea-souper, no thank you, I don't need another dressing down from Mark or Steve,"

"I'm not saying I agree with Steve, but it was rather rash to take off without telling anyone,"

"I know Betty, but I just couldn't stand another moment in Mark's company, I was about ready to murder him!"

"Oh come on Val, when are you going to admit the truth," asked Betty, knowingly.

"Never, unless he apologises," came Valerie's adament answer.

"And I thought Mark was being pig-headed,"

"That's insulting to pigs, Betty, Mark is more like a mule, he just can't stand to have someone come up with a better idea than his,"

A muffled giggle from her friend made Valerie relax her face, the frown disappearing to be replaced with a wry smile.

"It was kinda funny when I tipped that bowl of pulp all over his head this morning,"

"Funny....it was hysterical, his expression was priceless!" laughed Betty, gripping Valerie's hand tightly.

"Either way, I'm not ready to call the cavalry yet, I say we find our own way back,"

"Okay Val, we'll have a go, but if I find you've led us astray, you'll never be allowed out of camp again,"

"Thank's for the vote of support Betty, at least we won't starve, but you can explain to Fitzhugh why his dessert was late making it's way to the table,"

"Oh no, you're the trailblazer, I'd be happy just to sit here and wait for rescue,"

"Never thought of you as a wimp Betty, now don't let go and lets march!"

Keeping a tight hold on the thimble buckets and each other, Valerie and Betty inched their way across the small clearing, tripping over mist hidden obstacles until they reached the shrubs on the other side.

"This will take forever, we're only about ten minutes away from camp, do you think they'd hear us if we yelled ?" asked Valerie.

"Oh sure, Steve, Mark and any Giant's would be sure to hear us, wanna give it a try ?"

"Alright, point taken, so no yelling."

Letting go of Valerie's hand, Betty crouched down to closely inspect the ground. Pushing back the hood of her cape, she ran the tips of her fingers lightly over the dirt.

"I've found a footprint, looks like your boots, so we're heading in the right direction, if we follow our tracks they should lead us back to the ship,"

"In this mist?....good luck, unless you want to crawl on your hands and knees for the whole trip, I can't see my feet, let alone the trail,"

"Well you're not much help, come on, I'll lead off, it's in the opposite direction of your boot-print, so we're on the right track, and I'll check the ground every five paces to make sure,"

"This is gonna take some time,"

"You have a more pressing engagement ?"

"Funny Betty, just don't let go,"

Moving cautiously the two women slowly made their way down the fog shrouded track, they figures quickly swallowed by the swirling clouds.

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

"STEVE!"

Hearing Dan's call, Steve dropped the emitter back onto the workbench in disgust and got up, making his way quickly to the cockpit.

"I hear you Dan, what's up?"

"It's been over an hour since I spoke to Barry and there's still no sign of him,"

"What about the fog, is it lifting ?"

"Nope...worse than ever, see for yourself," waving his hand, Dan indicated the viewport where clouds of murky fog swirled slowly around the ship, obscuring everything.

"Anything showing up on the scope ?"

"Not a thing, nothing moving at all, which is strange in itself, usually there's something to make the needle jump but so far its as quiet as a grave out there,"

Steve continued to stare out the window, his brow furrowed in throught. Behind them the outer hatch opened and Mark appeared in the cockpit doorway, his hair slicked down from the wet, his raincoat dripping onto the floor.

"Steve, we have a problem."

"Yeah Mark, we noticed," said Steve, indicating the viewport.

"No not that, the girls...they didn't come back,"

"How long since anyone saw them ?"

"After breakfast....after..." Mark stopped and flushed darkly as the mornings argument with Valerie replayed itself in his mind, to his acute embarrasment. Steve and Dan exchanged a speaking glance, both men hard pressed to keep a straight face.

"Do you know where they went?" asked Steve after a moment.

"Fithzugh said they were going to collect more of those fruits we had last night,"

"That's not much more than ten or fifteen minutes from camp, isn't it?" asked Dan, swinging his chair around to face Mark.

"Normally yes, but in this fog...who know's how long it'll take them to make their way back to the ship," said Mark, pushing his damp hair off his forehead and mopping his face with a less than pristine handkerchief.

"Barry's taking his time getting back from the outpost as well, he called in to say he was returning but that was over an hour ago,"

"What are conditions like out there Mark ?" asked Steve.

"It's bad, visibility is zero and the temperature is dropping," Mark recounted grimly, "plus, despite it being just after noon it appears to be getting darker as well,"

"Darker ?"

"Possibly its low cloud cover, combined with the low pressure causing this fog....or maybe its an eclipse, I don't know...all I do know is that its dark enough to cause real concern."

"Barry knows the track back to the ship like the back of his hand," said Dan, "Plus we can always send Chipper to lead him back,"

"That may be, but the girls aren't so lucky and they don't have the luxury of a radio either," Mark reminded them.

"After that lecture I gave Valerie, how did she come to leave the camp without a radio ?" asked Steve sharply. Mark glanced up, meeting Steve's eyes briefly before returning his gaze to the foggy clouds outside the viewport.

"That's my fault...Betty came to get one from the supply room, but I had just taken the remaining radio's apart for their routine check, so when she said they were only going to pick fruit.....I told her to not worry about a radio...." Mark explained, sighing deeply.

Crossing his arms over his chest Steve surveyed Mark's set face.

"So how do we find them, and avoid getting lost ourselves, because I'm not prepared to risk everyone, we don't know how long this climate anomoly is going to last,"

"Risk ? since when did you worry about risk, Steve...we talking Barry and the girls," exclaimed Mark, his head jerking up. Frowning, Mark took a step forward into Steve's personal space. Dan looked worriedly at the two men, the cramped space of the cockpit keeping him pinned to his chair as Mark advanced.

"Since these strange weather patterns disrupted not only our lives but the lives of the giants as well," answered Steve, unfolding his arms and straigtening up to stand toe to toe with Mark.

"So we do nothing ?...we leave the girls to find their own way back, or get lost, while we sit snug and safe here at the ship ?" Mark queried, his eyes darkening as his temper started to rise.

Keeping his eyes fixed on the angry man in front of him, Steve spoke again.

"Dan...check in with Barry again, find out what's happening with him,"

"Sure Steve," said Dan, turning back to his console and picking up the mike.

"Mark...come with me, I want to check what equipment we have that might be useful," Steve smiled inwardly at Mark's surprised expression as Steve pushed past him and led the way into the passenger compartment.

Casting a baffled look at Dan at Steve's sudden turn-around, Mark left the cockpit. He heard Dan start trying to reach Barry but the sound was cut off when he slapped the door control to shut the cockpit hatch.

Throwing his wet cape on the floor of the corridor, Mark stormed after Steve, catching up with him as he started rummaging in the storage room.

"So we are going after them ?" he asked, still not sure of Steve's intentions.

Ignoring Mark's question, Steve posed one of his own.

"What's the state of the ships batteries?"

"Seventy five percent charged....why ?"

"Do you think you could rig up a light that revolved around ?"

"You mean like a lighthouse ?"

"Yeah."

Mark quickly catalogued their equipment and resouces in his head before answering.

"I could modify the high beam torch I made last year to run off the ships batteries, then a manual system, using ropes, could be used to spin it on an axis.....are we talking a guiding light here ?"

"Something bright enough to act as a beacon, I also want something to use as a fog horn, sound should carry well, despite the fog,"

"Well.........Dan has his trumpet he could sound some notes and I could loop it through the intercom to the exterior speaker,"

"How long ?"

"With Dan and Fitzhugh helping, about fifteen minutes."

Slapping Mark on the shoulder, Steve grinned at Mark's confused expression.

"I'll go call Fitzhugh and see what Dan managed to find out about Barry, while you get the stuff you need,"

"Steve ?"

"Yeah Mark,"

"Sorry I lost my rag, of course we don't want anyone else lost,"

"Forget it Mark, just get this lighthouse working okay ?"

Not waiting for an answer, Steve left the small annex and headed back to the front of the passenger compartment. Mark, his mind already on the problems to be solved, barely noticed his departure.

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

"We should have been back by now, even at our slow pace,"

"You're right Val, this it taking way too long, we must have lost the path somewhere back there," sighed Betty, gazing around their mist shrouded area, only vague shapes discernable at the fringes of their vision.

"Hey, do you hear that....sounds like moaning or something ?"

The two women tilted their heads to better catch the mournful sound coming from somewhere to their left.

"What is that ?" whispered Betty, her head twisting around to guage the direction of the sound. Valerie only shrugged, her head tilted upwards in vain attempt to pierce the fog around them.

The sound continued in its repetitive pattern, both woman drawing closer together. Eventually Valerie lifted her hand and pointed.

"It's coming from over there, should we investigate ?"

"Well it doesn't sound like an animal....more like a....FOG HORN, Valerie it's gotta be the Spindrift, they've rigged a fog horn to guide us home!"

"I guess it could be a fog horn....I wonder...of course, Dan's trumpet," said Valerie, pleased to have figured out the puzzling sound.

"Then what are we waiting for, lets go. I'll sure be glad to get into some dry clothes,"

"Same here, my fingers are numb with cold,"

Checking again on the direction of the sound, Valerie and Betty pushed through the dripping bushes and started towards, what they hoped, was the Spindrift.

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

Barry tucked the radio back into his jerkin. He had told Dan his situation and now Barry waited for Chipper to arrive to lead him home. He reckoned he wasn't more than five minutes from the camp but the fog had proved a major obstacle, changing all the familliar landmarks and shrouding all the trail markers so that Barry soon found himself crossing his own footprints as he travelled hopelessly in a circle. Dan had told him about the foghorn and the lights but Barry was still too far away to use them as a guide, so it had been decided to send Chipper out on the rescue mission.

Making himself comfortable on a low rock, Barry crossed his arms across his chest and looked around, shivering slightly. The air temperature had dropped dramatically since he'd started back to camp and now he could see his breath leaving his mouth as a cloud of vapour, adding to the thick mist already surrounding him.

"Great...more fog, that's all I need,"

Finding sitting still too cold, Barry stood up and started to stamp his feet, flapping his arms in an attempt to get warm. Within a few minutes he heard the unmistakble sounds of something pushing through the bushes.

"Chipper ?" Barry called, his eyes straining to see anything.

A sudden flash of fur and Chipper was leaping into his arms, the little dogs warm tongue lapping feverishly all over Barry's face.

"Hey boy, am I glad to see you,"

Chipper's tail appeared to be on full throttle, wagging furiously as Barry cuddled his beloved pet. Putting the dog down, Barry unravelled the lead tucked into the dogs collar and took a firm grip on the leather.

"Okay Chipper, take me home....home Chipper....home!"

With an answering woof, Chipper started back in the direction he'd appeared, Barry trotting along behind him until both boy and dog were swallowed up by the swirling clouds of condensed air.

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

"I can see a light!" cried Betty excitedly, letting go of Valeries hand to point at the faint yellow light sweeping through the mist.

They started to hurry, still stumbling over hidden objects but buoyed up by the knowledge that they were only minutes away from a hot drink and dry clothes. Betty was slightly ahead of Valerie when she suddenly disappeared, her outline briefly flaring with an orange light before vanishing literally into thin air. Jerking to a halt Valerie spun around, unnerved by suddenly finding herself alone.

"Betty ?"

"BETTY ?"

Holding her hands out in front of her, Valerie tried to sweep the area around her, twisting around so fast her head spun. Finding no trace of her friend, Valerie screamed again.

"BETTY.....WHERE ARE YOU, WHERE DID YOU GO!"

Panic was starting to overwhelm Valerie, her breath coming in short gasps as the fog seemed to press in on her. A sound behind her made her turn and a dark figure loomed out of the fog, making her scream in fear, her hands covering her face.

Hands grasped her shoulders and pulled her against a hard chest.

"It's okay Val, you made it, you're safe now," Mark soothed, holding Valeries trembling shoulders as Steve and Fitzhugh burst through the shrubs behind him.

"Val, are you okay, where's Betty ?" asked Steve, his eyes sweeping the area behind Valerie, the light from his torch briefly illuminating the thick fog, but finding no sign of the pretty blonde.

Pulling herself out of Mark's grasp, Valerie turned to where Steve stood, almost invisible in the swirling fog.

"She was right in front of me, I don't know what happened, we saw the light and started towards it, but she just.......just.....vanished!"

"Betty vanished? Did you see or hear anything? Are the Giant's out here ?" Fitzhugh's quick-fire questions left Valerie only shaking her head, unable to voice her answers for the lump welling up in her throat.

"Let's get Valerie back to camp, then she can tell us what happened," suggested Mark, one hand absently rubbing circles on Valerie's shoulder as she stood hunched beside him. Behind him the mournful note of the fog-horn continued to sound, like a lost soul crying for release.

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

Barry and Chipper were there to greet them when they arrived back in camp, the little dog still wagging it's tail in greeting. Valerie had been shocked to realise that the camp had been only a stones throw from where she and Betty had been. Dan had killed the fog-horn once Steve had radio'd that Valerie had been found and he now stood sillouetted in the hatchway as he watched the rescue party return. Steve took the thimble bucket from Valerie, unclenching her cold fingers from around the rope handle, then Mark helped her up the short flight of stairs and into the Spindrift. Barry had been told by Dan of Betty's disappearance and it was a somber group that filed into the passenger compartment to review the events of the day.

Valerie sat in one of the flight chairs, her rain cape gone and a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Her hair hung down damply and her fingers were wrapped around a steaming mug, but so far she hadn't taken a sip, too shocked by Betty's disappearance to take much interest in the drink warming her hands.

Fitzhugh helped divest Barry of his cape, wrapping the boy in a warm rug and rubbing his chilled hands while Chipper attempted to lick Barry's face from his perch on the boys' lap. Mark stood behind Valerie's chair, his face reflecting his concern, his arms folded across his chest as Steve and Dan filed into the cabin, both men's faces grim. Coming over to Valerie's chair, Steve dropped into a crouch to bring his face to her level.

"Valerie, tell us what happened."

"I don't know Steve...honestly..." Valerie paused, raising her head to look around at the expectant faces," we heard the fog-horn and were making our way back to camp, we'd got pretty lost before we heard it, but we were making good progress, then Betty spotted a light, she thought it was the ship and she started forward...." trailing off, Valerie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, " then it was like she walked through a door...she was only a couple of steps ahead of me...there was a light...orange...all around her...." Valerie's voice had dropped to a whisper," then she...vanished."

The four men exchanged a look, each trying to fathom what might have happened to their missing crew member.

"Dan..Mark, with me, I want to check out the area, grab a torch and let's see if we can find anything."

"What about me Captain ?" asked Fitzhugh, looking apprehensively at the three men as they started to leave the cabin. Steve turned back.

"Make sure Valerie and Barry have everything they need to get warm and dry, once they're settled go keep an eye on the radar, understand ?"

"Certainly Captain........good luck,"

Casting a last glance over the occupants of the passenger cabin, Steve turned and left. Fitzhugh glanced at his charges and clapped his hands together.

"Right, Captains orders, time to get into some dry clothes, Valerie ?"

"I'll be fine Fitz, I'll use the galley, you take care of Barry,"

Getting to her feet, Valerie gave Barry and Fitzhugh a wan smile before pulling the blanket tightly around her shoulders and shuffling off to the back of the cabin.

"I wonder what happened to Betty," mused Barry, ruffling Chipper's ears.

"I have a horrible feeling we will be finding out the answer to that question a lot sooner than we might like," intoned Fitzhugh, his lagubrious face reflecting his depressing premonition.

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

"Nothing at all...Betty's foot prints lead up to this spot...then nothing,"

Dan was crouched over the ground, his long fingers tracing the outline of Betty's boot impression, his dark brows drawn together in a frown. Behind him Mark and Steve swept the ground with their torches, trying to discern any clue as to Betty's fate.

"Steve, look at this," Mark was standing beside a shrub, fingering some of the leaves that appeared to be singed. Steve walked over and looked closely at the leaves, his eyes taking in the curvature of the singe line, like the outside edge of a circle.

"Force field ?"

"Could be, some sort of energy transfer took place here, but how and why, that I can't tell you,"

"I think this fog it finally lifting," Dan observed, shining his torch upwards to show the thining layers above them. As the three men watched, the mist began to dissipate at an unbelievable rate until, within a few seconds, the whole glade was completely clear. The only evidence that it had even been there, the heavy dew on the surrounding bushes.

"What the hell....this is unreal!" exclaimed Mark, staring at the now clear air in disbelief. Looking back at the bush he'd been examining he could clearly see the demarcation, plus the rest of the circle, including a faint scorch mark on the dirt, to complete the evidence of some sort of electrical disharge.

"This is going to sound wild, but I think Betty walked into a forcefield and was transported somehow,"

"Transported where Steve, and why ?" asked Dan, standing up and joining the two men by the edge of the clearing.

Shaking his head, Steve could only stare at the scorch marks, his hands on his hips, as baffled as the rest of them.

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

Monitoring the radio only confirmed that the giant population were also looking for reasons for the freakish climate changes. The fog had caused disruptions to their communications and transportation systems. Several discussion panels even went as far as to suggest that the Little People had something to do with it, but the overall opinion was that the weather was being disrupted by something outside their collective experience. Dan kept trawling the airwaves in hopes that someone would have an explanation, but two days later they had no further information to go on. Once the fog had lifted a thorough search was made by everyone around the Spindrift and beyond. Betty was no where to be found. The weather, for once, aided the Little People by dawning clear and dry for both days. The third day brought a new challenge.

Barry was taking a shift on the radio, taking notes on anything that the Giant's brought up about the weather. The rest of the Spindrift crew were out gathering supplies, ready for an extended expedition to search for their missing friend. The music programme that was sending Barry to sleep in the warm afternoon was suddenly interupted with a squawk that made Barry jerk awake and turn up the volume.

"This is an emergency broadcast for all areas....keep your radio tuned to this station for more news.....residents are warned that extreme flooding is expected to hit all outlying suburbs by late this afternoon, our weather station in the mountains report torrential downpours that have already swept down from the high ridges and is causing a rapid rise in all river levels, higher than anything recorded in the last decadic. We wish to advise that anyone living around the great central park should contact their local civil defense centre for advise of securing their homes against the coming flood. This station will be broadcasting bulletins every half hour to keep you informed.....the flood will hit remote settlements in two hours, the city in three...residents are advised to place all valuables as high as possible and to withdraw to the upper storeys of their dwellings. We will transmit more information as it comes to hand....This is an emergency broadcast for all areas...keep you radio tuned....."

Barry felt the blood drain from his face as the implications of the coming disaster sank in. Not waiting to hear the message repeated he leapt out of the captains chair, raced into the corridor and slammed his hand against the button to open the outside hatch.

"CAPTAIN....CAPTAIN BURTON!!!"

"I'm here Barry, what's the panic?"

"The radio....emergency message.....flood" Barry gasped out, his face ashen. Steve stared at Barry for a second before pushing past him to enter the ship. Dan and Mark followed closely behind, leaving Fitzhugh and Valerie to stare at Barry where he slumped on the metal steps.

"Barry, what's happened...what's the matter ?" asked Valerie, coming to sit next to the boy on the steps.

"They're warning residents about a flood coming down from the mountains, and they say it'll hit this area in three hours,"

"A flood...but its not even raining!" exclaimed Fitzhugh, peering up as if trying to see the sky through the canopy of trees.

"It doesn't have to Fitz, if it rains in the hills, eventually it has to reach the plains. You say they've confirmed it will reach as far as this park ?"

"Yes....what are we going to do ?"

Valerie couldn't answer, only shake her head as she wrapped an arm about Barry's shoulder, her blue eyes clouded as she followed Fitzhugh's example and gazed up into the deceptively calm sky.

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

They gathered together in the cabin after listening to the latest broadcast. It had only confirmed what Barry had already told them. They had, according to the radio station, about two and a half hours before the woods that currently sheltered them, became a swamp or, as most of the reporters seemed to think, a lake.

"Is the ship water-proof ?" asked Valerie, her face puckered while she chewed nervously on a thumbnail.

"Yes...but it wasn't designed for submersion, and prolonged exposure to water will only speed up the current rate of decay," Mark told them.

"Can we tether the ship to a tree...or something ?" asked Fitzhugh, his hands spread wide as he grappled with the enormity of what they were facing.

"We could, but we don't know how high the flood waters will get and we can't afford to have the air shut off for too long, there only so much that the air recyclers can make usable. Our reserve tanks were damaged when we originally landed so we have nothing to fall back on if the airconditioner fails." Mark explained.

"So what are you saying, we just wait for the water and float away ?"

"That's about it Dan, I'm suggesting we pack as much of the camp up as possible and store it in the Spindrift, then secure the ship as best we can and wait for the flood. We still have some power to the manourvering jets and the flaps will act like steering rudders. The rest is up to luck and the fates."

After delivering his proposal, Steve leaned back against the wall and waited for the fall out.

"Preposterous....this is a spacecraft, not a boat!" exclaimed Fitzhugh.

"Steve, can we do that ?" asked Valerie, leaning forward in her seat.

"It's possible," replied Mark, after getting the nod from Steve to continue his explanations. " We could use the canopy poles to create a sort of outrigger set-up to provide some stability and use those empty drums that we found last week to provide extra boyancy,"

"Your saying we turn the Spindrift into a raft ?" asked Dan, incredulously.

"Exactly...and we have two hours to do it."

"Then what are we waiting for...." said Steve, clapping his hands together to get everyones attention. "Dan, you and Mark are with me, constructing the outrigger. Fitzhugh, you and Valerie pack everything you can lay your hands on and secure it in the cabin. Barry I need you to continue to monitor the radio and let us know if there's any change in the timetable."

Without allowing any more discussion or protests, Steve turned and left the room, the stunned silence behind him only lasting a few seconds before everyone exploded into movement, splitting off to their assigned tasks. As Mark passed Valerie in the doorway she grasped his arm, halting him.

"Mark....what about Betty ?"

Lowering his head for a second, Mark drew in a long breath before raising his eyes to Valerie's and locking his gaze with hers.

"Valerie, this is going to be a battle for our very survival. We've looked for Betty and found nothing, now we have two hours to get this ship ready for something she was never designed for. We can't do anything for Betty right now...except pray that she is safely out of reach of the flood."

Her blue eyes filling with tears, Valerie could only nod before letting go of Marks arm and letting him follow Dan and Steve out of the ship. Swiping her eyes and sucking in a deep breath, Valerie turned back to the passenger cabin and started picking up the gear that needed to be secured before they could start packing up the camp.

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

"Captain, the radio annoucer has said the water has reached the furthest suburb and the outskirts of the great park,"

It had been the hardest two hours that the Little People had ever worked since they'd landed on the Giant's planet. Steve, Dan and Mark, after dismantling the lean-to and canopy, had managed to lash together two pontoons for either side of the ship. Mark had created metal brackets, welded to the ships hull, to hold the poles, and Steve, with Dan and Fitzhugh help, had lashed the plastic barrels to the cross beams on both sides. The whole contraption further strengthened with any spare metal, used for bracing, that they could lay their hands on, including Mark's fishing poles. Valerie and Barry had managed to stow everything that the Little People owned, plus whatever supplies they'd accumalated since their crash, in and around the passenger cabin. Using every available length of twine and rope, the space fairly bulged with whatever couldn't be stored in the conventional luggage space. The flight chairs all had their share of bundles attached and floor space was definately at a premium. The galley was stuffed with their food, both fresh and dried and extra supplies of drinking water were securely lashed to any spare bulkhead. The radio had been turned up full volume to allow Barry to help and there were frequent pauses to listen to the latest bulletin. It was only with the last update that Valerie told Barry to inform Steve and the men what was happening with the floods progress. With a final look around the now barren campsite, Valerie went and stood in the doorway of the ship watching the final checks being made on the outrigger pontoons.

As she looked up at the giant trees that had sheltered their precious haven, Valerie felt the gentle breeze turn into a strong wind. Far away she could here a rumbling sound and, her eyes wide, she screamed at the men, drawing their attention to the warning signs.

"IT'S COMING!" shouted Steve, grabbing Fitzhugh's shirt sleeve and pulling the older man towards the hatchway. Dan and Mark scrabbled out from under the framework, their feet kicking up dust as the wind became a howling tempest, flinging leaves and debris into the air to swirl around, far above their heads. Valerie remained transfixed in the doorway, clinging to the opening, her eyes fixed on the spiralling leaves and branches that whirled madly through the air, her autumn coloured hair whipping around her face. Steve and Fitzhugh pushed past her, Dan close behind. Mark picked up the last item, the steps, and flung them into the doorway, leaping the last few feet and grabbing Valerie around the waist to pull her inside as Steve slammed the hatch button and closed the door. The sudden calm out of the wind made everyone pause for a second before a dull roar became evident, albeit muffled by the ships hull.

"Mark, get everyone secured, this could be a rough ride," ordered Steve, waiting for Mark to enter the passenger cabin before closing the door and entering the cockpit, the door sliding shut behind him. Buckling himself into his chair, Steve stared grimly out of the viewport, his view of the woods outside obscured this time by the quantity of flying grit and leaves that skittered madly across their line of sight.

"She's gonna handle like a whale, so make sure there's nothing loose in here Dan, we could end up turning turtle if those pontoons don't hold,"

"All secure Steve, Valerie and Barry did a good job,"

"Remind me to thank them.....if we get out of this alive!"

His hands feeling gritty from their labours outside, Steve wiped them down his pants leg and returned them to the handles of his control column, his fingers flexing as they adjusted to the familiar feel of the rubber grips. Dan glanced over at his friend, his own hands feeling clammy with nerves.

"Good luck Steve....whatever happens, its been one hell of a ride."

"It's been a pleasure having you as my co-pilot Dan, there's no-one I'd rather have at my side....." Steve tailed off as the first drops of water started to splatter the viewport, trickles of dirty brown liquid starting to sleuce across the ground in front of the ship. Reaching for the internal microphone, Steve flipped the switch to patch him through to the passenger cabin and spoke into the mike.

"Brace yourselves back there, this is it....good luck to you all, and pray God we live through this, Captain out."

Gritting his teeth, Steve kept his eyes glued to the viewport, the level of water already starting to rise after only a few minutes. He only had time to exchange a quick glance with Dan when, what felt like a huge hand lifted the spaceship, pitching it sideways, and started to carry it along, water splashing up and over the front of the ship as it plowed through the debris laden flood. The whole ship rocked back and forth, pummelled by the wave of water behind them. It was like trying to steer a bucking bull, the Spindrift pitching and yawing in every direction imaginable. Steve and Dan found themselves thrown again and again against their harnesses, back and forth as if they were in a washing machine. Their view outside the ship was limited as the water had now came up half way and debris kept sticking to the glass, getting swept away, then replaced with more. All the time the ship kept on tossing and rolling, until Steve felt that he didn't know what direction they were in, only that it was the worst ride he'd ever been on.

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End of Chapter One.