Title: Camera Shy
Chapter: One
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG
A request fulfilled, a story enlarged upon. Surely a walk in the forest is a safe bet ??

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"They'll be caught for sure, unless we can get those Giant's to move faster!"

Steve grimaced in agreement with his friend and co-pilot. They were hiding behind a low outcrop of boulders, mere pebbles to a Giant, but important cover for the Little People. In front of them, two Giants, a man and a woman, were picking up various items after an extensive photo shoot. This couple had been filming a nest of, what Steve could only assume, were a breeding pair of rare birds. Steve and Dan had been cutting across a wide trail when they had narrowly avoided getting stepped on by the man as he exited a cleverly concealed canvas hide, his huge boots scattering the two Little People. The Giant had been too intent on his mission to collect more film to notice the movement around his feet, striding off and quickly disappearing behind the close packed shrubs. Dusting themselves off, Steve indicated the row of boulders and together they raced for cover. They reached the shelter just in time. A woman stepped out of the hide, calling to the man, shouting that the quarry had flown. Steve watched the women leave, following the path of trampled greenery left by her partner.

"That was too close," Dan panted, his face covered in a sheen of dust.

"We need better intelligence, Mark didn't mention any bird watchers on this trail yesterday," said Steve, his chest heaving.

"I'm sure he would have noticed, of course he had Valerie with him, so maybe he didn't," Dan replied, his face splitting in a grin.

"Dan, you old romantic,"groaned Steve, "I think you're barking up the wrong tree, with that pair," said Steve, leaning his head back to rest against the rock face. "I mean honestly, they do nothing but fight,"

"Well you fight with Mark all the time," retorted Dan, his eyes dancing.

"And your point is ?" Steve growled.

"Hey nothing, I just think there's something between those two,"

"Well as enthralling as I consider Mark's romantic conquests, I think our predicament rates a bit higher on my worry list,"

A sudden noise made both men draw closer to the rocks, their faces turned upwards to see the two Giants returning to the canvas walled hide.

"I think we're done for the day Jim, its getting late and the light is getting too murky for good pictures," said the woman, her hand lifting to tuck a stray wisp of dark hair behind her ear.

"You probably right, I just wanted to get another roll started before we called it quits," sighed the man, his hands tossing a roll of film from one to the other.

"Well its moot now as the male just flew off and the female is up in the canopy, feeding," said the woman, crossing her arms and looking up at the trees towering over their heads.

"Then I suggest we pack up and head home, Dr.Willa will just have to be happy with what we have,"

"Oh I think he'll be more than happy, Jim, we got some great shots for the spread. I'm dying to get them developed,"

"Well that's more your department than mine, Maria," laughed the man, " you're the one with the magic touch."

The woman smacked her partner lightly on the arm, her face alive with amusement and affection.

"As if I could do anything without your eye for composition," she retorted," come on, lets get packed, the sooner we go, the sooner I get to see what we have, and you get to feed me,"

"I thought it was your turn," laughed Jim, catching Maria around the waist and pulling her close. The Giant's feet scuffed up a cloud of dust, smothering the low growth, and rocks where Steve and Dan were hiding, making both men choke and cough, their eyes streaming. Fortunately for the Little People the two Giants were too engrossed in their embrace to notice any strange sounds coming from the ground. By the time Jim and Maria became aware of anything around them, Steve and Dan had managed to get their breathing under control.

Both men watched as the two Giants pushed their way back into the tent, leaving the two Little People to survey their appearance with some alarm. The dust had coated them both in a fine yellow film, dulling Steve's red flight suit to a dirty brown, and Dan's grey jacket and pants to the same colour as the earth.

"Why didn't I think of this before," choked Steve, batting ineffectually at his arms to dislodge the dirt.

"Perfect camouflage if you ask me," said Dan, spitting out a mouthful of grit, his teeth bright in his dusty face.

Before either of them could move, the tent flap once more disgorged a Giant, the man Jim, who had his arms full of equipment and camera bags. Behind him came the woman, Maria, her arms similarly full of paraphernalia.

"I don't remember bringing this much stuff ?" Said Jim, staggering dramatically and grinning at Maria.

"You drop that camera and I'll make sure you don't just stagger, you'll end up crawling," she retorted sharply, leading the way through the trees.

Grinning at Maria's retreating back, Jim stepped out smartly, no evidence that the weight of the supplies was any problem at all.

"Steve, we ought to get out of here, while they're moving the gear," said Dan, catching Steve's arm.

"We can't, have you forgotten ?"

Glancing down at his watch, Dan pulled a face before looking up.

"But Mark obviously didn't know about this hide when he came this way the other night,"

"I imagine it wasn't here then, that doesn't change the fact that Fitzhugh and the girls will be expecting to meet us here in within the hour, we can't move from here,"

"Has Fitzhugh got a radio ?"

"Of course!"

Reaching into his jacket, Steve pulled out the small black walkie talkie, extending the aerial to it fullest.

"Burton to Fitzhugh, come in please,"

Getting no response, Steve fiddled the reception to its broadest band and tried again.

"Burton to Fitzhugh, if you can hear me, please respond,"

"Fitzhugh here Captain, is there a problem ?"

Ignoring the question Steve exchanged a look with his co-pilot before answering. "Fitzhugh, how far away are you ?"

"We're about twenty minutes from the rendezvous site. Is there something we should know ?"

"Dan and I have been held up by a couple of photographers, we've about five minutes down the trail from where we're to meet,"

"Giants....oh dear...oh dear"

"Fitzhugh, calm down, just don't come any further down the track, we'll meet you and the girls once these Giants have left, but we could be delayed, just sit tight and wait...got that ?"

"Got it....anything else ?"

"No...just keep out of sight, I'll radio when its all clear,"

"Fine, Fitzhugh out,"

Steve collapsed the aerial with a decisive gesture, then tucked the radio back inside his jacket.

"That should keep Fitz and the girls out of trouble, but it'll delay our schedule,"

"Maybe we should delay the recovery until tomorrow," suggested Dan.

Steve only shook his head. "We don't have the luxury of time, the weather bureau forecast rain for tonight, so its now or never,"

"Then lets hope these photographers get a wiggle on,"

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"Do you want Barry and me to join you, Steve ?"

"No Mark, Fitz and the girls are waiting for us down the track, we need you and Barry to keep working on that engine, if we can beat the weather we should be back before dark, otherwise we'll find somewhere to shelter for the night,"

"I checked with the local radio station again, they're still talking rain,"

"I can't see the sky from where we are right now, so I'll have to take your word for it Mark, in the meantime, Dan and I will be leaving to meet up with Fitzhugh in about half an hour,"

"I don't suppose those photographers happened to leave a camera lying around anywhere ?"

"We weren't planning on checking the tent, but you might have a point, they could have left something behind, we'll check it out when the coast is clear,"

"Be careful Steve,"

"Will do, Burton out,"

Steve exchanged a glance with his co-pilot, his patience starting to wear thin. The Giant's had made two more trips back to the canvas hide, the last trip apparently their last. Neither Giant had intimated that they would be leaving the tent behind, but it had been twenty minutes since their last trip and Steve was starting to chafe at the delay.

"I'm gonna risk it....stay here Dan, I'll duck in and check the tent, if there's anything there I'll call out,"

"Steve, they could be back anytime," said Dan, alarmed.

"It won't take long," said Steve, pulling away from Dan's restraining arm and running across the dusty track to the wall of the tent. Quickly, Steve lifted the edge of the tarp and ducked underneath, disappearing from Dan's anxious sight.

Giving his eyes a chance to adjust to the gloom, Steve crouched against the wall and waited, his ears sharp in case the Giant's returned. After a few seconds he could see well enough to start searching the corners. On his first sweep he only found a few scattered balls of paper, a film box wrapper, one apple core and a plastic bag. Disappointed, Steve turned around to return to the tent wall, his eyes now fully adjusted to the semi-gloom. A shape against one of the walls drew his attention and he ran over to see what it was.

"Jackpot!!" he exclaimed, his hands running lovingly over the camera lens extension lying unclaimed on the ground.

Patting it absently, he walked around the cylindrical object, trying to gauge how heavy it was. Positioning his hands against the side, he dug in his toes and attempted to roll it. After a few seconds he'd only managed to make it rock slightly, too heavy for him alone to move.

Straightening up, Steve dusted off his hands and decided to enlist Dan's help. Running back to the wall, he lifted up the edge of the canvas and whistled shrilly. Within moments Dan skidded to a dusty halt, ducking under the flap as Steve held it up for him.

"Did you find something ?"

"Sure did, Mark is going to flip when he sees this,"

The two men circled the camera lens, trying to pick the best spot for leverage.

"I'm not sure we can move this Steve, its bigger than your usual can of beans,"

"Come on Dan, all we have to do is roll it out of the tent,"

"You're the boss,"

Bracing themselves on the side of the lens, Dan and Steve threw their weight against the cylinder, the lens barely moving despite their combined efforts.

"No....good," grunted Dan, his face beaded with perspiration.

"Another...try,"puffed Steve, his face screwed up with the intensity of his effort, as he once more tried to move the telephoto lens.

After straining for a few more moments it became evident to them both that the lens wasn't moving with just their effort alone.

"We need the others," panted Dan, leaning back against the lens and closing his eyes.

Pulling out his radio, Steve thumbed the button and extended the aerial.

"Burton to Spindrift, come in Mark,"

"Mark here, what's happening Steve ?"

"We found something in the tent we can use, its a telephoto lens,"

"A lens ? great....what's the problem ?"

"We can't move it...at least Dan and I can't..."said Steve, still panting slightly from the effort.

"I can be there in an hour,"

"Good....bring some rope..."

"I'll leave Barry here to man the radio,"

"See you soon, Burton out,"

Giving himself another couple of minutes to catch his breath, Steve once more thumbed the radio.

"Burton to Fitzhugh, are you there Fitz ?"

"Fitzhugh here Captain,"

"Fitz, the Giants have cleared out and I need you and the girls here,"

"What for ?"

"Just get here as soon as possible," said Steve, his voice sharp.

"Of course, we're on our way," Fitzhugh replied, his voice carrying a hint of affront.

"Good...we're in the hide, I'll send Dan out to meet you, Burton out,"

"You were a bit sharp with Fitzhugh...any particular reason ?" Dan enquired, his expression neutral.

"I just didn't want to hear any of his excuses,"

"Oh I'm sure Fitz will come up with a whole new lot once he realises you want him to put in some physical effort," chuckled Dan, his face creased in a wide smile.

"Yeah....he does have a knack for inventive narrative under stress," laughed Steve, his eyes dancing.

"I go meet them on the trail, you be alright here?"

"Yeah...I'll check around for anything else we can use...get going,"

Without wasting another minute, Dan jogged over to the tent opening and passed from view, leaving Steve staring at the recalcitrant lens.

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Mark reached the rocks where Steve an Dan had hidden from the Giant's his eyes sweeping the trail before coming back to rest on the huge canvas tent rising like a monolith in front of him. The light under the trees was rapidly fading as the clouds started to mass overhead, despite sunset still being a couple of hours away. He had seen no evidence of Giants while making his way along the trail, and he prayed that the threat of rain held off until they were back at the Spindrift, but the diminishing light refuted his best hopes. Casting a last look around he rearranged the ropes coiled over his shoulders and jogged the last few yards to the tent wall, dropping to one knee and lifting up the edge of material. As he pushed the coils of rope under the canvas he heard the voices of his shipmates clear across the expanse of dirt. Squinting in the sudden gloom, Mark hitched the ropes back onto his shoulders and started to jog towards the voices. As he got closer he could make out what was being said.

"For heavens sake Fitzhugh, try and push when we all push," said Valerie, her voice laced with frustration.

"I'm trying my best, but this is impossible to move,"

"I wouldn't be impossible if you put some effort into it," said Dan, crossly.

"I'm pushing, and nothings happening, its too big," said Fitzhugh, throwing his arms wide and turning his back on the group.

"Look, we almost got it rolling, we just need to try again," said Steve, wiping a hand over his face to clear the beads of sweat dripping into his eyes.

"Its going to be dark soon," Betty observed quietly, her eyes darting around the gloomy interior.

"All the more reason to get this.....lens moving, now once more, Valerie...you and Betty throw your weight at the end, Dan, you and I will take the other end, Fitzhugh, you push the centre,"

"It's preposterous, how can you expect us to move this...it must weight a ton,"

"Aaaaaaaagh!" screamed Valerie, finally losing her temper in face of Fitzhugh implacable indolence. "If you don't move your scrawny butt and start pushing this lens I'll show you just how violent I can really get!"

Mark almost laughed out loud, his approach to the group unnoticed as everyone focused on Valerie irate face, and Fitzhugh's rapid backpeddling along the length of the Giant lens.

"Hey, need a hand ?"

At the sound of Mark's voice everyone swung round in surprise, neatly deflecting attention from Fitzhugh and Valerie's stand-off.

"Thank god," Dan muttered, dipping his head to hide the grin spreading over his face.

After clasping Mark's hand briefly in welcome, Steve directed a pasty looking Fitzhugh to act as lookout, both for any Giants and any change in the weather. Once the older man was one his way, the rest of the group let go a collective breath, the tension visibly going down a notch.

"I think you just saved Fitzhugh from a beating," snickered Dan, looking across to where Valerie leaned back against the metal cylinder, her eyes still smouldering in anger.

"I wish I had a cattle prod sometimes...its so infuriating," said Valerie, swinging her arms wide in an explosion of anger.

"Hey calm down, we need to work together if we want to get this somewhere we can work on it....Mark, we've been trying to shift this for the past half hour and so far we've only managed to get it to roll once."

Walking around the lens Mark eyed the object from all angles before starting to lay out the ropes and connect up the homemade pulleys.

"We're close enough to that tent pole, we'll use that as our rigging point, Dan take this end and loop it around the pole, I'll rig the pulleys inbetween. Betty, take this end and throw it over the lens, use a stone to weight the end to make it easier."

Everyone leap to carry out Mark's instructions, the activity dispelling the air of defeat that had greeted him, their movements now full of purpose and intent. Fitzhugh watched surreptitiously from the entrance of the tent, his lips thinning in anger as he remember the obvious relief on everyone's face when Steve ordered him on lookout.

"You have no idea how important I am....just wait 'til we get back to Earth, I'll show you ungrateful creatures that Alexander Fitzhugh is a man to be reckoned with....just you wait and see," he muttered to himself, folding his arms across his chest and turning to stare out at the rapidly darkening trees. Behind him the small group of travellers hurriedly assembled the rope and pulleys, everyone aware that time was definitely not on their side.

"Okay....everyone ready ?" Mark looked around, seeing the small nods and felt the rope in his hands grow taut as everyone grasped and held on. "Alright.....PULL!!"

The three men and two women dug their heels into the soft earth, digging up furrows as their hands started to pull the rope, the pulleys straining as the five figures started to inch backwards, at right angles to the long, dark cylinder. Incredibly, the lens started to move, rolling slightly within the confines of the rope looped around it.

"It's moving, keep pulling," grunted Steve, digging in harder.

After ten minutes of consistent pulling they had reached the extent of the rope, a mere twenty feet but it was a triumph for the dogged earthlings.

"Valerie, chock the lens before we let go of the rope," said Mark through his teeth, watching as Valerie scurried to place the rocks at several points along the length of the lens to stop it rolling back.

"Done!" she shouted a few seconds later, allowing everyone else to relax and drop the rope, massaging hands and shaking out arms.

"I'll reposition the ropes and re-attach them to the next post, this will get it close to the outside wall," said Mark, mopping his face.

"It's getting muggy in here," observed Dan, squinting as he realised just how dark it had got in the last few minutes. "And dark,"

"We'll only have another half hour to get this outside the tent, then we'll be working in the dark...lets get onto it people,"

The time passed quickly, but they managed to manoeuvrer the unwieldy lens to within a foot of the canvas wall. Mark called a rest and handed around the small store of food and drink he'd carried from the Spindrift. Combined with Betty's small supply they managed a reasonable meal, everyone feeling the strain in muscles and sinew from hauling the lens as far as they had. Fitzhugh had only returned briefly to gather his portion before returning to his post by the opening. The others were slumped in various attitudes of exhaustion on the ground around the lens.

Fitzhugh stared out at the dark wood, his eyes losing their focus as he retreated into his imagination, his minds-eye replaying his last heist and all the plans he'd imagined spending the money on. The flash of lights snapped his attention back, his brain briefly interpreting the light beams as the searchlights of the prison block before he awoke to the realisation that the lights were actually the product of Giant torches rapidly making their way towards where Fitzhugh cowered.

"Captain...Captain Burton!" he tried to shout, his efforts only producing a hoarse croak as his throat seized up in terror. Outside the tent the two torchlight's reached the line of the trees and revealed the two Giants who held them.

"This is crazy Jim, we can't find that lens in the dark,"

"That's why I brought the torches, and that lens is too expensive to leave outside overnight, the weather is on the change and if it gets wet it'll be ruined,"

"I still think it could have waited until tomorrow, its horrid out here," grumbled Maria, her expression petulant.

"You'll thank me when we have our next photo shoot, that lens is my best for telephoto...so start looking, the quicker we find it, the quicker we can get back to your dinner,"

"It'll be ruined....absolutely ruined," said Maria, swinging her torchlight over the ground outside the canvas hide.

Backpeddling, Fitzhugh stumbled and fell to his knees, his voice still wheezing out a warning to the others. Outside the two Giants were now sweeping the ground with their lights, intently focused on finding the lens. Scrabbling to his feet, Fitzhugh cowered against the wall of the tent, his attempts at warning his shipmates forgotten in his overwhelming desire to become invisible to the approaching Giants.

A sudden beam of light shone directly into the tent opening, alerting the Little People inside.

"The Giants," gasped Betty, scrabbling to her feet and backing up against the lens. Steve and Dan grabbed up as much of the rope as they could while Mark and Valerie gathered their meagre supplies and repacked the backpacks. Grabbing Betty by the arm, Steve started to run towards the back of the tent, where it was darkest. Mark and Valerie, with Dan looping the rope as he ran, quickly followed.

"What about Fitzhugh ?" Betty gasped, as they reached the canvas wall and Steve started to pull up the edge.

"We catch up with him once the Giants are gone, Fitzhugh can take care of himself...I want to know why he didn't warn us," Steve hissed, teeth clenched in anger.

Pushing Betty under the tarp, he waited for the others to catch up, but before they did, one of the Giants entered the tent and swung their torch around, the beam glancing over the tiny fleeing figures.

"Mark....HURRY!"

Before Steve could voice another warning, the Giant had spotlighted his three friends and Steve was left with no choice but to throw himself under the edge of the canvas and join Betty outside.

"Steve....where are the other ?" asked Betty, her face white in the deepening shadows.

"Come on...we can't stay here," his face grim, Steve pulled Betty up and they raced towards the shelter of a bank of dense shrubs.

Inside the tent, Mark, Valerie and Dan cowered against the wall of the tent, the light of the torch blinding them as the Giant crouched over them, the second Giant entering the tent and coming to join his partner as she gestured excitedly to him.

"Look what I found.....your lens and some little thieves," said Maria, her eyes gleaming in the light from the torch.

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15/10/2002

Title: Camera Shy
Chapter: Two
Author: Squeezynz
Rating: PG

.....finders keepers........

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"Oh my god, they're Little People!" breathed Jim in awe, his torch joining Maria's in highlighting the tiny figures backed up against the wall.

"Sure are, and they were running away, I think they were trying to steal your camera lens,"

Jim swung his torch along the back wall and quickly spotted the dark shape of his prized telephoto lens sitting snugly against one of the tent poles. Leaving Maria for a moment he walked over and picked it up, slipping it into the camera bag swinging from his shoulder. As he straightened up he caught a flash of something moving by the entrance.

"Hey, I think there's another one," moving quickly, Jim reached the tents opening just as Fitzhugh tried to run outside. "I don't think so little man, how about we join your friends,"

Crouching down, Jim made a grab for Fitzhugh, narrowly missing the corpulent man when Fitzhugh tripped and sprawled in the dust. Pinning Fitzhugh to the ground in the light of his torch, Jim scooped him up and held him in his hand while he returned to where Maria knelt, her own torch still held on the three fugitives.

"I've got him, look," said Jim, holding out his hand to show Maria the small figure covered in dust, cowering on his palm.

"Let's get these others into the camera bag, it should hold them till we get home,"

"Home ?...hey, I don't think that's such a good idea, what are we going to do with them there ?"

"Oh come on Jim....you know there's a reward for these aliens, we could be set for life, no more handouts from the university, no more scraping to Professor Willa for approval, we could start our own research foundation,"

"That's a tall order for just four Little People, are they really worth that much ?"

"Who cares, I've always wanted to see what they're like, so put that bag down and lets get them inside,"

Putting aside his misgivings, Jim put down the bag and opened the flap. Inside were various compartments and deep pockets, mostly empty as he hadn't wanted to cart the heavy camera's around as they searched. Shining his torch inside he picked one pocket and positioned his hand over the slot, letting Fitzhugh slide out of his hand and fall into the narrow space. Because it was so deep, there was no way that Fitzhugh would be able to climb out and the narrow pocket would protect him from getting thrown around too badly. While Jim took care of his captive, Maria was still gazing intently at the tiny figures at her feet.

All three had their faces covered and their backs to the giant, in a vain attempt to protect their eyes from the harsh glare of the torch. Mark had tried to squint into the light but the stab of the glare was too much and he turned around again. Despite being blinded he listened intently, trying to gain some advantage, albeit a slim one, to help them escape the Giants. Fitzhugh's captured had made their situation worse, but he still had hopes that Steve would find a way to maybe distract the Giants long enough to allow the others to escape. His ruminations on their predicament were rudely interrupted when a shriek and a rush of air told him that Valerie had been picked up by one of the Giants.

"Dan ?"

"Still here Mark, but Valerie was just taken....I can't see a damn thing,"

"I'm blind as well, I guess we don't get to escape this time,"

Before Dan could voice a reply both men were swept up into a Giant's hands, the absence of light the only relief as they both yelled in panic and fright. Just a suddenly they felt the air rush past them and felt the Giant's hand tip, their blindness making the whole experience especially terrifying as they left the Giant's hand and fell a short distance into a soft pouch.

"Aaagh my leg," Dan cried out, landing awkwardly at the bottom of the pocket. Mark struggled to right himself after landing upside down, using the material of the pocket to give him some leverage. He could hear someone sobbing a little way to his left and his outstretched hand contacted a warm body.

"Valerie, are you hurt ?" Mark asked anxiously.

"No...not really," said Valerie, her breath hitching as she tried to control her terror. "I'm just scared to death, and I still can't see,"

"I imagine we're in the camera bag, so it will be dark, you could try opening your eyes now, let them get used to the lack of light,"

"Mark ?"

"Yeah Val,"

"My eyes are open, and I still can't see.....I think I'm blind...for real."

Mark's sharply indrawn breath hissed in the sudden silence.

"Valerie....Dan, how are you coping ?"

"I twisted my leg, its not bad, just hurts like hell, and I think I can see you...its blurry but getting better,"

"Same here....just blink, give your eyes time to adjust," said Mark, tentatively.

Outside the box they could here the Giant's moving around, their footsteps a distant boom. Mark could now see both Dan and Valerie where they huddled at the bottom of the pocket. He had one giant sized headache but, like Dan, his eyes seemed to be returning to normal. As he looked around he saw that Valerie was sitting almost unnaturally still, her hands clenched where they rested on her arms held protectively across her chest. The floor of the pocket was like a gusset giving them a floor and a little space. Making his way closer to where Valerie sat, Mark noticed that her face didn't turn towards him, in fact her eyes remained fixed on the wall opposite her, never flickering when he waved a hand in front of her face. Sighing softly he sat down next to her and drew her into his arms.

"I'm blind aren't I ?" she whispered, her body rigid in his embrace.

"I don't know, it could just take a little longer for your eyes to adjust, don't give up,"

In the gloom of the pocket, Mark saw two tears slip down Valerie's white face, her blank stare hidden as she let her eyelids slowly close. Glancing back to Dan he exchanged a look of helplessness, neither of them able to voice their deep dismay at this latest disaster.

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

Outside the tent Steve had listened intently to the Giants as they captured his friends and made their plans. Something hit the ground beside him, kicking up spurts of dust and making him jump. At the same time Betty came running over from her hiding place.

"Steve...its starting to rain!"

"I can't leave them,"

"We can't stay here, Steve," said Betty, tugging on his arm and looking fearfully up at the dark trees that towered over them. "The water will start cascading off this tent and we're on the downward side of the slope, we'll be swept away if we don't find shelter and higher ground,"

" I CAN'T LEAVE," Steve shouted, his anger at their predicament overwhelming his usual curtesy and reserve. Betty fell back at his outburst, her face registering fear for an instant, before her resolve hardened and she once more tugged at Steve's arm.

"We can't help them if we drown, we need to get back to the Spindrift or find shelter, we can't get caught out in a rain storm,"

Jerking his arm out of her grasp, Steve paced a few steps away before turning around, his hands on his hips, head bent.

"I'm sorry Betty...I'm sorry,"

"Apology accepted, now can we move.....we know who the Giants are, at least we know what they do, and we know where...well roughly where the Giants come from, we'll be able to find them....and rescue the others,"

Another large drop of water fell between Steve and Betty, the gout of water flinging dust high into the air before returning with a splat to the ground and spreading out into a small puddle.

Betty glanced uneasily upwards, edging to where Steve stood.

"You're right...." said Steve,"we can't do any more here, lets go back to the ship and plan our next move...."

"It's going to be hard in the dark,"

"I know...but we don't have a choice, let get going...there's nothing more we can do here," taking Betty's hand, Steve struck out from the tent and entered the low growth just beyond the tent pegs. Pushing their way through they reached the base of a huge tree. Circling around the base they joined the dirt track and started the long walk back to the Spindrift. Behind them they saw brief flashes from the Giant's flashlights, like huge searchlights casting shadows and strange shapes from the foliage. Above them the rain stayed light, the drizzle forming the occasional droplet that splattered down on the two small figures trudging through the gloom. Steve hadn't let go of Betty's hand, his obvious preoccupation keeping Betty quiet as well. She knew that leaving their friends in the hand of the Giant's and walking away was quite possibly the hardest decision Steve had had to make since landing on the planet.

By the time they were half way back to the ship, Betty felt that she simply couldn't walk another step, the adrenalin having worn off some time ago, the combined effect of the early start to the day and extended trek were finally taking their toll. While climbing over some protruding tree roots Betty stumbled and fell, scraping her leg and hand, making her cry out. Steve turned but not quickly enough to stop her fall.

"Betty...you okay ?"

"NO....I'm tired, and sore and fed up and scared and....and,"

"Hey....hey...lets take a break...let me see that," Steve crouched down and took her hands into his, gently examining the scrapes. Finding her injuries more painful than serious, he helped her up and they limped over to a flat rock where Steve made her as comfortable as possible before sitting down next to her, his shoulders slumping with fatigue and worry.

After a few minutes Betty felt the sting leave her scrapes and she looked around at the man on the rock next to her.

"Do we have much further to go ?" she asked softly, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"About another twenty minutes or so," Steve replied, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing around their small clearing to get his bearings.

"Our luck seems to be holding," said Betty, tentatively putting her weight on one foot, pleased that she only had a small twinge of pain.

"Luck...some luck," replied Steve, his voice sharp.

"At least its stopped raining...and..and we're nearly home,"

"You have a strange perception of what constitutes good luck...." said Steve, finding himself smiling despite his better judgement.

"We'll find them Steve...we just need to keep that in mind,"

"Yeah....I just hope I'm able to justify your faith in my somewhat dented self-image,"

"You've never let me down yet," Betty replied, her voice soft in the darkness.

"Are you ready for the last stretch ?"

"Yeah...I'm not hurting anymore...just a bit bruised,"

"Good girl....come on." Steve held out his hand and Betty gratefully took it, his strong grip helping her overcome her own fears.

Together they headed out, both of them wanting nothing more than to see the Spindrift's welcoming camp around the next palm frond.

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

Inside the camera bag, Dan shifted his position to try and ease his leg. There wasn't enough room for him to completely straighten it without asking Valerie and Mark to move out of the way. Grunting softly he lifted his sore leg and rested it outstretched on the opposite wall, sliding down against the soft material of the wall and bracing himself with his arms.

"Is that a new form of yoga ?" asked Mark, his voice amused.

"Just stretching exercises to keep the muscles warm..." retorted Dan, "it was common practise before competing,"

"Looks uncomfortable,"

"It is....but it should stop this leg from stiffening up, I wrenched it pretty good when we landed in this hole,"

Mark and Dan fell silent again, their thoughts once more on their predicament.

"I wonder what happened to Fitzhugh ?" asked Dan, stretching out his uninjured leg as well.

"I suppose he's in another pocket....shame he wasn't put into this one, he has the radio," said Mark, "we could have contacted Steve and started formulating a plan of escape,"

"Maybe Fitzhugh will think of that himself and contact the Spindrift,"

A harsh bark of laughter from Mark sounded loud in the small space.

"Fitzhugh....think ?" he retorted," which rain shower did you just fall from ?"

"Yeah well....live in hopes," grumbled Dan.

The bag suddenly jerked into motion, swinging violently from side to side making both men brace themselves against the uneven movement. Mark used one arm to help Valerie keep her balance, but she remained unresponsive, her body still curled protectively against his side, her arms now around her knees, her face hidden behind the curtain of her hair. Mark was becoming seriously worried, Valerie's lack of awareness and lacklustre response to any questions started to make him uneasy.

"I wonder how long they'll keep us in this bag ?" asked Dan, not really expecting a answer.

"As long as it takes to get us to wherever they live. At least they left the lid open, we won't suffocate,"

"I wish they had....I'd rather suffocate.. than be blind," Mark had to strain to hear Valerie's words, whispered as they were, into his shirt.

"What....hey...it won't be permanent Valerie. Don't say that....we'll escape...maybe we'll be able to get someone to help us... help you." Mark found himself babbling, trying to find words to comfort the woman next to him. He realised he'd failed miserably when Valerie drew herself away from him and pushed herself further into the pockets corner.

"You'd be better leaving me with the Giants...I'll be too much of a liability at the ship..." Valerie continued, as if Mark hadn't spoken.

"Hey Val...we won't be leaving you with the Giants...we don't leave anyone behind, injured or not," said Dan vehemently. "I thought like that when the Giant's tried to track us using that inella metal detector, you remember. We got through that, we'll get through this too, don't give up,"

A bitter laugh escaped Valerie lips, her head jerking up, her sightless eyes glancing past the two men with her and coming to rest on a point somewhere over Mark's shoulder.

"Give up....to give up one has to have hope to start with," said Valerie, her hand coming up to touch her face, her fingers fluttering around her eyes. "It's difficult to run and hide when you can't see what's about to grab you....and I don't want to learn to cope...I don't think I can bear this..." she whispered so softly that both men had to strain to hear her.

Ignoring her defensive posture, Mark once more gathered Valerie into his arms and rocked her, her initial tense reaction quickly melting as she gave into her terror, tears sliding down her face as she sobbed on Marks shoulder.

"You won't be alone Val...we won't leave you...we'll deal with this...together...nothings changed...we'll get out of this and no way are we leaving you behind...understand me Val...I won't be leaving you,"

Dan put out a hand and squeezed Marks other shoulder, the two men exchanging a glance of complete agreement and support over Valerie head as she sobbed out her fears. Around them the camera bag continued to sway like a ship under sail, the occasional bump and jerk a reminder that they were being carried away to who knew what fate by two Giant's that seemed, according to their comments, to view the Little People as, at the least, curiosities and at the worst, a possible financial investment. Not exactly a comforting prospect for anyone.

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

19/10/2002

Title: Camera Shy
Chapter: Three
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG

....." what do you do with four Little People..."

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

Maria drove the truck back to their apartment, Jim cradling the camera bag on his lap as the vehicle jolted along, swaying around corners and eventually coming to a halt outside a tall, red-brick apartment block.

"Smooth ride Mair, wanna go back and get those two potholes you missed ?"

Shooting Jim a glare, Maria slammed her door shut and stalked around to the passenger side, yanking that door open and reaching for the bag.

"Next time, you can drive and I'll get to cuddle the aliens," she snarled, her hand closing over the bag's strap.

"Hey, it was your idea to bring these Little People home, don't take it out on me...what's with you ?"

Rubbing a hand over her face, Maria drew in a deep breath and let it out with a whoosh, a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

"You're right, I'm sorry, I've been a bundle of nerves...here, hand me the bag, I'll carry it inside...and I promise not to drop it...okay ?"

"No problem," said Jim, leaning forward and giving Maria a quick kiss on the cheek as she hoisted the bag, carrying it gently away from the truck.

Once inside she placed the bag on the kitchen counter and then went and rummaged in the hall cupboard, while Jim shucked his coat and dumped the torches back into a drawer. Jim waited for her to return before lifting the lid of the camera bag and peering inside. Beside him, Maria put what she'd found in the cupboard on the counter.

"I think this will hold them, until we decide what to do,"

"A birdcage ?"

"You have a better idea...they can't get out of it...and I have a small padlock for the door...its the best place to keep them."

"Yeah...but Maria...its not exactly...um...comfortable,"

"For heavens sake Jim...these are aliens, not real people...what's wrong with the cage ?"

"They looked like people to me...at least lets clean it out, its all dusty and yuck,"

"Oh all right...here, you do the honours, I'll check on our investments,"

Pulling a face, Jim picked up the cage and carried it over to the sink, knocking it with his hand to dislodge the dust and cobwebs. While he rattled around behind her, Maria peeked into the bag and pulled the lip of one of the pockets open. Inside she could see one of the Little People, the man Jim had caught, cowering at the bottom of the pocket, his head covered with his arms.

"Hey you...little man, don't be afraid,"

Inside the pocket Fitzhugh raised his head fractionally and glanced up fearfully at the woman looming above him.

"Go away....leave me alone," he moaned, flapping a hand to wave her away.

"Well I like that....hey how's that cage coming Jim...this ones eager to see his new accommodation,"

Fitzhugh just moaned again, ignoring Maria and returning to holding his arms over his head. Shrugging her shoulders, Maria turned her attention to the other pocket. Pulling open the slit she peered down at the three figures at the bottom.

"Have a nice ride ?" she asked, seeing the two men squint as they looked up at her.

"Not exactly a Rolls Royce," said the dark skinned man, shifting to find a more comfortable position.

"What's a Rolls Royce ?" asked Maria, perplexed.

"Not this bag, that's for sure...what are you going to do with us ?" asked the other man, still cradling the woman in his arms.

"Whatever I want....but right now, Jim is just getting your new home cleaned up,"

"We already have a home...so why don't you let us go?" said Mark, more in hope than expectation.

"But you've only just arrived...and I've never met a Little Person before, I want to know all about you,"

"What's to know," said Dan, "You're Giants, we're here by accident and we want to go home,"

Before Maria could reply, Jim came back with the newly cleaned cage having got the dust and cobwebs out and lined the bottom with a tea-towel.

"How's this....I think its ready for our visitors," he said, swinging the cage round for her inspection.

"Great, lets get them inside,"

While Jim opened the door, Maria reached inside the first pocket and wrapped her fingers around Fitzhugh, his yelp muffled as he was lifted high in the air and quickly manourvered through the cage door, falling only a little way to the material on the cage floor.

"Oooomph!!" he exclaimed, rolling to a halt while Maria withdrew her hand. Scrabbling to his feet, Fitzhugh swung his head around, taking in his new surroundings.

"A birdcage!!!" he yelped, indignantly. "I'm not a blasted canary, this is preposterous!"

"It's your new home, little man, so show a little gratitude...Jim cleaned it up real nice for you and your friends."

"Friends ?" asked Fitzhugh, quickly forgetting his outrage in the face of meeting whoever else had been captured.

Turning away, Maria looked into the camera bag again, this time waving Jim over to hold the pocket open while she extracted the others. Dan was first, gritting his teeth as Maria jolted his sore leg, his stoic attempt ruined when his bad leg collapsed under him as Maria dropped him to the floor of the cage. Dan's cry of pain brought Fitzhugh running over to help.

"Oh, Mr. Ericson, are you alright ?"

"Do I look alright Fitzhugh ?" said Dan through clenched teeth, his hands clutching his knee. "Give me a hand up, would you ?"

Using Fitzhugh as a prop Dan managed to get himself upright, hobbling over to the cage to hold onto the wire mesh. He watched as Maria tried to bring Mark and Valerie out of the bag, her efforts hampered by Valerie's refusal to let go of Mark. Eventually Maria just scooped them both up and dumped them through the cage door, the rough treatment separating them. Mark managed to tuck and roll, getting to his feet almost instantly, but Valerie, in a complete panic, landed heavily and knocked the wind out of herself. Mark reached her quickly where she lay on her side, gasping air back into her lungs.

"Breath Val..just breath, you'll be okay in a minute," said Mark, brushing her hair out of her face, his voice soft as he tried to calm the terrified woman.

"You okay Dan ?" asked Mark.

"Just peachy...had a bad landing, knocked my leg up some more,"

"What about you Fitzhugh...any injuries ?"

"Only to my pride, Mr.Wilson...otherwise I'm fine,"

As he helped Valerie to sit up, Mark looked around their new 'home'. Above them, the birdcage soared a good seventy Earth feet to the curved roof which had a metal ring for hanging on a hook. About twenty feet above his head swung a wooden perch attached by wires to the roof. Ten feet directly above, a piece of wooden dowelling stretched from one side to the other forming another perch. Against one of the walls were two plastic feeders, clipped to the inside of the wire, and a water trough, which fitted into a square hole in the wire for easy access to clean and fill.

"Cosy...how long are you planning on keeping us in this...birdcage ?" asked Mark, looking up at the two giants.

"Why...there a problem with the accommodations ?" asked Maria.

"That depends on how long before you hand us over to the SID."

"Maybe I won't hand you over at all...so what's your point ?"

"We need some basic facilities here...we may be small but we have the same bodily functions that you do...and I don't see anything here that we can use." stated Mark bluntly. He saw the man flush in embarrassment, shooting his girlfriend a worried look.

"I'll organise something....and something for you to sleep on. Anything else...a phone, four poster bed, spaceship ?" asked Maria sarcastically.

"Well if your asking...?" started Mark, only to stop when he saw Maria's face pull into a frown. "Forget it, some food would be nice and something to drink,"

"Jim...sort that out for our guests..I have to get stuff organised for tomorrow, plus we missed out on our meal, I'm going to order take-out,"

"Sure, no problem...leave them with me, I'll take care of them..I had a pet once," said Jim, his face split with a huge grin.

"Sheesh...just don't get talked into letting them go,"

Giving a last look to the tiny figures in the cage, Maria swung around and went in search of the phone book and her wallet. Jim also left the cage, rummaging in one of the kitchen cupboards for something to feed the Little People with.

"Fitzhugh," whispered Dan, "did you keep your radio ?"

"Yes...its here," said Fitzhugh, producing the radio from his trouser pocket.

"Keep your voice down...hide it....we'll try and contact Steve later, when the Giant's are asleep,"

Mark had helped Valerie find a comfortable spot against the wall of the cage, her breathing back to normal.

"I have to go talk to Dan, I'll only be gone a minute," he told her, making a move to stand up. Before he was able to pull away, Valerie gripped his hand, her staring eyes panic filled.

"Mark...please," she whispered, her body tense with anxiety.

"You're safe here, I won't let anything happen. Fitzhugh, come over here," he called, not relinquishing Valerie hand. "Fitz, stay here with Valerie while I talk to Dan," prising Valerie's fingers loose, he placed her hand on Fitzhugh arm as the older man sat down crosslegged next to her. "Don't leave her for a second Fitzhugh...understand ?"

"Of course," said Fitzhugh, patting Valerie's hand, "I'm right here my dear,"

Making his way over to where Dan leaned against the wire, Mark cast a glance at Jim working his way through the cupboards, his back to the cage.

"Fitzhugh still has his radio..we can contact the Spindrift once the Giants go to sleep,"

"Good...how's the leg...really ?"

"Hurts like hell...she wasn't exactly gentle when she dropped me, but I can walk, if necessary. How's Valerie, is she really blind ?"

"I don't know...I'm not an ophthalmologist...it could just be a temporary condition...or...worst case...it could be permanent."

"So we just wait...see if her sight comes back ?" asked Dan incredulously.

"That's right...unless you have any other ideas ?"

Shaking his head, Dan looked away. Jim had finished fussing in the kitchen and was approaching the cage, a small dish in his hand.

"This should take care of the food, but I've only water for you to drink...that okay ?" asked Jim, his eagerness to please almost comical in the circumstances. Without waiting for a reply, he unlocked the cage door and reached inside for the food troughs. Fitzhugh started to scuttle away from the Giant's hand only to be brought up short by Valerie's grip on his sleeve.

"What's wrong...what's happening ?" asked Valerie, Fitzhugh's panic transmitting itself to her.

Getting himself under control, Fitzhugh eased back next to her and patted her hand.

"It's nothing, just one of the Giant's giving us some provisions," he told her, trying to keep his own fear out of his voice. Taking his reassurance at face value, Valerie relaxed again, her blank eyes blinking slowly in her white face.

"I've ordered the food, how are our guests doing ?" asked Maria, coming over to peer at the Little People.

"Just done the food. Did you bring that padlock ?"

"Right here....see, perfect," she said, clicking the tiny combination padlock into place, securing the cage door.

After watching Jim fill the water container, she stood back to watch the Little People. Noticing that Valerie hadn't really moved since entering the cage, she looked closer and finally noticed that Valerie's eyes didn't focus on Maria when she moved.

"What's wrong with your girlfriend ?" she asked, pointing at Valerie while looking at Mark and Dan.

"She's been blinded by your torchlight," Mark told her, his glance resting on Valerie's face.

"Hey, don't blame me....you were trying to steal that lens," said Maria, embarrassed into feeling guilty for injuring the girl.

"Is it permanent....could a doctor help her ?" asked Jim, concern evident in his voice.

"We don't know, do you have specialist eye doctors ?" asked Mark, hope leaping at the possibility.

"Sure..." said Jim but he was cut off before he could explain.

"Too bad...no doctors...unless the SID decide to help, you'll just have to do without," said Maria, her face hardening, all sympathy wiped away.

Without waiting for a reaction, Maria once more turned away and made her way to the living room, flopping down onto the couch, her back to the cage. Casting a glance at the Little People, Jim quickly followed, wanting to argue the point with Maria. Before he could start a knock at the door announced the arrival of their meal. After paying off the delivery boy, Jim dumped the bags on the table and once more headed into the kitchen, this time for plates and cutlery.

Mark and Dan watched as the Giants sat down at the table and started on their meal.

"That woman sure has a mean streak," said Dan, sitting down with his back to the Giants. Still standing, Mark glanced down at the co-pilot.

"I'd have to agree with you Dan, we'd have a better chance with the man, he at least thinks of us a pets,"

"Pets!" said Dan in disgust. "Did you see what he put in those feed bins ?"

"Not really...I suppose we should check...you stay here, I'll see what we've got and bring you something," said Mark, pushing away from the wire and making his way over to the far wall. Peering into the bins he pulled out several chunks of fruit. Carrying them back he handed some to Dan before making his way to where Fitzhugh and Valerie sat. Crouching down he gave a piece to Fitzhugh after taking Valerie's hand into his own. Settling himself next to her, he handed Valerie a smaller piece, wrapping her fingers around the sticky morsel.

"It's fruit Val, try it,"

"I'm not really hungry Mark," said Valerie, starting to hand the fruit back.

"You need to eat, we all do, if a chance to escape arises, we need to be ready to move," Mark argued, pushing the chunk back into her reluctant hands, "so eat."

Nodding her head in agreement, Valerie tentatively lifted the food to her mouth, taking a cautious nibble. At the taste, a wan smile curved her lips and Mark sighed in relief.

Both Giants and Little People spent the next half an hour eating. Eventually Jim gathered up his and Maria's plates and dumped them into the kitchen sink. Pausing briefly to check on their captives, the two Giants finally decided to call it a night, switching off all the lights except one standard lamp near the couch. Jim returned briefly to the kitchen, unlocking the bird cage door and pushing through several squares of woollen material.

"I thought you could us these for blankets...it can get cold out here,"

"Are you handing us over to the SID in the morning ?" asked Mark.

"I...I don't know...Maria hasn't told me what's happening tomorrow, I know we have to present our photograph portfolio at the end of the week so I imagine we'll be pretty busy getting that together,"

"Could we have something to use for our.....needs ?" asked Mark, pressing his tenuous advantage. He watched as Jim searched the drawers under the counter, eventually producing a metal thimble and a plastic bottle cap.

"I don't know what else I can find...this will have to do for now,"

"We'll manage...."

"Jim....lock that cage and get in here," called Maria, her voice sharp. Giving Mark an apologetic glance, Jim shut the wire door, taking great care to close the padlock tightly.

"Goodnight," Jim whispered before heading off across the darkened room, shutting the bedroom door behind him.

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

23/10/2002

Title:Camera Shy
Chapter: Four
Author: squeezynz
Rating: PG

.....the wanderer's return, and the captives settle in....

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

Betty had never been so glad to see the lights of the Spindrift before in her life. Steve had his arm wrapped around her waist while holding onto her other hand across his shoulders. Betty's accident had bruised as well as scraped her leg and after only a short walk she had been limping badly, trying valiantly to suppress her whimper's. Steve had chastised her for not telling him and insisted on helping her by bearing some of her weight. It had substantially slowed them down but eventually even Betty started to recognise some of the land marks and before much further they saw the yellow light of the cockpit shining through the dense leaves. Barry, staring anxiously out of the window, say Steve and Betty and came bounding out, Chipper at his heels.

"Captain...what happened, where are the others ?"

"It'll have to wait until we're inside," Steve grunted, shifting Betty's balance to manoeuvrer them both up the short flight of steps and through the hatchway. Once inside he sidled them both into the passenger compartment, gently lowering Betty into one of the softly cushioned seats.

"Oh god, I'm so glad to sit down," sighed Betty, closing her eyes and dropping her blonde head back, onto the padded headrest. Beside her, Steve collapsed into another seat, panting lightly.

"I second that...Barry, have you had any radio contact with Mark or Dan ?"

"No Captain, not a word since he left,"

"Damn.....Barry, has there been any giant activity...any visitors ?"

"No giants....just a couple of rabbits and they only passed by, didn't stop or anything,"

"That's good...god I'm tired..." said Steve, dragging his hand in a dry wash over his face, " and dirty...,"

"What I'd give for a bath right now," sighed Betty, her eyes still closed. Levering himself upright, Steve glanced over at her, grimacing as he realised that the night, for them, was only just starting.

"I'll get the medical chest, we need to dress that leg...Barry can you get the water bucket, we need to get washed up before we can do anything,"

"No problem, its just outside,"

Steve watched tiredly as Barry turned and sprinted out of the ship, Chipper following closely. He'd been in two minds about leaving the boy on his own, but Barry had shown an above average degree of responsibility, far beyond his tender years, which mollified Steve's anxiety at leaving the boy to cope single handed. Pushing himself to his feet he walked back to the service bay and found the first aid box. Opening it, he surveyed the sadly depleted contents. The suppliers of the box only expected to have to cope with a minor injury of medical crisis, certainly not a crash landing on an alien planet with the possibility of months, maybe years between restocking. Sighing to himself, he returned and crouched down in front of Betty, the near empty box by his feet on the floor.

"Not much here that's going to do any good," he muttered, eyeing the few items left.

"There should be some antiseptic cream, not much but enough for this, and I recently washed the crepe bandage so it should be okay," said Betty, eyeing Steve's bent head as he rummaged in the first aid chest. Barry came through the door at that moment, the bucket in his hands. Placing it beside Steve, Barry handed him a clean cloth, smiling when Steve looked up in surprise.

"Thought you might need this," said Barry, standing away to keep Chipper back.

"Thank you Barry....good thinking,"

Steve cleaned up Betty's leg after taking off her boot. Her knee was swollen and scraped, as well as a long scratch running almost the entire length of her thigh. Once he had cleaned and dressed the scrape he soaked the bandage to make a cold compress for the swollen joint.

"Thanks Steve, that feels so much better," sighed Betty, shifting slightly to inspect Steve's handiwork. Packing up the box, Steve stood up and handed it to Barry to return to the alcove.

"I'm going outside to wash up and get changed, I suggest you do the same. Then we need to talk about what's happened and what we can do,"

"Steve....do you really think we can rescue them ?" asked Betty, her face pale under the layer of dust.

For a moment Steve almost felt angry that she'd doubted him, doubted that they would get their friends back, but then he looked at their situation through her eyes. One man, one boy and an injured woman, not exactly the best odds when faced with trying to launch a rescue mission. Biting back his frustration, Steve faced Betty and locked eyes with her.

"We may not be in the best shape, but we know where they work and who with, a phone book and a call will give us the information we need. The rest will fall into place," he told her, trying to inject as much optimism into his voice as possible given his level of fatigue. " We'll find them Betty...we just need a little luck on our side."

Turning to face the boy and his dog, Steve placed a hand on Barry's shoulder.

"Barry, I need you to monitor the local radio frequencies, especially the SID channel, for any warning that the others have been handed into Inspector Kobick...I'll set the radio.."

"You don't have to do that Captain, Dan showed me what to do last month, I know the frequencies and which channel to listen to," interrupted Barry, jumping up in excitement. Smiling broadly Steve clapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Then go to it Barry, let me or Betty know if you hear anything,"

"Aye aye Captain," and then he was gone, dashing into the cockpit and immediately starting to flip switches, much to Steve's amusement.

"What are we going to do about monitoring the radio all night Steve ?" asked Betty, her eye's focused intently on his. "There's only three of us, and Barry is a boy, he'd not going to be able to stay awake much longer, and I'm having a hard job keeping my eyes open as well."

"We'll have to work in shifts...I can't afford to miss out if Mark manages to use the radio. You rest now and I'll wake you in three hours, Barry can take the last shift, then sleep in while we make our plans,"

"Steve...if we push ourselves too hard we'll make mistakes, what about meals, what about...." she stopped abruptly as Steve chopped the air with his hand in a violent gesture.

"BETTY!" Snapped Steve, glaring at the pretty blonde. Steve got himself under control and tried again, less forcefully. "Betty...I don't have all the answers, lets just get through this night and we'll try and sort it out tomorrow." Seeing her startled expression, Steve let go a huff of air and grinned ruefully. "I guess its been a long day for all of us, I'm sorry Betty, I'm just worried."

"I'm worried too...we'll find them, I know we will." Said Betty, leaning her head back and closing her eyes again.

Turning to leave, Steve walked to the cockpit doorway and looked inside, receiving a broad grin from Barry who was listening intently, using Dan's headphones. Waving to the boy, Steve turned away and started to head out of the ship. Pausing at the top step he stretched out his tired muscles. Surveying the empty camp he started down the steps, muttering quietly to himself.

"Yeah....we have to find them....all our lives depend on it."

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

Mark waited a good hour before attempting to use the radio. Neither of the giants had left the bedroom after Jim had shut the door, and Mark was hoping it would stay that way. In the meantime, Fitzhugh had helped him spread out the squares of fabric to make beds, as well as using one to act as a screen across one of the corners. Once the bedding was sorted and everyone comfortable, Mark and Dan exchanged notes on what had transpired, piecing together their observations during their ride to the apartment, trying to gauge how far they'd travelled and any clues as to their location. Their store of knowledge was depressingly small, only the length of the journey in minutes any clue to the general area. Mark looked around at his companions. Fitzhugh had made fair inroads into the food and water before declaring himself exhausted and curling up against one of the walls, the bedding clutched to his chest. Now his gentle snores were occasionally punctuated with grunts as Fitzhugh relived some dream or nightmare. Dan was laid out on the other side of Valerie, his eyes closed, but Mark was pretty certain the co-pilot wasn't asleep as Dan shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a stressfree angle for his sore leg. Valerie lay on her side facing him, her head pillowed by her bent arm, legs drawn up defensively. Her other arm was stretched out towards him, her fingers curled. He knew she was finally asleep as her fingers had previously been clutching his shirt. Now they lay oddly vulnerable, resting an inch or two from his body. Valerie's condition was causing Mark some serious concern, her obviously fragile emotional state was something he simply didn't know how to help. If her blindness was permanent they would all have to learn to adapt, but Valerie's would be the hardest road.

Inching away, so as not to disturb her, Mark got to his feet and stood up, behind him he heard Dan clearing his throat and a quick glance told him that Dan was very much awake. Nodding in acknowledgment, Mark padded over to where Fitzhugh lolled.

"Fitzhugh," hissed Mark, shaking the mans shoulder to wake him up.

"Wha...whatcha want, only just got to sleep ?" slurred Fitzhugh, his eyes peering blearily into the gloom.

"The radio...hand it over,"

"Oh...sure..sure...take it,"

Taking the small black box from his hand, Mark made his way back to where Dan waited, sitting down once more before extending the aerial and turning the radio on.

"Mark to Spindrift...come in please...Mark to Sprindrift, can you hear me ?" he whispered, keeping half an eye on the room outside their prison.

Keeping the volume down he held the speaker to his ear to catch any reply but only heard static. Pulling the aerial to its fullest, he tried again.

"Mark to Spindrift...can you hear me Barry....Steve...anybody ?"

The walky-talky only played back the hiss and pop of static.

"Try one more time, Mark, he may just not be back at the ship yet,"

"Yeah...but Barry should be there monitoring the radio. We could just be too far for the signal to reach,"

Adjusting the broadcast channel slightly, Mark tried again, but received the same response, nothing.

Sighing in frustration, Mark collapsed the aerial and turned off the switch. After staring at the inoffensive black box for several minutes he finally handed it to Dan.

"Hide this...we'll try again towards morning,"

"Unless you've got a battery hidden about your person, this isn't going to last too many more attempts," said Dan, tucking the radio inside his jacket.

"I did have a spare battery....in my backpack,"

"Where's that ?"

"Somewhere in that tent still...unless the giants picked it up, which I doubt."

"Then we just have to hope that Steve manages to figure out where we are...before that woman decides to cash us in."

"Maybe we can get her partner to help, he seems sympathetic,"

"And totally whipped...I don't see him coming off the winner in an argument with her anytime soon," snorted Dan, " and I don't see him sticking his neck out for us."

"Then its up to us to rescue ourselves...nothing new about that,"

"Any idea's ?"

"Some....I want to inspect that water dish...it appears to go right through the mesh, if we can fit through, we could escape."

"Sorta like swimming through a u-bend ?"

"Exactly...just depends on the size of the gap on the other side."

"Better be a good sized gap if you want to get Fitzhugh through," said Dan, smiling broadly, his teeth gleaming in the low light.

"Yeah well...Fitzhugh's the least of my problems."

"Valerie ?" asked Dan, casting a look at the woman sleeping beside them.

"Yeah....Valerie."

Without warning the bedroom door was flung open and light spilled into the room, a figure silhouetted against the doorway. Mark and Dan quickly lay down either side of Valerie and pretended to be asleep, their ears straining to hear anything useful to their plight.

"Jim...I don't want to discuss this anymore tonight, now you keep watch on our captives, the sofa's quite comfortable...now scoot," they heard Maria order her partner, before shutting the bedroom door once more. Grumbling to himself, Jim wandered over to the cage and peered at the sleeping figures inside.

"I wonder if you Little People have the same problems with women as we do," he mused, his fingers poking through the mesh as if reaching to touch the motionless forms on the floor of the cage.

Heaving a deep sigh, Jim padded over to the sofa directly behind the bench and started to make up his bed, eventually flopping down and flinging an arm across his face to blot out the faint light from the standard lamp still burning in the corner.

Raising his head, Mark quickly got to his feet and approached the cage wall to see how close Jim really was. Finding the giant almost directly below him, Mark took care not to be seen and returned to where Dan lay propped on his elbow.

"We're going to have to be extra quiet if we don't want to wake him," Mark whispered, rubbing a hand across his chin, feeling the faint rasp of bristles against his fingers.

"I say give him a couple of hours then we'll make an attempt," suggested Dan, laying down once more and shutting his eyes.

"Get some rest, I'll wake you when its time,"

"You need to rest too Mark, you're the only able bodied man we have,"

"Cute Dan...I'm too wired to sleep...don't argue, I'll wake you in a couple of hours, I'm not remotely tired."

"Sure...and I'm Superman," grunted Dan, turning onto his side and pulling the edge of the blanket over his legs.

Smiling in the dark, Mark kept watch over his companions, his mind turning over their limited options until fatigue closed his eyes, his chin coming to rest on his chest as his breathing deepened.

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

28/10/2002

Title: Camera Shy
Chapter: Five
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG

........expect the unexpected........

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

"I still don't see how you're going to get Fitzhugh through, even supposing there's enough space on the other side,"

Dan held out his hand for another item of clothing as Mark proceeded to strip down to his shorts. Both men were standing beside the plastic wall of the water trough, the faint light of the standard lamp casting long shadows across the cage floor. The trough stood about eight feet high, full to the brim with water, one end pushed through a square gap in the mesh.

"At this stage I'm just interested in seeing if that gap is enough for one of us to climb out, here, take my shirt,"

"It can't be that far from dawn, you sure you want to try this ?" asked Dan, glancing back towards the darkened room beyond the cage mesh.

"Well if I hadn't fallen asleep...and if you had woken earlier...never mind, who knows what they have planned for us, its now or never,"

"Okay Mark...but you might tell me the rest of your plan..I get the feeling you haven't told me the whole."

"Yeah...well once I get to the outside, I'll make my way around to that wall," explained Mark, pointing to the wire wall opposite the main cage opening, "then climb up to that second opening up there,"

"Second opening ?" queried Dan, craning his neck to see where Mark was pointing, "you gotta be joking, that's fifty feet up...are you mad ?"

"No...just desperate, you're right Dan, there's no way Fitzhugh or Valerie could make this swim, but they could still climb,"

"You're asking a lot of them....but we're wasting time arguing..get going...good luck,"

"See you on the other side,"

Putting down Mark's clothes, Dan cupped his hands and gave Mark a boost up so he could reach the lip of the trough. Mark's shoulder and arms strained and flexed as he heaved himself over the edge, only a faint splash audible as his body disappeared from sight. Gathering up the discarded clothes, Dan limped his way over to the wire mesh next to opening to await Mark's appearance at the other end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Betty listened to the pop and crackle of the radio, her thoughts on their missing friends. Steve had woken her about an hour earlier, his face drawn and grey with fatigue. He had let her sleep longer than originally planned and she was angry that he'd let her rest for so long. Her knee was feeling better and the scrape no longer stung, but her heart ached with the enormity of what they were going to have to do to attempt a rescue of their ship-mates. Picking up her cup, she took another sip of the bitter brew they used as a substitute for coffee. Their supplies had run out quickly and alternatives had been found for most of their needs, but coffee had remained an elusive luxury until Dan had found the small, nut bearing bush, growing in a steep ravine a mile or so from the ship. When crushed and dried the resulting powder made a reasonable facsimile of coffee and quickly become the drink of choice. Putting down her cup, Betty once more lifted the headphone and held it to her ear. The local radio station was just coming online and she listened intently to the news broadcast, sighing heavily in relief when no mention was made of either Little People or Photographers. Putting down the headphones, Betty got up and switched over to the broadband to listen once more for any transmission from Mark or the others. Outside the ship the forest was starting to lighten, heralding the start of another day, a sound from the passenger cabin drew Betty to investigate. Limping to the doorway she peered into the darkened room, seeing Chipper sitting wide awake beside a sleeping Barry.

"Chipper...come here boy," called Betty, keeping her voice pitched low.

The little dog trotted over willingly, his tail wagging.

"You wanna go out ?"

In answer, Chipper brushed past Betty's legs and stood near the outer hatch, looking back imploringly.

"Okay, I get the idea,"

Thumbing the button, the door slid smoothly open and Chipper launched himself down the steps into the pre-dawn chill. Rubbing her arms as goosebumps chased up and down her skin, Betty waited for the dog to return. After five minutes, she started to call softly, hoping that Chipper hadn't decided to go exploring. Seeing no sign of the little dog, Betty stepped through the hatch and shut the door behind her.

"Chipper...come on boy, its cold out here, time for breakfast," she called hopefully, whistling as well. Stepping gingerly down the steps Betty walked a little way away from the ship, her eyes trying to pierce the deep shadows.

"Come on Chipper...good dog, please,"

A noise made her swing around, her mouth dropping open in an moue of astonishment.

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

The water felt icy and Mark gasped as it closed over his head. Kicking upwards, he broke the surface and trod water while he surveyed the swim ahead. The plastic water box was about ten feet wide and eight feet deep at his end, stretching away into the dark, the water surface roiling like oil in the dim light. A square of mesh was bent inwards and covered about a third of the surface, just above the water. He'd have to swim under that to reach the other side. Taking a deep breath Mark dove down and kicked strongly, rolling over half way, he reached up and felt the mesh above his head. Using this as a guide he kicked again and kept one hand outstretched to feel for the end of the trough. Reaching the end he tried to surface, his head coming in contact with another piece of mesh. His lungs screaming for air, Mark pushed at the mesh, feeling it give slightly. His muscles bunching with the effort, he pushed again and felt the mesh give enough for him to clear the surface, his mouth open to draw in a welcome lung-full of cold air. Hooking his fingers around the mesh he pulled himself over to the edge and called out softly.

"Dan...are you there ?"

"How's it looking Mark ?"

"Run into a problem, there's mesh covering this end of the trough, blocking the way out,"

"Can you move it ?"

"I'm going to try, its shifted slightly before, so I'm gonna try and bend it back," Mark replied.

"Okay...careful Mark, its getting lighter outside,"

Bracing his bare feet against the corner walls of the plastic box, Mark pushed upwards against the mesh, feeling it start to give. After a few minutes he'd managed to get the metal to bend backwards but a loss of traction caused him to slip under the water, only to surface again a second later spluttering. With one arm now able to be hooked over the edge of the plastic, Mark used his other arm to push upwards. The mesh finally bent far enough to leave a gap a triangular body width in size. Ducking under the water once more, Mark kicked strongly and propelled himself out of the water through the small gap, the metal scraping painfully across his shoulders as he pulled himself out of the trough, falling over the edge, his wet hands slipping on the rounded plastic. He hit the table top with a wet thump, the wind knocked out of him for a long moment as he lay there, staring up at the outside of the cage.

" Mark...Mark...are you okay ?" Dan's worried voice broke through the dull thumping of his head while his breath rasped in his chest.

"Fine...fine...give me a minute," Mark wheezed, rolling onto his side and getting onto his hands and knees. Pushing his wet hair out of his face, he straightened up and walked slowly over, one arm clutching his sore ribs, to where Dan stood on the other side of the wire mesh, his dark face creased with concern.

"That looked painful," Dan stated ruefully.

"I wouldn't.....recommend it....just winded...no real damage,"

"Are you going to be able to climb ?"

"No choice...can't go back.....that way...." Mark's chopped comments telling Dan that Mark's injury was anything but slight.

"Do you want your clothes ?"

"No...I'm better off.......without them....easier to climb...once I get ......my breath back."

"Okay buddy...but I still think you're mad,"

"Should have told me........before I started.....this stunt," grinned Mark, leaning against the wire.

"I did,"

"Get back and keep......Valerie company....I don't want her waking up alone,"

"Okay, but you take is easy Mark...we need you in one piece,"

"Didn't know you cared....see you on the inside,"

With a brief wave Mark padded off around the outside of the cage, his bare feet soundless against the table top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Steve groaned and turned over, his shoulder coming up against the arm of the flight chair. As he lay there drifting back to sleep a scream split the air and jolted him out of his doze.

"Betty ?" he slurred, his body reacting to the sound by catapulting him out of the chair, even as his brain struggled to catch up.

Stumbling to the doorway he noticed Barry struggling out of his blankets.

"Barry, stay here until I know what's going on,"

Rubbing his eyes, Barry stared at his Captain as another scream propelled Steve out of the cabin and towards the outer hatch.

Thumbing the door, Steve tensed himself, ready to launch himself out of the door. As the door opened he immediately spotted Betty standing a little way from the ship, her mouth open, her face upturned, staring at whatever had made her scream.

"Betty...," he called, the sound of his voice making her head snap down, her wide blue eyes now staring into his.

He saw her mouth open and shut as if trying to get out words, but instead finding herself strangled with fear. Making his way down the steps, his body twisting to look back in the direction Betty had been staring, Steve tried to make himself move slowly to attract less attention. Backing towards where Betty seemed rooted to the spot, he finally saw what had frightened her.

Suspended on a fine thread, its legs barely touching the roof of the ship, hung the biggest spider Steve had seen. Its body appeared to be turning slowly around as it spun more thread from its abdomen, lowering it closer to the ship with each second. He could see the glitter of its eight eyes as the body swung to face him, the fat abdomen still exuding sticky silk. Finally Steve's slow, backwards steps brought him to where Betty stood frozen, her hands clutched to her mouth. Running his hand up her arm, he pulled one of her hands down and clasped it in his own.

"We have to get back into the ship," he hissed, never taking his eyes off the spider. Betty only managed a weak nod in response, her body trembling as she drew herself closer to Steve's side.

As he watched, the spider started to turn away in a final revolution before completely landing on the ship. Taking this as their only opportunity, Steve jerked hard on Betty's arm and started to run back to the ship. Two strides and they cleared the steps, Steve pulling Betty through the hatchway, his hand slapping the switch to close the door before they both fell together on the hard floor. Looking up Steve saw Barry's scared face around the jam of the passenger cabin, his eyes turned upwards at scratching noises coming from the ceiling.

Disentangling himself from Betty, Steve got to his feet, giving the distraught woman a hand up.

"You okay ?"

"No....but I will be, just give me a minute...its not everyday you see something like that,"

"I wish we hadn't seen it this day," said Steve under his breath.

"Ma-am....was Chipper with you ?"

"Oh Barry....I'm sorry....Chipper will be fine, he'll be hiding somewhere, that's why I was out there...looking for him,"

Seeing the boys face crumple in distress, Betty gathered him into her arms and hugged him, drawing him back into the passenger cabin as Steve entered the cockpit and slammed the front screen shields shut, just as a pair of black hairy legs could be seen tapping their way down the front of the ship.

Making his way back to the cabin, Steve found two pairs of frightened eyes staring back at him, mirroring his own fear.

"What are we going to do ?" asked Betty, her eyes darting to the ceiling as more sounds indicated the spider's movement across the hull.

"For the moment...we do nothing..it could decide to move on,"

"What if it doesn't ?"

"Then I'll have to think of something to make it move on...in the meantime.....in the meantime.." Steve voice trailed off as he felt despair take over. It was all becoming too overwhelming.

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

The climb had tired him more than he'd expected, Mark's chest heaving as he paused just below the second opening to the cage. Gathering his strength he pushed himself up and grasped the simple wooden pin holding the gate shut. Pulling it free, Mark managed to pull the wire gate open and keep it open long enough to get one arm through. Looking down he could see Dan's worried face, far below, beside him Valerie was also awake, her sightless gaze turned in his general direction. From his perch he could see daylight creeping through the curtained window, his time running out. Pushing the door wider, he got one leg over the wire edge, then both, letting the now unsecured mesh close behind him. At this height the cage was starting to curve inwards and he had to hold on tightly to avoid letting his body weight pull his feet away from their grip on the mesh. As quickly as possible he scaled the remaining distance back to the floor of the cage, his muscles protesting in both arms and legs, sweat pouring off him with the strain. He dropped the last few feet landing awkwardly, his legs giving out tiredly. Dan quickly ran over and draped Mark's dry shirt over his trembling shoulders, reaction from the mammoth effort taking its toll.

"Man, that was some climb...you okay Mark ?"

"Just tie me up next time I come up with some stupid idea,"

"Not if it gets us out of here,"

"Yeah..well I don't see anyone but you and me successfully completing that climb," said Mark, "it took everything I had."

"We'll figure something out," Dan consoled his exhausted shipmate, patting him on the shoulder. Behind the two men, Valerie had risen and now made her way, guided by their voices, along the wall of the cage. Over one of her arms she carried Mark's remaining dry clothes, her fingers clutching his shoes.

"Trust me to lose my sight the one day you get your clothes off,"

"Valerie....hey, how are you feeling ?" asked Mark, surprised and touched that she'd made the huge effort. Getting to his feet, he took the proffered clothes and drew his trouser on over his still trembling legs.

"Coping...I guess its just another obstacle to overcome," said Valerie bravely, a small, tight smile curving her lips. Mark could only marvel at her strength of spirit, her acceptance of the unthinkable. Pulling on his shoes he exchanged a glance with Dan, seeing the same admiration on his face. Reaching for her hand, he drew her into his side.

"Walk back with me and I'll tell you what I've been doing, is Fitzhugh still sleeping ?" Mark asked, taking in the increased light as the morning dawned outside the giants apartment.

"Going by the strength of his snores, I'd say Fitzhugh is set for the next twelve hours," said Valerie, gripping Marks hand as her toe caught in the uneven floor. After bringing Valerie up to speed with the last few hours, Mark helped her get settled again.

"I wonder if Barry will let me train Chipper to be my seeing-eye-dog," joked Valerie, uncomfortable with the silence from her two companions.

Still holding her hand, Mark squeezed gently, before asking her his next question.

"Can you make out any changes in light or dark, anything at all?"

Turning her face to his, Mark could see her blue eyes stare blankly back at him, their usual sparkle dimmed.

"I won't lie and admit to being able to see again.....but I think..." here Valerie paused and swallowed nervously, "I think I might be able to see something...not much...just very blurry shapes...not much."

Suppressing his desire to yell with relief, Mark restricted himself to running a gentle finger down Valerie's cheek, tracing the path of a lone tear that spilled over her lashes. Looking past Valerie's shoulder, Mark gave Dan a blinding smile of hope, which Dan gave back in full measure.

"That's great Val...don't worry, I'm sure it will all come back..we just have to give it time."

On the couch below and behind the cage, the giant, Jim, stirred, turning over in his sleep, a loud snort escaping as he found a new spot to settle into. In the cage the three friends settled back down to catch what rest they could before they had to face whatever fate the female giant had planned for them.

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

3/11/2002

Title: Camera Shy
Chapter: Six
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG

.......what do you do with a great big spider??.......

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

"Uh Steve...I think you need to see this,"

Rummaging in the utility room, Steve popped his head up at Betty's hesitant statement, his hand closing around the few remaining flares from the emergency crash kit.

"What is it Betty, I'm kinda busy here,"

As he waited for her reply, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and turning, saw Betty backing out of the cockpit, her attention fixed on the view outside the ship. Coming up against the bulkhead, the pretty blonde turned her head to lock eyes with Steve where he crouched beside the emergency locker.

"It's...its..."finding her throat locked, Betty swallowed hard and decided to point instead.

Getting to his feet Steve ducked out of the small utility room and approached where Betty stood plastered against the metal wall, her eyes once more glued to whatever was outside the viewport. Giving the girl an exasperated look, Steve turned his attention to whatever had her attention. Despite his best efforts a loud gasp of shock escaped his lips.

Initially Steve had closed the blast-shields to protect the ship, but after an hour of listening to the scabbling on the roof, he'd decided that he'd rather see what was happening outside than let his imagination provide an answer. Now he wished he's stuck with the original plan. The view of the shrubs and trees around the ship was now obscured with a thick screen of fine, silken filaments.

"What the hell!!"

Dropping the flares, Steve approached the exterior hatch, his intent wrenching a cry of alarm from Betty who reached out to stop him.

"You can't..Steve STOP!"

Ignoring her, Steve hit the hatch button and watched as the door slid open smoothly. As gasp behind him from Betty echoed his own as they stared at the thick mat of white threads now blocking the entrance to the ship. Hitting the button quickly, the door slid shut and left Steve and Betty staring at the hatchway in shock.

"It's making a cocoon...why...it can't eat the ship...why cover it in a web ?" asked Betty, bewilderment raising her voice another octave.

"I don't know...maybe that's the way it catches its prey..whatever the reason, we need to think of a way to get it to find another site,"

"Can't we use the electrical system, like Mark did with that badger ?"

"We running on the solar batteries, that filament wire that you and Fitzhugh were bringing back was supposed to help repair the system, Mark's disconnected most of the electrical systems to overhaul it, its useless....Mark expected to fix it in a couple of days,"

"Why not use the battery power ?"

"We need that in reserve, if we run it down there'll be no way to get the reactor to fire up, and no reactor, no chance of ever getting this bird to fly,"

"Then why not just recharge the batteries ?" asked Betty.

"That was one of the systems Mark was overhauling...its inoperative,"

"Oh....then what can we do ?"

Bending down to pick up the fallen flares, Steve held one up and handed another one to Betty.

"We use man's most primitive weapon,"

"Fire ?"

"If that spider has covered the ship, then it could work in our favour," said Steve, picking up the remaining flares and brushing past Betty to enter the passenger cabin. "I'm suggesting we wait for the spider to complete his web, then I'll go outside the ship and set fire to the cocoon,"

"Outside ?" squeaked Betty faintly, her face showing her dismay. Barry looked up from where he sat curled up in one of the flight chairs, his face drawn with grief over his missing pet.

"Are you going outside?...the spider is spinning its web all over the ship,"

"We know Barry, I'm going to try and burn it off once the spider finishes spinning. I hope that will get the spider to move on, away from us and the ship,"

"How long are you going to wait...its already covered the side windows," said Barry, peering gloomily out of the window beside his chair. Following his gaze, Steve could see that the view ports were now covered in a milky film of webbing.

"Another hour and I'll put my plan into action...in the meantime, I need to get something, anything to fix these flares onto, to give me some reach,"

"Mark left some metal poles in the engine room, he was hoping to make them into fishing rods," offered Betty, her eyes fixed on Steve, not daring to look at the semi-opaque windows.

"Show me...I might have another use for those rods,"

Leaving the flares on one of the seats, Steve followed Betty to the engine room, pausing briefly to pat Barry's shoulder as they passed the boys chair.

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

Jim stretched and shifted uncomfortably on the lumpy couch. Sighing heavily he gave up the pretence of sleeping and peered blearily up at the back wall of the couch, the cage holding the Little People towering over his head. The early dawn light was streaming into the small living room, casting a harsh light over the battered furniture, highlighting the stained wallpaper and tired paintwork. They had lived in the flat for the best part of a year, working long hours to save enough money to get a place closer to the campus and in much better shape. The bedroom had been the only room to receive a facelift, Maria vowing to cut off all physical relations if the bedroom wasn't up to scratch. It had been the first and last time Jim had flexed his DIY muscles, finding that he was as woefully equipped to wield a paintbrush as he was completely unable to stand up to his pretty partner. After a couple of days of wallpaper paste and paint, Maria had taken over the project herself and finished it in record time. Despite her wrath at his ineptitude, she forgave him everything in light of his undoubted ability in the kitchen and bedroom, as well as his sheer brilliance behind the camera lens. Combined with Maria's formidable talent in the darkroom they made an unbeatable team.

Sighing again, Jim swung his legs off the cushions and sat up, the blanket falling onto the floor in an untidy heap. Stretching his arms above his head, Jim wondered how the Little People had spent the night. Standing up, he made his way around the couch and came to stand beside the bench, once more hooking his fingers through the mesh and staring down at the small, huddled figures on the floor of the cage. They looked to be in the same positions as he'd left them the previous evening. Yawning widely Jim scratched his chest and left the cage, deciding to get the coffee-pot on early, maybe even go and surprise Maria with an early morning breakfast. Humming to himself he bustled around the small kitchen, ignoring the cage and its contents.

Mark and Dan had kept their eyes closed while the giant had been inspecting the cage, Valerie still asleep between them. Once Jim had turned away, both men opened their eyes and exchanged a look.

"When do you think we should 'wake up' ?" asked Dan, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Not before the giantess arrives, if they think we're still out, they might let slip something we can use,"

"Let's hope she doesn't decide to sleep in,"

The two men watched the giant prepare a breakfast tray, the light outside getting steadily brighter. After a few minutes the giant left the kitchen carrying a full tray, the strong smell of coffee permeating the whole apartment. As Mark watched the giant open the bedroom door and disappear, Valerie started to stir beside him, her blue eyes opening wide as she struggled to sit up.

"Mark ?"

"Right here Val...its morning at last. How are you feeling ?"

"I'm....not sure, tired I guess, but Mark....I can see something, over there.... a light..a bright light,"

Mark watched as Valerie's face turned towards the brightly lit kitchen window, her arm coming up to point directly into the morning sun. Swallowing hard, Mark exchanged a quick glance with Dan before putting an arm around Valerie's shoulders and giving her a hug.

"You're right Val...there is a bright light...right where your pointing, I guess this means you won't need that seeing eye dog after all,"

Shutting her eyes briefly, Valerie let go a deep sigh, her body turning back towards Mark, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.

"Can you see anything else Val....anything else ?" asked Dan, his voice barely containing his growing excitement. Lifting her head Valerie looked over and stared directly into Dan's dark face, her eyes drifting over his face before a faint frown marred her smooth forehead.

"I...can see you Dan..but its not in focus yet...but I can see you,"

"That's great Val...it'll get better, just give it time," said Dan, grinning in relief. Reaching over Dan grasped Valerie's hand and gave it a squeeze, receiving a smile for his trouble.

"Dan, get over to Fitzhugh and wake him up, if the giants leave this morning I don't want to waste a second. Make sure he understands to stay as he is, but keep alert."

"Sure Mark...back in a tick."

Mark watched as Dan made his way over to the mound that was Fitzhugh, peacefully slumbering under his blanket. As he turned back he encountered Valerie's gaze fixed on his face, her blue eyes mapping his features, a gentle fingers whispering over his prickly cheek.

"Hey....I missed my morning shave,"

"I don't care....I'm just glad I won't have to rely on my memories alone,"

"At this rate, you could have your sight back before nightfall," said Mark, smiling broadly.

"I'll take whatever I can get....." before she could finish the bedroom door suddenly flew open and Mark quickly pushed Valerie down as Dan scuttled back, throwing himself down behind her.

Maria fairly flew out of the room, her bathrobe flapping around her legs as she whirled to face Jim as he quickly followed her out.

"I'm not listening to you anymore this morning, we have work to do and I don't intend to argue over this again,"

"Come on Mair, you could try getting to know them, they aren't the aliens you said they were, they're just like you and me, only little,"

"For heaven's sake Jim, they are creatures, not people, and I won't sacrifice my future for you sentimentality....the SID will pay good money for them, and we need every penny we can lay our hands on."

"We've saved enough for a new place, this last assignment will see to that, we don't need to hand them over....they haven't done us any harm,"

"Honestly I wonder why I stick with you sometimes.....yes we have enough of our own, but think what we could do with the reward....no more following the limitation of the department..we could strike out on our own...make our own documentaries...can't you see ?"

Flinging her arms wide, Maria swirled around and found herself beside the cage. Glaring at the tiny figures inside, she grabbed the wire mesh and shook the cage angrily, tossing the Little People so they tumbled across the floor, crying out at the violent movement. Fitzhugh ended up entangled with the bedding, his arms and legs flailing. Mark and Valerie tumbled and rolled across the floor, with Dan close behind, all of them ending up on the opposite side of the cage against the wire mesh. Before they had a chance to right themselves or voice a protest, Maria up-ended the cage in the other direction and the three earthlings found themselves sliding across the floor, heading for the feed trays and water trough. Fitzhugh was saved by the bedding entangling his legs, keeping him securely against the far corner. The other three rolled helplessly down the slope, Valerie shrieking in fear before hitting the water trough hard, her head connecting with the corner. Behind her Dan found himself hitting the gap between the feed trays, his banged up knee hitting the corner, the sharp and violent pain enough to cause him to pass out before becoming wedged against the wire. Mark hit the water trough, his back slamming against the plastic wall, knocking the breath out of him so he lay there seeing stars, his mouth open, gasping for air.

With a cry Jim rushed over and pulled Maria away, the cage falling back onto the bench with a bang, teetering for an instant before stabilising on its base.

"What the hell are you doing ?" he yelled, holding onto Maria with both hands wrapped around her upper arms, "they're no use to us dead!"

As if realising the mistake she'd made, Maria blinked owlishly at Jim, her mouth open in a moue of surprise, before turning her head to look at the havoc she'd wreaked on the Little People.

"Oh...I didn't know what I was doing..of course they're no good dead.....are they dead ?"

Releasing her arms, Jim turned back to the cage and anxiously scanned the interior, quickly spotting Fitzhugh, thrashing his way out of the fabric.

"Are you alright ?" Jim asked, his fingers fumbling at the combination lock to open the cage door. Fitzhugh only managed to gape at him, his mouth opening and shutting like a fish, as he tried to catch his breath.

"The others..." Fitzhugh wheezed, pointing to the crumpled bodies at the other end of the cage. Jim continued to fiddle with the lock, his worried look taking in the unmoving figures lying near the feed and water trays.

Behind him Maria ran agitated fingers through her hair, finally realising the damage she'd wrought and the possible consequences of her rash action.

"Are they okay ?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"If they are, its no thanks to you," said Jim, his voice harsh. Finally getting the lock undone, he swung open the door and reached inside. Gently grasping Mark, he pulled him out of the cage and lay him down on the counter.

"What can I do ?" asked Maria, subdued now in face of Jim's obvious concern for the Little People.

"Get me something to lay them on, and get the first aid box, I think they could have some injuries."

Under his direction, Maria pulled out two more tea-towels, folding them so they formed thick, square pallets. Then she left to collect the first aid box while Jim once more reached in to pull out the injured. With utmost care, Jim cradled Valerie in his hand, her limp body sprawled across his palm, her bright hair a cloud around her head. Laying her gently down on one of the pallets, Jim withdrew and watched as Mark, clutching his ribs, pulled himself to his feet and limped over, collapsing beside Valerie. Mark reached up a hand and brushed the hair from Valerie's face, grateful that she was at least breathing, if not conscious. Running his hands down her limbs he ascertained that there were no bones broken, just a fair sized lump on her head, under her hair, the skin broken and seeping sluggishly. Resting his hand on her forehead, Mark saw Valerie's eyes flutter and a faint moan issue from her lips.

"Valerie..can you hear me ?"

Getting no answer Mark turned and watched as Jim reached inside once more and lifted Dan from where he was pinned between the feedtray. Holding Dan carefully in his palm, Jim carried the still body to the bench and lay him down on the second pallet, noticing immediately that the dark-skinned man's leg lay at an awkward angle.

"I think you friends leg is broken," said Jim softly, "are you injured as well ?"

Dragging a painful breath into his bruised lungs, Mark rose to his feet and faced the giant looming over them.

"I'm only winded, but the girl could have a concussion and Dan...they both need a doctor."

"I'm sorry you were hurt....we never meant.....you have to understand, she didn't mean to hurt you," said Jim, his face creased in worry.

Hurrying from the bathroom, Maria carried the first-aid box and quickly handed it to Jim, who flung open the lid and rummaged inside.

"I don't know what we can use....Maria, cut up this bandage into strips, we can try and splint that leg, and maybe...I don't know..,"

"A splint would be fine....I'll need some water and something to cut Dan's trouser with, do you have anything small enough ?" asked Mark, finally getting his breathing under control, despite the continuing pain in his chest.

"I'll see what I can find," said Jim, pushing past Maria and disappearing into the bedroom. Maria, stunned into silence by Jim's takeover, wrapped her arms around her middle and stared at the three figures on the bench, her hand nervously tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

"Can I do anything ?" Maria whispered, thoroughly ashamed at her thoughtless behaviour.

"Some water please, I need to bathe her injury, its still bleeding," Mark answered. Moving quickly, Maria found a small receptacle and filled it with water, putting it down between the two still figures on the pallets. Then she found a pair of scissors in the first aid box and cut up some tiny squares of some soft dressing materiel, which Mark used to clean up the blood still oozing from the lump on Valerie's head. The cool water revived Valerie briefly, her pain filled eyes darting around before finding Mark and fixing on his face.

"It's okay Val," soothed Mark, wiping her face with a cool cloth, "you've got a bump on the head, but you're gonna be alright,"

Without replying, Valerie simply closed her eyes and drifted off again, a small smile playing around her pale lips. Leaving her for a moment, Mark leaned over Dan and carefully checked him over for any further injuries. Finding a small bump on Dan's head, Mark bathed the area and left a square of fabric soaked in water to act as a cold compress. Apart from the broken leg and bump, Dan seemed in one piece, only unconscious. Mark hoped he stayed that way until he'd finished setting the mans leg.

Jim finally returned with a tiny blade that had come from a film splicer, the blade sharp enough to slice Dan's pant leg and expose the twisted limb. Using the strips of bandage, handed to him by Maria, and the splints made from split matchsticks, Mark made as good a job as he could straitening the leg and bandaging it. Dan remained oblivious to the operation which Mark could only be thankful for. After finishing the last knot, Mark sank back on his haunches and surveyed his handiwork. Satisfied that the leg was immobilised, Mark returned to Valerie and checked on her, very aware of the two giants watching his every move. At the touch of his hand on her face, Valerie slowly opened her eyes and stared up at Mark.

"How's Dan ?"

"He'll make it...a bit more banged up, but he'll live,"

"And you ?"

"Just bumps and bruises...nothing serious,"

"My head.....hurts," Valerie whimpered, a tear sliding from the corner of her eye as a frown marred her forehead.

"You've got a fair sized lump, so lay still Val...don't try and get up,"

"I don't think I could...if I wanted to," Valerie breathed, closing her eyes once more. Turning from his injured friends, Mark got to his feet and stared up at the giants above him.

"What do you plan to do with us now ?"

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