Title: Crossing the Divide
Chapter: 7
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG, Adventure
Archive: just let me know where, please
Feedback: lavished with due adoration
Disclaimer: Never mine, all IA's, just having fun in the sand box with the characters created by the lovely actors.

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

" We are never going to get all this in one night,"

Dan's statement nagged at Mark as they labored to drag another sack of dry goods towards the parcel chute in the health food store. They had decided to try the bulk bins in the boutique food shop rather than the huge expanse of the supermarket. It had proved a good decision. The bulk bins had contained all manner of foodstuffs, from nuts and dried fruit to flour and grains of all descriptions. Cody had explained that this had been their main source of food since the shop had opened a year before. Mark and Dan had marvelled at the array of choices before them, taking time to radio the Windsifter for more precise instructions as to quantity and what to get. They had even found a supply of small plastic bags that were easy enough for them to handle, designed for use with herbs. Mark and Pete had filled the bags, lowering them to Cody and Dan on the floor, then all helping to haul the booty to a hidden corner, ready to be sent down the chute when they had collected enough.

They had already been to the pharmacy and got several trips worth of supplies. Reaching the shelves with the drugs had proved almost impossible and they'd had to content themselves with raiding what was available on the bench top, finding a ready supply of disinfectants and even some analgesics. They found a supply of syringes that, when filled with the different liquids proved quite easy to handle, once the sharp points were removed. Mark even kept the points, thinking of their uses with the ships various systems. Even soap and shampoo proved to be not beyond their means with Dan finding a display of travelling packs that had, in Giant terms, tiny bottles that would last the Earth people for a long time. Pete had pointed out a display featuring toothpaste and this was added to the haul as well. By the end of their raid they had a considerable pile of goods to convey. Another reason for using the Health Food shop had been because it was right next door to the pharmacy. A quick traverse of a floor duct and they could store their booty in the duct while they cased the food shop. The pharmacy had proved to be a good source of precision materials that Mark had on his list to find. The needles were one, plus they found a tiny magnifying glass that Mark had been wanting for some time. They also found several fine gauge surgical blades that would help supplement their weapons, together with some fine wooden toothpicks to act as handles for various implements. Dan even found a pack of floss that was strong enough to use as fine rope to tie up the bundles.

After they hauled the loot into the vent, they took a break and informed the Windsifter of their progress. Steve was full of praise for what they'd managed to find so far.

The next two hours were spent checking out the Health Food shop, ending up with the creation of a small mountain of packages, both food and from the pharmacy. Gathered together by the parcel chute, they were ready to be sent on their way, the men to follow immediately behind them. They had seen regular patrols of the Security men, always ducking down out of sight if a torch light was played over the shop interior. Finally they decided it was time to make the next move. Cody was to go down the metal tunnel first, having done it before. He took Dan's radio and would call as soon as he reached the bottom and was able to report on any Giant movement. Mark and Dan had been told by Pete that the chute ended with flaps of semi-clear plastic to prevent the dust being blown back up to the shops, but it would be sufficient to stop their goods from flying out the chute and alerting anyone in the loading bay to their presence. They would stay hidden behind the screen until it was all clear, then make their way to the floor.

Cody stood at the entrance to the shop's chute, dwarfed by the sheer scale of the opening. He held a square of rubber matting to help slow him down as he slid down the metal surface. The other's gathered around as he sat down, his torch light bouncing off the reflective walls. He flashed a wide grin at Mark and Dan's worried faces then pushed off, his whoop of excitement swallowed by the cavernous darkness. Pete had reckoned that the trip down would take about five minutes, depending on how cautious Cody was, but it was more than ten before the radio squawked and Cody gave them the all clear. It took the three men over half and hour to pass up the various bundles and push them down the chute one at a time. Cody radioed that they had all arrived safely, bunching up behind the plastic cover, just as they had predicted. Now it was their turn to take the ride of their lives. Dan went first, gripping his rubber square, and started off slowly, picking up speed as his confidence increased. Pete went next when Cody radioed that Dan had arrived safely, then finally Mark. The trip down was dark, only the fitful light of his torch to provide any illumination. As he picked up speed he flashed past other openings leading to other shops, darker patches on a pitch black slide into the unknown. A light began to appear below him, and he could see the huge square opening of the loading bay with it's semi-clear plastic covering approaching fast. He could make out the outline of the bundles, as well as the moving figures of Dan, Pete and Cody waiting for him. He used the rubber mat to slow his progress as he got closer and arrived with a gently bump, up against one of the bundles of flour.

" That was a hell of a ride," Mark panted, his eyes gleaming in the half light.

" Wasn't it ? best damn amusement ride I've had in a long time," Dan laughed, still riding the wave of adrenaline induced by the experience.

" I bet Barry would love it," said Pete, grinning from ear to ear.

" Can't you just see Fitzhugh enjoying that ?" said Dan, smiling broadly.

The four men started to laugh for the sheer joy of it, letting out their pent up tension. A few minutes later, after they got control of their mirth, they took stock of the situation in the loading bay.

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

" We've reached the floor, it's taken us longer because there was a late delivery and we had to hide, they're just finishing up now so we hope to get the last of the bundles down in the next hour or so,"

Mark spoke quietly into the radio, bringing Steve up to date with their progress. He and Dan were crouched behind the corner of the bench at the end of the parcel slide. They were watching three or four Giants unloading a monstrous truck, the men carrying an unending collection of unmarked cardboard boxes, sometimes individually, sometimes on trolleys or carts. Cody and Pete were with the pile of bundles unloaded so far from behind the plastic parcel screen above them. They had managed to get them hidden behind a rubbish bin against the wall.

" I won't move the ship until you're safely settled in the vent. We'll need to move the stuff pretty quickly once we land," said Steve.

" We could be pinned down here for a while, Steve, there's another truck to be unloaded after this one. We could risk it and get the rest of the gear down to the floor at least, no-ones been over this way in the hour we've been here,"

" It's your call Mark, we're not that far from sunrise, so we need to make a decision within the next two hours, to stay put of go,"

" Okay Steve, I hear you, I'll call you when we're in the duct, Mark out,"

Mark packed the radio away and moved over to stand behind Dan, peering over his shoulder at the men still unloading the huge truck. The whole bay was well light, even where they were behind the parcel bench.

" Any sign of them leaving ?" asked Mark, looking up at the huge lights making the place so bright.

" They've nearly finished with that load, I reckon they might take a break soon, that could be our chance," said Dan. As if on cue the Giants all jumped down from the back of the truck, the driver climbing down from the cab and slamming the door. They all walked casually towards the back of the bay, stripping off their gloves and talking animatedly, before disappearing into a back room.

" Now, lets get moving," Mark slapped Dan on the shoulder and turned to run back to where Cody and Pete were hiding.

They managed to get the rest of the bundles down to the floor, Dan and Pete tying off and lowering the parcels to Mark and Cody on the floor. They had just landed the last of the load when the Giants started to drift back out, their break over. Pete went down the rope first, followed quickly by Dan, then they all four raced to the rubbish bin to hide. One of the Giants came over to sit on the bench, a clipboard in his hand. Mark looked around the corner of the bin, seeing the man tick off various items on the paperwork, finally signing his name and flipping the cover of the clipboard over. Then he put the clipboard down and drew out a stick of gum, unwrapping it and screwing up the foil. He tossed it towards the rubbish bin, missing by a mile, the small missile hitting the bin and bouncing down to within a few feet of where the Little People crouched with their pile of booty. Mark, with Pete's help, collected the rounded ball of foil, rolling it back to where the other's waited.

" Bonus prize," Mark grinned. Dan just shook his head at Mark's joke.

" As if we didn't have enough to carry,"

They waited, watching the Giant as he sat there, watching the other Giants finish the unloading. Eventually he was called over to help out, with much joking from his workmates.

" Let's check out the vent and get that cover off," said Mark. He, Dan and Pete, leaving Cody to look after the stuff, took off at a run to reach the grating that covered the vent to the outside. Working quickly they unscrewed the cover plate and lifted it off, leaving the vent wide open. They were only partially shielded from the men at the truck but they didn't have a choice.

" Let's get started, start with the smaller stuff that we can carry ourselves, leave the bigger stuff to the end," Mark instructed, getting a nod of agreement from Pete and Dan. They ran back to where Cody was dozing, leaving against the packages. Pete nudged him and together they gathered as many of the smaller parcels as possible and made their first run to the vent. Reaching it safely, they travelled as far in as possible, dumping the stuff down and heading back for another load. They kept this up for the next hour, sometimes two of them carrying one of the large loads, but always with the accompaniment of the Giants working in the background, like an echo of their own efforts.

The last bundle was pushed into the duct, the men sweating and panting with their monumental labour, all four sinking down against the wall of the vent in exhaustion. They had been on their feet for nearly the entire night and most of the previous day, with only short breaks for food and water. They had taken a brief catnap at some point but they all felt as if they would sleep for a week after this push. Mark got out his radio and called the Windsifter.

" Mark to Windsifter, mission accomplished,"

" Mark, Barry here...I'll get Steve on the line,"

" Okay, I'll wait,"

" Mark, this is Steve....are you okay ?"

" Yeah, just ready to sleep for a week." Mark paused as Dan snorted in amusement next to him, "we're safe in the duct, the Giants are still unloading the last truck, they should be finished soon,"

" It's almost daylight, how long do you think it'll take to load everything on the ship ?"

" If we open the side hatch, and everyone pitches in, not long at all,"

A sound, outside the vent, attracted everyone's attention.

" Steve, hang on, something's happening," Mark spoke hurriedly, scrambling after Dan, Pete and Cody as they crowded round the opening and looked out. The sound came again, a long drawn out scream of fear and agony. They could see the Giants gathered around something, their work abandoned for some other diversion.

" Mark, come in, what's happening ?" Steve's voice came over the radio, startling the men as they strained to hear what was going on with the Giants.

" Steve, we just heard someone scream, it wasn't one of the Giants, it could have been.....we need to check it out," Mark finished, unable to voice who he thought it was.

" Mark, check it out for sure, but don't take any unnecessary risks,"

" I'll let you know what we find out, Mark out," Mark shut off the radio and tucked it into his jacket as another scream rent the air.

" Oh God, I think that's Bishop," said Pete, gulping down his nausea.

" We need to get closer, see if there's anything we can do to help whoever it is," Dan said, exchanging a glance with a grim faced Mark.

" Pete, Cody, stay here. Dan, give Pete your radio. We'll call you if you can help, otherwise, stay out of sight." instructed Mark, starting to move the propped up grate out of their way. Dan helped him put if back in place once they were out, then, after taking one more look at Pete and Cody's white faces, they took off at a run, across the vast space from the wall to the truck. Ducking behind the front tyre they ran down the length of the truck to reach where the group of Giants were gathered around whoever had made the awful screams. As they got closer they could make out some of the Giants comments.

" I didn't know they were that fragile, what a mess,"

" Where did you find it ?"

" Are they poisonous ?"

" I read somewhere that their aliens from outer space, come to conquer our world,"

" Yeah right, like this little thing could harm us," this prompted a round of raucous laughter. Mark and Dan crept closer, trying to see what the Giants were looking at.

" I reckon you've killed it, it doesn't look good,"

" I heard there was a reward for the capture of any Little People, wonder if they pay out if their dead ?"

" aaaaw heck, pass that box, I'll put in there and take it to the authorities later on," The group of Giants started to disperse, they're entertainment finished for the time being. Most of them went back to unloading the truck, never seeing their tiny audience crouched under the rear axle. They watched as one Giant lifted a small box, peering at its contents before closing the lid and carrying it over to a workbench against the wall. After placing it on the bench the Giant returned to the truck and carried on unloading the boxes. Mark and Dan dashed out from behind the rear tyre, dodging to reach the bench, hiding themselves in the deep shadows underneath.

" What now, did you see who it was ?" panted Dan, keeping an eye on the Giants.

" No, it didn't sound good, whoever it is. We need to try and reach the benchtop, see if there's any way we can free them,"

" Let's try at the back, there might be a big enough gap to allow us through,"

They reached the back wall and peered up into the gloom under the bench, a slice of light showed a wide gap between the bench and the wall, enough for them to get a line to the table top and climb up. They had both brought a pack, incase they were able to effect a rescue, now they were glad they had. Dan unpacked the rope and grapnel, swinging it in a wide arc, the target narrow and difficult. It took him six goes before hooking the ledge. After tugging to make it secure, Dan started up, followed shortly by Mark. The Giants were obviously keen to finish their night shift, as no-one took time out to check on the box while they climbed. They reached the benchtop and found themselves behind a jumble of machine parts and tools, tantalisingly close to where the small cardboard box sat. Mark scuttled to the back of the box, flattening himself against its wall. He tapped on the box, hoping to alert its occupant to his presence. It took three goes before he got an answering tap. Mark looked over to where Dan hid, ready to signal him to join him, but Dan was waving frantically. Mark felt the vibrations of someone approaching and pressed himself against the side of the box as a Giant came over to check on his captive. Fortunately for Mark's sake, he was content to lift the lid and look into the box, not lift it up. After a quick look, the Giant shut the lid and walked away. Mark opened his eyes, letting go a breath he'd been holding. He saw Dan signal the all clear. Turning he tapped on the box again, receiving a reply almost immediately. Mark waved Dan over and they stood up to look over the edge of the box at the Giants still working on the truck. No-one was looking their way so they went to either end and tried to lift the flap of the box. It proved easier than they expected, managing to lift the lid clear and fold it back, revealing its contents. The sight was enough to make the strongest man pale, but look they did.

Inside was the motionless, bloodied figure of Bishop.

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