Title: Outbreak of Fear
Chapter: 1
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG, Adventure
Archive: sure, just let me know where
Feedback: craved and cherished
Disclaimer: What alot of fun, but not mine,boohoo, all IA's, no money
no fowl *cluck*, promise to return them.....later.

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

Mark threw the sextant down on the table and pushed the chair back, making it fall over at the violent movement. He stood, hands on hips, staring down at the sheets of paper spread over the table, some on the ground, covered in his untidy scrawl. He closed his eyes and brought his hands up to his face, rubbing his fingers into his eye sockets until he saw only bright stars and flashes of colour. Then he dragged his hands down his face in a dry wash. His eye's felt gritty, his face needed a shave, stubble starting to roughen his skin. An unruly lock of ash blond hair flopped over his forehead. He pushed it back with one hand as he continued to stand over the last three hour's efforts.

It was late, so late that everyone else had long since gone to bed. Valerie being the last to keep him company as he hunched over his notes and tried to make headway with the information that refused to make any sense. She gave up when he snapped at her for interrupting him, a lapse that he instantly regretted when he saw the cup of coffee Val had been bringing him. He had felt a wave of shame at treating her so rudely, but he was at his wits end with these calculations that simply wouldn't play ball. She had given him an enigmatic look with her smoky blue eyes and simply turned away, going into the ship, leaving him to his work. Mark instantly felt the loss, wanting to call her back, or even better go and join her, but a string of numbers recently jotted down appeared to make some sense, so he picked up his pencil and started anew, the time flying by as his coffee cooled, untouched.

Now he stretched his arms above his head, arching his back, hearing the joints and vertebrae pop in protest. He persisted with the brief stretching routine, trying to loosen cramped muscles and relieve the stress headache that was nagging him. It helped somewhat, but didn't shed any light on his current problem. He decided enough was enough. It was time to sack out, so Mark gathered up the various sheets and equipment before he blew out the lamp and walked up the steps into the Windsifter. He turned briefly before closing the hatchway, gazing out over their current camp, hoping it would be home for a little while longer. Letting go a tired sigh Mark closed the hatch, feeling his way into the passenger cabin, seeing a light under the cockpit door, indicating someone on duty, he couldn't remember who's turn it was tonight. He made his way to the back of the long cabin, reaching the tiny bathroom. After completing his brief ablutions he navigated his way over to where Valerie was curled up under their blankets, against the bulkhead. He could only make out the top of her head, her hair curling over the top of the blanket. He eased off his shoes and socks, shucking his pants and jacket, leaving only his t-shirt and shorts. Valerie stirred as he pulled the blanket over himself, laying on his back with an arm under his head. Mark stared up at the dimly lit ceiling of the cabin, his mind still too active to rest yet. Eventually the sound of Valerie's regular breathing worked its magic and he felt himself relax, turning over towards her he shut his eyes and drifted away, surrounded by her sleep-warmed scent and comforted by her familiar presence.

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

Dan, sitting in the cockpit, heard Mark going to bed. He relaxed fractionally, glad that Mark had finally given into the urge to sleep. He had watched Mark work harder than anyone to get their current camp set up and functioning. Then Mark had thrown every ounce of his considerable mental and physical energy into his calculations and calibrations, in an effort to bring their return to earth that much closer. The fact that no-one blamed him for the fiasco at the domed city didn't seem to cut much slack with Mark. In fact, it seemed to make him work even harder to bring their homecoming to fruition.

Dan stared, unseeing, out the front viewport, playing back in his minds eye their flight from the city of light, the dome burning and collapsing behind them.

They had flown away into the night, glad to be alive and intact. Behind them the domed city lit up the sky, almost eclipsing the volcano erupting behind it. Mark had told them that Neeson had been warned that the volcano could erupt at any time. Despite the predictions from seismic activity, Neeson had ignored the omens and stayed. Now he would have appeared to have perished with it. The prevailing wind had worked in their favour, blowing the choking clouds of ash and fumes away from their flight path. Steve had kept on a northerly course, the sun rising high in the sky before they saw a suitable landing site. This time Steve was keen to get away from the coast. Their experiences since leaving their old Spindrift campsite, had all been fraught with danger. It was time they tried a different tack. Steve turned inland, up a creek that opened onto the coast, the densely packed shrubs and trees acting like a road for the Windsifter to follow. They hadn't travelled too far before they saw a small cluster of houses bordering a lake that fed the creek. A quick reconnaissance had found the hamlet to consist of half a dozen buildings, a church, petrol station and a couple of shops. There was hardly any activity around the buildings, but there was an abandoned looking farm just outside the town, with a couple of outbuildings. Steve suggested it as a temporary safe haven, so they landed, keeping the dilapidated shacks between them and the town. They had spotted some farm animals in the surrounding paddocks but nothing close enough to cause a problem. After landing they had found the perfect cover for the Windsifter. A collapsing hay stack provided plenty of loose cover and shelter. It didn't take the men long to completely hide the ship from even a close inspection. Only the solar panels, peaking out of the straw, together with a makeshift leanto covered in the same material, gave any indication that anything was there. They didn't plan on staying long, but after a couple of days of peace and quiet they decided to extend their stay and make the camp more permanent. The women decided it was once more time for a major wash, particularly after their hasty departure last time. Plus without the mod-cons of the domed city, the bathroom facilities were once more dependant on the local water source. This proved to be a leaky pump, complete with horse trough in the lea of one of the barns. The trough was a bit green, but the constant leak from the pump above it kept the water flowing through and useable for washing and swimming. The water fall from the pump was perfect for filling their water receptacles and provided a shower for rinsing.

The days passed slowly, the weather remaining fine and warm. Once again they had to use Valerie's broad brimmed sun hats, sadly crushed but still useable. Valerie had decided to expand her weaving abilities, as well as teach anybody who cared to learn, using the straw so readily available around them. It proved to be an entertaining and useful pastime, keeping Barry and Marna employed for a change. Fitzhugh was chief water carrier, using a cart that Dan had created from the wheels of a toy car found half-buried in the mud around the trough. Together with a wooden crate and some metal pipe, Dan made a useful trolley that held the three jerry-cans for Fitzhugh to fill each morning. Betty had also gone back to mending their abused wardrobes, especially Valerie's. Mark and Steve, after checking the ship for anything that needed repairing, had gone their separate ways, Mark to start his personal crusade to get them back home, Steve to map their surroundings and get a picture of the layout of the farm. Both men were gone for most of the days, Mark to his workbench, set up under an awning. Steve off with a pack and a radio, sometimes not returning until nearly dark. Dan had tried to speak to both of them, but got brushed off by Steve, and ignored by Mark. A man with more ego would have been sorely tempted to take a poke at one or the other, but Dan could appreciate how stressful things had been for the two men and decided to let them sort it out for themselves.

The others continued with their daily routines, a sense of peace and normality creeping in as the days passed and nothing threatened their haven.

Only Valerie had anything to be disgruntled about. She and Mark had reverted back to their behaviour of their first year on the planet, platonic friends, polite but uninvolved. The only area that hadn't reverted was their sleeping arrangements, but as far as Valerie appeared concerned, it might as well have. Mark had shut himself off from her as thoroughly as if he'd locked a door. His total involvement in his calculations and computations precluded any input from her or anyone else. He still ate with them, slept with her, but otherwise he spent each day hunched over his bench. Dan could see Valerie die a little bit each time Mark turned down an offer to join the rest of them, or ignored an overture from Valerie, trying to prise him away from his notes. Dan could see something snapping in the next few days if the situation wasn't resolved. He sure wished Steve would do something, but he seemed to have his own demons to chase.

Dan's shift was coming to a close, Barry would be coming soon to relieve him and he stifled a yawn behind his hand. The night was mild and starlight shone brightly down on the small encampment.

Dan decided to stretch his legs outside for a bit, before Barry got up to take over. Thumbing the hatch he stepped out and let his eyes become adapted to the dim light provided by the stars. He walked over to the table and chairs. Leaning back to stretch his back and look up at the stars winking overhead, he didn't see the dark shape that loomed over the hull of the Windsifter, blocking out the stars behind him.

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

Barry rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn that threatened split his face. He blinked and checked the watch Dan had given him. It indicated it was nearly an hour past the time he was due to go on shift. Barry pushed back his blankets and pulled on his shoes, miffed that Dan hadn't woken him up. Barry was more than prepared to pull his own weight around the camp, but he still felt his friends treated him like a child. At nearly fourteen he felt as grown-up as anyone and wanted to be treated as such. Stepping around the sleeping forms in the cabin he slid open the door and moved towards the cockpit. The hatchway to the outside was wide open, which surprised Barry. He checked the cockpit, finding it empty, then went out and stood in the doorway, looking out over the camp, the faint light of pre-dawn washing out all the colours to a uniform grey. Seeing no sign of Dan, Barry started to feel a trickle of fear creep up his spine. "Dan wouldn't have wandered off," Barry said to himself. He listened for any sign that Dan had only gone out of sight and was even now on his way back, but there was nothing to hear but the faint chirps of birds waking and starting the dawn chorus. Barry stepped down onto the dirt and hurried over to the lean-to where Fitzhugh and Steve were sleeping. He knelt down beside where Steve was hunched in his blankets and firmly shook the mans shoulder. " Captain Burton," Barry whispered," Captain Burton, wake up...its urgent."

Steve grunted and turned towards the boy, pushing the blankets down and rubbing a hand over his eyes. "Whatsup ?" he slurred.

" I can't find Dan, he's not in the cockpit, or the camp," Barry told him. Steve blinked the sleep out of his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the cot.

" Okay, I'm awake, what time is it ?"

" Just before sunrise, the others are still asleep, I was due to take over from Dan an hour ago, but he didn't wake me," Barry explained.

" I'll come with you back to the cockpit, maybe we can raise Dan on his radio," said Steve. He pushed himself up, then together with Barry he hurried to the ship. Steve was concerned, but not yet worried. Dan had his radio, maybe he'd just gone for a walk to wake up. Admittedly it was unusual, Dan was usually the most reliable of the group and he never left the ship without a radio.

Inside the cockpit Steve grabbed the mike and thumbed the on switch.

" Dan, this is Steve....come in please," Steve paused.

" This is Windsifter calling Dan, come in please." Steve and Barry exchanged a glance. " Dan, can you hear me, come in please."

"Barry, go wake-up Mark, Dan must be in trouble, the sun will be up in a little while we need to get a search party organised as quickly as possible."

Barry shot off to fetch Mark.

Mark appeared in the doorway, pushing his fingers through his hair, looking bleary eyed and exhausted.

" What time did you get to sleep ?" Steve asked.

" Not that long ago...Barry said something about Dan, what's the problem ?"

" Dan missing, we don't know how long for, but he was due to wake Barry over an hour ago, how long since you sacked out ?"

" About two and a half hours ago, not much longer, so he's been missing atleast that long, more or less," said Mark.

" Okay, we need to check around the perimeter of the camp for starters, Mark take Barry, I'll rouse Fitzhugh outside and meet you at the pump."

Mark and Barry left in a hurry, Steve behind them. Fitzhugh proved difficult to rouse, but finally he got up and followed Steve as they searched around the edges of the camp. They were nearing the trough when they heard a shout from Mark and saw Barry waving them over.

" We've found a footprint, Steve...looks like Dan was taken by someone," Mark said, pointing to a giant muddy imprint.

" Why didn't they take the ship, or wake the rest of us ?" Barry asked.

Steve and Mark exchanged a look, wondering the same thing themselves.

" We need to get everybody on board for this. We know which way they went, so lets get some gear and follow," Steve ordered. They returned to the ship to find the girls waiting for them, but before they could launch into their questions Steve told them what had happened and what they needed to do. Half an hour later they were ready to go.

" We'll follow the prints as far as we can," Steve drew a crude map in the dirt to indicate their general direction. " They seems to be heading towards the main farmhouse, so we're head there first."

They quickly reached the pump where Mark had found the first print, the second one confirmed Steve's statement that they were heading for the dilapidated farmhouse. Fitzhugh had been left back at the Windsifter to monitor the radio and to be there in case Dan returned. They tramped through the ramshackle farmyard, picking they're way past rusting farm machinery and round metal drums nearly overgrown with weeds. The air was full of the hum of bees and insects buzzing around the flowers pushing through the cracks in the concrete paths and brickwork. As they got closer to the rundown farmhouse, Steve separated them into two groups, one to take the front, the other to work their way round the back. Steve, Marna and Betty were to approach the front, while Mark, Valerie and Barry took a path down the side of the house to the rear. Steve and Betty, with Marna, approached the front porch of the house, where a flight of rickety wooden steps led to the front deck and a screen door.

"I'll lift you with a boost, Betty, then I'll give Marna a hand," said Steve.

Steve cupped his hand and Betty put her foot into his grip, with a strong lift Betty reached the edge of the step easily, then Steve threw up the rope, grapnel and backpack. He repeated the manoeuvre with Marna, then, as the girls stood back he took a run and leapt, catching the lip of the wooden step, hauling himself over the rim. They repeated the process for the next four steps, taking a rest when they reached the top. Steve sat with his legs over the edge and pulled out his radio.

"Team One to Team Two...do you read me Mark ?"

" Team Two here, we're near the back of the house, only a couple of steps to negotiate. The door's open so we'll go right in. Any signs at your end ?"

"Nothing, no Giant, no Dan...keep your eyes open, Steve out."

Steve got up and approached the screen door. Apart from the footprints leading to the house, there was no indications anyone, large or small had been near the farmhouse in years. The screen mesh was torn in several places, as well, the metal frame was warped and twisted, posing no problem for the Little People to negotiate. Inside the house was silent and gloomy, the weak morning sun hardly penetrating the dust laden depths. The front hallway ran from front to back, giving Steve a clear view to the back door. He and the girls edged their way along the wall, reaching a doorway on the right that opened into the front room. Steve, in front, peered round the corner. The door was hanging off its hinges and sagged inwards, leaving plenty of space for them to go in. The grimy windows only let in a diffused light, making the room full of deep shadows. Steve checked the floor, seeing more boot marks that matched the one's outside. Someone had been here, recently.

Steve's radio crackled. " Team Two here, we're in the house, no sign of anyone," Mark's voice stated.

" Team One, we're in the front room, the boot marks are here in the dust, but no sign of the Giant," said Steve.

" Same here, we're going into what looks like the kitchen back here, we'll let you know if we find anything, Team Two out."

Marna, bringing up the rear let out a stifled squeak, Betty spun round to see an inquisitive mouse beat a hasty retreat back into a hole in the skirting board. Marna was backing up, until she nearly bumped into Betty. " I saw...I saw....something" she stuttered.

" I saw it too, I don't think its a worry, they are usually more afraid of us," Betty soothed. Marna gulped and kept close to Betty.

Steve had gone on ahead, but he now waved them over, crouching down to more closely examine something on the floor. Betty blanched when she saw what it was. Blood. Steve touched a finger to the spot, rubbing it between his thumb and second finger. He looked up as the girls joined him, giving Betty a grim scowl. "There's too little for it to be the Giants, it must be Dan's."

Betty could only look on in dismay.

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