Title: Outbreak of Fear
Chapter: 2
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG, Adventure
Universe: Land of the Giants
Archive: sure, just let me know where
Feedback: cherished and polished
Spoilers : none
Disclaimer: Wish it was, but all IA's, no money, but a lot of fun.

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Jubel was in a fix. He hadn't meant to hurt the little man, but he had. Now he didn't know whether he should take the tiny man to the Doc or try and fix it himself. The man himself had already asked Jubel to take him to the Doctor, but Jubel wasn't sure if it was safe for him to show his face in town yet. The town's people weren't exactly helpful when asked for directions or information. In point of fact, Jubel had found them cruel and his encounters with people usually ended with him getting hurt, both physically and emotionally. Which is how Jubel had happened to find the Little People's camp in the first place. He had been hiding out at the abandoned farm for the last few days, letting the dust die down from his last encounter with the town's wastrels. They seems to take some perverse pleasure in taunting Jubel and ended up stoning him. No-one had come to his aid, obviously thinking he was big enough to take care of himself, but Jubel hid a childlike mentality under a mountainous exterior. Just because he was big didn't make him any less vulnerable. It upset him to have to admit he simply didn't understand why people thought him such an easy target. Jubel's mother had drummed into him at an early age that he couldn't use his size or strength for anything other than good things. He had often wanted to bang the other peoples heads together in frustration at their lack of understanding, laughing at him when he got things wrongs or muddled. Jubel did his best, but it was never good enough for some people. So when he wasn't working on the ranch, he hid around the outskirts of town, keeping a low profile until he was needed again. It seemed to suit everybody that way, not least of which, it gave Jubel a chance to discover his world away from the prying eyes of others. He particularly liked this farm because others thought it was haunted by the ghosts of the previous tenants, but Jubel knew it was just nature taking back the property, letting the animals use it for a home and the weeds, ground for space to grow. Jubel had been told by his mother that ghosts didn't really exist, but he thought that maybe his mother was looking down and keeping an eye on him, despite what she had said. Jubel felt his eyes watering as he thought of his mother, he missed her dreadfully, even now, ten years after her passing, and even when he'd just had his fortieth birthday only last month.

Now he was torn in two, one part wanting to keep away from the bullies in town, the other terrified that if he didn't the tiny man would die. Jubel looked down at the man with the skin the same colour as his own. He put out a massive forefinger to gently poke the still shape lying on the pillow. The man gave a groan and opened his eyes, giving Jubel a pain filled look. Jubel squirmed and fidgeted, feeling his face go hot with shame, he had always been quick to provide relief for any animals he found injured or sick, but this tiny man wasn't an animal, and Jubel couldn't help him. The white pillowcase the man was lying on was spotted with blood, evidence of the seriousness of the situation.

" I'm sorry I hurt you," Jubel muttered, hanging his head.

Dan raised himself on his elbow and looked up into the dark face looming above him.

" I know you didn't mean to....but Jubel I need to get this seen to by a Doctor, please take me there....you know where he lives ?" Dan asked.

" Oh sure...just a couple of properties over, Doc Tiron's a good man, he'd help you."

" Then why don't you take me there...Jubel, please," Dan gasped as pain shot through his side, doubling him over.

Jubel chewed his lip as the man writhed. It was no good, he would have to take him, now.

" I'll take you now, Doc should be there, he doesn't start his housecalls 'till later today. Can you ride on my hand ?"

" No problem, just lay your hanky on your palm to help cushion me, then you can carry me easily," Dan instructed. Jubel did as he said, laying his hand flat on the table so Dan could climb slowly on, wincing as his side spasmed, making him groan.

Jubel stood up, holding his hand to keep it steady, then he walked out of the leanto attached to the barn and started walking down the driveway, heading for the main road and the Doctors house.

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The two teams of Little People searched the whole house, finding nothing more that alot of footprints and evidence that someone had been through the house, but not stayed for long. They met back at the front door, pooling their information but coming up a blank as to where Dan had been taken.

" We need to check out the barn, whoever has him could be hiding out there," Mark suggested.

" We also have to assume Dan is injured, there wasn't alot of blood but any injury, without treatment, can be fatal," Steve stated.

The girls exchanged worried looks. They were all tired and dusty from their mornings search, but a break for lunch had revived them.

" Let's get moving then, the sooner we go the sooner we find Dan," said Betty. Steve gave her a nod of agreement, then stood and gathered a pack and rope together, making a move. They all trudged down the long corridor to reach the back door, negotiated the rear steps, and headed out across the weed choked yard towards the paint-peeling doors of the barn.

They saw plenty of the footprints around the entrance of the barn, proving that someone was certainly around there. The interior of the barn was shadowy and dusty, light filtering down through the many holes in the roof and walls. There were several bales of musty hay stored at the back, plus drums of fuel and chemicals along the walls. Rusty farm tools and implements hung from the rafters, looking like strange stalactites hanging from the roof. While they had walked from the house to the barn the wind had got up, blowing debris and dust around, causing the doors to creak on their rusty hinges. Atleast inside the barn they were safe from flying branches and loose rubbish being swirled around the yard. Again they split into teams, this time into pairs, to cover more ground. Steve took Marna, Betty was with Barry, and Mark with Valerie. Each team took off into the gloom, arranging to meet back in an hour at the barn doors.

Steve and Marna approached the giant drums, some on their sides, lined up along the barn wall. Steve couldn't see anything to indicate what was in the drums, and the one's on their side seemed to be leaking something into the dirt. Steve and Marna gave them a wide berth, making sure not to touch the strange fluid. Reaching the end of the drums, Steve saw a door. A brand new door handle pointed to very recent use, so he decided to investigate.

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Betty and Barry had drawn the short straw, or so Barry thought. They're mission was to check out the central area and work towards the rear of the barn. They had to walk under the metalware hanging from the ceiling, which were now swaying slightly in the wind coming through the half open doors. Barry didn't like the look of the lethal blades hanging above their heads.

" Swords of Damocles," Betty muttered to herself, looking warily up at the roof.

" What was that ?" Barry asked, his loud voice making Betty jump slightly.

" Oh, I was just making an observation that all that hardware was like the so called sword of Damocles, or fate, hanging over our heads, ready to fall at any time," Betty laughed, nervously. " I imagine its been up there for years, so its unlikely to choose this particular time to fall down, its silly really."

" Even so, I'll be glad to get to the back wall and out from under it all," said Barry. They picked up their pace, almost jogging to reach the barn wall, keeping half an eye on the metal swaying silently above them.

They reached the haybales and gasped in relief, finally taking in their surroundings. The floor was littered with straw and dried animal droppings, evidence that rats had made a substantial home in the bales. Here the gloom was oppressive, prompting Barry to light his torch and shine the beam over the hay, making the shadows retreat a bit. They inspected what they could see, but found nothing to indicate who or what was living there, or anything to lead them to Dan. They completed their search and turned to make their way to where Steve and Marna would be meeting them.

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Mark and Valerie headed for the other side of the barn, finding a workbench pushed against the wall. Under the bench were stuffed all the accumulated rubbish needed for maintaining farm machinery. It was all covered liberally with dust and cobwebs.

" We're not checking all that stuff out, surely ?" Valerie asked, eyeing the grubby shelves and dirty tins with disgust, thinking of all the spiders lurking there.

" I wasn't planning on it, who knows what's there, it doesn't look as if it's been touched in a decade, lets push on."

Mark walked ahead, leaving Valerie eyeing the deepening gloom with trepidation. She hurried to catch up, casting glances over to where Betty and Barry were now jogging towards the back of the barn. She couldn't see Steve and Marna, but hoped they were having more luck on their side. Mark stopped suddenly and Valerie had to pull up short to avoid colliding with him.

" What is it ?" She asked. Mark had crouched down, trying to brush the loose straw and rubbish away from a patch of the floor. Valerie crouched down too, helping him to clear a largish patch of the wooden floor. They could make out the straight line cutting across the floorboards, running under the straw scattered around.

" Cellar ?" Valerie asked.

" It appears to be, lets follow the line and see how big it is," said Mark. They got up, brushing off the dirt clinging to their clothes. Mark picked a piece of straw clinging to Valerie hair, waggling it under her nose. " Been for a roll in the hay ?" he asked. Valerie tried to look shocked at his inappropriate attempt at humour, but couldn't stop a small smile curling her lips. This Mark had been hiding from her for too long, she hoped he meant to change that soon. Mark turned away and started to follow the line, kicking away loose debris when it disappeared from view.

" This trapdoor hasn't been moved recently, I don't think whoever took Dan has used this," Mark stated, standing with his hands on his hips as he looked at the surrounding, undisturbed ground.

" I'd have to agree, no-ones been in here in ages. Where to now ?"

" We'll continue to the back and see what's there before we return to the meeting point, we have enough time to give it a quick look," Mark answered, rummaging in his pack for a battery torch to help in the darkening shadows.

They carried on, reaching the rear wall and finding a patch of sunlight shining through a grimy window in the back of the barn. Under the window were a row of gas tanks, held in place with a strap. Mark and Valerie passed them by, noting the layers of dust on everything. They were nearing the last tank when they were assaulted with the smell of something dead. Valerie clapped a hand over her nose, choking at the aroma. Mark did the same but walked forward to examine the cause. He found several dead rats, at various stages of decomposition. The steady buzz of flies flying like vultures above the bodies sounded like the drone of small aircraft. The carcases were all grouped in front of the last gas tank. Mark tried to see any of the writing on the tank, but they were too grimy to read anything. He removed his hand to reach into his pack for a cloth to wipe off the writing at the bottom of the nearest tank. As he did so he felt a wave of dizziness blur his vision. Mark staggered slightly, reaching out to steady himself against the tank. The drone of the flies became a distant noise, buried under the buzzing in his head. He heard Valerie's concerned cry behind him and tried to turn to warn her to stay away. He was too late, he felt Valerie's touch on his arm, then she was in front of him, trying to get his attention, he could see her mouth moving but all sound was drowned by the buzzing sound. Valerie was pulling his arm, trying to turn him round and pull him away from the tanks and the rat bodies. He thought the barn was getting awfully dark, and tried to tell Valerie to get the torch out again, but his tongue seemed to have swelled to twice its size and he couldn't do more than mumble. Valerie continued to tug and pull him further from the dead rats, until his legs gave out and he slumped to his knees. He thought he heard Valerie screaming his name but the buzzing was drowning out all conscious thought. Finally the blackness overwhelmed him and the ground came up to kiss him.

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Betty and Barry had just turned to join up with Steve and Marna when they heard Valerie's frantic cries, together they turned and started to run towards the sound. Behind them they saw the figures of Steve and Marna heading in the same direction. Rounding the last straw bale Betty skidded to a halt, taking in the scene before her. Barry went to approach the still forms on the floor, but Betty held him back. Betty took in the dead rats, the tanks of unknown gas and the flies. She turned and quickly pulled the pack of Barry's back, nearly pulling him over in her haste.

" What is it, what's happened ?" Barry asked, a note of panic colouring his question. Betty continued to rummage in the pack, finally pulling out the material she used for arm slings.

" Barry I need your knife...now" Betty held out her hand. Barry didn't hesitate but dug his pen knife out of his trouser pocket and slapped it into Betty's hand. She immediately started to cut the triangle into two smaller ones. Then, after handing the knife back to the boy, she tied one of the triangles tightly around her face, covering her nose and mouth. Steve, some way ahead of Marna, came round the hay bale, taking in the situation in a glance.

"Gas," Betty explained, handing Steve the other triangle. After one quick glance, Steve tied it the same as Betty. Then they started towards the still bodies of Valerie and Mark.

Marna came up to Barry, gasping to catch her breath.

" What's happened ?" She asked.

" Something has knocked out Val and Mark, Betty thinks its a gas," he explained. Marna stared on as first Steve, then Betty reached the prone bodies. Steve turned Valerie onto her back, noting the blue around her mouth and bloodless lips. Picking her up, he started to carry her back to where Barry and Marna watched in horror. He carried his burden past them to the hay bales, putting as much distance between the tanks and themselves. After depositing Valerie on a pile of straw, he turned and ran back to where Betty was trying to turn Mark over. Steve, with Betty's help dragged the heavier man to where Valerie lay. Marna and Barry were already there, Marna providing a pillow for Valerie with her pack. Steve stood back as Betty checked Mark for a pulse and respiration, doing the same for Valerie after establishing that Mark still lived. Both had a bluish tint to their skin, their hands and faces looking almost translucent in the uncertain light from the window.

" Betty, can we move them ?" Steve asked, he'd taken off the makeshift mask and now crouched next to where Betty was taking Valerie's pulse.

" Steve, I just don't know, without knowing what they've been exposed to......." Betty tailed off, giving Steve a fear filled look.

" I'll call Fitzhugh, we'll need his help to get them back to the ship, Marna, Barry look around for anything we can use to make stretchers, poles, material, webbing anything."

Marna and Barry scuttled off, taking a torch and presently returned with four slim metal rods, each about six feet long.

" Will these do ?" Barry asked, showing them to Steve. He flexed them and tried to bend them, finding them lightweight but rigid.

" Perfect Barry, did you see anything we can use for the sling ?"

" I saw some sacking, over by those drums we passed, near the entrance," Marna offered.

" Get what you can, Barry you still have your knife ?" Barry nodded. "Okay, cut what you can..be back here as soon as possible, look out for Fitzhugh."

Barry, with Marna showing the way took off for the front of the barn.

Steve and Betty checked their fallen friends, Betty clucking over their light breathing and lack of response. Apart from their bluish appearance, Valerie and Mark looked peacefully asleep, but Steve knew it to be deceptive at best. He noticed that there was no eye movement at all under their lids, so he tried lifting Marks eyelids to check for dilation of the pupils, he reared back in shock after checking Marks eyes.

" What is it Steve, what did you see ?" Betty asked, alarmed.

" His eyes....the whites....they're completely blue."

" They can't be...let me check," Betty gently lifted Marks eyelids, finding exactly what Steve did. She then went and checked Valerie finding the same with her.

" Oh Steve, I've no experience with anything like this...what are we going to do ?"

" I don't know, I simply don't know."

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