Title: Rain
Author: Squeezynz@free.net.nz
Chapter: 5
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG, Adventure
Feedback: grovel grovel
Spoilers: hardly
Archive: Let me know where,please
Disclaimer: *yawn* blah blah Irwin Allen...zzzzzzzzzz

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The boy was having a hard time coping with his alarming situation. He felt bewildered and frightened and just wanted to be back home, safe and fed. He couldn't really remember much about the actual abduction. One minute he had been playing in the back garden of his parents house, the next he was being bundled roughly into the back seat of a car. He didn't understand what the two men wanted with him, the concept of kidnapping and ransom were just not words in his vocabulary. He wanted to go home....now. He was cold, tired, scared and hungry. His hands were sore from the cord used to bind him, and his mouth was chafed from the smelly rag they used to gag him. They had removed the gag when he was first put down here, and the boy was too traumatised to do much more than whimper and sniffle. The thought of trying to catch anyone's attention by shouting or screaming was never formed. So he sat, on the cold, damp earth of the basement; hugging his knees and rocking, trying to keep warm while the feeble light of the lantern only served to heighten the eerie, horrible room they had left him in. Even the sight of the moon shining feebly through the small window didn't cheer him. He was broken from his contemplation of his knees by a sound at the top of the stairs. It sounded a bit like a rat or something, he didn't like rats, the family cat had caught one once and he had seen it close up, nasty ugly things. He hoped it wasn't a rat.

Mark had made a thorough survey of the stairs and had decided that it would be a better idea to try and contact the prisoner from up on the step, where they were, rather than try to climb all the way down, and then have to climb even harder to get up. Valerie had agreed with him so now he was going to try and establish some sort of contact with the boy down in the cellar.

"HELLO DOWN THERE, CAN YOU HEAR ME ?" Mark waited a beat then continued.

"IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, BUT CAN'T SPEAK, TRY TO KNOCK AGAINST SOMETHING SO I'LL KNOW YOU ARE LISTENING." Here Mark paused to give the boy a chance to reply. He gave Valerie a quick look and she smiled her encouragement.

They heard someone shuffling their feet, or atleast the sounds of some sort of movement at the bottom of the stairs. Soon they could make out the boys face, glowing palely in the lanterns soft light. He looked very afraid and Valerie's heart went out to him.

"It's alright, we don't mean to hurt you, can you hear us okay ?" Valerie tried to sound as sympathetic as possible in an effort to get some response from the distraught child.

The boy continued to peer up the stairs, as if not quite sure where to focus his sight, as if, in fact, he didn't quite believe what his eyes were telling him.

"Are you real ?" the boy asked.

Mark replied. " Yes, we are very real. Are you okay ?"

"I want to go home, please, can I go home now ?"

Valerie nearly broke down at the heartfelt plea in the boys voice.

"Oh Mark, we have to do something " she whispered in his ear, so the boy couldn't hear her.

"I know, I know...let me try again " Mark turned back to the boy, who was now standing at the bottom of the steps and looking warily up at them.

"What's your name, my names Mark and this is Valerie, we want to help you if we can. "

The boy sniffed. "My names Terril....and...and...I want to go home"

"Yes Terril, we want to help you get home too...are there any windows or doors down in the cellar, can you see any way to get out ?" Mark almost held his breath waiting for the answer.

"There is a window, its small and dirty, I can see the moon through it." The boy lifted his bound hands and wiped at the tears and runny nose that were already liberally smeared over his face.

"Terril is the window big enough for you to crawl through ?"

"I dunno...maybe"

"Do you think you could open it, if your hands were free ?"

"My hands hurt...alot...."

"I know your hands hurt Terril, and I'm sorry they hurt you, but do you think you could open the window if they were free ?" Mark was trying to be as patient as possible, but he felt they had to move this along as time was not on their side.

"I dunno....I could try, but how am I going to free my hands ?"

"Do you think you could climb up these steps to us, then I could use something to cut the cord " Mark held up the hatchet so Terril could see the blade.

"Okay, I'll come up to you....don't go away, will you ?"

Valerie answered this time. "Its alright Terril, we won't leave you, you come up now, and we'll be waiting for you here on the top step."

"Do I need to bring the light up to you as well ?" Terril had almost started up when that thought occurred to him.

"No its okay, we'll be able to see well enough, you just get up here as soon as you can." Mark backed away from the edge of the step and Valerie moved back as well. They only had to wait a few minutes before Terril's head came into view, then the rest of him, then he sat on the step below them and extended his arms, resting his bound hands on the top step for Mark to inspect. Valerie put her fingers over her mouth in horror when she saw the painful welts left by the cord on the boys tender wrists.

"Oh you poor boy "

"Its okay, they don't hurt so bad now, I can't feel my fingers anymore, and my dad is always telling me to be brave if I hurt myself "

"Just keep your hands as still a possible Terril, and I'll try to cut the cord " Mark moved between the boys bound hands and started to saw at the cord. It was going to take a little longer than he wanted, as the hatchet was already partially blunt from cutting up all the map pieces. Finally with a grunt he cut through the last persistent wire, and the cord slackened. Terril waggled his hands and the cord loosened and fell away. He groaned with relief and tried to shake his hands to get the feeling back, unfortunately the pain of the blood rushing into his fingers made him cry out, and Mark had to waves his hands in a shushing movement, at the same time listening for any sign that the Giants had heard the boys cry. They were all silent for a heartbeat, but nothing changed in the sounds above the trapdoor, so Mark looked back at the boy as he rubbed his sore arms.

"I know you're sore Terril, but can you go down to the window and see if you can open it now ?"

"Okay Mark, I'll go try it now." The boy quickly and quietly descended the stairs and went to the small window. By crouching down Mark could just see the latch. He fervently hoped it wasn't as corroded as the rest of the house, beside him, he could see that Valerie had her fingers crossed for luck. They could hear the boy wrestling with the catch, making soft grunting noises as he fought the stubborn piece of metal.

Suddenly, with a loud click, the latch gave and the window swung inwards, making a loud squeaking groan. Mark and Valerie jumped and quickly swung round to the knothole to check on the Giants. Again their luck seemed to be holding out, no evidence of sound or movement from the other room.

Terril was back at the bottom step. "I can't reach the window to climb through " He looked about ready to cry again.

"Can you see any boxes or chairs you can stand on, to make you taller ?" Mark was trying to look around as well, in case he could see something the boy missed.

"I don't know, hang on.....yes, there is a box. "

"Good, then drag it over, underneath the opening ,and try and climb through the window...can you do that ?" Valerie was gripping Marks arm in anticipation and excitement, their rescue appeared to be going very smoothly.

"Okay....the box is heavy." Mark could see Terril trying to drag the box over to the window, it seemed to be taking an age, but in reality it only took a few minutes. Now Terril could reach the window with ease, the only problem being to keep the window open long enough for him to squeeze through.

"Terril....try to find a stick to prop the window open if you can ".

"There's one in the corner....its a bit yucky." Valerie smiled at the child's comment. Terril was able to prop the window open wide now, so Mark urged him on.

"You have to climb out the window now...hurry Terril..when you get outside you need to run as fast as you can down the driveway until you reach the road...can you do that ?"

"I'm scared of the dark.."

"I know you are, but you want to go home, don't you ? That's the only way....remember to run down the driveway to the road, then try to flag down a car if you see one. But Terril, remember, if you hear a car behind you on the driveway...hide. You got all that ?" Mark listened intently as the boy repeated his instructions back to him, Terril was a bright boy and he wanted very badly to go home.

"Thank you" Terril called. "will I see you again ?" Terrils plaintive voice floated up to them from outside the basement window.

"Maybe ...now hurry, run as fast as you can....good bye."

Mark straightened up from his crouch at the edge of the top step.

"Well we've done all we can for him, its down to dumb luck from here on in. Lets get ourselves saved now." With that comment Mark turned back to the rope behind them and started climbing up towards the knothole and their own survival.

Valerie and Mark ran all the way back to the travois, not bothering to hide themselves this time. They quickly gathered the map pieces and placed them on the framework, tying them securely with the ropes. The rest of the map would have to wait for another expedition. Taking a firm grip on the lead rope and leaning into the shoulder harness Mark took the load and started to drag the sled at a steady pace towards the front door. Valerie, using the other pull rope, helped. Together they reached the door and negotiated the front path without a hitch, reaching the relative safety of the unkempt edge of the driveway without mishap. They were both breathing hard and sweating freely by the time they took a rest, out of sight of the shack, and snug up against the first of the Giant trees that lined the track.

"Oh my god " Valerie panted " I never thought we'd get out of that alive" Mark was bending over beside her, trying to catch his labored breathing. Eventually he straightened up and looked over at his sweaty and dishevelled helpmate.

"I certainly hope that Terril gets far enough away before one of those Giants need a bathroom break." He shook off the harness and sank down onto a damp mossy covered root. The night had remained dry, and the moon, although weak, provided enough light for them to see clearly. Everything remained dark behind them and there were no obvious noises one would associate with the Giants discovering their quarry gone.

"I know we've both worked damn hard tonight, but I want to be as far away as possible before daylight. We're still too close to avoid discovery when the Giants awake. Do you think you can keep going ?"

Mark knew that Valerie would keep going as long and as far as he needed her too, but he also knew her stamina, although formidable, was not inexhaustible. Valerie shook her head at him.

"You really need to ask. Get me outta here Flyboy.....NOW !"

Mark smiled and with a groan eased himself back into the harness, then together they pulled their treasure laden sleigh towards the steadily thickening forest.

Dawn found them far away from the shack, so far that they never even heard the ruckus when Kettick and Travin awoke to find all their plans shot to hell. Their ransom was so much smoke now the kid had vanished in the night. All they could do was hurriedly pack the car and try to drive as fast down the rutted track as the suspension would allow them. Unfortunately it wasn't fast enough as the police caught them neatly as they exited the overgrown driveway onto the main road. Terril had struck it lucky in being able to flag down a passing trucker, who radioed the Police, who quickly organised the trap for the would-be-kidnappers. Terril told his story to anyone who would listen about the Little People who had helped him escape. Of course that never made the papers, but Terril knew the truth, as did his grateful parents who vowed to help any Little People who ever came their way in future.

After all the excitement over the past few days the trip back to the Spindrift was almost boring...almost but not quite. Valerie and Mark had a lot of topics that needed clarifying by one or the other of them, and that kept them occupied almost until they reached camp. They had radioed Steve and told him an abbreviated version of their adventure, wanting to save the details for all the members of the group to enjoy. It would certainly make for a great after dinner fireside entertainment for awhile. The rain managed to hold off until the last day before they got home, then the skies opened and they once again squelched they way along the track. They collected a few more of the grape like berries, with the highly acidic juice, with a view to experimenting on various metals to see the effect. You never know when a metal eating acid could be useful in a rescue attempt.

Each night they made a big fuss about setting up the tent, then they would sit close together, side-by-side, sometimes talking, other times just enjoying each others presence, until one of them fell asleep on the others shoulder, usually Valerie. Then Mark would pick her up and carry her to the tent, get her settled and then climb into his blanket and watch her sleep until he drifted off as well. It was almost an idyllic period that they both relished. All too soon they would have to go back to their previous status. Mark had almost asked Valerie on several occasions if she would countenance them setting up a separate sleeping area, just for the two of them. Not exactly sleeping together, in its fullest sense, but sleeping next to each other, waking up together...maybe working toward the natural conclusion at their own pace. If he had only known how many times Valerie had bitten her lip, to prevent herself blurting out her own fervent wish, to carry on sleeping with him. Maybe it wouldn't have taken him until the last night to finally voice his own desires in that regard. As it was, the last night they spent on the trail was the sweetest yet.

It was also a near disaster.