Title: Suspicion
Chapter: 3
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG, Adventure
Archive: sure, just let me know
Spoilers: hardly
Feedback: craved and cherished...please
Disclaimer: not mine, wishes etc all I.A.'s

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Dan shifted his position to relieve the cramp in his leg. The sun was just rising, creating a colourful sky. He appeared to be the only thing awake this early in the morning. Only the occasional call from some yet to be seen bird broke the dawn serenity. The dull roar of the waves behind the greenery provided a soothing counterpoint to Fitzhugh's snores. Dan smiled as he scanned the area, he was pretty sure Fitzhugh had shaved a couple of hours off his own shift, but given his age, Dan was prepared to forgive him....this time. Dan enjoyed taking the last shift, enabling him to experience the beauty of sunrise while his companions slept. He had talked over this day agenda with Steve before he retired, and it was going to prove interesting to see what the other's thought of Steve's overall plan. Dan trusted Steve with his life, had done so on many occasions, but he had grave misgiving's about their future on this planet. Dan for all for shooting off into space on the off chance that the space warp was still around. Mark wanted time to plot and plan and calculate, but then that was Mark for you. Steve tended to think along similar lines, but he also wanted the best for everyone, an impossible task for anyone. Dan just hoped they found a place to set up their base camp soon, because he didn't think the current meld of personalities would survive a long trip cooped up inside the windowless Windsifter.

Dan glanced down, seeing movement. Mark had unrolled from his blankets, stretching, then looking up to wave to Dan. Dan waved back and watched him disappear behind the ship. The door of the Windsifter slid open and Barry slipped out, he also looked up into the tree and waved to Dan. Mark appeared around the end of the Windsifter and called a good morning to Barry who passed him, heading to the bushes.

" Don't go too far Barry." Mark warned.

" I won't, I learned that lesson yesterday." said Barry.

Mark continued on towards the small firepit in the middle of the sleeping area, he poked at the embers, gathering some grasses and twigs to stir the fire back into life. Dan decided to stay in the crow's nest for the time being, until the rest of the traveller's had woken up. Mark got the fire going then picked up the water jug to refill it from the drum outside the ship's hatchway. Barry and Fitzhugh had refilled the water supply last night before turning in, there was a small stream about 10 feet from the Windsifter's nose, so they had taken the opportunity to top up their fresh water supplies. The last drum had been left outside to make it easier to access for their needs. Mark had rigged a purifier from some of the fine packaging material, acting like a microfibre filter, and attached it to the spigot. Dan could smell the coffee brewing, the familiar aroma waking Steve as well. Betty came to the doorway and surveyed the morning activity, then turned and acknowledged Marna coming up behind her, together the two girls descended and joined Mark at the fire. The air was quickly warming up and it looked like another hot fine day. Now that they were all away from the shelter of their forest, they would have to create hats or an efficient sunblock, otherwise they would soon be dealing with severe cases of sunburn. Steve was sitting up, talking to Mark and Betty, while Marna sat down on a log dragged over for the purpose last night. She was watching Mark's every move intently, Dan had seen Valerie and Mark return to camp, with Marna in tow and he had thought that everything had been straightened out, but it would appear that Marna was not about to accept the situation lying down. Betty had collected the mugs and was busy filling them from the steaming coffee pot being held for her by Mark. Steve took a mug, then turned and called up to Dan. " The coffee's perfect Dan, come and get some."

" Better get in before Valerie wakes up " joked Betty, Valerie's ability to down several cups of coffee in quick succession to wake herself up was a standing joke.

" I'll be right down." said Dan.

He climbed down the knotted rope, reaching the ground just as Barry returned to the camp, the boy accepting a cup from Betty and sat next to Marna on the log. Fitzhugh continued to sleep on, despite the low voiced conversations taking place all around him. Dan flopped down next to Steve.

" Not a sign of any movement on my shift, anyone else see anything move out there last night ?" he asked.

" I'm sure I heard that plane taking off, the one that nearly flattened us. It didn't fly over here but I could faintly hear its engines." said Steve.

" Wonder what they were doing at that beach ?" asked Betty.

" We'll never know....as long as they stay there and don't come here, I'll be happy " said Steve.

They all sipped their hot drinks, savouring the tasty brew and soaking up the warm sunshine.

" Someone shake Fitzhugh, we need to start scouting this area, Mark, you go wake Valerie, she'll want to be part of it " said Steve.

Mark nodded and got up, turning towards the ship when Marna suddenly got up.

" Don't worry yourself Mark, I'll go wake Valerie " before Mark could reply she had whisked into the ship, leaving the group staring after her.

Mark turned back, looking baffled. He would have liked to have woken Valerie himself, but it would have made Marna look foolish if he had insisted on it. He got a spare cup and poured some coffee ready for Valerie when she came out.

Marna quickly came back out, followed by a rumpled Valerie, rubbing her eye's and squinting into the sunshine. Mark came over and handed her the coffee, getting a grateful smile, and a peck on the cheek as a reward. Marna walked back to the log with a satisfied smile on her smooth face. Steve shrewdly guessed that Valerie's wake up call from Marna hadn't been entirely pleasant. Valerie had joined the group by the fire, wishing everyone a good morning and receiving a chorus of replies which made everyone laugh. After the last few days of being on constant alert it was pleasant to start the day this way, with no immediate or apparent threat to their health and well-being. Everyone appeared to be in a holiday mood, and Steve, for one, was sorry to break up the happy moment. He banged his mug on a convenient rock to get everyone's attention.

" Okay people, we need to form scouting parties to survey our immediate area for resources and possible hazards. We need to be absolutely sure that there are no Giants here, or nearby...we also need to establish where the best place for a base camp would be, if this turns out to be a suitable safe-haven" Steve looked around at the expectant faces hanging on his every word.

" Mark, Valerie, your objective is to scout out as far as two hours will take you, in a straight line inland from the Windsifter. This will give us a general layout to work from. You'll need to log any points of interest so take what you need from the utility room. I don't expect you to be gone longer than 4 to 5 hours maximum. Also take one of the flare pistols in case you run into trouble."

Mark nodded, accepting Steve's instructions, briefly looking to Valerie to gauge her reaction, she returned his look with a smile, no problem as far as she was concerned.

" Dan, Betty and Fitzhugh will take the southern end of the cove, while Marna, Barry and I will take the northern end. That should give us a good overall picture of the geography and resources available to us. We should all plan on being back here before nightfall. Take whatever provisions you need and take note of anything useful." Dan nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"I don't want any surprises like yesterday, so keep alert. Any questions ?" Steve scanned the faces, seeing acceptance of his orders making him release a mental sigh of relief. He didn't expect any complaints but he had knocked heads with Mark too often to be complaisant, obviously a day spent in Valerie's company would provide a big enough carrot to soothe Mark's objections....this time.

Everyone bustled about, gathering packs and supplies, checking weapons and food, the water bottles were filled and suitable clothing adopted. The temperature continued to rise as the morning progressed but Steve was pleased to note that all the groups were ready for action thirty minutes later. Mark and Valerie headed off, keeping the Windsifter's position behind them. Mark had the only compass in the group, as the other's were going north and south so they could keep the sun as their guide out and back.

The first half hour out from the camp was through lush green low growth. Mark had found an animal trail early on and the walking was easy. There didn't seem to be many Giant tree's on this coastline, although they had to climb over several twisted roots rising out of the ground but having no apparent parent tree. Mark supposed they could be ground vines, rather than roots but without a high vantage point to take a bearing they were only guesses at best. Valerie had got over her fright of the previous day, and a good night's sleep had recharged her batteries. They munched breakfast as they tramped, not wanting to waste any time on a meal break. The temperature was now hot and humid as the green growth around them steamed in the morning sun, Valerie felt the sweat sticking her light dress to her back in patches. Mark had rolled his shirt sleeves up and large dark patches on his back proved he was perspiring freely in the heat. The ground had been steadily rising the further they got from the Windsifter, until they were now quite high, the terrain had changed to sand and rocks and Valerie supposed they were climbing the equivalent of mini sand dunes. The rocks were getting progressively bigger as they walked on, turning from largish boulders, to huge, house sized monoliths, towering over them and providing large patches of welcome shade. Mark had climbed to the top of one, trying to see what may be ahead of them, but they were now approaching a grove of Giant trees, so whatever lay in front of them remained a mystery. They had seen a few animals on the trail, a small rabbit, a mouse plus a few birds had been seen hopping about the rocks, but nothing had shown the slightest interest in the tiny intruders passing through their domain. Valerie could see the huge trees in their path, the dark shade seeming sinister after the bright sunshine. They only had another half an hour before they would have to turn back, and so far nothing of note had been discovered. A small lake among the rocks proved too brackish to drink, harbouring a swarm of mosquito like insects. The tussock and bush they had already passed through had not included any fruiting bushes, but given their narrow margin of exploration, there could be an orchard hidden beyond the track. They passed into the grove of Giant trees, waiting a moment while their eye's adjusted to the gloom, then they found another animal trail and followed that as it disappeared among the mammoth trunks. The sound of a great many birds in the canopy became apparent, the chirping and squeaking of the flock of birds moving and flitting about the roof of the forest was almost deafening. Mark and Valerie moved as quickly as possible, hoping to get out of the noisy environment as soon as possible, and it was probably their haste that almost caused a tragedy.

Mark was in front, pushing through a dense patch of ferns, the sound of the birds drowning out any other sounds, so that when Mark suddenly disappeared from view, Valerie didn't hear his cry of surprise, despite being right behind him, it was almost her undoing. She pushed through the same patch of ferns and found herself nearly pitched into fresh air. The ground fell away from her feet in a sickening sheer drop, Valerie threw herself backwards, windmilling her arms to get her balance, grasping handfuls of the dense ferns she pulled herself away from the edge.

" Oh my god......Mark...MARK !"

" DOWN HERE....." Valerie could hear Marks faint cry from over the precipice. She scabbled to the edge on her stomach, peering over the drop. Mark was about six feet below the lip, spreadeagled, face first, against the cliff face, his feet perched on a narrow ledge. Dirt still cascaded down on him and he shook his head to clear his face, not wanting to remove his fingers from the handholds in the dirt. Mark had managed, by some miracle, to twist himself to face the cliff when he felt the earth disappear beneath his feet, he had then slid down the near vertical face, his feet hitting the ledge squarely, preventing him from pitching to the rocks below. Valerie looked along the steep edge, trying to locate anything that she could use to help Mark, she spotted a root, shaken loose from the soil, hanging about three feet from Marks right hand.

" Mark, I think I see a way to get help to you, hang on " Valerie inched herself back from the edge, then getting to her feet she pushed her way through the vegetation to where the root hung over the ledge. Getting on her stomach again, she was able to reach down and grasp the thin, fibrous root, it wasn't attached at the bottom end so she was able to get it swinging, each arc getting closer to Mark's hand.

Mark shook his head again to clear the dirt from his eyes, turning his face towards Valerie's position, seeing what she was trying to do. His feet had a precarious hold on the ledge and he knew he would only have one shot at grabbing it. Valerie swung the root harder, it almost reached Mark's hand, one more heave should get it there.

" Mark...it's nearly there, can you reach it ?"

" Just a bit closer, Val.....almost there.." Mark made a grab for the root as it came close, he managed to snag it with two fingers, then pull it fully into his hand. The next problem was getting his other hand onto it. He was facing the wall with no way of turning or pushing away without losing his toe hold, he inched his grip up the root, getting a strong hold, then threw himself out and sideways, towards Valerie, bringing his other arm around to grasp the root, above his right hand, slipping down slightly as his full weight was taken by his straining muscles. He swung, bouncing against the cliff face, showering more dirt on himself, but he held on. Hand over hand he slowly pulled himself up the tendril, using any toeholds to give him extra leverage. Valerie backed away from the lip to give him room to climb over. Eventually his head appeared, then his shoulders, and finally he heaved himself over the edge, panting and covered in grit and dirt.

Valerie grabbed his belt and backpack, pulling him further onto the plateau, then finally they collapsed, side by side, panting.

" Watch that last step " quipped Mark.

" Oh Mark, how can you joke...you could have died " panted Valerie.

She rolled over and flung herself on his body, crying from the shock of the near disaster. Mark just lay with his eyes closed, panting from the effort, his hands eventually finding her back and stoking her in an attempt to comfort her.

The birds cacophony continued unabated above them as the sun dappled the shade.

They lost track of how long they stayed there, near the edge, but eventually Valerie calmed enough to roll off Mark and help him to lose the backpack and assess his injuries. His chest and face were bruised and lacerated from the descent against the rock face, and his hands were cut and torn from gripping the rough surface. Overall he was only superficially hurt, but the cuts stung as his salty perspiration leaked into the wounds. Valerie helped him peel his shredded and bloody shirt from his torso, using the sleeves as cloths, soaking them in water and cleaning the worst of the cuts of the blood and dirt encrusting them.

Valerie, on Marks insistence had gone back on her belly to the precipice to get an idea of it's depth and width. She reported back that it deep enough to almost be 150 feet and she thought the width was about 50 feet. Almost like a crevasse, just no snow. The bottom was lined with greenery and possibly water, but she didn't have a clear view of it. It appeared to stretch for miles in each direction, making a natural barrier to animal and Little People alike. A Giant could probably jump it, but even they would find it a natural hazard for the unwary. The sides were festooned with the roots from the tree's making the sides almost 'hairy' with the fibrous growths. She could hear running water but couldn't see it.

She worked her way backwards from the lip, returning to where Mark rested against a rock. He had pulled a spare t-shirt loaned from Steve out of the backpack and was in the process of easing it over his sore chest. The wounds were clean but still bled sluggishly. Valerie took hold of the bigger backpack, handing the smaller, lighter one to Mark.

" You need to take care of those cuts, this shouldn't pull too much on your skin " she said. Mark eyed the smaller pack.

" I'm not letting you carry all that, I can manage, just pad the straps and it'll be fine " he groused.

" Oh yes, and how will that feel after an hour of walking with the weight rubbing your sweat into the wounds ?" Valerie folded her arms and regarded Mark with a frown.

" I can manage " Mark grated, hating the weakness of his body already starting to feel sore and abused. He was damned if he'd let Valerie carry the load. He tried to get to his feet and had to bite back a cry when he pulled at the muscles on his back, opening the scrapes.

" Oh sure, Mr Bigshot, you can manage...Mark, let me do this, I'm stronger than I look " Valerie shot back. She grabbed the bigger back and swung it onto her own back, grunting when the weight thumped her on the back. Mark eased himself upright, picking up the smaller pack but not putting it on his back, preferring to carry it by hand for the first part of their trip back.

" We've covered all the ground we can, let's head back. I want to get out of this forest as soon as possible." He held out his hand." Give me the compass, I'll take a reading so we can locate this gorge if Steve decides it's worth a closer look. " Valerie handed over the compass and the journal. Mark scribbled some details on a page before packing it into his own pack.

" Let's get out of here " Mark started to retrace their steps, with Valerie giving the hidden gorge one last look before heading off under the towering trees.

They exited the dark forest, shading their eye's from the afternoon sun, the quiet once they moved away from the vicinity of the birds tree's was a balm to their ears. The huge rocks marking the trail were baking in the sun, giving off heat in waves. They stopped for a water break after walking for half an hour. Mark's cuts were still bleeding, but only slowly, they tended to make the t-shirt stick to his skin, making it very painful for him. He leaned against the rock, in deep shade, loathe to try sitting as it pulled at all the lacerations. Valerie handed him back the water bottle and tried to wipe the trickling sweat from her face.

" I can't believe how hot it is....it's almost as if we're near the equator of this planet."

" It might just be the effect of the sheltering forest, stopping any breeze from getting near us. It's certainly stifling around these rocks." Mark pushed his sweat soaked hair off his forehead. The air fairly shimmered around them. They could see the sea off in the distance, looking cool and inviting. Valerie could almost imagine herself diving into the cold waves, then the thought of the crabs reduced the dream to just pouring a bucket of water over her head.

They carried on after a brief respite, getting to within hailing distance of the Windsifter as the sun began to sink behind them, streaking the sky with vivid pinks and gold.

They could see the smoke from a fire rising above the ship in a lazy spiral, hardly moving in the still air. Someone was back, maybe they had more success. Mark certainly hoped they had a less eventful trip than Val and him. The discovery of the gorge certainly limited their retreat if it came to that but on the plus side, they had seen no evidence that Giants came anywhere near this piece of coastline, which counted for something.

At that precise moment, as they approached the camp, Mark only wanted two things, to have Valerie dress his cuts, using some of Betty's home remedy analgesic ointment and a soft bed to sleep in. Valerie was thinking along surprisingly similar line, she just wanted to get Mark attended to properly and see him settled comfortably for the night. The two weary explorers rounded the end of the Windsifter and were hailed by the rest of their friends around the fire, the smell of something cooking wafting to their hungry noses, making their stomach's growl in unison. Valerie laughed with Mark at the importunate behaviour of their stomachs, then shucked her pack, helping Mark ease his off, and went to hear their friends adventures, and to tell their own.