Title: Suspicion
Chapter: 4
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG
Spoilers: hardly
Disclaimer: all IA, not mine, wish they were *boohoo*

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Betty had smeared the ointment liberally on Marks back and chest, he had been grateful for her gentle touch, the pain subsiding as the cream took effect. Valerie had told their tale as Betty had ministered to Mark, everyone had been appalled at their close call, with Marna gasping in horror at the thought of Mark's brush with death. Steve was concerned about their lack of a 'back door' escape on foot, but he did think the gorge would bear further exploration. They would form a climbing expedition once Mark was fully healed.

When Valerie reached the end of her story, Dan spoke up.

" We can't claim such excitement on our tour of duty. We reached the end of the southern leg well within the two hours. We spotted several fruiting tree's and bushes, and there's a clear animal track that runs parallel with the beach, roughly. We made good time, the undergrowth is really sparse. I don't think there's much wild life here, maybe because of that gorge, what we did see evidence of was small rodent life and birds. Nothing much bigger than an earth sparrow. Still nothing to indicate any Giant activity, no artefacts or buildings. Betty did snag a fishing line caught in the grass, complete with hook and sinker."

Dan looked over at Betty, who blushed. " I fairly tripped over it. Dan and Fitzhugh had to untangle me, it could have been washed up by a big wave..there were bits of seaweed attached " she observed.

" That means there might be surges at high tide, we may need to move further inland. How far from the sand line was the fishing tackle ?" asked Steve.

" Not far at all. If it was a high tide line, the ship is well back from it " Dan reassured.

" I for one thought the whole exercise a waste of time" stated Fitzhugh. He was massaging his foot while scowling at the fire. " We didn't see anything really useful..are we looking at staying in this cove for long ?" he queried.

" The fishing line is very useful Fitz, the hook alone would make a valuable grappling hook and the lead can be used for renewing our stock of tools. I've been drawing some sketches of a small smelter and lead would be a perfect test for it." said Mark.

" As for the decision to stay here for awhile, that's up to us all. " Steve continued. " We will see how the next few day's go and if all goes, we'll review our options then." He looked at Fitzhugh for any further comments. Fitzhugh just scowled and went back to putting on his shoe.

" So how did your expedition go, Steve ?" asked Dan.

" The northern end of the cove is very rocky and over-run by a dense grass-like plant. It reminded me of the sugar cane plantations on earth. Marna and Barry kept watch while I tried to penetrate a thicket but it was just too thick. We can rule out any chance of getting past it, but it could be useful for weaving, the 'grass' is very fibrous and what I could cut down pulled into strips very easily. Basket weaving anyone ?" smiled Steve.

" We did find a fresh water stream that ran down to the shore " offered Marna.

" We also found a strange collection of flotsam and jetsam all together in one place, I guess the waves pushed it all there." added Barry.

" So no-one has found anything to indicate that Giants frequent this place ?" asked Dan.

" It's starting to look that way, which makes this area the closest we've come to a 'safe haven' in my book." Steve looked at all the faces of his fellow castaways, their expressions varied from outright hope on Betty's expressive face, to an angry scowl from Fitzhugh, maybe realising the amount of work needed to set up a permanent camp again.

" So what are we saying " asked Valerie. " Are we deciding on this place as a permanent camp ?" She looked to Steve for confirmation.

" I say yes...we could fly further north, but there's no guarantee that there will be a better spot. We have almost all we need in the short term...I say it's ideal. Anyone disagree ?" He scanned the faces turned towards him.

" We need to recharge our batteries, and I'd like the opportunity to test some theories, so I agree with Steve, this seems as good a place as any " said Mark. Valerie nodded her agreement as well, along with Dan and Barry. Fitzhugh shrugged and gave a small nod of agreement, which left only Marna, who was looking a little lost, never having been given the chance to actually voice an opinion before. Steve saw her bewildered expression and took pity on her.

" Marna, we know this is all very new to you, trust me, we wouldn't consider this if we didn't all think it was safe " Steve looked Marna in the eye and saw her acceptance of his authority, something she was more comfortably with, given her lifelong acceptance of the Giants ruling her every move.

" Of course I don't have your experience with such things, so yes, I trust your judgement Steve, and all of you " She looked around at everyone, finally resting on Mark and giving him a languid stare. Valerie coughed and ducked her head to hide a smile. Mark just gave Marna a strained smile and went back to contemplating the fire.

The sun had set some time ago so they finished up the evening meal and sat around recounting their days observations and conjectures. Barry started to yawn so Betty took him off to get him settled. Although Barry was a teenager now, he still appreciated being 'mothered' by Betty, and she in turn loved Barry like a little brother so 'mothering' him was no effort.

Mark had fallen asleep on a blanket by the fire, his body tired out with the day's activities. Valerie kept watch beside him, herself worn out but not wanting to leave Mark's side, just yet.

Marna had given up hoping Valerie would leave and taken herself off to bed. Fitzhugh was already snoring, rolled up by the fire. Steve had decided to take first watch again and was up in the 'crows-nest' staring out towards the sound of the breakers. Betty came out of the Windsifter, wrapped in a blanket, indian style, coming to sit next to Valerie on the log. Both women watched the fire in companionable silence.

" Valerie, you've been very quiet since you got back from your trek, are you okay ?" Betty whispered to the silent women beside her.

" Mark's going to be alright, his injuries weren't serious, you're not worrying about them are you ?" Betty tried again.

" No Betty, I'm not worrying about his cuts......."

" So what's up ?" persisted the former stewardess.

" Betty, we were really in trouble out there. I know Mark played it down but I nearly lost him....it was terrifying Betty, Mark's life was hanging by a thread....literally !" Valerie covered her face with her hands, Betty reached over and took one of her hands, pulling it away from her face. Valerie's hand was shaking with reaction.

" But you didn't lose him Val. He's here, and still breathing...." soothed Betty.

Valerie leaned against her friends shoulder and Betty put an arm around the redhead in comfort. Together they watched the fire, sending up sparks into the star strewn sky.

Betty had gone to bed shortly afterwards, leaving Valerie nodding off by the fire when Mark stirred, stretching without thinking, producing a pain filled moan as his skin pulled the tender cuts. Valerie snapped awake and came to kneel next to Mark's blankets.

" Oh god, I thought it was all a bad dream " Mark groaned.

Valerie smiled and helped him to sit up, provoking much hissing and gritting of teeth from Mark. Valerie winced in sympathy. Once upright, Valerie went to the hot water, keeping warm on the fire and poured it into two mugs containing coffee. She handed one to Mark and blew on hers to cool it enough to drink. Mark had pulled up the blanket around his bare shoulders as the temperature had dropped since sundown. Valerie was wearing one of Marks jackets, nearly swamped inside its warm folds. They sipped their drinks in silence, relishing the peace, broken occasionally by Fitzhugh's gentle snores across the fire from their makeshift log-seat.

" Everyone gone to bed ?" Mark asked.

Valerie pointed to the tree where Mark could just make out Steve's silhouette in the gloom.

" Everyone but the boy-scout" Valerie replied.

Mark hitched the blanket higher. " What's the plan for tomorrow ?"

" Steve didn't want to go into that until you were up and about. I would imagine that we'll be kept busy setting up the camp." Valerie finished up the dregs of her coffee, placing it beside the log.

" Why don't you turn in, Val, I'll stay up till Steve gets off watch and talk to him then."

" If your sure, how is your back and chest feeling ?" she asked.

" A lot better, thanks to Betty's ointment " Mark flexed his shoulder's provoking another round of grimaces. " Well maybe not that much better." He shifted on the log, trying to keep the blanket off his tender skin.

" I'll go get a clean shirt for you to put on, that should stop the blanket from rubbing." Valerie got up, shortly emerging from the Windsifter with a much mended but clean shirt, from Mark's dwindling supply. She eased it over his arms and back, careful not to scrape his skin.

" I'll go to bed now, anything else you need ?" Valerie asked.

" Yeah...a double bed, with a feather mattress, seen any around here?" Mark joked. Valerie blushed rosily, then leaned over and gave Mark a lingering kiss before leaving him and entering the ship, she turned and gave him a wave before disappearing from his sight.

Mark sighed and decided to ask Steve about separate sleeping accommodation's for himself and Valerie. They had put on hold any further progress, but now it was time to move things along. Mark had never been a patient man, and his feelings for Valerie were making him want everything he could have, right now. He felt that Valerie was not far behind him in that wish either. He sat there, gazing into the fire, mentally designing the layout of their camp, until Steve climbed down and joined him on the log after waking up Fitzhugh for his watch duty. They could still hear Fitz grumbling to himself as he tramped over to the rope, clutching his blanket.

" So Steve, how do you want to proceed tomorrow ?" Mark started.

" I guess we should check out the immediate area, then map out where the latrines will be, the best place for the sleep-out and maybe a storage area. Did you come across any caves in your trek ?" Steve asked.

" No caves, but then we didn't have enough time to really explore beyond the path. The ground seems to be predominantly sandy, like dunes, or sandstone...too unstable for caves. We could just use the ship for our storage and everyone sleep outside for a change." Mark suggested.

" That's a possibility, do we have enough rope to make up the extra beds ?"

" We do now, that fishing line will be perfect for strapping wood together, I don't see any problem there."

" Let's leave the rest of the details till the morning, I'm beat " Steve yawned widely making Mark smile.

" I'll stay up for awhile longer, I feel a little sore, sleep's going to take some time tonight." Mark stoked the fire, sending up sparks into the velvet sky.

Steve bid him goodnight and went to wrap himself in his blankets, asleep soon after his head hit his pillow.

Mark slept soon afterwards, the night sounds lulling him into a peaceful, healing sleep.

The next day dawned fine, and after a discussion over their breakfast coffee, everyone was given their tasks for the morning, spreading out and ferrying gear and supplies back and forth. Mark, still feeling stiff from the previous day, sat and drew up plans for the layout of the camp. The women decided it was time for a major laundry wash, so a blanket was used to gather together everyone's dirty clothes, then carried between Betty and Marna, followed by Valerie with a bucket of their 'organic detergent', to the stream south of the ship. They found a large pool, upstream of the shallow ford Steve had found the previous day. There were several rock's scattered at the edge, perfect for washing on. They had found a plant that had similar properties to detergent, frothing when pounded, so it had been adopted as their general purpose cleaning agent. The washing process tended to be hard on their worn clothes but atleast they were as clean as possible.

Betty and Valerie quickly got into the routine, with Marna helping by wringing out and spreading the clothes over the near bushes to dry in the warm sunshine. The morning passed quickly, Marna was just spreading the last of the shirt's over the bushes when all three women heard a strange noise. Marna looked over at Betty and Valerie, to gauge their reaction. "What is that ?" she asked.

" Valerie, we've heard that before..but I can't place it." Betty remarked, looking up into the clear sky, while Valerie scanned the surrounding vegetation, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.

" Betty, the last time I hear that noise was when we were trapped in that model town...the one with that ghastly little girl, remember ?"

" You mean the force field ? but how can that be...we've seen nothing to indicate any Giants around here...why would there be a forcefield ?" Betty edged closer to Valerie, together with Marna, until they stood back to back, scanning the undergrowth.

" We could have missed something. Did any of you bring a radio ?" Valerie asked.

Betty and Marna shook their heads, suddenly realising how vulnerable they were. The sound was rising, becoming a screech. All the women clapped their hands over their ears to try and shut out the sound.

Valerie noticed the bushes around them seemed to shimmer with the sound, although she couldn't feel any breeze or disturbance herself. Her vision started to blur as the sound seemed to overwhelm her brain, she could see Betty and Marna having similar reactions, Marna's knees buckling, sinking to the ground in a heap, Betty followed shortly afterwards, both women unconscious from the assault on their senses. Valerie managed to keep her feet a fraction longer, her last view being of the drying laundry, shaking and vibrating as if blown by a strong wind, before her senses shut down and she passed out.

An hour later Barry, with Chipper in tow, reached the same spot. Seeing the laundry, now bone dry, flapping in the slight breeze, he looked around, expecting to see the girls sunning themselves and talking, or starting to gather the clothes together. Instead he saw nothing, no girls, nobody. The ground was flattened in three areas, the grass and ferns crushed as if from a body or heavy object. There was no sign of anyone remaining, and no obvious evidence of foul play. He scanned around the ground one more time, a glint catching his eye. Barry crouched down, seeing an earing, nearly buried under a squashed plant. It had been worn by Betty only that morning, he remembered because Dan had made some remark about it. Chipper started to growl and yip. Barry decided it was time to get back to camp and get help. He still couldn't see what might have happened to the women, but he didn't want to wait any longer before getting help. He took off, with Chipper barking at his heels, as fast as he could.

He reached the camp in record time. Barry skidded to a halt, panting and shouting for Steve inbetween gasps. Mark eased himself up as Dan and Steve came running, Fitzhugh came out of the ship with an armful or stuff. " Where are the girls? where are my shirts ?" Fitz asked.

" Their not there, their gone." Barry rasped.

" Whoa slow down Barry, what do you mean, their gone ?" Steve grasped the boy's arms, trying to calm him. Barry showed Steve the earing.

" I went to the stream, the laundry is all there but Valerie and Betty are not, there's nothing there...Marna's missing too."

Mark and Dan exchanged a look, then quickly started to gather together the ropes and grapnels, Mark hefting the hatchet, while Dan grabbed the radio's.

" Barry, you and Fitzhugh stay with the ship, in case the girls come back. We'll radio if we find them." Steve instructed, pulling on his jacket, then together with Mark and Dan left the campsite at a run.

They reached the stream, finding nothing more than Barry, but deducing from the flattened plants that the girls had been lying there, whether unconscious or injured it wasn't clear, although the lack of blood indicated the former.

They looked around for any tracks or signs leading from the stream in all directions.

They found only one footprint on the far side of the stream.

Steve shared a worried glance with the other men. The 'footprint' was Giant size.