Title: Suspicion
Chapter: 5
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG
Archive: Sure, let me know where, please
Spoilers: a few teeny ones
Feedback: cherished and craved
Disclaimer: no money, no foul, all IA's

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Betty was the first to stir, she groaned and rolled over onto her back, covering her eye's with her hand as a bright light stung her eye's.

She squinted through her fingers as they became accustomed to the light, trying to establish where she was. Her lower body told her she was sitting on some form of dry grass, it rustled and crackled as she shifted. As her eye's opened she started to take in her surroundings. It was a glass walled box, with a perforated ceiling to allow movement of air. The floor area was about 10 feet square, with straw spread over most of the surface. There was a low doorway into another chamber over to her left, much like a mouse box her nephew had owned on earth. Betty pushed herself up on wobbly legs, shaking her head to clear her fuzziness. She finally noticed that she wasn't alone in the glass box. Valerie was stretched out on her back, eye's closed, still out, Marna was laying up against the back wall, curled into a ball, her arms held protectively over her head, trying to keep out the non-existent sound. Betty staggered over towards the blonde girl, trying to keep herself from falling by leaning against the glass wall as she got closer. Marna didn't look up, or even acknowledge Betty's presence, she just whimpered quietly into her knees. Betty crouched down beside her, laying a hand on her shoulder. Marna flinched and pulled her legs in tighter.

" Marna...Marna, it's okay, it's Betty, please speak to me ."

Marna just ignored her and continued to whimper. Betty sighed in exasperation, turning away from the traumatised girl, crawling over to where Valerie sprawled on the straw. Betty shook Valerie gently.

" Valerie, it's Betty, please wake up....Valerie ?" Betty whispered.

Valerie didn't move for a moment, then Betty saw her eye's flutter and Valerie repeated the move's Betty had when waking, squinting and covering her eye's, groaning out loud.

" Ugh...oh lord, my head....Betty ? What happened ?" Valerie slowly sat up, pulling her legs up under herself.

" I don't know, I remember a horrid sound, then nothing, until I woke up, Marna is over there by the back wall, but I can't get anything out of her, she won't talk to me." Betty explained.

" Do you know where we are, what is this box...are those wall's glass?" Valerie shaded her eye's and stared at their prison. Outside the glass walls they could see what looked like a laboratory, there were banks of blinking lights, dials and printers, spewing paper streamers of information. Neither girl could see any activity, no Giant Scientists or anybody. Just the blinking lights and paper. Valerie got herself to her feet, with Betty's help and together they moved back to check on Marna.

" Marna, it's Valerie, can you hear me ?"

Marna slowly raised her tear streaked face, taking her hands from the side's of her head and raising herself up on her knees.

" I-I-I....s-cared...what's goi-ing to hap-pen to us ?" she stammered.

" I don't know, but we had better be ready for whatever happens, let get up and explore, come on Marna, let us help you." Valerie and Betty grasped the girl by the arms and hauled her to her feet. They stood looking around, Betty indicated the low doorway and together they moved over to it. Betty went through first, bending down to negotiate the tunnel. She emerged into another glass walled chamber, this time with no straw on the floor, but it did have a water dispenser and a food container, much like those you'd expect in a mouse cage.

Valerie and Marna came through and surveyed their new home.

" I don't think much of this hotel, where's the swimming pool and salad bar ?" Valerie joked.

" I'M SORRY ABOUT THE ACCOMMODATIONS, I'LL MOVE YOU WHEN I HAVE THE NEW ONES READY ." Valerie spun round as the voice boomed over the top of them.

The three girls could see the Giant staring down at them, he appeared to be dressed as one would expect a scientist, if that was what he was.

Valerie decided to take the lead.

" Who are you, what do you want with us ?"

" I wasn't expecting visitors, but you have proved excellent test subjects for my latest experiment." The giant explained.

" What did you do to us " asked Betty.

" Nothing really, I was testing a new sonic weapon and you happened to be within it's test area, it's quite specific, and accurate, you were in the wrong place at the right time ." The Giant chuckled at his own joke. Betty, Marna and Valerie exchanged worried glances.

" Why did you bring us here ?" Valerie asked.

" I needed to test you, see what damage or side effects manifested themselves. I'm very pleased with your recovery rate, better than any of the small mammals I've tested so far." The Giant beamed down at them three frightened women. He continued. " In point of fact, you are the first to survive the sonic gun, usually the results are depressingly final." He looked glum. Then his face brightened. " But now you've survived, I can test you and see why you did ." He started to move away from the glass box.

" Wait, let us go....please, we want to go home." Valerie pleaded, but the Giant had gone over to the bank of instruments, pushing buttons and flicking switches. Valerie turned back to face her cell mates. " We have to find a way out of here, check all the walls and corners, we need to escape. We can't rely on Mark and Steve finding us, they won't know where to look. "

The three women quickly cased the whole system of room's and tunnels, the only exit a fitted glass door in the side of one wall. Valerie deduced that the roof probably lifted off for the Giant to have easy access, which made their situation more perilous, having no weapons to defend themselves with. After searching for anything they could use, and coming up empty, they slumped to the floor of the straw room, trying not to give in to despair. The Giant worked on, oblivious to his small captives distress.

Eventually he turned and came back to the bench top where his captives waited. He reached out and lifted the glass roof off with ease, exposing his guinea pigs. Valerie and Betty pulled Marna to her feet, huddling together, prepared to do anything to stay together.

" Now then, who's going to be first ?" asked the Scientist.

" What are you planning to do with us ?" shouted a desperate Betty.

" Do with you ?? why test you of course, I need to know how the sonic gun affected your faculties. I haven't had a chance to test the weapon on a member of my own race, and as you are a close facsimile, you are my perfect specimens. I must test you, to see what adjustments are needed. Now which of you will be first....hmmmmmm?" The Giant leaned over, peering at each woman, waiting for a reply.

The women backed away until they reached a corner and huddled there, holding onto each other. Valerie plucked up her courage.

" We won't let you test us, let us go....we're not animals for your experiments.....you can't do this.....please ." She had Betty and Marna squashed up behind her. The Giant merely clucked his tongue in annoyance and reached into the cage. Valerie screamed as his hand closed around her, pulling her away from Betty and Marna's clutching hands. The Giant lifted her away, still struggling and screaming, and placed her in another container, a glass beaker, sitting on what looked like weighing scales. Valerie collapsed on the floor of the beaker and pressed her hands against the glass walls, trying to see what the Scientist was doing. She could now see the glass mouse cage, over by the far wall, the small figures of Betty and Marna pressed against their own glass wall, trying to see Valerie. She waved to let them know she was still okay, Betty waved back.

Valerie wasn't particularly brave, her knees quaked at the thought of what might be about to happen to her, she could only hope it was quick and painless. The Giant was reading from a dial, noting on a clipboard whatever numbers he needed. He turned and came back towards Valerie, picking up the beaker and carrying it to a cupboard like device with a metal door. He placed the beaker inside, with Valerie clinging to the steep sides, then closed the metal door, peering through to check his specimen was intact. Valerie was bathed in a red light, which pulsated, almost in time with her heartbeat. She heard a beeping sound, followed by a whirl of gears which preceded the beaker starting to turn around on a turntable. She didn't feel any different, the red light didn't seem to be doing anything bad, so she started to relax, just as the noise started, causing her to push her hands over her ears and crouch down on the floor of the beaker. The noise suddenly shut off and she cautiously pulled her hands away from her head. The door suddenly swung open, the Giant reached in and grabbed the beaker, swinging Valerie around and placing her in another strange contraption. He paused momentarily to scratch some notations on his clipboard. Valerie tried to wave to Betty, to let her know she was still intact, but the angle was all wrong and she couldn't see them clearly. The Giant came back, twisting some dials and closing the door of the new equipment. Valerie wondered what this would be testing, she didn't have long to wait. The contraption quickly filled with a white fog, making Valerie cough in a reflect action, but it quickly dispelled, leaving her feeling light headed and woozy. She sat down quickly before her legs gave out, wishing it was all over, even longing for the comparative safety of the glass mouse box. Soon all the experiments were over and the Giant emptied her onto his hand, then lowered her onto the straw of the glass cage, to the relief of her friends. She couldn't keep her eye's open and passed into oblivion, not seeing the worried looks from Marna and Betty.

The next morning the process was repeated with Betty and Marna, both girls being returned intact but worn out. They had no idea what the test yielded for the Giant but he seemed happy enough with the results. He provided them with food and water, and the means to clean themselves and take care of their needs, even a modicum of privacy, insisted upon by Valerie after the second day. He seemed to want his specimens in prime condition so Valerie decided to milk that to its fullest.

She requested some blankets and utensils for drinking and eating. Their biggest problem was boredom, between tests, with nothing to occupy their time they started playing childish games, trying to keep their spirits up, always on the lookout for a chance to escape. They held no illusions that Steve and Mark would be able to help them, so they tried to keep alert for any opportunity. The Giant was, for the most part, too vigilant for them. Only one chance, taken by Betty, ever presented itself, and she only managed to get to the floor before she was recaptured and placed back in the glass prison. After the third day they had settled into a pattern and simply tried to keep mentally active, refusing to totally give up on the chance of rescue from their confinement, but resigned to a lengthy wait at best.

The Giant would leave them for extended period's of time, doing more test they supposed, but he always came back. One time he took all three and placed them on a table top, exposing them again to the Sonic weapon, watching their every reaction and noting what happened until they all passed out. The Giant had worn special ear muff's to protect himself, and watched intently as the girl's writhed on the table top, trying to shut out the sound until they lapsed into unconsciousness.

They all woke up, back in the mouse box, and wished themselves anywhere but there.