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.Land of the Giants: The Ferals	By : keithcompany Category: G through L > Land of the Giants Views: 2357 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Land Of The Giants series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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More Disclaimer: This work is my own. Do not repost this story beyond the limits of the Fair Use standards of Copyright Law (quotes, examples, �you gotta read this� excerpts, the usual).

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Betty and Valerie eased through the undergrowth of the forest on their search for food. "See anything, Betty?" As always, they kept clear of the path where a giant might wander by.
"No," she replied. "I think this area's been picked clean." The two ducked under the lower branches to check deeper into a bush.
"How?" Valerie asked. "We haven't searched this area in months?"
"We're not the only scavengers in the forest, Valerie," Betty reminded her friend. "Looks like some animal's been through all the berries." They wandered back out of bush and scanned the area for threats and fare.
"Well, it's getting late," Valerie suggested. "Maybe we should head back?" Betty kicked a walnut shell over and sighed at the empty interior.
"I guess. But let's take a different path back." She looked around to orient herself and pointed towards one looming tree. "Around that elm? If we don't find anything on the way back we're going to have leftover leftovers for dinner."
"Again," Valerie added. With a last glance upwards, they started off. They scampered across the path and returned to the safety of the growth without incident.
Betty moved to her left as they walked, spreading out the area covered by the pair. Valerie was just at the edge of her vision when Betty located some food. A small pile of shells were just under the edge of some leafy plant's canopy.
"Some nuts!" she called out, stepping over towards the find. Just as she reached them there was a click and a blur of motion.   Something struck her shoulder and knocked her to the ground.
She grunted as she fell and heard Valerie calling her name.   When she recovered her bearings, she was inside a cage. "A trap!" she moaned.
Valerie froze. The little band of Earthlings had seen more than their share of the things since coming to this planet. Before she could help Betty, though, she had to be sure she stayed free.
The redhead ran quickly to take cover under a different plant. Betty watched her friend run and nodded. They waited patiently to see if the giant that had set the trap showed up.
When there was no movement in the woods for quite a while, Valerie tentatively walked up to the cage. The two women examined the steel structure.
It was shaped as a four-sided pyramid and stood about twice as tall as the trapped woman. The sides had been buried in the dirt and risen up to meet together when sprung. The tension holding the sides was strong, but the two women were able to stretch it open a hand's width.
"Maybe if I got more leverage?" Valerie asked. Betty shrugged.
"Or go find the guys?" she countered. Valerie crawled carefully up the side and braced her feet against two bars.
"If this doesn't work I will," she promised. Betty grabbed at the bars below where her friend was starting to strain. They both pushed for all they were worth. After a moment their efforts were rewarded by a growing gap in the side.
"It's working!" Betty shouted. Then there was a second click, much louder than before.
Valerie was throwing herself free of the structure even as Betty shouted, "Look out!" But it was too late. The sides of an even bigger cage snapped out of the dirt and closed upon each other.
Betty watched her friend get caught between the bars and scream in pain. "Valerie!"
As Betty gazed upwards she realized that the bars of the outer cage were lined with teeth. They sank into her thighs and pinned her as if bitten by a gator. They did hold her so tight that there was no obvious blood loss but that was a small consolation.
Valerie hung at a wrenching angle. She struggled, but nothing moved. She couldn't touch anything with her feet and was forced to hold herself up by her arms. If she relaxed, her thighs tore themselves against the teeth. She whimpered, knowing that she couldn't hold herself up forever.
Betty was trying to say something but Valerie was in too much misery to care.
"Oh, poo," a strange voice said. "Those are very bad traps." Betty turned to see a human girl walking towards them. She was in her teens and dressed in a simple gray smock. The cut and the weave were familiar as made by the locals of this planet. A giant had supplied this girl's clothes.
The stranger had huge hanks of her black, curly hair gathered into pig-tails. The ribbons were even more obviously giant made.
Her eyes were on Valerie as she got closer. "Deckett hates these cages," she said in a matter of fact voice. "He destroys them when he find them." Valerie wasn't replying so she turned to face Betty. "They're designed to trap people who are rescuing the trapped people. It's very unfair."
"Yes," Betty replied. "I can see that. Um. Can you help us get my friend free?"
"Is your friend feral?" the girl asked. Betty stared. "It's just that I'm supposed to stay away from feral humans."
"Then we're not," Betty assured her. "I'm Betty, and this is Valerie. Who are you?" Valerie's gasping was getting strained. "And where is Deckett?"
"He'll be right here," the girl said with a nod and a wave to the side. "And I am Gessy." She pulled at something on a shoulder strap. It looked like a cross between a police whistle and a trumpet. She blew a brief but piercing blast on it then put it down.
"It's nice to meet you, Gessy," Betty said. "But I really want to help my friend, here...?" Her voice trailed off. Gessy shrugged.
"I can't do it, but Deckett can." A loud footfall sounded across the clearing. A giant was approaching. "Here he is!" Gessy said happily. Betty was torn between anxiety about the giant and hope that he might at least save her friend.
A middle-aged giant stepped into view around one of the trees. He was dressed for camping and carried a large pack. He smiled at the sight of Gessy but instantly looked worried when he recognized the trap.
A moment later he was kneeling beside the cage and offering a hand to hold Valerie up. She relaxed into his grip with a sigh.
"I said you didn't like these traps," Gessy pointed out. "They don't like them either."
"No, they don't," Deckett agreed with a small smile.   With his free hand he fished a few objects out of a pocket on the side of the pack and set them on the ground.
"They said they're not feral," the girl went on.
"Oh, they most certainly are," he argued. "But just this once, you won't get in trouble." Betty was watching Gessy's face when she learned that Betty had lied. She looked hurt but only for a second. The reassurance from her...owner? Master? Whatever he was to her, she apparently completely trusted his judgment.
"You in the cage," he called down to Betty. "What's this one's name?"
"Valerie," she and Gessy both said. The giant nodded.
"Valerie, can you hear me?" he asked. She nodded. "Okay, we're going to get you out of this. But it'll hurt." Val didn't respond. She didn't answer other calls of her name, either.
Betty watched as the man wedged small bits of wood between the teeth holding Valerie in place. She was surprised when he didn't pry the damned thing open.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
"If I yank her out, she'll lose her legs," he replied. He was arranging something on the ground where Betty couldn't see. Gessy watched what he did from beside his knee.
"If the teeth hit a major blood vessel and I pull them out," he went on, "she may bleed to death. I need to take some precautions. Gessy." At her name, the girl stepped out of sight. Then he lifted a small square of wood into view. Gessy was standing on it.
He held it beside the cage and the girl started rubbing some green material against Valerie's wounds.
"What is that?" Betty shouted.
"Liquid bandage," he said. "It'll help close the wounds quickly when I pull the teeth out." Gessy was done by the time he finished talking. He lowered her to the ground and took up a larger stick.
Valerie roused enough to scream as he pried the teeth apart but passed out before he had her free. He lowered the limp form to the square of wood.
Gessy knelt down and started rubbing the liquid into the wounds. Betty was pleased to see that there was almost no bleeding that she could see.
"Okay, now what," she muttered. The giant was paying attention to his human's ministrations. When that was done he instructed her how to examine the legs to see if any bones were broken.
They didn't seem to be so he applied bandages over the wounds. Then he moved the wood and the two humans away from the cage. Gessy held Val's head in her lap as he turned to Betty.
"You want out?" he asked. She gulped and nodded. With a few quick tugs he had the trap open and let her walk free. Once she was off of the metal screen she ran to Valerie's side.
Gessy watched as she examined her friend. She barely noticed the giant dismantling the cage in the background.
Valerie was pale and sweaty. She didn't answer to calls or pats on the hand or face.
"She'll be okay," Gessy assured her. "Deckett has drugs and stuff at home." The girl stroked a few strands of hair from Valerie's face.
"She can't go home with you," Betty said.
"It would be for the best," Deckett said over their heads.
Betty shook her head. "She can't. She just..."
"You don't trust giants," Deckett said.
"You are feral," Gessy said quietly. "I thought you were nice." Betty stared back.
"Now, now," Deckett said. "They're perfectly nice. Feral only means they're not domestics." He knelt closer and addressed Betty. "Is your camp close? Don't answer, but think about this. Can you carry her all the way home?"
Betty held Valerie's hand and thought furiously. She could run and find the guys, but she'd have to leave Valerie behind.
"If you do," he went on, "do you have drugs to deal with her wounds? Any painkillers? Anything for infections?" She didn't mean to answer him but her head was shaking already.
"If your...clan or family has to move, someone will be at risk to help her, or you'll have to abandon her. I can help her. And I promise to bring her back when she's well."
"He will," Gessy said urgently. "He keeps promises." Betty didn't bother to point out that if they couldn't trust giants, they couldn't trust humans that did.
"If you take her..." Betty started. Then stopped. She had no idea what was the best thing to do here. Steve was against trusting any giants but he was also always looking out for the best interests of everyone.
She realized she couldn't stop Deckett if he was going to carry Valerie away. But what should she do? Go with her, to help her escape later? Or go tell Steve what had happened to her?
Valerie moved a bit then and gave a small cry. Betty made up her mind.
"I can't do anything for her," she admitted. Gessy leaned over and gave her arm a brief squeeze. "Just... Just help her, okay?"
"We will," the giant assured her. "Tell you what. There's a trail over to the side there. Do you know the campsite about a hundred paces to the south?"
She nodded. "Well, in six days we'll bring her there. I don't think she'll be able to travel then, but you can visit with her and see that she's okay. Then we can decide what to do from there?"
"Okay," she said carefully. "Okay, I'll talk it over with my...clan. We'll see you then." Betty gave Valerie a small peck on the forehead and walked away. She was careful not to go in the direction of the Spindrift, just in case.
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Valerie woke to pain. Her head throbbed in a gentle rhythm. She lay in the darkness wondering if this was from work or a hangover. Had Fitzhugh found some whiskey again?
But something about the pain nagged at her. She couldn't nail down the thought, but there was something wrong with having a headache right now.
She figured it out when she tried to sit up. Her legs felt as if they were ripping apart. She gasped and fell back to lay still. "That's it," she muttered. "It didn't hurt enough."
Valerie remembered the trap now. And a girl. And a giant. At the memory of the giant she started to sit up again. This time she screamed.
A light appeared. Somewhere beyond her feet was a circle of soft yellow light. The girl was outlined by it as she pulled back a curtain.
"Are you okay, Valerie?" she asked.
Val sank back into the cushion she was on. "Yeah," she muttered. "Just a small pain where my legs are torn halfway off." She stretched a hand down and felt gingerly at her thighs. Thick fabric stretched across them.
"You shouldn't mess with the bandages," the girl said.
"What's your name?" Valerie asked.
"Gessy," was the reply. Valerie wasn't sure if there wasn't a small pout in that voice.
"I'm sorry I forgot your name, Gessy, but I was distracted when you told me before."
"That's okay!" Gessy said happily. She left the curtains drawn as she came into the room. In the light, Valerie saw a small chamber, about the size of a cheap motel room. There was the cushion she was on and a colored box in the corner. The curtained doorway was the only way in or out. It looked kind of like a mouse-hole cut out of cardboard.
Gessy sat on the edge of the cushion and watched the woman look around the room. "Like it? It's my room. You can stay here until you're all better."
"It's fine, Gessy," she said. It was worse than prison, she thought, but she didn't want to offend her nurse. The girl smiled brightly and scooted a bit closer.
"I've never had a visitor," she said as she stared at Valerie. They looked each other over. Gessy seemed to be about 18, Val would have guessed. She just dressed and wore her hair to look far younger. She wondered what the girl saw as she looked at Val.
"So, where are we?" she asked Gessy.
"My room," was the slow reply. "I told you."
"I mean, where is your room? Are we in...the giant's house?"
"The giant is named Deckett," Gessy lectured. "He's a nature artist and we go all over the world looking for plants he can take pictures of and paint for science book illustrations. I've been to both continents."
"Well, good for you," Val replied. "Do you have fun?"
"Oh, yes. We just go everywhere. And I meet little people here and there and..." The cheery voice faltered. Gessy had been leaning forward, now she moved away from the older woman.
"Gessy, what's wrong?"
"I'm supposed to be careful around you," she said quietly.
"Oh, you're fine," Valerie assured her. "As long as I don't move and you don't shake the bed, my legs don't hurt."
"Not that. You're feral." She hunched her shoulders and turned away. "You're going to be mean."
"What? No. No, I'm not. Why would I be mean to you?" There was no reply. "Gessy? Please, tell me what you're talking about."
"Ferals always want to escape," the girl said softly. "They always want the domestics to go escape with them. They don't want us to be happy with our giants."
"Well," Val started, "we do think freedom is important, but that's not mean."
"You'll get mean," Gessy said. She turned to look Valerie in the face. "You'll hurt me. You'll say mean things about pets. About me being a pet. About me being wrong. And you'll want to drag me out the window or under the door when you go."
"Gessy," Val said calmly as she could, "I am not in a position to judge you. I won't hurt you. I can't." She gestured at her legs. "Heck, I even need your help to get to the bathroom."
"You need the potty?" Gessy asked. In an instant, her hunch disappeared and her face lit up. "I can help with that." She ran out the door.
Valerie shook her head at the mercurial moods of her hostess. Then she started trying to figure out how to get out of the bed without her legs falling off.
Gessy stepped back in with a bedpan. "I know just what to do!" she said happily.
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.Land of the Giants: The Ferals