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Jiant

Jiant laid motionless on the ground, feigning death as he watched the red children hurry off, carrying the two women. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with the one with the long hair, but the one with the curly brown hair was clearly dead.

And the battlefield was quiet, but for the rain and the wind. But inside his head, another still raged. Coward. Get up. Get up and be strong

But his body refused to obey. If the stone beast sees me this time, it will surely kill me.

It felt like he was lying down in a gravel pit full of spears. Each breath was an agonizing roll of pain, starting near his shoulders, rolling down to his belly and then back up again. Crying only made it worse, but for the longest time, he couldn’t help himself, and he endured sharp, stabbing pains with every sob and moan.

That thing is unstoppable

When it had tired of squeezing him, the beast dropped him to the ground, where he had lain, perfectly still, watching it massacre his followers. Don’t look at me! he had cried, as it had thrown back three of his best men, stabbing one through the heart, and trampling Tamu into a smear of blood and gore scattered across the ground, leaving bloody footprints in its wake. The others had run out of his site, and he heart the it rumbling after them.

So he waited. Waited in fear for the turn of those terrible stomping feet, waiting for the arms to wrap around him, crushing the life out for sure. The rain kept falling, and the wind kept howling out of sight, to the west. The storm showed no sign of stopping – the sky overhead was purple and smoky, boiling with rain, constantly shifting, but never ending.

He laid still on the ground as rain started pooling around his legs, slowly rising past his calves, and then his knees. The gloom deepened, and deepened, until the only remaining light was the regular flashes of lightning from the west. That only made things worse – every shadow cast by every tree became another dark stone monster, waiting to pounce.

Eyes darting feverishly back and forth, constantly, he could feel the panic bubbling up in his chest. Must not scream! He thought, trying to fight down the fear.

It was the second fight that he was to lose today. Overwhelmed by his own mortality, he screamed and blubbered and cried, begging the shadows not to kill him, pleading for their forgiveness.

Eventually, sleep overwhelmed everything else.

The stone monster was chasing him across a field. He was running as fast as he could, but the monster was faster, and closed on him. As it caught up to him, it turned into a huge wave, that crashed over his head, knocking him over, rolling him across the ground, smothering him. Desperately, he tried swimming to the surface, but he was stuck, anchored like a stone to the bottom, staring at the surface, glimmering above him in the sunlight. Finally, desperate for air, unable to stop himself, he tried to breathe.

He woke up, gasping and retching, his lungs full of water. Pain forgotten, monster forgotten, Jiant scrambled upright, coughing and gagging. The pain flooded back into his chest, worse than ever before. It was pitch black, and the rain was still pouring from the sky like a waterfall, pounding and sizzling as it struck–

Water. He could feel the cold rain rush surrounding his legs. I’m standing in water

A lightning flash illuminated the area. For a spear’s throw or longer in front of him, the water frothed and churned under the relentless force of the rain. Low hills were becoming islands, and nearby trees stood like forlorn pillars, doomed to a slow, watery death.

It was time to get moving. Ow. Searing pain lanced up his right ankle. Considering how cold the water was, it was amazing he could feel anything. Looking for something to brace himself with, he glanced around for his club, but it must have floated away.

Grimacing, he limped uphill, towards the tree line to the south. Twice he stumbled, falling face first into the water, slowly pulling himself out again. He was starting to feel lightheaded. Everything was whirling.

No! Can’t fall now.. Drown for sure. He shook his head quickly, trying to clear it.

Each time the lightning flashed, the hillside was a little closer. But it was starting to tilt, sloping down to the left. He struggled to keep his balance. Need rest

Must get to the hill.

The air flashed again, and he blinked.

Where was the hill? It had been right in front of him.

Another flash.

Looking around wildly, he saw the trees to his right, still tilted at a crazy angle, and he struggled to adjust his course.

Need sleep. Lie down.

No.. not yet The exhausted voice grew more and more seductive. A brief rest. Just a moment. He tried to push it away. Another step, and the ground betrayed him, opening beneath him, dropping him to his knees.

He struggled to his feet again. I Need to find that hill.

Wheezing, he waited for another burst of lightning. There it was. More steps. A voice taunted him from deep within, reassuring and calm. “Rest. You’ve earned it. Just sit down. The water won’t rise any more. And if it does, you can keep moving then. Sit down. You’re so tired.”

Screwing his eyes shut, Jiant ignored the false hope, and kept walking. Step. Step. The hill was right in front of him now. Pitching forward, he fell against the muddy slope, his body too numb to feel the cold, or the sharp rocks. “Rest.” The voice commanded, and he closed his eyes, the water lapping against his knees.

A sharp, jabbing pain awoke him, and Jiant opened his eyes, to find the air glittering with uncountable lightning strikes that rippled back and forth across the sky, shimmering and pulsing. He gasped then, overwhelmed at the unearthly beauty.

Something stabbed him in the shoulder. “You raped me.” A voice raged. “You raped me, and forced this curse of growth on me.” There was some light now, buried deep in the clouds. The rain continued to pour all around. He felt lightheaded, staring at the sky. Must be a dream.

Ow! Someone stabbed him again. “Pay attention. I have been waiting for the chance to pay you back in pain. ” Suddenly he recognized the voice behind the anger. Suet. “Now it is my turn.” She said, grunting as she stabbed him again.

Against his will, he moaned, wincing at the pain. She leaned forward, pushing all of her weight down onto the spear shaft. Another cry escaped his lips. So tired. He tried to knock the spear away with his hands, but quickly discovered that they were tied behind his back.

She laughed, coolly as the rain poured around them. “You’re not going to escape me. You deserve all this and more.” Ripping the spear from his chest, she drove it home again, closer to the middle. He could feel the spearhead grating against his ribcage as she pressed against the end.

“What do you want?” He grunted. She wasn’t as strong as she thought, her attempt at torture was barely noticeable after all he had been through. There was a rock digging into his shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably. That hurt.

She only growled in response, shoving the spear back and forth. Heaving, he pulled himself up and back a few inches, trying to escape her fury.

Great. Now the rock was digging into his spine.

Wait, I have an idea.

As she stabbed him again, he again heaved away, this time straight up the hill. Yes! The rock was pressing into his left arm, just above the wrist. Trying to ignore her attacks, he ground his bindings against the stone. He felt the slightest of rips, and muscles rippling, he yanked his arms apart.

Suet stumbled backwards, face white with fear.

Roaring in anger, he grabbed the end of the spear, yanking it out of his chest, pulling so quickly that it sent the girl flailing backwards into the water. Lurching to his feet, he spun around, readying the spear, searching for his target in the water.

She burst back to the surface, coughing and splashing feebly, her eyes quivering.

Reaching down into the water with one huge hand, he pulled her out, tossing her on the ground next to him. She rolled away, scrambling to her hands and knees, crawling away, moaning.

Snarling, he dropped down on top of her, driving her into the hillside. “You want to kill me? Kill me now!” He growled menacingly, bringing his face close to her ear, listening with pleasure to her shrieks of terror.

Sitting up on his knees, straddling her, he spun her around below him, until she was staring up at his face. “You should have killed me quickly.” he laughed. She was trying to say something, but no sound came out. “I will not make the same mistake.” Gripping the spear with both hands, he pulled it back over his head, ready to drive it through her skull.

“No!” she cried. The cry was so earnest, so desperate that he paused, for just a moment. “I..” she swallowed. “I am carrying your child. If you…” she swallowed again, tears and rain and mud running down her face. “If you let me live, you’ll have a son.”

Interesting. “How do you know it is mine?”

She shook her head. “The others were afraid to touch me. You are the only one.”

Growling, he slammed the spear down with a sure stroke, burying it deep in the ground next to her head. His massive head near hers, he whispered into her ear. “Your life belongs to me now. Any further betrayals, and no child will save you. I can make more children.”

She stared at him, motionless, pupils dilated, breathing shallowly.

He took that as a yes.

He rolled off of her, and slowly stood up. His foot hurt a little less – he could hobble, with some pain. Carefully, he climbed the rest of the way up the hillside, and found a tree of just the right size. With a few blows from his fist, he knocked it down to size, a good club, and a fair walking stick.

“Come on” he grunted. “We need to go find the others.” If the stone beast found him, he would die. Or, perhaps it would simply crush him nearly to death again. Either way, staying here was not an option. Limping gingerly, trying to find the right hold on the walking stick, he headed south, up the rise into the hills. The forests were heavier here – perhaps some protection from the stone monster. In any case, he wanted to get out of the rain, and quick.

After that, he would find his minions. And then some bears. His stomach rumbled, just thinking about it.

Meekly, Suet followed, shoulders hunched in submission.

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Sunday, July 16th, 2006 at 9:36 am.
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