Reincarnated as an Ugly Step Sister

Chapter 39

I try to scream and kick. I swear I try as hard as I can. I thrash around and scream and try to get away but it's hopeless. Whoever this man is, is extremely strong. His hand clasped over my mouth somehow absorbs the sounds of my scream. His other arm that pulls me tight into his massive body is too strong.

I tire quickly, realizing that my tactic is not working. Very suddenly I go limp in his arms, which throws him off guard for a split second. In that moment I kick back, my foot landing hard in his crotch. He groans and bends over, his grip on me loose enough so I can turn around and poke him in the eyes. But there's no time to be grossed out. He drops me to the ground and I begin running away, stumbling over branches.

"Chase! Nicholas! Help!" I yell into the empty forest. There's no time to stop, no time to look behind me. I've seen enough horror movies to know that you have to run with tunnel vision. I can hear his giant footsteps behind me and though I've temporarily injured him, his stride length is a lot longer than mine. "Chase! Nicholas!" I call desperately. Still no reply.

I continue to run but I'm so tired that I can barely see where I'm stepping so I trip and fall. The massive man slows down as he approaches me. Too exhausted and terrified to get up and run away again, I back away slowly, my eyes wide with fear. This guy is humongous. He has a bushy beard, full of leaves and sticks. He wears a plaid shirt and an ax hangs from his belt. This is how I die. After everything that's happened to me I'll be killed in this random forest by this random giant man. So much for showing off my survival skills.

Thunk.

Out of nowhere a giant stick hits the man on the back of his head, hard. The guy collapses to the ground, knocked unconscious. I continue to back away, scared he'll wake up any second feeling angrier than ever, when I see Chase standing over the body.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Chase asks, staring broodingly at the unconscious body. Nicholas rushes from behind a tree and kneels beside me.

"N-no, I'm not hurt. Just shaken up," I say, resting my head against Nicholas's shoulder. I don't think about it, I just need to feel like someone is there for me.

"What happened?" Nicholas asks, wrapping his arms around me.

"Um, I wandered pretty far away and I was setting my snare when he grabbed me. I got away from him but he chased after me and I tripped and... I thought I was done for."

"You did a great job," Nicholas says, absent-mindedly stroking my hair.

Chase gives us a strange but unreadable look. "Yeah, you escaped a half-giant. That's pretty impressive," he says, poking at the body with his boot.

"I was so scared. Thank god you guys were here," I sigh.

"So, is he dead?" Nicholas asks tentatively.

Chase kneels by the half-giant's head and checks for a pulse. After a moment he sighs. "He's dead."

My stomach drops. We just killed someone. Granted, he was trying to kill me first but...

"Oh no," I whisper, my eyes filling with tears. "W-what if he had a family? What do we do? Are you sure it's too late to help?"

"He's dead and even if he weren't he was not a good guy. He attacked you, a complete stranger," Chase rationalizes. "I say we leave the body here. Free food for the wolves."

"Should we... check him for money?" Nicholas asks after a long pause. It's clear he was deliberating saying this since it can come off as rather insensitive.

Chase nods and stuff his hands into each of the half-giant's pockets. He pulls out a small pouch of coins, a handkerchief, and some rocks. Chase puts the cloth and rocks back but takes the pouch for himself. Then he takes the ax that hangs from the man's belt and holsters it in his own.

When he's done he reaches a hand out to me and helps me stand. "Let's just get back on the road," Chase says.

"Yeah, I don't think we should deal with the snare traps today. Let's just get to the inn," Nicholas agrees.

"Where are our horses?" I ask. I hadn't really been paying attention to where I was going when I was running away.

"Oh no," Chase whispers.

"Are we lost?" I stop in my tracks as panic starts to take over. It must be clear from the quiver in my voice and the way I hold my pounding head that I'm freaking out a bit. This day just keeps getting worse.

"Calm down," Nicholas says, taking my hand and squeezing it. "We're going to find our way out."

Chase holds my other hand, which is very out of character for him. "We can't be that lost. I think our horses are this way."

We start walking again. Despite the fact that I'm still stressed over making my friend kill a half-giant in self-defense, Follow the Yellow Brick Road plays in my head as I grow more and more aware that Chase and Nicholas are holding my hands.

We walk for at least half an hour before I spot chimney smoke. As soon as I point it out we all sprint to the house. It's more of a cottage actually. It's small and made of stone with ivy climbing up the sides. We approach the cottage from behind and I notice through the dirty window that something strange is happening inside.

"Wait!" I whisper, crouching below the window and pulling Nicholas and Chase down too. "Look." I stand up slightly and peer through the window, still staying low to the ground. Inside the house is an old woman in bed and a girl in a... red riding hood.

"What is it? This looks normal," Nicholas whispers.

"No, look closer at the old woman." The figure in the bed tilts its head and we see that it's no old woman. It's a wolf.

It's face is long and hairy with harsh eyes and tall ears. It smiles cruelly, showing off it's dangerous mouth. I can faintly hear the girl saying, "What sharp teeth you have!"

"What the hell?" Chase whispers loudly. In that moment the wolf leaps out of bed and devours the girl in one bite.

Nicholas and Chase immediately begin freaking out. I, of course, knew this would happen so I tried my best to calm them down. "Shhh, it'll hear you!" I say, clasping my hands over their mouths. "A woodsman will come along any second now. He'll kill it and the girl and her grandma will be okay," I tell them. Chase looks confused but Nicholas trusts me so we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

At least five minutes pass and no woodsman shows up. The wolf, his hunger finally satisfied, lies on the bed and falls asleep. I'm sure in the fairytale the woodsman came almost immediately and I grow concerned that Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are being digested.

It finally occurs to me that it's possible we just killed the woodsman.