Sun and Stone

III.

When I opened my eyes, it took some time to accept that I was not dead. I woke, staring up at the night sky, laying on my back. I felt surprisingly okay, considering I had blacked out from the pain of seemingly being burned to ash. I felt whole and unharmed in fact, but something in my chest felt different. When I tried to pinpoint the change, my mind jumped to a picture of a small ember, resting in the bottom of my heart, but it didn't burn. It felt warm. In fact, I felt warmer than I had in ages. It was like waking to this blissful and comforting heat made me realize I had been cold my entire life.

Looking around, nothing made sense. I sat on a plain of dirt that stretched to the horizon, and could make out black mountains rising in the distance. To my right, the plain ended in a stone wall, boulders scattered at its base. The area was dimly lit by an orange glow, but I couldn't see any source for the light. I was alone. I called out for Gray, wanting to make sure he was okay and my shout echoed back in the silence

When I didn't hear Gray's reply, worry spiked in my chest. If Gray had gotten us away from the fire, he wouldn't have just left me after we were safe. Without any burns that would need a trip to a hospital, I couldn't understand why he wouldn't be sitting beside me right now. Unless he wasn't the one who got me to safety. What if he was still back at the campsite, burned and alone? A passing late-night hiker could have happened upon the fire, and heard our shouts for help. Trying to piece a likely scenario together, someone else could have dragged me to safety first then run back for a severely injured Grayson. I searched the horizon for smoke but found no evidence to point me towards the remains of our camp.

Beginning to truly panic, I stood up and began searching for my phone. I thought it had been in my back pocket, but as my search came up empty, I realized that I must have left it in the tent. I didnt even know in which direction our campsite was. Frustrated, I shook my head to focus. One problem at a time, and first on the list was to find Gray. Cupping my hands around my mouth, shouting as loud as I could, I spun around so my voice might carry in whatever direction Gray was. "Grayson!"

My shout was met with a loud noise that sounded like crunching gravel followed by a quaking in the ground beneath my feet. As I turned toward the source of the noise, a large shadow was cast over me. Looking up, I was faced with an impossible entity. My confused mind flashed back to the few skyscrapers I had seen, but I immediately discarded this comparison. This thing was much bigger. I would guess that I was only as tall as its ankles. Because it had ankles, and hands, and the thing was moving. It was bigger than Godzilla in those movies I had watched with Grayson when we were kids, and faster too. Giants were supposed to be slow. It takes time to move that bulk around. But this one was moving fast. The thing had somehow materialized over the horizon without my hearing its approach. It held a blue sack that was bigger than a house. I watched as the giant dropped the sack by its feet and knelt beside it, both actions recreating similar quakes in the ground beneath my feet. The movement also brought the creature to hover just a few feet away from me.

I didn't realize I had started screaming until the sound made the giant pause as it reached for the sack. I didn't make a conscious decision like "Oh, that is terrifying. I'll scream until it goes away." It just happened. The giant stopped mid motion and we locked eyes. We stared for a heartbeat while my screams faded to nothing.

Details penetrated the terror in my mind but did not compile to form a picture that would explain the threat before me. Its skin was grey. It looked mostly human aside from the gargantuan proportions, but it had fangs. Not big scary ones, but little ones poking out of its mouth like the fake vampire teeth kids wear that make their mouths look too full. I would have laughed at this but then I realized I was staring at this giant thing's mouth. Looking at that slightly open maw, I understood I would probably fit inside it. As that thought hit me, I instinctively turned and ran in the opposite direction. The creature made a deep vocal sound and began to move. The earth rumbled under my feet and I heard a loud crash followed by heavy clunking and banging. As I sprinted away, I didn't look back to see what had caused the noise. The next earthquakes seemed to get worse, perhaps closer. It was coming for me. I didnt want to think of what would happen if the creature caught me.