Saving the Princess

Aspen Woods

Carlin's POV

It was completely silent. Well, except for the heavy breathing of Audrey behind me, and the whimpering of her sister in front of me. Indie and Scarlet were the only ones trying to keep quiet, as they padded along stealthily next to me. The only light source was the yellow moon, peeping from above the thick, dark trees.

A branch snapped suddenly.

Rae yelped.

"Shh," Indie hissed, bringing us to a halt. "What was that?"

No one moved. The trees were swaying gently in the cool breeze. Audrey lifted her head, presumably using her werewolf senses to sniff the air.

Another branch snapped.

"What the hell?" Rae shrieked, and dropped the map. It sank into a mud hole. The thick brown substance swallowed the map whole until we couldn't see anything.

"Dumbass!" Audrey snapped, and shoved Rae, who in response, shoved her back.

"Guys, please," Scarlet hissed in a low whisper. "I think I sense something unusual..."

A faint stomping noise was heard in the distance. Steady stomps. As if someone was walking towards us.

Clump. Clump. Clump. Clump.

Audrey buried her face in my shoulder. I moved away, glaring at her. She seemed to realize what she was doing, and recoiled away from me.

Clump. Clump. Clump. Clump.

"Guys.....we should run...."

Clump. Clump. Clump. Clump.

Suddenly, we snapped back into are senses and scrambled in the opposite direction. We were slipping and sliding on the runny mud and shoving each other in all directions. The wind was picking up.

"Go, go, go!" Scarlet cried.

We didn't even bother keeping quiet anymore. Dodging the billowing trees, we scampered along the forest. Indie made a sharp left turn and screamed at us to follow her. My heart was pounding in my chest. Behind me, Audrey screamed. Her shirt had snagged on a branch. She was stuck.

"Audrey no!" Rae turned back and scrambled over to her sister, trying to unhook the shirt.

CLUMP! CLUMP! CLUMP! CLUMP!

"Rae, THERE IS NO TIME!" I screamed, grabbing her around the waist. "LET'S GO!"

Rae shoved me off of her with a shocking amount of force, and I landed on my butt. Her fingers shook as she tried to untangle her sister without tearing the shirt. Rae finally got Audrey free and grabbed her. They both stumbled and crashed into the ground. All three of us were lying on our asses while Indie and Scarlet begged us to get up. I was about to do so when I noticed a large pair of feet right in front of me. The toes were probably as large as my head. A giant.

Rae let out a frightened squeal and tried to scoot herself backwards.

I moved my gaze upwards. A thin, brown cloth covered the beast's front. He had a ginormous stomach which sagged over his waistline. And his face. Oh his face. Yellow, with two small beady eyes and covered with green warts. The teeth were razor sharp and sticking out in all directions. He slowly grinned at us and the saliva in his mouth created large strings.

"Well hello there, young ones!" He boomed. The forest floor shook. Rae jumped into her sister's lap. "What are you ladies doin' out here all alone?"

I almost threw up from the pungent smell of his breath. Sour...like spoiled milk. The giant let out a booming chuckle and leaned in towards my face.