Bigger Than Life

Chapter 2: Waterfall

The sun beat down on your weakened form as you tread quietly over the forest floor. A dense layer of pine needles padded your every step, making the world almost silent as you walked.

You noticed something strange. You didn't hear a single bird. Not even one little chirp was present in the air—this chilled your to your core. The only reasons you could think of for such a drastic lack of wildlife were either they all had fled...

Or they all were dead.

You blanked out as you remembered your own mortality. The wild was deep and unforgiving, and it always will be. Even in the days of mobile phones and remote control drones, you were an animal, alone in the wilderness.
Wait a minute.
Your phone!
You frantically reach into your back pocket, emptying its contents so fast, that it all tumbled out onto the forest floor. You stopped and kneeled, and almost cried out with joy as you picked up your mobile phone. You were saved! All you'd need to do is dial 9-1-1 and—

Oh, for the love of God.

You had no service.

You wanted to throw the damn thing against the nearest tree.
However, you were smarter than that. You wisely put it into your backpack, knowing that service may become available later on. It's a good thing that you were blessed with patience. You wouldn't last a second longer out here if you weren't.

You walked once more, but soon brought yourself to stop.

A curious sound graced your ears. A sound so simple, and so smooth... it was almost like music. Note after note quite literally trickled over one another, making a soft, gentle sound that cultivated all of your attention.
Water!
Fresh, running water!

Clutching your backpack closely, you broke into a sprint, eager to find a a river or creek. As your pace increased, you came moments to losing your balance, but managed to catch yourself before you tumbled forward down a ditch. It was a very, very close call, but the weight of your backpack thankfully helped you lean backwards while you stood on your toes at the ledge.

It wasn't a creek, or a river.
It was a lake.
And what you saw beyond the pebble-trimmed shoreline made your jaw drop.

About a hundred yards away, there stood a great, towering MAN!

It appeared that he was bathing, and thankfully, his waist was below the water. He collected handfuls of water at a time and poured them over his shoulders and torso, creating the loud, frequent splashing sound that had lead you in this direction.
To put it quite frankly, the guy was built like a house. He had a wide chest, and arms thicker than tree trunks, both of which were coated with a layer of curly black hair. The hair on his head was thick and curly, too, as was his fluffy, rounded beard. Even from here, it looked to you like his fingers were about the same width as you were!

To the right, behind him, you saw a much vaster shore, on which there was an enormous pair of pants, and an enormous flannel shirt, folded neatly with great big boots and suspenders resting on top of them.
A frightened thought entered your head, and you turned around and peered through the treetops for any sign of smoke rising from your helicopter. Lo and behold, there rose a whispy gray pillar, almost a mile from where you were standing.

Everything you knew about giants, you learned from fairytale books you read in first grade. Fee-fi-fo-fum, and more of that sort of thing. You scoured your mind for any info that might help you... but nothing could be found. Giants weren't supposed to exist! This was probably the only thing in your life that you were completely unprepared for.

Actually, you did know two things.
Giants were mean, from what you understood.
And giants ate humans. In every story they're in, there's a giant that eats somebody, or at least has the intentions to.
The BFG was the only good giant in a group of brutish chiddler-eaters.
The giant from Jack and the Beanstalk might have eaten someone... you couldn't remember specifics.
Your mind was fuzzy until a new noise filled your head.

You heard a sound come from out in the lake—a sort of whistling, breathing noise, but so much louder. It started and stopped, then repeated three more times.
The giant's eyes turned towards the bush-laden shore you were hidden in.

He could smell you.

You knew that if you turned and ran, something would spot you, even if he didn't. So you crouched low behind a leafy green bush and stood still, forcing yourself to stare at the smooth, earth-colored rocks beneath your feet. The sound of water rushing returned, but it was louder, and sounded to be getting louder by the second. He was coming closer.
You had to do something! But what could you do? Your mind was so mixed up that you thought you might pass out.

You blurted out a wailing, broken-sounding bird call, without even thinking before you did.

It sounded like a cross between a turkey and a wounded eagle.

But the flowing of water sound stopped, and turned in the other direction.
You could not believe that your poorly thought out cover call had worked. You silently praised the Gods that he didn't like bird meat.

Little did you know, you would have been better off if he'd caught you.
Have I said too much?