CHAPTER SEVEN
Run!
The Next Day
Ayangla slipped on her dress. Her hair was still wet, but it was time to go.
It could dry on the long walk. Hearing a noise Ayangla looked up with a ready smile for Alon.
Her face froze though as she saw that it wasn’t Alon that she’d heard. It was a giant.
As giants went he wasn’t overly big, standing at just over ten feet. A far cry from the giants before the great flood that had stood hundreds of feet tall in height.
Still, it was a giant and one that bore the colors of the house of Nimrod at that. He hadn’t seen her yet though.
He was nosing about their campsite. Fear closed about her heart as she stood frozen in indecision as to what to do.
Where was Alon?
The giant lifted his head. Breath came in a rush then to her for the giant had seen her.
She spun about and began to run. It was the only defense that she had other than to cry out to the Creator that Alon constantly spoke to and that now even she believed in.
The ground shook beneath her as the giant gave pursuit and Ayangla’s heart threatened to perish from within her chest. Refusing to quit Ayangla tore through the forest understory.
The giant’s stride was far greater than hers so she did what she could to make up for that by dashing and swerving around trees and never running in a straight line. With a crash of timber snapping the pursuing giant cursed as her strategy paid off.
Despite her success Ayangla didn’t look back. If he caught her it would be death in the worst ways imaginable and at some point he would finally put her out of her mercy by eating her alive as the flesh of mankind was above all the most favorable to giants.
With the dread of knowing what her fate would be if she was caught, she screamed, as in her haste she failed to jump high enough over a fallen tree. She pitched head over heels to the ground and with desperation rolled back up to her feet.
She glanced back unavoidably and saw the triumphant smiling gaze of evil incarnate as the giant swung around the last tree that was in his way of getting to her. Something moved fast in a straight line through the understory growth of the forest and with both relief and concern Ayangla saw that it was Alon.
The giant roared and stumbled as Alon with a bullish roar of his own slammed his shoulder into the giant’s lower leg. His impact was enough to send the surprised giant spinning to the side, but the giant recovered quickly.
In anguish of spirit Ayangla watched Alon step between her and the giant. What could one man do against such an abomination of flesh?
*********
Male Perspective
Sweat rolling into my eyes, I turned my head briefly to Ayangla. Her face was awash with tears and I saw that she wasn’t going to listen to me and yet I said anyway, “Run!”
I barked the order out at her, but in reply, she shook her head no.
Turning back, I faced the giant only to hear him say with triumph, “I will feast on the both of you!”
Then, with a finger he pointed at me, “But only on you after I’ve finished with the sweet meat of your woman.”
He went to laugh then and I moved forward to the assault. Quickly recovering from the mirth that he had planned to let loose, he bent to swipe his grotesque six fingered hands at me.
I dodged it and ducked in close, which was where the true vulnerability of any giant was. Even as being in close was also the place of most hazard for any attacker of a giant.
I dipped down to the ground and my hand came away with a rock. Pushing off with both legs I vaulted forward through the giant’s legs and as I did I crushed the rock upward into the abominations nut sack.
I hit the ground on my shoulder and spun even as the giant behind me howled. The air shook as he crashed down to his knees, but I was on my feet again.
Grabbing hold of a section of fallen tree snapped off in a storm I lifted it and went to smash in the giant’s head. The section of tree was heavy and the giant recovered faster than I could swing it.
The air left my body as his backhanded slap impacted my chest and sent me flying backwards through the air. I fell onto my back and in desperation I turned over and tried to breathe.
With wrath I heard the giant step forward toward me. Grasping a rock I rolled over and as I did I threw the rock upward.
The giant had been bending down and the rock caught him in the mouth and immediately I saw blood gush. He swore even as with vile hatred for me in his eyes, he spat out several teeth to the side.
He still had plenty of them, but his soon to be torment of me had just gone up a notch I could tell. Gasping for air I scrambled backward, but it was a losing proposition.
Then in the fever of the moment I saw a sliver of movement as something hit the back of the giant’s leg. It was an arrow!
In consternation the giant turned from me to reach back and grab at the lodged in arrow. When he did that two things happened.
He wailed with rage as a second arrow slammed into his one eyeball, even as with a metallic clang a sword in its scabbard was tossed out of the brush off to my side to land near my feet. I wasted no time, but grabbed up the scabbard and pulled the sword free even as arrows coming from the giant’s other side still came one by one lodging into the mass of the giant with sickening impact.
Moving forward with a spirit of retribution I came up behind the giant that had turned to face the arrows and slashed both of his tendons at the knee. Like so much dead weight the giant crashed helplessly to his knees and as he did, he became perfectly poised before me as I made a powerful back swipe with the sword that sent the giant’s head rolling free with a shower of blood into the underbrush of the forest.
After a long moment his kneeling corpse fell forward for the last time to the ground. Breathing heavy I waited, sword in hand for I knew not what.
A man stepped into view. His skin was coal black and he stood taller than me by several inches.
He was powerfully built and wore the tattered remnants of a uniform. It was a soldier’s outfit.
With caution I regarded him as he came closer to me. He had been among the rank of Nimrod’s Army and yet he’d saved both of us from one of Nimrod’s twisted brethren?
My gaze went to the side and I took in the sight of a woman as white in complexion as her master was dark, step into view. It was she that had thrown me the sword.
Leaning down in the unsteady silence, I wiped the bloody blade clean and then taking it by the blade I extended it back out to the couple who had come to stand beside each other in front of me. The man shook his head and with a deep voice said, “Keep it giant slayer.”
With surprise, I exclaimed, “You’re speaking in my tongue.”
“Indeed I am and the vision I have had leads me to believe it is also so that you know where I and Sarli are to go. We are to be together, you and I, a tribe.”
I nodded and said, “That was, as I have been told by the Most High too, but tell me why are you dressed in the garb of Nimrod’s house?”
He looked down and then up, “For a time it was that I was made to serve, but no longer. I will never serve the will of giants or fallen angels again. I have seen the fury of the Most High and I will listen and do as I have been told by Him. My name is Enais and I am ready to walk by your side.”
Making a gesture with my hand, I welcomed him as I said, “I am Alon and let the road be before both of us as the Most High God wills.”
As he came closer I asked, “Do you know of the Great Sea to the west?”
His eyes gleamed and in reply he said, “I do and if it is still there a ship as well.”
“A ship?”
“Aye, not known to many within Babel is that for years Nimrod has dispatched scouting parties in every direction in order to locate remnants of technology that survived the waters that broke upon earth and covered all the mountains. I was tasked as a commander of one of those scouting parties. Though we did find relics of the time before I and my crew destroyed them and for this we were to be served alive to the giant’s table the same night that you were to be split asunder by Nimrod himself. It would seem that both you and I have escaped cruel fates for a far better one.”
“Indeed, it would seem so.” I said before glancing off to the side and taking in the sight of two happily smiling women conversing with each other in the same tongue like they were long-lost sisters.
Turning forward I asked my companion for the journey, “Have you then been to the other side of the sea?” “I have. It is a dangerous land, but a beautiful one too. I did not wish to leave it before and I am blessed to be allowed to return to it now.”
I nodded and said, “We are both blessed. Let there be a bond between us as brothers from this day forth even as of my children I will give you sons and daughters to be husbands and wives to your own children.”
Enais’s hand came forward and gripped mine firmly as he said, “So let it be as you have said. From this day forward let our houses be joined and the name of our kindred be Alonai.”
Together we set forward for the horizon with a shared purpose and the vision that we both had been given by the Most High, even as we were followed by two women trusting in us to lead them in the right way.