—Chapter1 The Chase 

Tom felt the ground shake violently below him. Shooting upright, he believed it was a possible earthquake as those were common on the west coast, but that thought was immediately sidelined. He was not in his apartment. He wasn’t sure if he was even in the city anymore. Scanning his surroundings, he was perched atop what appeared to be an impossibly large root or tree branch. The coarse surface left deep creases in the wooden structure beneath him. His eyes followed the limb upward to the sheer wall of the tree as it climbed upward, impossibly high.

The ground shook again. Was he in the woods? He didn’t know trees got this large. These trees seemed larger than any sequoia. Now he was standing on the root of one among hundreds, possibly thousands. Peering over the edge, there did not appear to be any “ground” to speak of. No soil to drop to, or underbrush. There were just more gnarled roots, weaving their way down. It almost made a pseudo-cave system with how chaotically woven the roots were, while still leaving enough space to walk through if the need arose.  A slight shudder ran through his body. “Where am I?” he said out loud to no one. 

Another brief quake. Were they getting stronger? He was still wearing his sweatpants from the day before with his running shoes and loose fitting jacket with a long sleeve shirt below. That’s right, he went to the gym yesterday. “Yesterday?” He brought his hand to mouth to chew on his knuckle. “Did I even make it home last night?” The sky was still dark but heavily obscured by the foliage overhead. He stood up and reached his hands into his pockets. He had his keys, wallet and cell phone. Tapping the home button, it stuttered to life only for the screen to make an audible cracking sound in his hand. Now Tom was not an easily spooked individual, but the overwhelming amount of stimuli he was faced with caused him to jump at his phone’s sudden malfunction. It dropped out of his hand, despite his attempts to catch the falling item. The echo of the phone slamming into multiple roots as it tumbled down exciting a string of expletives from Tom.

How far did these roots go before they actually touched the ground? Another quake. This one was accompanied by the ear piercing sound of wood breaking. The sound was localized as he spun his head to try and spot its source. Falling branches came from the other direction. Tom snapped his head to the side and was able to spot a movement beyond the trees. Some large object with blue shade was passing through the forest. 

Was it some sort of vehicle? It must be huge, whatever it was. He took a hesitant step forward in hopes of getting a better line of sight, anticipating a better view any moment now. Whatever it was, it was clearly causing the earthquakes, but how? He was not certain. It seemed to cover long distances without making much impact on the surrounding environment. 

The ground shook again, this time causing Tom to lose his footing. He had to steady himself with a hand between his legs as he dropped into a crouching position.  His gaze shot back up after looking down for only a moment. It wasn’t a vehicle. He was looking at a woman with light blue skin and impossibly giant. He couldn’t be sure from this distance but he could guess she was at least over a hundred feet tall. She appeared to be scanning the area and was currently looking away from his direction but it wouldn’t take long for her to look his way. 

Thinking quickly he turned his attention downward and spun around. There was a crack in the bark of the root that he could grab onto. If he could hold on long enough, the blue woman might pass by without noticing him. Not caring to look for other options, he dipped over the curved surface and dug his arm into the crease. With his arm nicely wedged, his weight was supported and he was out of the sightline of her. His heart was beating in his chest and he felt like it could burst, but he was going to need to keep a cool head if he was to pull this off. 

“I can smell you, human” 

His blood ran cold. Was she talking to him? She had to be, at least he had to assume her comment was directed at him. The bark below his feet broke away causing his full weight to pull  on his arm. It wasn’t painful but he was starting to panic as he tried to regain purchase with his feet. A cold chill ran down his spine. The air seemed to become frigid as he was finally able to steady himself. It was not this cold a moment ago. Somewhat relieved that he did not cause too much noise, he breathed a low sigh and could see his breath. He could feel the panic and dread overflowing within and fought to keep his breathing stead, fighting the urge to hyperventilate. 

“You look stuck, little human” she said, smiling down at Tom only a few meters away. 

The melodic sound of her voice did nothing to calm Tom from her enormous proportions. She was hundreds of yards away when Tom first got a clear sight of her, and yet now she was right on him. How she was able to close the distance that quickly, all without making a sound? He did not dare to look away from the gigantic face but he needed to figure out how he was going to get away. He could just yank his arm out of the bark, but his jacket would do little to protect from a probable injury. And that says nothing to the drop below. Looking away from the creature to gauge the drop, he realized it was not an option and would betray his intention to flee. 

The creature just stared with an amused smile, apparently both parties were not wanting to make the first move.To Tom’s dismay, and possible salvation, she was not in any hurry to make her intentions known. Her cool blue complexion was framed by dark hair and uneven bangs. Her dark brown eyes twinkled with mischievous intent.

But what were her intentions? Tom thought. 

She turned her face slightly and raised an eyebrow, remaining in her hunched position so she could bring her face as close to Tom as possible without worry of blowing him away with her breath. 

She grew tired of waiting on the human, it was clear he was determined to see what she was going to do next. 

That will be fine, she thought. She loved to play with her food. 

She licked her lips slowly before finally speaking, “Are you cold? I know somewhere I can put you to help warm you up.” A blue finger came up and tapped her lower lip.

Tom’s mouth hung agape. 

“Oh hell no” he muttered under his breath before ripping his arm out of its wooden prison.

There was no way he could prevent falling with his arm now free. That didn’t matter, the giant blue woman had made her intentions known and it was not safe to stay here. The cold gaze shifted to surprise as she watched the small human drop from his perch. 

This one wasn’t frozen in fear as so many of his kind often were, she mused

Landing with a thud, he immediately began to start to roll off the sloped surface of the massive root. 

“Here goes nothing,” he thought, but was surprised to hear himself say out loud. Once he got out of sight under the dense network of roots, he would need to move quietly. 

Unable to slow his descent, he did his best to plant his feet. He launched himself forward, narrowly missing a root that passed over his head. Tom landed atop a shallow incline but kept himself from immediately collapsing. Turning to follow the past downward, he sprinted to where he hoped to find ground. 

Sparing a glance backward, he saw the massive blue hand darting towards the spot where he had been only a moment ago. If he had lingered a second longer, she would have caught him for sure. The massive appendage moved without making a sound, slinking back the area above the roots.

“Almost gotcha!” he heard from above, then nothing. 

As he ran, he tried to listen for the massive creature to get some clue for where to head next. She wasn’t making a sound. ‘How could such a large creature not make any noise?’ he thought, making sure to keep his thoughts to himself. The hard surface of the root began to soften under his feet as he descended its length. It became slippery before he could slow his progress. He began to tumble for a short while before colliding with the soil. 

It wasn’t a painful landing, as the ground was fairly soft, and damp, he thought and he spat out some of the mushy soil that got into his mouth. He looked around cautiously, trying to plan his next move. Every direction seemed to blend together into some ubiquitous maze of roots and the discarded foliage that the trees above had gifted back to the earth. There was a small trench in the dirt. It was likely caused from the remains of a trickle of water that had reabsorbed back into the ground. 

That’s my heading, he told himself before starting to move, sparing only a moment to breathe. It did nothing to calm his thundering heart, but he can’t risk making a single wrong move. Speaking of wrong moves, He looked down at his arm.

There were not any deep cuts but he could feel the dull sting of the bruised limb. It was a gamble, but at least it paid dividends. He shuddered at the thought of the woman’s words, remembering the predatory look in her eyes.  There was a hunger to them that chilled Tom to his very bones. Literally. How was she able to make the air so cold when she was nearby?, he wondered. 

Leaning down, he passed below a root and was relieved to see that the “pathway” continued onward for quite a ways. ‘Just keep going forward’ he chanted internally while moving as quietly as possible. The silence was deafening. Where did the giant woman go? Did she just get bored and move on? At her size it was easy for Tom to assume she was causing the mini-earthquakes before. If the quakes weren’t her doing then what was causing them? 

Keep moving. The path turned sharply. Tom peered around the sharp curve to see the slight glow of daylight. He slowed his pace and again tried to focus his hearing. If there was a chance of that monster still being around he didn’t want to risk revealing his location. Nearing the source of light he crouched below another low hanging root. He waited and listened. 

He waited for about fifteen long minutes, hearing nothing other than the light breeze snaking its way through the trees, while he came up with a plan for his next move. Unsure what compelled him to check, he reached his hand into his pocket where he had left his keys. They failed to materialize. ‘Great, first his phone now his keys. Let me guess’ he thought, reaching for his wallet. To no one’s surprise his wallet must have also fallen out during his getaway. He allowed himself a singular silent scream of frustration before standing upright on the other side of the root. Thank you, Root, you served me well, he thought dryly. Gotta keep moving. 

He inched closer to the small clearing. The pathway continued on the other side with little more than a downward slant. It promised cover and the more roots between him and the giant woman above. His pace slowed to a crawl, and his body began to shake with apprehension as he started to peer past the root to see the green leaves above. There was a slight bit of movement from the wind catching the leaves, but nothing else.  He saw nothing, but fear gripped his entire body.

Don’t get caught, don’t get caught, he chanted while peering to either side of the clearing. Both sides appeared to offer some light cover but he was more interested in the ground. A smaller root dipped into the soil on the right side of the clearing. ‘Left it is.’ looking up again while still remaining in the shadow, he examined the placement of the roots that stretched upward. If she’s still up there she will come from the right. ‘Shit’ he might have to backtrack if his pursuer was still giving chase. 

Taking a deep breath, Tom hunched down into a running position. He was making a lot of assumptions but he didn’t like his alternatives. Another silent scream later and he was off, darting forward. 

“Gotcha!” 

That familiar and chilling voice rang out, as he darted to the left as her arm swung in from behind. She nearly had him. Tom reversed direction, heading back to where he had just come from. He will get another chance, but for now he needs to get out of danger. 

The giant reached another arm down expecting the tiny human to continue to the other side of the clearing. She had only lost sight of him for an instant as her other hand blocked the exit. Is this one clever or just lucky?

Tom collapsed as soon as he reached the relative safety provided by the low hanging roots.  He tried to stand but the exertion on his legs left him weak opting instead to just flip over and started push himself backwards. His mind raced as he tried to predict when and where the next threat would arrive. Did I just get incredibly lucky, or did I actually manage to pull that off? Tom thought to himself. 

“Oh, Human?” her voice was back to the melodic tone. Tom silently hoped her voice would betray some hint of feigned annoyance. He needed to know if he could rely on his shitty guess work. “As much fun as this little game of your is, I really would like to continue my afternoon elsewhere” 

Tom began to speak, but only a wheezing cough escaped his mouth. He tried again “You’re free to leave, lady! Don’t let me keep you.” Great, now he was taunting the evil giant. 

“If you insist” came the reply. 

“Nope, I don’t like where this is going” he said out loud. Not loud enough for the giant to hear, he reckoned, but it wasn’t a whisper. He saw movement causing Tom to jump backward. How a creature so large was able to move so quietly was an evil trick. 

Before she was barely able to reach a few inches off the ground, because she was in a hurry. Now she had a moment to adjust herself without worry. Her time waiting above the small human certainly wet her appetite. It was enjoyable to imagine the human being fooled into a false sense of safety, while she sat mere feet above him. She was undeniably tickled by the thought as she readjusted herself to get a little more reach from her arm. “Time’s up” she practically hummed. 

‘What was she doing’ would be what Tom queried if he were still capable of any rational thought. His mind started to race, but there was no time to process the immense flow of data. He saw the outstretched arm reaching down into the clearing, but she was not reaching for him. It was as if all she wanted was to touch the ground. Tom heard the phrase “time’s up” before his body slammed into the roots that lay above as a thunderous blast hammered his ears. 

From this distance it didn’t feel like an earthquake, it felt like a violation of nature. The ground lurched upward. The impact caused Tom to see stars as the very soil seemed to recoil at the giant’s touch. At the epicenter was the unmistakable culprit. The palm of her blue hand lay flat on the ground inside a small crater lightly covered in a small layer of ice and snow. 

Tom’s vision had gone dark from the impact as a gust of frigid air rushed past, causing him to shield his face with an arm. The loose soil beneath his body gave way and he tumbled forward. 

It was surreal. All he could feel was the cold. That’s it. There was nothing to experience but the cold void while his eyes remained tightly shut. Even so, he knew she had him, there was no point in fighting. No, he thought, I need to survive this. 

“Open your eyes little one, I want you to see this coming” 

He managed a weak cough with his head slumped back, apparently being held with his body vertical. 

“Was I too rough with you?” she said. Tom did not respond. He wasn’t entirely sure if he could actually hear the giant speak. “I know you’re still alive. If anything this is actually your fault for making me wait so long. Do you have any idea how hard it is to SMELL a human for twenty minutes, on an empty stomach, no less?” 

Tom strained to open one of his eyes. He didn’t know if he was shivering because of the cold or the primal fear at what was about to happen. Her face was closer than before and he could smell her cool breath wash over him. She had begun to open her mouth to accept her prize but was jolted back again. 

“Oh goodie, you are awake.” she said with excitement. Tom noticed the hint of movement behind his predator. A blur of red passing from tree to tree. He had no more plans or schemes left in him as he slumped backward. “Wait! Hang on, try to stay awake for a bit longer. It’s better if you're fully conscious, otherwise it goes by too quickly and I can't enjoy it!” she shook him slightly, “Come on human, you were the one who made me wait. It’s the least you could do!” she pushed her lips into a pout. 

An eye shot open, “It was only fifteen minutes” Tom slurred, and the words practically oozed out of his mouth. The Giant was only able to tilt her head in response. He only had one shot and it relied on him sounding like he was not being sarcastic, so he was probably doomed. “It was only fifteen minutes. I know because I counted” he gulped a breath of air and continued, “You said I made you wait for twenty minutes. I would never make you wait that long.” 

There was a long pause. The giant stared at Tom with her mouth agape, and Tom was staring at her mouth trying to spot when it would open wider to try and accept him again. His world began to shake to the sounds of hearty laughter. “I swear you are by far one of the most interesting humans I have ever met. It’s almost a shame that our time has to be cut so short” she paused another moment, “oh well, maybe in another life” 

Tom cracked a wide smile before opening his eyes again. “Gotcha!” 

Her eyes went from confused to surprise in an instant. There was someone else behind her. She did not have time to turn around as the blurry image of a black club whizzed into the back of her head. There was no blood, but her body still reacted. Her chin slumped to her collar bone as she began to fall forward. Tom prepared mentally for being crushed to death but the fall was just as likely to kill him depending on the height. Neither happened. As she fell, her grip released, but Tom was snatched out of the air before the roots destroyed what was left of the injured body. 

He was again wrapped in another large fist. The skin was a deep red and was very warm. This time he was tightly held further up his neck so he didn’t need to strain to support his aching head. All the better. Whatever grabbed him was pumping its arms in a slight jog. Though he welcomed the distance from the ice creature, he couldn’t help but fear he had just traded one hellish fate for another. 

“I’ve got you,” it was a deeper voice, to be sure, but still feminine. 

The fierce moment made quick work of his weak body. He soon felt his consciousness leaving him as he again accepted the void. “At least this time, it’s slightly warmer” was his last thought before fading into unconsciousness.