The Giant Forest - COMPLETED - True to life adventures of preteens.

Stink, Stank, Really Stunk

The giants' noses had become accustomed to not only the smell of skunk but also other odors that might cause any other biped to gag uncontrollably. Giants loved putrid smells. The worse the smell to humans, the better to giants. Weeks-old road pizza is hugely popular to giants. Small animals caught in tree stumps to die, then rot ... an unexpected treat. A handful of maggots feasting on a dead carcass ... spread for giant bread.

The odor that might cause any giant to convulse in delight the most, however, is that of a human.

"The ... more ... rank ... the ... smell .. the ... richer ... the ... taste" is a saying that has been passed down for generations by grand-giants and great-grand-giants.

In giant lore, the pappies were the best cooks. But not always. Sybil, of course, didn't know about this lore and that he might soon add to it. He was unaware of how precarious his situation was ... until the giant mammies started talking.

"Melba. Do ... you ... smell .... That?"

"Yes ... Yes ... I ... do," Hilda responded through brown-stained teeth.

"If ... I ... didn't ... know ... any ... better ... I'd ... say ... there ... is ... a ... delicious ... treat ... nearby.

"I'd ... say ... there ... is ... one ... VERY ... nearby."

"Yeah. I'd ... recognize ... that ... smell ... anywhere."

"Me, ... too."

Sybil thought they were talking about the skunk.

"I ... over ... heard ... the ... boys ... men... tion ... they ... had ... caught ... a ... human."

Sybil let out an audible gulp.

Not only did the large ears of the giants allow them to enjoy raunchy odors more than others, their big ears rivaled those of deer when it came to picking up sounds.

"Did ... you ... hear ... that ... Mel ... ba? You ... don't ... think ... there ... might ... be ... more ... than ... one ... human ... do ... you?"

"They ... don't ... of ... ten ... tra ... vel ... a ... lone. May ... be.

Sybil feared the worse, "They're talking about me!?"

"I ... think ... there ... might ... be. And ... I ... think ... he (Giants could tell the difference between male and female by their smells) ... he ... is ... prob ... a ... bly ... not ... far ... a ... way.

"I'd better hide." Sybil thought to himself looking around and realizing it might be the first time in his life that he hoped nobody could see him. He couldn't find anything wide enough to get behind. The table legs were too narrow or he was too big or a combination of both.

He turned back towards the door where he had come through only to discover it wasn't there!?!?

"What?!" He said out loud followed by an "Uh, oh!"

The giants heard him.

"Melba. You ... don't ... think ...?"

There was a long pause.

Sybil held his breath.

"He saw the blade of a butcher knife. The blade was as big as the top of his kitchen table at home. The blade was lowered slowly towards the floor. Following the blade he saw four scraggly fingers wrapped around a handle as long as a broomstick and held in place with a thumb bigger around than his legs. The thumbnail was missing. Next came an arm and a shoulder chased by an ear. Stringy hair dangled over the ear. Lastly an eyeball as big as Sybil's head was staring straight at him. Sybil could see his reflection in the pupil. The giant's nose touched the ground. Sybil could see the hair follicles inside flutter as the giant breathed in then back out.

"Hilda!!" Melba said so quickly she didn't even need the usual pauses. "It's ... a ... hu ... man!! A ... round .. one!!"

"Quick!! ... Grab ... it!"

Before Melba could drop her knife and get down on all fours Sybil started running. He had no idea which way to run. Since the door he came through was gone, he decided to run across the room ... away from the eye staring at him. Run in this case is a very generous word considering it was Sybil on the move. Waddled? Shuffled? Tottered? Sybil was aware that he had not likely ever moved so quickly in his life. His legs, however, were not keeping up with his ambition to flee. The only advantage Sybil had was that, as you may remember, giants move very slowly also.

Sybil saw a large rectangular object that stood taller than it was wide that he reckoned correctly was the door. The handle was far out of his reach even if he were to, or could jump. Usually when he did jump only his arms went up. The rest of him stayed put.

Sybil saw a smaller door in the door near the bottom. He couldn't be sure from his distance and he had no time to think one way or the other what it might be. However, the closer he got to the door in the door, the closer Melba got to him crawling from behind on her hands and knees.

A large piece of cloth the size of the blanket on his twin bed back home landed right next to him in a pile. Hilda had tossed it at him hoping to catch him beneath.

As he got closer to the door in the door, Sybil put his hands out in front of him with his fingers pointing up and palms away as if he were going to push someone on a swing hoping with all hope he could somehow push the door open. Sybil thought, "Anything to get to the other side, outside or just in another place where he could escape the giants. He didn't consider that what lay on the other side of the door might be even worse.

Sybil's hands met the door at full speed and the small door in the door gave way! The small door was made of plastic and he was able to push it open as he tumbled through.

The giants didn't use this door in a door to let their pets out. They used it to attract unsuspecting animals to come in! Melba and Hilda had never seen anything, or in this case of Sybil, anyone go out the little door before.

"Did ... you ... see ... that ... Hilda?"

Melba was back on her feet still in pursuit.

Melba turned the door knob and stepped outside. Sybil had, only by chance, found his way back outside the house, in the yard, heading for the nearby treeline. The grass came up to the top of his legs making it look more like he was rolling away than running.

Za za za ... THUMPF!

Sybil disappeared.

"Where'd ... he ... go? ... Where'd ... he ... go?!"

Sybil quite unexpectedly fell through the ground and into a trench just big enough for him to fit ... but not bigger. The tall grass above leaned over just enough to cover him and the hole up. There were still small cracks between the blades of grass that permitted the moonlight to peek through.

Out of breath Sybil spoke softly, "Safe!"

Something moved next to him. It rubbed him along his right leg. His heart stopped. Sybil didn't know if he should be more relieved to be free from the giants ... for now ... or if he should be more worried.