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

Getting Left Behind

It's not the worst thing that can happen. Everybody else gets to go and you don't. Sycamore, slow as he is, realized this also, but it didn't come to him right away.

All of his friends stepped into the field where Mousi and Og were engaged in a lively and animated conversation. Each of his friends, Roci, Sybil and Aimi had joined in as well. Og's friends had stepped out of the night shadows to join the party also. The beetles, badgers and beavers all stayed behind. Bligh, Mounty and Senti stood their ground next to Mousi.

Sybil was first to realize that they might be in danger. Roci and Aimi did not pick up any strange vibe.

Not taking any time to catch up Roci spoke first to Aimi. "Look! Mousi has made another friend. That's our Mousi."

"Yeah. She shows that sweet smile of hers." Aimi's response dripped with sarcasm and some envy. "Next thing you know. She's sharing chocolate."

"Girls."

Aimi and Roci ignored Sybil.

"Girls!" Sybil said a bit louder but trying not to sound alarmed. Nor did he want to alert the giants that he suspected something was out of the ordinary.

"Girls!!" he shouted in his loudest whisper. Loud enough that they both said in harmony,

"What?" Aimi's voice was alto low and Roci's was soprano high.

"There's something you need to know."

"Well. Tell us! And hurry up!" Aimi said impatiently.

"Mousi may be having a nice conversation with that giant. But my experience was different."

Roci spoke loudly enough that giants on either side of the three twitched their big ears. "You have experience with giants?"

"Yes. I came upon a couple of them in the kitchen back ..." He waved his hand as if he were pointing behind them. By now, however, he was not quite sure which direction he had come from. "Two of the giants were planning to ..."

Before Sybil could finish his sentence a series of events started unfolding very quickly.

Og stopped talking and waving his arms at Mousi. He jumped up as quickly as his long lanky limbs would allow and pointed to his left with his right arm, and to his right with his left arm. His motions seemed rather peculiar to Mousi and the three others. It looked as if he were directing a symphony. Sycamore continued his careful watch from the sidelines.

A group of about 10 giants closed in on the three.

Mousi squealed in her perkiest voice towards Roci and Aimi, "Guys! These are MY friends!"

But they weren't. What the giants did next was not friendly at all. Three of them gathered around Roci. Three others gathered around Aimi and four surrounded Sybil.

"Grab ... them! Master ... sig ... naled ... for ... us ... to ... take ... them."

Each of two giants grabbed Roci by her left and right arms. The 3rd giant latched on to her legs. Three other giants scooped up Aimi in the same way. It took four giants to carry Sybil. One giant on each of his four limbs.

Og put one of his big hands on Mousi's head and pressed down so she couldn't run. He waved for two of his friends to approach. They obliged. One of them pulled Mousi's arms behind her and gripped them together in a hand cuff.

Mousi cried, "OUCH!!"

They ignored her pain. The other giant swept Mousi's legs out from under her and held them together under one arm.

Finding it difficult to swallow that was being betrayed by a 'friend' Mousi blurted out, "Og! What's going on?"

"My ... name ... is ... not ... Og. My ... name ... is ... Gobble." Og, er, Gobble let out a howl. "My ... dad ... called ... me ... Gobble. Cuz ... I ... finish ... all ... my ... meals ... in ... just ... a ... couple ... of ... gobbles. And ... now ... I ... plan ... to ... cook ... you ... and ... your ... friends ... up ... and ... me ... and ... my ... friends ... are ... going ... to ... gobble ... you ... up."

Mousi began to cry. Roci kicked and twirled and rolled and bucked. She got one leg free and managed to kick one of her captors in the gut. She couldn't, however, get free. The other two giants pinned her down until the third giant could get her free leg again. Aimi yanked and spun and jackknifed and pinched. She was able to slip both her arms from the grips of the giant hands that held her, then she found herself hanging upside down and being dragged by the third giant who's grip was unfailing. She tired and the other two grabbed her again. Sybil tried to fight by becoming dead weight. It worked. His captors dropped him. But Sybil had the breath knocked out of him and he was quickly recaptured.

The other giants went for Bligh, Senti and Mounty. The three loyal friends first braced for a fight. However, it became clear that they were outnumbered and out, um, out gianted. Before they could get away each of them found themselves entrapped by a homemade net. Bligh was pinned down. Mounty bit through his in one bite and shook himself free. He took a chomp at the net over Bligh and instantly Bligh was free as well. Mounty and Bligh moved away to reposition themselves for another attack. Senti slipped through the holes of the net over her and promptly put some distance between herself and the giant mob. However, instead of running for cover as soon as she was free, Senti spun around faced the giants, growled her fiercest, reared back on her hind quarters to make a charge into the melee. As she sprung forward all four paws left the ground but no distance was covered. Instead of closing any distance towards the giants, Senti found herself rising up off the ground. She kicked. She ran. But she kept rising higher.

Senti felt a hand at the back of her neck, followed by a whisper in her ear.

"Hold on. Hold on. This ain't good. Our friends are in trouble. Our friends need help." Sycamore had lifted up Senti from behind and held her closely. Mounty and Bligh who had taken their lead from Senti stood next to Sycamore.

"We need to come up with a plan. And we'd better do it before it's too late," Sycamore sounded off. "It may already be too late."

Gobble and his friends hadn't noticed Sycamore. The whole tribe of goliaths disappeared into the woods with Sycamore's four friends and Senti's two friends.