G/T YouTubers (One Shots and More)

Blind Spot (Jack and Mark) (Part 3)

"You know, those are actually poisonous." Mark blinked.

"O-oh." He let the berries drop and studied his attacker to the best of his ability. It was a female, and she had blonde hair, clothes made of cloth and animal fur, and tattoos drawn over her pale-ish skin. But she felt familiar. That lighthearted look in her eyes, the way she held her head behind that large white recurve bow. "Your, uh, your aim is off a few degrees," Mark blurted before he could stop himself. "Your head's, erm, too-too tilted." A lot of emotions ran through the girl's eyes, and she lowered her bow.

"I-I know," she said quietly, "You've told me that before." Mark heard rustling and looked around to see more people emerge from the foliage. The woman set her bow down and hugged him, startling him. "Are you ok, Mark?" She asked, "You don't remember saying that, do you? And you don't... you don't recognize me?" Mark shook his head. His eyes were hurting, so he closed them.

"I-I got caught in a-a fire, or something. I-I think I hit my head, I can't remember anything, but... but my eyes..." The woman gently touched his face and pried one of his eyes open to determine the damage done. She drew a sharp breath and hugged Mark again.

"I'm so glad you're still alive." Her voice was thick with emotion. "I- we thought you were dead. Ethan almost died in that forest fire too."

"E-Ethan?" The name sounded familiar. The woman nodded and sniffled.

"Yes, Mark, Ethan. And Tyler, and Katheryn, and..." Her voice dwindled to a quiet murmur. "And my name's Amy." Mark felt like he had been struck by lightning. He knew these names!

"I-I remember a-a place, called, uh, Los Angeles?" He tried. Amy frowned.

"Los Angeles?"

"And Shuttingale," he offered.

"Mark!" A new face suddenly ran over and hugged him giddily. "You're ok!" He cried. "Wowie, everyone thought you were dead! But not me, you saved me!"

"I did?" Mark was drawing a blank.

"Ethan, he has a bad concussion," Amy informed the boy. Ethan's eyes lit up with horror, but also with understanding and sympathy.

"Oh, I see!" Ethan hugged Mark. "I'm so sorry, it's my fault, if we hadn't gone off and wandered so far away-" A series of roars suddenly exploded from a place close by, and a tree fell over. Mark gasped.

"Jack!" He ran toward the commotion as the snarling and thumping continued. It sounded like a very large and angry tiger was on the loose, but Mark knew it was his buddy. He burst out of the bushes, his friends right behind him, to see with horror that the rest of the village warriors had taken the giant down and tied ropes over him.

"Keep that one down!"

"Don't let it get up!"

"Hey, tether its feet down!" Jack roared in pain and jerked his head, not noticing Mark's return.

"Jack!" Mark started to run to him when Ethan held him back. "Don't- What are you doing!? Let me go! Stop!"

"Mark, it's ok! This monster won't hurt anybody," Ethan tried to coax. "We've got it under control."

"Monster?" Mark cried in disbelief.

"Mark!" A tall, immense man ran over and hugged him. "Thank god, you're alright!" Mark wriggled away and ran to Jack.

"Whoa, step back, step back!"

"Mark!" Amy exclaimed fearfully. As Jack strained against the ropes that tightly held him down, Mark ran up to his head.

"Jack!" Jack turned his head, and his eyes widened.

"M-Mark?"

"It's ok, it's gonna be ok!" Mark turned the others. They were all petrified, and they looked like they expected the immense giant to bite Mark's head off.

"Mark, get away from it!" The tall one, Tyler, tried to say. Mark shook his head and backed up, leaning against Jack's forehead.

"Untie him! He saved my life!" He begged. Amy looked astounded, while the others looked skeptical.

"Mark, that's a giant," Ethan tried to reason, "Do you know what giants eat?" Behind Mark, Jack let out a growl, insulted.

"I don't care!" Mark balled up his fists. "When I somehow, by miracle, survived that fire, I was completely blind! I couldn't see anything, so I wandered all day, lost and confused. And then I found Jack, and do you know what he did? He saved me! He kept me warm and protected me from night predators, and he gave me this herbal stuff to help my eyes heal!" Mark waved his hand desperately at the green paste that covered his skin like a blindfold. "If it wasn't for him, I'd most certainly be dead. Do you hear me? Dead!" He could hear Jack panting nervously behind him.

"But Mark, that giant is a predator!" Tyler protested, "They've terrorized our village for many years." He paused, and then he added hesitantly, "I saw this one running off when the fire started. It-it was one of them that started the fire, Mark. It's because of them you were almost lost to us." Mark froze. Another giant? Why would a giant start a fire? And how?

Mark turned to look at Jack, opening his mouth to say something, but then he stopped. Jack's eyes were closed, and his brow was furrowed as a tear guiltily slipped down his cheek. "... It... I-It was you?" Mark murmured out loud. Jack bit back a sob.

"I-I didn't mean to," he whispered. "I-I didn't realize anything or-or anyone else was around." He put his head in the ground and sniffled. " I-I just wanted to see how humans controlled fire!" He cried muffledly. "But I-I learned my lesson, I did, I really did, I'm so, so sorry....!"

"You almost burned the entire forest down," Tyler inputted. "I saw you running off when it started to spread."

"I know!" Jack kept his head down, crying. "I-I didn't mean to! I was just curious." He shook his head and sobbed into the soil again. "Whatever, I got what was coming to me," he mumbled sadly, "Just go ahead and kill me. It's the least I deserve." Mark noticed the others look at him in response to this. They were waiting on his command now, to choose what to do with the remorseful giant. Mark turned to Jack.

"Jack, look at me." Jack shook his head, keeping his face grinded in the dirt. "Look at me, please," Mark repeated quietly. Jack did nothing for a few seconds, and then he slowly tilted his head. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, and salty tears mixed with dirt smudged on his cheek. His eyes were a tragic, shimmering blue, glistening with tears as they bore the same colors of the upset sky. Mark walked up to the giant's face, and he hugged the giant's nose bridge. Jack froze. His nostrils flared in anxious alarm as he held still, but Mark didn't do anything else. He simply hugged the giant and nuzzled him.

"It's ok, Jack," Mark soothed, "It's ok, don't cry. Of course I forgive you..." Jack closed his eyes and smothered a grateful sob. Tyler hesitated, and then he waved his hand at the other villagers, and they quickly cut the ropes. Once free, Jack gratefully stretched his legs out, but he didn't move away from the odd hug. Mark smiled at him with a gentle kindness.

"So, how did you try to harness fire?" He asked innocently.

"... I threw flint at a tree 'cause nothing else was working and I had given up," Jack muttered. Mark laughed.

"Rule number one of fire power: Don't disrespect the flint."