Something in the Woods

Chapter 6

Katie waited anxiously in the tall tree. The leaves provided a thick coverage for her, so there was no way Barrett could see her. This was the safest way Katie could think of confronting the giant. If things went south, she could quickly climb down before he could find her. 
The rhythmic steps of footfalls echoed through the woods, Katie's stomach twisted into knots as they drew closer. She scanned her surroundings for the giant boy but found nothing. But then she saw the nearby trees move around as if a force was pushing them aside. Katie's eyes widened as she remembered his homemade ghillie suit, her eyes adjusted and found the humanoid form underneath the camouflage. He was about thirty feet away from her but he had no intention of stopping, if he kept moving he would soon get close enough to find her. Katie's heart pounded, her fears of confronting him began to overwhelm her. She wanted to run away, but she knew she couldn't leave the woods without an answer. 
"STOP!" 
"Katie?" Barrett uncovered his youthful face from the camouflage and inch closer to where he thought he heard her voice. "Where are you?"
"Don't come any closer!" She snapped. "I have a lot of questions for you!" 
Barrett shrugged and sat down on his knees. "Alright, shoot." 
Katie took her notebook out of her backpack. A list of names littered the pages. "Ten years ago, Cliff Johnson and his fifteen year old son, Henry went on a boat to go fishing, they never returned. Does that ring a bell?!" 
"Not really…" 
"How about Susan Parker, Andy Freeman, Oliver Williams, and Jasmine Zhang? They decided to swim in the lake in nineteen-ninety seven, but they went missing that day. They would have started college in the fall!"
"What are you getting at?" Barrett asked.
"I'm saying it's a coincidence that these people went missing and there just happens to be a giant lurking in the woods!" Katie snapped. "How about Juan Rubio, disappeared in Nineteen-eighty eight, or Zoey Hoffman, disappeared in Nineteen-eighty seven, Kelsy Adams, disappeared in Nineteen eighty five, Freddy Knightly disappeared six months after Kelsy Adams! The list goes on for centuries!" 
"I wasn't even alive when most of these people disappeared!" Barrett shouted. "I'm not involved with anything!"
"Then why are you here?" 
"It was an accident!" He cried out. "I fell into the lake when the portal opened." 
"Portal?" 
Barrett nodded. "Yeah, the portal that opens up every six months and connects our worlds together for a day." 
"Why are you talking about this like I should know it?" 
"Do humans not learn about Jotunheim?" 
Katie raised an eyebrow. "What's Jotunheim?" 
"How do you not know about Jotunheim?" The giant boy exclaimed.
Katie just shrugged. "I mean, I can't really pay attention in school but I think I would have remembered learning about a world of giants." 
 Barrett's mouth gaped open. "Wow, and after all the wars you guys caused, you're not even going to mention us in the history books?!"
Katie's heart couldn't help but race when he got offended. "Now now, your kind is in various mythologies." 
"As what?" He scoffed. "Man eaters?" 
"Maybe…"
"Figures!" 
"Why are you offended?" Katie snapped. "You told me to keep Michelle and Sarah quiet about you last night!" 
"Giants haven't been to the human world for eons! I could start a war just by sitting here!" He buried his face into his hands. "I just want to go home." 
Katie watched the boy as he sat there curled up in a ball. He was a giant, yet he was scared of being in a place so much smaller than him. "So what are you going to do?"
"I have to wait until the portal opens up in December, until then I have to lay low so I don't cause a scare." 
"That's when the azure lights appear again." Everything started to click together. All the disappearances happened in June or December, every story Katie read involved the lake, and the unknown story about Jotunheim. "Do you think all the people that went missing fell through the portal?"
"It's a possibility." Barrett said. "But I hiked through that area every summer and never saw a human before." 
"They might be hiding from you, unless… something happened to them." Katie shuttered at the thought.
"You just might be onto something, Katie!"
"I can't believe it!" Excitement built up in her chest. Years of search parties and private investigators trying to find any piece of evidence lead to nothing. But Katie had practically solved the town's mystery within three days! She wasn't an idiot like everyone had said! All of her energy burst out of her like an explosion. Her giddiness proved to be her fatal mistake, she slipped off of the branch she sat on and began plummeting to the ground. 
Katie let out a scream as she hit the small razor like branches on the way down! The ground rapidly approached her, all she could do was shut her eyes and brace herself for impact.
But instead of the hard ground, Katie landed on a much softer and leathery surface. Heat radiated onto her skin, it took her a second to realize what she was on. Katie tried to jump to her feet, but the uneven surface caused her to fall backwards. She adjusted her glasses and saw Barrett's face fill her view. His green eyes widened with concern, and his lips slightly parted, each breath he took brushed strands of her blonde hair back and forth in a steady motion. His size was intimidating before, but being in his hand was a whole nother level! 
"Whoa! I'm glad I caught you in time." He smiled. 
Katie could only nod in agreement, maybe climbing onto the tallest tree wasn't the best idea. 
"Hey, what's that on your cheek?" Barrett's eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer. 
Katie pressed herself back into his fingers, she felt something wet drip down her cheek. She wiped her hand against it and examined it. Blood stained her palm.
Barrett's color drained from his face. "B...b...blood!"
Before Katie could react, Barrett's hand disappeared from under her and she landed on the ground with a hard thud. "What was that for?!" She groaned as she pushed herself up, she could already feel the bruise forming on her tailbone. 
Barrett kicked up dirt as he scrambled away from Katie, his back rammed into a tree nearly toppling it over! Once there was a good amount of distance between him and Katie, he froze and fearfully stared down at her like she was a bug.
Katie raised an eyebrow. "Are you scared of blood?" 
"It's absolutely disgusting and horrifying to look at!" He exclaimed. 
Katie didn't know how to react at first, but then she couldn't help but crack a smile, then giggles erupted from her, followed by a boisterous laughter. 
Barrett's cheeks burned red. "Hey, it's not funny!" 
"I'm sorry!" Katie wiped a tear from her eye. All her fears slowly started to fade away, this wasn't not the big scary giant she had thought she saw anymore. "It's just that I've been so worried that you will squeeze the guts out of me, but if you get this worked up over a cut, I can't imagine even trying that!"