"No way!" Mat shook his head. "Nuh uh, there are no such things as giants! It's just a dumb story to keep rowdy teenagers from being nosy!"
"It is too true!" Ethan's eyes were wide as he started shaking. "Felix please, don't make us go in there!" He begged. "The forest is forbidden- which is why it's called the Forbidden Forest!?"
"Sorry bro." The blue eyed blonde had a twinkle of mischief in his eyes as he grinned. "But that's the dare, it's either that or you have to kiss Mark." Mark smirked.
"Well, I'm not all that bad," he said with a flirtatious wiggle of his eyebrows. Nate chuckled and nudged Mat.
"Come on Mat, it'll be fine! Just go in and prove that you're right and the legends are nothing more than stories, they've only been around for a year or two anyway." Amy hugged Mark's arm, her eyes wide.
"What does the legend say?" She asked quietly. She was new to the town, so she didn't know the folklore. Stephanie answered eagerly.
"Well," she began, "The story goes like this; once a man named Robin was out hunting in those very woods. He found bear tracks and decided to hunt it down, but just as he entered a clearing..." She paused for a dramatic effect, but then Nate swooped in.
"And SNATCH!" He shouted. "The bear was snatched off the ground and eaten alive in front of Robin's very eyes!" Mat rolled his eyes.
"And he said the beast looked like a giant human," Ethan added with a shudder. "According to the story, it has huge fangs, green glowing eyes and pointed ears."
"Like an elf's!" Stephanie chimed.
"Don't forget the green hair!"
"And the ripped clothes!" Felix smiled smugly.
"And don't forget the part where it's a man-eating monster about a hundred feet tall!" He snarked. Amy gasped and buried her face in Mark's shoulder.
"How terrifying! What if it comes here?!" Mark comforted her with a gentle pat on the back.
"No one's ever really seen it," he reassured. "No one ever really believed it either, but it is a good way of teaching kids to stay out of the wilderness."
"And that's exactly why you two are going to the Forbidden Forest!" Felix jabbed his finger at Mat and Ethan. Ethan shuddered.
"Do I have to!?" He bleated.
"You'll be ok Ethan," Tyler supported, "I'm sure it'll go ok." Mat leap to his feet.
"Well challenge accepted!" He exclaimed. "Give me a pair of gangster sunglasses and grab a bag of popcorn, 'cause we are going in that forest and proving that the legend is nothing more than that! Come on Ethan!" He marched to the door with determination, but Ethan looked desperately at his friends.
"... WHY ME THOUGH!?"
"This is so dumb," Ethan mumbled. "Why do we have to do this now, at nighttime? It's dark and I'm cold!" Mat sighed.
"It'll be fine," he whispered. They were standing in front of a tall sturdy fence that stood between the town and the wild. "Come on, let's look for a way out." Mat walked along the fence looking for a good way to get through. Could they climb over it, or maybe find some broken wires and squeeze through?
"Mat!" Mat turned and looked to see Ethan looking at a dip in the ground. It ran under the fence, but it was too shallow for anything but a dog to get through.
"Good eye Ethan!" Mat ran over and dropped to his knees. "Come on, help me dig." Together the two friends scraped at the earth and made it deeper. After some digging Mat tested it out and squeezed under first. With a grunt he pulled away from the barbed wire and turned over. "Made it, come on Ethan!" Mat called. Ethan groaned, but he had no choice and crawled under. He had to hold on to his beanie until he was on the other side, and he ran his hands through his hair to fix it.
"Come on," Mat chuckled. They headed deeper into the forest, a misty fog hanging around the gargantuan trees. Ethan whimpered and stayed close to Mat.
"Oh boy," he mumbled. "Oh boy, ohhh boy..." Mat looked around. Felix never said how long they had to stay out here, but Mat was genuinely curious whether the legend was real or not. He suddenly gasped and came to a halt.
"Ethan, look!" He whispered and pointed. Ethan looked over his shoulder, and his eyes widened. In front of them was a giant footprint- there was a trail of them! They led across the forest floor and deeper into the forest. From what Mat could tell, they didn't look too old. "Let's follow it!" Mat said excitedly.
"Are you crazy!?" Ethan gasped. "You want to follow that thing? What if it really is the monster? What if the giant is hungry and decides to eat us?" He gripped his beanie and wailed, "I don't want to die! I'm too young, we should head back!"
"Pull yourself together man!" Mat exclaimed. "We'll be fine. Tell you what, we won't confront the giant, we'll just... we'll just see where the tracks are headed. And then we'll go back and everything will be fine!" Mat quickened his pace and followed the trail. Ethan whined; he had no choice but to follow. They followed the path for quite some time. Ethan was getting cold, but Mat was determined to find the truth.
"Mat," Ethan whined, "I'm tired, and it's getting really cold, can we go home now?" Mat stopped and looked around.
"Do you feel that?" He murmured. Ethan stopped, confuzzled.
"Feel what?" But as the question escaped his lips, he felt the ground start to shake with rhythmic pulses. Ethan's eyes widened, and he and Mat shared a look. Together, they quickly ran and took cover in the bushes. Birds screeched in the distance and flew away as the trees shivered, and the thumps were getting stronger. Ethan whimpered and gripped Mat's shoulder.
"M-M-Mat?" He stuttered. "Wh-what-"
"Sh!" They both kept quiet as something gargantuan entered the clearing. It was dark, so all they could see was its silhouette. But when it turned its head, Mat saw that it had green, glowing eyes. And it was looking right at them.
Ethan whimpered. The feral monster narrowed its eyes and tasted the air, sniffing. Mat was frozen on the spot. He could feel Ethan shaking beside him. Could it smell them all the way over here? Did it know the two men were there? His questions were answered when the giant suddenly opened its mouth and heaved a roar from its chest. The two boys fell back, shocked. The sound was dreadful, unlike anything they had ever heard! The world vibrated with sheer power; the giant was like something out of Godzilla!
Then the giant started running straight at them. Ethan screamed and bolted in the other direction. "RUN!" Mat snapped out of his trance and ran after Ethan. It was terrifying to feel the power the feral had with each footstep. But despite its size, the monster was surprisingly light on his feet. Mat counted the velocity and groaned. We're not gonna make it!
Mat stopped and hid behind a tree. The giant came closer, and closer, but then as it passed Mat's tree, it stopped and sniffed the air. Mat watched it with wide eyes, and then ducked out of sight when the monster turned toward him. It walked closer, and Mat sank to his knees and closed his eyes. Maybe it's like the t-rex in Jurassic Park, he hoped. If I don't move, maybe it won't-
RIP! Mat's eyes shot open as the tree was uprooted. He stared up at the giant as it picked the tree up like it was a twig and tossed it over its shoulder. Then it got down on its belly and sniffed. Mat forced himself to stay still as the giant's nose made its way to him, and the monster took a good sniff of him. A low rumble rose up from his throat, and to Mat's confusion the giant sighed and sat up.
"I knew it," it growled. "Yer from that fenced off town nearby, aren't ya?" Mat's jaw dropped.
"You can talk?" He blurted. Stephanie won't believe this when I tell her!
"Of course I can talk." Mat went through his pockets for a small flashlight on his key chain as the giant continued. "Do I look like a squirrel to you?" It scoffed. Mat turned on the light and shined it on the face of a giant man.
"AH!" He yelped and jumped back, dropping his keys. The giant blinked.
"... What did you expect?" He laughed and picked up the keys. Mat stared at him with fear and awe; he couldn't move even when the feral creature offered the keys. "What's the matter?" The giant's lips curved in an amused grin, baring his teeth in what was suppose to be a friendly manner. "Cat got yer tongue?" Mat flinched.
"Uh- I, uh, or-or something like that, y-yeah," he tried to stammer.
"D'aww! Yer adorable!" The giant laughed. He offered the keys again, and this time Mat took them. "What's yer name little duder?"
"Oh, me? I'm, uh." Mat cleared his throat as he gathered his courage. But before he could say any more, Ethan screamed his name.
"MAT!!" They both turned to see Ethan, legs shaking, as he stared at them in horror. "G-get away from him!" He tried to shout bravely. The giant's eyebrow raised, and he grinned.
"And what happens if I don't, hm?" Ethan froze. He clearly didn't expect what was suppose to be a voracious monster to talk. Jack chuckled and reached over, plucking the blue haired boy like he was nothing. Immediately, Ethan started screaming and thrashing, panicking.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey!" Mat yelled. The giant turned to him. "Put him down!" Mat ordered, but then he lost his nerves and swallowed. "Um... p-please?" He added in a small voice. The giant frowned.
"You sure neither of ya will hurt me?"
"Hurt you?" Mat echoed. Then when Ethan continued to scream, he continued, "Ethan stop that racket! It's ok, he's nice." Ethan stopped and looked up at Jack with wide eyes. Jack smiled.
"Hi."
"What do you mean, hurt you?" Mat asked. Jack sighed.
"A long time ago, when there were more hunters and farmers than industrialists, men tried to capture me. I was special to them, a freak of nature." The giant narrowed his eyes and gnashed his teeth. "And then there was one guy that was actually nice. He was from your village, name was, um, Robin." Mat gawked.
"Robin!" He exclaimed. "He told us all that there was giant in these woods, but I think the rumor got twisted somewhere along the timeline." The giant frowned.
"You know Robin? Is he ok? How has he been?" Mat's expression fell.
"Oh." His eyes searched the ground. "I'm so sorry, pal. He died a few weeks ago." Silence. The giant said nothing for a few seconds. Then, he slowly put Ethan down next to Mat, got up, and roared at the sky. Mat and Ethan covered their ears as the giant howled his grief, and when he was done the gargantuan man pinched his nose bridge to hold back his tears.
"How did he die?" The giant asked hoarsely.
"H-he got sick." Mat was enthralled by the giant. "Really sick, but he died in his sleep." The giant sniffed and rubbed his eyes.
"Thank you, for telling me." Ethan stepped closer to the giant. He was still trembling, but the two men now seemed over the worst of their fear.
"So, you're-you're not feral at all," he said quietly. The giant shook his head, shrugged, and went down on one knee.
"No." He put his arms on his knee and buried his face in them, trying to not show his tears. "I'm sorry you and everyone else thinks that," he muttered bitterly.
"We don't think that." Mat walked up to the giant and touched his leg. The giant looked down at him and sniffed. His eyes were glistening with sad tears. Mat offered a small smile. "I'm Mat, and this is my friend Ethan." The giant sniffed and wiped tears away.
"Jack," he mumbled. Mat nodded.
"Jack, would you like us to sit and stay with you for a little bit? Our people don't expect us back until morning." Jack nodded. Mat gestured Ethan over, and together they sat beside the giant. Jack sniffed and rubbed his eyes.
"So," he suddenly said after a few minutes, "Why are you two here?" Mat and Ethan shared a look.
"We were just looking for something," Mat said. "We were on a dare to go out in the forest and spend a night." Jack scratched his head and cleared his throat.
"But it's cold out here!" Mat shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess-" they both yelped and the giant cupped his hands and suddenly scooped them up.
"Here. You'll be warmer." He held them to his chest. Ethan made a few nervous noises and squirmed to get comfortable, while Mat on the other hand did little. He could hear Jack's heart booming beneath his breastbone, and a comforting warmth emanated from the giant. Mat found himself relaxing, and he yawned as he let his head rest and pat Jack's hand.
"Thanks," he murmured.
"No problem." Jack's voice seemed to rumble all around them, making their surroundings vibrate from the sheer power the giant had. Mat found it comforting, but he didn't know why. All he knew was that he and Ethan would have one hell of a tale to tell their friends when they got back.
A real story, not a fable.