Tiny Fears

[pieface101 285]

Tiny Fears

 

 

The human crawled across the floor of the brightly lit cave, sticking to the shadows. As he scampered from hiding spot to hiding spot, wielding his club made from the bones of a mammoth, he could not help eyeing the giant foot that was dangerously close to him.

 

"Jack! Pass the sauce, will you?" hollered a behemoth from across the cavern. The human jumped, startled, and eyed the foot in fear.

 

It shifted slightly as a voice bellowed back, echoing around the cavern. "Fine. Here you go, Sam."

 

"Now now, you two. Be nice to each other." spoke a female voice.

 

"Listen to your mother." a male voice called out, rumbling throughout the chamber, causing rocks to vibrate. The human glanced up at the ceiling, so high up, it was all but impossible to see. A few stray boulders tumbled down onto the ground.

 

The human pressed on. He knew home was close

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

Jack felt something brush past his leg. He paused, mid-bite, eyes widening.

 

"What is it Jack? Something at school today?" asked Father, concerned. Jack slowly lowered his gaze to his foot. He locked eyes with the minuscule, hairy creature, trying his best to stifle a scream.

 

"Hu... Human."

 

"Well Sam, go kill it." Mother said in a matter-of-fact tone, returning to her slice of elephant and oak trees. "Your father didn't spend all that work hunting just to have this dinner stolen by some pests."

 

"Why? I killed one yesterday. It's Jack's turn."

 

"Okay then. Jack, kill the human."

 

Jack paled, and slowly got up. He backed up a few steps, looking at the human in fear. The human replied with an equally fearful gaze, both petrified for entirely different reasons.

 

"If you want to overcome your fear, this is the only way." Sam taunted, reclining in his chair to watch the spectacle.

 

"Sam, how many times have I told you not to talk with your mouth full of elephant? And for heaven's sake, spit that tusk out!" chastised Father, giving Jack a momentary reprieve.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

The human inched towards home, on the other side of the cavern. Nature had given him a good sense of judgment. As the door was only a thousand or so paces away, he could make it if he caught the giant by surprise. He clearly did not want to kill him, and since giants were often lumbering and slow, he would have a considerable head start.

 

Nevertheless, he gripped his club tightly, slowly moving towards the door. Every step counted.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Do I have to use my bare feet?" Jack mumbled, looking at the abomination. He could already feel the hairy head, the sweaty skin, the saliva, pressing into his sole.

 

"Honestly Jack, how many times do we have to explain this to you?" exclaimed Father, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "You're not ruining your mother's newly made shoes. Plus, he won't hurt you. It's if you let him go that he'll come back centuries later with swords and spears. That's when the real pain begins."

 

"But it's yucky and creepy!" Jack protested.

 

"Just get it over with! Sam has killed plenty of humans quick and easy. Is it yucky, Sam?"

 

"Nope, not at all. Rather satisfying, actually."

 

"Says the giant who loves peeling his sunburns." grumbled Jack.

 

"Hey!"
 

"Jack, apologize to your brother." Mother called, looking up.

 

"Sorry."

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

The human watched the dialogue between the giants. He was getting closer and closer to safety. If they were distracted enough, he would have ample time to make it.

 

As the giants began arguing all over again, he bolted.

 

900 paces... 800 paces... The human's heart pounded as he raced across the stone floor. His hand reached out in anticipation of the warm refuge ahead.

 

And then the father hollered, causing the ground to shake, sending the human flying.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Jack! It's getting away!" Father shouted.

 

Jack nodded and blocked off the human's path with a simple stride. The human hesitated before skirting around the giant foot. Jack took another stride and blocked it off again, forcing it into a corner. The human looked up, terrified, as Jack loomed over him.

 

"What are you waiting for? Step on it!"

 

Jack slowly lifted a toe and slammed it down near the human. It trembled, backing up further into the corner.

 

"Just do it! Honestly, you act like a baby sometimes." Sam whined, impatient. Father and Mother glared at him but said nothing.

 

Jack's lip quivered as he lifted his foot up. The human curled up in a ball, waiting for the end. Jack closed his eyes and paused a moment before stomping his foot, although rather halfheartedly.

 

It was far worse than he had imagined. His feet, hypersensitive because of anxiety, immediately felt the anomaly and jerked back.

 

"It's weird and squishy!" Jack wailed.

 

"Damn it, Jack!" cried Sam.

 

"Ow, ow ow." groaned the human, hobbling across the floor.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

The human stumbled around blindly, jerking with pain. When the foot came crashing down, he had felt something snap. His mammoth club had clattered a few hundred paces away, out of reach. As he massaged his ribs, he tried to blink the light out of eyes and crawl towards home. He was so close. Only a hundred more paces and this nightmare would never have happened.

 

Now he was set back a good three hundred or so paces. With his added injuries, and the giant's foot in the way, he would never make it home in time.

 

But not all hope was lost. The human took note of the giant either unable or unwilling to kill him. If he could only find a way to use this to his advantage...

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Can Sam finish this now? I've proven I can touch it. It's a start." Jack pleaded, looking at Father, and then Mother, when he did not relent.

 

"Sorry. You're gonna have to finish the job, or you'll never learn."

 

Jack, turned back, crestfallen. He lifted his foot and smashed it, narrowly missing the human, albeit intentionally. The human looked shocked for a moment, and then something registered. He sprinted with renewed energy towards Jack's foot.

 

Jack recoiled in shock with a yelp as the human dashed past, leaping over stones as if he was unscathed.

 

"Block him off!" Sam barked, clearly wanting this rather awkward episode to come to an end.

 

Jack instinctively shifted his foot slightly, causing the human to slow down as he contemplated his best option. He knew he wouldn't have the courage to step on the human a second time, not after the traumatic experience of the first. Then again, there was no other choice.

 

As Jack stared off into space, attempting to sort out the dilemma, he did not notice that the human had shuffled ever so close to his foot.

 

Nor did he notice that Sam was trying incredibly hard to suppress a grin.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

The human observed the large and hairy foot, all twenty paces of it, blocking him from his safe haven. He was losing blood fast, and beginning to see double. There was no other option.

 

He began to tenderly crawl over the pinky toe. Glancing up briefly, he felt relieved as the giant had not noticed yet. Good. He would need all the luck he could get.

 

He descended the ridge between the pinky toe and it's adjacent neighbor, before ascending the fourth toe. Holding onto hairs for support, he clambered across, making sure the giant was still preoccupied. He consoled himself with the thought that he was nimble anyways and could scramble in a jiffy.

 

As he plodded across the middle toe, he wrinkled his nose, overcome by the vile smell. This giant clearly had no sense of personal hygiene. Nonetheless, he miraculously made it across without fainting. He looked up again, sure that he would have been noticed by now. For some reason, the giant hadn't. Not wasting any time, he scrambled forward, elated. Safety was only a few paces away.

 

As his blood slowly funneled out, he experienced a fresh bout of nausea.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

Jack saw Sam pointing downwards out of the corner of his eye. Following his finger, he slowly lowered his gaze until it rested on the monstrosity.

 

"Good lord!" Jack cried, stumbling backward. The human rolled off, apparently dead or unconscious. Relieved, Jack began to walk towards the table, sweat breaking out in at least seventeen places.

 

"Jack, make sure it's dead and not faking." Father said, starting on the dessert. "Or you won't get any avalanche cream."

 

Jack trudged back, dismayed at his bad luck. He nudged the human, squeezing his eyes shut. Nothing happened. Good. He nudged it again. Nothing again. He nudged it once more, just to make sure.

 

It bit him.

 

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Jack cried, knocking his head on the ceiling, although more out of disgust than pain. The human half rolled, half crawled to a hole in the wall, disappearing out of sight.

 

"Damn it, Jack! I won't be surprised if it comes back a few millennia later with tanks and missiles! You're grounded for the next five centuries!" Father hollered, his face turning red.

Edited January 12, 2017 by Quarks

[Quarks 2,255]

Edits:

1 typo

1 missing comma

 

Another great story. Good job m8.

[Benefactor 6,888]

The beginning of your story reminded me of this:

 

 

 

 

 

[pieface101 285]

Edits:

1 typo

1 missing comma

 

Another great story. Good job m8.

Wow this got approved real quick

 

:huh:

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

Wow this got approved real quick

 

:huh:

It's very very high-quality, I'm surprised all your stories don't instantly get accepted.

[pieface101 285]

It's very very high-quality, I'm surprised all your stories don't instantly get accepted.

And yet some nugs think it's a wise idea not to promote me to "distinguished member" of the AWC.  :P

 

Please feel free to take offense.

 

Lol I'm not really that mad  :ph34r: 

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

And yet some nugs think it's a wise idea not to promote me to "distinguished member" of the AWC.  :P

 

Please feel free to take offense.

[NERF836 202]

The beginning of your story reminded me of this:

 

 

 

 

 

you read those to? :O

[Quarks 2,255]

And yet some nugs think it's a wise idea not to promote me to "distinguished member" of the AWC.  :P

 

Please feel free to take offense.

 

Lol I'm not really that mad  :ph34r: 

We will never, EVER promote you. You're welcome.

[pieface101 285]

We will never, EVER promote you. You're welcome.

Time to bash the team in the next edition of the Tanki Tribune! xD

Edited January 13, 2017 by pieface101

[Benefactor 6,888]

you read those to? :o

I am a huge fan of Gary Larson.

[Blackdrakon30 2,943]

Time to bash the team in the next edition of the Tanki Tribune! xD

I look forwards to it.  :P

 

---

 

Wasn't sure what to think about this article at first and was kind of confused, but then I caught on and realized it was a perspective swap. Nice job with it, and thanks for keeping us on our toes.  :lol:

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

thanks for keeping us on our toes.  :lol:

+1 for the pun.

[Tofu 6,773]

I feel the same way in my school

[TTK_229 1,080]

Huh