Something in the Woods

Chapter 28

Barrett's joints ached with each step he took, spending a month curled up in a military base stiffened his body, but now, all the hardships he endured would be a thing of the past. However, life in the human world wasn't all bad, meeting Katie was the best thing to happen during this time, he wondered if he would have still had his sanity if he hadn't met her that day.
The woods were providing great cover for them despite the withering leaves. Although he wished he still had his ghillie suit as a way to cover him from the chilly wind, he can only imagine that it will be even colder in Jotunheim.
"We're heading left up in a few miles." Byssa spoke over the radio device.
"Gotcha." Katie responded. "You get that, Barrett."
"Loud and clear." As he marched forward, he snuck a glance at Katie, who clung onto the collar of his shirt. There was something different about her, yet she looked the same as the last time he saw her. Same blonde hair in braided pigtails, same thick rimmed glasses resting on her nose, and same tiny frame. But he felt an energy he hadn't felt when around Katie; a fire was burning in those brown eyes of hers, was this just the adrenaline radiating after she had just pulled the biggest heist or was she just determined to get him to the portal? Whatever it was, this was not the same meek girl Barrett had met in the forest.
"When did you get her jacket?" He asked.
Katie raised her eyebrow before looking down at the denim jacket. "Oh this, Byssa just let me borrow it since I was going to be outside with you."
"She cares a lot about you."
"Yeah, it was nice of her to let me borrow it." Katie responded nonchalantly.
"No, I mean: she cares about you." Barrett said bluntly. "I saw the way she looked at you back at the base, not exactly a look you give to friends."
"She confessed this morning at school." Katie whispered as if she didn't want anyone else to know.
"And how do you feel about her?"
Katie's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "What do you mean? I… just found out, besides, I never liked… girls." Her voice trailed off into a squeak when she spoke the last words.
"You do have feelings for her, don't you?"
"That obvious, huh?" Katie sighed.
"You say that like it's some sort of secret." Barrett smiled.
"Because it was."
"Why?"
"You're joking, right?" Katie stared at her friend to see if there was any trace of playfulness in his face, but Barrett's brow furrowed, trying to figure out what Katie meant. "You don't have homophobia in Jotunheim?"
"Home-of-what now?" The word was quite a mouthful for Barrett.
"Homophobia, it's when people dislike you for being gay." She sighed. "Even if I did reciprocate, we could never be together without judgment."
After six months of living off Earth, Barrett couldn't believe this was the first time he heard of this prejudice. Jotunheim wasn't a paradise, but at least they didn't judge others on who they loved. "It sounds like Earth has a lot of changes to make."
Katie let out a dry laugh. "You're telling me."
"You don't think Byssa would want to go to Jotunheim too, do you?"
"I suggested that on the day you kidnapped me, she won't come." Katie responded.
Barrett cringed when she mentioned that day. It was a dark moment where he used his power to become possessive over someone who he grew close to, and for what reason; just because he feared that he would still be alone in this unfamiliar world again? No wonder Byssa thought of him as a monster, no wonder everyone else thought of him as a monster. Did Katie feel a similar way? She would never admit it out loud, but Barrett wondered if she felt that way in the deep subconsciousness of her mind. "I'm sorry for doing that to you."
"It's alright, Barrett." She said softly. "I understand."
"But it wasn't right of me to do it." The giant remarked. "Being chained up gave me a lot of time to think about the things I've done, and while I'm upset at how some people treated me… I don't blame them for looking at me like a monster."
"Don't say things like that!" Katie protested. "You're not a monster!"
Barrett's lips curled upward in a small smile. "I appreciate you saying that, but that doesn't change how others view me, and I don't want to give them any more reason to think that about me."
"What are you trying to say?"
The words he was about to say were caught in Barrett's throat as if they were physically trying to prevent him from saying what needed to be said. He let out a big sigh. "I don't want you to feel like you have to come to Jotunheim with me if you don't want to. If there are things you wanna do here, then I understand.
For a moment, Barrett expected Katie to get defensive and reassure him that she was going to Jotunheim, but instead she remained quiet, mulling over the words she had just heard. Her face was blank of any emotion.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I've just been debating about what I should do too." Katie said tentatively. "You and Byssa have become my closest friends, and I don't want to choose between you two, but I guess I have no choice."
"Don't think you're choosing one over the other." Barrett reached up and let his fingers linger close to her in case she wanted comfort. "Think of it as choosing what is best for you."
"Thank you Barrett." Katie reached out and embraced his index finger. Her cheek was pressed towards the tip of his finger and he soon felt a tiny tear fall onto it. "I think I know what I need to do."
"And what's that?"
"I-!"
The walkie went off and static could be heard before Byssa's frantic voice shouted out. "LOOK OUT!"
Before either of them could react, a deafening boom echoed through the forest. Something slammed into Barrett's left side with such force that it knocked him back, Katie let out a shriek as she nearly fell but fortunately, Barrett tightly curled his fingers around her and clutched her close to his chest as he slammed backwards into the snowy ground. Barrett tried to sit up but pain from his torso surged through his body. He groaned as he moved his hand down to his left side, only to feel liquid oozing out of him. Suddenly, the world felt like it was spinning.
"Barrett!" Katie yelled out as she squirmed out of his grasp; once freed, she stumbled across his chest. Barrett tried to steady his breathing for the young girl as she made her way to the edge of his torso but just the mere thought of blood spilling out of him made his heart race. Was it really bad? Morbid curiosity did its best to coax him into looking at the wound, but Barrett just squeezed his eyes shut. He can't look, not if he wanted to remain calm.
"Oh god." Katie sucked in a gasp.
Dread began forming in the giant's gut. "It's really… that bad, huh?"
"Just don't look."
Barrett let out a weak chuckle. "Way ahead of you."
The sounds of multiple engines pulling up filled the forest. Barrett didn't need to open his eyes to know those were the soldiers that had kept him captive, but one sound cut through all the background noise; a familiar voice that stirred anger and despair inside Barrett.
"There's nowhere to run now!" Said the man who claimed to be Katie's new father.
~~~~~~
If looks could kill, Katie would have incinerated David on the spot. His top half poked out of the sun roof of the military jeep, while his arms held a rocket launcher, it was still pointed at Barrett despite him being on the ground. The scent of iron sent a wave of nausea towards Katie. She glanced down to see his hand soaked with his own blood. "HOW COULD YOU?!"
"Get away from the beast, Katie." David ordered.
"The only beast I see is you!" She spat out. "I almost died because of you!"
The stoic mask had slipped for a moment, revealing a look of horror. "I… didn't know…" Was all David could say.
Katie crossed her arms, she wasn't done fighting. "I bet you didn't, if it wasn't for Barrett, I would have died like Angie!"
"Enough!" Rage burned in David's eyes. "There's a job to be done and you can't be in the way!"
Before Katie could respond, Tymere's jeep pulled up beside Barrett's head. The siblings jumped out of the vehicle, their eyes plastered with shock. "Oh my god, are you guys alright?!" Byssa shrieked.
"I've been better." Barrett muttered.
"So you finally decided to show up," David scoffed. "You know, this could count as treason, Granite."
"And shooting the innocent is seen as a war crime!" Tymere fired back with venom in his voice.
"I'd hardly call him innocent!" David snarled.
"He's a child!" Shouted Tymere. "Are you really going to send a child off to be a government experiment?"
"How about we ask Angie what we should do!" David spat out.
"You're grieving, I understand that." Tymere's face softened. "But hurting Barrett is not going to bring your wife back. All you're going to do is cause a mother to grieve because her son never came home. Is that what you want?"
"What I want is for you three to step away from the giant!" David raised his fist into the air and soldiers in other vehicles charged out and pointed their guns at them.
Katie felt Barrett's heart pound against his chest, which was pretty much in sync with her own heart rate. She didn't know what to do or what to say to get David to just let them go!
"What if Katie was the one trapped in Jotunheim?!" Byssa shouted. Everyone locked eyes on the young goth, even Barrett couldn't help but open his eyes when he heard her standing up for him. The attention didn't cause her confidence to waiver. "I'm sure you would be heartbroken if Katie couldn't come back because some giant decided to turn her into a science experiment!" She gestured towards all the soldiers. "What if it was your kid who was trapped? Would you want someone to help them get back to you as soon as possible?!"
Guilt hung in the air; their weapons were still drawn but now no one seemed to want to pull the trigger anymore, even David's face was tense from the mere thought of this scenario. Maybe there was a way to get through to him.
"We have orders to take him down to Nevada and that is what we are going to do." David spoke but confidence was lost in his voice.
Byssa folded her arms. "Yeah, I suppose it's easier to follow orders like a sheep than it is to do the right thing!"
If there was one thing Byssa needed to work on, it was her choice of words, because David's eyes burned with a new source of anger. "Listen kid, the world doesn't work like your comic books! The giant is coming with us alive or dead!" A clicking sound came from his rocket launcher. "Now, I've been patient with all of you, but if you continue to get in the way, I will have no choice but to use force! Surrender now, or you will be arrested and tried for treason!"
Heavy boots crunched on the icy ground as soldiers moved in. Tymere shielded Byssa in case bullets were about to fly. Byssa looked up at Katie with eyes that begged her to think of a solution quickly. Ideas bounced around Kaite's head to try to get out of this, she thought maybe Barrett could try to muster up some strength to plow through the military, but he was seriously hurt and he would never want to use his strength and size to hurt anyone else. Besides, that would only prove David right, the truth was there was nothing she could come up with that could save them. 
"Wait!" Barrett's voice boomed above, causing everyone to freeze. His hand slightly curled around Katie as he tried to prop himself upwards, but moving too much caused a whimper to slip out of him.
"Hey, take it easy, bud!" Tymere spoke soothingly. "You're in bad shape."
"It doesn't matter," He muttered as he leaned against a tree for support. Despite the cold temperature, Barrett's face was drenched in sweat, his eyes were bloodshot and his skin grew ghostly pale. "There's no way out of this situation and I'm not sure I can make it with this wound."
"Don't worry about that, we'll work something out." Tymere replied as he turned towards David. "Won't we?"
"He's not going to budge… and I don't blame him, I did kill his wife."
"Do not mention her!" David screamed out, his launcher pointed directly at Barrett's face. "You don't get to bring her up!"
"Leave him alone!" Katie shouted back from the giant's cupped hand.
"You're angry, I get it." Barrett said weakly. "My words will never mean much to you, but I truly never meant to kill her… and I wish I could start that day over, then maybe everyone would be okay." Those last words trembled in his voice, no matter how strong he tried to be there was no hiding the guilt that had built up in him since Angie's death.
Katie wrapped her arms around his thumb as tight as she could. "It's not your fault, Barrett; it was an accident!"
"Yeah if anyone is at fault, it should be me!" Byssa spoke up. "I'm the reason everyone found out about you."
A low chuckle slipped out of the giant. "I appreciate it, but you don't need to take the blame for me. You were just trying to protect Katie." He glanced up at David and the soldiers, who still stood their ground. "All of you were just trying to protect Katie… and I just want to protect my friends one more time."
Katie looked up at Barrett. "What are you saying?"
"If I surrender, will you promise to let Katie, Byssa and Tymere go? I don't want them in trouble for helping me." He locked eyes with David. "You can send me to that Area 51 place, or… if it will bring you peace, strike me down now."
David gave a simple nod. "I promise to pardon them from their crimes."
The freezing winds could not compare to the blood that just ran cold in Katie's veins. Was this some kind of sick joke Barrett was playing, a trick to make David lower his guard?! "You can't be serious!" She stared at her friend begging for an answer.
"This is the only way." He said bluntly.
"You lost a lot of blood, you're not thinking straight!" Tymere spoke as calmly as he could but even his voice shook a bit.
Barrett just shook his head. "I know I'm thinking clearly, this way no one else has to suffer because of me."
"After all we did, you're just going to give up?!" Byssa snapped back. "We were so close, but now you just wanna let them win?!"
"We're not letting you kill yourself!" Katie cried out. Her throat tightened as tears threatened to fall down her face but she held back every emotion to try to keep calm.
"This isn't your choice, it's mine."
"What about your mother?!" Tymere replied. "You waited so long to see her, if you agree to this, you'll never see her again!"
Tears formed in the giant's eyes. "I do wish I could have seen her again. Tell her I tried to get back home, and that I made it this long because of Dad's survival tips… at least now I can go see him again."
"You're not dying!" Anger spewed from Katie's lips but it was only a mask for her despair. She desperately turned towards David, rage bubbled inside her. He did this, he is the reason Barrett is throwing away his life right now. "Stop standing there and help him already!"
David pointed at four soldiers and motioned them to move forward, although they were hesitant, they walked up to Tymere and Byssa. Two of the larger soldiers grabbed the young adult and pulled him back and a female soldier took Byssa.
,"Stop! What are you doing?!" The siblings yelled out.
"Getting you out of the way." David said bluntly. "You don't want to be caught in this."
Color drained from Katie's face, he wasn't just going to take Barrett away. The realization must have hit Tymere at the same time because he began struggling to break free from the soldiers' grasp. "You can't do this, Martin! He's just a kid!"
Any attempt to hold her tears in, were gone. "You can't just let this happen, Barrett!"
A giant thumb brushed against her arm in an attempt to soothe her. "It's gonna be alright." He spoke softly as his fingers curled around the tiny girl, but Katie had other plans. She clawed at the fabric of his shirt to try and stay with him. If she is still with him, then they won't kill him, but Barrett easily pried her off. A gut-wrenching screech came out of Katie's lips as she was torn from her friend and placed on the ground beside the giant. Before she could even react a female soldier grabbed her from behind and lifted her up to carry her away.
"NO, IT'S NOT FAIR!" Katie writhed in the woman's arms like a feral animal who was caught in a bear trap, but the soldier was too strong for the young teen to overpower. She was dragged off to the sidelines with Byssa and Tymere, they were heart-broken from this, everything they did to save Barrett had just fallen apart in a matter of minutes. They were so close too. It wasn't supposed to end like this, but the giant boy had already come to terms with his demise. A sympathetic smile tugged at his lips. "I don't know how… but can you find a way to tell my mom I wasn't alone in the end?"
With nothing left she could do, Katie could only hang her head and broke down into a sob. Hot tears stained her glasses, but maybe that was for the better, then she wouldn't have to see Barrett die. "Please don't kill him." She croaked out. Two sets of arms wrapped around her, Byssa was on her right side, spitting out tearful apologies in her ear. Tymere stood to Katie's left, trying to keep a brave face, but not even the soldier's mask could hide the tears that threatened to fall from his brown eyes.
~~~~~
The air went frigid when David raised his right hand in the air. His soldiers held their breaths as they aimed their weapons at the weak giant laying before them. While capturing him alive was more ideal, David didn't want to take the chances of him escaping again; besides, he wanted to put an end to this once and for all! Once this is all over, David can look forward to living his life.
Katie's sobs broke the General's concentration, he glanced over to see Granite and his sister comforting her in this moment and he couldn't help but feel envious of them. All he ever wanted for Katie was to give her a family that would always love her even on the worst days, he understood that it would be difficult for her to believe, giving her upbringing but he thought time would help her see that one day. But right now she is about to  experience the worst day of her life and what is David doing right now? Being the reason she is experiencing this pain.
His orders were to get the giant to Area 51 dead or alive, he and his soldiers knew that they had to follow commands, but now uncertainty hung over everyone like a fog. There was no doubt in his mind that his soldiers would pull the trigger, but David questioned if making them do something they clearly were having second thoughts about doing would make him a good general.
David stared at the giant and a fire reignited inside of him, this was the beast who killed his wife and forced him in this position! A dark part of David had dreamt of the day when he could sit back and watch the giant suffer by his hand, being hailed as the giant slayer. It almost sounded like a fairytale. However, this was no fairytale, David wasn't going to be seen as a hero, he wasn't going to get the princess in the end, and he wasn't finding joy watching this giant suffer. If anything, it was kind of sad, the boy had squeezed his eyes shut and let out heavy breaths. He flinched at any sound that echoed through the forest no matter how small it was. He was terrified of dying, yet he accepted it with grace.
What kind of life was David going to be living after this is all over, a lonely life without Angie and a daughter who will always resent him for this day. David had no clue what Angie would do if the roles were reversed and he was the one she was grieving, but one thing he does know is that Angie would never forgive him if he went through with hurting Katie.
"SOLDIERS!" His voice cut through the air. "STAND DOWN!"
Gasps and sighs of relief broke through the crowd, Katie's sobs came to a halt as she viciously scrubbed the tear stains from her glasses. She locked eyes with David, hoping that what he was saying was not just a figment of her imagination. David gave her a nod, this was indeed real. Katie wasted no time breaking through the crowd to close the gap between her and her friend, tears were still running down her face when she collided with his finger to simulate a hug. "You're gonna be okay, Barrett!" She sobbed.
Barrett was more alert now than he was in this moment, he looked around the crowd of soldiers with wild but confused eyes until he saw David. He couldn't camouflage his weariness as well as he did himself, but the giant was more than grateful to have been spared.
"S..Sir," Granite had walked up to David, color had drained from the young man's face. "Are you really letting him go?"
"I am."
"What made you change your mind?"
"I just… didn't want anyone else to suffer just because I was down a revenge path." David said softly.
A warm smile appeared on Granite's face. "I think you made the right call."
"I hope so," David muttered. "Now let's fix the boy up so he can get out of here."
Granite nodded and turned towards the group of soldiers. "Everyone, we need to gather up supplies to treat Barrett's wound! So let's move!"
David let out a deep sigh as if he had been holding his breath for a long time. Looking at the giant still made his blood boil, he resented him for what he did, accident or not. If there was ever a day David would forgive Barrett, today was not going to be the day, but if that day ever comes, David can look back and feel proud he didn't let his anger win in the end.