The Hidden

Chapter 7

        All we could do was hope to God the humans wouldn't look in the bushes and see our huts, we couldn't leave, not with them stomping around out there. We had build our little houses in the cover of bushes to keep out of direct rain and out of the path of any large animals, never had we had to worry about humans.

        After the humans' inital return to the clearing, there had been very little speaking excpet for the occasional instruction given such as 'over there' or 'put that here'. There were loud rustling and banging noises, from what the giant, whom I had gathered was the father of the other giant had said, they were setting up some sort of shelter for their camp.

Ash and Cassia sat on a bed in the back of the room, Cassia sitting close to Ash who was trying to provide as much comfort as possible. Mom and dad sat at the seats next to the dining table, dad's arm around mom's shoulder. I sat on my bed, my hands in my lap and my eyes staring down at my hands.

        We all listened, hoping for some indication that they'd be leaving. Every once in a while there'd be a particularly loud thump or something and we'd all wince at the noise. After what seemed like forever, the humans began to have a conversation.

        "Alright I think we're all set-up, it looks good don't you think?" What I assumed was the older human's voice asked.

        "Yeah it's great, but how long are we staying out here exactly?" The other human asked, he sounded irritated.

        "About a week or so, we'll see." The giant responded cheerfully.

        The younger giant let out a loud groan.

        "Listen Connor, I know things have been rough lately and the divorce has hit you pretty hard, but this camping trip will be great for us, just like old times." The giant's dad said.

        "Yeah sure." The son grumbled, I imagined it was too quiet for the other giant to hear but I could hear it clear as day.

        "I'm going to go gather up some firewood, I'll be back in a little while, ok?"

        "Whatever." The younger human said grouchily.

        After more loud footsteps I guessed that the older human had left and only the younger one remained. I glanced at my parents and siblings to see if they'd been listening and of course they had, it'd be difficult for them not to.

        The human had said they'd be staying for about a week, a whole goddamn week. We didn't have enough food in the hut for seven full days for the five of us. Most of the food was kept in the storage shed just behind the hut. We could make a quick trip to it, but though we wouldn't be leaving the cover of the bushes, it still seemed risky. We also would have to worry about running out of water which we did not have stored in the shed. Our only hope was that both humans would leave for a while and we'd be able to escape.

        I had been about to voice these thoughts when the giant's voice suddenly rang out once again.

        "What's that?" The voice said.

        Though 'that' could be anything, it struck fear within me. Could he possibly see the hut through the bush?

        I hurried over to the door and peeked through the little space between the side of the doorway and the curtain. I couldn't see much but leaves and branches from the bush, there were a few holes between leaves that I could see through, but I was unable to distinguish much, though I did see movement. Then I saw it, the watch that was propped up against our hut that served as our clock. The silver watch was sparkling from a ray of sun striking it just right. The light glinted off of brightly.

        With horrible realization I knew what the giant had seen. The glint off of the watch had caught his attention and now he was coming to investiagte. Not only would he find the watch, but also a hut full of people who would be tiny to him.

        Suddenly my mind was going into overdrive, adrenaline pumped through me and I was no longer thinking clearly. I heard a scream and shout behind me as I burst out through the doorway. My mind was racing, my heart beating wildly, I had no idea what I was doing. All I could think about was stopping the giant from finding my house with my family in it. It was probably one of the stupidest and senseless things I've ever done. Some might consider it brave and courageous and maybe it was but no amount of bravery can make up for the mindless stupidity of the act.

        I found myself breaking through the leaves of the bush and then suddenly I was out in the open, sun blindly bright in my eyes. It took me a moment to register it but when I did all I could do was stare.

        He was crouched in front of me, his massive black sneaker only a few inches in front of me. He loomed above me, as tall as a building would be to a human. One of his enormous hands was frozen in air in front of the bush that he'd been about to stick his hand into. Two moon-in-the-sky sized dark brown eyes stared at me, wide with shock. His mouth gaped open, allowing his thick breath to roll over me.

        Of all of the thoughts racing through my mind, the most clear one was a simple single word, Fuck.