The morning dew was starting to dry as the spring sun shined above with not a cloud in the sky. Chip sat at the edge of his cottage’s porch with an overstuffed backpack in front of him. He looked over his pack for the third time making sure he had everything they would need.
Sun protection ointment, towels, extra clothes, emergency whistle. I think that is everything.
“Hey, Bro! Ready to go?” His little sister called from behind.
“I believe so,” he looked over his shoulder and saw she was also dressed in swim attire. “Amy, why do you look ready to go?”
“Mama said I could come with you to the swimming hole.”
“I never said it was okay.”
“Well, too bad. Mama said it was and that’s all that matters.”
“Mom!” Chip cried.
A woman in her late 30s with auburn hair in a messy bun and wearing a dirty apron stepped out the door with a sigh.
“If you want to go swimming with your friends, you’re taking your little sister with you.”
“But Mom…”
“No ‘buts’. She’ll be fine and you’ll still have plenty of fun.”
Except she won’t be fine. I doubt it will take her 10 minutes to find some way to hurt herself.
“Now, run along. You don’t want to keep your friends waiting.”
Chip turned around to hide his grimace, picked up his pack, and started walking. “Let’s get going,” he said with defeat in his voice.
“Awesome!”
———————————————————————————
The siblings met up with Chip’s friends a few minutes into walking through the woods. They didn’t look nearly as displeased with seeing Amy as he was.
As the day was approaching noon they made it to the swimming hole. It was a small lake with a twenty-foot tall waterfall on one side and the water continuing down the hill on the other.
The kids immediately dropped their stuff and jumped in, not caring that their clothes had become soaked.
This is why Chip always brought extra clothes. He took his time to dress down to his swim trunks and reapply the sun ointment, just to be safe.
“Come on, Chip!” one of the kids called out. “At this rate, it will be dark before you ever touch the water.”
“A safe life—“
“Is a long life,” all the kids said in annoyed unison.
Chip felt his face become warmer. When he looked up, a large shadow moved behind a wall of trees off in the distance. It may have been his imagination, but Chip swore he felt the ground shake just slightly.
“Uh, guys. I think we should go back.”
The kids groaned. “What, did you forget your safety blanket?”
“I’m being serious!” Chip shouted over their laughter. “I think I saw the Behemoth way off in the distance.”
“The Behemoth?” Amy questioned. “Come on, Bro. That’s just a story parents tell their kids to keep them from wandering too far from home. It’s not real.”
“Not true! There have been a few sightings, and some trees were torn down almost like something too large was making a path.”
“We’re safe,” Amy insisted.
“Maybe, but I should at least call for help.” Chip rummaged through his pack for his whistle. By the time he pulled it out, Amy was out of the water and snatched it out of his hand.
Before he could do anything, Amy threw the whistle into the middle of the swimming hole.
“Why did you do that!?”
“I have been wanting to go swimming since the middle of winter. It finally gets warm enough, and you want to ruin it.”
“I don’t want to ruin anything,” he insisted. “I just want to keep everyone safe.”
Amy put her face uncomfortably close to his. “I’ll say this one more time; We are safe!” With that she jumped back into the water cannonball style and splashed the other kids, Chip's legs were caught in the splash zone.
Chip scanned the area where he saw the shadow but didn’t see anything out there. With no one listening to him, he relented and went back to reapplying his ointment.
———————————————————————————
A few hours went by of splashing, diving, and more cannonballing, Amy always being the leader of the next big stunt. Chip had spent the better part of the first hour trying to find his whistle under the water, but it was too dark down there to see. By around afternoon almost everyone was starting to wind down.
The kids stopped swimming at one point to eat the lunches they packed. After everyone had finished eating, they all felt tired and knew they still had to hike back home. Amy however showed no signs of stopping.
“Come on, guys! We’re just getting started.”
“Amy,” Chip groaned, “It’s time to head back. We all want to rest for the day.”
The rest of the kids mumbled and nodded in agreement.
“No, what you need is an energy boost.” Amy looked back at the water. “And I know just what to do.” She ran back to the lake but didn’t jump in. She instead ran along the edge and started climbing the steep hill leading up to the waterfall.
“Amy, stop! That’s dangerous!” Chip shouted while looking at the bottom of the waterfall littered with large sharp rocks.
She showed no signs of stopping. She was either ignoring Chip or probably couldn’t hear him over the sounds of crashing water.
Chip wasn’t sure what to do. Knowing his sister, if he tried to climb after her she would jump more hastily. It was possible for her to jump passed the rocks and land safely in the water, but Chip still didn’t like it. He decided to post himself at the edge of the water as close to the waterfall as he could.
Amy reached the top. She cupped her hands over her mouth to yell something, but no one could make out what she said. She crouched halfway and swung her arms behind her about to jump. Chip held his breath.
Her foot slipped on mud. Before anyone could process what happened, Amy was now dangling off the side of the cliff clinging onto clumps of grass.
“AMY!”
Time slowed down. Chip tried to climb up the hill, but lost his footing every time the ground shook. He didn’t have time to be slipping. He had to get up there.
Wait. The ground is shaking?
He looked across the water and froze with fear. He watched tree after tree crash as a towering figure, much larger than the cliff he was climbing, ran through them like they weren’t even there. Chip couldn’t move or look away from it. All he could do was scream. The monster reached out its enormous, human-like hand. Chip forced his eyes closed as he waited to be crushed.
Nothing happened. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the Behemoth with its fist partially closed around Amy as she still clung to a clump of grass. Her eyes were as wide as could be. All the color left her face. She screamed until her body went limp.
Chip tried to look at its face, but it was shadowed by the afternoon sun behind it. Three rocks bounced off the Behemoth’s body, causing no damage. Chip looked back and saw the other kids gathering rocks for another volley. He shook himself out of his stupor, remembering he still had to save his sister.
He grabbed some loose rocks from the hill and started throwing, being careful not to hit Amy. “Let her go, you monster!”
The Behemoth turned its back to the kids and ran off with giant strides. The second quake sent Chip tumbling over the edge and into the water. After a pause of lying underwater, he righted himself and swam back up. By the time he looked to where the Behemoth went it was gone.
Chip swam as fast as he could to the water’s edge and clambered up.
“Come on!” He waved his friends over.
None of them moved.
“What are you doing? We have to go after it.”
“Chip, that thing didn’t even flinch at us throwing rocks at it. What do you expect us to do against that?”
“I expect us to save my sister!”
“More like die alongside her. I’m sorry, Chip. But I don’t feel like dying today.” The kids each turned around, grabbed their things, and headed back to the village.
“At least tell the villagers to send help!” He shouted.
No one responded.
Well then. I guess it's just me. Hang on, Amy.
He ran as best he could without completely exhausting himself. He wanted to save some stamina for it when it came time to run away. The Behemoth left very large and deep footprints that would be difficult not to track.
———————————————————————————
The sun was starting to lean heavily to the west and Chip’s legs and feet burned like never before. He finally found the end of the trail. He was standing at the base of one of the mountains, where the largest cave entrance he had ever seen lay waiting in the dark for him to enter.
Every fiber of Chip’s being told him to not go in, but he had to. He took a deep breath, punched some feeling back into his legs, and marched on.
All daylight faded away within seconds of walking inside. He hugged the cave wall as he tried to make as little noise as possible with his steps. He hadn’t known how long he had walked, but just as he questioned whether or not he would ever see light again, a warm glow came into view in the distance.
He slowed down his pace and crouched trying to keep out of sight. This proved rather difficult as there were no rocks large enough for him to hide behind or depressions in the wall to press against.
As he approached, he made out the bright orange glow of a large bonfire. He saw Amy sitting by it trying to warm herself. On the other side of the fire was the Behemoth standing with its back turned to her.
Chip saw his chance and went for it. He got to about twenty feet from his sister. He cupped his hand over his mouth and tried to whisper.
“Amy.”
Amy. Amy. Amy. Amy. Amy.
Chip was horrified as he heard his voice loudly echo throughout the cave.
Amy turned around to face him. The whole cave shook as the Behemoth turned to the intruder. Chip, out of instinct lunged forward and grabbed his sister’s arm. “Come on! We’ve got to run!”
To his surprise, Amy pulled her arm away. “Wait, Chip. I don’t think he’s gonna hurt us.”
He gave his sister an incredulous look. “What are you talking about? Look at the size of him! How can he not hurt us?”
“Why don’t you actually look at him?”
Chip reluctantly looked up. The Behemoth’s face was partially lit by the bonfire below. Its face was much like a human’s only much larger and puffier. The mix of light and shadow should have made it appear terrifying. But as he looked into its eyes, Chip saw only sadness.
It let out a low groan, again making Chip feel more sad than scared. It didn’t move. It only held its gaze on the two siblings.
“See?” Amy asked. “And look over here.” She was now the one pulling Chip over to the cave wall where there were crude drawings etched on it.
There were over a dozen drawings, each made by scratching the wall with a large rock. They were even colored. By the smell, Chip guessed the color came from crushed fruits. All the drawings showed a towering figure, presumably the Behemoth, at different locations and situations. The size of the behemoth seemed to grow gradually between each picture. Chip put it together this was a sort of sketch diary.
Chip looked back at the Behemoth, still standing in place watching them. Chip returned his gaze to the drawings, the largest and most prominent one showing the Behemoth standing in front of a group of stick figures. It was hard to make out, but it looked like the figures were shouting and throwing rocks at the Behemoth; much like Chip and his friends did earlier.
Amy pointed to this drawing. “I think he’s used to people being afraid of him.”
Chip shook his head. “But why did he pull you from the cliff and kidnap you?”
Amy was taken aback. “First off, he didn’t pull me from the cliff. He caught me when the grass I was holding onto broke off and I fell. Secondly, I tried to run as soon as I woke up, but he did nothing to stop me, so I stayed. As I sat with him, it became clear he never wanted to hurt me or keep me here. I think he believed you and the others weren’t just throwing rocks at him, you were throwing them at me too.”
She walked over to the Behemoth. He crouched down and lowered his finger next to her. Amy placed her hand upon it, looked him in the eye, and smiled. “He was trying to protect me.”
Chip stood there not sure what to make of what he was seeing. Was it possible the monster his parents and all the other villagers told him to fear wasn’t a monster at all?
He slowly worked up the courage to approach the Behemoth where his sister was standing. Eventually, he managed to bring his hand up to touch the Behemoth’s finger. Chip looked him in the eye.
“Th-thank you… for saving my sister.”
The Behemoth made a rumbling sound. Chip wasn’t sure if he understood his words, but he may have understood his meaning.
“Do you have a name?” He asked.
The Behemoth tilted his head looking confused at the question.
“He hasn’t said a word since I woke up,” said Amy. “We should give him a name.”
“Us give him a name? What would we even call him?”
“How about Greg?”
“Greg? Why Greg?”
“It’s short for Gregarious. I heard Mom say it once, and she told me it means ‘friendly’.”
“Huh. I guess Greg is as good a name as any.”
“That settles it.” She pointed up at the Behemoth. “Your name is Greg.”
“Grrr….grrrrreeeeegg.”
“He can talk!” She exclaimed.
“I don’t know about that just yet. But it seems he can learn to talk.”
“Well, we’ll teach him,” she proudly proclaimed. “Hey, Greg! Want to play with us and our friends?”
“Ppppplaaaay.”
“That’s right. Come on. Let’s go back to the swimming hole.”
Chip started walking back, but with the adrenaline now gone his legs finally gave out. Amy didn’t laugh this time and showed concern for her brother.
Greg then picked up the two siblings with his fingers and placed them on his shoulders. He carried Chip and Amy back to the swimming hole. He even removed the rocks below the waterfall making it safe for jumping.
———————————————————————————
After a while, Chip and Amy convinced the other kids to return to the swimming hole. They even came around to liking Greg after much hesitation.
The swimming hole became the go-to place for the kids whenever they had the time. Greg slowly but steadily grew in his understanding of words. Eventually, more kids were invited and some stumbled upon the gathering on their own. From then on Greg always wore a smile on his face, and Chip didn’t pack his safety bag quite so full anymore.
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