Runs-With-Spear stared at the object in the icy water. Out of the thirty men in his clan, he was the best hunter, even though he was only twenty years old. That was how he had obtained his name when he became a man. His throwing arm was strong and his spears were always sharp. Out of the entire clan, the men in his family were known for their skill as hunters. Before the land bridge had flooded, his ancestors had led their people out of the west and over the bridge, following herds of horn-beasts and long-tooths into the eastern lands.
He continued to look at the frozen thing in front of him. He was covered in warm skins, but seeing the thing had chilled his heart. He would never admit that he was frightened, though. His father, a great hunter and warrior, had raised him to be brave. Whenever his clan had fought other clans, it was his father who always led the war-dance. His grandfather was a warrior when he was young, but now he was a storyteller.
The image of the large black thing poking out of the lake kept coming into his mind. Runs-With-Spear kept thinking about his life, about the lives of his family, about anything at all that would keep his mind off of it. It was not so much that he was shocked or confused by the thing - he knew what it was from his grandfather's stories. He simply never expected to see it in his lifetime. Looking at the thing up close was a lot different than hearing about it in a story.
His grandfather's stories always fascinated and frightened him as a child. Of course, he wouldn't show his fear to anyone. A coward could not lead a family, and because he was not a coward, he now had a beautiful young wife (the most beautiful out of the twenty women in his clan) and would soon have a child - hopefully, a son he could raise to be a brave hunter like himself. Runs-With-Spear was brave and skilled enough to hunt horn-beasts by himself. Of course, even he wasn't prideful enough to attempt to hunt long-tooths on his own; his brother and friends had helped him hunt one. That was the only time he had ever hunted a long-tooth; there weren't as many now as there were in the time of his ancestors. He was hunting a horn-beast when it had disappeared into the forest near the lake. That was when he saw the thing.
The massive dark bones in the water reminded him of the long-tooth's bones when they had cooked it in a fire. The entire clan hadn't needed to hunt again for a whole month. Its long nose alone had fed them for several days. He glanced at the giant burnt skeleton again. If what was poking out of the water was this big, the entire thing must have been taller than a long-tooth when it was alive. He briefly wondered how long such a creature would feed the clan, only to be disgusted by the thought. He looked at the sharp teeth in its giant skull. This was not something that was hunted - this was a hunter. Just like him.
It wasn't even really the thing itself that disturbed him so much. He had seen death before. He had fought in a war not long ago. He saw some of his friends die and killed many enemies. He had seen the skeletons of human beings before. It's just that he had never seen one so large before. The identity of the massive corpse in front of him was clear. His grandfather had told him of its story when he was a boy.
Once, there were five brothers. The eldest brother had an infant son. One day, a hairy giant came to their home as they were passing around the newborn. The giant joined them and sat with them near their fire. When the baby was passed to the giant so it could look at him, it waited until the others weren't looking. The giant plunged its sharp teeth into the baby's soft head, piercing its skull so the giant could suck out its brain. When the giant passed him to his father, his horrible crime was discovered.
The enraged father attacked the giant, but it effortlessly crushed him against the ground with its powerful hand. The second-eldest brother was ripped in half. It ripped the middle brother's stomach open with its teeth. It picked up the second-youngest brother and smashed him against the ground repeatedly, even after he was dead. The youngest brother ran away, but the giant chased him. He jumped into a lake and swam to a small island in the middle of it. The giant followed him into the water. The man sang a magical song which froze the water, trapping the giant's legs. The giant turned around and tried to climb out, but it was stuck. The man knew that he had to be quick, before the giant could break out of the ice, so he ran back to his home as fast as he could.
He grabbed a burning tree branch from the fire and ran back to the lake. He climbed on top of the giant's back until he was on top of its head. He set the giant's hair on fire and quickly jumped off into the soft snow below him. The giant shrieked and thrashed about in pain as the fire spread across its whole upper body. The fire became hotter as it got bigger. The giant, blinded by pain, screamed and shouted, banging his fists on the snow to crush the man. But the man escaped and hid in the forest. The giant's eyes melted out of their sockets. Steam came out of its mouth as its organs cooked inside of it and its blood boiled. The sky became black with smoke as its fur burned off and its flesh bubbled and popped. The ice and snow began to melt, but the water also began to boil around the giant's legs. The agonizing pain crippled the giant, preventing it from escaping. Finally, the giant collapsed and died. The man went home to bury his family.
Runs-With-Spear looked closer at the giant's charred skeleton. It was hard to believe anyone would let this monster near their child. Its arms were as long as he was tall. Its long fingers were disturbing to look at. Runs-With-Spear could picture the giant wrapping its fingers around the baby, bringing the crying newborn closer and closer to its mouth before savagely tearing it apart like he did when he was eating a horn-beast's meat. He could imagine its flat, sloping front teeth digging under the baby's skin, its long, curved fangs impaling the poor child's skull, and the sickening sound of it sucking out the infant's brain before carelessly throwing the corpse at the child's horrified father. Was the giant really invited to sit with them? Or were they just unable to stop it? How strong was this thing? And he wondered about the youngest brother's magic song, too. His grandfather had told him that this land was much warmer in the time of their ancestors, but it eventually became so cold that even the mountains became encased in ice. Was the man really magic or was the lake already frozen? Where did such a monster come from, anyway? Was it here before his own ancestors came?
It didn't matter. It was time to stop thinking about monsters and start thinking about where that horn-beast had gone to. Runs-With-Spear never gave up when he was hunting. It wasn't really that he needed to hunt - his clan was kind and would gladly feed him and his wife if they had no meat. His brother even promised that he would take care of his wife if Runs-With-Spear died. But he knew in his heart that he couldn't go back without food. He couldn't turn away and run home. He couldn't beg for scraps from his damn brother. Maybe his clan wouldn't judge him. Maybe his family wouldn't judge him. But Runs-With-Spear would judge himself. A coward could not lead a family - that's what his father raised him to believe. Runs-With-Spear walked into the forest. He would not return without that horn-beast's corpse.
As he walked through the dark, cold forest, he remembered when he became a man a few years earlier. He was to hunt his first horn-beast and return with its body. He was to hunt alone - every man in his clan hunted alone their first time, but he preferred hunting alone afterwards. When he was alone, nobody could see his mistakes or his fears. When he had finally found his first horn-beast, his spear missed its target. He was aiming for its heart, but the spear had hit its stomach. The animal groaned in pain and fell over. It was still alive when he caught up to it. He looked at the creature with pity - and with rage. His father had always killed horn-beasts instantly, as had his brother and his grandfather. But he had failed. He ripped the spear out of horn-beast's guts and plunged it into its eye. The animal flailed around, attempting to hit him with its horns. It groaned again, but it sounded more like a scream. He stabbed the creature over and over again in its eye socket, wondering why it wouldn't die, when he finally hit its brain. He felt sick when the beast died. His spear and clothes were covered in blood. He made the slow journey back home, dragging the beast's body behind him.
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It was silent, except for the occasional gust of wind and the animal's body dragging across the red snow behind him. Every now and then, he thought he could almost hear the creature groan. He feared that he had only paralyzed it by stabbing it in the brain. Regardless, it was quiet by the time he finally made it back home. He let go of the body and ran to his family, triumphantly raising his spear above his head with both hands to show the beast's blood, shouting in joy and pride. He remembered how proud his father was of him. That was how he got his name - Runs-With-Spear. It was also how he became engaged to his wife, as her father was impressed by his strength.
When he told his grandfather of his kill, however, he was not as proud of him. His grandfather told him that he should have stabbed the creature in the heart after it fell over, giving it a quick death. But he forgave Runs-With-Spear, explaining that hunting alone in the cold and the darkness can drive a man mad for a while. That is why he never hunted alone after his first hunt and why he never approved of Runs-With-Spear hunting alone afterwards. Back then, Runs-With-Spear had been proud of his kill. But today, after seeing the giant's skeleton, he could only see himself plunging his spear into that baby's eye socket and sucking out its brain.
Runs-With-Spear walked deeper and deeper into the thick forest. The trees were tall and close together. They were covered in green needles that blocked his view. It was getting darker. He knew he couldn't find the horn-beast in this darkness. But he couldn't go back, either - even if he did find the horn-beast, he could never find his way back at night. He would have to sleep in the forest tonight.
He dreamed that night. It was about one of his grandfather's stories. One day, when the world was just a reef poking out of the sea, Raven was bored. He flew to the home of the Sky People, where he met the beautiful daughter of Gray Eagle, the sky chief. Raven seduced the chief's daughter and ended up in their home. He looked around the home, before finally finding a box that had three glowing orbs and a drop of fresh water in it. He grabbed the box, but Gray Eagle caught him. Raven quickly flew into Gray Eagle's fire, grabbing a burning stick before flying outside. His white feathers were burned, becoming black.
Raven accidentally dropped the box, causing its contents to fall out. The orbs flew into the sky. One became the sun, one became the moon, and the last one broke apart and became the stars. The sun dried up much of the ocean, causing more land to be revealed. The drop of water fell onto the new land, creating the lakes and rivers of the world. As the sea receded, two giant shells - a clam and a chiton - were revealed.
Raven heard singing coming from the clam, so he opened it. Inside the clam were the first men, who crawled out of the shell onto the new land. Raven then opened the chiton, revealing the first women, who joined the men. Finally, Raven gave the burning stick to the people, giving them the power of fire. However, Gray Eagle became enraged by the theft. He became a god of violent death. It's said that whenever someone is murdered, dies in an accident, or is killed by an animal, his soul goes to Gray Eagle's home.
When Runs-With-Spear woke up, the sun was just beginning to rise. He felt something wet on his face. He touched his face and looked at his hand. It was covered in blood. He looked up and saw the horn-beast impaled on a branch above him. Chunks of its flesh had been ripped out of it. He could see some of its organs and bones. Runs-With-Spear wondered if a giant had done this as a warning. He got up and decided to find another one.
How long would a giant feed the clan?
The thought wormed its way into his mind again. The giant might have scared away any other horn-beasts in the area. It was hard enough to find a horn-beast yesterday. He had to find a herd of horn-beasts and wait for the weakest one to get left behind. Then he'd have to drive it away from the herd without getting their attention.
How long would his family be fed?
The process was about the same with long-tooths, but a group of people would be needed. He hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, so he would probably be too weak to hunt a horn-beast, much less a long-tooth. And where would he find them? The giant might still be nearby. But how would he even go about hunting a giant, anyway?
How proud would they be of him?
A coward could not lead a family. He would need a plan, however. Could he sneak up on it? Could he hit its heart through its back? Runs-With-Spear slowly walked through the forest, looking around to see if anything moved. He had never been this deep into the forest before, so he didn't know what he would find in here. All he knew was that he had to find that giant.
His damn brother wouldn't be able to compete with him after he brought it home. He would take his eyes off of Runs-With-Spear's wife after that. "I promise to take care of her if you don't come back. Stay safe, brother." That bastard. He was just waiting for Runs-With-Spear to die. His brother would probably kill him himself. That was one of the reasons he never hunted with him. When they were hunting that long-tooth, if there hadn't been so many other people, Runs-With-Spear would be dead. He knew it.
Runs-With-Spear saw light through the trees. He had walked through almost the entire forest and had found nothing. But he would not give up. He couldn't. Finally, he made his way out of the forest. There was a red trail in the snow outside. It wasn't like the ones he made when hunting. These looked like drops of blood that had fallen on the snow. If he followed the trail, he could find the giant and sneak up on it. The trail went up a slope leading up an icy mountain. Slowly, he made his way up the slope, being careful not to slip on the ice.
He followed the trail until he saw a large cave. He went into the dark cave. It smelled like death. He carefully made his way into the cave and felt around until he hit something. It was soft and wet. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized that it was the remains of a bloody long-tooth. In fact, the whole cave was filled with half-eaten long-tooths and horn-beasts. He thought he could see a dead man in the corner. He must have been from another clan. That settled it - he couldn't hunt the giant alone. But perhaps he didn't need to.
If he could cut off some long-tooth meat with his spear, he could bring some home. He'd prefer to drag one of the horn-beasts with him, but he was too weak and the giant might be nearby. He could tell the clan where the cave was and they could attack the giant. The clan would be fed for months, maybe even a year. He would be a hero. He started carving off a piece of meat.
Then he heard something moving outside.
It was here. It was here and it was going to kill him. He tried to calm himself down. He quickly ripped off the chunk of meat and thought of his escape plan. If he ran down the mountain, he might slip and fall. But so could the giant. If he was careful to avoid the ice, he could trick the giant into falling. He probably couldn't drag it back with him, but the clan wouldn't have to worry about it defending its cave. He slowly poked his head out of the cave.
Nothing.
There was nothing there. Had it not noticed him? Did it leave? Was it even there? What if it was an animal or a falling rock? If it wasn't here, he could be more careful about going down the mountain. He walked out of the cave.
And then he saw it.
It was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen in his life. It was massive, twice as tall as he was. It was covered in shaggy fur. It was hunched over, with its right hand grabbing a tree. Its long fingers were wrapped around the trunk. Its arms were almost as long as its legs. Its face and chest were covered in blood and meat. It didn't have much for a nose, more like two holes in its face. Its forehead was ridged and sloping. Its cheeks were puffy. Its eyes were black and sunken into its head. It was staring right at him. That second he saw it for the first time felt like forever. Runs-With-Spear was terrified.
The giant suddenly bared its teeth. Its teeth were just like the skeleton's, with sloping front teeth and sharp fangs. It started screaming at him and shaking the tree roughly. It banged on its chest with its free hand and jumped up and down repeatedly. It ripped off a branch and starting smacking the side of the cave with it. If Runs-With-Spear was going to run, he needed to do it right now. But then he heard something rustling behind him.
He turned around and saw another giant crawling out of the forest on its hands and feet. Was it watching him the whole time? It stood up and bared its teeth at him, too. He was trapped. He turned around and saw something coming down the mountain. A third giant, towering over the others, was walking down the mountain. This one looked much different. It has completely hairless, revealing its well-defined muscles. Its chest was covered in scars. It was missing an eye. Had others tried to hunt these things? The big giant seemed to be wearing something. A giant dead bird with gray feathers was draped over its shoulders, with its skull on top of the giant's head. It seemed to be carrying an entire tree in its right hand. Was this monster the giants' chief? Was this Gray Eagle?
Runs-With-Spear looked around him. He couldn't run. He couldn't fight his way out of this. He was going to die here.
He gripped his spear tightly with both hands and pointed it at Gray Eagle.
A coward could not lead a family.