"Go."
In the time it takes Gorm to throw the torch towards the giant's face, I have enough time to grab Em and drag her with me, as I run as fast as I can towards the light. I can feel her tugging, looking back the entire time at whatever is happening, but, while I try to avoid us tripping or falling over anything in front of us, I only have enough time to look behind us once, just to see Yemi, Fern, and the others on our tail, as Gorm stands still in front of the giant once it starts to wail from the pain, tossing and turning and throwing its fists. The last I see of him, he is removing his axe from his back, and, between us, enough of the ceiling falls that he is gone, crushed, dead, or just trapped inside with the creature. And, sadly, I do not get much time to think about how truly likely it is that, after all this time, after all we've been through, Gorm may very well be gone because, once we are outside, I can barely hear Em's shouts and cries over the sound of the entire mountain collapsing in on itself as another shadow rises from where it once stood.
This one is even bigger than the mountain it broke free of, and the shadow it casts blocks out the sun entirely, stretching darkness all the way back to the city's walls miles out, as far as I can see. And, as soon as I see the first of our trebuchets letting loose, I feel a heavy wind as two hands come down from the sky. Above all the snow, the darkness, the clouds, the hands come down, form into fists, and crack the earth with so much might that new valleys form in the field we will likely die in, all because Gorm has seemingly gone mad in his quest to kill all of these giants, either because he wants to prove himself or because he has lost the will to live. I cannot let myself think about any of it, when the tears are already blocking my sight of the trebuchets hitting the giant's legs, and only as we finally reach the line everyone else fell back to do I see that there are just six of us that made it back. Em, Yemi, Fern, one of his men, our tanned man, and myself. Gorm is gone, along with our other man, and two more of Gorm's old friends, probably all dead, but, through the fear I feel, I still sense that, if we do not do something to the giant now, our deaths will be nothing compared to what it does.
Endless generations gone by without being disturbed, a small army stands between it and the first city it might destroy, only to never face resistance again until it finally grows bored and finds another hole to sleep in. It is now, more than ever, that I hate Gorm for telling me so little, and that hate drives me towards something. Yemi does his best to lead what we have left, shouting and running from side to side to extend his voice as much as he can in either direction. Em cannot stand to even look at me, when I'm sure she blames me for her father's death temporarily, as the pain is overwhelming, but, as each fist comes crashing down from the sky again, I look for an opportunity to throw myself out there, if the giants hand gets stuck in the dirt long enough for me to grapple it. Yet, that too seems hopeless until, for whatever reason, the giant's whole frame falls towards the earth. I do not know why at first, but, as soon as I have gained my footing again after its knee has hit the ground, I see it, everything. I see the giant's face under better light, looking down at us with bloodshot eyes, the hand it has placed on its neck, the blood that spills from between each finger, and a grapple hanging between the creature's chest, with a single man hanging from it.
At the sight of what can only be Gorm, still fighting, I yell out to Yemi and point to Em, as my shouts are meant for every one of our men.
"FALL BACK!"
Gorm, as crazy as he is, has almost killed the giant himself, and I fear the entire corpse crushing us all. Whether or not Yemi has seen what I have, I do not know, but he nods in response, hurting as much as I am based on the look in his eyes. And, once he has grabbed hold of Em, ripped her out of her trance, and started running with the men back towards the city while leaving the trebuchets where they are, I run too, towards the giant so Gorm at least does not have to fight alone. I do not know if that is my only reasoning when it is hard to tell what I fear more, leaving the man to die or leaving Em without both him and I, but, as I let my grapple go, I only think about the fight.
I find myself on the upper leg as it rises its knee out of the snow at first, staring at gray hair and blue, scaly flesh, and, immediately, I note how my grapple has dug into the flesh where the hair is, and, once I slam my fist against some of that other hard flesh on its body, I know that anything that looks like a scale will not act the same way if I try to pierce if with my grapple. The leg I am on then rises in such a way that, for a few moments, I can stand tall on top of the giant's leg, and that is when I send my grapple flying again. While I soar, I look for Gorm, and I only see him briefly as he disappears into the clouds above, back up the giant's chest. Knowing he is still alive is a huge motivation, and I can only assume he moved back up so quickly with the help of the grapple that came loose. I don't think I'll be so lucky again to get a chance to use mine, so, while I grab hold of as much body hair as I can, I spot more of those same scaly bits, spread across the giant's entire body.
Knowing how much time we have spent in the cold, I assume that the giant is affected in the same way, with blisters from all this damn snow. It must be in so much pain from those alone that it cannot feel us climbing up any part of its body, if the time it has been alive has not numbed its senses entirely, so, while I start to feel my body doing the same as the air only grows colder the higher we go, I climb and shout out a name.
"GORM!"
The wind is much louder in the sky, but I am certain that the man can hear me through the gusts and the giant's grunts, yet, when no response is given, I just keep climbing, frustrated that he will not shout back. The giant certainly has not heard my words, or does not care, so, unlike the first giant we fought, I am able to go up its stomach, up its chest, and finally reach one of the shoulders without being plucked from the giant's hair. And, at the top, I finally find the man I am looking for, still ignoring me and focusing on the wound that has partially closed up somehow, yet, while I yell his name again, he seems frustrated his axe will not go deeper into the beast's neck.
"GORM!"
As close as I am to him, in a place neither of us should be, or should be alive so high in the sky, I get to watch when he looks at me briefly, and then turns back to the throat he is trying to cut. So, before I help him, I only have one question to ask.
"ARE YOU FUCKING MAD?"
The two of us are teetering on top of this beast, and risking the death of ourselves and everyone else with every second that goes by, more than we already have, and, as I have to crawl my way over to him to avoid tipping over as the giant walks, he has one demand.
"JUST GIVE ME YOUR SWORD!"
I can feel my lungs closing up, so, rather than saying anything else, I crawl close enough to him, and wait for the giant to step one more time before I stand up, pull my blade free, and thrust it into the giant's neck effortlessly, just where Gorm already left a wound. The two of us then get covered in fresh blood, after already being spoiled by it, and, when I can only push my sword so far without his help, meeting bone or something else that does not break, Gorm grabs my sword with both of his bare hands, losing his own blood, as he pushes the blade as far as it can go, so deep that he has to remove his hands and let me push the last part in until nothing but the hilt sticks out. There is so much blood I could puke, but puking would only get it in my mouth. So, once I've turned away from the spray, I finally notice how the giant is losing its balance, with both of our weapons dug deep, and shout one, last time before it starts to drop.
"THIS FALL WILL KILL US!"
It is so obvious, especially when there is no water anywhere for me to get lucky landing in and then wake up nice and cozy in a bed, or at least in the snow with all my bones together if nothing else, but, somehow, Gorm shows all the calm in the world, either because he believes in him and I or because, after all this time, he is ready to die.
"Just hold on."
I try to get over the hump of the giant's back enough that I don't meet the ground first, and grab as
much of its hair as I can in my hand, and, as Gorm struggles to do the same, I first see us pass through the clouds, next can see our trebuchets down below, and then shout only a few seconds later, when I see Gorm fall right before we hit the earth. The initial impact is so heavy and loud that my head rattles and my ears ring, but, between the snow and all the flesh, muscle, and bone that the giant's body puts between myself and the ground, I think I am okay, or at least well enough to roll over on the giant's back, look up, notice the snow that was sent flying and catch some of it on myself, and then laugh as I stare at the clouds above and try to understand just how high up we were. And, only in that moment, once I remember that I was up there with Gorm after I guess the fall knocked some sense out of me, I start to panic.
Next to me, both of our weapons are still stuck in the giant's neck, and, though I should be rushing to find the man, I cannot bear to leave my sword or his axe behind if am to find him dead, telling myself that I must hold onto his weapon for the rest of my life if the worst happens. So, after I have grabbed both and put mine back into its sheath, I eat some snow at the bottom of my fall, since both of my hands carry his axe, but the sounds of shouts, far out in the distance, are enough to get me on my feet.
"GORM! "
"FJORD! "
As far away as the yelling is, it sounds like our names come from the mouths of a million people, when it is much less than a hundred left alive and still looking for us, yet I respond with the same strength as they all call out to me.
"OVER HERE!"
There is immense power in listening to my voice carry through the valley, but it does not stop the tears that come as I look in every direction, hoping to see a figure or at least a fresh body among the bones this battlefield tries and fails to bury no matter how much time has passed. And, thankfully, before he can be buried too, I hear that gruff voice, yelling out to me through the wind, in so much pain.
"Aedan!"
I know it is him right away, no matter how strained it is, so I yell back, as loud as I can, hoping he will respond once more.
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
I had already begun walking in the direction I first thought I heard his voice from, and, when he answers me, I start to run.
"Please, follow my voice."
For me to hear him when he speaks so softly, I already know I am close, but, in my rush, I almost trip over where he has landed in the snow. Just the sight of him is enough to overwhelm me again. He lies there, looking up at me with so much pain in his eyes, and no color in his face, and, as tall as the fool is, I have to throw his axe to the dirt and drop down at his side to take the hand he offers me. And, once I am close enough for him to whisper, he offers me some choice words as I try to examine his wounds.
"Without Ham here, I guess I wasn't careful enough..."
Gorm laughs through the pain, but the laugh becomes a cough, as a cough becomes blood on his lips. So, not knowing what to do, I look around frantically, trying to find a gash, or a cut, or something I can put pressure on, but, from the outside there is nothing. Not a single sign of harm, when everything else tells me that the man is dying internally. His words only confirm my fears.
"Do not worry. My time nears, and I am ready. Stay with me."
How he seems so calm when more blood comes out of his mouth, I don't know, but my sobs must be loud enough to give away where we are. For, once I watch the first of my tears land on his clothes, I hear another set of footsteps, and can just barely make Yemi out through my blurred vision. With the way we are interacting with one another, his expression tells me he already knows what has happened to Gorm, and his shouts draw the rest of the people that need to be here. Fern arrives first, bowing his head at the sight, and Gorm has a few more words to share before the one person we are all waiting for arrives.
"I ask that... You two take care of Em for me. Give me some time to speak with her and my brother one last time too."
Every inch of my body refuses to let go of his hand, but Yemi steps in to pull me free and let Fern kneel beside the dying man. He pulls me away far enough that he can wrap his arms around me without disturbing the two brothers, and I can feel the first of his own tears on my shoulder as I try to calm myself with another thought, knowing that Em will need us all.
"Do you know where we put Abraham's sword?"
We let go of each other, and watch as Gorm and Fern whisper words neither of us can hear, yet I try not to worry if they can hear us as Yemi responds.
"Yes. It is in our tent. In my chest."
I wipe away enough tears to see Em clearly as she is close enough for me to see her running, and I say a few more words before Em's own tears become sobs too when she sees what is happening.
"Good. We must keep his sword and Gorm's axe together. After today, we cannot forget either of them."
Her crying is so desperate that Fern wastes no time standing up and letting Em take his place, so that she can throw her arms around her dying father as the rest of us stand close by. But, when she looks down at him and then takes one look at me, I step away from Yemi and Fern to join Em and Gorm after I have lifted his axe from the snow and handed it to Yemi, who has to hold it with both hands too. She still has her arms wrapped around him, as best as she can when nobody could lift the man up, yet, for a brief moment, he pulls one of his hands off of her back and offers it to me. I look at the wound my sword left in it before I take his hand, and, once I do, I take the time to notice a smile on his lips, tears in his eyes, and enough strength still left in his body to break every one of my bones. He offers Em a few more words before he passes on, just loud enough that only the two of us can hear.
"You still have a family that needs you and will take care of you. I love you both."
In seconds, the flame that was his life starts to flicker and then is gone. His eyes close as his daughter presses her face against his, and his arms fall to the snow. Em's tears reach a point where she hurts so much she can barely create the sound of a sob as she chokes on the pain, and, after I place my hand on her back for a few moments, I walk away and give her the time she needs. We all hurt tremendously, and, while I feel like I should do something to comfort Em, there is nothing that is okay to do right now. I will hold her soon, but now is not the time to do so, when I would have to rip her away from him. Instead, I walk away, wiping my face off with my sleeve, where the unfrozen liquid mixes with what blood still covers my skin and clothes, and, with nowhere else to go, I join Yemi and Fern, both silent. I can see the hurt in Yemi's face too, but Fern stands like a statue, looking at his brother. And, before any of us says anything, Fern breaks out of his mold and tells us what his plan is.
"Leave him and the rest of our people. Cover them with snow and mark the spots. The cold will keep them preserved for when we come back tomorrow."
Without waiting for a response from either of us, the man walks off, and I can only hope that some of the men that he brought with him are still alive. I assume the way he mentions we is about himself and whatever other people from the city come to collect the fallen and burn the giants. But, I am more surprised by what he says to do with Gorm, so I refer to what Yemi knows.
"Do you know how he wanted to be buried?"
Rather than wipe away the few tears that must have stopped long before mine, Yemi wipes the heavy expression from his face, and he knows the answer I seek, it seems.
"Yes. Listen to his brother. He is the only one that can give Gorm what he wanted."
By that, I assume Yemi means that Gorm is to be buried with his ancestors, if that is what he truly wants, but I can't imagine how that will make Em feel in the meantime or once they take his body to be buried. So, for the time being, I say everything on my mind to Yemi so that I can tend to her while he takes care of everything else.
"Do you think you can go back to stand over the men, and share the news with everyone, then? They are going to need someone new to look up to, and I think that falls on you. I trust no one else but you to take care of the re
st of our dead. When that is done, make sure the men know there is still hope for the future, and feed the wolves too."
He smiles, through all that has happened, when I remind him to feed the animals, but I can tell the coming responsibility is weighing on his shoulders, as is all the dead. Yet, he has wisdom to share before he departs.
"They will look up to us both. Look at the way you speak. You are a natural leader, and Gorm saw that in you. There is a future for us all, no doubt. I trust that you will take care of her, too. We all have a part to play."
I let him walk away without either of us saying anything else because, with what needs to be done, I do not even know if there is enough light left in the day still. But, for now, Em needs my attention, so, once I turn to her and see that she holds her father quietly, I head to her side and say nothing except for her name.
"Em..."
She stirs a little bit, lifting her head off of his chest and looking up at me, and, though there is still an undeniable sadness in her expression, she looks like she knows what she has to do now, as her words show.
"Will you watch over him with me tonight? I'd prefer not to do it alone."
She wipes away the tears that are drying on her face, and, though I already know my answer to her is yes, I don't know how we will watch over him in this cold, with no heat and nowhere to sleep. So, as difficult as it is to say, I try to express those feelings.
"Yes, but..."
She interrupts before I can finish my thoughts, or even put them together, like she can read and see into what my mind is trying muster like her father did not too long ago.
"Don't worry. I know how to keep us warm."
Without offering it, she takes my hand and lifts herself off of the ground, and, while she hugs me, I look out into the snow and, because the wind no longer obscures the valley, or what is left of it, I watch as Yemi stands in front of several dozen men, who may have already been waiting in the distance and gathering the dead before he stepped in to help and to direct. I am happy to know there are many of us left, but Em matters most right now, as she lets go of me and walks further away from the body of her father and the giant, but still close enough to watch over both. There, she gets down into the snow and starts to dig, shift, and pat together section after section, while moving any debris that hides under the snow. And, in no time, she has built a shelter that barely looks large enough for either of us. It is kind of like the mouth to the cave, now gone. Half of the shelter is dug into the snow, while the other half is built on top of it like a cavern, and, rather than go join her or bother her before she is done, I do what Fern told us to do first, no matter how hard it is.
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