The Infinite Realms

On a dark and stormy night, the villagers of Altahoma lay on traditional mats in their grass-thatched houses. Everyone was asleep, and the sound of raindrops hitting the hard ground, sounded in their ears like a lullaby. The cold night air forced them to cling to their blankets for warmth as they snored. Just as everyone enjoyed their dreams, a small earthquake that lasted a second vibrated through the ground. It wasn't that intense and only a few light sleepers were able to feel it. However, in the next second, another quake shook the earth. It was more intense than the other. And this time, everyone pried their eyes with their breaths hastened as if they had woken up from a nightmare. The quakes felt like something big was approaching them. They all tossed the barkcloth they used to cover themselves away from their bodies as they stood up abruptly. The next quake shook again and this one almost threw them off-balance. They made haste as the quakes intensified in an unrhythmic pattern. It was like whatever was making the quakes had increased in number. It felt like a herd of giant bisson making a stampede. As they exited their houses, they didn't run like headless chickens in random directions. But ran to a fixed location. Like it was their only hope of survival. They all gathered at a dead end. A solid mountain rock. "Let the children in first! All children gather where I am!" An elderly man with a red robe stretched from his shoulder across his shoulder and to his feet. It looked like a Greek loincloth. He reeked of knowledge, wisdom, and experience. The red cap he wore at the top of his head suggested he was the village chief. With that said, the tiny people made their way to where the chief was. He raised his walking stick and hit the rock three times. And immediately, one could make out an image behind the rock as it turned translucent. The children stepped right through the rock and disappeared. It was like the rock was just an illusion. "Chief....the giants are almost here." said one of the village youths in a hurried voice as he could barely make up a silhouette of a huge tall figure under the moonlight. Although it was a few kilometres away in the dark forest, its huge torso stood out in the woods. It moved its head around as if looking for something. And just then, its eyes zoomed on a deserted village not too far away from where it was. A frown formed on its face as it discovered that it was deserted but soon the frown was replaced with a sinister smirk when it saw tiny dots packed together in a location. It took massive steps putting one leg in front of the other in a repetitive manner as it made its way to the village. "Gretalons I found a settlement. Follow me!" "Great Thudius, I found a settlement too. And it is packed with a bunch of running fleshies. Let's head there instead." One of the giants said as it halted Thudius steps. In truth, it wasn't the only giant that had its eyes on the settlement. The other two ugly creatures looked at it with drool forming on their lips. They licked their lips as excitement boiled up inside their stomachs. The four giants stood at a distance of 1 km from each other. Their voices vibrated through the air sending countless birds flying away from the trees. The giant named Thudius turned and spun on his heels to look at the other giants. "I say...we go for this one." He turned around as he prepared to head to his original destination. But when he felt that his gretalons hadn't moved a meter, he halted and turned back to look at them again." What.....aren't you coming with me." he said in a displeased tone. The three gretalons looked at themselves in silence. "Fine have your feast, I'll have mine," Thudius said rolling his giant eyeball at his minions. He wore his sinister smile again and took a massive step forward. This time he made haste as he knew that the fleshies he aimed for had something planned. The violent short second quakes shook the earth again as the giants made their way to their desired dinner plate. Along the way, Thudius discovered that the population had decreased significantly. A deep frown formed on his lips as he hurried his steps into a run. For the tiny people who watched, it looked slow but the giant crossed quite a distance with each step. His eyes never left the gathered people. He discovered that they were entering a rock. He growled angrily as he knew once they all entered, he would have lost his dinner." Damn gods!" he cursed. In just five seconds, he had crossed the distance of 5 kilometers between them. His eyes burned with anger as he realized only a few people remained. And they were still decreasing. He smashed through whatever obstacle came his way, turning the village into a ruin. "Chief......Take Faima, she isn't looking so well."A youthful man with a backcloth wrapped around his waist all the way down to his knees said. "But Kair...." The chief said in a worried tone, but he was interrupted by the man. "No chief....there's no time for us. Take her. I'll hold down the giant. " He said hurriedly as he put a pregnant lady's hand into the chief's before turning away and running towards the giant. The chief could only sigh and help the pregnant lady walk into the rock. Cold sweat dripped from her forehead as she gritted her teeth from the labor pain she was experiencing. Her walks were so slow, that the chief had to turn his head continuously to see where the creature had reached. "Faster Faima. Faster.....It will all be fine." he said in a panic. "Stupid Giant.....You are so dumb and slow. " the youthful man taunted as he craned his neck back to look at the giant. Thudius was enraged by the tiny creature's stubbornness. He stretched his giant hand to grab it. But the man evaded his palm. It crushed deep into the ground sending tiny debris and clouds of dust into the air. "Your aim is offset. You dumb pile of horse dung." the man mocked again as he rose from the ground. "How dare you fleshie! If my guts won't digest you today, then I won't be Thudius." Thudius growled as a gust of smelly air escaped his gaping mouth. He stretched out his arm again but could only grab empty air as the man dodged him again. "Faima. That's it you can do it. We can make it." The chief said as he helped the lady step into the gateway. The youthful man smiled as he watched the duo's figures disappear through the rock. He dodged yet another grab from the giant which infuriated it the more. Thudius no longer cared about eating the creature anymore. All he wanted to do now was to crush it down to a pile of splat. It stomped violently on the ground, causing the earth to shake terribly. Cracks formed wherever he stepped. But the man always dodged his attacks. "Why you! Your dead now," he growled as he chased after the annoying creature that ran towards the rock his companions had disappeared into. "This is not good." the man wiped the sweat off his forehead when he saw the rock was no longer translucent.