Cale and the Hidden Stones, page 11
He brushed back his grizzled grey hair and looked into the distance.
“One day the time will come to wake the giant,” he said, “and what will come from that, I do not know. He has not woken in memory of the people.” He looked stern for a moment. “There is power there beyond our understanding,” he continued. “When he turns in his sleep, distant mountains shake and the earth trembles. What destruction will he cause when he wakes and walks the earth again?”
“How is he to be woken?” said the younger man. “Our presence did not disturb his slumber.”
“It will take great power, such as you have carried, to wake the giant,” the older man replied, “and the will to do so.”
The vision faded and the three children knew that something was revealed to them. Cale and Rosie looked at each other and then at Peter.
“Time to wake the giant?” asked Peter, voicing the thought they all had, and confirming that he also saw what they had seen.
“Why not?” said Rosie, “We’ve got the stone.”
“Let’s have a look for this giant, then,” agreed Cale, without conviction.
They continued up the path in the direction from which they had seen the young and old men walking.
“They seemed to come from this way,” said Rosie, pushing ahead.
They ventured off the broad path at that point, pushing through the undergrowth and finding a narrow track. The further they walked, the more certain the track became, though unlike the main path this one lacked the print of boots. Rather it had the narrowness of an animal track and followed the small ups and downs of the earth and the curve of the hill.
The track rose gently as it climbed the slope, the hilltop hidden from their view, but the height nonetheless exerted change upon the landscape through which they walked. The giant trees were few and the ground grew rockier. A stream crossed the path, moving swiftly, less wide than the track but flowing steadily down from the peak above. The water was sweet and cold.
At last, when they had begun to doubt the wisdom of their walk and considered turning back to the certainty of the main path, they rounded a bend and the way opened up to them. Alongside the path, which continued slowly climbing the side of the hill, one of the large trees had fallen over. The upended roots revealed an open cavity in the earth. The fall was recent, as could be seen from the bare dirt exposed to the weather, lacking the scrubby growth that was prevalent elsewhere off the path.
“Is this a good idea?” asked Cale, eyeing the dark opening, always the more nervous and least likely to take a risk. “Won’t it fall in on us?”
“I’m going to have a look,” replied Rosie, always ready for a challenge and careless of danger.
“I have a torch in my backpack,” said Peter. He was neither scared nor impetuous and fished it out of his pack. The entrance looked sound to him. “Let’s give it a go,” he said, leading the way.
Cale hesitated at the mouth of the entrance but followed the others as they clambered down the steep slope of the fallen earth. As they descended, the earthen cavity opened up on one side to reveal a gently sloping pathway into the side of the hill. This had a rough, rocky roof that even to Cale looked solid and safe. The floor of the entrance was also rocky, though of uneven stones. The walk was tiresome, with some puddles to be avoided, though the further they walked the drier the tunnel floor. For it was clearly a tunnel. The roof had been low when they began but rose to a comfortable height as they progressed.
“Put out the torch,” said Rosie. She had thought of something.
Peter stopped and turned off the torch. They could see the light from where they had entered, dim and distant and small behind them. As their eyes adjusted, a faint luminescence seemed to come from the rocky walls and the path at their feet. It was just enough to light their way. As they stood in the silence, a distant rumble could be heard; irregular but rhythmic.
They followed the glowing path in search of the source. The light from the entrance was lost as the tunnel took a gentle curve and the glow from the rock seemed brighter. The tunnel grew narrower; the roof became lower and the walls closer. Soon, the tunnel came to a dead end at a solid wall of rock.
“This is where a doorway should be,” said Peter, stating the obvious. “Like someone meant to go further but found too much rock and didn’t. It feels funny,” he continued as he ran his hands over the stone wall that blocked their way. “Sort of tingles.”
“I can feel it too,” said Rosie as she placed her hands on the wall.
They all hesitated, unsure what lay beyond the wall and pondering the wisdom of disturbing it.
“Let me have a go,” said Cale, unexpectedly taking the lead. Stepping forward, he thumped his fist three times on the solid wall.
The first thump was muffled as if he was hitting solid rock. The second boomed out in the small space as if the wall was wooden and an empty room lay beyond and, at the third thump, his fist went through the wall which seemed to be there no longer.
He stumbled through.
Peter and Rosie followed Cale through the entry that had appeared and found themselves in a chamber, larger than the tunnel, yet not so large that they couldn’t see the roof and far walls in the light of the glowing entrance.
They stood in silence before the supine shape of the sleeping giant.
Peter broke the tension and paced the figure from head to toe.
“Not as big as I’d expected,” he said with surprise. “Maybe twice our height. His head is really big.”
“Yet he feels bigger,” said Cale, echoing what the other felt. “Like there is more substance to him.”
“How do we wake him?” said Rosie. As always, she was impatient for action.
“I guess I should try and do the waking,” said Cale, though his stomach tightened, suggesting he should run away.
Rosie and Peter stood aside and watched Cale approach the sleeping giant.
Cale stood next to the enormous head and shouted, but to no effect. The giant slumbered on, snorting gusts of moist air, oblivious to the tiny sounds. It would take more than a gnat’s shouting to rouse the giant.
Cale backed away and thought for a moment.
“Take out the stone,” Cale directed. Peter dug it out of his backpack and gave it to Cale.
It was dull and leaden until Cale ran his hands over it, but then it glowed with a stronger light than the entrance and, in the darkness, was difficult to look at directly.
Cale stood with Peter and they both grasped it. The glow grew more intense.
“Rosie,” said Cale, “help us.”
Rosie stepped forward and grasped the stone. The three pairs of hands shook slightly with the effort. The stone was now unbearably bright, and they closed their eyes. A hum came from the stone and the chamber reverberated with the low sound.
They sweated with the effort of holding the stone amidst the blinding light and the vibrating hum but persisted. Each found unexpected energy reserves and a sense of united purpose.
The giant began to wake.
He stretched like a massive misshapen cat, and a tremor caused a rock fall thousands of miles away. Cale and the others fell to their knees, though they only experienced a small part of the tremor, being at the eye of this particular storm. They released the stone and it fell to the ground. The light faded and the humming stopped.
The giant awoke.
He sat up slowly and with little grace. He grumbled to himself in a very loud, burred mumble. The children expected the cavern to collapse and held their breath as the giant sat up and stretched again, but the earth stood still.
They didn’t know that ancient stone giants are most dangerous when lightly asleep. When they are in a deep sleep, they are motionless and safe. When awake, giants tread very lightly upon the earth. They contain their power and are very considerate neighbours. When they are not fully asleep and unsettled in their slumber, their power is unrestrained and can be devastating. Fortunately, they sleep rarely, and usually sleep very well. This giant had been asleep for aeons and had been slowly waking for a long time. He was very sensitive to change, and their activities had disturbed him long before they entered the cavern. Bringing the stone fragment to life had been like a sudden noise to an already waking person.
“Hello there,” shouted Cale, not sure what to do next.
But the giant took no notice of him. The three friends scuttled out of his way as he rose to his feet and took a few steps toward the exit. He had to stoop a little in the cavern and they wondered how he would find his way through the narrow tunnel. The giant seemed to be having some sort of convulsion, rocking back and forth, holding his large face with his massive hands.
“He’s going to sneeze,” said Peter, hastily picking up the stone fragment. “Run.”
And they ran past the staggering giant into the tunnel. As they ran, stumbling on the uneven rock, their eyes poorly adjusted to the faint light, small, muffled sounds could be heard as the giant tried to hold back the sneeze. Then an explosive noise behind them was followed by a gust of warm, sticky air that roared along the tunnel like water down a drainpipe. They were picked up and carried along by the fierce wind, flung out of the cave to land roughly some distance away in the prickly scrub.
They gingerly picked themselves out of the bushes.
“It’s gritty,” said Cale. He had expected to be covered in sticky muck but the earth giant’s sneeze was not so unpleasant; it was more like being covered in damp gravel, which was something he was familiar with.
Meanwhile the giant had lumbered surprisingly quickly through the narrow tunnel, emerging from his sleeping chamber into the sunlight. It was well that the children had gone ahead, for the tunnel didn’t survive the passage of the giant, collapsing behind him. He raised his massive face to the sun and rumbled something unclear. He sniffed loudly, turning his head as if in search of something.
They watched as he ambled purposefully away from them, heading down the hill, ignoring the path yet finding a way through the shrubs. An amble for a giant was rather quicker than running pace for a child.
“How is this going to help anyone?” complained Rosie as the giant outpaced them and disappeared from view. “Well, we’ve woken the great rocky ape and where has that gotten us?”
The others had no answer and, saving their breath, followed in the giant’s path.
After some time, they rested. The giant was long gone. They had been unable to follow him through the bush for long and were lucky to have struggled their way back to the main path.
“You’d think there would be broken branches and trampled bushes,” said Rosie, but for all his size and power the giant had left no trail through the bush.
***
The earth creature sat on its rocky porch, shocked by what it had felt. Such a burst of power would ring out throughout the land. He hoped that whoever had released such energy knew what they were doing. His sense of urgency increased as he watched the unsettled sky and felt the gathering storm in the air. All was ready, but still the storm didn’t come. More than ever, he wanted to fly high above the earth.
***
The giant made his way down the hill, gently pushing his way through the drab green scrub and stepping around trees both large and small until he found the deep pool of water he’d smelled from further up the hillside. He knelt on the pebbled edge and plunged his head under the surface, rising after a time with water streaming from his face. He snorted as water flew from his nose and mouth and shook his head like a dog coming out of the rain. He did the same again and then sat back on his heels, satisfied. Now he was really awake, and he sat drinking in the bright sunlight and thinking slow thoughts.
He hadn’t really noticed the children.
He was trying to remember why he was here. This was not his usual place. There must have been a reason for him to come so far from his home. After his long sleep, his slow thoughts struggled to retrieve the memory. He sat patiently and let the sunlight renew his energy. He could feel the vibrations of the land, and it was busy. He didn’t recall it being so noisy, as if a million feet trod upon the earth. This part of the country would get cold and wet soon. He would travel north, where the sun was strong and the earth was quiet. The land had changed while he slept, or the creatures of the land had changed. The land changed more slowly, usually. His brow wrinkled as his thoughts disturbed him. What had wakened him?
***
The children made their way back to the camp to find everything packed up and the adults ready to go.
“Keep the stones safe,” Cale said quietly to Rosie and Peter.
It was fortunate that they left so suddenly and so swiftly. The air was soon swarming with black flying creatures from the coast, attracted by the pulse from the stone. But the stone was quiet again and travelling swiftly away. The creatures were disappointed and drifted back out to sea.
Chapter 13: Firmer footing
Cale sat quietly at the dining table. The conversation was still about the camping trip. Cale had many memories of that trip, but few that he could share with his family.
“And then the fog just came from nowhere,” his father was saying. “Luckily it blew over before anyone could get into trouble. I wouldn’t like to experience that again.”
“I can’t believe Cale managed the climb,” Stephen said.
“I can’t believe he has another friend,” said Sarah.
Cale just smiled at both comments. Once, they might have stung, but he felt more confident after the trip and realised that he had impressed his siblings. He wasn’t used to doing something right and enjoyed the feeling.
“Can I go and stay with Uncle Andrew at Easter?” asked Cale, changing the subject. He desperately needed time with Rosie and Peter to work on the last piece of the puzzle, and the long break would be his next opportunity.
“We don’t want to impose,” his mother began.
“But Uncle Andrew wrote specially inviting me,” Cale interjected quickly, knowing he needed to win this argument before his mother made up her mind. “I don’t want to disappoint him.”
“I guess so,” his mother replied, smiling as she recalled the unexpected letter. “Andrew was quite clear in his letter. I’ll send him a note to make sure it is okay.”
With that decided, Cale stopped paying attention to the conversation, which had become dull as his parents discussed money and bills. Something was not going well at work and his father’s face showed the strain as they spoke, but Cale’s thoughts were elsewhere.
***
The next day at school was the first real test of Cale’s new confidence. He had attracted the attention of one of the older boys who was not well liked but had a small group that followed him. A bully.
At first, he had just made comments as his group passed Cale, but today they had jostled him in line. Later Cale had wandered around the back of the school buildings, thinking about the stone fragments, and met the older boy and his followers coming the other way. They were delighted with the opportunity and Cale was anxious. In the past he would have stood immobile, waiting for the inevitable.
Today Cale thought about their trip down the tunnel to wake the giant and the memory of being sneezed out and he laughed out loud. He looked up at the older boy and measured him. He couldn’t picture him being brave enough to do that. The group of followers were taken aback at this behaviour and stood back to let their leader confront Cale alone.
“We don't like you. You should go or we'll make you cry, baby,” the older boy said.
He laughed at his own joke as he stood over Cale, older and taller and heavier. Anger grew in Cale in a way that it had not done in the past, and his mind was clear.
“Leave me alone,” he said with force and unexpectedly pushed the older boy with both hands in the chest. The older boy was taken by surprise and fell back into his group, sprawling on his back and knocking two of them over. “Leave me alone,” repeated Cale. “I’ll tell if you don’t.” He said this with conviction and a defiant look.
The bully got to his feet. His mates urged him to fix the kid’s attitude but stood back themselves. The bully was shaken and one look at Cale's face decided him.
“He not worth my time,” the bully said. “C’mon, let's get out of here.”
With this effort to save face, he turned and walked away. Cale stood shaking and excited. He felt in control and his confidence was high. He walked back to the main yard and straight up to the line for the four-square game that most of the boys his age were playing. He didn't ask, he just stood at the end of the line. When his turn came, he struck the ball with confidence and was quietly accepted by the rest. When he got out, he got back in line for another go.
Later in the day Cale’s older brother, who had heard about the pushing incident, which was now the talk of the small school, had sought out the bully, who was a year younger than himself. When the bully saw Stephen coming towards him, he ran off in the other direction. He figured that if Cale was tough, his big brother was not to be messed with. His followers drifted away as his true nature was revealed, that he was just a coward and nothing more. Stephen wondered what had happened to change his little brother. Whatever it was, he was pleased.
Chapter 14: The growing storm
Cale sat at the kitchen table with his uncle. He’d arrived by bus two days ago and was already feeling at home.
Breakfast had been unusually silent. His uncle was preoccupied by a letter he’d received the same day Cale had arrived. Cale knew it was from his mother. He could tell by the handwriting.
“Your father is coming to visit,” Uncle Andrew said, looking up from the letter.
That was unusual. Why hadn’t his father come with him if he’d wanted to visit the city? What had changed? But it was something else in the letter that had his uncle disturbed. He muttered to himself as he re-read the letter. Cale sipped his milky tea and hoped that nothing was wrong.
