The Scoop of the Century - Chapter Two

A desert stretches before you. Wide open space. It's perfect. You delicately come to a stop and then crouch down and examine the ground. Seeing nothing, you drop the purse on the opposite side of a nearby mountain range. Then, you slowly lower yourself to sit, stretching your legs out as you do. A sigh escapes your lips as you settle down. It's warmer here, but a soft breeze blows through your hair, and the hat keeps the sun at bay at least a little. You relax and simply look around.

Your perspective of the world is unique and it is not lost on you. You glance at the mountains running along your thigh. Your legs nearly span more than half the length of the range. Majestic, awe inspiring landmarks to most. A long series of bumps to you. A reminder that you don't belong here. You shouldn't be here. And, for that matter, you are more than likely not even wanted here. Your mere presence is portent. Pushing these thoughts away, you reach out a hand and extend its index finger, slowly tracing it across the top of the mountains. You feel the earth give in under your gloved finger easily, bits of it rolling down the sides; an avalanche. You lower you thumb down and a mountain now sits between it and the index finger. You gently flex the muscles and the mountain is dust. Raising your palm, you look at the remains in your palm.

You cannot enjoy this place. You will only destroy it. You were a fool for coming here.

You brush your hands off, your eyes closing. You don't want to feel like this way. This is a new land. A new beginning. Your heart was overflowing with hope just minutes ago when you first stepped in and now dark clouds have begun to seep into your mind. If only you could find that spark again.

A thin line runs traces the landscape to your left. Fortunately, there's a healthy space between it and where you've chosen to rest. You resist the urge to lean over to look and see if you can see small shapes moving along that line. They're there, you know they are. And they know you're here. Looming over will just make things worse. You know that from experience. Instead, you put on your warmest smile and offer a small wave. The only weapon in your arsenal is your beauty, which you can only hope will melt the ice off people's hearts and coax them to lower their shields.

You glance around the desert. This might be a good place to return to. Nothing out here but space. No one will be at risk upon re-entry. It's a safe place to walk. You can make this area work. The thought re-invites the hope and your smile widens a little. Your eyes turn back to the thin line, the highway, your curiosity again piqued. Again you resist the urge to lean towards it, but you want to do something. Interact somehow. You open your mouth and begin to speak but then clamp your lips shut again. Too dangerous. Your voice is too loud to even make such an attempt, you know this. A wave of regret and frustration hits you.

If only you could communicate. But your abilities are limited. Everything you do is too powerful, too big, and this world is so frail. You don't mean harm, you never have. But your very nature makes you seem anything less than a monster.

A sigh escapes you and you simply turn your head and gaze out before you, trying force the thoughts away. Some clouds flutter around you and you run a finger through one, slicing it in half. A spin of your finger and it's gone. You smile, amused. You purse your lips and gently blow a puff at another cloud, watching it swirl and twist. It's a good enough distraction, and you find peace again.

For the moment.

…

Chuck would not be able to leave the office that night.

This was not because of his new story, but rather because of the chaos that plagued the city in the aftermath of the giant woman's appearance. Traffic was at a complete standstill; many cars were still abandoned, lights were not working, and the roads themselves were either heavily damaged or blocked by rubble.

“It's gonna get worse.” Lanard Glass had said to Chuck. “You just wait till the sun goes down. No electricity? Windows across the city shattered and all the cops too busy with all that's going on? It's gonna be an absolute circus.”

He was right. As the sun began to set, there was a heavy shift outside the walls of the office. Once the overall shock had passed, the streets were full of people trying fruitlessly to get home and emergency response teams that were so overwhelmed it was almost comical. Shouts and arguing had filled the air but, as night drew near, those were replaced by screams and gunshots. From the broken windows of the office, Chuck and his fellow co-workers could see opportunistic looters storm shattered storefronts. One man came running out of one store pushing a small cart that held at least three widescreen TVs.

“It's absurd...” Leslie Milton, the associate editor, had said. “The fucking power is out and probably will be for days, maybe longer!”

Her outrage shrank when gunshots, the closest ones yet, popped off just down the street. Lanard then had Gerald Briggins and others barricade the door to the stairwells so that, with the elevators out of commission, any intruders would be isolated to the first floor. Occasionally, a loud thump would be heard from downstairs as looters poked their heads in. At one point Gerald had to run down into the stairwell as it sounded like somebody was trying to kick the door in. Fortunately, they gave up and left. Chuck could only hope there were more promising targets out there than the offices of a newspaper.

Still, with no electricity or internet, there was not much that could be done. The only source of information was from Paul Wallace's radio, which Chuck, Lanard, and the old man himself had sat around for hours. Some stations that they had tuned into were suddenly off the air. Whether that was because their power had been knocked out or the giant woman had actually stepped on their station was anyone's guess. The first reports they had heard, shortly after the incident in the city. had claimed that the “giantess” was casually sitting in the Mojave desert.

“The Mojave!?” Paul had asked, shocked. “She was just here! She really traveled across the whole damn country in an hour!”

“Less.” Lanard said, looking at his watch. “It's only been half an hour at most. Probably closer to twenty.”

Paul had gaped at him. Then, he turned to Chuck. “Was...was she really THAT big?”

Chuck nodded. “She was enormous.”

“The one reporter said she looked to be a couple of miles tall.” Lanard added.

“I think she was bigger.” Chuck replied.

“Four miles?”

“Bigger. I'd say somewhere between eight to ten.”

“Ten miles!?” Paul gasped. He leaned back in his chair, a hand at his chest. For a moment, Chuck was worried the old coot might have a heart attack. “How can anything be that big? Let alone a...” He leaned forward. “Are...are we sure this was a woman?”

“It wasn't Godzilla.” Chuck said.

Lanard found himself snorting. “Not even Godzilla was that big.”

“No he wasn't,” Paul agreed shakily. “And Godzilla's supposed to be a big monster. But this...you're talking about a woman. Just a woman. It just doesn't...”

“Paul.” Chuck interrupted. “I saw it. I saw her. You heard it on the radio even. It was a giant woman.”

“A 'giantess', as they put it,” Lanard added.

“I hear you,” Paul said somberly, staring at Chuck with the eyes of a man lost in a bad dream. “I hear the radio too. I just...I just can't believe it. It's unreal.”

They continued to listen as reports watched The Giantess sit for about half an hour. Finally, she stood up and walked towards Las Vegas. The helicopters of those reporting were too slow to keep up with the massive woman but fortunately she stopped upon reaching Vegas (according to the broadcaster, it took her only two or three steps to reach the famed city of sin). The Giantess had stopped and seemed to examine the city before walking around it. Despite not traversing over it, the broadcaster reported that trails of smoke were seen drifting from the buildings. With The Giantess on the move again, she once more rapidly outpaced the helicopters and Paul began to sift through the channels until they found a new one that found her. This one had caught up to her in the southern parts of California before losing her as she made her way north. For an hour they found new live coverage of her, only reports of her passing, but from those they were able to gauge that she had crossed California up to Oregon and into Washington before turning into Idaho and then Montana.

News choppers eventually caught up to The Giantess on the edge of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as she stopped to rest at the shores of Lake Superior. For another half hour she quietly sat, looking out at the Great Lake, before finally standing and moving on. She went down to Wisconsin before going into the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, traversing the entire circumference of the state, walking along Lake Huron before entering Ohio and following Lake Erie towards Pennsylvania and moving up towards Lake Ontario. Finally, she made it to Maine and, briefly, stepped into Quebec before re-entering the U.S and heading back down south, seeming to follow the coastline of the Atlantic.

Mere minutes of reports of her departure from Maine, they felt the ground tremble.

“Oh god!” Leslie moaned. “She's coming back!”

Indeed, the quakes seemed to grow. She was either heading right for them or passing nearby. Screams began to ring in through the broken windows from down on the streets.

“Let's get to the roof.” Lanard suddenly said, standing. “We might be able to see her from there.”

Without arguing, Chuck followed him, with Paul Wallace tailing him.

“I have to see...” The old man wheezed. “I have to see for myself.”

Within minutes, they were on the roof. They got there just in time to see she her come to a stop in the distance. Her immense height made it impossible to gauge how far she was, but she did not appear to be headed for the city, instead passing by. Something at her feet seemed to have caught her attention and she was knelt down slightly.

“My god...” Paul breathed. “She really IS enormous! That's not just a couple of miles!”

“No.” Lanard agreed shakily. “I think Chuck was right. Eight or ten. Maybe more.”

“She can't be!” Paul retorted. “Air's thin at higher altitudes! Real thin! How could she breathe?”

“How does she breathe?” Lanard laughed with some contempt. “How does something like her existin the first place?”

Paul didn't respond. Chuck said nothing. From atop The Daily Occurrences, he had a good view of her, The Giantess, as the reports had taken to calling her. She indeed wore a wide brimmed black hat, the same one he'd seen earlier and described in the various reports he had heard since. Her shirt seemed to be a victorian-esque long sleeve frill blouse which had an open neck. He saw the leather pants and her knee high-heeled boots. It was definitely the same massive woman that he had encountered earlier.

“She seems fairly young...” Lanard said almost absently. “Early to mid thirties?”

“Maybe.” Chuck said. “Assuming that something like 'age' applies to her.”

“What's THAT supposed to mean?” Paul asked.

“It means we don't know what she is,” Lanard said. “She's massive. She appeared out of nowhere. She could be a god for all we know.”

Paul seemed shaken at that.

“She certainly dresses the role.” Chuck said. “She looks...I don't know...upper class? If she wasn't so damned big and I saw her on the streets...I'd think she's a lady with a lot of cash to her name.”

“I think you're right.” Lanard says. “She looks wealthy.”

“She does.”

“But that's crazy.” Paul said. “If she were a goddess of some kind, what would she need money for? Why would she carry a damn purse for that matter?”

“I don't know.” Lanard replied.

A silence followed and the men continued to watch The Giantess as she straightened. Their blood ran cold when her gaze turned towards them and the city...

…

You've been here. You recognize the landscape, see your footprints from earlier. If your estimates are right, you should be close to where you started. You turn your head and gaze off into the distance. You see a city there and you think you can see your boot marks in the ground. That should be where you arrived, but it's hard to tell. Carefully, you take a step closer and squint, lowering the brim of your hat to block the sun. A moment later you're confident; you've made a full circle.

It's a small land...for you, anyway. Still, it was a beautiful place, the lakes you rested at being a very tranquil and breath taking location. You'll definitely return there. There is more to see and you're excited to see it.

But the sun is beginning to set, and you notice that the city from earlier is not lit up. Neither is another down at your feet now. You can see lights dotting the land ahead. It might be time to return to the desert. It will be impossible to navigate the land safely in the dark. You can't risk that.

You turn and begin to walk, heading back towards the desert. You remain calm. It will not take long for you to get there. There's enough daylight left to guide you back.

…

For a horrible moment Chuck thought she was going to walk towards them.

The Giantess took a step towards them, hand at the brim of her hat, as she stared directly towards them, like a person trying to recognize someone in the distance. Then, she paused for a moment, glanced up towards the setting sun, and then turned and began to walk. Her steps rattled the building, but not hard, and within moments she was distant in the horizon. And then she was gone.

“Christ...” Paul said after a moment of silence. “At her size...she really could cross the country in minutes!”

“Let's get back downstairs.” Chuck said. “We'll follow her on the radio.”

When they got back to their floor, everyone was on edge, huddled around the desks.

“What happened?” Leslie asked.

“She just passed by.” Lanard replied. “She seems to be heading back west.”

Chuck snapped the radio back on. Skimming through the frequencies, they found reports of her passage through the center of the U.S. From Pennsylvania to Illinois, then Kansas to Nevada. Then, something incredible happened. The reports stopped. After she re-entered the Mojave, the helicopters lost track of her again. That had been an hour and a half ago. And, while the lawlessness of the city ravaged below them, and while Paul scrolled the channels of his radio, no new reports of The Giantess were said. As one reporter put it, it was if she had vanished.

“That's ridiculous.” Paul said. “How the hell do they lose something that big?”

“Well, she appeared out of nowhere this afternoon,” Jacob Rimsley said. “Maybe she...went back to wherever she came from.”

“I hope so.” Leslie said.

“We won't know until tomorrow.” Lanard said.

Gunfire sounded. It was close enough to be heard under the endless honking horns down below and make them all jump. It hadn't been long since a loud thud had been heard on the first floor either.

“Look,” Lanard Glass said, turning from the window. “Even if she is gone, it's not safe out there. I think it's best that everyone stay here for the night.”

“Stay here?” Leslie asked in disbelief. “But I...I can't, my kids...”

“Traffic is dead out there,” Lanard interrupted. “And until authorities can get the streets under control again, you're likely to be mugged the minute you step out onto the street.”

“But...”

“Leslie, for god's sake, we've had to barricade the door to the stairs!” Glass snapped. “I know you want to get to your kids but you're not doing them any favors if you get yourself killed!”

Leslie was quiet.

“But what about food?” Gerald Briggins asked.

“There's food in the staff lounge,” Chuck said. “Some food left over from the party last week.”

“That won't last long.” Gerald said, shaking his head.

“Hopefully we won't be here that long...” Lanard replied.

Those words hung in the air. They could only hope things would return to some form of normality tomorrow morning. The idea that their lives were now inescapably changed finally began to seep in and that quieted many into a stupor. A sort of daze where many couldn't resist wondering if this was all some sort of dream. Chuck, as he sat by a broken window looking out at the madness on the streets, couldn't help but feel the same way. Still, there was something else on his mind.

“I can't believe this.” Paul said as he took a seat beside him. “I never thought I'd see something like this.”

“Me either,” Chuck nodded. “Anything on the radio?”

The old man shook his head. “Nothing. No sightings. She's just gone.”

“Strange, isn't it?”

“More than that...crazy! I just don't know how she could just vanish!”

“That's not the strangest part to me.”

“No?”

“No.” Chuck shook his head. “She's not gone. She can't be.”

“But they haven't seen her for almost two hours.” Paul replied. “She has to be gone.”

“What I mean is we haven't seen the last of her. She'll be back.”

“You don't know that. You can't know that.”

“You're right, I don't. But I think it's true. Why would she just show up and then just leave?”

“Why would she show up at all?”

“I don't know. But she must have had a reason.”

“And maybe she has a reason to leave. And hopefully not come back.”

“You really think she won't be back?”

“Son, I don't really know what to think right now.” Paul replied softly. “Before today, if you had told me a woman who was over five miles tall would appear out of the blue and walk around the entire damn country, I would have had you committed. But we all saw it. We saw her. She's here. She was here. Now she's gone. And we can only hope she stays that way.”

“In some ways...” Chuck said. “...I hope she doesn't.”

“...what?”

“Think about it. You're absolutely right. Before today, you would be crazy for thinking something like this would happen. But it did, and we still have to figure out how. Where did she come from. Who is she? What was she doing here? How did she even get here, because she seemed to just appear out of fucking nowhere! Is she a god or something else? I mean...christ, Paul! The list goes on! Even if she doesn't come back, the questions she's left us could change our views about almost everything!”

Paul sat quietly for a moment, uttering only a 'Dear god' under his breath.

“So...what good does it do us for her to come back?” He finally asked.

Now it was Chuck's turn to sit in silence for a moment.

“Well...” He said. “The only person who definitely has answers to all those questions...would be her. Without her, we can only guess.”

Paul snorted. “You sound like she's a source for an article.”

“She could be.”

“No, son, she isn't.” Paul retorted. “I don't know what she is, but I do know she's gigantic. You and I are just mites to her.  Look around you, Chuck, she took a step over us and look what it's done to us! To the city! She's a walking nuclear bomb. You get close to her and you're just gonna end up dead. It's best to stay out of the blast radius as best you can.”

“This could be the story of the century, Paul.” Chuck said. He looked at the old man. “Don't you want to be a part of that? One last huge accomplishment before you retire?”

“What I want is to be able to retire in one piece.”

“Lanard probably would be interested.”

“I don't care if he is. Don't make it any less foolish.”

Chuck said nothing. The two of them sat in silence, listening to the honking, the sirens, and occasional gunfire. It truly was like a scene out of an apocalypse movie. Finally, the old man stood up.

“I'm gonna try and get some sleep. You should to. Take your mind off these foolish ideas of yours.”

He walked away, leaving Chuck alone with his thoughts.