"Fiery Birds", Part V

Zho decided that the best thing to do was to row the boat towards the shore. These new lower fiery birds seemed to be very close to the water, and were soon joined by even lower flying fiery birds, just a pair.

But the current was stronger than Zho had anticipated. It took all of his strength to row, and soon he was out. In short time, he was at the shore, and pulling his boat up onto the sand. It was very dark, and the faint starlight was barely enough to find his way up the beach and to the dunes. The boat had to stay behind on the beach, but wisely he chose to grab his belongings, as he ran up the sandy dunes and into the forest on the other side. 

He crouched in the sand, and waited. 

Soon, he could hear sounds. Some of the sounds were like a high pitched wind. The other was like something moving through the water. The sounds grew louder.

Curiosity got the best of him. He crept up the side of the dune, and looked out over top.

To his surprise, the fiery birds were very close by, and he could see that they didn't much resemble birds at all.

The higher ones had a light forward, yellowish in color, that was brighter than the biggest camp fire Zho had ever seen. Below the brighter lights were two dimmer blue-white lights, that seemed to be sweeping back and forth, casting a light onto the surface of the water. 

One of these "birds" was further offshore, while the other was flying above the beach. As he looked at them, he became aware that, barely visible above the bright forward light, was what looked like a curved window. In that window, something could be seen moving.

A man? Men?

The lower "birds" were less than treetop level above the water and the beach, and trailed below and behind the higher ones. Like the higher ones, they had a bright light forward and two blue-white lights beneath. They also seemed to have windows like the higher objects. 

But these were on legs. To of them apiece. Zho could see them as the the beams of blue-white light crossed them. The one that was further offshore was closer to the waves, but the water really wasn't that deep. The lower one was just offshore, and as it walked, it stirred up the phosphorescence of the sea water. 

These four things weren't birds at all. 

They were... like the boat. They were... machines. 

And they seem to carry men.

The higher machine, the one closest to the beach, swept the shoreline, very close to Zho, when suddenly one of the underside lights caught the boat in its beam. The machine stopped, and let out a sound like a horn. All of the machines converged towards the boat. The machine walking the beach then came up close to the boat, and cast its blue-white sweeping beams around the boat. 

It found his footprints. 

The beam followed the footprints up the sands, over the dunes, barely missing Zho. 

Two tentacles emerged from that machine, and gently lifted the boat, bringing it to a door that was opening on the side of the machine facing the dunes. The tentacles slid the boat inside, where two men could be seen lifting it. 

These men were very different from Zho.

They looked to be taller, much taller, but how much Zho couldn't tell. They were just silhouettes against the yellow-white glow of the interior of the machines. 

The machine then slowly began to lower itself towards the beach, until the legs were tucked up underneath its bulk. One of the men came to the wide door, and was holding something in his hand, bringing it up to his head.

"Zho? Zho Cantib?" came a voice that sounded like no other. It was loud, and coming from the top of the crouched machine. He never heard that accent. It wasn't like the Center Lander's, and it certainly wasn't Seasider. 

"Zho, do not be afraid. Do not hide. You are putting yourself in danger staying here. You will be safe with us. Please come out, we mean you no harm."

His fear overtook him, and he chose not to obey the words, but instead grabbed his things and ran, following the treeline and the bits of the old black rock beneath the dunes, which now widened out until it was twice as wide as he was tall. 

He ran into the darkness, away from the machines, but still towards the glow. He wanted to know what it was, and if necessary, warn the village.

None of his fellow visitors had the curiosity that he possessed. Aside from his father, Zho knew of no one else who cared to know what the glow was. For them, it was what it was, it always was, and would always be. 

Zho wanted to know. 

And felt that he needed to let the others know.

There were men here. 

And they were giants.