“Other than the rumor that they say his name is Vozchik Stolb; no, nothing.”
“It’s a Russian name, right?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure what it means.”
“So you think we’re really going to look for all the chess pieces?”
“Not all or it will take us forever.” The Pillar tries to make out what the monks’ shouts mean. “I believe we’re collecting the major pieces. Queen, King, Rook, Bishop, Pawn and Knight. One of each.”
There is a thud somewhere nearby, and the monks’ voices pitch higher.
“What are they saying?” I ask The Pillar.
“Giant,” The Pillar says. “The giant is coming.”
And that’s when a door in the snowy mountain’s side slides open and a huge man appears.
Chapter 38
The giant man has thick hairy skin like an ape. He is about seven or eight feet tall. His eyebrows are as thick as the bushy hair on his chest. He only wears shorts and the diameter of his leg is the breadth of me and The Pillar combined. His hand is huge.
“Sorry we woke you up,” The Pillar said.
“You know him?” I clamp my back against the wall.
“No, and I don’t want to.”
It’s clear to me that the giant has his eyes on The Pillar. Each thud in the snow shakes the place all around us. Snowflakes sprinkle off the earth and into the air.
“So the monks had a plan B.” I say.
“Plan death, I’d say.” The Pillar apparently has no means to fight with the speechless giant. “I’d start climbing up if I were you, Alice.”
“And leave you here?”
“Climb up or die. One of us has to distract him. Go.”
It’s not like there is an easy way to climb up, but I get The Pillar’s concern. I don’t even have a chance to use my None Fu with the giant.
Then something out of this world happens.
“Hit me.” The Pillar says to giant.
“Are you crazy?” I say.
“Hit me, you big ugly cannon ball!”
The giant accepts the invitation and lashes the back of his arm into The Pillar, who flies midair and then thuds against the snow wall to the left.
“Stop it, Pillar. Don’t encourage him. I’m sure you can trick him with your smooth tongue.”
The Pillar doesn’t listen to me. “Is that all you’ve got?” He sneers at the big man.
Another lash, to the right this time. The way The Pillar slides down from the wall after this is almost like a cartoon.
Blood spatters on the snow and The Pillar pulls himself up, stretches his neck and says, “Try a better one.
I can’t believe my eyes as the giant punches The Pillar for the third time. This time he almost buries him an inch deeper into the snow.
The Pillar spits out the blood and grins. “Not so hard, you stupid,” he tells the giant. “You don’t want to kill me. You want to have fun with me.”
The silent giant grimaces, not sure why he shouldn’t want to kill The Pillar.
“Because let’s face it. You’re a giant schmuck living alone in this hole in the ground. You’re lonely and have no one to talk to. Your IQ is probably – 45 like the cold weather we’re in, so why kill me right away when you can have a good time doing it slower?”
The giant grins, liking the idea and begins a series of small hits at The Pillar.
I try to talk him out of it, but he insists I climb up. And right there, when I don’t know how to do it, a rope dangles down for me, and I cling to it.
“Typical of Hollywood movies,” I mumble. “To have deus ex machina save you in the last minute.
The Pillar is still being hit, for the seventh time I believe, and someone is pulling the rope up. I hope it’s not the monks, because why would they want to help me?
I feel guiltier as I am being lifted up, leaving The Pillar behind. Am I really going to let him die?
Then a terrible thought suddenly hits me. “Pillar!” I scream while being lifted up. “Who is it who is going to kill you in the future?”
The Pillar cranes his neck for a brief moment. Amidst all the punching he is suffering, his eyes speak the truth to me. I get it now. I understand why he visited the hospice, instead of facing his killer. “Don’t tell me it’s me who’s going to kill you.”
The Pillar smiles, and slightly nods, as if he doesn’t want to tell me but has to. “And now I know how.”
Above me, the monks’ voices are absent, and the thin beam of sunlight seems like a dagger of light killing me. I decide to let go of the rope and jump down and help The Pillar. “If you think I’d kill you by leaving you to die by the hands of the giant, you’re mistaken,” I spit snow from my mouth. “The future can be changed. I am never going to kill you.”
But right there when I’m about to jump back, a firm hand pulls me up. I resist, craning my head up. “Let go of me.” I crow.
But then I realize I can’t fight this grip, because it’s the kind of hand that’s too strong for me. It’s the Dude’s.
Chapter 39