Alas, no updates came on Ramses’ whereabouts, so I was forced to board a CIA-chartered plane and depart for a village near Mt. Logan in western Canada. Yes, there were multiple legitimate missing persons cases, but almost a week of my colleagues sending satirical emails with pictures of Sasquatch made me feel even less enthused about my random assignment. Then, when we flew over Kluane National Park & Reserve in Yukon, I was even more underwhelmed at the sight of nothing but endless snow and rocks. The only thing about this trip that had been worthwhile up to that point was being able to get to know an agent working on the mission support staff named Shefali. She’s really something else. In any case, I could not focus on her too much. I needed to stay locked in on the mission.

Over the next day or so, I investigated the missing persons cases with the CIA agents, gathering intel from the locals about the people who vanished, as well as the creature said to be terrorizing the area. Everyone reported that a giant woman lived in the mountains, and they told us she would eat anyone who came too close to her abode. I immediately thought to myself that perhaps my colleagues were pulling some sort of weird and elaborate prank on me. But the locals insisted that several groups of hikers and mountain climbers had indeed gone missing.

It quickly became apparent the only way to get to the bottom of everything was to prove to the locals there existed no such giant. So, I set off into the Mt. Logan ranges and began searching for evidence that the people either were injured during their climbs or perished from some other means. I flew over miles and miles of mountain peaks and trails. The cold was incredible. I constantly had to increase my metabolism to elevate my internal temperatures. Nevertheless, I was still freezing. For days, I labored in the mountains as I could not cover all the ground I needed to by flying alone. I must admit, however, the caverns and landscape of Mt. Logan are quite breathtaking. The scenery is beautiful. But the mountain ranges were not the most interesting thing I found while surveying the area. To my great surprise, a discovery made me realize I indeed was wrong, and the locals were right. Well, right about one thing. A giant did live in the mountains, and I had found her!

I couldn’t believe my eyes. An enormous woman was living amidst the Mt. Logan rock formations. It appeared she made her home in a deep, wide valley by carving an enormous den below the base of the mountains. This allowed to rest comfortably while also affording her the ability to lay low and hide beneath the mountaintops. I didn’t hesitate, and immediately flew in to confront her. I landed before the den, which caught the giant by surprise. She looked shocked as if she were caught doing something she should not have been. In order to not alarm her, I remained at ease. A giant did exist, contrary to my initial beliefs, and she could very well have been dangerous. That is when the woman exited her den and stood to full height, a movement which seemed like it would never end. She was absolutely enormous!

I planned on flying up to her eye level to converse with her, but before I did, I noticed something. There were a couple of lifeless bodies inside of her den. The corpses looked just like two of the missing people I was searching for. I felt compelled to take action, though I knew such a move could certainly spell my demise. However, if this giant was responsible for taking the lives of these people, I had no choice but to take her down!

I took off and immediately went for the giant’s midsection by launching my fists into her stomach at high speed. The woman let out a massive groan and began to tumble backwards. However, my attacks seemed to have little effect. As she gathered herself, I saw a look of surprise and agitation on her face. Instead of idly floating in front of her awaiting to be struck, I took off and shot myself into her knees next. The giant groaned again and tumble down to the ground, causing a massive avalanche covering her in snow. It didn’t take long for her to make it back to her feet, as she easily brushed off the snow. I took the opportunity, however, to better my chances: I broke chunks of rock off the mountain peaks and launched them at the giant’s head. The first couple hit her, making the giant shake her head from side-to-side before swatting away the next few boulders I threw. It seemed I had my opening, so I took a deep breath and made a bee-line straight for the bridge of her nose. But before I could make contact, the giant suddenly yelled out to stop!

I was surprised by the gentleness in her voice, despite the exclamation of her request. I stopped dead in my tracks and hovered before her. I looked in her eyes, and I did not sense any malice in her at all. She did not appear to have a wicked bone in her massive body. The giant was a good woman, and I was attacking her unjustly.

Slowly, I flew up close to her face and asked her why there were dead people in the den. She explained to me that she came across the climbers a few nights ago. Both had broken their legs and sustained massive internal injuries from a climbing accident in which their ropes broke, causing them to fall quite a way down. The giant continued to tell me that she took them in to keep them warm and provide them with food. She would bring them back fish from the nearby creeks and large birds to cook. However, their internal injuries were too great to overcome.

After inquiring her name, the giant told me she is called Tectonica, due to her ability to move the earth as she pleases. She quickly demonstrated the ability by placing her hands on a nearby range and shifting the mountains a bit. It was an incredible display of power. Next, she told me a little about her history – how she was born a normal baby but continued to grow exponentially until she reached her current size of nearly 35 stories. She said she knows the people living nearby have always feared her, but she only wants to help protect them and their home. She explained that has never harmed any hikers or climbers and the reports of the disappearances concern her deeply as well.

We spoke for several hours and I discovered that Tectonica is a phenomenal creature. I greatly enjoyed getting to know her that night. I built a fire and she caught a few birds for us to cook. Our dinner, however, was cut short, when suddenly a mysterious individual appeared out of thin air! Before we could react, we were suddenly teleported to an unknown location…

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