And There Were Giants

Although fraught with several unexplained accidents, the heavy machines gradually slid the massive monolith from the cavern into the fading light. A little past noon, towering clouds were building above the arid Judean hills. It was very unusual to see a storm bank of this size in such a dry desert climate. However, the darkness was pervasive, eclipsing the sun behind monstrous black thunderheads. As the sudden squall hit Atara's camp, the dining tent was instantly ripped from its moorings. Sharp panels of metal from the demolished trailers began slicing through gray sheets of blinding rain. Brilliant flashes of frayed lightning tore the air. The only place of refuge left for the scientific team was the dismal cavity of Dudael. Scrambling madly for the entrance, scientists, diggers, dirt carriers, cooks, drivers and everyone else... cautiously cringed into the dim foreboding hole that was once the Cave of the Winds. The lamps weakly flickered as the generators outside the cave begrudgingly coughed and died... leaving a heavy dark silence! Intending to find shelter within the deep passage, the team members were immediately lost to the despairing blackness of the cavern's gloom. Where the monolith had been, now the whispering chirping singsong of the Ravenrobes filled the quiet recesses of the tomb. Even without seeing their attackers, the helpless victims realized too late... they were not alone! The rasp of feathered wings joined the rustling murmur of tattered ebony shrouds. Relentlessly writhing from the abyss, a loathsome hoard crept along the floor toward the doomed prey. The Watchers were very close now!