Curse words, fear, Zack’s dramatic ass, religious character, ¿politics (lol)?, giantophobia, mention of abuse, middle-aged women roast, giant x human, giants hurting humans, poor mental health, vomit, sickness, fainting, step-family
It’s a rewrite of my old story, but there wasn’t much to change… so hope you enjoy?
I’m sorry for using that kind of language, but I really was.
You see, my life was destroyed by these damn giants.
Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself properly. I’m Zack.
The key to the story is me and my mom being a team. We always were the duo. Especially after my dad passed away. I was six back then.
And since than moment, we were like Iron Man and Spider-Man. Us two against the whole wide world.
And that epic duo was forced to live in a messed-up society.
Something worth noting is the fact that we live in a world containing both normal people and giants.
Giants are… humanoid, 60-ish-foot-tall creatures. Needless to say, they’re dangerous as hell.
Of course the government understood that (thank God), which led to the creation of an enormous wall, separating us (decades ago).
After some time though, these damn corrupt politicians sold us basically, creating an ‘equality based’ system or some other bullcrap. Currently, we (rightfully so) have ‘human-only’ zones, cities, heck even counties. There are also ‘mixed’ cities, where both species are ‘welcomed’ (to be freaking eaten, tbh) and ‘giant-only’ zones.
I never understood the last one. It’s not like giants would fear us.
I was always extremely proud of my heritage. I am deeply rooted in the human-only society. Throughout my whole beautiful childhood, I lived peacefully far far away from giants’ reach. And I thanked God every morning for that.
Don’t call me out for that, but I sincerely hated giants. From the bottom of my heart. And yeah, I was terrified. Rightfully so!
But my mom was the complete opposite.
I know middle-aged women are reckless, but being a mom of an overthinker like me, the amount of recklessness that woman had is just ridiculous.
She can’t sense danger. At all. Nada.
Her company required her to travel to ‘mixed-cities’ sometimes, which I genuinely hated but like, cash is cash. I tried talking her outta it, but nothing worked. She freaking enjoyed it.
As I said, reckless. Utterly reckless.
She’d even go as far as to have giant ‘friends’. Like, ma’am that’s an oxymoron. A mouse cannot befriend a cat. Let’s be realistic for a sec.
But the story begins when I was 16. Going on 17, but still 16 I guess. What happened had reshaped my life completely. That’s like, a big deal.
If we’re being honest, I never thought my mom would date. I guess most people don’t question what their parents do in that area. I just always assumed she had found her soulmate (my dad) and she didn’t need a new man. She didn’t date, I didn’t question — a fair deal. I was content with that. Satisfied even.
But it’s always calm before the storm.
That was weird to know, I mean, nobody wants to imagine their mom falling in love and shit. That’s kinda disgusting if you ask me.
Of course, I had plenty of questions. Who wouldn’t?
I needed to know the dude’s age, income, family history, personality. Every damn thing. If he was unfit for my mama, I’d need to protect her (funny thing, that it didn’t work out too well, innit?).
The secret came to the surface sooner than I’d expect.
“Zack, I’ve been dating Andrew for a bit over a year. I was scared of how you might react but now I needed to let you know since… he proposed.”
Holy freaking shit mom. Am I that insignificant in your life that you couldn’t tell me about a boyfriend for A YEAR? I love you, but that was a shitty move, ma.
We were always a team. Learning that she kept secrets from me felt like a betrayal. I thought we always told each other everything. But I guess I was wrong.
Soon enough I learned more about the home-wrecker. His name was Andrew and he was only a bit older than my mom. He was also a professional accountant, which if you ask me, is a classy and boring job. Perfect for an old man.
He also had two sons, close to my age. One was in uni and had a part-time job, the other was a year older than me.
Maybe I did worry about some stuff, but overall, I always wanted siblings. They’re like, built-in buddies. Well, that’s what I thought as an only child. Oh hell, how could I have been so mistaken.
Anyways, I couldn’t understand why my mom kept her boyfriend a secret. I knew something fishy was going on. I have to admit, I nudged her about it too much, but didn’t I deserve some honesty for once?
The other shoe dropped when she told me that she wanted us to move in with them.
The initial thought was that it was understandable, since they had to plan the wedding and stuff.
The second was anger, that I wasn’t included in making that decision.
The third was shock, when I learned they lived in a ‘mixed-city’.
Saying that I opposed that idea would be a grave understatement. I argued my case to the bitter end. I mean, I’ve never been in that kinda city, never even seen a giant and was terrified of them! How could she not understand my point of view? Before her silly relationship, she always did.
I begged her to rethink this. To ask Andrew and his sons to move in with us. But she’d always found an excuse. At first, our place was too small. Then, the older son didn’t wanna change universities. Then Andrew’s job didn’t allow it. Everything but the truth.
And honestly? Each and every of these dumb excuses would’ve been waaaaay better than the truth.
You see, Andrew, my mom’s love interest and husband-to-be was a…
To say I was upset when I found out would be an understatement. I was being lied to. I was dragged into something I didn’t want to take part in. I was unable to believe that the ‘relationship’ was genuine (which angered my mom A LOT). I was drowning in rage.
Basically, I hated that giant even more.
For a bit over two weeks, I refused to speak to my mom. Whenever she entered the room, I’d leave. Whenever she tried explaining her case, I’d put on earphones. I was rude. She deserved that after dragging me into this mess.
But seeing her in so much pain, crying, made it hard for me not to forgive her. I couldn’t stand seeing her so devastated. I forgave her, not because the doubts disappeared, but because she needed me. And honestly, I needed her.
And I thought that I could lead her away from the idea of marrying a giant.
I’ve shown her every ‘accident’ with these beasts involved. I’ve sent her videos of survivors talking about their stories. Heck, I even send her a divorceé talking about the impossibility of such relationships.
She probably didn’t even watch them. Or refused to face the truth.
If it were only for her, I’d feel like I was crazy. But I also had friends with similar opinions on giants.
The guys’ stories only made me more afraid and suspicious of said Andrew and his crew of monsters.
“Y’all remember Josh from middle school? He went to a ‘mixed-city’ and a giant stepped on him! The poor dude died on the spot!”
“Yo, that’s nothing compared to what my cousin Amy went through. She wanted to go to that great college so she moved into a ‘mixed-zone’ and one of her damn giant classmates kidnapped her! The weirdo kept her in a cage and treated her like a pet! She was missing for almost three months! When they found her, she had a missing limb and was severely abused physically, sexually and mentally. She tried to commit so many times after that, the doctors are scared she’ll never leave the mental health hospital! And that bastard barely got any jail time!”
“My dad’s friend Thomas was fucking eaten alive!”
“Jorge was literally abused by a giant so much that he committed!”
Yeah, that gives you an overview of how bad it was. And I’ve heard at least a thousand of these stories. It didn’t take a freaking genius to realize that the danger was severe.
I was terrified of my future step-family. As fuck.
Some people would say that I’m a specist (a person who discriminates based on species (giant or human)) but I wouldn’t agree. I don’t think humans can be specist since we’re in the more vulnerable position and have no power whatsoever over the other side.
Also, it’s not like I hate giants because of their size.
I hate and fear them because of how brutal and cruel they are towards people. I hate them rightfully. Like a mouse hates a cat. I hate knowing how much they can hurt everyone I care about.
Maybe a ‘giantophobe’ would be a more appropriate term for me.
And that day was the worst day of my life. So far. And it’s really freaking hard to beat the day my dad died.
We were sitting at the airport, waiting for the flight that would take us to hell (mixed-city).
Mom was happy and excited. Her nose didn’t even leave her damn phone. She’d been texting Andrew this whole time like a teenager in love. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
“Andrew texted that he and his boys were already on the other side of the barrier! They can’t wait to meet you!”
Right, didn’t I mention that they all knew each other, but me?
“I just can’t wait to show you our new home!”
I sat there quietly. Speaking was pointless.
No matter how many times I’ve told her that I didn’t agree with her choice to date a giant or that I didn’t want to move into a ‘mixed-city’ she’d always dismiss it and tell me that I’d change my mind once I meet my new ‘family’. Like hell I would.
I held my bag close to myself, trying to keep calm. Of course I was incredibly angry and petrified, but showing that wasn’t a part of my plan. Sure, the giants were aware they had all the power over me, but I wouldn’t let them take delight in my fear. I would hide my emotions. At least, for as long as I could.
Just a couple minutes before our flight, a flight from the opposite direction landed. I was curious.
Most of them seemed okay. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Or maybe… were the giants not as bad in all cases?
Then it hit me. The terrified face of a girl around my age. In a wheelchair.
Not that I have anything against people in wheelchairs—I don’t—it’s just… she was sobbing. So obviously she caught everyone’s attention.
“Mom!” The girl yelled, as the other woman tried calming her down (which was futile). “It was just supposed to be a school trip! This scary giant crushed my legs!”
It was completely different to read or hear stories of people I’d never meet, than to see a girl so devastated after it had happened to her. The monsters have hurt her.
Her voice echoed in my head for months after that.
Even my mom’s eyes widened and she lowered her phone. I could see the pity and empathy in her gaze. I prayed to the Lord to open her eyes and get us out of here safely, away from the danger.
“Poor girl…” she sighed. “Must’ve been a horrible accident.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Accident?” I looked at my mom angrily, my voice raised before I even noticed. “A giant crushed her legs.”
“Honey, I’m sure they didn’t mean to. Accidents happen.” She stared at me, as if shocked at my defensiveness. As if she didn’t expect it.
I didn’t expect her to understand. She just couldn’t sense danger. And that could get us both killed.
“Her legs were crushed by a giant, mom!” I stood up, looking down at her with anger and disgust.
How could she be so blind?!
“Zack, calm yourself.” She looked at me as if she saw a freaking flying pig. As if my anger was the most unexpected thing in the world.
As if my poor manners were worse than these damn giants.
I couldn’t believe how stupid this all was. Like a chicken walking into KFC. Did she have a death wish or something?
“Don’t shush me now!” I gritted my teeth, my heart racing in my chest.
“The flight 16-399Bhc** is preparing to take off. We ask all the passengers to board the plane within 10 minutes. Thank you and have a good flight.” The voice rumbled through the speakers.
I looked up, but before I could react, my mom grabbed my arm and pulled me as she ran towards the plane.
“That’s our flight!” She cheered.
Her excitement made me want to puke. How could a pig be so excited for slaughter?
Don’t get me wrong, I love planes. I just hated our destination. My whole body was shaking slightly and I felt a weird tension in my chest. As if something was pressing it from the inside. My head was spinning and I was about to puke every other minute. At the end, I was convinced I could hear my heart pumping blood. I was going mental.
This was definitely my worst flight ever.
After we landed, I needed a good 30 minutes in the bathroom to regain my composure.
“Honey, are you okay?” I heard my mom’s voice “Are you sick?”
“I’m fine mama. I’ll be okay.” I mumbled, even though that was most certainly a lie. I felt like I wouldn’t ‘be fine’ for like the next 8 hours, minimum. Maybe even days.
But to be fair, I was convinced I’d die within minutes, so it wasn’t like that mattered.
Making my mom worried as the last thing I’ve done sounded unfair.
Also, even though the plane landed, the airport was still human-only. So maybe this sickness was God’s gift—a few extra minutes before I’d die.
I was getting ready to come out of the bathroom, when I heard my mom’s voice again:
“Honey, are you sure? I texted Andrew and him and Ethan are worried sick. They said, they could drive us to a hospital.”
And as soon as that, I was sick again.
Oh, right. You might not know who is who. I forgot to explain the whole dynamic. I just thought I wouldn’t live long enough to care.
The ages I tell you will be appropriate to the moment the story began to take place.
Andrew was my mom’s 45-year-old husband-to-be, but I guess I’ve spoken about him already. Ethan is his eldest kid, he was 21 back then. And Ryan, the younger one, was 17.
After what appeared to be a minute for me, and an hour and 17 minutes for my mom, I finally exited the bathroom.
My mom kept rushing me, saying that the boys have waited long enough. I was feeling worse and worse. I failed to keep my emotionless expression.
My heart was threatening to jump out of my throat.
When I saw the enormous wall of bulletproof glass, my heart sank.
On the other side, there was a ton of giants. I thought I was going to faint.
Or simply turn around and bolt.
My mom stopped walking and looked down at her phone. It took her maybe six, maybe seven seconds of reading what I assume was a message from Andrew, until she looked up, in the direction of three male giants.
She grabbed my arm and pointed in their direction.
“That’s Andrew! And Ethan! And Ryan!” She exclaimed with excitement.
Andrew was surprisingly the shortest of the three. He was holding a bouquet of flowers. He had brown hair that was slowly turning grey, a short beard, classy, old-man glasses, a blue sweater and elegant pants. I would’ve considered him a handsome older man, if it wasn’t for the fact that he was a giant.
Ethan was slightly taller than him. He had fluffy brown hair, a few freckles and dimples on his cheeks. He looked very similar to his dad. His smile was unusually welcoming and his clothes looked cozy. Almost not giant-like.
The tallest one was the youngest — Ryan. And holy fuck, he was at least a head taller than his older brother. He had black hair, a piercing and stylish clothes. If he would’ve been human, I’d assume he’d be one of the popular kids in school. I really liked the belt he had. And his rings.
All of them had the same eye color — hazel.
My mom’s grip tightened and she pulled me into the direction of the last thing keeping me out of the their reach — the barrier.
She looked so happy, it was hard to recognise her. She never looked at me like that before.
Soon enough, we were reaching the end of my comfort zone. My fear only grew as the distance became smaller.
It was probably around 20 feet from the exit when Andrew’s eyes rested on us. Noticing that, I immediately felt as if I were stung.
Within a second both of his sons’ eyes fell on my mom and me as well.
As soon as she realised, she stopped running and let go of my arm. She smiled and fixed her dress, trying to look elegant. Very classy, ma.
She waved at them. Andrew and Ethan waved back. I’m convinced she even blushed at the sight of the flowers.
I could either be killed by the giants or die out of cringe at that point.
Ryan stood there, looking mildly annoyed. That expression was terrifying as fuck.
In that moment, I could feel my blood boiling in my veins. I thought I might explode. My heart ached. And so did my head. And everything else.
I couldn’t catch my breath.
If you’re not socially awkward, I can totally assure you three giants staring down at you with their enormous eyes, scanning you as if you were a damn insect, would definitely change your mind.
And if you’re socially awkward like me? Well, you’d feel like you were dying.
Definitely fucking worse.
My mom rushed me again, glancing back, as she was by the door. I walked behind her, but I was significantly slower. I didn’t match her excitement.
Partly, I just didn’t want to be within the giants’ reach so I clung to the last part of freedom I had. Mostly though, I was just feeling terrible.
To be honest, I’m not sure what made me feel this bad.
Maybe it was all the emotion overwhelming my body. All that anger, fear and other bullcrap.
Maybe it was my mental health killing me and saying ‘if you wanna die, there are less cruel ways to go’.
Maybe it was my primal survival instinct yelling at me from the inside that danger was close.
Maybe it was that horrible flight.
Or maybe I was just sick.
What I do know, is that with each step I took, I felt more powerless. As if my body was too weak to support my bodyweight.
When my mom turned around, I was about 7 feet behind her. Still surrounded by these enormous gazes. Two sets of those eyes had smiles beneath them. That made me sick. Ryan however, the only one not smiling, made me feel even worse somehow.
I totally expected my mom to yell at me to hurry up, based on how excited she was just a moment ago. But that wasn’t the case.
Her eyes widened and she paled.
“Are you okay honey? You don’t look too good.”
I wanted to answer her, but the sound came out as a soft yelp. I thought I was going to puke again.
Faces of the giants became more serious and worried.
I didn’t like that expression either, to be honest.
I looked back at mom as she reached to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. For comfort, I suppose.
“Are you scared Zack?” She asked in a soft, quiet voice. “Because if you are, I can promise you that they’d never ever hurt us.”
Her expression didn’t show anger or indifference. She appeared to be more understanding than ever before about this topic. Almost as if we were a team again.
She spoke with such confidence, I probably could’ve believed her.
Well, maybe I even would, if I had the chance to.
Just a second after she spoke, my vision went black and my body felt incredibly weak.
The last thing I remember before fainting was these scary gazes and my mom yelling:
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