Curse words, fear, Zackās dramatic ass, religious character, Āæpolitics (lol)?, giantophobia, mention of abuse, middle-aged women roast, giant x human, giants hurting humans, poor mental health, vomit, sickness, fainting, step-family
Itās a rewrite of my old story, but there wasnāt much to changeā¦ so hope you enjoy?
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Iām sorry for using that kind of language, but I really was.
You see, my life was destroyed by these damn giants.
Sorry, I didnāt introduce myself properly. Iām 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 areā¦ humanoid, 60-ish-foot-tall creatures. Needless to say, theyāre 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 āequality basedā system or some other bullcrap. Currently, we (rightfully so) have āhuman-onlyā zones, cities, heck even counties. There are also āmixedā cities, where both species are āwelcomedā (to be freaking eaten, tbh) and āgiant-onlyā zones.
I never understood the last one. Itās 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 giantsā reach. And I thanked God every morning for that.
Donāt 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 canāt sense danger. At all. Nada.
Her company required her to travel to āmixed-citiesā 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.
Sheād even go as far as to have giant āfriendsā. Like, maāam thatās an oxymoron. A mouse cannot befriend a cat. Letās 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. Thatās like, a big deal.
If weāre being honest, I never thought my mom would date. I guess most people donāt question what their parents do in that area. I just always assumed she had found her soulmate (my dad) and she didnāt need a new man. She didnāt date, I didnāt question ā a fair deal. I was content with that. Satisfied even.
But itās always calm before the storm.
That was weird to know, I mean, nobody wants to imagine their mom falling in love and shit. Thatās kinda disgusting if you ask me.
Of course, I had plenty of questions. Who wouldnāt?
I needed to know the dudeās age, income, family history, personality. Every damn thing. If he was unfit for my mama, Iād need to protect her (funny thing, that it didnāt work out too well, innit?).
The secret came to the surface sooner than Iād expect.
āZack, Iāve 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 sinceā¦ he proposed.ā
Holy freaking shit mom. Am I that insignificant in your life that you couldnāt 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. Theyāre like, built-in buddies. Well, thatās what I thought as an only child. Oh hell, how could I have been so mistaken.
Anyways, I couldnāt 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 didnāt 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 wasnāt included in making that decision.
The third was shock, when I learned they lived in a āmixed-cityā.
Saying that I opposed that idea would be a grave understatement. I argued my case to the bitter end. I mean, Iāve 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 sheād always found an excuse. At first, our place was too small. Then, the older son didnāt wanna change universities. Then Andrewās job didnāt allow it. Everything but the truth.
And honestly? Each and every of these dumb excuses wouldāve been waaaaay better than the truth.
You see, Andrew, my momās love interest and husband-to-be was aā¦
To say I was upset when I found out would be an understatement. I was being lied to. I was dragged into something I didnāt want to take part in. I was unable to believe that the ārelationshipā 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, Iād leave. Whenever she tried explaining her case, Iād 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 couldnāt 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.
Iāve shown her every āaccidentā with these beasts involved. Iāve sent her videos of survivors talking about their stories. Heck, I even send her a divorceĆ© talking about the impossibility of such relationships.
She probably didnāt even watch them. Or refused to face the truth.
If it were only for her, Iād feel like I was crazy. But I also had friends with similar opinions on giants.
The guysā stories only made me more afraid and suspicious of said Andrew and his crew of monsters.
āYāall remember Josh from middle school? He went to a āmixed-cityā and a giant stepped on him! The poor dude died on the spot!ā
āYo, thatās nothing compared to what my cousin Amy went through. She wanted to go to that great college so she moved into a āmixed-zoneā 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 sheāll never leave the mental health hospital! And that bastard barely got any jail time!ā
āMy dadās friend Thomas was fucking eaten alive!ā
āJorge was literally abused by a giant so much that he committed!ā
Yeah, that gives you an overview of how bad it was. And Iāve heard at least a thousand of these stories. It didnāt 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 Iām a specist (a person who discriminates based on species (giant or human)) but I wouldnāt agree. I donāt think humans can be specist since weāre in the more vulnerable position and have no power whatsoever over the other side.
Also, itās 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 āgiantophobeā would be a more appropriate term for me.
And that day was the worst day of my life. So far. And itās 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 didnāt even leave her damn phone. Sheād been texting Andrew this whole time like a teenager in love. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
āAndrew texted that he and his boys were already on the other side of the barrier! They canāt wait to meet you!ā
Right, didnāt I mention that they all knew each other, but me?
āI just canāt wait to show you our new home!ā
I sat there quietly. Speaking was pointless.
No matter how many times Iāve told her that I didnāt agree with her choice to date a giant or that I didnāt want to move into a āmixed-cityā sheād always dismiss it and tell me that Iād change my mind once I meet my new āfamilyā. 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 wasnāt a part of my plan. Sure, the giants were aware they had all the power over me, but I wouldnāt 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 maybeā¦ 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 wheelchairsāI donātāitās justā¦ she was sobbing. So obviously she caught everyoneās attention.
āMom!ā The girl yelled, as the other woman tried calming her down (which was futile). āIt was just supposed to be a school trip! This scary giant crushed my legs!ā
It was completely different to read or hear stories of people Iād 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 momās 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.
āPoor girlā¦ā she sighed. āMustāve been a horrible accident.ā
I couldnāt believe what I was hearing.
āAccident?ā I looked at my mom angrily, my voice raised before I even noticed. āA giant crushed her legs.ā
āHoney, Iām sure they didnāt mean to. Accidents happen.ā She stared at me, as if shocked at my defensiveness. As if she didnāt expect it.
I didnāt expect her to understand. She just couldnāt sense danger. And that could get us both killed.
āHer legs were crushed by a giant, mom!ā I stood up, looking down at her with anger and disgust.
How could she be so blind?!
āZack, calm yourself.ā 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 couldnāt believe how stupid this all was. Like a chicken walking into KFC. Did she have a death wish or something?
āDonāt shush me now!ā I gritted my teeth, my heart racing in my chest.
āThe 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.ā 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.
āThatās our flight!ā She cheered.
Her excitement made me want to puke. How could a pig be so excited for slaughter?
Donāt 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.
āHoney, are you okay?ā I heard my momās voice āAre you sick?ā
āIām fine mama. Iāll be okay.ā I mumbled, even though that was most certainly a lie. I felt like I wouldnāt ābe fineā for like the next 8 hours, minimum. Maybe even days.
But to be fair, I was convinced Iād die within minutes, so it wasnāt like that mattered.
Making my mom worried as the last thing Iāve done sounded unfair.
Also, even though the plane landed, the airport was still human-only. So maybe this sickness was Godās giftāa few extra minutes before Iād die.
I was getting ready to come out of the bathroom, when I heard my momās voice again:
āHoney, are you sure? I texted Andrew and him and Ethan are worried sick. They said, they could drive us to a hospital.ā
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 wouldnāt 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 momās 45-year-old husband-to-be, but I guess Iāve 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.
āThatās Andrew! And Ethan! And Ryan!ā 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 wouldāve considered him a handsome older man, if it wasnāt 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 ā 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 wouldāve been human, Iād assume heād 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 ā hazel.
My momās grip tightened and she pulled me into the direction of the last thing keeping me out of the their reach ā 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 Andrewās eyes rested on us. Noticing that, I immediately felt as if I were stung.
Within a second both of his sonsā 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. Iām 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 couldnāt catch my breath.
If youāre 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 youāre socially awkward like me? Well, youād 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 didnāt match her excitement.
Partly, I just didnāt want to be within the giantsā reach so I clung to the last part of freedom I had. Mostly though, I was just feeling terrible.
To be honest, Iām 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 āif you wanna die, there are less cruel ways to goā.
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.
I genuinely didnāt know.
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 wasnāt the case.
Her eyes widened and she paled.
āAre you okay honey? You donāt look too good.ā
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 didnāt 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.
āAre you scared Zack?ā She asked in a soft, quiet voice. āBecause if you are, I can promise you that theyād never ever hurt us.ā
Her expression didnāt 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 couldāve 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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