Through the Portal

1: Broken

"Finished!" Charity exclaims, turning off her blowtorch and removing her face mask. "It's finally done!" She exhales, collapsing into her chair. She just put the finishing touches on the device that could decide her future, her career. This beautiful arc that stands proud before her, gleaming in the evening light streaming through the warehouse windows, could very well be the one thing that sets her apart from the rest of the candidates applying for the position at OffbeatTech. Working for OT had been a dream of Charity's since she was little, and she didn't plan on losing her dream job because she couldn't pull through on a project. That's why she's poured all of her efforts into this project for near six months.

Standing and taking a step back, she admires her work. "Well done, Cherry, well done." She says to herself, giving herself a figurative pat on the back. "Now, to turn it on!" She bursts giddily, snatching her clipboard and goggles from her desk. Running over the the other side of the metal masterpiece, she unlocks the control panel, rapidly typing code. after she locks the panel, she places the goggles over her eyes and presses a large gold button labeled "power". Charity takes a few steps away from her pride and joy to witness it in its glory. "Wow..." She utters, taking in its sleek frame buzzing to life.

An opaque fog fills the center of the arc, spreading its volume to fill the entirety space. "Fascinating..." Charity observes, scribbling the reaction down. Charity knew that this reaction would occur, but it still make her gawk every time she saw it. But then, something out of the ordinary happened. The arc's fog became thicker, darker. "This is new..." Charity commentated, quickly noting the change. From the fog, she began to hear noises that sounded like horses running, people yelling, and, the loudest sound, heavy, uneven, quickening thumps. "What? What's going on? Maybe I should just power it down," Charity mumbles, confused. She makes her way over to the control panel, about to shut off the Arc.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Charity is becoming scared of the noise, but also intrigued. Taking her hand away from the power button, she jots down just a few last observations before powering the machine off. But before she can even touch her pencil to the paper, a gigantic mass comes hurdling through the portal, into the warehouse wall. Alarmed, charity yelps in fright, falling back behind her device. What is that!? How did it get in here? From my machine!? As Charity's mind fills with questions, the large mass erects itself, tumbling over to the arc. Before Charity know what's happening, a large for e brings itself down onto the arc, promptly crushing it, along with Charity's dreams. But as soon as Charity realizes this, she lays her eyes on the biggest person she's ever seen.

"G-g-g-g-GIANT!" Charity yelps, fruitlessly trying to avoid the gaze of the massive being. She soon collects herself, scrambling over behind some lab equipment. She steals another glance at the titan: he is sitting on his feet, kneeling over the remains of her precious project, the steel beam crumbled in his enormous hands. Her eyes wander to his torso, which is only just barely covered by a thin piece of ragged brown cloth, draping over his shoulders to his mid thigh. She wonders why he looks to be in such poor condition. But she dismisses the thought, and decides to focus on hiding again. Securing herself behind her desk once more, she glances up at the giant's face. Her curious mood sinks, letting a newfound fear arise within her. The eyes of the beast had fallen upon Charity. And, by the look of it, has been there quite some time.

Oh, no. He spotted me. I'm done for. Wait, maybe I can talk to him. Learn about him. See what he's like, Charity debates. She finally decided to stand and approach the beast. But as soon as she starts the stir, the titan does too. Fear finally arouses within her, so she begins to yell out, "Please, don't hurt me!"

But her words are stolen from her by the young giant, cowering away from her.