Giant Solidarity G/T

Chapter XVII. Invader

As the elevator rang through its decent, Crystal moved across the newspaper, toward Harley's helpful fingers. He undid the paperclip and rubber-bands, which hogtied the tiny girl. First thing out of Crystal's free, aching mouth was "Lying bitch! She had that janitor throw the cage key down the garbage shoot and laughed at me! She threatened to throw me down to the incinerator too!"

"Hades' Bells," I muttered, leading the way through the Hitherto lobby. Without a guide, Harley would have fallen and risked himself and Crystal, distracted trying to free her.

"It was horrible, Harley," I heard Crystal squeak behind me. There a deep grogginess to her voice I hadn't heard before. Was she crying? I heard her weep weakly as she said "That secretary or whoever she was, she grabbed me from your bag with balled up tissue! Like I was a spider. Then she took me to your boss's office... That woman she... threatened to put me through the paper-shredder, and-,"

We ignored the security guard on the way out the front door, as Harley urged his imprisoned damsel to relax and talk later. "Hold on cutie, we'll get you out," said Harley told her repeatedly on the walk through the parking lot.

Opening Harley's trunk, we found some bolt-cutters and split the side of the cage open. Gasping at her freedom, Crystal collapsed into Harley's palm. I promptly crossed the lot and discarded the mangled cage in the green dumpster. High-pitched sobbing from the tiny woman Harley held to his chest had me think it was Alma for a second. I had never witnessed Crystal cry. Petra and that damnable cage really broke her. My heart sank and twisted as Harley sat on his bumper, wept and held her to his chest. Crystal's grip tightened on his shirt so much, the shapes of his nipples protruded.

"Bitch, fuckin bitch, Petra!" were the only words I could manage, looking back toward my workplace. Boyfriend of a feminist, normally I refrained from such labels, but I was at a loss for better words. "Hey Har, give me your keys man. I'll drive home. Crystal needs all of you right now."

I started the engine and Harley cuddled his freed girlfriend in the passenger seat. "You're with us now, Crystal," muttered Harley encouragingly, wiping his own tears.

Again, Crystal blurted out a horrid recanting "Called me a wingless bat... She pinched my leg really hard and said she was gonna break it!" More of her characteristic anger was returning. Sobs receded. "There are two giant finger bruises there already! Can't you guys call the Giant cops on her ass or whatever? Cruelty to humans is a thing in this district, right?"

Both Harley and I hesitated. I explained best I could while driving. "Uh, it's tricky Crystal. Although human pethood is outlawed in our district. Technically there's no law against keeping humans in cages."

"What?!" she yelled, the old spitfire returning to her little voice. "How does that make sense?"

"Bureaucratic loophole," said Harley, shaking his head. "There are a lot of wild and feral humans in our district. Giant politicians didn't want to ban caging because it would complicate feral removal."

"Don't worry, we'll do something about that witch, Crystal," I assured her, pushing the speed limit. "Right now, we'll get you home. Reagan or one of the shelter volunteers will check you out. Make sure nothing's broken or anything. Gaia, her long curved fingernails... She must've handled you so rough, Spitfire." I kept just enough empathy in my voice.

"Wish that bitch ate me so I could dig and scratch my way out of her stomach!" screamed Crystal. I was infinitely happy to hear her gusto rematerialize. "Nice slow, bloody death."

Harley rubbed Crystal back, lovingly, while the latter rested her head against his seatbelt buckle. When we were still about fifteen minutes from his house, a tone, unfamiliar to me came from Harley's phone. "It's my security camera app," he explained, checking his phone with the hand not comforting Crystal. "What the... somebody just rotated the camera on the lamppost by my back walkway."

"Rotated?" I repeated, trying to focus on traffic.

"Yeah," said Harley, swiping his phone's screen. "As in somebody standing out of vision turned the camera so it wasn't facing the walkway anymore."

"Couldn't the wind blow it?" asked Crystal, strolling across Harley's lap to join looking at his phone screen.

"Not ninety degrees," said Harley. "It's too mounted, that was purposeful. Hold on." He pressed the mic button on the app and spoke through the camera at full volume. "No solicitors! Whoever's there, get off my property!"

In the background, we simply heard a grunting snicker of laughter in response. Crystal and Harley swapped glances. "Son-of-a-bitch," I uttered, pressing the accelerator. "I don't like this." I just said what the three of us were all thinking.

"Whose car is that, across the street?" asked Harley, as we passed the Human Shelter by his house. As I zoomed by, I saw there was indeed a truck parked along a tree indent.

I didn't want to believe it. But a look in the rearview mirror verified, with the truck's green GRUDAT bumper-sticker. "Shit, that's Evan's truck." I spat. "Bastard probably scouted the place and snuck up through your backyard. GRUDAT probably knows your family are Human allies."

Although we knew the GRUDAT attack on the shelter was planned, Troy had told me Tuesday night. Now I feared I took him too literally as I accelerated up the incline of Harley's driveway. At least we'd liberated the targeted humans. But if Evan figured out where they were it was all for nothing. Evan brought even more trouble by himself, as I recalled, halting the brakes. "Oh Gaia, Alma!" I yelled, throwing the door open. "Harley let's walk around the property, see if there's any open doors or windows."

"Usually I'm good about locking the place," said Harley, apprehension still in voice as he placed Crystal in his shirt pocket, somewhat out of harm's way. "Go around the left, I'll go right. Meet at the backdoor."

As I ran through his side yard, checking every window I passed, I called the Human Hotline on my phone. "Hello?" said a perky, yet tired sounding voice, which answered.

"This... doesn't sound like Alma," I said, slowing to a trot. Blood rushing through my ears, it's a wonder I heard anything.

"Babe, it's Rey!" announced my girlfriend, causing my stomach to summersault. After the fiasco with Crystal at Hitherto, I'd forgotten Rey hadn't grown back yet. "It's crazy, twenty-six hours I'm still tiny. Maybe I've grown an inch, but I don't think the chip has-,"

"Reagan, listen to me!" I yelled, turning pale and stopping in my tracks. "You and the humans could be in danger right now. Harley and I are right outside though."

"Vic!" I heard Harley shout from the other side of the house. "Side door, by the hedge is open! Someone busted the windowpane. I'm going in."

Unsure to reply, or warn Rey, I simply ran around toward Harley's voice. In my ear, Reagan was asking numerous questions, which my adrenaline had disallowed me to process. Suddenly, over the phone, I heard a door thump open. At least one giant volunteer yelled audibly and I heard a handful of tiny shrieks. "Who the Hades is-?" After Rey's frantic half-question, I just heard a clatter as the phone was dropped.

"Stay the fuck away from her!" I shouted, knowing I wasn't heard. I found the open side door Harley yelled about and barged in. I heard a scuffle above my head and my heart choked me.