Giant Solidarity G/T

Chapter XVIII. Under Siege

Without thinking, I sprinted through the dining room and kitchen, toward the stairs. I had no idea if Evan was alone or not though. There could have been a rapacious pack of GRUDAT Giants pillaging the Human Room upstairs. I saw Harley's mahogany knife block on the kitchen counter as this thought occurred to me. His largest stainless-steel steak knife was the best weapon I saw on short notice, and I retrieved it with a metallic whoosh. Passing the dinette set seconds later, I just barely heard a little squeak call to me. "Vic, down here!"

I stopped so abruptly, I almost skidded across the hardwood floor. I followed the voice down to the cushion of one of the dining room chairs, I saw a familiar little head of black hair, jeans and sweatshirt looking up at me. "Crystal?" I said, still full of adrenaline, confused why Harley deposited her there. "What're you doing down here?"

"Harley set me down here to keep me safe while he ran upstairs to help!" Crystal yelled frantically, gesturing for me to lower my free hand for her to climb aboard. "I heard him yell and scream from upstairs and then a bunch of bumping. Take me up with you, we have to help!"

Equally concerned about bringing Crystal upstairs into the dragon's mouth, I hesitated but submitted. "Okay," I said, plucking her up by the hood with my free hand. Even if Crystal was so tiny, I didn't want to face what was up there entirely alone. I rested her on my shoulder with a "Let's roll."

I bounded up the carpeted stairs, with Crystal hanging onto my collar for dear life. Knife gripped in my fist; I approached the open doors along the hall. Now, I could hear footsteps, deep chortles, and tiny whimpers. I kicked the nearest door all the way open and brandished the kitchen knife in front of me. Evan stood lopsided in the corner of the room, no other Giants in sight. To my horror, the evil repairman's mouth was wide open, and he dangled a tiny human from his raised hand, over his fat, flexing jowls. The tiny in his hand was not Reagan. No less important, it was a brunette woman, one of the shelter refugees. It occurred to me with a sting of terror, maybe Evan had already eaten some others. Perhaps even...

"Let go of the human, asshole!" I shouted, approaching the dirty, obese intruder, holding the knife in both hands.

At my voice, the lummox turned around, fast as his wide girth allowed. Seeing me, he smirked with that evil glint in his eye and held up the weeping woman in his grubby paw. "I was in the mood for some longpig," he taunted, eyeing the blade in my hand. "Ha, at least you came up armed. Your hippie friend just charged in swinging his spindly arms at me. Took him out with a body-slam and locked him in there with the other human-lover." He pointed to closet behind him, wedged shut with a desk chair. Now I saw the knob on the closet was rattling desperately and heard two Giant voices shouting from within. Evan's considerable bulk blocked me from running over and freeing Harley and the volunteer.

Careful not to take my eyes off Evan, or that little woman in distress too long, I glanced to the closet and back. There were two volunteers earlier. "Where's the other...?" I answered my own question, spotting the unconscious form of the male Giant aide laid out on the floor. Evan seemed to have knocked him out with the broken lamp nearby.

"Evan," I said, cautiously, but stepping forward, blade held out threateningly. I sized him up. Although shorter than me, around eighty-four feet, Evan more than made up for it in raw bulk. "Put that human woman down, before I slice a couple tons off that giant beer-gut?!"

"I don't think you will," sassed Evan, in singsong. "Because you can't come at me with that knife, without risking collateral damage." With his hand not holding the struggling brunette, he unbuttoned his shirt pocket. My blood turned to ice as he lifted Alma out of his pocket with his free hand. Alma was limp in his palm, probably fainted. But I saw her chest rising and falling. This bastard actually put his hands on her!