The Half-Blood Giant

Chapter 9: A Spark of Hope

Hunter was forever changed by his nightmarish experience. He became more reserved than ever, hiding in his room most of the time. Chester and Jackie almost preferred the rebellious, fiery side of him to the sad state he had been reduced to. He was fading away. His parents found his facial expressions unreadable. Hunter was depressed, angry, and bitter beyond belief. He had nothing to live for or look forward to. He couldn't do anything with his life; he was a prisoner in his own home.

The stump on his hand was a constant reminder to him of what he really was, and the dangers he faced with his human lineage. He felt as if he had been cursed and mutilated, forced into a life of solitude. As if his troubles weren't terrible enough, his giant lineage had its own tortures to inflict. He began to understand why his father ate his mother. While he was repulsed by the thought of eating his own mother, he started to get strong cravings for human meat, like other giants. He fantasized about finding small humans and gobbling them up. He even dreamed about eating humans while he slept. He never mentioned these urges to his parents, and he had nobody else to confide in. As had become his habit, he kept his darker personal thoughts to himself.

Hunter grew larger, to where he was almost the same height as his father. The house, his prison, felt smaller than ever. Hunter distracted himself by studying, writing like his father, and working out. He had a naturally strong body, and he focused on toning and developing his muscles. This activity at least gave him a goal to work toward and relieved his stress. He had always been athletic, growing up in an oversized world, climbing and running and jumping on things. His world was a lot smaller now, but he persisted in old habits nonetheless.

Jackie continued to homeschool Hunter. He was an intelligent child and threw himself into his studies since he had little else to occupy his mind. He wasn't obedient to his mother like he was to his father, but after the incident where he nearly got her killed, he was more careful around her. He treated her with pity, like an inferior creature that he was gracious enough to pay attention to. Since he was fully giant in size now, her perspective was far removed from his.

"We can't continue on like this," Jackie mentioned to Chester despondently one night in their bedroom, out of earshot of their son. Chester was lying on his side, with Jackie propped up against the pillow next to his face. "He has no future here. He's miserable. I don't know what to do."

"I've been thinking about that. I might have an idea," her husband responded, scratching his head. "Why don't we send him to boarding school?"

"You know we can't-"

"Not in the Land of Giants," Chester interrupted. "Why not transport him to the alternate realm, where I have my support group? With both humans and giants?"

Jackie's eyes widened. "Is it... safe for him? Don't the giants eat people there? Your support group..."

"I understand your concerns," Chester vocalized. "But after observing for long enough, I don't think that behavior is typical. Besides, the giants who live there don't have sensitive noses. With how big he's grown, I doubt they'll even be able to tell he's part human."

Jackie thought for a moment. "We'll only have limited contact with him. And he can't make portals. He'll be trapped if there's some sort of emergency."

Chester shrugged. "You can check on him periodically. There's some risk involved, but it's small. He'd be safer there than here."

"It's a good idea, actually," Jackie remarked. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. "But where will he go? He'll be all alone, left to fend for himself, in a foreign land..."

"There's a man named Milton who attends the same support group as me. He's the principal of an integration school, that houses both humans and giants. I'm on good terms with him. He's a very kind person too. I'm sure he can help us."