The Half-Blood Giant

Chapter 21: A Deep, Dark Pit

Monday was not only Hunter's first day of school, but Pedro's first day of work. After his apartment building was demolished by the giant attack, he had to stay at his sister's apartment until he could find a new place to live. She was horrified when she found out Pedro was still planning to work at the giant boarding school. However, despite her best efforts to dissuade him, Pedro remained firm in his resolve.

Although he wouldn't admit his inner feelings to his sister, he was apprehensive. Watching the rampaging giant devour handfuls of humans like popcorn and crush multitudes more had been truly horrific, and aligned with the stories of giants Pedro had been told as a child. When the giant slammed into the building and the walls crumbled around Pedro, sealing him inside, he thought he was done for. Nobody would blame Pedro for being scared of giants after what happened, or backing out of his job offer from the other side of the wall.

Yet, Pedro had a vivid reminder that motivated him to charge ahead, even if he was being reckless. When he was buried under two heavy chunks of concrete, pinned and unable to move, the man of his dreams had materialized like magic to rescue him. Ray. His ray of sunshine in a bleak world. He let in the sunlight and raised him up into the bright heavens above to salvation. Thinking about the handsome giant made his heart palpitate wildly. Pedro hadn't been smitten in a long, long time, but now he could hardly think of anything else. He couldn't let go of this fantasy, as impossible and unrealistic as it was. He had to go.

He suited up for work and traveled to the gigantic wall, into its foreboding shadow. Pedro was worried that he didn't have his phone with him this time, since it had been smashed when he was buried under rubble, but he assured himself that he'd be fine. He'd find a way to cross the street safely—perhaps ask for help when he got there. Pedro was a bold guy; he could do it. With a deep breath, he entered the mini door on the side of the wall, traversed the stony passage to the other side, and stepped into the giant world.

He had been here only a few days ago, of course, but he couldn't help but gape in amazement as he walked, craning his head back to drink in all the surreal sights of the world dwarfing him. He left very early, since he knew he had a long way to walk, so the sky was still the soft dark velvet of pre-dawn, punctuated by a few drops of honey gold from the rising sun. Not very many cars or giants were out this early, so Pedro was mostly alone as he soaked in the cool air.

The peaceful solitude wouldn't last for long, however. Pedro heard clicking and huffing approaching him from behind and turned around to behold an enormous stray dog trotting towards him. The dog was sturdy in build and covered in shaggy gray fur, with short floppy ears, an elongated muzzle, and long thick legs. Pedro's heart jumped into his throat with a jolt. He was prepared to interact with giant people, but not giant animals. He stiffened, not sure what to expect. He knew running would be a terrible idea, since even a friendly dog would instinctively chase him, and there was no way for him to outrun such a huge beast.

The gargantuan dog, clicking its toenails on the pavement, focused in on Pedro with its ears raised and sniffed the air curiously. Its long dripping tongue lolled out of a large mouth framed with sharp jagged teeth. Pedro shivered as the furry mutt came up to him, looming above him, and without hesitation bowed its head and snuffled him loudly with its wet black nose, tickling his skin with its whiskers and nearly pushing him over. Pedro didn't dare to even breathe, terrified he would be snatched up into that drooling maw and eaten.

The dog let out an earsplitting bark and a whine that made Pedro jump. It wagged its tail and nudged Pedro playfully with its nose. When Pedro was too stunned to react, the dog folded its legs and lowered its gigantic body to the sidewalk, rolling onto its side and exposing its belly. Another whine and a twitch of the front legs indicated that the dog wanted a belly rub. Pedro let out a shaky sigh of relief and complied, petting and scratching the warm fur with both hands. The dog panted and wagged its tail, thumping it on the sidewalk.