The Half-Blood Giant

Chapter 38: Unhealthy Obsession

Hannah was worried. Hector was supposed to meet her after school, like he always did, but he never showed up. She couldn't locate him in the cafeteria, or anywhere else for that matter, nor would he answer his phone. Hector wasn't the type to ignore her or play petty games, even if she had upset him for some inscrutable reason. She sensed, deep down, that something was wrong. When she biked over to the boy's dormitory on the other side of campus, he wasn't there either. None of the boys had seen him since class ended.

Hannah didn't sleep well that night. She kept checking her phone periodically, hoping for a text or call. There was nothing. She decided, if he didn't show up for breakfast tomorrow morning, she would go straight to Principal Henderson and report him missing. She couldn't think of any other place he would be. If he had gone home, or there had been some sort of emergency, she figured he would've at least contacted her to let her know what happened.

The morning came, and she woke up cranky and groggy. She rolled out of bed, donned her uniform, and packed up her school supplies in her bag. Labored with fatigue, Hannah pulled her bike from the rack outside and crawled on, then slowly pedaled forward. She hardly paid any attention to her surroundings as she went into autopilot, thinking about her beloved. She was entirely unaware of the sinister colossus stalking her, following her intoxicating scent, ready to strike.

The world unexpectedly went dark as a shadow blocked out the light of the rising sun. Hannah almost toppled off her bike as she halted in place and the ground swooped away below her. The rapid ascension into the sky was dizzying; she held onto her handlebars with a death grip, her knuckles white from tension. Her sides were pinched by the enormous tips of two giant fingers and she was forcibly ripped from her bike, her strength no match for the giant who grabbed her. She gasped from the pressure on her torso, almost breathless. She plopped into the landscape of a massive hand and her bike was scooped up into the fingers of the other hand, disappearing from her sight.

Hannah, panting for breath, slowly turned around to face the giant who snatched her. Her worst fears were confirmed when she saw Hunter's mountainous visage leering down at her. He grinned, revealing a wall of blocky white teeth. Hannah quivered and scooted back into the arch of his fingers, but she had nowhere to go.

"Hi there," Hunter rumbled, releasing a puff of warm breath over her that ruffled her hair.

"W-what do you want?" Hannah stammered. "Make it quick."

Hunter regarded her for a long, uncomfortable moment without speaking. He brushed her tenderly with his thumb, making her flinch. "Hector wanted me to pass on a message," he lied. Hannah's demeanor changed on a dime as she jerked to attention with the surprising turn of events. "He said he'd meet you at the cafeteria. I'll take you there."

"No need, I can bike there myself," Hannah asserted, glancing around the platform of skin carrying her. Her bike was nowhere to be seen.

"No. I'll take you," Hunter responded. He did not give her a choice. She relented, realizing she had no power in the situation. She didn't want to raise a fuss and make the monster of a man angry. The sooner she was conveyed to Hector, the safer she'd feel, and the sooner she could get away from Hunter.

"Hey, Hannah?" She didn't want to talk to him, but being held mere feet from his expansive countenance, she couldn't exactly ignore him.

"What is it?" she asked listlessly, drooping into the curve of his fingers. His strides rocked her back and forth in his hand like a cradle.

"Um..." A flicker of anxiety flickered across the giant's features, barely distinguishable if not for the fact that he was so large. "I was just wondering... theoretically... if Hector wasn't around anymore, would you ever consider... um... like... hanging out with me?"