The Half-Blood Giant

Chapter 49: Brutality

Hunter allowed his nose to guide him. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't care much either. He was giving up on trying to live a normal life. He was running out of empathy, descending into the worst depths of hatred and madness, striking blindly with the intent to harm others to soothe his own wounds. He picked up the scent of another human, a male, and began to follow it. He came across a residence that was presently empty, but he could tell was inhabited by a human and a giantess. Just like with Milton's house, he broke in through a window and made himself comfortable.

He'd been prowling the streets for most of the early hours of the morning, so he was tired. He laid down in bed to rest, not caring if the bed wasn't his own. He debated briefly whether to let the humans out of his belly, but decided against it, since they felt so nice inside. He wanted to sleep on a full stomach, without his usual gnawing hunger. He passed out in the bed, his hands clasped over his midsection with a small contented smile.

Eren, Millie, and Pedro heard his breathing deepen, and his heartbeat slow, and realized he was asleep. Millie was inconsolable with her grief and could barely keep herself together. Eren and Pedro did their best to comfort her. They were all terrified, uncertain of the fate that awaited them. They didn't know how they were still alive without anti-digestion pills, or how long they could survive within the giant's squishy, churning innards. With nothing else to do but wait, Eren and Pedro speculated while Millie squeezed her eyes shut, covered her head with her arms, and tried to block out her rumbly surroundings.

"Do you know why he ate you?" Eren asked Pedro as she held Millie. "Did he know you?"

"I'm a counselor at his high school. He mentioned something about 'teaching a lesson' to my giant boyfriend, who's a cop." Pedro grimaced.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on, this guy's a teenager?! But he's massive!" Eren balked. "He's the biggest giant I've ever seen, and that's saying something!"

"Yup, believe it or not," Pedro confirmed, shaking his head.

"And your boyfriend is a cop? My fiancé is a cop. They arrested this giant yesterday for trying to eat me. Your boyfriend wouldn't happen to be... Ray, would he?"

Pedro confirmed with a nod, then remembered that Eren couldn't see him in the putrid, grumbling darkness and replied out loud, "That's right."

"And this high school. Is Mr. Henderson the principal there?"

"Correct."

Eren was finally putting together the pieces. "Millie here is his girlfriend. This giant must be on some depraved revenge quest." Millie whimpered, and Eren hugged her tighter. "We can only hope that he won't hurt us, since we're apparently his hostages." With those ominous words, they lapsed into silence. They had no choice but to wait and see what would happen.

Hunter woke up later in the afternoon in a good mood. He rummaged around in the house until he came across a large jar to put the humans in. He squished his stomach around the humans and vomited them up, one by one, dunking them in soap and water in the kitchen sink to clean them off. He didn't want them dying, after all. He wanted to keep them for his own pleasure. He washed and dried them before sticking them inside the jar.

He brought the jar up to his gigantic face and snickered as he watched Eren leaping up the side in a futile attempt to scale the glass or grip the lip at the top that was far too high for her to reach. Millie tucked herself as far away as she could get from Hunter, hiding her face. Pedro glared at Hunter and crossed his arms.

"Hunter, just what the hell are you doing?" Pedro questioned sharply. "Let's talk about this. What you're doing is not okay. Just look at this poor woman." He gestured to Millie. "She hasn't done anything to wrong you. None of us have. Let us go."