The Half-Blood Giant

Chapter 50: No Going Back

"We should check on Hunter, don't you think?"

Chester stopped chewing, his mouth stuffed full of sandwich. He swallowed so that he could speak. "Yeah, I suppose it's Friday. Though he didn't want to come home last weekend, for whatever reason." He took another tremendous bite.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Jackie looked up at Chester with the worried eyes of a mother. Chester had his mouth full, so he couldn't reply with anything more than raising an eyebrow questioningly. "I don't know... I just have a feeling. I mean, he's always been moody and secretive, but I feel like lately... he's been hiding something from us. Something big." Jackie sighed. "Especially when he tried to assure us 'everything is fine.' I'd like to believe that, but with him... that's never the case."

Chester nodded in acknowledgement. "That's true," he responded, before demolishing the rest of his sandwich and scarfing down a few handfuls of chips. "Shall we go, then?" He offered Jackie his hand. She climbed up his fingers, settling into his soft palm, and smiled up at him. Chester curled his fingers gently around his little wife and carried her to an open area where she could manifest a portal.

Jackie couldn't locate Hunter anywhere around the school, and he didn't have his magic-infused stone on him either, so she couldn't track him that way. Her concern deepened. "We need to find him. While we're at it, we might as well speak to Milton. Perhaps he can give us more information."

Chester agreed, so Jackie found a secluded area where Chester could pass through one of her portals without being seen. He walked through the big metal gate of the school towards the main building. As he approached, Milton, who had been observing the camera feed, came running out to meet him. Chester smiled and raised his hand to wave, but his expression faded as he saw the distress on the principal's face. He was wringing his hands like he didn't know what to do with them.

"Chester! Thank goodness you're here!" Milton cried, grabbing his shoulders. "We need to find your son, now!"

"Why, what's going on?" Jackie asked. Her stomach did a flip. Her intuition was right; something bad must've happened.

"He's..." Milton struggled to control himself as his hands tightened on Chester's shoulders. "He's been eating humans."

"WHAT?!" Jackie shouted. She was gobsmacked. Chester gaped at Milton, speechless. "No... it can't be..."

Chester was shocked by the news, and even more shocked to see Milton, who was normally so calm and composed, begin to cry. "Five of the human students have gone missing, as well as our human counselor, Mr. Pablo... and... and my daughter, and my girlfriend..." Milton hung his head in despair. "I can't have this happen again, I really can't! My heart can't take it!"

"You mean Eren and Millie? No..." Chester felt his chest tighten as he remembered how he himself had been sorely tempted to devour the same tasty little humans, and how he'd struggled to resist his carnivorous urges. And now his son, whom he believed was not susceptible to such temptations, was following in his footsteps. "I'm so sorry, Milton. If I had known, I would've never enrolled him at this school."

"Never mind what we can't change in the past, help me find him! Now! There's a chance they might still be alive!" Milton yelled, raising his voice with frustrated urgency. He clawed at Chester's shirt desperately. "We have to stop him! There must be something you can do?!"

Chester sniffed the air thoughtfully. "Why, of course, I can track his scent. He was here earlier; I can still smell the trail." He turned around and let his nose lead the way, moving with haste. Milton followed behind, a fervent intensity to his every movement, tension in every muscle. He was ready to do whatever was necessary to get his precious people back alive, no matter the cost.