The Half-Giant's Guide to Seeing the Future

The Day I Kicked Ass

Something in me snapped the moment that Moreno hit the ground. I stomped down hard on the giantess's foot and threw my elbow back into her throat. The knife clattered to the ground, and she stumbled back. I kicked her back again and drew the blue gun from my waist.

I'd never fired it outside the training room, but this seemed like a good time to put some of my lessons into use. The giantess held up her hands and cried out for mercy. I didn't care, though. I plugged two bullets into her and kicked her in the stomach to make sure she stayed down until the super special halfant bullets wore off.

I ran to where Moreno lay, but he had already pulled himself up to his knees. His entire back was covered in red, but it wasn't dark and sticky like blood. Instead, it was fire engine colored and almost powder-like.

"Is that a paintball splatter?" I asked in shock and horror.

Moreno laughed. "It just knocked me off my feet. I'll bruise, but I'll be fine. Nice to see you defend yourself, though. It was totally hot."

"That's what we're going with, huh?" I laughed and fired my gun at another incoming giant. "Your focus seems strangely off."

I helped Moreno to his feet. He dusted off his hands and picked up his gun again. Then he smiled at me, and I wiped the blood off his face. Then he looked at me and I could see the love and protection in his gaze.

"Stay close to me," he said. "We still need to find your mother. I saw Finn protecting her earlier."

"I think she's still in a vision," I said. "I left her arguing with Tytan. I don't think they even noticed that I left."

"That's good," Moreno said. "There's still a chance then that we can sneak up on her."

I followed him across the battlefield, trying not to step on any of the giant bodies that littered the ground. Other halfants fired at giants from positions at the compound. I spotted at least two snipers on our side and a dozen halfants firing blue guns like us. The giants just kept coming over and over. Some even stumbled and crawled when they were paralyzed like zombies that wouldn't die.

Alana lashed a whip at two giants crawling towards her. There was a wild look in her eyes with a singular focus: destruction. One twin fought at her side, but Alana didn't need the help. Like Moreno, she was a machine.

I spotted Finn and a dozen rebels more than a football field's length away. They had shields, and several of the rebels wore golden armor. They were defectors from the Nikone house. Either that or Ellenora had stolen armor from her own family. They were holding shields and fending off the halfants bullets with ease.

My mother lay crumpled at his feet, her lavender hair splayed in all directions. Her eyes seemed to be open but lulled in the back of her head. I didn't know if that meant she was unconscious or still having a vision.

"Moreno," I pointed.

"I see," he said. "I don't know if our rounds can pierce that armor, but we can try. If we take your mother captive, there's a chance that this is all over."

I kicked back at a giant, trying to grab my ankle. I hadn't realized that the blue bullets would leave giants in this way. It was almost pathetic the way they were immobilized, but I supposed it was more humane than killing them all. I wasn't sure how the halfants could arrest all the giants here, but I knew they'd try.

"For someone who can see the future, your mother sure led her followers into a massacre," Moreno said. "Unless she had another intention."

There was no doubt about that. My mother was a liar. She probably told her followers that they would win just so she could use them as a distraction. Ellenora was dangerous and dastardly, with little regard for even her zealots' lives.