Land Of Giants (Discontinued)

Chapter 34

Malissa

"Into the tree NOW!" I barked as I stood watch by the small entrance, while everyone slid down into the small home. Then, I watched as Hamilton ran out from behind a nearby tree, rushing over towards me. "Hey, where's Chris?"

He only shook his head as he jumped down into the tree, my mouth hanging open as I looked out into the forest, hoping to see some sort of sign of Chris. But, when I saw a giant walking a little ways away, I let out a worried huff as I jumped down into the tree.

Ester rested on the bed, with Eren in her hands, and Matthew with his arms wrapped around her waist. Betty and Nicky had huddled together on the floor, whispering to each other as they dusted mud away from their hair and clothes. Jason and Hamilton were in the opposite corner of the room, near the fireplace as it crackled. Markl sat closest to the fire, his hands hovering over the flames as they crackled strangely underneath them.

"Hamilton, where is Chris?" I snapped, my worries turning into anger as I pointed at him, my hand shaking with rage. "I know you were the last person to have seen him! So, WHERE IS HE?!"

"Malissa, calm down!" Jason begged as he got in front of me, stopping me from moving towards Hamilton.

"How could I possibly stay calm, when my brother is somewhere OUT THERE?" I screamed. "How am I supposed to know if he's dead, or not? Why can't you just tell me what the hell happened? What's wrong with that?"

"Will you just leave it alone?" Jason pleaded. "We're all in a series of shock!"

"Yeah, but I have a sibling! Like, seriously, FUCK YO-"

"SHUT UP!" Markl screamed, a blast of magic shooting through the room. I tried to turn my head to look at him, but... I couldn't move. My arms and legs won't MOVE. "Just chill out for a second, Malissa! You're not the only person who's lost a family member, remember? I lost Triston, and he's just as much of a brother to me as Chris is to you. So, I know exactly how you feel!"

"Yeah, right." I hissed through my tightly clenched jaw.

"Look," Markl huffed, moving in front of me. "I was trying to say this to you earlier, but you just kept shouting, so I'm going to say it now. You're brother isn't dead. He's alive, just like Triston. They're just... not close to our location, ok? But, I know that they are safe, and that's what really matters most. Ok?"

"You can... see him?" I asked.

"Well... sort of," he sighed, trying to figure out how to describe it to me. "It's more like... having to concentrate on something for a long time, before finally being able to see it. So, for one, I have to block out all sound and light. Then, I can do whatever I want with my soul's form. Either run through a forest, swim to deepest depths of the ocean, without having to take a single breath, or jump through the clouds. But, when you're searching for a specific soul, you have to know that person's soul well enough to find them. So, I found Triston's quickly, because I've seen his soul more than once. But, with your brother, I had to take up a lot more energy to remember what his looked like, since I've only had a small glimpse of it."

"So, he is alive." I let out a relieved sigh as Markl pulled the magic from the room, and back to the palm of his hand. "I just... how are we going to get him back?"

"We won't," Markl replied. "We can't. It's impossible. He's in one of the most dangerous lands. If we tried, we'd be killed. All we can do is get somewhere safe, and wait. I'm sure we can think of something."

"We could wait it out, and maybe they'll... leave?" Jason shrugged.

"We can't just expect them to leave," I argued. "We wouldn't have enough food to last for that long, and if we tried to sneak out, they're bound to hear our movements and we don't even have a plan of distraction, unless" – I hesitated for a moment, looking around at all the expecting faces – "we could burn the tree down."