Giants among us: The escape

Giants among us: The escape

Very few know what happened that day. Very few can say just what happened in that cage that had been the only life for Sorek. No one knew where he came from. No one cared. But five years ago, something happened to Boy 306 that changed his life and the world as he knew it.
Five years ago…
“AAAAAAHHHHH!”
Boy 306 cringed as a mental image sprang to his mind and put his hands over his ears. He closed his eyes tightly, but that just let the mental image become more realistic. He could see Boy 305, strapped to a white board, a man in a white coat with a needle, ready to plunge it into his arm, two men standing to the side, taking notes, and one more man at the dashboard of a wicked looking machine, positioning the machine above him, sending bolts of electricity coursing thorough his body.
“Put in the DNA.”
“AAAHHH!”
Boy 306 imagined the man plunging the needle into Boy 305’s arm. He curled into a ball, trying to rid himself of the image. He could see Boy 305 writhing, straining against the straps.
“AAAHH-” The screams stopped abruptly. To Boy 306, this was even more terrifying than the screams. He shivered, dreading what would come next.
“Incredible!” One of the men exclaimed. “The DNA of the common pigeon reduces the stability of the bones by 30 percent!”
“Yes, yes,” said one of the other men. “Dispose of his body.”
Boy 306 uncurled and pressed his face against the cold bars of his cage as the door slid open. His fingers reached thorough the bars, wanting to hold his comrades hand one last time…
“Get back, you,” snarled a woman as she passed. She took out a metal stick and rapped it hard on his fingers. Boy 306 sharply drew back, sticking his fingers in his mouth. He watched two men go in and come out with a body on a stretcher. The body was covered with a white sheet, and Boy 306 saw with horror a lifeless hand dangling out of the covers. He knew it was the hand that had comforted him for so many years. But he did not cry. He was done crying. When boy 298 died, he realized that his friends were not going to be with him forever. They all were going to die some time.
“Boy 306!”
Boy 306 shrank against the wall of his cage as the woman crouched down and inserted the key into the lock. The cage door sprang open and the woman crawled in. Boy 306 shrank into the corner as she came closer. Then, in one swift, practiced motion, she grabbed him by the neck and flung him out of the cage and onto the cold, hard metal floor. He lay there, his cheek pressed against the floor, panting. The woman crawled out of the cage and grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, lifting him of the floor. He gazed helplessly around the place one last time. Bloodied and bruised faces peered back at him thorough the bars of their cages. Boy 307 and Boy 308, identical twins except for different bruises, reached out their hands to him then touched their palm with their middle finger and pulled their hands back thorough the bars. To the people who carried him into the death room, this sign was meaningless, but to Boy 306, it meant the world. It was a sign of gratitude, of thanks, and a promise. We’re on your side.
Boy 306 watched them turn away, and as the metal door clanged shut, he did not struggle as the men strapped him to the bedside table. Then one of the men grasped a handle on the machine and pulled. The machine began to move. It swung left, and then right, then it moved downward until its pointed edge was an inch away from Boy 306’s nose. He closed his eyes and hoped that his death would be quick and painless, though he knew for certain it would not be.
The man at the dashboard put on gloves, and as the machine soared upward, and pointed directly at his heart, Boy 306 suddenly felt panic. He felt fear. But this fear was unlike any fear he had experienced before. While most fear he felt was like a huge rock it the pit of his stomach, this fear was wild. It darted everywhere, causing panic. Boy 306 struggled against the bonds on his wrists and legs. He needed to get out, he needed to get out, he needed to get out of here…
The door slid open and the men who had disposed of Boy 305 entered. One of the men came to one side of the board and produced a long, thin needle, ready to plunge the needle into his skin and put the mixture of DNA into his blood stream.
The man at the dashboard grabbed the lever and glanced at the man next to Boy 306. The man waved his needle slightly and nodded. He flexed his fingers, ready to pull the lever-
“STOP!”
The door crashed open and a large man barreled thorough, his face red. The man next to Boy 306 jumped away, quickly stuffing the DNA tube into his coat pocket. The man at the dashboard jumped, but other than that, did not move. The man leaned against the machine, breathing heavily as he spoke.
“You have finished your tests. We have something new we want to try.”
The man next to Boy 306 looked disappointed as he stroked the point of the long needle. The man at the dashboard did not move, but kept his hand on the lever. He nodded.
The red faced man walked over to Boy 306 and stooped down to loosen the straps. He seemed to be thinking the same thing Boy 306 was, because he leaned close to his ear and whispered, “If you try to escape, I’ll tell that man over there to electrocute you. Understood?”
Boy 306 nodded. His eye caught the eye of the man behind the dashboard, who grinned and wiggled the lever slightly.
The red-faced man began to question the man with the needle, who answered them quickly.
“Age?”
“12.”
“Number?”
“306.”
“Time here?”
“Two years.”
“Weight?”
“54 pounds.”
“Height?”
“4 feet 2 inches.”
The red-faced man seemed satisfied with these answers. He took out a different needle from his coat pocket and handed it to the man. The man’s face lit up as he took it.
“We found this rare plant on the bank of the Amazon River,” the red-faced man explained. “It seems to have properties that speed growth by 700%”
The man’s eyes widened.
“When I say so, you are to put the needle straight into the vein,” he instructed. “Then you are to take notes about every single detail.”
The man nodded and positioned the needle right above a vein in Boy 306’s arm. Boy 306 closed his eyes tight as the needle plunged into his arm. He clenched his teeth as he felt pain traveling up his arm. Then a different sensation followed. Something strange. Something he had never felt before…
Boy 306 opened his eyes and nearly screamed. His arm was bubbling, shifting, growing. The pain began to travel thorough his body, and was followed by the same sensation. Boy 306 began to kick wildly at the straps on his feet.
ZZZZZAAAAAP!
Boy 306 yelped as the man pulled the lever. He was growing faster now. He began to kick and flap his arms harder. His shirt ripped into pieces, but his pants, thankfully, were stretchy and still fit.
ZZZZZZAAAAAPP!
Again, the man pulled the lever. But this time, it was not as painful. He began to grow taller. The pain had reached everywhere, and now he could only feel the same strange sensation all over his body.
ZZZZZAAAAP! ZZZZZZZAAAAP!
The electric jolts were just numb vibrations now. The straps were digging into his flesh. He was shooting upward. His head bumped against the roof.
“STOP SHOOTING!!” Roared the red-faced man. He was backing away. The straps snapped. The red-face man made a run for the door, as did the other two. The door closed with a bang. There was silence.
Suddenly, the sensation stopped. Boy 306 looked down. His hands were massive! He reached out and picked up the machine. It was no bigger than a small trash bag. Then he realized just how small the room was. He punched the metal door. It groaned and bended outwards. He punched it again and the door was blown off its hinges. He crawled for it. But couldn’t go thorough the door. But it was no hard task for him to walk thorough a demolished wall.

<=O=>

Inside their cages, Boy 307 and 308 heard the noise of crunching metal and numerous zaps.
“What are they doing to Boy 306?” Asked Boy 307 as the woman guard walked past.
“None of your business,” she snapped at him.
Suddenly, the door opened and the three men ran out. The door closed behind them and there was silence.
“What’s happened to Boy 306?” Boy 308 said. The woman guard pursed her lips, but she turning white. It was quite a memorable moment.
BOOM.
Boy 307 and 308 jumped as the door suddenly bulged outward, a giant mark in it.
BOOM.
The door went flying. It landed with a crash in front of Boy 307’s cage. Suddenly…
CRASH!
The whole wall shattered, sending wood and metal pieces all over the floor. Boy 307 and 308 covered their heads as a downpour of dust and shattered materials crashed to the ground around them.
When the dust cleared, a figure came out of the wall. It was crouched, but when it came out and stood up, its head nearly brushed the ceiling. Boy 307 knew that the ceiling was exactly fifteen feet high. Then he realized the thing was not wearing a shirt. But the pants, he recognized them by having laughed at them when Boy 306 first got them.
The room was silent. Men and women were frozen where they were, staring at the giant.
Boy 307 reached thorough the bars and lightly tapped the giant’s foot. The giant looked down.
“Boy 306? Is that you?”
The giant smiled and nodded. The he looked around at the men and women in white coats, frozen with fear. His massive fists clenched and he opened his mouth and roared.
The white coats scattered, screaming. Sirens wailed. Red lights flashed. Children in cages went wild as Boy 306 went form cage to cage, ripping off the locks and freeing them. The children formed groups and began to attack. Five or six children easily overpowered one white coat. Then Boy 306 ripped off the locks of Boy 307 and Boy 308. He extended his hand to them, palm up.
“Climb on. We’re leaving.”
Boy 307 and Boy 308 didn’t hesitate. They climbed on.

<=O=>

Boy 306 slowly lifted Boy 307 and 308 into the air. He was careful not to do anything that could harm them. Children were all over the place, beating white coats with their own devices.
Boy 306 knew it was time to go. He broke into a run, heading for the wall. He heard Boy 307 and Boy 308 yelling, and covered them with his hand. Her lowered his head and charged thorough the wall.
Instantly, light dazzled him. The sun shone brightly, and a stream trickled by his feet. The place was so full of greenery compared to the drab gray walls of the cage room.
The children began to pour out of the hole. Hundreds of them stopped and blinked as the sudden light hit their faces. Then joy lit up their dirty cheeks and the swarmed over the grass, climbing up the trees, splashing in the stream, and rolling onto the fresh grass. For the first time in many years, they were laughing. They flung out their arms and legs, enjoying the freedom of movement that they could never do inside their cages.
“Hey!” Shouted Girl 205. “Lets raid their food!”
At this, the children cheered and raced back inside. Boy 306 set Boy 307 and Boy 308 onto the grass and followed last, purposely destroying more of the wall.
The children raced down corridors, now empty because all the white coats had fled. Then they discovered a large metal door, which Boy 306 ripped off. Then he waited as the children stormed in and came back out, carrying packages and packages of food they had never seen in many years. Then they went outside, sat right down on the grass, and began to spread the food around. Boy 306 carried the rest of the food out, and prepared to eat his own large meal.
However, he was pleased to find that although he was much larger, he could eat no more than his friends. This also proved difficult in getting the small foods into his large mouth with his huge hands. The children made up a game to solve his problem. He opened his mouth wide, and the children tried to throw food into it. They laughed, and Boy 306 laughed, and soon, all of them were rolling on the grass, holding their sides.
That night, the children slept on the grass. Boy 306 had trampled out a huge part of a tall grass place right in the center, providing protection from searching white coats. Everyone except Boy 306 curled up where they lay, but not one snore escaped the sleeping crowd. This reminded Boy 306 about all the other nights in the cage, when a snore from a child meant a beating.
A rustling in the trees caught Boy 306’s attention. His fingers reached out and lightly tapped Boy 307 and 308, who woke instantly. They listened to the rustling. It came closer and closer. And it was large. Very large. Boy 306 stood up, and carefully stepped over the children. He faced the row of trees, and his fingers balled into fists.
“Oomph!”
A man as big as Boy 306 barreled thorough the trees and stumbled right past Boy 306. He tripped and fell, thankfully, not onto anyone. He jumped to his feet and looked around. Then he saw Boy 306 and his face lit up. His eyes were dark green and he had a short scraggly black beard.
“Ah! So it’s you they’ve all been talking about.” He peered at Boy 306. “Although everyone imagined you’d be fatter.”
“Who is everyone?” Asked Boy 306.
The man shrugged. “Everyone who ate or was injected with that plant that runs thorough your blood right at this moment. You weren’t the only one who got that stuff, you know. Everyone’s expecting us. Well, actually, everyone’s expecting you. They’ve heard that those devil scientists used lighting too, and it sped up the growing process. But they want to see it for themselves.”
Boy 306 closed his eyes and sat down on a tree. This was a bit much to take in. There were more people of his kind? He opened his eyes to see the man crouched, smiling at him.
“Had a bit of a shock, too, when I found out. I was only a wee kid, and liked to stick anything in my mouth. Wandered into a patch of woods, and overturned a rock that was covering a little chest. Inside was the plant, which I ate immediately. Fortunately, one of the giants found me and took me to the village. But I never saw my family again.” He shook his head sadly, put his hands on his knees, and hoisted himself up. “By the way, my name’s Ronan. What’s yours?”
“Boy 306.”
“Your real name?”
Boy 306 thought for a moment, and then shook his head sadly. “I don’t remember.”
“Well, then, you’ll need a new name. What do you want your name to be?”
The answer came to his lips without him thinking about it. “My name is Sorek.”
“Well, then, Sorek, tomorrow morning all of you will come to the village. We have a whole load of that special plant, which we call Woderplant. It’s very powerful, so we took the whole lot and hid it. All of you will be able to kick those scientists out of the building, and kick the building, too, by the end of tomorrow.”
Sorek nodded. “We can’t stay here forever,” he agreed.
“We’re gonna destroy a building!” Boy 307 and Boy 308 cheered. Sorek couldn’t help but smile at the twin’s antics. They began to jump up and down, doing some sort of crazy dance.
“Well, that’s that,” Said Ronan, turning to leave. “I come back tomorrow morning. It may take a while, so you’ll have plenty of time to pack. Good night!” Then he dove thorough the trees, and the forest behind Ronan began to have the appearance of a demolished wasteland.
Sorek walked to the tall grass. He curled up in his corner, and dreamed of a giant family, that cared for him as he grew up to stand out, to be the tall giant, the one that everyone knew, and most importantly, cared about.

To be continued in…
Giants among us: The Journey