Lester

»What do we do?« Lester heard Jonathan speak, but didn't really comprehend what he said. Hearing the sound and feeling the impact of the giant's weight hitting the ground had been terrifying but seeing him move toward you. Seeing him in his full size. All he could do was stare. It needed Jonathan turning him away, for Lester to snap out of it.

»What do we do?« his partner asked again. Lester looked at the giant, at the ladder, at the two men now running past the tower.

»We can't make it down in time.«, he said. He saw the panic in the eyes of his friend. And strangely it made his own slow down. He took deep, slow breaths until they stopped trembling. While the giant was coming closer.

The creature was strangely delicate, in avoiding the trees. Almost elegant. Lester put one leg on the railing, where only the lower bar remained. And when the giant was right before him, he jumped.

The landing was hard. He caught most of it with his left arm, making it feel numb with pain. His right hand held onto the edge of one of the dozen stones that formed the creature's arm. He was perfectly still as the yellow eyes looked at him. They were curious for a moment, before turning irritated. The giant shook his arm, making Lester's lower half fly up and crush back into the stone. Which besides the pain, he was glad about, for it made the creature change his course slightly, making him miss the tower with his next step. Lester managed to pull himself up between two stones and took his first breath since he had jumped. He looked up. Even from here, his face was many feet above. The shaking stopped, and the giant tilted his head down, now looking him directly into his eyes.

Lester had to look away. He climbed up the arm, finding halt between the rocks easily, when a shadow swallowed him. He saw the hand pick at him just in time to let go and slide back down. Once he hit the palm he leaped at the giant's side. Lester froze after landing, his entire body shaking. He saw Jonathan, who was throwing silver things, with a round and a sharp ending, at the two men, that seemed to really hurt when they hit your head. He saw his friend defend himself.

His arms burned from having to hold his weight, sweat was ripping down his face and his heart was pounding, but he reached for the next stone anyway. Now being on the back, the creature didn't hit for him anymore. But could he feel it? Could he feel something climbing toward his shoulders?

When Lester reached them, the giant's head snapped to him right away. He reached out and held onto the cheek, where he remained perfectly still. He saw him squint down, and from the corner of his eye, he noticed the giant's hand slowly getting into position. When he felt a jolt go through the body he was hanging on he pressed his feet against the cheek and jumped. Just seconds later the fist landed where he had been. Lester held onto a tree branch and watched the creature's head snap to the side. The giant made a step, to get his balance back, but his foot landed on the side of the mountain and slipped. He fell. The sound left a ringing in Lester's ear, that made him fear to never hear again, and he had to use all the strength that remained to hold onto the tree, that was shaking like a dog's tail. Now laying on his back, the giant slid down the mountain, flaying his arms around. Whenever he hit a tree another thunder sounded through the forest. It only stopped, once he smashed into a building. There was a last bang and then all went quiet. But just for a moment. Just until the building collapsed.

Lester had his arms wrapped around the branch, around himself and stared at the destruction he had caused. A giant wall of dust was climbing up the mountain, hiding the worst from him.

He was unable to move, unable to look away, unable to do anything but gasp for air. He had killed him. He had killed the beautiful, terrifying creature.

Jonathan

Jonathan rushed down the ladder, stepped over the two knocked-out men and ran to the tree, Lester was weeping on. He grabbed a low hanging branch, put his foot on the trunk and pulled himself on top of it. From there he climbed to the one his friend was hanging on.

Jonathan held his hand out. »Do you want to come down with me?«, he asked. And after a long moment, Lester took it. Together they got back to the ground and sat in the grass, their backs against the wood. The sun was shining on them through the gap, the giant had caused. They didn't speak, for there was nothing to say, that was more comforting than each other's company.

Jonathan couldn't say how long they had sat there, before light and sound vanished again, pulling them back into their world.

The two kidnappers lay on the ground of the fisherman's cabin and the man in the robe stood there covered in dust. A sudden anger rose inside of him making him run before he could think. Making him run at the man and making him smash his fist into his face.

»Let's go.«, he said, turning around, making the few steps toward Lester and pulling him up. They walked out of the cabin, over the hot sand and onto the sparse grassland. He dragged his friend with him to get away from it. From all of it. But when they were just a few dozen feet away Lester stopped.

»We have to see this through.«, he said.