December 26th,

This chapter starts immediately at the previous chapter's ending.

Gilligan's POV:

"Timmy, I have to talk to you."

Gilligan enters Timmy's room. They both received a key from an Austrian housekeeper when they arrived there. That was a couple of days ago. Gilligan had escaped from the Giantess' when they chained him to a lead pipe in a shed. After he had cut off his hand, a group of friendly tribals took care of him for a few days. After that he alarmed the Austrians that 'The Chosen One' and two others were somewhere in the woods after he and his squad were ambushed by a group of Behemoths.

He got sent to a hospital somewhere in Vienna. A search party went after the three men, but only found Timmy. He told them that they got kidnapped by a group of slavers. When they found the cattle wagon, all they found were a couple of dead Giantess' Charles and another man named Gerald. Both were unconscious. They were taken to the same hospital and recovered quite quickly. Gerald took a plane to rendezvous with Clerence and a unit from Byzantium to rescue Oliver. Charles, however, still hasn't woken up yet.

He can see Timmy staring at his bandages around the end of his arm.

“Gilligan! How is your arm?”

“The vicodin is doing its work. Can I take a seat?”

“Yes, of course. Go take a seat behind the dinner table, I was just eating breakfast.”

Gilligan takes a seat across his friend. Timmy hands him a plate with a sandwich on it, and they both eat their breakfast.

“So. What do you want to talk about?”

“It's Charles. I don't think he's gonna make it.”

“I know. They literally butchered Charles and Oliver before they got tossed into that wagon. I was surprised to hear that Oliver had survived that beating. What do the doctors say about Charles?”

“They say he's getting worse. But anyways, how are you doing?”

“I'm fine. The Giantess' never found me. I was dehydrated and starving but got released from the hospital after a few hours. But... there's something I need to talk to 'you' about.”

“What is it?”

Timmy stands up. He closes all the windows and curtains. After that he checks under the couch, the chairs, behind the TV, under the table, as if looking for something.

“Timmy, what are you doing?”

“I'm looking for bugs. Making sure we're not getting eavesdropped.”

“Why would..”

“Just listen to me.”

Timmy sits down again and lowers his voice.

“Me, Jane Melissa and several soldiers went on a top secret mission six months ago. We got sent out to investigate a cave nearby, after several merchants and people disappeared. At first we found a group of Giantess', but then a few witches came out and attacked us. It was all we needed to confirm that the witches were responsible, but we decided to enter the cave. To start a small investigation about the creatures ourselves. We found dozens of them, including their queen. We killed them all, at the cost of the lives of two soldiers. We took a few witch corpses with us for the Byzantine scientists and then we didn't hear from it ever again.”

Gilligan looks at him, not fully believing him.

“Witches, you say?”

“I'm sure you've heard the rumors about them?”

“Yeah, like campfire talk. I mean, I had the best military squad inside the city. If there had been a real threat, they would have told us. Sent us on missions to clear out their 'colonies'.”

“Let me finish my story, I was gonna get to that point. It was a week before I left the city with you, Charles and Oliver. Jane and Melissa with all the soldiers that knew about the mission apparently got sent out on a high classified mission. I can't get into the details, about why he always does, but Sweyn always informs me on who goes on what mission. Especially on the witch subject. Something tells me they needed to get rid of them, because they knew too much. I know that they got sent on a few other missions to clear out nearby caves. So I think that the only reason they had been allowed to live in the city this long, was because they still had work to do. I know for a fact that all nearby colonies had been wiped out. And sending your squad out would be a bad idea. They couldn't lose your squad therefor they couldn't let you meddle with the situation.”

“But then, why didn't you get sent out?”

“I have been sent out. Look where I am, on the other side of central Europe. I'm sure that I will be dealt with when I return. IF, I return. If I'm correct about my theory, Byzantium probably already informed Vienna about it. I need your help to escape.”

Gilligan doesn't respond for a few seconds, still trying to process it.

“Timmy, you're not thinking straight.”

“Please, just believe me! I know it sounds crazy, but I'm just not willing to take any risks. I might be wrong, but I'd rather not take any chances. Let me proof it to you. I'll write them a letter. Just a casual letter, nothing related to this. If they don't reply, you will help me.”

“That's no proof. You just said it yourself, they got sent out. Perhaps they haven't returned yet.”

“The missions we went on never took longer than two or three days. And they could just write me back when they return right?”

“Alright. Let's say you're right and we do leave Vienna. What then? There has been more Giantess activity in Europe than ever. We wouldn't survive an hour out there, especially not while I only have one hand.”

“Let's just write the letter. We'll see what we can do when my suspicions have been confirmed.”

“Fine. Let's do it.” Gilligan says, and Timmy starts writing.