Warm bodies tend to breed comfort amongst mammals. It was a fact I remembered well from my freshman year at Vanderbilt. Its a curious little thing for us humans, but other animals seem to get it just fine. Its why rats went ahead and crowded around wounded soldiers in the trenches of the first World War. Its why domesticated animals often sit in their owner’s laps. In essence, it was the fabric of relation that stretched between species. A necessary foundation that linked warm-blooded creatures from the cold collective invertebrates. While many creatures would clump together around fleeting resources or shelter, it was mammals that realized the benefits of living close to one another.

Why mention it you might ask? Well it’s obvious isn’t it? Before I could never really get too comfortable with Vera. On one hand she was a large, possibly murderous, woman with a penchant for supremacy. On the other, I was doing my job, I simply didn’t have time to feel relaxed or at peace. Everything I did was focused on discovering what I could and...well...not dying. But now, after all the drama and the tantrums, after the lies and the uncomfortable truths, I felt at ease resting against the skin of her neck. The gentle rise and fall of her shoulders was disconcerting at first but after a while the rhythm became just another aspect of my position. It was as natural as the waves on a beach or the wind rushing through a field of autumn wheat. Ahh, there’s another thought. Autumn would be coming soon. I always enjoyed the fall for some reason. It really took me back to my time as a child growing up in Suburbia. The woodlands behind my house would be drenched in shades of orange and yellow. It all seemed like the haze of some imagined dream.

For once it was I that noticed the extended silence between the two of us. It seemed Vera was content to just sit and stare for a while longer. Unfortunately I knew better. If what Cyan said was true, I had a feeling that things between Vera and I would be changing very soon. Who knows, I might even be out of a job. It was all quite troubling really...as if the giants weren’t enough now I had to be looking over my shoulder for shady figures gathering intel for the Psyn Corps Command. What I really wanted to know, perhaps more than anything else, was how exactly they were doing it all. Keeping the giants at bay was one thing, but building these immense facilities, networking political and military takeovers in other camps, not to mention all the conflicts they’d been having with other outlying organizations. I mean, how is it that they are able to successfully combat the giants and the various wilderness gangs without falling to pieces when the United States Government couldn’t?

I noticed a slight tilt in Vera’s posture. Gradually, her whole torso started to slide down the wall in the direction opposite of my facing. The initial backward surge startled me enough that I clamped down onto her skin so tightly that I actually left tiny imprints. Luckily, Vera noticed the slight deviation and quickly steadied herself with her right hand. When I was confident that she was stable once more I hesitantly released my grip and inched up the top of her shoulder. It now rested at a slight thirty degree incline so it wasn’t a horribly exhausting endeavour. However, the feeling of her flesh beneath my hands and knees became alien to me. For a brief moment I forgot that I rested atop a living creature. In some unexplainable lapse of my awareness I found myself parked along the narrow crest of an impossibly high statue. Below was the mortal world that I felt compelled to rejoin. Then, the subtle twisting of muscles and warping of the skin beneath me told me that Vera’s head was swiveling about. I rolled over onto my back and caught of glimpse of my looming companion. Her head was bowed forward slightly and her eyes fluttered wildly. Something was clearly wrong with her.

“Vera...are you ok?”

“Yeah, just….got a little dizzy for a second.”

“Are you sure?”

“I said I’m fine!” she roared. But she wasn’t fine. I could see it in her posture. I watched as each breath she took became protracted. It was then I caught sight of her eyes. Both pupils were severely dilated. As if by instinct, I immediately spread my palms out over her skin to detect any major changes in body temperature. I didn’t notice any serious differences at first, but I could tell she was not feeling well.

“I don’t need you to pretend like…like...like…” Vera’s voice trailed off as she spent more and more oxygen. With a series of jerking movements she let her right arms slide along the floor so that her entire body lowered at a steady pace. The combination of the ever slanting surface beneath me and the violent fit of heaving caused me to slip from my perch and tumble down onto her neck. As soon as I landed I noted the rhythmic surge beneath me. Whilst picking myself up again I saw that I rested right above Vera’s carotid artery. Though my mind was scattered I still was calm enough to try and divulge what was happening to her.

One. Two. Three. Four. I counted each beat that pulsed up through her neck. Such a high heart rate was indicative of some kind of cardiac arrest. Blood was still getting to her brain though, that much was good.

“Vera, Vera I need you to breath!”

Just as I began to speak however she gasped wildly for air. The movement almost threw me once again. Suddenly my mind shifted from Vera’s safety to my own. Both hands anchored down against her flesh and I waited. There was nothing much I could do for her anyway. She wasn’t choking, she wasn’t having a heart attack, and there were no real violent spasms or anything of the sort. She was too young for her body to failing like this. I knew there had to be a logical explanation and after a few more seconds it became clear. Psyn Corps.

Cyan had warned me about them and now, well they had done something! I was naive, I knew that, but I never suspected anything like this was going to happen. Although my mind was preoccupied by Vera’s declining state I could not bring my body to move move an inch. My natural sense of self-preservation was too great and for a moment I thought I was about to completely shut down.

“Wha- are they...what did...you...do?”

“Vera I promise you I did not have anything to do with this.”

Curiously enough, as her vitals were spiking, she seemed to growing more mitigated. Eventually, her head slumped onto the floor. I couldn’t see her face beyond the edge of her jaw but I knew that she was still awake. Mustering what mettle was left in my bones, I leapt up off her neck and began a clumsy dash toward her torso. When I reached her collarbone I had to stop to catch my breathe. Maintaining my balance and speed while her entire body rose and fell was far more tolling than I had anticipated. After perching against one of the tendons in her neck I waited. All the while my clouded eyes remained fixed on Vera’s head. Despite her initial reaction she didn’t seem to be suffering. That was a good sign. Another minute passed, during which I attempted to map out my next course of action.

Below me was a sea of hazel threads which I could not hope to navigate, especially with Vera incapacitated. So, I decided to try to edge my way out further toward Vera’s chest and descend from there. The breathing would be a bigger problem, but hopefully the slight slant created by Vera’s torso would give me enough able ground to traverse.

Well it went about as well as you would expect. I took a deep breath, eyed my intended path warily and disastrously tried to shimmy across the field of skin between me and the edge of her milk-colored sark. I made it about three yards before I slid down a good twenty feet. For a second I managed to stabilize myself again, but another of Vera’s enormous inhalations sent be slipping down even further.

Then, darkness again. Just as before I was completely enveloped in shadow. Admittedly it was probably Vera’s hair that saved me from splattering on the ground below, so in that regard I was grateful. However it did pose another challenge that I couldn’t hope to evade. At first I kind of thought I might have been dead. It was somehow a comforting experience. To think thatI was dead after a life of troubles was a surprising relief. Just the idea that the experience itself wasn’t quite so grim and that the whole ordeal was just over and done with was immensely calming. But, then to my distant dismay, I heard Vera groan. I knew then that I was simply trapped amongst her seemingly endless locks.

“Shit” I recall screaming. Movement was difficult at first, like trudging through incredibly sticky snow. Even after I managed to free a few of my limbs I would soon get them tangled once more in some other strands. Not only that but I could tell my air was not plentiful. Oxygen ran thin like the silt along a riverbed. Something was choking me too. Then I knew that if stayed much longer I very well may actually die, and it would not be a pleasant or relaxing experience in any way.

There was thrashing, screaming, tumbling, etc. None of which really served me in any way. No progress was being made. In fact, all my panicked movement only hastened my end as more of my blood lost its vital oxygen and the stale air began to run dry. It was just after I collapsed for a seventh time that I finally decided to just close my eyes and wait.

Gravity carried me further toward the ground until finally I felt its familiar, smooth touch against my skin. Though I couldn’t see it I knew it was there. My spirit was renewed and I carefully started to squirm my way toward the floor. Moments later I was free. I don’t know what to tell you  it just sort of happened. I rolled on the ground and saw Vera lying in front of me. She was still conscious.

“Whe-where did you-”

“Vera I’m sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt but-”

“Then don’t!” she cried with an unexpected ferocity.

I instinctively edged back. She wasn’t in any position to do me any harm but I was still afraid of her. It was difficult to keep my eyes fixed. I’m not really sure if it was because I was afraid, ashamed, or simply that I couldn’t bare to look at another failing body. Eventually when I did, however, I quickly realized that Vera’s body wasn’t shutting down, but rather just being...restrained? I wasn’t a doctor, but I had seen enough dying people to know. Vera just didn’t have the right look about her. If anything it was like she had been given a heavy dose of morphine and was just fading into a opiated stupor.

“Vera, what did they do to you before I came in here?”

“I-I, nothing…”

“Did you eat anything? Did they spray some kind of gas?”

“No.”

“Ok, I need you to focus on me, alright? I don’t know what’s happening but-”

“Is this dying?”

“No Vera you are not dying!”

She looked at me with somber eyes. They were bloodshot but stern. It made my stomach synch in anxious turmoil. I had seen such bleary eyes before. In my dreams perhaps? It didn’t matter now, all I knew was that pretty soon things were going to get hairy.

Little did I know, that whatever drug they’d given was going to kick in right away. While Vera just stared blankly back at me the overhead intercom surged with violent static. The scream of the speaker bounced off the walls as it descended upon us. The deafening squeal was enough to snap Vera out of the ever thickening fog of sedation.

“Wha-”

I didn’t recognize the voice that started to speak, nor did I understand precisely what he was saying but it sounded like a warning. Only a few words were clear enough to understand. I remember “experimental” being thrown around, as well as “preliminary” but that was about it. Though I couldn’t decipher the mysterious voice’s meaning I found myself screaming back up at it. Truth be told, I don’t even remember what I was saying either. Vera shook her head with an unrefined air of disapproval.

“How do you always know what he’s saying?”

“I...listen…”

Her words bit into my skin like needles. She didn’t say them with a sharp tongue or with passionate intentions, instead they were very matter-of-fact, as though it was so obvious the entire time. Guilty thoughts flooded my brain. It didn’t help that I stood hypnotized before her brilliant blue irises as well. Whatever they drugged her with was starting to seep in a bit more. Now her demeanor was blunting. The surprise and the resistance were gone. Vera gave me a sleepy smile.

“Listen?”

“Yeah, you never listen.”

“Well I think that’s hardly fair…”

“Elllllissss” she whispered with her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth. It was like she was drunk. “For all your effort you only...ah...ahaha”

“What?”

“You never really lisssssten. I mean, you’re better than most ssssure, but you just want to hear theee answersss to your wittle questions.”

“Well what else are we supposed to talk about all the time?”

“Aaahahah, oh you’re cute wheeen you get all seerus”

“What?”

“S-s-seeeeeries, no…”

“Ok look why don’t we take a step back for a second. I need to find out what’s happening to you!”

But Vera had stopped listening. Her forehead made a tremendous thud as it smacked down onto the floor. Startled, I scuttled back twenty feet. Like the waters of a rapid, I felt Vera’s breath surge across the white surface and swirl around my legs. It was an uncomfortable feeling. It was really a combination of the fact that I was confused and that I knew a giant under the influence of some kind of intoxicant was likely cause for concern. I quickly learned that was a correct assumption.

As I inched back toward the far wall I looked over my shoulder. I had no way of getting back up to the surrounding platform. The outer edge was at least fifteen feet high. Not only that it was completely smooth so climbing was out of the question.

Then the intercom cut in once more. The voice was different this time. I could make out the hidden inflections and modulations of Constable Treble’s unique tone. The first bit was clear:

“This is no time for games Ellis…”

Of course he’d say that. But who’s playing games? I was doing my job, they knew that, but then those Psyn Corps guys had to come start pumping my subject full of god-knows-what. If anyone was playing its them, and let me say this much: they were playing with fire. They knew it. I knew it. Everyone knew it! Yet, they still did it. Its terrifying, true, but it was also real. Which is what concerned me the most.

“Leave me to my work!” I furiously bellowed at the ceiling. I doubted they could really hear me but it was a nice way to blow off some steam. When I brought my attention down once more I saw Vera had recentered her focus on me once again. The old hungry look she used to give me was frozen on her face. Without so much as thinking I turned to run.

Another tremor kept me from getting too far. The ground shook, sending me up and then back down again on my stomach. The wind was temporarily knocked out of me, but with a few tortured gasps I managed to fill my lungs once again. I rolled over and saw Vera’s hand laying not ten feet behind me. Had she miscalculated her reach I would have been nothing more than a red puddle. Then again, maybe she did…

“Ellllisssss…” she whined. I blinked rapidly, trying to connect words into sensible sentences. “why are yooo leaving?”

“Vera, I don’t think it's safe for me to stay in here any longer.”

“Pfffffffssshhh, non-since you can stay here with meeee.”

“No, Vera, I think its probably better if I get away from you right now.”

Vera opened her mouth as if yawning and furrowed her brow. Feigning offense, she proceeded to chide me:

“Ruuuuuude, Ellisss come here!”

She stretched her arm out a bit further and arched her hand around me so that it formed twenty-some foot barrier at my back. I managed to get to my feet just as she started dragging her palm closer. You remember that scene from Indiana Jones? God, its weird to think of movies after all of this, it seems like just a series of unjust comparisons. Anyway, you remember how he was running away from that giant rolling rock thing? Yeah it was just like that, I ran as fast as my lanky legs could carry me. At some point along the way I decided not to look over my shoulder. I figured if I saw just how close her hand was I’d either trip myself up or just decide to quit. If I was to be crushed, I’d rather it be a surprise.

Now, I’m not a particularly fit person, but my god if I ran like I did then back when I was in high school I would have made the track team, no doubt about it. She corralled me back toward her face. Eventually I just couldn’t keep up. The side of her hand slammed into my back. I could hear my spine pop. But, as if by some miracle (or physics), I was not flattened. Instead her hand actually carried me closer.

“You know w-wwut? I don’t thik I eva got a gooooood look at you.”

Moments later I reopened my eyes. Her hand stopped just ten feet from her right eye. I slid down off the side of her palm and clapped down onto the white surface. Her pupils were far larger than they should’ve been. A second later she blinked. It was honestly a grotesque but mesmerizing sight. Human, or in this case a giant’s, eye was really a pretty strange thing when you get a close enough look. All the irregularities in her iris, all the veins and retina creeping around the pearly sclera. Bleccch.

“I dun no wut they diiiid but I kinda lik it…”

“Vera, you need to listen to me, you are not well, I have to get out of here so I can find out what happened.”

“Nooooooo” she whined again like a child. I had nowhere to go from here. Either she’d relent and let me go, or I’d just have to sit here and wait for...whatever.

After peeling my attention from her I swiveled my head to the right. The rest of her face lay still in a mask of muted elation. It was really quite terrifying.

“You kno what?”

“W-what?” I stammered back. It felt like the tendons in my hands were going to snap as I was gripping my satchel so tightly.

“If you were just...llliiike two thousand times biggerrr, I could stand to fuuuck you!”

“Uhh, Vera…”

“No, nooooo, listen….sure you a bit young for my tastes but you’re not that faaaar off. Like maybe its juuuust that I-I’ve beeen in here fur sooo looong but…”

“Vera you don’t know what you’re saying…”

“Uuggggggghhh!” she groaned entirely too loudly. I was forced to shield my ears, although most of the disturbance subsided by the time I did. Her outburst was complemented by a lazy roll of her eyes. The whole process made me shutter.

“Don’t geeeet so uptight. I’m juuuust sayin”

The ground vibrated slightly. I turned around and saw that Vera had withdrew her hand a bit. A stream of water running down from the corner of the room separated me from her palm. It snaked down toward the drain and disappeared behind her arm. That gave me an idea.

“Vera…”

“Besides do you reallllly find me soooo objenial errr objectial, dammit-”

“Vera…”

“I mean, I’ve just been trapped, I haven’t done iiiitt is such a looooong tiiiime”

“VERA!” I eventually screamed.

Immediately her eyes narrowed. She wasn’t pleased, but certainly didn’t seem angry either. I’m sure that if the drug had not taken effect she would have been furious with me.

“WHAT?” she echoed back with fairly equitable fervor.

“I thought that maybe...we’d try playing our game of questions again. What do you think?”

It was the first time I knew I made the right choice.Vera’s eyes immediately lit up. Before I could continue on however, she launched into her first question.

“Ok, would you fuuuck me then? If the situashuuun were right and all?” No sooner had she spoken, she began to adjust her position again. With a great deal of effort she lifted her head up off the floor and held it aloft in her hand. Half of her hair hung disastrously over her face, shielding most of it from sight.

“Uhh, I don’t think it would be very appropriate of me to do something like that…”

“What?” she said. I realized I’d have to keep my statements short and sweet if she was going to keep up with them.

“I think it wouldn’t be a good idea Vera”

“Oooooh come on.”

“No I just don’t-”

“Well if nooone of this happened what then?” Vera gestured to the rest of the room with an exaggerated sweep of her left arm.
I tried not to think about it. Vera was still my enemy after all, but, just like any woman, she got me thinking things I didn’t feel comfortable thinking.

“Vera, that's two questions, its my turn…”

Her curiosity quickly gave way to poutiness.

“N-n-no fun”

I was prepared this time. I would not be routed by her mental machinations.

“Ok Vera, outside of what you have told me so far, what has been your worst experience since you got here.”

Vera’s first response was subtle. She tilted her bobbing head to one side an scrunched up her mouth. I watched as her gaze traversed the rest of the chamber before finally resting on my diminutive figure once more. She looked on with mismatched suspicion. I didn’t expect her to just answer without such a reaction, in fact I was counting on it.

“Why?”

“Are you going to answer or not?”

“Maaayybeee I won’t”

“I’m just curious is all…”

She kept staring at me. After a little while she licked her lips and started humming something. It was starting to get distracting. I didn’t even know the giants knew anything about music. I guess it was innate.

“You know whaaaat I h-h-hate the most abutt allll thiis?”

“No?”

“Its that yoooouuu little people don’t listeeen. I’ve sssssaid it befooor and ill say’it ‘gain.”

“So?”

“Sooooo?” she repeated in a mocking tone. “so they shoulddda jusss lissid to mee! If they just got out and scurrieeed off like the bugs they were I wouldn’t a had to do that…”

“Do what?” Now I was thoroughly intrigued.

“There wwwuss so many of ‘em. You know, I don’t even know if I’m sorry eeeder.”

“Vera, you’re not making any sense.”

Again she groaned. It apparently took so much effort that her entire head slipped from her grasp and thudded against the ground again. Then she laughed a little.

“Vera?”