Being knocked out cold is something no one learns to enjoy but if it was Rektor would have a smile on his face. He had woken in a bed, with clean linen no less. The room was neat and had a smell he couldn’t recognize but it seemed to remind him of when he explored those buildings called Hospitals before growth. He looked down to his wrists and saw straps holding them in place, along with straps by his feet and one around his chest. He was in a new place however the circumstances of life hadn’t changed. He was powerless again.
“We have been over this too many times Rektor, tomorrow you will be pushed into the wilderness. There is nothing I can do, say, anything to change the law.” Rektor’s father spoke from his standing position. At 18 feet Rektor’s father was the largest of all Angelics and he was well respected within the community. He loved Rektor with all his heart. “Leapers are rare, and they are becoming rarer after the gatherings year after year. I have always loved you, I have had this fight since you came to me 14 years ago.” The father who was over three times his son’s height slowly kneeled and thou he wasn’t eye to eye with his son he wanted them to look equal. The son stood, always fidgety, always nervous, always worried about one of the other kids would hit him, toss him, abuse him, throw him stood up straight.
The Father placed one hand on the son’s shoulder and gave a slight squeeze. “I will always be proud of you, my boy, you lack the strength of the others but your mind is just as sharp if not more. I have seen you my boy stand up to bullies and I couldn’t be prouder. I haven’t always shown you the love you deserved but I had to make you tough knowing what is at stake. If you weren’t tough, you would be dead by the end of tomorrow. I will always love you and I know that you will make me proud one day because you have made me proud already.” The Angelic stood up to his full height and walked away from his son knowing that in 12 hours he would send him off into an uncertain world. That for all his power within the clan he and his son were subject to the law. He remembered his embarrassment when he realized his first child was a leaper. But how he watched his young boy overcome every challenge. When he brought home his second son who is now ten years old Rektor never showed him any disdain to him. Whereas the younger brother who was an Angelic like his father started to become a bully Rektor always had a kind heart. He wondered to no one why he was rewarding the bully more than his kind-hearted son. Why his bully son was becoming the pinnacle of his class but Rektor was always shunned. The Father lost in thought slowly dipped his head in shame for being a part of a tradition that only led to irrational death.
The first month was the hardest on Rektor, he would never admit it now but he thought of killing himself. How easy it would be to just end it, pain, suffering but worse of all loneness. After the first few days he started away from his clan when it became apparent that he would never be accepted back. He survived from berries, raccoons, possums and slowly learned how to track bigger game. He wondered into the abandon cities and found clothes that fit him and footwear that kept his feet warm at night. He also discovered technology which made making fires so much more easy. He also developed his ten-point list of survival by himself when the rest of the world was three to twenty times his size.
1. Always have an escape path 2. High Ground trumps size 3. Ignorance is not an excuse, always be careful 4. If it can go wrong, it will 5. Size is a two-way street; they are huge but your faster 6. Trust your instincts 7. Men/Women are wasteful if you go around their clans you can get a free meal 8. If you don’t give them a reason to look, they won’t 9. Never stay on the main trails for two long 10. You are who you make yourself. The last one was told to him by his father. It was the only thing he knew of his mother. He said it was told to him when the exchanged occurred. She asked him when he was old enough to understand to tell him this from his mother. “You are who you make yourself” He didn’t understand at the time why it was the last thing his father had told him before pushing him out into the wilderness. But after all those years in the woods by himself he understood. He had made himself into something that neither the women clans or men clans could understand. He made himself into something else.
As Rektor lie in his bed he saw the man who had knocked him out enter the room. Behind him stood a small female. She was wearing a white coat and looked to be gathering her thoughts. “I am sorry for having the men rough you up, but we didn’t think you would let us talk or even approach you.” Rektor tried to pull his jaw up from the floor, how is this possible? A woman who was smaller than he was. “We have to talk about you and humanity. But I suppose from that look you want to know who we are and why I’m not a giantess.” She slowly came up to the bed and motioned for the larger guard to bring her a chair. She sat down so that Rektor and her were eye level. It wasn’t a shock for her but to Rektor this was the first time he can remember being eye level with anyone.
“The story being many years ago, no one is sure how many but enough that generations have gone by. The growth, event, disaster whatever you want to call it resulted I three things occurring. Giantesses changed first followed by men. For some reason one side attacked the other and we don’t know which was the first to commit the first atrocity.” She pulled off her glasses and used that white coat to clean them before continuing her story. “Well there was another group of people the mundanes they didn’t change. Whether it was not in our DNA, our genes, or just blind luck our ancestors never changed. After seeing the world descend into madness they decided the best course of action is to hide. Pockets of mundanes have lived in bunkers like this one all around the coast. There was a specific reason why both men and giantess alike keep away from the coast. We fabricated the illusion of it being dangerous and haunted. Oh, how rude of me would you like some water or possibly some orange juice?” She motioned again to the guard who brought back a glass of an Orange liquid. Rektor took the glass and slowly gulped down the most amazing drink he had ever had. “Which brings me to you, the last leaper. We have been following you for some time because we have a theory. Whatever happened you are the missing link to reverse the effects. You, excuse me I never caught your name, I’m Sarah.”
This was too much for Rektor but he was powerless, didn’t have his escape plan, didn’t know his way out. And now this Sarah was telling him he was some sort of missing link? “I’m Rektor” was all he could say as his mid was lost in thought. He wanted her to stop talking to keep his world he understood the same but he wanted her to continue as well.
“So Rektor we had a theory that you who did change but not in size may have something in your DNA. We simply want blood samples from you. Here’s our offer you can promise to come back to this place once a month for us to get this blood sample or we can keep you tied down.” She spoke so matter of fact and blunt.
“What would keep me from just agreeing and never coming back?” Rektor tried to ask in a manner which resembled her tone.
“I don’t believe you will not return. We know that you can read, we know that you have read as many books as you can. We have been following your actions for a time now and we have also listened to the clans around this area talking about the rumor of a leaper. A leaper who was always one step away and watched them and learned. I think you want to know more and we are the ones who have more answers to your questions. So, do we have a deal?” She had figured out Rektor’s biggest weakness. One greater than his lack of size in a gigantic world was his need to learn more. “Deal, I agree to your terms.” Was all Rektor said.
Just as Rektor had given his reply the whole bunker shook with an audible boom echoing. It was followed from another and another. “What was that?!” The woman shouted. Another guard ran in to the room with Rektor. “It is the giantess that was with him.” He pointed to Rektor. “We have never dealt with one of her size we must evacuate before she brings this while place down.” The ceiling started to have chunks fall from it as the booms continued from the foot stomps coming from Alexis. “Impossible she could track us, unless she is also part of the equation. Normally giantesses are dimwitted. She tracked you all the way from the beach and figured out where we are, interesting. Rektor, could you calm her down?”
“Yes, but she will need to see me and hurry I know enough about structures from my time in the city and I don’t give this place that much longer.” Rektor was unstrapped and made his way to and entrance at the top of the bunker looking hill. He unscrewed the latch and pushed open the hatch was oddly enough had a bush looking thing on the other side making it look normal. He looked up at his girlfriend, well maybe one day girlfriend and was in awe. He had never seen her in anger. Her face was red; every muscle was strained and clearly visible as she raised her right leg 40 feet into the air and descended it back into the ground causing a boom which could be heard for miles and miles.
“Alexis I LOVE YOU!” Alexis looked up from her task and her face went from anger to relief as she fell upon her knees and carefully cupped Rektor in her hands and brought him into her chest between her massive breasts and lightly squeezed. “I LOVE YOU TOO, Rektor.”