The Giant’s footsteps echoed as she ran, getting closer to her newest target.  The closest city that wasn’t destroyed.  Sanstown.  She had one idea in mind, and it wasn’t complicated.  Get to the city, and destroy everything.  Demolish buildings, squish people, do anything to let the world know who was really in charge. 

            Even now she took pleasure in following along the highway, crushing any unsuspecting cars she found on the way.  Flattening them against the hard pavement, but never stopping to admire her handy work.  These were only small prizes compared to what was to come.

            Chuck and Mark were still trapped inside her fist, her fingers securely holding them in place.  The pressure proving to be almost too much for the frail body of Mark.  They were pressed together, and who knows what she was planning for them. 

            “Mark?”  Chuck managed to say over the sound of her foot slamming into the earth below.

            “Yeah?”  He replied, barely able to breath under the crushing power of her fingers. 

            “Given any thought to getting rid of your devise?”

            “No.”  He said defiantly.

            “Mark, stop playing!  She’s going to kill thousands of people!”  His rage boiled to the surface, unable to control his frustration anymore. 

            “You think I don’t know that?”

            “Then why don’t you destroy it?”

            “I don’t know how!”

            “What?”  Chuck replied, shocked at the boy’s revelation. 

            “It’s a solid piece of metal Chuck, it’s not like I can just smash it on the ground and be done with it!  And even if we could brake it, the effects would still be active as long as the pieces were close to you.”

            “Can’t you just drop it?  Then she will run away and we’ll be fine!”

            “I can’t move.”

            “Well… can’t you…”  Chuck stopped, unable to think of an answer.  And in any event, they were almost at the city.  Its high skyscrapers coming into view, blocking out the setting sun behind them.  It would have been beautiful, if they weren’t in the clutches of a mass murderer. 

            Meanwhile the city was bustling with life.  They were not going to be caught off guard.  Ever since the first attack some hours earlier, they had been mobilizing, preparing for the giant’s attack.  Tanks lined the cities streets, and hundreds of helicopters flew through the skies above.  Thousands of people were in the streets, evacuating as fast as possible, but moving that many people is a slow process. 

            The streets were filled with the sound of car horns, and people screaming, telling those in front of them to move.  Angry fists waved, and the police did everything the could to make the traffic move faster.  Then everything stopped.  A subtle, but ever growing sound could be heard.  At first it was just a low rumble, but it was growing. 

            The cars started to bob up and down with each impact as the source moved closer.  Now the people had given up their silence.  Shouts were louder than ever, and most people simply abandoned their cars to run. 

            The police radioed the sound in, knowing fully what the source was.  Every tank and chopper went to their positions, ready for the fight. 

            The giant came running, full force at the outskirts of the city, only a few seconds away from utter destruction.  She failed to notice the defenses.  Her only concern was destruction.  A greedy, sinister smile crossed her face, her tongue licking her lips in anticipation. 

            The radio buzzed on each one of the army’s vehicles.  “The monster approaches.  Fire in 3… 2… 1… FIRE!”  They did as they were told.  Simultaneously each member pressed their buttons, firing a stream of death at the horror in front of them. 

            Like a wave of destruction, the missiles rushed towards their target, leaving trails of smoke behind them.  Alison noticed them just before impact.  Her eyes went wide as she realized her mistake.  She dropped Mark and Chuck, raising her hands to protect herself. 

            The missiles hit, exploding in a mass of fire, engulfing her whole upper body in the blast.  She stumbled back, obviously hurt by the impact, but still standing.  The smoke and fire cleared, and there was Alison.  Fists up, murder in her eyes, the whole left side of her face covered in blood, her arms and body charred.  She let out a scream of utter death as she ran forward, ready to destroy.

            The helicopters were not able to react fast enough.  She swung her massive arm in a wide ark, smashing threw buildings along with the helicopters, rubble flying through the air, smashing down on those below.  Some of the buildings crumbled from this first impact, crushing any sole left behind. 

            Her second attack took out any remaining helicopters in the area, and destroyed whatever remained of the buildings closest to her.  The tanks below reacted now, there guns firing up with a furry to match the monster above them.  Their bullets burring deep into her skin before exploding. 

            She stopped her attacks as her legs were rapped in the fire and explosions.  But she kept going, unaffected by the ant-sized annoyances.  She raised her foot up, and crashed it down onto the first tank she saw.  Even its strong steel was not enough for her weight.  It crumpled easily, crushing the men inside. 

            She then kicked forward, sending tanks and cars flying into the distance to crash into the buildings ahead, exploding in a mass of destruction, glass now raining down on the panicking mass below. 

            “Get up.”  Chuck said as he tried to lift his friend. 

            “What’s happening?”  Mark said, barely continues after the fall.  By all accounts, he should have died, and he would have if Chuck hadn’t grabbed him at the last second.  The hero was able to get under him, and so took most of the damage from the fall.  Even still, neither of the pair was in good shape.  Blood trickled out from the side of Chuck’s mouth.

            “She dropped us.  And now…” He couldn’t bring himself to say it.  “Just look.”  His friend did, and was appalled when he saw the columns of smoke, and the destruction caused by the giant.  “She did that you know, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.  The military was there.  They fired everything, but she just kept going as if it didn’t even hurt.”

            “We have to do something.”  Mark said as he pushed himself back to his feet.  The wind was blowing now, and charred pieces of ember floated past them.  The smoke in the air was almost too much to breath. 

            “What happened to taking over the world?”  Chuck asked.

            “Can’t do that while she’s running around now can I?”  He said with a sly smile.

            “I guess not.”  Chuck replied back, a smile reluctantly crossing his face to.  “Well mister genius, have a plan to make that a reality.”

            “No.  We need to get rid of this.”  He said as he pulled out the golden ball.  “But how the hell do we do that!?”  He screamed as he slammed it into the ground.  It didn’t even scratch.  The two looked into the distance.  The screams of people being trampled to death clearly audible over the crumbling buildings, and the shots from the tanks and few remaining helicopters. 

            Mark’s face lit up in a moment of epiphany.  He quickly grabbed the ball, and started rushing to the city.  Chuck followed closely behind him.

            “What are you doing?”  Chuck shouted over the screams as they jumped over the obstacles in their path.

            “The tanks!”  Mark shouted back.  “We put this in the barrel!”

            “And that will work?”

            “No idea!  Worth a try though!”

            “Why not!”  He shouted back. 

Alison’s foot slammed down into a mass of people below her.  She raised it back up, streams of blood hanging off her now grotesque looking foot.  Her foot print below a virtual pool of organs and death that perfectly matched those behind her. Someone shouted to be sparred as her toes came down on them; his cries for help falling on death ears.      

A helicopter tried in vain to stop her, firing all its bullets into Alison’s face.  She grabbed the thing, crushing the back portion in her fist, effortlessly stopping the blade.  The tiny person inside screaming for his life.  She reached in and grabbed him.  She held him up above her mouth, not even able to recognize his tiny screams of pure dread.  She dropped him, his tiny body falling onto her tongue, then slipping down her throat, and finally finding a home in her stomach, along with the others she had eaten alive. 

Chuck rushed for the tank in front of him, barreling down the street to join the fight against the beast.  It’s wheels crushing cars as it effortlessly rolled over them.  Mark ran beside chuck, fighting to keep up.

“Get ready!”  Chuck screamed.

“For what!”  Mark shouted back.  They were only a few feet from the back now, almost able to reach.  Chuck grabbed onto the back of Markus, and threw him with all his might at the tank.  He didn’t go far, but was able to just grab hold of a pipe sticking out from the top of the machine.  He pulled himself up, and crawled as fast as he could to the barrel. 

His breathing was heavy from fear.  He had never done anything even remotely this dangerous before.  One wrong move and he could be flattened.  He prayed he wouldn’t.  He reached the base of the barrel, and grabbed it, and slowly began scooting out. 

They turned a corner suddenly, and there, in front of them was the massive form of Alison, her leg swinging through one of the closest buildings, the glass shattering, falling on those below.  The tank stopped, and raised the barrel, aiming it at the giant. 

Mark held on as tight as he could.  The tank blasted its missile at the giant, the sound almost deafening.  It hit its target, but had the same outcome as the hundreds of others that had done the same.  Nothing.  The giant continued on her rampage. 

Mark continued on, climbing the barrel of the gun slowly, pausing as each blast rocked the small machine. 

He finally made it to a point where he could reach out and grab the top of the barrel.  He reached into his jacket and brought out the tiny golden sphere, and prayed that this would work.  Chuck was down below, shouting words at encouragement to his friend.  Mark reached up, and almost got the ball in when another missile blasted from the barrel, causing him to flinch.  His breathing was heavy, and sweat was running down his face, but he didn’t let fear stop him.  He needed to do this.  He needed to save his city!

With a shout he reached up and dropped the ball into the barrel, tumbling off it as he did so.  Chuck was there to catch him.  The two ran off as fast as possible, not truly knowing what would happen, by trying to get into a relatively safe place. 

The tank fired again.  The missile flying through the barrel, and quickly meeting the sphere.  It detonated on impact.  The blast blew back into the tank, engulfing it in a fireball, killing everyone inside.  The ball, unharmed from the explosion, was sent flying out the other end, rocketing into the distance. 

“What happened!?”  Mark shouted as he turned around and saw the flaming mass that once was the tank.

“It blew up!”  Chuck said, his face dropping as he realized the plan failed.  But then he felt something.  As the ball flew into the distance, past the reaches of the city, he felt his body tingle.  His muscles pulse, his blood flow.  He knew in that instant it had worked.

As he stood up straight, feeling empowered by the change of events, the sun shining in front of him, reflecting off the few remaining building, his friend looked down, appalled at the fact that he killed someone. 

Mark dropped to his knees, tears running down his face.  Was this what it was like to kill someone?  This?  This is what he wanted?  To rule the world?  It sounded so barbaric now.  So horrible.

His friend flew into the air, speeding towards his enemy, his fist outstretched, leaving Mark behind.  Mark fell to the ground, not knowing what to do.