The Giant (G/T)

Part 2

When I next opened my eyes, I was staring blankly up at a ceiling very far away, and bathed in the soft blue light of early morning. My whole body was wrapped up in a very large, fuzzy towel. For a moment my mind was groggy, then the terrifying memories came flooding back in a rush. But... I was alive. And unharmed. Was it all a dream? I lay still for a moment without moving. I became aware of the soft ambience of frogs and crickets chirping outside an open window. However, a far more frightening sound--heavy masculine breathing--violently pulled me out of my stupor. Frozen in place, I slowly turned my head to look to the side, and felt a stab of fear. The giant that had snatched me up last night was laying down not too far from me, his sprawling body looming over me like a mountain. Fortunately, he was asleep.

Carefully, so as not to make any noise, I wriggled out of the towel--which proportional to the giant was probably more like a washcloth--and surveyed my surroundings. I was on a gargantuan bed that must've been at least two hundred feet long, probably more for all I knew. I tiptoed over to the side and peeked over the edge to see how far I was from the ground. I felt my heart flutter in my chest. Way too high to jump off. I might be able to climb down somehow, but it would be risky, and very scary. I hesitated. I had to admit, in spite of my instinctive fear, I was curious. The giant, as enormous as he was, had not tried to hurt me, and had actually been quite gentle when handling me. Could it be possible that he was friendly?

I turned around and quietly, cautiously, walked toward his mountainous form. I couldn't help but think, if not for his impossible size, he would look like an ordinary man. I walked past one of his hands, admiring the fingers that were as big as tree trunks, the fleshy palm as large as a mattress. In order to get a closer look at his face, I climbed up onto his pillow. He had a handsome countenance, clean shaven, with short dark hair. Even when laying on his side, with his head sinking into the pillow, his face was still taller than me standing upright. Truly mind-boggling.

Suddenly, the giant began to stir, and I realized too late I had made a terrible mistake in climbing so close to his face. He opened his mouth into a gaping yawn, and I gawked at teeth the size of kitchen floor tiles, a huge slimy tongue, and the entryway to the back of his fleshy red throat. Despite my frenetic attempt to pull back, the giant had reflexively moved his hand to cover his mouth, as a person would normally do when yawning, which had the horrifying effect of pushing me INTO his gigantic maw! I screamed and struggled to no avail as the massive jaws slammed shut, trapping me inside. I was pinned between the muscular tongue and the roof of his mouth, and couldn't help but stare in horror down into the dark abyss of his throat. I felt hot, moist breath on my face emanating from deep inside. The tongue undulated and pressed firmly against me, and I realized with sickening dread that the giant was tasting me. The mouth was filling up with a pool of saliva. I squirmed and clawed at the tongue desperately as my slippery body started to slide down into the gullet. I shrieked in fear when I saw the throat muscles contract, thinking I was going to be swallowed alive, but miraculously the excessive saliva that had accumulated was instead drained down. The cage of teeth opened and I felt two enormous fingers grab my midsection and drag me back out into the light.

For a moment I was so shocked and overwhelmed I couldn't process anything. The realization that I had almost been eaten alive was just too much. I couldn't stop shaking. The giant fingers gingerly set me down into the palm of the other hand and my legs collapsed beneath me like they were made of jelly. Even though I was so scared I had nowhere to run. I craned my neck back to look up into the face of the huge giant towering over me. He had a slightly pained expression on his face. Then, to my surprise, he spoke.

"Um... sorry about that. Are you alright little one?" Though I could tell he was trying to speak gently his voice still boomed loudly due to his size. I couldn't help but cringe in fear. I tried to muster up the courage to speak but my mouth went dry. I looked up at him with wild and terrified eyes close to tears. His brows furrowed slightly, in a mix of concern and confusion. There was a moment of awkward silence. He seemed unsure what to do or say.