A Day in the Clouds (Chapter 4) - The Hours Between 0800 and 0900

_{This is a continuation of the Steemit-exclusive, original novel A Day in the Clouds. Be sure to check out the previous chapters to catch up with the story. Enjoy!}

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<< Chapter 3

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It was a strange practice. Feeding time. I could never get used to the giants’ concept of eating.

Where I live, the whole village used to bring all the food into one place and everyone would scatter to sit wherever they want with whoever they want to share their meal with. There were no designations of where or how to consume the food. Anyone could do anything they wanted with it — feed the flying bisons, store it for later or just not partake of the meal at all.

The giants' fascination with eating in unison at a designated location was much too baffling to comprehend. How could they bear to sit still in one location for hours? At least it answers their penchant for prisons.

The savory aroma that lingered in the air seemed to loosen Dadier's grip. With all the energy I had left, I wiggled out of his clutches and eventually freed myself. Upon landing on the ground, I slipped out of their sights, shot out through the opened door and ran wildly outside of the fortress. If I was lucky enough, I might be able to slip out of the gate while they were feeding.

I didn't dare to look back but I felt Dadier coming up behind me. All that I could do was to trust how far my feet could take me. The faster I ran, the more I felt the wind on my skin, as if the sudden rush slowly recharged my powers. My bare feet slammed forcefully against the tiled floor, the sound they made echoed throughout the deserted corridor.

    "Yes!" I screamed unintentionally upon first sight of light from the outside.

I clenched my fists and redirected all of my energy to my legs, hoping that this escape would prove to be my first successful one. There was no elaborate plan, I was just making things up as I go. I've been in the yard outside of the fortress many times, but always with giants watching my every move — this would be the first time I caught them off-guard while they were too busy feeding.

Clank! A metallic mesh appeared out of nowhere and impeded my escape. The creases were too small to fit myself in between. I reached up the latch and tried to unhinge the gigantic, brown-tinged gate but it didn't budge.

Mamie emerged from the door and walked slowly towards me. She wore a red armor made from the same silken material the other giants adorned themselves with. Calling out my name, she let out a smile that seemed to signal her victory.

I smiled back, acknowledging my foiled attempt. Quivering a little, all that was left to do was to give in to capture. I knew when to admit defeat. I held up my arms as she hoisted me up and then carried me back inside the grim fortress.

Taking huge strides, Mamie made short work of what seemed like a lengthy distance. For every ten steps I took, these giants only seemed to take one. It was a distinct disadvantage that I have yet to find a solution for.

Mamie had a softer frame than Dadier. What would normally be a hard, violent grip was replaced by a warm, pillow-like cuddle. I didn't mount much resistance but Mamie still placed her lips against mine to pacify me, like what Dadier would do. Precautionary measures.

The dining table was filled to the brim with what looked like piping hot, succulent, giant food. They were too large for us prisoners to bite, so they chopped it into small pieces fit for consumption. Teten and Eddie were already there when I was hauled in, already being fed. Eddie was force fed the same way I was but Teten had already attained the right to feed herself. In fact, Teten had grown enough that she didn't need her food to be chopped into small pieces. Could those giants be lacing the food with a serum that would transform us into one of them? I mean, they were already re-educating us to fit into their culture. Could this be the next step in their diabolical scheme?

Come to think about it, Teten had grown vertically at a gradual pace ever since I've met her. Her speech and demeanor had changed over the years, now resembling that of the other giants. They let her wander off on her own, seemingly more lax about her captivity as time passed. Could they be slowly assimilating her to their ranks? Was Mamie a prisoner transformed into a giant as well?

Throughout the years that they have kept me here, I have noticed significant vertical growth. The constant re-education and siphoning of my powers seem like a very logical way to rob me of my identity and heritage. A reformatted brain does make sense if they ever hope to avoid retaliation once I grew enough for my punches to hurt.

I agitated just enough to be released from Mamie's grip but I was held down firmly, barring any chance of escape. She strapped me down to a tall chair, sat beside me and proceeded to slice my food.

Across the table, Eddie stared at me with his doe eyes, accepting everything they force fed him — he even seemed to enjoy himself. Unlike Teten and I, this wretched little creature seemed to grow horizontally rather than vertically. His plump figure robbed him of the ability to walk or stand on his own. What was different from the food he was being fed? Could they be instead fattening him up for their consumption? He does look rather similar to the delicacy they call "pork" — though I'm not quite certain what it's called. Revolting.

I grabbed the closest plastic utensils I could find and used it to swat the food from my plate.

    "No!" Mamie scolded, constantly making a clicking sound with her mouth. She wrestled the utensils from my grip, fearing that I could transform them into deadly weapons. “Don't do that!”

Dadier gazed at me from a distance, though I wasn't really sure because of the light that reflected against his spectacles. He stopped eating for a while as he held his icy glare.

For the meantime, I had no energy to perform another escape or to do battle with Dadier, so I stopped resisting and gave in to what Mamie fed me, hoping that the act would appease the bearded giant.

Conformity. It's the one thing that they seemed to ask. They won the Great War so I guess they're entitled to getting what they wanted.

As a prisoner, I had no choice but to abide by their rules. Constant disobedience had taught me that it wasn't in my best interest to go against the grain. Punishment and torture seemed to be the only way these giants know how to force their practices on their captives. Much like the shackles that bound me to this elevated chair, these giants would soon prove to be not much of a hindrance to my freedom.

The chattering became even more deafening as meal time went on. The giants shouted at each other back and forth in between chewing. If only I had my armas at full strength, I could silence their howling once and for all. Alas, all my hands could do was to cover my ears and hope that it would suffice in dampening the noise.

Teten sat beside Mamie, almost looking like she already fit in with the gigantic lot. Lowla and Lowlow — two older giants — sat beside her on her left. I didn't know how they were related but their names have a very similar ring to it. Ari and Doma — the giants who took the night watch — sat in front of them, from across the table.

All of them took turns looking at me with confusion, that words cannot simply describe. I couldn’t stand people staring at me — I never have and I never will. I get this sickening, unnerving feeling like I want to escape from my body. So, whenever they do decide to fixate on me, I just avert their gaze and pretend that they don’t exist. Sure enough, they lose interest after some time.

On the other hand, that repulsive Eddie seemed to always take pleasure in the attention he’s given. The giants revert to this sort of infantile state whenever they surround him. Giggling and cooing — it’s unnatural!

Burp! Gas from inside me bubbled up rejecting further consumption. I tried to reason with Mamie to stop feeding me, but it seemed that she still doesn’t understand a word I say. But I guess that’s the thing about captors and captives, only one half of that equation needs to give way. Here I thought that Mamie had shown progress with learning my native tongue. I guess I was wrong.

Mamie kept pushing their food into my mouth. What was a pile larger than my head was now reduced to half of its original size. I tried to swat her advances away with my hands, but my resistance proved to be no match.

    "No more," I begged, to no response. “Please. No more.”

I squeezed her hand hoping that it would get through to her somehow, to no avail. Seemingly out of options and fearing my stomach was about to burst, I spat out my food, fastened my mouth and averted further advances.

Mamie became visibly irritated and eventually stopped trying to force food into me. The thing I’ve noticed with these giants is that they sometimes have very little patience. It was a weakness of theirs — a weakness which their opponents commonly took advantage of. Unfortunately for me, it seemed as if the giants’ patience have grown stronger as time passed.

The chattering stopped almost as soon as the giants were done eating. They stood almost in unison, cleared out the table and went back to their stations. Just like that, meal time was over. No announcement, no grand finale. Nothing.

Mamie unshackled me from my restrain, hoisted me up and set me down on the ground. The gate was left unguarded and yet I felt no motivation to escape. My body felt heavy, my stomach filled almost to bursting. A grim cloud weighed heavy on me, and it became tedious to even keep my eyelids open.

What have those wretched giants fed me? Tranquilizers? Was I subjected to hypnosis?

I trod lightly on the tiled passageway, guided by the light that emanated from the outside. I felt a cool breeze push me and embrace me at the same time, on my way out. With the once secured mesh gate now unlocked, I stepped out of the fortress and into the cemented prison grounds.

Robbed of any motivation to escape, I walked back inside the fortress. It wasn’t that hard to admit, but the giants won that round.

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