"I can't do this," Eric sighed miserably. "I-I can't, I just can't." Not even a few minutes had passed before the sky decided to start pouring rain, leaving the man with blurred spectacles, and completely cold and numb to the core. At some point or another he lost the trail, but he was too cold to even realize as he shivered his way through a different direction. He couldn't even feel his prosthetics anymore, just stumbling through the wild like a starstruck lamb.

When he did finally make progress, it was by entering a large meadow that he didn't recognize at all. The paths were nowhere to be found, and he couldn't see any buildings with the trees and clouds in the way. Eric shivered and tried to wipe the water off his glasses, but it only made his vision worse. He shambled onward, with no other choice but to keep his legs mechanically chugging along, hunching against the rain as he looked through the camera. Only one bar left. He didn't have much longer before--

His artificial foot hit a rock. He tripped and fell forward with a yelp, and he hit the ground rolling. He tumbled down the slight slope and through the earthy soup, gravity pulling him to the lowest point of the open space until he collided into a wall that halted his fall. Dizzy, Eric rolled over on his stomach and swayed, squinting for the camera's faint glow in the wet grass. There! He spotted it. He crawled close and grabbed it, relieved to see no new cracks despite the rough tumble.

"Oh, good!" He sighed with relief. "I thought it..." He trailed off and frowned; he was hearing something, some kind of wind? He brought the camera to his eyes and turned. And he immediately froze. What he had rolled into wasn't a wall or a rock: It was something big, something alive.

And currently sleeping.

Eric's fear wavered nervously as he listened to the gentle snores. They sounded like a person's, but louder, making Eric wonder just what kind of monster this legend was about. He slowly walked forward, feeling a flash of relief and courage when he spied his handkerchief in the mud. He grabbed it and clutched it tightly as he moved forward, approaching the massive figure and getting a good look at the beast for the first time.

It appeared to be a giant person. Male, with a dark gray shirt and black pants over legs that seemed to stretch on for miles, capped off by black trail boots. Pale skin covered the arms, which were loosely folded over the chest, and over the giant's face was a snapback hat, the visor resting on the nose and covering the closed eyes. Eric stifled a frightened squeak and shook harder, finding little relief in the fact that this huge man was currently sleeping.

But he did feel warm. As Eric slowly came closer, he could feel the body heat emanating from this huge person, and he hesitantly walked up to the massive flank again. He could hear the soft wooshes of air as the giant breathed, his inner workings a surprisingly pleasant change from the pouring rain that had trolled him for the past ten minutes. Huddling under a bent elbow, Eric sighed, glad to be out of the rain and somewhere warm. Actually, he was pretty sure this was the warmest he'd ever felt. He found himself slumping against the warm fabric surface and his eyelids drooping, exhaustion finally hitting at full force, and the camera fell out of his limp hand as he slid down and fell asleep in the shadow of the giant.

"... Just sleeping.. there...?"

"... Idea... Poor thing... Lost..."

"Doubtful... Probably... Ze other humans..."

"... Cute, though... Like him..."

"... Don't think we can... Dangerous..."

"But...leaves, zen ve... Have to move again."

"I know, doc, what do ya want from me? I couldn't just leave him out in a storm there in the middle of nowhere. He was ice cold! And all those scratches... He stank too, I think he might be homeless."

"I do not care! I'm sorry, but zis iz too dangerous, I cannot garantee our safety if ve keep him here." Eric slowly opened his eyes. It was dark, but it felt like it shouldn't be. A soft fabric cradled him, and he was enveloped in a sea of covers and soothing warmth. He closed his eyes, finding his resting place too comfortable to question.

"Chase, I know you have a soft spot for humans, but I have to agree with Henrik. What if he just runs away? Worst case scenario he tells everyone in that town about us. Best case scenario... He gets lost and attacked by wildlife... Or-or by him."

"I won't let that bastard touch him. And besides, humans can take care of themselves, I've seen them on those trails and out camping before."

"Hah, barely."

"Well, I'm just saying... We need to be careful. We don't know what he's been through, so... Yeah, JJ is right, if he does run off, then don't be disappointed, okay?"

"I know, I know..." Eric frowned and opened his eyes again. Did his dad have some drinking buddies over? But this wasn't the trailer... Where on earth was he?

"D-dad?" Eric hesitantly called out. The voices immediately hushed. Eric winced, regretting speaking out, but it was too late to take back. "Uh, d-d-dad, wh-where-where are we now? I-I don't-I-I don't r-remember--" Eric flinched and covered his eyes when light suddenly blinded him. He squinted and tried to peek through his fingers, but all he could see were three blurry faces taking up way more of his vision than normal. No sign of Derek, though.

"Vhat ze hell?" That was the german voice muttering. He sounded cross. Eric couldn't blame him.

"Shit, what do we do?"

"Well he hasn't flipped out yet, so let me talk." He saw the peering face on his right loom closer. "Hey, little dude, c-can you understand me?" Eric slowly lowered his hands, letting his eyes adjust. It was all still blurry: he realized it was because his glasses were missing.

"I-I-I c-I can't- my... m-my glasses," Eric quietly stuttered.

"Oh, Jackie get those things that were on his face." A red hand that was impossibly big suddenly swooped down, holding the tiny pair of glasses between an index finger and thumb. Eric cowered back, but he didn't want to be rude, so he timidly reached out and grabbed for the glasses. Initially, his groping hand brushed the red, making the hand flinch back a little and in turn make Eric shy back again.

"It's okay Jackie, he doesn't bite," the other voice coaxed.

"Speak for yourself," the german voice muttered as Eric finally grabbed his glasses and put them on. They were a little crooked and foggy, which was normal, so he looked up to finally see what was happening.

He immediately felt faint.

Not just one, but three giants were looking down at him, two further back than the other. The closer one, the one who had first tried talking to him, was watching him with a warm smile that offered support; but at the moment it only heightened Eric's anxiety. The other two had masks on, one with a doctor mask pulled down and around the neck, and the other with a deep blue domino mask to match the pair of bright blue eyes behind them.The doctor wore a signature white coat over a light blue shirt, and the masked guy wore some kind of red and blue onesie as far as Eric could tell. Such strange choice of clothing-- not that he was judging!

Come to think of it, they all looked pretty similar; well groomed goatees, dark brown hair, blue eyes, pale skin... Perhaps they were brothers? Although the doctor guy looked pretty stern--

"Don't freak out," the closer one gently said, "We're not gonna hurt ya." The doctor huffed doubtfully, making Eric feel even more nervous as he tried to wring his handkerchief, but when he looked for it it wasn't there. His alarm spiked even more as he looked around frantically, completely abandoning the frightening fact that he was face to face with three huge giants. The closer one frowned, tilting his head before his eyes sparked.

"Oh, you want the- Hey Jackie get the- oh, thanks JJ." A fourth had crossed into Eric's line of sight. He had a little bowler hat on and a well-groomed moustache over a lightly dappled goatee. A blue vest over a white shirt was what covered the new person's visible thorax, and in his extended hand was Eric's prized handkerchief.

Eric gasped with relief as he took the yellow cloth from the giant's fingers. The man smiled with a twitch of his moustache, pulling his hand away as Eric clutched his precious comfort object.

"Thank you, thank you, th-thank you..." He murmured anxiously. A little bit of his stress had already dissipated with the reunion of his handkerchief. Overhead, the closer one shared a look with the masked one, while the doctor guy made a "Hmmph" sound and adjusted his glasses. Eric looked up at them, fear wavering with timid curiosity.

"Wh-who are you?" He asked. Then he made a frightened face. "I-I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that-that sounded rude, oh...!" He started rocking again, feeling another wave of helpless panic. "I-I didn't mean to sound rude, I-I just-I mean, my-my dad has a lot of friends, and-and it-it's just so hard t-to keep track of them all, 'cause we-we-we move a lot and ev-and everything, but-but, um...!" The moustache giant suddenly started gesturing with his hands.

"[Whoa, slow down there grasshopper! You're okay.]" Eric blinked and sniffled.

"A-are-are you sure?" He mewled. He heard a sharp intake from one of the other giant people, but the dapper man blinked before grinning and continuing to gesture.

"[Of course you are! If anything we're the rude ones here, chap, but we were just so surprised when Chase brought you home--]"

"Ve ahr rude!?" The doctor snapped, "No, no no no no, ve have every reason to toss zis human out back for ze vildlife to tear him apart!"

"Henrik!" The masked one exclaimed. "That's horrible! We can't do that to an innocent!"

"Who said he iz innocent?" Henrik sniffed rather snobbishly.

"I do," the closer one growled, "And if you have a problem with that then you can just turn your back and pipe down!" He then looked down at Eric and gave him that reassuring smile again. "You're not bein' rude at all little dude. I, ah, I don't know who your dad is, but I'm Chase." Chase then nodded to the others. "The prick over there is Henrik von-"

"Doctah Schneeplestein," Henrik huffed, turning away.

"I'm Jackieboyman!" The masked one exclaimed eagerly. "But you can call me Jackie!"

"And our mute friend here is Jameson Jackson, but we call him JJ." JJ waved hello, and Eric shyly waved back.

"H-hi." He turned to Chase. "Y-you-you found me?" Chase nodded.

"Yep! You were all snuggled up against me like a sleeping bag," the giant chuckled, "Good thing I don't move much in my sleep, huh?" Eric gave them a weak smile.

"Y-y-yeah...I'm s-sorry, I-I just..." Then he trailed off as his smile dropped to horror. "O-oh, oh, oh, my-my dad! H-he-he must be-he-he was--!"

"Yer dad?" Jackie leaned forward curiously. "Was he with ya in the forest?"

"Y-y-yeah, he-he was-he was with me- he was there, with-w-with me, and-and-and there was-there was a-a-a m-m-monster--" Poor Eric was tearing up again, his words jumbling into gasps of air as he tried to not cry in front of his new acquaintances.

"A monster?" Chase echoed. Eric glanced up to see that the giant was wearing a frown. It was then that he finally noticed that his cap from before was missing: and with a quick look around, he realized that he had been resting in the upside down snapback this entire time, with a large piece of cloth as his comfy blanket. Flustered, Eric nodded as he clung to his handkerchief, starting to realize just how humongous these new people were.

"Y-yes, sir..." Chase's eyebrows quirked.

"Sir?" He asked with amusement.

"U-um!" Eric panicked again. "I-I'm sorry! I-if-if you don't like being called that, th-that's-that's okay! I-I-I mean--" Chase shook his head, smiling warmly.

"It's okay little dude, you don't need to be so formal." Eric practically melted with relief. "But what about this monster? What did it look like?"

"W-w-well." Eric wrung his cloth. "B-big, uh, tw-two, two feet, it-it had two feet, I-I think. It-it was really dark-- and-and bright, but it-it had, um, green-green eyes." He noticed the giants all exchange a look. He didn't like it. "Wh-wh-what-what is it?" He asked without thinking.

"He iz fucked," Henrik remarked. Eric's heartrate skyrocketed.

"What!?" He cried.

"Henrik!" Chase admonished. JJ flicked the doctor on the ear, making him yelp and jerk away.

"[Don't be so rude, old chap!]"

"I am not being rude, I am being a realist!" His hand rubbed the side of his head as he glowered at Eric. "And ve should get rid of him vhile ve still can!"

"No!" Eric flinched when Chase suddenly stood up. His whole world teetered as gravity tugged on him, and he realized that the giant had been holding the cap this whole time. He worried how high up he may be, but he was too afraid to even look over the lip of the bowled walls. "We can't just leave him for the wild animals to get," Chase argued, "He's a person too! Or have you forgotten what that's like?" Henrik bristled with an annoyed growl, but Jackie intervened.

"Okay, okay! Then how about we wait until Marvin comes back with Robbie? Then we can ask his opinion, and decide if we keep him here or not." Eric wondered if that was a good or a bad thing. Was it good? They seemed nice, maybe they were talking about letting him stay over since he'd gotten lost. Maybe they'd help him find his dad!

"... U-Um... e-excuse-excuse me, but-but wh-what about my-my dad?" Eric timidly asked. He immediately recoiled, expecting a rebuke.

"I'm sure he's fine." Jackie offered him a tight grin. "Yeah, he-he'll be okay, you betcha! And if we see him, we'll let ya know."

"Oh, you-you would, really?" Eric's eyes shimmered gratefully as his chest relaxed a little. "Thank you, th-thank you!"

"[I'd bet my bottom dollar that Marvin might have seen him,]" JJ signed, "[He's out on guard duty, so maybe he knows something.]"

"I-I hope so." Eric hesitated a small second, and then he added, "I-I... I hope I'm not being too-too inconvenient..." Henrik scoffed and shuffled out of sight, and Chase shot an annoyed look after him.

"No, no you aren't. Not at all!" Eric smiled nervously as the giant shifted his grip on the cap. "Are you still tired?" He asked, changing the subject, "You slept the whole way home, but you still look like your ass got dragged through a bunch of bushes."

"O-oh, well..." Eric recalled what must have already been last night-- or this morning. "I-I did, but-but I didn't get-I didn't get dragged through them, I-I had to t-to hide from the monster." He felt lightheaded just thinking about it. The remaining three giants shared sympathetic glances.

"Well, how about you try getting a few more zzz's in?" Chase gently suggested, "You can stay right where you are, if you want. My hat's pretty dope." Flustered, Eric fiddled with his handkerchief as he turned red with embarrassment.

"A-are-are you sure? Are you sure- I-I mean-w-well- I-I wouldn't be a-a bother?" He tried to stutter out.

"No, you're fine." Chase offered that contagious grin again. "Just get some rest. I'll make sure nobody bothers you."

"O-oh... Th-thank-thank you..." JJ turned to Jackie and signed something just out of Eric's peripheral. Jackie nodded and silently went out of the human's line of sight, their rumbly steps fading. Chase had turned away briefly to nod goodbye, and then he returned his attention to Eric.

"Well, I'll set you down in my room, I guess. You okay with me walking?" Eric nodded timidly, and the giant started taking slow, steady steps. Each step gently rocked him like a boat on calm waves, and though he had initially tensed Eric soon found himself calming down. His heart didn't hammer so hard as it had before, and he even let out a little yawn and snuggled his covers as Chase carefully transported him into a different section of wherever they were. Peering through the hole at the back of the hat, he could see that the walls were unrefined rock, and he remembered seeing the ceiling was the same: was this a cave?

"Here we go." Chase turned from the tunnel and walked into a chamber. It was made of rock as well. Definitely a cave system. That explained the cool, earthy sense of the air. The giant walked over to a roughly rectangular collection of fur blankets and crouched down, gently setting the cap down at the head of the mess. Eric could get a few glimpses of the world beyond the gaelic giant: a giant-sized wad of paper amongst a sea of tinier pieces, a crudely handcrafted table with a chair looming over a broken leg, as well as a fashioned cup surrounded by... teabags?

"Comfy?" Chase asked, snapping Eric out of his observations. The human flinched and turned red again, nodding sheepishly. "Good. Just relax. You'll be safe here." The giant stood to his full height, making Eric blanch: he could barely see his chin from way down here, let alone his face if he didn't angle it downward like now. "I know this'll take some getting used to, but nothing bad will happen to you. I'll make sure of it." Eric let out a little nod, the permanence of these words not quite connecting with him.

"Th-thank you," he said shyly, wringing his handkerchief now, "Y-you-you're really- you're really n-nice..."

"Aww, thanks bro," Chase laughed lightly, "You too!" Eric felt his senses go numb. He was... Nice? He had never been called nice before. Especially not by someone he barely even knew. "I'm gonna go check on the others," Chase continued, not noticing Eric's bewilderment, "If ya need anything, let me know, I'll be back lickity split!" And with that, the giant turned and went on out of the cavern, leaving Eric to struggle with his own thoughts. Nice? Someone had called him nice... And a giant! Not that he was judging these new people's height, but...

Astonished, Eric slumped under the covers. The hat was still warm with Chase's fading presence, offering the young man a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time: security. He felt safe, for some reason. Tearing up a little, Eric pushed the covers aside to remove his prosthetics. With a soft click they came undone, and he set them close by in case he needed to quickly put them back on. He snuggled the dimly nostalgic feeling, uncertainly accepting its gentle embrace. As he closed his eyes, he found his thoughts wandering to his mother. How his mama was so warm like this. She gave nice hugs, with the same feeling as what he felt now. Except now he felt a twinge of morose as her redolent perfume came back to him: she always smelled nice, not fake like the smells that came out of bottles, but like cinnamony vanilla flowers with a hint of warmth. Yes, that was the best way he could identify it: warm. It was a warm smell for a warm presence; he both smiled and teared up at the memory of it.

He closed his eyes and turned over, trying to stop thinking before he could remember the bad stuff. But as he slipped into exhausted sleep, he couldn't help but remember the echos of their screams, and he fell into a fitful sleep as tears leaked from his closed eyes.