The yelling came from a street over. To get there quicker, I ran through a cobweb-infested alley. When I emerged, I was faced with an old parking garage. The stone was cracking and columns were eroding. There was an abandoned car next to the entrance and it smelled of wet stone.

  My breath caught when something moved in the shadows of the garage. I crouched and crept to one of the entrance pillars. I pressed my side into the stone and peeked around the corner. It was dark and I couldn’t see much of anything other than shadows.

  “Stay back!” A trembling voice yelled from within. “Stay away from me!”

  I pulled my head back, my heart rate rocketing. A quiet whine escaped my mouth as my left hand grabbed a fistful of my right sleeve.

  I sucked in a breath and pushed off the column. Ducking inside, I inched forward.

  “Please, no!”

  The stranger sounded desperate and close. Very close. I stepped sideways so I could see behind another stone pillar and even in the dark I could make out shapes. My eyes started to adjust and the details became clearer.

  In the dark were two figures. One was a woman. She was shaking and taking stumbling steps backward. The other had a towering body, standing several feet above the woman. They were tall. I narrowed my eyes for only a moment before they blew open. I froze, my blood became cold and I stopped breathing.

  That wasn’t a person at all.

  This thing had skin the color of lavender and something like bone was protruding from the head.

  Its hands were drifting towards the woman’s face. Hands that had claws like nails.

  Drained… drained...

  “LADY! Move!”

  The Giant seized the woman’s head, its claws piercing the skin above her ears. It whispered something I couldn’t understand to her. The woman didn’t react, her hands only trembled. The claws of the Giant began to glow and the woman's limbs spasmed. Her eyes above her mask were so horrifyingly desperate that I almost screamed for her.

  I asked myself.

  A character like Batman would perhaps give a kick to the face. Maybe a sweep of the leg.

  I didn’t do either of those. Instead, I charged at the Giant using my umbrella like a lance. The Giant glanced at me, it’s dark eyes looking me up and down. It didn’t let go of the woman, not even when I stabbed the umbrella tip into it's side. I soon realized why. The umbrella didn’t break skin nor hinder the Giant in any way. The thing didn't even move.

  Sweat dripped down my face and onto my mask.

  , metal umbrellas couldn’t hurt it. That was good information to have. It was also the worst news ever.

  The Giant continued to stare at me even as the person in it’s grasp started to sag. She was obviously exhausted if the paleness of her skin were anything to go by and yet she still met my eyes. She seemed so… sad. So scared. And all I could do was watch.

  I gritted my teeth.

  I glared at the Giant. “Hey, asshole! If you’re going to hurt anyone, hurt me! Let her go!” My grip on the umbrella tightened. I raised it above my head and smacked it into the Giant’s outstretched arms. I smacked it again, and again. “Let. Her. GO!” I started ramming into the Giant’s body with my own. If I could only move it a little. If I can do anything then it’ll be enough.

  “Kid,” the woman muttered. I paused and met her gaze again. My gut sank. She was crying. “Run.”

  She dropped, her eyelids falling closed. The Giant pulled back it's hands and she fell to the ground. I threw myself to my knees, my hands hovering over her.

  What are you supposed to do in this situation? This woman was drained and when you get drained…

  A cracking sound echoed through the space. The mask that covered the woman’s mouth was crumbling. Like a spiderweb, fractures traveled across the surface and like glass, it shattered.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Don’t breathe,” I said. I held a hand to her mouth but I could see her chest inflate with air. “Stop. I’ll get you out of here.”

  My own hands were shaking.

  The woman breathed once more. But only once. She fell completely still, not even her chest moved. I could feel no warm exhale on my hand either. She was dead.

  “Thief,” a new voice said.

  I dragged my eyes upward. I was met with a gaze that pinned me down.

  “For Altear, you will do.”

  Hands with claws reached for me and my brain stuttered. Without really realizing what I was doing, I rolled. Not an elegant roll either but rather a full-body toss. I pushed myself to my feet and staggered when I stepped on my shoelace.

  The Giant straightened again and stepped towards me. I took that as an invitation to take three steps back.

  “Human, you should not run.”

  This voice was new. The Giant before me didn’t speak, the voice came from behind.

  Dread settled in my gut as I looked over my shoulder. Walking towards me was another one of those things. This one was even taller with broader shoulders. In its hand was the hair of a person. A girl about my age was kicking and pulling at the hand that held her. She froze when she saw the dead woman.

  “MOM!” she shrieked.

  “What did I say about speaking,” the new Giant snapped.

  It pulled on the girl’s hair until she was lifted into the air. A pained gasp sounded from behind her mask.

  This new Giant then said something in another language to the other Giant before throwing the girl next to my feet.

  “First the boy,” the first Giant said.

  “English?” the new one asked.

  “It makes them shake more. Look at this one, he’s like a newborn.” It pointed to me.

  “Alright,” the first one said. “Here’s the deal. You don’t give us any trouble and we will leave your friend alone.” It gestured to the girl, the same girl who was staring at her dead mother.

  I never met her before but I wasn’t about to argue with this Giant about her and me being ‘friends’.

  “You won’t?” My voice was so quiet and unsteady.

  “We won’t.”

  It was total BS, that I knew. There was no way in hell that they would just let her go after killing me. Especially when I hold no power over them. What trouble could I cause them that they would actually strike such a deal? Not much, that’s for sure.

  "What do you want?"

  "Want… He asks us what we want as if they don't remember." The first Giant crept closer. "You don't get to ask us that, boy."

  There are two of them. Both of which probably have armored skin and homicidal tendencies. There's also the girl who I have never met before. She could potentially help me if the death of her mother didn't stun her too much. The other Giant had brought her here. But why? Can they only drain people in here? Or was it something else?

  "Let her go first. Let her walk away then I will accept your deal."

  "No," said the girl. "I won't leave my mom."

  “She’s gone,” I said. “You have to leave.”

  The girl looked at me, and from what I could see over the mask, her expression was twisted with emotion. I wished I could telepathically communicate with her, instead, I strengthened my gaze and gave a quick look at the exit.

  “Not yet!”

  The girl jumped to her feet and ran towards her mother, somehow dodging the arm that tried to grab her.

  “We’ll just kill you then,” the new Giant said as the first one went to follow her.

  With the Giant’s eyes off of me, I slipped my hand into my pocket. My hand closed over my phone. Turning it on and using my fingerprint to open it, I pulled it out just enough so I could see the top half of the screen.

  The answer was obvious.

  I pushed the number named, .

  The only person in my family who is guaranteed to answer is my dear old pa.

  The phone buzzed in my hand as it dialed the number.

  “What are you doing?” That voice was a lot closer than I remembered.

  I jumped and stashed my phone back in my pocket.

  “Nothing.” I glanced at the girl who was now, hopefully unconscious. “Please don’t kill her. She can’t die in some gross parking garage in Gregton. Not to some Giant like you!”

  The Giant titled its head. “That name your people gave us… it brings back memories. I like it.” The monster, being only an arm's length away, pushed me forward. “Drain him. We’ll take the girl.”

  “I don’t know. He seems more cooperative,” the first one said, approaching again.

  “Cooperative?” There was a low hiss to the word. The Giant’s hand was suddenly reaching into my pocket and pulling out my phone. “No, he’s just a trickster.” A loud snapping sound came from its hand as my phone was crushed like paper.

  “I see. Then pray that Entha has mercy on you tonight.”

  Blade-like claws filled my vision and my brain functions stopped working. This was it. This is what all those adults warned us about throughout school. Only 25 percent of people survive. And only twenty percent of them don’t lose their minds.

  The tips dug into my skin but surprisingly there was no blood. They probably won’t even leave a mark, though, I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. It was as if many needles entered my skin and invaded my head.

  I gasped in pain.

  “Stop!” I yelled.

  I pulled back and tried to push the hands away. They did not budge. I punched and grabbed them. I dug my own nails into the fingers and kicked at the legs. They might as well have been made of concrete.

  “He’s moving too much,” The Giant said, though its voice was muffled as if it spoke underwater.

  The other Giant grabbed my shoulders and pushed down, stilling me. I couldn’t even move my head to look at it. I could only stare into the dark eyes of the monster in front of me. I squeezed my eyes shut. Through my eyelids I could see the glow that would be coming from the claws.

  I could feel the difference immediately. The energy I possessed mere moments ago was gone. My arms fell limp at my side and my body slumped. I sucked in air yet it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs ached.

  The monster released me and I fell on my face, unable to catch myself. I opened my eyes and tried to figure out what I was looking at. I think it was concrete and a clawed foot but everything was bleary. I wish I could have something better to look at.

  Any moment now…

  The pressure against my face wasn’t as strong as before. More snapping sounds came from my mask. It made one more loud noise before the pressure was completely gone.

  I forced myself to not take a single breath. I sealed my mouth closed and held my hand over my face. A heaviness grew in my lungs as they called for air. I squeezed my eyes shut and held out for a moment before I was forced to inhale.

  The air didn’t seem any different from normal oxygen. It didn’t feel like poison at all. That didn’t matter though.

  ! Cain Rogue, !

  I whined as the pain built up in my lungs. My shoulders began to shake and goose bumps formed on my arms.

  I inhaled again but the pain did not ease, somehow it grew worse. A burning sensation boiled under my skin. I could only curl into myself and hug my hoodie closer as a chill swept over me.

  I was freezing.