Monday burned through me in a flash of fire. The haze that walked in from somewhere back East left the camp distorted and dusty. I’d sit below the awnings near the infirmary and watch the foraging trucks roll back in from hills. Refugees usually followed them.

It was around this time I met Cinna. The old bastard hitched a ride on a supply truck carrying clean water from the outlying river. By then he had already developed quite a reputation for his dealings with the giants. If it weren’t for him, I likely wouldn’t even have a job. Up until his arrival nobody even considered trying to deal with our larger adversaries with such...discretion. Underhandedness was more like it.

Rumors always preceded him. A thin Hispanic woman told me that he had led an insurrection in Old New York in which he managed to poison three of them with extremely large doses of ketamine. Who’d a thought?

He was the closest thing the people had to a folk hero, and now he was coming to Camp Juliet. I can’t say I really approved of his methods, but I was in no position to criticize his work.

When he did finally arrive he wasn’t as I expected him at all. I had expected a younger man, standing a head taller than the rest of us. Muscled and scarred from a lifetime of fighting. Instead he was a small old man. His body was wracked by enfeeblement. His hair, thin and fading to white. In fact he looked much more like his namesake Roman than I would have imagined.

I distinctly remember his way of walking. His movements were overblown and confident, as though he was trying to overcompensate for the frailty of his limbs. He wanted to speak to me about my work. Apparently he was fascinated.

It was Tuesday, the day after my first conversation with Vera. I was in the mess hall sometime in the afternoon. Before me was a myriad of hastily scribbled notes, most of which I had dreamed up in the groggy hours of early morning. They were horrible.

I didn’t even see him approach. He made no introductions, indulged in no common pleasantries. Instead he tapped his walking stave against the metal table in a curious rhythm and jumped straight into conversation.

“Ellis, my dear Ellis. What deeds do you have planned?”

My head shot up. There he was, hunched over my workspace like a weathered Parisian gargoyle. I of course had no idea who he was or what he was talking about.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re Ellis no? The brave soul who speaks with giants?”

“I...I suppose. I mean- yes!”

“Cinna!” he chirped. With a sweep of his hand he gestured for permission to sit. I nodded and he took a seat on the bench opposite of me.

“So you’re the famous Cinna then?” I asked. Unfortunately his sudden intrusion left me socially and mentally unprepared.

“I suppose I am him!” he replied in a musical voice.

“Well what can I do for you sir?”

“Sir, sir, who’s a sir around here? Not I! Haha!”

That’s how he liked to talk. Like some kind of excitable leperchaun. I immediately wondered if he had gone senile and if he was even aware of his own reputation.

“Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about your work.”

“My work? The personality profiling?”

“No no I mean her, the first captive!”

“First?”

“Well of course. Sure there are others now but she was the first! Did you not know?”

“No, I...I guess I didn’t really think that was important…”

“Oh but it is!” Cinna got to his feet and shuffled around the edge of the table. He plopped down next to me and threw one of his bony arms around my shoulders.

“Do you know how difficult it is to manipulate them? To get them to go where you want?”

Sure, I had thought about it. In my line of work I had been consulted several times on the matter. Yet, I never really came up with a solution. I had always assumed that they kept her sedated and built the facility around her, but that didn’t make much sense.

“No, enlighten me…” I said. Cinna could clearly hear the curiosity in my speech. An impish fire burned in his eyes as he began to explain.

“Its really quite simple. There like cattle. You have to drive them in the direction you want. Quite a challenge though. Most are quite aggressive as you can imagine. People die! That’s why they need incentive. You need to make them scared for their life! And how do you do that?”

I stared back at him solemnly. “Uhhh, I guess you could-”

“Wrong!”

What a strange man.

“Here’s what you do…” he began after clearing  his throat. “First, you have to drug him. That can be the most dangerous part. Pumping their veins full of opiates or filling their lungs with that AC Blue stuff”

Already it was a sickening story. AC Blue was a noxious compound created fifteen years ago that essentially caused an overload of the senses. It originally was used industrially for some manufacturing thing but it was banned when they discovered the health risks. So there were just tanks of the shit lying around everywhere. However, since the arrival of the giants they had found a new purpose for it.

“I heard they built a special mask for her. Hit her with the drugs then clapped it on her face. Woo! I wish I could’ve seen it, must of been something. They gave me the videos do you want to see?”
I most certainly did not. The effects of the gas were supposedly horrifying. Supposedly it was an agonizing experience. Your heart raced, light became intense, sounds were terrifyingly loud, and so on. Many likened the experience to a torturous death, though the gas itself was rarely deadly after one dose. Prolonged exposure would kill you sure, but most giants didn’t know. As far as Vera knew, the stuff would have stopped her heart then and there.

“So they kept in on her until what? The place was finished being built? How long would that take?”

“Can’t say for sure, it was mostly done when they forced her in. As soon as they locked her up they took the thing off and she was pissed. Time has calmed her down though. Whew, imagine if you went in on the first night haha...they’d still be trying to scrape you off the walls!”

Although he was certainly a strange, grotesque fellow I couldn’t help but feel somewhat at ease with him around. He certainly enjoyed his work, perhaps a bit too much, but he didn’t seem inherently cruel. I wasn’t, however, in the mood to talk at the moment. I had far more troubling things on my mind and his gruesome tales of capture and torment were a bit much for me.

“Alright then. I’m assuming you didn’t come here to talk to me about Ver- sorry, Subject Aleph’s capture, am I right?”

He grinned. “Quite right son. I’m not staying here long. They’ve been having trouble with another particularly vicious female some miles West near Camp Echo and I’d promised to drop by. But then, over the radio I hear about some young hotshot fraternizing with one of the titanic bitches!”

One of his hands stroked the grey beard hanging from his chin. I inched away slowly from his uncomfortable embrace.

“Anyway I of course have to see this for myself. I mean, this is big news! Could be a whole new era in giant bush-whacking. Change the tide of the war. Information, not might, wins wars kiddo. So I sneak on board one of the Juliet transports and here I am! Now...your Constable here...uhh Tresser, Trumpeter, uhh”

“Treble?”

“Yeah that guy. He tells me he’d be delighted for my input on the matter but I of course am here to see you. He says something about a three day time limit and I...well as I mentioned before...got my own schedule I need to be keepin’ to. So I says to him ‘where can I find this brilliant young man’ he points me here and now here we are, two minds obsessed with the inner workings of monsters!”

Finally I brushed his hand off my shoulder. Not once has his smile faltered. He was nuts. Although he seemed to emanate a sort of reassuring aura I hadn’t quite decided if I liked him. He was certainly a nice change of pace from the usual hum-drum severity of the other people on base.

“So what exactly do you want?” I finally asked.

“Ah, well isn’t it obvious? Information! A real hands-on look at these proceedings, my own front row seat. Also...recordings”

“Recordings?”

“Yes, like I said I’m only in camp for a day or so then I’m off to Echo. So you think you can get me a few copies of your little errr sessions or whatever you call it?”

My foot tapped on the asphalt. It didn’t seem right. Did I not have an obligation to myself, to Vera, and to my profession? Confidentiality seemed trivial given the times but the personal dynamic filled me with doubt. For now it seemed best to deflect such a decision back onto my superiors. After all, they were the ones in control of such things.

“Talk to Treble” was all I could say.

Cinna clapped his hands together and rocked back onto his feet.

“So, when do you see her next?”

An exhausted sigh escaped my lips and I likewise stood. A few swipes of my hands and my papers were gathered back up into a neat stack. After slipping them into my bag I turned back to face the eager old man.

“Right about now…”

Twenty minutes later I stood back in the lonely atrium. The same two guards waited there for me. A horrible case of Deja Vu seized me. The loud clanking of gears and locking mechanisms brought me back, at least for a moment. Then I started to replay the last few days in my head. I fixated on very specific things too. It was strange. I remembered the shape of a scar on Vera’s heel that I didn’t even recall noticing in the first place. I remembered the shape of her mouth when she scowled at me. I remembered the badges along Treble’s uniform and the horrible pale color of Grim’s boots. Then I remembered Cinna’s words on our way over to the containment facility.

“This is exciting. Quite a great leap for our kind. You’ll be written about years later. Trust me!”

It seemed all too surreal. I still didn’t feel that important. My work seemed trivial to me and, in many ways, greatly futile. The only good thing about being so distracted was that I didn’t want to puke all over the floor quite as badly as before. Finally, the familiar puff of warm air sliced into me again.

The guards stood at the far end of the room with nervous expressions. Ahead was a new series of exchanges that would haunt me for days. I hated the thought of filling my brain with more dialogue to dissect. Ah, well. It was my job.

Stepping through the door and down the hall was a fraction of the ordeal it had been yesterday. Yet, as I stepped out into the immense inner chamber, blood rushed to my head. It was as if I was seeing it all again for the first time.

The sheer face of the tinted walls seemed even higher. The wide expanse of the lower deck seemed even grander, and, of course, my subject seemed somehow even larger. She lay on her back with her knees jutting up into the air. The splash of hair spread out around her head like a river delta. Just as before I thought she didn’t notice me enter.

The pure white floor almost blended seamlessly with her sleeveless white shirt. I had not considered her dress before. It was quite simple. The tight fit and drab contrast between the white top and dark grey shorts suggested these were of human make. Most of the giants dressed themselves in earthen colors that, with some exceptions, were typically loosely fitted to their bodies. I don’t mean to say they were baggy but they appeared more...comfortable. What she was wearing seemed hastily made and, to be perfectly honest, quite uncomfortable. I’d have to ask her about that.

“Is it you my little friend?” she asked without moving to look at me.

At first, I remained silent. I took my seat at the outer ledge’s lip and waited. Finally, after another thirty seconds of silence she let her head roll onto its side. Our eyes locked and, just as expected, her playful smile returned.

“I’ve been thinking an awful lot about your last visit…”

“Really?” I quickly responded. I tried to keep a professional timbre in my voice, though I had a feeling she would shake it out of me fairly soon.

“Yes, of course...you’re the most interesting thing to happen to me since I got here. Well, except for maybe the ceiling fire, but that’s another story.”

“Ceiling fire?”

“Yeah, I thought at first they were going to try and burn me alive but then they started screaming over their little intercom. Little people like you came running in trying to fix it. Horrible affair really.” Her words were faint but sly. With a slight twist of her torso she rolled over onto her stomach. Propping her head up with her left hand she regarded me with another hungry glance.

“I bet they never mentioned it to you did they?”

They hadn’t, but then again there wasn’t much information I could squeeze out of the brass. I immediately thought she was trying to play me against my superiors. Even though she was in metaphorical chains it wouldn’t stop her from trying to sew seeds of discord. I decided it was best to change the subject.

“So tell me did they fix the water? I put in the request. They weren’t terribly happy, using those kinds of resources and all, but I assured them it was-”

“I don’t know.” she interrupted.

The sudden cut off left me searching for more words and the flicker of renewed interest in her gaze told me she wasn’t going to give me a second to breath.

“So…”

I shuffled my position a bit. No amount of dewy eyes or wicked smiles would deter me this time. I promised myself that much.

“Ellis right? Shall we pick up where we last left off?”

At least she wasn’t beating around the bush this time. I smoothed out the wrinkles in my trousers and sat up straight. It was important that I maintain my composure this time. She needed to understand that even if I was scared, I was not about to run away.

“Let’s, if I recall correctly it is my turn…”

“Ughhh” she groaned. “Come closer little one…”

“W-w-what?” I managed to sputter out. She rolled her eyes at me.

“Its so hard to hear you in this room. You’re too tiny...why don’t you come here?”

With two fingers she beckoned me toward her. Damn. This I had not anticipated. The lashes below her sweeps of brown hair fluttered. Her pale lips pressed tightly together as she motioned me forward. Again I shuffled uneasily.

“I’m afraid that’s out of the question.”

“What?”

“I said…that’s out of the question.” I repeated a bit louder. A cheap smirk was her immediate response.

“See? This big room, your puny little voice...not working. Come here”

“NO!” I screamed even louder. It was at that point I realized I had already lost for today. Betraying my fear so immediately would not help my standing and there wasn’t much I could defend myself with. She seized the opportunity to assert herself even further.

“No? Pity, and here I thought we were going to be friends...Don’t friends trust each other Ellis?”

She had a point. This was her first test for me and I was already failing. What should I do? Could I counter? Things were moving fast I had only hoped to talk. I mean the gesture itself seemed pointless. There was nothing really separating us. She could easily reach out right now and crush me beneath her thumb. No, only my stubborn sense of security kept me from getting closer to her. I’m not crazy though! Anyone else would’ve responded the same way. She knew that, she just wanted to feel superior. That was something all of her kind enjoyed. Its what they thrived on, what they lived for.

“Quiet? Oh so, quiet. Or is it simply I still cannot hear you? Either way this problem needs fixing…”

She let her hand drop to the ground. With an angled twist she pushed herself in a semicircle. After a few seconds her knees were pressed in the vertex between the far wall and floor whilst she kicked her feet casually in the air. Still on her stomach, she leaned down so that her head sat suspended in front of me around fifty feet overhead. The long locks of her hair cascaded out around her like the walls of an enormous tent. It was just the two of us. I had to play along. She hadn’t given me much of a choice.

“That’s better...so Ellis, you have a question for me?”

Oh god what was it? I blanked. My notes were nonsense. They were always nonsense, but now I couldn’t even read them.

“Yes...let me think for a moment.”

“Take your time…” she whispered with her coy simper.

I waited for a long time. All the while I did not lift my head. Instead my attention lie downward, where I fixated on one of her enormous hands in front of me. It was...unreal. When I finally did look up I saw that her smirk had disappeared. Now she looked genuinely interested in what I had to say.

“Do you know why you are here?” It was a pretty dull question to start with, but it was all I could think of at the moment

First, she frowned. Then she sighed. After that she brought the same hand I had been staring at up under her chin.

“Hmph, I’m disappointed…”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re starting to sound a lot like those other guys. I thought you were gonna be different…”

“I’m sorry, I’m really just curious. You can pass if you-”

“No, I won’t pass.” she quickly retorted. “I’ve always assumed its just because of who I am. I mean different...not one of you. I can understand that much. I’ve never once doubted your motives.”

“Their motives…” I tried to correct her. She shot me a puzzled glance and then looked away again.

“So then little one…”

I remained silent. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the ledge in anticipation.

“Why am I really here?”

“You’re not far off with your own assumptions”

“Thought as much, but...they still haven’t told you everything about me have they?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on...I can tell, you’re not from around here. You’re not like the others. I can hear it in your naive little voice. I can see it in your shaky little limbs.”

“What?”

“Hmmm, nevermind”

“Well what do you expect, with the invasion and all I-”

Suddenly she started to laugh. In all it was a rather frightening. Tremors shook the ledge that I sat upon. Her body rocked for a second as her muscles tensed with each snicker. Then, just as she started to calm down she looked down at me. Whilst trying to stifle another chuckle she spoke.

“You little things...you. You just haven’t figured it out yet have you?”

I was taken aback. Clearly I had missed something. Something really important.

“I’m sorry what...what exactly is so funny?” I nervously asked.

“Invasion? You think this is an invasion? All of this, over the years? You think this has been a war?”

“I-I don’t understand”

Again, while holding back her laughter she responded. “Ok, ok so I guess you could call it an invasion in a broader sense but...you...you actually think this organized? You think this is some kind of planned attack?”

“Well I...I don’t know its just-”

“Well I’ll tell you this much, and, to be perfectly honest, I’m a little shocked you guys haven’t figured it out by now. I mean, you seem smart, you study people’s minds or something right?”

“I guess. I mean...yeah”

“Well tell me this…” she continued. Her face drifted  a bit closer. Strong gusts of warm air enveloped me and I began to withdraw slightly.

“Do we really seem like we have a plan?”

“Well...no. But-”

“And what would you say characterizes an invasion?”

“I guess, an army that comes and-”

“Yes! There, do we honestly seem like an army to you?”

“I’d say not…”

I had noticed this before. None of them acted on any system. That’s what made them so damn hard to fight against. It was as if each had their own agenda. But with so many we had assumed that it was...well something.

“So…” I eventually managed to stammer out. “You’re saying that all of your kind is just...what? Wandering around doing whatever they hell they want?”

The smirk on her face returned but then slowly began to fade. “Hmph, pretty much…”

“But...why all the...aggression?”

“This counts as your question…”

“Yeah ok, fine...just answer it!”

“Shhh, don’t be so pushy. It doesn’t suit you really. You’re more the quiet quirky type, I can tell.”

A nervous jitteriness spread out into my legs. No longer could I sit still. Vera noticed this immediately.

“Alright, calm down. I’ll be honest…” Oddly enough, she started to retreat a bit, both physically and mentally. Something about this did not seem to sit right with her.

“Everyone has their reasons for it. Its mostly though...control.”

“Over our world?”

“What? No? Well...yes and no. It depends!”

“I’m confused…”

“Well, I answered so there!”

“But-”

“Alright my turn!” She was careful to intercept my question. As she weighed the options in her head I noticed a bright red light, hundreds of feet off the ground, had started to flash. Not more than a couple seconds later a rattling bell echoed out through the chasmic chamber. It pounded in my ear drums, forcing me to clap my hands over my head. The ground beneath me shook. I opened one of my eyes and Vera had changed her position. Now she sat, crosslegged, facing the far left wall.

Several streams of water shot from inconspicuously placed beneath the flashing light. They arced out directly of Vera’s position. To her, they were meager streams of liquid but in reality it was like a ten firehoses raining water down in a vicious spray. I slid back slightly. The waterfall drenched the top of her head and webbed down the edges of her neck.

She turned her head to me and, for the first time, smiled warmly.