“Say, you don’t talk much do you?” A voice through the darkness asked. It had very little anger, very little malice in it at all, making it seem grossly out of place amid this new shrouded environment. Soren eased back a bit, pressing his spine against the rock-ridden trench wall. Though the voice wasn’t inherently evil he could still detect the subtle hints of dread hidden away within its folds. Since he had been cast into this abyss, Soren tried his best to keep to himself. Although he was somewhat relieved to have returned to the company of living, breathing humans he was not too comfortable being left with a bunch of outsiders.

“Leave him be Vic, he’s new, he doesn’t know how it works here yet.”

“Yeah, besides, from what I can tell, this one’s different. He was up there, with her! For a while too!”

Then a woman’s voice chimed in: “Both of you calm down and go to him. Don’t you remember your first night here? You understand what’s going through his head right now don’t you?”

Soren listened with restrained anticipation. Although his eyes were still adjusting to the blackness, he could still detect movement a little ways out. He knew that he was surrounded by people, at least twelve of them, maybe more. From what little light poured in from overhead he could tell that four of them were within ten feet, staring keenly at him with beady, fragile eyes.

“At least ask him his name”

“Didn’t Thomas speak with him? Where is he anyway?”

“Hush up now I think he’s getting up…”

And Soren did rise. Slowly but surely he rocked back onto his feet, holding both hands out in front of him in case anyone should approach. In a hoarse voice, sore from yelling at his enormous captor, Soren began to address his fellow prisoners:

“Who is in charge here?”

There was some quiet muttering amongst those present, but no one directed an answer back at Soren. He stood in perplexion for a second before finally the woman who had been speaking piped up once more.

“Well...she is…”

“Who?”

“You know who, Tryn.”

“Who?”
Suddenly one of the four figures stepped up to Soren. A bit startled, he tried to take a step back but found he was still blocked by the earthen barrier. The dark figure raised his hand and pointed up toward the fabric roof. Soren knew immediately who they meant and his heart sank a little bit.

“You guys don’t have a leader amongst yourselves? No one to...I don’t know...organize? Delegate? Nothing?”

Soren felt their eyes on him. They stared with curious expressions...or at least he assumed they were curious. There was more muttering and the shuffling of feet. Finally one of them responded.

“Why would we? All that stuff...it's not up to us.”

“Right…” Soren replied with a sigh. “Its up to her…”

“Who are you anyway?” A new voice asked to his left.

“Me? I’m...well I guess I’m no one now…”

The stranger paused but then continued on. “True, but even no one’s have names. What’s yours.”

“Enoch”

“Enoch?” the man next to him blurted out. “Sounds like a damn giant’s name…”

“It is from the Bible”

As soon as he let the “B” word slip out of his mouth the others around him began to talk in an unusual canter. There was no hush, no attempts to shield their words. People spoke freely with one another. Some said things like “He’s one of them Knee’s”, or “They still have those things around here?”  

“Alright ‘E-knock’” continued the man standing adjacent to Soren. “My name is Vic, this here to my right…” he said, gesturing into the shadows at the outline of what Soren assumed to be a man, “ this here is Caleb, next to him is Brian, and then to his left is Kate. I won’t drag on trying to introduce you to everyone else for now. They don’t like you none anyhow.”

“W-why?”

“Well cuz you’re an outsider. Sides, you a uniform and a Knee”

Soren could guess what they meant by the uniform, but Knee? He had never heard the term before. He was about to ask what it meant when all the other questions he had stocked up in his head began flooding back into mind. Without even attempting to filter them out he began blurtiing inquiry after inquiry.

“Why are you all here? What is going to happen to us? Where do you-”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down their kiddo.” The man who he thought to be Caleb interrupted. “look, we know you must be pretty riled up right now, just know that you are safe for the time being. If anything you’re probably better off than the rest of us…”

“What do you mean by that?”

Suddenly Soren felt Vic’s hand on his shoulder. Instinctively Soren brought his own hand up and grabbed ahold of the stranger’s forearm. His grip tensed up as he felt the tendons in Vic’s wrist twist.

“Whoa, jumpy fella aren’t ya, just take a seat. Calm down for a sec…” he turned his head away for a moment and barked at a young girl a little ways behind him. “Lisa, go grab him something to eat, go on now!” The child ran off in a hurry, disappearing into the veil of black like a pebble beneath the sheen of a lake. Soren held his breath, anticipating her return. Before she did though, Brian spoke up.

“We say that you have it better off because you was up there so long with her. I mean, she let you stay the night up there and all right?”

Soren nodded, but quickly realized they could not see his subtle gesture so he gave a short, choppy “yes”

“Right, well most of us stay down here. She only deals with us in groups, and when we come up it's because she’s got something she wants us to do. We’s expendable, there’s something she must like about you. The only other person she does that to is Scott and that’s just ‘cause she likes it when he plays his guitar for her. That’s about it”

“Yeah, besides, we could hear the way she talked to you.” Kate added “it wasn’t like the way she talks to us. You must got somethin’ she likes or wants. Maybe both…”

“Yeah… she wanted...she wants to know where I’m from…”

“Wha- hell that’s it?” Vic cried out.

“Hush up now Vic! What’s so important about where you come from?”

“Well…” Soren hesitated. He didn’t like being asked all these questions when he still had so many left unanswered. Finally after some consideration, he concluded it wouldn’t be important. “she wants to know so she can find my camp. I guess to...do whatever it is she does…”

“Ahh, add to the pool”

“What?
“Nothing, just relax kid, you’ll be fine…”

With that the little girl returned, clutching something in her arms. A box, a pale grey box. Well, it looked grey at least. She gently placed it on the ground by Soren before running back into the chirping crowd. Soren reached down and picked it up.

“Save that…” Vic declared with a bit of a chuckle “that’s about all you’ll get for the week.”

Soren hardly slept that night. The rest of the evening was composed of static exchanges between him and the four who felt it necessary to interrogate him. It became quickly apparent that they didn’t trust him. In many ways, Soren thought he could even detect some jealousy in some of their voices. He assumed it was due to the better treatment he had already and would apparently continue to receive. Though, after some time he wasn’t so sure. Each passing story was odd, but then again Soren knew that this giantess, this Tryn, was already odd enough. Apparently she wasn’t a crazed murderer. Instead she seemed mostly interested in extending her authority over the humans. Aside from that though, she wasn’t very social. They could go days without seeing or even hearing her. The only consistency was the food supplies she would deposit twice a week.

As he tossed and turned on the sticky earth he couldn’t help but feel cold and alone in his new home. Throughout the night he could hear the traces of whispers carried through the stale currents of air. Did these people ever sleep? Soren reluctantly sat up after hours of futility, staring blankly into the blackness occupied by floating dust and the near promise of silence.

“Is he awake?” he heard a small voice ask.

“I think so, see he sits up!” another replied.

Soren’s head snapped in the direction of the noise but he saw no bodies to accompany the sounds.

“Who’s there?”

The only response was the shuffling of feet as two indiscernible shapes retreated back into the distant shadow. Was this a nightmare? Was Soren slowly losing his mind?

“No, no! Come back here! What’s going on!”

First there was nothing, just the coldness that comes from the unknown. The black tar of the early morning dripped down his back, chilling his nerve endings so that he shivered uncontrollably. The meager blanket he had been given provided no comfort, no warmth to tell of. Soren felt like sobbing, but knew that it would be unwise to waste tears when it would only get worse from here on out.

“Hush now!” another voice came. Easing in through the haze was the shape of a man. He stooped next to Soren just out of arm’s reach and spoke on. “There ain’t no need for yellin’, the only people who’s gonna hear you is us. She won’t bother to come and get ya till she’s ready.”

“Caleb?”

“Yep”

“How long have you been here?”

Caleb’s head dropped. As he stared at his own footprints in the clay he began counting off on one hand, paused, then began counting off on the other.

“Shiiit, must be at least seven months now, give or take”

“Seven months? Do most make it that long?”

Again Caleb stopped to think, this time dragging out the seconds by drawing something unseen in the dirt with his thumb. Soren watched as his hand swirled around atop the solid ground, feeling a sort of morbid entrancement keeping his mind off of more important things.

“Most do, but that’s not to say some don’t die. From the cold, disease...her.”

“Her?”

“Don’t get me wrong, she ain’t all that bad, just stupid. She don’t know why she wants us here and she’s bad at handlin’ us sometimes. Most of the time if she kills someone its an accident, pretty easy when you that big an’ all.” Caleb continued to trace his creation in the soil, pressing his thumb deep into his ebony canvas to create shallow fissures. Soren still could not see it but he somehow still knew what it was that he was drawing. “She was never that torn up about it, from what I hear from some of the newer folk she don’t shy away from killin’ none. She flatten you right out quick if she feels like it. Best be careful. You may be a favorite of hers but it only mean you’s a lot more likely to get yourself in trouble if ya fuck it up. You get me?”

Soren nodded. When he looked down he noticed a little more light had started to flood in, casting just enough luminance on the ground to reveal Caleb’s creation. It was a simple face with a pair of x’s for eyes. Soren didn’t understand what the gesture was supposed to mean, but he didn’t like it. Just before he could ask any more questions the entire pit shook. A pause, then once it shook once more. Moments later the sparse light suddenly slammed down on top of them as the barrier acting as their roof was suddenly torn away. Neither of the men could see in the blinding morning light. Both knew that their titanic captor lingered overhead though. Soren looked away out of sheer discomfort, while Caleb looked down in some emotional snare. Was it shame? Perhaps some sort of reserved reverence for his master? Soren couldn’t tell.

A second later something seized him. It was an intense pressure which gripped his sides like nothing he had ever experienced prior. As he was carried upward the air escaped his lungs. It was pure agony, the journey out of the pit, but it was quick. Moments later he felt himself crash down onto another surface, giving him ample time and space to suck in greedy gulps of oxygen. It was another five minutes before he was ok again. In that time he tried his best not to imagine his new environment, but as his eyes adjusted he couldn’t help but note the long stretch of pale flesh beneath him. He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the makeshift shelter woven from tree trunks. He never noticed it before, how this giantess managed to construct a little tarp to hang between cliffs. It was clever, but crude.

“Feeling better?” the titaness’ voice boomed. Soren shot up off her palm and met her eye to eye. She still wore a somber expression, as though she had spent the whole night awake thinking melancholy thoughts. She was also dressed differently. The once drab grey throw that had wrapped around her torso and ended down at her thighs was now replaced by two articles of clothing. Across her torso was stretched a rather simple tunic, obviously hand stitched from some beige cloth while her legs were covered in a simple skirt with a diagonal cut. Soren wasn’t sure why he noticed this so immediately but it didn’t really matter. None of it did.

“I said…” she began again with some frustration “are you feeling better?”

Soren’s attention quickly returned to her as he attempted to squeak out an affirmation. The giantess gave a slight smile and nod.

“Good. Have you thought about our last conversation any?”

“I-I uhh, I have, a good bit actually”

She seemed pleased. Her hand lowered for a second but then bobbed back up, renewing the nausea in Soren’s stomach. He tried to brace himself against the surface of her skin but it seemed pointless.

“Excellent. And? Will you tell me?”

“I…” Soren stopped. For just a second he thought about breaking. He thought about surrendering everything he had ever known. Then, as more of the early morning light flooded in through the boughs of the interwoven canopy of trees he remembered the words of Father Saul. He couldn’t remember precisely what they were, but he knew that he would be damned for giving up the others.

“Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for another”

“What was that?”

“Sorry, nothing” Soren quickly replied. The giantess’ eyes narrowed as she analyzed her captive. Her jaws moved side to side as she considered what to do.

“I’ll take that as a no then?”

“Yes”

“Yes? As in you’ll tell me?”

“No!”

She threw her head back and let out a long angry groan. As it reverberated through the air Soren found himself curling up into a ball of terror. His limbs shook with anticipation for his demise. Was this it? Would he finally become a martyr as he had foreseen? When she finally turned back to him her expression was odd. Somewhere between nervous and angry.

“What is your name?”

“E-e-enoch”

“EEEE NOCK?” she repeated, enunciating each syllable with a bit too much vigor. She seemed to repeat it to herself quietly a few more times before finally continuing, “Well Enoch, I assume you heard a good bit about me down there last night?”

“I did”

“Did they tell you my name?”

“It was...uhh.”

“Tryn…” she grumbled, apparently hurt that he could not remember. “My name is Tryn”

“Right, sorry...err Tryn”

Then a silence followed. It was a long, crippling silence that betrayed little about either of them. Tryn starred with unfaltering rigidity whilst Soren rocked back and forth, repeating an invented prayer to himself.

“Why do you do that?”

“D-d-do what?”

“Talk to yourself.”

Soren was a bit shocked. He didn’t expect her to notice, let alone care. For a moment he considered making something up, but he knew it would have been a grievous sin to deny his devotion.

“I was praying”

“Praying?” she responded immediately. “I’ve heard that word before. Learned it a long time ago. Never really learned what it meant…” Both of her eyes drooped as she brought her hand a bit closer.

“I can...I can show you” Enoch stuttered back with a little hope in his voice. Tryn just shook her head and cleared her throat.

“Hmmm...no, you know what I want you to tell me”

Soren’s face mutated back into a mask of despair. He figured as much

“But, I understand you must think of me as monster. They ALL do sometimes, but I’m not… I promise. Now I know you probably won’t believe me but I think we can make a trade.”

“Wh-what?

“Ok maybe not a direct trade, i guess what I’m getting at is...well is there anything you want? To make things a little less terrible?”

“Is this a bribe?”

Her face shrank. She gave him a scowl that dispersed her anger through the atmosphere. Soren reeled back, fearful that her wrath would soon be upon him.

“NO!” she roared. “I’m just...just…” slowly her demeanor phased back to a more docile state. “Do you fuckin’ want something or not?”

Soren thought for a moment, though he knew exactly what he would ask for. He wanted her to wait for a moment, to make it seem like a tough choice despite the fact that he had it picked out long ago.

“I want…”

“yes?”

“I want to write...things to write with that is…”

Tryn bit her lip, lowered her hand and looked out toward the hollow town in the distance.