by C J Preece
Most of the Pure were back on their feet, riddling the giant with bullets and grenades. They had almost no effect, but they did at least push it back a step. An ogre sprinted from the building next to them, and was swiftly put down by a blast from Red’s shotgun.
“If this keeps up someone’s going to die.”
“Don’t look at me, I specialise in wolves, not giants.”
Che’s luck ran out and he was kicked, barely a brush of the giant’s enormous boot, but enough to send him flying backwards nearly thirty feet, rolling to a stop and lying motionless. “You help him,” Adam said. “I’m going in.”
She grabbed his sleeve. “Don’t die. Belle would kill me.”
He grabbed her forearm and grinned. “It’ll take more than this ugly thing to put me down.”
They parted, Adam drawing his war hammer and aiming for a stack of cars he could climb to reach the giant’s knee. Red went the other way, reaching Che just as a goblin appeared out of the smoke. She shot it through the forehead, giving herself enough time to draw her iron knife and stab it in the throat. It went down slowly, blood bubbling from between its lips. She ignored it, kneeling beside Che and checking his pulse.
“I’m alive,” he grunted. “Couple of ribs cracked, but nothing serious.”
“You and I have a different definition of serious.” She retrieved her knife from the dead goblin and helped him to his feet. “Can you fight?”
“Give me a minute.”
“You have any idea how to kill a giant?”
“That wasn’t something they covered in the army.”
“Always said it was useless.” She didn’t like how pale he looked, or how he winced when he tried to take a step. “You’re out of it Che, I’m getting you back to headquarters.”
He shook his head. “You need me here.”
“One more guy with his chest caved in isn’t going to make a difference. Adam’s leading the charge.” Through the smoke she watched as a hulking figure was sent flying into a second floor window. “At least he was.”
“Come on.” He had his rifle back in hand, a pistol in the other. “Before it crushes them.”
They hurried back to the fray to find Rapunzel roping the giant’s feet together. Goldilocks was on the other end of the rope, ducking and dodging in between the giant’s tree-trunk legs. Red’s heart nearly stopped as the giant’s boot came down right where Goldie was standing, but a second later the shock of blond hair emerged from the other side, unharmed. She drew her own revolver and aimed high, emptying the cylinder and scoring at least one hit on the giant’s face. It reeled back, pawing blindly at the ground to find what had blinded it. Rapunzel seized the rope and hauled backwards on it. The rope tightened a little, but as the giant reeled backwards she was yanked forwards.
“I need help over here!” She yelled.
The Pure raced over to her, each grabbing a length of rope and pulling. Soon enough they had the rope tight and the giant was wobbling about twenty feet above them.
“What exactly is this going to accomplish?” Red grunted as he yanked.
“It’ll be easier to kill it when it’s down,” Goldie shouted back.
There was a mighty tug on the end of the rope and they looked back to see Adam, coated in grime and dirt, heaving on the rope with a determined look on his face. With a final effort they tripped the giant, sprinting for cover as it came crashing to earth hard enough to shake the street. The impact brought an entire building down, debris and rubble raining down around them. When it finally stopped the giant was half buried in bricks and mortar. The Pure dragged themselves out from wherever they had hidden, pushing aside fallen wood beams and clambering up to street level.
The giant lay outstretched in the middle of the room, eyes closed and back rising and falling rhythmically. There was still no sign of damage on its face, and even as they gathered together it began to stir.
“Okay,” Rapunzel said, turning to the others. “We need ideas and we need them fast.”
“Its skin is impervious,” Goldilocks said thoughtfully.
“Yes, thanks, we all know that.”
“I mean its skin is impervious, but what about the rest of it?”
They all stared at her for a moment, realisation dawning.
“Jack always said the key to giants was knowing where to strike them,” Che said.
“But from inside?” Red said. “That’s a one way trip. Who’s up for a suicide mission?”
Behind them the giant was properly waking, rising onto his hands and knees and shaking his great head, sending a rain of bricks down to the street below. “Someone’s gonna have to climb it,” Adam said, taking his hammer in hand. “The rest of us distract it.”
“Who’s going to climb it?”
“We all will,” Rapunzel said. “Whoever gets to the mouth first…”
There was nothing more to say, and the giant had gone to one knee, ready to stand fully again. They swarmed it, taking advantage of its confusion to get a firm hold of its boots or trousers as it rose to full height again.
Red found herself clinging tightly to the edge of a boot-lace, swinging wildly with every step he took. She drew a knife and stabbed it into the leather of his boot as she slammed against it, giving herself something to hold onto. Using the knife as a makeshift pick she began to haul her way upwards, trying not to think of the long climb ahead, or what awaited her at the end. His lace was as thick as a rope, and helped her scale the mountainous shin until she reached his knee. She could see Rapunzel ahead of her, using the crude stitching to climb his trousers. It was clear she meant to be first, and that gave Red new strength. She wouldn’t ask any of her friends to make this sacrifice if she could help it.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, they had all had the same notion. They climbed as if chased by the Witch herself, finding handholds and footholds easily in the giant’s clothing until nearly all of them had passed his mammoth stomach and were making their way up his hauberk. About them the city passed by, occasionally descending into further chaos as the giant drove a mighty fist through buildings, or kicked down a bridge, seemingly at random. They were circling the outer city, moving inwards in a slow spiral, but every so often he would leap, all of them clinging for dear life, and crash into another section of the old town.
It was a wild, terrifying ride. Trying to cling to anything, knowing that the only reward was certain death instead of likely death. Che was shaken loose from his perch at the giant’s breast pocket and fell for several seconds before driving his sword in just above the giant’s belt, saving himself by the tips of his fingers. He looked up and shouted something to them, but it was drowned out by the giant’s booming laughter and the endless noise of the ruin of Ateer. Red saw Adam ahead and grabbed his boot, using him as a ladder to get up to the giant’s shoulder. As he looked up at her, silently begging her not to go, she kicked his hand, forcing him to retreat.
Ahead of her, Rapunzel was already at his collar, waiting until he steadied to begin her final ascent. Red rushed over and grabbed her shoulder, but was roughly shaken off.
“Let me!” she screamed, but she didn’t know if Rapunzel heard her. The giant paused for a moment, possibly to decide what it would break next, and they seized their chance, jumping up and grabbing hold of the lines around its face. Red’s purchase was more secure, but Rapunzel was closer, and she was soon only an arm’s reach away from its gigantic lip, split open in a hideous smile as it brought a steel beam down through a building like a crude sword.
Before Rapunzel could take the final leap, before Red could think of a way to stop her, a bullet hit the giant in the eye. It did no damage, but it caused enough of an irritation for it to stop and bring one huge hand up to rub at its face. Rapunzel was knocked away, and Red was forced to leap clear, landing heavily on its shoulder. She saw Rapunzel a few feet down, leg caught in the giant’s shirt. From above there was a loud shout, loud enough to be heard even over the gi
ant’s roaring.
“What ho! Foul beast!”
The scene froze, as though the insanity and drama had finally proved too much. Every eye moved to the rooftop the voice had come from, and lit upon a figure dressed all in gold. His cloak glowed with magic and on his head was a magnificent hat with a peacock’s feather in the brim. He brandished a sword and called again. “Come, creature, I would do battle with you.”
“Jack?” Rapunzel said in amazement. “What are you doing?”
“Fear not, fair companions!” Jack crowed, skipping lightly to the very edge of the rooftop. “I am here to rescue you and free the city from this vile villain.”
“For God’s sake you climbed a beanstalk,” Adam shouted from below. “You aren’t a giant slayer, you’re a con-man.”
“And why, my noble Beast, can I not be both?” The giant was quickly overcoming his confusion, and was beginning to eye the golden-garbed man with a murderous eye. Red made her choice and jumped down to Rapunzel, helping her to free her leg. “Once I was but Jack who climbed the beanstalk, a figure of fun and mockery. But there is a giant here, and the city needs heroes. I will now step into the role I have claimed. I would advise all to flee. Tonight, and for all the rest of time, I am Jack the Giant Slayer.”
And with that he launched himself from the roof, arms spread wide to let the cloak seize the wind and carry him to his target, landing on the very edge of the giant’s mouth. Without another word he leapt into the open maw, and all they heard was his laughter, bright and joyous as he fell. The giant began to convulse immediately, almost shaking them off, and raised both hands to its throat.
“Come on!” Red yelled, dropping down the giant’s clothing as fast as she dared. It staggered back, then forwards, nearly dashing them all against the side of a building. Red made a spit second decision and jumped forwards, aiming for the new hole in the wall. She slammed hard into the edge, her arms and chest inside, her legs scrabbling for purchase outside. Someone landed above her and she felt strong hands on her wrists, hauling her into the building. Adam dropped her to one side and turned back to catch Goldilocks. The giant was leaning against the building now, giving them all a perfect opportunity to jump inside.
Once Che and Rapunzel were safely in they moved to the hole and watched as the giant continued to shudder as Jack tore him apart from within.
“If he can’t bring it down before he dies in there…” Rapunzel left the thought unfinished.
“If it was me I’d have some sort of explosive,” Che said.
Realisation hit them and they turned as one, racing for the stairs. Behind them the giant bellowed and crashed into the building again.
The shock wave of the explosion ripped a gaping hole in the giant’s stomach, blasted strings of meat and intestine into the building. A wave of blood gushed from the wound, lapping at their heels as they fled through the open door, Adam slamming it closed behind them. All the way down the stairs they could hear the screams and moans as the giant died, thrashing about and destroying everything around him. The building above them seemed to be caving in, debris coming close to crushing them as they hit the bottom floor and ran for the door.
They got out just as the giant finally collapsed, his stomach ripped open and smoke rising from the wound. He had destroyed everything around him in his death throes, and the street was now piled with rubble. Here and there they could see the arms of ogres poking from underneath hunks of masonry, but there was no sign of Jack.
For a long moment they stood in silence, trying to take in the scene. Finally Che snapped to a salute, before turning his back on the giant. “Come on,” he said. “Time to get back.”
*
It was a sorry party that traipsed back into the headquarters, and one look at Belle’s face told them all they needed to know about the wider battle. Toma waited at the door, one hand on his sword. His shirt was ripped and he had a spatter of blood on his chest.
“Where do you need us?” Adam asked.
“Che, you need to back up Philip in the Industrial District. He’s found a nest of harpies. Everyone else we need to discuss tactics.”
Che saluted and left without a word. The remaining Pure clustered around the table, which had a map of the city laid out, stone blocks marking the placement of ogres and their comrades out fighting.
“We need to get the ogres out of the city before more people die,” Belle said. “All the rest can be handled easily, but we’re in danger of being overrun. We’ve lost too many of our own to have a hope of defeating them here.”
At that moment one of the birds flew in through the hole in the side of the wall. It was difficult to tell which one under the coat of dirt, but when he spoke everyone recognised Robin Red. “The Bold Knight is defeated,” he chimed. “Burnt by a dragon in the Red Light District.”
Belle nodded, but everyone saw the tightness in her face at the news. She took one of the blocks off the map, replacing it with a piece of broken brick. “Dragon in the Red Light District,” she muttered to herself.
“What about the brothels?” Rapunzel asked. “The girls?”
Robin Red shook himself. “Most of them got out before the ogres reached them. Any who were left…” He didn’t have to finish.
Goldilocks was scanning the map as well, deep in thought. “What about Blue’s trumpet? It might be able to drive them away.”
“He was the only one who knew where it was kept.” Adam looked up as another bird flew in through the hole. Beyond they could see the city, the fires raging closer to their hideout. “We need to get more people out there to deal with this. It won’t matter if we come up with a strategy if the city’s already destroyed.”
“I’ll go,” Rapunzel said. “I can patrol the Red Light District, try and get the fires out.”
“Good idea,” Belle said. “Toma, go with her. You have the most experience of dragons.”
He snapped a perfect salute. “Yes ma’am.”
“Red, any ideas on how to corral creatures?”
“I’m a little more adept at shooting them unfortunately.”
“I have a suggestion,” a new voice said from the doorway. They all turned to see Peter Piper there. “I can turn away any creature I wish with my pipes.” He held them up. They were simple wooden pan pipes, without ornament or decoration.
“You don’t turn things away Peter, you summon them to you, there’s a difference.”
“At the moment does that difference matter? Do we have any other option?”
Adam and Belle looked at each other, and Red could almost see the silent conversation. She felt a twinge of sadness and turned away to look at Piper. He made his way to the centre of the room and pointed to the map.
“Their forces are pushing inward, always inward. If I can get to some space at the central convergence of them, around here,” he indicated a building. “Then my song should be heard by all of them. After that I can get out of town, lead them as far away as possible, and then try and escape.”
Everyone knew the likelihood of that. “Peter there are a hundred ogres at least out there, not to mention at least one dragon. How do you expect to get away?”
“Well for one thing I can’t take the dragon with me. My magic only works on one specific being at a time. I can fine tune it to ogres, and ogres alone. Any wider and I risk bringing enchanted humans along as well.”
“You’ll need some sort of transport to stay ahead of them,” Red said. “I can take you on my motorcycle.”
“No!” Goldilocks said. “I’m sorry,” she added quickly, avoiding Peter’s gaze. “But it’s a suicide mission, we all know it. He may be willing to do that, but you can’t go.”
“Goldie.” Red wished they could have some privacy. “We don’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
“The city or my life? That’s not a choice.” She turned to Peter. “I can get you out of the city fast enough that the ogres won’t catch
you. Maybe we can even get away from them when we’re out in the forest.” A slight hope. Her bike was almost out of fuel as it was. She guessed she could get maybe a mile outside of the city before it ran out. Goldilocks knew that as well.
Belle coughed softly to get their attention. “I agree with Goldilocks. Big Bad is still out there, and you will need to kill him.”
“Why me?”
Adam stepped over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Can you think of anyone else? You’re the only one who knows him well enough to have a hope. He’s one of the oldest and most powerful Old Breed out there. He’s slaughtered thousands in his lifetime, and you survived when you were only a child. We need him dead before we can hope to move on the Witch.”
“Then someone else will need to sacrifice themselves to get him out of the city.”
“I may have another idea,” Belle said. “We still have those shoes Jack found don’t we?”
Adam’s eyes lit up. “Belle that’s brilliant!”
He hurried to the locker they had stored their mystical arsenal in. In his haste he wrenched the lid clean off to reveal the shoes on top. He grabbed them and threw them to Peter. “Those are Jack’s shoes. They make the wearer nimble and quick. You’ll be able to stay one step ahead of the ogres that way. You might even be able to escape them if you’re lucky.”
“Be careful though,” Belle said. “The enchantment in them can’t last much longer. Pure magic is fading fast.”
He accepted the shoes and bent to put them on. “I’ll have to get them at least mile out of town, two if I can manage it. I’ll keep going as long as I can though, to give you the best chance. I’ll head for the desert.”
“There’ll be less places for you to hide out there,” Red said.
He nodded. “But there’s more chance the ogres will die as well.” He straightened and took out his pipes again. “So many of us have died already to protect this city, what’s one more body on the rubble?”
And with that he left.
“I’m going as well,” Red said. “Adam’s right, the Wolf has to die.” She turned to find Adam and Belle watching her closely. “You need to kill that dragon somehow, Peter will take care of the ogres. Anything else won’t be worth the trouble, especially with so many of us now fighting.”