In the Belly of the Giant

Part 2

Joey was in a hurry to get to the school. He clocked into his shift and waited impatiently through the usual morning briefing, tapping his foot under the table the whole time. His work partner, Ray, was dragging his feet and insisted on getting coffee first to wake up. At long last, Joey managed to herd Ray into their police cruiser and shot out of the parking structure, squealing the tires as he drove.

"Geez, Joey! You almost made me spill my coffee!" Ray snapped. "Slow down! What's the rush?" Ray was a big, beefy giant, with short black hair and a mustache. Whereas Joey was an eager, fresh recruit to the force, Ray was several years older and had more experience. He oftentimes had to reign in Joey's overzealous enthusiasm regarding the job. Despite this fact, though, he could still act quite juvenile himself. Joey and Ray got along well, and made a good team.

"Sorry. I'm just excited is all," Joey admitted. "Do you mind if we stop at the high school just up the road? I have an errand to run. I promise it'll be quick."

"Yeah, fine," Ray conceded. "It would probably be a good idea to establish a stronger presence there anyways, considering all the abductions that have been going on in that area." The mood in the car darkened and the two giant men went quiet. The school was only a few blocks away from the police station, so Joey pulled up to the curb in a matter of minutes.

"I'll just be a few minutes," Joey assured Ray as he stepped out of the car.

"Take your time! I'm gonna go grab some donuts for breakfast. I'll call you if anything comes up," Ray replied cheerfully. Any sort of tasty food was enough to make Ray chipper, even early in the morning.

Joey rolled his eyes. "My goodness Ray, could you be any more stereotypical? You make the rest of us real cops look bad!" Ray only grinned. Joey chuckled and waved before leaving to enter the school. As he strolled up to the large metal gate, he noticed that new security cameras had been installed on the outside to observe all visitors and the sidewalks outside. He nodded his approval and pushed open the gate with a metallic squeal.

As Joey walked along the sidewalks, past the courtyard, and into the halls of the main building, he moved slowly, and was careful to watch his step, sweeping his eyes across the ground in front of his feet for miniature bicycles or pedestrians. The last thing he wanted to do was step on a small human in his path. He was accustomed to this ritual, since he lived with his tiny girlfriend anyways. He arrived in between classes, so the halls were full of students, mostly giants but also some humans scurrying underfoot.

Joey felt bad for the humans, with how pathetically small they were. He couldn't imagine what life must be like for them, being so puny. He had a vague idea with Eren, but she was a tough woman, and she had Joey to keep her safe. Who was watching out for these students? After all the horrific things that had happened to Eren, the trailblazer for the human students, he had to wonder what sort of insane or negligent human parents would send their kids to a giant school. Probably revolting people like Eren's former mother. Eren never spoke of her old mom, but he knew the break had pained her deeply for a long time, like a splinter in her heart. Joey believed that if he ever met the hag, he would wring her body out like a dishrag in his giant hands and crack her spine for what she did to his girlfriend. Thank goodness Eren at least had a loving father in her life.

Joey, being conscientious enough not to kick or step on any humans with his huge clumsy feet, made it to Mr. Henderson's office without incident. He knocked on the door, opening it before the principal had a chance to reply.

"Joey!" Mr. Henderson exclaimed, his eyes brightening. "I didn't expect you this soon! Are you ready to see it?"

"Hell yeah!" Joey replied enthusiastically. Mr. Henderson cautiously pulled a microscopic, velvety blue box out of his desk that was engulfed by the plump tips of his fingers. Using the edge of his nail, he flipped the top of the box open on its hinges and handed the box over to Joey. Joey raised his glasses and squinted at the extremely minute box in his palm, struggling to see its contents. Something inside gleamed gold and bright.