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As soon as I alighted from Coche, the sight of a large body of water that stretched to the horizon greeted me. The water was murky, and vegetation seemed to live both in the soil and in the water. Living high up in the mountains, seeing a sight like this was rare.
Dadier tapped my shoulder, then led me to a nearby training ground. I recognize it as a place that he took me to before. The vegetation that lived both in the water and the ground threw me off a bit. I had long suspected that these giants were bulking us up. It was either for us to join their ranks or to fight among ourselves in gladiatorial combat. If it were up to me, I'd choose the latter scenario every time. Perhaps my recent cooperation pleased him. So much so that he decided to reward me with time away from the prison.
State of the art equipment littered the training facility. It had monkey bars and a climbing wall for grip and core strength. Several see-saws were in place for leg strength. There were also swings for agility and a slide for stamina. Training sessions came few and far between. That's why I always make it a point to take advantage of every second I afforded to me.
The giant eyed me from a distance. He had his arms crossed, and looked like he was ready to give chase the second I looked like I was making a run for it. I teased him a few times to test his reaction time, and discovered that he was as nimble as ever. In my current state, there was no way that I was going to make a successful escape. I still needed to recuperate to full strength, if I ever hope to contend with my titanic captors.
From a distance, I could see the sun setting over the horizon. It's been years since I last saw the sun kiss the ground, and it's as magnificent as the first time I saw it. As night drew near, I knew I had to put in as much reps as I can before we're forced to leave. These giants seem to have an aversion to the night, or the lack of sun. If only I chanced upon at least one night during my last escapade, then maybe I would've avoided capture. Alas, years-long of sunlight became my constant companion throughout my whole journey.
There were other prisoners in the training facility. Their gigantic jailers each of them. The queue made it hard to speed through the training equipment. I needed to think of a way to get more training done.
"Hey, you," I called out to a prisoner who was spending quite a long time in the swing. "I say, you've been taking your sweet time there, mind if others had a chance to use it?"
My request fell on deaf ears. I tried to grab him, but he evaded capture. He retaliated by knocking me back upon his return. Dadier rushed to my aid and dusted me off. I thanked him for the assist, but I wiggled out of his grasp to continue my training.
"Have you ever tried escaping while on excursions like this?" I asked another prisoner, while I was waiting in the queue for the slide.
"Huh?" she replied, confused. The prisoner was sweaty and smelled rancid. She was gasping for air, while trying to maintain her balance.
"I said, have you ever tried to escape while away from your prison? I mean, we each only have one guard, and everyone else is too busy surveilling their own charge that—"
"W-What's wrong with you?" she stammered, while slowly backing away from me.
"Pardon?" I inquired. "I-I ... I'm not quite sure what you're—"
The other prisoner called for her guardian, asking for an immediate extraction. She looked at me with disdain as she was being hauled out. I'm not quite sure what I did or what I said to set her off like that.
Nighttime was almost upon us, and the queue felt like it was taking forever. There was a bottleneck caused by a dispute of who should slide next near the front of the line. Slowly growing impatient, I marched toward the argument. On my way, I pushed aside the other prisoners who stood idly by.
"Hey!" one prisoner shouted.
"No cutting!" another yelled out. I'm not sure who's cutting what, but I hope it's a giant's head.
I grew impatient of their squabble. Their petty disagreement wasted precious training time. Instead of resolving an argument between strangers, I decided that I should be the one to take the next turn.
Cloud Source
Upon reaching the end of the slide, I looked back only to discover that the quarrel had erupted into a commotion. This time it involved all the other prisoners in the queue. For some reason, their ire seemed to now have a new target: me. I'm not quite sure why that was the case, as I avoided any involvement. Could my non-participation be the reason why they redirected their anger on me?
Some other giants intervened, and Dadier came along to safeguard me. The giants congregated in hopes of quelling the aggression before things got out of hand.
"W-What's going on?" I asked Dadier, as I tugged on his cottony armor.
Dadier waved at me to stay, as he continued to talk to the other giants. They must be in panic mode, as the sun is all but gone from the sky.
Soon after, their meeting ended and Dadier led me back to where Coche was resting. It had been a long day, and I hope that Coche got enough rest for the journey back.
"Hello, old friend," I greeted, as I patted its snout. "Did you have a nice long rest?"
Coche replied with a soft grumble, as it illuminated its eyes in preparation for our voyage.
Dadier wiped my sweat, disrobed me and dressed me with a fresh-smelling pair. He strapped me down, then sat on his position.
The light breeze from Coche's breath grazed my skin, and the gentle beast crawled forward. I tilted my head back, and rested against it. Its soft insides provided a level of comfort that was reminiscent of a bed. Conversely, its tough exterior was harder than a rock. It gave a strong assurance that there would be no obstacles powerful enough to deter our travel.
The night was perilous because the darkness made it hard to see, but Coche's eyes lit up our passage. It somehow signaled all the other creatures to become brighter to help us navigate our way.
Dadier sat back and eased up his grip on the tender creature. Glowing metallic fireflies in a straight-line formation guided our way back. The giant breathed a sigh of relief, as he had one less cause for concern.
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