I’m outside the mega mansion for the first time in a quiet forest to the north.
The air is warm enough that I could take off my T-shirt. Henry’s body heat is warmer. He’s carrying me on his back again, and there’s no sound besides his large footsteps thumping on the forest floor.
It’s a lonely forest with steep hills and no cultivated pathways. The trees are exceedingly large, but they don’t block the morning sunlight.
If Henry weren’t with me, I’d be lost in an instant.
I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. Why do I sense so much fear in him? He can’t be afraid of me. That wouldn’t make any sense coming from a giant. Would it?
“This forest is nice to look at, but how does this trip teach me who you are?” I ask.
“I wanna show you who I am. Saying it isn’t enough.”
Is that why he’s nervous? I barely know him, but I kind of feel bad for him.
When I met Henry in that giant bedroom I was completely at his mercy. The more he tells me to trust him, the more I wonder what he’s hiding.
He isn’t saying anything, and there are no people nearby to hear either, or animals.
I don’t know him, but I don’t fear him either. Crazy thing to say when you’re being carried into a forest by a stranger with a sexual appetite for you.
Maybe it’s a survival response. It’s not like I can run away, so I’d better get comfortable with him. Or, maybe something deep inside me knows I should love him, even with amnesia.
I rest my chin on his muscular shoulder and listen to the sound of his breathing. The sound would be relaxing if I didn’t feel so much emotional turmoil inside of him.
We’re supposed to be husbands, so maybe I should do something to make him feel better.
While I debate my feelings in my head, Henry speaks.
“When you need quiet, you practice tiny techniques in your study. This is my quiet space. It’s called the Superlative Forest.”
“You like relaxing in nature?”
“Wolfians love forests. It’s part of our animal instincts. Our old planet was 80% forest, but it didn’t have any giant trees like these.”
I rub my face on his muscular neck. His ears twitch, and he frowns.
“Aw man, I wish you’d asked to worship my muscles before I took you out here. It’s not comfortable for humans.”
“I don’t want you to feel bad.”
“When I feel bad, it’s my fault. You don’t have to lift a finger for me.”
“But aren’t we husbands?”
“This is a good place to stop.”
Henry kneels down and lets me dismount him. Soil and leaves crunch beneath my shoes as I stand. Henry rises to his full 7’7 and walks a few feet ahead of me.
He stretches his arms. Then, he leans down and does some leg stretches. He’s doing a full-body stretching routine, like he’s preparing himself for a workout.
“Gotta be honest, this might be a dumb idea,” he says. “But you’re my favorite human, so I think I know you well enough to say this will turn you on.”
“Turn me on? You mean, turn my memories back on?”
Henry walks over to a tree that’s probably over twenty stories tall, and wider than the front of a house. He sticks out his pinky finger and looks at me with a smile. “Watch this,” he says.
He flicks the tree with his pinky and it crashes to the forest floor with a thunderous boom, toppling several other trees on the way down.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Henry says.
I don’t know what to say or do.
“Are you scared?”
That’s a good question. What do I feel when I’m not focused on Henry’s emotions?
“I’m not scared.”
“Didn’t think you would be. The sound of the tree crashing didn’t startle you at all. That’s how I know you’re still you.”
“The old me...wasn’t startled by falling trees?”
“Tinies are way tougher than ordinary people. Loud sounds don’t hurt your ears.”
Henry stomps on the ground with so much might, it makes the whole forest vibrate.
“And when big feet come stomping your way, you don’t lose your balance on the shaking ground.”
I gulp. “You’re super strong, like a superhero. Even when you aren’t giant-sized.”
“Sexy, huh?”
“Sexy? It’s, well… I think it’s cool.”
“Nothing wrong with calling your husband sexy. It’s the only thing I have going for me.”
Is this how I can make him feel better?
“Yes, I say. “You’re really sexy. I know you won’t hurt me with your super strength, so it makes me feel… protected.”
Henry smiles and walks toward me. Without warning, he picks me up and holds me so our eyes are level. “You’re lighter than a feather.”
He pulls me close till our noses touch. We both blush.
“I like to feel your warmth,” he says. “And smell your scent. Best scent in the known universe.”
I’m starting to get a boner. It makes me feel embarrassed, which makes me blush even more. Henry chuckles.
“What’s with the blushing? Horny?”
“I don’t know what to say. Everything is new for me.”
“I’m always horny when I’m with you. When you have the energy, I make myself even hornier by bullying you.”
His eyes turn down.
“But I’m a dumb dog, so sometimes I go too far. And you can’t fight back since you’re so little and cute. Look.”
He pushes me away a bit so I can look down at our shorts. We’re both hard.
“When you’re hard, I smell it instantly,” he says as he licks his lips. “Makes me want to… uh….”
“What’s wrong?”
“Professor Grant said not to scare you.”
“I don’t want you to be scared either. Are you scared?”
“Do I seem scared to you? Humans can’t smell anything, but you can feel my horniness with your emotion sensing.”
“You’re not just horny. There’s a storm inside you.”
Henry closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
“Sure is. I couldn’t hide it from you if I tried, so there’s no point in holding anything back. If I were smart, I would of figured that out before I hurt you.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
I become aware of the strength of his giant grip on my sides as I look down at the ground several feet below me. I couldn’t get away if I tried. I have no choice but to accept whatever he decides.
“I don’t understand,” I say. “If the forest isn’t comfortable for humans, why did you bring me out here for sex?”
Henry looks like he’s doing rocket equations in his head. “Huh?”
“You keep saying you like to bully me. Did you bring me out here because you want me to feel isolated while you have your way with me? I was already isolated in the mega mansion.”
“What? Lance, I’d never hurt you like that!”
“Then why do you say you like to bully me? I don’t know what it means exactly, but it doesn’t sound safe.”
“I was telling you about our relationship! I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I sense love coming from you, but also pain, and I have no idea what you’ll do next. And now I’m in a forest alone with super strong Wolfian who knocks down trees, and—“
Henry looks like he’s about to cry. He safely sets me on the ground, then squats down and covers his wolf ears with his hands.
“Damn it, I’m so stupid! I knew we should’ve stayed inside.”
Crap, I upset him. Should I run? No point.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to…”
Henry sniffles. “You’re smart. Timber’s cool and mature. I’m just a dumb dog who hurts his family.”
I put a hand on his head without hesitation. “Hey, don’t get so down. I don’t know much about you, but you seem like a nice guy. Plus, you’re sexy!”
Henry’s breathing is heavier. He’s holding back tears. “I took you out here to tell you about myself. But I scared you again.”
“I wasn’t really scared, just confused.”
“My old family threw me away, and that’s why you lost your memory.”
I’m speechless for an overlong moment. How do I respond to that?
“Uh, I don’t understand,” I say as I rub my hands atop his. “Hey, do Wolfians like ear scratches? If you take your hands off your head, I’ll scratch your ears for you.”
He sniffs. “Okay.”
The two of us move to the tree Henry knocked over. He’s sitting with his back against it, and I’m standing between his outstretched legs, scratching his blonde wolf ears.
With his eyes closed, he gratefully rubs his head against my hands as I scratch. “I wish I were a cat. Then I could purr,” he says.
“Your old family were Wolfians, right? Why did they throw you away.”
He stops rubbing his head on my hands, and I feel an emotional drop within him.
“Most Wolfians lived on the old planet, but some of us migrated to other planets for money. My ancestors moved to Earth hundreds of years ago, but some of my family stayed on Woodland.”
“For such a strong guy, you have really soft ears,” I say. “Does super strength help Wolfians find work on Earth?”
“Wolfians don’t have super strength. I’m like this because I’m a giant.” Henry paws my sides up and down absentmindedly. “The old planet was called Woodland. A giant crushed it twenty years ago.”
“Wow. Giants can grow that big?”
“Most can’t.”
I recall what Timber said to Professor Grant. “But world-ending threats can, right? And that’s what you are.”
Henry nods. “And Timber too.”
“Wolfians hated giants even before Woodland was destroyed. They would exile anyone who awakened.”
“Exile? Where did they send the giants?”
“They put awakened giants in a shuttle and sent them to die in space, alone.”
“Wow. That’s terrifying.”
“The Woodland Crusher was a closeted giant who lost his lucidity. He didn’t know the Sizable Space Survival technique, so he died with the planet.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to die alone in a shuttle.”
“I bet he just thought crushing a planet would be fun. I used to have those thoughts. Crushing planets between my toes, my fingers, my teeth.”
“I get it. When you awakened as a giant, your family disowned you because you’re a world-ending threat.”
“They did more than disown me. They gave me the shuttle treatment.”
“The shuttle treatment? You mean they launched you into space expecting you die? Is that legal on Earth?”
“They got in a bit of trouble when Professor Grant found me. But only a bit, and they used money to get rid it.”
“Money?”
Henry grabs my arms with his hands, and holds his head down.
“My family’s rich, and rich Wolfians hate giants the most. I hated them too, before I awakened.”
He lets go of my arms and glances at my face. Then, the sets his gaze to the ground again.
“When Woodland was crushed, the richest Wolfians became the leaders of the species. They proved they were good leaders by hating giants.”
Now I understand why Henry doesn’t want me to fear him. His old family feared him too, and hated him.
“If I were a normal giant they’d pretend I was never born. But when I my sizable energy was measured, they had to treat me the traditional way or else they’d lose all respect in Wolfian society.”
Henry is full-on sobbing now. He’s not trying to hide it.
“My twin brother didn’t awaken, and he hates me more than everyone else combined. He called your cell phone this morning. Then I got really mad, and then I hurt you.”
“Hurt me? You don’t seem like you would—“
“You were afraid I was gonna hurt you just now. You thought I’d have my way with you in a scary forest.”
“Uh, well I wasn’t afraid exactly, just confused.”
Henry’s body begins to grow. He pushes the huge felled tree away with one hand, and it makes a loud crashing sound as it knocks over another tree.
“I haven’t talked to my twin brother in years. We’re both 22-years-old now, and he’s rising the ranks in the Space Navy. He says I shouldn’t be on Earth. I’ll only do more damage.”
I take a few steps backward as his size increases. “Damage?” I say. “But you wouldn’t hurt anyone. You’re a nice guy.”
“I didn’t hurt any people, just islands.”
“Islands?”
“My lucidity was real low when Professor Grant found me. He shouldn’t of brought me down.”
Henry’s head is two stories high now, but he’s still sitting. His irises are glowing a bright golden yellow.
“But having a world-ending threat is useful for a planet’s defense system,” he says. “So he brought me down and took me to an uninhabited island. And I destroyed it.”
“You destroyed an entire island?”
“I destroyed ten islands. They all had volcanoes. With enough sizable energy, lava doesn’t burn your skin. Professor Grant won an award for that paper.”
Henry’s three stories tall now. His tennis ball-sized tears plop on the forest floor.
“My brother was right. I hurt you. And if I stayed with my family, I would of hurt them too.”
“Wait, you said you haven’t spoken to him in years. Does that mean you didn’t answer the phone this morning?”
“I crushed your phone. ‘Cause I’m stupid, and violent, and dangerous. I’m not even a person.”
“Hey, it’s okay! Everyone gets upset sometimes, and when we’re upset, we make mistakes.”
“Have you noticed there’s no animals around us? They run as soon as they’re in a two-mile radius of me. Professor Grant won an award for that paper too.”
“I did notice it was pretty quiet here.”
Henry sniffles and stops his crying.
“You should run too.”
“Run? Why would I run when I’m not in danger?”
He stands to his full height and looks down at me with his glowing eyes. I’m as tall as his ankle.
“How can you look at this and not be scared?” he says. “Don’t you know I messed up your brain? Who knows what I’ll do next?”
I can’t be scared now. There’s no point in us both being scared. What should I do?
“I was afraid of you when I met you, but now I know what you really are. You’re a big teddy bear.”
“I’m a weapon of planetary destruction.”
I hug Henry’s ankle. “You’re a good dog.”
I sense joy and shame fighting within Henry. “My brother hates you too. There’s no way he called your phone with good news.”
“I don’t care about that stranger. I care about you, and I think you’re a really good dog.”
Henry whimpers. “I forgot what Professor Grant said and grew too big. I’m dumb.”
“You’ll never be too big for me. Grow as big as you want. Hold me in the palm of your hand. I won’t be afraid.”
Henry picks me up with one hand and holds me in front of his giant chest. I realize I’m not afraid of heights as I sit in his palm.
“You’re the same as ever,” he says.
Sitting in the palm of a giant who could crush me like a grape, but somehow he’s the vulnerable one. I feel like I want to protect him, but I don’t know how.
“Can I… worship your muscles?”
I sense he’s extremely excited, but his face is trying to hide his enthusiasm with a trembling grin.
He gulps.
I don’t understand why, but the sound of him gulping turns me on, and the sight of his giant Adam’s apple moving up and down puts butterflies in my stomach.
“Sure… sure you can,” he says. “Lets go home.”
