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Crouching in the shadows, silent and alert, David thought of the advantages these kids had and marveled. Most people would have been envious — these boys were handsome, athletic, intelligent, had obviously well-to-do parents, and they were 62-foot-tall giants — but David felt nothing of the sort. He had always been an open-minded experiencer of life. Also, any emotion he could have had was only drowned by amazement as he watched a pair of truck-sized feet creep by his hidden position, their steps making nary a sound.

“They used the ‘soft step’ spell again,” he thought, figuring that the reason he didn’t even hear the other boy must have been because they both had cast it to stay equal.

Cade and Conor were indistinguishable from each other now, except in role: One was “Good” and one was “Evil,” and David figured they planned this to make the game of hide and seek more thrilling. A bit creepy, even.

It had started the usual way, with the seeker (“Evil”) counting to 100, except instead of choosing a hiding place for himself, David found himself swept away in the protective grasp of “Good,” who had taken him to one of the house’s bedrooms first.

“Don’t trust anything he says,” the huge boy had whispered, cupping David close to his face, causing his warm breath to billow around the human. “Don’t move too much. I’ll try to trick him into looking in the wrong places.” And with that, he set his little friend down next to a pair of black leather dress shoes in an open closet. David took stock of his situation while the giant dashed away, and he heard Evil finish counting.

“Heeeere I coooooome!” yelled an echoing, sing song voice from the hallway.

Very quickly, David realized he had been placed in an inferior spot. He gazed around the room from his vantage point, noticing the vast plane of giant hardwood, the curved legs of a nightstand, the great, dark shadow cast under a hospital-sized bed. The only light in the room was afternoon sunshine filtered through a single window by thin green curtains. Were he to stay in the closet, he could be easily cornered with no chance for escape. He leapt into action not a moment too soon.

Right when he’d found a new hiding place under the bed, backed up against a leg of the footboard, he saw the quiet, massive feet come strolling in. Instinctively, his whole body froze and his heartbeat quickened as he watched those feet stretch up onto tiptoe as the giant boy seemed to be bending over the bed, looking over the covers.

The human couldn’t hear the giant’s steps anymore, but he could still hear the movements of the titanic body and feel the air it displaced. The giant was crouching — he was looking under the bed! David darted around to the opposite side of the wooden leg. His pulse throbbed in his ears as his heart pounded.

“David, it’s me! The good one!” the giant said, his voice calm and benign.

“How dumb do you think I am?” David thought, holding his position until he heard joints lightly groan and felt the air move again. Had the giant stood back up?

He was about to peek around when he suddenly noticed the massive feet walking by him again, carrying the giant farther into the room, toward the closet. It was only a matter of time before his pursuer checked under the bed again.

Taking a deep breath, David bolted for the doorway, banking on Evil’s back being turned. In several tense seconds, he managed to run about 40 yards, and, scrambling against the wood of the doorpost, he slid around the corner and into the hall.

Immediately, he tumbled over a set of enormous toes. For the briefest of moments, he was thrown into a panic and clawed desperately over the skin below. He heard a gasp from far above and felt fingers wrap around him.

The Good giant wasted no time — he darted down the hallway and through the family room to the kitchen before his brother could see what he was doing.

“I thought you were done for!” he whispered happily at his little friend, and paused by the kitchen sink, looking around for a new place to put him. Gently, he set his babysitter down and dashed away again.

David sighed as he found himself once again placed in a not-too-great location: behind a kind of toaster next to the refrigerator. He was now on the kitchen counter, which might as well have been a huge slab of white rock on a 50-foot-tall cliff. And it wasn’t even very cluttered or anything — an easy place to look for a hiding human.

David thought he could hear distant commotion and arguing voices. He assumed Good was trying to divert Evil from the proper course. In any case, he knew he probably didn’t have much time.

Directly to the front of his position was a small, open dining area. To his right was the entry hall to the house and the large family room beside it. To his left was a doorway to a dark room — the most promising choice, he thought.

The main obstacle in his path was the lethal drop to the floor.

David examined the ring on his right hand. This ring, Vivian had said, was meant to rescue him from any fall. He realized, at this time, that the description she gave was kind of vague for his tastes. For instance, what if it wasn’t a “fall” per se, but a jump?

He stood at the cliff’s edge. The view of the distance to the bottom almost made him woozy, and he closed his eyes. Could he trust magic? It had saved him from being crushed earlier …

A shrill, ominous sound suddenly pierced the air. His eyes shot open. From a couple rooms away, he heard a giant boy’s voice ring out in malevolent song.

“Itty bitty human … Come on out and play … Itty bitty human … Please don’t run away!”

There was too much wicked glee in that voice — his decision was made. Magic would protect him. He knew it would.

Aiming at the dark room’s door, he took a small running start and launched himself into space.

Almost immediately, he knew he would be fine. Like a movie kung fu star, he was gliding through the air on swirling winds, heading down toward the floor on an incline. “I could get used to this,” he thought, enjoying his little ride as the horrible singing drew ever closer.

“Itty bitty human … Don’t leave me all alone … Itty bitty human … My pocket is your home!”

His descent was a bit too rapid, and he rolled painfully across the floor for a while before getting up and racing for cover. The landing was rough, but he detected no injuries as he ran into the darkness.

The boys had not shown him this room when he first arrived. In the low light cast from a single, small window with its blinds drawn, he could tell that it was not finished — it contained no furniture, and huge cardboard boxes, stacks of laminate and paint cans were set randomly all over the place. He noticed that a lot of broken rock, wood, and some metal debris were strewn across the bare, cold concrete floor. Quick as he could, hearing the singing enter the kitchen, he scampered behind a rumpled pile of paper next to a box.

Evil stood in the doorway, glanced around the dark area, and turned around. He was skipping the room entirely.

“Itty bitty human,” he continued to sing, “I think you’re really neat … Itty bitty human … So little and so sweet …”

David reclined into the crumpled paper as he heard the giant look around the kitchen, and he sighed happily as he heard the boy’s voice grow farther away. “Maybe he’s afraid of this room,” he thought. “Maybe I’m not really supposed to be in here …”

But the thought didn’t really bother him, and he took the opportunity to relax. In no time at all, the craziness of the day caught up with him, and he started to doze.

How long had the game been by now? Surely not long, and yet time seemed to flow in an unpredictable way in a giant house. Lying serenely on his little bed of trash, David’s eyes grew heavy, and then they’d pop open at an unusual sound, and then they’d drift closed again, and then he’d wonder why he’d not heard anything for a while, and then …

He was asleep.

“Ouch!” said a giant voice. David’s whole body stiffened and levitated for a split second. He awoke to find a pair of huge, gray eyes looking at him. One of the twins was standing there. He was balancing on one leg, and scratching his right foot with his left hand.

“There you are!” the huge boy whispered.

David just stared. Was this the end? Did he lose? He didn’t even flinch as the giant carefully picked him up and raised him up to face level.

“C-…I mean, Evil is still looking for you,” the boy said. “This was a good hiding place. We almost never come in here.”

Suddenly, a low groaning could be heard from the kitchen. Good’s eyes bugged out.

“Oh no!” he whispered. “I think he followed me!”

“Quick, put me in your pocket!” David said.

“I’m not allowed!” Good whispered. “It’s one of Mom’s rules!”

“Well then …” But David had no time to say anything more. Evil was at the doorway, his shoulder’s hunched, his face downcast. He entered the room and leaned against the wall as Good tried his best to keep his human-carrying hand on the other side of his body, out of view.

“Where did he go?” Evil asked, exasperated. “Seriously, where did you put him? David’s really fast, but he can’t be that fast.”

“Do you give up?” Good asked. If Evil gave up, then the game was over.

“Heck no!” Evil said, and then, being evil, corrected himself. “I mean, HELL NO.” He sighed heavily, and then walked out of the room. “He wouldn’t go in there, it’s all dirty and stuff.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so either,” Good said, and held David behind his back. “I told you, I put him behind the toaster in the kitchen, and he’s not there anymore.”

Good followed Evil into the family room, trying his best to act natural and keep a good distance behind him. His mind raced with ideas about how he might sneak the human past his brother, but then he jumped as Evil suddenly turned towards him.

“I’ll bet he’s in the paper towel holder!” the boy said with a sinister grin, and bounded back into the kitchen.

“That was close,” Good whispered, once again cupping his friend close to his face as he spoke. He looked down upon the human soulfully. “Don’t worry, little guy, I’ll protect you.” He hugged David close to his chest, getting into the theatrics of the situation as kids are wont to do.

“Awkward hug number two,” David thought as he was mushed up against a warm body and heard a steady, thrumming heartbeat. “This is definitely Cade.”

The tender moment could only last for a second, though, as Evil (obviously Conor) spoke up, glaring at his brother’s back.

“Do you have something in your hand?”

Cade panicked. “Hang on!” he whispered, and put David inside the collar of his T-shirt. It wasn’t a very stable place, and David suddenly found himself hanging from both hands from the band of cotton fabric, his body dangling next to the sheer cliff face of Cade’s chest. Below him, he could see a deep canyon between two walls — the boy’s flat stomach and a swath of white cloth. At the distant bottom was the elastic waistband of giant shorts and the fall to the floor below.

Still faced away from his brother, Cade held up both hands and continued walking. “Nothing in my hands, see?” he said.

Conor was nobody’s fool. Still under the soft step spell, he rapidly snuck up behind Cade. “Why don’t you turn around?” he asked.

“I’m just …” Cade started, but then broke into a run for the bedroom hallway.

Conor roared. He flew forward and tackled his twin to the ground with a humongous THUMP! As his body hurtled toward the floor, Cade managed to twist his torso around and land on his back, but this looked like the end. Conor had him now!

David was dazed, as the sudden violence had broken his grip on the collar and sent him sliding and bouncing down Cade’s giant abdomen. Still under the cover of a huge white canvas, he found himself now sprawled rather awkwardly with his butt stuck in a hole — a giant innie belly button. The position was made even more uncomfortable as the living landmass underneath him did a crunch. Cade was propping himself up onto his elbows.

“Ha ha ha ha!!!!” Conor laughed, seeing the outline of his prey underneath his brother’s shirt. He lifted up the hem of the garment and sneered down at the disheveled human. “Game over!” he squealed, and then laughed again, really going for a villainous cackle. Being 62 feet tall, he had the vocal ability to really make his guffaws go unnaturally deep, and he did this, relishing the momentary flash of fear on his tiny captive’s face.

David reached inside his own shirt and gripped the emergency whistle while Conor used both hands to pick him up and hold him in front of his wicked, toothy smile.

“Evil wins!” the giant boy crowed. “Now I’ve got my little human, and I can do whatever I want!”

David raised one eyebrow. Being right in front of a titanic set of jaws was unnerving, but otherwise he was still the babysitter here. He was a bit shaken from the crash of huge bodies, but he couldn’t allow Conor to forget who was in charge. In all honesty, he thought, these kids were huge, but still too cute to be truly scary.

“Of course you know that isn’t true,” David said, smiling and injecting authority into his tone.

Conor briefly switched back to a normal, non-evil persona. “Aw, I know! But come on, it’s fun!” he said. Then, the evil persona was back, and he glowered at his helpless prisoner. “How dare you talk back to me!” he bellowed.

This still, while entertaining, was not enough to break the human’s resolve, but things changed when he suddenly heard a strange growling sound from far below.

Abruptly, he realized the time of day — it was dinner time.

“Did you hear that?” Conor said, his gray eyes twinkling. “My tummy is empty! I’m hungry!” He shifted David over to one hand, and then used his thumb and forefinger to trap both of the human’s legs.

“Good thing I just caught myself a snack!” he laughed, and raised his babysitter up above his head, tilting the teenager upside down.

David still had his emergency whistle clasped in one hand, and this was a different experience entirely. He could feel himself trembling as he was hung upside down. His stomach did flips.

“C-Conor?” he said, trying but failing to maintain the authoritative tone. “This is a bit much, little bro!”

Cade got up to his feet, a truly scandalized look on his face. “Conor, that’s not funny!” he scolded, but his admonishing was unheard.

“Yum yum!” Conor said, opening his mouth wide and sticking his tongue out far. He moved his hand as if he were lowering the human down.

If David’s blood hadn’t already been rushing to his skull, his face would have turned a ghostly white. His breath caught and his heart stopped as he watched the giant lips part beneath him, revealing a glistening, saliva-coated red cavern leading down to a terrifying gullet. Humans and giants around the world had experienced a checkered history together, but only rarely had any encounter involved one race devouring the other. His brain knew the kid was only playing, that he was in no real danger, but he couldn’t silence his guts, especially as the massive, wet tongue inched closer and closer.

For the first time that day, David shouted with all his might.

“Conor, I AM BLOWING THE WHISTLE IF YOU DON’T STOP RIGHT NOW!”

The boy’s mouth snapped shut, his hand returned its passenger to a more comfortable position, and his eyes stared, surprise obvious on his face. He had only been playing. Was David really mad?

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

But it was too late.

Cade’s fist slammed into Conor’s stomach, and it was like a locomotive smashing into a hillside. David was subjected to even more ridiculous jostling as the boy carrying him doubled over, and as Cade’s hand tried to snatch him away.

“Give him to me! You’re too dangerous!” Cade screamed.

Conor stumbled backward, upset but still in his right mind — unlike his brother, apparently. “Why’d you punch me,” he wheezed. “I said I was sorry.”

“Give him to me! You’re not gentle enough!” Cade said, and grabbed his brother’s wrist.

This was it — David had seen enough. Conor’s hand was loose enough for him to easily escape the grasping fingers, so he shimmied up out of the huge hand and dove for the floor. It was a good 40-foot drop.

Now it was the giant boys’ turn to drop their jaws in fright, their faces white. As far as they knew, their little friend had just committed suicide.

But to their extreme relief, he fell like a feather, landed with aplomb, and turned to look up at them. The whistle was at his mouth.

“Guys, I think you should calm down,” he said, and then blew the instrument with a descending tone.

When Vivian gave David the whistle earlier that day, she told him what effects it would have, but she told him to be very careful. Now he was seeing it in action. Before his eyes, Cade and Conor were rapidly shrinking, but another unexpected change was also taking place.

He could feel his skin tingling all over his body, and his clothes felt hot and itchy. His vision blurred slightly as he saw the floor grow farther away and the building implode towards him. With only a little bit of dizziness, he steadied himself against the wall.

The wall, which previously had been at least 20 feet away.

Cade and Conor were used to shrinking by now, having experienced the spell five times before. It was a little disorienting, but not as disorienting or downright frightening as what they saw in front of them.

David had become a colossus, upwards of 90 feet tall. Cade and Conor’s height now reached the tops of the toes of his running shoes, if they were lucky. Above them stretched navy blue track pants, a black T-shirt, and the confused-looking face of their big bro, now living up to his nickname.

When they had shrunken before, it was always in the privacy of the forest — they had never done it in the presence of another giant. Finally, they were seeing David’s point of view, and it was scarier than either boy had ever imagined. Conor, especially since he felt a little like he had been mean to David before, started to cry. Cade merely held his breath, gazing up in wonder. He had never felt more vulnerable.

David took several deep breaths and looked down at the tiny boys by his feet. This was a big surprise, and not really a pleasant one.

When he’d first met the giant twins, he had wondered what their lives were like — what it meant to have their size and power. Many other high school students would have gotten high from the feeling of growing into a giant, but David only felt troubled. He felt like he couldn’t move. Two little boys were so close to his massive shoes, and he was pretty sure they had no anti-crushing protection. Perhaps Vivian had trusted him with this magical failsafe because she knew he would never hurt them. Very very slowly, he stepped backward. Lacking a soft step spell, his action shook the ground.

The movement caused Conor to cry even harder, and Cade sat down on the floor, his mind numb.

David squatted down and, with extreme carefulness, stroked Conor’s quivering form.

“Conor, it’s OK,” he said in a whisper. “Guys, it’s OK, I’m not mad. We just … we just need to take a little break, I think.”

Conor’s breath hitched, and he looked up at the towering teenager. Fear was still in his eyes.

David used his most soothing voice. “Guys, I won’t hurt you, and I’ll grow you back in a little bit,” he said. “I promise you, little bros, I wouldn’t hurt you in a million years.”

To his surprise, Conor leaped forward and hugged his finger. Cade also stood up and walked forward a little bit, wringing his hands.

“I blew the whistle ‘cause you guys were fighting, and I don’t want my little bros to fight, OK?” he said, and they both nodded. Conor dislodged himself and wiped his tearful face on his shirt.

Very slowly, David stood back up. Looking down, he realized he couldn’t take being a giant for very long. For one thing, it left him kind of queazy, which was a natural and incurable side effect of any growth spell. For another thing, he didn’t think he could get used to seeing these children be so small. It activated his protective instincts to a startling degree.

At least now he could make their dinner for them, rather than telling them to heat it up themselves. Dinner — that sounded like the perfect way to calm things down.

“OK guys,” he said, “I’m gonna make you some food, ‘cause I know you’re hungry. I … don’t know if I’m as good at being a giant as you are, so I don’t wanna pick you up just yet.” Carefully, he began to turn around. “Why don’t you take a walk together and come to the kitchen after a while? I think that’s a good way to settle down, OK?”

Cade and Conor watched their colossal friend thunder down the hallway and turn the distant corner. Slowly, they began shuffling over the vast floor, keeping a bit of distance from each other. The occasional dry sob still escaped from Conor’s throat.

Resigning himself, Cade sidled over next to his twin. “I’m sorry I punched you,” he said, almost imperceptibly, but Conor heard, and looked over at him.

“I’m sorry I was being too rough. I know I get carried away too much,” he said, and then the tears started to flow again. “I think David likes you more than me …”

Cade stopped his brother and gave him a fierce hug. “No! He doesn’t!” he said. “I just hog him too much. It’s my fault.”

Conor hugged him back, and the twins paused for a few moments, gathering their thoughts and emotions. Finally, Conor whispered, “Being small next to a giant is so scary.”

“Just stay next to me,” Cade replied, and they continued walking down the long hallway.