Braddle And The Giant: The Escape: Braddle And The Giant, #2

By John Mallon

General Stoo has escaped and taken Braddle hostage. He and his men are far from the City, deep in the jaggeds. His plan is to conquer Carporoo but first he must rid himself of interfering giants. For Alfie, it is the start of the new school term. As well as learning about punctuation, fractions and the enormity of the universe he also learns that his life is in danger from tiny assassins. In this sequel to Braddle And The Giant, the adventures of Braddle and Alfie take an unexpected turn. This time General Stoo does not plan to fail.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishing Network
• Release date: Apr 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9781805175988

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Man On The Run

It nudged his nose, scraped his beard then pressed down hard on the tips of his shoes, on the part where his toes couldn't reach. An enormous wall, black and streaked with dirt, had fallen from the grey, morning sky and crushed, in an instant, the space in front of him. He stared at it too stunned to do anything except blink…

He couldn't move his legs. He was trapped. He raised his arms and hit the wall with his open palms then pushed. It was heavy and solid. He pushed until his face flushed purple and his wrists threatened to snap. When his aching arms were about to drop, the wall gave way and moved but not in the direction he had expected. It moved upwards and away from him. The edge rose up and stroked his stomach. He fell backwards and landed on his back-bag, arms outstretched, the heavy staff by his side, watching the object arc high into the sky. The wall revealed itself to be a side of an enormous, rectangular-shaped object. The edges of the black object were not straight, however, they were curved and the curves belonged to something familiar. The object was a shoe. The shoe of a giant…A giant had stepped over him. He raised his hand and rubbed his nose. It was still there! One step further and both it and all it was attached to would now be as flat as his crushed shoe-tips. The giant must have discovered his escape rope hanging from the rim of the glass cage and come out doors searching for him. Well, he was not going to be caught…not now!

He got to his feet. In the far distance, he could see a giant shape moving about. The giant hadn't gone far. He had to find cover quickly. To his right, was the vast, empty space of the giant's garden. To his left, was a high wall; a wall that might have a hole in it through which he could escape. The giant would never find him once he was on the other side of it. After adjusting his back-bag, he sprinted across the dirty-grey concrete, his staff gripped tightly like a sword.

A dark patch on the white, dimpled surface of the wall became a hole when he got closer to it. He stopped at the entrance. His escape was certain; he had time to catch his breath. The enormous shape of the giant still moved about in its garden.

Goodbye, he called to it. You won't be seeing me again but I'll make sure I give Stoo your regards when I get back.

He waved his staff at the giant shape…and the shape grew larger. Had it heard him? Was it coming his way? His grin collapsed and he ran into the hole and immediately collided with something brown, glistening and fresh. It completely filled the tunnel. It was the discarded skin of a Fustrog. He shivered. Through a gap in the folds of skin, he could see daylight. The hole was, indeed, a tunnel but there was no way he could get through it. It would be too dangerous to try. The Fustrog was most likely further down the tunnel still, on the other side of its drying, skin-waste.

He tip-toed quickly back out into the giant's garden. The giant shape had disappeared. It had probably gone back indoors but it could quiet easily resume its malicious search for him in the garden at any time. He had to find another hole, another way through. The wall stretched ever onwards. There had to be other holes, other gaps. Facing the wall, close to it, was an immense forest of green. At least it would provide some cover as he continued his search.

The ground along the wall consisted of bare soil-rocks that dipped and swelled in all directions. Moving forward was slow and difficult. His feet wanted him to rest but he kept telling them 'no, not yet - soon'. Through the gaps in the green, a massive shadow sometimes passed and he imagined the giant back outside. He shouted out, 'LEAVE ME ALONE - I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!' Fearful the giant with its massive ears may have heard his outburst, he ran to the nearest tree and hid behind its trunk. He waited for an enormous hand to appear through the leaves above but none came.

*

He stumbled alongside the wall for most of the day searching for a gap, for a way to the other side, but every hole he discovered became a crumbling indentation which led back into the giant's garden. He needed a rest. At the top of a steep rise, he placed his back bag on the ground and removed a packet containing a yellow lump. The lump had been part of an even bigger lump that had appeared one day in his glass prison, presumably put there by the giant. He took a large bite out of it and let himself enjoy its texture and taste. The lump-food had been disgusting, at first, and he had spat it out against the wall of his glass-cage after putting a tiny piece of it in his mouth but now…it was...

Something moved up ahead. It moved diagonally from the wall and disappeared behind a trunk on the right side. He wrapped the yellow lump and placed it in his bundle. Gripping his staff like a sword in one hand and his back-bag in the other, he began to creep forward. Maybe it had kept on going and disappeared into the interior of the giant's garden, he told himself. Be careful. He eased himself down the other side of the rise and entered a dip in the ground. The dip took him below ground level and obscured the view of the open ground around it. Its opposite side was steep and he had to scramble up it, kicking loose soil-rocks back down into the dip. He clambered out of it as quickly as he could manage with sweat snaking down his back, gasping for breath. There it was again. The creature was moving back to the wall. It was bright red with eight short legs and an almost round body. It stopped not far from the wall and tapped its two front legs in front of it. With a flick, it turned to face him. He froze and stared at it. Keep still. Keep still, he repeated. Don’t even blink. It might…the creature sprung forward!

He surveyed the area around him frantically. Where to go? Where to go? There was nowhere nearby that could offer him protection. His panicked-self took control and jumped back into the dip, readying itself with his outstretched staff. The creature appeared on the edge of the dip. It tapped its front legs quickly. He lashed out with his staff and managed to hit one of the moving legs. The strike, however, didn't produce the reaction he wanted. The creature didn't howl in pain and retreat defeated. Instead, its legs tapped with an increased excitement and vigour.

Then a shadow fell over him, transforming the day into night. He threw himself on the ground. Something was moving over him. The ground shook and soil-rocks slipped and rolled into the dip. Day light returned and he saw the end of a black tail. What monstrosity is this? He stared at the tail. It curled upwards and started to quiver and a smell filled the dip that stunned his nostrils and caused him to retch uncontrollably. He curled himself up and waited for the retching to stop. The stench faded slowly but he remained in the dip, head buried in his arms, his stomach gargling with the nausea, his mouth spitting out a bitter taste, until a thought told him to get up and get the hell out of there.

He crawled up the side of the dip dragging his staff and his bag. He peered over the edge. Both creatures had gone.

*

He wanted to keep moving but the night began to drop around him. It wasn't safe to continue in the dark. He would be an easy snack for any of the creatures that scurried or slithered over the dark ground. He yawned. He hadn't slept for two days but the prospect of sleeping out in the open made him shudder. He needed to find somewhere safe.

A thick trunk of a flower stood a little way off. Not far up the trunk a large leaf curled off it. Up there would be better than down here he told himself. He placed his staff and bag at the base of the flower. The leaf was high up, beyond reach. He patted the flower’s trunk.

If you had steps I could get up there quite easily, he said to it.

He removed the small dagger from his belt. After patting the trunk again, he cut into it at about knee height. The dagger sliced easily. When it had gone into it a little way he moved the blade downwards. After cutting down for about the length of his foot he let go of the dagger, gripped the edge of the trunk where he had originally cut and began to pull it outwards then downwards. As he did so he could hear the damp fibers stretching then snapping. He pulled the flap down until it stuck out perpendicular to the trunk and retrieved his exposed knife. He stepped onto the flap. It was strong and sturdy.

Well that's the first step done, he said, looking up. How many more to go?

An hour later, he threw himself down on the leaf exhausted. He eased the bundle off his aching shoulders and placed his head on it. He needed to sleep. The first day of his escape had not gone as he had anticipated. Yes, he was free from the giant but he had entered a realm in which threat and danger constantly threw unpleasant things at him. How could he ever fight his way through it all and make it home safely? Where, indeed, was his home? How far away was it? Maybe he should have stayed in the glass cage. At least he had food and water…at least he was safe. He turned onto his side and the image of his wife and son appeared before him. Yes, yes, I know, he said to himself. There was only one choice to make. He had to escape. Frey and Braddle were an essential part of him. A life lived without them would be worse than death. I know, I know, he added, I’ll stop moaning now and get some sleep.

There was a rumble and a squelch from the ground below the leaf. He placed his hands over his ears to block it out. Just let me sleep, he whispered. Haven't I been through enough? He felt the leaf shake. He removed his hands and crawled to the edge. In the darkness far below a long, fat creature was oozing passed the flower in the direction from which he had come. He gasped in horror. What was it doing? Where was it going? Down the path, in the distance, he saw light from the giant’s house.

Yes, go that way you monster, he muttered to himself. Go and get the giant. Make him suffer like I have suffered.

CHAPTER TWO

The Return

Alfie slapped the bathroom door with the palm of his hand.

Hurry up! I’ll be late for school, he shouted.

The shower turned off, the shower door rattled open, the shower door slammed shut. Why do we have to go to school? Why can’t we stay off a little longer? The summer holidays should last for at least another four weeks. They really should.

Alfie, are you getting ready? called mum from the bottom of the stairs.

I can’t get into the bathroom. Francis is in there. I think he’s plucking his eyebrows.

Five minutes later the lock on the bathroom door clicked and the door whipped open. Francis emerged dressed in his boxer shorts.

Who’s plucking their eyebrows? he asked. You’d better not be talking about me. Move.

He shouldered Alfie aside and made for his bedroom.

"No, I