The Abandoned Factory

I walked over to a bookshelf. It contained a huge number of books and magazines, mostly very old. There had been no bookshelves in the house where I was first sheltered.

I walked over to a large wooden table where a manuscript of some kind was open. I could not make out the letters. Although we all spoke the same language, the writing itself was different on each planet. So, just like back in school, I began flipping through the pages in search of pictures. The first and only image I saw was some kind of mini-computer. I did not have time to see what it was, because at that moment Simon entered the room. He had a backpack on his shoulders and a flashlight in his hand.

"Let's go,” he said.

"Okay! Thanks again."

Our path to the towers ran through a huge forest. There were no forests on my planet, and I hadn't seen snow in a very long time. Here, it was everywhere. On the dark green branches of the trees lay the whitest snow in the universe. Someone might have thought that such a winter landscape would have a calming effect, but it was not so. It caused a terrible panic in me, and my ears began to ring. Seeing my pale face, Simon stopped.

"Avetik, are you all right?"

I slapped myself in the face and looked him firmly in the eye. "Yes, I'm fine. It's because of the snow, I guess. Too white. My nervous system can't stand it."

"It's not because of the snow at all."

"What? Then what is it?"

"These are magnetic waves. They are specially tuned so that everyone who comes here feels sick and leaves immediately."

"What is it about these towers?"

"I don't know. But since the giants are destroying them, the secret is probably not in the towers, but in something else."

"Do you have any idea?"

"No, I don't think I can suggest anything at the moment. But maybe you can help me find it today."

"Me?"

"Yes. You know, a fresh perspective never hurts. Perhaps my blurry eye cannot see something obvious. I have been looking at these long snow towers for 20 years, maybe more, watching them break and then rebuild, and I can’t understand anything."

I said nothing. I didn't know what to say and just nodded my head.

An hour later, we almost reached the factory. I lifted my head up to see what the plant looked like, when suddenly, something huge and completely black passed before my eyes. I stumbled back and fell to the ground. It was literally a meter from me; if I had taken even half a step at that moment, I would have been crushed.

I was numb.

"Are you all right, Avetik?" said Simon, patting my hand.

"It... it almost crushed me,” I said, not taking my eyes off the giant that had just passed by.

"Oh, the giant. I can imagine what you've been through. I forgot to warn you, but giants never kill people. It happened to me too, where a giant passed very close. After that, it happened more and more frequently every time I approached this area. But believe your eyes—since I am standing here safe and sound, they have never run me over."

Of course, I would have liked Simon to say this earlier. He seemed to be a very secretive person. But the fact that he agreed to see me off was already a great achievement. I didn't dare blame him.

"Understood. Thank you,” I said, and took his outstretched hand.

"We are here,” he said, and lifted the metal grate covering the entrance.

"So simple?" I was surprised. "I thought there would be some kind of security system, that we'd have to crack a password at the entrance or something."

"Hahaha, no, nobody needs this plant. So it has no security either. Let's go."

Now it became clear to me why Simon had taken the flashlight. It was pitch black inside the factory. Water was dripping somewhere, which made the atmosphere even more eerie. It seemed that now either a zombie, a ghost, or some kind of evil spirit would appear from a corner and kill us.

"Don't shake like that," said Simon, as if in response to my thoughts. "Nobody comes here. Ever. Nobody needs this place. Not even insects. We will now reach the main compartment, and there you can find whatever you want."

"Yeah,” I said slowly. The fear had not yet left me.

When we got to the main compartment, I saw a huge pile of metal. I would even say scrap metal. There were not just kilograms of tools, batteries, wires, and all kinds of parts—there was a ton, if not more.

Then I realized that I hadn't brought anything to carry all this stuff. We'll have to carry it all in our hands.

Before I had time to consider this, Simon squatted down and took off his backpack. He took out two huge, sturdy bags. I remember my mother used to use ones like these at the market. They looked terrible, but they performed their function very well.

"You can put whatever you think is necessary here,” he said.

"Thanks. Just... a simple human thanks to you," I said.

"It's my pleasure. I didn't do anything special."

For about half an hour, I dug through various parts while Simon held the light for me. Most of them were either broken or too old. I was sure they would not fit my ship. I thrust my hand into a pile of batteries when I suddenly felt something move.

"Oh my God!" I screamed.

"What is it this time?"

"Something moved in there,” I said with a frightened expression on my face.

"A part may have slipped," said Simon.

"No, this was something alive."

Simon put his hand in the same place I had been searching. Suddenly his gaze changed, and he actively began to feel for something. "Wait a minute,” he said.

And bang! The floor where we stood suddenly seemed to begin to disappear. Only a moment later did I realize that I was falling.

"What did you do?" I shouted.

"I accidentally fumbled for a button and pressed it," said Simon excitedly.

"This is definitely a trap. We're finished,” I said desperately.

At that same moment, we landed. I wouldn't say the landing was easy or soft, but my bones were safe and sound. Feeling the surface on which we fell, I realized that it was not the floor. The flashlight had fallen somewhere nearby and was shining in a completely different direction.

"Are you okay, Simon?"

"I'll be fine."

I took the flashlight in my hand and decided to look around. At first, it was not clear where we had ended up. But then, stepping back a few meters and shining the flashlight under my feet, I realized...

"Oh my god,” I screamed and dropped the flashlight.

"What, what is it?"

"We… we fell on a giant!"

"What? How is this possible?!"