Jake Barry
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Chapter 9
🕑 Added 2022-09-17 03:30:38 +0000 UTC"Over to the left. No, not that much. Slightly lower. Yeah...yeah...okay stop! That's perfect, Jeannine! Ready for the next?"
"Of course. Just gimme a sec, my hand is cramping..."
The massive girl shakes her hand out above us.
For over an hour she and the two engineer guys have been trying to construct our first building in the middle of the land.
Fingers bigger than battleships are somehow dexterous enough to manipulate tons of wood and stone like building blocks.
Voices softer than pin-drops guide our massive friend via our speaker systems.
It really is a sight to see.
A shadow darkens the area around me as her hand passes over.
I involuntarily recoil at the sight of something so big moving so close.
There's this voice in my head that's trying to convince me that she's going to drop something on me.
It's silly, but I can't help it.
As sweet and genuine as Jeannine seems to be, I'm still not able to fully trust her.
Seeing all the others so cheerful and trusting has begun to make me feel like an outcast.
The man who sleeps with a machete is a fool every night but one.
I consider my skepticism my machete, in a sense.
It's not sharp or even a deterrent but it might help me avoid trouble sometime.
Maybe.
A loud crash a ways away from me snaps me back to reality.
Dust and dirt fly toward me, showering me from head to toe.
Once I rub it out of my eyes, I realize what happened.
A log the size of a semi just fell in front of me.
My god, what if I had been sitting over there?
Holy shit...
Holy shit!
"Sorry! One of them seems to have slipped. Is everyone alright?", Jeannine asks us.
A few of the others rush over to me.
My motionless body lying there must have made them panic.
They help me up and quickly check for any injuries.
They find none and brush me off.
I'm honestly surprised by how relieved they all look.
It's nice…
"Someone was close but he's alright. Shaken and dirty, but alright.", the older engineer laughs over the speaker.
Jeannine's worried face looms overhead, her eyes focused on me alone.
She leans in a little no doubt to get a better look at me.
I shudder.
"What a relief. I'm so sorry, mister, that was horribly careless of me. How can I make it up to you?"
Gazing up at the gorgeous fem-giant, I find myself paralyzed.
She's so damn cute but at the same time she terrified me.
I never wanted to speak with her one on one, that was why I actively avoided the speakers.
I just...
I just can't.
It's so dumb of me but her gaze just freaks me out.
It feels... wrong.
She tilts her head curiously.
When no answer is given, the older man replies for me.
"Let's give him some space. I don't think he's much of a talker."
"Oh, absolutely. I'll be more careful, I swear!”
She winks at me and I feel my heart flutter.
Feelings of guilt permeate my being and I have absolutely no idea why.
I take those feelings with me as I walk to another, hopefully safer, spot to watch from.
The others seem to be gathered watching Jeannine work, so I join them without so much as a word.
Nobody talks to me either, being considerate of my mood.
As I watch yet another massive wooden pillar become firmly planted in the ground, everyone around me cheers.
I applaud too.
How could I not?
With that last piece, the foundation of our town hall is complete.
What would have taken weeks of manual labor, Jeannine finished in just under an hour.
"Damn. That's just insane."
We look to the giantess who is now standing back up.
She flexes her hands again and kicks out her legs.
She looks just as happy as the crowd.
This was the first time we cooperated to achieve something.
No, it's more than that.
We just saw a Brob build something for Lillis rather than destroy.
Merely one week ago I would have thought that to be impossible.
"I think that's enough for me. The rest of the work is far too intricate for these hands, unfortunately. Best of luck, everyone!"
She then leaves the room once more.
The rest of us disperse to go work on whatever it is we've been assigned.
A few head over to Daedalus to continue work on the town hall.
Others head south to the soon-to-be farmland to plow the soil.
The rest occupy themselves with simpler, independent tasks.
Everyone has a role now, even me.
Our 'visionary' father-son duo apparently have an amazing plan for this place.
They gathered us all up this morning to present some rough sketches.
Truth be told, I couldn't really read them all that well.
Though, I was able to gleam the idea.
It was a plan for a town, with a focus on solid infrastructure.
Apparently, they have plans to upgrade into a city once new Lillis arrive.
To say that I was skeptical would be an understatement.
Firstly, how the heck were we going to build a town with the little manpower we have?
Sure, they produce the tools form wood and stone working, but still! Not to mention the lack of tools and organization.
None of us have ever constructed anything before.
But they accounted for that too.
One by one, they had us introduce ourselves and tell eachother about our individual skills.
They assigned each of us to a task that we could either do well, or quickly learn.
After a lengthy meeting, each of us had a job.
Apparently, I'm well suited for one... 'specific' job.
"Government of all things? So random..."
Governance seems like so unnecessary given how we're a population of ten.
Plus, I don't like heavy responsibilities.
Even back home I was content to play a supporting role.
The kind of thing where you follow the lead of another, doing as you're told.
A background character, I guess.
But then again, that home is nothing more than a memory now.
Maybe I could try something new?
"Jeannine did say she wanted someone to talk to about issues. I'm going to have to talk with her. One on one, probably."
The idea troubles me more than I'd like to admit.
I'm not sure this is for me.
I head straight to Daedalus.
Approaching the man, I take a deep breath and try to speak confidently.
"Sir, I'm not sure I c-can do this Governing? I-It's not…"
Fuck me, what phenomenal delivery.
I try not to let my physical cringing show.
He turns to me and smiles patting my shoulder with a large, meaty hand.
By the third pat it starts to feel sore.
He's awfully strong.
"Don't worry. You'll do fine, kid, just trust me."
He gives me a nod and gives me this look of reassurance.
It makes me too nervous to decline.
I stand there waiting for him to continue but... he doesn't.
Hmph.
Somehow, I was expecting more?
He's so weird.
"Thank you? Um, I guess I'll start talking to the others. Info gathering and all that..."
"Mhm. Good luck!"
He seems convinced, like it's not even worth a discussion.
I make myself scarce.
This feels so forced to me.
Why am I being put into this position?
Have I displayed any of the skills it requires?
He'd better not be screwing with me.
No, I don't think he's the type to do that.
At the very least doing as he says will give me the direction I was seeking.
"Fine then. I'll give it an honest shot."
I spend the next few hours reluctantly going back and forth between my fellow Lillis.
I figure the best way to do this is to learn as much as I can about who they are and what they're doing for our community.
Using some paper and a chunk of graphite I begin writing notes.
"Of all the tools you guys made, you couldn't have produced some pencils…? Geez."
Though I have little confidence in my abilities, I try to take the job seriously.
If I crash and burn, I can always give the responsibility to someone else.
By the time I've interviewed eight people, I'm already feeling drained.
Reviewing my notes, it appears that I have enough information to relay to Jeannine, should she ask for it.
Progress with the farm is going nicely.
By Daedalus' estimates, the town hall should be done in two days.
People have also begun work on proper houses instead of the makeshift tents we were using before.
Slowly but surely, this place is becoming a full-fledged town.
"Alright, I think that's almost everyone. Just one left."
I head over to the woman from the other day.
Her name was Ori, I think?
I hope so or else this is going to be awkward.
"Hello again, Ori. Got a minute?"
"Hm? Oh, it's you. Yes, what's the matter?"
She gives me a toothless smile.
It's one of familiarity, but not necessarily fondness.
I don't think we're friends after just one conversation.
Looking down at my notes, I begin as I did with everyone else.
"So it looks like I'm going to be the liaison between us and Jeannine. I've been asked to observe and gather information about how things are going down here. At some point I'll probably relay it all to her and stuff."
"I see, I see! That's a wonderful job, you're lucky."
"Not really. I just took it because they told me to."
Orina then gets a little too close to me and stares into my eyes, causing me to flinch.
She's so close that our noses are practically touching.
Her expression is serious until it returns to a smile and she retreats.
"Definitely a good pick. You're the one for this job."
"How do you--"
"Just trust me. I know."
"I've been hearing a lot of that lately. Ah, we got sidetracked. Back to the main issue."
"Of course."
"So, Ori, I'll keep it brief. Three questions. You can answer them however you want. Ready?"
"Yes, sir."
I chuckle at that.
No one's ever called me sir, least of all someone older than me.
It feels kind of cool.
"First one. What have you been up to since arriving here a few days ago?"
"I've been trying things, here and there. I'm not particularly skilled so I just try to help however I can. Just this morning I was carrying wood over to the town hall. Later tonight I'm planning to help with making clothes."
"Very nice. Doing many things is nothing to be ashamed of.
If anything, you're just helping more."
"Thank you, Nick, that's sweet of you."
"Anytime. Okay, next. It's about Jeannine-"
"She's great! I never imagined someone so pure existed, let alone a Brobby."
Technically I am only looking for first impressions, but her answer struck me.
Her opinion of Jeannine is so positive that I'd like to know more.
"You seem to really like her. It doesn't bother you that she's one of them?"
"No, not in the slightest."
I'm taken aback.
Suddenly I feel defensive, almost as if her answer is too outrageous to simply accept.
A 'Brobby' took my family and home from me.
To me, they're all the same, even Jeannine.
Deep down, I'm mistrustful of her, deserved or not.
"How can you say that? There's no way you ended up in that tank along with the rest of us unless you suffered at the hands of her kind!"
"Please lower your voice."
Her voice is stern, almost commanding.
I instantly shut my mouth.
"S-Sorry... It's a sensitive topic for me."
"I understand. The answer to your previous question is yes. I've suffered...more than you know. Didn't I mention this when we first met?"
She did.
It must have slipped my mind.
A 'monster' or something?
Either she omitted the details or I forgot them.
"I think so. You don't have to elaborate; I get the message. I'm sorry, that was so rude of me."
"It's alright. I'm not one to hold grudges."
When she doesn't elaborate any further, I decide to drop the topic.
It must not be something she's comfortable speaking about.
It could also just be me?
"Let's get the last question out of the way so that I can leave alone. Ahem. Is there anything you'd like to tell Jeannine? I'll relay it to her along with everyone else's."
"Hmm..."
"Take your time."
I wait while she thinks.
She seems to come up with an idea only to ponder some more.
I think she's looking for the right words here.
There's no need for it to be this serious; This isn't an interrogation.
After a short while, she shares her thoughts.
"Please tell Jeannine that she's doing a great job."
Again I wait for more but everyone it's like everyone is being super concise today.
Must I beg for more than a sentence?
"Is that all? It's kind of basic. No offense, Ori."
"None taken. Sometimes it's best to keep things simple and genuine. I only hope she will appreciate it, coming from me."
That last part catches me off guard.
I raise a brow in response.
"I'm sorry?"
"Oh, you know. I'm just one of ten, soon to be one of thirty or even a hundred. When we're so small and irrelevant to her I just wonder if this 'thing' we have now will last. There will only ever one of her but our numbers will continue to grow."
"I couldn't disagree more."
"Why is that?"
"If someone's special to you then it doesn't matter how many others there area. The place they take up in your heart won't disappear. In Jeannine's case, I think she's already taken a liking to you. Didn't she call you by name?"
"S-She did! Yes, I think so."
"Exactly. Don't worry about silly things like that. I'll get your message to her sometime soon. Thanks for-"
Suddenly Ori jumps at me, embracing me tightly.
I'm taken by surprise, tensing up in response.
The woman lingers there for a few seconds before letting me go.
She gives me a smile, as she always does.
"Thank you, Nick. Really, I mean it."
"No problem...I just said how I feel."
"Mhm. I also don't think you should worry. This new job--you're very good at it. Keep it up!"
"I'll do my best. You have a nice day, yeah?"
Ori and I part ways again, going back to our jobs.
With my notes now complete, there's only one thing left to do.
I shudder at the thought.
"No use in turning back now. You've signed up for the full course, dude."
I look up to the bedroom window.
It's still very bright.
Based on that I estimate it's still around two or three in the afternoon.
Jeannine will be back in about an hour.
Until then, I'll prepare for our first meeting.
