Ch7-Jack the Giant

Jack the Giant Jack felt as if someone was gripping his head— and pulling him up, and up, and up! He looked down and watched his arms and hands stretch out. His legs grew longer, his feet bigger. Jack rocked back and forth, then stood still. He had stopped stretching and growing. His shoes, clothes, and backpack had all grown bigger to fit his new body. "Jack!" Annie's voice sounded distant. Peering through the dust, Jack looked around for Annie. "Jack! Down here!" Jack looked down. Annie was standing next to him. She only came up to his knees! "I dropped the bottle and it broke!" she said. "I didn't get to drink the potion!" "Oh, no!" Jack boomed. Even his voice was bigger. "I'm so sorry."

"You're huge!" said Annie. "How does it feel? Is it fun?" "Not yet," said Jack. The earth trembled again with another aftershock. Annie lost her balance and fell. Jack leaned over and picked her up with both hands. He placed her on one of his giant shoulders. "Whoa," said Annie. "This is cool! Now I'm taller than you! I can be your lookout."

From their new height, Jack and Annie could see over the rubble to the vast devastation. Trees down in the valley had been uprooted. The river was wild and raging. The mountaintops were shrouded in dark clouds. "It's starting to rain again," said Annie. "That's the least of our problems," said Jack. "I just hope the earthquake didn't destroy the panda center." "I know! Let's hurry! We only have an hour!" said Annie. Annie held on to Jack's head, and Jack held on to Annie's legs. He lifted one giant foot and stepped over the boulder that had crushed their bikes. Picking his way through the rubble, he headed back to the panda center. He stepped over fallen debris, power lines, and deep cracks in the road. His enormous sneakers crushed twigs and brush. Jack stepped over huge mounds of mud as if they were anthills. He kicked away boulders as if they were soccer balls. He tossed aside fallen trees as if they were broken branches. He leapt over a

river of water coursing down from the mountain as if it were a rain puddle. "This is incredible!" said Jack. "Watch out!" said Annie. A boulder was rolling down the wet road toward them. Jack spread his legs wide, and the boulder went between them and kept rolling downhill. Jack and Annie laughed. "Now are you having fun?" she said. Jack nodded. "Maybe a little bit." Suddenly a tree crashed across the road. Jack stumbled over it. He fell to the ground just as a wall of mud came cascading down the mountain slope. The black ooze was filled with rock fragments and plants. Annie! thought Jack. He lifted his head out of the mud before it smothered him. He reached around and felt Annie's kicking feet. He pulled her out of the thick, wet goo. "You okay?" Jack shouted. "Yes!" sputtered Annie. "But we're sliding over the cliff!" Annie was right. With the force of a tidal wave, the mudslide was pushing them across the

highway toward the cliff! Jack clutched Annie under one of his huge arms. Then he struggled through the grimy ooze until they were clear of the mudslide. Covered with mud from his hair to his shoes, Jack felt heavy and uncomfortable. He even had mud in his mouth. He put Annie down and sat on the road. "At least we're—we're safe," Annie said. Jack coughed, gagging on mud. "You look like a giant swamp monster," Annie said. Jack couldn't talk. As the rain fell harder, he threw back his head and let rainwater wash his face and fill his mouth. He choked and spit and coughed until his throat was clear. With help from the pelting rain, he washed the mud off his bare arms and his shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Finally he looked at Annie. "How long do you think I've been a giant now?" he asked hoarsely. "I don't know," she said. "It seems like a long time." "We'd better get moving. We only have an hour," he said.

"What'll we do if you're still a giant when we get to the center?" asked Annie. "I'll hide outside," said Jack, "until I'm small again." He figured the last thing the staff needed now was to see a twenty-five-foot-tall kid. Slowly they both stood up, soaking wet, but cleaner. Jack lifted Annie back onto his shoulder. He began striding uphill again, sloshing through mud puddles and stepping over crushed rocks. Jack walked through the falling rain, never stopping. But by the time they reached the panda center, he was so tired he could barely take another step. With Annie on his shoulder, Jack stood on the bank of the river and they stared across at the damage wrought by the earthquake. The parking lot was filled with mud. The center's sign had been knocked down. Portions of the bridge had collapsed into the river, and fallen brush and debris were piled up on the other side of the entrance gate. The slopes that surrounded the center were now gray and bare. Landslides had stripped them of foliage.