It was over.

The two words whispered by the stranger in surprise might as well have been a death sentence.

He had been seen. He had been found. He was caught.

Martin stared up and up, his fear increasing with every inch of the giant stranger he took in.

Gigantic feet, easily able to crush Martin beneath his heels at a whim - leaving him nothing but a red smear on the asphalt - with a single lazy movement.

Enormously long legs, that looked swift and strong, and that Martin had not a chance in hell of outrunning.

A lean, but muscular torso, long, strong looking arms and huge hands, ready to grab him, able to squeeze his tiny body to a bloody pulp just by flexing, strong enough to pull his limbs off without a second thought.

It was over.

He was dead.

"No", Martin wanted to scream, but all he managed was a whisper.

He had suffered so much. He had tried so hard.

He had lost.

"No, no, no, no, no."

He had tried so hard to survive. Had desperately clung to the last bits of hope, of pride and humanity.
Had suffered all Walt had put him through but had never allowed himself to be broken completely.

Staring up, way up, at the giants face, huge brown eyes staring back down at him, Martin let go.

And finally, after over a year of suffering and torment, he broke.

He let the exhaustion take him, not even bothering to stay on his feet. Martin just dropped where he was, tears spilling from his eyes, and let the silent sobs shake his worn down, aching body.

He felt empty.

It was over.

He had lost.

The stranger would catch him, and eventually, Walt would take him off the other giant.

Buy him or steal him or just convince the stranger to simply hand Martin over.

Walt would find a way.

He always found a way.

And then, when he finally had Martin back in his clutches, there would be... 'the punishment'.

Walt would make him suffer more pain than his mind would be able to bear, taking the last bit of Martin's sanity away, before killing him in the most humiliating and excruciating way he could think of.

Walt had always been very creative when it came to inflicting pain.

"Hey."

A whisper from above. Martin didn't even care anymore. Let the monster gloat, if he wanted to.

"Hey!", more insistent this time.

"Goddamnit, Dude, pull yourself together! You've made it all the way here, don't you dare give up now!"

That got Martin's attention.

Shocked and confused, he stared up at the stern face looking down at him and was rewarded by seeing the giants features unexpectedly soften into an encouraging smile.

"That's better", he whispered, his voice as soft as someone who looked to be 70 feet tall could possibly make it.

Martin just stared.

He couldn't allow himself to get his hopes up. How could he possibly believe this gigantic stranger meant him anything but harm?

He could smile all he wanted, there was no way he could truly mean to help Martin.

And even if he didn't hand him over to Walt...

In the end, it would just be the same thing all over again.

Martin would be completely at the mercy of this giant, who was strong enough to decide whether Martin lived or died, on a mere whim.

He might look friendly now, but just like Walt, in the end, he would simply do whatever he wanted with Martin.

Inflict pleasure or pain as he pleased, keep Martin as a pet, caged like an animal, use him as a sex-toy and defile him as he wished.
He could rip his limbs off one by one, like the wings of a fly, simply for entertainment, or just straight up eat him alive, and Martin would be helpless to stop him.

He shuddered.

But, what choices did he have anymore?

He had failed, had been spotted, and Walt was probably getting ever closer.

Meanwhile, the giant had gotten serious again.

'You look awful. I'm guessing that chubby guy did that to you. He's on his way over, but I won't let him get you, alright?'

Martin just shook his head.

"He'll find me. He always does."

"Not this time, he won't. I'll hide you, get you out of here, if you want."

Martin took a step back. He knew this was a trap. Must be. Just another monster out to get him. Just like Walt. Or worse.

No.

Nothing could be worse than Walt.

Still.. in the end, what difference would it make, who killed him?

The giant had apparently noticed his reluctance and fear.

"Look," he said, "there's no time to talk. I won't hurt you or anything. Hell, I'm not even sure you actually exist, but fuck, hallucination or not, you look worse than anything I've seen before, and if that fat fuck did this to you, letting him get his filthy hands on you would be straight up murder."

Martin felt ready to cry again. He was at the end of the line, physically as well as emotionally, and just the thought of someone wanting to help him, almost pushed him over the edge again, even if it was all a lie.

One way or the other, Martin needed this to end.

"Dude, it's okay, alright?
Don't cry, man, just listen for a sec.
I know, I probably scare the shit out of you and all that, but you know, here I am staring down at a physical impossibility.
I mean, if you're actually real, that must mean that a huge part of what I think I know about how the world works is utter bullshit, and hey, that's actually bloody scary too, and if the situation was any different, and you didn't look like a bloody torture victim, I'm sure I'd just be gaping at you like an idiot.
But there's no time to gape, and I feel sorry as fuck for you, just imagining what you must have been through.
I want to help you, I really do, and it's like the easiest thing in the world for me, so please, just let me, okay?
Might not mean much, but I promise - no, I swear - you can trust me."

He seemed so genuine. A little insecure even.

But after all this time.. after all of the twisted mind-games Walt had so liked to play...

Martin just couldn't believe him.

Hell, he might even mean what he said now, but soon the unimaginable power he held over Martin would lure him in, making him want to use it, to feel strong, just like Walt.

The chance of this turning out well for Martin was close to zero.

The likelihood of there being a single person in this hell of a world, who would not abuse their power, who would treat Martin like an actual human being, was just so small.

So tiny.

But..

It was there.

Besides, Martin realized, what choice did he actually have?

If he didn't take the strangers offer, Walt would surely get him.

Choosing between Walt and the stranger was no choice at all.

And surely, if the giant truly wanted to take Martin, he needed neither his permission nor his cooperation.

And yet ...

He had asked.

Martin took a deep, steadying breath, then looked the giant straight in the eye.
"Please help me get away from here."
The enormous brown eyes looked back at Martin, holding his gaze, as the giant gave a single short nod.

"I will."