Chapter 3: You are Who you choose to be
In the forests and woodlands of Rockwell, Maine, all was quiet and calm, the only sounds that could be heard, were sounds of insects, and small animals… until they were all scared off, by the distance stomping and shaking, of the IRON GIANT walking through the trees, with his new human friend: Carrie White in his hand. Despite the two of them only just meeting, as well as Carrie first thinking The Giant was dangerous, the two had both longed for a new friendship for such long times, and may have finally found new one in each other…
The Giant continued to walk through the woods, as Carrie stood in his hand, holding onto his fingers, but also being careful not to get hit by any tree branches, before they came to the edge of the woods, opening to an abandoned Scrapyard, full of rusting old cars and machinery that had been scrapped and abandoned over the years. To the Giant, this had been his home for as long as he'd been on earth, where he had plenty of scrap metals to feed on throughout his time here. He still remembered when Hogarth first brought him here looking for food, when it was once known as: 'MccoppiN Scrap,' once owned by Dean Mccoppin, the second human to ever encounter him, who helped Hogarth keep The Giant a secret from outside world… As they walked into the scrapyard, The Giant lowered his hand to the ground, allowing Carrie to step off safely, as she looked around, while the giant grabbed an old, scrapped car, and began munching on it, causing Carrie to jump slightly, but kept herself calm…
"So… I'm guessing this is your home, Giant?" Carrie asked the Giant in curiosity, as the Giant nodded.
"Do you have a home, Carrie?" The Giant asked curiously back.
"Well… Where I'm living now… Is not my real home…" Carrie replied nervously, as the Giant then tilted his head in confusion and concern. "I ran away from my home…"
"W-Why?" The Giant asked in a shocked and saddened tone, as he kneeled to listen more to what was said from his new friend…
"My… My Mama… she hurts me… she won't let me be normal… and even all the kids at school… they all think I'm weird… A Freak…" Carrie hesitantly explained, looking down, about to cry.
Despite Carrie's protectiveness of all the things that happened to her, having done so for so long, never truly being able to say anything, thinking no would believe or help her, she truly couldn't hide it anymore…
From what Carrie just said, The Giant was horrified, knowing that he too, like Carrie, was once seen as an outcast, and a Threat, remembering when the army was called in by: Kent Mansley, to destroy him, resulting in him trying to run away, even by flying, only to be shot down, thinking Hogarth died upon impact, and unleash his true power on them… Luckily Hogarth had survived, and managed to snap him back to his senses… This worried him deep down, wondering what Carrie would think, if she saw what he could truly do, but hoped that would never have to happen…
The Giant then used his hand to make Carrie look up at him gently.
"Carrie… You, NOT weird… Not a Freak…" The Giant replied in encouragement, causing Carrie to give another small but bright smile.
"I hope people didn't see you as how people see me…" Carrie said, hoping her new Giant friend hadn't experienced anything like what she'd had all her life…
"I… I have been… a Gun… But I am, who I choose to be… I choose that, I am NOT a Gun." The Giant replied, in a mixture of sympathy and confidence.
From the Giant's words, Carrie was shocked to learn that he must have been built as a weapon, but was also saddened that some just saw him as a monster, but also understanding of it, after all that she had experienced throughout her entire life… but guessing nervously what kind of weapon he was, Carrie wasn't sure what he'd think of her, if he discovered her secret powers… But upon learning of each other's histories and secrets, Carrie felt she couldn't hide her powers any longer from the Giant…
"You aren't the only one…" Carrie replied softly, as the Giant gave another head tilt of concern.
Carrie looked at a large pile of scrap next to her, as the Giant looked with her. After a few seconds, the scrap metal parts begin moving and hovering by themselves, causing the Giant's mouth to drop in surprise, as he turned to Carrie, to see she was what was causing them to hover. Carrie then put her arm out towards the hovering parts, and slowly move them towards the Giant, as he then put his hand out, letting Carrie drop them into his hand, allowing him to eat them… The Giant was amazed by what Carrie had just demonstrated to him.
"Does anyone else know?" The Giant asked Carrie, wondering if anyone else knew what Carrie was capable of.
"No, I'm afraid not… I honestly think people would think I could be dangerous if they knew…" Carrie replied, trying to be positive, but still felt negative inside...
"How do you know, Carrie?" The Giant asked in concern.
"I don't know Giant… After all that I've been through… I've always felt no matter what I do, No one will ever accept me, for who I choose to be…" Carrie replied, unsure about what to do…
"YOU are, who you choose to be Carrie, NOT them." The Giant said confidently, continuing to try and make Carrie more confident, in the words of Hogarth.
From those words echoing deeply into Carrie's mind, Carrie began to wonder if running away from home was the right decision, but was getting quite tired, seeing how late and dark it was…
"You tired, Carrie?" The Giant asked, as Carrie let out a small yawn.
"Yeah…" Carrie yawned more.
The Giant then saw Dean's former home, and decided to take the tired Carrie to it, and let her sleep there for the night, as he let Carrie fall asleep into his hands, before walking as gently and quietly over to the former house of dean, removed the roof, and lay Carrie on the old bed inside…
As Carrie slept, The Giant looked down at her, glad that he now had another human friend, that he could relate to, not just from all they had experienced, but also what they were both capable of, before he looked up to the starry sky, wondering if Hogarth was watching…
To be Continued…
IDEALLER 1995 Message:
"Hi again Readers, Rory here,
From what I wrote in the last chapter, it was rushed a bit, for the first encounter between Carrie & the Iron Giant, so this Chapter is a further exploration of the kindred friendship they had started. I also thought for the Iron Giant, as he has been on earth for 50+ years, he's learnt more of a wider vocabulary, but Carrie will teach him more, as he is teaching Carrie to be more confident. Hope you all enjoyed it, and enjoy future chapters, also let me know if there's anything you'd like me to write into this story, Thank You, Rory out."