The doors
to the general store burst open as you charged in. With a beaming smile on your
face, you carry summer's first harvest towards the counter. In your hands is a
single basket of blueberries, by no means nature's bounty, but for how cheap
the seeds were and how fast they grew, it was economically the best choice for
how tight gold was currently. You dropped the basket on the counter and
exclaimed a "tadaaa" towards Pierre, who was absent from behind the
counter. A little odd, as the doors to the general store just unlocked less
than a minute ago. Looking around, the entire store seemed empty. Giving the
silver bell on the counter a tap, you called out for Pierre but got no
response. You tapped it two more times and heard some commotion through the back
door coming from the household beyond. As you waited for someone to come out to
serve, you started thinking about all the seeds you could buy with the gold you
would get today and how you would arrange them in your field. Clearly, you were
thinking too hard about it as a headache started to nag at you. You tried to
ignore it, but it seemed to be growing in strength pretty rapidly. You put your
head in your hands and gritted your teeth, taking a few steps back. You tried
to walk forward to grab hold of the service counter to steady yourself, but you
just started to fall forward towards the ground.
When you
awoke, your head was still spinning like it was going through one of the worst
hangovers you'd ever had. Laying face down on the ground, you braced yourself
and raised your head up. The land before you was not Pierre's general store; it
was significantly more alien-looking. Almost like a desert of some kind. The
ground was light brown and coarse to the touch. Raising yourself into the
position of sitting on your knees, you looked around. Rocks were everywhere.
They ranged in size from small pebbles to boulders the size of your head to
ones bigger than houses. Some were sharp angles, while others were
cubic-looking. Every so often, jagged spikes jutted from the ground. Just as
you were about to climb one of the rocks for a better vantage point, there was
a tremendous crash in the distance. Turning in its direction, you saw a
horrific mess of twisted tree trunks soaring through the air. It looked like an
entire forest was floating through the air. As it came down in the distance,
you followed the mess upwards to the singular trunk that stretched so far
upwards that it pierced the heavens.
And then
your heart sank.
"Coming!
Hello, and sorry for the wait!" Abigail said as she opened the door to her
father’s shop. She figured he would have been on duty since it was only a few
minutes after opening time, but she found the sales counter empty. In fact, the
entire store was empty. From the urgent ringing of the customer bell, she
figured it must've been important to not only see her father absent from his
post but the entire store empty, which certainly struck her as odd and a little
disappointing. A customer this early in the morning could have only been one
person: the cute farmer who moved in last season and brought in a morning's
harvest to trade for seeds. Abigail was excited by the idea of getting a moment
to talk to them, as she got so few chances elsewhere during the week since they
were so busy running around town trying to somehow turn a profit out of that
overgrown field. Releasing a disappointed sigh, Abigail placed her hands on her
hips and shook her head. Her cheeks turned red as she blushed at the very idea
that, after only a few encounters, she may have some developing feelings for
the new farmer down the road. Maybe she should go apologize for the store being
empty when they came to get their next batch of seeds. Again, Abigail shook the
thoughts of the farmer working in their field from her head. They were busy
with their work, and she had her own to attend to. Seeing as she was already in
the storefront, she might as well complete her chores for the day. The sooner
they are finished, the sooner she can goof off elsewhere. Reaching over, she
grabbed the broom leaning against the counter next to the door and walked
around the front of the counter towards the display case. Huffing one last
time, she dropped the bristles of the broom to the ground and got to work.
A wooden
pole ran upward into the sky, gripped by colossal hands held against a dark
purple vest. High above the face of a woman beneath flowing purple hair, she
aimlessly gazed out over the landscape. Abigail’s colossal boot planted itself
on the ground as she steadied herself. She towered hundreds, possibly
thousands, of meters into the air above you. In her hands, she held an old
bristle brush broom by the worn handle. Taking another step forward, the ground
beneath her groaned as the weight on it shifted around. Her leather boots
creaked as the material flexed under her step. The distant impact of her
footstep echoed across the landscape as the goddess above took another
thunderous step forward. Swinging the broom head around, she lowered the
bristles to the floor. The twisted mass of bristles looked like a hungry maw of
shark teeth, even from afar. The Titan towering in the distance started to
maneuver the handle she held. A deafening scraping sound erupted from the
forest as the bristles dragged across the floor. It sounded like an entire city
was collapsing around you. As the bristles flexed backward and snapped forward,
they hurled grains of dirt into the air. Rocks the size of vehicles crashed
down around you while pieces the size of buildings shattered on impact. You
screamed till you felt like your throat was bleeding and waved your arms at the
young woman, but it seemed you were too small for her eyes. You were on the
smaller side of dust grains after all. Coming to the end of her reach, Abigail
lifted the broom head from the ground as she completed a stroke and brought it
back towards herself, taking another step forward. As the broom was lifted, it
sent forth a tidal wave of dirt and debris. Realizing the coming devastation,
you turned and ran as an avalanche and a dust storm of floor dirt came raging
towards you. The bristles of the broom soared over your head, more debris
falling loose from the bristles and raining down around you as it retreated.
Overtaken by the dust storm, you coughed and sputtered as the air turned sharp
and stung your eyes.
Up above,
Abigail coughed a couple times and waved her hand in front of her face as the
dust reached her nose. "Ughh! How did this floor get so filthy
today?" She scoffed, realizing she had her work cut out for her. Slamming
the broom back down, she made another pass over the already-building dust pile
as she moved it along.
The dust
had only just started to settle, but the impact of the broom head hitting the
ground created a gust of wind that blew any remaining particles in the air
away, including you. Hurling through the air, landing heavy into a dust pile,
and tumbling down the side, gasping for air as you hit more level ground, your
system is in complete shock. Between labored breaths, you tried to raise an arm
and call out to Abigail once more, but your attempt was cut short as the
broomhead charged forward. Plowing through the dust pile, you stood up as you
were slammed into one of the exterior bristles.
Screaming
as the broom head violently jittered across the floor. Colossal rocks and dust
were being spit out between the bristles around you as the girl above moved the
dirt from the floor into a bigger pile. The broom comes to a violent stop, and
you are knocked loose as you tumble towards the ground. Hoping to again land in
a dust pile, you are greeted with no such luck as you slam into the hard wood
floor. An audible snap escapes your shoulder as it collapses on impact. As you
move to place a hand on it, pain shoots through your entire body as you quiver
on the ground. The broom head towering over you screeches as it is once more
pulled back towards the purple-haired girl. A bored expression forms on her
face as she realizes this is going to take more time than she thought.
"How
did Dad ever let the storefront get this bad?" she mumbled under her
breath. Wiping away some beads of sweat from her forehead, she flicks her wrist
to send them flying in the direction of the dirt pile. Hobbling to your feet,
arm limp at your side, you look up with teary eyes just in time to receive a
direct impact from a sweat drop. The salty liquid knocks you back over,
renewing the pain from your shattered shoulder as it splatters across the
ground around you. Your clothes are soaked, and your body is burning all over
as you gag on her sweat. Once more, attempting to raise yourself up, the ground
trembles as the broom head returns for another assault. Only this time, you
have no way of escaping. All you can do is raise your good arm over your face
for the smallest protection as you are consumed by the bristles. The sound in
the bristly forest is deafening as they scrape across the ground. Stones of all
sizes battered you, leaving you cut and bruised. The bristles nock you over and
roll over top of you as their sharp and jagged ends tear into your skin. On one
such occasion, your arm is sucked under one of them. With enough struggle, you
are able to pull yourself free from the bristlehead. The good news is that your
shoulder is no longer broken. The bad news is that it has been ripped entirely
from your body. While lying on your stomach, blood pours from where your
shoulder once was. Your clothes are torn and your skin is lacerated all over.
Many more bones are broken now as the broom head yet again raises into the air.
You lay there, completely destroyed by a couple passes of a broom. Your vision
blurs briefly as your hearing muffles, replaced by a loud ringing. You faintly
hear more thunder as the titanic being above moves about. A dark shadow briefly
passes over you. With your remaining strength, you look up, expecting to see
the broomhead hanging in the air over you. Instead, it is the deep leather
grooves of Abigail’s boots.
The filthy
treads of her soles were packed full of dirt from her exploring the woods
around the town. Sharp pebbles and hard dirt line many of her treads, among
many other things you expect to see crushed under a boot. The leather creaks
and groans as the weight held within shifts, bringing it down towards the
ground. You lay your head against the ground as the shadow around you darkens.
The soft squishing sound your body makes is completely nullified by the boot
impacting the floor. A small red paste is all that remains, stretching from the
tread to the floor as the boot raises back up. Part snapping off to be carried
with Abigail as she progresses throughout the store. Insignificant red
splotches trailing behind her every step. Soon you are buried beneath a new
layer of grime under her boot as she walks, much like the other part of you
that stayed on the floor, buried beneath more dirt.
Abigail
eventually circles back around to the cash register on the counter. Looking
over, she notices a basket of fresh blueberries sitting on top of it. Picking
one up between her fingers, she inspects it briefly before popping it into her
mouth. She rolls it around on her tongue a couple times before squashing it
between her teeth. Juice shoots out across her taste buds as sweetness fills
her mouth. Her eyes light up, and she finds herself with renewed vigor. That
single berry was surprisingly refreshing. Inspecting her handy work once more,
she laid the broom back by the door where she found it, brushing her hands
against each other to knock the dust off. With a self-serving nod of approval,
she headed for the front door. In the back of her mind, images of the
definitely not cute farmer were starting to emerge again. Maybe if she waited
by the lake, she could see them on their way to the cave. The bell on the door
chimed as she exited to the town’s main plaza as silence felled the storefront.
The drifting dust is still settling in.
With his last bit of strength
Pierre hauled him self up onto the top of the blue berry pile. Each one seemed
as large as the town its self so getting here was no easy feat. Exhausted he’s
knees felt like jelly as sweat dripped from his face. Wiping his glasses on his
shirt he fixed them to his face and gazed out across the shop floor. It was
like standing atop the mountains peak. And yet even still there was a ceiling
and roof above him. He started to question how he could possibly get out of
this situation. The helpful farmer had come in and despite his best efforts to
be noticed he was almost crushed by the very basket of berries he now stood
upon. Just then the ground started to vibrate. He prayed the berrie pile would
hold their form, the last thing he needed was to be crushed by rolling berries.
Follow the sound and vibrations he saw his daughter. Her purple hair shook with
every step she took as her boots made contact with the ground. It sounded like
a meteor crashing into the valley. Her head was down as she maneuvered a broom
around the shop floor. Despite her slow exaggerated movements, it wasn’t long
before she was towering over top of berry pile. Pierre let out a roar of
celebration as his daughter’s hand came towards him. Pinching the berry, he
held onto between her thumb and pointer finger as she raised it up towards her
face. Tears ran down Pierres cheeks as he thanked his daughter for saving him.
The berry was brought close to her eye as she rolled it slightly left and right
between her fingers. Pierre desperately cried out for mercy as his daughter put
him through a roller coaster worse than anything he had been on in the Big City.
Then he watched in absolute horror as the berry lowered to being inline with
the tip of her nose. Peering over the edge he sees his daughter tilt her head
back slightly as her mouth opened. Her tongue slid out from between her wide
lips like a monster from a movie. A sickening sound of saliva as the muscle
extended beneath him.
“Abigail??… ABIGAIL!!!” He screamed as the pressure from her
fingers was released.
Freefalling above the berry he watched it hit her tongue and
roll like a bowling ball into her gaping maw. Pierre hit her tongue and had a
much more gradual decline. As soon as he made contact, he was soaked by the
layer of saliva coating the muscle and his face was burned by his daughter’s
hot breath. The tongue retreated into her mouth and dragged the dust sized
screaming man along with it. Inside was even worse! Pierre was treating water
in his daughter’s mouth as he listened to the sounds of her mouth working. The
tongue moved the berry around as it was crushed beneath her teeth. The sweet
smell of the berry contrasting the dank smell of her saliva was enough to
finally make him hurl. As Abigail savoured the berries flavours, she spread its
juices all through her mouth. The sugary taste assaulted him as bits of berry
rammed into him in the pitch black. The chaos came to brief pause and he
thought maybe the worst was over. Then he felt him self raising up into the air
as the saliva around him started to flow down hill. In the dark Pierre couldn’t
tell what direction to swim in. But it wouldn’t matter as the near micro man
was dragged screaming down his daughter’s throat.
Abigail eventually circles back around to the cash register
on the counter. Looking over, she notices a basket of fresh blueberries sitting
on top of it. Picking one up between her fingers, she inspects it briefly
before popping it into her mouth. She rolls it around on her tongue a couple
times before squashing it between her teeth. Juice shoots out across her taste
buds as sweetness fills her mouth. Her eyes light up, and she finds herself
with renewed vigor. That single berry was surprisingly refreshing. Inspecting
her handy work once more, she laid the broom back by the door where she found
it, brushing her hands against each other to knock the dust off. With a
self-serving nod of approval, she headed for the front door. In the back of her
mind, images of the definitely not cute farmer were starting to emerge again.
Maybe if she waited by the lake, she could see them on their way to the mines…
The bell on the door chimed as she exited to the town’s main plaza as silence
felled the storefront. The drifting dust still settling.