“Come on, no one is looking.” Emery nudged his girlfriend Lyla in his continued badgering. Lyla in turn rolled her eyes at the fact he hasn’t dropped the subject.

“Are you really going on about escaping still?”

“Absolutely!” Emery declared. “What do we have to lose?”

“What do we have to lose?!” Lyla gasped. “You know what happens to US out there.”

Emery wanted to dismiss her as a worrywart, but the faint voice in his conscience knew her concerns were well justified. The Micro Republic was famous for having the smallest people on the planet, with an adult Micronian averaging around 2-3 inches tall. 

Their path to sovereignty was paved through the pain of exploitation and slavery that left many in modern generations wary of traveling to foreign countries. This was in large part from the stigma that many Micronians believed foreigners had towards them, thinking lesser of them because of their size. The other that Lyla was referring was the casualty rates of Micronian tourists. The most common incident? Being stepped on.

“We won’t be careless like the others. Now’s the perfect chance, none of the other tourists are looking and our guide is too busy blowing her nose to pay attention. Besides, there won’t be as many people out now that the sun is setting. All we have to do is slip out and back in between the bars of the railing.” Emery laid out.

Lyla swayed her head in contemplation, the timing was admittedly ideal. There was also truth that many instances of their people being crushed were by accident and featured some degree of self-endangerment on the Micronian’s part. 

Those incidents were variants of the same story. A Micronian straying too far from their group, meandered about in a populated area, and the last thing they saw was the shadow of someone’s shoe. Despite the educational efforts it still wasn’t uncommon to hear a story of a Micronian being trampled by a passerby who was dabbling on their phone. 

A more well-known incident in recent memory occurred at a gift shop when a tourist attempted to get an employee’s attention by tapping on her ankle from behind. The startled employee shrieked and kicked the tourist halfway across the floor with a reflexive jerk of her leg.  It was miraculous he survived albeit at the cost of his spine being damaged beyond repair. The crippled Micronian attempted to sue and lost on the basis that he was too far from his group and went about getting the woman’s attention the worst way possible.

“Look, all I’m saying is that it took a lot of hard work to get all the vaccinations, take the classes, and gather all the papers just to visit the States. All of that just to look at some old buildings, visit gift shops, and be chauffeured in a glorified fish tank attached to a bike!”

Lyla bit her lower lip unable to deny the bitter truth that the trip has been uneventful. Their current recess at the hotel pool to unwind before heading in was as much independence as they’ve had and even that came with the caveat that they weren’t allowed to swim in it. She didn’t expect complete unsupervised freedom, but after the numerous hurdles it took to get here there was much to be desired in their travels.

Emery continued his persuasive efforts noticing Lyla’s reluctance waning. “It’ll be easy. We’ll sneak out, do a little sightseeing on our own for a bit, turn around, and sneak back in before free time is over. No harm done.”

It sounded fine in theory, but Lyla was torn and also aware that a decision must be made while everyone’s attention was still occupied. Remaining together with their group no matter what the circumstance was drilled into them ad nauseum. Maybe Emery was right though, if they were fast and smart about it they would be fine. With a heavy sigh she made her decision. “Let’s do it.”

The couple took a final glimpse of their guide who was now using some nasal spray and the rest of their group mingling with each other to make sure the coast was clear before making their way to the fence undetected. As anticipated their diminutive statures allowed them to maneuver sideways between the bars of the railing barrier, it was a done deal and they were out!

“Holy shit, we’re free! We’re out! We’re out!” Lyla raced onto the sidewalk, reveling in the uninhibited freedom to move on her own accord.

Emery caught up bearing a wide grin. “Your mood sure changed fast. Beats the hell out of being watched and carried around all day, huh?” He gloated.

“Oh please, don’t get me started. Talk about false advertisement.” Lyla huffed, emboldened now that they weren’t with their peers. “I was scared for my health every time that ticking time bomb of mucus was holding us and I saw her nose above us.”

Mandatory for each Micronian tour group was a local guide responsible for taking them from place to place and acting as a chaperone to ensure their general well-being. Compared to the ads with actors who looked the part of trained professionals, what they had in reality was a highly allergenic college student who took the job for some quick cash. Time after time she had to stop cycling whenever she had to sneeze, blow her nose, or take a puff from her inhaler.

Emery took exaggerated intakes of air. “AH-AH-AH-CHOO!”

“Oh my god, that was so gross!” Lyla shook her head at the horrific memory.

“Be happy you weren’t the one she sneezed on.” Emery laughed. After several close calls it was after leaving one of many shops and she was about to place the last person back onto the bike when a sudden sneeze escaped without warning. The others looked up after hearing the noise followed by the repeated apologies and pleas of their mortified guide to not tell anyone. The mishap caused a 30-minute delay in schedule while she took the group to the nearest public restroom to help clean off the poor victim.

“She probably sneezed half that lady’s life away.” Lyla groaned, morbidly wondering how many millions of germs she was assaulted by.

“Oh boy, check this out.” Lyla stopped and gestured above to a street sign featuring the black silhouette of a woman walking. Below was the much smaller silhouette of a man under the woman’s ascended foot. “Watch Where You Step”, was printed at the bottom. “You’d think they could make a sign that didn’t imply us getting crushed.”

“I heard the commercial version was even worse and got removed after a ton of online backlash.” Emery added as they continued to pace forward.

“Hey look over there it’s a McDonalds.” Emery pointed. Neither were too privy on American history and didn’t care for the historical sites they were taken and instead found it more engaging to recognize the similarities their countries shared. While they weren’t going to risk going inside any of them it was still interesting to compare them.

“I can’t get over how big everything is here.” Lyla said. In a broad sense there wasn’t a drastic difference between what home and the states offered, but what hadn’t ceased amazing her was the sheer scale of it all. Everything down to the dingiest trashcan became an incredible spectacle and that didn’t even begin to describe the people themselves.

While both were average height for a Micronian man and woman, that was meaningless in this foreign land of giants. Everything they’ve seen online or on television were nothing compared to the real experience. The first encounter the group had with a foreigner was their guide shortly after boarding off the plane. None of them paid attention to the long-winded introduction and ground rules that she sniffled her way through reading from a piece of paper. Instead, all focus was on sizing up the physical specimen.

“So uh, does anyone have any questions?” She asked at the end.

“H-how tall are you?” One of their groupmates asked.

“I’m pretty short… about 5’2 I think?” Her answer yielded some dumbfounded looks and gasps.

Lyla had no idea (nor did anyone else) what 5’2 converted to, what did resonate was their guide saying she was short!  It was one thing to be small, but in that moment for the first time she actually felt small while standing in this girl’s larger than life aura. And to think she was only a meek college student!

“I heard about this one place called Texas I think, they said everything is bigger there.” Emery mentioned.

“Say what? “Lyla questioned. “Do you really think that’s true?

Emery shrugged. “Beats me, could you imagine the size of the food though!”

“I could barely wrap my mind around that slice of pizza that guy walked by with during lunch. It was as big as a car!” Lyla recalled.

“We should’ve taken a souvenir photo of it.”

“No thanks. I think I had enough photography for one day.” To some credit their guide did warn them that they may encounter several locals who have never seen a Micronian before and may be approached for pictures. Usually, it was young women that asked to hold them for a selfie. It was harmless enough but being called adorable and marveled at while hearing similar comments of how tiny they were became grew tiring once the novelty was gone and led to her declining photos thereon. The same couldn’t be said for her boyfriend who jumped at every opportunity.

“You snooze you lose. I’m going to wake up tomorrow with a million new followers.”

“You wish- …”

The couple froze in silence upon seeing a woman from several yards away heading in their direction with rapid momentum. They watched her form grow larger as she drew closer, showing no signs of slowing, and most concerning no signs that she registered the tourists on the ground.

“We have to move!”

Grabbing hands, they darted to the far end of the sidewalk into the grass. Time slowed to a halt as the jogger passed, producing thunderous rumbles as her feet struck the concrete. The couple stood mouths agape, envisioning themselves still standing in the path of destruction of the jogger where their remains in the aftermath would’ve been left either mangled on the pavement or smeared underneath her running shoes.  In real time the woman just whisked by them still unaware that she was inches away from making a statistic out of two Micronians during her evening jog.

With trepid breaths Emery and Lyla watched until the runner was beyond their line of sight before feeling comfortable enough to step back onto the sidewalk.

“O-o-okay… that’s my near-death experience off my bucket list…” 

Lyla minced no words about the close call and ignored the forced quip. “Enough messing around, we need to go back. Now.”

“F-fine, fine. Let’s go.” Emery’s chattering teeth betrayed his calm façade.

Neither were in a jovial mood as they backtracked towards the hotel and remained on high alert incase evasive action was necessary again. It was a near fatal lesson on how quickly disaster could happen.

“Do you think it was an accident?” Lyla asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"Don't talk like that...she just didn't see us." Emery said to both encourage her and convince himself. Apathetic people did exist who believed they weren’t obligated to tip toe around making sure there wasn't any Micronians in the area. On the contrary some thought if they decide to come to a country where everyone was so much bigger, they should take it upon themselves to not get squashed.

Controversial standpoint aside, intentional acts of violence towards Micronians unless blatant were hard to distinguish given how easy it was for ‘accidents’ to happen.

About halfway to the hotel tensions rose again, viewing the form of another woman heading opposite towards them. To minor relief, she was approaching at walking speed and her lace up sandals, denim shorts, purse, and mid-riff were good indicators that they wouldn’t have to worry about her sprinting towards them. Playing it safe the couple opted to stand near the side and let the woman to pass them before continuing.

They waited with bated breath and rigid posture, trying to disassociate each quake generated from her drawing closer from them being crushed. Their hearts pounded with the force of a battering ram when she locked eyes on the two. They tried remaining optimistic believing she was only noticing the uncommon sight and would be on her merry way. She reached where they stood and the couple were ready for the ultimate sigh of relief when she passed by. They wouldn’t be so lucky, the woman stopped and turned square to face them.

The two scaled up the pillars of the woman’s bronze legs until they reached her face framed by her dark brown hair. Unlike every other local they’ve encountered who has expressed some level of bewilderment or interest; her intent was not as easy to read.

“You two must be Micronians right?”

The duo exchanged a glance seeking an answer within the other. Respond? Ignore her? Run for it?

Emery bit the bullet. “Yeah, we are.”

“So, you’re tourists?” She inquired further.

Again, every other local was straightforward and cut to the chase asking for pictures, general questions about themselves, or country. These roundabout questions were putting them further on edge.

“…Yeah.” Emery tightened his grasp on Lyla’s palm.

The woman’s eyes drifted left and right of her periphery before setting sights back down at them. “Are you two alone?”

Something was wrong, the questions were too pointed and this time they remained silent, unwilling to divulge further information of their circumstance.

Sensing the apprehension in the air the gigantic woman spoke again. “Oye, oye. Don’t be nervous, I’m just saying, don’t you guys usually travel in groups?”

“We’re heading to them right now.” Lyla answered this time.

“So, you ARE alone.” The woman perked up.

They didn’t listen to another word and broke into a sprint. Despite their best efforts, their miniscule statures only equated to one or two paces of the woman's. With one stride a monolithic sandal clad foot navigated over their bodies and obstructed their paths. I should look after you guys.” The woman unzipped the bag hanging across her shoulder.

The couple stood up to attempt running again, but the woman with the advantage of size plus a head start was all too prepared to stoop over and intercept them.

By the time they saw her hand in their path, it was already too late for them to change path and were snatched in her grasp.

“Let us go! Stop! You can’t do this!  Let us go!” They flailed and screamed. All being ignored by the unphased woman who smiled and lowered them into her bag.

“You’re coming with me pequeños.”

“Jim, Jim! You’ll never believe what I got, come to the kitchen!”

“Urrgh, huh?” Jim rubbed his face and groggily rose from the couch.

“Can’t I get some sleep without you screaming about something?” He plodded over.

“Quit your bitching, check this out.” Dari giddily reached into her bag, already anticipating the reaction her haul would garner.

Still hunched over Jim looked down, unimpressed by the two dolls she placed on the table. That is until he saw their frantic stares and skittish motions sizing up their surroundings, from which point his brows and posture rose. Those are not dolls!

“Oh shit… OH SHIT! It’s those little people! How did you get them, where did you find them- did anyone see you?” He stammered with more questions than his mouth could keep pace with.  He shifted his head side to side to get different angles of the two specimens.

“Nope, I found them wandering the streets alone!”

“Say what?” He turned around to Dari. Initial impression had him assume she pulled the hustle of her life, when on the contrary it was a stroke of dumb luck. “You gotta be kidding me.” Jim set his sights back on the tiny humans. “Are you two stupid or what?”

The Micronians shrunk back under roaring cackles above. The man’s gaze was particularly frightening. It never left their bodies, beyond his laughter the gears in his mind were turning.

“S-someone will look for us once our group realizes we’re gone. Just let us go and we won’t tell anyone.” Every crack and stutter furthered his regret for opening his mouth. His hasty move was met with an additional round of raucous and a quick jab from Lyla to his arm.

“Uhuh.” Dari sneered.

“Face it, you’re S-O-L.” Jim snickered.

There wasn’t a more fitting acronym. Separated from their group, in an unknown location, and in the clutches of two kidnappers. The odds appeared insurmountable. All they had was each other and as such took refuge in the other’s hands.

“Aww, don’t be scared. I promise we’re not so bad.” Dari cooed.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Jim chimed in focusing on the female captive. “We’re not so bad, I didn’t know your country had pretty little things like you. Why don’t you come here so I can get a good look at your fine little ass?” He whistled.

Lyla gripped Emery’s hand tighter. “Fuck off.” She muttered.

“Ey, we got a feisty one! I like that little girl.” Emboldened, Jim came forward.

“Leave her alone.” Emery stepped in front against Lyla’s resistance to pull him back.

Jim sucked his teeth. “Tch, my bad peewee. One question though…” He smirked and loomed in. “What’re YOU going to do about it?”

Emery’s instincts begged him to standdown but that wasn’t an option with his girlfriend being demeaned. Inch by inch he stared up at the never-ending goliath of a man until his legs were sapped of all strength.

One prolonged look at the quivering legs of the small man answered Jim’s question and his cocky grin etched further. “I thought so. Here’s what happens when you bite off more than you can chew pipsqueak.”

Emery braced for the worst.

“Don’t hurt him, I’ll do what you want!”

“Ohoho. I knew she’d come around.” Jim gloated. “But now I’ll need something extra to make it worth my while.”

Lyla held her tongue, the last thing they needed was her backtalk digging their hole deeper.

“You’ve got a nice rack too. How about you stop being so modest and let me have a feel?”

“I’d rather chew glass.” Lyla internalized. Survival was paramount though and if this was what it took to placate this prick then so be it. With her head hung Lyla unguarded herself and put her hands behind her back.

“Lyla n-”

“Hush!” Lyla interjected at Emery’s protest. “I’m ready.” She sighed and Emery averted his head.

“That’s more like it, now relax. This’ll only take a minute... maybe.” Jim’s cackling was cut short by his bell being rung courtesy of a stinging slap.

“Shit!” Jim howled. “The fuck was that for!”

“Stop it!” Dari barked.

“Come on, I was just playing and…you know what forget it. I need to go out.” Jim stepped away and grabbed a hoodie off the floor.

Dari followed behind him. “Where’re you going?”

“I’m going to make a few calls and grab some things for them. We need to keep them in good condition.” Jim whispered, peeking back at their spoils.

“You want to sell them?” Dari questioned.

“What else are we gonna do with them?”

“Anything we want! We can have them do like chores and other cute stuff!”

“I have you for that- I mean.” The damage was already done and Dari’s leer made him switch tactics.

“This is too good to pass up. Not only do we have two of them, they’re young, and one’s a girl. Do you know how much money we could be looking at?  Think of everything we can do, you won’t have to steal shit from your job anymore, clear some debts, it’ll be great.”

 “We can at least play with them a bit.” Dari argued.

Jim furrowed his brows and glanced at the girl. It was oh so tempting to explore every bit of her dainty frame and have a thorough examination of what lied under her sundress.  His penis twitched in his pants, boy would it be great to swat her little boyfriend away and let her get acquainted with a real man.

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to chance anything happening to them. Just keep watch until I get back and don’t touch.”

“Excuse me?” Dari rebuked.

“You heard what I said, don’t touch them!” Jim reiterated before slamming the door.

“Ugh! Hijo de puta!” Dari shouted before stomping to another room.

The captive couple weren’t sure what the bickering in the distance was about. For what it was worth it gave them a much-needed reprieve.

After avoiding that confrontation by the skin of their teeth a drained Lyla sat with her knees clutched. Emery meanwhile paced back and forth to avoid getting lost in his anxious thoughts.

“What do you think they’re going to do with us?” He asked.

Lyla lifted her head. “…Sell us probably.”

They refrained from researching stories and statistics that would dishearten them before their trip. But after all the harrowing cautionary videos and rumors they heard disregarding it all was impossible.

What scared many Micronians more than being squashed was their tendency to go missing in foreign countries. By the time it’s noticed or reported it was often too late.

What became of them varied. From being blown away by a gust of wind in a storm or attacked by an animal, most were mundane happenings that regular sized locals would never think about. The worst fear came from instances where they were never found. It’s suspected that many of them were kidnapped.

At that juncture the rabbit hole of theories opened.  A few of the most popular were that they were kept or sold as personal toys for their captor/buyer’s whims. Others believed companies bought them for experimentation or forced them to complete dangerous and intricate labor. No matter how plausible or outlandish it was all hearsay.

“We need to find a way out of here. Maybe we can climb down from the table and-”

“And then what!” Lyla snapped. “How do you propose we get down without falling to the floor? Say we do get down; how would we even get the door open? And might I add that assumes that woman doesn’t catch us! Then the cherry on top, if we did pull all of that off, we don’t know where we are! I should’ve never listened to your stupid idea and now we’re trapped here.”

“Y-yeah…” Emery hung his head.  Hearing it from Lyla herself added salt to the gaping wound of knowing he made them both into the perfect victims.

“I’m sorry, I know you only agreed because I kept egging you on about it. We’ll find a way out of this, maybe they’ll be fine with just one of us if I beg them to keep me…”

“No, no, no.” Lyla was hearing none of it and approached Emery resting her hand on his back. “We both should’ve known better. If nothing else our best chance is sticking together.”

“Right.” Emery sighed, hardly believing his own rashness before Lyla reigned him in. “Then what now?”

That was the million-dollar question with no favorable answer. The unpleasant truth was that escaping and getting back to safety would take a miracle. Knowing their lives were at risk made every choice vital.

“If selling us is their endgame they at least won’t needlessly hurt us if they’re smart.” Lyla contemplated.

“True, but if escaping on our own is impossible what does that leave us with?”

“We have to persuade them somehow.” Lyla further speculated and sighed. It was indeed easier said than done, what could they do or offer that was more valuable than themselves?

“I was afraid you’d say that. I don’t want to talk to that giant buffoon again.” Emery lamented as he thought of the passes he made at his girlfriend.

“You and I both.” Lyla shuddered.

Their deliberation was cut short at the emerging sound of footsteps on the ground. Given they witnessed the guy leave it meant the woman was returning from her hiatus. As she entered viewing distance her intent was already locked on them.

Jim’s voice hollered in Dari’s mind of his orders. Who cares what he said, she refused to deny herself a rare opportunity with the two Micronians and besides, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

The excited woman sauntered over to the tiny couple bringing a nearby chair to the table’s edge to sit down.

“Hey there cuties.”

They both took an instinctive step backwards, neither eager to respond.

Dari huffed. Though expected, their apprehension was disappointing. “I just want to get to know you guys better. “My name is Dari. What are your names?”

Again, they were hesitant to answer. While true that was in large part from paranoia they were also confused. She already had them right where she wanted, yet was going out of her way to make small talk? What is the ulterior motive?

Emery heard Lyla’s criticism coming from a mile away for thinking about entertaining her. At this point though what did they have to lose? Going mute while tempting wasn’t going to improve their standing and building some rapport might be the most productive thing they can do right now. Besides, she still had the power to force their hands if she chose to. He looked to Lyla who after some thought nodded.

“I’m Emery.”

“Lyla.”

Despite their answers being the bare minimum, it was at least a start. “See? That wasn’t so hard, why don’t you come closer?”

Both stood frozen unable to will themselves to oblige in stepping closer to the unknown. For all they knew each step could be their last.

“… We’re scared.” Emery admitted. “What are you going to do with us?”

Dari rolled her eyes. “My idiot partner wants to sell you guys asap.”

Their hearts skipped. The reason for the guy’s abrupt exit was confirmed. They knew they were on borrowed time, but that time constraint narrowed considerably knowing the guy was on the move finding a buyer as they speak.

Lyla was curious though at the apparent dismissal and irritation in Dari’s tone. “And you don’t?”

“If it were up to me, I’d like us to have some fun together.” A smirk formed on Dari’s lips. “Is everything all cute and little like you guys where you’re from?”

It was an earnest albeit demeaning question, but one they received often enough. Lyla supposed there was no harm in answering. 

“More or less, it’s normal to us. We were taught early in school that size is relative. So, everything that looks normal to you-”

“That is so cool!” Dari squeed drowning out Lyla. “I’d love to visit someday! I’d look like your queen standing around you pequeños! Oh my gosh you all would be so freaked out while I went around peeking into all your teeny tiny houses!”

“Um well… it’s not that easy to visit.” Emery interjected to deaf ears.

“To keep lunatics like you out.” Lyla thought to herself. As if their home needed dozens of Dari’s stomping around turning their cities into their personal playground.

“Then I’d pick one of you guys up.” Dari’s probing digit was on the move towards Emery. He flinched as her nail tip tickled the fabric of his shirt.

“Just like this.” With a mere twitch her finger curled underneath his shirt hooking him like a fish. “Up you go!”

“Woah! Hey, hey!” Emery yelped and flailed as he was reeled up above her head.

“Emery!” Lyla cried.

“Better stop wiggling or you’ll fall.” Dari teased, swaying her catch midair.

“No, no, no! Please, don’t drop me!” Emery’s limbs continued flailing until they clasped around the very index finger that launched him into his unrequested joyride.

“Don’t worry baby I’ve got you.” Dari lowered him until they were face to face. “Right around my little finger.” She grinned.

“You know I think it was really sweet how you stood up for your girlfriend earlier.” Dari pursed her lips blowing a cool gust of air on her catch. “How about a little kiss for a reward?”

Emery barely mustered the nerve to look down in half second intervals before getting nauseous viewing his precarious height from the ground. The cherry on top of his troubles was Dari imposing her will. 

“Don’t worry I’ll be super gentle.” She whispered and smacked her lips just short of the finest hairs on his body before backing away until she built adequate suspense. She then moved in for the first of several dotting pecks on his face.

Lyla squeezed her jittering palms and cursed her powerlessness. Did she dare interject to confront her? They already tried the odds once with the man and if she pissed Dari off, she would’ve signed their death certificates!

For every whisper of her heart to help Emery, her primal brain roared at her to stay put. Each time she was on cusp of summoning the bravery to move her heavy legs, staring up the mountainous torso of the woman destroyed her courage. What the hell should she do, what CAN she do? Yeah, size is relative sounded great in a textbook or lecture. But here in real time, Dari was a freaking giant who she stood no chance against.

Dari meanwhile was having the time of her life, relenting from the barrage of kisses, and instead prodded and caressed his body with her free hand. To think if she listened to Jim, she would have missed out on this. There was so much to do, so many ways to enjoy her playthings. Fuck what he wanted.

“You are so adorable.” Dari winked. “I could just eat you up don’t you think?” She flashed her tongue letting it run across her mouth.

In a calmer state of mind Lyla may have differentiated the figure of speech from literal intent. Given the dire straits they were in why wouldn’t she assume the worst? She was going to going to eat Emery!

“Just a little taste.” Dari said, sliding her tongue free from her mouth and resting it on her bottom lip drawing closer to him again.

“NO!” Pure instinct compelled Lyla to action enabling her to enter the fray. The instant Dari’s gaze fell to her the fleeting surge of adrenaline vanished and left her petrified. Having Emery at her side made the enormity of her presence and direct attention bearable, without him Dari’s stare snatched the soul from her body.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I didn’t forget about you.” Dari beamed down at her.

Lyla blinked and when she opened her eyes, she was looking at… herself. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Dumbfounded she watched the scene unfold while her lifeless husk stood immobile. Not only was Dari’s size exaggerated to where it nearly took up the whole room, her own body was so diminished it could be mistaken as a speck of dirt on the table.

Her husk remained inanimate during the slow-motion descent of Dari’s hand.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Dari jumped at Lyla’s sudden shriek as the latter fell on all fours panting.

“Hey, easy now-” Dari gestured steadily towards her and Lyla yelped again scooting away. That was the least of both their problems once the door knob jingled.

“Mierda!” Priorities shifting, Dari hastily fumbled to free Emery from her own finger and return him to the table, all the while still trying to get Lyla under control as she flinched and scurried away at her every motion. The door opened.

“Alright, I got everything we need and I have great news!” Jim hollered making his way straight to the kitchen. One look at the scene told him all he needed to know. Dari was in a frenzy with one Micronian in her palm, and the other fetal.

“What the fuck!?” He dropped the crate in hand and rushed to the scene.

Forget daggers, Jim’s eyes were staring heat seeking missiles at Dari which demanded an explanation.

“Look I know what you’re going to say, I didn’t hurt them!”

“You had one job dumbass! Shit, just tell me they’re alright!” He snapped.

“I just said they’re fine, quit being so dramatic!”

“I told you in plain English not to do anything and you almost fuck the deal up before it even started!”

“I’m the one who found them, I’m the one who should…” Dari paused to backtrack. “Wait, the deal?”

“Someone is coming tomorrow to check them out.  I told them they are perfectly healthy and able bodied. So, they need to stay that way until the buyer comes.”

“…That was fast.” Dari said, disheartened that her time with them already appeared to be reaching an end.

“They’re coming with me for the night, I can’t trust you to do shit.” Jim spat.

“Oh please, not even 5 minutes in with them you tried to cop a feel!”

“T-that was different, I was just playing!”

“Oh so, it’s just playing when you fuck up?” Dari pressed. “Like hell I’m trusting you alone with both of them.”

“You’re such a pain in the ass, fine then we’ll both look after one!”

“Then I’ll take her.” With a swift glide of her hand Dari swiped Lyla into her palm much to Jim’s poorly hidden chagrin.

“Fine… whatever.” Jim sucked his teeth. “They’ll be here at 9:00 sharp tomorrow, don’t fuck up this time.

“¡Cállate!” Dari barked and stomped away.

“Dammit! He’s so… GRRR!” Dari stomped about wreaking havoc in the bedroom. Anything that wasn’t nailed or mounted was fair game to be turned into a projectile.

“I found them and he’s running around calling the shots!” The clock was the next thing to go, flung without a second thought against the wall.

“Why do I even stick around that loser!” Dari prattled on after laying waste to most of the bedroom items and now paced about swearing unintelligibly.

Every thunderous boom of breaking objects or Dari’s shouting may as well had been mute to Lyla while she remained on the nightstand mentally withdrawn from the volatile scene unfolding.

“Oh my god, Emery…”

“He’s lucky he isn’t one of those pequeños. I’d hold him just like this!” Dari pantomimed pinching her fingers together, envisioning holding a tiny Jim by his shirt collar and dangling him midair. “I bet he’d show me some respect then!”

“Oh, what was that? I can’t hear you, want to repeat that?” Dari responded to whatever insult she imagined Jim would say. “That’s right, didn’t think so!”

Afterward she fell backwards onto the bed and snatched a nearby pillow to bury her face in.

“MRRRRRRFFFFFFFFFF!!” She unleashed her final muffled scream until her lungs gave out, leaving her huffing for air. At last, the room was quiet for a brief instant until Lyla abruptly shouted.

“We have to get Emery!”

Uninterested, Dari rubbed her temples and turned her head away.

“Ugh, look pequeña I don’t feel like dealing with your little people problems right now.”

“What!” Lyla exclaimed.

“Just take a nap or something, I don’t know.” Dari muttered.

Fuming, Lyla slammed her fist against the wooden desktop. Her welling fury allowed her to block out the pain in her hand, meanwhile Dari didn’t even notice.  The freedom and lives of Emery and herself were hanging at stake and this giant oaf had nothing to say, but these were just little people problems!

Dari was only the tip of the iceberg of the conga-line of belittlement and degradation that has been her experience so far.

First it was the never-ending condescension from locals, treating her like she was cutest little thing ever.

“Oh my gosh, look they’re so adorable!” An overzealous woman in her late teens said flanked by her equally obnoxious friend, while the group was taking a lunch break.

With their ever so attendant guide in line ordering her own food nothing stopped the two gals from invading the group’s space, each trying to smush the other out the way to get the best view. Their massive bodies cascaded above the group placing the Micronians line of sight right at the girl’s midriffs.

Naturally their boldness was met with nervousness as the group plastered awkward smiles to maintain some level of cordialness. All except Lyla, whose displeasure was on full display in her sour scowl.

“Just let it go.” Emery whispered to her, but his warning was too late and the women were quick to single her out.

“Aww, what’s the matter is the widdle girl upset?” A rough digit found its way down to Lyla’s head to pat her skull, further agitating her.

Joining in, her friend stooped down to Lyla and adopted the same idiotic baby tone. “The widdle girl is probably just feeling a bit insecure that she’s not like us.” She said, jutting her chest forward proudly.

With one glance at her barely protruding breasts from the white crop-top, Lyla was certain her tits were nothing to write home about compared to other people she’s seen this day. That said, she managed to stave off her tongue to spare herself the humiliation. How was she at a mere few inches tall going to mouth off to these giant morons when on sheer scale alone any part of their anatomy dwarfed hers on every level.

“Hey, hey, take a picture!” One of them said, repositioning herself and hovering her palm inches over Lyla’s head to highlight to their stature difference.

Her friend obliged and readied her phone, taking several photos and in between she adjusted to different but equally exaggerated poses. The worst of them featured her pursing her lips only a few inches from her face. The next being her driving her ass backwards towards Lyla in another comical physical comparison.

Lyla refused to dignify their obnoxious behavior with acknowledgement, unfortunately her peripheral vision still captured the sight of the moron shaking her unimpressive ass while she had to stand there seething.

“What do you think we should caption these?” With some final giggles, the two finally left them alone before their guide came back.

The captions were just as bad as the damn photos people took. In the posts she was tagged in there wasn’t a lick of subtlety or tact found as if they were going out of their way to be as demeaning as possible.

“How’s The Weather Down there?”

“Should I keep her LOL?”

“little people in the, BIG CITY”

Now there was these two dolts. Jim and Dari. They’ve been the nuclear cherry on top. It was one thing being belittled and demeaned. It was another to have her very humanity and dignity stripped away and they don’t even care! Lyla snapped.

“What is wrong with you people, you need to get Emery right now you oversized idiot!”

Dari shot up from her position and tossed the pillow aside. She stared at Lyla non-plussed needing a moment to process that this was the same girl who was cowering earlier to now suddenly raising her voice and talking to her like that. Once the insult registered her fury reignited.

Impulse demanded for her to sprint over and smash her fist over the pequeña in a beating she’ll never forget (or live through) before her better judgement prevailed. A reckless display like that and she’d never hear the end of it from Jim.

“Stupid Dari!”

“I knew you’d fuck up.”

Hurting the pequeña was off the table, that was okay though. If anything was apparent so far, it’s that she didn’t even need to lay a hand on her to make a point.

On the prowl, Dari stalked closer to her prey. She ate up every inch of space between them, allowing her shadow to swallow Lyla’s quivering form. She then accentuated her mighty size by puffing her chest forward and posturing herself even taller. The palpable fear from Lyla who continued to shrink back and trying to make herself smaller further fueled her thirst to dominate.

“Oversized idiot huh?” Dari tapped at her chin pretending to contemplate the validity of the barb until she swiftly slammed both palms at the dresser’s edge. The smack of the wood being struck drowned out Lyla’s yelp as she jumped backwards.

Having her right where she wanted Dari brought her face directly to Lyla, letting its sheer scale and heat from the exhales of her nostrils do all the work in communicating their respective standings. The sharp contours of Dari’s brows arched in displeasure, staring daggers that lodged straight into her victim.

“Funny, I think you’re a TINY IDIOT to be talking to me like that.” Ready to go in for the kill, Dari lowered her voice to its lowest octave giving it a bellow of strength as she delivered her final message that rattled the tiny girl’s eardrums.

“Now if you know what’s good for you, I’d apologize before you make me mad, GOT IT?”

Lyla remained still save for her fists quaking in unbridled frustration. She was well beyond the point of forcing back the tears that were flowing down her face. What she’d give to be Dari’s size and smack her upside her skull. Alas, this was a matter more important than her pride and what she had to endure was inconsequential in the grand scheme.

Unclenching her fist, Lyla dropped to her knees.

“I’m sorry… Just please bring him here.” Her emotional dams crumbed and there was nothing to stop the outpour to come.

“Please, I just want Emery! I’ll do anything, I don’t know what I’d do if something happens to him!” Lyla’s mind ran wild, imagining the worst outcomes of what could be happening to him this very moment while he was alone with that giant brute. The anxiety eating at her leading her to bury her face into her hands as her sobs intensified.

“I just want Emery, tell me he’s okay! I want Emery, I want to be with him!” She continued to reiterate her message again and again until her voice was a hoarse whimper.

Despite bearing her meanest face and coldest tone, Dari’s hard gaze lost its edge. The initial fun of putting her place quickly lost its luster after seeing the pequeña have a breakdown right in front of her.

Taking a step back and untensing her posture, Dari sighed. “Alright, alright. Stop the waterworks already, here.”

Lyla lifted her face to the unexpected sight of Dari placing a piece of tissue down next to her. Not questioning the act, she accepted it and dabbed at her face.

“Jeez, you’re making me feel like I’m bullying a baby when you’re crying like that.”

Lyla’s face flashed red as she dried the remains of her tears, she never wanted to know how pitiful she probably looked right now. The only solace was that she could hide her current embarrassment behind the tissue.

“He’ll be fine.” Dari said.

“H-how do you know?”

 “Someone’s coming tomorrow for you two.” Dari said, hardly wanting to admit the fact before continuing. “He won’t take any chances, even a dummy like Jim will control himself so long as his buttons doesn’t get pressed.”

Lyla’s heart sunk. Just how hot of a commodity were they that they found an interested buyer so quickly?  “Already?” She lowly muttered.

“You’re lucky to have each other.” Dari said.

Lyla was caught off guard by the left-field comment, but then looked down and shook her head “I’m a coward.”

“Emery stepped in to defend me without a second thought when I was in trouble, even if he would’ve been mauled. But when I needed to do something to help him… I froze.”

Ashamed, Lyla’s mind was gripped with the thought of that being the last thing Emery remembers about her if they never see each other again. Not as a couple who despite all odds tried to stick it out until the end. But as her being the ultimate choke-artist who left him to the wolves when he needed her.

“I can’t believe how small I feel…” Lyla paused, surprised at herself for willingly divulging such a sensitive topic.

Dari stood in quiet introspection as she took in every word, the culmination that led to Lyla’s admittance stirring something within her that compelled her lean forward, her voice dropping to a whisper with a declaration of her own.

“That’s why I really like you pequeños… It makes me feel really shitty sometimes that I’m not good at anything. I grind and work dead-end jobs just to make ends meet.” Though her gaze was on Lyla her focus was elsewhere in her memories recalling the crowd she grew up with.

Not a care in the world, cutting class to get into whatever debauchery they could find. Many days of loitering around and swiping whatever fit into their bags. Then by night finding their way into circles and parties they had no business being at. It was a time that she thought would last forever, then before she knew it adulthood was on the horizon.

A few got their acts together and stopped hanging around. After one too many priors one ended up in a detention center where she long lost contact with them. Another moved away. By the end of high school, it was just her flying solo. Meanwhile other students had their plans going forward and moved on, probably working cushiony jobs now while she struggled.

Bringing her attention back to Lyla she cupped a hand around the Micronian, effortlessly holding her in the grip of her fist and a smile etched onto her face with a surge of confidence foreign to her.

“I finally feel like I’m better than someone.”

Earlier in the day that statement would have incited Lyla beyond words, yet it was Dari’s unfiltered candidness that left her speechless.

“Look at us…REALLY, look at us.”

Lyla gasped at the drop in elevation while Dari momentarily crouched down to tilt her onto the ground. Chills traveled down Lyla’s spine when she watched her rise to full height. Since her arrival in America, she only had this vantage once when the group first deplaned. From thereon everywhere else they were placed was always an elevated surface.

In large part it was no doubt for obvious liability reasons where such negligence would leave them far too susceptible to danger. On a deeper, psychological perspective it was considered the harrowing perspective for a Micronian to see just how massive an average person was when at ground level. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for them to feel light-headed or faint outright from the overwhelming sight.

Lyla had to admit being bolstered by a tabletop or some other platform did the trick and fooled her brain into believing she was on a more equal standing next to the giants around her. Now on the floor her true standing at Dari’s feet put reality to its harshest perspective.  Dari’s scale was comparable to a high-definition movie brought to life.  There wasn’t a part of her body that Lyla could look at that didn’t make her feel utterly minuscule. In every conceivable way everything about Dari looked bigger… and better.

“I’m in control of your life right now.” Came Dari’s voice from worlds above Lyla. Gone was her playful tone and she fully did away with her mean-girl scare tactic. Every word spoken now was blunt, potent, and most importantly irrefutable.

As Lyla craned her head up just to catch a glimmer of eye-contact with Dari looming above over her, she recalled the countless iterations of ‘size doesn’t matter’ she’s heard. Back home, Micronians were taught every coping mechanism in the book to make their statures compared to the rest of the world bearable.  But with Dari standing as a living antithesis to everything she’s known, all those words boiled down to meaningless euphemisms. They only sounded great on paper. After having this exposure to the rest of the outside human populace the fact was undeniable.

Any and every one; man, woman, or child could lord over her like she was a lowly ant. And if they wanted to do anything to her, there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

Dari looked down intently at the little girl, drinking in every drop of euphoria coursing through her. The prolonged silence from the once mouthy pequeña signaling to her that each word was resonating and boldened her to push further.

“You said you’d do anything to help Emery?”

“Yes.” She simply nodded.

“Beg me again… like you mean it.”

Lyla remained still unable to muster any vitriol or rebuttal from Dari’s order. Prior to today, she would’ve gladly told her to fuck off. Yet she stood docile, unable to fathom offering the slightest resistance or backtalk. She already knew the answer and asked the question anyway.

“Do I have a choice?”

Dari’s calm demeanor was belied by the excitement in tone as she whispered her answer.

“No.”

Lyla couldn’t make any sense of her own emotions and her body shifted into autopilot, first dropping to her knees, followed by her palms. Instinctually she lifted her head if only to satiate her morbid curiosity to see how far she’s lowered herself. An answer unveiled in that her sightline was barely above Dari’s truck sized feet.

This was it, her final chance to turnback in a last act of defiance to tell Dari off to salvage her dignity. Her mouth opened and what came out?

“…Dari, please. Pretty please, I’m begging you. Can you bring Emery here.”

Far from the impassioned plea she cried earlier. Her voice was at its weakest, carried only high enough to be audible to the towering giant. All as a performative demonstration of subservience to appease Dari’s ego.

It was test, Lyla just knew it. Dari only wanted to see how far she’d go how low she’d sink. Yet she couldn’t reign herself in to call the bluff. Her body acting on its own continued to oblige the order.

“I-I’ll be good… so please.”

Dari looked down with an unreadable expression throughout the entire act of submission. If she were going about her regular day she doubted she’d even notice the tiny girl on the ground, finding it more likely that she’d confuse her for a little roach on the ground with how she was kneeling.

Her mind was still in the process of wrapping her head around this being an actual person bowing to her. The longer she observed the scene the more drastic the comparison became to her.  A giant hardly did justice to the kind of power she held over her.  A titan? A queen? Dare she say… godlike?

Still unraveling these sensations, Dari was unprepared for what would come next as she saw the puny girl crawl forward.  At first, she couldn’t tell what was happening until she squinted. The shocking sight almost reflexively made her foot jerk.

So subtle was the sensation on her edge of her toes until she focused all her attention to the back-and-forth bobs of the girl’s head. It was unmistakable, she was really kissing her feet.

“Oh my god…” Dari quietly gasped, hardly able believe it herself even after witnessing it with her own eyes.

It was only a few minutes that lasted eternity to Lyla only stopping now once Dari finally acknowledged her efforts. Her entire body shivered, as she hung her head mortified. Why did she do that? Did her fear really run that deep? No, what she was experiencing was something else entirely.

“T-this… isn’t right…” The color from Lyla’s face was drained as she panted from the reality of what she just did for reasons she couldn’t even explain.

“It isn’t.” Dari surprisingly agreed. “But you know what…”

Dari crouched down a final time to pluck her captive off the ground and raised her high off the ground until she was face to face with her.

“I don’t care.”

Elaborating no further Dari, used her free hand to open a wedge between her breasts that she then lowered Lyla into. Utterly defeated the Micronian didn’t resist in the slightest allowing herself to be surrounded and encased by the prison of flesh until her body was obscured from sight.

As far as Dari as concerned, her reasoning was simple. “You’re a pequeña and I’m grande.” 

Emery hoped Lyla got the better end of stick than he did. Both Jim and Dari were a pick your poison of company, but he was positive Lyla would try her luck at Russian Roulette before contending with Jim alone.

He sat with his back turned on an end table and racked his brain for a plan. These monotonous intermissions were as dreadful as their active torment. A mental hourglass hung in his mind, haunting him with trickling grains of sand to the pending doom of being sold. Beyond the occasional fidgets of his body Emery forced himself to remain still, refusing to let Jim see him stressed.

Jim by contrast was content to mindlessly flip channels with cases full of beer on standby in preemptive celebration of what was a sure-fire deal. The only questions left were how much dough would be offered and what he’d buy first.

Accustomed to the fleeting sounds of shifting channels, Emery turned his head to peek at Jim after noticing him remain on a channel for an entire minute. The movie didn’t look like anything noteworthy, but captured Jim’s attention like no program before it.

The scene was set in a nightclub where a slick talking baller entered the premises and was receiving the complete VIP treatment complete with complimentary bottle service and women flocking over to him.

“You two are going to make me a lot of money…” Jim spoke for the first time since sitting down. He reclined further against the sofa’s backrest, smirking to himself as he envisioned the cold hard cash in his hands and proceeded to open his umpteenth can of beer.

“I’ve heard the type of shit people do to you twerps; I gotta admit it’s got me a little curious what they want you for.” Mid thought he stopped to take another swing from the can.

“Maybe I shoulda played the field more to see who else was interested, but damn I just know I’m going to make bank.”

Emery was resigned to sit quietly and ignore Jim until he shut up, however his sheer callousness beckoned him to respond.

“It’s that easy for you to talk about this like we’re a litter of animals? Has it not occurred to you that we’re humans too? I really wanted to believe the days of monsters like you were in the past.” Emery had half a mind to continue before deciding against it. By no means did he expect to appeal to Jim’s morality, nevertheless his attitude jarred him to no end.

History was an area where flowery words were useless in the recollections of the gruesome days past for The Micro Republic. Upon landfall early explorers thought it was a free for all claiming the unchartered land of resources until they made first contact with the Micronians.

Historians speculated because the Micronians posed such little threat that initial explorers had no incentive to become hostile. That outcome would have easily led to their extinction given a single unarmed foreigner could massacre droves of them with minimal effort. Besides, the explorers of that time soon realized that capturing them could be far more lucrative.

After that epiphany all hell broke loose as Micronians were captured in hordes. Those who resisted or proved more trouble than they were worth did not make it far in their voyage. Others who were lucky enough to evade capture were reduced to living in hiding while their homeland was ransacked.

The survivors of the expedition overseas were often bought by wealthy aristocrats and used as a source of entertainment. In some instances, they were simply kept purely as status symbols to flaunt and lord over to bolster their already bloated egos.

It was a distinct pain that deeply wounded Micronians national pride that they failed to gain independence of their own power and required the intervention of world powers to be recognized under their security. Be that as it may those who remained in foreign countries saw their troubles just beginning.

The most fortunate among them managed to carve niches for themselves in plays and motion pictures. Though prejudices often relegated them to being cast as a walking punchline courtesy of their size, it was far better than those who toiled in factories during the Industrial Revolution.

While their statures almost guaranteed them work given the intricate levels they could work on machines, the infamously hellish conditions left fatalities rampant and turnover high.

In the middle of extremes many Micronians took to the daily hustle as street entertainers performing any unique skills they knew in hopes of spare change being tossed there way. The most daring among them upped the ante by gambling.

“Sorry sir, looks like you lose, better luck next time.” Mike gestured over at his ringing watch signaling the allotted time had expired.

“Dagnabbit!” The frustrated man stumbled to a stop. After fumbling a hand in his pocket he begrudgingly dropped the coins he was saving for a drink at the pub before being propositioned to earn a fast buck. Refusing to subject himself to further patronization he barged off. “Damn midget…”

Ignoring the tantrum a giddy Mike collected the money to add to his hoard accumulated throughout the day.  “That lummox might have caught me if he had another 15 seconds.”

“Oh dear, that gentleman sure looked upset.”

Mike flinched and turned around to look up at the woman who snuck up on him. Her sights were peering off at the distance to where the man barged off.

“Don’t mind him lil’ lady, he’s just a sore after losing at ‘Quick Feet’ is all.”

The lady tilted her head. “Quick Feet? What’s that?”

Mike withheld his grin while he explained the rules of the game. “It’s simple, you place your wager and I set my pocket watch. You have 30 seconds to stomp on me and if you win you get all the prize money I’ve amassed so far.”

The lady covered her mouth with a hand at the implication. “My, that sounds dangerous.”

“Nonsense. I’ve been doing quite well for myself as you can see.” He boasted pointing at his mound of coins.

This time she positioned both her hands over her mouth to contain her gasp. “Golly, you must be really good.”

Beaming from ear-to-ear Mike puffed his chest. “They call me Fast Mike… Perhaps you should place a small wager so I can show you a demonstration.”

The woman shook her head at the offer. “Heavens no, there’s no way I’d win at this if you’re as good as they say.”

Used to dealing with wishy-washy players he dialed up the charisma.  “You never know. For a pretty lil’ lady like you, lady luck maybe on your side today.”

“You charmer. Alright let’s have at it, sweet-pea.” The woman said offering a demure smile.

Mike’s eyes flared wide when she dropped the heft of her entire coin bag near him, thudding with the authority of a boulder striking the ground. This couldn’t get any better. Not only was she a sucker, she was loaded too?

As he winded his watch he took a moment to size up his adversary following from her long dress that nearly draped across the ground, up to her head as she stood docile with her hands crossed at her lap. She was big just like all the oafs in this country but that was it. They all lacked the finesse of footwork that came from years of swerving and dodging the giants plodding around.  There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that this woman never did a hard day’s labor in her life and no way she had to nimbleness to catch him. He was ready to head in for the day after the last man, but how could he pass up the easiest money ever?

“Alright, time starts in three, two, one-.” Mike barely got the whole word out when his instincts spurred him to react and side step several paces to avoid the woman’s incoming foot.

“W-well then! Quite a heavy foot on the little lady.” He stammered. His composure momentarily faltered but his guard was on full alert.

“Sorry sweet pea, I thought I’d have a chance if I caught you by surprise.” The woman smiled down at him with a disarming smile, thinking nothing of it he stayed at the ready.

While the lady wasn’t notably fast, her movements were far less telegraphed. His usual male challengers dressed in slacks which had their legs and feet fully visible, allowing him ample time in advance to predict and get ahead of their movements.  He had no such luxury against this lady whose dress obscured her lower half and forced him to react on hair triggers.

Each shift from the fabric of her dress forced him to assume the worst and move from potential harm regardless if it was a legitimate threat or not.

“You really are good at this.” She said, her honeyed words contradicted by her tone which contained no signs of being impressed.

“Why thank you, though it looks like your aim could use some work little lady.” Mike grinned, preparing to take yet another backstep only to have his back greeted by the wall behind him. The cold touch of brick against his spine made his heart plummet as the woman closed in with a single step making herself double in size as she cornered Mike.

“On the contrary sweet pea.” She said in a sickeningly sweet tone. “I have you right where I want you.”  With her frame blocking out the setting sun her form took on a shadowy veil that unmasked her niceties leaving her sinister simper on display for all to see. “All” in this case was an audience of one, the Micronian at death’s doormat.

“N-no… no….”  

“You were right, it definitely was my lucky day.”

“Wait!”

“And pardon me, I don’t want to be called ‘little’ by any of you damn munchkins.”

Mike had half a mind to muster a feeble defense to protect himself, but his last action on this Earth was his mouth falling agape when he saw the red stained sole of her shoe looming over head.

With one step his body simultaneously crunched and popped, left as a smear on the pavement.

“I’m so good at this game.” She said, stooping down to claim her reward.

Jim belched after downing yet another beer. “Pipe down peewee if I were a real monster I’d flick you off the table and take your girl for myself.”

“This again.” Emery seethed, his turned back allowed his sour expression to go undetected. Jim carried on.

“Don’t feel bad little man, blame nature that you twerps are small.” Jim slouched further and parted his legs lackadaisically. “Yep, I bet there’s a lot of women where you’re from who’d wanna be with a man like me. A real man.”

His hand descended south of his waistline patting the blossoming bulge at the crotch of his boxers.

“She’d be right at home here. I think I’d have her put on a little show for me first and then when I’m nice and ready, I got the perfect pole for her to dance on.”

Impulse got the better of Emery, leading him to face Jim. “God dammit you are so gross!”

“You better pipe down squirt or you’re not going to like what happens next.” Jim replied, predictably annoyed at the backtalk as he balled his fist in front of Emery.

 “Or what…?” Emery paused momentarily, aware of how daring his statement was.

“Or what!?” Jim repeated and stood to his feet at what was nothing short of a direct challenge. “You want to test me peewee? I could pound you with a hand behind my back.”

There wasn’t a doubt in Emery’s mind that Jim could make good on his threat in spades and the thought frightened him senseless. That said being able versus being willing were world worlds apart.

Jim casted a hard glare at Emery demanding for him to backdown. “So, what’s it gonna be? You think I won’t do it?”

It was time for Emery to lay his cards out on the table. “I think you have as much at stake as Lyla and I. If anything happens then your payday is down the drain.”

“You got it all figured out huh?” With each word his pitch dropped lower into a throaty growl. The vein jutting from the side of his head further protruded and the hue in his face boiled red.

 “I really hate it when punks like you try to talk big. In fact, it’s starting to make me think… maybe I only need one of you.”

Jim curled his fingers around the empty can causing the pressure to build until it crumpled into an unrecognizable form.

“Or…” Jim’s thoughts took a detour. “I’ll sell you and keep her to myself.”

“Y-you wouldn’t…” Emery stuttered, contemplating how deep Jim’s depravity ran. He honed in on his unfocused gaze to read if his words were only an intimidation tactic. The truth he derived was more harrowing, that Jim was well beyond the point where he should’ve stopped drinking.

“Look... let’s just talk about this.”

“No.” Jim interjected. “You’re going to do every last thing I say you god damn runt!”

Emery went quiet as a mouse. His life was balanced on a tight rope that was tensioned to break should anything incite the drunk giant into indulging his impulses to kill him where he stood.

“Ditch the clothes.” He demanded.

The order was so clear and concise that left Emery no window of denial to believe he misheard it.

With Jim standing large as a harbinger of imminent death; Emery did not gamble with his patience should he have to repeat himself or if he even would.

With trepid hands he shed his every article of clothing alongside another layer of dignity to the wayside. Leaving his ego and pride as baron as his nude body for Jim to scrutinize to the last detail.

The giant man was loving every second of it, his toothy smile stretching to inhumane levels having torn down this twerp with a mere word. Seeing the Micronian in his barest form a mere fraction of the man he was…. this was power in its purest form.  Might makes right and next to this ant he had plenty of it.

“You’re nothing next to me.” With one jerk he pulled his undergarments to the floor, freeing his genitals to hang mere inches from Emery. Already semi-engorged, his penis and testicles swelled larger with a self-awareness that fed off Jim’s amusement how even in this state they still superseded Emery in size.

“Look at you.” Jim snickered. “My dick and balls are bigger than your whole body.”

Rising to full mast Jim’s penis was positioned like the barrel of a gun with crosshairs poised dead-center towards his target.

“Too bad Dari’s pissed at me right now… so now I gotta do the job myself.” Jim stated. His hand gripped his shaft and began working its way up and down the length of his penis.

Every pulsation of his member drained more color from Emery’s face. With Jim’s throbbing member twitching, already on route to climax Dari was irrelevant. The satisfaction he derived from demeaning him was plenty sufficient.

“Stay still, you’re gonna see what a real load looks like.”

He can’t be serious… he can’t be serious. Emery clung to divine intervention somehow stopping this perverse madness. One pump, two pumps, three… The strokes sped up and a ghost faced Emery’s prayers went unanswered with the pending burst on the horizon.

“I won’t let anyone...disrespect me….” Jim slowed down to savor the moment. “Not you or anyone, I’m the big man...now!” Jim’s cock spasmed as he stopped holding back and allowed himself the release of ejaculation. After his initial stream, he stood panting and pumped a few more times for good measure to expel every droplet of semen.

For all the good it did, Emery got his hands up when he sensed the end was near, which amounted to little more than shielding his eyes from the bazooka of cum that coated his entire body.

Encased and sticky he was too disgusted to move a muscle and risk expediting the rate the goopy fluid was trailing down his body.

Coming down from his trance Jim stood smugly over his humiliated victim, basking in the moment.

“Jim… What are you doing?”

His head almost turned an entire 360 degrees before his torso compensated.

“D-Dari! How long were you… it’s not…” His emotions speed ran a flux of ranges. Frustration that he didn’t notice her sooner. Anxiety, wondering how long she was standing there and how much she saw. And more than anything embarrassment. The irrefutable sight of him standing draws down and the Micronian inches away, drenched by his semen conveyed everything she needed to know.

“I-I can explain. I...” Jim stumbled backwards trying in vain to conjure an explanation.

“Ssh. It’s okay baby, you’re drunk.” Dari interjected, not pressing the matter. Grasping Jim’s wrist, she led him to the sofa.

Taken aback Jim continued to try and justify himself. “I didn’t hurt him… H-he just started mouthing off…”

Dari guided Jim to a seated position and pressed on his chest to force him to lie down. Once he was on his backside, she gently clasped both her hands to the sides of his head, forcing him to focus on her.

“You felt it, didn’t you? How good it feels to have that much control over someone?”

“… Yeah.”

“You can do anything to them… anything. They can be all ours.”  Dari said.

Even in his stupor Jim’s lips quivered. His resolve and impulse in a tug for dominance. To stick to his guns or keep them and indulge in his every twisted fantasy with them.

“Just text them, say they escaped. Any excuse you can think of and they’re all yours.”

Jim finally answered. “…They’ll be here at 9:00 in the morning.”

Dari stared down at Jim for a few seconds longer and leaned her head down to kiss his forehead. “Okay baby… get some rest.”

After making sure his eyes were shut, she stepped away and her face immediately soured. “Fuck!” She mouthed out.

She took a glance at the worse for wear Emery. “You could use a rinse off.”

Alone in the bedroom, Lyla and Emery at last reconvened though an awkward silence lingered in the air. While they both appeared unharmed as far as the other knew, they were at a stalemate in their willingness to divulge what happened while they were alone with their respective captors.

“So, you’re seriously not going to tell me what that ogre did to you?” Lyla prodded for the umpteenth time.

Emery recycled his same answer. “And I’m seriously going to tell you that you REALLY don’t want to know.” He shuddered. If Jim was willing to do that to him who knows how far he would’ve gone if he had Lyla in his clutches.

“I just hope you got off better than I did.” He added.

Lyla withheld her words. There was no easy way to come out and admit, “Oh, not too bad. I only groveled on my hands and knees, then kissed Dari’s feet.” Without feeling like the most pathetic creature on the planet.

“Likewise.” Lyla said. Despite their troubles they were at least back together to face what was next and they shared a hug.

The bedroom door swung open and Dari walked in, already groaning. “Well that pendejo is out for the count aaaaand, the buyer is coming at 9:00”

The couple’s brief respite of reunion was shattered by the anchor of peril bringing them crashing back to reality.  As annoyed as Dari’s tone was, it was just that… annoyed. No matter where the chips fell she had nowhere near the same stakes in this as they did.

Most important, they were no closer to a way out of this and they were up to their necks in this shitstorm, drastic action was necessary.

To Emery’s surprise Lyla stepped to the forefront with her hands clasped. “Dari… please. Help us! We’ll stay with you; we don’t want to be sold.”

The sight of seeing his typically disagreeable and feisty girlfriend Lyla capitulate so readily was bizarre, but Emery couldn’t blame her given the circumstances.  After his one-on-one time with Jim, pride and dignity were becoming continuous afterthoughts that would only be detriments if it got in the way of their decisions.

“We’ll do whatever you want, just let us stay here.” Emery added to their desperate plea.

Dari looked down at them from cloud nine. They were really offering themselves to her, on a silver platter, on their own volition! It was too good to be true.

She slinked her hands behind them both, coiling them each in a fist, applying enough force to keep them in place as she pulled them closer to her.

“You both must think I’m an idiot.” She candidly stated. “You want to try your odds with me and hope to escape the first chance you get.”

The couple was at a loss for words to rebuke her 100% accurate statement. It was a blessing and a curse that Dari continued speaking and spared them from having to tell a bold-faced lie that they wouldn’t try escaping.

“Don’t worry your little heads, I’ll find a way to keep you.”

Dari pulled them even closer, now near her lips on adjacent sides of her face. She whispered into their ears.

“And I won’t let either of you escape.”

The determined conviction of her statement churned their stomachs.  What to do… This entire time they had their focus on Jim who was fixated on selling them no matter what to someone who would do who knows what to them.

If they avoid that outcome, what was left? Dari, who was hellbent on keeping them.

Dari puckered her lips and gave them a kiss a piece, lingering on their bodies for what was an unpleasant eternity for them as she forced their bodies to press against her until she was satisfied, at that point she pulled away from them with an emphasized smack.

There was no trace of affection to be found, only a marking of possession.

“Good night my precious pequeños.”