"Quick, into the pod!" Emmett shouted, shoving his two children in. 

The space ship they occupied groaned and rumbled. Red lights flashed around every corner of the room, blaring an ear drum shattering alarm. The fluorescent lights dimmed before flashing off for a second, reverting back to it's illuminating purpose again a moment later.

Emmett had barely managed to fit both of his children inside the single escape pod there, although this left no room for himself. 

"Father, what about you?!" His daughter cried out, as he strapped her harness together. 

"Children, there is no time! Wherever you land, locate a Peacekeeper and tell them your identity!" Emmett shouted, clicking the last belt into place. "Keep this, and do not lose it!" He grabbed her hand and hastily deposited what looked to be a pendant into her palm.

He closed her fist and pushed her arm back towards her body. 

The ship shook again, more violently than the last, forcing the children against their harnesses. Emmett lost his balance and fell backwards, tripping over the pod threshold and onto the metal floor. 

He groaned while he lifted his head and sat up as quickly as he could manage. His eyes widened with surprise as he heard shouting and yelling behind the doors of the private room they were in. A cacophony of angry fists banging against the door sent Emmett into a panick. He jumped up to his feet and started for the door, desperate to lower the latch, hoping to buy himself more time. Unfortunately for Emmett, the single lock that was in place proved to be no match for the dozen or so angry people behind it. 

The doors were flung open, slamming into the wall. A crowd of angry people stormed in, clearly showing no regard for anybody's safety but themselves. They all sported expensive looking jewelry, which clanged and ringed against each other as they charged towards the last escape pod, which now housed Emmett's children. The people fought each other as they raced to get to the escape pod. Some were pushed down to the ground and some flew out from the sides. They all shouted and yelled out to Emmett, clearly furious at the situation they happened to find themselves in and desperate to get into the pod. 

Emmett realized he had only a few feet between himself and the angry mob. His plan changed as he skidded to a stop and spun on his heels, racing back to the escape pods control panel. 

Just as the people were a mere few inches away from him, he grabbed onto the control panel to stop himself. His eyes glanced to his children, savoring the last the time he'd ever see them. There was no time for goodbyes. He slammed his fist down on the eject button as a tear slid down his cheek. 

The doors slammed shut immediately. The children could hardly hear the people yelling through the pod door porthole, as both of them watched their father get dragged into the crowd.

The girl screamed and reached out, hopelessly watching. She knew couldn't do a thing but watch in horror. 

The pod slightly rotated, tilting them both at an angle. It detached with a hiss, and blasted off into the vacuum of space. 

Though she didn't want to, the girl couldn't help but glance up to the porthole of the pod door again. She peered through it and saw the great S.S. Farlan getting farther and farther away. 

One by one, small flashes of light occurred on all sides of the ship. She quickly noticed that they were explosions, which were tearing the ship apart, piece by piece. Her mouth dropped open as she watched in complete silence.

Through the small glass window, she witnessed the complete obliteration of the ship. The bright explosion of light reflected the green colored irises of her eyes, as tears endlessly flowed over her cheeks. 

The reactor that powered the great and powerful ship had exploded, cracking the entire vessel straight down the middle. Debris was sent flying in every direction. Furniture and metal chunks of what used to be the ship flew past the pod. 

The girl narrowed her tear-filled eyes and blinked to clear them, allowing her to notice a small metal ball zooming straight toward them. She jumped up to the controls, attempting to move out of the way before it had the opportunity to strike the pod. Unfortunately, she wasn't nearly as fast as the object. It crashed straight into the pod, shaking the passengers inside, and then it bounced off, diverting its course elsewhere.

"Navigation Systems damaged. Beginning emergency landing at planet most suitable to sustain life." The cold female robotic voice of the pod stated. 

The girl was rocked back into her seat, along with her brother, as they started descending to whatever planet was nearest. 

"Suitable life-bearing planet found. Unable to identify planet." The voice spoke again. 

The pod thrusters activated, pushing them to their destination. 

"Hold on tight Wesley!" The older sister shouted, instilling even more fear and confusion into her child brother. 

 As they entered the atmosphere, the pod began to heat up and shake violently. Screws could be heard rattling around, as some bolts had begun falling out of place, likely loosened from the hit they just sustained. 

The girl clenched the pendant in her fist and held on tightly to the harness with her free hand. Wesley closed his eyes and brought all of his limbs closer together, in a makeshift fetus form.

They broke through the atmosphere and continued their descent to the planet's surface. 

The girl quickly brought her attention to a different porthole. She stared out through the glass down below. From their altitude, all she could see was a dust storm of red dirt. 

Once their altitude had lowered some, she looked again and noticed the streets were all abandoned. Strangely, there appeared to be only luxury hover cars, which sat on the street, forgotten and rusted. She looked to the other porthole, on the opposite side of the pod, and saw a few buildings completely crumbled down to nothing but rubble. Others still stood, albeit barely. She felt a bad feeling in her stomach. 

"Isabel, I'm scared!" Wesley blubbered, his face still flush with tears. 

Isabel noticed the ground getting ever closer and she started to panic. Her head turned back to the control panel, where many lights had started to blink. She extended her right arm and reached out, desperate to activate anything that could slow their descent. 

Without having even touched anything though, a parachute activated. The sudden deceleration slammed the pod into a short stop, bashing both the kids tightly against their seat harnesses. 

"Just hold on tight!" She managed to wheeze out, having lost her breath from the blow. 

The parachute wasn't as effective as she hoped, and the pod began to gain speed again, only slightly slowed down. Isabel peered out through the porthole again and found herself looking directly at the street. Her stomach dropped. They were about to crash. 

Both Isabel and Wesley were almost launched out of their seats, had it not been for their harnesses, as the pod finally made contact with something. They slammed back against the leather seats, their heads protected from the potential deadly blow by the headrest pads. They were shaken about for a few more seconds, then finally stopped, when the pod had finally lodged itself into whatever crevice it was now resting in. The parachute slowly descended back on top of the pod, covering the hole in the building it had made. This left only a single bulb inside the pod as a light source. Metal pangs rang out as rubble fell around the pod. 

As everything settled, the two siblings exchanged their terrified faces. Isabel faced the control panel. A single button was on, flashing an orange light. Between flashes of light, Isabel was able to read the words "Door Detach" above it. 

She brought her attention back to her little brother. Wesley was sobbing uncontrollably, his child brain was unable to handle the events that had just transpired. Isabel lifted her hands up to her face, and used her fingers to wipe away the tears that had streaked down her cheeks. 

Isabel closed her eyes and attempted to wish everything away. She wished that she would be back home, with her family, safe and sound. Her face scrunched up and she closed her eyes even harder. When they opened, nothing was different. 

They were alone and stranded. 

Isabel and Wesley both remained seated for what seemed like an eternity after their crash. Their brains were still reeling in from what happened. 

Isabel began to twitch her fingers and realized some energy had finally returned to her body. The harness was doing no good at this point, so she decided to take it off. She lifted both of her hands up to the belts on her harness. She slowly wrapped her fingers around the latches and unbuckled them. The one on top clicked and opened, followed by the last one on the bottom. The harness split apart and clanged to the walls of the pod. The loud noise snapped Wesley out from his shocked state. He turned his head around side to side, examining his surroundings. He noticed Isabel taking her harness off and felt the strange urge to do the same, even if the harness somehow made him feel safer. 

Isabel tried to stand up, but her legs didn't yet have the strength to support her. They buckled beneath her, followed by her body falling to the ground. She landed with a thud, yelping in pain. Wesley looked down at his struggling sister and hastened his attempts at undoing the buckles of his harness. His small fingers fiddled with the metal locks, eventually undoing the which in turn freed him. He pulled his arms out from the harness arm slots and he pressed his palms against the bottom of his seat, beside both of his legs. He pushed against the cushion to get himself over the seat, sliding over the small chunk of plastic that served to keep the legs separated when seated. Unfortunately, due to his smaller size and younger age relative to his sister, he felt the effects of the crash much worse than Isabel. His weakened legs couldn’t support his weight for even a second, sending him down to the same level as his sister.

Isabel looked over to her brother and saw him on the ground.

“He should have just stayed in his seat, little idiot,” she thought to herself.

She slid her arms up beside her chest, and lifted them upwards, leaving her palms flat on the ground. After a deep inhale, she pushed as hard as she could. To her surprise, she was able to push herself up. She kept going until she hit a point where she could rotate her body. Her hips twisted in one big move to let her rest in a sitting position. She pushed herself along the floor, until she felt a wall support her back.

Wesley was still on the ground, motionless. The only movement that could be seen was his chest rising and falling. Isabel’s worries about her little brother ceased momentarily after she saw he was still alive. She remembered about the pendant her father had given her moments before his demise and brought her hand up for inspection. It had remained tightly clenched in her fist the whole time. Her fingers relaxed and opened, allowing her to see what it looked like. She quickly recognized that the pendant was the shape of her family seal, that of the Galanti name. It was made of pure gold and featured a mighty lion, capturing all the intricate details that a real one might have. She rubbed her thumb over the metal, to wipe the dust and small bits of debris that covered its beauty. Her father had vaguely mentioned its importance, and she tried to imagine what he could have meant. She shook her head to drive away those dark thoughts and decided to put it on. The clasp was undone, freeing the loop it had been closed on, and she separated both ends. She brought them back around to the back of her neck and re-did the clasp around the same loop, securing it around her neck. The gold lion dropped down to her chest and she slid it underneath her shirt.

She flexed her legs and brought to and from her body. Her strength had just about returned, and she decided it was time to get out of the cramped pod. The air was starting to get stale, and feelings of claustrophobia had begun to set it. Her mind focused as she swung one arm to right, grabbing the seat, and using the other to push herself off the ground.

“Okay,” she thought, “one… two… three!”

She pulled with her right arm and pushed with her left, as she prepared her legs to be ready to stand again. Her body moved away from the floor and into a standing position. She stood still for a second, regaining her sense of balance. After one deep inhale and exhale, she felt fine. Well as fine as she could feel, considering the situation. She nudged herself over to Wesley and put a hand on his shoulder.

She began to shake him, “Wesley, wake up!”

She shook him for a few seconds before he finally woke up. He slowly brought his head up to look at his sister.

“Isabel? What… what happened?” he whimpered.

“I’ll explain later,” she lied, “but right now we have to get out of here. I don’t think this building is going to stay up for too long.”

“Then… all of that was r-r-real?”

“Yes Wesley…” She choked through the beginning of some sobs, “Dad is… gone.”

Wesley looked down to the floor and started to cry, wailing very loudly. Isabel wiped the tears from her eyes and took ahold of Wesley’s shoulders.

“Stop! I don’t know where we’re at, and this place looks abandoned. Try not to cry, someone might hear us!” She said. She had a bad feeling about this place, and she didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention just yet.

Isabel looked into Wesley’s eyes and pleaded with him. He nodded his head and stifled his tears. His face was flush with tears running down his cheeks. Deciding he’d be fine for now, Isabel stood back up and walked her way to the control panel. She remembered the button that would release the pod’s door open, allowing them to leave. A hard-plastic case that had served the button from accidental activation had been opened. Her hand came up to the button, her index finger extending ever so slowly until it rested right on top of the flashing button. She brought her finger down and the button was pushed.

A pneumatic hiss was heard around the door, causing both siblings to turn their heads towards it. They watched the door shift slightly to the left, then lower itself. A few metal popping noises rang out and the door became disconnected. It dropped to the floor, slowly falling over until it gained enough speed to crash down with a mighty thud. Isabel shuffled over to the new opening but found that it was too dark to see anything. “There has to be a flashlight around here somewhere,” she thought as she walked back to the control panel.

She dropped down slowly onto her knees, using her fingers to feel around for some type of drawer or container. She felt hope as her fingers grazed over a metal handle. Wesley watched as his sister grasped the handle and pulled outwards toward herself. It was a drawer, packed with what seemed to be emergency supplies. “Bingo,” said a very satisfied Isabel. The first thing she saw were some glowsticks. She picked one up and cracked it with both hands. The chemicals inside worked to create a bright green light, which is what she used to inspect the rest of the container. There were a few more glowsticks, about four, and a flashlight right next to them. There were small brick shaped things wrapped in white cellophane and some containers of water, as well as two canteens. Packed underneath were two dark blue sweaters, both thick and very capable of keeping its wearer warm. Underneath the sweaters was a beige canvas backpack, with many pockets, and a first-aid kit. Isabel kept rifling through, but that’s all that left. She waved her glowstick to the left of the container and saw another handle. She grabbed it with her left hand and gave it a pull, but it wouldn’t move. Another tug showed no change at all. She placed the glowstick on the ground and wrapped both hands around the handle. She gave a great pull, but to no avail. This thing wouldn’t be budging anytime soon. The hit from the debris they took in space probably jammed the thing shut. She cursed under her breath. Whatever was in there could have been useful.

She pulled out one of the sweaters and held it up. It looked quite big, but it would have to do.

“Wesley, here put this on before you get too cold.” She said to the boy, handing him the oversized garment.

They had both started to realize just how cold it was getting inside the building and pod. Wesley took the sweater from his sister. It slipped onto his small body with ease, almost comically because of how baggy it fit on him. Isabel did the same and put the sweater on, fitting more comfortably on her since it was made for someone more or less her size. She brought her forearms together and rubber her upper arms, trying to create some friction for heat. Her attention was brought back to other supplies in the container and she pulled out the canvas backpack. She opened the main flap and there was ample room to fit all the other supplies inside. One by one she grabbed the remaining contents of the drawer and neatly organized them inside the bag.

After the drawer was empty, she remembered the number of their supplies. Four glowsticks, ten food bars, six bottled waters, and the first aid kit.

“This is all they put in the escape pod of a luxury ship?” she thought to herself, feeling some anger rise. “They couldn’t get those Helots to put anything else in here? Useless beings, I swear.”

She closed the bag shut and closed together the two latches that kept it from opening. Her hand reached for the glowstick and she raised it up, pushing the bag to the side.

“I’m going to check outside really quick Wesley, you stay here for a minute.” She said.

He merely nodded at her, then continued to just look down at his lap. She walked over to the now open pod door. Her right foot lifted over the threshold and down onto the floor. The crunch of rocks and glass was heard as her weight settled on top of the floor. Her other foot followed as she fully exited the pod. She held the glowstick further out in front of her, an attempt to illuminate the dark area ahead of her. The shine of the glowstick reflected from what looked like empty flasks and glass containers. She spotted Bunsen burners and various pipes and tubing around the room. It looked like a lab of sorts. She turned to her left, facing the wall that the pod had smashed through. A strange metal safe caught her attention. She slowly moved toward it, getting more of a visual understanding as the light got closer. It was a large metal safe that had been smashed open, thanks to the incredible velocity of the pod when it landed. Inside of it, there was a strange looking canister. It was silver and slightly dented on the side, no doubt from the impact. It reminded her of a soda can that fell on the ground, looking ready to burst. Despite the little voice in her head telling her not to, she got even closer. She pulled the door away to expose the inside even more. Her hand slowly moved over to the canister, as her index finger extended to touch it. She barely tapped the canister and it blew open, spraying her with a pink liquid. It managed to cover her entire body, drenching her in the bright color.

She screamed and fell backwards, her rear thudding onto the ground. The glowstick fell from her hand as she brought both of her hands to face, desperately trying to get the strange liquid off her face. She spit out and began rubbing her eyes furiously. It had even made its way into her throat, as she began to cough as well.

However, the liquid strangely disappeared, soaking into her skin and clothes. She began to feel tingly all throughout her body. The vibrating sensation got stronger and stronger until she felt extreme discomfort in her right arm. Though the glowstick was giving a small amount of light after its long use, she was able to see that her arm had… grown?

“What’s happening to me?!” She yelled out, her voice trembling.

Wesley heard the commotion and slid out of his chair, trying to get to the door. But before he could make it, he felt the pod shaking. He looked around for something to grab as the tremors became more violent. Right outside the pod, Isabel was screaming in more pain as her legs began to grow, becoming longer and longer. The same could be said for the rest of the body, as her size began increasing. Somehow, her clothing seemed to be growing with her, if only a little bit. There were still a few rips and tears that appeared.

Her size began to increase to the point where the small room could no longer support her massive size. Her head was big enough to nudge the escape pod, with Wesley still in it, outside. Wesley felt a free-falling motion as the pod fell to the ground. He slammed back into the floor as the pod smashed into the ground. All the air he had in his lungs was expelled, leaving him writhing in pain.

The building he was just in seemed to crumble in on its self, creating a sink hole in the ground of what looked to be a large underground facility. A large shape, presumably Isabel, fell inside with the rest of the building. The ground stopped shaking with a final incredibly loud thud. Bricks and chunks of concrete continued to fall in but ceased eventually. A large plume of smoke and dust started to form in the sky, a massive sign that there was activity in the area.

Wesley crawled up to the door, which was now facing sideways, since the pod was flipped. He looked across the massive hole which once was the foundation for a great building. Something in the distance caught his eye. He squinted and tried to see what it was.

It looked like a vehicle heading straight in his direction.

Wesley could just barely make out the slim shape of a motorcycle, and its rider, who wore a bandana. The vehicle had the soil’s red dust trailing behind it, but it was nowhere near the size of the disturbance the building’s collapse has just caused. He thought the person was coming because of the commotion and he feared what would happen if he tried to escape. The best decision that he could think of was to just stay in the pod and hope they wouldn’t come any closer. He dropped down from the doorway of the pod and crawled over to the very right of it, which was its bottom. He sat as still as he could manage, but his body betrayed him, he was still shivering uncontrollably. The tears and sniffles couldn’t stop either, despite his best attempts to stifle them.

The sound of motorcycle’s engine was growing nearer, it would arrive in mere seconds at this point. Wesley began to shiver and shake even more violently. His sister disappeared with the rest of the building, and he had no idea why she had screamed moments before the collapse. He was worried he was all alone now.

The entire area fell with silence as the roaring engine was cut silent in a moment’s notice. Wesley realized he hadn’t even been paying attention to how close it was. It was dead quiet, until the sound of rubber scraping against rubble was heard. “They’re getting off,” Wesley thought.

“Damn. What could have caused this?” Said a soft-spoken voice.

Wesley nearly jumped up. It was clearly a man’s voice, though not an adult. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer and stopped just outside of the pod. Wesley could make out the sound of someone rummaging around in the debris outside. Rocks were pushed across the floor, along with the clanging of metal. The man must have been some kind of scavenger on this desolate planet, looking for scraps to keep himself going.

“Whoa! There’s a facility down here? I’ve got to see what it’s got before Jag and his crew gets here.” The stranger said.

The footsteps got quieter as they went closer to the hole in the ground. Wesley thought this was as good a time as any to get a look at the person. He slowly crawled his way back over to the door, keeping low to the ground. He was directly underneath the doorway and he slowly peeped his head over the threshold. Wesley scanned the man from bottom to top. He was wearing black running shoes, which looked very worn down, some dark grey jeans covered in the red dust, and a black basic t-shirt, with some tears scattered across the fabric. His hair was black and shaggy, only flowing from the top of his head. The rest was shaved down in an attempt at a fade. A red bandana was wrapped around his face but looked like it could only cover his mouth.

The stranger turned his head to look behind him and Wesley could barely make out some goggles on his face before ducking straight back down. The man outside knew he saw the top of something, dark brown in color, dash down as soon as he turned. He reached down with his right hand and quickly drew a gun out from his leather holster. It looked very similar to that of a revolver, although the barrel was rectangular. With caution, he put the gun in front of him to lead and he made his way to the pod.

Wesley was inside the pod and his brain began scrambling for something to do. He was sure he saw something that looked like his dad’s laser pistol and he knew what it was capable of. Though he was only a child, he understood his life was in danger. The only thing he could really do was crawl back away to his previous hiding spot and try to make himself look smaller. He slid back over to position, but in the process, he created even more noise, alerting the man outside that there was definitely someone or something inside. The man began to move faster, as his suspicion grew. Wesley moved quicker as well and made it to the very corner of the pod. He pulled the sweater over his head and pulled his arms inside. The only thing visible now were his legs, which were shaking violently.

The stranger finally made it to the pod, and pointing his gun inside first, leaned forward in a flash. He scanned the inside and noted a backpack. He turned his head to the left and saw something moving. The barrel of the gun was pointed at the vibrating shape and his finger was a hair’s breadth away from pulling the trigger. But something peculiar caught his attention and he eased his finger from taking the shot. A small pair of legs were jutting out from the shape, leading him to believe it was a person.

“What the… Hey, can you hear me?” The stranger asked.

He could make out the faint shape of a head nodding inside the shaking lump.

“Go ahead and pop your head out, now.” He commanded.

Fear struck Wesley’s heart even more as he heard the stranger speak directly to him, demanding his cooperation. Wesley thought it might be best to just listen, and he slowly pulled the sweater back down over his shoulders. The stranger watched as he saw a child’s face appear, shedding the sweater like a snake. His hair was the same dark brown he had just seen moments ago, and it reached down to his ears. He looked the kid straight in his brown eyes, through his goggles.

After the full realization that it was just a poor kid, looking no older than eight years old, he immediately pointed the gun away from him and pulled it back towards himself. He deposited it right back into the holster. He leaned in further and began to speak.

“Whoa, what are you doing here kid? I’m sorry for scaring you, I didn’t know whether you were a human or a Yarron. Who are you?” He said.

“My n-name is W-W-Wesley.” Wesley barely managed to choke out between sobs.

“I didn’t mean to scare you Wesley, I’m sorry for pointing my gun at you. Here, let me take this off so you can get a better look at me.” He replied.

Though he knew he was letting his guard down all too easily, but Wesley just looked like a scared little kid. The stranger reached up for his bandana and grabbed ahold of it. He slid it down to his neck just as he began to reach for his goggles. He pulled them from his head completely and hooked them to his belt. Wesley was still frightened but could sense a feeling of comfort in the stranger’s honey-brown eyes. His face wore a non-threatening smile as he looked at Wesley.

“My name is Nathan. Nice to meet you Wesley.” Said Nathan, reaching out to Wesley for a handshake.

Nathan’s calm and polite nature put Wesley’s feelings of fear at ease, and he slowly brought his small hand out to Nathan’s. When they met for the handshake, Wesley felt uncomfortable for a moment, Nathan’s skin was very rough. He couldn’t blame him though, the environment seemed so dry and coarse. Nathan brought his hand back over to himself and rested it on the threshold to support himself while he leaned in.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but maybe you’d like to come outside and talk? It feels pretty cramped in here.” He said softly.

Wesley nodded, and Nathan backed away from the doorway. Wesley pushed himself up on his feet and walked over to the doorway. He threw one leg over the threshold and lifted himself over the divide. After his foot touched the red ground, he brought the other leg out and over. Wesley was now standing in the sun, in front of this stranger he had just met.

“What happened kid? Where’d you come from? And why’re you alone?” Nathan asked.

“I was with my dad and sister on a space ship, and something blew up, and we had to leave. Only my sister and I got away, everyone else is… is…” Wesley’s eyes started to well up with tears before he could finish.

Nathan felt bad for him and he knelt beside him.

“Whoa, whoa, don’t worry kid. You don’t have to talk about it, I’m sorry that happened. Let’s focus on your sister, what happened to her?” Nathan said, in an attempt to stop him from crying again.

It seemed to work, as Wesley changed focus from the tragedy and back to his sister, wiping his tears away.

“We were in the building, and she left me alone. Then I heard her scream, and everything fell down.” Wesley said.

“He’s not very articulate. I’m not really getting a good idea of what happened here.” Nathan thought.

“Alright, well she could have fallen down the hole. You stay put and I’ll go check it out, alright? Don’t cry buddy, I’ll find your sister for you.” Nathan assured the little boy.

Wesley simply nodded his head in understanding. Nathan turned around to face the hole and began to walk towards it before hearing a massive groan from underneath. His eyes turned into dinner plates and he froze in fear. The ground began to tremble, and Nathan spread his legs out and tried to distribute his weight to keep balance. More rubble and debris began to fall back into the hole as the tremors continued. Nathan’s eyes shot over to the hole’s entrance and something massive seemed to be rising from it.

A massive head creeped out from the hole, with flowing golden blonde hair. Nathan watched in horror as it kept coming. His brain was hardly capable to process the visual information he was receiving. What looked like a girl’s face appeared next, her eyes shut, and her mouth closed. The light reflected off her olive skin as she continued to rise. She was wearing a dark blue piece of cloth around her, pieces were torn and slashed around it. The being stopped rising once their chest was level with the ground. Her eyes opened, revealing forest green eyes. Those very eyes scanned the area, searching for information.

Frozen with fear, Nathan watched as those very eyes locked right onto him.

 

Even in his shocked state, Wesley was able to recognize that face. Those details combined to make what looked exactly like his sister, Isabel. It made no sense whatsoever, but it was all he could surmise from the situation. The last thing she saw of her had to have fell inside the hole, and now a massive version of her comes out. What could have done this?

“What… what happened?” The massive girl spoke.

She lifted her arms up and brought her hands closer to her chest. Her eyes looked down at her arms, slowly bringing her gaze to her hands. She rotated her arms, looking at the palms of her hands then the back of them. On her face was the most shocked expression that she had possibly ever made in her life.

“Why am I so… big?” She asked, to no one in particular.

Her head began to look upward, and her eyes met with a tiny version of her brother.

“Wesley?” She asked.

She slowly started to reach out for him, her hand moving ever so slowly.

“Run kid, RUN!” Nathan shouted out to Wesley, breaking the silence of the moment.

Nathan managed to find some courage to get his legs moving and he turned his body and started sprinting to Wesley. He passed the giant woman’s hand in no time as he started nearing Wesley, he started preparing himself. He tilted his upper body to the left and brought his left arm down low, aiming for Wesley’s legs. Nathan swooped the boy off his feet and began to carry him in his arms while he ran forward, looking for somewhere to hide.

“Where are you going with my brother?!” Isabel shouted, furious that a stranger had just kidnapped her little brother.

Her right arm reached out to grab the kidnapper, gaining on them ever so quickly. She ran out of arm length and closed her fist, grabbing nothing but air. The loud clap she created sent a gust of air that fluttered Nathan’s hair. The very idea of being caught by that hand struck terror into Nathan’s heart. He kept running, while Wesley jiggled up and down in Nathan’s arms. Wesley turned his head to Isabel. His eyes widened as he watched her rest her arms on the ground around the hole, pulling herself out of it. It looked unreal as more and more of her body crawled out from the ground. It seemed never-ending, until he was able to see her bare feet come into view. She was free, and undoubtedly coming for him.

Nathan, on the other hand, was completely focused on something else. He spotted a building across the street that looked like it could maybe shelter them. It was a one-story building, its original orange paint faded and chipped, with only two windows in the front, which had been smashed in already. He kept running toward it, kicking up red dust along his way. He was too panicked to carefully not leave a trail.

Nathan reached the building and arrived at the door step. He brought his right leg up and kicked the door in. It swung open and slammed into the wall it was hinged on. The sound caught Isabel’s attention as she had just finished standing upright. She just caught view of the man who kidnapped Wesley, stepping inside, and shutting the door behind him. She felt all her feelings about the situation, confusion, sadness, fear, melting away as one emotion took priority. Anger. Her eyes locked onto the building they ran into and she started stomping her way to it.

Inside that building, Nathan had settled Wesley behind the counter that was left of the entrance. “This place must have been a shop.” Nathan assumed. The were many broken and knocked shelves scattered around the room, blocking the clearings that must have been aisles.

Nathan sat down beside Wesley and they both pressed their backs against the counter. He reached down to his holster and pulled his gun out, though he didn’t think that his weapon would do any damage to that beast.

“Shit, I only have 7 shots left. I’m gonna have to make ‘em count.” He turned to Wesley, and began to speak again, “Kid, listen, I’m going to try to aim for its eyes. If anything happens just stay hidden alright? I’ll try to draw it away.”

Listening to Nathan’s plan to attempt to blind his sister, he shook his head and looked at Nathan.

“No, you can’t do that! That… That’s my sister!” He pleaded.

“Your… Wesley, you can’t be serious right now. That… thing is your sister?” Nathan replied in disbelief.

“Yes, it has to be! That’s exactly how she looks like! Plus, she fell into the hole in the first place. Maybe the reason why she’s big now is why it fell!” Wesley said, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“Well your ‘sister’ just near crushed me back there! You can’t expect me to believe she’s still herself after that!”

“She realized it was me and tried to grab me. Maybe since you took me, and she doesn’t know who you are, she tried to stop you.”

“Alright, alright, even if she is your sister, what are we going to do? She didn’t look all okay in the head when I was looking at her, and if she catches me she might just kill me right th-“

The conversation was cut off from the sounds of massive thuds right outside. Nathan brought the index finger of his left hand up to his lips and shushed Wesley. The sounds stopped outside. Nathan and Wesley looked at each other, both their eyes wide open with fear and anticipation.

“Whoever you are, let my brother go, or so help me I will smash this place in!” Isabel demanded, the vibrations of her voice shaking the very building.

The only thing Nathan could do was shush Wesley again, hoping to pretend that they weren’t there so she would leave. A few moments passed by, in terrifying silence. Nathan could feel himself shaking and he could feel his heart beating, ready to burst out of his chest. He hasn’t been in a life or death situation like this in quite a while.

The silence was broken with a loud smashing sound. Isabel used her giant index finger as a battering ram, and broke the door clean off it’s hinges. The door flew across the room and broke into pieces as it made contact with the wall. Wesley was unable to hold in a scream, which alerted Isabel that they were definitely still inside.

“What are you doing to him?!” She shouted.

Isabel grew impatient very quickly and decided to just reach into the building. She pushed her hand through the entrance, sideways, and began feeling for something to grab. Nathan began pushing Wesley farther away from the entrance and to the wall, desperately looking to put some distance from him and the ensuing hand. The massive digits met the tabletop of the counter, and they slammed down, smashing it in half and reducing it to mere planks and splinters. The giant fingers were now right next to Nathan’s left leg, wiggling and searching for him. Instinctively, he tried to point the barrel of the gun at her fingers. But before he could even aim it correctly, they found his legs and wrapped around them. Nathan shouted in pain as they gripped him tightly and began to drag him through the wreckage. In the process he was banged about and slid over some wooden planks, ripping his shirt somewhat and making him drop his gun in the process. He was pulled outside, and the sunlight attacked his eyes. In response, he closed them, while he began to feel a sense of vertigo. He could only guess that she was raising him up, so she could look him in his eyes. He felt all her fingers gripping on both of his ankles, very tightly, as to not drop him.

“Who are you?” She asked him.

Nathan kept his eyes shut, he didn’t want to see how high up he was.

“Answer me!” She yelled.

She began to apply more pressure to his ankles and feet. At her new size, she likely did not know the limits of her strength and even though to her it was barely a squeeze, Nathan felt agonizing pain. He screamed out and wiggled around in her grasp.

“Please, stop! I’ll tell you whatever you want, just stop!” Nathan yelled out.

“Where is my brother, what did you do with him?!” She questioned.

“He’s inside, he’s inside! I didn’t do anything to him, I swear!” Nathan pleaded.

She narrowed her eyes at him and released some of the pressure of her grip. Her eyes then moved down below to the entrance of the shop.

“Wesley? Are you okay? Come outside.” She said.

Nathan and Isabel remained in silence for a few seconds, until some rustling was heard inside. She watched closely as Wesley’s tiny form stepped outside, into the open. She gasped and dropped to her knees to look at him more closely. She tossed Nathan aside, sending him crashing to the ground from a height of about 10 feet or so. He slammed into the ground on his back and all the air in his lungs was expelled. He rolled over to his side and began wheezing, his lungs searching for oxygen.

While Nathan struggled to breath, Isabel lowered her right hand to the ground, palm facing up. Wesley looked up at his massive sister, and then looked at her hand. He had no choice but to obey her unspoken command, and slowly walked his way to the welcoming palm. He stepped on with his left foot first, and then grabbed hold of her index finger, which was still pointing upwards. The flesh was soft and warm, giving Wesley a sense of comfort. It offered much more of that feeling than the cold metal of the pod or hard stone of the surrounding buildings could ever do.

Isabel looked at him in shock. Her eyes scanned his little body, observing his head and all the way down to his feet.

“Wesley, w-what happened to me? Are you small? Or am I…” She said, whispering the last part before cutting herself off.

“You-you’re the one who’s big…” Wesley whimpered.

“I just remember touching that weird container, then it sprayed something on me! I don’t want to be stuck like this! I don’t know what’s going on!” Isabel said, her voice slightly breaking toward the end.

Isabel’s eyes started to water, and she brought her brother closer to her chest. She cupped him against the fabric of the blue sweater she was wearing earlier, which had somehow grown along with her. With her other hand, she started wiping away the tears from her eyes which had just begun to fall. The quiet sniffles lasted only a few seconds until she truly thought about her predicament and she began to sob uncontrollably.

“Dad’s gone, we landed on some deserted planet, and I’ve turned into a monster! What am I going to do?” She thought to herself.

Nathan was still on the ground, not too far away from the giant girl. He had just managed to get control of his breathing, but his back was still throbbing with great pain, along with his ankles. “I’ve gotta get out of here,” he thought. In his current condition though, there was little he could do but crawl away. So that’s what he decided to do.

He flipped over onto his stomach and brought both of his arms close to his chest, putting himself into a prone position. He pushed one arm over the other and used the friction to pull himself across the ground. Movement after movement, he was making progress, albeit rather slowly. He could hear the incredibly loud sobbing behind him, but he kept his focus and kept moving forward.

Inside Isabel’s cupped hand was Wesley, pushed against the fabric of Isabel’s shirt by her warm hand. He didn’t know how to handle the situation either. Their lives were just upended from the ship’s explosion, they were alone on foreign planet, and his sister was now massive. Just thinking about the situation, Wesley began to cry as well, until he changed the focus of his thoughts. Though he never had a great relationship with Isabel, at her new size she would be able to protect him! After all, she had just saved him from Nathan. Although, he didn’t need saving, Nathan seemed like a normal person. More than that, he seemed like a good person. He stopped to help Wesley immediately, even though they both had no idea who the other was.

Wesley looked up, gasping at the idea his brain just hatched. He started to tap on his sister’s palm, to get her attention. The initial tapping elicited no response, so he instead began banging his fist into the soft flesh. This caught Isabel’s attention, and she tilted her hand back to make sure Wesley was right in the middle of her palm. She lifted her hand up to her face, the speed of the gravity pushed Wesley down deep into her hand. He felt himself spring back up when she brought him a little below eye level. Wesley looked at his sister and felt some sadness brew inside of him. Her cheeks were bright red, streaks of tears were left from her crying. Her eyes were also red, undoubtedly from her rubbing them. She had managed to stop her sobs and now she would only sniffle. She absolutely hated crying in front of anyone, but she couldn’t stop these tears from coming.

“What’s wrong?” She asked her miniscule brother.

“I know who can help us! That man you threw, he knows this place!” He said, springing to his feet with hope.

She turned her head to the man, who had only managed to crawl away about ten feet or so. Then, she turned her head back to her brother.

“He tried to steal you! We can’t trust him! I should crush him right now for trying to do that in the first place!” She said, as she furrowed her brow.

“No, no, he was trying to help me! I think he must have seen all the smoke come up from the crash, and he came this way! When he got here, he was very nice to me and told me his name. I told him what happened, that you fell in the hole, and he was about go down to look for you then… you got…” He quieted down to a whisper at the end. He didn’t want to finish the rest.

Isabel narrowed her eyes at her little brother, and then she looked back over to the stranger. He had managed to make another three feet of progress. Then, she looked back at Wesley. She stared at him for a few seconds. She just made up her mind. She brought her sleeve to her face and wiped away all the tears. After she was done, she dropped her arm to her side and looked back to Wesley.

“What was his name?” She asked, with a slight change in her tone.

“Nathan.” Wesley gulped.

She nodded and slowly brought the hand that was carrying Wesley to the ground. The back of her hand touched down and Wesley knew he had to get off. He hopped off her hand it turned into a fist. He watched in awe as she brought the arm back up, extending her legs to return to a standing position. Her knees bent back into a straight form, and she was finally standing up straight. Wesley scanned her giant body, from her bare feet all the way to her incredibly high up head. His legs began to tremble, and they buckled underneath him, dropping him onto the floor. He could feel his mouth hanging open, but he wasn’t able to close it. She was truly gigantic.

Up above, Isabel looked down to the ground in front of her, her eyes focusing on the worm of a man crawling away from her. She began to walk to him, each footstep shaking the ground beneath her.

Nathan knew that she was coming for him. He couldn’t get out of sight quick enough, and now she was going to kill him. The fear of his impending doom summoned some unexpected energy from him and he started to move faster. He crawled as fast as he could, desperate to live to see another day. The distance he was making meant nothing to his pursuer, she could gain it back with only one stride.

The thudding got closer and closer until finally it stopped. Nathan opened his eyes and noticed the shadow looming over him. He felt a something big touch his side, and it flipped him over. Immediately, they both locked eyes.

“Nathan, right?” She said, delivering the line with an underlying deadly tone.

 

“What did that kid say to her?” Nathan thought to himself, trying to imagine what Wesley told his giant sister.

Nathan stared at the girl’s massive face, it was bigger than any broken-down billboard he’d seen in his life.

“Hello?” She asked again, clearly growing impatient with him.

“Y-yeah. That’s me.” Nathan replied.

She eyed him up and gave a disapproving look. He wasn’t anything special.

“Stand up so I can talk to you properly.” She said.

Nathan attempted to even sit up straight, but the damage from the fall he took was still too severe for his muscles. He tried to push himself to sit up with his arms but fell back down to the ground.

“I… I can’t. You messed up my back and legs.” He said, wincing with pain.

Isabel sighed and brought her hand to him. She wrapped her fingers around his body, feeling him up in the process. She felt how tight his body was, and all the muscle he had underneath his clothes. He was hanging between her fingers and she flipped her hand over, landing him in the middle of her palm. To get more comfortable, she decided to sit down on the ground. She lowered herself and touched the ground with her butt, then she crossed her legs. Nathan lied face up, carried by her hand a little distance away from underneath her chin.

“Who are you, and where are we?” She asked, the more inquisitive side of her replacing the angry one.

Nathan sighed, mentally preparing himself for the volley of questions she was probably about to ask.

“I’m Nathan, but you already know that I guess. From as far as I know, this planet is called Cansara. Right now, we’re in Sedicus, one of the many abandoned cities on this crappy rock I can barely even call a planet.” He replied.

“Abandoned? Why are all they all abandoned? Isn’t there anyone else here?” She asked.

“Well, all the places I’ve come across have been just like this one. Empty, looted, and lonely. I haven’t met anyone else here except for you two, just now.” His eyes darted away for a moment, before looking back at Isabel. “How did you end up here? And how’d you get so big? I’m sure you didn’t fit in that pod with your brother like that.” Nathan asked in return.

“I’m asking the questions here, okay? Don’t worry about me and my brother.” She said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Nathan stared back at her, maybe overextending his position in the situation.

“Now back to what I was saying. Why are you here? If this place is so abandoned like you say, then why is someone like you still here?” She questioned.

“Look, I…” Nathan looked away and closed his eyes, “I really don’t want to talk about that alright?”

“I don’t care what you want to talk about, answer me.” She demanded.

She closed her fist, trapping Nathan. His head barely popped out, between the base of her thumb and index finger. She tightened her grip on him, crushing him slowly. Nathan screamed out in pain, and tried to wiggle to release pressure, but he couldn’t move a muscle.

“Okay, I’ll tell you!” Nathan gasped.

Isabel smirked and released her grip somewhat, only giving Nathan a little breathing room. His muscles relaxed again, and he breathed out.

“I used to be one of the zookeepers that helped maintain the major zoo in Veran, one of the other cities, that is now also abandoned. It’s arguably the biggest city here.” Nathan said.

“Wait, a minute. You don’t look that old, how would they employ you at one of the zoos? And that would mean that you were here when this planet wasn’t so desolate. What happened?” She asked.

“Well, I uh…” Nathan scrambled to find an answer to her question, with each second that passed, her suspicions of him grew. “My dad was actually the worker, I helped him though. We didn’t have a lot of money, so we got whatever shack we could live in and we worked at the zoo. Under the employ of… Opuls.”

That last word grabbed Isabel’s attention.

“Opuls? There were Opuls here? What happened?” She said, moving in closer, very interested in the conversation now.

“I don’t know, it was some years ago, I was still a kid. I remember… My dad, the last time I saw him, he told me that some scientist in one of the many labs here released something. Some virus or parasite, that infected and mutated the animals. They broke out and went on a rampage. For a planet that was inhabited by mostly Opuls, even their military might couldn’t defeat the creatures. They ravaged the planet and any Opul that had a ship fled, leaving their servants and slaves here to die.” Nathan grew angry as the last line, remembering how awful Opuls are. They left him and many others to simply die, because of a mistake they made in the first place.

“Ugh, of course they’re all gone.” She sighed, putting on an annoyed pout. “Wait a minute, if everyone else either died or left, then how did you survive?” She asked.

“I’m sure you don’t want the whole boring story. Just know that I’m here now, isn’t that enough for you?”

“You’re right, I don’t care. Why did you come after my brother?”

“I was driving out on the outskirts of the city and I heard crash. I looked over and I saw smoke, so I guessed something crashed here. I was hoping there’d be some scrap I could maybe salvage, but when I got here I only saw your brother. He looked so scared and helpless, I told him I’d help him. He told me you were in the building and it crashed down, so I can only assume you were normal sized when you landed here. What did you do inside that building?” Nathan replied, trying one more time to get the answer out of her.

“I don’t know… I just remember touching some weird metal thing, and it sprayed some pink liquid on me. I was in too much pain to remember what happened next…” She looked down for a moment, before bringing her eyes back to Nathan, “Is there a way off this planet? I need to get home.”

Nathan scoffed, “Do you think if there was a way off this place, I’d still be here?”

She narrowed her eyes again and looked him the eye seriously.

“Don’t give me an attitude. I still have half a mind to crush you for what you did.” She said.

“I didn’t do anything but try to help!  I already answered your questions, can’t you let me go?!” Nathan pleaded.

“Fine, but you have to tell me anything you know about any possible ways out of here.” She replied.

“I don’t know, I’ve been just about everywhere here, and I don’t remember seeing any…” Nathan paused and tilted his head downwards.

“What? Did you remember?” She asked, bringing him closer to her face.

“Well, there was a building near the zoo I used to work at. They used it store the big cargo ships they used to import the bigger animals they had. But it’s caved in, there’s no way anyone would be able to clear that stuff. Except… Except maybe you.” He said.

Isabel widened her eyes and a smile started to form. She had some hope now, a glimmer of hope that she would be able to get off this planet and get back home.

“There I answered all your questions. Can you please let me go now?” Nathan asked, growing claustrophobic in her grasp.

“You have to take me there! I can’t let you go now!” She said, shaking her head.

“You… you can’t be serious. Please, let me go, I have to leave!” Nathan begged, his voice beginning to crack.

“I’m sorry but you’re going to take me to those ships.” She replied.

Nathan shook his head and looked up directly into Isabel’s eyes. He tried to make himself sound and look unafraid.

“No. You’re going to let me go, I already did what you said!” He said with a stern tone.

“Actually, I’m not sorry. Let me explain this situation to you, since you’re too stupid to realize it yourself. I’m bigger than you. You’re going to do exactly what I say, and should you disobey, I’ll stomp you into the ground, like the little bug you are. Got it?” She said, bringing him directly in front of her eyes.

“Bite me.”

She gave him a scowl and started crushing him in her fist. Nathan felt the massive pillars tighten their grip on him, continuing to push and push until he couldn’t even breathe in anymore. He started thrashing his head around, desperate to get a modicum of oxygen into his burning lungs. His vision started to blur, and his head felt like it was going to pop.

“This is how I die? All those years spent surviving this… hell. And I go like this?” Nathan thought to himself, a single tear falling from his eye.

“Isabel, STOP!” Wesley yelled, in fear for Nathan’s life.

Isabel snapped out of her rage, but a second too late it seemed. Nathan’s eyes closed, and his head slumped over. She could no longer feel his struggles. His body felt lifeless.

“Fuck,” Isabel muttered.

She opened her palm and lowered her hand down. His body was sprawled across her palm. His chest wasn’t rising. She didn’t care about him, or his life for that matter, but she needed him alive to guide her to the ships. She brought her other hand over and extended her index finger. She placed it directly on his chest and started to apply little bumps of pressure. Up and down her finger went, doing compressions to the best of her ability. For the breaths, she simply blew on him, hoping the air pressure would be enough to make it down to his lungs. She kept this cycle going for about a minute or so, until Nathan showed a sign of life.

He coughed and wheezed, shaking violently in Isabel’s palm. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of guiltiness while she viewed him struggling to stay alive, but it disappeared as quick as it came. He coughed one last time, before dropping back flat on her hand. Isabel watched closely and saw the smallest of movements from his chest. He was alive again, albeit unconscious.

She let out a breath of relief and wiped the small sweat droplets off her forehead.

“Having him knocked out like this will be better for now.” She thought to herself.

Isabel stood up and walked back over to Wesley, who had been watching in terror.

“Did you… k-kill him?” Wesley whimpered.

“No dummy, he’s still alive.” She said, looking back down at Nathan, who’s breathing had gotten a bit heavier. “He told me there’s still some ships here, but they might be far away. We have to get moving. Go grab that bag that I packed inside the escape pod, you’re going to need that. None of that stuff is big enough for me anyway.” Isabel said.

She was surprised at herself for moment, realizing how relatively well she had been taking the situation now. She didn’t have time to freak out about her new size or the implications it could have for her future.

Wesley nodded and scampered his way over to the pod, heading inside for a moment. Isabel watched as he emerged, carrying the canvas backpack with him.

“Come over here.” Isabel said.

Wesley came closer to his sister, and she started to bend down. With her free hand, she picked Wesley up inside her hand. He was laying down on her palm and Isabel laughed softly to herself, he was half the size of her middle finger.

“To make it easier, I’m going to put you on my shoulder okay? Hold onto my hair so you don’t fall off.” She said.

Wesley nodded, and Isabel lifted him up to her shoulder like an elevator. Reaching his floor, her right shoulder, he grabbed onto her golden locks. He got enough to help keep himself upright as he stepped onto her. He struggled to stay standing up, so he decided to sit down instead, with his legs dangling off. He looked over the edge and felt sick to his stomach almost instantly. The drop was incredibly far, and it would no doubt kill him if he fell over.

“Now for this guy.” She said.

She didn’t have any material around to properly tie him up, so she improvised. With her fingers, she pulled apart a few strands of her golden hair, and lifted Nathan up to them. With careful precision, she wrapped the hair around his body, several times, before tying it off with a simple knot she could undo later. She pulled her hands away and Nathan hung there, dangling a few inches away from her breasts. The hair was mostly resting against her chest, and Isabel had tied him a little higher than the very ends of her hair.

“Are you ready Wesley?” She looked down at her diminutive brother, who gave her a nod. “Alright then, let’s get going.”

 

“Oh man, my head hurts.”

I bring my hand up to my forehead and rub it slowly. I’ve got a splitting headache.

I open my eyes and see an orange glow. My vision is still blurry, and my head is pounding, but I think I can make out some noises… Screaming? What’s going on?

I close my hands and start rubbing my eyes, trying to get them to adjust. Opening them again, I’m able to discern my surroundings a little better. I can see the orange glow get brighter and I notice it in my peripheral vision. It’s surrounding me, and I can feel an intense heat. I’m in… a fire. My entire body can feel the warmth, so the fire must be everywhere around me.

I can feel something cold wrapped around my left ankle. I try to look closer, but I can’t make anything out, my vision is still far too blurry to see clear details. But I can see the outlines of my legs. They look so small and short. I’m not wearing pants? I observe my hands and begin to open and close them. Their outline is small, and it feels unnatural. Am I… a kid?

THUD!

My attention is brought to the noise I heard just behind me, a wooden support beam fell to the ground, engulfed in flames. I remember this place. I hated being here. I hated the people who lived here.

“Kid, what are you doing?! Stand up, we’ve gotta get out of here!” I hear a panicky deep voice say.

I turn around and see the blurry outline of a man, rushing over to me, with some type of tool in his hands.

“Watch out, I need to cut it!” He shouts out to me.

“No, please!” I yell to him, but he continues.

He gets right in front of me, his big form nothing more than a silhouette. I watch as he raises his arms, the tool in hand preparing to strike it down on me. I close my eyes and look away.

CRASH!

 

---

 

 

Nathan wakes up with jolt, his eyes opening and darting around. He looks disoriented and realizes he’s panting heavily. He’s covered in sweat looks terrified. A sudden swaying feeling makes itself apparent and he wonders what’s going on.

“Where… Where am I?” He mutters, trying to move his arms.

They don’t move an inch before Nathan realizes he’s bounded tightly with some kind of rope? He struggles and starts wiggling his head around, trying to create a gap of space to release himself.

“You’re awake, huh?” He hears a feminine voice boom above him.

He freezes in place, his eyes wide as dinner plates. It all comes back to him, the crash, the kid and the giant girl. His muscles stay frozen, and his mouth quivers as he tries to find any words to speak.

“Don’t think about trying to get out, I’m not sure you’d survive that fall.” She says.

Nathan slowly tilts his head downward, getting a glimpse of that fate would befall him if he were to wiggle out. He saw a massive nauseating distance between where he hung, and where the ground was. He brought his bead back up and looked around. The sun wasn’t high in the sky as it was when he got to the crash site, instead it looked about less than halfway to setting over the mountain covered horizon.

“I’ve been out for hours?” He thinks to himself, shocked at the fact that he’d been asleep for so long.

He looks up behind him, and sees the left side of the girl’s face, and notices her golden hair coming right behind his head, continuing just out of his view. Steadily, he turns his head around to follow the trail of hair, leading him to discover what he’s tied up in.

“Her hair?! She tied me up with her hair? You’ve got to be kidding me!” He thinks, scoffing to himself in disbelief at the situation.

The swaying and bouncing he felt earlier, which had never stopped, made sense now. She kidnapped him and is taking him with her. He looks downwards again, catching sight of her long olive-skinned legs walking, each stride tens of feet long. Her bare feet crash into the ground over and over, leaving imprints of her massive soles behind.

“What did you do? Where are we?!” Nathan asks, demanding for an answer from his kidnapper.

“I don’t know, I just followed the sign that read Veran. That is the place with the ships, right?” She replied.

Nathan felt his heart sink as his face turned pale.

“You’re… you’re kidding right?” He whispers, his voice hoarse.

“A sign was still up, and it read that Veran was this way. I assume the road has been destroyed over time, but we should still make it there.” She said.

“No, we have to turn back! My bike, it’s still in the city!” He said, thrashing his body around.

She bent her left arm and brought her hand to Nathan. With only her thumb and first two fingers, she clamped them around the panicking Nathan, putting a swift end to his struggling.

“Stop it. It’ll still be there when you get back, so stop wiggling around.” She said strictly.

“You don’t understand, it has all by gear on it! My food, water, supplies! We have to go back now!” He shouted, still tightly trapped in her grip.

Her grip tightened on him, reminding him again how powerless he was in the situation.

“Like I just said, it will still be there. Once we get that ship, I’ll drop you off and you can get your precious ‘supplies’ back.” She said.

“What do you mean ‘once you get the ship’? You don’t even know if there’s anything there!” He replied, anger present in his tone.

Her body stopped moving the instant he finished his sentence. Her hand moved slightly, pointing Nathan’s entire body to face her face.

“Did you lie to me about the ship?” She questioned.

“No, of course not,” he blurted nervously, “I’m just not certain if there’s any in working order.”

She looked away disapprovingly and began to walk again, “Well for your sake, I hope there are.”

Nathan gulped and slowly brought his gaze down to stare at the ground.

“Isabel,” he heard a voice call out, “don’t we have to find somewhere to stay for the night? It’s getting dark and you know I don’t like staying outside at night.”

Nathan perked his head up, “Isabel, huh?” he thought to himself.

Isabel sighed in annoyance, “Don’t worry Wesley, we’ll find somewhere to spend the night.”

Silence overcame all three as Isabel continued to walk. Her legs were feeling sore from the hours she’s been walking to city and she just wanted to find somewhere safe to rest. From all the miles she’s traveled today, she didn’t see a single building anywhere. Most likely, they’d have to find a cave or rock formation of some sort.

From what she had seen so far, Isabel guessed Cansara was a desert planet more than anything.

“If this place is such a desert world, why would Opuls bother to colonize it? There doesn’t seem to be anything worthwhile here. There’s something this guy isn’t telling me.” She thought, secretly shooting Nathan an untrusting look.

Meanwhile, Nathan managed to switch his focus from his bike. Instead, he began to think about the dream he had.

“I’ve never had a dream like that. Everything felt so incredibly real. It couldn’t have been just a dream, or a nightmare. Was it… real?” He thought to himself, searching his brain for any memories even remotely similar. Alas, nothing came up, so he just brushed it off and focused again on his present situation.

“Wesley is right. It’s going to get dark soon and we should find a safe place to stay. Many of the creatures on this planet hunt at night.” Nathan said.

“C-creatures?” Wesley yelped.

“What do you mean creatures?” Isabel asked Nathan with an eyebrow raised.

“Don’t you remember what I told you earlier? Whatever the Opuls screwed up, it mutated the wildlife, and they proliferated.” Nathan replied.

“What kind of animals?” Isabel asked.

“Well I don’t expect us to run into any all the way out here, but even then, with your size you can handle pretty much everything on this planet. Even if you’ve kidnapped me and are holding me prisoner, at least I can get a good night’s rest with you around.

“Hey, you see that? I think we’re nearing one of the smaller, in-between cities!” Nathan exclaimed, pointing his chin forward.

Both Isabel and Wesley looked in the direction Nathan pointed to and saw it as well. The last rays of light the sun was giving were glimmering against the glass and metal of the city’s buildings. The shape of the city became clearer and clearer, due to Isabel increasing her speed. She was desperate to lay down and rest after walking all this way.

“That’s not Veran?” Isabel asked, with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“No, it’s one of the smaller cities, Isino, I believe. We should be able to find a place there to spend the night, maybe the buildings could give us some cover too. I really don’t want any of those animals to come find us tonight.” Nathan said.

Isabel sighed, she was too hopeful to believe that they’d find Veran so quickly. She turned her head to the right to check on her brother. He was sitting on her shoulder and clinging tightly to her golden hair. He had an optimistic look on his eyes, and she could tell he was happy they wouldn’t be sleeping out in the desert. She turned her head the other way to check on Nathan. He had his eyes trained on the city, squinting to see it clearly. She noticed something strange on the back of his neck. It was on his skin, ending just before the collar of his shirt. She leaned in closer to get a better look at it.

Nathan turned his head around to look up to Isabel, “Hey I don-“ he stopped and watched her whip her head away, her cheeks flush.

Nathan knew he had just caught her staring at him, but he knew he wasn’t on great terms with the giant girl, so he decided to not mention it at all. But it did make his heart flutter, if only for a moment.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be any food or water for your brother in Isino, have you got that situation figured out?” He asked.

“Yes,” she coughed, “he has a backpack with supplies in it. He’ll be fine.” She said. Nathan nodded and turned back around to view the approaching city. “Thanks for asking.” She added.

Isabel scolded herself in her head, “Why did I say that last part, it sounded so dumb!” She felt the heat of her blushing cheeks even more and she kept her gaze away from Nathan. She didn’t know why she was feeling so nervous, she wasn’t afraid of anyone, especially not Nathan, who she could crush with only one finger.

A few minutes passed by from the awkward ending of the conversation and she found herself looking back down to Nathan. Though most of his body was obscured from her hair, wrapped around his small body, she still admired his physique. He had buff arms and a strong jaw. His black hair looked wavy and soft. She had to stop herself from putting her finger tip on his scalp, just to feel it. It was so tempting.

Isabel shook her head softly and focused back on the city. It was right in front of them. The road came back into view in the entrance of the city, the sand no longer covered it. It led to ramp leaving the even ground of the planet and onto a solid foundation that raised the city several feet above natural sea level. The entrance of the city held a sign that read “Isino” and further the single road turned into many different branching paths. There were a handful of skyscrapers, many of them had shattered windows and furniture hanging out of several floors. The roads below were littered with trash and piles of sand, stalled out cars decorated the streets.

The entire place had an eerie feel to it. Isabel continued through the city, taking the first left she could, putting her on a winding road that she followed the middle of the city. A massive warehouse stood, albeit empty. The entrance had a large door that had been pulled up, and it looked like it stayed up for all this time.

“That place looks good for now. It’s big enough to hold you inside comfortably. Maybe I can bring the door down if I find a control panel.” Nathan said.

Isabel laughed and looked down at the tiny prisoner, “Now suddenly you want to help? You really think I’m going to let you go so you can ‘find a control panel’?”

In all honesty, Nathan hadn’t even thought about escaping yet, he just really wanted to ensure their safety, but this reminded him that he still had none of their trust. On the other side, they didn’t have his trust either.

“Fine.” He said with downcast eyes.

Isabel walked her way to the warehouse building, and when she got to the entrance, she crouched, and shuffled inside. Her bare soles slapped against the cold cement and she inched her way into the building. Once she was completely inside, she used both of her hands to grab hold of the roll up door. Her fingers clenched onto the bottom ledge of it and she pulled it down. Her newfound immense strength made quick work of it, sending the door down to the ground with the sound of screeching metal. The door touched the ground and sealed with a thud. They were safely inside now.

Isabel let out a breath of relief and with her left hand, she scooped Wesley up into her palm. With her free hand, she began to scoot herself backwards, to make room for her legs when she laid down. She scooted herself down until she was satisfied with the amount of space she had. With care not to bump her head on anything, she slowly laid down. Her head met with the ground softly. Her feet were upright, standing a little shorter than the door and roof of the building, and her head was a few feet away from the opposite side of the building. She barely fit comfortably.

Her feet were throbbing with pain and it felt nice to finally be laying down. She lowered Wesley onto her chest, the baggy fabric of her sweater softened the landing for him.

“Just lay there Wesley, it’s time to go to bed.” She said.

With her left hand that had just held Wesley, she draped it over him, acting almost like a blanket. Wesley felt the warm palm of his sister lower onto his body, gently smothering him in the soft skin. He was laying on her chest, somewhat between her enormous breasts, but he paid that fact no mind.

Isabel lifted her head up and brought her other arm to rest underneath it. She was extremely tired and wanted to just knock out immediately. She looked down to her left to observe Nathan. He wasn’t struggling, instead he was just lying peacefully on the bed of her hair.

“Don’t try anything funny, alright Nathan?” She said sternly.

They both knew that the trip back to Sedicus would be days for Nathan, and even if he tried to escape, Isabel would catch up to him in no time in the morning. Nathan knew the dangers of trying to travel at night, alone, would most likely end up with him inside of a creature’s stomach. For now, it was in Nathan’s best interest to just stick with the only thing big enough to protect him.

“I know, I know. I won’t try anything.” Nathan replied dejectedly.

“Good.” She said with a smirk on her face.

He was finally learning his place. Isabel yawned and felt her eyelids getting heavier. Her muscles relaxed, and she felt herself starting to drift.

“Goodnight Isabel. I love you.” Wesley whispered.

“Goodnight Wesley.” She said, unsure if she wanted to repeat the last part.

With that, all three of them closed their eyes, and drifted into sleep.

 

Nathan felt his eyelids opening, and he reluctantly woke up from his slumber. He wondered what had awoken him. It was still incredibly dark, meaning that it was still night. A sudden coldness attacked his body, and he felt himself shivering. His entire body was freezing, not too far off from being completely frozen. Convulsions racked his body as his teeth furiously chattered.

The natural environment of the part of the planet they were on was a desert, making it extremely cold at night. Nathan had little to insulate himself from the cold, other than the clothes on his back and the hair wrapped around his body, which did close to nothing in terms of warmth. He was still tied up tightly, with some more of Isabel’s hair beneath him to act as a sort of cushion. This wasn’t enough though, if he didn’t warm up soon, he’d undoubtedly freeze to death.

He was able to stop his body from shaking for a moment, and he tensed his muscles. Pushing his stomach inward, he thrusted his hips and body upwards, arching his back. He used this movement to push himself closer to Isabel’s left arm. It only moved him a few inches closer, but he could make it if he kept trying. He readied his stomach again, and thrust upwards, jumping up a little his right. He continued the cycle, until he was laying right next to the fabric of her sweater that covered her arm.

“I-Isabel,” he called, “please wake up.”

No response.

“Hey, w-w-wake up please!” He said between his chattering teeth.

He slammed his body into her arm with what little energy he had left and called out again.

“Isabel, p-please.” He begged.

She stirred slightly, and her head slowly rolled to the left. Hey eyes opened groggily, eventually focusing on Nathan.

“What is it Nathan?” She mumbled, still mostly asleep and with a tone of annoyance.

“I’m f-f-freezing down here. C-can you warm me up, or s-something?” Nathan whimpered.

Her eyes opened wider and she lifted her head up slightly, showing more concern. She removed her left hand from Wesley and reached out for Nathan. Her forefinger and thumb clamped around his waist, grabbing hold of him securely.

“Oh my gosh, you really are freezing.” She whispered, feeling his tremors through her fingers.

She raised him up to her face, dangling him dangerously close to her mouth. If he wasn’t worried about freezing to death, he might have given some thought to the terrifying fact he was mere inches away from the her cavernous mouth.

Isabel’s eyes had adjusted to the dark and she looked at Nathan for moment, just able to make out the shape of his body. She felt her heart drop a little, taking in the sight of her freezing prisoner. He was shaking violently, and his teeth were audibly chattering.

“Here, maybe this will help.” She said, bringing him closer to her lips.

Isabel took a deep breath, inhaling from her nose. Then, she slowly breathed out, blowing her hot breath over Nathan. He felt chills go down his spine as the warm and moist breath washed over his body. Despite the wet feeling, it comforted him greatly, not only physically in warmth, but psychologically, in that her indifference towards him looked like it was starting to fade. She took another deep breath through her nose and kept the air in her lungs for a moment. Then, she breathed out again, bathing Nathan in another blast of warming air. He started to feel himself regaining his heat. Isabel noticed his shaking had calmed down, she couldn’t feel anything at all now.

Though his head was hanging down, Nathan managed to look upwards, to get a view of Isabel’s face. Her saw the glint of moonlight in her eyes, and he realized they were staring intently at him. Through the darkness he could make out what looked like a facial expression of compassion and worry, undoubtedly for him. Underneath her cold and uncaring façade, it looked like she cared about him, at least to some degree.

He noticed she stopped her breaths and he dropped his gaze once again.

“Do you feel better now?” She asked him.

“Yes. Thank you for that.” He replied.

“I… I don’t really know where I can put you, so you don’t freeze again.” She said.

Nathan looked around her body, searching for a suitable location to stay warm.

“Can’t you just set me next to your brother?” He asked.

Isabel furrowed her brow and gave him a disapproving look. Nathan had stepped too far, he had to remember that there wasn’t much trust between him or her.

Nathan sighed, “Next to your neck I guess?”

Isabel didn’t move a muscle. It was clear she didn’t like that idea either. Nathan looked down dejectedly, there probably wasn’t any idea that would sound good to her. Suddenly, her face lit up.

She raised her head up, giving her right arm enough room to slide out from underneath her head where it had been. She reached over for Nathan, swapping his place into the fingers of her right hand. Then, she extended her left arm, and slowly brought him to the inside of her elbow. She tucked him directly on the line of skin opposite side of her elbow. She flexed her arm inwards, and Nathan watched as the sea of blue fabric of her sweater approached from all sides. He felt some pressure on his sides, and she stopped just before it got uncomfortable for him. She lowered her forearm back down, returning her left hand to rest onto Wesley’s sleeping form. Her right arm went back into its original place, a pillow of sorts for her head.

Nathan was tucked tightly in between the lower end of her bicep and her inner forearm. Even though it was a little humiliating, he couldn’t deny the warmth his new position provided.

“Thanks.” Nathan said.

“You’re welcome.” Isabel smiled.

Nathan closed his eyes and fell asleep once more. Isabel, on the other hand, stayed up for a little longer. She was thinking about Nathan.

“Maybe he’s not so bad. I mean, after all I’ve done to him. I scared the crap out of him, almost suffocated him to death and kidnapped him. Yet, he still treats me with some respect. Or possibly not respect, but fear. I don’t even know what he’s been through here. Maybe I should give him a chance. Just one. Wesley did tell me Nathan was trying to help him, and he didn’t know the extent of the situation. Fine, I’ll give him one chance, to prove he’s not some maniac who’ll try to hurt us.” She mulled over the situation in her head.

She decided she’d give him a chance to prove himself, but tomorrow. It was late, and she needed to rest for the long walk she’d unquestionably have to do tomorrow. Her eyes closed, and she exhaled one last conscious breath.

 

 

---

 

 

Sunlight shined through the skylights of the warehouse, illuminating the room slowly. As time passed, the light passed over the three people inside of the building. The rays of sunlight met with Nathan’s eyelids, passing through the thin skin. He blinked a few times and raised his head upright. His initially blurry vision cleared, and he took a look around. Isabel’s peaceful sleeping face caught his attention. The light bounced off her olive colored skin, revealing her beautiful features. She had an oval shaped head, with structured cheek bones. Her lips were bright pink, contrasting her skin color. Her hair shone like strands of gold.

Nathan chuckled softly to himself, “If she wasn’t the size of a skyscraper, and keeping me prisoner, maybe we could have been something.”

He took a deep breath and tried to stretch, but then he realized he had much more room to move around this time than yesterday. His restraints were loose, probably from Isabel handling him. The girl’s arm had also widened up some as well.

“This is it! My chance!” Nathan thought to himself.

He held tensed his muscles and tightened his limbs close to his body, to make himself as small as possible. Very gently and slowly, he wiggled his body, to slide down the through his bounds. He felt himself drop a few inches, then stopped when he hit a tighter ring. He moved his arms outward to loosen it more, then returned to his slim form again. With some more patient wiggles, he completely slipped out. He slid down some of the sweater, falling onto the stone floor with a tumble. After he finished rolling, he picked himself up off the ground.

He started to scan the room, frantically searching for an exit. Right behind the top of Isabel’s head was a double door, and the windows on it showed the outside. Nathan made a beeline for the door, tiptoeing as fast as he could. He was dangerously close to her ears, and any sound could wake her up, crushing any hopes he had of escaping. The distance was closed quickly, and he put his hands on the door’s push bar that opened it.

But he stopped.

He turned his head around to his left, looking back behind him. Isabel was still asleep, and from his height he couldn’t see Wesley.

“If I leave, they might not make it.” He began to think to himself. “They don’t know anything about this place. Not the animals or the weather.” His eyes widened, remembering the most important detail he hadn’t told either of them about, “Or Jag.” He took his hands off the door and turned his body around to face the sleeping giantess. “If I stay with her, she might be able to protect me. Hell, if there’s still a ship inside Veran, then I can make it off this planet.” He sighed, “I guess this is the only thing I can do now.”

He gazed down at the floor with a defeated look on his face. Though he felt thankful to some degree for Isabel and the potential of rescue from Cansara, he would still be living his normal life if they hadn’t had crashed down in the first place. Well living is giving it too much credit, he’d be surviving his normal way. But he felt something deep down inside of him, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Hope. Hope for escape from this terrible life he’s been cursed with. However miniscule that hope was, his heart grabbed onto it, and now, he had something to hang onto and fight for. His meaningless and wandering life now had purpose.

Nathan walked back to where he originally was, but he knew there wasn’t any way he’d get back into her hair or arm without waking her up. When Isabel gets up, she’ll know that he escaped. But hopefully, when she finds Nathan still with them, she’d understand that he decided to stay. Maybe it was too hopeful to think this could ease her tensions with him.

He strolled over to the wall nearest to her left arm and put his back against it. He slumped down to the ground and sat crisscross. There was nothing to do but wait for her to wake up, and with any luck, she wouldn’t smash him to bits when she finds him not in his place.

 

 

                Nathan sat alone for a while, keeping his eyes trained on Isabel’s massive form. He watched her chest rise and fall, rhythmically. The continuous motion nearly lulled him to sleep again, but he shook himself awake and blinked a few times. While watching Isabel’s chest movements, he noticed a little lump emerge. He was a little spooked at first but relaxed when he remembered it was just Wesley, who had been placed there the night before.

Wesley had just woken up and began to yawn while he rubbed his eyes. He crawled across his sister’s breast and peeked over the edge, in search of Nathan. He looked to the top of his sister’s head and moved his way down to the section of hair Isabel had imprisoned him in. When he realized he was not there, he felt his heart skip a few beats. He frantically looked around his sister’s hair and started positioning himself to slide down his sister to get a better look. Nathan watched in amusement at first, but when he saw how distraught Wesley had become, he decided to call out.

“Kid, don’t worry, I’m still here.” Nathan said softly, wary of waking up Isabel too early.

The voice caught Wesley off guard and frightened him, sending him rolling forward off his sister’s arm onto the ground.

“Whoa,” Nathan said, “are you okay?” He said as he picked himself up and rushed over to Wesley.

Wesley coughed as Nathan kneeled beside him. “I’m okay.” He said.

“Here, let me help you up.” Nathan replied.

Nathan offered a hand to Wesley, and in return he grabbed it. He lifted him up and let Wesley dust himself off. He seemed to be fine, so Nathan walked back to the wall and returned to his cross-legged position.

“Why didn’t you leave?” Wesley asked.

“Hm?” Nathan looked to Wesley.

“You could have left. My sister hasn’t been treating you very well and you could have just run away since you got loose.” Wesley said, trying to understand Nathan’s actions.

“Well… You are definitely right about your sister’s people skills.” He said with a nervous chuckle. “But if I left, I don’t think you guys would have made it too long. Even with your sister the size she is.” Nathan answered.

Wesley stayed silent for a moment. He decided to sit down cross-legged like Nathan, seating himself directly in front of him only a couple feet away.

“Is it true, what you said?” Wesley asked.

“Is what true?” Nathan asked in return.

“The virus that messed with the animals.” Wesley asked, a trace of fear could be heard in his voice.

“Well,” Nathan began, “I’m not absolutely sure about the virus, to be honest. That’s just a conclusion I made with all the information I have. The beasts that roam this planet weren’t native here until this planet collapsed, at least as far as I know.” Nathan noticed Wesley started trembling again. With a sigh, he continued, “Look Wesley, I’m not trying to scare you, but there’s a lot of dangerous and deadly animals that tread this planet. Most of them probably created from whatever tests all those crackpot scientists performed. But listen, from my time here, I’ve noticed that many of the animals and creatures have certain weaknesses. Weaknesses we can exploit to survive. So, don’t worry. With my knowledge of them, and your sister here, we’re safe.”

“Only most have weaknesses?” Wesley asked.

“Well yeah, most. There’s some monsters out there that…” Nathan looked away for a moment, then brought his gaze back to Wesley, “There’s some out there that just can’t be beat.”

“What if we run into some monsters like that?”

“Well, ‘Mega Sister’ here has a much better chance of beating those creatures out there. I’m just one person. A person who,” he sighed, “doesn’t even have their weapon anymore.” Nathan looked to the ground.

Wesley noticed melancholic look Nathan wore on his face. He felt a little responsible for Nathan’s kidnapping, since it was his idea. In his defense though, it was the quickest thing he could think of to get his sister to not hurt Nathan. While Isabel herself isn’t always the best sister, she can get protective of Wesley, especially now that they’re on an unknown planet.

“I’m sorry about my sister,” Wesley motioned his back to his sleeping sister, and turned to Nathan again, “I’m sorry too.” Wesley looked at the floor, avoiding eye contact.

“What do you have to be sorry for?” Nathan asked.

“If it weren’t for me, my sister wouldn’t have taken you away. Now you lost all your stuff.”

Nathan chuckled and looked at Wesley, “Thanks Wesley. I know you meant well. I probably would have ended up helping you both but being forced to do things doesn’t exactly inspire a helping attitude.” Nathan looked away to the window for a few seconds and then brought his gaze back to Wesley. “Maybe it’s a good thing I stumbled into you two though.”

Wesley looked at Nathan inquisitively, “Really?”

“Yeah. I was getting awful lonely.” Nathan said with a smile.

Wesley felt the corners of his mouth forming into a smile. That made him feel better.

Isabel suddenly began to stir, turning Nathan and Wesley’s attention to her.

Her eyes struggled to open; it wasn’t quite time for that just yet. She needed to stretch to truly start the waking process. Her legs extended out as she stretched every muscle she could, the bare soles of her feet pressing against the metal hangar door, and her head mere inches away from hitting the opposite wall. She let out a yawn and lifted her head up to check on her little brother.

Nathan and Wesley watched in complete silence, both fearful for what was about to come next.

Isabel looked down to her left shoulder, expecting to see Nathan asleep as well. Her heart sank when she realized he wasn’t in his spot, only frayed and tangled hairs. She gasped and brought her arms behind her, propping herself up on her palms. With her right hand she began combing through her hair and her shirt, searching for the two. She grabbed strands and clumps of her hair, feeling them, desperately searching for him. She felt herself panicking and tried to calm down.

“Relax! I’m still here!” A familiar voice called out.

Isabel turned her head towards the voice and locked on to Nathan. Her left hand shot out, matching the speed of an attacking viper. She wrapped her fingers around Nathan and clenched him in her palm. The speed of her hand created a gust of wind that knocked Wesley on his rear, away from Nathan. She pulled her hand back towards herself at a sickening speed, making Nathan’s stomach lurch and giving him whiplash.

“How did you get out?!” She asked, clearly angry at his betrayal.

Nathan thought it best to lie, and not reveal he had almost successfully escaped, had it not been for the prospects of escaping this planet with them. And as much as he didn’t want to admit, his own moral compass wouldn’t allow them to wander this death trap of planet alone.

“I woke up free, I must have fallen out in my sleep!” He said, quick to appease her anger.

“Liar!” She said with a painful squeeze. “You tried to escape, didn’t you?” She said, tightening her grip and bringing him closer to her face.

“No, I didn’t, I swear!” He pleaded, looking into her eyes.

Isabel stared at Nathan, attempting to read his face and determine whether he was telling the truth. She studied his features; his brow was furrowed, and a look of fear had taken over his face.

Inside, Isabel felt stupid. She had decided to give him a second chance. For once, she put away her prejudices and preconceived notions. In return, he tried to escape.

“I knew it. I knew I shouldn’t have given him a second chance.” Isabel thought to herself.

Without a word. Isabel just started wrapping her hair around Nathan again.

“Wait!” Nathan started with a shock, “I told you, I didn’t do anything!” He struggled against her, thrashing around and making himself difficult to hold and maneuver. “Why are you tying me up agai-”

Nathan felt Isabel’s powerful finger and thumb grasp his chin, rotating his head to face her exactly. She had a furious look in her eyes.

“I’m only going to say this once, so shut up and listen.” Isabel snapped coldly. “The only reason you’re still breathing is because I need information that only you have. I don’t know you, and I don’t want to know you. From here on out, you are to speak only when spoken to, and do nothing unless you’re instructed to. Understand?”

Nathan was taken aback from this sudden outburst. He tried to protest, raising his left hand up to talk, Isabel snatched it with her free hand. Her digits dwarfed Nathan’s hand, clamping down and slowly forcing his arm backwards.

“Stop it!” Nathan shouted, but his arm continued to be forced backwards, sending waves of unbelievable pain throughout his arm.

He opened his mouth to scream but Isabel caught on and placed her thumb over his mouth. He squirmed and struggled, desperate to fight her off, but it was in futility. She continued to watch him writhe in agony, bucking back and forth to release himself. Nathan felt an indescribable pain as his arm continued to bend, he was convinced it was about to snap.

“Isabel!” Wesley interjected.

Isabel looked down at him and shot him a look that he’d not seen before. It was a serious look that shook Wesley inside. Wesley closed his mouth and felt a shiver travel up his spine. He looked down, realizing how powerless he was in this situation.

Isabel turned her attention back to Nathan who’s muffled screams of pain were difficult to ignore. She removed her fingers from his arm.

“I’m going to let you answer me now. You’d better think long and hard about what you’re going to say next.” She said, her eyes cold and unmoving, focused solely on him.

His left arm dropped limply to his side, but he was still feeling the aftermath. He desperately tried to move anything, but he could hardly twitch his fingers. He stayed looking at the ground, filled with a deeply seated rage. Tears started to fall as he clenched his jaw and tried to control his frantic breathing.

Slowly, he turned his head up to look Isabel. The light bounced off his tear streaked cheeks. Isabel removed her thumb from his mouth.

“Yes.” Nathan managed to say through gritted teeth.

“’Yes’ what?” Isabel replied mockingly.

Nathan slowly breathed in, and then slowly exhaled. An attempt to calm his nerves and the deep anger rising within himself before he could say or do something that would jeopardize his life. The pain lingered, not completely as severe as it just was.

“Yes, I understand.” Nathan answered.

“Good boy.” Isabel replied with a smug smirk on her face.

Isabel continued to tie him up and was met with zero resistance. She restrained him the same way she had done the day before. Nathan just hung limply; he had no energy to fight back right now. Every time she moved his left arm, the pain would flare up again. Nathan fought back the urge to make an audible noise every time she did so.

Wesley sat still on the floor, supporting himself on his palms. His mouth hung open. He’d never seen his sister act like that before. She’d scold him and yell at him, but she’d never seen this side of her. She didn’t mind inflicting pain on Nathan, especially to that degree. Isabel looked down to Wesley, causing him to look back down at the ground, closing his mouth as well.

“Let’s get ready to leave.” She said.

Wesley nodded and stood up, keeping his gaze towards the floor. Still sitting with her legs stretched out, she reached over and grabbed hold of the giant metal doors. She pushed upwards, sliding the door all the way open to give her as much clearance as possible. Next, she curled her legs behind herself, to get onto her knees, and the moved up to hold herself up with her arms. Then, she crawled outside, and stood up. She stretched again and let out another yawn. She looked down behind her, to her left. Wesley walked out behind her, carrying the canvas backpack he’d been holding since the day before. Isabel’s height made him appear almost like an ant, in her perspective.

Crouching down, she laid the back of her palm on the ground directly next to Wesley. Without a word, Wesley already knew to get on. Once he was seated in her palm, she stood up and set back out on her goal.

 

The unforgivable afternoon sun beat down on Isabel. Droplets of sweat fell from her face as she trudged on. She was still nowhere near being acclimated to this kind of weather. A nice, air-conditioned room was more her style.

She took great care to know where she stepped while walking through the city. A few minutes ago, she had stepped on a blue rusted hovercar, smashing it completely flat. It was an accident, and while she didn’t feel any pain from the crushed pile of metal, the sound it made was extremely loud. The screeching of compressing metal echoed throughout the city. Nathan had made mention of dangerous animals nearby and while she didn’t exactly trust him, he seemed sincere in that moment.

The city was a complete ghost town, much like Sedicus. Isabel traveled through the main freeway that she had traveled on the day before. It cut directly through the middle of the city, giving it the illusion of being cut in half. This city looked just like that last one. Plenty of rusted and forgotten vehicles littered the streets, all the buildings shared broken windows and crumbling foundations. ‘How long has this planet been abandoned like this?’ Isabel pondered to herself.

She looked down at her right shoulder, Wesley was sitting with his legs dangling. He had an iron grip on his sister’s hair and was still familiarizing himself to this experience. She didn’t bother to check on Nathan, who hadn’t said a word since the early morning. It was in his best interest it stays that way, lest he face Isabel’s wrath yet again.

He was stewing in his own anger and resentment. His left arm still had a dull ache, most of which he would feel in his shoulder.

“She almost snapped my fucking arm off.” Nathan thought to himself, glancing down at the appendage in question, which was wrapped several times over with his captor’s golden hair.

The whole situation had seemed so bizarre. How could someone display so much disregard for the pain of another human, who’d done them no harm? Her blatant apathy for his wellbeing reminded him of an Opul. The way they treat their ‘Helots’, it made his blood boil. Not to forget, the look she gave her own brother. Almost as if he didn’t shut his mouth when he did, he’d be next. Nathan couldn’t be mad at Wesley. He’s the only one who’d shown him any kind of compassion. Of course, he couldn’t do anything to defy his older sister. Especially with her size. Nathan chose to reserve his anger for Isabel.

Isabel had her eyes on the road ahead when Wesley decided to speak.

“Isabel… I’m hungry. And thirsty.” He whispered to her, close to her ear.

“There’s food and water in the backpack I gave you, get something out of there.” Isabel replied.

Wesley slid his arms out of the backpack straps and sat the bag to his right. He opened the main zipper and fished around inside. He pulled his arm out, holding a beige colored brick, wrapped in cellophane. It was about half as big as Wesley’s head. He inspected it as if it were an alien device.

“What is this?” He asked his older sister, holding up the item in question.

“It’s a calorie bar.” She replied simply.

“Calorie… bar?” Wesley asked, this time with more confusion.

“Yes Wesley. They’re emergency ration bars designed to hold a lot of calories to survive from them for a while. They’re not going to taste very good but it’s what your body needs to survive.” Isabel explained.

“So… I just… eat one?” Wesley questioned.

“No, just half for now. Try not to drink water so quickly, we only have so much.” Isabel said, feeling a grumble in her stomach; She didn’t exactly eat much yesterday, especially after the crash.

‘What am I going to eat?’ Isabel asked herself.

The thought had just barely occurred to her. She was massive. What could she possibly eat around here? Or drink, for that matter. It was quite literally a wasteland, except for the city they were wandering, but it looked like every possible resource had been plucked from it. No stone left unturned and no building left unsearched. She was starting to get dizzy. Her brain was realizing the condition it was in, all the adrenaline and endorphins finally wore off and a good night’s sleep helped put her brain into it’s normal state.

“Isabel, maybe you should take a break too. You look like you’re going to faint.” Wesley suggested.

“I’ll take a little breather. Just to get out of the sun for a while.” She replied.

She stopped taking steps and instead turned to her right, and started for the raised ledge above the freeway, which separated the freeway itself from the intertwining city streets above. Her height made it a simple curb for her to step over, one foot over the other. The movement bounced Nathan around, swinging him around her shoulder, landing him on the back of her left arm. He stopped with a fleshy thud, opening his eyes. He saw the freeway winding down the opposite direction in a straight line. It looked like it could go on forever, most-definitely stretching past the horizon. He looked down at the asphalt itself and noticed something strange.

Piles of the red soil that came naturally on this planet decorated the lonely strip of road. There was a straight line of giant footprints. They would be bold and noticeable, slowly fading and losing detail. Until she would step on another sand pile, which would create a full print in that pile of sand. The rest of the sand stuck to her sole would fall off on the next step, creating more and more visible prints. She’d been unknowingly leaving a perfect trail to follow.

“No, no, no! This can’t be happening!” Nathan said to himself in a panic. “They’ll definitely find us if we don’t throw it off now!”

“Hey, there’s someth-” Nathan began, abruptly cut off by Isabel grabbing his bonds and yanking him forward.

“Do you need a reminder about our conversation this morning?” Isabel asked, narrowing her eyes at Nathan.

“What? No. I -” Nathan started again, but it was apparent that was the wrong answer.

Isabel brought her thumb and middle finger together, winding up them up. She brought the middle finger back across the top of her thumb, and then shot it forward, flicking Nathan directly in his chest. Nathan swung backward slightly, expelling all the air his lungs just had. The blow devastated him, making him lose consciousness for a few seconds while he tried to breathe. He felt like he physically could not contract the muscles that allowed him to breathe, he just hung there, gasping for life.

Wesley sat on the opposite side of Isabel but could hear still Nathan trying to recuperate from what Isabel did. He winced and just looked down at the ration he held in his hand. He desperately wanted Isabel to stop treating him like this, but he too was powerless to her whims. It felt so strange, yet now familiar. Isabel’s attitude… Wesley felt an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. It made sense now. This side of her always existed, he’d sometimes catch her treating the Helots in their house like that. He noticed she wouldn’t do it so much when Wesley was present, but this sudden size change must have given her the urge to exert her power, more so now.

Isabel looked down at the pathetic man trapped with nothing more than her hair. He was below her. A desert rat caught in her trap. She hoped his tiny frail body wouldn’t break though; she reluctantly remembered the reason she hadn’t already disposed of him.

Nathan felt the cool oxygen flow into his burning lungs, and while he had managed to breathe, his chest was still throbbing with pain.

“No, I… don’t need… a reminder.” Nathan coughed.

“Good. Now stay quiet.” She said, dropping him back to resting position.

He kept his head down, eyes focused on the floor. He felt so numb and detached.

“This is awful.” He thought to himself.

He should have just left. He regretted every decision he’s made since he first saw that plume of smoke in Sedicus. Nathan wanted to be angry, furious even. He just relinquished control and retreated inside of his mind.

Isabel focused back to finding some shade. She had found herself wandering close to the freeway they had just departed from. She kept walking, stopping in the middle of an intersection, completely empty, which was odd to say the least. The four buildings on each corner of the intersection were tall enough to provide a haven from the heat. She leaned her back on the tallest building, farthest from the freeway. She then sat down, slowly, as to not jostle Wesley into plummeting to his death. Cross-legged and seated, she rested her back against the cool glass and steel of the building.

Wesley felt much better in the shade and started opening one of the rations he had in the bag. He unwrapped the many layers of cellophane, peeling it about halfway to take a bite. Bringing it up to his mouth, he took a cautious bite. He closed his eyes and his arms drooped a bit. It had a strange texture and taste, but nothing that was impossible to stomach down. He chewed and then swallowed, leaving a dry feeling in his mouth. He reached for his bag and fished around in it again, this time pulling out a bottle of water. After unscrewing the cap, he took a big swig. Though he wasn’t the one walking and carrying two passengers, he still felt parched and thirsty.

“Here Isabel.” Wesley motioned the bottle towards her.

She scoffed, and reached it with her left hand, plucking the tiny plastic container between her enormous digits. She held it over her lips and poured the whole thing in, but she could barely feel it on her tongue. With a sigh she threw the bottle away to the side. Unless she can find a source of food and water, this trip will end much quicker than anticipated.

Feeling better now, Wesley wanted to get off to stretch his legs.

“Hey Isabel, can I get off for a bit, to walk around?” He asked nervously.

“Yes. But only for a few minutes, and don’t wander off too far.” She replied.

Wesley simply nodded, which prompted Isabel to level her left palm near her shoulder. Wesley stood on the fleshy platform, adjusting how his backpack was strapped to him, and slowly descended onto the ground. He hopped off and stretched briefly. He placed his backpack on the ground near Isabel’s foot, and walked around her. Nathan’s hanging form caught his eye, and he attempted to speak to the beaten survivor.

“Hey Nathan. You doing okay?” Wesley asked.

He received no response.

“Nathan?” He asked for the second time.

“Aren’t you going to answer him?” Isabel asked Nathan, with a disapproving tone.

“I’m fine.” Nathan grunted, keeping his head down.

“That’s what I thought.” Isabel said with a smirk.

Wesley decided to leave Nathan be, and instead started for the entrance of the building currently had her back on.

“I’m just going to take a look around inside Isabel.” Wesley called to her.

Isabel hesitated, and then nodded.

Wesley walked to the entrance, a set of two large wooden doors, with silver handles on each. He pulled on them both, opening the door slowly accompanied with the sound of creaking wood. The entire building had plenty of windows, letting in the light from all angles, but where it had trouble reaching was apparent. The very middle of the building appeared to be much darker than the surrounding edges. A large receptionist desk met Wesley at the entrance. Papers were scattered around the floor, while the desk itself appeared empty. It wasn’t a welcoming sight, but Wesley trudged on. He passed the desk, and rounded the corner on the right side, which was a long hallway with different marked doors on the left wall. Most of them were already open, “Probably still the same position they were left in when the people evacuated,” Wesley guessed.

Wesley walked down the hall, which itself was illuminated from the sunlight pouring in. Each room he looked in got darker the farther it stretched from the door. Broken furniture, stacks of papers tossed about, each room shared the same details. He was just about at the end of the hallway, passing the last door to his left when he heard a noise. His head shot over to the doorway, the sound still echoing through the hall.

Isabel perked upright. She heard a banging noise echo from the inside of the building. She stood up and trotted over to the doors and got down on her knees, putting her face near the doorway.

“Wesley?” She called out.

No response.

“Wesley seriously, answer me.” She shouted.

She crouched lower and tried to reach her arm through the doorway, but her arm wouldn’t fit past her elbow. She cursed under her breath and tried again with her left arm but received the same result. Her breathing started to speed up, and she started thinking of any possible solution. She could try to destroy some of the doorway, which would give her more room, but it might interfere with the structural integrity of the building, which has had no maintenance for a while. For a second, she even considered untying Nathan to retrieve Wesley.

“Isabel!” Wesley screamed.

Isabel returned her attention back to the entrance, she could hear footsteps running, coming closer and echoing throughout the hall.  But heard a second pair of noises. She narrowed her eyes and tried to listen, but Wesley screamed again.

“Over here Wesley!” She said, motioning her hands outside the door.

A snarl was heard from the entrance, followed by an extremely loud barking sound. Isabel’s face curled up, fearful and confused. Nathan lifted his head up, almost instantly.

“It’s a Howler!” Nathan shouted.

Isabel looked down to Nathan whose eyes were now focused on the entrance, waiting for Wesley to run out, if he could manage to outrun it. Wesley’s footsteps were now much louder and getting closer. He appeared out in the open, and Isabel immediately grabbed him with her left hand and stood up, taking a few steps back. A mere second or two later, the beast emerged from the building.

Its fur was black and somewhat long, flowing down the length of its body. It had four legs and closely resembled something like a dog, but much bigger than any seen that could be seen on Earth. The sheer size of it nearly tripled that of Wesley. The creature came to a screeching halt and eyed up its new enemy. Isabel.

She took another step backward, keeping Wesley cupped in her left palm. The animal snarled its teeth, covering the floor in slobber and foam. It slowly approached, keeping its head down but its eyes trained on the feet of its prey. Wesley cowered in the fetal position, directly on the center of Isabel’s palm.

“It’ll go for your ankles, don’t let it get near!” Nathan shouted.

Nathan was in no mood to help Isabel, but if she were to go down, then of course he’d follow, what with the compromising position he was still in.

In a flash, the animal charged, heading for Isabel’s right ankle. Isabel shrieked and set all her weight on her left foot and swung her right foot back. The creature tried to stop in its tracks but was met with Isabel’s massive foot. The impact sent it flying back to the building, smashing through the glass windows. It kept going, until it collided with a wall inside, collapsing it. Isabel kept her eyes on the hole she made, anticipating the animal’s return. Slowly, the creature reappeared. It limped its way to the street, one of its hind legs seemed to be broken.

“Kill it before it howls!” Nathan yelled.

“Kill?” Isabel nearly choked on the word.

The Howler left no time for Isabel to think, it simply charged at her again, snarling its massive fangs, which looked capable of doing damage to her. Isabel cried out, and hopped backwards, raising her right foot up again. She winced and looked away right as the animal positioned itself below the looming appendage’s shadow. With as much force as she could muster, she slammed her foot down, crashing into the animal’s body with a sickening crunch. Isabel grimaced; she could feel the animal’s furry body crumple under her foot. She felt bones snap like twigs under her sole. It made her feel sick, but more disgusted with the creature than with her course of actions. She removed her foot from the now dead Howler, which laid still in her shadow, somewhat flattened.

Wesley was nauseous at the audible sound of bones breaking, while Nathan just shifted uncomfortably.

Isabel gagged at the sight of the crumpled animal and the splotch of blood on her sole. She scraped her sole against the floor, a couple times for good measure. Nathan looked at the dead animal and its killer, who was wiping it’s remains on the concrete below. He noticed a strange glimmer come from its jaws. The teeth looked bloodstained. Nathan brought his gaze to a panicked Wesley, who was still curled up in a ball in Isabel’s palm. He didn’t seem to have been bitten or attacked. Where did the Howler get blood in its mouth, especially so far inside the city?

“Wesley, what did you see in there?” Nathan asked in a rush.

“I… I was just walking, and I saw it inside a room.” Wesley whimpered.

Isabel recovered from the grisly sight and spoke up, “I don’t know what that thing was, but we need to leave, now.”

Isabel shook her head and started back for the freeway.

“Wait!” Nathan said.

Isabel looked down at Nathan with an amused expression.

“Why?” She asked.

“Howlers rarely travel alone, and they especially stay out of the city. There’s a reason one was here. We need to find out what it is.” Nathan said firmly.

“Why should I listen to you?” Isabel questioned condescendingly, while picking up the canvas backpack that Wesley had left on the ground.

She handed the little bag to Wesley and placed him back on her right shoulder. He shakily sat down and held onto Isabel’s locks.

“You’re keeping me here because I have ‘knowledge’ right? Well trust me on this, this thing’s presence here is a bad sign. Let me go and I’ll go investigate.” Nathan offered.

Isabel laughed, “Sure, and give you a free escape, I’ll definitely do that.”

“I’m serious, you can watch me from the windows.” Isabel flashed an annoyed glance at Nathan, advising to him shut up. “There’s no place I can run where you can’t catch me.” He added boldly.

“Enough. I’ve already made my decision.” Isabel said, already growing weary of his bargaining.

Nathan dropped his head again and returned to sulking quietly. Isabel reached the edge of the freeway and hopped back down onto the road. She noticed a pair of giant footprints, her own. What caught her attention was how pristine each print looked. She could have sworn the wind would have blown them away by now, but they remained.

“Strange.” Isabel suspiciously eyed the old tracks she had made.

She put it out of her mind and continued.

 

                Isabel breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed the sun was starting set. The days on this planet felt slightly longer than the normal cycle she was familiar to. That fact combined with the non-stop travel was truly starting to take a toll on her. She felt exhausted much quicker than she did yesterday.

The trio had reached the city’s limits a few hours ago and were back to the empty expanse of the desert. Wesley sat in his now usual spot, Isabel’s right shoulder, swinging his legs and grasping Isabel’s hair. He had enough time to recover from his scare earlier. It deeply frightened him, the prospect of almost becoming an animal’s lunch. However, like he and Nathan had predicted before, Isabel took care of the threat quite easily. That gave him a slightly more optimistic view of things.

Nathan was silent, again, since their incident with the howler. The silence, immobility, and lack of visual stimulation granted Nathan with plenty of time to think. He noticed the lack of conversation between Isabel and Wesley. They would talk to each other seldomly, with Wesley usually initiating the conversation. Isabel would reply quickly and dryly, leaving hardly any room for an actual conversation. Nathan was in the belief that his presence was a reason why Isabel kept the interactions short. However, his gut led him to doubt that it was the only reason.

He found himself thinking back to the strange detail he noticed earlier. The Howler that Isabel killed had blood on its fangs, and he remembered it looking fresh. Howlers were pack animals, they stayed together in tightly knit groups. Nathan never had time to truly study the animals he frequented on the planet, but he knew that Howlers very rarely resorted to cannibalism. He felt like he was missing something. The only person who had witnessed the inside of the building was Wesley, and with Isabel literally in between them, he had little chance to get a word in. Nathan felt a bad sensation in his stomach, nothing about this felt right at all.

Looking up, he realized his surroundings were familiar. The next city down this road wouldn’t be for another couple hundred miles. Nathan noticed a strange noise and perked his head up. He focused in on it, it happened periodically. It sounded like it was coming from above him. He looked up and saw Isabel panting, more audible than she probably thought, and her forehead dripping with sweat. She looked like she was nearly drained out. Even after what she’s done to him, he couldn’t help but empathize. He’s spent many days here, a good portion of them he was either starving or dehydrated. At the worst of times, both.

During his travels, Nathan had noted a cave that was underground and held a pool of clean water. He’d make trips there to refill his canteens. Coincidentally, it wasn’t terribly far from where they were now. He deliberated on whether he should reveal the location of the cave or keep it secret.

Most humans can go days, weeks even, without eating. However, as Nathan learned the hard way, time and time again, most humans can’t last more than a few days without water. On this part of the planet, water was a most precious resource, and Nathan knew Isabel wouldn’t last another day without it. That much was clear to him. Wesley had food and water in his backpack to last a few more days. However, if their ‘guardian’ were to fall, Nathan doubted either he or Wesley would last long enough to make it to any nearby city, let alone back to Sedicus to retrieve his bike.

In all honesty though, there was no downside to telling Isabel about the water source. It seemed to have plenty of water in it so sharing wouldn’t damage the supply. It was just… Isabel herself. Something about her demeanor and attitude unsettled Nathan to his core. He wanted to see the good in her, any redeeming qualities, but so far, she had given him nothing to see. Save for her actions toward Wesley, which didn’t come as a surprise, with the fact that he was her brother. He imagined the possibility of a day where not even Wesley would be safe from her terrifying wrath. He truly hoped that day would never come.

Nathan’s hope for Isabel wasn’t abandoned, but the prospect of her just dropping her prejudices seemed highly unlikely. Her no nonsense attitude and absolute rule made that very clear for him.

Even with those feelings deep inside, Nathan still desired a human connection. He’d been alone for so long. Many days and nights he could feel himself going mad. Living in this desolate wasteland, with only himself. He felt as if he were plummeting into a void. Each passing day only dragged him deeper into its depths of despair and sadness. His grip on reality was starting to slip. Assuming he ever had a grip on it.

Nathan shook his head and closed his eyes. Nearly every time these thoughts managed to infiltrate his head; they’d get close to consuming him. He still managed the willpower to clear his mind of these dark and foreboding thoughts. Yet, he still couldn’t help but wonder, why hasn’t he lost himself?

A memory suddenly came forth from his head. Almost as if it were cleaned from the dust and cobwebs in the back of Nathan’s mind. Words departed unto Nathan, by a person he could not remember clearly. Almost as if the words slowly escape from a heavy fog, he remembered only this.

“Hope is all we have left. When you lose that… you’ve lost yourself.”

Nathan felt a sense of clarity. That was it. He had lost hope. He thought back to the realization he made just that morning. Isabel’s ‘lessons’ made his revelation short-lived, but he managed to remember it again. He actually had a shot at escaping. It wasn’t ideal, traveling with an imperious young woman and a cowardly but kindhearted child. But this was it. He could put up with the physical abuse and ostracization if it meant he could leave. Where didn’t matter, he just wanted to be safe.

Begrudgingly, Nathan decided he was going to have to play by her rules. He’d cooperate the most he can and abide by Isabel’s demands. He even decided to inform the two siblings of the secret he’d been keeping, at an acceptable time that would minimize damage to Nathan of course.

To begin with this renewed vigor, he’d have to break a rule. It was the only way to hold out an olive branch.

“Isabel,” Nathan began.