With a heavy clunk, the robot vacuum attached itself to the docking station. Filip squirmed in the mass of compacted dust he was in, trying to loosen up the dirt as he prepared for the hatch to open.
“ALERT! DISPOSING OF WASTE” came the cold feminine voice of the robot vacuum.
Filip hoped that meant opening the dust compartment. He felt his heart leap as the whole chamber juddered and the pressure of the compacted dust pressed against him loosened, but rather than move him towards the light coming through the grill, the mass seemed to push him away. He tried to reach out for the grill and the freedom he glimpsed through it, but the springy mass pushed back, getting harder the more he strained against it.
He tried to orient himself, remembering the layout of the kitchen as he caught glimpses of it through the grill. With a sense of dread, he realised he was being pushed towards the garbage chute. He started frantically reaching for anything that’d hold him in position, but his fingers just clasped around balls of dust and hair that disintegrated in his grip.
Looking down between his feet, he saw he was being relentlessly pushed towards a rear hatch that’d opened up, leading to a downward sloping dark void. He tried kicking out, dislodging some of the dust that tumbled down the rear hatch and was lost with an echoing rumble as it clattered down the chute. With the additional space opened up by the lost dirt, Filip managed to wriggle around, reach for the grill, and thrust his fingers through the gaps. But no more of him could fit through, it was the first time he cursed himself for being too big.
The pressure on his back increased as the dust and hair clumped up behind him, his body obstructing its path to the chute. Unlike his faltering strength, the robot vacuum never tired as it attempted to empty the dust compartment. He felt his grip weaken and eventually slip, causing a sudden surge in movement as the pressure behind him released, forcing him down to the exit chute. He tumbled down the sloped surface, riding atop a cushion of dust and hair.
Filip felt the air rush past him, his pants flapping against his legs, as he built up speed sliding down the burnished metal of the chute. The faint light behind him rapidly faded, and ahead of him he saw the vague outline of the chute disappear into utter darkness. He screamed as much in terror as frustration as he tried to hold his arms out to either side, to slow his descent, but found nothing to grip.
He felt his stomach lurch as the slope turned into a vertical shaft and he fell into the black void, flailing his arms and feeling nothing beneath him. It was all too much, the terror, the stress. He felt a lightness to his thoughts and a fogginess to his movements as he began to pass out. It was almost a relief in knowing there was nothing he could do, he was going to fall to his death. As his thoughts blurred, his vision conjured one last image of Astrid looking down at him, smiling, before opening her mouth...
Unknown to Filip, or any of the building residents, the garbage chute had a micro-detecting sensor recently built into it. Having been alerted by a Micro-rights activist group on how many micros were accidentally killed in such chutes, one of Astrid’s underlings had immediately leapt into action, installing micro-sensor and capture devices in all buildings over three stories tall. The activist group had been reassured by the Ministry’s promise to ensure all “rescued” micros would be unharmed by their fall. No mention was made of what the Ministry did next with their newfound property...
Having detected a micro falling through the chute, the sensor activated it’s capture device, an elastic net that springing into place further down the chute. Filip’s unconscious body slammed into the net, its elastic fully stretching to slow his fall gradually and ensuring he remained unharmed. But rather than let him bounce, a second net snapped over the first, snaring Filip in its grip before pulling him into its mechanised body. His tiny body was weighed and categorised, then slid into a padded transport cylinder, akin to a thermos. A screw cap with a few air-holes sealed him inside as the machine reported its capture. In just a few moments, Filip’s fate was decided by the Ministry’s automated logistical system. He was assigned as an urgent pickup for the nearest courier, destined for the nearest Ministry approved nightclub that was low on stock.
Giantess World
