“W-WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!” Tomo thrashed vigorously as he dangled high in the air from the shadowy figure’s fingertips. They casually swung him from the back of his shirt, giggling as the boy did everything in his power to break free. “I-I’M TALKING TO YOU! ANSWER ME!” Tomo cried out once more, his throat raw from screaming for his life.
“Why am I doing this?” The figure spoke, it’s voice still familiar but indistinguishable to the shrunken boy. “Because I can. And there is nothing you can do about it, bug~”
Tomo screamed as the figure opened their enormous mouth, strands of spit forming and snapping at the corners of their lips as they parted wide. Their hot, humid breath washed over the tiny boy’s form like a sauna from hell. The figure raised Tomo high in the air, tilting their head back and positioning their open maw beneath him. Without warning, the fingertips that pinched his shirt released their grasp and the minuscule boy plummeted towards the wet steamy abyss, landing with a splat on top of their expansive tongue. The giant’s lips slammed shut, completely sealing tiny Tomo in darkness. The tongue beneath him began to slither about, knocking the boy all around the inside of the giant mouth like a pinball. He tried his best to resist the big wet muscle but it was just too strong, easily overpowering his every move. His ears popped as he felt the figure begin to suck on him like a hard candy, a low pitched moan emitting from deep within their throat and booming off the walls of his fleshy prison. The giant tilted their head back once more, causing Tomo to slip down the length of their smooth tongue like a waterslide. The tiny boy desperately tried to grab onto anything he could to stop his descent but his efforts proved pointless, quickly nearing the back of the giant’s throat. He felt his legs being sucked down into the massive esophagus, knowing he was seconds away from being swallowed alive.
“STOP!!!” Tears streamed down his face, screaming and thrashing uncontrollably when a loud gulping noise pierced his ear drums.
The boy awoke in a panic, his breathing heavy.
“Are you okay, Tomo?” He heard a voice call from his left, spinning his head around to see Peter with a concerned look on his face.
Tomo observed his surroundings, a wave of relief washing over him when realizing he was still on the plane.
“Y-yeah, I’m okay… just a bad dream.” Tomo slumped back in his chair, turning his face away from Peter to hide his sweat soaked forehead. He’d never had a night terror in public before so it was quite embarrassing.
“I figured as much. You mumbled some stuff in your sleep that had me real worried. It sounded like you were about to die or something.” Peter chuckled awkwardly.
“O-Oh, I’m sorry I worried you! I-It happens from time to time...” Tomo blushed a deep crimson red, absolutely humiliated by his unconscious antics. “How long was I out?” Tomo continued.
“Uh… Probably a few hours or so?” Peter responded after a quick moment of pondering.
“I see…”
...
The two of them chatted back and forth for the remainder of the flight, touching on topics such as the video games they played, the music they listened to, and the anime they watched. It turns out they had quite a bit in common.
“Attention all passengers, please fasten your seat belts. We’re about to land.”
The voice spoke over the cabin PA once more, followed by the same chime Tomo heard at the beginning of the flight. The boy looked out the window once again, hoping to catch a birds eye view of the foreign country but was surprised to find the window completely blacked out now. Frowning, he looked around the cabin to see if he could catch a glimpse out of any of the other open windows but all the ones he could see seemed to be blacked out as well. The cabin jolted as the wheels touched back down to earth. Tomo grabbed his arm rest to keep himself stable as the plane rumbled vigorously. Before long, the plane slowed to a halt and the seatbelt light above flickered off, indicating it was time to exit the aircraft. The two boys stood up, collecting their carry-on baggage and headed up the aisle. The rest of the plane was completely empty now as their section was the last to dismount. Tomo and Peter walked past the pilot, his eyes glued to the floor. The pair of boys proceeded through the gate and into the airport, following the signs that directed towards the luggage retrieval. It didn’t take long for the boys to realize the airport was a barren wasteland, not another human insight. The sound of their sneakers clacking against the cement floor reverberated off the walls, it was eerily quiet. Their walk was short, coming across the conveyor belt just as their baggage arrived. It would have been hard to miss them considering they were the only two suitcases to appear.
“Well… I guess this goodbye.” Peter said as he hoisted his bag off the rotating platform.
Tomo grabbed his bag as well, following Peter’s lead.
“Yeah I guess it is…” Tomo trailed off.
“Hey Peter… Does something seem… off… about this place?” Tomo finally managed to spit it out. Ever since he boarded the plane he had a weird feeling stirring around inside his gut. He thought it might have just been nerves but after seeing the gloomy flight attendant, the old sick folk, the prison inmates, the blacked out plane windows, and NOW the abandoned airport…. he couldn’t ignore it any longer.
Peter looked at the petite brown haired boy, a bit perplexed. “I mean… Now that you mention it... yeah... it is a bit gross in here. I mean for fucks sake, there aren't even any windows in this damn airport!” Peter laughed, placing a hand on Tomo’s shoulder.
“Listen, I think you’re just a bit nervous to meet your lady friend. It’ll be fine, I promise you. Here…” Peter had an idea, pulling out his phone from his pocket.
“Add your number to my phone and let me know how it goes. Maybe I can give you some advice on how to get her BEGGING for you. I’ll be your wingman, in a sense.” Peter beamed, a confident smile plastered across his freckled face.
Tomo bit his lip nervously, knowing that Kei would never “beg” for him in a million years. If anything, it would be the other way around.
“Sure… will do.” Tomo played along and smiled back softly, entering his number into Peter’s phone. He tried to send a test message but it didn’t go through, his eyes darting to the top right corner of his phone screen to see he had no service.
“Don’t sweat it, just ask for the WiFi when you get to her house.” Peter instructed, snatching his phone back from Tomo and shoving it into his front right pant pocket.
“Right…”
“Okay well, talk to you later Tomo! It was nice meeting you!” Peter waved as he ran off towards terminal two, clearly ecstatic to meet his girlfriend.
“You too, Peter!”
“And remember, Tomo… Just be cool!” Tomo waved back until Peter disappeared out of view. The boy sighed, looking around the airport casually. He remembered Kei telling him she’d be at terminal 1 to pick him up. If only he had service to let her know he was here. Knowing how punctual Kei was, she was most likely already waiting outside so Tomo didn’t worry too much. Without further procrastination, the boy began walking towards terminal 1. The directive signs led him down a long, dark hallway, using the Trav-O-Lator on the floor to help make his journey a little quicker. His breathing was shaky, his whole body jittering with nervous excitement.
“What if she thinks I’m lame? Or… what if she teases me for being short?”
Tomo couldn’t help but stress over what he thought her first impression of him would be. He stood at a not-so-impressive 5’2”. He wasn’t sure how tall Kei was but the odds of her being slightly taller than him were pretty high. Even if it was just an inch difference, he knew she wouldn’t let him live it down. He shook his head, trying to suppress his anxious thoughts.
Tomo rounded the final bend of the long, twisting hallway and was met with the sight of a large metal door. He paused in front of it, taking a deep breath. He knew Kei was waiting on the other side of that door.
“Just be cool.”
Peter’s words echoed somewhere distant in his mind.
Tomo pushed the door open, a shower of sunlight beaming down into his face and blinding him. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the new lighting conditions. When he could finally see again, his whole body froze.
He had entered a courtyard, the beige sun-washed cobblestone under his feet stretched off in a gigantic square. A stupidly high chain link fence surrounded the whole courtyard, not an exit in sight. Past the chain link fence, an abundance of the strangest trees Tomo had ever seen littered the landscape. They stood about 6 feet tall and were bright green with no bark. They swayed loosely in the wind. Before Tomo could take in anymore of his surroundings, the sunlight suddenly vanished, leaving him in a dark shadow that consumed the world for as far as his eyes could see. The boy looked up toward the sky, expecting to see a large cloud covering the sun.
“w...w…” Tomo completely blanked, babbling like an infant as he searched for words. His eyes were wide with shock, his brain feeling like it had completely broken down trying to process what he was seeing. A figure. A huge, colossal shadowy figure loomed high above him. Just like the one he saw in his dreams. Tomo’s legs gave out underneath him, falling to the ground with a thud.
“This… C-Can’t be real… I’m… dreaming…” Tomo stuttered in a frightened haze, his eyes fixated on the gigantic being.
Suddenly, the figure began to lower itself to the ground, sending a strong current of wind blowing past the boy as it squatted. The sun peeked out from behind the figure’s head as it got low to the ground, illuminating Tomo’s surroundings once again. The boy was even more shocked than before, finally able to see the giant’s face. Blueish black hair… pale skin… beautiful grey eyes blown up in massive proportions… there was no doubting it.
“Tomo!!!” The feminine voice boomed through the air, the same one he heard in his night terrors time and time before.
“K….K-Kei…?” Tomo managed to squeeze the words out of his throat.
“Ah, you recognized me!! I wasn’t sure if you would… after all, I’m sure I look a bit… ~different~ …. In person~.” The giant girl giggled playfully.
Tomo was still in utter shock, his tiny brain so overwhelmed to the point where he felt paralyzed.
“Come here…” Kei slowly reached her hand down into the fenced off courtyard. Tomo’s fight or flight instincts finally kicked in, jumping to his feet and running at full speed in the opposite direction of Kei.”
“Where are you going, dork. There’s nowhere to run~” He looked back to see her gigantic hand following close on his trail, slowly catching up to him. Distracted by his pursuer, Tomo slammed face first into the chain-link fence, falling flat on his back. Without a second wasted, her massive fingertips pinched onto his right leg, hoisting his body high into the air. Tomo screamed at the top of his lungs, almost puking as he watched the ground beneath him grow further and further away as the giantess stood up to her full height. His rapid ascent abruptly halted once he reached the face of the giant girl, her swimming-pool-sized eyes intently inspecting his little body as he dangled upside down from her fingertips. Tomo wasn’t necessarily afraid of heights but anyone in their right mind would have been scared shitless in his situation.
“You looked so STUPID running into that fence down there, Tomo.” Kei laughed, her voice much louder at this closer proximity. The frightened boy began squirming in her grasp, scared for his life and not sure what else to do.
“What are you doing? If you keep wiggling like that you’re gonna fall. Look down Tomo, is that really what you want?” Kei smirked smuggly. The boy quickly realized she was right, falling from this height would most certainly mean instant death.
“Here… let me give you a little taste~” Without warning, the girl released her grip on his leg.
Tomo screamed once again, his tiny body plummeting towards the ground far below.
“This is it. This is how I die.” Tomo thought to himself as he raced towards his impending doom.
Out of nowhere, Kei placed her other hand in the path of his fall, letting Tomo collide into her expansive palm. To his pleasant surprise, it was fairly soft and easily cousined his impact. The small boy rolled over onto his back, not really noticing any pain due to the adrenaline shooting through his veins.
“Oh my god, are you crying?! That’s so pathetic~!” Kei scoffed at the miniscule boy. Tomo quickly brushed his hand under his right eye, horrified to find it was indeed a bit wet.
“I was just playing around. You really think I’d let my new pet die already?” Kei couldn’t hold back her laugh, extremely amused by how easy it was to manipulate the tiny boy. Tomo had a hard time retaliating against Kei when he thought she was normal sized but, NOW… the poor boy couldn’t even muster up a single word.
“Well I’ve had my fun. Let’s go home, loser~” Kei spun around on her heels, walking away from the tiny airport with a skip in her step.
The fleshy floor Tomo rested upon swayed with the giant girl’s every step, the cool afternoon air of spring blew against his cheeks. With his mind in a state of shock and his body frozen with fear, one of Kei’s earlier remarks bounced around the inside of his skull continuously.
“New pet.”