“Puella, Jesus Christ…” Lucy’s voice could barely make it above a whisper and that alone was enough to rattle me. I pulled away and, looking around frantically for somewhere to wipe my hand, I realised just how many people had seen me do that - there were people in the streets, letting out cries of fear and fleeing down the street.

I reached out: “No! No no no, wait! That was an accident! It– oh, God…”

I suddenly rose up to my feet, my nerves shot, and felt the leaves around me tickle my skin as my ascent stirred up the air around me. My eyes darted back down to Lucy; she hadn’t moved from her spot, still staring up at me with wide eyes.

‘What the fuck do I do??’ I remember mentally screaming at myself as I grabbed the closest tree in hopes I could wipe all the blood off onto the leaves and branches. They crunched and snapped in my grip, but they couldn’t get rid of all of it - my skin still had dried splotches of blood on it, faint to me but no doubt much clearer to someone Lucy’s size. My heart leapt into my throat and I felt like I was about to vomit it right out in my panic. I stepped backward, my heel slamming down against a car. I flinched and my foot jolted back into the air, causing the crushed car to tumble into someone else’s front yard and knock against the house’s wall. I winced when it caused only more panic for those around me.

And as if things couldn’t get any worse, I heard a faint chopping sound and remembered - I was being followed. By a news helicopter.

Oh my fucking God, was I a moron.

The sound of police sirens was steadily approaching and I realised I had to leave right then and there: I spun on my feet and my hand darted through the air to grab Lucy. She was knocked out of her stupor as my palm slammed against her body - she cried out in pain and I wanted to apologise but my thoughts were much too muddled to get any words out. I rose back to my feet with her little body in my hand before I turned and began running down the street. My heels stamped pot holes into the tarmac as I ran. My weight was always changing, so it wasn’t something I could get used to so easily; I stumbled and tripped regularly but at least managed to keep on my feet - with all the people fleeing from my steps below, I prayed that I didn’t lose my balance and make things even worse for myself.

“Puella Velasquez, you have one final warning to stand down!!” A voice shouted from the cars, boosted by a megaphone as they rumbled after me, swerving around the indents I left in my wake and steadily keeping pace.

“I didn’t– it was an accident!” I could only look over my shoulder for a moment or risk tripping over myself, so I couldn't look him in the eye even if I’d wanted to. I had to get them off my tail, though, that much I knew. Unfortunately, I was in the suburbs and at my size there was nowhere to hide. I grit my teeth, eyes darting round for an answer.

Lucy, despite no doubt having been thrown around quite a bit as I ran, managed the strength to shout up to me: “P-Pinky! Vault over the houses!”

I blinked in surprise at that idea, but it had merit - after all, I towered over the buildings around me, but in my panic it wasn’t even something I’d considered. I found it funny how Lucy had a better idea of how to be big than even I did.

“O-Okay!” I exclaimed in return, my voice making my little friend shake, and I acted on Lucy’s idea. I turned and tried to vault over the closest house. Alas, it didn’t go quite to plan - I didn’t have to let much of my weight rest on the house’s roof before the slates would crack and slide away, followed promptly by the crunching of wood as the support beams fell away under my palm. Unfortunately, I had already thrown my entire body up into the air by that point, my legs outstretched to reach the ground on the other side and Lucy tightly enclosed in my grip as my whole body tensed. My hand tore through the roof and stabbed right into the inner rooms of the house, my arm buckling - I let out a scream of panic as my centre of balance dramatically toppled backwards with my body following after it. My hand crashed into the ground and slipped sideways, flying out the side of the house before my back slammed into the outer wall, the impact causing the brick to fall away as I fell into the house and chunks of wood and mortar tumbled down onto my chest. Dust settled in my eyes and I winced as an aching pain washed through my body. Rubbing my eyes clean, I looked around in shock. My heart pounded in my ears as I took a good look at the ruined rooms around me, the remaining floors behind me groaning to support my weight. Once my brain cleared my eyes instantly darted to my right hand - My fist was still raised high in the air, so Lucy was far from the destruction, but her body was limp and she wasn’t moving. I wasn’t even sure if she was breathing.

“L-Lucy!” I cried out in horror, not sparing the house or any potential occupants a second thought as I shot up into a sitting position, bringing my friend to my face, clasping her with both hands as I gave her a harsh shake in an attempt to wake her up: “Lucy, stop it! Wake up!”

My attempts proved fruitless and I wasn’t allowed to try for long, as a nasty surprise started stabbing me in the back, my body stinging infuriatingly as I felt bullets pierce all down my spine. I cried out more in surprise than outright pain and threw myself up to my feet, spinning round to see their guns flashing, and more stings across my body. I staggered backward, instinctively raising my arms to protect my face as I was peppered with bullets. Did it hurt that much? Probably not, but I was in such a state at the time that that didn’t really matter; it was all just too much, all at once. That’s why I decided to keep running.

I stopped caring about what was caught underfoot by then - cars and trucks would crash against my toes and careen into houses, or be unfortunate enough for my soles to drop right on top of them, their innards splatting outwards. If there were people in them, I was in way too much of a panic to even notice, nevermind care. My heart pounded like a drill in my chest, my lungs heaved and I coughed and gagged as I ran, trying to hold in the litres worth of tears building up in my eyes. How could this have happened? How could this all have gone wrong so fast?
“It’s not fair!” I wheezed between gritted teeth, glancing over my shoulder. Despite the crashed cars and footprints acting as obstacles, the police were keeping pace, even gradually gaining. I had to do something - if they caught me, they’d take me to who-knows-where to open me up and experiment on me. That much, I knew for sure.

The houses became less and less frequent as I approached the outskirts of the city. There, I saw my chance - a water tower upon the top of a larger building, just up the road! My muscles tensed as I threw my heavy body just that bit further, before I staggered to a near halt so I could grab the water tower’s tank. I didn’t even know if I’d be strong enough to knock it down, it being made mostly of concrete, but it was worth a shot. Not giving any more time for me to reconsider my options, I grabbed the tank, digging my fingers into its shell, and began to pull, letting out a hoarse grunt of effort as I felt the concrete crunch beneath my fingers and the sound of bending metal scream out as the support beams buckled beneath the sudden force. The tank steadily began to tip and I let go, stumbling forward as the water tower tumbled behind me and smashed against the ground, gallons upon gallons of water exploding outwards and immediately swamping the surrounding neighbourhood as torrents of water surged through fences, pushed cars aside and quickly formed a deep pool right in the middle of the road. The police cars were forced to screech to a halt, though some bravely tried to drive right through the water, only for their cars to sputter and fail as they submerged themselves. I staggered backwards, using those precious seconds to catch my breath. I don’t really know why, but my tired brain decided to point at the officers while I cackled at them like an oversized witch. I didn’t spend too much time there, though, not giving them the chance to fire at me anymore before I turned tail and ran down the road, not stopping to rest until I was clear of any buildings and was in the lush, calm countryside.

I finally had time to recover. Time to think. I was lucky enough that the news helicopter hadn’t followed me outside the city, so I was left totally alone. But still. Lucy hadn’t woken up. God, I wouldn’t know what I’d do if she never woke up. The thought sent shivers down my spine. I didn’t really know where I was walking. Where could I go? Laying low obviously wasn’t an option and there was no way some randoms would just help me out of the blue. I killed someone on live TV.

Having to realise that made me stop in my tracks for a moment. I snarled and took deep breaths as the stress and anger built up in my chest. I spotted an old barn to my left and unfortunately for it, I needed to let off some steam. I charged toward it with an enraged roar and swung my foot up, smashing through the wooden planks as I kicked right through it, before swinging my foot back down and stomping over and over again, every footfall flattening more of the frail structure as it fell to my tantrum.

Even from beyond the grave my father still managed to ruin everything for me. I was gonna have it all, I was gonna be a pop star! A celebrity world renown! But he just had to take it from me. Goading me to hurt him. I knew that’s what he wanted, it had to be. I wish I could do it all over again, just so I could make his last moments that much worse.

“H-heey… Pinky…” A small voice sounded from my right hand. Instantly my stomping ceased and my head jerked in the voice’s direction.

“L-Lucy!” I sputtered as I saw the small girl stirring in my grip, a slightly confused but otherwise warm smile on her face. I pulled her up to my face, clutching her with both hands as my whole body shivered: “You’re awake! You’re okay! You’re–uuhh–” words just stopped coming out of my mouth, I was so overwhelmed by emotions. But Lucy took it in stride, smiling wider and giggling as she pat my thumb reassuringly: “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep or sumin’... uhuhu…” She suddenly winced and hissed, holding her torso: “Ugh, my body… what happened?”

“You– you don’t remember…?” I asked quietly.

“I dunno… can’t tell what was a dream and what wasn’t, it was all so…” Her rambling and sweet smile faded as she saw my eyes overflow with tears. My lips and my fingers trembled as I felt everything ready to explode inside me, and my legs gave way, slamming into the wooden rubble around my feet as I choked out: “I… I fucked up, Lucy…”

All my emotions flooded out at once as I burst into tears, pulling Lucy up against my cheek with her held firmly in my grip.

“Oh– oh, Pinky…” Lucy murmured. She pulled herself out from my fist so she could reach forward and wrap her arms as best she could around my teary cheek, which made me only want to hold her closer. I couldn’t stop myself from crying even if I wanted to and I slowly let myself fall into a sitting position as I wept and wailed for minutes on end, Lucy doing her best to comfort me the whole time. Eventually I managed to settle down, my sobbing reduced to sniffles as I pulled Lucy back into my line of sight and wiped my rosy cheeks free of any excess water.

Lucy gave me a sympathetic smile, holding onto my thumb again: “Hey, Pinky, I think we both need a break… why don’t we see if we can find somewhere to crash for the night?”

“But… it’s not that late…” I murmured, looking up at the mid-afternoon sun.

“Still!” Lucy replied: “I’m hungry. You hungry?”

“... Yeah…” I admitted, putting a free hand to my belly as I said that. I hadn’t even considered food since I started growing, but I could definitely go for something sweet.

“Well there you go. Put me down and I’ll go ask in that house over there!” She said, pointing to the farmhouse a short walk from the ruins of the barn I was sitting in. To be honest, I really enjoyed holding Lucy, having her so close like some cuddly toy that cuddled back, but nevertheless I let Lucy down onto the ground beside my leg. She only glanced at the destroyed barn all around me. She probably figured it to be a bad time to mention it - good on her. She hurried ahead and I watched her, but I quickly decided that I wouldn’t just wait around. I felt… calmer than before, at least, and the curiosity about my size was building as I eyed the little doll house. Letting myself fall onto all fours I began to crawl towards the building, watching Lucy approach the front door.

“Hey, it’s open! I don’t think anyone’s inside!” Lucy called as she pushed the door open and disappeared into the house. More curious now, I pulled myself closer until I could lean down and look in through the windows. My cheeks flushed a little pink - everything really did look like a toy with the size of the furniture being small enough that it could all fit in my hand with ease. I began moving from window to window, looking into each with one eye open to see if I could spot Lucy. Eventually I found her in the kitchen on the ground floor, raiding the fridge for treats. She looked tiny usually, but I hadn’t really taken the time to look. And wow… The feeling was amazing, just watching some toy-sized person adventuring through what was basically a doll house. Like the Sims, or something. Lucy rose up with a whole cake in her hand - I couldn’t tell what kind - and kicked the fridge shut before promptly letting out a squeal as she caught sight of my eye watching her from outside. She virtually leapt off of the ground and I couldn’t help but giggle at that cute sight. Lucy giggled too, her face all pink, and she gave me a wave before she placed the cake on a table and began exploring the fridge and its contents again. I pulled away and left Lucy in peace, leaning against the house as I made myself comfortable and let my arm rest on the roof, feeling the tiles crunch and slip away beneath the weight of my forearm. Focusing on the sound of the wind and chirping birds around me, I closed my eyes and tried to just… rest.

“Pinky!” Lucy’s voice sounded, pulling me back to the realm of consciousness. I glanced around myself - I was practically lying on top of the house, I realised, and as I rose up I felt bricks and tiles crumble off of my back, a noticeable dent left in the side of the house. I winced upon seeing it, but my attention quickly turned to Lucy, who was standing beside my hip, waving up to me all cute like. I waved back.

“Come round the other side, come see this cool thing!” She exclaimed before running round to the backyard of the house.

“Cool thing…?” I murmured, watching her scurry about. I quickly realised I didn’t even have to go round - I simply rested my arms on the roof and looked right over the top of the house to where Lucy had been trying to lead me.

“Hey!” Lucy shouted, her voice breaking slightly as she waved her arms up at me: “Don’t do that! You’ll ruin my setup!”

“Setup? What setup?” I asked, pulling myself away from the house; all I could see she’d done was move a few couches and tables around. Nevertheless, I relented, but decided to at least make something of a show from it. I rose to my feet, feeling the wind whoosh around my ears and hair. I towered over the building, Lucy looking more and more like a little speck at my feet. I could hear her voice faintly, but I couldn’t understand her - it was more like a squeak from a mouse than anything else. I giggled and raised my foot, swinging it effortlessly over the top of the building and letting it hover over Lucy. I heard her squeal and my head tilted to see her scurry out of my shadow. I giggled, but I pulled my foot to the side, away from Lucy and her ‘setup’ she was so proud of, and let it fall to the ground with a heavy thump just beside her. I pulled my other foot over with much less of a show, it planting down in the grass on the opposite side to Lucy. I grinned at her and dipped my torso down, keeping my legs straight while my butt poked out behind me. I could see Lucy on her sofa, staring up at me with wide eyes. I poked my tongue out playfully: “You alright down there, Lucy?”

The tiny girl’s face went bright pink and she looked away. Awh. I couldn’t help but giggle. I stepped forward again so I could turn and sit down behind Lucy, my subsequent impact with the ground causing my surroundings to rattle. I could see what she meant by her ‘setup’ now, at least - the house had a pair of sliding glass doors in the back, which Lucy had opened and managed to push a large TV on a chest of drawers, which now filled up the wide door frame. I chuckled - it really wasn’t anything special, but Lucy sure seemed proud of it all. She glanced back at me, a big smile on her face as she awaited my reaction.

“It… certainly looks comfy!” I said with a shrug, “For you, at least.”

Lucy pouted: “Hey, I made sure you could see it! Their TV is huge too, come on!” She softened and giggled: “Why don’t we watch a movie or something?” She asked as she turned to the TV and, with a click of the remote, the screen flashed to life. It was playing some shitty soap opera no one cares about - me and Lucy both groaned in unison.

“Something good, yeah?” I asked. Lucy nodded in agreement and began flicking through the channels for something to watch.

We spent a good while simply flicking through channels for anything that caught our eye but, man, TV had really gone down the drain. We didn’t see anything of note until–

I saw my face flash on the screen for just a moment.

“Stop!!” I bellowed, slamming my hands against the ground in surprise and launching Lucy up off her seat for a moment. She squirmed to regain her position, before peeking over the side of the couch up at me.

“Huh? What?” She asked.

“Go back! Go back, I saw me! Go back!”

Lucy frowned: “But we’re doing this to–”

“Lucy!” I insisted: “Just go back, I wanna see what they’re saying about me!”

Lucy squirmed a little but folded to my request and turned the channels back, until we returned to the news channel covering me.

“--was attacked and killed in his own home by the famed ‘giant’, and his own daughter, Puella Velasquez. Witnesses reported Kristian talking to Puella before she began brutally assaulting him and crushing his home in a rage. Viewers are advised - the following footage may be disturbing.”

The channel then began showing the footage of me destroying my dad’s home that the helicopter following me had caught. My voice echoed like distant thunder - I really did sound like some kind of monster.

“Puella Velasquez remains at large, with authorities continuing their search for her. If anyone has information about her current whereabouts, please call the number on screen now.”

“Fuck, Pinky… they’re really out for you…” Lucy murmured, glancing back at me with a worried expression.

“Yeah…” I murmured in return, though my eyes remained focused on the screen. This was bad news. So why did a part of me feel so… charged? Was I excited, or anxious? I honestly couldn’t tell you at the time.

“Our reporter, Minerva Montgomery, was quickly on the scene and received comments from the many witnesses of this horrifying event.”

The screen flicked to a POV from the ground, near the wreck that was once a house. I could see my footprints driven into the ground around them, some crushed and battered cars. My head tilted slightly - it’s like a monster movie. Huh.

“You should have seen her,'' a middle-aged man marvelled: “She had to be 200ft tall at least! Barreling down the road, I almost had a heart attack.”

“I’d never seen anything like her in my life,” A woman said: “Crushed my car like it was cardboard, sent the whole street into a panic. And she was gone as soon as she appeared.”

“I felt like I was in a monster movie - my whole house started shaking. I thought it was an earthquake, but then I just saw a leg slam down just outside my window. It was… wow. It was terrifying, and knowing what she did… just makes it that much worse,” Another man shivered as he spoke.

“I can’t imagine what it was like for that poor man… having that done to me, and my home, I don’t think I’d be able to forget even if I did survive.”

My eyes only seemed to widen as I watched, my ears perking up as each person spoke. What was this feeling? Was there something I’d been missing?

One last person came up on the screen, giving his thoughts on what happened.

“I’m not even sure how to process it,” He admitted, his face a little pale: “This sort of thing should be impossible, shouldn’t it? It makes you wonder what else could be out there… but, like, I almost died. Her foot fell inches from me. I felt the bits of the road she crushed smack against my cheek as I fell back. I…” He held his head, closing his eyes to take a deep breath: “... this is going to stick with me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake off what happened today. It’s something to remember forever, that’s for sure.”

At that moment, it all clicked in my head. I realised why my heart was pounding in my chest. This was it.

“Oh,” I mumbled, not even meaning to talk out loud. My eyes were wide and glued to the tiny screen. I think Lucy got nervous though; moments after, she switched off the TV screen and turned to face me.

“Wha– hey!” I exclaimed, looking down at her with a frown.

“I’m sorry, Pinky, I just… couldn’t watch any more,” She admitted: “I don’t like how they see you. You’re not like that,” She sighed, reaching up to my nose to give me the best hug she could: “I’m scared. What if they catch you? What if I don’t see you again? What if…”

I smiled softly and gently placed a finger tip against Lucy’s back to return the attempted embrace: “Don’t worry, Lucy… they won’t capture me. I promise.”

“You do?” Lucy asked, smiling softly.

“Of course,” I returned.

Lucy nodded, before glancing at the sun - it was beginning to set, night falling upon the farmland. She glanced back at me: “Well, I guess we’re on the run for real, now… how about you sleep? I can keep watch for any police, or anythin’.”

“Well…” I thought about things for a moment. I looked at Lucy, her head tilting slightly as I stared for just a bit too long.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

“What? Oh, yeah… just thinking,” I replied: “I did just have a nap. How about you sleep, and I’ll keep watch? I’m bigger, anyway - I can see way further.”

Lucy giggled: “Okay, you got a point there,” She nodded, before letting out a long yawn: “Alright, I’ll get some sleep… it’s been a real long day, aha…” She pulled away from my nose and lay down on the couch, getting comfortable: “We’ll figure out what to do next in the morning…”

“Yeah…” I replied, smiling as I watched the tiny girl curl up. Like a baby mouse, I thought. I was tempted to pet her. Instead I pulled away, sitting upright and tall beside the house as I thought to myself.

The evening was quiet, only the sound of gentle wind through leaves and branches kept me company. I’d glance out at the horizon, then back down to Lucy, then back out on the horizon again.

I’d thought my dad had ruined every chance I had to be someone, I thought my life had hit rock bottom all over again. But he’d failed, there was one last thing I could do. One last try to leave my mark on the world…

I bit my lip. Could I go through with it?

I looked back down at Lucy. She looked so sweet and innocent down there. I knew for a fact that if I wanted to do this, she couldn’t accompany me. I doubted she’d even want to.

But…

The world was offering me one last chance to prove myself. One last chance to take what I’d been wrongfully kept from all my life. It was now, or never. This… or nothing at all.

Slowly, carefully, I rose up to my feet, making sure not to knock anything or cause enough of a commotion to wake up my friend. She’d be okay on her own, I assured myself, they weren’t looking for her. It was me they had their eyes on. What was best for both of us. I took a soft step away from the house, taking one last look behind me, before I pulled my head up and puffed out my chest, taking a deep breath. Then I began to walk, following the country road into the night.