"Have you seen Sugar lately?" asked Pepper. 

   "No." Aliment replied gravely. "I think he. . ."

   The two teenage boys shared a heavy silence. The walk home from school used to include a whole group of boys seeking safety in numbers, but today it was down to two. The cold bit at their faces, but it was the anticipation of warmth that worried them the most. 

   "Are any of us going to make it to graduation?" Aliment said out of frustration. They all knew that high school's male survival rate was terrifyingly low, but it seemed like their year had it worse than any other. "How many are even left? Are we even in double digits anymore?" 

   Pepper shuddered. If things were that grave, he didn't think he would be able to escape notice for long enough. Still half a year left. . . "We can't think like that. Some of us will make it, and the ones who live will remember the ones who didn't." 

   "Sure, for a few years until they get eaten too. It's so unfair!"

   Pepper didn't know what to say. Aliment wasn't wrong, and he knew of nothing that could dampen the blow of that reality. Unfair was an absurd understatement. No matter how lucky they got, all of them were well past the halfway point of their lives, well past the nine tenths point of their lives in all likelihood. What could they have to look forward to but the feeling of accomplishment that comes with surviving high school? It's a milestone that most boys will never reach. Even if you don't make it very long after that, you'll at least have accomplished something special. "We'll make it. One of us will make it. . ." 

   He could tell Aliment was losing hope. Pepper was close to losing it himself. Morale among their group had been plummeting ever since their friend Jenny turned on them the month before. She told them that she wasn't going to protect them anymore, that they could all just digest for all she cared, and made sure they knew she meant it by eating one of them right before their eyes. No one knew what they had done to make her go from standing up for male rights and fending off hungry girls, to outright murdering their friend in front of them, but it was pointless to ask. Maybe she finally "grew out of that equality nonsense" like all the other girls said she would. Pepper had watched a few friends give up since then, throwing their lives away by approaching girls or even purposefully getting invited to parties. He couldn't blame them for thinking that if they were just going to die soon anyway, it was better to have some control over the way that they died than to resist it entirely, but he didn't want to see the same thing happen to Aliment. 

   "Hey Ali, do you want to come over to my house today and-" Pepper turned to face his friend, but instead he found himself face to face with a woman. She gulped down her mouthful and smirked, hand on her hip in a cocky pose. He noted her key characteristics: short blonde hair, brown eyes, and relatively small stature for a woman. This exact description was passed around in hushed tones from boy to boy, always with a warning to be extra careful and avoid at all costs. This was Elise, a local legend feared by every boy as a ravenous devourer of men! A concerning amount of boys could say they had friends or brothers whose lives came to an end in her guts. 

   "What were you saying about one of you making it?" She teased, gracefully licking her fingertips. "I guess it's up to you now?" Pepper begged himself to run, but his legs were frozen in place. All he could do was stare. Elise was dressed in a light sweater and shorts, exposing much of her thighs to the cold. This was just one sign of her immense privilege as a woman, blessed with a body almost entirely protected from the elements. She could probably remove the sweater and still be comfortable, while Pepper had been shivering even in a heavy winter coat. 

   He had encountered a monster out of his nightmares, and just like in a nightmare he was completely helpless to save himself. "Hey, were you going to do anything else today? I think I just canceled your plans so you're probably free, right?" Pepper's eyes froze on the loose cloth of her sweater, behind which his friend was now buried. "I'm hanging out with my friends today and we would be glad to have you!" 

   Elise took a poised, huntress' step towards him, finally breaking Pepper out of his fearful paralysis. He turned and bolted, bringing forth all of his energy for what would be the flight of his life. A warm hand clamped around his sleeve before he could reach a sprint.

   His pitiful attempt at running had been nothing compared to the burst of speed that any woman could generate at a moment's notice. Betting his survival on a test of athletics was a foolish decision motivated by mindless terror. As though anyone male could ever outrun a lady! But was there even a better option? Pepper uselessly tugged against her grip, begging, "Please! Let me go!"

   "Oh, don't be such a whiny little boy! There's nothing to worry about! Everyone will love you! It'll be fun!" The woman started to walk off with him in tow. He tried to dig in his heels but it was useless, he could either keep up or be dragged along. 

   "Please! I'll do whatever you-"

   "It's a given that you'll do whatever I want, you're doing it right now!" 

   "I'm begging you, won't you feel better if you commit an act of kindness and-"

   She spoke slowly and condescendingly, making sure he understood every word. "Women don't need to do spontaneous acts of kindness to feel good! We are being kind all the time. I'm showing kindness right now by not breaking your arm!" 

   "Ple-"

   "Nope! Be quiet!" 

   A direct order to be silent was something he couldn't disobey even in such dire circumstances. He didn't know what he expected to get out of his pleading, but he couldn't just submit without trying everything. Elise had him and would take him wherever she wished, but Pepper still held onto hope. Elise had already eaten, and even the most voracious women still preferred not to eat more than one man at once. The fact that he wasn't currently in her stomach proved that this woman was no different. There was still a chance that one of her friends would take pity on him, or do something to give him an opportunity to escape!

   Pepper submitted for the rest of the long walk through the suburbs with Elise. Her grip was rough and her presence was scary, but at least her body heat kept the air around her warm. She mostly ignored him, fiddling with her phone in the other hand as she went. They passed other women occasionally, and not one of them spared a second glance at what was obviously a kidnapping. They'd all done it too, of course. Seeing a boy in mortal peril was a mundane part of everyday life. 

   Elise and her prisoner arrived at one of the nicer neighborhoods, coming to a stop in front of an immaculate red house on a larger property. A woman with brown hair and glasses was waiting on the sidewalk, and perked up when she saw them coming. 

   "Mary! I'm so glad to see you!" Elise moved close and gave Mary a one armed hug with Pepper awkwardly trailing behind. "You could have just walked in, you know? Power doesn't mind." 

   "I know, but. . . I haven't met her in person yet." Pepper didn't like the way Mary's eyes wandered to him as she spoke. She was a little timid, but physically she was much more imposing than Elise: taller, with broader shoulders and a bigger chest. She wore a cozy sweater and a long skirt. 

   "That's okay, we can go in together!" Elise yanked Pepper's arm. "Do you want to hold him? I brought him along with you in mind!"

   "Oh, yes! Thank you!" Elise let go of his arm, and there was a brief moment where Pepper could have made another escape attempt. Instead, he held still and accepted what was coming. There was no way he could outrun or elude two women, and he was lucky to have come out of his last attempt without being punished. If he got caught again it would be normal for a woman to break one of his arms, or beat him until he bled. Being eaten might be the scariest fate, but there were many other horrors that women could inflict. 

   Without another look at his face, Mary put one hand on his back, and with the other she plunged him face-first into her breasts. The woman's boobs warmly cradled his face from either side, her feminine scent overwhelmed his nose, and her heartbeat pounded against his skull. The softness was divine. He sank into it; it enveloped him. Pepper had been warned about the irresistible dominance of a woman's chest, but it didn't help. He became lost in the embrace, his awareness of where he was and what he wanted fading away. Had he been afraid of something? How could there be anything to fear when there was such a warm and protective force holding him close? 

   When she finally let him go, after what felt like hours but could only have been seconds, he felt that he had returned to reality from some other place. He remembered that here he was a toy and a snack, and the fear and desperation returned. Still, there was something that had weakened within him, that innate masculine submissiveness that he resented so much coming forth and telling him that there was no reason to resist. He reminded himself again and again to keep his survival instincts running, repeating a mantra inside his head: "if I do not escape, they are going to kill me." Mary wrapped an arm tight around his ribs and the two women headed for the door. 

   Elise opened the door without knocking. Mary and Pepper followed her into a narrow entrance room decorated with high-class statuettes and paintings of powerful, confident women. Pepper winced at one painting of a woman with bloody hands possessively cradling a beaten young man in her lap. The owner of this house was going to be dangerous. 

   Mary glanced thoughtfully at each piece of art as they walked down a similarly decorated corridor to a remote room with a bright pink door. In contrast to the rest of the house so far, this room was casual and disorganized. Two girls and two boys sat on an assortment of cushions and bean bags in the center, their attention trained on the massive screen dominating one wall. The other walls were lined with shelves and stacks of more video games, movies, anime, and manga than you would find in a store, and a few posters and figurines haphazardly placed wherever they fit. One such poster seemed to be a slightly worn piece of authentic NGO revolution propaganda, depicting a woman in a pink military uniform with the caption 'Fight For Female Supremacy!' followed by directions for how to join up in fine print. According to history, the forces that responded to calls to action like this one were so effective they hardly ever fought in real battles, easily occupying one government building after the other.

   The two girls were gripping controllers, locked in fierce competition with one another. On the screen was a fighting game featuring well-built female martial artists. 

   One girl had long, unkempt blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She was decidedly not modest in how she dressed, wearing only a loose pink tank top and her underwear. She pressed the buttons with unreasonable aggression and sweated profusely. 

   A young man clung submissively to her thigh, watching the screen with interest. He bore the unnatural, deliberately engineered features of an artificially born male designed specifically to be eaten: fluffy grayish-white hair and big pink irises. Boys like him were a very rare sight, as they tended to take a swift and direct route from the communal raising facilities to a woman's digestive system. His kind were more often referred to as candies than people. 

   The other girl had shaggy black hair and dressed in an oversized t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. Her eyes had dark circles around them from countless long nights. She handled the controller with thoughtful precision, and a glance at the screen showed that she was thoroughly winning. She had a light haired boy nestled under her arm, eyes closed and body pressed close to hers. Every visible portion of his skin was covered in grisly scars, as well as fresher cuts and bruises. A bloodstained bandage peeked out from under the sleeve of his expensive shirt. 

   Elise flopped down on a comfy cushion (Pepper tried not to imagine what that motion had felt like for Aliment) and greeted the two girls, who only grunted in acknowledgment. Mary carefully found a place to sit next to Elise, letting Pepper take off his coat before positioning him on her lap, her chest pressing on his back and neck. He did his best to stay still and made no moves to resist. 

   They watched the rest of the battle play out. It didn't take long, resulting in the brutal defeat of the blonde girl. She roughly tossed her controller aside and groaned. "Why can't I beat youuu!? I've been playing this for so much longer!" 

   The winner smirked and spoke in a soft voice. "You should block more. And stop jumping for no reason."

   "Whatever. . ." She huffed, and then finally paid attention to the other guests. "Hey Elise. And Mary, I finally get to see you!" 

   "I'm glad to meet you, Power! Thank you for inviting me." Mary took one of Pepper's hands and squeezed it anxiously out of sight of the other girls.

   "Of course! If you're friends with one of us you're friends with all of us!"

   "Um, your house is so beautiful! It's like a museum!"

   "Thanks! You can praise Harmony, my housekeeper, for that! I wouldn't know the first thing about how to make all this stuff look good. You should see my mom's house, she only gave me, like, a tiny bit of the stuff we have!" Pepper assumed that Power was descended from one of the many women who exploded in wealth during the revolution period. It wasn't hard to get rich when you could seize the assets of every man you devoured. 

   "By the way Mary," Elise said. "I should've warned you earlier, Vivian's boyfriend is completely off limits. She doesn't want anyone touching him or talking to him. I didn't take her seriously at first and licked him as a joke, and she gave me a black eye for it!" The boy in question opened his eyes at the mention of his mistress' name, and Pepper detected a hint of pride on his bruised face when Elise reported how Vivian had defended him. So that's how it is, then. Now the boy looked to Pepper like the stuck up, pampered pet cat of an extravagant villainess. This boy would probably outlive him by years. Pepper both pitied and envied those boys obedient and lucky enough to be kept around as pets before they end up as food. 

   "Aww, that's adorable!" Mary smiled at Vivian's pet. "How long have you had him for?" 

   "He's been mine for three years." Vivian answered, pushing his head down under her arm so the others couldn't see him. 

   "Wow, you must really love him! Do you plan to eat him?"

   "Someday. . ." Vivian's cheeks turned red. 

   "Right, and in the meantime she's abstaining from eating other boys, so more for us!" interjected Power. 

   The girls transitioned into discussing what game they should all play together, and Pepper tried to tune them out and think, working against all his lessons to always be attentive to what women are saying. How was he going to get out of this? What kind of opportunities should he be looking for? Maybe if they got absorbed into a game Mary would put him down and he'd be able to slip out unnoticed while they're distracted. If they seemed like they wanted something, should he offer to get it for them and then climb out a window? As though he would know where to get anything in this house! There were just enough boys here for every girl who wants one to eat one. In order to survive there had to be a reason for one to go hungry. He knew that escape attempts always got boys killed, but doing nothing made him so anxious! At a loss for a solution, he at least felt like his odds were better than the poor guy who was literally made to be food. 

   They ended up settling on Bloodied Frills, a 3rd person shooter featuring maids. A maid was a type of fictional warrior known to wear frilly black and white dresses and fight with an arsenal of weapons, while riding around on skateboards. The game was popular for its casual multiplayer battles, but Pepper didn't know much more than that. He always tried to avoid girl stuff like video games. It was almost impossible to find anything fun that wasn't considered girl stuff, and thus too skillful or too intellectual for boys to handle. What he really loved was finding books that felt like a welcome break from his reality, rare stories where boys could do things and be characters without immediately being eaten. Sometimes he was even lucky enough to find unaltered media from before the revolution. He enjoyed such things with undivided attention, guiltily contemplating what that world must have been like. Could it really have been so bad before women decided to take over and strip men of their unjust power and rights? He found it hard to imagine there ever being a time when women let men get away with mistreating them. 

   The girls passed controllers around and started up the game, explaining the controls to Mary who had never played. No one even suggested letting one of the boys play. As the first round started, Pepper found he didn't have much interest in watching what was going on onscreen. His eyes locked on Mary's hands. She had rested the controller on his legs. Her fingers moved clumsily as she figured out the game, but he could see her dexterity as she learned and improved. She would be good at it in no time. From Pepper's perspective, it was always like that for girls.