“Lily, come here please!” Caitlin ordered, calling out into the open hallway. Within moments, the meek researcher made her way into the room, eagerly awaiting Caitlin’s words.

“Lily, we have a problem. The subject has been carried away, likely within the shoe of the third volunteer, Emily Smith. This was valuable for a unique subset of data, but now it’s grown out of control. The subject's vitals peaked heavily for a sustained period of time. What I imagine happened, was that he was inside Emily's shoe for her softball game…” Caitlin explained.

“Oh dear.” Lily gasped, covering her mouth.

“No, this is actually extremely valuable data. He survived this ordeal, at least as far as I can tell. This exceeds the requirements we planned for physical load in the grafting tests. However; his vitals lowered severely after a sudden, extremely high peak. I estimate he’s either perished, or close to it. This leaves us with a dilemma; we either have to recover the evidence, or destroy it. I estimate we have… twenty minutes to retrieve the specimen, before terminal condition is likely. His resistance to damage and innate healing will only take him so far. Deploy the field teams, I’ll make some calls to ensure they are unimpeded, and I’ll join them once preparations are complete.” Caitlin continued, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

“Yes ma’am. Right away.” Lily stated, about to leave the room, before Caitlin stopped her.

“And, Lily?” Caitlin began.

“Yes ma’am?” Lily asked, turning back around.

“If the subject is found by someone other than us, for example, Emily Smith, we’re going to bring them back here alongside the subject. Make sure the team is advised to prepare countermeasures for this contingency. It’s imperative that we control the narrative, or our mission is at risk…” Caitlin warned, a dark tone in her voice.

“Y… yes ma’am…” Lily affirmed, before breaking out into a light jog as she made her way to the research lab.

Caitlin pinched her brow, annoyed with the situation. “I didn’t think we’d have to move to the next stage so soon, but to waste David Johnson would be a terrible mistake…” she muttered, dialing a number on her phone, then held it up to her ear.

“Hello, this is Caitlin. We’ve had a breach of containment. Medical teams are likely required. Do I have authorization to enact the necessary measures required to regain control of the situation? I fear we may have to attempt to utilize the grafting procedure if our subject is to remain living…” she asked.

The voice on the other line spoke for a time, with Caitlin intently listening.

Suddenly, a smile broke out onto her face.

“Thank you ma’am. I’ll do my best.” she finalized, before hanging up the phone.

“Alright, let’s get to it.” she sighed, heading to the control room and placing on a headset, opening up the lab intercom channel.

“Attention, everyone. Mission is a burn, I repeat, mission is a burn. Begin destruction of evidence, and prepare research data for transfer to the main branch.” Caitlin commanded, closing the channel.

She laid back in her chair. “The second burn in two months… maybe this one will live this time…” she sighed, turning to the rapidly depleting vitals displayed on the screen in front of her…

-

“I’m worried about David…” Emily sighed, venting to Courtney as the blonde finished stepping on the bug.

“Why are you saying that? Did something happen?” Courtney asked, pulling her foot back and walking back to her bag. Emily avoided looking at the bug’s remains, being far too squeamish to see the viscera.

“Well, he’s been missing since he took his turn at the trial. At least, he hasn’t talked to me, which is weird…” she explained.

“Because he loves you?” Courtney laughed.

“Shut up! We’re just friends, it’s not like that!” Emily blushed, looking away from Courtney.

“C’mon, you two are my OTP. I’ve been pushing for it since we first hung out all together. He’ll make a move soon enough…” Courtney teased, nudging the still beet-red brunette.

“Alright, I like him. But don’t say anything to him, if something between us happens… I’d want it to be natural…” Emily admitted, still struggling to look at Courtney.

“That’s fair. I’m just teasing you. Anyway, I hope he does show up. Maybe he’s just under the weather?” Courtney offered, hoping to ease her friend's mind.

“Maybe…” Emily responded, a forlorn expression taking over.

“Anyway, I’m gonna head out. See ya girl!” Courtney said with a heave as she threw her bag over her shoulder, waving to Emily as she left the locker room.

Now, Emily remained as the only one left in the room, and she leaned forward, putting her face in her hands.

Suddenly, a high-pitched noise caught her attention. She looked around, wondering if she was incorrect to assume she was alone. But as far as she could tell, she was.

The noise reached her ears again.

“What is that…” she murmured, trying to find its direction. It was… down?

She looked to the ground, seeing nothing but the growing red pool of blood left behind by the squashed bug. “Oh… poor thing…” she said with compassion.

“Wait… is it still alive?” she mumbled, looking closer. “Oh my god… David?!” she gasped, rapidly leaning down to the ground to observe the twitching figure. Just as she reached the floor, a loud slam reverberated through the room.

“Stay where you are! Do NOT move!” a voice shouted, causing Emily to turn her head and look at the source.

“C… Caitlin?” she exclaimed, tears rolling down her face. “Why is David so small! Why is he here! Tell me what’s going on!” she begged, growing hysterical.

“Tranq her!” Caitlin ordered. Before Emily could react, a dart struck her neck, and she quickly grew tired, falling heavily to the linoleum floor.

“Grab the subject, and the volunteer. Take them back to the facility, and prepare the subject for bodily graft.” she continued, watching as a researcher gently scooped David up with a pair of tweezers.

“Ma’am, his injuries are severe. It’s unlikely he’ll survive.” the researcher warned, placing David into a container and closing it.

“Well, we’ll see what happens, it’s not like they live when we graft them anyway... Clean the evidence off of the floor, and let’s get out of here before we’re seen…” Caitlin finalized, turning around to leave the room…

-

Emily awoke, her body feeling like she had the worst hangover. “Where… am I?” she groaned, as she rose up from her position, realizing she was in a hospital bed.

“Welcome back to the world of the living…” a voice joked, seated next to Emily.

“C.. Caitlin. What’s going on… why am I tied up?” Emily asked with fear, noticing she was restrained.

“Well… because you’re probably not going to like what I have to say, and the last time this happened, I took a pretty hard punch to the jaw. I’d like to avoid that this time…” Caitlin sighed, standing up.

“Is it okay if I pace around while I explain this to you? I feel I explain things better that way…” she asked, looking to Emily for affirmation.

Emily nodded, her expression continuing to show fear despite the familiar face, an odd sense of unease palpable in the air as the researcher stood before her.

“Well, let me begin by saying… David is gone… in the traditional sense…” Caitlin admitted, beginning to walk around the room.

“What? Why is David gone? What are you talking about… you better be fucking for real, right now… oh my god…” Emily began to panic, tears instantly streaming down her face.

“Please calm down, Ms. Smith…” Caitlin warned, a sense of authority in her tone.

“Let me explain further.” she continued. “David was brutalized, seemingly underneath a shoe, with severe pressure applied until most of the spinal cord was crushed. Any normal bodily function would be impossible to restore.” Caitlin continued, emulating the incident with playful mouth noises.

“What are you… no… so that was… that really was David… and Courtney crushed him?!” Emily sobbed, her heart rate growing impossibly fast.

“Yes, David likely accompanied you, within your shoe, from the facility all the way to your softball game. We’re unsure how long he remained in the shoe before escaping…” Caitlin further explained.

“My god… oh my god…” Emily wept, unable to wipe her tears due to the restraints. “Why… how did he end up there in the first place… why was he so small? How did you even do that?” she asked, begging for some kind of answer.

“The point of the experiment… well, you probably wouldn’t understand if I gave you the technical description… the point of the experiment was to deduct the olfactory sensitivity of reduced size individuals, as well as their ability to cope with the environments created by podiatric neglect and their adaptation to it. Are you following?” Caitlin asked, seeming inconvenienced by the very notion of explaining the concepts to Emily.

“You… wanted to see how he reacted… to smelly, nasty feet?” Emily responded, putting the puzzle pieces together in her flustered state.

“Precisely… well, as much as I expect you to ascertain. Yes, we wanted to subject David to several forms of differing levels of intense foot odor, bacteria and secretions, in order to see the likelihood of survival for one permanently exposed to that environment.” Caitlin elaborated, a look of contentedness on her face as she recalled the experiment.

“But… I still don’t understand… what use is that to you?” Emily asked, sniffling as her eyes and now nose continued to drip.

“Well, it’s plenty useful. Are you familiar with skin-grafting?” Caitlin offered, her voice indicative of a greater explanation to come.

“I… yes?” Emily responded, confused at the relevance.

“Great. So, let’s say someone suffered from foot odor. Let’s also say, hypothetically, their feet had a way to process the air, as well as the sweat, that emanated from their feet, by filtering it through a living, breathing biological implant, greatly limiting the likelihood of conditions like athlete’s foot, as well as mitigating the problems caused by conditions like, hyperhidrosis and bromhidrosis?” Caitlin continued, her tongue effortlessly pronouncing the words.

“I don’t understand… what do you mean by a biological implant…” Emily further inquired, struggling to keep her head level with the buzzwords bombarding her.

“This is growing exhausting… let me just explain in a way that you’ll understand…” Caitlin sighed, pinching her brow, before her head peaked up, as if she just thought of something.

She walked over to the foot of Emily’s hospital bed, and grabbed the sheets covering her body. She pulled them off with a quick sweep, leaving Emily’s legs, and more importantly her feet, exposed to the air.

“Say hello to… Courtney… and David!” Caitlin smiled, pointing to Emily’s feet. Emily wiggled her toes in subconscious response, not sure what Caitlin was getting at.

“Ugh… alright, in terms even a baby could understand… your friends have been merged with your feet. It was a great success! Never before have we even had a subject adhere successfully to a foot, but you managed to take in two specimens!” Caitlin cheered, looking at Emily as if she too would cheer alongside her.

“You… no…” Emily gasped, feeling her skin start to burn with unease.

“Yes. The tests to determine what a reduced person could handle at the feet of women was purely for the sake of judging if they could survive a full merge. Now, it’s been proven that it can be done! And not only that, but their vitals show they’re still fully alive, and sensing everything!” Caitlin continued. “Now, you have the privilege of self-cleaning, self-drying, self-massaging, living feet!”

Emily began to dry heave.

“Oh, please don’t vomit. It disgusts me.” Caitlin scolded. 

“Originally, I was going to offer myself as the host for David’s implantation! However, I have to tip my metaphorical hat to you young lady; you broke all the limits we had set for the level of parameters achieved by an individual's feet and lifestyle. After it was clear you’d seen David in his reduced, and terribly damaged state, I made the call to switch the target host to you! We figured, why not kill two birds with one stone?” she resumed, a look of envy on her face.

“Anyway, you don’t seem to understand; you’ve been given a gift most people will be paying hundreds of thousands for! Those… vile feet of yours will now barely smell at all, for as long as you live. Courtney Price and David Johnson will live on, in perpetuity, as long as you’re alive and blood pumps to your feet. They can smell, taste, and feel everything, every step you take, they’ll take with you. Isn’t it amazing?” she blissfully explained, pure passion emanating from her as she explained all the benefits.

“I’m gonna be sick…” Emily gagged, getting another disgusted glance from Caitlin.

“I will say, it’s a shame about young Courtney… see, when we captured you and David, we were about to leave, when the door to the locker room suddenly opened. There she stood, looking at our team with great confusion. She said something about forgetting her water bottle, and asked us what we were doing with you. It was then I realized that she was another witness we couldn’t let escape. So, we brought her back here, after knocking her out too, of course. The problem was… we didn’t have a use for her! So, I suggested we shrink her down too, and attempt to graft her to your feet to have a control group for David’s results. I didn’t expect her to succeed in grafting as well!” Caitlin laughed.

“You’re a monster… they were my friends! I grew up with them! You really think I’ll let you get away with this?!” Emily yelled, fighting her restraints with all her might.

“Actually… yes. You see, we’re a biologics company. And one of our wonderful prototype tools we’ve been working on will help us greatly in keeping you in your place. Say hello to our Memory Controller! The name is a work-in-progress…” Caitlin smiled, pulling what looked like a handheld tablet device out from her pocket.

“We’ve placed electrodes on your head. With this device, we’ll send signals into your brain, stimulating it to erase all memories from the past two weeks. You won’t remember the trial, nor will the two other people who knew you and David participated be able to say anything, because… well… they’re feet now!” Caitlin cackled. “This whole event will be forgotten. We’ve gotten the data we need, and this building won’t even exist by the time anyone would come to look."

“Please, don’t do this… you can still undo this all!” Emily begged, her eyes growing raw.

“Oh, that’s impossible. They’ve been fully incorporated into your feet. You can’t even tell by looking at them…or feeling, for that matter…” Caitlin said as she rubbed Emily’s foot. 

“Yes, the incorporation was immaculate, guaranteeing full compatibility with the host. There was no sign of rejection, and during our testing, we concluded that at least David could handle the three major conditions I mentioned earlier; hyperhidrosis, thanks to our lovely participant May, bromhidrosis, thanks to our… not so lovely participant Chloe, and now, heavily active feet, thanks to you, Emily!” Caitlin smiled, watching as the panicked athlete fought against her restraints with all her might.

“Alright Emily, anything you’d like to say to David and Courtney, before you forget any of this ever happened, and they begin their lives as your feet?” she asked, a hint of sadistic glee evident in her speech.

“Caitlin… you’re a fucking monster… but please… give me a second alone to say goodbye to them, if you’re really gonna do this…” Emily sobbed, struggling to keep her breath as she pleaded with the researcher.

“Hm… fine. I’ll give you five minutes. This device needs to be calibrated anyway. If you try anything funny, just know I wouldn’t mind having a personal graft of my own. My feet get awfully tired, sweaty and smelly walking around these labs…” Caitlin sighed, before grabbing the handle of the door.

“Five minutes, Ms. Smith…” she warned, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

“D… David… Courtney… I’m so fucking sorry… if you really are in there, and she’s not playing a prank… I never meant for any of this to happen. I mean, for god sakes, how could I have…” Emily whimpered, looking longingly at her feet.

“Courtney, you were my best girl… you did so much for me, and you were so good at softball… I always thought you’d make it to the top… I’m so sorry they did this to you…” she continued, sniffling profusely.

“And David…” she began, her eyes pouring like waterfalls.

“I’m in love with you… I always have been. I always wanted to be with you but I didn’t want to make things weird between us… now I wish I just asked…” she began, a tone of longing regret in her voice.

“And now we can’t ever be a thing… because you’re my fucking foot… all because I got desperate for money…” she cursed, recalling the incident that started it all.

“This is so fucked up!” she yelled, directing her voice at the door, spitting with anger.

“I’m so sorry guys… I can’t even make things better for you, because I’m a fucking slob and they’re going to wipe my memory… I hope to god I’m not stupid enough to keep wearing my lucky shoes. You guys don’t deserve to be trapped under my feet… of all people… no one deserves that… fuck… what do I do!” she pleaded, hoping for an answer from some hidden deity.

No answer came.

“I just… I just wish I could do something about this… but I can’t break these restraints. They’ve got me held down, and my friends are my fucking feet now!” Emily cried.

She moved her feet, trying to feel for some indication of her friends within them. If anything, they just felt oddly relaxed. She thought about how Courtney and David always mocked her for having disgusting feet, and the times she watched as David would silently hide his gags as he stuck out foot massages after her games for her. Now, he, and Courtney would be forced to live that reality, day in, day out, never getting a break…

-

“Alright, it’s been five minutes…” Caitlin sighed as she opened the door and walked into the room, flanked by her assistant researcher.

“So, Lily… are you familiar with the current situation?” Caitlin asked, not paying Emily a single glance.

“Yes ma’am. We’ve achieved successful grafting with two subjects, and the host is prepared for memory wipe.” Lily responded, looking to her leader for affirmation.

“Very good Lily. Now, please observe Emily’s feet. Do you notice any sign of the graft on them?” Caitlin asked, looking back at the short researcher with expectancy.

Lily walked up to Emily, momentarily looking her in the eyes. As the brunette stared daggers at her, the meek researcher quickly looked away, then towards Emily’s feet.

“I don’t see any visible sign of modification to the feet, nor any abnormal irregularities. The smell is greatly reduced from earlier, and touching the sole indicates her feet are being massaged by the membrane as intended…” Lily summarized, feeling Emily's foot in every location.

“And the sweating?” Caitlin inquired, handing Lily what looked to be a magnifying glass.

“It seems… it seems each droplet is being reabsorbed into the foot… the membrane is functioning correctly ma’am…” Lily responded, looking meticulously at every inch of the appendage.

“You two aren’t even human…” Emily spat, trying to kick at them with her feet, but barely moved them an inch.

“The host is unhappy with the moral dilemma of the operation. This should iron out with the correct marketing approach…” Caitlin remarked, looking at Lily with a smirk, which the girl nervously responded to with a feigned smile.

“Anyway… we’ve got to start wiping our trace, Ms. Smith. As for you… you’ll continue to provide us with valuable data, and we’ll keep a very, very close eye on you from now on. You just won’t know it.” she continued, configuring something on the tablet she described as the Memory Controller.

“Wait… Ms. Ross…” Lily began, a look of unease on her face.

“...Yes, Lily?” Caitlin asked with curiosity.

“I have questions…” Lily continued, making sure the intimidating researcher wouldn’t be angry with her for speaking out of turn.

“Go ahead!” Caitlin pleasantly responded, continuing to mess with the Memory Controller.

“If we could kidnap and graft Ms. Price… why did we even go through the effort of luring David into the experiment, and why didn’t we just simply wipe Ms. Price’s memory, rather than grafting her?” Lily asked, the burning questions plaguing her curious mind.

“Very good questions, Lily! Well, to put it simply; Ms. Price was a matter of unique complication. To answer your first question… our primary goal within this experiment is to eventually be able to combine shrunken humans with host body parts, correct?” Caitlin asked, awaiting Lily’s answer.

“Right, ma’am… but who would volunteer for such a thing, besides those who don’t read the fine print?” Lily pushed, unsure of Caitlin’s intended direction.

“Well, not many. Fetishists, perhaps, but that’ll be a difficult thing to navigate with our clientele. Not many wealthy women like the idea of a foot perv living their dream life in their shoes…” Caitlin laughed, finishing toying with the device.

“Now, there is an inherent problem with kidnapping, like we did with Courtney and Emily, however we weren’t seen with them, thankfully. But we DID try to do it beforehand. That was the burn we had to go through in New York, if you recall.” she explained.

“Right… I remember now. We kidnapped that one?” Lily asked.

“Yes. Mr. Evans. Such an unfortunate case. His graft was unsuccessful, and it was quite a hassle getting his lifeless corpse unattached from my foot…” Caitlin complained, shuddering at the thought.

“But Mr. Evans had a family, and they came looking, knowing he signed up for our trial, and we had to vanish. I have to say, changing our business name so often is getting frustrating… at this point, Greater Steps was the first thing that came to mind… “ Caitlin remarked, before continuing her explanation.

“We wanted a volunteer, so that the process was entirely within legal bounds, to avoid the likelihood of a burn. So much for that. Anyway, we actually didn’t intend to graft Mr. Johnson, rather we were going to test the Memory Controller on him at the end of the experiment to make him forget, as we are now on Emily here.” Caitlin continued.

“But after he was gravely injured, it became clear he would have to disappear, either through death or grafting. We did our research, and he had few friends, but still would be searched for after vanishing. As such, a burn became necessary. Now, Lily, tell me, if we were going to burn anyway, something we usually try to avoid at all costs, why wouldn’t we go ahead and take an extra sample, to make it worthwhile?” Caitlin finalized with a smile, looking towards the foot Courtney was grafted to.

“I… I guess that makes sense…” Lily nervously agreed, trying not to show her concern towards Caitlin’s callous behavior. “But won’t people ask about Ms. Price, and Mr. Johnson?”

“They will. And that’s why we’re going to completely wipe Emily’s memory of these individuals, to avoid any chance of this coming back to us. Yes, people will question Ms. Smith about why it seems she forgot all about those she once loved and isn't distraught at their disappearance, but to answer as bluntly as I can; that isn’t our problem anymore…” Caitlin answered coldly. Lily was taken aback, but kept her mouth shut, fearing the cold-hearted woman before her.

“YOU’RE A FUCKING MONSTER!” Emily seethed, knowing that if she was freed in that moment, she would’ve ripped out Caitlin’s jugular.

Caitlin turned to her, as if she was surprised she was still in the room.

Emily was inconsolable, her voice fallen into sunken murmurs as she looked at the two researchers with absolute malice.

“Ah, yes, sorry Ms. Smith. I got distracted answering my subordinates' questions… let me return to what I was doing…” Caitlin apologized, as she picked the tablet back up and turned towards Emily.

“Subject: Emily Smith, undergoing testing for Phase One of the Memory Controller. Notable events we are seeking to eradicate: accepting the trial invitation, arriving at the facility, participating in testing, the finding of David Johnson, interaction with Courtney Price, and the past half-hour of memory…” Caitlin listed.

"Oh, and Lily?" she piped up, looking to her meek assistant.

"Yes ma'am?" Lily asked.

"Wipe all the data on her phone that pertains to these two. Otherwise, I doubt there's much that would leave her memory of them in question…" Caitlin instructed, continuing to look at the device, the heavy words barely an afterthought to her.

“Replacement of events in memory prepared. Subject will be convinced it was a skin-care trial, and will not remember David Johnson’s participation.” she explained, pressing buttons on the tablet.

“Notable individuals to wipe from memory… David Johnson… Courtney Price… Caitlin Ross…” she continued, pressing more buttons.

“Notable personality traits to enhance… lack of foot hygiene… habit of keeping shoes for too long…” she further elaborated, seemingly pushing up sliders on the device, a grin once more forming on her face.

“Wait! You said you were just going to wipe my memory!” Emily yelled, fighting her restraints once more.

“Well, we need to test these features, it may turn the Memory Controller into a complete brain altering device! You may experience some chronic headaches, but it’s worth using you while we’ve got you!” Caitlin laughed, holding the tablet a distance away as she made sure it all lined up.

Emily pulled against her shackles so hard she began to draw blood.

“Wipe and reconfiguration prepared. Subject is ready for execution of program…” Caitlin called out, looking around the room and making sure things were in place.

“Caitlin! Don’t do this!” Emily pleaded, her voice growing hoarse from screaming.

“Subject is in a heightened emotional state… administering pacifying shock…” Caitlin said coldly, pressing a button on the tablet.

Emily felt a harsh zap against her head, making her muscles spasm as she grew dizzy. “What’re you…” she mumbled, losing consciousness. The last thing she saw before passing out, was Caitlin walking towards her, and the far away sight of her two feet…

-

“What is… what’s going on…” David grumbled, feeling himself awaken from what felt like an eternal slumber. “I… I can’t move…” he grumbled further, feeling heavy and stiff. His other senses began to kick in, and he could just barely make out a growing, cheesy, acrid stench.

“Ugh… I know that smell… Emily’s feet… that girl needs to wash every now and then…” he groaned, the smell being so strong he could taste it. He tried to gag, but found he couldn’t do so. In fact, he couldn’t do much of anything, besides smell, taste, and feel.

He began to hear sounds, but they were muffled, and blocked out by a ringing noise. “So loud…” he complained, unable to reach up and cover his ears.

“What happened to me…” he wondered, trying to recall what had transpired to lead him here.

“I was… I was tiny… in Emily’s shoe… she shook me out… and I landed on my arm… it broke… and fucking hurt…” he muttered, noticing he wasn’t feeling that same pain.

“Then I tried to get her help… but then someone else… I think… Courtney… came over… and stepped on me?” he continued, trying as hard as he could to dig in his flustered memory.

“She crushed me… I felt the blood pour out of my body… and my bones were shattered. My limbs bent in all directions… and I couldn’t move…” he recalled, shuddering at the memory of the pain he felt in that moment.

“It was excruciating… and I looked up at Emily… she was so beautiful… I thought she’d be the last thing I’d see… but then she looked back down… and said my name…” he said, a fondness in tone.

“Then there was yelling… and Emily fell down… then I blacked out…” he finalized, reaching as far as he had memory to go.

“But where… where is Emily… and where am I?” he pondered, still hearing muffled noises, but they began to grow clearer, and around the same time, his vision began to change from black, to a sterile white glow, as his eyes finally opened, allowing him to see a fuzzy expanse of white.

“A hospital room? Am I… still alive? How fucked up must I be… I can’t even move an inch…” he panicked, only able to see what looked like an endless cloud.

Suddenly, the cloud flew away, revealing a room with lights so bright David tried to cover his eyes, but he still couldn’t move. He instead slowly struggled to take in the sights before him, as his eyes adjusted to the light, and his ears began to hear with clarity.

“Say hello to Courtney… and David!” a familiar, demonic voice boomed, startling David as he felt a hand poke at his body.

“Caitlin!” he realized, his voice seething with rage.

“YOU BITCH, I’LL KILL YOU!” he yelled, looking up at the lab-coat clad researcher with murderous intent as he tried to lunge for her throat, feeling no response from his body.

David realized something. It looked like he was in a hospital bed… but he was at the foot of it. Why would he be laid that way?

“Your friends have been merged with your feet…” David heard a snippet of the conversation making it through to his ears.

“Wait… is that why… no… no… god, no…” he panicked, quickly hyperventilating, but only managing to suck in fetid foot-air.

“I’m gonna hurl!” he yelled, dry heaving with sheer terror as he put the pieces together. He was either attached to a foot, or he WAS the foot. Regardless, he had no idea who’s foot he now belonged to. “May?! Chloe?!” he wondered, trying with fruitless effort to turn his head and see his captor. "Wait... she said friends..." he began, before a greater concern struck his mind.

“Why am I a foot?!” he screamed, before pausing. He noticed something. He wasn’t using his mouth to speak. It was all in his head. He COULDN’T use his mouth to speak. It was as if it was permanently held all the way open, taking in bucketful's of salty perspiration.

Suddenly, he heard something that caught his attention.

“Five minutes, Ms. Smith…” Caitlin sighed, before the sound of a door closing echoed through the room.

“Wait… Smith… Emily?!” he yelled, initially with glee at his friend being nearby, but quickly falling into melancholy, as he realized what that meant.

“No way… I’m… Emily’s foot…” he trembled. He felt absolute despair.

“Now she’ll never know how I feel…” he cried, unable to hold back his emotions as he descended into a state of delirious sadness.

He was broken out of this trance by the sound of a familiar voice, in this situation sounding like the message of an angel.

“D… David… Courtney… I’m so fucking sorry… if you really are in there, and she’s not playing a prank… I never meant for any of this to happen. I mean, for god sakes, how could I have…” he heard Emily whimper.

His heart sank as he heard the pain in her voice, knowing she truly had no control over what had transpired. “I love you, Emily…” he sobbed, hoping to god she could hear him.

“And David…” she said, catching his full interest as she changed the subject to him.

“I’m in love with you… I always have been. I always wanted to be with you but I didn’t want to make things weird between us… now I wish I just asked…” he heard her say. He couldn’t contain himself any longer, as he began to bawl, cursing the fact that he couldn’t feel any tears stream down his face.

“And now we can’t ever be a thing… because you’re my fucking foot… all because I got desperate for money…” he listened further, each word a harsh sting to his aching heart. He longed to be able to speak, to at least say goodbye to his childhood friend, and never-to-be lover. But his purpose wasn’t to speak anymore, it was to be the middle-man between the ground and her feet. There was no need for a voice, no need for control.

“Please god… help me…” he begged, praying for the first time in his adult life, not even able to hold his no longer existent hands together in true prayer.

Suddenly, a loud clunk shook the room, as the door opened once more. David watched as Caitlin returned, standing in front of him with something in her hands. She was followed by a smaller woman, one he recognized as Lily, Cailtin’s assistant.

“So, Lily… are you familiar with the current situation?” Caitlin asked, not even shooting David a glance. Why would she… he was a foot.

“Yes ma’am. We’ve achieved successful grafting with two subjects, and the host is prepared for memory wipe.” Lily responded, David looking at the short researcher, searching for some kind of empathy on her face, but only seeing what looked like the ass-kissing gaze of an assistant researcher at her mentor.

“Very good Lily. Now, please observe Emily’s feet. Do you notice any sign of the graft on them?” Caitlin asked, causing Lily to walk up and look towards David’s partner. “That must be Courtney…” he thought. “Poor girl… she didn’t even get the practice I got…”

“I don’t see any visible sign of modification to the feet, nor any abnormal irregularities. The smell is greatly reduced from earlier, and touching the sole indicates her feet are being massaged by the membrane as intended…” Lily’s voice echoed, as David noticed her looking towards him with a hand held out, as she began to feel up his body, touching him all over without any care.

“And the sweating?” he heard Caitlin ask, as he watched her hand Lily a magnifying glass. He looked as Lily lowered herself down, holding the glass before her eyes and showing an inflated perspective of her oculars as she looked intensely at David and his partner.

“It seems… it seems each droplet is being reabsorbed into the foot… the membrane is functioning correctly ma’am…” he heard her say. 

“Is that why I keep tasting sweat?” he wondered.

He noticed it even more now, a strong, salty taste that covered what he assumed was his tongue. It was exactly as he tasted earlier, only now it was inescapable. And the smell, every breath was rancid, like her foot was festering in the summer heat for days on end without a hint of soap. He even FELT sweaty, a thick film of grime coating his effective face.

He began to fade in and out of consciousness, only hearing traces of the furthering conversation…

“Anyway… we’ve got to start wiping our trace, Ms. Smith. As for you… you’ll continue to provide us with valuable data, and we’ll keep a very, very close eye on you from now on. You just won’t know it.” David heard Caitlin explain, her voice tinged with a hint of her trademark sadism.

David’s heart sank further, as he could just barely make out exhausted whimpers from Emily.

“Subject: Emily Smith, undergoing testing for Phase One of the Memory Controller. Notable events we are seeking to eradicate: accepting the trial invitation, arriving at the facility, participating in testing, the finding of David Johnson, interaction with Courtney Price, and the past half-hour of memory…” he heard Caitlin list.

“Wait… what is she doing… what is the Memory Controller?!” he panicked.

“Replacement of events in memory prepared. Subject will be convinced it was a skin-care trial, and will not remember David Johnson’s participation.” Caitlin explained further.

David began to writhe with all his might, hoping to somehow achieve… something!

“Notable individuals to wipe from memory… David Johnson… Courtney Price… Caitlin Ross…” she continued.

“NO! DON’T DO THIS! DON’T MAKE HER FORGET ME!” he pleaded, begging for a savior.

“Notable personality traits to enhance… lack of foot hygiene… habit of keeping shoes for too long…” he heard her say with a hint of amusement in her tone.

David screamed, as he knew Caitlin’s intentions all too well; she wanted him to suffer…

He felt his host foot kick and writhe around, sensing her every movement and increased pulse pumping through his body as Emily fought to do something.

“Wipe and reconfiguration prepared. Subject is ready for execution of program…” he heard Caitlin’s voice call out.

“Caitlin! Don’t do this!” Emily’s voice screamed.

“PLEASE DON’T!” David added, looking up at the apathetic researcher as she fiddled around on the tablet. He looked to Lily, who was simply looking at him with a visible scientific apathy, perfectly fitting for the Caitlin-in-training.

“Subject is in a heightened emotional state… administering pacifying shock…” he heard Caitlin mutter, as she fumbled with the device in her hands, looking past David towards Emily.

David began to protest further, until he felt a light shock come from the main body. “What did she do?!” he wondered, as he felt the pulse traveling to him begin to slow. As it dropped down, further and further, he himself began to feel light-headed. Before he could even get a final glance at the monster who ruined his life, his eyes closed, rendering him unconscious as his vision fully faded, the last thing he sensed being the disgusting taste of Emily’s uncared for appendage, which he now found himself a part of…