Volume I

Chapter 2

No Hard Feelings

It was getting dark, the cool, alaskan breeze rushing past Blaire and causing her hair to float with the wind as she headed home after a wonderfully exciting day. Meeting Jacob had not been part of her agenda, and yet she couldn’t be more pleased to have been introduced to such a handsome gentleman with such a way with words. He was charming, and had a flare in his eye that gave Blaire the butterflies.

At home it was a distant fantasy to think that she could ever find her prince charming. Unless the man she was seeing was rich beyond comprehension, and had a status equivalent to the top percentage of the wealthy, her family wouldn’t even tantalize allowing her to ‘dirty’ her reputation with such ‘lowlife beggars’.

Jacob, he may only work at a food wagon, and have lived in Valdez his entire life, but Blaire didn’t care. In fact, this only drew her to him even more. He was a nobody, just like she was a nobody, and he had nobody, just like she had nobody. Blaire wasn’t interested in big families, at least not for now. But a man with no ties to anything? A charming one at that. Blaire knew that she had already developed a modicum of feelings for him, despite their interaction being cut short by his boss.

Eventually Blaire reached her little home, already eager to sleep through the night so she could see Jacob the following day. It had been only her for long enough, she was ready to break free of her solitude and experience the fruit that Alaska had to offer her in serenity. After an entire life of oppression at the hands of her rich and cruel family, Blaire finally felt as if she was the one in absolute control of her life, and her choices. Nothing could ruin this moment for her.

The ringing tone blared in the ear of Deita, as she held her cell phone up to her face and patiently sat on the edge of her bed. She stretched out her legs, including her free arm before sighing and kicking off her high heels. They clattered to the floor, revealing her lavish, bare feet as she kicked them aside and planted her soles on the rough carpet below.

It seemed to take forever, as the phone rang and rang. Her heart grew weary, as she wondered if the recipient would ever pick up the phone. A droplet of sweat began to form upon her forehead. Deita was anxious, unsure if the news she would bring would be satisfactory or not. Despite being instructed to convince Jacob to continue his deliveries at any cost, the young man's demands seemed far out of hand.

Finally the phone stopped ringing, and the recipient answered.

“What news do you have for me, Deita?”

“Well, I am pleased to say that I managed to strike a deal with Jacob. However, he amended the cash deal.”

“And?”

“He rejected the two million you offered free of delivery. However, for the next delivery, he wants ten million dollars in cash…”

There was silence, and for a moment Deita’s heart began to race. It was common knowledge within their organization by now, that Avaramix was not a man to be trifled with. Many had tried to take advantage of his wealth and position, and every last of one of them paid the price for it. Deita expected no difference with Jacob, but she would be proved wrong posthaste.

“His terms are acceptable. The cash will be shipped within the half hour. This is to assume his delivery will be tomorrow by noon, is that correct?”

Surprise was all Deita could feel, her eyes wide in disbelief.

“Master… Surely ten million is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“If you deemed it too large a price to pay, you would have argued it. If you feel guilty for Jacob’s demand, do not. Spare me your sentiment, Deita, I only required one thing. I require Jacob’s most valuable potential. For now it seems he is one of a kind, but should the day come we learn that isn’t true, we can deal with him then. Until such a day arrives, our clientele will pay whatever price we tag Jacob’s specimens. Do not fail me, Deita. Keep Jacob hooked in any manner necessary.”

Click

He had hung up, leaving Deita speechless on the other line as she sat on the edge of her bed within the motel room she had rented for a night. While she was pleased that her master was not upset at Jacob’s seemingly unreasonable demand, it did get her thinking as to how much money exactly the clientele were offering for more of Jacob’s product.

“I feel as if I’m being left out of the details,” Deita spoke aloud, leaning back on her hands as she looked up at the ceiling in deep thought.

“Avaramix, I understand you’ve always been a man of swift business, and careful compartmentalization. However, I hope you realize that I can be trusted above anyone else…”

A dark hallway stretched far outwards, ahead of the two strangers walking together silently. It was eerie, and silent. Dimly lit torches were lined across each wall of the hallway, a rugged carpet stretching on for what seemed to be forever. The strangers were an older gentleman, and a younger woman. The old man seemed to be in his early sixties, while the younger woman appeared to be his granddaughter of sorts.

She had dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. She was full figured, and appeared to be in her mid twenties. She wore black flats, a short skirt that seemed to be assigned by a highly established college institution. She wore very large, diamond earrings, and had a ruby nose piercing on her left nostril. She had comically large eyelashes, clearly fake, and an expression of a bratty personality.

“Why is this hallway so damn long? How much longer is going to be? When will I get my next order! Why did we have to come all the way down to this creepy shit hole! Why couldn’t we just have it mailed to us! Why did I have to come along! Why couldn’t you have left me at home!? Do you hate me, grandfather? Are you getting old and senile? Why is this bloody hallway so damn long! Ewww! Is that a dead rat!?”

The old man rolled his eyes. “Honey, please. We were instructed very clearly. I can see the door just ahead, we’re almost there. Now will you please spare my ears and silence that voice of yours? Unless you changed your mind…”

Her eyes grew wide. “No! No, no, no! I didn’t change my mind! I just don’t understand why-”

“Then shut your fucking mouth. It’s my money, and it’s a lot of fucking money, you hear me you brat? We aren’t with your parents anymore, and I won’t be disrespected you little twat! Now shut your mouth and let’s get this over with.”

The bratty, young woman quickly silenced herself. Never had she been spoken to in such a manner, but she wasn’t about to argue with her wallet, was she?

Finally they reached the end of the hallway, entering the next room which was a large chamber of sorts. The odd decor was all the same, torches everywhere that dimly lit the space to a degree of the bare minimum. There were several doors leading to who knew where, but their attention fell upon a young, Japanese woman standing several meters away at the opposite end of the room.

“Ah, Jinshin I presume?” The old man waved towards her.

“Do you have the money?” Jinshin asked promptly, wasting no time with formalities.

“Do you have my order?” The bratty girl retorted, folding her arms and lifting her nose towards the woman.

“Money first. Order next.”

“Don’t mind my granddaughter, she is an impatient one. Yes, we have the money. Eight-hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash.” The old man had been carrying a backpack, which he quickly removed and tossed over to Jinshin.

The Japanese woman stared at the bag for a brief moment, before lifting her gaze back towards the old man.

“Demand has increased, the price has changed. Two million, or no deal.”

“What!?” The old man was aghast.

“That’s a load of horse shit!” The bratty one shouted, stamping her feet like some petulant child. “Horse! Shit! Shit! I want to speak to your boss, you dumb bitch!”

The old man was really starting to panic now, his uncontrollable granddaughter not realizing the gravity of her disrespect. In an effort to mend the situation before it got out of hand, he slapped her so hard across the face she fell to the floor and straight on her ass. She was in so much shock she couldn’t utter but a single word, simply staring at her grandfather in utter disbelief.

“You will show some respect, or we will leave here empty handed. Do you understand me, you ungrateful little shit?”

The woman didn’t respond, she simply nodded as tears began to form in her eyes.

“The master doesn’t acquaint himself and his business with unruly clientele,” Jinshin warned them. “The price is now two and a half million. Now, will you pay or have you wasted enough of the master's patience?”

“My sincere apologies, she is not accustomed to such company. I promise she shall not disrespect you again. Regarding the price, we were informed it was eight hundred and fifty thousand, cash. So I brought you such an amount, in cash. Where am I supposed to get the remainder? We’d have to fly back and then return, and fly back again. That doesn’t seem very reasonable. So I offer a solution, yeah?”

“I am listening,” Jinshin spat impatiently.

“Take this payment as a retainer, deliver the product, and I can ship the remainder of the funds to your organization through my business. I can have it for you within twelve hours upon my return.”

“Why should the master agree to these terms?”

“Because we both know that if I don’t pay you the full price, there will be consequences. I am no fool, Jinshin. I have heard the rumors regarding Avaramix. I am not the kind of fool that would trifle with such a man.”

“Your terms are… Acceptable.” Jinshin picked up the bag, zipping it open and sifting through the cash as if to count it quickly. After approving of its contents, she set it aside and turned around to face an inconspicuous table with a set of drawers.

The top drawer had a locking mechanism, as Jinshin pulled a key from her bosom and unlocked it. Meanwhile, the bratty, young woman stood to her feet while rubbing her sore cheek. While she would have words with her parents later regarding this incident, she was at the very least excited to obtain her next victim.

Jinshin pulled a prescription bottle out of the drawer, before shutting it once more and locking it immediately. The bottle was orange, and the label had been peeled clean off. Though the colored bottle made it difficult to see the contents inside, it was clear that a humanoid form was lurking just inside the bottle itself.

“Within twelve hours upon your return. Not a minute later,” Jinshin warned them both, tossing the bottle across the room and towards the bratty woman.

The blonde quickly snatched the bottle midair, salivating like a mad lunatic as perverted and cruel thoughts rampaged throughout her mind. Without a second thought, she untwisted the white cap of the bottle and peeked inside. Her eyes grew wide, her mouth drooling like some sort of deranged dog.

“Oh yeah… You and I, we’re going to have a lot of fun!”

“Satisfied?” The old man grunted, relieved that everything had worked out in their favor.

“Definitely! It’s a girl, too! I wanted a girl… They scream the most!”

Inside of the prescription bottle, was a small and frightened, young woman. She had brunette hair, the color of her eyes not perceivable due to her size. Somehow, this woman was unnaturally small. Standing at only an inch tall in her demeanor, this terrified woman looked up into the eyes of this sadistic, bratty blonde. It didn’t take much guessing that things would go horribly awry for her in due time.

“Now then, what’s your name you lil’ cutey?”

The young woman gulped nervously, fear-stricken as she stared into the blonde's relentless gaze. After an uncomfortable silence, she finally spoke up.

“A-Alicia… My name is Alicia…” The tiny woman murmured.

“Alicia? That’s stupid. Your name is cupcake from now on, because you look as delicious as a cupcake! Mmm… Yeah, a cupcake! A vanilla cupcake! What do you think of that? Hm?”

“I… Cupcake? I don’t… Please…”

“Ha! Begging already. Oh boy, I can’t wait to get you home! We’ll have sooooo much fun together! Hopefully you will last longer than my previous tiny… That idiot got himself killed when he jumped out of my hand and landed on the tile floor of my bathroom. He was boring me anyways, always mouthing me off and whatnot. You won’t mouth me off, though, would you? Hm? Lil’ cupcake?”

The tiny Alicia was still unable to comprehend this predicament she had found herself in. It had all happened not too long ago, but since then she’d been fed scraps that were hardly fit for consumption, and given water so dirty and contaminated it was like she was being treated similar to that of a rodent.

She had been on a date with a charming, young man. It had been so long, she could hardly recall his name anymore, but she knew that he was responsible for this. They had dinner, returned to her place, and had the most passionate sex that Alicia had ever enjoyed with anybody.

As fate would have it, she had been cruelly manipulated and led an evil, nefarious person straight into her home. The moment she fell asleep, she had awoken with the most excruciating headache ever known to mankind. If she hadn’t known better, Alicia actually believed she was going to die, that is how painful the headache had become.

After it had faded, she was enveloped by an endless fabric that threatened to strangle her. It smelt of lavender oil, and was as smooth as silk, but as she struggled against it, she found it only consumed and entangled her even more. It wasn’t until the booming voice of the man she had slept with had rang in her ears, that she felt her gut wrench as it seemed something was lifting her to impossible heights.

She tumbled and fell through endless fabric, jerking through air and mach speeds as she cried and screamed in terror and agony. Before long she exited the endless fabrics, tumbling what felt like a mile until landing into what felt like a soft cloud. It was her pillow, as she immediately recognized her surroundings, only they were now a thousand times amplified in size, compared to herself.

Even to this day, Alicia couldn’t comprehend how the young man had done it. Somehow,  he had shrunk her to barely an inch’ height. She was handed over to a raven-haired woman, again she failed to recall this woman’s name. Most of her time had been spent in darkness, moving from place to place to who knew where. Eventually she was delivered to Jinshin, the Japanese woman, who stuffed her in this prescription bottle and fed her scraps and dirty water until this very moment.

It all had become clear now, only Alicia didn’t want to believe it. She had always heard the horror stories on television and the internet, regarding victims who were rescued from trafficking organizations. However, this was no ordinary organization. No, somehow this organization had the ability to shrink their victims, which somehow boosted their profits. Upon seeing the sadistic, cruel gaze of this snot-nosed, bratty blonde, it became clear that the sort of clientele who would purchase shrunken innocents, were utterly psychotic and insane.

“Well? Are you going to answer me? I don’t have much patience for disobedient slaves!” The bratty blonde tooted, giving Alicia an evil glare of disapproval.

“Please! Just let me go! I promise, I’ll never tell anyone about this! I just want to see my family again, please! I’m begging you!” Alicia was already sobbing, realizing that her life was essentially over. She was terrified at the thought of what would come next, she didn’t even want to consider it.

“There it is, I was waiting for the rainfall to begin,” the blonde declared with giddy laughter. “Oh yes… This is perfect, the best two million ever spent!”

“Two and a half million, now let’s get the hell out of here!” The old man scoffed, not at all pleased that his son and daughter had somehow convinced him to purchase such a ridiculously priced product for his granddaughter. Usually they did the transaction personally, but business had them tied up in Israel and they were unable to do so. Instead, they had their father do it on their behalf.

“Yeah, yeah! Just let me ogle her lil’ tits a bit longer. Damn, so perky! I’m gonna suck those babies dry, I hope you know that, cupcake! Teehee!”

“Oh God… No… This can’t be real, this can’t be happening to me! Why!? What have I done to deserve this!?” Alicia was having a full blown panic attack, starting to hyperventilate as the realization of her new reality washed over her.

For all intents and purposes, she was now the property of this deranged, young woman. Despite all the stories of trafficked victims having been rescued, Alicia knew that her size meant that rescue was impossible. She wouldn’t ever see home again, not her parents, her siblings, her uncles, cousins or grandparents. Her friends would never see her again, her college professor would wonder why she abandoned her degree. Her place of work would assume she was fed up and quit without notice.

That’s all Alicia could think about, realizing that nobody would ever know the truth of her cruel fate. Nobody would know, and there was no feasible way for them to find out the truth. After all, at an inch tall, you might as well be considered an insect. And nobody moves mountains to save an insect. No, people only torture or crush an insect, or keep them in captivity. Because that is what an insect is, less than… Less than human.

The blonde woman lifted the cap, preparing to twist it back onto the bottle as she smirked at her new little plaything. A despicable grin spread across her lips.

“Hang tight for now, cupcake! You should know, my name is Camilla. Know it well, because what happens next will determine how long you’ll be my new toy!”

With those final words, Camilla, the bratty blonde, sealed the frantic Alicia back inside of her prescription prison. Her cries and screams were silenced, unable to penetrate the thick plastic that acted as her temporary prison. Whatever Camilla had in store for her, Alicia knew she’d rather die than find out.

It was almost noon, and Jacob knew that Blaire would arrive any second. He had been a nervous wreck all day, procrastinating every available second he had to avoid doing what he knew had to be done. He tried playing the moral violin, attempting to reason with himself and talk himself out of it. Alas, the idea of cashing in ten million dollars persuaded him to continue forth every time he almost backed out of the deal.

There hadn’t been a new customer in some time, roughly twenty or thirty minutes. Jacob kept tapping his fingers impatiently on the wooden counter of his food wagon, turning his head inconspicuously now and again to peek on Liz. He had hired her only three weeks ago, he knew her a while back in college but she had dropped out. As far as Jacob knew, she lived in Valdez alone. Liz wasn’t much for details, so he knew very little about her past. However, he also knew that not many people would ask questions regarding her disappearance.

‘Fuck it… I can’t wait any longer… Sorry Liz, I have to get this over with,’ Jacob thought with frustration.

He grabbed the sign just outside the window and flipped it to ‘closed’. Then, Jacob cleared the counter and closed the shutters of the ordering window. Liz noticed, giving him a strange glance, but of course not speaking a word since she was mute and unable to speak.

Jacob locked the ordering window, and turned to face Liz with a feigned smile.

“Going to close early today, but I’ll pay you a full shift so don’t worry,” Jacob lied.

Liz began to gesture to him with hand signals. Jacob was able to read sign language, and this was how they would always communicate. He wasn’t an expert, however, so occasionally he had to read between the signs so to speak.

“What? No! Of course not, I’ve been absolutely impressed by your skills! Best cook I’ve ever hired!” Jacob began to sweat nervously, he wasn’t sure why this was so difficult. He’d never had such an issue with previous women, but somehow Liz was different.

It dawned on him, if Deita hadn’t even mentioned Liz, he never would have thought of using Liz for a delivery. Yet here he was, appeasing to Deita’s recommendations like some sort of money-grubbing pig. He couldn’t help himself, he made some damn good money before, but it seemed that his ‘products’ had become so popular that his demand of ten million dollars was actually fair game. If not for that absurd price he spit out, he never would have agreed to this.

Liz was able to see right through him, spotting the sweat above his brow and his shaky posture. It was clear that Jacob was nervous, and Liz wanted to know what. She began signing furiously, wanting an explanation and to be assured that she wasn’t being let go, or that Jacob at the very least was alright.

“Liz… I… Everything, I just can’t…” Jacob was stumbling over his words, he knew this was pointless. It was best to get it over with, but something kept holding him back.

Then it clicked, and Jacob knew how pointless this all was. When he hired Liz, he wasn’t sure it would work out. Being a mute, it seemed as if she was a robot working herself to the bone autonomously and without personality. That changed over time, when Liz realized that Jacob could understand her sign language. He got to know her better, saw her sweet and sharp personality through her facial expressions and hand gestures.

Unlike Jacob’s previous victims, who he knew nothing about and had tricked into welcoming him into their homes to have sex where he would then do the deed… Liz had been around for almost a month as one of his best cooks and employees. Jacob had always distanced himself from others, in order to protect his supernatural abilities. Not only because he feared their reaction, but because of what he used these abilities for.

There was a time when Jacob saw no limit to who he would use to make a quick buck, until he met Blaire. He had never seen a woman like Blaire before. She didn’t realize it, but Jacob had seen her some time ago, actually. Of course she was walking by, and they were strangers, but he was stunned by her immaculate appearance. When she surprisingly stopped by his food wagon, he couldn’t understand the stroke of luck he’d experienced to actually sit down with the woman and enjoy a meal together.

The audacity of Deita to assume she was on the table, it boiled Jacob’s blood to no end. He hated that manipulative woman, but then again, was he not a manipulator himself? While he never asked the details regarding the fates of those he delivered, he knew all too well the sort of sick fucks that would want to get their hands on a shrunken individual. When he came to this realization, he had ghosted the organization in hopes they’d let him go peacefully. He should have known better.

Now ten million in cash was on the table. Deita had set her eyes on Blaire, and Jacob instinctively played his hand by revealing his innate interest with the young woman. He wanted to slap himself for being such a fool, an utter imbecile. Jacob didn’t understand why Blaire meant so much to him, perhaps it was how mysterious she was, like he was almost. But now he has put Liz in the crossfire, and as much as Jacob admires Liz as an employee, Deita is expecting a delivery in under an hour.

Jacob wanted out, he wanted to let Liz go and change his mind. But that option was not viable, not when he outed his interest and protective nature over Blaire. A woman of whom he knew not, a total stranger, and yet he gushed over her like an idiot  in front of the most dangerous woman he’d ever crossed. That’s why he was struggling with this so much, because he knew that Liz’ fate was on his hands. All of his victims were, of course, but he never intended for Liz to get caught in the crossfire. But sentiment was pointless, and Jacob had a job to do.

Jacob sighed heavily, as Liz relented her gestures and placed her hands on her hips awaiting a response.

“Liz. I really am sorry. I want you to know, there’s no hard feelings here. I hope you can forgive me for this.”

Overwhelming excitement would be an understatement for how Blaire felt, as she approached the food wagon from the day before. She couldn’t stop thinking about Jacob, and getting to know him more. Their time had been cut short due to his boss, for some reason, but Blaire skipped over the details and only thought about how charming he was.

Blaire had a boyfriend once, a slightly older man in his mid thirties who ran a successful business in the culinary industry. They had met at random, at a fancy venue that her family had dragged her to. Ironically, they managed to hit it off. He was funny, cute and had been divorced once and had a young daughter. While this put her off at first, she later learned the wife had divorced him after she cheated on him, then taking half of his assets in court and relieved complete parentship over their daughter.

The man refused to let this cripple him, and built himself back up to provide the best life possible for his daughter. While Blaire began to fall in love with the man, her family was disapproving. They viewed his divorce as a weakness, and that losing assets so easily was a stain on his reputation. They insulted the type of business he conducted, calling it child's play.

The family forced Blaire to end the relationship, and that would lead her down the path to her final decision to flee from Seattle and move to the remote Valdez of Alaska to live a life free of her oppressive and maniacal family.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Blaire wanted to focus on her future. As she neared the food wagon, she was quickly concerned when she noticed the sign was flipped to “closed” and the ordering window had been shut.

‘I don’t understand, did he change his mind?’ Blaire thought, afraid that she might have done something wrong.

Not wanting to surrender to her own worries so quickly, she approached the side of the wagon where the door was. She approached it, about to knock on the door in the off chance that Jacob or Liz were still present. Before she had the chance however, the door opened abruptly as Blaire found herself staring into Jacob’s backside.

“Blaire!” Jacob beamed upon seeing her, but kept his back to her. He seemed to be shuffling with something in his hands, and before long he finally turned around as Blaire noticed a prescription bottle in his hand.

“Hey! I got concerned when I saw the sign and window. Is everything alright?”

“What? Oh! Yeah, totally! Closing early today, my cook had other matters to deal with this afternoon and I decided to give us a bit more time for our date!”

“Date?” Blaire blushed upon hearing this.

Jacob realized they hadn’t called anything a date yet, and he blushed as well. He smiled at her, chuckling humorously as he used his free hand and scratched the back of his head.

“I mean, yeah. Why not? Is it a date, then?”

Blaire smiled and swayed her hips seductively. “Yeah, I think it is. But I think without a cook to operate your wagon, we’ll have to find somewhere else to eat… Yeah?”

“Actually, there’s a diner just down the street! I’ll have to warn you though, my boss is going to be here soon to pick up this week's sales to make a deposit. So I’ll need to bounce for a brief moment to get it to her.”

“Yeah, of course! No worries.” Blaire smiled at him, before noticing the prescription bottle again. Her interest was piqued, and she couldn’t help but ask. “Is that a medication bottle?”

Jacob’s face flushed red, as he realized he was still holding the bottle in his hand. He quickly shoved it into his pocket, making sure to keep his entire hand over the see-through plastic as he pocketed it out of sight.

“I’ll be honest, it’s just to help me sleep. Though, I don’t like the idea of being on medication.”

“It’s fine Jacob,” Blaire assured him with a hearty smile, “I used to take anti-depressants… That’s a bit more embarrassing, don’t you think?”

“Oh really?” Jacob walked down the steps of the wagon and leveled with Blaire, “I bet there’s a story there, and we have as long as you’ll give me!”

“I think I’ll give you more time than you may have hoped for.” Blaire winked at him.

“I always hope for the best, so we’ll see about that!”

The two laughed and began to chit chat as they walked down the street to the diner. Despite Jacob’s charm, and handsome nature, Blaire had seemingly missed the pile of clothes on the floor of the wagon when she caught Jacob exiting it.