“Jim, Jim! You’ll never believe what I got, come to the kitchen!”

“Urrgh, huh?” Jim rubbed his face and groggily rose from the couch.

“Can’t I get some sleep without you screaming about something?” He plodded over.

“Quit your bitching, check this out.” Dari giddily reached into her bag, already anticipating the reaction her haul would garner.

Still hunched over Jim looked down, unimpressed by the two dolls she placed on the table. That is until he saw their frantic stares and skittish motions sizing up their surroundings, from which point his brows and posture rose. Those are not dolls!

“Oh shit… OH SHIT! It’s those little people! How did you get them, where did you find them- did anyone see you?” He stammered with more questions than his mouth could keep pace with.  He shifted his head side to side to get different angles of the two specimens.

“Nope, I found them wandering the streets alone!”

“Say what?” He turned around to Dari. Initial impression had him assume she pulled the hustle of her life, when on the contrary it was a stroke of dumb luck. “You gotta be kidding me.” Jim set his sights back on the tiny humans. “Are you two stupid or what?”

The Micronians shrunk back under roaring cackles above. The man’s gaze was particularly frightening. It never left their bodies, beyond his laughter the gears in his mind were turning.

“S-someone will look for us once our group realizes we’re gone. Just let us go and we won’t tell anyone.” Every crack and stutter furthered his regret for opening his mouth. His hasty move was met with an additional round of raucous and a quick jab from Lyla to his arm.

“Uhuh.” Dari sneered.

“Face it, you’re S-O-L.” Jim snickered.

There wasn’t a more fitting acronym. Separated from their group, in an unknown location, and in the clutches of two kidnappers. The odds appeared insurmountable. All they had was each other and as such took refuge in the other’s hands.

“Aww, don’t be scared. I promise we’re not so bad.” Dari cooed.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Jim chimed in focusing on the female captive. “We’re not so bad, I didn’t know your country had pretty little things like you. Why don’t you come here so I can get a good look at your fine little ass?” He whistled.

Lyla gripped Emery’s hand tighter. “Fuck off.” She muttered.

“Ey, we got a feisty one! I like that little girl.” Emboldened, Jim came forward.

“Leave her alone.” Emery stepped in front against Lyla’s resistance to pull him back.

Jim sucked his teeth. “Tch, my bad peewee. One question though…” He smirked and loomed in. “What’re YOU going to do about it?”

Emery’s instincts begged him to standdown but that wasn’t an option with his girlfriend being demeaned. Inch by inch he stared up at the never-ending goliath of a man until his legs were sapped of all strength.

One prolonged look at the quivering legs of the small man answered Jim’s question and his cocky grin etched further. “I thought so. Here’s what happens when you bite off more than you can chew pipsqueak.”

Emery braced for the worst.

“Don’t hurt him, I’ll do what you want!”

“Ohoho. I knew she’d come around.” Jim gloated. “But now I’ll need something extra to make it worth my while.”

Lyla held her tongue, the last thing they needed was her backtalk digging their hole deeper.

“You’ve got a nice rack too. How about you stop being so modest and let me have a feel?”

“I’d rather chew glass.” Lyla internalized. Survival was paramount though and if this was what it took to placate this prick then so be it. With her head hung Lyla unguarded herself and put her hands behind her back.

“Lyla n-”

“Hush!” Lyla interjected at Emery’s protest. “I’m ready.” She sighed and Emery averted his head.

“That’s more like it, now relax. This’ll only take a minute... maybe.” Jim’s cackling was cut short by his bell being rung courtesy of a stinging slap.

“Shit!” Jim howled. “The fuck was that for!”

“Stop it!” Dari barked.

“Come on, I was just playing and…you know what forget it. I need to go out.” Jim stepped away and grabbed a hoodie off the floor.

Dari followed behind him. “Where’re you going?”

“I’m going to make a few calls and grab some things for them. We need to keep them in good condition.” Jim whispered, peeking back at their spoils.

“You want to sell them?” Dari questioned.

“What else are we gonna do with them?”

“Anything we want! We can have them do like chores and other cute stuff!”

“I have you for that- I mean.” The damage was already done and Dari’s leer made him switch tactics.

“This is too good to pass up. Not only do we have two of them, they’re young, and one’s a girl. Do you know how much money we could be looking at?  Think of everything we can do, you won’t have to steal shit from your job anymore, clear some debts, it’ll be great.”

 “We can at least play with them a bit.” Dari argued.

Jim furrowed his brows and glanced at the girl. It was oh so tempting to explore every bit of her dainty frame and have a thorough examination of what lied under her sundress.  His penis twitched in his pants, boy would it be great to swat her little boyfriend away and let her get acquainted with a real man.

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to chance anything happening to them. Just keep watch until I get back and don’t touch.”

“Excuse me?” Dari rebuked.

“You heard what I said, don’t touch them!” Jim reiterated before slamming the door.

“Ugh! Hijo de puta!” Dari shouted before stomping to another room.

The captive couple weren’t sure what the bickering in the distance was about. For what it was worth it gave them a much-needed reprieve.

After avoiding that confrontation by the skin of their teeth a drained Lyla sat with her knees clutched. Emery meanwhile paced back and forth to avoid getting lost in his anxious thoughts.

“What do you think they’re going to do with us?” He asked.

Lyla lifted her head. “…Sell us probably.”

They refrained from researching stories and statistics that would dishearten them before their trip. But after all the harrowing cautionary videos and rumors they heard disregarding it all was impossible.

What scared many Micronians more than being squashed was their tendency to go missing in foreign countries. By the time it’s noticed or reported it was often too late.

What became of them varied. From being blown away by a gust of wind in a storm or attacked by an animal, most were mundane happenings that regular sized locals would never think about. The worst fear came from instances where they were never found. It’s suspected that many of them were kidnapped.

At that juncture the rabbit hole of theories opened.  A few of the most popular were that they were kept or sold as personal toys for their captor/buyer’s whims. Others believed companies bought them for experimentation or forced them to complete dangerous and intricate labor. No matter how plausible or outlandish it was all hearsay.

“We need to find a way out of here. Maybe we can climb down from the table and-”

“And then what!” Lyla snapped. “How do you propose we get down without falling to the floor? Say we do get down; how would we even get the door open? And might I add that assumes that woman doesn’t catch us! Then the cherry on top, if we did pull all of that off, we don’t know where we are! I should’ve never listened to your stupid idea and now we’re trapped here.”

“Y-yeah…” Emery hung his head.  Hearing it from Lyla herself added salt to the gaping wound of knowing he made them both into the perfect victims.

“I’m sorry, I know you only agreed because I kept egging you on about it. We’ll find a way out of this, maybe they’ll be fine with just one of us if I beg them to keep me…”

“No, no, no.” Lyla was hearing none of it and approached Emery resting her hand on his back. “We both should’ve known better. If nothing else our best chance is sticking together.”

“Right.” Emery sighed, hardly believing his own rashness before Lyla reigned him in. “Then what now?”

That was the million-dollar question with no favorable answer. The unpleasant truth was that escaping and getting back to safety would take a miracle. Knowing their lives were at risk made every choice vital.

“If selling us is their endgame they at least won’t needlessly hurt us if they’re smart.” Lyla contemplated.

“True, but if escaping on our own is impossible what does that leave us with?”

“We have to persuade them somehow.” Lyla further speculated and sighed. It was indeed easier said than done, what could they do or offer that was more valuable than themselves?

“I was afraid you’d say that. I don’t want to talk to that giant buffoon again.” Emery lamented as he thought of the passes he made at his girlfriend.

“You and I both.” Lyla shuddered.

Their deliberation was cut short at the emerging sound of footsteps on the ground. Given they witnessed the guy leave it meant the woman was returning from her hiatus. As she entered viewing distance her intent was already locked on them.

Jim’s voice hollered in Dari’s mind of his orders. Who cares what he said, she refused to deny herself a rare opportunity with the two Micronians and besides, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

The excited woman sauntered over to the tiny couple bringing a nearby chair to the table’s edge to sit down.

“Hey there cuties.”

They both took an instinctive step backwards, neither eager to respond.

Dari huffed. Though expected, their apprehension was disappointing. “I just want to get to know you guys better. “My name is Dari. What are your names?”

Again, they were hesitant to answer. While true that was in large part from paranoia they were also confused. She already had them right where she wanted, yet was going out of her way to make small talk? What is the ulterior motive?

Emery heard Lyla’s criticism coming from a mile away for thinking about entertaining her. At this point though what did they have to lose? Going mute while tempting wasn’t going to improve their standing and building some rapport might be the most productive thing they can do right now. Besides, she still had the power to force their hands if she chose to. He looked to Lyla who after some thought nodded.

“I’m Emery.”

“Lyla.”

Despite their answers being the bare minimum, it was at least a start. “See? That wasn’t so hard, why don’t you come closer?”

Both stood frozen unable to will themselves to oblige in stepping closer to the unknown. For all they knew each step could be their last.

“… We’re scared.” Emery admitted. “What are you going to do with us?”

Dari rolled her eyes. “My idiot partner wants to sell you guys asap.”

Their hearts skipped. The reason for the guy’s abrupt exit was confirmed. They knew they were on borrowed time, but that time constraint narrowed considerably knowing the guy was on the move finding a buyer as they speak.

Lyla was curious though at the apparent dismissal and irritation in Dari’s tone. “And you don’t?”

“If it were up to me, I’d like us to have some fun together.” A smirk formed on Dari’s lips. “Is everything all cute and little like you guys where you’re from?”

It was an earnest albeit demeaning question, but one they received often enough. Lyla supposed there was no harm in answering. 

“More or less, it’s normal to us. We were taught early in school that size is relative. So, everything that looks normal to you-”

“That is so cool!” Dari squeed drowning out Lyla. “I’d love to visit someday! I’d look like your queen standing around you pequeños! Oh my gosh you all would be so freaked out while I went around peeking into all your teeny tiny houses!”

“Um well… it’s not that easy to visit.” Emery interjected to deaf ears.

“To keep lunatics like you out.” Lyla thought to herself. As if their home needed dozens of Dari’s stomping around turning their cities into their personal playground.

“Then I’d pick one of you guys up.” Dari’s probing digit was on the move towards Emery. He flinched as her nail tip tickled the fabric of his shirt.

“Just like this.” With a mere twitch her finger curled underneath his shirt hooking him like a fish. “Up you go!”

“Woah! Hey, hey!” Emery yelped and flailed as he was reeled up above her head.

“Emery!” Lyla cried.

“Better stop wiggling or you’ll fall.” Dari teased, swaying her catch midair.

“No, no, no! Please, don’t drop me!” Emery’s limbs continued flailing until they clasped around the very index finger that launched him into his unrequested joyride.

“Don’t worry baby I’ve got you.” Dari lowered him until they were face to face. “Right around my little finger.” She grinned.

“You know I think it was really sweet how you stood up for your girlfriend earlier.” Dari pursed her lips blowing a cool gust of air on her catch. “How about a little kiss for a reward?”

Emery barely mustered the nerve to look down in half second intervals before getting nauseous viewing his precarious height from the ground. The cherry on top of his troubles was Dari imposing her will. 

“Don’t worry I’ll be super gentle.” She whispered and smacked her lips just short of the finest hairs on his body before backing away until she built adequate suspense. She then moved in for the first of several dotting pecks on his face.

Lyla squeezed her jittering palms and cursed her powerlessness. Did she dare interject to confront her? They already tried the odds once with the man and if she pissed Dari off, she would’ve signed their death certificates!

For every whisper of her heart to help Emery, her primal brain roared at her to stay put. Each time she was on cusp of summoning the bravery to move her heavy legs, staring up the mountainous torso of the woman destroyed her courage. What the hell should she do, what CAN she do? Yeah, size is relative sounded great in a textbook or lecture. But here in real time, Dari was a freaking giant who she stood no chance against.

Dari meanwhile was having the time of her life, relenting from the barrage of kisses, and instead prodded and caressed his body with her free hand. To think if she listened to Jim, she would have missed out on this. There was so much to do, so many ways to enjoy her playthings. Fuck what he wanted.

“You are so adorable.” Dari winked. “I could just eat you up don’t you think?” She flashed her tongue letting it run across her mouth.

In a calmer state of mind Lyla may have differentiated the figure of speech from literal intent. Given the dire straits they were in why wouldn’t she assume the worst? She was going to going to eat Emery!

“Just a little taste.” Dari said, sliding her tongue free from her mouth and resting it on her bottom lip drawing closer to him again.

“NO!” Pure instinct compelled Lyla to action enabling her to enter the fray. The instant Dari’s gaze fell to her the fleeting surge of adrenaline vanished and left her petrified. Having Emery at her side made the enormity of her presence and direct attention bearable, without him Dari’s stare snatched the soul from her body.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I didn’t forget about you.” Dari beamed down at her.

Lyla blinked and when she opened her eyes, she was looking at… herself. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Dumbfounded she watched the scene unfold while her lifeless husk stood immobile. Not only was Dari’s size exaggerated to where it nearly took up the whole room, her own body was so diminished it could be mistaken as a speck of dirt on the table.

Her husk remained inanimate during the slow-motion descent of Dari’s hand.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Dari jumped at Lyla’s sudden shriek as the latter fell on all fours panting.

“Hey, easy now-” Dari gestured steadily towards her and Lyla yelped again scooting away. That was the least of both their problems once the door knob jingled.

“Mierda!” Priorities shifting, Dari hastily fumbled to free Emery from her own finger and return him to the table, all the while still trying to get Lyla under control as she flinched and scurried away at her every motion. The door opened.

“Alright, I got everything we need and I have great news!” Jim hollered making his way straight to the kitchen. One look at the scene told him all he needed to know. Dari was in a frenzy with one Micronian in her palm, and the other fetal.

“What the fuck!?” He dropped the crate in hand and rushed to the scene.

Forget daggers, Jim’s eyes were staring heat seeking missiles at Dari which demanded an explanation.

“Look I know what you’re going to say, I didn’t hurt them!”

“You had one job dumbass! Shit, just tell me they’re alright!” He snapped.

“I just said they’re fine, quit being so dramatic!”

“I told you in plain English not to do anything and you almost fuck the deal up before it even started!”

“I’m the one who found them, I’m the one who should…” Dari paused to backtrack. “Wait, the deal?”

“Someone is coming tomorrow to check them out.  I told them they are perfectly healthy and able bodied. So, they need to stay that way until the buyer comes.”

“…That was fast.” Dari said, disheartened that her time with them already appeared to be reaching an end.

“They’re coming with me for the night, I can’t trust you to do shit.” Jim spat.

“Oh please, not even 5 minutes in with them you tried to cop a feel!”

“T-that was different, I was just playing!”

“Oh so, it’s just playing when you fuck up?” Dari pressed. “Like hell I’m trusting you alone with both of them.”

“You’re such a pain in the ass, fine then we’ll both look after one!”

“Then I’ll take her.” With a swift glide of her hand Dari swiped Lyla into her palm much to Jim’s poorly hidden chagrin.

“Fine… whatever.” Jim sucked his teeth. “They’ll be here at 9:00 sharp tomorrow, don’t fuck up this time.

“¡Cállate!” Dari barked and stomped away.