Kathryn Harvest

Chapter 4

Emma felt herself being shaken and it made it hard to stay asleep, despite the warmth around her. She slowly opened her eyes only to quickly close them again as a bright light blared down on her.
“Wake up… wake up!” A sharp voice cut through her discomfort and she sat up immediately and turned her head to the source of the voice and opened her eyes again.

Beverly, the woman she had seen earlier in the day on television, kneeled beside of her. As happy as Emma was to see someone her own size, a split second later it dawned on her what had happened.

“Wha-? Where am I? No… how did I get here?”
“Hush. Don’t let them see you talking without permission.” Beverly made a zipping motion across her lips and fell silent.

The two women were in a glass aquarium against a white wall in a very sterile looking room. It reminded Emma of an operating room. In front of her, she could see out in the vast opening, a large metal table and a tray full of sharp and uninviting instruments. It was all worse than she could have imagined.
Emma was in a state of panic. This was not what she wanted. Not what she expected. How could she be so stupid? To put her trust in a giant like that…
As if on cue, a large door on the far side of the room opened and in stepped a man covered from head to toe in hospital scrubs, his mouth hidden behind a mask, only his dark eyes showing. Behind him walked in Kathryn Harvest, a bright smile on her pretty face.

Emma’s jaw dropped and she felt sick to her stomach as they both approached her cage.
“There, you see? She’ll be just fine. We’re going to take great care of her, I promise.” The man spoke in a gruff voice.
Kate pouted a bit as she looked into Emma’s eyes. “You’ll be okay, little one. They’re going to take good care of you here.”
“K-Kate! No! He’s lying! Please, take me out of here! Please!”
The man chuckled and smacked at the glass in front of Emma’s face, making her yelp and fall onto her back in surprise. He turned to Kate and, from his shirt pocket, produced a large sum of cash which he placed in her hand. “There you are. And don’t worry. She’s in great hands…”
Emma sobbed in despair and threw herself back towards Kate in one last attempt at a rescue.
“NO! Kate, don’t leave me! You can’t!! Help me!! Please no!! No no nooooo no no…” Emma screamed in panic and shook her head back and forth.

Kate looked down at Emma in surprise and spoke in a gentle shushing. “There there… it’s okay, Emma. Calm down. Emma… Emma… Emma…”
Giant hands opened the cage and reached for her and she backed away closed her eyes in near defeat.

“Nonononono!”

“EMMA!”

“NO!!” The tiny girl screamed out one last time as giant hands circled around her middle and lifted her into the air, kicking and screaming.
“EMMA! Wake up, darling! Wake up!”

Emma whimpered, keeping her eyes closed, trying to slow her breathing. She was beyond upset but was surprised to find that the hands around her were soft and smooth instead of rough and latex covered like the giant man in scrubs were. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a dark, barely lit room instead of the bright sterile OR. She sniffed loudly as she looked into the concerned hazel eyes before her.
“K-Kate.”
Kate breathed a sigh of relief as Emma began to settle in her hands. She gently laid her back onto the pillow on her guest bed and continued to gaze over her in concern. “I’m here.” She gently brushed a stringy lock of hair out of the tiny girl’s eyes. “Quite a nightmare you were having there.”

“N-nightmare… none of it was real.”

The giant slowly shook her head. “I don’t believe so… that is, unless it was a memory.”

Emma covered her face with her hands and whimpered again.

Kate stroked the small girl gently, across her forehead, down her cheek, down her arms and back up again until Emma began to calm.

Emma slowly lowered her hands from her eyes, her breathing returning to normal. “Thank you. I’m… I’m sorry about that.”

Kate’s answering smile was sweet. “Please, little one. No need to apologize for such a thing as that.” She removed her hand and placed it in her lap. Emma followed her movement and then gazed around her. The room was lit only with a small side table lamp so she could barely see past the bed in any direction. Though, that was something to be said, for the bed was huge. The pillow she was lying on was more than sufficient as a bed for her. Her eyes went back up to Kate’s.

“Where are we?”

“My home. My apartment, rather.” Kate added with a bit of distaste.

“Is this your room?”

Kate chuckled. “No. This is just a spare which is why it’s on the smaller side.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “This is on the smaller side?”

Kate lowered her head, as if embarrassed, but kept her amused grin. “Well, by my people’s standards, yes.”

Emma managed a small smile as well. Her dream was somewhat forgotten and she was happy and a bit surprised that she was warming up to the giant woman so fast. “Do you live alone?”

“For the most part.”

“…meaning…?”

“My boyfriend comes and stays with me from time to time.”

“Oh.” This concerned Emma greatly. She wasn’t ready to reveal herself to anyone else anytime soon.

Kate read her worry and quickly quelled her fears. “Don’t worry. He’s not due back for a week or so.” She sounded a bit disappointed at the statement and Emma almost felt bad for bringing it up.

“Do you want to sleep some more, Emma?”

Emma shook head, enthusiastically, producing a small ‘aww’ from her giant host.

“Well then, how about some supper? I’m not sure what your kind eats. I did make spaghetti. Er, spaghetti is – “

“You have spaghetti here?”

Kate laughed. “You know what spaghetti is, then?”

Emma nodded. “Oh yes. One of my favorites back ho- erm… back where I came from.”

Kate shook her head in wonder. “You little ones aren’t much different than us, are you?”

Emma didn’t have an answer to that.

“Shall I carry you? Or do you want to try and manage by yourself?”

“Did you carry me here?”

“All the way from the park.” Kate gently ruffled Emma’s matted hair with a fingertip.

“Is that a long way?”

“Nah. You can almost see the park from my kitchen window. Not my preferred view but not much I can do about that.”

Emma slowly sat up on the soft pillow and looked about. She pondered the idea of being able to crawl down off of the bed and walk to the kitchen, considering how big just the pillow was.

“Um. Maybe you could put me down on the floor? And then I can go from there…?”

Kate nodded, her charming smile never leaving her face. “Of course, dear.”

Emma wasn’t sure how Kate was going to go about it so she remained still until Kate reached both hands forward and slid them beneath her, one hand supporting her back while the other hand supported her legs. Kate gently lifted Emma towards her chest and stood up slowly before kneeling down on the floor and setting the tiny girl’s feet onto it.

It surprised Emma just how fluid the giant was in her movements. She didn’t feel rustled about or shaken at all. It was all quite easy. As if someone was helping her down from off of a chair.

Kate’s hand remained close by until Emma was stable and then withdrew as Kate stood back up.

Emma craned her neck to look up at her giant host. Kate lifted a finger into the air.

“One second…” She turned and took a few huge strides into the darkness while Emma watched with fascination. Suddenly a bright light came on overhead causing the small girl to wince. She ducked her head and stared at the ground until the white spots left her vision. She noticed the wood floor beneath her sneakers and was grateful. She wondered if it would be difficult walking on giant carpet. She could almost see the floorboards quake as Kate stepped back over to her again.

“This way, dear.”

Emma looked back up and smiled at Kate, her giant friend’s infectious smile getting to her. “Coming.” She took off in a quick walk across the guest bedroom. She noticed pretty quickly that the room was mostly bare, save for the bed and a side table and dresser. The huge doorway made her gawk as she made her way towards the hall. It was almost easy to forget just how small she was when she was living outdoors among the forest. While the animals were bigger, she could imagine them as lions and bears and elephants instead of what they really were. And huge trees could have been just like the redwoods in California. But being in a normal looking house that was a hundred times bigger than it should be, really hit Emma hard and she felt her melancholy returning. Would she ever get back home?

As Emma stepped out into the hallway, she looked towards the left and then towards the right. Just the length and height of each end was bigger than a shopping mall. She suddenly regretted her decision to be independent.

Kate had stopped at the end of the hallway, leading into the den, and watched her small guest emerge from the bedroom. She was still in awe of the fact that there was such a tiny being staying as a guest in her home. It was hard to wrap her mind around it. The poor girl was so tiny and defenseless; it hit home to Kate just how much power her own people had over them. She shuddered at the thought of anyone trying to harm little Emma. She would do anything in her power to keep that from happening.

“Well…” Emma thought as she stepped to the middle of the hallway, “I guess I get to find out now...”

The floor out in the hallway was covered in plush carpet. She immediately felt unstable. Between that and the distance, she was ready to sit down and have a good cry. Instead she looked down at her feet as they sunk into the cream colored fibers.

Kate frowned in concern. “Emma?”

When Emma didn’t respond, she quickly stepped back down the hall towards her. As she approached, Emma tilted her head up to look at her. “What’s wrong, Emma?”

“It’s… a long way, isn’t it?”

Kate pursed her lips in a pout to hide her smile. Her apartment wasn’t big at all. For anyone to say different was quite comical, but she knew that wasn’t a joke Emma would appreciate.

“Yes. It is a pretty long way. Hmm. Maybe you should let me carry you.”

Emma shuffled her feet, nervously. “You think?”

Kate nodded. “Oh yes. It’s a pretty good ways yet. Down the end of the hall, it’s just the den. We still have to get by that in order to reach the kitchen. I’d say it was a must.”

At this point, Emma knew that Kate was playing with her but she really didn’t mind too much. “Well, I guess I have no choice. This is your house so you’re in charge.”

Kate couldn’t help her giggle as she reached down and very gently took the small girl in her arms. She held Emma to her chest using only one hand this time, her forearm holding her in place while her fingers supported her upper back.

Emma wasn’t quite ready to watch the world whiz by so she buried her face in Kate’s shirt until she could feel the movement cease.

Kate, meanwhile, had thought that was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Tiny Emma clinging and snuggling to her like a small child filled Kate with warmth and love for the small girl. She was ready to bury her nose in Emma’s hair and nuzzle and snuggle her and promise that she’d never let anything happen to her. But there was one problem… Emma stunk. And she stunk badly.

Kate recalled a similar smell from an abandoned puppy she had found wandering the park one afternoon. She gave the puppy a bath and it was good as new. She’d have to do the same for Emma before there’d be any form of snuggling.

Kate made her way into her dine-in kitchen and grabbed a towel that was draped over the oven handle. She laid it out on the kitchen bar top before setting Emma on top of it. Emma slowly let go of Kate as she settled down on the towel, grateful that her giant keeper had thought of it. It would be freezing to sit on the bar top without it.

“Be just a second, okay?”

Emma nodded and watched as Kate began rummaging through the fridge and cabinets, pulling out the spaghetti and warming it up in the microwave. Everything seemed so normal and recognizable to her. Just so much bigger. It was so surreal.

“Kate?”

“Yes, sweetie?” Kate leaned against the opposite countertop next to the microwave and smiled.

“What do you call yourselves?”

Kate’s brow creased, puzzled. “Pardon?”

“What do you call your people? What is the name? The species?”

“Oh. We’re called ‘humans’. Homo sapiens, I think?”

Emma’s jaw visibly dropped. What??

“Humans?”

“Mm hmm. Don’t ask me where the name came from, though. I’m afraid I never really studied that. Darwin maybe?”

Emma didn’t know whether to panic or not. The giant before her was describing her OWN species and history… How was that even possible??

“What do you little ones call yourself?”

Emma shook her head, still flabbergasted. “That’s… it’s not important.”

“Oh. Okay...” Kate shrugged, now a bit curious, and opened up the microwave right before it beeped. She dipped her finger on the plate, checking to make sure it wasn’t too hot, and then set about cutting the noodles into tiny pieces for her guest.

The aroma of spaghetti made Emma forget her worries for the moment. It smelled heavenly, much like the park food had earlier in the day. But, this time, she was going to get a taste of it. Her mouth watered and she all but jumped onto the plate once Kate set it down beside of her.

“Whoa, little one! Careful! It may be too hot.”

Emma didn’t care. Her hands grabbed at the warm noodles and shoved them into her mouth, greedily. She hadn’t had hot fresh food in so long…

Kate’s heart swelled as she watched the tiny girl indulge. The poor thing was starving. She began to wonder what all had happened to her petite guest. She wanted to ask but decided to save the questions for later. Maybe a nice bedtime story… She didn’t want to gawk at the small girl while she ate so she busied herself with cleaning the few dishes she had in the sink from her dinner earlier and then cleaning out the sink and filling it with warm water.

“Be right back, okay?”

Emma didn’t answer for she was still eating quite heartily.

Kate grinned and set off towards her bathroom. She pulled the shower curtain aside and grabbed a bottle of shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath and made her way back to the kitchen.

Emma was finishing up her last bite of dinner and watching Kate with much curiosity upon her return.

“Good grief, Emma. You ate more than I could.” She giggled and waited for Emma to back up a bit before removing the plate and setting it on the kitchen counter. Emma licked the sauce off of her fingers and hands as best as she could before wiping the rest on the towel she was on.

“What’s all that for?”

“For your bath.” Kate squirted a couple of drops of jasmine into the sink as the water continued to rise.

“Really?” Emma couldn’t believe her ears. A warm, hot bath… just for her. She felt like crying but held herself together.

“Mm hmm. Sound good to you?” Kate turned to Emma with another smile.

“You have no idea…”

“Good.” Kate moved the faucet over the adjoining sink and continued to let the warm water run and then walked back over to Emma. “Care for a lift?”

Emma was so excited that she actually stood and held her arms out like a small child. Kate gently gathered her in both of her hands and carried her over to the sink, setting her on the counter next to it. It took all Emma had to keep herself from diving into the sink.

“Okay. Clothes off.”

“What?”

“Clothes… off.” Kate chuckled. “You really plan on bathing with them on?”

“Well no but… you’re- I mean… I…” Emma turned beet red in embarrassment. No no no! She would not strip in front of this stranger.

“You know, I’m just guessing but… I’m pretty sure you don’t have anything that I don’t have myself. I will turn around while you strip but then I want to help you in. I don’t want you slipping and hurting yourself, okay?”

Emma groaned in protest but quickly nodded. At that point, she could hardly care. She just wanted to be in that warm bubbly goodness. Kate nodded in return and turned away from her. Emma quickly stripped off her jacket and shirt, fumbled with the button on her jeans a bit, kicked off her shoes and wiggled out of her panties. Standing nude on the countertop in the giant kitchen, Emma covered herself as best as she could and cleared her throat. “I’m uh… ready.” Her voice quivered a bit as she shivered.

Kate spun around and paused, her smile dropping from her face completely as she looked Emma over. The poor girl was covered in scratches and bruises from head to toe… not to mention her ribs and hip bones were showing more than they should. Kate quickly recovered her smile so as not to embarrass Emma, who had ducked her head when she turned around.

“Okie dokie then!” She gently wrapped both hands around Emma’s waist and thighs and moved her over to the sink. She dipped the tiny toes in first. “Too hot?”

Emma shook her head enthusiastically and actually wiggled in her grip. “No! Lemme in!”

Kate happily obliged and lowered Emma in until her tiny feet touched the bottom of the sink.

Emma felt like she had died and gone to heaven. In fact, she nearly passed out from the sensation. Her knees buckled and she began to slip face first into the water.

“Whoa!” Kate quickly took hold of her again. She opened her hand and draped Emma’s arms over between her index finger and thumb, letting her mid-section lay in her palm as she relaxed completely. Kate gently dragged her body in the water, letting her legs float out behind her. She used her free hand to squirt some shower gel onto her wrist and then rub it in with her fingers to lather it up before applying it to the tiny girl’s shoulders and back.

Emma gave in completely, letting the practically-still-a-stranger giant woman wash her like a baby. She didn’t care anymore. She hadn’t felt so wonderful since before… since before…

Emma sobbed openly into the water, helping to relieve the rest of the tension she was holding back. She wasn’t sure if Kate noticed but she didn’t really care about that either.

Kate did notice but decided not to act upon it just yet. She just continued to wash and caress Emma gently as she relaxed in the bath. She cupped a handful of water and carefully poured it onto Emma’s matted hair before getting a few drops of shampoo on her fingertips and rubbing it into the tiny scalp. Emma moaned aloud as if she was in a wave of ecstasy as the giant fingertip rubbed her aching scalp. Kate paused for a second, blushing, before continuing. She, once again, had to fight the urge to bring the little girl back to her chest and cuddle her. If only Kate had found her earlier… maybe Emma wouldn’t have had to go through so so much. A single tear escaped Kate’s eyes before she could blink it away. Her hands were both occupied so she couldn’t wipe it away before it fell from her face and landed on the tiny bare shoulder.