CHAPTER IV – RICE, GRAVY AND TEENAGERS

It was early summer at Rosevalley High-School. After a pretty hot morning, the school cafeteria was starting to become agitated for lunchtime and the heat definitely wasn’t helping.

- Huff… This is staring to get hot… - One of the cafeteria employees was starting to sweat. – Time to crank up the AC.

What the employee wasn’t aware of is that the school cafeteria was right below Prof. Samantha Yen’s office. He also wasn’t aware that at that very moment, four shrunken 17 years old teenagers were inside the ventilation system. And if he would have looked at one of the ceiling vents just above the food counter, he would have noticed two minuscule specks falling down. But he didn’t.

…

A muffled sound was starting to wake up Mike. The last thing he remembered was losing the grip on the vent, and him and Riley being sucked by the strong wind into the darkness, then light, then falling and then… nothing.

- W-what… where I… am? – Mike opened his eyes and tried to understand where he was. Did he fell on the floor? No, it couldn’t be, he would never survive such a fall. No, this didn’t look like a floor at all. In fact it looked like he winded up in another planet. All around him there were countless white boulders and huge brow/reddish hills. The air was hot and very humid. The ground was incredibly soft and mushy, which was probably the reason why he survived the fall. Brown waters were flowing below the hills. He slowly stand up. A strange, yet familiar smell filled his nose. He looked at the sky and saw rectangular suns. And in the distance some sort of huge transparent barrier.

Then the truth hit him with like a punch in the stomach. Those weren’t boulders, they were rice. And the hills weren’t hills, but pieces of pork roast. And the waters weren’t rivers or lakes, but gravy. This wasn’t some strange alien world. It was the food counter of the school cafeteria. And he was just in the middle of a huge pile of pork roast rice and gravy, the meal of the day.

- No… No, no … No, no, no, nonononononono! – Mike started to panic. He turned his head back and forth. – Riley? Riley!!! Where are you?!!! RILEEEY!!!.

- miiiike… heeeree… - Riley’s voice was barely audible due the agitation in the cafeteria. But Mike saw him, he was below the same piece of pork roast, near some grain of rice.

- I’m coming Riley!! I’m coming! – Mike started to quickly descend the meaty hill, almost tripping over due to the softness of the ground. Riley did the opposite and started to climb up.

- Oh God, you’re alright – Mike hugged his brother like he never did before.

- Hey, you still own me a round of Counter Strike remember? – Riley said jokingly.

They were so happy, they almost forgot the situation they were in. However at that moment a gigantic soup spoon came crashing into the ground, creating a huge tsunami of gravy and rice.

- SHIIT!!! RILEY, WATCH OUT!!! – Mike and Riley climbed the pork hill as fast as they leg could, apparently having forgotten that only minutes ago they were exhausted and starving. They barely avoided the huge wave of gravy crashing right below them.

- Mike, we need to get out of here! – Riley looked around, trying to find a way to escape.

- Where do we go, where do we go! Riley, we need to… - At this moment, the soup spoon came crashing down again, this time much more nearly.

- Fuck, that was close Mike! Wait… - Riley could feel an earthquake happening and then a sudden feeling of acceleration hit both brothers in the gut.

- GRAB THE FLOOR RILEY!!! – The soup spoon started turning. Mike and Riley griped the meaty piece of pork roast while their entire world went upside down. Another, more violent splash happened and they ended both submerged by a mountain of rice and gravy.

The brothers were in almost darkness, a few beams of lights illuminated them between layers of pork and rice. The gravy was also submerging their small cavern.

- Quick Mike, we must climb! We must get out of here! – Riley was dragging his brother while trying to find an exit from the hot, humid, underground maze. – Look, I see an exit! I see light!

The brothers tried to push a grain of rice which was blocking the small exit. They managed to wedge it a little, but enough for them to pass through.

What they saw was nothing more than breathe taking. They were in a tray, being carried by someone. They could feel each step as their world repeatedly trembled below their feet. Then a huge slam happened as the tray landed on the table, which made the brothers jump and roll hover.

- Riley, Riley are you ok?

- Y-yes, yes I’m here. Holy fuck Mike, look! – Mike looked were Riley was pointing. Right above them was the owner of the tray. A giant girl, blonde with a green shirt - Wait I know her!!

- Really?! – Mike looked at Riley.

- Yeah that’s Julie! Julie Kidman! I’ve meet her on that fundraising club!

- Good, maybe she can help us then. HEY! HEY! WE’RE HERE! – Mike started waving his arms.

- OVER HERE!!!! HELP!!! HELP!!! – Riley followed.

Julie however, seemed more busy chatting to her friends than looking at here food. She quickly took a spork and started to dig in.

- HEY!!! OVER THERE!!!

- Huh Mike… - Riley started to become concerned.

- What? Hey, why did you stop?! – Mike was still waving his arms.

- Remember what happened to Jerry?

- Jerry? What do you mean… - But then he froze. He understood. They were 1/5 inch tall. The size of ants. And in the middle of a plate of rice and gravy. In the middle of a loud cafeteria. She was never going to see them or hear them.

- Oh no. Oh God no! OH GOOOOD!!!! – The fork came crashing dangerously near them. The brothers lost balance (again). They saw a huge chunk of pork roast and some rice being lifted. They saw the giantess open her mouth and shoving the contents inside. For a moment the sound of chewing were the only thing the two boys were hearing, like all other sounds seemed to have become muffled in comparison. And then a gulp.

- Shitshitshit! Riley we need to get away! I don’t want to die! Not like this!! NOT LIKE THIS!!! – For a moment Mike started to resemble the late Jerry.

The brothers were in full panic mode, trying to run, somewhere, anywhere, as long as it wasn’t Julie’s spork. Importunely, this mean they weren’t watching their steps.

- Ah, shit! – Mike fell into a small fissure of pork meat, his lower body being stuck.

- Mike!!! Hold on! – Riley tried to push his brother with all of his strength, but to no avail. – COME OOOOON! HUUUUUUGH!!!

Then the worst happened. The spork came crashing down right below them. The same feeling of acceleration hit them.

- NO!!!! GOD NOOOOO!!!! – Riley was crying. He stopped trying to push his brother and just hugged him, while looking at where they were headed.

They saw a green shirt, followed by a pair of breasts, a neck, and then the face. Julie was still looking at their friends with her blue eyes, laughing at some joke. Some freckles were noticeable on her cheeks. She was quite beautiful. Riley never admitted but he had a crush on her since he went on that fundraising club. And now she was about to eat two poor, desperate brothers.

- RILEY!!!! – Mike was sobbing like never before in his life.

The unaware girl opened her mouth. They could see strings of saliva between the tongue and the roof of her mouth. Pieces of rice and pork were still lodged between her teeth. Then the spork started to approach. They could feel the hot, humid breath, the smell of masticated food.

Mike and Riley stopped tried to get the girl’s attention. They knew it was too late. It was over. Julie Kidman was about to enjoy a nice mouthful of rice and gravy. With two extra ingredients.

As darkness involved them, the mouth closed. While the spork was being sucked out of the mouth, the boys landed on mixture of gravy and saliva. The tongue started to carry out its function, shoving the mouthful into the molars.

* Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, Crunch *

Mike and Riley still tried to hold on the tongue, but it was no use. Riley was the first to disappear into a mountain of masticated food.

* Crunch, CRUUUUNCH, Crunch, Crunch *

- RIIILEEEEEYYYY!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! - Desperation and grief made Mike lose his grip too. He joined Riley into the apocalypse of chewed food.

* Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, CRUUUUNCH *

It was quick death. Both bodies exploded into the weight of crushing molars, their remains mixed into the paste of food.

* GULP *

And so was the fate of the two brothers. Eaten alive by an unaware girl. Adam and Sam will never know what happened to them, maybe for the best.