Good evening and welcome back to The Size Zone. Self-esteem is important to many people. Keeping it or in many cases the need to get it. It gives us a sense of worth and happiness. What happens to those who can't get it? What would someone do to get it? Tonight we will me Azumi Takiyama . A woman who has for all her life struggled with the lack of it. What will happen when Azumi is put in a position where she can get it? The answer lies in...The Size Zone.

 I was born into a family known to be "upper class". Dad was an engineer and mom was a fashion model. Being the product of the two I was expected to me either a genius, beautiful, or both. Well I'm not pretty. Slightly chubby and acne scars. I do have nice tits but that just attracts the wrong kind of guys. Dad pushed me into various fields to follow in his footsteps. I couldn't build or design for shit. Forget physics. Still trying to figure out how those balls move on those desk ordainments. What I did find is I'm good with biology. Good enough I got a scholarship or would've if I went to a real school.   I was 12 when I was first selected to train in the most important mission to date for humanity. No pressure for a preteen right? People all over the world had known for decades that the ozone layer had weakened to dangerous levels. We didn't care because The hole was over Antarctica. We began caring when new holes formed over populated regions. Scientists scrambled for a solution.

They found a possible one far out in our solar system. Titan. A moon of Saturn that had an ozone layer or an equivalent of one. Somehow it regenerated constantly. Tidal forces and radiation couldn’t destroy it. Titan had the answer to our problems. A bold plan was put forth. Send a crew on a space ship to Titan. Study the moon and return with the answer. It would take a colossal effort on behalf of all nations. A problem because at the time terrorist activities were at an all-time high. Resources were being depleted and ruining nations. Oil refineries, strip mines, deforestation centers, all were under attack. To promote harmony, a new space agency was created by the United Nations. It was called United Frontier.  A design for the ship was made and work began to make it. Now for The crew. The trip would take years so anyone over 40 was disqualified immediately. People immediately said the mission was doomed without experienced people. United Frontier seeked out geniuses and recruited them into the program. I was 12 when I was told I was selected.

Dad pulled strings to get me in. He wanted his family name to go down in history next to Armstrong, Yeager, Allen, and Gagarin. The list whittled down. People better than me I passed by. I felt like a fraud. A kid that brought back to life an extinct species of rose was deemed "less smart" than me. By the time I was 16, there was only 8 people left. The crew would be four so half would be taken off the roster and left on standby. I was a nervous wreck. Imagine being bullied by people with IQ's in their 150's. "They’re going to quiz you but here's the answers" dad said. Dad had gotten ahold of The final exam. Mom tried her best to be there for me but when she came to campus it made things worse. They all wondered how she could be my mom. Ugly duckling and beautiful swan. I took the exam and passed. Barely.

The most astonishing thing I had seen by this point in my life was eyeing a tree I played on struck by lightning. It didn't compare to seeing Earth from orbit. Me and the three remaining astronauts was carried by shuttle to the newly completed ship built to take us farther than any human has given before. It was huge. A mile long with a rotating ring around it. The ring served as living areas. The rotation gave us artificial gravity. We boarded it and they gave us a week to settle in. The bridge was forward and the storage area was center. Aft of the ship was the power plant. A state of the art nuclear reactor tied directly to the engines. The date we left was recorded for history. June 18, 2072. The International Space Ship or I.S.S. Odyssey set course for Titan.

I was designated the ship doctor.  Kate Blanchard, a 17 year old girl from Seattle was the ship councilor. Drew Connors a boy of 16 hailing from London was the ship meteorologist and chemist. And Marcus Ibrahim a quiet 16 year old boy from French Morocco was the ship engineer and mineral expert. There was no captain per se. We all voted on decisions and whatever would happen fell onto someone's category they made the decisions. A crew of teenagers and I’m the oldest by one month. It took us 8 months to get to Mars. A phenomenal feat. With this distance a transmission to Earth took 17 minutes. During the time we got there I got to know everyone better. Poor Marcus was withdrawn usually. His corner of the world was active with terrorism and strife. I think everybody believed he was just a token crewman. Kate was a bitch. Always flirting with Drew. Rolled her eyes every time I came into the rec room. When we passed The moon I heard her whisper to Drew. "Doesn't Azumi's face remind you of The moon? Pale and cratered" she snickered. Drew chuckled and went back to his checklist.

"Alright everyone. Before we slingshot around Mars and pass out of comm range of Earth you might want to send a message. Keep in mind you won't be able to talk to them for till we get back here" he said. It was true. We did have enough power to cut through The background interference but Earth's orbit would take it out of line of sight. It was my turn to call my parents. "Make sure to tell daddy thank you for helping you cheat your way on this tub" Kate said passing by. Skank American whore. God must be laughing at me. Her job was to listen to our problems and make sure we didn't go crazy. Yeah. Works our great for me. "Computer. Open channel to Osaka Japan. Hub 10. Access point 11731" I told the system that ran this ship. The computer beeped. It was a long 17 minutes to wait for a connection. I saw dad and mom. "Koniichiwa oba-san, oka-san. How are you doing? It's quiet here. Everybody is getting their messages out and preparing for cryosleep. The stars are so pretty out here. How are things back home?" I asked. Now to wait.

17 minutes later...

"We are doing well Azumi-chan. You are the talk of conversation among the family. We are proud you are on this historic mission. You mother wishes to speak. Hi dear! We miss you a lot. Your father goes on and on about how his daughter is working to save humanity. Your cousin Seto had is coming of age ceremony last week. So cute he looked. I hope you are taking care of your skin. Can only imagine how the air would dry it out. Make sure you moisturize and wash your face regularly. No need for more scars honey. Well it could be worse. You could have your father's feet. They remind me of a monkey's. I have to go. I got a photo shoot in an hour. Love you! Ahem. You mother misses you and we hope for the best. Make sure you do nothing to dishonor the family name and also make sure that you are also credited with any discoveries. I want a daughter that will do me proud" he said ending The call. I sat there in silence. At least mom seemed to miss me. To dad I was just a tool to get the family name recognized. A dad that wants me to honor him and a mother who focused on my face. She didn't even ask me if I missed them. I sat in my room crying until I was called to the cryo chamber. 

Because of the distance and time, we would be on we had to sleep most of the way. Machines that fed us dreams would be connected to us. Dreams were necessary for us not to go crazy. I looked around for The last time before I went under. Drew was being admired by Kate. Marcus looked upset and he glanced my way. He weakly smiled. I laid in The bed and shut the hatch. A blue goo pooled underneath my body. It would massage my muscles during the long sleep. The lights dimmed and I felt myself drifting off to sleep. The air got cold and stale. Soon I would be asleep for 6 years.

6 years later we were at work. My job was done mostly after making sure everyone was healthy waking up. I did smile when I stabbed Kate with a needle to collect a blood sample. Drew and Marcus was busy examining the data. A month passed. Two months. We could see The ozone repair but not know how. Another month passed and then there was a problem. Kate was pregnant. You'd think they would plan for this and they did. Condoms boxes in an entire crate. These fools wanted to do it bare. Drew wanted to cum inside her and she easily agreed. We were not equipped to deal with a baby.  While everyone was panicking Drew noticed something about Titan.  A chemical on Titan was being mixed with the gasses in the atmosphere. It cussed the ozone to replenish. We did it! We found the answer and it could be replicated back home! Now we just had to get back. Kate was humble around me. She knew I was the only one that could take care of her needs. Life is full of irony. She was apologetic and was glad I didn't hate her. I did though but I saw no point of showing it. We got back in our cryo beds and set course for the slingshot from Mars. 

I awoke to Marcus looking very upset. I yawned and stretched. Marcus was standing next to me with a towel. "Azumi. Something is wrong. Please come to The bridge" he said. He was nearly dragging me up the walkway to the hand lift. "Can't this wait? I'm barely dressed. Shit the floor is cold!" I said feeling the floor under my bare feet. "No it can't. Something is very wrong Azumi. Very wrong" he said. We gripped the hand grips in the wall and they dragged us through the zero g hallway. On the bridge Kate was franticly yelling for Drew to call again. "What's going on?" I asked. "We've been trying to contact United Frontier about our discovery. No response" Marcus said. "That's probably just comm delay. What is the delay time?" I asked. "18 minutes 4 seconds. I called twice in the last 45 minutes. Nothing" Drew said. "Do you think something happened back on Earth?" Marcus asked. We all looked at one another.

After trying to connect them for 4 hours we proceeded with the slingshot to Earth. The travel time this go around was just under 5 months. 5 long months of waiting and wondering. Each day we tried to call and nothing. Kate was losing it. She was confined to the living quarter ring. It was dangerous for her fetus to be in zero g. Theories abounded. Nuclear war. Meteor impact. EMP. "You think an outbreak killed everyone?" Drew asked. "No. Nothing can kill off every human. Viruses can’t be that deadly. They need living hosts to survive. That's why there were survivors of The Black Death. In any plague the worst is first. Less lethal virulent strains emerge later" I said. "Guess you're not a total fraud" Kate whispered. "What did you say?" I asked. "We all know your daddy got you on here. Hell we saw your scores" she said. I wanted to strangle the ungrateful girl. "My scores better be good enough to make sure you don't die in childbirth" I hissed. The look on her face was priceless. "Now now. Yelling and fighting won't solve anything. Drew. Are we close enough for our telescope to see Earth?" Marcus said. "Yeah I think" Drew pulled up the Earth. Still blue and spinning. We breathed a sigh of relief.     

"We won't know till we get there in two months what's wrong" Drew said. We waited and waited as we cruised home. Kate was now 8 months pregnant. Things looked bad. We settled into orbit. "Try again" Drew said. Marcus tried again. No responses. "Nothing at all. I'm mean nothing". He said astonished. "Try another frequency" Kate said. "I went through every frequency Kate. Even civilian channels. Nothing is broadcasting down there" Marcus said. "That's crazy! Television, radio, the fucking atomic clock in Colorado?! Has to be something!" she yelled. Marcus shook his head. "God. What could've happened? Maybe there was a nuclear war and it cleared up" Drew said. "No. All major cities intact. No radiation in the atmosphere and none on...wait. There are radiation spikes on the surface. Multiple locations. Japan, France, United States, Canada, China. My god so many. No spots in cities though" Marcus said. He showed us a map with hundreds of dots. I saw in horror how Japan was covered in them. I touched the screen the magnify. "I know this area. A nuclear power plant is here" I said. "Maybe all these spots are reactors that melted down. What would cause all this?" Drew asked. "Someone not maintaining them. Humanity is dead isn't it?" Kate asked stumbling back. Drew caught her.

"We have to go down" I said. "What?! What if what killed them kills us?!" Marcus asked. "We can't stay up here forever. We got a year of food left tops and then there's the issue of Kate. She needs real help. There has to be survivors" I said. Marcus nodded. The original plan was to have a shuttle rendezvous with us and bring us home. Not happening. Fortunately, there is a shuttle onboard and we were trained how to fly it. We had it in the case of having to get up close to Titan. We all strapped in. Drew and Marcus was at The controls. "The beacon isn't responding but The GPS still works. Computer set course for United Frontier landing base 1" Drew said. The computer locked in the coordinates. The base was located just outside of Dallas Texas. The bay doors opened and Marcus hit the throttle. The engines vibrated the ship. The eerie absence of sound due to hard vacuum didn't help our fears. The ship cleared the Odyssey and banked for The atmosphere. Minutes later the cone of atmosphere glowed as we tore through the sky. It subsided and we saw a blue sky for The first time in 12 years. 12 years.... I was 28 now but due to cryosleep I still looked 16. Our flight path took us over Dallas.   All eyes were on the windows. "It's still intact. The cars. The cars are just sitting on The highway" Kate said.

We touched down with no fanfare. No marching bands or welcome parties. "No toxins or contagions. It's safe" Drew said. He popped The hatch and we stepped out. We all stumbled feeling normal gravity again. Artificial gravity just isn't the same. "Let's go to the main building" Drew said. "Nothing. Nothing at all" I said. No power, no people, no food either. "I'll go to the backup generator" Marcus said. We sat down and tried to figure out what may have happened. "You noticed there are no bodies?" he said looking around. "They may have had time to bury anyone who died" I said. "Shut up! Talk of bodies! We don't know if anyone died!" Kate yelled. She was shaking. "They didn't take a vacation Kate" I said. She glared at me. Marcus came back. "No go. Fuel cells empty" he said. "So now what?" I asked. "Head into the city. Must be survivors there and our food won't hold out for long" Drew said. Luckily we found a working vehicle. It's fuel cell was still good. We traveled down the creepy highway.

Cars left on the side of the road. Radio was silent. We didn't say a word to each other. As we entered the city a storm popped up. A bad one. "In there!" Marcus yelled pointing to the library. We didn't have time to be picky. We dashed into the moss covered building just as hailstones came down. It was dark. Drew and Marcus grabbed books and set them on fire for light. Kate huddled in fear next to him. "How do you feel Kate?" I asked her. "Better. Sorry for earlier" he said. I smiled and nodded. "I'm going to look around" Marcus said. Marcus took the flashlight and left. I sat there wondering if my parents were dead. Did they die in whatever happened or did they succumb to radiation poisoning? It's a sobering thought to think all you know is dead now. Even worse if you're one of the few left alive. What was that? "Guys did you hear something?" I asked. "Just this copy of a War and Peace crackling" Drew said. "I'm serious. It sounded like scurrying" I said. There it was again! They heard it this time too. "Rats probably" Drew said. Kate looked terrified. "Drew!" I yelled pointing to movement. He turned around just as something small disappeared into the shadows.

Kate shook as Drew fumbled around in the darkness. A book in his hand to squish the vermin. "What are you doing?" Marcus asked. We all screamed. "Easy! What's got you all spooked?" he asked. We were too embarrassed to answer. "Found these. No power here either but the fine print doesn't need that. Allah bless periodicals" Marcus said. He had a stack of newspapers in his hands. He threw them down. "Maybe the answer lies here" he said. Each one of us took a paper. Hours ticked by as just the sound of the fire and rain filled the room. "Uhh...think I found something" Drew said. He showed us a USA Today article dated a month after our going away transmission. "Mysterious virus spreading. CDC calls it epidemic" it said. We began looking for similar articles. "Motherfucker" Kate hissed. She looked dead at Marcus. We both wondered what she was upset about. "What's your deal?" She asked. "This is my fucking deal!" she yelled slapping the paper down. It was dated a week after the first article. "Virus is terrorist attack! Released in multiple locations!" it said. I began reading the article.

It said that the CDC traced the outbreak to airports on the east coast, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, Sydney, and Jerusalem. It was how the virus spread so quickly. Multiple terrorist cells claimed responsibility. Marcus tore the paper from me and read it. "Wait. Just because I'm a Muslim doesn't mean me or anyone I know are terrorists!" he yelled. "Who The fuck else did this? Your people killed the world!" she yelled. She tackled Marcus. Marcus tired keeping her away without hurting her or The baby. She scratched his face up. Drew pulled her off him. "You're crazy! Did you even read it?! Many cells claimed responsibility! Even that one out of Seattle! The one that calls themselves Eco warriors! Last time I checked they were all Christians!" Marcus yelled. Kate glared at him and Marcus got up. "Going to clean myself up" he said picking up The med kit. Kate cried in frustration as Drew was lost on how to act.

I looked for more articles but as I did the time between issues were getting bigger. "Millions dead. No vaccine" one said. "Virus mutated!" another said. I got worried about Marcus. I went to look for him. I saw a light in the bathroom. He was cleaning his cuts. He quickly turned hearing me approach. "You okay?" I asked. "I was accused of being a terrorist. What you think? Sorry Azumi. I didn't mean to take it out on you" he sighed. "It's alright. She's just scared and lashing out" I said. "You're a kind girl. I'm glad you were in the team" he said smiling. It felt nice to be smiled at. "You never judged me or said not one unkind thing to me" he said. "I don't judge people based on religion or family. God knows I've had a lot of the latter" I said. We stared in each other's eyes. He moved toward me and the kit fell to the floor. "I...I'll get it" I said awkwardly. I reached down to pick it up and noticed something weird. "Marcus. Look at this" I said pointing at the dust. "I don't see anything" he said. "The dust. Tiny spots are disturbed. Too even for rats" I said. Marcus got what I meant. Before he could speak we heard a scream. We ran to Drew and Kate.

"What is it!" I yelled. Kate was shaking and pointing at the floor were Drew was standing. He held a book that dripped blood. "You killed the rat" I said shine the light to the floor. What we saw we'll never forget. It was three inches long smashed flat. No tail or fur. Two long legs. "That can't be real" I said. Impossible as it sounded it looked like a tiny man. We heard more scurrying. Drew threw the book away. He sat down in astonishment. "That was just some shrew or hairless mouse" Drew said. We didn't answer. Marcus looked at more newspapers. "Allah protect us. Guys I found an article. You better read it" he said. We all read it. The virus has spread to every part of the world. Everyone infected with The new mutated strain survived but began to shrink. Nothing could be done. The world went dark as governments collapsed and countries closed borders. What few left unshrunk fought senseless wars for food, water, and land. Soon they fell victim. By the end of the year only The major superpowers were still around communications began failing for them as families tried to hide themselves from the infected. There were stories about how the shrunk died by being eaten by wild creatures, pets, simply birds. We looked around for another article but found nothing dated beyond July 7, 2073.

"It was a person. I killed a person" Drew muttered. Poor Drew. The brave guy who defended his girl was now a total mess.  "You didn't know man" Marcus said. We took turns sleeping. Every sound we heard we wondered if that was another victim of the shrinking virus. The next day we went looking for food. We entered a grocery store. "Wow" Kate said. Most of The shelves were picked clean. Only a few cans remained. "We'll split up. Grab what you can" Drew said. I made my way down the aisles. What kind of food would survive 11 years? Jerky and beets is what. That and fucking spam. God I miss ramen. I miss gyoza and tempura. Hell I miss a fucking burger right now. I bent down to pick up a can and I saw movement in the corner of my eye. I slowly turned and gasped. On the second shelf was a tiny human. A teen boy around 16 by the look of him. Naked except for a strip of cloth around his waist. He saw me and bolted. I reached out to grab him.

"Gotcha!" I said grabbing him. He struggled and beat his tiny fists on my fingers. He felt so fragile and small. His body was warm. It felt like a mouse. He began yelling in some strange sounds. No language I know. I brought him close to my face. He was dirty but cute. Blonde hair and blue eyes. Physically fit. He looked terrified of me. "I won't hurt you" I said. He stared at me. I touched his cheek and he froze. I was gentle with him and as I stroked his body he began to relax. He stared at me with curiosity. "What’s your name?" I asked. He didn't know what I asked. "Azumi" I said pointing to myself. I pointed to him. After a few tries he finally got what I asked. "Naka" he said. "Hi Naka" I said waving. He mimicked me. I released my grip on him and he sat in my hand. I pulled out a piece of MRE jerky and used my fingernail to cut a chunk off. I handed it to him. Her sniffed it cautiously and tasted it. He grinned and began to eat it. I chuckled at him as he ate like a gerbil. I began to feel strange holding him. I felt...powerful but protective. Like he really was a pet. "Did you find...whoa" Kate said behind me. "Found him sneaking around" I said. Kate stared at him. "He really is a human. A cute one too. Can I hold him?" she asked. I carefully handed him over to her. She petted him as she studied his features. She bit her lip as her finger traveled down his chest to his crotch. He pulled back the cloth. "Kate!" I said. "I was curious" she said. She looked so guilty. "Give him back. I'll take him with us" I said. She sighed and handed him back. "Did you get a good haul?" Drew asked. "Ask her" Kate said pointing to me. I showed them Naka. Drew and Marcus was amazed at him, Naka instinctively gripped my finger. He looked up at me scared. "Think he likes you" Marcus said. "Okay then. Let's find some real shelter and decide what we should do" Drew said.

We drove down the street zig zagging around cars left abandoned. "That would work" Marcus said pointing to a hotel. We got our stuff and walked in. "Room for four please. No smoking!" Kate yelled. We kinda laughed at that. We had to. The place was wrecked. Suitcases and clothes thrown about. Broken glass. The place looked ransacked. Naka was shaking in my hand. He looked terrified. "What's wrong?" I asked. He was looking around quickly. Something he didn't like about this place. "Naka doesn't like it here" I said. "Who the fuck cares what a 3 inch person likes. All I know is it has a roof and carpet and beds" Kate said. Kate jumped on the bed and relaxed. She kicked off her shoes and socks and rubbed her swollen ankles. I myself liked the feeling of fine linen again. The room was pristine except for the broken windows. Mother Nature probably did that. "We need to sort out The food situation first after that we can decide on what to do next" Drew said. "What is there to do? Humanity is shrunk and our discovery is useless. We need to think about survival now" Kate said. "I have to agree. The weather won't stay warm forever" Marcus said.

"Point taken. Azumi? Is there a chance anyone survived this?" Drew asked. "Possible. There are pockets of people that lived isolated. Islands in The pacific or mountainous regions for example" I said. "Useless to us. The shuttle doesn't have enough fuel to get us there" Marcus said. "Then what about finding a cure? Maybe reverse this?" I asked. "How do we go about that?" Kate asked. "I need a sample of The virus. Don't think that will work. It's been years since the outbreak. It had to have died off by now" I said. I placed Naka on the table next to the bed. He kept looking around cautiously. "Fuck is with him?" Kate asked. "He probably is worried about predators" Marcus said. "I don't think so. He seemed cool in The grocery store. He's scared of this place" I said. For the rest of the day we talked about where to go. We had two choices. One go to the CDC center in Atlanta or two go to Appalachian Mountains to find pockets of survivors. We chose Atlanta.

During the night I felt something on me. Poking me. "Wha...Ahhh!" I yelled waking up. Dozens of figures moving in The darkness! I quickly turned on The LED light. As I did I saw a tiny man holding a splinter of wood about to stab Naka. "No!" I yelled swatting The man. He went flying into the wall with a wet smack. Kate and The others awoke quickly and saw that we were surrounded. "Holy shit" Drew said.  On The floor, beds, and tables were tiny men and women all with splinters of wood. I grabbed one in anger. A man in his 30's dressed similar to Naka except his cloth was red. He poked me with the splinter. "Ow you little shit!" I said squeezing. It was an unintentional. I squeezed so hard I felt his ribcage just collapse. He vomited blood and went dead limp. "Uggh!" I said dropping the body. "Oh shit!" Marcus said as they all charged us. They tried stabbing us to death but of course that just passed us off. We began swatting them away with pillows or hands. Kate slammed her foot down on one with a crunch. I heard her laugh. After a minute most of them ran. We never thought to even close the door but would've that done any good? Hell they could crawl through the vents. Drew turned on his light and with the two illuminated The room easily. The floor was littered with them. I counted 8 dead and 5 more alive but hurt. "Fuck just happened?!" Drew asked. "We were attacked. Guess Naka did know something" I said. Kate grabbed The frightened boy. "Fuck didn't you say there were these crazy fucking things here?!" she yelled. "Kate! Stop! Don't you see he couldn't! He can’t speak English!" I said. I snatched him from her and comforted him. Poor little guy was crying.

Drew picked one of them up. "His cloth is red like the others while Naka is white. A tribal thing?" he asked. "Possibly. If they shrunk down no doubt they would ban together for survival. Naka must've known this was enemy territory" Marcus said. "Azumi I got a job for you since you're the biologist here and doctor. Get this one to talk like you did with him. We can't just stumble around wondering if we're going to die in our sleep" Drew said to me. He handed me who he held. A woman with long messy black hair. She was already bruising. We waited till sunup to check The place out. The ones on the floor was callously tossed out the window. It sickened me how easily Kate did it.  Drew and Marcus left to forage for supplies for our trip leaving me with Kate. I placed the tiny woman on the table near Naka. He was eyeing her closely. Her chest was bare. Her tiny tits were impressive for someone her size. Her age seemed to be 21 or 22. She was still out of it. "Wake her up" Kate said. I began tapping her face. The girl shook her head and then opened her eyes. She quickly looked around and saw Naka. She moved to lunge at him and winced. She gripped her sides. Naka was tensed up ready to defend himself.

"Enough of that" I said to her. She spun around and gasped at me. She began slinking backward. I put my hand down to block her. "No you're staying right here" I said. She knew she was trapped. "Where are the others?" I asked. She looked confused and frightened. I pointed to her and then gestured around. "Sota! Sota rada!" Naka yelled. "Rada no sota whito!" She yelled at him. "Fuck they say?" Kate asked. "I think Naka asked her where her tribe was and she more or less said go fuck himself" I said. "Fuck. Let me try" Kate said. Kate pushed me aside and grabbed the girl's leg. "Where?" she said pointing around. The girl shook her head. Kate pinched her leg until we all heard a tiny snap. The girl screamed in pain. "Where?" Kate said grabbing her other leg. "Na! Na!" the girl carried on. *Snap*. "NAAAAA!" the girl screamed. Kate had broken her legs easily and now grabbed her cloth. She tore it away like tissue paper. She was naked and we saw that the females still had vaginas. Abiet tiny ones. Kate began to rub it. "Hell you doing?" I asked.

"The human mental state is a balance between pleasure and pain. Inflict pain and then pleasure. This is the key to effective torture" she said. "How the hell you know that?" I asked. "Unlike you I'm a genius and geniuses know shit. Ha! Look at him!" Ashe said pointing to Naka. Naka was sporting a hard on and was jacking himself under his loincloth. "Naka!" I said. He looked at me confused. "Don't be mad or maybe jealous? They obviously regressed to their baser instincts. Right now he sees a fertile girl with a nice pussy. His DNA screams to him to fuck her. Now back to you tiny freak. Where?" Kate asked again. "Ya....ya" the girl sobbed pointing to the door. "See? Results" Kate said picking the girl up. We walked down the hallway as the girl pointed out our route. On the second floor near a veranda there was a long flower pot but there were no flowers. Planted there was tomatoes and berries. "Amazing. They still cultivate food" I said. The girl pointed to two double doors. Above them said conference room 4. The girl sobbed. Naka who was in my hand for safe keeping spoke. "Rada? Sota Rada?" he asked. "Ya...rada" she replied. "Rada Azumi" he said to me. We opened the doors.

"Unbelievable" I said seeing all the tiny people below. Well over a hundred were inside. Some so tiny we could barely see them. Most likely children. They used all that they found for shelter. Coffee cups for houses. A coffee pot for a main house. Napkins as curtains. All of them on the conference tables spanning The joined room. "Smart. Being on The table makes it hard for predators" I said. "Be amazed later. Kill them now" Kate said. The people on the table ran for the edges. String acted like ropes to bring them down. The ones with kids, the old, or pregnant though were trapped. Their mates stood with them. "No! What's gotten into you?! They're human beings! Look at this one here. She's no older than 6!" I said pointing to a girl the size of an aspirin tablet. "Drew wanted these freaks gone and have you forgot they tried to kill us last night" Kate said. The ones that for on the floor has grouped together to fight. They held shards made of I guess broken cups. They charged us yelling. Kate raised her shoe over two of them and crushed them flat. "See what I mean?" Kate said stomping more.

"They are just protecting their territory!" I said. Their attacks wouldn't get through our clothes. Kate picked one off The ground. She put her thumb on his neck and flicked it. The man died instantly from a broken neck. She pulled the shard from his hands. "See this? It could slit our throats" she said tossing the body away. She was right. Sickingly right. I resigned myself to trying to kill only The dangerous ones. My foot slammed down on one and I felt his body just pop. I looked down and saw the blood pool around my shoe. I squashed another and another. The old carpet absorbed The blood like a sponge. It was easy after a while. Just naturally setting my foot down was enough to kill one. After maybe five minutes of doing this the attackers were dead. All that was left was the ones on the table or the ones cowering along the walls. Kate pulled an overturned chair to The table as did I. You be surprised how taxing it is killing small people. As I caught my breath what I did sunk in. I didn't keep count. I didn't dare to but I estimated I killed at least 20 of them. Kate probably more seeing how fast and energetic she did it.

"Now for you guys" she said. "Kate they're not a threat to us. Look at them" I said. "For years I always wanted more control over my life. So many expectations for me. Funny thing about control. It's like a drug. You need it and when you got it you use it any time you can. Azumi, I bet you know what I'm talking about" she said. "Yeah I do. Ever since I was 12 I've been pushed to live how others wanted" I said. Kate reached forward and grabbed a 19 year old dark skinned boy. A girl nearby screamed at us. "Now I have power. I have control. Azumi you're Japanese right?" she asked. "Yes" I replied. "So you know about those old monster movies they made a century ago. Godzilla and shit?" she asked. I nodded. "The ultimate control" she whispered. I watched in shock as she threw the teen into her mouth, swish him around for a second, spit out his loincloth and swallow him whole. "Haha...I can feel him in there moving around. Trying to survive" she said. "You...you ate him" I stammered. "First real meat I had in ages. None of that jerky shit. You should try it Azumi" she said.

"Do it. Be in control for fucking once" she whispered. My hand reached out for one. They all began running from us but one tripped. A man in his 40's and overweight. I plucked him up by the leg. "Na! Naaa!" he screamed. Did I want to eat him? Not really but the thing was Kate was one of the few people on Earth left I could even remotely relate to. She was a cold bitch for sure but at least I could have a conversation with her. I tore off his cloth and dropped him in. His screams muted by my closed mouth. I was shocked to see he had a taste. Sweet and salty. It had been a very long time since I had tasted something other than dried out meat. My mouth was flooded with saliva. I swallowed him with a large gulp. "There I...kuso! I can really feel him in me! He's...oh...it stopped" I said. "We never had breakfast" Kate said. She snatched up a boy no older than 12. Before I could object she ate him. Then she grabbed another boy much younger around 7. "Stop. I get it but look" I said pointing to him. He was sobbing and crying out. A woman below ran to Kate and was hitting her arm. Kate looked at her and grabbed her. "His mom" Kate said. "Have a heart Kate. I know you got one" I said. Kate looked at them and put them both down. "Good girl" I said. "Funny. What do we do with them all? There is at least 50 more around here" she said.

I didn't know. Naka was clutching my arm in fright while looking at Kate. If the woman who led us here seen this, I wonder what was going through her mind. Half her tribe was dead because of her. I reached down and picked up a cup shard. "Na!" I said pointing to The shard and wagging my finger. The ones on The table nodded and bowed. "Whoa. They understood off the bat" Kate said. "Yeah. I picked up on that Na means no" I said. "So they have a language" Kate said. "Yeah now to get them to cooperate" I said. I put my chin on the table. A man and woman looked dead at me. I gestured for them to come over. At first they didn't but I smiled and kept saying Ya. They carefully approached.   As I held out my finger they flinched. I began to gently pet them both. "Na...die?" the man asked. Finally, a word I recognized. "Na" I said. They relaxed but eyed me with wonder. The woman pushed my finger as if to turn my hand. I obliged. She touched the lines in my hand with her tiny hands as if trying to understand how I was real. "What's her deal?" Kate asked. "Think about it. If you saw giant girls you'd think they weren’t real wouldn't you?" I asked.

"Naka come here" I said pointing to where I wanted him to be. Naka walked over watching the foreign tribe. All of them wary of one another. The man immediately moved before his mate to defend her from Naka. "Na...Na" I said pointing to both of them. They got The hint there was to be no fighting. "Azumi the peacemaker" Kate said. Kate reached out and grabbed a male around 21 years old. His wife terrified of her said something but quickly shut up. "They are so cute" she said studying him.

Kate brought him to her face and The man started screaming. "Relax I won't eat you" she said. Kate gently kissed him. It shocked the male. Kate planted more kisses and she chuckled as how he sported an erection. She tore off his cloth and began rubbing his dick. "Kate that's not nice. Look at his wife" I said. The small woman looked defeated. "Pfft. She can have him back. Not like I'm marrying this thing. Ha! Look at this guy he loves it!" Kate said. The man had a dreamy look as she jacked his tiny penis between her fingers. The man came soon after coating her fingers with his seed. Kate licked her fingers and chuckled. "Not bad really. You can have him back" she said putting The msn next to his wife. The man looked at Kate with a smile. The wife however just walked away. The man followed her and tried to touch her and she pulled away. "Whoops. Broke up their marriage" Kate said.

We hadn't noticed but the ones hugging the walls had come back. They watched their crushed bodies of their strongest warriors as they passed by. "Don't look now but were surrounded" Kate said. We were. 30 of them stood around us as if waiting for something. "Damn. I really don't want to kill them" I said. As we got ready to stand up they all began bowing. "Okay. That's different" I said. "You think they think we're gods or something?" Kate said. "I...I guess" I said. "Wanna have a bit of fun with it?" Kate asked. "Like what. I don't wanna kill another one" I said. "Lighten up. We can relax and they can worship us. How often do you get to have people worship you?" she asked. "Well that does sound fun" I said. Kate kicked off her boots and her socks. I and to flinch at the smell of her feet. "It had been two days since I changed my socks" Kate said. "No worries. I bet my feet smell bad too" I said exposing my feet to the air. Kate scooted toward them. They didn't like the smell either as they turned their heads away. "Ya!" Kate yelled pointing to her feet.

Nobody moved. She scooted further toward them and quickly planted her sweaty sole on one of them. His head poking between her big and second toe. "Ya?" she said. "Ya!" the unlucky man yelled. Kate released him and put her feet together. A few went forward to her and some to me. "Okay this does feel good" I said feeling tiny hands rubbing my feet. "You have no idea. Being pregnant sucks. Swollen feet and having to piss every 15 minutes. Fuck my nipples are sore" Kate said. "Did you have any idea how bad it would be to get pregnant?" I asked. "Yeah I didn't think it through. Honestly I thought doing in zero g would prevent it. I'm kinda scared Azumi. Natural childbirth is risky and there aren't any hospitals anymore. God. Raising a kid in this" Kate said. This was the first time I truly saw genuine fear in her eyes. True terror. Reality was sinking in. "If we get to the CDC we might be able to fix some of this" I said. "What chance to we have? They couldn't fix it" Kate said. "Maybe it was too late. Governments had broken down already. Maybe they ran away to be with family. Scientists have families too" I said.

We didn't move from the room for some time. We enjoyed the attention we got and I got to see what it felt like to be appreciated. Naka tapped me on the shoulder. He looked unhappy. "What's the matter?" I asked picking him up. Naka said not one word and hugged my finger. "Are you jealous?" I asked. Naka looked up at me and then at my feet. He gestured for me to put him there. I did and saw him push away whomever was working on my feet. Naka hugged my sole and I glanced to see him kissing and licking it. "Na!" he shouted to them. "Oh that's precious. He's making them know only he can worship you" Kate said. I blushed in embarrassment. "Kate? Azumi? Did you take care of them?" Drew asked over the radio. We looked at one another. "Uh...yeah we did. No problems from them" I said. "Good. Meet us back at the room. We want to get stuff squared away for tomorrow" he said. "Bye worshippers. Your goddesses have to go now. Stay here if you want to live" Kate said. I picked up Naka. I still didn't trust them with him and left with Kate. Before I left I said Na and pointed at the door. They got the message as they nodded. Hopefully they would stay inside till at least we left.

"Any problems? How many were there?" Drew asked. "Many and no problems" Kate said holding up her boots. Drew and Marcus crinkled at all The bloodstains. "What did you find?" I asked. "Canned food. Some stores of water. We got lucky at a sports store. Somebody was hoarding till the bitter end. Hope you like jam preservatives. Fuck load of that. No bread sadly" Marcus said. "Find any people?" I asked. "Uh yeah we did. There was a few in a department store. They scurried off though right Marcus?" Drew asked. "Uh yeah. Right" Marcus said. We loaded up The vehicle and returned to our rooms. We took turns washing ourselves with extra water. God did we need it. The boys were nice enough to get us real clothes too. "Got you guys some breezy shirts and shorts for the heat. Sandals too" Marcus said. "That was sweet Marcus" I said. He smiled and looked away shyly. We ended up turning in early. We had a long drive tomorrow.

Through the night me and Kate wondered if the red tribe would try to attack us. Nope.  I think they didn't want to risk the wrath of their new goddesses. We both would wake up and look at the door. "Azumi you awake?" Kate whispered. "No" I said tossing. "I'm serious. Want to go check on them?" she asked. "Not really" I said. "Aren't you curious about if they're waiting on us to come back? Admit it. It felt really nice to be treated like goddesses" she said. "Yeah it did. Oh alright but just a peek" I said. Me and Kate tiptoed to the conference room. We gently opened the doors. It was dark except for The flickering of a few tiny fires. Our footsteps alerted them we were back. Kate turned on The lamp and they recoiled from The light for a moment. They looked mesmerized by the artificial light. "And I said let there be light and it was good" Kate said. "Funny. Very funny" I said. The ones we could easily see looked upset. Especially The kids. "What's wrong little guys?" I said choosing one at random. I picked up a girl around 8 years old. No bigger than my pinkie. She wasn't as much scared as much as lethargic.

I began stroking her little body trying to see if it was just nerves or fear. She smiled weakly and then she held her tummy. I brought her close to my face. Very close. She had the prettiest hazel eyes. She was really scared now. "I'm not gonna eat you. I'm just worried you might be sick" I said softly. I felt her chest and her heart was racing under my fingertip. A common reaction to fear. My finger went lower to her belly and then I felt The tiniest vibration. "Oh. That's what's wrong. You're hungry" I said. Her tiny tummy was growling. "Well damn. We did say not to go outside and your little garden is right outside the door. Bet you're all hungry. Kate I'll be right back" I said. Kate shrugged as she eyed the people more. I went to their garden just a few steps from the door. Strings were attached to it for the climbers. I pulled off a tomato and four strawberries and carried them back. What I did in one minute probably would've took them hours. I sat The food down. "Whoa. Look at them go" Kate said as a crowd rushed to it. As I did I saw the crushed bodies were gone. The blood stains remained though. I wondered what they did with them.

I laughed as one old man bit into the fleshy fruit and was knocked back by a gush of tomato juices. The youngest, pregnant, and oldest ate first. After they had their fill The men began cutting the fruit and berries up. Very organized. About a half hour passed when a group of men flocked to us. Kate and her feet out already and without telling them they began to worship them. I myself ended up with more thanking me. I saw one jumping up and down. It was The girl from before. I plucked her up and brought her to my face. She surprised me by hugging my cheek. "Aw you're welcome" I said kissing her head. Kate as moving around. "Kate what are you doing?!" I said. She was taking off her shirt and her shorts. "They’re thankful right? As thanks I want to have a bit more fun" she said. Kate was naked within seconds. The white light shone how pregnant she was. It had been almost a month since I saw her topless. Her breasts have grown by a full cup. Her areole was a medium tan. Different from the rose color I once noticed at our physical exam. I could see the veins in her skin on her belly. She would be due in as little as three weeks. The people around her were astonished to see such huge tits and pussy.

Even some of them around me went over to her. "Ha! They like me better now" she said. "Only because you're naked!" I yelled. "Then prove me wrong" she said. It was childish but I bought into it. I was taking off my clothes and getting naked too. That really didn't help my self-esteem. My overweightness was easy to see with my pudgy belly. A few did stay though. I hoped not out of loyalty. Kate smirked. She picked up one of them and cradled him to her breast. The man was shocked until he stared at her nipple. He touched it and squeezed it and Kate let out a moan. The man was feverishly rubbing her nipple enjoying how he pleased his goddess. Kate took him off her breast and began to lick him. I felt a tingling in my pussy. I was getting aroused! "He's so horny for me. Glad I can still feel sexy at this size" Kate said smirking. The ones at my feet began to wander away. I grabbed one. He wasn't ugly nor cute. Average at around 26 years old. I pulled off his cloth and began sucking him off. He made grunts and growls as his tiny cock was tickled by my tongue.

"Ya! Ya!" he moaned. His tiny seed shot not my tongue. His tiny load tasted fairly pleasant. Actually sweet. I rubbed his face and smiled. He gave me a contented grin as I sat him down. It turned into a competition between me and Kate. I would suck one off and she would rub them on her sensitive nipples. Kate being Kate however upped the ante. "Open wide" she told the older teen she had now in her grip. He didn't understand as Kate was rubbing her right nipple hard on his face. I watched closely as he gasped for air. When he did part of her nipple went into his tiny mouth. Kate began squeezing her breast. "Please tell me you're not..."

"Breastfeeding him?" Kate laughed. The teen stopped struggling and began drinking her milk that only lasted a few seconds though. He began struggling again. "Kate I think he had enough" I said. Kate shrugged and dropped him on the floor. The teenager coughed out whatever he couldn't swallow. Kate held out her hand and a man eagerly stepped onto it. Kate didn't have to force him to drink. "That's it you tiny pervert. Drink my milk" she said. The ones around her were so into her now they were jumping and shouting for her. I felt jealous of how much attention she got. It was pissing me off. "You want to play dirty? Okay" I said reaching for a teen looking at Kate. I grabbed him up so fast he looked around at me scared. Guess he saw I wasn't happy. "Na!" He said with pleading eyes. He must've though I was going to kill him for paying attention to her. I spread my legs a bit and lowered him down. He went rigid in terror seeing where he was going. "Relax. I’m just going to fuck you" I said softly. He went in feet first. His body slowly sank in until I felt his feet push against my hymen. Yeah I was still a virgin.

I tried dating boys before. Even with the Asian thing for me I wasn't having much luck. Daddy didn't help either. What boys stuck around daddy made them leave me alone. If he wasn't a Japanese from a good family, it wasn't happening. Woe be upon me if I lost my virginity before marriage. I don't have to worry about that any longer. The old world was dead and a new one was here. One that I could make the rules. Like this 15 year old 2 1/2-inch boy here. If I wanted to fuck him then that's what's gonna happen. I began pushing him harder and harder. I felt his legs bend. I quickly ya ked him out and held his legs firm. "Na!" I yelled at him. He looked at his legs and nervously nodded. Back in he went and this time he held himself rigid. "Ow" I whispered as I felt my hymen stretch. The boy himself was in pain. The pressure on his legs must've been tremendous.  "Shit!" I yelled as my human finally gave way. A single tear rolled down my cheek.

I glanced down at The boy who I saw was sobbing. I pulled him out and saw both his legs were broken. Worse yet he was slick with blood and juices. "I went this far" I muttered. I slowly inserted him back in. "NA! NA! *mumph*" he yelled until his head disappeared into me. The pain subsided as a feeling of euphoria took over. I masturbated before but it never felt like this! It was like my pussy was made for a tiny person!  Faster and faster I went. "Nice going over there!" Kate yelled rubbing a poor man against her sole. She had grabbed another, a woman this time and shoved her up her snatch. She grabbed another and in he went. "I got two inside me!" Kate yelled. I was fine with the one I got. He was squirming and thrashing around ever so nicely. "Fuck you’re gonna make me cum!" I yelled loudly. The people below had stopped running toward us trying to please us. They watched their goddesses pleasure themselves with their friends and loved ones. I pulled the teen out just a little and saw his eyes closed. And with that I came.

"Uugh!" I groaned as a burning orgasm tore through me. My pussy spasmed and sucked his body into me. I took me a few seconds to come down. "Fuck that was intense!" Kate said panting. I pulled The teen out and saw he was barely breathing. His legs completely shattered. "Nice job you two" Kate said pulling hers out. She dropped them onto the floor like they were nothing. She scooted over to me. "Damn. Is that a bone poking out his leg? Shit Azumi! You're bleeding!" she said pointing the The carpet under my ass. My virginal blood has stained it. "I'm fine" I said. "Don't tell me you were a virgin! You lost your virginity to a tiny?!" she laughed. "Not everybody can get a hot guy!" I yelled. She got quiet for a moment seeing how pissed I was from her teasing me. "I was just kidding. Our secret. By the way you know he's fucked right?" she said pointing to The boy. "Yeah. His legs would have to be amputated of there were hospitals. At least he'd die from infection" I said.

"Put him out of his misery" she coldly said. I felt so sorry for him. I never wanted this. I just wanted to have fun. My pride had got in the way and it would cost him his life. I placed him on the carpet. "I'll make it quick" I said to him. He was waking up just as I raised my foot over him. "...Na" he said weakly as I placed my sole on his body. I felt his tiny hands trying to push away my sole. I took a breath and quickly pressed down. A wet crunch filled our ears. His warm sticky blood oozed between my toes. They were terrified of us once more. I wasn't a goddess anymore to them. I was The devil. Too scared to fight and too scared to worship. They just stood there in frozen panic. "We should just go" I said. "But...alright." Kate said. We stood up and got dressed again. I wiped my foot on The carpet scraping away his flattened body and viscera. Kate fell asleep fairly quickly my thoughts lingered on how good it felt to rape one of them. How natural it felt despite my conscience. Most of all I wanted to do it again.

We were up early as we got The last of our supplies ready. Naka was in my breast pocket. " please tell me you're not taking him with us" Drew said. "Why not? I like the little guy" I said. Drew shook his head. We all got in the vehicle and headed down the I-20. Naka was utterly amazed at how fast everything was moving. Why? Did he and so many others lose their memories when they were shrunk? 13 hours to get there. The things we saw en route. Car after car abandoned. Hydro stations for fuel cell refills cleared out. The worst of it probably was when we stopped in Birmingham to relax and stretch our legs. While The boys raided a camping store for any non-perishable goods Kate stretched and winced. "Damn my back is killing me!" he said. "You want anything?" I asked. "A water but I'll know I'll just piss it out when the hour" she replied. I grabbed a bottled water for her. "Any day now huh?" I asked. "Yeah. As you saw my milk came in and The little guy is kicking more" she replied. "You going to be okay if I walk around a bit?" I asked. She just shooed with her hand. I walked a block or so fascinated at how still the city was. No sounds except birds chirping.