It was a warm summer’s evening when this whole thing started. Nobody knew how or why it was happening, but there appeared to be no way to stop it. On July 1st, 2026, scientists messed with something they should’ve never messed with…

In a lab, based in the deserts of Arizona, two scientists were playing around with rifts in time and space, also known as wormholes. They did it, they successfully created a wormhole, and they were of the belief that they could reproduce the results. However, as they were trying to close their wormhole, they discovered they couldn’t. It refused to close, and in fact, it grew bigger. And with it growing bigger, it also grew in power, and their creation, their wormhole, began to devour the scientists and their lab.

Somehow, with stupid luck (if that’s what you want to call it), the military caught wind of the disaster that was happening, and they deployed their usual answer. A bomb. Surprisingly enough, this worked, to an extent. The wormhole disappeared, but as the explosion went off, an invisible ripple went through the whole country, affecting people at random. They didn’t even know they were being affected either, until their time had come... So with that, we come to...

SUBJECT ONE

Mike Hansen
Age 28
Caucasian
Ohio

Mike was the first to be affected, and when the ripple hit him, he immediately felt it’s disastrous effects. He passed out for a moment, the pain unbearable, but it was nothing compared to when he’d awake.

~~~

About 15 minutes later, Mike was finally able to open his eyes. Looking around though, he noticed something strange. He wasn’t at home, sitting in his easy chair. He didn’t have a cold beer sitting nearby. And he certainly wasn’t looking at his television... No, what was he looking at? The man was rather confused, curious even, as to what the hell had happened to him. He didn’t know if he was dreaming, or if he was dead. All he knew is that everything was off.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* Distant earthquakes were heard, and Mike began to panic. He couldn’t be dead, because there wouldn’t be earthquakes in heaven. And it was way too cool to be hell. So it had to be he was dreaming, that was the only possible explanation. Or rather, the only logical explanation. For that ripple that spread throughout the country, carried small particles of the wormhole in them. Mike had been teleported through space, to a woman in Arizona’s house. Only, he wasn’t his normal size. The particle of the wormhole had compressed his form, making him no larger than a mere ant.

And as the earthquakes grew louder and closer, Mike finally saw where they were coming from. And the sight alone was nearly enough to make him pass out.

~~~

Jane was a 22 year old college senior. She was a brunette, with dazzling green eyes. She stood at 5’7”, and had a shoe size of 9. Aside from being a full time student, she also had a part-time job at Payless. Or at least, it was supposed to be part-time... Walking in the front door of her house, Jane let out a small groan. She spent 5 hours at school, only to spend 8 hours at Payless, and now she was hot, sweaty, and tired. Kicking her flats off at the door, she began making her way into the living room, looking for a little rest and relaxation. She didn’t even want to think about the homework she had left to do.

~~~

Mike watched as Jane’s footsteps grew ever closer to him, and the couch. The purple nail polish on her toes was beginning to chip, and as her feet got closer, Mike could see the dirt that laid on the sole of her shoe. Not to mention the smell, it was something beyond comprehension. It took all he had, for the small man to not retch after catching the first whiff. And yet, despite what all his senses were telling him, Mike knew what he had to do. He had to get this woman’s attention, one way or another.

Running forward, Mike felt the earth shake more than ever before, as Jane plopped down on the couch, not caring about how heavily she sat down. Up above, he could hear the sounds of the television, booming noise that would most certainly make things harder for him. Not only would it easily drown out his voice, but Mike could hardly hear his own thoughts. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t notice the foot barreling towards him.

But boy did it notice him. Jane’s foot, trying to find comfort on the hardwood floor, instead found Mike, bowling him over without a thought. And just as Mike was rolling over, to stand back up, Jane finally found comfort, and began settling her foot down, to rest right on top of Mike. This caused him great panic, as well as humiliation. If he was going to die, he didn’t want his death to be to some unknowing girl’s smelly foot.

The weight kept bearing down on him, though. Sweat soaked Mike’s entire body, as well as dirt, and a lot of it flooded into his mouth. He tried to gag, to do anything to get rid of the taste, the smell, everything. But life wasn’t looking favorably upon him today.

Finally, though, Mike did get a small reprieve. The foot began moving backwards, somehow not dragging his body with it. But when it did stop, Mike had reached a new low, finding himself in between her toe-jam infested toes. And infested wasn’t an exaggeration either. All around, the sweaty, gunky, toe-jam filled each toe, the bulk of it being in between her big and second toes. And Mike just so happened to end up there.

Trying to stand up, he immediately felt his head get sucked into the toe-jam with a sickening squelch. Trying to pull his head out, he couldn’t, the jam stuck like glue. Cringing at the thought, Mike knew what he had to do. And so, with much hesitation, the man began eating the toe-jam. There was so much, and it tasted so awful. But he had to get out, and he had to get in contact with the woman. So he kept licking, and licking, swallowing and swallowing. Until by mistake, he finished, and accidentally gave another lick to her bare foot.

~~~

Jane was enjoying her shows she had on recording. She was actually beginning to unwind, when suddenly, she felt something wet on her foot. She didn’t know what it was, but when it stopped, she dismissed it with a reflexive scrunch of her toes.

~~~

And that scrunch of her toes quickly ended Mike’s life, turning him into nothing more than a bloody pulp.

~~~

The blood made her toes feel more wet, and investigating, Jane saw it. Panicking that she’d cut herself somehow, the woman ran to the bathroom, to go wash off the blood, and make sure everything was alright. And she’d never know that there was a man who died between her toes.