Chapter 5:
Carl and the other men froze for a moment, the situation had escalated from a verbal assault to a monumental threat. Panic took over. The men of the logging company erupted into a frenzy, searching for some avenue of hope atop the vacant expanse of the tree stump. As Carl and the men ran for their lives, the once idle giantesses sprung to action to assist Rose, effortlessly herding the men into separate groups with their hands. Those men that dodged the massive walls of flesh were plucked individually into the air, and swiftly dropped onto the stump within their respective group of tiny men, suffering visible injuries from their fall.
Once Carl had been properly caught, he paused to catch his breath within the shade of the two massive hands that had seized him. It only took a quick glance for him to notice that a few of the men in his group had been wounded during their capture, and all their eyes were on him, as if begging to be saved. He turned away from the sullen sight and attempted to work his way to the front of the group of men, nearest the center of the stump, so that he might see how the others had managed. Between the gap in the outstretched fingertips before him, Carl could spot four other groups of men, each guarded by one of the giantesses known as petals. He had counted roughly ten men in his own group, and figured the rest might be distributed evenly amongst the other giantesses, if any of them hadn’t already perished. Carl’s eyes scanned the horizon beyond the edge of the stump for Rose, the one responsible for all this madness, but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he spotted the fifth petal walking off towards the woods, but the immense distance made it hard for him to focus on her. The unnamed giantess paused at the edge of the logging site’s perimeter, she looked like she was crouching down, as if to retrieve something. He worried what could be so important as to distract the giantess from the events unfolding.
Carl had accounted for the whereabouts of five giantesses so far, but where was the sixth? A sudden sense of dread overtook him as he slowly began to turn his neck. When he finally turned around, Carl fully realized what he had subconsciously known; he had not been captured by one of the petals, but by Rose herself. The features and form of the woman that had been previously concealed by the dim morning light, were now on full display before him. Carl’s eyes rapidly traversed Rose’s body, a behemoth pair of hips supported the woman’s relatively narrow waist, and two massive breasts heaved far above to the rhythm of her heavy breathing. Even though her face had seemed fair before, it was now warped by an expression of wrath. Her long brunette hair had been tied up in a loose bun, though now it was slightly disheveled, releasing brown tendrils which rest near the abyss of her eyes. Her pale complexion, juxtaposed against the crimson lipstick painted onto her lush lips, nearly distracted him from the woman’s most terrifying feature. She had bent her mouth into a terrible grin, bearing her teeth as if she were some feral animal, ready to bite down on every one of his men. As Carl feared what might become of himself, Rose’s face twisted as she prepared to speak.
“Petals, I hope you all were able to gather enough toys to entertain yourselves.”
The four giant women nodded to signify their satisfaction with the capture of the men below. Each of them began to open their hands to the skies above, and a soft white light penetrated the cages of the tiny men. Rose craned her neck to face the giantess that had traveled to the woods edge, and began to speak once more.
“Dahlia, do you have the supplies? I would hate to keep our guests waiting.”
The fifth petal that had ventured towards the forest had begun walking back towards the tree stump, now with a woven basket in hand, she replied.
“Yes, I’ve brought both the samples and our lunch.”
Rose’s face flushed with excitement as she responded.
“Excellent, now we can show these men the true treasures of nature! Dahlia, please set the basket down here.”
Rose gestured with her right hand towards the tree stump. In response, Dahlia, the ebony-skinned giantess who had left to retrieve something from the forest, set a basket overflowing with an array of flowers and fruit down onto the stump beside Rose. Rose plunged her hand into the basket, withdrawing about a dozen red berries, and proceeded to speak.
“Did you men know the fruit of this forest could look so divine? All the food in this basket is beyond precious, it would usually supply life to this forest’s wildlife, but today my friends and I will feast on its splendor. However, these fruits serve as natural laxatives, a vital quality for ensuring their seeds are distributed throughout the woods, to be sure, but unfortunate for you all. Why don’t you take a closer look and see for yourselves?”
Rose let the boulder sized berries roll from her hand onto the surface of the stump next to Carl’s group. A few of the berries tumbled to a halt just beside Carl, though huge, they were still only about the same size as himself and his men. Rose lost her composure at the sight of the tiny men next to the fruit, she called out in anger.
“Even at your current size you stand as equals next to the worth of this forest? Do you think your value rivals that of this fruit? I won’t allow this mockery to continue, Dahlia, fetch me the samples!”
In a flash, Dahlia had presented Rose and the other giantesses with several small glass vials, each partially filled with a light-yellow substance. Rose took one of the vials and removed the cap sealing its contents. She tilted the vial above the surface of her left hand, and the contents of the vial spilled out to create a brief golden rain. Rose stood for a moment to marvel at the small pile that had accumulated on her palm, before pinching some of the substance with her right hand. Her right hand then moved into position above Carl’s group like a mechanical claw, still holding the yellow powder tight. Carl had seen what the pollen-like dust had done to his friend earlier; he struggled to keep calm in anticipation of what would happen next. A moment, which may as well have been an eternity to the men below, passed before Rose released her grip on the powder. As the ten tiny men were showered in the light dust from the sample, they tried to hold their breath, but ultimately all of them surrendered themselves to their fate.
As the yellow dust filled Carl’s lungs, he recognized the same uniquely sweet scent he had encountered as he inspected the bouquet of flowers earlier that morning. His breathing became shallow as he withered to the ground. He noticed his eyes, like his limbs, were failing him. Carl lapsed in and out of consciousness before awaking moments later. As his vision settled, he noticed the berries before him were now over four times his size, which would mean he was now around half a centimeter tall. Carl turned to survey the status of the other groups on the tree stump. Unfortunately, it seemed the petals had already begun to follow Rose’s example. Each of them sprinkled their personal victims with a carefully measured pinch of the mysterious yellow dust, shrinking each group of men to roughly the same size as Carl and his men. His attention was drawn away from the men as Rose began to speak.
“That’s more like it, now I can finally enjoy my meal in peace. Although, there is one thing I really do love about fig berries. They really…”
As she spoke, Rose had begun to lower her right index finger onto one of the berries next to Carl’s group, the fruit’s flesh buckled under the pressure.
“…pop in your mouth!”
As the fig fruit exploded under the force of the massive woman’s finger, two men in Carl’s group were coated in the contents from the burst berry, immobilizing them. Rose stared directly at the men in Carl’s group, and continued to speak.
“But, they are quite sticky. I guess you two will help me clean my hand.”
Rose proceeded to scoop up the jam left by the berry with the index and middle finger of her right hand, bringing along the two men in Carl’s group who had been unlucky enough to be ensnared by the fruit’s innards. As the men caught in the fruity goo were dragged against the surface of the tree stump, Carl could have sworn he saw one of their legs snap. Carl’s eyes watched on in fear as Rose raised her jam covered fingers to her lips, while the two men struggled in agony to escape. He couldn’t bear to look any longer, tears obscured his eyes as he stared at the ground, searching for an answer that would never come.