Max hugged his knees to his chest. He closed his eyes and secretly wished, or prayed, that it was all just a bad dream, one that he would wake up from at any moment. Deep down, he knew it was not so. His capture had happened shockingly quick and without warning, but that made it no less real. He had been greedy to venture that close to the human world and now he was paying the price. He shook with fear, but maintained the small hope that if he bided his time, an opportunity to escape might present itself. He just had to hang in there, no matter what she threw at him. His friends needed him.

After a short while the unsettling, rhythmic jostling of his prison ended abruptly. Mentally, he prepared himself for the inevitable confrontation that was soon to follow, but he underestimated just how disorienting the piercing light would be after being sealed in darkness so long. His eyes squinted and watered as he adjusted. He had no time to react as five gigantic fingers plunged at him and carried him out of the darkness. He screamed.

As quickly as it had snatched him up, the hand deposited him on a flat wooden surface. Max, through blurred eyes, looked upon his captor for the first time. He was speechless. He had seen women before to be sure, but this interaction was magnitudes away from anything he had ever experienced. Survival in his world meant carefully observing, avoiding, and maneuvering around the monolithic creatures. Any notion he had of them had been formed strictly from a safe distance, usually with cover nearby to hide should he be spotted. This, this was different. From his perch, he was staring up directly into her cold blue eyes. She had short, wavy black hair, and pale cheeks dotted with freckles. Her lips were a dark, lush red. She was quite pretty.

Max’s internal monologue was interrupted as her lips parted and she spoke down to him.

“Hello,” she said. Her voice was sweet, drawn-out, and feminine.

Max’s lips fumbled as he attempted to make a response. His mind was effectively scrambled by her huge, commanding presence.

“My name is Lia,” she continued, her lips parting ever so slightly with excitement, “and from now on, I will be your master.” 

Max just continued to stare. He felt his teeth chatter, and thought he might be trembling, but couldn’t really tell. A million thoughts ran through his tiny head at once. He thought about all the different, violent ways a being as powerful as his self-proclaimed master could torture or kill him. He thought about any conceivable ways he could appease or escape from her. But, despite what he thought, it seemed that he had lost all control over his body, and all he could do was gaze upon her awesome might.

Lia used the moment assess her new prize. He was an incredible find. When she saw his little legs scurrying around the street corner she had hardly believed her eyes. It had taken extreme self-control to keep him hidden away as long as she had. Now she could finally use him, away from prying eyes. She thought about naming him herself, but she could not decide on anything. She knew of so few bitmen that she hardly had a clue what a proper name for one would sound like.

“What is your name little guy?” she asked.

Max was snapped out of his trance by this surprisingly normal question. He swallowed hard and then worked out the courage to respond.

“M-My name is M-Max,” He stuttered.

“Max! Like Maxine!?”

“Uh no,” he responded. “Just Max.”

She smiled. “Okay then, I’ll call you Max.” She took a moment just to look him over. He was very filthy, but very cute.

“What are you going to do to me?” Max asked her.

“Whatever I want,” she happily answered, “weren’t you listening? I’m your master now. I own you.”

“I can’t stay here. I have friends. They’re counting on me to help them. We have to hunt to survive. They need me. Please, I’ll do whatever you want, but you have to let me go.”

Lia frowned. It seemed as though her new pet would need some conditioning after all. She could be harsh and domineering, but she was still a good person, and truly wanted her bitman to enjoy his captivity. After all, she lived alone and could use some companionship. She imagined that with his attitude it might take more than a few weeks to properly train him, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Listen,” she explained, “you have something that I want. I’m bigger than you, I’m stronger than you, and I’m smarter than you. I could take what I want from you, and I will if I have to, but things will be much better for both of us if you just learn your place and accept it.”

He knew instantly what she was talking about. The same virus that had diminished his gender to such a lowly stature had caused a change in their biology. Men across the globe produced semen that was not only delicious to their female oppressors, but also had remarkable health benefits. A steady supply of male semen would keep a female looking youthful and feeling healthy well into old age. It was for this reason that men lived in fear, hiding in wilderness and scavenging for food. Any male caught would surely find himself enslaved in this new order.

Max dug deep to find the courage to defy her. He knew she could hurt him, easily, but also knew he was valuable to her. She would probably try to avoid doing lasting damage.

“No,” he told her, “I won’t be your slave.”

Lia frowned once more. It was better to get this out of the way sooner rather than later. She would not stand for disobedience or insubordination from her pet. She would have to punish him.