Only a couple minutes after the lights went out Roni had drifted off to sleep, as evidenced by the slow, steady rhythm of her breath. Alone with my thoughts, I only became more resolute in my plan, what little of a plan there was. I had to get out of this cage and away from Gina at all costs before the psychotic girl or one of her friends killed me.
I waited a few minutes after Roni drifted off to sleep so that I wouldn’t jolt her awake before making my move. Slowly I crawled across the edge of her bed, careful not to bump her feet while I passed over them. When I reached the side I inched my legs over until they came to rest upon the sideboard and sat there a moment, making sure I was still undetected. Roni remained still, so I carefully pushed off from the bed and lowered myself to the ground without a noise.
The room was nearly pitch black and my eyes still hadn’t adjusted, so I had to feel my way to the door. I placed a hand on the bed’s sideboard and walked along to the edge, where I slowly turned, making sure I stayed in contact with the foot of Roni’s bed. To make sure I didn’t bump into anything I kept a hand forward, and stopped myself from bumping face-first into the wall. Then I turned, using the wall as an anchor, and crept my way to the door.
Luckily the door was new, and opened both easily and without a sound. I cracked it just enough for me to slip through, then pulled it shut behind me with nary a click. I was worried that either Akane or Liz would be standing guard as backup to make sure I didn’t escape, but they seemed to think Roni would be enough to keep me in place. There was a dim outline of the door that stood out like a beacon in the darkness, and I cautiously tip-toed my way to it.
I made it to the door without incident, and though I had to stand on my toes to reach the handle I got it open easily enough. I slipped through the doorway and shut it behind me, my heart pounding the whole time. If I made so much as a bump I expected all three of them to come after me with a fanatical desire to punish me for my transgression. Fortunately, I avoided making any noise the whole time on my way out, and was free to go ahead with the next bit of my escape.
Getting out was my priority, but I couldn’t leave Vanessa behind. She was the only one who had been kind to me since I fell out of Gina’s favor, and with me gone she would become the next target for their abuse. Taking her with me would be the least I could do to repay her.
Crossing the tank would be treacherous as well: everyone else was well aware that I had become persona non-grata and would report me to the authorities Gina had set up if they saw me. With the dim moonlight coming in through the window of the room outside I could see the field ahead of me, strewn with the dozen or so inhabitants left to the elements. Most of them were huddled together for warmth, while a few were under whatever tattered blankets were left from the last time Gina had dropped some scraps of cloth in over a year ago.
I walked along the rear pane of the terrarium, careful not to risk waking anyone up. Halfway through I saw a dark figure ahead of me and froze. The further I got away from Roni’s palace the worse it would be when they returned me. Hopefully this person would walk away without noticing me and I could continue on my way.
The figure turned around and I braced for the consequences. Instead, the person simply stood there considering me. I looked up from the black, form-fitting leggings barely staying together to the too-small tank top, and finally to Kristie’s face. She looked down at me listlessly, her radiant brown eyes now dull. It looked like she was still in shock from the whole incident and had no idea what to do with herself.
“Oh, it’s you,” Kristie said without inflection. I put a finger on my lips, indicating for her to quiet down, but she continued in the same deadpan. “What’re you doing up?”
“I’m going to see a friend,” I said quickly. It was true, and she didn’t need to know what I had planned after.
“Oh.” It seemed that Kristie did not know anything else to say, though I could see the gears turning behind her blank expression. “Funny, isn’t it?”
“What’s that?” I asked, trying to slowly sneak past her. She was a wild card, I told myself, and might be eager to get back in Gina’s good graces.
“I’ve been agonizing over Alex for months,” she replied. “Thought I was too tall for him, or worried what people would think.” Kristie shot a hand out, loosely grabbing my face. Apparently she had noticed me trying to get away and wanted an audience. “Now we’re the same height but he’s… with Shelby. All because I brought him to hang out with my friends.”
I didn’t personally see anything funny in the situation, but also wanted to keep from upsetting her. “Look, Kristie,” I began, slowly pulling her hand away from my face, “I know you feel betrayed by Gina, and you have every right to.” Briefly I paused, thinking about whether I really wanted to do this. “She probably has it out for you especially, since you used to be friends. I’m making a break for it and I’m taking some people with me. You’re… welcome to come if you want.”
Kristie remained impassive, and only looked at me curiously. I began to worry I had made a grave misstep when she finally answered, “Okay.” She turned the same direction I had been going, then looked down at me again. “Where?”
I pointed to the run-down house I had lived in for years. “Stopping off there first,” I said, and set off on the way I had been going. Kristie kept pace with me, walking with incredibly slow steps to keep from getting too far ahead of me. The whole time she kept her gaze locked on me, appearing almost bemused by the whole situation. Probably she was still stunned by how unreal this was and figured this made as much sense as anything else had tonight.
It took several more minutes, Kristie patiently walking with me the whole time, before we arrived at the old house. The door had finally fallen off its hinges from the intense seismic activity that night and laid across the threshold. I walked over the door, careful not to make a sound, while Kristie practically stomped her way over it. I turned to caution her to be quiet, but with that single step she was already inside the house.
Vanessa awoke with a start when she heard us come in and her eyes darted back and forth before settling on us. “Oh, it’s you,” she said, visibly relaxing. “I’m surprised Roni let you out, though it looks like she sent someone along to watch you.”
I looked at Kristie, trying to put together what Vanessa had just said. “Oh, her?” I asked, pointing at the brunette twice my size as though I had just noticed her. “She’s not with them. In fact, she wants to come with us.”
Vanessa looked exasperated while she got out of her chair. “Really?” she asked, walking over to me. She stood close enough that I had to strain looking up at her. “I didn’t know ‘we’ were going anywhere.”
Mentally I stumbled a little. Getting out made so much sense that I hadn’t even considered that Vanessa might not want to leave. Then I remembered that I hadn’t even told her the plan yet. “I’m getting out of here,” I announced, “and I want you to come with me.”
She looked surprised, as though the idea had never occurred to her. “I want to get out of here as much as you do,” Vanessa admitted, “but why me? Why not everyone else?” Then she shifted her eyes toward Kristie, non-verbally asking, And why her?
“I can’t stay here any longer. Gina is getting increasingly violent toward me, and it’s only a matter of days before she decides she has no use for me. If I want to have any chance of survival I need to get out of here, now. Once I’m gone, though, you’ll be her next target for abuse, and I can’t let you go through that. We need to leave while we still can.”
Vanessa appeared to think it over for a surprisingly long amount of time: running away was such a no-brainer to me. “Thank you for thinking of me,” she finally said. “I can’t in good conscience let you go alone. You’re so small, after all, you need someone big like me and Kristie to protect you. Besides, you’ll need someone to talk to on the way. So what’s the plan?”
I waited a moment to let suspense build up. “It’s surprisingly simple,” I began. “Every Saturday Gina leaves for several hours shortly after she wakes up. That should give us enough time to get out of the terrarium and hide somewhere else before she gets back. There’s still a hole dug out of a corner from the last time I escaped that she’s never fixed, we can use that and climb down one of the supports.”
Vanessa tapped her chin while thinking it over. “It’s nice and simple, I like it,” she started, “but what about once we’re out?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I admitted, “but it’s hard to plan for since I haven’t seen the outside of that door in six years. We’ll think of something.”
“And you’re okay with this?” she asked Kristie. Gina’s cast-off friend nodded, and Vanessa sighed. “I guess if you’re determined to go through with it we can improvise past the threshold. How long until we leave?”
“She won’t wake up for a few more hours, so we’ve got some time to kill.” The three of us sat down and started talking, telling jokes and stories from before we had shrunk to keep the tension at bay. It was crucial we stayed awake: if we dozed we could miss our opportunity and might not get another chance.
Sunlight poured into the room before we heard any stirring from the room outside our tank. Thudding footsteps shook the weakened supports of the house, and we quickly shot to our feet. In order to not seem suspicious we walked outside to see the giantesses getting up and around. “I had a lot of fun last night, Gina!” Julie announced while she walked to the door.
“Yeah, thanks for inviting us!” Ashley tacked on, following Julie. “I can’t wait for you to bring us a tiny man of our own!”
“Don’t worry about it!” Gina replied, stepping out of bed and stretching. “I’ll see you all at practice and we can talk about it more, all right?”
“Yeah, sure thing!” the other two said, stepping out of the room.
A shadow fell over us as the sun was blocked out. Shelby hunched over in front of the glass, practically pressing her nose against the pane. Her emerald eyes darted around, searching for something, and came to rest on our trio. Upon seeing us her face lit up, and she began tapping on the glass excitedly, making it rattle in its fixtures with an incredibly racket.
“Hey Kristie!” she shouted. The barrier muffled her voice somewhat, but it echoed in the empty space, giving the impression she was all around us. “Hope you’re having fun in there, you little bitch!” Movement caught my eye, and I saw a tiny person dangling between two of her fingers. “I’m taking him home with me and you can’t do anything about it!” Shelby laughed, a horrible sound that was amplified by bouncing off the walls, then stood and left without another word.
Kristie seemed upset, so I put a hand on the small of her back to comfort her. She gave no reaction, so I left it there while I spoke. “Nothing you can do about it now,” I said, knowing it would do little to assuage her. “The important thing is you get out of here and never have to see her again.” The only sign she even heard me was the slight tilt of her head, which I took as a positive enough sign.
Gina left the room briefly to do her morning routine and we waited patiently for her to come back. So long as her gym bag was in the room I knew we would barely even get out of the terrarium before she came back. We bided our time, making sure Kristie wasn’t going to have a breakdown so close to the critical moment.
Our captor returned and walked over to the bag we had all been watching without even taking time to menace us. She must have been running late. “You be good while I’m gone, tinies!” she called out when she hoisted her bag. “Remember that your Goddess is always watching!” Without any further harassment she stormed out the door, and we listened carefully as her footfalls on the stairs gradually grew quieter until the dull thud of the front door signified her departure.
I wasted no time once Gina was out the door. If her three minions caught us there was little we would be able to do to escape, and they would no doubt put us under close watch until our captor returned. Quickly I rushed over to the small hole I had knocked out in the corner. To my relief the only thing covering it was the scrap of plastic I had laid over it on my way out last time, hiding it from cursory looks. With a heave I pulled on it, and Vanessa added her muscle to get it out of the way sooner.
With the way open, we saw a sheer climb down the several-foot-tall iron support holding up the tank. Chips in the paint and small imperfections in the casting gave plenty of hand- and footholds for the descent, which I had exploited several times before. Without hesitation I slid into the hole and grabbed on to the cold metal, quickly making my way down so that the girls could follow closely.
Years of Gina’s games had made me an adept climber, so even without extensive experience with this post I doubted I would have had much difficulty with it. Directly above me was Kristie, and I could tell that she had done a good amount of strength training throughout her life, some of which probably involved wall climbing. Between that and her mechanical movements, I had no doubt she would make it to the bottom without issue. Beyond her was Vanessa, who hadn’t been subject to as many of Gina’s games and did not seem particularly strong to begin with. Because of her I kept it slow, giving her plenty of time to secure herself and calling out safe holds if it looked like she was having trouble.
It took about half an hour with having to practically hold Vanessa’s hand the whole way, and several times her foot slipped on the smooth metal, but to my relief we made it to the carpet. I waited for the other two to make it down before continuing along the route, standing between them when they hopped off the bar. I looked up at both of them and gave a slight nod, then trod through the carpet toward the enormous portal that would take us out of this awful room.
I made good progress through the rough terrain, having become used to trudging through it to escape Gina’s teasing stomps. When I looked behind me, however, I saw that the other two were struggling. Despite their significantly longer legs, they were having trouble clearing the long, thick fibers that threatened to ensnare me. Again I waited for them, encouraging them to move with the promise of some measure of freedom at the end. It took another thirty minutes, but when we finally reached the door I let out a sigh of relief. This was it.
I ducked under the door and peeked through the crack, eager to see the world on the other side. Since their rooms were directly across from each other’s I expected to see Fulda’s room, practically untouched since she had left, and readied myself for the flood of nostalgia. Instead I saw an enormous black object blocking the doorway, running the entire length of the door. Not a single ray of light made it past the tremendous barrier. We were trapped.
Before I could turn around and tell my companions there was a loud bang on the door, then it rushed inward. The strong gust of wind from the door swinging open threw me from my feet and sent me tumbling head over feet until I landed some distance away. When the stars cleared from my eyes I saw Gina stoop through the doorway, then stand so that she towered over us, hands on her hips. She laughed contemptuously, then said, “Caught you, you little shits! And you took your fucking time getting here, too. It’s a good thing practice was canceled today or I would have already missed it.”
Vanessa sniffled back her disappointment while I only looked up at her in confusion. “Oh, don’t be so surprised,” she continued, mockingly. “I’m a Goddess, after all, I see and know everything.” Her hand slipped down to her pocket, then pulled out the phone sticking halfway out of it. “This helped too. ‘Escape planned for after you leave, wait a bit and you can catch them red-handed.’ What a helpful text from someone on the inside.”
Immediately my suspicions jumped to Kristie, but I had been watching her ever since I bumped into her. When had she sent that? “Though I’d love to see you turn on each other, it wasn’t one of you. Despite what you think I have many devout worshippers, all of who would be willing to sell you out.” I continued looking up at Gina fearfully. I expected her to be angry if she caught us, but at worst she seemed amused by our escape attempt.
“You’re probably wondering how I’m going to punish you for this,” Gina said, taking the words right out of my mouth. “You expect Me to shrink you some more, put you in My shoe and walk around until you beg for mercy, right? Wrong. It’s become clear to me that My typical methods don’t work, so I’ve decided to try something more unorthodox.” She stepped over us, her foot creating a tremendous earthquake when it struck the ground. Briefly she fiddled with the terrarium before turning back to us. “It just so happens your punishment will be someone else’s reward.”
Gina bent over and placed one gigantic hand over Kristie. When she removed it, the brunette had been replaced by a blond over twice her size. She looked down at us and chuckled, then the deep, resonating chuckle from Gina drowned her out. “Get up,” she commanded. Disobedience might feel good, I told myself, but would ultimately be futile. Begrudgingly I got to my feet, followed by Vanessa about a foot away, and found that I did not quite come up to the knees of the long, smooth legs of the newcomer. Roni.
“High Priestess Veronica, I-“
“Can it, worm,” she demanded, looking down at me haughtily. “Your constant failures amuse Gina, but she has reached the end of her rope with you.”
“Look here, My tiny worshippers, and rejoice!” Gina bellowed, taking the floor for herself. “As a reward for her dedicated service to Me, Veronica has cast off the shackles of her tiny form and grown beyond her role has High Priestess! From now on she will be Veronica, Goddess of law and order and executer of my will!” Roni gave me one more smug look, then she began to glow.
In a split second Roni doubled in size, then again, leaving me looking up at her from her ankles. Her growth continued, and in a few more seconds her shoe alone dwarfed me. She expanded further, quickly dwarfing the tank she had lived in just a few moments earlier. When she finally stopped I stood under the rubber overhang of her toe, absolutely miniscule compared to her. In seconds Roni had gone from towering over me to a titaness, nearly equal to Gina in size.
“Wow, everything’s so small now!” Roni exclaimed, looking around. Her voice had always been harsh before, but now it was a terrible series of explosions far above my head. “And that thorn in Our side is pathetic. I can barely see him from up here.”
“Speaking of My boy toy,” Gina said, “You’ve had to deal with him for two years. What do You think we should do with him to bring him in line?”
Roni made a thoughtful sound which came down to me like a roar. “Physical punishment is good, and I don’t think we should be shy with that,” she began. “However, he has grown attached to one of those bug-sized women he escaped with, and I think we should work on that.”
“You don’t mean Kristie, do you?” Gina asked, reluctant to give up her new captive. Probably she had plans for her.
“No, though I could see him developing an embarrassing amount of feelings for her if they were kept together. I mean the little whelp he goes to for comfort whenever something doesn’t go his way.” Her blue eyes flashed over to Vanessa, paralyzed with fear while she stared up at Roni. “It’s Vanessa, right?” Slowly she nodded, barely able to swallow.
“You should say goodbye to Vanessa,” Roni said. Then she raised her sneaker and shot it toward Vanessa, who could only stand in terrified witness as her doom approached.
“Vanessa, no!” I shouted, but my protest did little to deter Roni. Her foot collided with Vanessa and drove her to the floor. She let out a terrified squeak before her body was flattened under Roni’s shoe with a sickening crunch. Horrified, I looked up the colossus in front of me to see her with a self-satisfied smile. Then she turned her attention to me.
“I mentioned something about physical punishment too, didn’t I?” she asked.
“You did,” Gina confirmed, moving to form a wall with Roni.
“Let’s show him what We can do.” Both giantesses beamed down at me, imagining what they were going to do to me, while Vanessa’s blood was still wet. With nowhere to go I looked up helplessly at the pair while they made mental preparations.