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The enormous, tattered running shoe loomed over me, its rubber tip drooping far enough that it acted like a canopy for me.  At this size I noticed a multitude of tears and holes I had never seen before, the result of wearing the same pair of shoes for so long.  While it was true Gina brought her new shoes periodically she had never liked a single pair, and insisted on keeping the shoes she had been wearing when she shrank.  Ironically, it looked as if they would fall apart if she ever tried to run in them, even though was the only reason she continued wearing them.

 

“Do you see him?” Roni asked, her cold voice taking on a rumbling quality now that she was relatively gigantic to me.  I looked behind me and saw a pair of brown leather flats with pale, slender legs rising from them to be overtaken by a yellow, floral-patterned sun dress.  Continuing to crane my head back, I saw a curtain of brown hair and a familiar face. 

 

“No, not yet,” Vanessa replied, looking everywhere except where I stood.  Her voice was soft even though it overwhelmed my ears.  “He can’t have gotten far though, I saw him land around here.”

 

“Well, keep searching,” Roni commanded.  “I’ll stay here and look around, you go make sure none of the new blood finds him before we do.”  Vanessa nodded and turned, her plodding footfalls becoming weaker until I barely felt their tremors through the ground.

 

I knew that Roni wasn’t my biggest fan – at her best I’d say she was indifferent toward me – but it looked like her elitism had won out over her apparent distaste for me.  Getting found by her would be the least bad way this could go I supposed, especially if she and Vanessa worked together to keep me away from the more fanatical of Gina’s followers.  The last thing I needed was a mob thinking they were acting on divine mandate smashing me over and over again.

 

From what I could tell Roni stayed perfectly still, though I couldn’t see much beyond the tip of her beat-up shoe.  Calling out to her would be futile with the commotion from people looking for me so I didn’t bother.  My only hope of making sure she was the one who found me was climbing her until she felt something.

 

No time like the present, I told myself, and the prospect of winding up stuck to her worn rubber sole when she shifted a little weighed heavily on my mind.  I reached up and grabbed the drooping tip with both hands, then jumped and pulled myself up as hard as I could.  Years of climbing had paid off, and I easily scampered up onto the rubber platform hanging off the front of Roni’s destroyed shoe.  It hardly even budged with my weight, a testament either to the durability of the stitching or my complete physical insignificance.

 

After a quick hop I was on the shoe proper, its formerly bright white surface now a mottled gray.  I scrambled across the mesh, deftly avoiding the holes that had formed in it from excessive wear, and made it to the base of its tongue.  I grabbed onto the frayed, faded yellow shoe lace to help with the climb, and in only a matter of seconds made it to the top.  As though I were on a timer I let go of the string and shuffled to the outside, coming to rest against her protruding ankle bone – the last thing I wanted was to be squished between her thighs if she brought her legs together.

 

I looked up at Roni’s leg, hundreds of feet of vertical climb for me on mostly smooth skin.  She may not have liked the shoes Gina brought, but she certainly never turned down the razors our captor delivered.  While scaling such smooth legs would have daunted me back when they were Fulda’s, I had spent over half a decade climbing legs like these, but even longer.  This would be a cinch.

 

Carefully I sprung off Roni’s shoe and grabbed onto the round protrusion of her ankle, then scrambled up until I stood atop it.  I ran my hands along the sheer skin above me, probing for any crevices deep enough to slide my fingers into.  When I found one I quickly pushed myself up, then braced my feet where my fingers had previously been.  It was slow going, but not overly difficult, and I had learned the hard way that caution comes first when climbing a giantess.

 

I quickly settled into a rhythm, and barely even noticed when I reached Roni’s knee.  My mind had drifted to contemplating the bigger picture of my situation.  How long would I be invulnerable, able to feel the pressure but never get crushed?  Was it connected with her shrinking me again?  Had she decided this was my new size, and determined to leave me like this?  What if I grew right now, or while someone was holding me – would they grow too, thereby returning to normal size, and probably smashing everyone else in the terrarium?

 

Routinely I began climbing diagonally, moving along the side of her patella until I was between her thigh and shin.  She hadn’t noticed me at all on my trip up.  Was I that insignificant to her?  The question rested in the back of my mind as I made my way onto her thigh, setting course to go into her shorts.  I had no doubt she would notice me there, and she’d have to fish me out of her shorts.

 

About halfway up the broad, toned plain of her thigh, a shadow engulfed me.  I turned just enough to see an enormous hand speeding toward me, much too fast to avoid even with a freefall.  Roni’s fingers collided with me in a tremendous swat, flattening me against her skin and making my limbs splay out.  Briefly I remained stuck to her, but after a moment gravity peeled me off and I plummeted back to the terrarium’s floor to land next to her nearly-ruined shoe.

 

I laid on the ground beside her, groaning miserably and barely able to move.  My skin felt as though it were on fire from her slapping me, and the feeling of crushing pressure between her hand and thigh lingered.  Though my bones should have been shattered I could move, though even my pathetic wiggling made it hurt even more.  Still, I needed her to see me.

 

“A bug?  What the fuck?” Roni muttered, leaning over to examine where I had been when she swatted me.  “Haven’t seen a bug in years.”  She looked at her skin, and instead of the expected blood splatter found it to be perfectly clean.  Her eyes drifted to the floor, where they easily spotted me lying prone.  A smile spread across her face, and her spine straightened while she stood back up.

 

“Ah.  A bug,” she said, matter-of-factly.  She lifted her shoe and rotated it over me, her heel grinding against the plastic floor while it moved.  The shoe’s rubber sole had been worn flat, with no evidence that it had ever had a tread.  My muscles hurt too much to get up and run, so I could only watch while she positioned her foot perfectly.  A soft chuckle filtered down from on high, echoing in the crevice beneath her shoe to become even more menacing.

 

Roni slowly pressed her shoe down, clearly in no hurry to get this over with.  The rubber made contact with my feet, pinning me against the ground as I felt the tremendous, crushing pressure from it, and began rolling up my legs.  I screamed until I had no breath left, with the pain only getting worse as more of my body gave way beneath her.  By the time it was up to my shoulders the agony of being gradually smashed gave way to dull pain, and her foot held position for a moment.  With the pulsating trauma radiating through my body, the only thing I could think was how badly I had misread her.

 

After another wave of chuckles she brought the rest of her foot down, pressing it hard on top of me.  I distinctly felt my skull get crushed but remained unharmed, though it hurt like nothing I had ever experienced before.  Gina had essentially been barefoot, and the addition of a shoe sole to the already overwhelming pain of that made it so much worse.  The pressure increased while she pushed down harder, and I worried that even with Gina’s magic I would be flattened by Roni’s immense strength.

 

Finally the pressure abated, and with her shoe gone air rushed in to fill the vacuum.  I hadn’t realized how isolated I had been beneath it with even ambient sounds absorbed by what little rubber remained on Roni’s shoe.  Light practically assaulted my eyes as well, but my arms were too sore for me to even use them to shield my eyes.  I looked to the side and saw a blue eye the size of a building fixated on me, maniacal glee evident in the iris.  It must have been taking all of Gina’s willpower to keep from exploding into laughter.

 

“Up here,” Roni ordered, and I fought the tightness in my neck to turn to face her.  She was even more towering than I remembered, but she probably had her own ways of making people feel small.  Though she loomed large in my view thanks to my position between the toes of her shoes, I couldn’t miss the two shrunken giantesses standing across from her, one was a brunette that I think was a cheerleader, and another with straight dark hair that might have been on the field hockey team – at the very least she was dressed for it, Gina must have gotten her after practice.

 

“Our Goddess Gina’s high priest,” Roni announced, glaring down at me, “laid low by our Goddess, perhaps as a test of faith.  As our high priest, She entrusted you with our care and instruction in the ways of Her worship.  We all know that you have been negligent in your duty to Her, but have you at least maintained your duty to Her flock?”  I gulped, even though it hurt to swallow.

 

“I have with me two of Her most devout worshippers, who have each been here a month,” Roni continued.  “I expect you know them well.  Together the three of us will protect you.  All you have to do is tell me their names.”  The three of them looked down at me expectantly and I realized how screwed I was – the “cheerleader” was just wearing a short, pleated skirt, and the field hockey player was Asian.  I wasn’t even aware that there was an Asian in here with us.

 

“Um, well, let me think,” I stammered, trying to stall for time.  Maybe if I waited long enough whatever magic Gina had cast would wear out and I’d return to my normally shrunken size.  “I remember when you two came in together, and we all had that meeting where I found out who you are and where you came from…”  The two of them simply grinned and Roni tapped her foot, causing me to snap my mouth shut from surprise.

 

“You have five seconds to answer,” she said, practically spitting on me.  “I suggest you answer fast, so that you can stay the wrath of our radiant and all-powerful Gina.”  Shit.  I had no clue.

 

“Okay, so yeah, I remember you two, definitely.”  I pointed at the brunette.  “You’re Jessica, and you,” I pointed to the Asian, “are Kim.”  They began to smile, and I breathed a sigh of relief.  I guessed right!

 

“Actually, my name’s Liz,” said the short-skirted brunette.  “It’s one syllable, for fuck’s sake, how did you not remember it?  And to make things worse you called me the evil Goddess Gina cast out.”

 

“I’m Akane,” said the other woman, “and we didn’t get here at the same time!”  Her voice got louder until she was shouting.  “I’ve been here for months!  We’ve talked several times!  You even made a lame joke about my name and said it was to help you remember!”  Akane took a step forward, the toe of her brown penny loafer brushing against Roni’s sneaker.  She coiled her other leg until her heel touched her butt, poised to bring it down on me.

 

Adrenaline surged through my body, and the lingering soreness of being trapped beneath Roni’s shoe melted away.  I got to my feet and ran as fast as I could to get out from underneath Akane’s incoming stomp.  A terrible thunder crack sounded behind me, and I stumbled from the impact before a rush of air picked me up.  I tumbled along the floor until I came to a sliding stop just past Liz.  My skin felt as though it had been torn off despite being perfectly intact, and I pushed myself through the pain to get back up.

 

With a single stride Liz blocked my path with an exceptionally long blue kitten-heeled shoe, knocking me down when I ran into it.  She slowly dragged her other shoe along the floor, her toe scraping against the ground, until it popped up beside me.  I looked at the flat sole bearing down on me, gradually lowering to crush me just as Roni had.  A loud thud behind me drew my attention, and I saw a gigantic, filthy sneaker blocking my path so I couldn’t even scoot away.

 

Liz’s shoe continued pressing down on me, and I resigned myself to another battery of suffering.  Just then it rapidly shot away, to be replaced by the majestic sight of Vanessa standing above me, arms outstretched.  “Leave him alone!” she shouted.  “He’s been nothing but kind to me, so if you want him… you’ll have to go through me first!”  She stepped forward so that she stood astride me, hands on her hips.

 

“Okay,” was all Roni said, then lifted her foot for leverage.  With a great lean forward she shoved Vanessa as hard as she could, knocking her onto her butt with a great crash.  Apparently forgetting about me for a moment she advanced toward Vanessa, pressing her advantage on the downed woman.  Air rushed out of Vanessa’s lungs when Roni stepped on her chest, then the runner said, “Think carefully before you choose sides, things are changing fast here.”

 

With Roni gone, Akane’s path to me was open.  She lunged forward, her shoe striking the ground beside me with a terrifying impact, and rested her arms on her extended knee.  Her pitch-colored eyes found me, and her lips parted to reveal perfectly white teeth behind her smile.  “I’ll give you another chance,” she offered.  “What’s my name?”

 

“A- A-“ I stammered.  It was on the tip of my tongue, just in the back of my mind, but it wasn’t coming.  I looked up the monolithic height of her black sock pulled almost all the way up to her knee, then at the gigantic hands on either side of it.  The sparkle in her eyes distracted me, and I totally lost it.  It was like she wanted me to get it wrong.  “Amane?” I finally offered.

 

“Close, but no cigar,” Akane replied, grinning.  She slid a hand off her leg and swung it down at me, easily ensnaring me with her long fingers.  Akane shifted her grip until I rested between her thumb and forefinger, my whole chest and most of my legs wrapped in her fingertips.  “I think I know a way to help you remember, though.”  Quickly she stood, keeping me balanced perfectly in her grip despite the blood rushing to my feet.

 

“It’s Akane, with a K,” she said, bringing me closer to her face.  “You know, like kite, koala, and… kiss.”  Akane pressed me against her soft lips, pushing back gently with them before pulling me away.  “But it makes the same sound as something else on my mind.  Can you guess it?”  This close her breath hit me like a warm breeze, somehow retaining a touch of mint after all this time.  “Actually, you take too long to answer things, so I’ll just tell you.  It’s crush.”  Her face lit up at her own wit, and she slammed her fingers together.

 

Akane’s pinch sent a sharp pain through my body when her fingertips clasped, but it was far from what Gina and Roni had done to me.  Then I tried to breathe in and found that I couldn’t.  Her grip was so tight that my lungs couldn’t inflate.  I tried to inhale again, and her fingers only got tighter.  Frantically I struggled to get free, but Akane’s hold was too much.  All at once everything she held gave way to the insurmountable power of her fingers, and I screamed with the resurgent agony.

 

Only my head was poking out, so I got to see Akane laughing at my pain.  “This is really fun!” she declared.  “I’ll have to think of something to offer the great and powerful Gina for letting us play with you today.”  She twitched her fingers, sending a new wave of suffering through my would-be crushed body.  I cried out, and her smile grew a little wider.

 

Suddenly the pressure vanished, and I plummeted back to the floor.  Before I could even orient myself Akane had squared up, standing astride me with hands on her hips.  She glared at me, and the jovial look on her face belied the pleasure she was taking from this.  “Now, one more time: what’s my name?” she asked.

 

“A-Akane!” I sputtered, the name practically flying out of my mouth.

 

Akane’s eyes lit up.  “Wow, you finally know my name!  It only took three months and some torture, but you got it!”  Even though I satisfied her demand, she didn’t budge.  “Maybe you need some reinforcement to drive it home, though.”

 

“The blessing has ended,” came a terrific rumble from high above.  Past Akane’s head I saw the terrarium’s hatch open, and a colossal hand slipped through it.  “It’s time for Me to retrieve My boy toy.”  Gina’s hand descended toward us, a pair of tweezers gripped in two fingers.

 

Akane lifted a foot and held it over me.  “Akane, no!” I shouted.  “If you crush me now it’ll be for real!”

 

“We’ll see!” she replied, and brought it down.  A tremendous crash rang out and the ground shook violently enough to rattle every bone in my unbelievably sore body.  She smirked, then got brushed aside by a single titanic finger.

 

No sooner had Akane been brushed aside than Gina secured me between the two immense paddles of the tweezers, then slowly picked me up from the ground.  “Roni, Akane, Liz,” Gina’s inhuman rumble began while she slowly removed me from the terrarium, “for your clear demonstration of My teachings you will be rewarded.  Be patient, My faithful, and you will receive My gifts when the time is right.”

 

Gina deposited me in her waiting palm and released the tweezers, dropping me in a ditch between two minute contours of her skin.  Her monumental face lowered down to my level so that her nose, which dwarfed the largest ski slope, was lined up perfectly with me.  Tremendous, hungry blue eyes looked me over, and her abyssal pupils threatened to suck me in. 

 

“As for you, My little boy toy,” she boomed, her voice alone powerful enough to make me think the apocalypse was coming, “I’ve half a mind to leave you as puny and insignificant as you are and throw you to the mercy of My most faithful.  You certainly deserve it.”  Gina grinned, the infinitesimal laugh lines beside her eyes appearing as deep contours.  After letting me sweat she finished, “But that wouldn’t be very fun for Me, and I have plans for you tonight.”

 

The world contracted while Gina returned me to my normal shrunken size until I was merely cradled in her palm as though I were nothing instead of a speck who nearly got lost on her skin.  “I suggest you have fun while you can.  You might find things a little different when you get back.”  With that, Gina closed her fingers lightly around me to hold me in her fist and stepped away from the terrarium.

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