Melanie’s brow furrowed as she leaned in closer. “Fuck you,” she whispered harshly, her voice edged like a knife. “Fuck this. Fuck you. God.” A string of silence, except for the sound of rapidfire clicking and keyboard smashing. Red blotches grotesquely spotted the rim of her monitor, signifying her death in an instant. “Oh, eat my ass! Fuck this stupid fucking…!”

It was the worst thing in the world, losing in her game over and over. She growled and moaned, and each iteration of her vented frustration came at the negligible cost of Scarlet being tortured more and more. She was pinned by Melanie’s bare foot, pushed against the wall underneath the desk, without ever a window of opportunity to squirm free. Everytime Melanie fumbled in the game or lost, she would kick harder on Scarlet’s body, forcing out precious air that the miniature woman had spent the entire previous time trying to collect. Her bones felt weak, as if they could collapse in at any second. She had desperately wanted to be let go and be given mercy, but at this point, all she wished for was that Melanie not lose her games.

“Shit! I didn’t-- Aw fuck you, too,” Melanie groaned again. Her foot drove harder into Scarlet, forcing out a weak cry. “Hey,” she said, distancing herself from the monitor and peering down at the floor. Scarlet could feel her reposition, but she couldn’t look up to see Melanie’s gaze befall her. “Wormslut. You had a job. Lick.”

“I-I… I c-can’t…!” Scarlet whined, interrupted by a cough. “I can’t b-breathe--”

“Lick!” Melanie pinched her big toe with its neighbor, right where Scarlet’s face had been framed. Her fury and anger were cooled, if only slightly, by the tickling sensation of Scarlet’s struggles between her toes. A precise wet feeling made her smile, “Remember, you have to work for your right to breathe. If you get lazy, that’s fine, you can be like abandoned trash left under my desk.”

Melanie chuckled and went back to gaming, but the thought dwelled on Scarlet. She glanced around, with what little view she had, witnessing the scattered items and objects that ended up here. She was among them on the cold floor, and she could end there, a husk that Melanie could completely forget.

But she looked elsewhere, too. By licking diligently, she expanded her viewpoint. To her left, she saw the monolithic computer tower, humming with activity as it processed the game Melanie played. More interesting to Scarlet, however, was the back of the tower, where cables of all kinds connected. Dust clustered at the bottom and hung off some of the wires, but none of that mattered. All she could imagine was scaling down those cables, riding some like ropes and using others as steps to descend. She continued this backwards vision, her eyes trailing the top part of the computer until it reached the front headphone jacks. It would be from there that they would first begin their escape truly.

Escape. Escape. Scarlet’s thoughts were of this one subject. Get out of here. Run away. Escape.

Melanie’s gaming session was not just chaotic for her foot slave. On the desk itself, her tiny toys flinched and leaped whenever their captor would come into obstacles. The wagon-sized mouse would be lifted and slapped onto the desk, Melanie would bash her fist against the corner, she would shake and groan loudly; all these things rumbled the arena that Adrian and the others were stranded on, at the furious whimsy of a girl losing at a video game.

“Damn it!” Melanie had barked in protest again. Her hands, as usual, thumped into the desk in frustration. Another quake rippled underneath the women, this time causing Adrian to topple off her feet.

“Shit! Melanie!” Adrian complained. “Fucking calm down! For crying out loud…”

Melanie bit her lip. Even Adrian, with all the joy and positivity that she brought into Melanie’s existence, wasn’t enough to settle her anger. It did help, and it shook her from an impatient trance. She breathed, too embarrassed now to look at Adrian -- so she looked at Nicky, cowering in a corner alongside Kimberly.

“You.” Melanie selected her. “Stand up.”

Nicky hesitated, but only for a second. In the next, she was up on her feet, trembling forward. “Y-Yes…?”

Immediately, she was knocked down. Melanie jabbed her with finger, a hard push into her chest that made her collapse backwards. It was barely a touch, but the size and suddenness of it forced the wind out of Nicky.

“I-I-I’m sorry…!” Nicky squeaked, twisting on the floor.

“Stand up,” Melanie demanded. Such a cold voice was too terrifying to disobey, so Nicky rose again, even though that same finger hovered right there, like a brick wall in her path. Just as she had thought, as soon as she was balanced on two feet, still recovering from the previous blow, she was pushed again. Back on her butt, she whined and held where it felt sore.

Melanie grinned, entertained by this. “Yeah. That’s how I feel right now,” she said. “I’m doing what this game wants me to do, and I keep dying… I just want you to know how it feels.”

Nicky shivered. Her mouth hung agap, and she felt tears wanting to well up in her eyes. She turned; what hurt worse, it seemed, was how no one came to her aid, including the motherly figure of Kimberly. She sat there, unimpressed, unmoved. Nicky looked at Adrian, on the opposite side of the desk. At least there was pity in her eyes, Nicky could sense that from afar, but she glanced back at Kimberly, who felt even further away than Adrian. She admitted defeat, remaining where she had been pushed.

Despite this treatment, both Nicky and Scarlet down below knew this all paled to how they’ve been treated before, and it didn’t compare to Erin’s abuse. Over the past couple days, all but Erin found themselves spared from much of Melanie’s torment. She still used them as she pleased, and they were all objects to her as before, but more of Melanie’s ire was directed to Erin and Erin alone. She was tied up still, just as she had been, roped into bondage and left to hang from the pointed hand of an anime figure that was displayed on the upper part of Melanie’s desk. Everyday, Melanie would wake and find something to do to her; Erin’s cries and struggles were just a daily part of Melanie’s routine, and even Adrian was becoming dulled to the torture.

Adrian hated that. She felt that sensation creep up on her, even then as Melanie played her game where every quake she made would cause her ex-girlfriend to swing and sway. This is normal now, isn’t it? Like the sun rising and waking me up. This is what happens everyday.

In red capitals, the word “defeat” painted the screen. It not only signalled the end of that game, but the end of Melanie’s session. In a rage, she typed swiftly into the chat, a farewell of aggressive, colorful language, which was appropriately followed up with a swift exit of the game. At the same time, Scarlet was released from her pinned place, left to drop to the carpet. For a moment, she was able to breathe, but only enough to refill her lungs once as two toes pinched at her waist and lunged her back into the air.

Melanie slid her chair back, kicking up her foot so that Scarlet was on display. She was held awkwardly on her side, resisting the toes’ hold while at the same time gripping them for safety. It tickled Melanie, which threatened to drop Scarlet if she persisted on writhing around.

“You’re a dedicated foot lover,” Melanie said to her, like a real compliment. “You’ve come a long way, Wormslut. Even though you’re worthless, you can make up for it by licking my toes clean. Aren’t you proud?”

Scarlet was trained. “Yes,” she said, almost too quickly to be understood. Salt burned her tongue, making it troublesome to say more. Fortunately, a simple agreement was all Melanie needed. She lifted her foot over the desk, then released her just beside the keyboard.

Melanie’s smile then aimed at Adrian, her angle softer. “Did you hear that, A-Adrian?” she asked. “I can be nice. I approve of Wormslut’s licking. I mean it! See?”

Adrian shivered. Since their conversation in the bath, Melanie had been doing this. She kept up the same usual torture, but she would end it with less cruelty. Instead of degrading her playthings with wicked bouts or lashes, she would degrade them by compliment, by showing her appreciation for how toy-like they were. Despite this being a familiar comment, Adrian still had no idea how to process it. Was Melanie being serious? Did she genuinely think that this alone was enough to make up for things? Or was this another devilish part of her games, intentionally trying to mock Adrian and her attempts at getting mercy?

But Melanie didn’t require an answer, much like she didn’t require much from Adrian in general. She was pleased just to have some sort of response to Adrian’s concerns, even if it was failing to address the core of the problem. There was a drop in her shoulders while she surveyed her things on her desk, her expression content. Her gaze fell particularly heavy on Scarlet, which Scarlet shivered under even if Melanie had no intentions for her. What ran through Melanie’s mind was how long this had gone on -- all of this, and how it all began with Scarlet intruding on her territory. She giggled, a mystery to those beneath her as to what amused her.

“Now then… Who to play with next?” Melanie teased them, her voice playful when it meant hell for her victims. Sparing them the suspense, she poked at Erin’s helpless body. She barely moved in response, hardly even a twitch. “Hmm. Are you dead yet? I hope not. I don’t want to throw a corpse into my waste basket.”

Erin winced, but she kept silent. In truth, she wanted to yell and cry, but enduring the situation itself drained her of energy. Every breath felt valuable and necessary just to survive for the next minute, and Melanie felt that. She aimed for that. With her pinky finger hooked, she rubbed at Erin’s exposed stomach with just the tip. Her motion was erratic, an attempt to get Erin to be tickled into laughter, and as much as she tried to fight that sensation, the huge finger would beat her.

“P-P… Please…! Hahh!” Erin yelped before her pleas boiled into dry heaves of laughter. Melanie smiled and lessened her tickling. Immediately, Erin’s forced laughter ended, and she coughed hard in its place. Even that would be interrupted, as Melanie thwacked her rear with a flick of her finger. Erin cried out, the shockwave of the strike running harshly through her body.

“You’ve still got life in you. I bet you hate hearing that, huh?” Melanie licked her lips. If Adrian hadn’t been there, shooting daggers up to her as a reminder of what they discussed, she gladly would have continued. It would have become her next activity, to occupy her empty schedule. Fortunately for Erin, Melanie retreated back into her seat, again looking over her desk with an amused grin.

Everything felt right. Like viewing over her kingdom as a queen, Melanie felt powerful, unstoppable, and in control. She lifted her hand, casting a shadow onto the desk where it hovered, for no other reason than to see Scarlet and Nicky flinch. She kept her eyes on Kimberly, who shivered under her wintery glance, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Melanie was feared, and she relished in it to an extent even she considered to be borderline embarrassing. If anyone saw me acting like this, they’d think I’m a real piece of shit.

Melanie gasped, covering her mouth just in time to prevent a weird sound leaving her throat; there was a knock on her door, taking her by surprise. On a dime, her view of the tiny people on her desk shifted from that of pride to horror. She sobered up completely, realizing how easily she could be caught by whoever was trying to barge in--

“Melanie, can you come out here? Like now? Now-ish?” A voice powered through the door, followed by another blunt knock. Melanie identified it as Juniper, and her shock was no longer so paralyzing. Her paranoia had her first thinking it was anyone else, blinding her to more reasonable answers. Regardless, Juniper’s message was urgent. “Now-now, seriously.”

“Fucking…” Melanie swore under her breath, frantically looking back and forth between her living toys and the door being knocked on. “H-Hold on, I-I’m coming, uh…”

The door was cracked open, just enough that Melanie’s face could peer out. Juniper’s head was just above her’s, leaned in close to the gap that was made. Melanie stuttered, “Y-Yeah? I’m busy…”

“Busy?” Juniper blinked. “Alright, well, someone’s at the door for you, and they definitely heard you shouting, so.”

“Th-They-- r-really?!” Melanie shrank with a shiver in her eyes, riddled with embarrassment. “I-I… W-Was I being loud…?”

“You need to get out here.” Juniper was blunt, something Melanie took immediate note of. It scared her, in fact, to hear such a serious tone from her roommate.

But she needed time, and only an excuse could do that. Yet, her words trembled in front of Juniper’s glare. “I-I just… I’m in the m-middle of something, so--”

“Uh! It’s important,” Juniper laughed. “Come on!”

“R-Right…” Pitifully, Melanie stepped back into her room. Her secret collection was still out and about, her collection of mostly-naked women strewn across her desk. There wasn’t enough time to put them back, and with Juniper’s presence acting as a pressure to move, she made a hasty decision. She turned back to the door, opened it, and slid out. Adrian and the others, she thought, would have to be trusted. After all, as far as she figured, there wasn’t anything her victims could really do to get away.

Melanie was dragged out of the hallway and into the living area, pulled along by Juniper’s motions to follow. A flurry of emotions bothered Melanie, between her usual nervousness and the anger boiling up inside her towards this distraction. Something about this issue persistently annoyed her; “Wh-Who is it outside, anyway…? I-I’m not expecting company…”

“Ha, are you not?” Juniper shook her head. “It’s the cops. I had to fucking sprint around hiding all my shit after I told them to wait.”

“The cops?!” Melanie froze, halfway to the front door.

“Well, a cop,” Juniper specified, “but I have to fucking jet because of it. I am, full-disclosure, way too high for this shit.”

“Y-You!” Melanie stammered. She felt like a dying animal crippled within an iron trap. “You-- You can’t leave…!”

But her voice was too meek to reach Juniper, who was already unlocking and opening the door. Melanie peaked around Juniper’s shoulder, witnessing a glimpse of this “cop,” though right away she realized that this was no ordinary officer. It was a woman, dressed professionally and clean, more suited to look like a lawyer than anything else. A woman, tall and slender, with longer brown hair and a face beholding a simple, earnest grin. She seemed happy to be greeted again by Juniper, but Melanie smelled that her smile was more than a formality. She sensed joy, like a hunter content with their catch.

“Here she is~” Juniper sang, waving her arm back to where Melanie cowered in the shadows of the apartment. “Haha! Yep, she’s here. Right here.”

“Indeed she is,” the woman giggled, looking right through Juniper. Her gaze was studious over Melanie, reading into every detail she saw. “I hope you don’t mind if we tried to talk alone, do you?”

“Nah, not at all,” Juniper replied. She stepped past the woman, on her way out. “I-I’m actually headed out of here for awhile! So! You two, uh, get the whole place to yourselves!”

“That’s exactly how I’d like that.” The woman was allowed in. She ignored Juniper from there on out, having only an interest on the cold girl in front of her. “My name’s Candice -- you can just call me Candi, if you’d prefer. I’m a detective investigating a missing person that you might know of. Would you mind answering a few questions? It would really help out the search.”

With those words sprouted a darkness behind Candi. Deep stretches of blackness took over that half of the apartment before growing all around it. Melanie’s fingers twitched in a desire to rush back into her room, but anything like that could draw the suspicion she sought to dispose herself of. She could barely breathe as the air became dense, knowing that just behind her, on the other side of that wall, were all the women this detective was looking for.

And Candi felt none of this. She maintained her smile and even revealed a snack-sized bag of sweet, fruity candies that she took a single piece from. “Would you like some? I know I can make people nervous -- not everyday you answer questions for a detective, right?”

The front door closed. It was always a distinct sound, a feeling that vibrated through most of the apartment, though it was only the tiny captives of Melanie’s that could feel it. Soon after Melanie had left did they hear it shut, leaving them with only a mystery as to where their kidnapper was and what she was doing.

Adrian was relieved to get a break. Melanie had been keeping the atmosphere increasingly stressful, even with her absence. Usually, their captor would leave with one of them pocketed, mostly for the intent of being abused somewhere out and about in Melanie’s everyday life. It was rare that all five would be together in peace; perhaps a semi-peace, but certainly a relief from the usual terror that haunted them, the knowledge that one among them was selected to be tortured.

Relief, however, was not the only feeling Scarlet had when she heard the door close. Her heart raced as she stood in the middle of the desk, surveying the distance between the desk and the door as though she had peaked a mountaintop. It felt unreal at first, but her eyes started to beam with confidence and energy. She could see something the others weren’t attentive for; an opportunity.

“Hey,” Scarlet called out. Adrian and Nicky turned to her, but said nothing. Kimberly raised her head, but responded even less than the others. There was a long pause as Scarlet battled with the last of her doubts, but she soon picked up her fists and started to nod. “We’re doing it. Right now, we’re-- we’re gonna do it.”

“D-Do what?” Adrian asked. “You don’t mean… like, right now?”

“This is it,” Scarlet replied, still dead-set on the massive door opposite of them. “This is the time. We have to go now!”

“You’re crazy,” Adrian said, chuckling nervously. She thought Scarlet was overreacting, and would see her passion fizzle out within seconds, but that didn’t happen. Scarlet started moving, almost hopping with how hot her blood flowed. Slowly, even Adrian could feel that energy wanting to rise inside of her.

Nicky approached the two, hesitant like Adrian but in agreement with Scarlet. “We’re escaping…” she said, a thought that bubbled aloud. She had the want to smile, but her focus was on the mission. “Alright. Let’s pull the headphones back.”

“A-Are you serious?” Adrian scoffed at the two, who quickly went to start the first step of their escape plan. Each of the pair grabbed one headphone each, and then strutted backwards to create as much tensions as possible along the cord. They were so pumped with adrenaline that when they reached the wire’s end, they nearly stumbled from the sudden stop. “We don’t even know when she’s coming back! B-Be real, you guys!”

“I’m being real!” Scarlet said, her voice being filtered into a panicked laugh. “I’m real about getting the fuck out of here! Real done with being some tiny sex toy for some piece of shit loner emo assfuck! Hah!”

“We-- C-Come on!” Adrian tried to be reasonable. Even though she wanted to escape, just as badly as Scarlet and the others, she couldn’t shake off the risks. The last thing she wanted, of course, was for this plan to fail. “We might not get a second chance! Ever! I-If this doesn’t go right, we’re screwed! Are you listening?!”

“Adrian… I’m not-- We’re not waiting!” Scarlet pointed hard at Nicky, who kept somewhere close to her side now in anticipation of their getaway. “This is it! This has to be the time! I-I can’t wait anymore, man, I fucking can’t!”

“Scarlet…” Adrian said it -- her name. There was hardly a chance to say it aloud, ever since she heard it from Nicky. Now, she hoped that speaking it would get through to her. “Scarlet, we have to be patient! What if--”

Scarlet charged Adrian, pushing her over with a rough tackle. Adrian all too easily was knocked down, collapsed and recoiling on the desk while Scarlet stood over her. “I said I can’t fucking wait anymore…” Scarlet growled, her fists clenched as though she were ready to beatdown on her fallen target. Adrian looked up at the fury in Scarlet’s eyes, noticing more than just that emotion. There was desperation, and resolve. She knew Scarlet to be hot-headed and bold, but this was different than those times before. Scarlet was ready, and there was nothing Adrian could do to stop her.

Adrian looked up weakly at Nicky, who was concerned only for the outbreak in violence that happened before her. Otherwise, she too was prepared to leave, though not nearly as confident in herself as Scarlet was. Adrian lifted herself up slightly, looking back in Kimberly’s direction. Unlike the other two, she remained stationary and still.

“Okay. Okay, fine.” Adrian sighed, getting back up to her feet. She looked up and down the long wire of the headphones, shaking her head all the while but no longer looking to argue. “But we have to get Erin down. We’re not leaving her.”

“Her? Aw, fuck.” Scarlet shook her head, still catching her breath from when she rushed Adrian down. With so much adrenaline pumping in her veins, her panic-like state was controlled and precise. Her eyes darted to where Erin still hung above them, squinting in frustration. She gave Erin two seconds of thought, then shook her head again. “No way. We can’t reach her.”

“Y-You’re not even going to try?!” Adrian spat. She shook with a great fear that this could be how it ends, with the lot of them abandoning Erin in this hell. Refusing that, she got up to Scarlet quickly, this time fortified with the stability to resist a push back. “You! I swear, you…! Can’t you give us a fucking minute?!”

“Every minute we waste is time that we could be spending getting the hell out of here! How the fuck are you even going to get her down?!”

“I don’t know! I don’t fucking know, maybe that’s why I need you to slow down!”

Nicky again tried to force some peace -- desperately. “Please, please…! Y-You’re freaking me out!” She pulled Scarlet back, sensing another physical conflict. “If you don’t want to waste time, we have to go now, Scarlet.”

Scarlet snarled, allowing herself to be pulled by Nicky. There was a contest of a glare between her and Adrian, until Scarlet spun around dismissively and kept walking to the headphones. “We don’t need her right now,” she said, then stuttered out quickly, “o-or maybe not at all! Fucking shit, come on, Nicky. We’ll get out of here at the very least.”

Following Scarlet’s directions, Nicky went to the headphones. Her pleading expression was still aimed at Adrian, silently asking her to compromise somehow. She knew this whole mission would work best with everyone together, less they end up split apart and without each others’ support. The idea frightened her, but it was far better than being abused by a cruel goddess for even one more day. If leaving some behind was what it took to get away, then that’s what it had to be.

Adrian felt a burning to argue, but it would be pointless and detrimental. Her hands were shaking as she came to the realization that this window of escape was shrinking because of Scarlet’s erratic nature. There was little time to worry, as Adrian had to calculate an answer to her problem. Somehow, she had to get Erin down from her bonds, and then escape before Melanie’s return.

“How have you been feeling about all this?” Candi crossed one leg over the other where she sat at the couch, opposite of the armchair that Melanie sweated in. “It seems like a scary world right now for girls like yourself. Has it been on your mind a lot?”

Melanie kept her head angled down. Her shadowy bangs kept a veil over her eyes through most of these conversations she had with Candi. She hesitated to answer, her tongue swelling up anytime she was expected to talk. Normally, thoughts would be zooming through her mind. She would think of spiteful comments to make to herself, she would chastise herself for getting into awkward situations. Now, her brain created long blanks. It didn’t feel real. Color around Melanie had faded, in an already faded environment.

There was an eerie calm about the atmosphere, however. Melanie managed to speak, her voice perpetually under volume, “It isn’t just young girls.”

“Hmm?” Candi tilted her head. A fruit candy snapped under her teeth, a treat she had popped in while waiting for Melanie to answer. She swallowed, “You’re right. There was an older woman caught up in a lot of this.”

“Do you know i-if… if it’s all connected…?”

Candi grinned. “We have it in our notes that it could be related, yes, but there’s a lot to consider. The media likes to group up all these missing people into one category, but the police have our own systems. I’m sure you understand.”

Melanie was still. It wasn’t much, but drawing out information about this investigation -- as little as she could -- made her feel safer. There was fight in her yet, but it wasn’t enough to raise her spirits.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Candi said. “How have you been feeling? Have you talked to a counselor or anything?”

“No…” Melanie could answer that fast enough. “I-I don’t… I don’t really…”

Candi nodded. She understood what kind of person Melanie was, and that only intrigued her more. This kind of person, she thought, could be hiding so much. “What do you like to do, Melanie? I know you’re taking classes right now, but what about… hobbies?”

“I… uh…” Melanie took time to think of an answer. Is this a fucking quiz or something…?! What the fuck do you think I like?! You think I’m just gonna tell you that I like kidnapping and collecting cute girls?! Is that what you want to hear, bitch?! “Not… Not much… Um, v-video games… a-and I watch some shows…”

“Friends? Family?”

You’re crossing a fucking line…! “Err… N-Not exactly.” She chuckled lightly, as did Candi. Both acknowledged that it was a weird answer. “I-I-I get… money from my mom… but I don’t see my family… N-Not a whole lot, anyway, since I, um, moved out. I don’t have any friends.” Melanie looked up slightly, glancing at Candi’s content expression. She cursed herself silently, realizing that this was the exact description of an isolated, lunatic kidnapper. “S-Some... friends. Ha, I shouldn’t forget about the f-friends I have! I’m just… I-I keep to myself, a bit… or a lot…”

“An introvert,” Candi laughed. She would have kept the scene warm with her sunny voice, had Melanie not been a jagged glacier. “I’m exactly the same. I’d rather read a book than go out to a party.”

Well aren’t you a special bitch! Melanie managed to fake a laugh.

“Well, at the very least, I hope college has been helping you make friends.” Candi never gave up that calm demeanor, but her cheeks softened when she thought of Melanie and her school. “It’s good to socialize at your age. The world is branching open for you. Meet people -- maybe even a special someone, ha!”

Melanie snickered, forcing out more amusement to what Candi said, but hating the sour taste of this adult’s words. “Haa… Special enough to kidnap?” she joked, and a real, hearty laugh escaped Candi.

“Ha! Haha!” A giggle fit took over Candi, and as it trailed to an end, her fingers pried into the small bag for another pinch of fruit bites. “That shouldn’t be funny. It really isn’t.”

“No, you’re right… It isn’t.” Melanie brushed at her bangs, but really she was trying to keep the sweat off her brow. “But… that’s what you came here for, r-right? Unfortunately, I don’t really know much about the victims… or, anyone around here, really. Just Juniper, and myself…”

“Ah, well,” Candi corrected her posture, like readying a striking stance in a duel. “You might happen to know something that you wouldn’t think matters to us. How about you walk me through a few days; did you visit the mall recently?”

Scarlet groaned as she pulled back hard on the headphones, the two divided cords bundled into her one grip. Once the tension was tight, Nicky went to test it, applying some weight to the cable by stepping on it. It was sturdy, for a time, but she could still feel slack. If this makeshift rope was to be their escape, it would need to support them all the way down, and whoever would stay back to keep the headphones locked down would need to ensure that there’s as little room for mistake as possible.

“I-It’s… It’s kinda good,” Nicky said, calling over to Scarlet’s direction. “But…”

“It’ll have to do!” Scarlet spat furiously. “I can’t take this any longer… This better not fuck up on us.”

“Well,” Nicky sighed, approaching Scarlet, “I think it’ll mostly depend on who’s staying back. It’d be safer if a couple people held onto it for support, h-honestly, but…”

“Yeah, two people. Two volunteers. We can’t even assure one,” Scarlet explained hastily. They would very likely have to go without that additional help, but it enraged her to know that someone wasn’t helping at all. She yelled, “Kimberly! For fuck’s sake, can you just help us?! I’m fucking begging!”

Kimberly bit her lips. She was huddled by her drawer, like she almost always was, her legs held against her chest. Having explained herself once before was enough for her, and so she gave neither Scarlet nor Nicky any recognition.

“Fucker,” Scarlet spat again. “Stick around here, fuck you. Fuck you. I hope Melanie just… just punts you, punts you like a football. Whatever.” She looked for the only other possible sources of aid, that of which was Adrian and Erin, but they were going to be of no help, not soon enough. Adrian had managed to climb up to the upper area of the desk using the knobs of the drawers as unsafe steps. Scarlet could admit, she was persistent, but the real climb was just ahead of Adrian, and she doubted that she would be able to reach Erin.

“Are we… A-Are we gonna go?” Nicky asked, swallowing nervously. She looked back, surveying the chasm between the desk and the computer tower. “Which one of us…?”

“You’ll go,” Scarlet said. “Obviously.” She was silent, troubled. “It’s your phone. You know how to use it. It’s got to be you, at least.”

Adrian huffed, finally pulling herself up from the final drawer and up to an area of the desk she had never been before. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much up here -- the monitor on one half took up most of the space, and all that occupied the rest were the various figures, charms, and collectibles that Melanie had gathered before her interests turned to real living women. She focused on just the one figure ahead of her, which stood tall like a plastic giantess, all of its own. Embarrassingly, she saw up the shining smooth surface of the legs to where they met up the character’s skirt; white panties taunted her.

Even her anime figures are going to make me feel helpless, Adrian thought, but quickly she shook that thought away. Instead of daydreaming about the hugeness of this novelty item, she looked at it instead as a real obstacle between her and her friend in need. It was at the end of this toy’s pointed hand that Erin was hoisted and held like a human chandelier.

Adrian hugged a long, cool leg of the character and pulled up. Her climb immediately became a scramble; any plan she initially had for scaling the scale figure was lost as soon as she made the first jump up. Still, she managed to secure some sense of balance by using the knee as a difficult foothold. In truth, most of what kept her up was how tightly she clung to the plastic woman’s body, a grip that was complemented by the black thigh-highs and the tiny ridge they produced.

She panted and glanced down. She had barely gotten off the ground, yet she already felt pushed to a limit. With a huff, she reached up the hem of the skirt and pulled up again. A frantic arm searched for something above that to grab, and she located a bump of a plastic button. Bit by bit, she was climbing up the figure as though it were a tree, whose branch-like arm was the destination. Adrian stopped to rest for a moment at the figure’s chest and shoulder area, but the moment of relief didn’t last.

“A-Adrian…” Erin spoke with a hoarse throat. Her body shivered each time Adrian made a bound up the figure, the rough climb causing it to rock and shake. “Be… Be careful…”

“Hold on, Erin, j-just hold on!” Adrian took a deep breath, knowing she’d need it. To undo Erin’s bonds, she would have to crawl across the outstretched arm to its very end, where she could then tend to the floss that had Erin subdued. Perhaps, Adrian assumed, the fall from that height wouldn’t be lethal, but more important was the waste of time all this would be if she failed, especially when she was so close.

One more precious second was all Adrian invested before starting her move forward. The arm wasn’t very wide for her, and to secure herself better, she crawled along by hugging her body against it. Inch by inch, she could squirm forward, but the slow pace was infuriating. At one point, lost in her own panicked mindset, Adrian thought she was making no progress.

But, finally, she was able to make it to the end. “Adrian…!” Erin half-cheered, putting forth the most optimism she could swell in this situation. “Please, please let me down! I-I need… I need down…!”

“I-It’s okay, it’s gonna be fine,” Adrian assured her. Then, she noticed her balance failing. She held on, but her initial attempt at reaching for the floss was interrupted. “W-Wait, wait! Try not to shake around!”

“Please, Adrian…!” Erin cried. Her breaths were loud and alarming, quickly coming out one after the other. Her heart was drumming madly as anxiety flared up in a wave of heat. Against the warning Adrian gave her, Erin started to squirm nervously. She wanted to be free, to finally be allowed the simple luxury of moving.

“Erin! I’m serious!” Adrian forced herself to the tip of the arm, just a little further so that she could get a more optimal view of the floss’s knot. All of Erin’s worrying was reminding Adrian of how important this was -- she started to rush, too. “J-Just hold up a second! Don’t move!”

Erin wailed softly. She had already started crying. As the light of freedom was just a shimmer, she excitedly wanted it, so much that she reminded herself how dramatically agonizing this event has been. It hurt, every part of her that had been abused, but what stung most was the rope digging into her flesh, leaving a net of red marks along her body that burned with sensitivity. She told herself that she had to endure; she bit her lip hard, and minimized her moaning to a restrained whine.

Despite Erin’s compliance, Adrian still had trouble figuring out the floss. Even at their size, the floss was thin and thus harder to manage. Furthermore, it was tied at the figure’s wrist, meaning that simply moving the floss off the hand entirely was out of the question. Adrian pulled at it, but to no avail. She regretted now not grabbing anything to make a cut with, but then again, there wasn’t much that would have helped her.

“What’s wrong?!” Erin suddenly asked.

“I… I can’t get it undone!” Adrian confessed, flustered in her search for an alternative. Desperate for anything, she peered out to where Scarlet and Nicky had been, but there was only Scarlet there, on her knees with the headphones pulled back in her direction. “Scarlet!” she shouted angrily. “I told you! I told you to wait!”

Scarlet flinched at the yelling, but she ignored it as she focused only on keeping the wire tense and sturdy. She could feel it vibrate in her palms, everytime Nicky took another step further down the wire. With or without Adrian or anyone else, Scarlet was going to make sure Nicky escaped. If even one of them was able to get free, there would be a chance -- an abysmally small chance -- that they could find and bring help. The police, the FBI, Nicky’s mom, it didn’t matter who, but someone could possibly rescue them all and prevent this from happening.

Get away from this bitch, Scarlet thought towards Nicky. I’m sorry, Nicky. I dragged you into this. Even if you don’t find any help… I’ll feel better that you got out of here.

Nicky thought nothing complicated. Her thoughts were simple, which was how she usually functioned, fortunately for her. When she was distracted by the pit beneath her, she remained collected, if perhaps a little unnerved. It was hard not to look down as she straddled down the green headphone wire, as all sorts of random items could be found in the chasm below; lost collectibles, loose change, trash Melanie had pushed aside from possibly months ago, all collected together with a layer of dust between the tower and the desk. If nothing else, the sight motivated Nicky to keep climbing down to the safety of the tower’s roof.

Scarlet maintained her weight opposite of where the headphones wanted to drag, up until she felt much of the heaviness on the other end suddenly fade. She blinked as the worst thought popped into mind instantly. Her lips quivered--

“I made it! I made it!” Nicky’s voice could be heard down below. She was cheering and jumping and panting. Scarlet, upon hearing this, ditched the headphones and ran to the edge of the desk, needing to confirm that it worked. Indeed, right at the headphone jack was Nicky, safe if a little shaken.

Scarlet smiled, and she pumped out a woo of excitement. “Okay! Good job!” she yelled back down. “J-Just stay there! I… I’ll come down next! Don’t go anywhere!”

“Yeah, I got you!” Nicky shouted. She laughed, ecstatic that they had made this much progress. There was such relief, but it stemmed from a temporary ignorance to just how little distance she had truly made. She could run down without the others if she pleased, and no one could stop her, yet, she would still be trapped in Melanie’s room. It wouldn’t be until later, much later, that she could call herself free.

For now, Scarlet had to figure out how to get out herself. She wanted to be next, that was the plan, but without someone to hold the headphones, the path to escaping was closed off. “This was supposed to be fucking solved already,” she groaned under her breath, unable to look at what antics Adrian was into. Instead, she looked to Kimberly, but she was equally as mad with her. Even now, all the older woman did was rest and keep to herself. “Kimberly!” Scarlet barked. “Here! Now! You fucking have to do this!”

Kimberly scoffed. What was meant to just be a sharp sigh had instead been the end of her patience, and she rose her head to argue, “I told you! I fucking told you! I told you, I told you, I fucking said it…!” One hand gripped her own arm tightly. “There’s no escape from here, you brat! You’re just going to get killed! You’re going to get us all killed!”

“We don’t have any goddamn time for this!” Scarlet stomped her foot, pacing back and forth in a small series of steps around the headphones. “Kimberly! Now!”

“No!”

“Fuck off, come on! I-I’m going to really be trapped here because of you?!”

“Eat my ass, Wormslut!”

Scarlet turned red, and whatever curse she had meant to sling instead stuttered into a screech. “I’ll kill you my fucking self!” she threatened, and to affirm that, she began approaching with heavy footfalls. “I mean it. I really am that unhinged, you garbage waste of space! I’ll strangle you!”

“Get over here and die.” Kimberly chuckled, and she lifted herself up. “I’ll kick your ass, d-do you think I’m scared of a fucking kid?!”

“D-D-Duhh? D-D-Do you?” Scarlet mocked her, but then, her entire expression flipped. Concern washed over her in a flash-- “Look out!!”

Kimberly glared. “What?!” She gasped; Scarlet rushed her, grabbed her, and pushed her aside in a sudden leap. Kimberly pushed back, thinking this was a fight breaking loose, up until she felt the shadows under her move. She gawked up to see the figure overhead, like a building about to collapse, teetering just over the edge above.

One second felt stretched to an entire scene. First, it was Adrian’s scream, then Kimberly’s. Scarlet, having predicted the fall, had braced for impact; similarly, Erin didn’t make a noise, her voice was lost as soon as she felt gravity twist around her. The figure’s base had always been just an inch off its ledge, but it wasn’t until Adrian and Erin’s combined weight, plus their bouncy and nervous movements, that the figure was unbalanced enough to tumble. As mighty of a structure as it was to the tiny women, it tipped over all at once, not at all as heavy as their diminutive shapes would expect.

It crashed. The impact rattled the desk, a thud accented with a sharp snap. Despite how dramatic the fall had appeared in motion, this loud shot of noise was also the end of the chaos. Silence ripped afterwards, as disorienting to the captives as any cacophony would have been.

Scarlet’s heart was still as she laid half on top of Kimberly. She was scared, and it wasn’t until Kimberly nudged her that she realized she didn’t die. In fact, she was well off, all things considered. No harm, not even a bruise. Kimberly, too, was fine aside from the sheer fright. Both eventually stood up, on neutral terms now, to survey the destruction. Greeting them was the molded, saccharine smile of a colorful female protagonist, except her once proudly extended arm had been snapped broken, revealing her hollow insides. Spikes of pink hair, too, had been dislodged and scattered like twigs.

More important to them than the figure were the two women that fell with it. Adrian had been thrown off from the arm, tumbling a short distance away from where it had snapped. She was roughed up with a pained arm, but adrenaline got her to her knees quickly. She was dazed, looking around at the sudden change of scenery, before she too looked at the heart of the crash. “Erin!” she cried.

Erin was in a slump, partly underneath the figure’s chest. She writhed and groaned like a dying body, but it wasn’t the crash that put in her such a state; rather, it was all she could do, still tied up in the uncomfortable binding of floss, only now she was pinned in place by the plastic toy.

As Adrian recovered, Scarlet and Kimberly had ran to Erin’s aid. Working together, they were able to lift the figure up enough so that they could pull Erin out from underneath. “Holy shit,” Kimberly gasped, “I thought… I thought you’d die…! I thought… for sure…” She closed her eyes, sat next to Erin, and embraced the girl’s head onto her lap.

“Erin! Oh, thank god,” Adrian praised their luck. Very easily could that have gone significantly worse. Once even the most minimal amount of her stamina had returned, Adrian rushed to where Erin was tied up. She wasted no time at all pulling and prying at the floss, which was still tied to the detached limb of the figure. Without any alternative, and now more anxious than ever, the only way to break Erin free was to painfully break the net of floss one strand at a time. It was time consuming, and Erin flinched and cried with every tug, but it was working.

But as Adrian did this, Scarlet did not forget her mission. She was relieved that everyone was safe, but Nicky was on her own on the other side. “We need to fucking go,” Scarlet said. “Erin-- Can she walk? Is she good to climb down?”

“Yeah, of course,” Adrian replied quickly, only putting a fraction of her mind to what was said. “Sh-She can walk. She’ll be fine. Erin’s coming. Right, Erin? We’re getting out of here, Erin.”

“Are you sure?” Scarlet asked. “She looks… so beat up--”

“I’m fine!” Erin spat, so loud that even Adrian ceased breaking the floss for a moment. “Just go! J-Just… I’ll be fine! I’m going, I-I’m…”

In an attempt to show this, Erin tried to rise. Adrian held her back, just for one extra second as the last of the floss was removed -- at least, the floss necessary to let her move freely. Still tied tight around Erin’s wrists and ankles were remnants of the thin rope, but for the first time in days, she could stand on her feet and stretch her exhausted muscles. It was ecstasy, that short-lived moment in time where she first felt freedom, but all at once did the pain come right back, and Erin found herself hoisted up only through Adrian and Kimberly’s support.

“Cool, cool,” Scarlet said, hyping up their escape now that everything was finally figured out. “Let’s see if you mean it. Come on.” She waved at Adrian and Erin, then pointed at the headphones. “Hold those down while I go! I did it for Nicky, she’s already at the tower, so--”

“No,” Adrian interrupted, taking on most of Erin’s weight so that Kimberly didn’t have to. “Erin’s going first. She has to.”

“Ohh, fuck me!” Scarlet clawed at her hair. “Are you fucking making more problems for us?! Right now?!”

“She has to! Sh-She’s so weak, I mean it! L-Look at her…!” Adrian hated to admit it, especially after how confident she was upon seeing Erin stand. But the truth was painful and real; Erin was far from an ideal condition to be rope climbing. “Scarlet… Please. I-If we both hold the headphones, it’d be easier for her--”

“I don’t fucking care,” Scarlet said. She walked to the headphones, shaking her head the entire time. “Fine. Fuck it. It makes no difference to me if I’m second, it’s not a race. Can we just go?”

“Yes,” Adrian grinned, a glimmer of hope. “Yes. I-I’ll be right there…” She looked to Kimberly one more time. The feeling of disappointment could be sensed, she could tell Kimberly hated that they were doing this, but this was their chance. Adrian wouldn’t put Erin through another day of this, certainly not because Kimberly’s lack of approval anchored them to stay. She limped forward, pulling Erin along to the edge of the desk.

“Adrian… I c-can walk…” Erin said, half-giggling.

“Yeah? Can you?” Adrian laughed back. “You look like you could run a marathon. Or… maybe that you’ve been through a marathon, or three.”

Erin giggled again, and then she laughed. “You’re funny… You’re so funny, Adrian.”

“I try.”

“I bet… you’ve been making these girls laugh a lot. I hated that you could never be serious.”

“Ha, yeah. I remember you telling me that. Unfortunately, my stand-up here, it’s… it’s not gotten any commendations. Considering the circumstances…”

Erin looked back, trusting Adrian to guide the way. The desk and all its huge items, even Scarlet and Kimberly. It looked like a painting that she was so happy to burn. “Mm… Yeah…” she agreed with Adrian, “maybe not the best place to be funny.”

“Eh. It figures,” Adrian stated plainly as she reached the edge.

Erin shook her head, then laughed. “God. I hate you!”

Adrian laughed. “Well, you sound a lot livelier. Here we are -- it’s time to go.” She looked down the length of green wire. It was like a tightrope connecting the two ends, with Nicky at the bottom. She looked concerned after having heard the crash, but the sight of Adrian and Erin -- a freed Erin -- reinvigorated her into another cheer of encouragement.

The mood felt whimsical. For once, they were hopeful. The prospect of their endurance paying off teased them; freedom seemed so close with how much they had struggled just to get this far. Every ounce of pain was ignored for the meantime as they progressed towards their planned escape. But this hope was nothing more than a piece of driftwood that they clung to, completely unaware of how deep the ocean of their ignorance was. After all, it was their assumption that this entire time, Melanie had been gone from the apartment.

Melanie had been sweating bullets. The arms of her chair had been dug into by her fingers. She barely even blinked with how still she sat.

Across from her, Candi swallowed. Her mouth was filled with a juicy flavor as the last of her candy was slipped past her lips. Her appetite had been satiated, and appropriately, she neared the end of her sweets. Everything was coming to its conclusion, though an unanswered question still hung in the air.

Melanie had been drilled about every possible topic that she hated to think about. After having been asked about her trip to the mall and how she bumped into Erin, she was then inquired about her business at a certain office building; she had been seen frequenting it, and supposedly may have claimed to work there. She was questioned about a student-hosted party, one that was intended to be held at Anders Library. Candi’s focus, then, became about that very place, where Melanie’s adventures first began.

Talking about Anders Library felt like discussing a fictional place. Melanie wished that was the case, that it had not been real. She wished this had all been wrong, that this was all in her head. Once a place of sanctuary and solitude, the library now was a place of darkness and horror. She blamed only herself for having awoken such cryptic powers, as though a real evil had leaked into her world and it was coming now to take her.

But those questions, she had been able to answer. She tried to lie, but she was bad at it, at least under the pressure that Candi exerted. Normally, any kind of excuse could come to her mind quickly, and she could verbally writhe herself free from these types of confrontations. Candi was different; a real detective, a professional, expertly able to draw out the exact things that would mark her with reasonable, truthful suspicion. When lying would make Melanie shake with nervousness, she instead spoke honestly but tersely.

All of these questions came to just one that paralyzed Melanie. “Do you know Adrian?”

Go to hell, Melanie thought. Burn to the bone. Suffer. How dare you say her name? You can just say her name like it’s nothing? Is it really so easy for you to say her name? Her name… It’s the most important thing to me, in the entire world. Adrian. That’s how you say her name. Do I know her? Do you know her? Do you know anything about Adrian? What kind of sick joke is this? I could recount every detail about Adrian. I’m connected -- we’re connected. She’s mine. And you’re asking if I know her?

Candi leaned forward slightly. She sensed something was off; was she finally able to break through Melanie’s glacial barriers? “Melanie?” she asked, trying to shake her from this trance she had entered. “Did you know her? Were you friends?”

“Friends…” Melanie repeated that, the words like an icy wind as they crossed past her lips. If she answered truthfully, she would do herself in. She would have revealed to Candi how she was connected to every missing person. There would be little doubt to counter Candi’s theory. The investigation would deepen, Melanie foresaw, and police would find her, no matter where she ran, and they would learn of the reality that she had manipulated. It was a vision, so clear ahead of her, all hanging by the thread of her one answer.

“... Yes--”

Thh-nap. A bump, but just loud enough to make Candi pop her head up. It broke the tense silence, whatever it was; some noise from around the corner, over in the direction of Melanie’s room. While Candi was expressively curious, Melanie was as motionless as before, at least for a time.

“Did you hear that?” Candi wondered aloud. She turned to try and look down the hallway, but from her seat, she couldn’t even see the door.

Then, Melanie was on her feet and dashing away. Candi could barely react to the sudden motion, confused by what all was happening. As curious as she was, she did nothing to stop Melanie, merely lifting herself from the sofa to offer a slow pursuit.

But Melanie acted as though she were being chased. Her heartbeat had all but disappeared, as though cast away as unnecessary. Upon hearing the noise, Melanie’s world was shattered back into color, and she gave up on thinking of anything else. In that other room, where a mysterious noise had been heard from, was the world that mattered most to her.

She burst open the door, practically tripping through the doorway. She gasped at the immediate sight. Her first thought, That figure…! That was over a hundred dollars…! But her vision then became fixed on the cause of what broke her precious collector’s item. What she saw was leagues more important than any decorative toy. It was a snapshot, a painting in motion, the scene before her that was a nightmare manifested into actuality.

Directly in Melanie’s sights was Erin, meekly making the cross from the desk to the computer tower, where Nicky was in wait. At the other end was Scarlet and Adrian, securing weight on their end of the headphones. As surprised as Melanie was, her shock was nothing compared to that of her tiny slaves responding in turn to her entrance.

“You…!” Melanie growled. She stomped forward, her face twisted into an expression of divine rage.

Erin panicked, not even able to scream. She was caught right in the middle of the headphone wire, her weak and battered body hugging the cable with all her life. She was too far down to scramble back to the desk, and too far down to rush to the bottom.

Adrian screamed, “Go, Erin! Just go!” So badly did she want to sprint forward and save Erin, she even lunged forward with one arm reached out until Scarlet pulled her back.

“Don’t let go!” Scarlet yelled at Adrian. “I-It’s too late! We’re fucked!”

“Erin!!” Adrian screamed again, but this time, her voice was overpowered by the earthquakes Melanie produced. All too quickly, the shadow of their owner cast its blackness over the desk. She stood over them, seemingly more towering than usual, with a rage still fuming inside her. Adrian and Scarlet became pale, realizing there was nothing they could do.

Melanie’s approach was quick, and so was her action. Adrian and Scarlet were forced to jump away when a giant hand plunged towards their part of the headphones; they leaped and rolled to separate sides, just as Melanie’s fist clutched the headphones and ripped them straight up into the sky. Erin, still hopelessly climbing down the wire like a worm at the time, screeched in horror as her tiny body was shot upwards.

“You disgusting bugs…!” Melanie growled, surveying the situation as quickly as possible. “I’ll-- H-How dare you…?! I’ll…!” There was a snag -- the headphones were still connected, and bitten with a rabid fury, she tugged hard on the cable. With one extremely fast pull, the jack was torn out of its socket, and the wire whipped upwards into the air.

Adrian looked up, where Melanie was overhead, upside-down. She was disoriented, lost after dodging Melanie’s strike, but her eyes tracked where Erin’s voice could be heard. It was screams and wild pleas for mercy, all of which were ignored by the storm that was Melanie. Adrian reached up, desperate to try and grab Erin from the sky, but what she instead took hold of was a realization. What she grasped was a bitter, horrible acceptance.

Erin was too weak. After days of suffering through Melanie’s torment, she had so little energy. When the headphones she clung to were shot upwards, her grip couldn’t last. She was whipped off, thrown, tossed, like a speck of debris. In the open air, she screamed; gravity made no sense, the gigantic world of a girl’s bedroom all blurred into a mess of just space, she heard only howling winds and muddled noises as she flew, and fell.

Melanie gasped. Her body turned stiff. For a flicker of a second, she saw Erin. She saw her in mid-air, flicked off from the very headphones she now held. At the last second, realizing Erin could plummet to her death, Melanie made an effort to grab her. Her hand shot out, with a net of fingers taking aim to grapple Erin.

She missed.

Erin’s scream was a tiny, pathetic noise that stretched for only one complete second. Then-- blup. She landed, but not on the hard carpet. She fell into a pool of red, like a droplet, creating only a minor splash within the ritual bowl. Melanie flinched at this outcome. Down on the floor, the wine she used to conduct her hexes, which one hair would be sacrificed to -- she never moved it away, as messy as she ever was -- this is where Erin was dropped.

“Ah… Sh-Shit,” Melanie coughed. Her panic hadn’t ceased, not since she had discovered her slaves trying to make an escape, and even now she wasn’t sure where her priorities were. Not helping any of this was the interrogation she herself had just ditched, for as far back in her mind as that was, it was still a pressure that made her hesitate to act. She first looked to the desk, counting Adrian, Scarlet, and Kim. “Where… is Nicky…?”

“Melanie!!” Adrian shouted. She had ran to the edge of the desk, just moments after she heard the distant splash of Erin’s dive. From her angle, she could see the bowl, almost directly beneath where she was. “Melanie, save Erin! Sh-She’s going to drown!”

Adrian was absolutely right. It was her voice, her command that snapped Melanie back into reality, and into action. Nothing else mattered but obeying Adrian. She dropped to one knee, dropped the headphones on the floor, and grabbed the bowl carefully. With her other hand, she went to grab Erin, whose tiny body kicked and squirmed in the harsh-smelling liquid. Melanie flinched once, afraid of wine stains of all things, but she quickly overcame that fear and snatched Erin from the bowl, fishing her out with a little pinch.

“For the love of god…” Adrian brushed back her hair, revealing a wave of sweat. Her breathing had returned, but it was hectic and anxious. All she could imagine was the real possibility that Erin hadn’t lived, that the fall had claimed her. “Erin…! Please, Erin… We were so, so close... She was right there! She could have gotten away! Why wasn’t she a little faster? Why didn’t we hurry more? She was supposed to survive this -- more than any of us, damn it!”

“I-I… I-I can’t tell if sh-she’s b-breathing…” Melanie choked, still holding to the little woman in her fingers. Erin was writhing about, clearly coughing, but Melanie had no experience in determining these types of things. She looked to Adrian for help. “Wh-What do I do?!”

“Aw, f-fuck,” Adrian stuttered. “I-I don’t know, I don’t fucking know! M-Melanie, please, do something!”

Melanie winced. What could she do? She shivered, and did what first came to mind. She brought Erin up closer to view, and she intended to listen for a heartbeat, or breathing, or anything. But she stopped, just as she was lifting Erin up. A curious expression took over, and she was intrigued suddenly by the display in her grasp. Slowly, her fears for Erin dying were fading away, and in their place was a discovery, a grand discovery that deserved her full attention.

But Adrian, and the others as well, were not informed. Scarlet had been paralyzed where she sat, and Kimbelry took to hiding behind the bulk of the anime figure’s remains. Adrian tried to get a look at Erin from her place at the edge, but even she couldn’t tell what was happening. At the same time, it didn’t seem like some game Melanie was playing either. Genuine astonishment and wonder was read from Melanie’s disposition, and so she nervously waited for what would be revealed.

Melanie’s skin became cold. She blinked, and she made sure it was real -- it absolutely, fantastically was. She glanced worriedly at Adrian, then raised her hand up. Specifically, she held out a single finger, which held a single person. It was Erin, drenched in red and gagging from the alcohol, and getting smaller. Smaller than what she had been, smaller than anything else. Once able to lay out in all of Melanie’s palm, she was now a fraction of that miserable size, losing size into a state even more pathetic than what she used to be.

“She’s shrinking,” Melanie said. Two words, and the air became immediately still. Adrian looked on in awe and disgust. Scarlet and Kimberly heard, but they did nothing, unable to do anything with that knowledge but to have a greater fear of Melanie and her powers.

It didn’t make sense, not to any of them. But without a doubt, at the tip of Melanie’s finger was Erin, barely conscious, and shrinking -- no ritual, no waiting.

Melanie’s finger gravitated up to the edge of the desk, right to where Adrian was waiting. Right away, Adrian burst into tears, her face twisted and red. She wailed something indescribable, looking down at the unfathomable. True to what Melanie had so simply said, Erin had shrunk. With shaking hands, Adrian took Erin into her possession, a movement Melanie had no qualms against for she looked on with just as much curiosity -- though, it was so difficult to look at Erin now, who had truly become a speck.

Adrian couldn’t breathe, swallow, move, or speak. Completely stone, only one thought came to mind. This is how Melanie feels, she told herself. This is how small we are… to her…

“Excuse me?” Candi’s voice intervened. So much had spiralled out of control that time had been lost in the process. A few seconds had only passed since Melanie made a mad dash out of the living room, and Candi was only just now catching up with her. “What in the world is going on?”

She had heard some noises and speech while approaching, but none of it made any sense to her. Candi figured it was because she had no context, but entering the bedroom revealed so much all at once. At first, she was baffled more by the decorations and messiness, intrigued by the general aesthetic Melanie had. But after processing the band posters, the collectibles, and the various geek culture hints, she then had to process tiny people. She blinked twice, and rubbed her eyes. Any attempt to clearing her vision or cleansing her senses failed to erase the image before her, the image of three tiny women dotting a computer desk. Moving, talking. Real women. Actual people. Inches tall.

Candi was a hardened detective. She had witnessed violence before her very eyes, survived her own scuffles. She had broken down every detail to grizzly murders, and analyzed the minds of perverse monsters. Sometimes, she had asked herself, how could kidnappers be real? How could criminals, at this level, be so evil and exist as humans? Never once did she ever come close to a scene quite like this. Never did she even imagine having a case like this, where the kidnapper was unveiled right in front of her, having used some kind of science to shrink her victims to the size of dolls.

Melanie was still huddled at her desk, situated on one knee while allowing Adrian to take over Erin. She couldn’t rise now, not while feeling the immense weight on her back. Candi’s glare could be felt even without seeing it.

“How is this… possible…?” Candi asked aloud. More than anger or hatred, she was confused. To her, this couldn’t be real. “Melanie… Why? H-How?”

A brutal mistake for Candi to have made, forgetting just what kind of monster was in front of her. And Melanie, picking up this scent of weakness, acted upon it without hesitation. Melanie spun around to a standing stance, and within that motion, she had flung the bowl of wine directly at Candi’s face. A messy wave of red splashed over the detective, but hitting her harder was the bowl itself, where an edge smacked her clean and sharp, right into the arc of her nose.

Melanie was on guard, but she didn’t expect to get punched in the face so quickly. The room was a lot smaller than the domain Melanie regularly saw it as, being a titan to tiny people and all; it only took one wide step forward for Candi to close the distance and to then throw a nasty fist, a right hook that connected perfectly into Melanie’s jaw and cheekbone, as if her face was genetically constructed to fit Candi’s blow. One was a trained detective, the other was a school girl. Melanie tumbled shamefully to the floor, using her bed as support, while Candi stood hunched over, swiping the wine from her eyes.

“What the hell is this?!” Candi shouted. Nowhere to be seen was that pleasant demeanor, that cool collectedness that made Melanie shiver. She was riled up, seething with anger as she tried to clean herself from the liquid. Her entire head was drenched, and much of that extended to her fine clothes. Blood trickled from the cut the bowl had made on her nose, and the sour wine made the opening ache. She panted, “God! Are you fucking serious?!”

Melanie recoiled with a pained groan. Her face burned for a second, and then it became brutally numb. Even the vision in her left eye was blackened and blurred. Never had she been stricken like that, so hard across the face, but she didn’t have the time to dwell on this new sensation. She had committed herself to something reckless already, and it was too late to turn around. There’s no apologies here, she thought. For Adrian… this is what I have to do.

Candi was distracted between everything -- the smell of the wine, why wine was thrown at her, or why wine was even in the room, and not to mention the tiny people under the watch of a suspected kidnapper. She didn’t notice, or really care, that the perpetrator had risen back to her feet, especially since she didn’t expect the young girl to return in a fighting mood. She was tackled by Melanie, who grabbed the detective by her coat and pulled at it. The only advantage Melanie had, and that she knew, was that Candi was overwhelmed and off-balance. Using that, Melanie focused all her strength on one objective: take off Candi’s coat.

And she did, whipping into a spin that held tightly to Candi’s sleeve while shoving her out of it. A tussle broke out, but Melanie managed to succeed where she wanted. Still, she was punched again, this time a blow to her stomach. With the coat being dropped to the ground, this attack would kill Melanie’s intent to battle, and she slumped backwards into her desk. Adrian and the others were jostled, but held their ground as these two beasts brawled.

Candi continued to gather herself, but it was at that point, still trying to comprehend any of this, that she realized how sick she felt. She whined, then whined again. A fire was digging itself into her brain, like a drill going through her skull and down the rest of her body. She was shaking, as though she had been infected with a cold. Her mind ticked, and she blamed it on the wine -- “the wine,” rather.

“What the fuck was that?!” Candi demanded, taking a stance over Melanie. “Tell me, right now. Tell me what that was. Tell me!”

Melanie didn’t answer, but not because she was refusing. She opened her mouth and coughed, her wounds flaring up again. Candi would be left with a mystery, one whose answer was becoming hauntingly understood. It almost seemed foolish for Candi to think anything else was going to happen.

But despite knowing what she did, she found herself unable to move. She could, to some degree, but dizziness was flooding out her usual grace. She clenched a fist, but she stumbled even while standing, swaying to one side and having to use Melanie’s desk chair for support. Then, that fell out from under her when too much uneven weight was applied, and so Candi almost fell. She dropped to her knees and held her heart, which now felt vacant, bleak.

“You’re… You’re shrinking me…” Candi coughed. She had to say it, just to confirm this suspicion. Her eyes, whose light within them was weakening, glanced at Adrian, and then Scarlet and even Kimberly. She asked herself if these were the victims; she laughed a little, of course they were. That humor was momentary, however, as the grim reality took over.

Candi blinked. Her eyes opened, and now the chair was as tall as her, even when knocked down. She tried to stand, but all she managed to do was turn around before being stricken into place. Every muscle started to cramp, as if the whole world was closing in around her.

Melanie sat up. She caressed her cheek with a light touch, but even that made it sting. “Doesn’t matter,” she told herself. She could see the curse taking its toll on Candi, dwindling the adult woman’s size inch by inch. Soon, Melanie reminded herself, this annoyance of a detective would be utterly beneath her, just like everything should be.

Melanie stood up, and she looked to Adrian. In Adrian’s palms, brought together, lay an even tinier human, covered in the same bath of wine that had been splashed over Candi. There was much for Melanie to think about after this evening, but she was certain that nothing would be the same as it had been. All while she overlooked the results of such a chaotic scene, she smiled, numb to any exhaustion or injury that once plagued her.