Fulda yanked on the double doors again, grinding her teeth at the deadbolt’s clatter. She always came to the gym after work, it was part of her daily routine. Even more incensing, the lights were obviously on, and she had seen people walking back and forth past the main door. Her hands grasped the handles to give another firm tug when she noticed a sign on the counter: “Closed for renovations. Reopening 1 September.”
With a growl, Fulda turned away. She had been coming here every day for the past five years at least and was on a first-name basis with most of the staff. They couldn’t even bother to send her an e-mail notification? While she had been meaning to set up a home gym in her apartment, she was concerned about the mass she would lose in the meantime. If her eight pack degraded even a little she would have harsh words with the manager when they re-opened.
After a deep sigh Fulda turned around and started back down the concrete steps. Her phone dinged, making her pause mid-stride. She reached into her bag and rummaged around for a moment until her hand gripped the device. Hoping for good news, she yanked it out and checked the screen. Good start; from the preview banner she had a text from someone she had been seeing casually and had plans to meet up with tonight. Eagerly she tapped to open the message.
“Hey, I’ve been thinking and it’s just not gonna work.” Fulda’s right eye twitched but she read on. “I’m looking for someone a little more feminine, you know? Anyway good luck, you’ll need it.” It took all of her effort not to crush the phone with her hand right there. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to send a mean-spirited response.
She scrolled through her photos until she found one with a watermelon clasped between her thighs. “This could have been us,” she captioned, then scrolled to seconds later in the shoot where the watermelon had been thoroughly crushed. “But now we’re like this. Seeya fuckboy.” Fulda waited for the feeling of catharsis to run through her, but nothing came. If anything, she became more furious.
As she was putting the phone away she saw one more message pop up. “lol k.” Seething, Fulda closed her bag and started back to her car. Before she got there, though, another car pulled up beside hers and stopped. The driver’s side door opened and a man who looked to be in his late 20’s wearing a tailored suit got out. He walked in front of his and Fulda’s car on the way to the adjacent building.
“Hey asshole!” Fulda called out. He paused and looked confused for a moment. “Yeah, you! Move your fucking car!”
The man grinned and continued on his way. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll just be a minute,” he said without even looking at her. “I’m just running into the post office.”
Fulda growled, and her vision began to tint red. “No. You’ll move it now.”
He chuckled, and Fulda grinded her teeth to keep from punching him. “Calm down, babe,” he began, and Fulda felt the veins in her temples throbbing, “you’re being hysterical.” The whole time he didn’t even turn his head in her direction and walked away from her.
Fulda was not accustomed to getting disrespected, especially not to this degree. After the gym and getting broken up with, this prick’s attitude caused something inside her to snap. She squeezed her eyes shut, and the pounding in her temples drowned out the sounds of the street. For a moment she forgot where she was and began to scream, a deep bellow that scraped her vocal cords until she was out of breath.
When she finished she opened her eyes again. Ambient sounds had died out, and everyone had apparently scattered in fear. Then she looked down. Both sides were still choked with people, but now they were all still and staring at her. Staring up. The tallest person did not even reach her knees. Catharsis finally hit. She looked at the toddler-sized asshole frozen in fear gawking at her, then to his car still blocking her in, and got a wicked smile.
The lawyer stopped dead in his tracks when he heard what must be a banshee behind him. This woman was too easy. He turned around to make a snide remark, but the words died in his throat. Instead of crying out in impotent rage, the redhead he had been messing with was growing. She quickly doubled in size, dwarfing the astonished people around her, then kept going until she was monstrous in scale. Her blue high-top Converse nearly blocked the sidewalk, and muscular calves bulged beneath her bronze skin. Powerful quads threatened to tear her black spandex pants into shreds, and a white tank top clung to her chest. The woman’s lips curled into a smirk while her light blue eyes darted between him and his car.
“Fine,” Fulda said, glad to finally have his attention. “If you won’t move your car, I’ll move it for you.” With two long strides she stepped over her car and stood astride the one blocking her in. Its owner made a dash for it, but she returned the favor and paid him no mind. She bent at the knees and slid her hands under the frame. Flexing her muscles a little, she hoisted the vehicle off the ground and, gritting her teeth, tossed it to the side. It landed on the roof, caving it in with a tremendous crash and scattering glass everywhere.
The man gaped up at her, unable to process what just happened. “Don’t sweat it, little guy,” Fulda said, glaring down at him. “If you hadn’t been such a shitty person this wouldn’t have happened.” Then she turned away, hoping this would wear off soon so she could actually move her car.
A loud whistle down the street pierced the air, catching Fulda’s attention. Her head snapped toward a trio of men standing on the corner engaged in a ribald conversation. She strained to listen in on them, and felt the simmering rage come to a boil again.
“Unf, that is one tall glass of water!” said the first after his whistle finished.
“And did you see that ass? I’d pay her to smother me with it!” the next said.
“Too bad I left my rope at home, I’d love to climb a giant bitch,” added the third, then all three of them burst into laughter.
Fulda focused on the group of shitheads and embraced her rage. Over the course of a few seconds the street fell away, and pedestrians diminished in size until they were like dolls to her. The three were dramatically cast in shadow by her broad shoulders, and she took a single step toward them, bringing her foot down as hard as she could. Pavement buckled and cracked from the force of her Converse-powered stomp, splitting it all the way to the sidewalk. They stood in rapt attention of her while everyone else tried to get as far away from them as possible.
Tim’s chuckling died last, just in time for the walk signal to turn green. Before he could step into the intersection, however, the world darkened around him. He turned and saw that the woman he had whistled at had more than doubled in size. She was glaring down at him, and though he wanted to run away with everyone else he was stuck staring at her in amazement. Nate opened his mouth to shout something else inappropriate, but luckily for him Fulda’s ground-rending stomp drowned it out and sent them all reeling.
After a quick inspection of the group Fulda identified both the whistler and the one who had made a comment about her ass. She bent over and reached toward them with each hand, easily wrapping her long fingers around them. When her grip was secure she lifted them off the ground, eliciting a scared yelp while she raised them to her face.
Fulda chuckled. It was hilarious how their hands and legs poked out of her fists, so puny to her now. “What’s the matter?” she asked the petrified men in her hands. “No more cute remarks? Lost all your confidence?” She chortled before continuing. “I put hours of work into my body each week and the best you can manage is a whistle and canned pick-up line? Pathetic.” Then she turned to the other one. “And you should be worshipping my ass if anything.”
Neither of them had a witty retort, only managing to stare into one of her eyes in stunned silence. Fulda looked down at the street to menace the third one, but by then he had come to his senses and ran half a block away. Pouting, she turned back to the two in her hands. “Aw, where’s your friend going? You should go after him.”
Fulda opened her fingers, dropping her two harassers to the asphalt. They crumpled on impact, but from their screams she knew they were still alive. Her eyes scanned the crowd again, and to her dismay the third man had blended into the crowd moving in a wave away from her. The pathetic yowling from her ankles captured her attention again, and she looked down to see the broken heaps clutching their legs.
Tim was struck dumb in Fulda’s grip. Not only had he never been held in a woman’s hand before, but everything about her was perfect, even the aloof arrogance with which she regarded them. The only problem was that her face was taller than him, and she seemed none too receptive to his come-ons. He wisely kept his mouth shut while she berated them, and figured her question about Ron was rhetorical.
When Fulda’s fingers slipped from around Tim he tried to scream, but nothing came out. He freefell past her chest without even getting a chance to appreciate her cleavage, and continued his plummet past her waist. In an instant he was past her knees before he could even reach for the skin-tight fabric around her thighs, and then he hit the ground. There was a loud snap from his shins breaking on impact and he found the breath to scream, collapsing in the fetal position. In agony he looked up at Fulda standing astride them, the All-Star logo on her ankle nearly half his size.
The gigantic Converse nearest him lifted up, and Fulda carefully placed the heel at his feet. To Tim’s astonishment the brown diamond-patterned rubber sole of her enormous shoe stretched over his head and beyond. He tried to look up, but was unable to see any of the giantess beyond her tremendous foot. Everything in him begged to escape, but with his shattered legs he was not going anywhere. He was entirely at Fulda’s mercy.
“You fit completely under my shoe!” Fulda giddily boomed, “Just like a bug. So why shouldn’t I crush you like one?”
“B-because I have a fiancé waiting for me at home!” Tim stammered. He desperately hoped his voice carried well enough to make it around Fulda’s shoe and to her ears.
“A fiancé?” Fulda repeated. “Then why are you catcalling random women in the street?” She paused a moment, letting the question settle into Tim’s mind. That was the exact wrong answer. “Oh, I get it. You and your friends see a ‘hot piece of ass’ and figure there’s no harm in harassing her, right? That your dear fiancé won’t find out? You’re fucking scum.”
Fulda began lowering her shoe onto Tim. Unable to even scoot away he was trapped under the descending foot, watching the diamonds grow bigger until they encompassed his head. Her heel bumped into his broken feet and he squealed as pain radiated up his body. The pain grew when his feet were compressed beneath hers, and he could not even bear to listen to the bones cracking as more of his legs were dragged under. By the time the rest of his body was flattened he was not even capable of pain, and his form gave way with a sickening crunch.
Nate wailed at seeing his friend get flattened, but Fulda paid him no mind. She simply drove her foot into the asphalt and dragged it along the road, scraping the bloody remains off her shoe. When she was finally satisfied she looked right at Nate and grinned. He whimpered while she simply regarded him with a cold gaze. “You’re lucky I only want to clean one piece of shit off my shoe,” she boomed. “Just remember that if you and your buddy ever harass another woman I will gladly make your wish come true and smother you with my ass, got it?” He rapidly nodded and Fulda decided he had suffered enough.
Fulda took a rumbling step down the street, but mid-stride a ping rang out from her phone. She stopped and rolled her eyes, then reached into her purse to grab it. Before she even looked at the screen another message came in, sending a ringing echo down the boulevard. With a finger she swiped the message open and saw it was a selfie of her former date for that night posing with some random blond. While she read the message more kept streaming in. “She knows how to act like a lady. Not a man with boobs and long hair. lmao”
Fury flowed through every inch of Fulda’s body, but now she knew what to do with it. First, though, she raised the phone over her head and turned the camera around. She tilted it to capture her towering over the devastated street behind her and puckered her lips, then snapped a selfie. Quickly she typed in “can’t wait to hold you like this,” then hit send.
Using her thumb Fulda tapped on his photo, then went to check the properties. Sure enough, the moron had left locational data on, and she could pinpoint where he was. While she checked the coordinates with a map another pair of messages came in. “??? crazy bitch.” There was no need to respond: he was only a few blocks away. She could tell him in person.
Now the anger felt good, like it had a purpose. Fulda continued her course forward, and the street dwindled even more around her. Cars looked like little more than toys, and even the tallest person could not reach her ankles. Gleefully she looked down at them and watched them scatter. Everyone was terrified of her, as they should be. It was a pleasant change from rudeness and catcalling.
Fulda’s foot crashed down in the middle of an intersection, rupturing the asphalt in a web around her enormous shoe. A car slammed on its brakes and narrowly avoided slamming into Fulda’s instep. The driver laid on his horn, unsure what else to do about the giant shoe in his path.
The tinny sound of a small car horn beeping reached Fulda’s ears, and she put off typing a new smug message until after she dealt with this. She could not even count how many times random people had honked at her as they drove past, feeling they were entitled to her attention while putting forth the absolute minimum effort. Years ago she had grown accustomed to it after so many people told her she simply had to deal with it, but now she was in a position to fight back.
Fulda squatted down and swiped at the vehicle with one hand, engulfing it with her fist. She stood and brought the car to her face, then spread her fingers. Her hungry eyes looked through the tiny windshield at the terrified driver. The moment he noticed her gaze he unbuckled his seatbelt and tried to get away, but a quick shake from Fulda kept him in place.
“Your honking got my attention,” she declared, her voice powerful enough to rattle the car’s frame. “So what now? Wanna have sex?” The driver’s silence filled her with glee. She made her face droop and continued mockingly berating him. “No? Did you not expect that to work, or do you just not find me pretty anymore?” She cackled, the force of which put a long crack in the windshield. “Guess you don’t like strong women. Buzz off, freak.” With that she pivoted and hurled the car in an overhanded throw, but unfortunately lost sight before it hit the ground in a pile of scrap.
A feeling of burning justice flooded through Fulda, and to her astonishment the world shrank even more. Fulda towered over her surroundings now, and none of the residential buildings even came close to her knees. She watched the tiny people scurry away from her. If she didn’t know better, she would mistake the crowd for a bug infestation. Briefly she considered bringing her foot down right in the middle of them – without a doubt almost all of them had at one point objectified her or tried to make her feel small, or stood by while someone else did. This was not the time for that, however. She was on a mission.
Casually Fulda whipped out her phone while walking forward. Every part of her swelled with confidence. She was unstoppable. Invincible. Titanic. Drivers bailed out of their cars in advance of her monolithic feet, and the screech of metal beneath her shoes became like gravel crunching. Never before had she felt so empowered, and her glib mockery via text only enhanced the feeling.
“I’m not dumb you know,” she began. “I know why you don’t want to be with me. Your masculinity is soooo fragile. You can’t handle a taller woman.”
It only took a few seconds before the short, staccato replies started rolling in. “wtf are you talking about?” There was a short pause and he sent another picture, this time showing the blond was half a head taller than him. “shows what you know. dumb bitch. stfu. stop texting me.”
That was all Fulda needed. It was easy enough for her to confirm that he was in the same spot. She smirked. He was easily in view. In fact, she could see two little bugs standing still on the corner a couple blocks away. It was impossible to tell which of the insects was tinier, but she was sure it was them. Quickly she fired back “So you like taller women now? Look up.” Then she put away her phone and advanced toward them.
Daniel rolled his eyes and looked at his phone. He had never regretted swiping right more than he had with this unbelievably needy woman. What was she even talking about? She wasn’t that tall. In all his time he had never met a woman so obsessed and delusional about her own height. Plenty of women obsessed with a man’s height, sure, but most women were self-conscious if they were too tall. Not this bitch though. She seemed proud of it, and even though she was gigantic it seemed like half of what she said was about wanting to be taller. Without a second thought he replied “fuck off” and went back to looking for a cab. It seemed weird he hadn’t seen one for over fifteen minutes.
The ground shook, causing windows to rattle in their panes above, and the shriek of compacting metal finally got Daniel’s attention. An almost deafening ping rang out from what must have been one of the buildings and echoed down the avenue, though he could not think of one tall enough to house something that powerful. He looked up to scan for the sound and gasped.
An enormous woman strode toward him, her colossal feet pulverizing cars beneath her. Crowds fled in front of her advance, but he found himself entranced. His eyes scanned up from the gigantic Converse and bulging spandex to the massive breasts bouncing with each step beneath her tank top. He gulped and continued up to the immaculate face with its piercing blue eyes and auburn hair pulled back in a braid. Shit. It was her.
Fulda closed the city block with two tremendous strides and placed the white rubber sole of her Converse so that it almost touched Daniel and this new woman. She squared up and placed her hands on her hips, gazing down her monolithic body at the two tiny people at her feet. Amazing. They were no taller than the toe of her shoe.
“Hi Daniel,” Fulda boomed, causing the couple to clutch their ears. “Surprised to see me again?” She gave them a moment for their hearing to recover before continuing. “I’m sorry, would you mind giving Daniel and I some privacy?”
“Go back to where you came from, you-“
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” Fulda interrupted. “You’re too tiny, you’ll have to speak up!”
The woman choked back a scream before shouting, “Why don’t you fuck off you giant bi-“
“I can’t hear a word you’re saying!” Fulda’s booming voice overwhelmed the woman’s. “You’re just so itty-bitty all I hear is squeaking!” The woman shook with impotent rage. Who did this gigantic bitch think she was?
Fulda squatted, her long legs eclipsing the sky over the couple. Immediately the woman’s resolve melted while she gazed up at Fulda looming over her. “Not only are you teensy, you’re also fucking rude and none too bright. I asked you nicely, but here you are.” In a flash Fulda’s hand swiped down and snatched her up with two fingers. From inside her fist Fulda heard terrified, high-pitched squeals, and only grinned in response.
With a flick of her wrist Fulda released her grip, and the woman sailed toward the horizon. She watched the speck reach the apex of her arc then turned back to Daniel at her feet. “Really? You left me for that bug?” she asked. “I could swat her like a fly.” She smirked, and the tiny man shifted uncomfortably. “Actually, I could swat you, too. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?”
“G-go away,” he stammered up at the titaness. “I don’t… we’re not dating!”
Fulda threw her head back in laughter, creating massive peals that made Daniel’s ears ring. “Oh, you naïve little shit!” she said once she managed to regain some composure. “I’m not here to get you back!” All humor left her voice, and her face turned stone serious. “I’m here because you’re an asshole.” Her plain, simple statement filled Daniel’s veins with ice.
She stood to her full height and regarded the relatively bug-sized man who was so close to becoming a stain on her shoe. Absolutely pitiful. It would have been a mercy to squish him then and there, but before Fulda could raise her shoe a devilish idea entered her head.
Fulda took a step back, giving Daniel some room. She spread her feed shoulder width apart and placed her hands on her hips, making herself as imposing as possible, while glaring down at the puny man. “You’re an asshole, but you’re right. I won’t stand in your way if you want to go after her.”
Daniel gaped up at the colossus of a woman. Previously she had driven home how short he felt and fueled his feelings of inadequacy, but now he felt completely insignificant before her. He wasn’t even half as tall as her Converse sneakers. The star logo itself dwarfed him, practically glaring at him from each side. Each of them was nearly the size of a bus, and could much more easily crush him beneath it.
Rachel had probably been killed on impact, but he would take any excuse to get away from this lunatic. He dashed away from Fulda’s judging gaze in the direction she had tossed his date. The sooner he could put her behind him, the better. First chance he got he would have to block her number.
A devastating crash rang out in front of him and the road fractured when a titanic Converse slammed down in front of Daniel. He tried to stop but ran head-first into her instep, getting a face full of canvas. To keep from staggering he leaned into it as his knees went weak, the gigantic shoe his only support.
“Oh, sorry little guy!” Fulda said through barely suppressed laughter. “Didn’t think you would go that way. Try the other way, it’ll take longer to get to your precious date but I won’t accidentally step on you.” She could scarcely contain her joy.
Daniel shook his head clear of the cobwebs from the devastating impact. If this was how she wanted to get her jollies, fine. He just wanted to be done with her. After taking a second to make sure his legs could support him he pushed off the she blocking his path and ran in the other direction.
Fulda watched what was, by all meanings of the word, to her an insect scurry from one shoe toward the other. It took all of her self-control not to smash him then and there, but she had not had her fill yet. Her watchful eye tracked the man-shaped bug past the stark white rubber of her other shoe’s toe, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Daniel turned the corner to go down the adjacent street when white rubber and blue canvas slammed down in his way with explosive force, sending him reeling. He fell onto the shoe again, and after a few seconds the ringing in his ears was replaced by the booming of Fulda’s hysterical laughter.
“Sorry, I almost stepped on you again!” Fulda managed between fits of laughter. “Total accident, I swear. It’s just that you’re bug-sized to me and it’s so hard to see you down there! I changed my mind and want to let you go the quicker way. Won’t happen again. Promise.”
Daniel grumbled. She would get tired of this soon, he told himself, and he could move on with his life. Her attention span never stayed on anything for more than a couple minutes before she started talking about how tall she was, or how she wanted to be taller, or how small everyone else was compared to her. Frankly, he found her height obsession repulsive and was the driving force between not wanting to see her again to start. He took a second to pop his knees, making sure everything still worked before heading back the way he had started.
Fulda watched the teensy bug of a man flee from her colossal shoe with giddy anticipation. She pictured how terrified he must be, wondering if this was the time she wouldn’t “miss.” Hopefully it was like how she felt every time she walked home alone, or went to meet someone she’d met on a dating app. Maybe he was arrogant enough to think she would actually let him go, then he would deserve it. She told herself that he had to be, or he wouldn’t keep trying, and the righteousness inside her flared again.
Daniel was getting run ragged, but he had to get out from between Fulda’s feet. He plotted a course to get around her other foot, but just then an enormous shoe slammed down in front of him like a meteor, sending him stumbling into rough canvas again. His vision swam, but Fulda’s boisterous laughter overwhelmed the ringing this time.
“Dude, I really do not mean to keep almost squishing you!” Fulda bellowed when she had a chance. “Not sure I’d notice if I did though, you know? You are so puny.” She took a moment to compose herself. “Okay, I’ve got it. It’s like when people try to pass each other in a hallway but keep going the same way. Just keep going, we’ll get it one of these times.”
Daniel snarled in resentment at being Fulda’s plaything. She had no right to treat him like this. Confident that his legs would be fine after the third time he took off in the other direction. If he never saw another Converse in his life it would be too soon.
An immense shoe slammed down in his path before he even made it a dozen steps, and he quickly spun around. Fulda’s tremendous laughter echoed in his ears as he ran, the low rumble only getting stronger. The bus-sized shoe stomped in front of him again, and he turned away from it. Before he had even fully rotated the shoe came down again, cracking the pavement beneath him. Her laughter reached a fever pitch, and all around him he saw colossal Converse looming over him.
After two more rounds Daniel’s legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground. Fulda withdrew her foot so that she could stand astride his broken body, beaming down at him triumphantly. “Ha! You’re pathetic!” she boomed when she was sure he would not get up again. “You act like a man, but you’re just an insignificant bug. Now you know how I feel every time someone starts a sentence with ‘Well, actually,’ or talks over me when I’m making a point, or explains something to me when I’m teaching them.” She inhaled deeply. The absolute power she had over this twerp was intoxicating.
Fulda glared down at Daniel, waiting for him to so much as twitch. Getting impatient she asked, “Well? Do you have anything to say?” She hoped he understood that he was nothing more than an insect to her. He was probably begging for his life, pleading with her not to kill him. Not that she could hear his tiny squeaks for mercy. Nothing he could say would spare him anyway. In her mind, bugs got squished.
“Maybe you were right to be scared of taller women,” Fulda smugly remarked. “They’ll be the death of you.” She raised her shoe so high that her knee touched her chest and held it there, letting suspense build. When she felt ready she brought it down, striking him directly with the ball of her foot. Asphalt and pavement cracked for dozens of feet in each direction and the ground cratered beneath her enormous force.
Daniel stared up at Fulda, barely able to open his eyes. He did not have the breath to speak normally, let alone shout loud enough for her to hear. All he could do while she ranted in her terrifying rumble was rasp “Fuck you,” over and over. She was a lunatic and taking her insecurities out on him.
When her foot raised he managed a little laugh. There was no way she would actually crush him. Fulda’s shoe raced downward, the brown rubber diamonds expanding until one covered his entire body. His eyes widened as it drew closer. No! Her Converse slammed into him with earth-shattering force, and he was immediately smashed to an unrecognizable red smear.
Fulda was certain she had pulverized Daniel in one strike, but she wanted to be sure. She raised her shoe and stomped it into his puny remains repeatedly, then raised her heel and drove the ball of her foot into him. With relish she rotated her foot back and forth, grinding him into mush beneath her.
At last, Fulda was satisfied. She had never felt such a rush! Seeing everyone as nothing more than insects at her feet gave her an indescribable feeling, like she had obtained the ultimate power. She thought of the terrified crowds being driven before her titanic Converse and imagined shepherding them into an alley and slowly squishing them while they begged her to let them go.
To Fulda’s dismay, however, the buildings began returning to their normal size. Her fury had run out, replaced by joy and vindication. It was probably for the best: authorities would be here soon, and they would be looking for a 250-foot tall woman. No one would suspect her normally gigantic 6’8” frame of causing all this carnage. She began the slow walk back up the streets she had destroyed, slapping her size 16s on the ground and imagining tiny, bug-sized people beneath them.
Besides, she was sure to have another bad day.