Marleigh was nervous as she did her walk around the city, shuttling micros to and from the places they needed to be. It was about eleven thirty and she was about ready to take her lunch break. Normally she’d go to lunch with Kali but today since her and Jackie were off having fun together which surprised her immensely, Marleigh decided to head off to visit Carissa at work at the Micro Management Center not too far from their apartment.
As Marleigh dropped off the last of her tiny passengers, she dialed Carissa’s number and waited impatiently as she heard the ringing. It made her think back to last night and how much of a jerk she was to Jackie. She basically tossed her aside and shattered what little hope the small girl had. Even if Marleigh was with Kali, she could’ve gone through things differently rather than just leaving her alone in the middle of the kitchen. As much as she loved sleeping with Kali last night, something in the back of her mind kept her up. Something small and adorable. Someone that she once considered her very best friend. As Marleigh was lost in her thoughts and reminiscing about her long lost time with the small girl, Carissa’s voice snapped her out of it.
“Hey Mar, what’s up?”
“Carissa, what do you say we go get lunch together? We can surprise Kali and Jackie too.” Marleigh’s voice could not contain the levels of excitement she had. She wouldn’t have to worry about breaking Jackie’s heart even more, they could all be friends just like she wanted. It might be awkward but she was willing to talk about it with Jackie.
“What do you mean? I thought...yeah nevermind. What were you thinking?”
“How about that salad place down the street? Should be fast, be home in less than fifteen...twenty minutes max. It’ll be fun.” Marleigh said as she waved goodbye to the last bit of passengers down at her shoes.
“Hey, have you figured out what you’re gonna tell Jackie yet?” Carissa asked as she stepped outside the building and saw Marleigh nearby who hung up as they met up. “You can’t half ass this. She’s hurting and I don’t wanna see her hurt even more than she already is.”
“I have, but it’s hard to come up with something that can make her feel better about this. How can I say I’m sorry for trying to eat her and for moving on afterwards? It’s not something they make apology cards for, Carissa.” Marleigh sighed as they started heading towards the restaurant. “I feel like she just….hates me.”
“Marleigh, you can’t think like that. Here.” Carissa paused on the sidewalk as she gently grabbed hold of her friend's shoulder. “Why don’t we head home now and you can talk to Jackie? It might wake her up but she might need the somewhat good news of seeing you again. Just promise me you two won’t have another fight. Ok?”
“Yeah, sounds like a plan.”
Jackie, on the other hand, was fighting for her life against Kali. She managed to crawl a bit away without the psychopath noticing her slip away. Her goal was the couch where she could take a real break as well as maybe take this time to formulate an actual plan instead of just winging it. The ultimate goal for Jackie was the door. Maybe then she would have enough strength to not only run away from Kali but to also find someone, anyone to help her with finding Marleigh. That was the plan until Kali finally addressed her micro victim in the most degrading way she could possibly think of.
“Oh? I’m surprised you didn’t get farther. Guess your kind secretly wants to be tortured by people like me. You poor, wretched thing. You don’t even deserve to live in the same world let alone the same apartment as my Marleigh.” Kali once more grabbed hold of Jackie’s body which only resulted in a slight scream from the miniscule girl as she brought high up to meet Kali’s face once again. “These are your last moments little Jackie, don’t go out tired. Or do, I can’t decide what’s more exciting yet. You can try and run away from me all you want but no one, nothing is going to help you. Not anymore.” Kali then brought Jackie where she wanted her to end up and exactly where she planned on sending her.
Her heavily used running shoes that also seemed to double as her work uniform.
Kali positioned Jackie directly over the mouth of the formerly pure red shoe, showing obvious signs of both trash as well as sweat from Kali’s time as a server. Jackie’s nostrils were instantly confronted with the near toxic and noxious gases emanating from the shoe she was directly over. Even as someone who enjoyed feet and the way they both looked and smelled, Kali’s was just too much for her to take. Covering both her nose and mouth with her hand, she felt somewhat safe away from the stench of rotting fabric along with dried out sweat. Still, some of it managed to find its way around Jackie’s nose which instantly burned every inch of skin it touched. Tears ran down Jackie’s face as her chest was now burning and starved of air. She tried her best but suffocating was not her favorite way to go. The burning sensation of lack of air was gonna knock her and that did seem like the perfect thing for her, with her out of it, Kali could do whatever she wanted with her. Finally, she released her hands and reluctantly took a deep breath in and was hit with the full force of Kali’s stench. Jackie gagged heavily said she coughed and heaved the smell she was forced to be surrounded by.
All the while, Kali was enjoying torturing the small girl. “Breathe it in you little foot lover. Take it all in.” Kali giggled away to herself as she lowered Jackie deeper into her shoe while still holding onto her. “What? I thought you liked feet? Certainly liked Marleigh’s. What about mine?” Kali was just about to drop the small girl deep into the shoe until she thought of something much better she could do to her. Even though forcing the small girl to inhale every once of her stench around the shoes was diabolical in and of itself, there was so much more she could do to the girl before she ended up as a stain under her shoe. Kali’s evil smile widened a bit as she watched the small girl continue to struggle against the smell. A small, pathetic girl that really thought she had a chance to get with Marleigh again.
As much torture and pain Kali threw at the small girl, there was one thing not even Jackie could control about herself and that was the fact she loved feet. Her body just saw or interacted with them and she’d ‘burst’ and although she could keep it together for sometime and avoid the embarrassment, inhaling the air around Kali’s shoes didn’t help one bit. No matter how much she tried to hold the ‘release’ in, it was coming no matter how much she tried. Warm, thick red blood came out from her nose as she struggled to hide it from Kali but it was too late. She’d already seen what was happening to her tiny captive and was thoroughly enjoying it.
“Oh my gosh, I know what that is. Read about that in science class in middle school. You only get these when you’re turned on about something.” Kali’s voice was condescending as Jackie began to cry as this was only supposed to be revealed to lovers like Marleigh and select other people. Kali laughed tremendously as the humiliated Jackie tried to cover her face in shame.
“If you want to kill me, just get it over with you monster. No need to bully me anymore than you already have.” Jackie was lifted up from the mouth of the shoe as she got a first hand look at Kali’s face which seemed happy to see the small girl begging for death. She brought up to view Kali's large and expansive mouth and she assumed Marleigh had told her what happened and why they broke up in the first place. Marleigh almost swallowed her, and now she was going to finish it. Kali opened her lips and let the small girl see the terrible monster that dwelled inside her mouth that was the tongue along with the thirty plus teeth that could and would chew Jackie into nothing but paste. Jackie was just ready for this torture to end and knew she wasn’t going to see Marleigh again after Kali was done with her. As much as she wanted to say she was lying when she said that Marleigh and Carissa wouldn’t question Kali after she pops out of existence, she wasn’t. She could lie and say it was indeed an accident that Jackie died. They’d get closer and no one would say otherwise, like her executioner said.
“Has the little gnat already given up? I figured you would’ve had more fight left in you. Figures as much. Well, I’d hate to keep you waiting then. Any last words I should tell Marleigh?” Kali brought Jackie up to her eyes to look at the small girl and see how much she’d broken her. Bruises and small cuts riddled the small girl's body as Kali hung her by her arms with blood from her ‘bursting’ covering her entire face which just made it extra juicy for Kali. “Well come on. Won’t get another chance to say it.”
Jackie chose her words carefully as she stared deep into the eyes of her killer. All she wanted was to get back with Marleigh and after that failed, leave this apartment since there was nothing for her anymore. But Kali had to make it difficult. The pissed off, sleep deprived and jealous Jackie hadn’t thought about her last words before this but now, she’d picked the best words that would solidify her defiance against Kali. She knew the words she picked would only piss her off more than anything but Jackie knew her life was almost up anyway. She grinned and prepared her words carefully as she collected some spit in her mouth in final preparations for her last words.
“Fuck you, bitch. You’re nothing but a whore that Marleigh never loved. A sorry replacement for the real thing.” Jackie spoke as she delivered the long deserved middle finger to Kali as she also spit onto Kali’s face, instantly pissing her off even more as she bent down as she set Jackie on the floor as she continued to look into her eyes.
“Defiant to the end. Hate that, not gonna lie. But at least you’ll be gone in the next minute. I won’t have to deal with you or Marleigh even mentioning you ever again. I can say you ran off, said you never want to be here again. After I clean up the mess you’ll make on my floor.” Jackie watched as Kali slid on the red running shoes she was just forced to smell a few moments ago. Jackie wasn’t happy to die. There were so many things she’d never get the opportunity to do. Ask for forgiveness from her family, go see the freed micro monument in Chicago, or travel the world. Now? She was going to nothing more than simple bug splatter under Kali. Her last moments would be ones of defiance and anger. Jackie was always taught a micro should go out with dignity. Now, she was just going to be snuffed out by a jealous girlfriend that wanted nothing more than her death. There was no dignity in this which just shattered the small girl’s spirit even more. There was no hope for her. She tried to beg, to plead and ask to leave peacefully but Kali trapped her here and was just about to execute her.
Kali raised her running shoe high into the sky before giving Jackie her final goodbye. “Isn’t it so sad, the last person to see you before you get turned into mush doesn’t give a shit about how you end up...you’re just another bug crushed on the soles of my shoes, now…” Kali spoke with such hatred and disgust as she was to drop her shoe onto the small girl with forces that would rival a god, forces that would instantly crush the pest flat. “Hope you had your fun, you nuisance. Cause this is gonna be your las-”
“KALI!!” Marleigh yelled as she busted in through the door as she ran over in a flash to push the would-be murderer down on her side, gently grabbing hold of the small girl and protected her from harm by bringing Jackie close to her chest. “You better have a damn good reason why you were about to step on her! My friend.” Marleigh said as she passed Jackie over to Carissa who watched Kali with blood red eyes as anger and aggression filled both their bodies as Kali just sat there and watched the once sweet Marleigh turn on her.
“Marleigh, please. It was nothing more than a joke.” Kali got up and tried to laugh and play it off as a joke but Marleigh was obviously not anyone’s sucker. “We were just playing. Honestly.”
“I heard what you said, Kali! Another bug crushed under your dirty shoes?!” Marleigh wanted to break down crying but didn’t want to give Kali any reason to come any closer to her. “She’s my friend and she’s not to be harmed. I don’t care if it was a joke or not. Jackie, will not get hurt. Now, you. Out. Get out!”
“It’s ok, Jackie. We’re here now.” Carissa whispered into Jackie’s ear as she began to cry as she was set down on her bed. “Poor girl, we’ll get you all fixed up. Everything is gonna be alright. Ok?”
Jackie just remained quiet. Mere moments ago, she was set to be gone, killed by the tremendous Kali’s shoe. There was nothing but fear and anxiety as she slowly began to return to her normal self. “Ok…”
“Don’t worry about Kali, we’ll take care of her. You won’t see her ever again. Not, after today. You’re fine now, Jackie.” Carissa brushed Jackie’s hair as she saw Jackie just stare off into nowhere. Carissa gently brushed Jackie’s hair out of her face and tried to make her feel better. “Our brave little girl. You’re safe now. Marleigh and I are here for you.” Carissa was about to head out to help Marleigh with Kali until Jackie finally spoke more than a single word to her.
“Is that a VR machine?” Jackie asked as she looked at it intensely. A way to escape this horrible world.
“Yeah, if it helps you, you can use it if you’d like.” Carissa then turned around as she heard more yelling as the now former lovers began to argue. “We’ll be here for you, Jackie. You’re gonna be fine.