“Oh, my poor little Andrew,” Natalie sighed condescendingly, “how are you doing?”

“I-, I am shrunk!” Andrew said, befuddled. “How do you THINK I’m doing?”

Sitting in the palm of his giant wife’s hand, he viewed her in a way he never could have imagined. She was absolutely colossal compared to him. Her face dominated the sky above him.

“Was it scary?” Aubreigh asked, popping out from behind her mom.

“Yeah, terrifying actually,” her tiny dad responded, “I’m just lucky that Lindsey was there. She found me and kept me safe until you guys got home.”

“And that’s where this new little house came from?” Aubreigh asked.

“Yeah,” Andrew said, looking behind his wife’s giant hand, “this is the new prototype I was telling the twins about before you guys left on your trip.” He looked back up at his wife’s scowling face. “You know, after you stomped on the old one?

“Yeah… I’m sorry about that… again,” Natalie said, frowning, “but, who is Lindsey now?”

“My, -uh, secretary?” Andrew replied.

“Why didn’t I know about her?” Natalie asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I don’t know, she’s only worked for me for a couple months,” Andrew shrugged and waved his hands, “I guess I forgot to mention her.”

“Forgot?” Natalie sneered. “How convenient. And she’s been in our bedroom? Here with you? Getting you all set up in your new little house and everything?”

Noticing the tension rising, Aubreigh reached up and opened her palm, revealing Thomas to his now shrunken father.

“Look who wants to say ‘hello’ dad!” Aubreigh said, smiling nervously.

“Son?” Andrew said, looking over at his giant daughter’s hand. “You look like you’ve been through hell...”

“You have no idea…,” the tiny boy in Aubreigh’s hand sputtered. Aubreigh pulled back her hand and slowly closed her fingers over her brother, trapping him in the warm soft palm of her fist.

“Oooookkkaaaay,” Aubreigh laughed nervously, “that’s enough from you, Thomas.”

“Is he okay?” Andrew asked.

“Back on track, mister,” Natalie scolded him.

“Right…,” Andrew said, noticing the change in his wife’s demeanor. It made him a little uncomfortable. “What now?”

“Lindsey?” Natalie raised her eyebrows and tapped her foot impatiently.

“Mom, that doesn't matter. Dad shrinking is our issue now. We have to figure out how to take care of him and the twins,” Aubreigh said, smiling down at her father.

“Hmm…,” Natalie curled her lips.

“Listen, honey,” Andrew said, hesitantly looking back up at his wife, “I really think me and the kids should move out. We shouldn’t be a burden on you, or Aubreigh,” he said looking over at his giant daughter’s anxious face.

“And move where, exactly?” Natalie asked, smugly pursing her lips.

“Uh, there’s something else I have to tell you, honey…,” Andrew chuckled nervously.

“And what’s that, dear?” Natalie raised her eyebrows, frowning at the little man in her hand.

“Uhh…,” Andrew sheepishly smiled. “I sold a tiny portion of the company.”

Andrew saw a flame rage in his wife’s face that he’d never seen before.

“You… WHAT?!” she fumed.

“Only a portion!” he called as his wife’s fingers tightly curled around him, making it difficult to breathe.

“Oh boy…,” Aubreigh said.

“What do you mean ‘only a portion’?!” she scoffed.

“Honey…,” Andrew gasped, “I can’t breathe.”

“Mom, I think you’re hurting dad,” Aubreigh said with a concerned look.

Natalie shot a glare at her daughter that Aubreigh had only seen a handful of times.

“You know, I think I’m going to wait in the downstairs living room,” Aubreigh said, biting her lip and skittishly exiting her parents’ bedroom.

Natalie looked back at her shrunken husband, who was turning blue from being crushed in her hand.

“What gives you the right to do that?” she sneered. “I thought we were a team! I supported you every step of the way!”

“Honey…,” he gasped. “I can’t breathe…,”

Natalie came to her senses just enough to release her grip. Andrew collapsed into her palm and sucked in as much fresh air as he could.

“Why would you sell our company, Andrew?” she sternly asked again.

“Because it’s MY company, Nat!” he coughed, starting to get irritated with his wife, “I can do what I want with it.”

“Uh, no. You don’t get to make decisions as a ‘tiny’, Andrew,” Natalie scolded him. “Look at you, you can’t take care of yourself, at all. You can’t be a husband or a father like you used to be, so you don’t get a say in what happens with our family or the company.”

“I’ve already sold it! I can’t take it back now!” he said, cowering in the piercing stare of his wife’s giant eyes.

“How much did you get?” she spat.

“Is that all you care about?” Andrew quipped. “The money?”

“How much!” she spat again, clenching her teeth.

“I sold it to Marley Nano Tech, for 1 million plus stock options.”

“You sold it to our competitor?” Natalie asked, confused. “Aren’t they the ones that create tiny towns and communities for tinies to live in? Wasn’t that what YOU were trying to do?”

“Well yes… and no… you see, honey, Beaumont Industries will focus on the integration aspect; making and selling utilities to convert and merge schools and business to accommodate both tinies and regular people alike, whereas Marley Nano Tech will focus exclusively on tiny communities built completely for them… no regular sized people stuff at all. It was part of the deal.

“So, it’s like a merger? With them doing segregation and us doing integration?” Natalie asked, raising her eyebrows, trying to understand.

“Well… I wouldn’t word it that way… but yeah, kind of,” he nodded. “They were so far ahead of us in that field anyways… it seemed pointless to keep working at it. We turned over all our research and the deal was done.”

“So we still own the majority portion of the company?” Natalie asked. “Okay, well that’s not so bad.”

“Yeah, 51%, well, I do…,” Andrew quietly corrected her. “And so, back to my point, I was thinking that me and the kids could move into one of the Marley communities. That was also part of the deal we made, me and the kids can live there rent free. And then that way you and Aubreigh wouldn’t be overwhelmed with taking care of us.”

“Oh Andrew,” Natalie gasped, “absolutely not! Don’t be ridiculous! You can live right here in this house with us!”

“But…,” Andrew stuttered, “this house isn’t equipped for tinies. We only have the new prototype but that isn’t sustainable for 3 people to live indefinitely in.”

“Oh, it’s plenty,” Natalie said dismissively.

“But Natalie, you always talked about wanting the twins to move out. You said you didn’t want to be burdened with taking care of them for the rest of your life.”

“So?” Natalie scoffed.

“So…,” Andrew said, “I knew that you felt that way and so I took steps to make sure you wouldn’t have to take care of us at all. Why aren’t you happy about that?”

“I don’t know, I guess I’ve just changed. Besides, I would never get to see you or talk to you, I would miss you. Besides, this way, you can always be with me,” Natalie said smiling.

“Maybe that’s not such a good idea, dear,” Andrew laughed.

“Why not?” Natalie asked, hurt at the assertion, and offended by her husband’s laugh.

“Well, for starters, you almost crushed me in your hand when you misunderstood about me selling a portion of the company. I’d hate to see what would happen if you were actually angry!” Andrew laughed again, irritating his giant wife even more so. “Besides, remember what you did to all those tinies when you were younger? I just don’t think it’s a good idea, that's all.”

Andrew laughed nervously but Natalie was not laughing.

“You really think I would hurt you?” she asked with a scowl.

“Honey…,” Andrew cocked his head in confusion, “you just told me that I don’t get to make decisions over my life anymore because I’m a ‘tiny’ now. You just seem a little too… um… controlling and bossy. I just don’t think it will be good for us to stay here.”

‘You’d better start treading carefully, Andrew,” Natalie said. “Now, no more of this talk about moving into a Marley community. I just simply will not have it.”

“Now hold on a minute,” Andrew said. “Nat, you can’t seriously just tell me no. I’m an adult, I can do what I want.”

“I can too tell you what to do!” Natalie sneered.

“Why are you acting like this?” Andrew asked, getting mad.

“Like what?” Natalie scoffed. “Controlling? Bossy? Were those the words you used, Andrew?”

“I just meant-,” he sighed.

“Yeah, I am bossy Andrew,” Natalie smiled, baring her teeth in a grin that stretched ear to ear. “You are a tiny speck of a man now, less than an inch tall in the palm of my hand. I can make you do whatever I want, and you would do well to be obedient to me.”

“‘Do well to be obedient?’” Andrew repeated in disbelief. “Honey, do you hear yourself? You’re being awful! Please stop it!” Andrew said, nearly on the verge of tears.

“I’m awful? Really, Andrew? Do you want to see awful?” she scoffed with a smirk. “I don’t think you realize how good you have it with me. So let me show you just how awful I can make things for you.”

True to her nature, Natalie reached down and pulled a shoe off her foot. She held it up before her husband.

“Nat?” he gulped nervously from the palm of her hand and looked up to see her grinning face.

“How about you spend some time in here?” she smiled with satisfaction.

She pinched her tiny husband between her fingers and dangled him over the opening.

“But I love you, Natalie!” he called up to her.

“Aww, I love you too, Andrew,” she smiled softly at him. “Maybe this will teach you some appreciation for what you have.” She dropped him and let him land, rather harshly, on her insole. “Just count yourself lucky that I don’t make THIS your new home instead of that stupid prototype!”

Andrew landed on the insole in a panic. The inside of his wife’s shoe was hot and didn’t smell great either; she had been wearing it all day on the drive home, after all. Natalie set her shoe down on the floor by their bed and Andrew rolled around as the shoe moved back and forth.

“Now, behave yourself and I’ll be back for you after a while, honey,” she said walking away, “I love you!”

Andrew put his face into his hands as he heard and felt the rumbling booms of his wife’s footsteps walk away. Natalie stepped outside her bedroom door and closed it when she felt something wiggling under her toes that distracted her. She lifted her foot and saw Brian’s tiny body squished into the sweaty creases of her sock under her toes.

“Oh my goodness,” Natalie over-dramatically said. “I completely forgot about you, little one! I’m kind of surprised you’re still alive actually.” She reached down and grabbed the tiny boy and brought him to her face. He had a very bad bloody nose and looked like he was about to pass out. “Looks like you’ve been through hell…,” she laughed softly.

“Please…,” Brian coughed, “some water…”

“Fine,” Natalie chuckled gently, "I guess you deserve that, at least. Then I'll put you back with the others." She curled her fingers around him, wrapping him in her warm soft fist.

---

Aubreigh was downstairs. She had brought in all the luggage from the SUV, carefully making sure that she ignored the tinies in the tank and brought them in last. She slammed them down on the floor next to the other things that needed to be put away. Aubreigh smirked when she heard them yelp from the sudden drop. But internally, she winced a tiny bit, checking out of the corner of her eyes to make sure they were okay.

“Well, maybe now you’ll learn your lesson and listen to us,” Aubreigh said, not making direct eye contact with them. “And maybe even to forgive.” She stood up and looked down at them with her hands on her hips. Her sandaled feet were right before them, separated only by a sheet of plexiglass. The tinies were even too afraid to talk back to Aubreigh now, they just simply nodded their heads somberly. Aubreigh felt a little guilty that she made them feel that way, but she was still so hurt and angry with them that she kept up her tough appearance.

In fact, even Aubreigh thought she was becoming soft again. She had already washed off Thomas and Ben and put them back with the others… but she still wanted them to know that she was angry with them.

“Well, I have to go take a shower, I stink,” Aubreigh said casually. “And maybe afterwards I can have some of you dear friends of mine touch up my pedicure.” She smirked, but got little to no response from them. “Come on,” the giant teenager said, kicking the glass with her toes, “you guys act like you’re depressed or something.”

“Wouldn’t you be?” one of them squeaked meekly.

“Uh, no…,” Aubreigh said, shaking her head in disgust, “why would I be?”

“Really Aubreigh?” another tiny voice said. “You really wouldn’t be depressed if you shrank, and your life revolved around being tortured by your mom and sister? You wouldn’t care if you lived in fear of their feet? You really truly honestly believe that?”

“Ha!” Aubreigh scoffed and wiggled her toes. “You... ‘fear’ my feet?” Aubreigh laughed again and scrunched her eyebrows, “that must have been you that said that, little bro, wasn’t it!” She smiled a big toothy grin as she looked down at the 7 tiny people in the tank. “Typical Thomas…, always being overdramatic. Hey, I got an idea! Why don’t you guys tell me what you think?”

“What…,” they collectively sighed looking up at Aubreigh as she lifted her giant barefoot over them.

“Uh-oh, there’s nowhere to run, I guess,” Aubreigh laughed mockingly with a snarky grin, lowering her soft smooth sole over them.

“Aubreigh…,” Nate called out nervously as a shadow fell over them, “what are you doing?”

“Getting your opinion! Duh,” she said rolling her eyes, “I literally just said that!”

“But what are you-,”

“Stop doing-,”

“You’re insane if-,”

“Don’t do-,”

All the little voices from within the tank called up to Aubreigh as she lowered her foot among them. Her foot settled in the center and the tinies had managed to get out of the way, moving to the edges of the glorified fish tank.

“Huh,” Aubreigh giggled, “maybe there is room to run, I guess.” She flexed her toes up and down as the confused and terrified tinies kept their eyes on her foot. They were unsure of what she was going to do.

“Jesus Aubreigh!” Sophia said. “Your feet stink!”

“What’s that?” Aubreigh laughed and wiggled her toes more. “Does my foot smell that bad guys?”

The little people didn’t even try to humor the gigantic teenager. They all nodded and shouted in agreement, some even coughing from the powerful smell. Aubreigh scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Oh my god,” she sneered, “you guys are just as dramatic as my idiot brother. So what, my feet smell a little, big deal.” She inched her toes closer to Sophia who was pressing herself as close up against the glass as she possibly could. “You know Sophia,” Aubreigh said raising her toes, “I’m surprised and hurt by you abandoning me the most. I mean, honestly, I was there for you when your parents died!”

“I-, I know that Aubreigh!” Sophia whimpered as the giant teenager’s toes hovered over her. “I really was glad to have you as a friend… but the way you’re acting and treating us now is just not right!”

“Do you ever just think about how much easier your life would be if you were dead too?” Aubreigh asked. “I mean, just think about not having to worry about giants… or living in assisted living for abandoned tinies like you do…”

“What are you saying?” Sophia trembled.

“Nothing at all!” Aubreigh smirked and set her foot back down, narrowly avoiding the tiny girl with her toes.

“Aubreigh!” Thomas yelled. “Get out of here!”

“You can just fuck right off!” Carmen yelled up to the colossal teenager.

As the others started chiming in similar threats and curses, Aubreigh nodded and waved her hand.

“Alright, alright,” she said, “I’m done now. I’m only teasing you guys, settle down and relax. I’ve got to go shower,” she withdrew her foot from the tank, “as you guys know all too well, I stink really bad.” Aubreigh turned and started to walk away. “Just stay where you are and I’ll be back later, just stay in your tank for now.”

She flipped off the lights and left the tinies in the dark of the room.

---

Aubreigh wrestled with her thoughts and feelings as she showered. As the water cascaded off her body, she thought about how her relationship with her friends had changed so drastically and so quickly too. A few days ago she would have never thought about taunting any of the tinies with her feet. Especially not Sophia, whom Aubreigh felt extra bad for her ever since her parents were killed. And did she just really joke about killing her? She felt a pang in her heart as she thought about what she said. She also cringed at the hurtful things the tinies said to her… but admittedly, it was only because she was being mean to them. She felt guilty as she thought more and more about her actions towards them. She examined her anger a little more closely. Could she really blame them? Wouldn’t she feel the same way if she were in their position? Maybe she really would be depressed if she were tiny.

Aubreigh got choked up as she couldn’t stop thinking about her tiny friends.

What had she done?

---

Natalie Beaumont walked into the dark room that contained the tinie’s tank. She was carrying Brian in her fingers and came over to them.

“I believe this young man belongs in here with the rest of you little bugs,” she said as she set him down in the tank. “Now, it’s getting late and I’m going to get ready for bed. Me and Aubreigh will figure out what to do with you guys in the morning.” The 8 tinies in the tank watched in silence as Natalie walked away, each of her footsteps rumbling the ground.

“What the fuck is going on!?” Brian started shouting. Kelly and her mom ran to his side in an embrace.

“Where were you?” Ben asked, but somewhat terrified to find out.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he exclaimed. “How are we going to get away from that giant woman?”

“You mean like, escape?” Carmen asked.

“Yes!” Brian coughed.

“We can’t escape, that’s impossible,” Nate replied.

“You want to stay here with that giant demoness of a woman?” Brian raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“No, I mean, there’s no way to do that,” Nate clarified. “If there were a way out, I’d be the first one out! Trust me!”

“Where would we even go?” Julia asked.

“I heard her talking,” Brian sputtered, “I heard her talking to her husband about a tiny city community. He wanted to move there but she said no.”

“I’ve heard of those!” Chloe chimed in.

“Wait, why did she say no?” Thomas asked.

“I have no idea, she just said no,” Brian answered, “her husband didn’t really have much of a say and she told him that.”

“We have to get to him,” Julia said.

“We are NOT risking OUR lives to save YOUR dad,” Carmen spat apathetically.

“No, listen!” Thomas said. “Once we get our dad, then he can take us to the tiny community he was talking about! He’s our ticket out of this mess!”

“I hate to say it,” Nate added, “but I think I agree with that.”

“That’s insane!” Carmen said.

“What do you want to do?” Nate shrugged. “Wait here and see what ever Aubreigh and her demented mother have planned for us? Who knows what that is! Probably has a lot to do with their feet, but I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not waiting around to find out!”

There was some murmuring as the tinies talked amongst themselves. Then the floor began to rumble and shake. The darkened figure of Aubreigh Beaumont appeared in the doorway and flipped on the lights.

“Hey…,” she said softly as she approached them. “Hey guys, I just wanted to say I’m sorry about earlier… and um, everything actually. I’m just sorry about it all,” Aubreigh said with a somber face. “Yeah that’s it I guess, I don’t know what to say or do. I’m just sorry. That isn’t right or fair of me to be the way I’ve been to you. You don’t need to say anything… I just want to maybe start over… again… in the morning.”

“Where’s dad?” Julia asked.

“He’s with mom, why?” Aubreigh asked.

“We want to move out, to a tiny community,” Thomas said.

Aubreigh looked genuinely shocked.

“What? Why?” Aubreigh asked. “We can take really good care of you here.”

“Yeah…,” Nate scoffed, “we see how well you guys ‘take care’ of us.”

“No guys,” Aubreigh said, “I’m serious, I’ll make it nice for you guys here.”

“We can’t stay here!” Nate added. “We have lives, we start college this fall! We can’t do that here…”

“I understand that,” Aubreigh said. “Let’s work that out in the morning. I think everybody has had a long day. Let’s just get some rest and talk about this in the morning.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Chloe said. “Aren’t you going to take us home?”

“Well,” Aubreigh sighed, “we are home a few days early, so you’re not expected home for a few days still. That gives us enough time to figure things out.”

“Aubreigh…,” Chloe sighed.

“Here, let me get out your guys’ little sleeping bags that got packed up on the way home,” Aubreigh reached in a duffle bag that she used to keep all the tinies belongings. She dropped in tons of miniature pillows and bedding, something they had been deprived of all day. Still, it didn’t change their opinion of her. “There, why don’t you guys get comfortable, get a good night's rest, and let’s talk in the morning okay?” Aubreigh stood up and gave a hesitant, “Um…, I love you guys,” which fell flat. Nobody responded. She just bit her lip and nodded in defeat.

She just turned around and left, feeling embarrassed and guilty. She flicked off the lights and left with minimal fanfare.

“There’s no way I’m staying here!” Nate said, losing his mind.

“Yeah, who knows what those two would do to us if we lived here…,” Carmen sighed.

“Thank god Aubreigh forgot about having us freshen up her pedicure,” Kelly said with relief.

“Yeah, she seemed odd tonight,” Julia said.

“No more than usual,” Carmen shook her head.

“Okay…, so how do we get out of this thing?” Thomas asked.

“Let’s tie our bedding together, throw it over and see if we can climb out that way,” Nate suggested.

“That’s just stupid enough to work,” Thomas smiled.

“Hey, I’m open for other suggestions,” Nate said looking around at the others.

“No, that’s good! Let’s start tying those ends together!”

---

Natalie Beaumont was on the other end of the house, in her bathroom, getting ready for bed. She hadn’t seen her husband since she stuck him in her shoe. But all the tension was building inside of her. She needed a release.

Andrew, meanwhile, was still sitting in his wife’s gigantic shoe. His back was against the back of the heel and was holding his knees to his face. He was feeling a mixture of depression and anger as he wondered how his life had come to this. He could not believe that he was less than an inch tall, stuck in a giant shoe, breathing in the aroma of his wife’s feet.

He heard a booming sound in the distance that caught his attention. He stood up and looked out the opening of the shoe, trying to see something, anything. Then, with accompanying thunderous footsteps, his wife came into view. She was smiling down at him wickedly. He hated to admit it, but she looked stunning. Natalie winked and flashed a sexy smile. She bent over and gently grabbed her shoe. Even though she was being slow and gentle from her perspective, it was enough to cause Andrew to fall over. “Oops! Got to be careful, Andrew,” she said, giggling out loud as her tiny husband tumbled over. Andrew felt like he was on the Tower of Terror as his stomach lurched from the movement.

“Come on out here with me, my little man,” Natalie smirked, tipping her shoe as slowly as she could. Her tiny husband gently rolled out onto the soft warm pad of her waiting palm. He caught his bearings and looked around at his wife’s skin that formed a vast surface stretching in every direction under him. The level of detail he could see in the lines and prints of her palm was amazing. He looked up and was even more mesmerized by Natalie’s gigantic face looming over him. Her dreamy eyes gazing upon him made his heart flutter. Her soft lips, curling into a smile, melted him completely. Andrew was simultaneously terrified and completely immersed in his wife’s beauty. “Take off your clothes,” she whispered with her eyes closed, breathing on him slightly.

“But, I mean, I can’t do anything at this size!” he said.

“Oh of course you can,” Natalie said in a sultry tone. “Aren't you still a man? Isn't that what you said? How about you prove it.” She laid back on their bed and placed her tiny husband between her legs. She pulled down her panties and revealed her dripping wet pussy to him. Andrew’s eyes were huge with fear and anxiety at the sight before him. The smell of his wife’s gigantic wet lips whipped him into a frenzy. He ran up to her vagina but couldn’t quite pull himself up, all the while, drops of Natalie’s sex juices kept dribbling on him, coating him in the thick gooey substance. She reached down and grabbed him and held him before the entrance of her lips. Andrew was planning his next move when he found himself being plunged inside of her and immediately enveloped by the fleshy walls.

“Oh fuck yes,” Natalie moaned as she massaged herself while her tiny husband squirmed around inside of her like he was at some sort of amusement park.

“Oh my god,” he moaned as he humped aimlessly into the thick walls of his wife’s vagina. It only took a minute before he came. It was one of the most powerful feelings he’d ever experienced in his life. He’s never had an orgasm that strong or forceful before. He was completely spent and wiped out.

“Uh-uh, just a few more pumps Andrew,” Natalie called down.

She lazily pushed Andrew inside of her again, letting him wiggle out so she could enjoy the sensation of feeling him work his way out. He was exhausted, but Natalie kind of liked this game that she was playing with him. He had barely caught a breath of air before her massive fingers pushed him back inside of her. Once more, he writhed and squirmed back out to fresh air. He could hear the panting and moaning of his giant wife getting faster and more intense. For a third time, Natalie’s colossal fingers shoved Andrew inside, yet again. He was getting tired, but still, he put forth his best effort to wriggle and writhe his way out. This time however, Natalie’s walls closed in on him and crushed him tight, suffocating him as her vagina pulsed with a powerful orgasm of her own. Soon, he found himself expelled and squirted onto her waiting fingers as they were gently massaging her labia as she rode the wave of her orgasm. Around and around he was squished into her lips and juices. He gasped, laying on his wife’s fingers. She lifted him to her face and smiled.

“You’re all wet,” she laughed before popping him in her mouth and sucking the juices off his tiny body. She spat him back out onto her palm and looked at him with a tired but satisfied smile. “Still want to move out?” she asked calmly.

“Not at all,” Andrew sighed.

“Now remember honey, the twins will probably want to move out, but it’s your job to convince them not to. Okay?”

“Yeah…, uh, okay,” Andrew replied.

“Can I count on you, my little man?” she cooed.

“Yes, of course honey,” Andrew said.

“Now it’s too dangerous for you to sleep in the big bed with me. Why don’t I put you with the others, okay?”

“Why don’t you just put me in the MiniHouse? There’s plumbing and I can shower and everything else,” Andrew objected.

“Hmm, alright, maybe I should grab the twins too, they’re probably worried about you. The sooner they see you and get to talk to you, the better.”

“Why would they be worried about me?” Andrew asked.

“Oh,” Natalie laughed, “no reason!” She set Andrew down at the little MiniHouse. “Let me go get them, I’ll be right back, you get cleaned up, I don’t want them seeing you like that.”

Natalie set her hand down on the dresser where the MiniHouse was located and let her tiny husband hop off her fingers. Just before going into the front door he turned around to watch her walk away.

---

“It’s so dark, I can’t see a thing!” one of the tinies said.

“I know our house backwards and forwards,” Thomas said as the tiny group of 8 tiny people trekked across the floor of the Beaumont home. “Trust me, we’ll be fine! We just need to get to our cell phones.”

They came upon the duffle bag that Aubreigh kept their supplies in. Thomas and Nate dove inside and quickly found the miniature phones that belonged to them.

“Hurry! Call for help!” Chloe whisper yelled.

“Fuck!” Nate yelled. “The phones are dead, all of them!”

“Jesus…,” one of the others said.

“What do we do now?” Brian asked.

“Can we go to your sister? Maybe she’ll help us? It seemed like she was sorry,” Kelly added.

“You heard her,” Thomas said, jumping down form the duffle bag, “she wants to keep up here.”

“What plan is there now?” Sophia asked.

“I can’t just sit in that god damned tank and wait for Natalie or Aubreigh to decide what to do with us…”

“What about that register that takes us to dad’s office?” Julia asked.

“You’re right!” Thomas said excitedly. ‘It’s on the same floor and he always has tiny gadgets laying around. I bet there’s a phone in there we can use!”

“Well, which way?!” one of the others said, feeling hopeful for the first time in forever.

“This way,” Thomas yelled, leading the way toward a doorway. “It’s just past the kitchen and down the hall.”

The hardwood floor of the dining room they were in made it easy to travel, but they were still incredibly small, so even trekking to the kitchen was exhausting. They made sure to stay against the baseboards all the way through the kitchen and into the hallway as well.

“Damn, the door is closed with that stupid piece of weather stripping on the bottom. Okay, no problem, that vent right there, just past that doorway, will lead us directly into dad’s office,” Thomas said. “Come on, let’s cross over to the other side!” he directed.

In an ill-fated case of the worst possible timing ever, the tinies felt the floor rumble and begin to quake as they were in the middle of the floor. It was dark, but they could still see the silhouetted figure of one of the giants coming into view. The floor boomed as the giant took another step.

BOOM!

“Fuck!” Thomas yelled. “Back to the baseboards! Get to the edges!”

They weren’t fast enough and the giant took another step. There was the deafening booming sound of her slipper crashing into the floor, as well as the shaking vibration that rattled all of them. But this boom was different from every other boom. It was also accompanied by the unmistakable sickening sound of a crunch beneath the giant’s foot.

“Ew, what the fuck was that?” said the unmistakable voice of Natalie Beaumont.

She flipped on the lights and, to her surprise, saw the tiny people scurrying on the floor, trying to desperately get out of her way.

“What the hell!?” she barked. She lifted her shoe and saw someone injured that she nearly completely stepped on. “What are you people doing? And who the hell was that?” They looked around and tried to figure out who was missing but couldn’t get a clear picture of what was going on before the giantess spoke again. “You know what?” she sneered, shaking her head angrily and putting her hands on her hips. “Who cares! I can’t keep living like this, trying to watch my step every single day. I told you to stay put! You all would be safe if you had only listened!”

“Oh my god, mom,” Thomas sniffled, “we’re so sorry!”

“Thomas Beaumont!” Natalie yelled. “I have a feeling you are the ring leader of this group, aren’t you?”

Thomas just broke down and cried uncontrollably, the others were also in tears as well, knowing that someone just got injured under Natalie Beaumont’s shoe.

“Tell me, who’s idea was this?” she called down to the tines. Everyone pointed their finger at Thomas, who tearfully nodded his head in agreement. “I should have known. Well Thomas,” Natalie sighed, “you have to learn your lesson, there are consequences to your actions, and look, now someone is hurt.”

The panic-stricken faces of the 8 tinies looked in horror at the sight of the massive slipper before them. Their tiny stomachs sank and whatever meager courage they possessed had melted away. They felt completely and utterly hopeless. Just 30 seconds ago, someone had been injured under the indifferent footstep of Natalie Beaumont in the dark. 

“No, no, no!” Thomas shouted, running to the toe of his mother’s colossal shoe. He started beating on the hard rubber sole and broke into tears. “Mom , no!”

“Mom?” he heard through the haze of his tears and frustration. It was the voice of his big sister, Aubreigh, at the top of the stairs. Aubreigh started walking down the stairs in surprise.

“It was an accident, honey,” Natalie said.

“What the fuck?!” Aubreigh said as she reached the bottom of the stairs, her bare feet landing with a thud just a few inches away from the tiny people. The look of confusion on her face shifted into one of anger. “Why are you guys out of your tank? I told you to stay in there!”

“Mom just hurt someone!” Thomas blabbered.

“It was an accident, Aubreigh,” Natalie said, “it was dark, honey…, I thought they were in their tank,” the giant woman glared down at the reeling tinies, “like they were SUPPOSED to be.”

Aubreigh squatted down, "this is… this is Carmen you nearly stepped on,” she said, swallowing hard and shaking her head with a pained sigh.

“You know, if they would have just listened and stayed in their tank, none of this would have happened!” Natalie said in annoyance. Natalie reached down and took off her slippers and set her bare feet on the ground. “Sorry, I don’t want to track squashed tinies all over the house,” she said, pushing the envelope of how much her daughter, and the tinies, could take right now. Natalie held her slippers up to her face and looked in disgust at the soles.

Ben looked up at the gigantic woman. She was still so beautiful, but her cruelty had made her terrifying. He looked ahead at her feet as her bare toes wiggled in freedom from her slippers. He thought back to when he was under those very feet just a few days ago, and he had enjoyed it no less. It was one of his favorite memories of all time. How could someone so beautiful be so cruel and heartless? 

“Are you going to take care of these guys then?” Natalie asked, gesturing to the tinies by her daughter’s feet.

“Yeah,” Aubreigh said, “I’m going to put them away right now…,”

“Okay, goodnight honey, I love you,” Natalie said, looking at Aubreigh, waiting for her to respond.

“I love you too, mom,” Aubreigh said, forcing a smile back.

Natalie went up the stairs and out of sight. Aubreigh caught her breath and looked down at the huddling mass of tinies between her feet.

“Shit…” she sighed.

“Please Aubreigh…,” Thomas sobbed, “I am so sorry…,”

“Stop talking, Thomas,” Aubreigh scolded her brother as she squatted over the tinies and set her hand down. “Now, come on guys, let’s go…”

Without a word, the tinies climbed and crawled into Aubreigh’s waiting palm. At a little less than an inch tall, all 8 of the tinies could comfortably fit in her hand. The giant teen curled her fingers over them and stood back up. She walked back into the dining room where their enclosure was.

The tank was still sitting on the ground, just where she had left it. Aubreigh could see the bedding still tied together and thrown over the top where they had climbed out. She set her hand down on the large expensive dining room table and opened her hand.

“Go on,” Aubreigh said, “get out.”

The tiny people crawled out and stood on the wood surface. Aubreigh reached down and picked up the tank. She slammed it down on the table next to them. The tinies shuddered and fell backwards as the tank landed with a thundering boom. Aubreigh pointed to the makeshift rope dangling out of it.

“What the hell is this?” she asked with a scowl on her face. “Why didn’t you stay in there like you were supposed to? Where you belong!” she said, getting angrier. “I told you I could make this place nice for you and that you could enjoy living here. Why would you try to escape?”

“Aubreigh, we just wanted to move out with dad,” Thomas said. 

“Yeah?” Aubreigh asked, folding her arms. “Well, now because of you, one of my friends is hurt!”

“Aubreigh! This is just another reason that we should go live in a sanctuary city with dad! So that stuff like this doesn’t happen!”

“If you had just listened, none of this would have happened!” Aubreigh retorted. “Besides, why would you want to move out to a safe city away from me and mom?”

“Seriously?” Thomas asked, his jaw dropped in surprise. “Are you seriously asking me that question right now?”

“Ugh!” Aubreigh stomped her foot. “If you were just obedient, living here could be way better than living in one of those stupid cities. We can make this place so nice for you. And if you would just listen, LISTEN, you wouldn’t get punished or accidentally squashed.”

“How can you possibly say that us getting squashed, crushed, or fucking killed, would be our fault? Have you met your psychopath of a mom?” Nate shouted.

“Don’t start with me, Nate! This is all of your guys’ fault! Every single one of you!” Aubreigh said, slamming her fist on the table, shaking the table under the tinies. “Why would you even listen to my idiot little brother anyway? Every decision he’s made has taken you guys from bad to worse.”

“Don’t act all high and mighty, Aubreigh,” Nate yelled up at the giant teenager. “The last thing you said to Sophia was ‘imagine how nice it would be to be dead’.” Nate scoffed and shook his head. “You fucking bitch!”

“Nate, stop it, please!” Chloe said, hugging him and burying her head into his chest. She was nothing but tears.

Aubreigh looked in the bottom of the tank and saw the sweaty imprint of her foot still on the bottom. She cringed at the memory of taunting them with her foot. But Aubreigh gritted her teeth and suppressed her guilt.

“You know what my mom is like. You took a risk when you escaped. This isn’t her fault; this is on you guys. But we have to move on. We have to focus on making a life for you here now.”

"Our mom is a monster!"

Aubreigh shook her head. “Mom has always been there for me! She’s never not forgiven me for my mistakes. She loves me unconditionally. She’s been a better friend to me than any of you, actually.” Aubreigh paused. “I guess that’s what I get for being friends with tinies.”

“You can’t honestly believe that if you shrank, right here and now, that mom wouldn’t stuff you under her soles or torment you like she does us, do you? You really believe she would still be your ‘friend’?” Thomas asked sincerely.

“Don’t talk about our mom that way you little twerp!” Aubreigh said, flicking her brother with her fingers. “Mom was right about you; I can see that now… I don’t know how I didn’t realize that sooner. How could I have been so stupid?”

“Please, stop it Aubreigh,” Thomas coughed and spat.

“Pathetic,” Aubreigh jeered, shaking her head and flicking her little brother again with her fingers, this time he flew back a few feet. “Just five minutes ago you were tearful and apologetic. Then you get this random burst of courage and confidence from god knows where and start talking back!”

“Please?” Thomas asked tearfully. “Please stop…”

“That’s better, twerp,” Aubreigh laughed. It almost felt cathartic to inflict pain on her brother. “Your all sad and crying now, Thomas, but I wonder how long it will take until you get the courage to be stupid enough to talk back again.”

“Stop hitting our brother, Aubreigh!” Julia yelled.

“Shut up or you’ll be next!” Aubreigh said, pointing a finger at her tiny sister.

“Why are you being so cruel, Aubreigh?” Chloe asked through her tears, taking a risk, and speaking up finally.

“Because I am angry!” Aubreigh sighed. “I am angry with you guys, I'm angry with myself for how I treated you and them."

“You are angry at everyone except your mom, Aubreigh,” Chloe said. “How does that possibly make any sense in your head?"

“Sure, my mom is tough on you guys,” Aubreigh said, “but I never said she was perfect, okay?”

“Aubreigh, just because you can’t set things right with them doesn't mean that you can’t set things right with us,” Chloe said. “We’re still here with you, right her, right now.”

“I am going to set things right, Chloe,” Aubreigh said. “I’m going to make living here really nice for you guys.”

“All of us?”

Aubreigh sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, the twins for sure… but the rest of you have seen too much and could get me and my mom in trouble with the law. So I assume yeah, all of you. But I don’t know what my mom wants to do. It will probably be up to her.”

“Oh god…,” Chloe sobbed.

“All of our lives have changed now, whether we like it or not,” Aubreigh said. “We just have to accept that and prepare for some more big changes.”

“But I don’t want-,”

“Guys,” Aubreigh said. “You're going to live here with me and my mom, okay? End of discussion.”