Delphi’s Tavern was a popular, upscale restaurant in downtown Norwich. Neither Eren nor Tae had ever been, but the reviews were universally positive and making a reservation had been easy. More importantly, Tae had been assured when she called the establishment that specks were welcome by the staff. The other four places she had called before thought she was joking. 

The pleasant aroma of a grill in the backroom wafted into the lobby. Eren felt the stomach behind him rumble in anticipation. Perched on Tae’s hand against her abdomen he could see the hostess seated behind a desk, tongue protruding from between her lips as she tended to a ledger. Tae’s heels clacked against the hardwood floor, which alerted the woman to their presence. She offered a welcoming smile. 

“Good evening, are you Miss Park? I think we spoke on the phone.” The hostess asked. Tae nodded as Eren shifted around on her palm anxiously. “Right this way your table is all set.” They followed the woman through the restaurant, passing several other tables and some waiters bussing back and forth.

As they entered a more populated area, Tae’s fingers rose protectively around Eren like a shield. To a passerby, it seemed she had her hands clasped together. Nobody realized that she had a speck in tow. 

Tae and the hostess moved aside to allow an employee carrying several drinks to pass. “It’s busy…” Tae murmured. “Is our table private?” She asked.

“I made sure of it.” The hostess whispered back as she led them to the other side of the restaurant. She pulled back a curtain to reveal another dining room, although this one was almost completely empty. “Typically, we keep this room closed on weekdays, but figured you two would prefer to be out of the main hall.” 

Eren breathed an audible sigh of relief as Tae sat down. “Thank you. We really appreciate that.” He said as the woman set out their menus. One of them was downsized just for him, as were the cutlery and glasses. He sat at a miniaturized table and chair identical to the bigger ones, placed carefully on top of the table reserved for Tae.

“Hopefully one day this won’t be necessary.” The hostess lamented. “And specks won’t feel endangered just going out to eat. If there is anything either of you need let me or your server Sam know. She’s great.” With that the woman offered a bow and departed. 

“Why can’t they all be like her?” Eren mused. “Or you?” 

“I wish I knew.” Tae replied. She set her purse down and observed the room they were in. Although they were the only one’s present, the staff had spared no effort in preparing it. Candles illuminated other tables, casting the room in flickering gold light.

Most of the people who passed the archway that led to the hall from the main dining chamber were staff, but on occasion another customer walked by. Eren would have been invisible if Tae sat with her back facing the entrance, but out of habit she preferred the other side of the table. This way she had the best perception of the entire room and would see anybody come in immediately. 

Old habits. Tae thought to herself. “I never noticed that tattoo on your arm.” She mentioned as Eren removed his coat and began to roll up the sleeves of his shirt. “What is it?” 

“A scorpion.” He said, turning his forearm so she could see. It was tiny, but she could see what it represented. “I got it years ago.”

“Does it mean anything?”

“The smaller the scorpion, the more venomous the sting has to be, since their claws are not as large and powerful.” Eren explained. “Although that’s probably just a myth.” He replied with a laugh. 

She giggled. “It makes sense though. How else would they defend themselves from predators?”

“Run, I imagine.” Eren replied. His smile faded ever so slightly. Perhaps I should start thinking along those lines myself. Fighting just gets me into more trouble.

The waitress arrived carrying a few glasses of water and freshly baked bread with oil and herbs. One loaf of the starchy appetizer was approximately the size of Eren’s house. He watched in silent awe as Tae thanked the waitress and effortlessly ripped the piece of bread into smaller bits. It would have taken several specks an hour to do the same thing. 

Odd, we didn’t order this. Eren thought, but Tae didn’t seem to mind. 

Tae hummed and dipped some of the bread into the herbs before she took a bite. Her eyes rolled back in pleasure. “Oooh, that’s really good!” Eagerly she reached for another piece and placed a few tidbits into the small plate meant for Eren to pick from. “Try it in the oil.” She suggested as he ripped off a fist-sized chunk. 

It was delicious. Doughy and warm, with the slightly zesty contrast of the oil. The herbs were too chunky for him, otherwise Eren would be chewing on a giant piece of chopped parsley. Tae sipped her water to cleanse her palette. “Probably not a good idea to eat much of this. Still have to figure out what we’re ordering.”

“Weird that they give us all of this then.” 

“Pardon?” She asked, looking away from the menu. 

“All of this food. We didn’t order it or anything.” Eren said. 

“Oh that! It’s all complimentary.” Tae explained. “It’s just some bread. Gives us something to do while we wait for the waitress and makes us feel better about coming here.” 

He frowned. Complimentary? They would just give them two whole loaves of bread and some water free of charge? That didn’t seem right. And for the sole purpose of distracting customers from the slight wait as well. 

To think, specks are starving to death in the cold while restaurants can just give away free food. He thought and observed the mountain of bread in front of him. Each one could easily feed Northside long enough for the loaf to develop mold if they rationed carefully. Why is it so hard for the city or a charity to provide food for us? 

He shook his head and took a few sips of water. Stop thinking about that so much. Just enjoy her company and have fun.

“You know, you never told me much about yourself.” Eren pointed out. “Other than you don’t handle mojitos very well.” 

“Hey! Let’s see you try to drink one and see how it goes.” She chuckled. 

“Where are you from?” 

“I was born in Busan. But most of my family is from China and lives in Singapore.” Tae replied, honestly. “It’s hard to pinpoint where I’m ‘from’ if that makes any sense. I grew up in so many different places.”

“That’s incredible.” Eren breathed. “I’ve never even left Norwich unless it was for university, and we weren’t allowed to leave the speck facility.”

“I didn’t realize you went to a college.” Tae said, surprised. “What did you study?”

“Electrical engineering. Originally, I was studying architecture, until the school removed the funding for specks to take the course.” Eren said. 

“Those are both very rigorous majors.” Tae said, impressed.  A non-speck with Eren’s academic achievements would most likely earn a very high salary, considering how difficult they were, and in-demand engineers and architects were. To earn that degree Eren had to take some of the hardest available physics classes and get through high-level calculus courses. Sylvia Collins barely scraped by high school with a 2.3 weighted GPA and dropped out of college her second semester, and she has the audacity to call him a ‘pest’?! 

The waitress returned to take their order. Or rather, Tae’s order since Eren could simply share whatever she had. Both of them decided the spanakopita, a spinach-cheese pie, sounded the best. Tae also ordered a bottle of wine which would come first. There was a special on liquor, which might explain why the place was so busy.

Shortly after Sam left, the restaurant became a little busier outside. It was harder to hear Eren, but not impossible as more people entered Delphi’s for dinner. Their conversation was eventually interrupted by another customer who entered the otherwise private room.

Tae stopped mid-sentence to see a boorish young man with short brown hair and a square jaw enter. He seemed rather lost from his expression and noticed Tae glaring at him. 

“My bad miss, didn’t realize there was someone in here.” He apologized. “Me and some friends were just looking for somewhere with more room since it’s crowded.” 

She tensed up but remained polite. “That’s alright. I’m sure you can find somewhere-.”

“What? Is this room like… yours? Doesn’t have a name on it.” He cut in. Eren felt a chill run down his back. He knew that tone of voice. Not outright confrontational or aggressive. Just obtrusive and forceful enough that he knew it was an intentional challenge. A little jab. How most confrontations started when someone had already made up their mind about having their way.

“I reserved it. Yes.” Tae replied smoothly. 

The intruder narrowed his eyes but seemed to relent. Until he noticed the speck sitting on the table in front of Tae. Eren did not turn around, but felt his heart begin to beat louder in his chest as he felt the brob’s eyes on his back. Tae did not take her eyes off the stranger.

Tense silence was cast over the room, until another man emerged from behind the first. Tall guy, pretty muscular and a youthful face. Probably in his early twenties and a student at nearby Norwich University out with some friends for some early holiday celebration. “Hey Mike, can we go in here?” A pair of eyes peered from over the man’s shoulder. 

Tae kept her eyes fixated on the stranger until he responded. “Yeah, there’s plenty of space in here.” Eren heard Tae sigh audibly. 

Both men strolled into the room and took a seat at a nearby booth. The second man must have wondered why his friend and the stranger inside were so quiet until he noticed Eren sitting on the table. He wrinkled his nose.

“Oh shit, I didn’t realize bugs were allowed in here.” He said.

“Yeah. Me neither.” Mike murmured loudly. “Seems pretty gross to me. This place probably doesn’t do too well with the safety inspectors.” He said in a churlish tone.

“Both of you could leave. Would clean it right up.” Tae replied dismissively. 

Eren exhaled. By now his heart was pounding out of his chest. These two seemed familiar. Just like those two girls from the bar. Just like the men who… 

“Let’s go home Tae.” He stammered softly. She looked up almost incredulously. Her mouth opened to protest, until she noticed the fear in Eren’s eyes. It was identical to the shell-shocked expression she had when she found him first writhing in terror in bed from a nightmare. “I-I don’t feel safe.” He muttered. 

She glared daggers at the two gentlemen staring at them with wide, mocking grins. Beneath the table she felt her hand fold into a fist. I could crush both of them…

“Tae.” She heard Eren say again, his voice almost a whimper now. 

But he would see it.

Reluctantly she stood up and gathered her things, including Eren from the table. He felt cold and clammy in her hands, covered in sweat which had gone through his dress shirt.  Tae exited the room, maintaining eye contact with the first man who had entered. 

She bore his features into her mind. Wide nose. Slight stubble. Dark brown eyes. Young, early twenties. Athletic build. Mike. I’ll find you and your friend later. 

The late evening sun began to set over Norwich’s harbor. Most of the park had been abandoned, and Tae felt comfortable enough to leave Eren visible perched on her shoulder while she sat on a park bench under a tree overlooking the bay. Deep crimson sunlight reflected off the frigid waters in the distance, yachts and other boats pulled in before the sunset.

One by one the streetlamps illuminated in preparation for dusk light to vanish. Wisps of raven black hair swirled teasingly at Eren. A button on Tae’s long winter coat provided a handhold as he swayed back and forth dispassionately.

“I overreacted to those two. I’m sorry.” He muttered. Was it disappointment in himself for feeling so afraid? Or anger at not trusting Tae’s judgement? 

She shook her head, creating a luscious vortex of her hair around him. “You made the right call. I would have made a scene.” 

“They reminded me of something.”

“The girls from the bar?”

He clasped his hands together. Distantly the sun began to set over the water, shrouding the pair in darkness as night fell and the park became silent around them. “No.” Eren muttered. He thumbed at the tattoo on his forearm. “I never told you about my family.” 

Tae remained quiet. He was right. Not once had he brought them up.

“My dad hated Northside. Oftentimes he would take us out of the district to go downtown. My mother thought it was dangerous, but we never had a problem other than dirty looks.” Eren explained. “One day when I turned nine, my dad took us to a movie. It was dark by the time it finished.”

“On our way home a few brobs were behind us on the sidewalk. A few guys. Probably college students on their way home too. Mom got a bad feeling. They were really drunk but hadn’t noticed us. But we weren’t fast enough to outrun them.” He continued. “My dad felt it too. We made it to an alley, but one of them saw us and started shouting at us. My mom told me to hide under a trash bin that was there while my dad distracted them.”

Eren paused. “I couldn’t make out what they were saying. All I remember was their shoes. Five pairs. Surrounding my dad and cut off his escape as he tried to make small talk. He was terrified, I could hear it in his voice. Then one of them saw my mom after she hid me and said… something. But whatever it was, my dad raised his voice.”

“You don’t have to keep going. If it’s too hard-.” Tae said softly. 

“They killed him for it.” Eren cut in. “Started kicking his body around like a ball. Blood started going everywhere but he was still alive. My mom screamed, she ran and one of the guys picked her up.” Tears began to form in his eyes, but his voice was somehow steady. “I listened while they took turns using her. When they were done, they just… left. One of them noticed my dad crawling away so he stepped on him. It made a crunching noise. Like a-.”

Finally, he stopped. He hadn’t realized it, but Eren was now clutching one of Tae’s hairs for support instead of the button. 

It had been years since that night. Not once had he mentioned what happened. Why? Perhaps it was because nobody cared. Brobs couldn’t care less about specks most of the time. They weren’t even human to them, to care about their plight was like caring about the hardships faced by a cockroach or a maggot. Others felt more strongly. That brobs were a drain on their resources and killing them was the just thing. 

His own brethren wouldn’t have cared either. Every speck had lost people important to them. It was simply a part of being a speck. For Isaac, it had been his other two sons he lost. Accidentally trodden on by a new city employee delivering a food shipment. For Gabriel, his first wife was killed by some toddler who thought she was a toy who could be taken apart while her parents watched, thinking it was adorable. 

Had anybody ever cared? 

“...I’m sorry.” Tae murmured. “Really. I’m… I’m sorry.” She repeated. Eren wiped the tears from his face. She cared. At least one person in the world he knew cared.

Tae plucked Eren off her shoulder and squeezed him tight against her chest in a hug. He went slack, and simply enjoyed the warmth and affection she provided. It was an unfamiliar feeling to him she had first provided, and now he was addicted. 

He’s been through so much. Tae thought to herself. I wonder how many people suffer like this because of people like those two girls, or those guys from tonight?

“The smaller the scorpion, the more venomous the sting… although that’s probably just a myth.” Tae closed her eyes. I’ll protect you, if you can’t protect yourself. What happened to your parents and almost happened to you will never happen again.

She took a deep breath.

I will walk down that road again. One more time. A hundred more times. I’ll crush as many monsters as I must. Tae opened her eyes. Her resolve strengthened. I’ll begin with those two. 

Thomas looked over his shoulder. This was a rough part of town but compared to the things he had been through overseas, it was nothing. The house was exactly as he remembered it. Overgrown weeds on the lawn and holes in the chain-link fence. To think, Alice used to spend her downtime in this dump. 

He rapped his knuckles on the front door several times. A few seconds passed and there was no answer. 

I know you’re in there, you sick fuck. Thomas clenched his fist and pounded on the door again. That seemed to do the trick as he heard shuffling from inside. The tumblers to the lock turned and the door swung open to reveal a short, spindly man with pale skin and many piercings. 

“-it’s almost midnight what the fuck do you-.” The man’s eyes went wide in shock. His eyes were level with Thomas’s chest, dwarfed by the much larger man who pushed him backwards into his own home. “Woah Tommy?! What the fuck are-?!” Before he could react, Thomas was inside.

The airman reached back and rammed his fist into the smaller man’s nose, breaking it. A satisfying crunch confirmed it was broken. “Where the fuck is Mark?!” Thomas demanded angrily, shoving the bleeding man onto his back. 

He scanned the small house. Nobody else was inside. Frustrated, he looked back down at the man pinned under his knee. This was Cody, one of Mark’s old friends and in the past Alice’s drug dealer. He got her hooked on them when she wanted to impress Mark, and even after Thomas helped her end the relationship she still struggled with the addiction for years.

Cody held his arms up defensively. “H-He’s gone! Man, I don’t know what you think I did, but I swear I didn’t!”

“Where did he go?” Thomas hissed. He wrapped his massive hands around Cody’s throat and squeezed. 

He squealed like a pig and kicked desperately. With all of his strength Cody couldn’t hope to budge Thomas, all it did was earn him another devastating punch as the larger man began to lose his temper. 

“M-Mark died…” Cody gasped, his face turning blue as Thomas began to strangle him. He did not let up, narrowing his eyes. 

“Bullshit. He beat the fuck out of my sister.”

“...w-waaas all o-over… n-news…” Cody said, his eyes beginning to gloss over. Reluctantly Thomas relented somewhat, he loosened his grip to allow Cody a chance to inhale. “Fuck dude! Mark is fucking dead!” Cody coughed, breathing heavy. “He died in a drunk driving accident like a year ago. Motherfucker killed like three people too in it.”

“You’re lying.” 

“Just look it up! I’m telling you, Mark died.”

Thomas didn’t know why, but he actually believed Cody. Maybe it was the expression in his eyes. Or the high likelihood that Mark would go out like that. But if that’s true, who hurt Alice? Everybody loves her.

Cody seemed to realize Thomas believed him. “Look man. I listened to what you said. I never spoke with your sister again, and I-.” Before he could finish the sentence, Thomas snapped. He reached down and held Cody’s head in his hands, before raising his skull off the ground and bouncing it off of the tile. 

She wouldn’t have started dating some other asshole. And if it was some random mugging, she wouldn’t keep that to herself. Thomas stood from Cody’s motionless body and left the house. What happened? Why won’t she tell anybody? 

Thomas had until the end of December before he was summoned back to active duty. Less than a month to determine who did this, and to punish them.

Traveling far away from home for the holidays was an annual event for Sylvia. It gave her an excuse to avoid seeing her parents. Money would be tight this year, her father’s monthly ‘allowance’ was a pittance compared to previous cycles and her recent medical bills certainly didn’t help. She packed light, but still had too much to carry into the taxi in one trip. Fortunately, her driver was willing to lend her a hand and loaded everything into the trunk.

Sylvia took a seat in the back of the car. Subconsciously she picked at the bandages on her cheek. The doctor said that the wound would take a while to heal. The stitches were a source of constant annoyance, which she itched at incessantly. The bandages reduced bacteria and prevented her from exacerbating the problem. Surprisingly the crown for her broken tooth had been easy. 

All this pain over a fucking bug. She thought to herself. Her memories were still foggy from that night, but even if she remembered everything clearly neither she nor Alice could tell anybody how they were actually hurt. Alice made her swear secrecy. If the authorities launched an investigation and discovered they tried to kill a speck, Alice might risk expulsion from her university, and both could face criminal charges. 

Nobody gave a shit about specks. But if a normal person like that woman who assaulted them did and raised a fuss, there would be trouble for both of them since technically she prevented a ‘attempted murder’. 

Her driver finished packing everything and got back into the car. “Sorry about the wait.” He apologized. “Are you heading to the airport?” 

She nodded absentmindedly and took out her phone. “Mhm.”

The car pulled out of the driveway. It was a lengthy drive from Norwich to the nearest airport. At nighttime there were far less cars on the road, so they didn’t need to worry about traffic. Sylvia checked her flight status. The snowy weather seemed to be holding up. Hopefully it didn’t cancel or delay.

“Mind if I ask where you're going?” Her driver asked after a few minutes of silence. “Going home for the holidays?” 

“Bangkok.” Sylvia replied. 

The man laughed. “What a coincidence, I’m from Bangkok.” 

“Cool.” 

It was warm in the taxi. Bundled in her winter clothes and with the heat all the way up she felt uncomfortably hot. At first it was a pleasant contrast from the chilly weather outside, but after almost twenty minutes moisture was forming on her forehead. 

She cleared her throat, which felt dry. “Could you turn the AC up? It’s getting really hot.” 

“There’s some water back there for you.” He replied and turned a knob on the center console. To her dismay, the air that hit her cheeks was far from refreshing. It felt like walking through a desert. 

Thankfully the water looked cold. 

The bottles lined compartments in the passenger door. They felt wonderfully cold to the touch. Eagerly Sylvia snatched one and took a long drink. The driver glanced at her in the rear-view mirror before turning his attention back to the road.

With a smack of her lips Sylvia set the water aside. In a single swig she had drunk over half the bottle. Mercifully her driver stopped trying to engage her in conversation after that. She returned to texting, and on occasion when they reached a red light, he would also pull out his phone and text as well. 

Sylvia yawned. The road trip had her feeling rather sleepy. At first, she tried to keep herself awake, but shortly after they left the city limits, she noticed how hard it for her eyes to remain open. 

Odd. I didn’t feel this tired a few minutes ago… She yawned once more as everything became blurry. Probably not a good idea to fall asleep now… should save it for the plane. 

She closed her eyes. This time a small bump in the road snapped her awake. Without a doubt she had just fallen asleep for a few minutes. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the driver glancing back at her in the mirror. 

Something felt wrong. 

“H-How far away are we?” She moaned, struggling to form the words. Her tongue felt numb and her speech was slurred. He ignored her.

Sylvia frowned and fumbled clumsily for her phone. To her surprise it was no longer on her lap. Had it fallen to the floor?

Before she could search any further, she felt another wave of exhaustion come over her, and her blinks became farther apart. The last thing she felt before losing consciousness was the car lurching to the side off the highway, quietly traveling off course from their destination. 

Every muscle in Sylvia’s body felt numb. The taste in the back of her throat confirmed she had been asleep for a while. Everything was dark. With a groan she attempted to rouse herself but quickly found herself relapsing into slumber for a few more minutes before waking and repeating the process.

She was no longer in the backseat of the car. Something lumpy was beneath her back. Her legs were curled up into her chest. Wherever she was it was hard to breathe and her movements were restricted. Distantly she could hear voices. It was impossible to discern what they were saying. The compartment she was in made it difficult to make out individual words, and she realized it was in another language.

Sylvia recognized one of the speakers as her taxi driver by the accent. The other sounded familiar, but she could not place it. Groggily she attempted to roll-over. In the process her arm slapped against something hard directly above her.

Outside, both people talking suddenly stopped. Alarm bells were going off in her head that something was dreadfully wrong, but it was simply too difficult to even feel scared. Her heart rate wouldn’t go any faster, and she couldn’t move much. 

Suddenly the compartment opened. Light flooded inside and she squinted to see who it was. 

Ice filled her veins as she recognized the person staring down at her. A smile crossed Tae’s face as the realization of what had happened dawned on Sylvia. Pathetically she thrashed about in the trunk of the car, desperately trying to escape. The brunette opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. 

“Sleep well?” Tae asked sweetly. Sylvia’s eyes were wide with fear, but she could do nothing as Tae extended her hand towards her. With a brisk motion she ripped the bandage off Sylvia’s cheek. The hole where her high heel had pierced her cheek was stitched up but would leave a scar. 

Tae fished a capsule out of her pocket. Carefully she removed a syringe filled with a bright amber liquid from within the container. Sylvia stared in horror at the needle. She had no idea what drug it was but knew it couldn’t be good.

With all her strength Sylvia fought against Tae but was simply no match in her drugged-up state.  She felt a sharp pinching sensation on her neck, followed by a horrible throbbing pain. The site around where she had been injected felt hot, like liquid fire had been injected into her veins. Her nausea intensified.

Tae took a step back and observed what came next. Sylvia rapidly began to shrink, her thick coat soon becoming a blanket and then a prison of dense fabrics. She rifled through the woolly material until she located a tiny, shivering human body. There was some protest from the newly shrunken Sylvia, as she squeezed her midsection between her two enormous fingers. 

“Nicely done, Kovit.” Tae said, turning to the cab driver who offered a curt bow in response. He watched as Tae took her leave and strolled calmly back to her car with the girl in tow. Once she had left, Kovit returned Sylvia’s luggage to the trunk and closed it. As always, Tae trusted him to get rid of the evidence, while she had some fun.