“That’s rummy” called Filip as he laid his cards on the table with a satisfied grin and looked at the other players, a slightly grubby man with his sleeves rolled back and a dainty blonde woman in a pink polka-dot dress.

Hugo sighed and threw his cards down, while Penelope was more careful as she delicately spread hers out. “Congratulations” she replied in a lilting pitch, almost child-like. “I thought I maybe had you this time.”

Filip glanced at the cards she’d placed face-up on the table, not even a matching pair. “Maybe next time…” he replied politely.

Hugo was less polite as he peered at Penelope’s cards, “you didn’t have a hope in hell!” He turned to Filip and sullenly crossed his arms, “you must be cheating!”

“I’m just lucky” remarked Filip with a smile as he collected the cards and began shuffling them.

“You certainly are,” replied Hugo bitterly, leaning back on his plastic chair. After a few moments, he gestured to the shoebox-sized room around them, filled with dollhouse furniture, which to them looked normal sized. “Not every micro has as nice a place as this you know.”

“Don’t be rude Hugo” said Penelope sharply, her tone unusually forceful. “Filip didn’t have to let us stay here, we should be thankful.” Hugo grunted and crossed his arms.

Filip began dealing out the shuffled cards. He let the silence hang for a moment before responding. “I know how bad it can be out there for us, not a single acquaintance from my college days is still with us. Charles was swallowed by a sorority girl on a dare, a dog got Randall, and the others… they just disappeared.”

“What happened?” Replied Penelope anxiously, hunching her shoulders and looking apprehensively towards the ceiling, thinking of the giant world around them. Her polka dot skirt bunched up around her shoulders, exposing a touch more of her modest cleavage than she intended. The dress fit more snugly than she’d like, but clothing options were limited at her size. If you didn’t confirm to a standard doll size, you’d struggle in this world. Meanwhile, Filip had done well for himself, his shirt and pants looked tailored to his size, another benefit of his giant girlfriend.

“Probably eaten,” Filip replied solemnly as he finished dealing cards. “There was a tiktok craze a couple of years back, girls wanting to record themselves eating tinies. A lot of friends disappeared that year.”

Penelope gasped, “b-but that’s murder! Weren’t they caught?”

Filip gave a harsh laugh, “I heard one girl choked and went to the ER with two tinies lodged in her throat. She was slapped with a reckless endangerment charge, given a $100 fine, and let loose. They didn’t even check her guts for the other tinies currently digesting inside her.”

“That’s why we should fight back!” Said Hugo, unfolding his arms and slamming his tiny fist onto the plastic table.

“With what?” Shot back Filip.

Hugo paused with his mouth hanging open, before sullenly leaning back into his chair.

“This is exactly why we need to trust in Astrid and her work at the ministry, it’s our only chance” replied Filip forcefully, feeling his temper rise.

“Your girlfriend?” Hugo scoffed. “She’s just like the others, she just hides it better.”

“I don’t know…” said Penelope, “m-maybe she’s one of the good ones? She keeps us safe...”

“No,” replied Hugo, “she keeps HIM safe. Her dirty little secret. He can’t even tell her that we’re hiding here with him.”

Filip winced before replying, “I explained that, she can’t risk more people knowing about... me and her. She can’t let people know she’s dating a micro.”

“But… why?” Asked Penelope, looking confused.

“You know…” Filip shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he remembered the many times he’d asked Astrid that same question. “It’d be a conflict of interest?”

“But that makes no sense!” Replied Hugo angrily. “She’s meant to be making a world safe for us micros! That’s what the ministry does!”

“She is keeping us safe, here, in her apartment.” Filip replied.

“Only as long as you stay her faithful pet, you better hope she doesn’t get bored of you” spat Hugo.

“I’m not a pet!” Growled Filip, rising to his feet and knocking his chair onto its back.

“Prove it” Hugo replied as he stood up and leaned over the table, glaring at Filip.

“Please don’t fight!” Cried Penelope, as she clutched her hands to her chest apprehensively. “We’ve all lost friends. Those who go out one day and never come back...” A single tear ran her cheek, streaking her makeup. “We’re very thankful to you and Astrid. BOTH of us.” She shot a glare at Hugo, who looked away, keeping silent.

Filip sighed and took a deep breath. He knew it wasn’t easy with the three of them here, concealed in the hidden drawer of Astrid’s bedside cabinet. Doubly so when the other two had to hide when Astrid was home. He planned to tell Astrid about them, how he couldn’t leave them out there in such a dangerous world, scurrying the hallways late at night, trying to avoid the sight of “normal” sized people.

He’d found Penelope half-starved behind the bathroom’s skirting board, too scared to look for food after her last micro-boyfriend had disappeared. Filip hadn’t a moment's hesitation in offering Penelope a space here with him, she’d never have survived alone. Hugo had been different, Filip had come across him raiding the pantry last month, his arms scratched and bloody after a fight with a rat. After a brief conversation, Filip realised under that gruff exterior Hugo was as vulnerable as the rest of them. He couldn’t leave Hugo to fend for himself in good conscience, not when he had a safe place to stay. Plus, Penelope wasn’t much of a card player.

“I’m going to get some air” said Filip as he turned to the rope ladder on the far wall. Penelope reached out to stop him, but paused, her hand hanging in midair. “I’ll be fine, nobody but Astrid is allowed in her apartment.” He felt a pang of guilt as he walked away, knowing he was keeping secret the insurance policy Astrid had provided him, a small electronic beeper he was to keep on his person at all times. He could press the button and instantly alert her phone to his need for help. As a last resort, he was also to yell her name and her connection to the ministry, in the hopes of gaining enough time for Astrid to come save him.

Filip clambered up the rope ladder, pushed open the hidden flap, and emerged on top of the bedside cabinet. He gazed around the luxurious penthouse suite. The room was dimly lit, with just the faint glow of the evening sunset coming through the large bay window and dual balcony doors at the far end of the room. To his right, silken sheets covered the queen size bed, looking like a football field to the palm-sized Filip. To his left, a couple of large oak wardrobes towered over everything else in the room, but contained just a small fraction of Astrid’s outfits.

Filip walked to the back of the cabinet, clambering down the hidden ladder to the plush carpet. His tiny feet bounced on the thick fabric. Where its springy texture offered comfort for those normal sized, for micros it was a hazardously unsteady surface. He watched his footing as he made his way around the room towards the balcony doors, sticking to corners. Even safe here in Astrid’s apartment, long-ingrained survival habits were hard to break. It was dangerous for a micro to be far from cover.

After a few minutes, he made it to the door. He rose up on his tiptoes and peeked over the bottom rim of the glass door, catching a glimpse of the big city. Looking at the city lights, he felt his frustration grow. All those people out there, they got to live their lives normally. Working, socialising, visiting restaurants, all without any fear for their safety. But for him and those like him, the world was an exceedingly dangerous place. It was so unfair. Why was he born micro?

He kicked the door with all his strength, it didn’t even rattle. He understood the frustration of his roommates. It was meant to be illegal to eat a micro. They had rights just like everyone else. So why weren’t they enforced? It was because most folk saw them as a burden, too small to be productive workers, so they began thinking of us as vermin.

Then there were the predators, women who had developed a taste for us, who enjoyed the thrill of having such complete power that they could swallow a micro whole. Reveling as they felt their prey wriggle and squirm within them, before slowly being digested down to shit. Unfortunately for micros, an appetite for micros seemed to correlate with other ambitions, leading to many predatory women in positions of power, who used their influence to protect other predatory women. Filip had heard rumours, no, he was sure it was more than that. He was sure some female pop stars secretly kept micros as playthings, living dildos, which was influencing a new generation of impressionable girls on how they should treat micros.

He remembered the first time he’d met Astrid, when she’d found him stealing from her pantry, he’d initially thought her one of those predatory women. The way she’d snatched him up, looking him over with hungry eyes, her lips curling in delight as he’d begged for his life. He’d thought it was all over, that he’d end his days in her belly or pushed up into her asshole. He still wasn’t sure what had come over him in that moment, or what he’d expected to happen, but he’d told a joke and Astrid had laughed. One joke led to two, and soon the two were pleasantly chatting.

She’d explained she worked at the Ministry for Micro Affairs, that she’d keep him safe, and had offered him the use of her bedside cabinet. Since then, their relationship had grown deeper, emotionally... and intimately. Astrid’s tastes were a bit more “adventurous” than his, the first time she’d snuck him out the apartment in her panties, he’d been far too frightened to enjoy it. But since then he’d learned more of her preferences, how she liked to be touched. She told him nobody could kiss her clit as well as he could. There was a deep sense of satisfaction in being able to bring an entity ten times his size to orgasm, to have his touch cause his entire world to quiver as he lay on her crotch, intimately exploring every inch of her body.

But he wanted more from their relationship. More than being a secret plaything. He wanted to be like all the couples out there, normal sized couples, who could get married and have children. He kicked the door again, and this time it opened touch. Filip felt a slight gust come through. He took another envious look at the city through the door before throwing his whole body weight against it, opening the gap just enough to squeeze through.

If others got to enjoy the sight of the city, then he could too! He squeezed through the gap and stepped out on the balcony, immediately feeling a strong gust nearly knock him off his feet. He braved the wind for a moment more before remembering how high up they were, even for a normal sized person, falling from the 10th floor would be fatal. He swiftly turned back to the gap in the door and squeezed himself back inside.

He sighed in relief as he made it through, appreciating the quiet stillness of the penthouse. He brushed down his shirt, wiping off the grime from the door, taking long, calming breaths. A sudden strong gust came through the gap, whipping up the dust, knocking Filip off his feet as he toppled head over heels. Filip had a moment of panic as his vision spun, before an intense pain ripped through his head and everything went black.