—Chapter9 Finale 

“It’s time to wake, Tom” Her voice boomed. 

He didn’t open his eyes, but knew he was not in his bed anymore. The soft dirt- 

“I know you’re awake.” she interrupted one of his routines. “Seriously, you’re not fooling me. I can see straight through you.”

“Five more minutes?” he grumbled sarcastically as he rolled onto his side. At least he had put on pj’s before going to bed. “I’m back in the fucking forest again, aren’t I?” 

“Yup,” to her credit, she did not try to pick him up, opting to just keep her eyes trained on his tiny form. 

“Is this real?” 

“Are you going to ask that every time?” He did not respond.

Tom laid there uninterrupted for two minutes and thirty seven seconds. He was counting. He knew what was going to happen and he was doing everything possible to prolong the inevitable. It was doing nothing for his shattered nerves, however. When his body started to shake uncontrollably, he decided that waiting a moment longer in silence would likely melt his brain. “Are you actually going to give me the whole 5 minutes?” 

“I have been very patient these past three weeks. I promise I’ll let you know when that starts to change.” 

“Three weeks, huh?” The thought barely registered but Tom still welcomed the distraction. 

“Hop on.” Tom rolled back over to face her. His shoulder width is barely taller than her finger tips and they lay flat on the ground. There she was. The giant that haunted his dreams and rarely left his conscious mind. To say she was just like he remembered was a disservice. There was never a chance to “remember” because she never left. “It’s time, little one” 

It was a small walk away from the shadow of the giant tree that housed the worldstone. She had said they were moving to get away from “prying eyes” but the words stopped registering. The sights and sounds seemed to all blend together as they walked. Tom spent so much of his time over the past five years wanting to never return to this forest, to never see these trees again. Yet, here he was. Being carried to a secluded location away from any chance of rescue or salvation. She wanted it to be just the two of them. Tom didn’t need to read her mind to know why. It was alway her intention to make him feel powerless. The more he felt powerless, the more he accepted her power over him. The more power she had over him, the more likely he was to accept his fate. 

“We’re here” 

“Here,” was a stone pillar in the middle of a small clearing. There was a spiral staircase that snaked up to the top well above Hinba’s head. The stairs themselves were little more than stone slabs sticking out about two feet and were spread too far apart from each other to be useful as actual stairs.  

She raised her palm to a step that was slightly below her eye level. Tom hopped on and immediately pressed his back against the cold stone. The height was dizzying. Normally he could remain on his knees while he was being carried, but here on the small rock, he had to stand to avoid falling. 

“If you slip I’ll catch you so don’t worry.” she smiled sweetly. 

“It’s alright, I got it” he knew her meaning and wasn’t falling for it. 

“Would you mind taking off your clothes, you aren’t going to need them in a bit.” 

He nodded and started to slowly and very carefully remove his shirt, knowing full well that a fall would be deadly and not from the ground. 

“I can help you if you’d like” she ever so subtly licked her top lip. 

“Nope, I’m good,” it was another trick. Well maybe not a true “trick,” as she definitely would help him take off his clothes. 

He managed to get out of his shirt and wasn’t sure where to place it. He offered it to Hinba for some unknowable reason and she did not acknowledge it. Her eyes were wide and trained on Tom. There was a primal hunger that threatened to over take her at any moment but she needed to remain focused. Somewhere at the center of this little human was a gooey center that would satisfy her for many blissful months. Her patience had absolutely evaporated but that was her little secret. 

To his surprise, Tom’s pants were the easier article to remove. After they passed over his hips, it was a simple matter of letting them fall to his ankles and then quickly kicking them to the side. They fell, hitting the ground with a disappointing flop. And so he was naked. There was nowhere to go and no one was coming to save him. This is it. 

All he had were his words. It was now or never, not that he would really have too many opportunities to regret his inaction 

“Hinba, can-“ he was off to a great start as he stumbled over his words. Taking a deep breath he started again, “I would like to renegotiate the terms of our deal.”  

“Hard pass.” She said almost instantly. 

“Please, just hear me out!” He instinctively held up a hand to try and mentally prevent her from coming any closer while he was talking. “I know you tried to remove all the ammunition from my apartment last night.” 

“‘Tried?’” She raised an eyebrow. 

She was curious, that’s a good sign. “Yes, but you missed one. I didn’t do anything with it because I want to believe there’s a way I can still make it out of this in one piece.” Tom didn’t lower his hand. 

“Show me.” She commanded.

“Show you what?” Tom asked. 

“Show me the bullet I missed. Show me you’re not full of shit and just trying to back out of the deal you made five long years ago.” She was losing her temper and her patience was razor thin. 

Tom just looked down at his naked form. “I don’t have it on me.” He said sheepishly. 

“What a shame.” She said, her voice, cold and dry. “Look Tom, I’ve done all that I can for you, I’m afraid it's time. I didn’t want to force you but you’re not giving me another option.” 

Tom watched as she slowly opened her mouth and started moving towards him. Thick strands of saliva connected her tongue with her pallet. A warm huff of humid air rushed past Tom. He shrunk down on the small platform, trying to make himself as small of a target as possible. Her bottom lip came into contact with the ledge and her forehead tapped the pillar from above. He was staring directly into her cavernous mouth. 

She started to let out a noise and Tom knew it was a slight giggle but she was trying to keep herself from blowing him off his perch. Her mouth curled ever so slightly into a smile before she tilted her head to get a better angle. The interior of her mouth overtook his entire field of view as he gripped his legs tightly against his chest. Her tongue started its approach, aiming for his feet to simply lift him away from the only thing left that tethered him to the outside world. 

“Hinba, Wait.” it was barely a whisper, “Wait. Wait!” Alarms blared in his head as he raised his voice, “WAIT!!”  

Light flooded his vision and her teeth snapped shut right in front of his knees. Any closer and Tom feared losing a limb. Her head back away and looked down. Tom couldn’t see her face but saw her hands as they came up to massage her temples. “Look...“ she sighed, “last night was fun, but it might have been a mistake. I think I may have put some ideas in your head of how this thing-”

“I’ll do it,” Tom interrupted before she could finish. “I promise I’ll do it, I’ll give you what you want but please,” She raised her head to see the human, “Can you give me one more day? There's something I need to do back home.” His eyes were wide, pleading for the smallest of concessions.  

Her tone was even and calm. “Did you forget that I can see everything you did in the human world?” Tom knew she was annoyed and fighting back the urge to take it out on him. “You were very thorough. . . “ 

“Please. There's just one more thing...” This was quickly becoming an unwinnable argument but he was out of ideas.   

“Sweetheart...” She gave Tom a warm smile. “I don’t think I believe you.” He was doomed. “I can tell you’re hiding something,” her eyes narrowed looking through the corners of his shattered psyche, “But all I see in you is fear. I know what you’re trying to do. This is just one last desperate attempt to escape your destiny.” 

Tom balled his fist in indignation, yelling now, “It’s not I promise, give me one more day and I’ll prove that-” 

“No.” she shot back. “You want to prove to me that you’re not just trying to postpone the inevitable?” Hinba got uncomfortably close to Tom. This would be her preferred distance. She wanted Tom to have to choose to either look her in the eyes or stare into her mouth as she spoke. “Do it right here, right now, by being my meal... Give yourself to me willingly, and I might bring you back up,” she used air quotes to emphasize her flippant intentions then placed a hand on her stomach. “-before you become a part of me.”

It was too much to leave up to chance, “Do you promise?”

“Promise what?” she was getting sidetracked while rubbing her stomach with pleasant anticipation. 

Tom had to bring back her focus. “Promise you’ll bring me back up. I trust you. I’ll do it if you promise that you’ll give me one more day.” 

“I will do no such thing.” her words cut through him like a knife and she brought her mouth within inches of his face so he could once again feel the heat radiating off her lips. “Remember Tom, you... want… this. Remember?” She stuck out her tongue briefly to ‘tap’ his face. The action left behind a thin layer of saliva and Tom slightly dazed. 

She moved away slightly, not enough to stop being threatening but enough that Tom did not need to crane his neck to look her in the eyes. “If you only agree because you think I’m going to bring you back up unharmed... well that’s not going to work and on some level I think you know that as well, otherwise you would have suggested it sooner.” Taking a deep breath she looked to the sky for a moment. She was also choosing her words carefully. “For what it’s worth, I really want to trust you... and I know you want to trust me, but you can’t.” Her hands came up to interlace right below her collarbone. “I have every intention of keeping you.”  

Well, I’m fucked, he thought dryly. There were only so many ways this would all play out and they all centered around him becoming a meal and how willing he was to let that happen. If he believed Hinba would let him out then that meant he wasn’t really giving himself to her completely and she would likely digest him out of spite. There was a small possibility she would just find a worse way to torture him but he pushed those fears aside for now. 

He had to believe that this was a one way trip. She would see through any doubt. Tom peered over the ledge to look at Hinba’s stomach. It was a cruel trick for her to dangle that small bit of hope in front of him only to take it away so suddenly and completely. “Hope” wasn’t allowed. Self-preservation wasn’t allowed. Survival was not allowed. His legs began to shake, Hinba made a move like she was going to catch him but Tom waved it off. She was a witness to his internal debate and was merciful enough to let him reach a decision on his own. Could he even do it? Sure he could will himself to agree to it verbally but if he was forcing himself, it would be the same as if she was forcing him. Through all of this mental gymnastics, Tom came to one realization as he rose back to his feet. He was afraid. Fear occupied every element of his thought process and guided his decision. 

“Do it. I’m ready.” He was not ready. 

“Are you sure?” Hinba was willing to let him continue for as long as he needed. As long as she didn’t not see his thoughts drift to a plan for escape, she would force herself to give him time.

“I am.” He was not sure. 

“Do you want to be let out before..” she trailed off. 

“No.” He was lying  

Hinba offered a sympathetic smile. “Lie to me all you want but you can’t lie to yourself.” 

He balled his fist. “Then don’t bring me back up.” 

“Tom...” she started to reach out her hand but stopped herself. 

“Please just...” biting the inside of his cheek to keep from saying something he shouldn’t. 

Hinba took a deep breath and sighed before moving closer to Tom again. He thought that she was going to take him right then and there. Squeezing his eyes shut he waited for the inevitable. At least this time he would remain standing but nothing happened. 

 “Have it your way. Please what? I want to hear you say it.” 

Tom blinked his eyes open. She couldn’t be serious. Was she actually going to make him beg for it? It was almost enough to break him but he knew this was just another way for her to solidify her power over him. She needed to hear it just as much as he needed to say it. In a way, there was a likely chance he would lose his nerve beyond the point of no return and that would be bad for both parties... Well really just her. 

“Please eat me.” He said through a clenched jaw. 

“I want you to be more specific, start at the beginning.” Her voice was syrupy sweet but there was something sinister beneath the surface. She was enjoying this entirely too much. 

Tom took a deep breath, forcing the tension out of his body. “Please let me crawl into your mouth.”

“Hmm?” It was more of a purr than anything else. 

“Then I want you to swallow me.” 

She licked lips with a sickening slowness “Then what?” 

“Then I want you to digest me. I want my body...” He took a deep breath. “-and soul to melt inside of you.” 

“Hmmm, then what?” her eyes were twinkling with delight.  

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

Hinba reached out a finger and tapped the stone platform while biting her lips. “What happens to food after it breaks down in the stomach?” 

“Ok.” There was a moment’s hesitation as he flinched from the slight vibration passing through the pillar. It was not her intention to cause the structure to shake but at this height, Tom still felt the smallest moment. “Please Hinba. Make me a part of you.” 

Her fingers started to trace circles around her abdomen giddy with how the conversation was progressing. “What part of me? If you could pick, that is?”  

“I don’t...” There was not a good answer to that question. “I don’t think I have a strong preference.” It was the truth. 

“Just say my ass.” she cut in quickly, “I know you’re an ‘ass man.’”  

He met her gaze. There was no more fight left in him. If she wanted his dignity as well, it was her to take. “Please make me a part of your ass.” 

There it is. All the time she invested in her little human was finally about to pay off. “I want you to know that I have waited so long to hear you say that. I always knew you could do it.” She waited for just a moment to enjoy the mounting anticipation before getting uncomfortably close to Tom. As she spoke her lips threatened to press him against the stone pillar. “Ok little one. Since you asked so nicely... Crawl in.” Her mouth opened wide, ready to accept its prize. 

Tom was once again looking into the crushing darkness. “Any chance I could go feet first, like last time?” He still remembered his previous experience of being swallowed.  Even with the more amicable nature of this occurrence, going down with his head right side up still seemed preferable. 

“Nope,” came her curt reply. There was no sense arguing with her, “This is goodbye, human.” 

Human? That’s right, he wasn’t “Tom” anymore, not to her at least. He was just a snack. Placing his hand on her outstretched tongue, he moved himself forward. It was a surreal sensation, every modicum of his being was screaming at him to turn back but he continued. The space quickly became cramped as he positioned his torso over the back of her throat. There was already a small pool of saliva beginning to form, eager to aid his descent. He had reached a point where he couldn’t move forward anymore. He was about to call out to Hinba but was cut off as her tongue shifted below, pushing him down.

The descent was slow. It was painfully slow and extremely tight. Tom heard Hinba’s heart thundering in his ears as he progressed deeper. The rapid beats were a clear giveaway of her excitement. 

When Tom arrived at her stomach there was a brief moment of freefall before he splashed into a shallow puddle of acrid slim face first. He pulled himself back upright but it was a tall order as every surface was covered in a slippery fluid and the walls stretched and moved with his touch. Once he was finally upright, there was a moment where he tried to move himself out of the puddle of digestive juices, but he stopped himself. It would be an omission that he was still trying to prevent the inevitable. Tom allowed himself to slip down as far as gravity demanded, which thankfully kept his mouth above the surface. The heat was already sweltering, but the liquid seemed to grow hotter the longer it was in contact with his skin. Reasonable, he thought. It was a chemical reaction. 

The stomach began to move in a rhythmic fashion. She was moving. Walking somewhere with him as nothing more than an unwitting passenger, or perhaps a stowaway. The fleshy prison started to rumble. Her stomach was rejoicing at his arrival. He’s just food now.     

Hinba's voice seemed to emanate from all around, “I'm sure you’ve noticed that it's a little bit different from the last time you were there. How about you try and guess why that is?” 

She was trying to distract him, to get his mind as far away from the situation as possible. For all of her past cruelty, this was a mercy. Tom welcomed it. The most obvious reason was because this time was real. It wasn’t an illusion or simulation. This wasn’t some dream that she could control and tailor to fit a certain experience. This was real. He didn’t bother speaking, she could already hear his thoughts and he doubted if she could hear his voice above the incessant gurgling. When there wasn’t a response, he just assumed that there was more to yet infer. 

So that’s how it was different, he just needed to determine why it was different. Hinba’s illusions always stuck him as being able to pull from somewhere. When she first placed her spell on his chest, she was able to recreate his apartment with a startling degree of accuracy. Maybe she wasn’t able to recreate the “experience” of being eaten because she had never experienced it herself. Tom felt like he was on the right track but he was in no position to go any further as the contents of Hinba’s stomach continued to slosh around. He was quickly losing the ability to stay focused. 

“You’re actually really close, believe it or not,” came Hinba’s voice again. “I actually do get to experience as much or as little as I’d like from my meals, at least the ones that carry my charm, that’s the magic I placed on your chest. I can recreate anything I want really but you can’t. The first time in the forest was more your illusion than mine. Your fears were the source of what you experienced back then.” 

Tom appreciated that she was trying to quench his curiosity, but he was unable to find any enjoyment from the exercise. His skin was beginning to hurt. He started to feel incredibly tired and before he could even register the change, he dropped out of consciousness.