The Abhor are a race of nanoscopic people who are grown from trees, so small that they aren’t even visible to the naked human eye. The tree is their home, and they live within even the smallest of trees. They are spiritually connected to the trees, being able to manipulate wood life. But no Abhorrian life is so cruel as those that rest deep within the bonsai trees of the Chinese vampire, Hsien-Ko.

Hsien-Ko lives in a fairly run-down little apartment, and she mostly just spends her days going out and hunting evil Darkstalkers. But she had a special little hobby of hers - her bonsai tree, a passion she had taken from her late mother, which she would take care of every single day. She would throw on some water and some fertilizer every week or so, and then go about her day. 

But little did she know that the Abhor lived inside of the tree. It was their home. However, her unawareness would be what sealed their fate. Every time she doused the tree in water and fertilizer, the Abhor races would be demolished, washed away by the flood. And then they would grow once again, a new group destined to live for a week and then be doomed to death. It was the circle of life. Abhor were born, died, and replaced within the span of a week.

All except for one - a little fella by the name of Nj’hilok. They were short, but had big dreams. They were gonna live. They were gonna make it outta this tree.

That was their decision on their first day of life. Deep within the dirt lay the memorial built by Abhor of species past. Though Abhor cultures died, their ideas were passed down, and did not die with them. Art made from the roots of the tree comb through the dirt, depicting faces of those lost to the flood. They watched as the towering purple monster towered over their home like a colossus, collapsing into her bed with enough force to completely destroy their entire species. The clock was ticking, and they were gonna have to do something soon, otherwise they would die, just like anyone else, swept away by the flood.

That night, Nj’hilok said they would go to sleep. But they didn’t. Instead, they went to the massive walls that surrounded the tree - the pot of the bonsai. They closed their eyes and, using their basic understanding of root manipulation, brought the stem out from the dirt, rising out from the ground and creating a path to run on down to the floor. Sliding down, Nj'hilok made it to the floor. Scurrying under the door, they were ready to finally liberate themselves from the inevitable fate of their species.

But then, it hit them. Hsien-Ko had not returned that night. Where could they be-

Suddenly, everything came to them. They looked up and saw a towering purple mass - the huge, sweaty foot of Hsien-Ko. In what felt like slow motion, the mound of flesh squashed into the little wooden person with a wet squelch. Nj'hilok woke up and found themself reduced to but a tiny ball between two massive things of flesh - Hsien-Ko's big toe and pointer toe gently stroked their tiny body, as if playing with a pebble. They tried to pull themself out, but the sweat and pudginess of the digits restrained their movements. Hsien-Ko was extremely tired, having had a long day of battles against monsters. Now, all she wanted was to plop down and have a nice cup of coffee. She went to the coffee brewer only to find she was completely out of coffee. Yawning, she realized it was inevitable that she was gonna have to go out and get a cup of joe.

Nj’hilok tried their absolute best to roll out of the toes, slipping through, but it did not work - until they felt the massive purple foot lift up and curl downwards. They tried to hold onto her toenail, but it was for naught, as they found themself slip into a large imprisonment. Immediately, the air went from relatively light to extremely strong, a musk that reeked of body odor. It was shockingly warm, slightly wet, and outside of the opening that they came in through, there was no light whatsoever. 

Then, they saw something up above. The massive foot returned, and as it poked itself downwards and slowly brought itself in closer and closer, it became clear that Nj'hilok had ended up as a mere dust mite in Hsien-Ko's flats.

Seeing red, they ran for the very end of the shoe, but tripped over a crease in the insole. They panicked as they watched the purple monster wiggle closer and closer like an animal until it finally pushed itself into the shoe, securing its place on the ground and blowing dust over them. Nj'hilok looked up - they now stood at the end of the shoe, looking up at the towering big toe that dripped sweat.

Then the toe hit the ground, sending Nj'hilok squished between the toe and the surface of the front of the shoe. Then, gravity shifted, as they felt themself go into the air. They desperately clinged onto the toe, and then traveled right back down, slamming onto the ground. Then again. And again. And again. With each stomp, the poor Abhor felt themself be smashed to the ground, feeling their brain become overloaded as it went on, Hsien-Ko's voice bellowing at a deafening volume. They realized - they had to get Hsien-Ko's attention. Nj'hilok desperately held onto a rip in the shoe, trying to create a branch that would poke her toe and make him find them. But, try and try as they did, nothing came out. They were just too inexperienced.

Hsien-Ko gleefully walked home with her coffee. She put her cup down and thought about if there was anything she had to do. Oh, right, she should water the plants! She walked over to the bonsai, and reached over the table for a bottle of water.

With a loud sound of thuds, snaps, and cracks, Hsien-Ko fell over herself whilst trying to get the water, sending the tree toppling over off of its spot on her table and onto the ground falling to pieces. 

As the flat had fallen off, Hsien-Ko down for the count, Nj’hilok pulled themself from the wet surface of her sweaty shoe and frantically ran for the towering mass of her body. The Abhor, their home destroyed, had sprayed out across her body. They were likely all over her like dust particles. Desperate to save their people, Nj’hilok hopped onto the fibers of her dress and began climbing, finding dozens of Abhor and trying to get them to safety. Yet, as they climbed onto the woman’s stomach, she began to pick herself back up.

Standing up, she bent back and forth, as the miniscule passengers desperately clung to the fibers of her dress. She sighed, but to the little people it was more like a roar. She guessed it was time to clean up this mess. Nj’hilok panicked - there were still Abhor people down there. They had to get down there. Nj’hilok quickly began climbing down the fibers of the dress, and even further. As they began to climb down the unstable surface of her baggy pants, they panicked as they saw this was not just an issue of a broom - Hsien-Ko had brought out the vacuum, which bellowed with a machine-like sound, threatening to demolish their entire species.

As Nj’hilok, after what felt like hours, finally made it to the ground, things were not going well. They could hear her humming a classical tune to herself as the powerful machine screamed in their ears, running itself across the floor and imprisoning all it came into contact with. Suddenly, they noticed a small Abhor child about to be caught by the vacuum. Panicking, Nj’hilok threw themself forward, trying to push the child out of the way of the machine - but it was for naught. Both of them felt themselves be sucked up by the terrifying machination.

The two little tree-beans felt themselves plummet into a dark, soft cavern. This was the dust bag, and they were sitting on top of layers and layers of dust. The other Abhor were likely lost amidst the dust.

“S-so.. n-now what?” The little child asked, nervous.

“I don’t know.” Nj’hilok responded.

…

“Hey.. wh-what's your name?”

“Nj’hilok.”

“..o-oh, th-that’s a cool name! I’m Nj’lenat! 

“Oh…n-nice to meet you..”

…

…

“That was really cool what you did for me back there..”

“Well, I couldn’t leave you to die.”

“..y-yeah…”

In a split second they felt themselves be tossed into a massive trash bag, the dust and ripped up tree parts being just one layer on top of an influx of soda cans, candy wrappers, and grocery bags. Suddenly, the tiny creatures noticed her outstretched “hand” - her massive claws, flattened out to act as fingers, slowly came down to squash the trash down in order to fit into the bag better. Quickly, the two Abhor looked at each other and then ran backwards as they tried to dodge the claws. Nj’lenat dodged, stormed through the crushing of the trash, and then climbed onto her claws. They hung on as she tightened the bag and then threw it into the garbage can.

Nj’lenat cried. Their entire species was gone, reduced to filler in a can of trash. Hsien-Ko breathed in and out, and then slouched back onto the couch. As they sat in the little nest of Hsien-Ko’s hand, they realized.. Wh-where was Nj’hilok? They looked up, shocked as they saw where Nj’hilok had ended up - an unnoticeable microbe stabbed on the tip of Hsien-Ko’s claw. They had not dodged. They were seemingly alive, but that clearly wouldn’t last at this rate. 

Nj’lenat frantically tried to climb the nail to save them, but it didn’t work. Nj’hilok felt themself fall into unconsciousness. Abhor were created by Mother Nature, and now, they heard her beckoning for their soul. But they didn’t wanna leave yet. They closed their eyes, and hoped for some form of miracle.

Nj’hilok felt a slight push on their back. They opened their eyes and felt themselves sliding up the nail, before following downwards back to the hand. Nj’lenat came to their side, but Nj’hilok’s open stab wound began to heal itself, being filled by earth.

In the moment of death, Nj’hilok had been saved by Mother Nature, and now knew how to produce earthly creations. Happily running forward, the two hopped onto a branch that they had created, which grew and grew as they traveled up into the air. Hsien-Ko, once a towering goddess, now became a distant memory.

Njj’lent was ecstatic, and peered over, spitting at Hsien-Ko. “Take that, ya oversized purple poopyhead!” They clearly were getting a bit too close to the edge.

“H-hey, d-”

Nj’hilok poked them on the back, catching them completely off guard. That partial shock was enough to push them over the edge of the branch, and Nj’lenat fell straight downwards.

“NJ’LENAT, NO!”

Nj’hilok screamed and leaped to catch them - but quickly, their eyes were filled with tears as they noticed just where they were plummeting - the hot depths of Hsien’Ko’s cup of coffee.

Nj’lenat went from a small soul to a mere almond in the darkstalker’s coffee. Nj’hilok caught themself on the lid of the coffee cup, looking down with tears filling their eyes as they watched Nj’lenat scream in pain. This was not merely water - this was hot coffee. Nj’lenat was completely fried, burned to a crisp. The screams became lighter, weaker, until they finally ceased, the crying eyes becoming completely still. Nj’lenat was dead.

Nj’hilok didn’t have a chance to think about the death as they turned around and noticed Hsien-Ko’s utterly massive face - and, particularly, her nose getting closer and closer. She sniffed her evening drink, creating a massive wind that pulled in Nj’hilok like a speck of dust. Before long, they were inside of her purple nose, her pink(!) boogers and purple nose hairs being the only thing they could hold onto. The booger was the size of a castle, one they could easily have lived in. Yet, Nj’hilok held on desperately to the wet, gross lump. With the powers they now had, they knew how to get out of this situation.

Hsien-Ko was ready to take a sip of her coffee, but felt a tickle in her nose. She quickly put the coffee down and stood up.

ACHOO!!!

The stray Abhor slammed out of the open window, flying into the open window of a taxi. Their journey to Romania was fairly boring - it was a simple undercover mission on an airplane, and the like. Nj’hilok couldn’t stop thinking about Nj’lenat, the friend they had lost. Things could have so easily changed. But survivor’s guilt wasn’t something they felt up to. Because they were now the surviving member of the Abhor, a class of people meant to live in house trees designed for entertainment. That was worth some pride, right?

Hsien-Ko wiped her nose, laid back, and breathed in before finally taking a sip of her coffee.

PTOO!

She spit the coffee out, unknowingly sending Nj’lenat’s scorched corpse to the ground, cracked up into pieces.

“Y-yuck! Remind me to never buy convenience store coffee again!”

-

For but a moment, claps ensued for the heart wrenching story - until everything started to shake for just a moment. People screamed, but then the earthquake ended. 

“What in ‘da ‘ell wazzat?!” the fat man from earlier piped up.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it”, Kevin said, returning from the bathroom. Mustachio looked back, with the microphone in hand.

“You think we ain’t noticed ya just showed up here and started acting all high and bright ‘n shit? How ‘bout you tell us your story, ya twat?” Affirming chants erupted as he gave Kevin the microphone.

Kevin giggled a bit, then grabbed the mic.

“Alright, guys. If you insist. Here’s my story.”