John grunted in pain, sprawling across the ground as Rhames delivered a harsh punch square into his gut, “You motherfucker,” he moaned, wincing.

“I’ve been called worse things,” the other tiny chuckled, circling him and cracking his knuckles. “Cheer Captain Rhodes is a harsh girl, and she’s got some interesting ways to play with people our size… but in my opinion there’s nothing that sends a message better than a good old fashioned ass whooping.” His boot lashed out, hitting John in the back as he tried to crawl away.

The pair were alone in the underground subway station, the looming train car a vast monolith to their tiny bodies. Beyond the turnstiles the wall leading into the mall’s basement storage closets had been slowly chipped open by Celia’s Mall workers, creating a makeshift entrance.

“So, what do you say?” Rhames asked, cracking his knuckles, “You ready to help me with the wiring on this thing? Or do I send you back to the cheerleader with some more bruises?”

“I’m not fixing it,” John panted, forcing himself back to his knees, “I don’t care if we all die here, it’s what you all deserve!”

Their conversation was interrupted by the dry rattling moan of one of the dead. Both of them froze, scanning the darkness of the subway tunnel. John’s eyes went wide as he took in a shambling giant in a city maintenance uniform, shuffling jerkily out of the shadows towards them.

“R-Run!” John shouted, stumbling to his feet.

“I don’t fucking think so,” Rhames said, grabbing his collar before he could get more than a few feet. “It’s just one, probably one of the workers down here who was doing the same job you should be doing now…”

“It’s a giant sized one,” John said through gritted teeth, “you can’t-“

Rhames just sighed, pushing him away and bringing the long tube along his back up to his shoulder. He leveled it like a rocket launcher, and a red dot appeared in the center of the zombie’s head as the laser pointer clicked on. There was a long sharp pneumatic hiss, then a flash of silver.

*Thwack*

“Bullseye,” Rhames muttered, watching the zombie crumple, the giant form causing the ground to shake slightly on impact. He turned back to John, who was trying his best not to look impressed, “Most of the stuff us tiny cops used for giant related incidents was nonlethals,” Rhames growled, “pepper spray, tasers, tranq guns… none of that stuff did much when the giants were already dead though. Department policy was that if we really needed it, the giant side of town could send over their own people with guns.” He tapped the tube and smirked, “of course we had a few things like this, just in case.”

“Why are you working with her?” John muttered. “You were a cop, a tiny cop, you were supposed to protect us from people like her! You could kill Celia if you wanted…”

Rhames just laughed, “I’d call that fifty fifty depending on which one of us got the drop on the other.” He smiled, but there wasn’t any humor in it, “I’ll bet you think the world just suddenly became a fucked-up place, huh?”

“In a world where the dead are returning to life the term fucked up loses much of its meaning,” John replied, standing up again.

“Fair enough,” Rhames laughed, “I’m going to tell you… from my experience with Tiny Protective Services? The world isn’t that much more fucked up, it’s just less organized now… You think Celia is a rare type? The people at the tippy top are always people like her.” He looked up at the tram and sighed, “We put up with it because the king keeps things orderly, and he keeps the barbarians at bay, or in our case the zombies.”

“You’re insane, everyone in this mall is insane!” John protested.

Rhames snorted, “I know you and some of the other tinies were talking about sneaking out, you all know you could. Why don’t you go? Shit, Celia’s security is more about keeping things out than keeping anyone in, if any of the big sized mall workers wanted to go it wouldn’t that hard to get out those front doors.” He grinned, his white teeth glimmering slightly in the dark of the subway terminal, “Of course, we all know what’s outside, don’t we? Something a little worse than working in the food court.”

“If that’s how it’s always been, maybe it’s better to just let it all go,” John said, looking away.

Rhames just laughed, “Come on kid, you really want everyone in this mall to die? Because that’s the call you’re making here. I’m sure a lot of really shitty people died when society collapsed, somehow, I still think it would’ve been nicer if it hadn’t happened. Go talk to any of the other tinies up in the nail salon, hell, talk to any of the mall workers for five minutes, but every minute remind yourself that you’re the one who decided they should all be here when the power goes out.”

John looked at the tram, and his shoulders slumped, defeated, “You’re a real bastard Rhames, you know that?” he said as he started walking towards the tiny sized maintenance entrance.

“All the heroes are dead,” Rhames said softly. “Can you fix this thing?”

John sighed, “Yeah, it looks like the only thing that’s really messed up is the controls, both sizes… I can probably figure out some kind of manual workaround… give me a day or two.”

…

“I’m so glad you’re realizing just how things are done around here,” Celia drawled, slowly running her fingers up and down his body.

John shivered as the massive digits traced over his torso, still bruised from the beating he’d received earlier. Celia had decided to keep him shirtless, dangling helplessly shackled to her necklace while she walked along the edge of the mall’s rooftop.

“I’m not doing it for you,” he said bitterly.

“Serve the kingdom, serve the king,” Celia said with a shrug, “or Queen, I guess. You’re mine, just like everything else.”

“Whatever,” John muttered, looking out over the parking lot, and the wandering ghouls. “Someday, someone’s going to get you for all this…”

Celia just chuckled and slowly took the necklace off, letting her shackled prisoner dangle in front of her billboard sized face as she regarded him. John tried to keep a straight face as she slowly held the gold chain over the side of the mall, but his heart picked up as the excited moans of the dead echoed several stories up from the pavement below. In spite of himself and he looked down, taking a sharp breath in as he saw the legion of hands reaching for him, the hungry mouths of the dead crying out for the morsel of warm flesh he’d provide.

“Ask me not to drop you,” Celia said sweetly.

“N-No,” John stammered, squeezing his eyes shut.

“You ever see a tiny get killed by a full sized zombie?” Celia taunted. “It’s fucked up Johnny, they go after you guys like chicken wings.” She glanced down, “or maybe you’ll slip through their fingers, fall down to the ones your size… I’m sure you saw plenty of that over on the tiny side of town, huh?”

John’s heart was pounding, and he kept his eyes closed. A cold sweat was beginning to form on his forehead.

“You don’t even have to beg,” Celia said, leaning over the edge so he could feel her warm breath on his face, “just ask me nicely, just ask me not to drop you…”

“Go to-“

John screamed as she let the chain slip, causing his body to jolt as she grabbed the chain at the last minute. John panted, staring downward as he swayed from side to side, Celia’s laughter ringing over the excited growls of the dead below.

“D-Don’t drop me please,” John stammered, hating himself for every word.

“Was that so bad?” Celia asked softly, drawing her arm back and slowly putting the necklace on. John grunted as he felt his skin meet the soft pillows of her breasts, cushioning him as he fell into her cleavage again. She giggled and slowly pressed them against his sides, causing him to wheeze as the pressure from the walls of titflesh rose around him. “See? Isn’t this so much better than dangling over a bunch of hungry zombies?”

John couldn’t answer her, between the still fading terror and the sudden onrush of her breasts his head was spinning, his heart pounding. Celia sighed and rolled her eyes, releasing her grip on her chest and letting him breathe, dangling down in the valley of her cleavage once again.

“Maybe a different approach would win you over?” she asked in a teasing voice as she walked towards one of the mall skylights, “A little less stick, a little more carrot?” She sighed as she looked down into the mall, seeing several of the mall workers walking by, accompanied by armed cheerleaders. “Look at all the stuff,” Celia chuckled, “there’s just about every kind of store you can imagine down there, electronics, books, collectibles… For shits and giggles the girls and I played poker our first night here with real money, real diamonds… I won a million-dollar pot Johnny.”

“Fat lot of good the money does you now,” John muttered.

“True,” Celia admitted, glancing at the other stores, “but I’m still a very rich woman John, I have guns, I have food, I have people, I have this place…” she gestured down at it with a laugh, “behold my Queendom in all of its glory!”

It’s all fleeting, John thought to himself, the power will go, then you’ll have to leave it or die… the thought gave him some small comfort, though he wondered what would came after.

“I’ll give it to you,” Celia said quietly.

John blinked, “W-What?”

“If you stop this resistance, if you just say you’re my tiny,” she explained in an almost dreamy voice. “That’s what I really want John,” she said, letting her finger trace down to his head, ruffling his hear slightly, “Petey was cute… like you, but he faked being my little slave, and Cass ruined any progress I’d made with him. I’m looking for the real deal. I want a tiny guy who treats me like I deserve.”

“Like a goddess,” John growled.

“You said it first, not me!” Celia said gleefully, “but yes, that’s what I want!” She pulled the necklace over her head again, letting him dangle over the mall skylight while she looked at him, an excited, mad, look to her eyes. “Imagine the things a girl like me can do John, do you want gold? It’ll be yours. The finest food? Done. A harem of tiny girls? Give me time, but I’ll catch them for you, and I’ll make sure they’re pretty ones. All these things I can give to you…”

John was silent, just glaring at her as he dangled helplessly on her necklace. She frowned at his obstinate silence, then slowly grinned again, a sly look coming over her eyes.

“Maybe we should talk it over someplace private?”

…

John, now freed from his necklace prison, gazed up from the massive cotton expanse of Cynthia’s bedspread, watching as the cheer captain dimmed the lights and slowly, teasingly, hit play on a small boombox she’d brought in from the electronics store. A low soft music filled the room, accentuated by the smell of lilac scented candles from one of the mall’s upscale boutiques.

Celia sauntered her hips as she walked to the bed, causing her skirt to sway slightly with her movements. Her fingers hooked under the top of her uniform, and with a flourish she threw it to the corner of the room, revealing her jet-black bra, contrasting sharply against her creamy skin. There was a *click* and her bra went next, fluttering to the floor and letting her perfectly round breasts bounce free, her pink nipples at attention as she grinned down at him.

“Like what you see?” she taunted. He gritted his teeth, wanting to shout something defiant, but his body was betraying him, and Celia’s eyes went wide as she saw the tent in his pants. “I know I’ve been rough with you,” Celia said, her voice going low as she shimmied her skirt and panties down, revealing a smoothly waxed womanhood and a glistening pink slit, “but I can be very gentle.”

“I don’t want any part of you!” John snarled, “p-put me back in the cage.”

Celia just laughed, lifting her leg over the bed like some massive skyscraper as her truck sized foot pinned him softly against the mattress. Even in the apocalypse Celia’s feet were clean and moisturized, with a soft vanilla scent piercing his nose as she pressed down slightly, causing him to grunt. She was a picture of beauty, a woman in the prime of her youth and a trained athlete, and she had the smile of a woman who knew that most men would live and die without ever seeing anyone or anything half as spectacular… but John could see her eyes, and what was behind them, and that look marred the rest of her.

“You know you want this,” Celia said, leaning in and letting her hair fall around her eyes as she looked down at him, “what’s holding you back?”

“You killed my friend you crazy bitch!” John shouted, anger welling in him and overriding his fear once again, “You killed the only girl I ever…” he blinked, surprising himself. “Barb was… I…”

“You loved her?” Celia asked quietly.

In spite of his fear, in spite of the gigantic naked cheerleader pinning him under her foot, in spite of all the horrors and madness of the end of the world, John had a sudden moment of calm clarity.

“I didn’t know her long,” he admitted, “but… yes, I think I did.”

“And you’re still loyal to her memory?” Celia asked, her voice rising, “Even when I’m right in front of you?” John cried out in surprise as Celia’s foot pressed down harder on him, “You’re choosing a dead fucking loser like Barb over Me?” Celia’s voice had gone shrill, and her fists were clenched in rage, but even with the sudden pain shooting through his torso John held firm.

“YES!” he cried, smiling through the shooting pain. Just kill me then, he thought with a sort of dreamy resignation, I guess I’ll see you soon Barb.

The crackle of the CV radio by Celia’s nightstand caused them both to go silent with surprise. Celia growled, regaining her composure, slowly lifting her foot off of him. She sighed with annoyance as she walked over to the set.

“Amateurs, the radios are for shift check in and emergencies only,” she muttered, but she froze when the radio crackled to life again.

“You up there Celia?” Barb’s voice drawled through the static.

“No,” Celia whispered. “It can’t be…”

John’s eyes lit up, and a smile crossed his face as he sat up, “B-Barb?”

“You stay there!” Celia snapped, pointing to him as she held the set up to her face. She clicked the button to talk, a steely expression on her face, “Barbara,” she said pleasantly, “I’m so glad to hear you’re alive, why don’t we talk about a channel for a private chat so we don’t disturb the main line, over?”

“I don’t think so Celia,” Cassie’s voice came on next, “I’ve got something I want everyone over there in the mall to hear.”

Celia’s eyes went wide, “C-Cass?”

…

Throughout the mall the cheerleaders, mostly in groups of two or four, stopped their daily tasks, gathering around their own radios and walkie talkies. They murmured excitedly amongst themselves, mostly happy to hear that Cassandra had survived somehow. The various mall workers paused their labors, crowding in closer to hear what the surviving cheerleader had to say.

…

“I’m not going to beat around the bush,” Cassandra growled, holding the CV radio in her hand as she and Barb sat in one of the pub’s booths, Peter sitting between them with an almost goofy grin on his face, “Celia, Cheer Captain Rhodes, took myself and Barbara here into the parking garage to kill us, evidently she thought I wasn’t loyal enough.” Cassandra sighed, pausing a minute, then clicking the talk button again, “She also admitted to murdering Coach Matthews.”

…

“That fucking bitch!” Celia screamed, running over to her underwear and hurriedly throwing it on. “FUCK FUCK FUCKKKK!” she screeched as she tossed her uniform over her head. She snarled as she looked down at John, “We’ll pick this up once I… get things settled.”

John shouted in surprise as he was scooped up and tossed haphazardly back into the hamster cage Celia kept next to her bed. There was a loud *click* as she padlocked it shut. He tested the bars, sighing as he saw Celia sling a rifle over her shoulder and storm out of the makeshift office-bedroom.

“Now the rest of you listen up,” Barb said, coming back on the radio and catching John’s attention. “I know this whole apocalypse thing has been hard on us all, and maybe you’ve all been looking the other way on Celia’s bullshit up until now… but it’s time to make some tough choices.” There was a pause, “I’m coming over there to get my friend John, if you get between me, if you fight for Celia to keep him from me… then I’m going to kill you.”

“Damn,” John whispered. I’ve never heard Barb like this before…

…

“Get everyone to the food court now!” Celia shrieked, reaching the first group of cheerleaders.

They looked at her uncertainly, and one stepped forward, “C-Celia, we should talk about-“

With a grunt of frustration Celia grabbed the girl’s CV radio from her hand, “Now hear this!” she shouted, “That’s all bullshit and lies, Cass was stealing our supplies. I offered her the choice to leave peacefully, and I’d tell everyone she passed so there were no hard feelings. Obviously, she’s coming back to steal the rest! She’s no better than the damned bikers we ran out of here at the beginning! She’s probably got bandits out there with her right fucking now!”

There was a crackle on the radio and Cassandra’s voice came back on, “Celia you lying bitch! I never stole-“

Celia threw the radio to the ground, smashing it against the hard tiled floor, “She’s lying,” she hissed, glaring around at the four cheerleaders, daring them to contradict her. “Get everyone together in the food court now. I’ve got to organize our defenses.” The four girls just stared at her uncertainly, until Celia pulled her rifle, racking the slide ominously, “Did I fucking stutter?” she asked, a crazed look in her eyes.

The girls went white, “Y-Yes, right away! Cheer Captain!” they scurried off, shouting orders.

…

John couldn’t help but laugh as he heard Celia’s obvious lie. He felt a renewed sense of hope bubbling up within him, he might be stuck in a hamster cage, a giant psychopath’s prisoner, but Barb was alive…

“To anyone over there who doesn’t feel like dying for Celia, I suggest you find someplace safe to hide,” Barb said, taking the radio from Cassandra. “I’ll be coming by sooner or later, and when I do things are going to get messy.” There was a long pause, “John,” she said softly, “If you can hear me, just hold on. Barbara’s coming to get you.”

“Yes!” John almost shouted, blinking a few tears from his eyes.

…

“She claimed I was stealing supplies?” Cass asked incredulously, “there’s no way the girls will believe that!”

“Some will,” Peter muttered, leaning against the giant napkin holder on the table, “maybe most of them will… or if they don’t believe it, they’ll pretend to because they think it’s the safer option.”

“At least a few girls are going to peel off,” Cassandra insisted.

“Still leaves you two outnumbered by a good ten to one at least,” Peter muttered.

“Hey, we’ve got you too!” Barb said with a smile.

Peter snorted, “I really doubt having a tiny guy is going to help you much when we get inside… but yeah, I’ll be there for emotional support.”

“That’s the spirit,” Barb chuckled, “you guys want to join me up on the roof? I saw something I think you’ll appreciate!”

…

“Andy’s Gun Shop?” Cassandra read through the binoculars as Barb pointed to a faraway storefront. The binoculars themselves had been among the odds and ends in the pub’s back offices, along with the CV radio. Sadly, aside from the rifle above the bar itself they hadn’t found any other weapons.

“Yeah, and look it’s almost untouched!” Barb said excitedly, “you can see through the front window, most of the guns are still just sitting there, I’ll bet the back is full of ammo!”

“We could certainly use it,” Peter muttered, “but it’s a long way away.”

“There’s a delivery van in the lot out back, and some keys in the main office that I’m sure will start it,” Barb said, “most of the zombies are up by the mall, minus a few stragglers sniffing for us,” she gestured down at the parking lot where a few dozen zombies milled about, occasionally looking hungrily up at the trio on the rooftop.

“We could definitely make it one way,” Cassandra admitted, “but we’d be attracting a lot of zeds on the way back…”

“Good,” Barb said with a smile, “more of them means more for Celia to deal with.”

“It means more for us to deal with too,” Peter said wryly, “and in case you didn’t notice, they’re locked inside of a giant fortress and we’d be down in the parking lot.”

“Well just call me the master of unlocking, because I’ve got a few ideas on getting through those doors of theirs,” Barb said, glancing at another building complex just beyond the gunshop, the burned out lettering reading “PROPANE and PROPANE ACCESSORIES.”

“Barb,” Cassandra said uncertainly, “What are you thinking about?”

“We’ll nail down the details as we go,” Barb said with a smirk. “For now, I think we should all get a little rest… I think we do our supply run overnight, and then hit the mall at dawn.”

Cassandra glanced down at Peter, “Yeah, okay,” Cassandra said with a sigh, “do we have a way out of there once we get your boy?”

“I’ll think of something,” Barb muttered, “worst case scenario, we exit the mall the opposite side we came in and just give it our best shot.”

“I guess this is it,” Cassandra sighed, “one last trip to the mall before it goes out of business…”

…

Peter lay between the heaving ebony mountains of Cassandra’s breasts, the slight sheen of sweat on them had quickly coated him, not that he was any cleaner. He chuckled as he enjoyed the sound of her panting, it certainly did a tiny man’s ego good to be able to bring a giant girl off.

“Wonderful,” Cassie drawled, laying naked on the floor as they stared up at the ceiling. Her “bed” was simply a pile of cushions and a blanket she’d found, but it would do for a single night. Peter by contrast was planning on sleeping in her panties, warmly pressed against her.

“You know,” Peter said, “there’s a shower in the back of this place, behind the kitchen…”

“Yep,” Cassie said, a slow grin tracing across her face, “want to go enjoy the last warm water in the world?”

“That sounds amazing,” Peter laughed, “I’d hate to be dirty when I get eaten.”

Cassie sat up, Peter in her hand. She slowly peeked out into the hallway, but didn’t see Barb. Slowly she tiptoed through the kitchen, and at the very back there was a small curtained off shower. Setting Peter up on her shoulder she slowly turned the nozzle, holding her hand under the cool stream of water. Her eyes lit up with excitement when she felt it warm.

“Enjoy it,” Peter said grimly, “this could be the last place that has it for a while.”

“Hmm… hand soap,” Cass said, eyeing the quarter-full bottle in the shower’s corner, “but no wash cloth…” With a grin she looked down at Peter.

“Oh wait a minute-“ he laughed, but he was cut off as Cassandra stepped underneath the warm curtain of water. A moment later his skin tingled in the cold as she stuck him out of the stream, he blinked as she pressed down on the pump, slathering him in the fruity scented goo of the handsoap. He sighed in pleasure as he was pulled back into the warmth of the cascading water, and then he gasped as the soap was slowly rubbed in and over his body by Cassie’s strong and gigantic fingers.

“Ahh,” Cassandra sighed, slowly tracing the tiny soap covered man along her breasts, “what a nice little loofah you make…” Peter sputtered slightly, traced down along her stomach, and then finally through her curly pubic hair.

For his part Peter didn’t mind, and he relished the soft feeling of her skin against his own, lubricated by the sweet scent of the soap. He was dragged along her immaculate body several times, blinking through the falling water as he got to look at his giant guardian angel.

Let’s have a little fun, she thought, circling him around her crotch, and then steadily bringing up directly against it. Peter squirmed slightly, the wetness of the water slowly being replaced by her own silky and sticky fluids as she rubbed him roughly against her opening.

“Oh yeah,” she moaned, “there’s nothing better than rubbing one out in the shower!”

Peter felt his body almost enveloped by her, shoved up and down roughly against her pearl as she gasped overhead. He was all but powerless to resist as she slowly got herself off using his entire body, and with a laugh he simply went limp, letting her enjoy it. The twin columns of her legs quaked a moment, and there was a mewling cry of pleasure overhead as Cassandra braced herself against the shower wall, panting softly.

“Better than a detachable showerhead!” she teased.

…

“RREEEEENTTT” Miss Smythe called from below. Barb sighed, staring at the darkened city skyline. As she watched, one of the few remaining lit skyscrapers slowly went dark, one floor at a time. With a bored indifference she wadded up a few more dollar bills, tossing them over the edge of the rooftop.

Am I crazy or is that zombie happy? Barb thought with a smirk. She grabbed a hundred dollar bill from the small pile of cash she’d made, wadding it up and tossing it next.

“RENT!” Came an excited growl below.

This time tomorrow I’ll have John tucked away in my bra again, or… She sighed, it was best not to think about it. She reached for another hundred-dollar bill.

…

John blinked, trying to remember how he’d gotten in this strange brick room. Slowly, as if the walls would rush in on him at any moment, he stretched his hand out, tracing a hand over the calendar marked October that hung on the wall. The photo above the dates showed a pumpkin harvest, happy children, and in the background… His heart caught as he saw the rotted ghoul, and a moment later he screamed as grey and mottled hands crashed through the walls, grabbing for him.

…

“Shit!” he breathed, sitting up with a start as he woke. He looked around, seeing he was still trapped in the hamster cage, the small cedar chips sticking to his clothes and itching his skin as he stood up with an angry growl.

“Hey, Mister Fix It!” Rhames said in a hushed tone, “you up?”

John started, then turned around, seeing a grinning Rhames standing outside his cage, “What the hell do you want?”

“Let’s just say you’ve made bail,” the other tiny growled, bringing a large set of bolt cutters around from his back. John watched, perplexed, as Rhames gritted his teeth, muscles bulging as he cut through the steel bars. “There,” he said, once a large enough hole had been made, “Come on!”

“Why are you helping me?” John asked suspiciously.

Rhames snorted, “Cheer Captain Rhodes has these girls whipped up into a frenzy, half of them think she tried to ice her co-captain, the other half are convinced Cassandra’s coming back with an army of road warriors or something, and to top it off the power started flickering around midnight.”

John’s heart caught in his throat, “I-It’s coming back on, right?”

“So far,” Rhames growled, “but I’ve been up to the rooftop, and some parts of the city are dark that weren’t before. Between your girlfriend about to ride up in here like Mad Max and the power situation I’d say it’s time to get the fuck out of dodge.”

“I’m not leaving without Barb,” he said firmly.

Rhames shrugged, “Tell you what, you fix that subway car and start it for me? Then you can wait here for her until you both get torn to pieces or die fighting the pep squad, I don’t give a fuck, but as tired as I am I’ve got a few more ass kickings in me if you don’t get your ass out of that cage and follow me to the basement now.”

I’ll fix it, he thought, nodding as he stepped out of the hole Rhames had cut, but that train isn’t going anywhere until Barb and I are both on it… He forced a smile, “Well, what are we waiting for?”