A Man of His Time
By NFalc
4
The Hunt
I slam my back to the wall, sweat running in rivulets down my forehead. Outside, I hear a muffled commotion; it sounds like Kyra's shouting. I'm guessing Sable is restraining her.
I slump down, grateful for the hiding spot. As I sit and try to catch my breath, I quickly go over what just happened in my mind. I can hardly believe I escaped. I remember Cheryl's eyes on me, then her tremendous hand was moving towards me, and everything slowed down. Then I turned and ran, jumping off the table to land, very painfully, on the arm of an unoccupied dining room chair. Looking back on it now, I'm surprised I didn't break any bones. I slid down the chair as fast as possible, the noise of the women getting out of their seats all around me. They were on their feet by the time I hit the floor, and I ran for my life, just making it to the hole as Sable's hand clamped over it.
I don't think Kyra chased me. I'm grateful for that. It feels good to have an ally for once.
It's been a good five minutes now, and things have quieted down a bit. I take the chance to take a peek outside my hole. I see Cheryl walk out to the middle of the room. She looks like she's staring right at me, although I know she's just looking at the crack. She can't see that I'm here, or she'd be trying to get me. Wouldn't she?
"Very well. You've had your fun, and you got away. But I know you're still in this room. I've been watching all the exits.
"And what that means is this: I will get you. I've got you cornered. It's only a matter of time. I have several people who can help me do it, and it can be done either easily or with greater difficulty.
"We'd prefer to avoid killing you, if at all possible. But if you insist on giving us a hard time, we will eliminate you. We can't afford you being seen. So I leave it up to you. Come out willingly, or face the consequences."
The tone of her voice chilled me to the bone. It showed a complete indifference as to whether I lived or died, as long as the job was done. I knew she'd stop at nothing.
But if she wasn't pulling any punches, neither was I. I could not afford to be captured by this woman, not without a fight. If Kyra was a potential threat to my freedom, Cheryl was a definite one. And I would not go easy. No way.
Cheryl pauses a moment, as if expecting an answer. "Very well," she says, then turns and calls, "Sable, put Kyra in her room. We'll talk to her about this later. When you're done, come back down here."
There are clumping noises as Sable drags Kyra off, along with muted shrieks. They come into view as Sable brings Kyra up the stairs. Her hand is over Kyra's mouth. Kyra looks as if she's caught between screaming and crying. I feel somewhat guilty, knowing that this is all my fault. If I hadn't been so damned curious, I would never have gotten caught, and none of this would have happened. Once again, I've found a way to mess everything up.
There's the sound of a door upstairs slamming, then Sable comes back downstairs. "Take a seat," says Cheryl. "We wait here until he comes out."
Sable whispers something to Cheryl, and Cheryl whispers back. I'm too far away to hear anything, and I know they're planning something.
I look desperately around my hiding spot. There's a limited amount of space back here, only six feet on either side, and there's about two feet between the outer and inner walls. If they try to pull me out, I can probably hide to either side of the hole, and they won't be able to grab me. For once, my smaller size is my advantage.
I check my knapsack, and find three meal packs still inside. If they want a siege, I'll give them one. I can last a day or two on these meals, and I figure I can survive ably two more without food. Let's see them sit there for four days straight! One of them will have to move at some point.
I watch them now, sitting down calmly, eyes directed at the hole. Waiting. Let them wait. I can handle waiting. I can handle anything they throw at me.
Upstairs, there's a huge crashing sound. Then a scream.
"Kyra!" shouts Sable, and begins running up the stairs. Cheryl follows after her, yelling protests.
And this is my chance. I dash out of my hole, tearing across the vast plain of wooden floor. My feet pound across the slick, ridged surface. My heart thumps wildly in my chest.
I reach the passage way that leads to the entrance. The front door is closed. Damn! No escape that way. You've got to get out. Think, think!
A window. There's an open window in the living room -. No, I've got no way of getting up there. One in the kitchen. Yes, that will do. I can try to get out through there.
I start running back towards the dining room, but I'm already starting to feel tired. My muscles clench, and I have to force them to keep moving. The adrenalin's already starting to fade with the impossibility of my situation. There's no way I'll make it back to the kitchen in time.
I make it back to the middle of the dining room by the time I hear them coming back down the stairs. Then it's a race back to my hiding place. I won't be able to get out of the window, but I think I can make it to cover.
And I do make it, sliding back into position just in time to see them enter the room and sit down again.
"I can't believe she'd do something like that. Kyra's never acted like this before." Sable says, concerned.
"There's a reason behind it," Cheryl says calmly. "This kind of behavior doesn't happen automatically. Most people would assume they'd seen a mouse, or an insect. She knew right away what it was. Just like we did."
"But she didn't know that I knew," says Sable, a note of sadness in her voice.
"You never told her?" asks Cheryl, visibly shocked for the first time today. "No wonder she's been reading Truthseeker pamphlets. And here I was thinking this was just standard teenage rebellion."
"Kyra's twenty. And I'm her sister, not her mother." Sable's eyes are turned downwards. I think what Cheryl just said embarrassed her.
"Well, yes, but you're the mother figure," Cheryl goes on, not understanding the embarrassment she had caused. "It must have been hard for you, caring for her."
The minutes pass, each one feeling like hours. There are whispers running round my head again, but this time in a new voice. Trapped, they say. You're trapped. There's a certain desperation that comes with being cornered by two enemies far more powerful than you, and it is coursing through my veins. There is no way out. I begin to feel claustrophobic.
I sit up abruptly, trying to clear my head. Instead, I scrape it on the ceiling, causing particles of yellow gunk to fall to the ground around me. I look up. The 'ceiling' isn't a ceiling. It isn't even solid. There's a layer of glue holding what must be insulation in place just above me, and if I work my way past that, I should be able to climb out, and exit to another room.
Kyra's room is just above me. Do I dare to do this? If I fall, I'll undoubtedly kill myself. Once I get to a certain point, there won't be any way to turn back. It's so much safer just to wait it out here... But it isn't, really. I'm slowly going insane from being in this position. If I don't get out, I'll do something irrational.
I slowly start to claw at the glue, removing chunks of it. What seemed like a thin layer looks like it's really about one of their inches thick. The stuff is a little translucent, which made it seem less thick. It's going to take me a while to get through, but at least this gives me something to do other than bemoan my situation.
Then, suddenly, I hear a loud noise. A doorbell. Cheryl said she had people who could help her. If I wasn't screwed already, I felt sure I would be now. Whoever this was would probably have equipment that would make my life that much harder. I begin tearing away at the glue with renewed urgency.
Sable gets up to open the door, and returns with a blonde woman and a brunette, both in trim black suits. The blonde, about average height with a slim figure visible even with the suit, carries a briefcase. Cheryl gets up to greet her.
"Audrey Dashel, and my associate Jane." says the blond woman somewhat stiffly. Her face reminds me slightly of Cheryl's; it has a similar cold detachment.
"I know, dear," says Cheryl, taking her hand. "I asked for you personally. We've got a situation M-12."
"So, I've heard," Audrey says as she lays her briefcase on the floor. It's turned slightly towards me, but even though I crane my head I can't get a glimpse of its contents. I fear the worst. She's going to blow me up, she's going to poison me, she'll catch me and then cut me up...
"We'll need someone to calm my sister down," says Sable, concernedly.
"Jane's good with people," says Audrey, although her tone does nothing to reassure me.
"Tell her we've found a rare, dangerous lifeform in the house, with the potential to kill us all. Tell her we're containing it," says Cheryl, sounding like she's making it up off the top of her head.
Sable mutters something about doubting that this will work.
Jane goes upstairs, and Audrey starts asking questions. Where's the man hiding? What measures are we allowed to take in getting him? How much property damage are we willing to risk? The questions send shivers down my spine. This woman is going to catch me, and she'll do as much as she's allowed to. Thankfully, Sable answers most of the questions in ways that seem beneficial to me.
The suited woman takes a small apparatus out of her briefcase. It looks like a long, thin coil, with a small hole at the end. Then I realize: it's a camera. She's going to thread it into the hole, and then she'll know my exact position.
I quickly begin tearing away chunks of the glue above me. If I can just get enough of it away...
There are huge footsteps outside the crack. Almost got enough...
The light suddenly goes out. Audrey must be lying down in order to thread the cable. There's a sizable hole now, and I leap upwards, clawing at the edges of the remaining glue to hoist myself up. I scramble upwards and manage to grab onto the foam.
I see the cable slither right beneath my feet. Good timing. They'll think I've gotten away, and leave the hole alone. When they go somewhere else, I can make a run for it.
"I'm not seeing anything." Audrey's voice is muted by the wall between us.
"He's got to be in there, keep trying," says Cheryl.
"Did he ever have any chance to get away?" asks Audrey.
Cheryl starts to say "No", but Sable interrupts her: "We were gone for a minute or so."
"That isn't enough time for the target to escape," says Audrey. My heart drops into my stomach. "He wouldn't be able to cover that much ground. He must have found a hiding place within the crack."
"So, what do we do?" asks Sable.
"We smoke him out," Audrey answers. "With the gas."
All of the sudden, I'm fairly alarmed.
I begin racing up the insulation, climbing as fast as I can, grasping the thick, spongy material and propelling myself up it. Behind me, I can hear noises as Audrey sets up the gas. No time to lose. Climb, and climb fast.
There's a hissing noise below me, and I can see a pale gray fog starting to fill the space below. I can faintly make out a sharp sense, and my eyes itch a little. This isn't good.
I keep moving, trying desperately to get as much distance between myself and the gas as possible. But no matter how fast I think I'm going, the gas seems to be rising faster. My eyes begin to water. The smell gets stronger.
The exertion of climbing up the foam is starting to make me feel weak. But as I look up, I see that I'm nearing the junction between wall and ceiling. I'll be able to run as opposed to climb, which should help. I'll find something that'll get between me and the gas, that'll let me escape.
But for how long? I think as I climb. I'd just keep running, and they'd just keep chasing me...
Suddenly, I feel a tug. I'm stuck. I pull against it as hard as I can. The gas is just ten feet below me. I've got to move! I use all my body weight against it, and feel fabric tear. My knapsack, and the meals in it, fall down, disappearing in the gas below.
Now I have no hope of outlasting them. Maybe it would be best to surrender. Maybe they wouldn't kill me. Maybe they'd help me. But I realize that I'm just wishing for an impossibility. You can't trust in anything, unless it's something you really, completely know. Otherwise you lose things.
I've reached the junction. I pull myself up to the gap, and then hear a huge booming sound above me. That's when I remember: Kyra's room is right above me. I leap back out and start climbing the insulation again, until I find myself opposite the crack in her wall.
And she's right there.
Kyra's lying down directly in front of the hole. All at once my mouth goes desert dry, my throat constricts, I almost lose my grip on the insulation. Her face is only thirty feet or so from mine. It fills the crack, even though she isn't pressed to it.
"So you really are what they're after," she says quickly, her voice incredibly loud despite the fact that she's whispering. "That bitch told me some stupid story about an infected rat. I can't believe the way they're lying to me..."
Her eyes drift a little upwards, as if the answer would come from above. I still am too shocked to say anything at all. This is the first time we've been face to face. I look down and see the gas is rising.
Kyra's nostrils perk slightly. "What's that smell?" The gas is now starting to seep up through the crack a little. My eyes are flooding so much I can barely see. The gas's acrid smell is overwhelming. "Oh my god," Kyra whispers. "They're trying to gas you. Quick, come out! I can hide you."
With one hand, I wipe my eyes. I look into her face. And I realize, no matter how much she wants this, or I want this, it can't happen. I don't know her well enough to trust. "I'm sorry," I say as loudly as I can, then slide back down the insulation.
I try to stop at the junction between wall and ceiling, but my sight is clouded by the tremendous amount of gas around me. I can't see well enough to judge the distance, but I leap for the roof anyway, and find my self falling.
I land hard on a bit of tube sticking out of the wall. This is what my knapsack got stuck on. I try to get a grip on it, but slide off, and fall once more. My descent's been slowed, however, and I manage to just catch the insulation. I think I'm near the bottom.
I hang on for dear life. But I don't really know what I'm going to do now. They're still pumping gas into the walls. I'm still trapped. I can't climb up again. Now, now I'm really cornered.
Slowly, the gas begins to make me woozy. Lack of air. Everything's spinning. I'm trying to keep my grip, but it looks like it just isn't in the cards. Odd. Despite the stinging in my eyes, and my nose and throat, I feel calm. Everything's okay. Just let go.
Then I fall, for the last time, harder and deeper than before, straight into black.
Giantess World
