It took Susie less than two seconds to realize that she had to step in. She’d overslept that morning, and had hurried to meet Jake, not wanting to be late. As it was, she arrived at the same time as Jake tried to escape. Her first reaction was to stay hidden, but what she saw happen next motivated her to help her new friend.

Bursting out of the trees and stepping easily over the knee-high fence, she was on them in less than a second. Her massive footsteps shook the ground. Billy and the others barely had time to look behind them. She slipped her right foot out of her sandal and lowered it onto him. Frank and Arthur were able to run out of the way, but they stumble and fell over. They were only able to look on in terror as she lowered her foot onto Billy and held him against the ground. Meanwhile, Linda had also managed to run a few feet away, but when she saw what was happening she stopped and screamed. Her legs gave way and she fell to her knees.

Billy didn’t have time to see what was scaring her when a massive object pressed him to the ground. He tried to escape but the pressure on his body was too great. He slammed his fists against the object, to no avail, and then tried stabbing it with his knife. Still nothing happened, and still the object came down on him, until he was squashed so tightly that he couldn’t move.

Susie looked down at them and wondered what to do next. It would be the easiest thing for her to plant her foot on the ground and crush Billy out of existence. But she didn’t want to kill him, not at all. It took great effort for her to balance in such a way that her foot only rested lightly on him. She could feel his puny body, but was unaware that he’d stabbed her with his knife, since her skin was thicker than its blade. The other three were still lying around, seemingly paralysed with fear. She had no idea where Jake was, until she felt a slight tickling on her left foot. Jake had clambered onto her foot, and was now firmly attached to her lower leg. He held on as if he was afraid he might fall off. Susie smiled. She raised her foot a few feet and gently tipped him off.

“Hey, you!” she shouted at Arthur, who was attempting to flee. “You’d better stay where you are, unless you want to see your buddy get squished. Jake, round them up!”

“What?” a bewildered Jake called up, still cowering next to her foot.

“You heard me!” She lifted her foot, and Billy appeared, gasping and coughing. When he saw what was above him, he screamed and began to crawl away. Susie bent down and picked him up. He flailed about, screaming and cursing. Then, without another thought, she stuffed him into her skirt’s pocket. She knew he couldn’t escape, not from fifty feet above ground level. Meanwhile, Jake had brought the others to her. Swiftly she picked them up as well, stuffing Arthur in with Billy and the other two in her other pocket. Linda appeared to have fainted, while Frank looked like he was having a panic attack. When they were safely stowed away she reached down ad lifted Jake. Then she gave him a hug.

“Bet you’re glad to see me!” she said.

“Uh-huh,” he grunted, pressed tightly against her body. After what he’d just seen he was a little scared of her, of her immense strength. But she knew how to handle people without hurting them. Letting him sit down in her open hand, she stepped back over the fence and began to head home.

“Susie, you’re not…taking them with you, are you?” Jake asked. “I mean, I’m really glad you saved me, but isn’t this a bit…risky?”

“Maybe,” she smiled impishly. “But so’s letting them go, too. Besides, they need a lesson or two, don’t you think?”

He looked up at her meekly. This wasn’t what either of them had wanted, but things rarely happen exactly as planned. Susie held Jake’s body between her thumb and index finger, and began rubbing him. He was so small compared to her, so tiny and petite, and yet she felt incredibly enamoured of him.

“Don’t worry, Jake,” she said soothingly. “I’ll let them go soon enough. Then you and I can enjoy a lovely day together.”

When she got home she first put Jake on the dining table. Then she took out her four captives and dropped them all in the kitchen sink. It was too deep for them to escape, and they looked up helplessly as she towered over them. As she pondered what to do with them Billy spoke up.

“Wh-wh-what the fuck is this?” he yelled. He tried to jump up and grab the edge of the sink, but wasn’t able to reach it. Susie grinned and leant in closer. Billy backed away and tried to hide behind Frank. They all stared up at her in complete fear. She took a deep breath and blew forcefully on them. They couldn’t stand up to the power of her breath and fell over, with Frank falling on top of Billy. Susie laughed. It felt amazing, to be able to use her power so freely. She gleefully grabbed Frank by the leg and dangled him upside-down above her head. He was screaming and begging her to let him go.

“Not yet,” she said with a smile. She began to lower him into her open mouth, and at this point he really began to panic. He screamed as if he were being tortured as she closed her mouth, his upper body completely inside it. She gave him a few shoves with her tongue, his arms desperately hitting everything around him. At last she’d had enough and she spat him out into the sink. He fell on top of Arthur, covering them both in her saliva.

“Ugh, you taste just awful!” she said. “You definitely need to bathe more often. Now, who’s next? Ah, perfect!” Arthur was still busy trying to dry himself when he too was grabbed by the legs. He closed his eyes, and looked ready to cry. Susie studied him a little before deciding the best place for him would be beneath her foot. She took off her sandal and held him against the sole of her foot, rubbing him back and forth, giggling at his ineffectual struggles. All the while Jake watched her, partly in curiosity and partly in fear. He vowed never to make her angry; he didn’t want to know what she’d do to him if he did.

Meanwhile Linda had recovered from her daze. When she saw she was in a giant kitchen sink she began to scream again. Billy turned on her angrily.

“Will you shut up?” he screamed at her.

“Billy, I’m scared!” she wailed. “I don’t want to die! Please, baby, do something!”

But Billy had had more than he could take. He strode towards her and slapped her in the face. She fell to the floor and began to sob.

“I said shut up, you bitch!” he yelled, and kicked her in the stomach. “It’s your fucking fault we’re here!”

He lifted his foot to kick her again, but suddenly found himself fifty feet in the air. Susie had heard Linda’s screams and, putting Arthur down in the sink, watched horrified as Billy hit his girlfriend. At that moment she could no longer control her anger. She grabbed Billy around the waist and began to squeeze him in her fist, at first lightly, but slowly increasing her force. She could feel his fragile little body give way under pressure, and heard his screams of intense pain, but she didn’t stop. She was no longer worried what might happen to him. Her fist grew tighter and tighter, but then she heard a voice behind her yell: “Susie, stop!”

Slowly, as if emerging from a dream, she loosened her grip on Billy. She dropped his unconscious body into the sink and turned around. There, perched on the edge of her table, was Jake. His eyes were wide with fear, and as she approached he shrank away from her.

“Jake…” she whimpered, but he just backed away further. “Oh, Jake, I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that, I really didn’t. I…I just got so angry…”

She sat down and began to cry. How could she have been so…so unfeeling. Now her only friend thought she was a monster. Now he, and everyone else, would hate her. She buried her face in her hands and wished she didn’t exist. She didn’t see Jake cautiously approaching her, but she heard him call her name. When she didn’t answer he tried to talk to her.

“Susie,” he said, “I know you can hear me, so please listen. I’m not angry, Susie. The other day, when you told me all about you, I knew that’s who you really are, a kind and wonderful person, who would never just hurt someone for no reason. We all get angry sometimes. I mean, even I sometimes wished I could hurt the people who were hurting me, people like Billy. We all make mistakes, that’s only human. You told me that you always wished you were normal. Well, feeling what you feel now, what you felt then, that is normal! I’m still you’re friend, Susie. And friends forgive each other, no matter how big a mistake you make.”

She looked at him, and, right then, he knew he was in love with her. He wanted to tell her, but couldn’t; how would she react? Then he decided that the important thing right then was to comfort her and make her feel better. He reached out his hand, and she held out a five-foot finger, and he hugged it.

“I forgive you, Susie,” he said, “but I’m not the one you should apologize to.” He nodded in the direction of the sink. “Tell them you’re sorry, and take them back. I think they’ve learned their lesson.”

She sniffed back her tears and nodded. With a weak ‘okay’ she got up and headed to the sink. A moment later she came back and held out her hand for Jake to climb in. He did, and saw that she was carrying someone else in her other hand. It was Linda, curled up into a ball, sobbing.

“I…I don’t feel like leaving her alone…with them,” Susie explained. “I’ll take them back, but…would you…you know, watch over her, while I’m gone? Please? I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Jake said, not entirely comfortable with the plan. He and Linda were placed on Susie’s bed, and she made sure they were comfortable, before leaving to take the other three back. Billy was in bad shape, and she wondered if he’d make it back okay. She picked up Arthur and Frank, apologized as best as she could, and put them in the pockets of her skirt. Then she picked up Billy and, cradling him in her hands like a precious object, left the cabin. Jake watched her go and waited for her return.

When she came back she sat down on the bed beside him.  Feeling himself suddenly attracted to her, he approached her leg cautiously. She did nothing to stop him, so he grabbed onto her skirt and tried to climb up the side of her leg. With a little help from her hand he managed it, and fell down comfortably into her lap. She smiled down on him.

“Thanks for understanding, Jake,” she said. “I know it must be difficult for you, to talk to me, to be with me.”

“So, how’s she doing?” she asked.

“Oh, you mean Linda?” Jake looked over at the tiny - at least, relatively tiny - girl. “Still no change. I tried talking to her, but she didn’t answer. I think you scared her pretty badly.”

Susie picked up Linda’s limp body and held her close to her face. Jake watched in amazement. It was one thing to be picked up by a colossal giantess, but to see how small someone else was next to Susie really highlighted how big she was. She held Linda up close, whispering how sorry she was, but got no response other than silence. Susie turned helplessly to Jake, who was even less sure what to do.

“Jake,” she said, “I’m going to take her back. I can’t stand watching her upset like this, and knowing that it’s all my fault. She’ll probably never forgive me, like you did.” She looked like she was about to cry again, but managed to keep her emotions in check.

“Er, do you think she’ll be okay?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. I really hope so, but…if it’s not too much to ask, could you take her back to the town? I don’t want to leave her to go back alone. I mean, those other guys had each other, but she’s…”

“Sure, I’ll go,” Jake said. Then he added: “You’ve been really good to me, Susie, and I don’t blame you for anything. If anything happens - if word of you gets out or anything - well, I’ll be there for you. You have my word.”

She scooped him up and planted a big, wet kiss on his face. Then she hugged him again, more gently this time. He let himself be enveloped by her warm, loving arms, and felt certain that, however bad things might get, they’d still have each other’s full support and friendship.

Later, after Susie had given them some refreshments, she took them back to the usual meeting spot by the fence. Linda had recovered enough to accept some food and water, but she still didn’t speak to them or look them in the eyes. Susie had tried her best to make amends, but in the end she decided the best thing would be to let her leave, and hope that Jake would somehow sort things out. She couldn’t understand why Billy had hit her like that, or why he was constantly picking on Jake, or why he was pretty much nasty to everyone. She put Jake and Linda on the ground and waved them goodbye.

“I had planned a picnic for you today,” she said sadly. “I was going to take you to this beautiful place in the forest.”

“And you still will,” Jake answered. “Maybe not now, or soon, but I’m certain you still will. Goodbye, Susie, and don’t worry: everything will turn out perfect, you’ll see!”