Do you want to know something? I never thought having freedom would be so hard, coming from a point in my life where the concept was completely available and now here it was, dead. Well, not entirely. It was alive, barely. It was the sliver of hope that echoed every night when we were alone. Every moment when she was gone. Every moment when we struck up another plan. It was in those dark moments that freedom quelled in the depths of despair and in this hell.
I’m sure you’re wondering what the hell I’m rambling on about. I guess I should explain everything from the beginning. And I mean, the very beginning. My name is Nicholas. I had a very normal life, I would say. School was boring, I didn’t have too many friends, and I wasn’t popular. A simple life. It wasn’t until I talked to her. The embodiment of evil and carnage wrapped up within a singular entity that caused mayhem and hell wherever she wandered, the reason for many of my tears, my scars, my terrors…and all from an 18-year-old classmate. Anna.
[----Nick----]
“Nick, what’s the answer?” I snap out of my daze and look down at my school work, incomplete. Shit…I really should’ve been paying attention. With a tang of hesitation, I look back towards the teacher.
“I’m sorry…I didn’t make it that far yet…” I mumble slowly, the teacher giving me a knowing frown. She clearly knew I didn’t do any work yet, which was probably why she picked on me in the first place…
“Really? You have to start paying attention Nicholas, how will you get anywhere if you don’t realize what’s happening around you now? Carlos, what did you get?” I go back to staring down at my paper, trying to block out the rest of class. Math class had become a daily ritual that I tended to ignore for the latter part of my school career. Especially now that I have become a senior. I didn’t really have any friends to begin with…so I didn’t talk, I didn’t try to get good grades, I didn’t care. My pencil continues to draw designs on my paper, wasting time until the bell rings, alongside the sound of a thud. The girl sitting next to me knocked her things to the floor, students all gathering their belongings as the teacher spoke over everyone.
“Alright, I expect that the rest of the worksheet on Quadratics will be completed alongside those pages I marked in your textbooks.” Another student ducked down to help her, but she quickly waved him away, to which he simply obliged. I felt bad, mostly because her things spilled towards me and everyone else had been hurrying to their next classes. The teacher had left as well, she must be heading towards a study hall I thought.
Anna, the girl sitting next to me, sighed and continued scooping up her papers into a massive jumble. Her black hair twisted around behind her back, cascading all sorts of ways down the generic graphic t-shirt. Her slightly tanned skin gave off the impression that she was probably popular, although I hadn’t noticed the usual jocks flocking her since I’ve seen her around. I believe she was 18 years old, just like me. Anna was in my grade and we may have two or three classes together in the entirety of my school life at Crisson.
I decided to help her pick up the random papers, not out of obligation but just so she could get out of the class sooner, after all, five minutes to get to your next class isn’t easy sometimes. Out of the papers, I happened to notice a paper detailing a very structured to-do list as well as future ideas she had been jotting down. Just glimpsing at it, it seemed weird;
#1. Build a cardboard house. (House can be used to keep everyone together)
#2. Pick up bathroom cups. (Obvious)
#3. Replace the rubber stopper. (Sink is too loose, can’t have any accidents happening)
Just as I was about to ask this girl about it, her hand ripped it away from me. I immediately started to apologize for reading what she’d written down. I couldn’t tell if Anna had been angry at me or what from how she turned.
“Sorry about that…I guess I was intruding. Didn’t mean to…” Once her things were back in the backpack, I noticed that everyone had already cleared out. Strange to see it for once, I’m usually the first one out. She stood up, her face furrowed. She was clearly fuming at me.
“You didn’t have to. I could've handled it myself. Plus, you should really keep your nose to yourself.” She muttered something else under her breath after that but I couldn’t quite make it out. Anna set her backpack on the seat, still not ready to leave yet although she had her things together. There was an awkward pause between the two of us, as if something was happening. Taking my cue, I began to shuffle out of the classroom awkwardly so as to not be late for gym.
“Wait Nick. I...wanted to ask you something.” I thought to myself about the situation itself. Anna never talked to me before, even in class groups if we were paired together. Typically she would do the project herself, which I didn’t personally mind. For her to ask me something, it must be important. Heading back towards our seats, I noticed she was still rummaging in her backpack. She quickly turned around, her eyes darting to the door behind me still empty and back towards where I stood.
“Do you remember Sarah? Sarah Faust?” Anna asked, now unclicking something inside of her backpack. I glanced off to the side of the room, focusing on the teacher’s desk as I thought more about her. Sarah had been a student, also in my grade, although she had been in a different school district before coming here. Around last February, in 11th grade, she disappeared. The police and staff deemed it to be a factor of her peers forcing her to run away, but with a string of recent disappearances…it had been leading to something else. The police were currently looking for a suspect last I heard.
“Yeah…why? Why bri-” I start to ask, but I see Anna pull this massive silver gun out of her backpack, the school lighting reflecting off the metallic barrel.
“You’re about to meet her.” What the hell? I stumble back, throwing my hands up in defense. Maybe…i-if I beg…she won’t shoot me. I glance over to the doorway, still empty. Should I make a break for it?!
“A-Anna…hey…uh, you don’t want to do this! W-Why me? Y-You kidnapped Sarah?!” I stopped my pace when Anna flicked a lever on the side of the machine, green light now mixing with the dull colors of the evening sun.
“I have my reasons for both.” Anna’s tone came out cold, as if I was nothing to her now. The classmate I once partially admired had been lost to me. I buckled backwards and tried to race towards my only exit, legs pumping and arms swinging in full motion, however-
KRRRRZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTT
“ARRRGHH!” I felt my body collapse to the linoleum floor, the cold taking over my vision. The only thing I could feel was the electric shock seeping into my back. Nothing was right, my eyes were blinking too fast, my hands couldn’t reach anything, my skin teamed with a fiery cold that burned, what the hell was going on…with…me! Something encased my entire body for a split second and then I felt like I was falling. My body shook as I hit something, but I was completely numb and blind. Wherever I was, Anna knew, that was for sure I thought. I was in her hands now.
“U...g...h.” I don’t know how much time had passed between that moment and now...it was only recently that I found myself in some sort of…cocoon? That can’t be right…was it a blanket? I must’ve had a bad dream, I thought. If this was my bed, then I’d be able to get out...I tried to move any inch of my body, finding that the material I was up against was slick and…warm? My arms were pinned at my sides, legs both locked together as if I was standing at attention wherever I was.
“SOMEONE! HELP! I’M TRAPPED!” Almost instantly, I felt the world close in around me, the stale air cutting off my breath. Wait…I passed out…and then…Anna. Above me somewhere, I heard a woman’s voice yell at me. Except it had been much louder than I expected.
“Knock it off Nick. You’re going to embarrass yourself.” I-It…was Anna…A-Anna’s sweaty palm, the anticipation overcoming her made her sweat…I was in her hands, literally…my body was...was in her hand. This can’t be right. Ha. Yeah, this must be a dream of some kind. Sure, I didn’t think it’d turn into a nightmare like this, but this IS a dream. I sighed and relaxed more, my brain slowly beginning to blackout again. Probably from the lack of...oxy...gen...
My thoughts shocked me back to reality when I heard a door slam behind me. Then in the next instant, I tumbled out of Anna’s hand and onto a plush landscape of some sort. I was already gasping in fresh air when I dared to glance below me at the...pink carpet?! Wait, my hand was barely any larger than the carpet fibers below me. I forced my eyes to close and reopen them hard. It was still there...the dream...the nightmare...the carpet, and sure enough, the walls which were miles upon miles tall, as well as three shoeboxes that were pressed up against one wall. There were holes about twice my size cut out in the front. My size? Turning around, I looked at some figurines in front of me...wait, no...I…I’m as tall as the people standing in front of me… I’m sure that happened to the rest of these people, right? Anna must’ve abducted them. The horror, the pain, all of it?
I turned around and felt Anna’s massive billboard presence, now larger than life, staring down at me. She was still wearing her black graphic t-shirt, blue jeans, and her shoes had been removed, showcasing a pair of fairly white no-show socks. I stared up at her, an expectant look leering down at me. Slowly steadying myself, I took several timid steps towards these strangers, unsure of the reality I now lived in. The seven of them all had grim faces. They all looked thin, underweight, and drained. How long had they been here? Days? Weeks? Months? Years?!
“Welcome Nick to your family, my friends! I hope you’ll accept him into your lives as I’ve accepted him for you. I specially picked him! Now introduce yourself, Nick.” Anna’s malice permeated my being as I faced the others. I guess I should say something to these strangers before she gets impatient.
“Th-th-thanks. My name is Nicholas, y-y-you can call me Nick.” I know that I could very easily be...killed and considering my new size, I fear that she wouldn’t hesitate if I acted out, especially this soon. A guy in front of me reached out his hand as I stumbled around for a minute, still taking in this giant girl’s room.
“Hey there, welcome. To hell. For your clarification, we’re all about an inch tall.” I grabbed his hand, his significantly colder than mine. He could see my shock. It was then that I took my time to remember what day it was, probably the last time I’d get to even be familiar with the damn concept, I thought. It was September 8th, 2018. Fall. I can’t forget it. It’ll probably help me feel more…human, I guess. I focused my attention to the now freezing hand coming from the man in front of me.
“Yeah, it's malnourishment. Doesn’t heat the body like it should. My name’s Maxwell.” He looked gruff, his dark hair was unkempt, eyes gaunt with hopelessness, his basic shirt and pants stained a darker color. I’m afraid to find out what it was. I took a long look around Anna’s room, taking in what could be a foreseeable chunk of my future, although I was hopeful that wasn’t the case. Anna’s walls were a light pink shade with a white baseboard that came up about two inches from the floor, which had been that pink shaded carpet. One wall had Anna’s bed facing outwards to the center of the large room, a nightstand sitting next to it too massive to scale. On the next wall, there were three shoeboxes sitting on the floor and a few shelves lining the wall above but I couldn’t make out what they held from where I stood. After that side, Anna’s closet sat closest to her door as well as a massive table with a single chair. The door, from what I could tell, had been fashioned so that it skimmed through the brush of carpet, making anyone over an half an inch tall too large to fit underneath the gap. On Anna’s last wall, there was a window to the outside world and several pictures of Anna hanging on the wall with friends.
“This is Jessica, this is Alexander, this is Tress, that’s Sarah, that one over there is Dennis, and she’s Katrina.” Maxwell introduced his group one by one, describing to me who they were in their past life and how…they ended up here with us now.
Maxwell was a ‘nerd’ at our school and shared a class with her. They seemed to be the brightest students in their math, even under Anna’s above average looks. It was only a matter of time until Anna found herself…attracted to Maxwell. Max, however, didn’t feel the same way and her revenge was cold and swift. Alone in an auditorium, she captured him. He tended to be treated the worst there, being there for the longest, rejecting Anna’s feelings. He was taken October 14th, 2017.
Jessica was her father’s nurse. It wasn’t until her mother accused Anna’s father of cheating that thoughts began brewing in the teenager’s head. Simply put, Jessica ended up shrunken due to a paranoid woman afraid that she wasn’t good enough. Her blonde hair was ragged from the abuse she’s suffered at the hands of Anna, she’s been here pretty recently on January 8th, 2018. Her figure was still healthy, but I could tell that her body was eating away at itself, much like the others in the room.
Alexander found himself at the feet of Anna rather fast. Years of bullying throughout high school forced Anna’s hand. Although both were fairly popular in High School, Alex felt entitled since she was more nerd than prep. One very late night at a basketball practice, she took advantage of her timing and caught him in the hallway. After a very…very thorough lesson, he learned to respect her. His brown scruffy hair was matted, and his body was thin like the others, however it did have some muscle tone, if you could call it that. He’s been here since Christmas.
Tress was her best friend, funny enough. It really surprised the others in the group when Tress arrived. For days on end Anna would talk about her, they were besties. But of course, all things come to an end, and when Tress cheated on Anna’s other friend, James, she took vengeance. Tress looked the least dead, her black hair somewhat frizzy and unkept. She used to be the newest at only a month. Before...I arrived here.
Sarah used to be a student in my grade. I sorta recognized her, but from her thousand-yard stare and pale figure, there’d be no way to distinguish her now. I remember some posters being hung up, however, no evidence ever came to light. Her blonde hair falling down the side of her face haunted me some of those nights. I could only wonder where she ended up…that must’ve been the beginning of the year as well, some time in February. To think she was here...under everyone’s noses...
Dennis was an English teacher who actually did his job, surprisingly. Anna liked getting good grades for doing nothing although she had the intellect, so when Dennis didn’t take her bribe, she got upset. How she managed to shrink him without the faculty noticing is beyond me. Perhaps Anna’s family had connections? Dennis’ hunch was pronounced, and his gray hair left him somewhat balding. He’s been here from the very beginning.
And lastly, there’s Katrina, the girl who saw too much. It happened when Dennis was attacked by Anna, she walked in on Anna stuffing the unconscious professor into her backpack when suddenly she found herself next to Dennis. I could only imagine her face of horror, the red hair covering her eyes, the freckles present on her face. Maxwell, Katrina and Dennis all have been together for the longest time. I noted that all of their clothing looked ratty and torn in several places, although it still fit and covered most of their parts and I wondered if the same would happen to me. I had hoped it wouldn’t.
For months on end, they’ve grown accustomed to the rules that Anna’s put into place in her room. On a piece of paper, on the sides of all the shoeboxes, there’s a list written very carefully and selectively. It describes what’s expected of her pets, and that no matter what we think or where we are, we obey these commandments.
ANNA’S COMMANDMENTS
Never disobey an order from your Goddess. - You must eat your food or else.
Do not harm each other or else. - Do not try to escape from your home or else.
Do not ‘sleep’ with others or else. - Other rules will be added as needed as I see fit.
“This is…too much…” I said, barely realizing I said anything at all. Anna cocked her head down below, unsure of what I meant. Just looking at those rules made me feel…less. Like I wasn’t a person who lived by the constitution anymore. I wasn’t a person. I was a subject underneath Anna’s cruel and apparent reign, and I was hers to do whatever with.
“I’m sorry?” Anna said, a tone that was seemingly pleasant. I shook my head, ignoring the pleading looks coming from in front of me.
“You…you have to change me back. I mean, all of us! We have lives and…and…you can’t take that away from us!” I said, still not accepting the situation around me. Anna continued looking down at me with a curious gaze, a smile forming at the edges of her lips.
“I can’t do that Nick. You don’t feel…proud that I picked you? To join us? I feel…offended that you don't understand.” Anna stated simply, holding up a hand towards where her heart was. I could feel my blood begin to boil, having to withstand this girl’s madness already.
“Change us back, damn it! None of us want this! None of-” I felt an arm grab my wrist and yank me, trying to stop me from shouting anymore. I turned and saw Max, eyes wide and worried. Above me, Anna cleared her throat and spoke louder than she had been originally.
“Nick, come here.” Anna reached towards my body, now trembling from her immense digits grasping for me. Max’s hold on me disappeared as Anna pulled me up towards her eye. As I stood in the center of her mushy platform, I could feel the heat and heartbeat her entire hand gave out, even through my feet. I placed a timid step backwards and her flesh buckled inward, like I had been standing on top of a soft, pillowy mattress. However, Anna pulled me even closer to her face.
“You don’t understand the situation…and I get it. Really. This is your first day here and I’m willing…to let your outburst slip. Another one of these and you’re not going to like it. There will be lessons…you will not like.” Anna’s cool voice fell over me in a hush, my body seemingly freezing on contact with her words. I didn’t want to die, I thought. But was I about to degrade myself and act like…what, some kind of pet towards this 18 year old girl?
I made no noise, too afraid that whatever I would say could be considered retaliation of some kind. Her eyes stared pointedly at me, as if she was expecting something.
“O-Okay…Anna…” Anna smiled, her icy demeanor changing to warmth yet again. It was incredible to watch her emotions switch on a dime…it made me worried for what could be in store for the future.
“I’ll take that, I guess. You should really be thanking me for explaining this whole thing to you, Nick. Anyway…here you go…” Anna’s palm lowered me back to the pink carpet, the others looking at me curiously to see if she had done anything to me already.
“Well, now that you’re all acquainted with your new family member, I think it’s time we had dinner! This calls for a special meal, right?” Anna’s voice crashed my thoughts into the grimy depths, leaving us a moment to answer her. We all collectively nodded and muttered affirmations to Anna, hoping to appease her appetite.
“Good. I’ll be right back. Show Nick where he’ll be staying, the one with Max.” Anna dashed through the door and slammed it behind her, leaving her tiny villagers to talk amongst themselves about the new situation.
“Damn it! That psychotic bitch has done it again!” Alex shouted after her, his words hitting the now shut door. Just underneath the rim, one could see light ebbing ever so slightly into this dark world of ours. We were too tall to slip underneath the door, I’d guess. Even still…where would we go afterwards I wondered.
“Nick, I’m sorry that, well, you’re stuck here too. Whatever Anna throws at you…you just have to take it.” Jessica spoke calmly to me, as if she remembered when she first was brought in. There was a sincere atmosphere surrounding these people, as if they truly cared about each other after all these months. It sorta made me feel better. And then I remembered.
“She knew. She had to have known damn it!” Dennis was muttering to himself, abstractly thinking to himself it seemed. The others looked towards him and nodded solemnly.
“Yeah. It’s too much of a coincidence. Just when we had it worked out too.” Katrina sighed, obviously dismissed about something that I was missing.
“I’m sorry, what happened? Was it about…what she said to me up there?” I was thoroughly confused about the general feeling here. They were beating themselves up about…me?
“We planned an escape a while ago actually. When the next person, you, would be brought in, Alex would take a chance to sneak towards the door while she was talking alone to you. However…that didn’t happen.” Maxwell closed his eyes and sighed with the others, clutching his hands into a fist.
“Instead, she just dumped you onto the floor…and then gave you the pep talk right in front of us. YOU BITCH! YOU FUCKIN’ KNEW!” Alex yelled at the door, still nothing happening in response. I felt…horrible for the fates of these people…while I’ve been in school and at home…these…people have been locked in here.
“She did it…I…” I looked towards the noise and saw Sarah standing a little ways off in the carpet, her arms dropped to her sides staring right at me. Once she noticed me looking, her eyes seemed to refocus themselves.
“…so…how’d you get here? Any reason why?” Sarah asked me, her eyes were stuck to me. I’m sure she was asking it out of kindness. I recalled what happened earlier that day, or at least what felt like earlier.
“I helped her…pick up some papers. It had been a list of what to buy, now I know, for…uh…” I motioned towards the room around me, unable to finish my sentence. As for why, I didn’t quite understand. I was never in Anna’s group for projects nor did I have any negative experiences with her. Why had she picked me, I wondered.
“No one found you…heard you yell…anything that might save us?” Alex asked, quietly searching for another hope that they might escape. I shook my head, unaware of what really happened after I blacked out. He grunted and a noise startled us, our attention pointed towards the door that just opened. Anna held a large plate over us, looking particularly pleased with herself.
“Guess what it is!” There was silence among the group, afraid to answer. I took a shot at it, hoping to get on good terms with our new ruler for the moment.
“Is…is it food?” I was being hopeful. She nodded and held it aloft. It was apparently some sort of name brand cracker I had never heard of before. Dropping the plate relatively close to our shoeboxes, she sat down and ate a plate of spaghetti in front of us, deciding to withhold her manners as well. Taking turns between us all, we started breaking off some softer corners of the cracker on the tiny ceramic plate, eating in silence. Well, until Anna decided to make a conversation.
“Soo…Nick, how do you like your new home so far? I know that it can be a big change at first...” Anna smiled at her own joke while I thought about my answer carefully before saying it out loud. I opened my mouth, heart racing, mouth completely dry already.
“It’s nice Anna, thank you.” In reality, this was the worst fucking thing I could ever imagine happening to me. I lost my life. I lost my future. I lost everything because of an 18 year-old girl who I helped, as far as I know. Maybe she’s had me in her sights for a while?
“Thanks Nick! Alex, make sure you eat up, alright? You have a test coming up.” I looked inquisitively at Alex, who shook his head and grabbed another hunk of cracker. It was then that I saw Sarah sitting over by herself, pale and thinning almost. I picked up my cracker and padded across the carpet to sit next to her. She seemed lonely, certainly losing her mind about this place as I secretly am. I turned back and watched as Anna's eyes seemed to light up in delight when I walked over to Sarah. They were…hungry, was the word that came to my mind. I dismissed the thought and focused on the girl in front of me.
“Hey, you’re Sarah, right?” She nodded, barely taking the time to look up at me. Her skin looked even worse up close, there were several scars that lined her arms…I’m afraid to think of what caused those…
“I’m terrible with names, just letting you know. I might have to ask you again later.” I tried to joke, but this awkward fumble was the best I could do, mostly from having my wits shaken up like a tornado.
“You looked like you wanted to ask me something…” I asked, remembering the look Sarah was giving me earlier on. Her face reddened, probably cursing herself for being caught so easily.
“Y-You noticed. I was wondering if you…remembered any of us when we were normal sized.” I blinked, realizing what she asked. I had heard stories and rumors while we were in school about missing people…but ultimately they were decided to be kidnapped or sadly deceased. The last I had paid attention, they were close to finding out who the suspect was, since the cases were all similar in nature.
“I…really wasn’t into knowing who people were, Sarah. I’m sorry.” We ate the rest of our cracker in silence as Anna watched us, interested in seeing what we're talking about and who was talking to who. It almost mimicked the high school cliques theme. Afterwards, I learned what our bathroom situation had been. A small Dixie cup used for mouthwash was fashioned for our own toilet, although we had been too small to use it like one. Anna would place the person on a tiny box, probably used for a phone charger, and place the cup right against it. The person would simply turn around or or aim in front of them and…release. I shuddered and grew more worried as it came closer to my turn, the others not fazed by it any longer.
“Nick, you have to go?” Anna asked, to which I nodded so she could see my head move. She placed her palm out flat on the carpet, allowing me to step onto the fleshy muscle that was her hand. Cool air soared past me as we traveled up onto a nearby table in her room. She set her palm down on the box and I took a few steps, hoping off. Anna stood there, watching me.
“Uh…Anna…could I have some privacy please?” I asked, unsure of what to say to stop her from watching me. Anna’s lips curled into a smile.
“No, silly. I can’t do that. What if you try to escape or fall back into the dixie cup with everyone else’s crap? Besides, what you’re about to do I’ve already seen hundreds of times.” Anna giggled after saying this, making my nerves lock up inside of me. I tried to ignore the giantess’ presence behind me, releasing my bladder into the cup below.
“Good boy…” Anna cooed, making my skin stand on end. She was inches behind me, her breath ruffling my hair, the smell of marinara sauce clouding the area around me. I quickly finished my business and turned back towards her, hoping she would put me with the others quickly. My prayers were answered as Anna lowered me in front of the ‘houses’ with the others. It was then that the nighttime procedure commenced. She corralled Jessica, Tress, Katrina, and Sarah into the first shoe box, closing the opening of the cardboard.
In a sense, it was a drawbridge shaped door that was left open for us, however, when our captor would push it in, the door itself became stuck unless she pried it open. Next, Anna pushed Alexander and Dennis into the second shoebox, shutting the door in the same fashion. Finally, I felt the warm-blooded hand pat my back towards the open shoebox. It wasn’t until I was almost in that I saw the plastic wrap on the top of the box, letting light seep through the small box. Not only was there moonlight funneling through, but also the eyes of Anna, almighty and omnipresent as she was. I looked over at Maxwell, who was sitting in his bed, hands on his face. The beds, in fact, were simply mini stockings that were made during Christmas. They were small enough for our bodies, as well as warm to help us maintain our heat over the night. In the pale light, I watched as the door behind us was pushed up, locking Maxwell and I in this box together.
“Ahh…well…it’s not the worst day we’ve had. Just…gotta keep that in mind. It could always…be worse…” Maxwell padded over to his stocking and opened the top, beginning to snuggle his way inside. I looked back at my corner of the room, dumbfounded. I’d hate to see how it could get worse…
“Max…is, is this real? I mean… my…my life. This world…that we’re in…” I began shuddering uncontrollably, my skin teeming with horror and fear. This was my life now. My family was probably gone. Probably wondering where their son was at this moment, calling the police to search around the school. Anna, however nice she may seem now, could be cold and cruel. Just popping us under her foot or…no…I can’t imagine it…not now. I won’t be able to sleep.
“Yeah…it’s sinking in now, huh. Same thing happened when I first landed here. I stayed calm in her face until she left me alone. Then…yeah…” He looked away, embarrassed about how he reacted to it. Then a smile crossed his face.
“They’re needed memories. Honestly, I wouldn’t trade them in for anything. It…reminds me that I have to get out of here. That I…WE need to teach that bitch a lesson.” I understood where he was coming from. A part of me hated Anna for stealing my life without permission and wanted revenge, however, another part realized that somewhere deep inside, she must have a reason for these atrocities…right? No one’s that insane…right?
“Thanks for the pep talk Max, I…I think I’m good enough to fall asleep now…” I lazily walk over to my stocking, worn from the usage of Christmases past. The smell of dust was suffocating inside of our boxes, but it was the only recluse we had from Anna. Folding the dull red fabric over my body, I force my eyes shut from the curve of Anna’s ceiling. It was as if…nothing in my life had even mattered up to this point…I found peace somewhere in the night. I think.
[----Alex----]
“Hey there nerd.” I slapped the books from this girl’s arms, my teammates getting a quick laugh. I chuckled and looked at her, her face flustered and red. This was the perfect fix that I needed. After a crappy practice and coach’s yelling, here was someone who I could make relate, I thought.
“What’s your name dipshit?” I loomed over the small girl, proud of my height against her. Once she picked up her books, she tried to give me a mean look, but her eyes were flushed with tears. I leaned against the locker next to her and grinned, already feeling better myself.
“Crying already? Is the baby gonna cry?” There was another girl that hurried up to the one I was picking on, someone with shorter black hair than this chick I was messing with.
“Anna, come on. Forget Jughead here.” She pulled Anna’s arm away from her locker and towards the stream of students heading towards their next class. I didn’t even know this chick, but her being pretty weak made me pretty happy in the end, I felt. I shoved her books down again, causing the other girl to gasp and caught up to my buds, already late for my Math class.
It took a few more months of harassing this ‘Anna’ for me to be called out by the principal. He was a short man, probably bullied himself in another life. Begrudgingly, I bit my tongue. However, it didn’t stop me from taking my anger out on her after school. Several times, Anna would stay after school studying for her stupid exams or hanging out with her other friend, Tress. There’d be days where I found time to put dirt in her backpack, change her locks on the locker, hell, even steal something from her wallet while I was in there.
Tonight, a big upcoming basketball game had me practicing on my own while the school was starting to shut down. After a couple of free-throws from the middle of the court, I see that weird nerdy chick standing off on the side, all by herself.
“Hey! Bitch! I’ll call the cops if you keep that up! Or better yet, I’ll start a rumor that you piss your pants still.” I tried coming up with better insults but gave up. Basketball really takes it outta me. I heard her clear her throat timidly.
“You’ll stop your evil tonight. Or else.” A threat from someone that shitty? I mean, I don’t think she’d be the kinda girl to bring in a gun and shoot me, right? No, I could take her. I begin to aim the basketball in my hand over to that girl, hoping to hit her in the head. I whip the ball at her and watch as she pulls something out from behind her. A gun!?
“The fuck is-” Before the ball hits her, the gun zaps the basketball and makes it…disappear? There’s a couple of seconds where we look at each other and I book it towards the hallway, hoping to find someone to help me.
“Alex, you piece of shit! I finally have you!” Bitch kept on shouting behind me, going off on some weirdo rant. That wouldn’t have stopped me from grabbing her hair and shoving her against the locker, what I usually do. But she’s got that freakin’ gun in her hands!
“You’re sick! Get that damn thing away! Or…or!” I pushed myself through another set of doors and shoved my body against it, hoping to stop her from coming. The next time I see the principal, she’s going out of my school damnit! No more freaky geeks!
“ALEX. LET. ME. IN.” Just as I began to laugh at her stupid attempts to open the door, I shuddered. It felt like…there wasn’t anything behind me anymore…why is…I turned to see the doors getting smaller and smaller. And Anna standing there, a frown on her face, gun smoking from just being used. I finally recognized the glowing green gun she had used. Where had I heard about it before…it was from some mass corporation!
“Fuck! What the hell are you doing with that? Anna!? Come on!” She aimed it at me and pressed the trigger, the feeling of a million zaps of electricity running through my whole body. I fought against the drowsiness, my muscles getting more and…more…tired…I collapsed…next to the…doors………and………I……………heard………………….
“You. Are. Mine. Loser.”
[----Nick----]
“Rise and shine!” I heard her chipper voice…for the fourth time, I counted. It had been four days since she greeted me in the morning. It was as if an alarm was set to super loud in addition to the obnoxious tone too. I groggily looked over at Maxwell, who had already gotten up and was standing in the middle of the box stretching his arms. It helped Anna see that we were all ready and no one was hiding from her. I pulled the stocking over my face, hopefully sending a sign that my morning should start a little later. Just give me some sleep…please…
“Nick, please, before she sees that you’re not up yet.” Maxwell spoke to himself rather than towards me. In fact, I was on the verge of sleeping again. It was then that I realized my mistake. The spot I thought was safe became launched against the opposite side of the box from a blow to my wall. Maxwell collapsed against his side as well. My eyes shot open as I realized that Anna had kicked the box to wake me up. Another shot to the side and I bashed my head against the hard cardboard.
“GAH! I’m up! I’m up! Please!” I struggle to get out of the stocking as our box gets kicked again. I see Maxwell huddled into the corner of the box, hoping to stop himself from flying as far as I am. I rush to the center of the box where Anna sees me. My hair is matted from the restless sleep I had.
“Good. I thought you would never wake up Nick. Come and join your family out here.” She pulled open the cardboard flap, letting us see the other people. I give Maxwell a slight grimace, understanding his warning. He sighs and leads me out into the room, rubbing the spot where his head hit his corner. Looking back at the cardboard box, there’s actually a sizable dent in my side now. She must’ve been really pissed off…
“Now that everyone has woken up, I think it’s time for us to eat some breakfast!” Anna held a finger to us, probably telling us to wait here. She rushed out the door wearing her pajamas, going to get us some toast once more. Every morning, it’s the same food, toast that’s been a little too burnt. Our drink is a very small cup of water she sets down next to the plate. After we’re finished drinking it, Anna uses it as our morning bathroom break. After our morning meal, she leaves for school, leaving us to the whims of whatever she cooks up. Usually, we are subjected to The Town.
“Nick! You hafta get up when she tells you. And Max, why didn’t you pull him up!” Tress stood there, shocked that Maxwell hadn’t forced me out. Usually, Maxwell tends to teach the newbies about how things are run around here from what I gather.
“I sorta…froze up I guess. I haven’t been sleeping well recently. Probably from yesterday.” Maxwell rubbed his neck, the scratch still evident from Anna’s actions.
“Maxwell, I’m sure if you ask her, very politely, she might get you some ice for it. Anna likes you, I think…” Dennis was trying to help in his own way. He was right, none of us had anything we could do for him, the only thing was to massage it, and at best that might make it worse.
“Don’t say that. I don’t want her attention.” Max growled out, still messing with the cut on the back of his neck. When Max first arrived and others started to join him, he explained the circumstances following his shrinking. Anna had asked him out, but he stupidly rejected her. There are feelings there, but they’re certainly murkier now, Max told us.
“And I…don’t want to. I’d rather live with this than grovel at-.” Just then Anna, carrying two plates, kicked the door open with her foot. She set down a burnt piece of toast in front of us, letting us get to work on a corner while she shut the door. Anna sits down on her bed and begins taking loud bites while scrolling on her phone. We silently ate our piece in anticipation of what we would be doing while Anna is at school. I imagined The Town situation.
The Town, in a sense, is just a little Lego town. However, using the creativity of Anna, it could lead to some strange scenarios with bad results. Yesterday, we had to break out of a jail of Legos and if we didn’t escape by the time Anna came back, well…
“Maxwell is the only one in the prison still! Why didn’t you escape?” Anna loomed over us all that day, obviously pissed off that we didn’t take her jail seriously. In all honesty, we had tried to climb our way out, but we needed someone to push the others over the Legos.
“We…um…tried. Someone had to-” Maxwell sputtered, unsure of how to tell her. It wasn’t an answer she had wanted to hear. Almost out of nowhere, I watched her hand grab Max and lift him to her face. I’m sure they exchanged certain words quietly, and then before I knew it, I heard him scream and saw her nail dig into the back of his neck. When she dropped him back down, she graciously threw us a scrap of paper towel, to which Jess held it against his neck to staunch the blood.
“Guess what my little pets!” I snapped out of my thoughts of the past and looked at Anna, who held her phone excitedly. The glow of her smile was sinister…
“School’s been canceled today! Guess what again!” Oh no, a full day of Anna, and it’s not even a weekend yet. I looked over at the others who shared the same expression I did. What would we be doing today? What was the other news, I wondered.
“They’re getting close to finding the suspect of the missing persons! They’ve determined…it's Shawn Long. I wonder how they made that jump…” Anna laughed at her own brilliance, anger visible on Alex’s face, horror on Katrina’s face.
“That…how did…you don’t know my-” Alex sputtered, unable to believe whatever Anna had just done now.
“Your last name? It’s a fucking school, it’s not hard to find out your last name. Finding your father and planting evidence that belongs to Nick without leaving any evidence of myself behind…that was a tricky part.” Anna smiled deviously and continued scrolling, relishing the ignorance she was handing us. I turned back to Alex, who clenched his fists, the toast in his hand now crumbs lying at his feet. Behind him, Max put his hand on his shoulder in hopes that it would calm him down. It didn’t.
“Anna! You…YOU! YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS DAMN IT! SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT YOU BACK IN YOUR PLACE. HOW COULD YOU RUIN MY DAD’S LIFE! AND MINE YOU BITCH!” Anna glanced down at Alex, who was now shaking with anger. She smirked at the pathetic bug.
“Listen hypocrite. I just did. My family doesn’t care about my life really, so yeah, I can get away with anything without anyone looking into this shit. And you harassed my life like you fucking owned it. But I guess the tables turned in my favor finally. Here…” Anna stood up to her full height and walked towards the eight of us. A few of us backed away from the approaching fight, Alex still standing his miniscule ground next to the plate. Reaching down, she grabbed Alex, who was now punching his captor’s fist with little success.
“Aw…that’s going to leave a mark, isn’t it Alex-bear?” Anna pouted her lips, crumbs of toast still clinging to her dry bottom lip. Alex continued slamming his free fists into the side of Anna’s hand, her skin too squishy to deal any real effect to her. The giantess raised Alex over her gaping mouth, saliva glistening the back of the throat. I watched as Katrina raced up to Anna’s foot and began pounding on the white slipper, distressed and manic, begging for our captor to stop what she was about to do. Sensing the tiny sensation on the outside of her slipper, Anna gave Kat a swift kick back on the floor as she squeezed her victim harder. Before I knew it, my voice was screaming out, as well as others around me.
“Anna! Stop! For God’s sake he’s not worth it! Think! You’ll have to find someone else to replace him!” Anna stopped squeezing, the culmination of our words sinking into her. They were selfish, but it was something only she would understand. Again, Anna adopted that icy, stoic face again, her anger completely dissipated already.
“You bug. You’re lucky that school’s canceled and I got away with kidnapping all of you. If it wasn’t for that…we’d be hosting a funeral today.” Anna released her grip on Alex, who was now falling towards the carpeted floor. The things that followed were the shouts of everyone in the room, the sound of Alex hitting the floor with a rather hard impact, and of him groaning in pain and exhaustion.
“Oh my god Alex!” Katrina got up and limped over to where Alex laid, unmoving. From where I stood, his eyes were shut, tears streaming down the sides. Anna scoffed and worked up enough spit to shoot onto Alex far below, the saliva now coating his entire back. I was too afraid to move from fear of being the next one to be threatened. Max and Jessica both rushed up to where Alex laid, hoping to clean him off somewhat. I looked up at Anna who was now texting something on her phone, completely uncaring of what she had done to Alex, but never leaving a lingering eye off the area.
This was my life now, I thought. We weren’t human to her anymore. Our lives were simple pleasures to Anna and whatever she derived from us was what we were worth. Until we broke.
“Please Alex, get up. Please…” I could hear Katrina sobbing over Alex, Anna chortled above us and continued to swipe things around on her phone. She was clearly pleased with our reactions to her malice.
“Yeah, before I slam my foot down.” She continued typing away on her phone, the device obscuring a section of her face. I watched her rotate her heel, the bottom of the slipper looming over Alex and Kat. Dennis began walking over, as well as Tress and Sarah. I seemed to be the only one standing by myself. The only thing keeping me company was the large piece of toast and my bent-up box. Next to Anna's slipper, I watched Max and Dennis pick up Alex by both of his shoulders, hoping to guide their comrade away from the true horror above them. After they moved Alex away, Anna made a loud thud, her slipper displacing the air our friend just resided in moments ago.
“Hurry you guys. We have a busy day! Alex, you’re going in the shoebox until you’re well rested, silly. As for the rest of you, gather onto the plate. It will be easier this way.” Once Max and Dennis dropped Alex off in his shoebox room, Anna shut the door and picked us all up on the plate. The room shrank as we were set onto her table. She ushered us off, taking the mostly uneaten toast with her. My stomach seemed to understand what just transpired. An angry Anna is one that doesn’t care about our needs.
“Now that we’ve dealt with the rabble, I think it’s time we focused more on our studies. Katrina, Dennis, you two are falling behind on your studies. I think, from now on, we’re going to take any of our days off to learn. At the very least, a little. I also need to assess our newest student, Nicholas!” She started pulling out a rather large textbook from her desk on the other side of the room. It looked like a math book of sorts. Also reaching into the drawer, she pulled out a couple empty containers and set them in front of all of us.
“Now, I’ll let you settle in while I get ready for the class to start. I’ll just have to have an interview process with Nick first.” Anna turned around and started rifling through her closet while everyone around me shuffled towards the cases. There was the sound of the door shutting as she left us alone again. Apparently, our teacher had arranged several empty thumbtack cases for her students to use as desks. I looked towards the empty desk next to Sarah and Jessica, figuring that it would be mine. Either that or Alex’s.
“So…how does this usually go? The interview and class. I hope it’s not like the Town.” I tried to fill the silence of what just happened to Alex with some light conversation. Hopefully it’ll help. Jessica looked at me with sadness.
“Ummm…well, I guess it’s sorta like school. In its own sick and twisted way. Anna will ask you a series of questions, and then you’ll join us here. We get a random subject and Anna has us answer questions about said subject, we just have to hope that we get them right. Since most everyone she abducts is already in school…it’s usually not a problem.” I sighed, silently wishing that I paid attention in school. I looked at Sarah besides me who seemed intent on staring off into space. I tried to snap her out of it, however, she was blank. Just as I was about to ask what she was looking at, Anna came back from the hall. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, thickly rimmed glasses that didn’t have any glass, her black hair was tied up into a ponytail, and she was wearing a sickly green sweater of some kind. Below, she had on a pair of black high heels, which only added to the height she already dwarfed us all with. I had to question why she wore those heels though, even if we were just in her room.
“Good morning class. I’m your instructor, Miss Taylor. Nicholas, would you like to hop on?” I nodded slowly and took a few timid steps onto Anna’s palm. Looking at her from this angle, she had put a lot of makeup on for this getup, surprisingly. Black eyeliner, a shade of blush slightly brighter than her own skin tone, and even a lip gloss of some form. This must be an event for her, I thought.
“Alright, Nicholas…let me ask you a few questions. Why have you enrolled in our institute of learning today?” Anna held her palm out in front of her, my feet rocking back and forth attempting to keep my balance.
“Uh…what?” I was dumbfounded as to what she was really asking me. Her dark brown eyes narrowed in on me, already irritated with my behavior.
“Nicholas, I’m asking a simple question. Why have you joined us?” Anna asked, head shaking and her dark ponytail swinging slightly from her subtle head movements. Did she want me to answer honestly or…play along?
“I…uh…heard g-good things about the schools…programming?” Anna's face returned to a tiny smile, evidently receiving the answer she had been fishing for in the first place.
“Good boy, our program follows a modest variety of subjects, all of the basics are included. We will catch you up towards the program the school is currently learning, although it may take some extra private lessons…” Anna’s voice simmered into nothing, a tiny curl of her lip signifying what she was thinking about. Whatever it had been, it wasn’t something I was interested in.
“What programs are you interested in, Nicholas?” Anna asked, her eyes still boring into my tiny body.
“Uh…writing…and math?” I shrugged, unsure if this was one of those times Anna would take any answer or had only been looking for specific ones.
“Alright. I think we can add a thing for you here and there, Nicholas. Thank you for your time…if I have any other questions I’ll be sure to ask in due time. Let’s get back to the lesson at hand though.” Anna lowered her palm back down towards the table and I anxiously stepped off, rejoining my other ‘classmates’ for our lesson. I hurried over to the case next to Sarah and Jess and sat down.
“Let’s begin with a simple brain buster to get you thinking before we start class. What’s 2X + 8 = 10?” I began thinking to myself about when I learned equations last. It must’ve been in 11th grade. After about a minute, Sarah was the first person to raise her hand upward.
“X = 1.” I looked over at Sarah who was beaming for once. She looked proud of herself for coming up with the answer so fast. The others scoffed and shook their heads, unable to figure out how she came up with the answer so fast.
“Correct Sarah. You get a gold star. Oh! I suppose I should clarify this for students who weren’t here when the semester started. Ahem! I give out gold stars and once you collect so many, I might get you something special.” Anna condescendingly smiled at us.
“Nick, how about you answer this one. I want to see where your math skills are. What is the square root of 36?” What? I took a minute to double check myself before saying anything.
“It’s 6?” I felt my body grow tight as there was a silence in the air. I turned towards Sarah who nodded in my direction. I eased my muscles and watched as Anna smiled gently.
“Fantastic! Nick, I’m giving you a golden star for your first attempt at learning!” I blushed for some reason and looked over at Maxwell, who looked embarrassed for me. The class continued without any other concerns being raised, Sarah and Dennis answering most of the questions. It was fairly monotonous, until I had been asked another question.
“Nicholas, would you care to answer this question? 12/15 = 3X. What does X equal?” I cursed to myself, already knowing I wouldn’t understand what X would equal. I was terrible with fractions, when to do reciprocals and whatever else was included. I started to stammer out a response after a few minutes of writing.
“⅘?” Anna smiled, my classmates sighing under their breaths. Nobody had answered a question incorrectly so far, so I had wondered what the punishment had been for failing.
“Nicholas, go ahead and try again.” Anna…er, Miss Taylor spoke, a gentle smile still on her face. I looked down at my work and questioned it, unsure of where I even went wrong in the first place. I scribbled down some other fractions and gulped.
“I'm still getting the same answer…Anna I don't think I can get it.” I didn't dare try and meet Anna's eyes. I could feel the others looking at me, furtive glances in my direction. Anna did not enjoy being told no.
“Nick, are you trying or just giving up?” She looked annoyed now, no longer the calm kindness she showed earlier. I shook my head up and down, trying to show I was caring about the problem.
“Nobody help him with this. I want Nick to figure this out for himself. If he doesn't, then he's not going to learn anything.” It was Anna using her cold and detached voice, no longer caring if I was trying my hardest. A few minutes passed, my pencil scribbling furiously, but my answer still turned out the same. I slowly raised my head until I could see Anna, a huff of annoyance washing over the class.
She pinched the neck of my shirt, my clothes barely able to hold onto my body and deposited me onto her bed, which laid across from the table we were on. Her sheets were pink, just like the rest of the room surrounding us, it was a miracle she never got tired of the color. Anna then got up, turned around to her closet yet again, and pulled out a folding chair. She folded it back into a sitting position and plopped herself down in the black metal seat. Her eyes zoned back in on me from there.
“Nicholas…do you understand how much work I put into coming up with these lessons for you and your friends?” She waited expectantly for me to answer.
“Uh…yes?” I nodded slowly.
“I don’t think you do. I scour my textbooks finding examples of materials for you all and it’s so tiring…” She trailed off, stretching her arms behind her as she spoke softly.
“I’ll ask you again, do you understand all the work I put in for you? I could let your brains melt if I wanted to. Keep you like idiotic slaves…but I don’t because you don’t deserve that.” Anna said, the slow transition of that icy tone of hers melding in with a soft hushed whisper.
“I understand Anna…” Her lips curved into a grin from my response.
“That’s Miss Taylor to you, Nicholas. And…no, you don’t. This should show you how much work I put in for you all.” Anna reached down and I heard the soft clunk of something drop to the carpet. With great brava, Anna raised her slightly tanned right leg upwards past the bed frame and into the sky, where her reddened sole hovered over my tiny body. I cast a quick glance to Anna, who shut her eyes in pleasure.
“Those heels are killer…but, if I want to get the whole teaching message across, it certainly helps.” Anna rolled her ankles, stretching out the muscles her heel had been constricted within. From here, I could smell the start of her perspiration down the length of her sole, but I was thankful I hadn’t been any closer to the appendage.
“Now…since I’ve done something nice for you, I was thinking you could do something for me…after all, it’s only right…right?” Anna looked down at me, her right foot stopped and poised in the air, frozen now. I understood where this was heading towards as she dropped her heel straight into the bouncy material underneath me. I fell to my face, unprepared as Anna scooched the small chair closer to the bed. From that effect, her entire sole loomed over my inch sized body, heat already radiating off her being. I doubted she would’ve even noticed it herself but from my position, it hit me like a wave.
“Nicky…would you be a dear and massage your teacher’s aching, tired, feet?” As Anna enunciated the word ‘tired’, her sole bent overtop of me, shadow blocking out the ceiling light above us all. I shakily stood to my feet and tried to look over towards the table, but I was unable to catch anyone looking at the pair of us.
“I-I don’t really…” I started to stammer out, already embarrassed from being singled out. Now with this sweaty, monolithic building in front of me I started to tremble.
“Aw…I think you’ll grow to like it. Well, I shouldn’t use that word since you’re like…a bug…” Anna giggled at her own cleverness and while I would’ve rolled my eyes, I didn’t have the opportunity. Anna shoved her right sole down on top of my body, her hot and sticky foot covering me in every aspect.
Her sole squished around me, my airway now only Anna’s soul crushing right foot. The smell was stale and somewhat ripe…I could tell she didn’t use those heels often, as there were traces of old musk present along her sole although my body didn't want this information. Every forced breath allowed me to live a minute longer and I hated it.
Her heat warmed my entire body, giving me no reprieve as both her foot and myself began sweating, her wetness easily overtaking my own. While the room was slightly air conditioned for the last few months of the year, it had done nothing to prevent the squelchy nature of Anna’s worn shoe. I could feel my body sliding underneath, deeper and deeper under towards her hardened heel.
Her muscles stretched and conformed around me, slightly pushing and pulling where she flexed her toes far above where I laid sandwiched in the bed. Creaking and groaning filled my ears as the muscles and tendons worked their best to accommodate what Anna was asking of them inside of her sweaty foot.
“A…A…” I tried to open my mouth, but only her flesh permeated my voice, her taste instantly invading every nook and cranny in my mouth. It was bitter and dirty…and I instantly wanted to spit every drop out of my increasingly moistening mouth but couldn’t. Flecks of dirt from yesterday found their way into my mouth, which struggled to breath in any form of oxygen underneath the meaty sole of my captor.
After a few seconds, I could feel Anna’s sole scrunch, ridges in the bottom of her foot allowing for seconds of air to crawl along the skin. Inadvertently, I felt my crotch pull alongside the curvature of her sole and I grimaced. My mind raced as I tried to clear any thoughts I had and focus back on the world I was living in now. I shouldn’t be having this happen…not to Anna. She would kill me if she found out. Her sole scrunched again, probably enjoying the sensation of me being under her warm feet. Closer and closer, my bulge threatened to get swept up into the ridge of her wrinkles. Finally, before anything could escalate even further, Anna peeled her foot away from where I laid. I quickly turned over and army-crawled away, hoping she hadn’t seen my sudden and unexplained erection.
“That felt nice…it was like having a little personal toy to scratch and relieve my sole. Although I didn’t really feel you down there…maybe I should have you do some other things instead?” Anna said, a snide grin on her face. She lowered her foot back into the stuffy heel and shut her eyes.
“I think you’ve helped your teacher long enough, Nicholas. I do need my other foot massaged…but I don’t think it’s quite time for that. AND I hope you appreciate all the work I do in order for you all to learn here.” Anna said, lifting my body off the bed like a worm. We both turned and she quickly set me back down onto the table, where the others simply just stared at me. Anna resumed asking a few more questions, although they were considerably easier in retrospect now that she was able to punish someone.
After math class had concluded, we found ourselves sitting across from each other at a little empty box Anna set up for our lunch period. The meal today was a chunk of hamburger meat. After missing breakfast, we eagerly helped ourselves to the gross patty. Jess spoke up, not caring if Anna had been listening in.
“We saw what happened earlier…are you…alright?” She sounded genuine and it comforted me. I was still embarrassed with what I was subjected to, but I suppose it could’ve been anyone.
“I’m…fine. It was hard to breathe…under her foot. I can’t mess up again…” I drawled out, the mental image of Anna’s sole consuming my vision still etched into my mind. Once everyone else had finished their meals, we were taken to Anna’s bed, the blanket below was very soft and cushiony. I was already regretting being here again.
“Alright maggots! Heheehehe…I want you all to take three laps around the perimeter of this gym!” Anna had changed her outfit yet again into gym shorts, a loose white tank-top, and a pair of gray tube socks that were heavily worn. Thankfully we were set in front of her for the time being.
“Sorry, I didn’t have time to do laundry yet, but I’m sure Nick could tell that!” We took off and I found out who was the fittest of the group we had. It was me first, then Maxwell, Tress, Katrina, Sarah, Jessica, and Dennis. Alex would’ve been first for sure; however, he was ‘resting’ at the moment.
“Now. Let’s practice!” Our ‘coach’ tossed a pinball sized soccer ball onto the bed and ordered us to kick it around. It appeared to be the head of an eraser, although that was roughly the same size as us anyway. The class half-heartedly began pushing the ball around until Anna had become bored of the task she gave us.
“No…you guys aren’t trying! I know that Alex isn’t here to pep you all up…but come on! What if I joined you guys?” Anna asked, a gleam reappearing in her eyes. We nervously looked towards each other, afraid of what she meant. Anna leaned down and placed her index finger on the circle eraser and flicked it towards the opposite end of the bed. Unfortunately, Tress had been standing there and unprepared.
“GAH!” Tress fell to the bed from the impact and speed Anna launched the ball.
“I guess it turned into dodgeball then!” Anna laughed and grabbed the ball, placing it in front of her again. Dennis, Sarah, and I took off running towards the left side of the bed while Max, Jess, and Kat ran to the right, the eraser flying down the middle of the bed again. With a grunt, Anna reached towards the eraser and placed it back at the starting position. Her legs stretched out around us, enclosing our bed and forcing us to stay where she could hit us.
“RUN!” Kat shouted as Anna took aim for the right group. The ball flew, colliding into Jess’s tiny frame and then off of Max.
“A twofer! Awesome!” Anna bounced up and down on the mattress, her butt shaking the padding all underneath us. I stumbled and fell down, daring a glance up to see the ball already in position for her next shot aimed towards us. I rolled on my back towards her left leg and the ball soared where I had just been, Dennis making a thudding noise behind me.
“Now there were three.” Anna said, her smile widening more and more by the minute. Sarah ran towards the middle of the bed, hoping to dodge back and forth, but it had been pointless, Sarah tumbled to the bed, clutching her arm.
“Nicky…” Anna whispered, her dark brown eyes locked on me. I tried to jump out of the way but the eraser launched into my stomach, the breath forcing itself out of my lungs. I coughed and sputtered, spit and drool falling onto Anna’s mattress. I grew worried Anna would be angry but then I doubted she could see the miniscule flecks I left behind. Kat stood across the blanket, shaking. Everyone around her had still been recovering from their ‘knockout’, the force of the ball too painful for anyone to physically bear at this size. Anna smiled, already knowing she won the game.
“Game…set…and…” Flick. Kat tried to duck but she was too slow, the ball colliding with her skull and knocking her back a few inches.
“That looked like it hurt. Anyway…now that we’ve all had some fun, I think that’ll cover it for today's class. It’s time for a bath! Some of you, more noticeable than others, reek!” Anna bounded off the bed with us on her empty plate she never cleaned and set us down on her table, leaving the room. I looked down at my armpits, completely forgetting how rank I was. After being smothered in Anna’s sweaty sole, I ran around like an idiot trying to dodge what could end up being a concussion if she was careful.
“Nick, you know what she’s doing when she’s asking you those questions right? From class earlier?” I shook my head, unsure of the answer he wanted from me.
“She’s conditioning us less…free-willed. Less smart. That way she can control us with an iron thumb. It’s what dictators do for underlings. Granted, it’s not simple math questions, but if we give in…it’s easier. We can’t though! We have to-” Before Maxwell could explain anymore to me, Anna busted into the room holding something round.
“The tub is ready!” Anna brings in a bowl of warm water and sets it on the table, her eyes quickly darting to us. The bowl seemed to be twelve feet deep to us. She looks at us expectantly waiting for us to strip, her eyes curiously gazing at me. The people around me begin taking off their clothes slowly and eventually, are standing naked, uncaring. Privates dangling and things pointing out because they’re getting cold…I try not to look at anything, I expect that this will be happening many times, and judging by their careless reactions, it must happen many times. Anna begins taking each shrunken person one by one, her eyes still staring at me.
“Nicky, you need to take off your clothes. We don’t want you sopping wet and your clothes ruined. Now get nakie for me.” Anna picked up Maxwell and dropped him into the lukewarm bowl of water. They instantly began cleaning themselves, as if it was nothing new.
“I…uhh…” I remembered what happened to Alex this morning and I began to have second thoughts. Anna could easily pick me up and drop me stories up from the bowl…I was scared to disobey her, I shivered thinking about what would happen…I began taking off my clothes, to which Anna’s eyes lit up.
“Oh…that’s a good boy. I was wondering when you’d realize that listening to me isn’t such a bad idea. Although I have to coax you to do it.” She stared down at me while the others were in the bowl, my nakedness ever present on mine and her face. Anna was enjoying this. Relishing in the fact that I was completely exposed and out of my element. I reached down to hide my crotch from her prying eyes, but then her voice glazed over me again.
“Nick…” She drawled out, her face moving closer to where I stood on the table. I didn’t want to turn around and give her the chance to essentially grope me with her eyes. Instead, I felt a wave of cold air cover my naked body, the smell of hamburger washing me over. Goosebumps covered my skin as I began to shake, my hands still pinned to my crotch.
“Here…let me just…” Anna’s massive index finger appeared from the heavens and knocked me to the cold table. In an instant her finger was already pressed against my crotch, attempting to shove my arms away. Her warm, fleshy digit prodded and poked, her fingerprint ridges rolling over my naked stomach as she continued trying to uncover me. I sighed as the warm pad of her finger rubbed at me. After a few seconds, I felt my heart quicken and my eyes bulged, already knowing what was happening. I uncovered myself and turned away from Anna, trying to hide my already rising erection.
“Shit!” I cursed under my breath, angry with myself. I didn’t want to have this feeling, especially for Anna. However, with her massive, warm finger prodding my crotch…it was hard not to relish in that warmth…that contact that I had been missing since I shrank.
“Huh…so that’s what you look like down there.” I turned bright red and looked at Anna, grinning ear to ear high above me. Her finger lowered down to my naked form, her index slowly wiggling towards my crotch. I covered my junk with my hands again, hoping that could somehow stop her, although I already knew the answer.
“Alright you dirty little boy, let’s get you cleaned up." She picked me up by my arms and held me over the bowl, the other miniscule people began swimming out of my way. And she dropped me. I…I never realized how much I hated heights until I had nothing to hold onto as I plummeted from a few stories up into a massive pool of warm water.
“AH!” I splashed against the surface, the contact making my skin red and teem with pain. Kicking the bubbly water, I found myself finally gasping for air, the others closing in on where I was until Tress grabbed me by the arm and helped me float.
“Hey, Nick. You’re alright…you’re good.” Still gasping and sputtering, I began padding on my own finally and nodded, lying to them. I couldn’t say anything, hell, I didn’t even know these people and I was willing to trust them so easily. It took a little under half an hour for everyone to clean themselves off and then it was off towards our clothes next to the bowl. Anna watched us as we changed, enjoying every second of it, savoring the feeling of complete power. Our clothes were the ones we shrunk down in, although Maxwell is sure that with the device Anna used, she could shrink new ones down for us. Some of them were torn from how hard Anna ‘plays’ with us, but we were still thankful that we at least had something.
“Now that we’ve gotten you all cleaned and gussied up, I should go change into my pajamas! It’s almost bedtime! Time flies when you’re having fun, right?” Anna bounded off towards her closet and began rifling through her clothes once more. It was absurd how she had all those outfits in that single closet. It made you wonder how rich her parents were, I thought. After a few minutes, Anna returned to us in a large branded soda shirt that hung over her smaller frame, small black booty shorts that cupped her rear, and bare feet.
“Alright! Everyone is going on the floor. Dennis, make sure Alex eats this. And I heard that Max is still feeling a little sore from last night…so…here. Take an ice chip.” She handed Dennis a chunk of cold hamburger we had for lunch and a small ice chip to Max. As we split up into our separate houses, I gazed at Sarah, who was looking at my box with a curious expression from what I could tell. Before I got a chance to talk to Sarah about it, Anna had pushed my back into the shoebox with her massive finger and pushed the door up. Maxwell had already jumped into his makeshift bed, ice already pressed onto his neck.
“Well, goodnight Nick. I don’t feel much like talking. I…sorta, just want...to sleep.” Maxwell tossed and turned in his stocking, the ice melting all over him as I padded towards mine. It was still bunched up from when Anna kicked the box. Dragging my ‘bed’ over to my side of the box, I lay down and silently go over what my past used to be like. When I was a human being. Until I finally fall asleep…
[----Tress----]
“How was your date last night with James? I’m sure it was…pretty awesome. The way you two were talking it up at the party.” Anna leaned over and nudged me, trying to be a part of what was happening in my life. I recalled the first time I had met Anna, that being in Elementary School. She had moved to Crisson along with her family, the main reason being that her dad was hired as a new scientist for a research team. We’ve had a lot of good times together and we’ve even stuck up for each other. But now that we’re older…she seems so preoccupied with things. It’s almost like…I pushed the thoughts from my head and focused on what Anna asked me.
“Yeah, it was…good.” I didn’t want to lie to her, I know last time she was really pissed off. We’re just gonna leave it at ‘good’. Anna’s been cheering me on to ask this boy named James out...and I finally did it. However, he wasn’t everything he seemed...
“So…how was his body? I know he’s teased us about it before…but…tell me!” Anna kept inching closer and closer to me, the bus ride to school beginning to become a little uncomfortable. Anna and I had gone to a school football game and I remembered James rushing up towards us, skin glistening in sweat from his uniform. We both just about squealed when he used the hem of his jersey to wipe his face, his bare stomach peeking at the two of us. I sighed and decided to make something up about how we made out. Hopefully it would shut her up about it while I focused on myself more.
“Yeah, we took his car out to a nice quiet lake, the moon was reflecting off the water and…well…we did it.” I pretended to be happy about the idea, however, I knew deep in my heart I found someone else that I really loved. I just needed some time to tell James…
“How romantic! My god! I wish I could have someone like that! All I have is the hope that someone will like me.” Anna kept on schmoozing about her poor love life as I began thinking of ways to break it to James. Just then, I remembered something to get Anna off me.
“What happened to that boy in math class? You told me you were going to tell him, right? How did that go?” I tried to distract her with something else she could talk about. I didn’t feel like talking about myself or about my feelings at the moment.
“Oh...uh...he d-didn’t feel the same way…that was a bit ago actually. I guess you could say he’s regretting it.” Anna stared off as our bus pulled into my usual spot. I grabbed my backpack and gave her a quick wave before heading towards the front of the bus. Some time had passed since I last talked to Anna, about a week or so. Every time I would see her in the halls or while in class, she would ignore me. I thought she was angry about being rejected…but she never said anything about it.
“She’ll come to me…I’m sure.” I said to myself, heading outside with my backpack. I was getting back onto the bus when I noticed her standing behind a school building. She was…staring at me? I think... Anna began waving me over. I hoped that she would clear the air and we could go back to being friends again, it was starting to get weird without her. Once we were back behind the school building Anna’s facade had dropped from being pleasant.
“You lied. About James. You…you…” I gasped and feigned stupidity.
“What? How did you…no! I wouldn’t lie about that. James and I like each other and…and you’re just acting jealous. Besides, he’s really not-” Anna scoffed at me and pulled out a text message on her phone. It read, ‘I wasn’t with her that night. Don’t know what she’s talking about, lol.’ She shoved it in my face even more, making sure that I got the point. I was caught in a lie. I wasn’t even sure why I had been lying in the first place. Maybe I was just trying to spare her feelings from this jerk.
“I…I…should’ve told you first. I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to disappoint-” I bit my lip and Anna began lashing out at me. Last time, I had to take her shopping to calm her down, maybe…just maybe…it would be enough. I didn’t have enough money for us to both go shopping, so she could go by herself...
“You’re cheating on him. And he doesn’t even fucking know it. You want to know how I know? Tony told me! You banged in his fucking car, you fucking banged TONY. How could you do that to him…you…you fucking worm!” Anna was inching closer to me, her eyes bugging out with anger. James and Anna had been friends for a really long time, even before we became friends in Elementary School, I just didn’t think she’d be this upset about it.
“What? So what? James is…ugh, he’s an idiot! Why are you so freaking mad? Do you like him? Huh?” I began pushing her instead, something to make me feel less like a shitty person I guess. She blushed and averted her eyes; I had obviously struck gold. I continued to attack Anna, hoping to shut her up.
“Well, James doesn’t like you that way. He told me that. And guess what, we have done it before. James loved my body…and he couldn’t get enough of it.” Anna, with tears streaming out of her eyes, sucker punched my face. It sent me tumbling to the cold cement with shock. I tried to get back up…but I couldn’t’. My body was too tired.
“Tress you fucking bitch. You’ll pay for what you did. I intend on making sure you know it damn well. You’re coming home with me. I’ll make you suffer.” Out of my watery eyes, I saw Anna stoop over her backpack and pull out some sort of toy gun. Before I knew it, the light had engulfed me. I never meant anything that I had said, but it was too late for that I thought.
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
FOREWORD: I know this is a lot to put out there at once, but I wanted to give something back to the community that helped realize who I was and what I enjoyed. I had grown up reading stories on Giantess World for most of my life. Even having used a flip-phone as my only access to read my favorites. This included The Blackmail Series and Julia by Jacksmith, a fantastic author and contributor to the site in his own right, as well as Homunculus by Cayce, whose story had been the first I had read and adored since I delved into the Giantess genre. Now, I wanted to share a take on some of those aspects all mixed together that I’ve created. There are a lot of inspirations from these artists and others that I’ve taken on, although I do not mean to overshadow any of them. I just wanted to write out my own fantasy and share it with others, although it does follow steps like Jacksmiths’ Julia story. At a certain point, fiction has to undoubtedly cross over each other, but the ultimate intention is to provide a nice story-telling experience. You all should definitely read their stories, as well as others on the site! Anyway, here’s a story that I’ve been working on for several years.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter End Notes:
That's the first part of our Human Beings Arc, as it were. I have Anna complete, taking up around 245 pages worth. This is the first story I've written and I hope that there are people who do enjoy this little thing. I will continue to post the rest of the story here. (I dislike having to work on formatting from one site to another site to another site. It's a lot.)