Holly narrows her eyes at Nancy and squirms out of the girl’s grip.

“Fuck off.”  Holly snaps at the newcomer, who tilts her head to the side, studying the heiress.

“My my… Such language for a little princess.” Nancy says with a chuckle as she takes a intimidating step towards Holly, who backs away, instantly.

“I’m not a princess!” Holly snaps, her voice rising with her temper.  Nancy reaches a hand towards Holly, who promptly bats it away.

“Oh, I am sorry, hard day down in the coal mines Miss Bryant? Well it’s about to become harder, because I’m about to make you my bitch!” Nancy screams before lunging at Holly, who hastily sidesteps the woman’s charge.  Holly’s muscles ache and her heart races as Nancy turns around and lunges at her again, swinging her right fist towards Holly’s face.  Holly falls to the side again, grabbing the woman and using her own momentum to push her towards the bars of the cage.

“Wow…” Nancy grunts as she turns around and quickly approaches Holly, taking a jab at her face.  Holly ducks the swing and grabs the woman’s arm, quickly twisting it behind her back.  Nancy’s face goes red and twists in pain.

“OK…” The newcomer relents.

Holly lets the woman go.  Nancy rubs her arm and winches.  “Where’d you learn how to fight like that?” She pants.

“I’ve had a personal self defense instructor for years.” Holly explains, sitting down and leaning her back against the white bowl of birdseed.  “Please, I don’t want to fight.” Holly pants.  Nancy slumps down against the bars of the cage and looks at Holly for a long moment before replying.

“You’re right princess, we have bigger problems…” Nancy says while looking over her shoulder at the door.

“Oh...You have no idea.” Holly says, adjusting herself to get comfortable and crossing her arms over her chest.  Nancy bites her bottom lip as she looks back towards Holly.  

“What is she going to do to me?” Nancy asks, her voice showing the slightest hint of nervousness.  

“I don’t know… But if she treats you the same as she has been treating me, you’re going to wish you didn’t do...whatever you did to get you here.” Holly says with a sigh.

“What has she...done to you?” Nancy stammers.

“Well…” Holly thinks, mulling over everything that has happened to her since she has been Susan’s “little songbird.”  

“For starters, I spent at least three or four hours taped to her flip flop yesterday, between her toes, in the sun.” Holly shudders.

“That’s disgusting!” Nancy says, her eyes growing wide.

“She left me here alone for two or three days, I can’t remember, without food, and I had to literally kill myself to get water.” Holly says, slight frustration in her voice.  Nancy stands up and turns around, wrapping her tiny hands around the bars before her and looking outward.

“You’re rich, why don’t you just...you know, bribe your way out of this?” Nancy suggests.

“You know, I haven’t tried that, but somehow I don’t think she is interested in money.” Holly says as she stands up and walks to the bars, standing besides Nancy.  Nancy turns towards Holly.

“Nonsense, everyone has a price!” The newcomer suggests.

“I think she just likes to torture me.” Holly begins to tear up, but clears her throat and remains collected.

“You could bribe her… get us both out of here!” Nancy continues.

“What makes you think I’d get you out? You attacked me!” Holly says sternly.

“You wouldn’t just leave me here...with her, would you?” Nancy asks before turning her head to look back outside of the cage.  Holly turns to the woman and narrows her eyes for a moment before her face softens.

“No, I guess I wouldn’t, that’d just be cruel, and I think I’ve experienced enough cruelty for one lifetime.” Holly says before turning back and looking out of the cage.

“I don’t think she wants money though, she would have attempted to ransom me off to my parents by now.” Holly speculates.

“How long have you been here?” Nancy asks.

“I don’t know...five...six...seven days? It just all kind of blurs together.” Holly says, turning around and walking towards the water bottle.  Holly falls to her knees and begins to drink water through the metal straw.

“That...that is so…” Nancy stammers as she walks up behind Holly.

“What...demeaning?” Holly asks as she looks at at Nancy from her kneeling position.

“Yes.” Nancy says solemnly.

“If you think this is bad, go take a look…” Holly motions with her head towards the huge white bowl of bird seeds. “In there.” She finishes her sentence as Nancy timidly walks over and looks over the edge of the bowl.

“What are these things?” Nancy says as she runs her right hand through the seeds.

“Bird seed.” Holly says, looking away.

“Bird seed...Wait, you’ve been eating this?” Nancy asks with wide eyes.

“Yes…” Holly stands up and walks over to the dish.  “And If I were you, I’d eat some, right now, there is no telling if she is going to starve us, or…” Holly begins to tear up and falls to her knees, resting her head against the side of the bowl and sobbing.

“She is so random, what does she want?!” Holly wails.

“Oh hey hey hey!” Nancy says as she falls to her knees besides Holly and puts her arm around the girl, helping her into a sitting position.  Both tiny girls sit with their backs against the bowl while Holly cries her eyes out.  

“I’m sorry.” Nancy says softly.

“For what?” Holly asks, sniffling and wiping her face.

“For being such a jerk, and coming at you like that, I guess this kind of feels like when I was in prison.” Nancy admits.

“Its OK.” Holly says as she calms herself down.  A few silent moments pass before Nancy catches a chill and hugs herself.  

“God, it’s cold.” Nancy complains.

“I know, she blasts the AC, I think she does that on purpose too.” Holly sighs. Nancy cuddles up to Holly, and every fiber of Holly’s being wants to move away, until the woman’s body heat radiates through her.  

“We need to huddle together… for warmth.” Nancy explains.  Holly chokes back her pride and presses her body against Nancy’s.  It was far superior warmth compared to the thin tissue she’d been using.

“So, why’d she shrink you?” Holly asks.

As far as I know, it was because I was shoplifting a can of soup.” Nancy says, a hint of dejection in her voice. “You?” Nancy asks.

“It’s a long story.” Holly says

“We aren’t going anywhere.” Nancy replies.

“Well I had an argument with my mother in the car, and she left me on the side of the highway.” Holly explains.  “And then she rolled up in her beat up station wagon, and offered me a ride, and I refused her.” Holly continues.

“Why did you refuse her if you were stuck?” Nancy asks.

“I…” Holly bites her lip.  “She looked…” The tiny girl stumbles over her words. “Poor.” Holly stammers, sighing.

“Poor? That hardly seems like a reason to refuse someone’s help in a situation like that.” Nancy says, her tone laced with surprise.

“I don’t know… Well, I thought I did, but now I don’t.” Holly says, her forehead wrinkled in thought.

“I guess something like this changes a person.” Nancy says.

“Are you on drugs?” Holly asks.

“Excuse you?” Nancy snaps back.

“Your arms…” Holly says quickly.

“Oh, yeah...well, I was, for a long time, but I’ve been sober for over a year.” Nancy says proudly.

“Good for you, that is great.” Holly says encouragingly.  Before Nancy can reply the door is opening and Susan is stepping through in a blue bathrobe, her bare feet pounding against the carpet.  Susan walks towards the cage and bends down, running her fingernail along the bars and smiling.

“So, my little songbird, how do you like Nancy, hmm?” Susan’s voice booms as she reaches into a pocket.  She pulls out a humongous food stamp card and slaps it against the bars of the cage, a giant picture of Nancy displayed off to one corner.  “See that, food stamps, she’s trash…” Susan mocks.

“Go to hell!” Nancy cries out.

“No! Shh!” Holly gasps as she turns around and looks over at Nancy, her eyes wide.

“I like her Ma’am, money does not determine one’s value!” Holly calls out while turning back to her giant tormentor.  A funny feeling wells up within Holly as the words leave her mouth, a situation such as this does indeed change a person, she thinks to herself.

“Well don’t get too attached, she’s not a keeper.” Susan says with a giggle. Holly jumps to her feet and runs towards the bars, curling her hands around them and looking up into Susan’s face.

“What do you mean? You’re going to let her go?” Holly asks hopefully.

“No…” Susan grins.

“Oh my god!” Holly can hear Nancy shriek from behind her.  Holly snaps her head backwards, and then up towards Susan, tears welling in her eyes.

“You can’t! You just can’t! She’s a person! That’s murder!” Holly stammers through her tears.

“I can, and she’s not… She’s a poor person, and now she’s a poor little person, which means I am doing this planet a service.” Susan says sternly while putting the food stamp card back into her pocket.  “I’m going to kill you Nancy, I am going to put you on the floor, and grind your little body under my foot like a cigarette, and there is going to be nothing you can do about it!” Susan says with a huge smile.

“No! Please! Why?!” Nancy sobs as she stands up and runs to the opposite side of the cage.  

“Please, don’t hurt her!” Holly screams as Susan pulls the cage door open.  Holly immediately rushes and stands in front of the door, attempting to block Susan’s massive hand from entering.  Susan lets out a slight chuckle before batting the girl away with her index finger, sending her tumbling to her side. Holly can hear Nancy’s desperate shrieks as she is pulled from the cage.  The cage door slams shut as Holly climbs to her feet.

“No, please don’t hurt me! don’t hurt me! I don’t want to die! heeelp!” Nancy shrieks as she dangles between two of Susan’s fingers, her tiny feet cycling in the air. Holly bangs on the barred door of the cage with her open palms.

“Nobody gets to choose when they die Nancy, just like they don’t get to choose whether they are rich or poor. It just kind of happens, and that’s that.” Susan says as she bends down and places Nancy on the floor between her massive feet. 

“Now don’t worry, my feet are nice and soft, you won’t feel a thing, just stay nice and still...” Susan giggles as she lifts her left foot.