Home Depot

Chapter Eight

Haile had officially moved out of her previous home as her sale took rather quickly. A little too fast, really, as she had nowhere to move into yet. This forced most of her belongings to go to a storage depot and for her to have to stay in a hotel. Eventually her home was declared ‘move in’ ready, and she organized everything to be moved in. It actually took several days to get everything moved and unpacked. Haile was bored out of her mind. Her portal generator would take nearly a week to reinstall because the team she had hired to do it for her kept running into issues with her new network.

Haile had, in her previous residence, been using a standard deployment network to control her whole house, everything from lights to heat to how her data moved around the different servers. It had served her well and was easy to learn and use. It was, however, limited in its storage capacity and processing power. It couldn't, for example, maintain two active fabricators at the same time, nor could it run a simulation while simultaneously running her portal generator. It was frustrating, so she upgraded.

Her new network was a work of art. A special order from her favourite company, Appentine Harmonics. They designed it specifically to meet her demanding specifications and installed it ahead of her arrival, it just had trouble integrating with her old equipment. She contemplated getting rid of it all, but that would have been just too expensive and she couldn’t afford it. She wasn’t made of money. It took some getting used to, even the home screen was a disquieting different shade of dark blue. And her old equipment hadn't liked any it. She spent days and days tinkering with it, calling customer support, having technicians visit and work on it. Etc. It was needless to say, annoying.

The worst bit about it all was her supply of people was beginning to run low. She had marked several boxes as “Skilled” and had sworn off touching them. They knew what they were doing, had submitted to her rule long ago, and were survivors. Her unskilled boxes, however, were dwindling fast. These she had labeled as “sorted” and “unsorted”, and as one would expect, she ran out of “unsorted” boxes first, and fast. Even with careful rationing.

Take these two boxes she had on her bed. They were unskilled and sorted, but nevertheless full of delicious and pretty people. She couldn't waste them, nor could she save them. Her time spent living in the hotel was miserable while she waited for her house to be completed. So, she made up with it by playing with her tiny friends. Occasionally she’d be playing with someone while she communicated with builders or technicians, or she’d be watching television and idly playing with people, etc.

There was only so much she could do with Jasmin and Alli, for example. They were frail, easily tired, and frankly obstinate. Alli was defiant in the way she worked on Haile. It had become boring. She worked like a demon every day and Haile had grown immune to it. Her touch wasn't gentle like she wanted, it was harsh and rough. Fast and uncaring. She played with Haile like Haile was a job, and that was troubling.

Well, not really. Haile just took to keeping Alli around to torture lately. She was more fun when she was horrified. Jasmin, however, was fresh. She was new and didn't know everything Haile was capable of or comfortable with. She had seen horrible things, but Haile was an enigmatic storm, completely incapable of being predicted. Every day seemed to contain new and horribly exciting horrors.

///Text Teleporter Alpha One/// Skip to Alpha Two if desired ///

Haile had placed Jasmin on her throat, right between both of her, er, whatever they were called (Haile wasn’t a medical specialist after all!). She stood encompassed by Haile’s neck with her throat right behind her. Whenever the giant girl swallowed the neck would move and the throat would bob, but Jasmin would remain in place. She had been instructed to record once again.

Through Jasmin’s camera the world looked out and down the length of Haile's body. Her smooth chest disappeared into her shirt which covered her modest perky breasts tightly. Further on Haile's stomach could be seen before it slipped into her pants and diverged into her legs. She was laying out on a bed after all.

Next to Haile were two boxes full of people. Earlier in the day Haile had dropped a handful of clothes into each one and told them there was going to be a fashion show. She didn't give any rules or any other instruction before she had closed the boxes. Now the show would begin.

Haile removed the lids and placed one box on either side of her. She looked into them with a sense of longing. She hadn't eaten all day, having rationed herself to just one box a day for a week now, and the hunger was getting the best of her. She was going to eat them all. Sure she could just turn up her biological stimulating implant, but where's the fun and excitement of plugging a needle into your skin?

Several dozen people stared up at her with a mix of fear, concern, and hope. After all, a fashion show meant there had to be a winner. And a winner may go free. There was no use screaming or crying, they were regulars, they knew what that would do. Sure a few of them whimpered, but how could you not when you were faced with absolutely certain death.

Haile sat back and dipped her hands into each box and pulled out her first pair. A woman in her mid thirties, fit, well dressed in a short black dress and high heels. The other a much younger girl, probably a teenager, with pigtails, a very short pink skirt and tight white t-shirt. Haile approved and wondered how long this girl had been a resident, because she certainly knew Haile's type.

Jasmin’s camera watched silently as the dress woman was forced into Haile's mouth and the teenager was placed on her thigh. The woman screamed before molars turned her into paste. Blood. Now Haile was really hungry. She pulled one box closer and began shoving people around inside it, looking for supple targets. When she finally swallowed the chewed up mush whoever was in her hand at the time was transported into her mouth and thoroughly masticacted.

Hailes powerful digits sorted girls from boys, teens from young adults, dresses from pants. Six people were devoured before she was satisfied with her sorting.

“While dresses are cute.” Haile said finally after swallowing, “I don't very much like them.” And before anyone could react her hand shot into the group of about five women and squeezed. Everyone screamed as blood exploded out from between her fingers and sprayed everyone in the box. There was a horrible squelch as five bodies became one and a mess of mangled limbs and clothes dropped to the ground when she opened her hand. It dripped as crushed women slid off her skin and smacked into the quivering pile of goo.

“Thats better.” She said, and appraised the remaining group. “Blood makes everything prettier.” Haile then started shoveling people into her mouth indiscriminately, her stomach had ordained as much. People were now running all over the box and screaming as Haile's hands moved from person to person. Some she ate, others she shredded right there. If her mouth was full and she latched onto someone she pulled them apart limb by limb. People died in a lot of inventive and cruel ways as Haile ate her fill from the box, all the while her bloody hands became ever more messy.

Blood flew out of the box and her mouth dribbled onto her chest, an occasional shower of blood would pass before Jasmin as Haile chewed, mouth open for all the world to see and hear. And Jasmin recorded it all. Every movement of Haile's impressive jaw gave a chorus of cracks and crunches, every swallow sent living and minced people, three times bigger than she was, behind the horrible throat that was behind her. It sent shivers down her spine to imagine there were people in there behind such a thin veil of muscle and skin.

It was over all too soon. Haile had killed everyone in the first box and she had blood smeared all the way up to her wrists, down her chin, and all over her clean white shirt. There was even blood on the blankets. That was going to be difficult to explain to the maids.

The teenage girl she had saved from the box, as that was how she choose which box to go through first, was cowering on Haile's thigh. Haile swallowed before reaching out to the girl who turned to run, but was caught by the bloody fingertips before she even made it an inch.

Haile smelled her, the girl’s long blonde hair whipped around her face and she screamed in the gale. “Mmmm…” Haile said and opened her mouth before the girl. She silenced her screaming as she looked on in horror at the carnage before her. There were clothes, ripped and shredded, hanging from several places in Haile's mouth. There were bones and bits and gore everywhere, and everything was stained a sick, deep red crimson color.

Warm breath blew around the cute girl's body that still, despite what this giant of a girl had just eaten, still smelled alluring and full of mint. She closed her eyes, expecting death, but was shocked to feel pillowy lips pressing against her. Haile kissed the girl before casually tossing her back down the length of her body.

She screamed as she tumbled, slamming into Haile's chest and rebounding off her soft breasts. She careened into Haile's stomach and slid to a halt just above Haile's navel. Her stomach was bubbling ferociously as it began digesting the living and the chewed.

“Don't be afraid, you're in the lead. ” Haile winked at the terrified tiny teen as she liked her thumb seductively. The young girl, for her part had managed to pick herself up and ended up falling backwards into Haile's deep navel. Haile giggled which rocked the girls world once more. She then turned to the other box, which was visibly panicked.

“Denim.” Haile said quietly as she began pulling struggling girls out of the box, “Is my favourite.” At this she took a tall, thin young woman who was wearing the mentioned item of clothing, and slid one of the girl’s legs into her mouth. The girl screamed wildly and beat on Haile's fingers in a futile manner.

Haile savored the girl's terror and the texture of her jeans. She kicked at Haile's lip but managed to get her other foot sucked into the giant mouth. Haile released her but then quickly slurped her back in and swallowed her whole. Without even looking she had brought her other hand to her mouth and just shoved everyone into her mouth. And just like that, in one mouthful, she was out of jeans. But there had to be more…

As Haile went to tearing people apart again, between mouthfuls, she ran her tongue along her braces and cleared them of debris of all sorts. The screaming coming from her stomach was now so loud she could hear it reverberating up through her own neck.

Haile was about to eat another girl when she stopped and actually looked at her. Haile swallowed and did her best to see through the blood that covered her. She looked almost identical to the girl now wedged in her navel. With an eyebrow raised Haile pulled her out and brought her up for inspection.

Haile held them close to each other and saw that they were, in fact, twins, and had immediately embraced one another and were crying hysterically. Haile's heart melted. Aww, it was always so nice to see a family reunion. It was almost enough to bring a tear to the eye.

With her free hand Haile ferried several more people into her mouth and crunched them loudly, her eyes never leaving the twins. Both of their heads turned to stare into the tunnel of death as it killed people like a machine. Haile chewed in a relaxed sort of fashion, her lips barely parted but just enough to let light in, which showed terrible scenes of hollywood levels of slasher movie gore that her tongue threw around deep inside the crimson cave.

When Haile had someone else ready to go, she decided to be a bit theatrical. Without swallowing her previous mouthful she squished it to the roof of her mouth and then lowered her jaw, opening her mouth expansively. As her tongue fell the mass of chewed people spread out in stringy columns of awful and meat, bones and clothes everywhere. One of the twins instantly threw up while the other merely wretched. Haile couldn’t help it, she giggled.

She carefully shoved the screaming woman into her mouth and removed her fingers. As the woman scrambled to freedom Haile's tongue moved, her throat opened up, and she swallowed, mouth open for all the world to witness. The woman screamed as she disappeared down the hungry throat. Haile then took to chewing the next three people with more a thoughtful expression. Her teeth spent far longer together, hiding what was going on behind them, and when they parted her tongue moved with unholy speed as it rearranged everything before her teeth came together again, each time crunching yet more bones.

Haile was thoroughly enjoying herself for the first time all day. Jasmin was probably recording the reactions of the girls held out in front of Haile's mouth, and picking up the sounds and the violent movements going on above her. Yes, this was good.

But it couldn't last. Haile's hand scrabbled in the empty box, not finding anyone. In her enjoyment she had run out of food. But she was full, and felt happy. There was a warm content feeling spreading through her body as it did its terrible work of killing the survivors and breaking them down to energy. Her stomach was contentedly gurgling away as it digested several dozen people, living and already dead. The two teenagers, the apparent winners.

Haile was not really good with words, and preferred to let her actions speak for her. Yet this was at least a moment to pause for a few words. “And so we come down to our final two contenders in today's beauty contest. Twins, dressed the same. What a novel idea. But there can be only one, how should we choose the winner?”

The question hung in the air like a guillotine blade. The girls knew it, and they clung to each other ever tighter. Their blue eyes were wide with fear, one blonde head and one red head (from the blood of course),both of their short skirts hung loosely around their legs as their bodies pressed together.

Haile felt them with her fingers, smearing a tiny bit of blood and saliva across their supple flesh. They're young, and they're beautiful. Haile's favourite food.  Girls such as these generally took great care of themselves and always buttered themselves up with makeup, scent, smelly soaps and, of course, exercise. Haile's mouth watered at the thought.

Haile hadn't gotten quite enough enjoyment out of the two boxes as she had thought she would. She looked at the two beautiful teens and thought for a moment. Then came a single command. “Kiss.” Haile said. She had always thought the idea of kissing herself would be so much fun, and wished she could. So this was one of her ways of indulging in this fantasy. The two girls looked at each other and then looked up at her in puzzlement.

“I don't want to repeat myself.” Haile said and bared her teeth in a threatening way. The two sisters looked at each other and, without sharing a single word, probably that twin telepathy thing again, embraced one another. Their lips met and their eyes closed as they kissed each other. It was a beautiful sight that lit some fire in Haile's body. “More.” She said quietly, and both girls did exactly that.

Maybe they had practiced before, or maybe they really did have some kind of telepathy, because they both kissed each other with a more fiery ferocity. Haile brought them closer to her eyes so she could watch more closely as both of their hands moved across one another's arms and backs. They were breathing loud enough for Haile to hear, who let out her own breath that washed over the twins.

They stuttered before getting even more into it. There was a sound, was it a whimper? That escaped one of their lips, the other quickly plugged the hole with her tongue. Haile's free hand had taken to running itself along her own body, leaving a trail of blood down its surface.

Haile's mouth watered wildly at the sight of the two twins. It was a beautiful sight, a fitting end to the fashion show. What she didn't tell anyone, was that she was competing too. And while these girls were pretty, Haile found herself more attractive. She brought the girls down below her chin, where Jasmin could see in great detail. She then tilted her head down and brought her open mouth over top of the two girls.

She breathed through her mouth exclusively now, letting the wind whip through the twin’s hair. Their kissing grew more frantic, they had to please the giant bitch above them. One sister started to falter and opened her eyes. She looked straight up into the saliva filled maw which began to drip all over them. A sheet of saliva fell out of Haile's mouth and coated her and she screamed.

The other twin, always a bit cooler of head wrapped her arms around her sister and rammed her own tongue into her throat to silence her. One hand came up to cover her eyes while her other hand held her tight. Haile drew closer until their heads were inside her maw. They were drenched in spit and slime dripped off their skirts and down their legs.

If Jasmin was getting this then it was going to be worth a whole month’s subscription income. One sister was melting in the heat and saliva of Haile's mouth, she was crying and had all but stopped kissing her sister. Finally the stronger of the two stopped and looked into her sister's teary eyes and said “I love you.”

Haile shoved her hand up to her mouth and sealed the twins inside of her. She wasted no time in swirling them around with the excess saliva inside her maw. They tried to stay together, they crawled towards each other and frequently grabbed one another's hands. It was an adorable feature to end her meal on.

Haile cleaned herself up. She remembered Jasmin on her throat and pulled her out, she was visibly shaken by the sheer brutality of Haile. Haile grinned and opened her mouth. Both of the twins were beaten and tired, but they still tried to get together. They weren't even trying to get out even though the door was metaphorically open. Horrified, Jasmin turned her camera towards the display in front of her.

Haile pushed one body onto her molars, and slowly closed her mouth. Her lips were parted, baring her teeth, but the scene inside could be seen through her rows of terrible, bloody teeth.

There was a faint “I love you too,” before both girls disappeared from view with one sudden crack, squelch, and a shriek. Then Haile's mouth opened a disgusting horrid colorful wreck of a human corpse strung out between both rows of molars, her tongue then mixed the two sisters, and swallowed.

“Oops.” Haile said, and then a demonic roar erupted from Haile's throat as a great expulsion of wind most foul came up from the depths of Haile's horrid throat. She belched hugely, flecks of spit and gore and scraps of clothing and debris flew put from her mouth and covered Jasmin, her camera, and Haile's hand. “Oh excuse me.” she said when the thunder died away.

///Text Teleporter Alpha Two/// Destination Reached

This was just one of the many nights Haile spent in the hotel, and it was dreadfully boring. Although that night had been the most fun. Or maybe the second most fun. There was a red stain halfway up the bed underneath the covers that would take the housekeepers quite some time to get rid of. Several people had died there too and not all of the liquid was blood.

Still, it wasn't all just fun and games. During the day there was work to do, papers to sign, documents to review, and phone calls to make. In the evening she played with her people. She even got several videos recorded, although not yet made.

Then there was the news reports on the broadcast. That had not been a good night. Another terrorist attack in another air port had killed several dozen people. Haile was disgusted. She was so saddened by the news she hadn't eaten that night.

The news reporter had gone on to cover some local charity auction, another criminal who had been executed for his crimes, and the crash of the announcement of the imminent closure of several dozen grocery stores in some of the poorer districts of the country.

Haile really didn't know why she watched the news. Maybe it was some form of misplaced civilian pride, some kind of duty she felt she had to remain an informed citizen. Still she wished she could get her news from another source, the agency in charge was just dreadful. Haile even gave Alli and Jasmin the night off, preferring to go to sleep alone.

With a final stroke of a pen, a smile at the nice young man who looked up at her and grinned stupidly, and a hastily written phone number on a sticky note with a name she didn't care to remember, her house was done and officially hers. The network was up and running, the electric had been turned on, water was running, gas was flowing, and all of her nanite canisters were full, and her high energy capacitors were charging. Haile stepped into her new house with a sigh of relief.

The fifteen foot ceilings were high enough so she couldn't touch the ceiling anymore, the roof was vaulted so the second floor was technically even higher. The living room was as big as her previous house was, and everything came to life around her. Lights came on, fans started whirring softly as they began moving the air around, and a soft warm wind entered the room from seemingly everywhere all at once.

She tossed the crumpled sticky note into the disposal which ripped it apart faster and finer than she ever could. Haile adjusted the thermostat, turned on some music which filled the wheel house, and sat down next to ‘The Mall’.

The Malls were big structures about half as tall as Haile was, and they were built into the corner of several of her rooms. They looked like an enormous doll house, only far more commercial in nature. They had break away everything, walls, ceiling, floor, stairs, plumbing, electricity, etc. She could disassemble the whole thing in half an hour if she wanted too. It was in these structures that the majority of her residents would live or work.

There were multiple malls, of course. This one in front of her was primarily for clothing and artifact storage. The one in the dining room was mainly for food and medical services. The one in her bedroom was primarily for health maintenance and residences. Of course every mall had facilities like the others, but they were each specialized in one or two main areas. The idea was to encourage commuting, no one would live and work in the same space. Commuting let Haile have a crack at catching people. She still had to eat and have fun, so she designed her new house with her favorite hobby in mind.

There were sanitation facilities everywhere, showers, baths, restrooms, and more. Haile didn't want to eat dirty food, after all. Then there were sleeping quarters all over the place, gyms, recreation, kitchens, and more. Realistically Haile had created a miniature city in her home. Places to work, places to shop, places to sleep, and places to relax. It would be like life back home. Only, there was a giant monster who prowled the streets every day and you or your friends could be eaten without any hesitation. Also everyone was different sizes, but more on that later.

Speaking of streets there even were some, they traveled along the walls between major buildings which would help guide new people to destinations and attractions with well thought out signs and directions81. What she didn't tell anyone was this would also concentrate them, letting her have an easy time at finding people. They were lighted too, dimly of course, but lighted nonetheless.

Haile opened the large box labeled skilled.

“Welcome to my new home. I hope you'll like it.” Haile said earnestly. People came out tentatively, and when Haile didn't seem like she was in a hungry or killing mood, they spilled out and poured into the new buildings.

Haile spent some time talking. Not to anyone in particular, but to everyone in general. A few people had decided to sit on Haile's leg and listen to her talk at length about new rules, new buildings, and more. They listened to her describe the house and all of the new out of bounds places and so on. For example, no one was allowed on the second floor, in the basement, or, once again, in her personal bathroom.

Upstairs sounded magical though. A whole room that could turn into anything at all, two more bedrooms, and another bathroom. The basement wasn't too exciting, it was described as a cold computer room with electricity and spinning blades of death everywhere.

The ground floor held four rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, the living room, and Haile's bedroom. There was also a guest bathroom and Haile's bathroom, a closet, and pantry. To the casual observer it might seem strange that Haile would have such things in her house, considering she only ate people. But Haile had company sometimes, would make food for them, and always kept plenty of food in the house for her residents to eat.

No one could say she mistreated her residents. She cared deeply for each and every one of them, as though someone would care for their livestock. She cared for everyone up to the dinner plate, where she became cold and heartless. Everyone was granted the same opportunities as everyone else. They were either useful, entertaining, or food. In no particular order, as many people went straight to food. But there were plenty of ways to be useful or entertaining...