Heather’s brother Mark was allowed a few days’ leave, mostly for Heather’s sake. Although neither of them were aware of it, Mark’s visit was AJ’s idea. Something to keep Heather feeling more grounded, and to remind her that she’s still a human being. The siblings had lunch at their old favorite place along the river.
“So are you still dating that guy?” he said. “Um.. Bryan?”
“Ben,” she corrected, holding her hand below her mouth to prevent salsa from dripping off a chip. Their resemblance was uncanny. It always creeped Ben out a little just how much Heather and her brother looked alike. He even called Mark “Heather” a couple times just for kicks, even though her brother was a handsome guy in his own right. As kids, Mark and Heather fought endlessly, but as adults they were inseparable. They used to talk for hours on the phone each week just getting caught up on life, before he was deployed. Mark meant the world to Heather.
“And he’s cool with.. Um..” Mark waved his fork around ambiguously.
“Yeah. I mean really, yeah. We’re making it work for us.”
“Great. You two gonna get married?”
“We were, for a bit. But I think that’s... We’re just not looking at it anymore.”
“What with you being queen of the universe and all.”
Heather laughed but the comment kind of irritated her.
“You can joke but it’s a really-” she began.
“Big deal. I know. You’re a big deal now,” Mark admitted.
“You don’t have to go back, you know,” Heather said, pleading her brother to quit the military.
“I wouldn’t have to if you did your job right.”
“How’s that?” Heather asked, nibbling another chip.
“Well if the enemy was actually scared of you, they’d stop throwing fighter planes at us.”
“They’re gonna be real scared next time they see me.”
~~~
With Heather traveling, Jason sat alone at his apartment, watching TV. He picked up a small mason jar from the end table next to him, and peered inside. There, cradled between two of Jason’s moist gym socks, was a shrunken Ben. Jason tapped on the glass to get his attention.
“You’ve been in there all day. Ready to tell me the code?” Jason asked.
Ben snuggled the sock pathetically, but continued his resistance. “Tell me your secret and I’ll tell you mine,” he said.
“You mean...”
“Tell me about the people you ate.”
Jason laughed, unscrewed the jar, and plopped Ben out directly onto Jason’s naked abs.
“You’re not going to like it,” Jason said.
“I want to know,” Ben said, tired of being kept in the dark.
With two fingers, Jason grabbed one of Ben’s hands, and delicately began playing with him like a doll.
“Everybody has their own growth potential,” Jason explained, “this... thing we’re in, this project, just unlocked ours. It’s like an inner power that we didn’t even know was there before. And once that power’s unlocked,” Jason continued, taking a deep breath and sighing, “Well, everything gets different.”
“Different?”
“Yeah. It turned out I had a lot of power that nobody knew about, just waiting to get unlocked. Maybe we all do,” Jason said, shrugging. “Maybe they all get unlocked as we grow. What do I know.”
“What does that have to do with-”
“I ate a chicken and I saw the entire life of that chicken. Y’know how fucked up that is? To start seeing the life of your food? Anyway. We figured - the military, I mean - figured that it would work for people too.”
“You mean, you could eat a... Person... And know everything they knew?”
“Yeah. It was a hunch but a good one. And now I speak five languages. So that’s cool.”
“Who?”
“Oh, we captured those ships out in the Pacific. Most of those guys I brainwashed and let go. About five of them the military let me eat. We learned a lot about the enemy that day.”
“And Heather?” Ben asked, with horror in his eyes.
Jason shook his head. “She didn’t want any part in it. But I think she’s coming around. Nobody else knows this, little guy, so keep it on the DL, but knowledge isn’t the only thing you gain when you eat people. You also get their growth potential.”
“Jesus. So, five miles isn’t your limit?”
“No, it’s not. But I haven’t tested the new one. Anyway, other stuff’s been happening too. My senses got a lot sharper. And I think I can kind of hear people’s thoughts, but they’re not really clear...”
Ben started to back away, but Jason’s hand blocked him from behind. “I don’t believe you,” he said.
"How about, if I guess right, you stay shrunk the rest of the week. If I'm wrong, I let you go."
"Deal."
“6457.”
"That's not even close to correct." Ben said, growing back to his normal size.
"Damn! Two more guesses?"
Ben walked away, but shivered a little bit. He'd clouded his mind with a fake number, and Jason guessed it.
~~~
High heeled boots stepped gingerly through the streets of a shrunken city. Alone, a tall, raven-haired woman, tried her best to be stealthy, but had a hard time walking perfectly straight in the narrow streets. She was a bit drunk. It was 2 AM, and the hangar was abandoned for the evening. The room was pitch black, except for the tiny street lights and illuminated office windows. At the city’s edge, lying in a pile, were her clothes. They weren’t necessary for this exercise. She stumbled a bit, nearly spilling her glass of wine.
“Oopsies,” AJ said into a walkie talkie.
“We could really get into a lot of trouble for this,” a male voice rang out from the other end.
“You should stay away from psychologists, toy boy,” AJ said. “You should know we’re all a little nuts.”
“Is that what you do then?” the voice crackled back. “You’re a psychologist? You seem like you’re really important.”
“Oh I am,” AJ said, turning a corner, losing her balance slightly, and nudging her elbow into a building to recenter herself. “I’m the one who makes sure those two mutants don’t show any umm... Warning signs.”
“Warning signs?”
“Yeah, y’know, like... They’re gonna flip out and eradicate humanity or something.”
“So... Have they?”
“Oh,” AJ laughed, and took a swig of her wineglass. “Yeah, hell yeah. Red flags and alarm bells all over the place, man. Ding ding ding!”
The radio was silent on the other end.
“When I find you I’m gonna fuck your brains out, you little gerbil,” AJ said, kicking back her wine glass again.
“You don’t sound very worried about... Them? I guess?” the voice said.
“Let me tell you something, Sergeant... Umm..” AJ started.
“It’s Corporal Dawes, ma’am,” the voice returned.
“Captain, if I gave you a million dollars today, what would you do with it?”
Her footfalls were growing closer. The smell of her expensive perfume filled the air. Corporal Dawes looked through the front doors of an abandoned shopping mall, and saw AJ’s signature leather boots headed right for him.
“Ma’am I’d buy a nice boat and a house on the river and-,” he said, turning away from the door and hustling up the hallway.
“You’d piss it away, my Sergeant Gummybear,” she said, continuing her approach. “Just like most people.”
“Seems like good things to spend it on to me, ma’am,” the soldier said into his walkie-talkie. Her footsteps were getting loud. He scurried through the mall’s food court, looking for the rear exit to escape into another building.
“I like that. You calling me ‘ma’am’. Do it again.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Boom. Boom. The heels on her boots shook the whole mall as she approached.
“My point, private, is that Heather and Jason are just a couple dumb kids who inherited a fortune, and just like you they have no idea how to spend it.”
“What about” BOOM “you, ma’am?” BOOM “How would you” BOOM “spend it?” BOOM
He reached the back of the mall, blew open the exit door, and ran straight into AJ’s hand. She grabbed him with two long fingers, and lifted him into the air.
“That’s a dangerous question to ask, private,” she said, licking her lips. “After all, I’m a woman of vision.”
“How did you-” he began, before AJ cut him off.
“Listened to my own footsteps on your walkie-talkie. Tsk tsk,” she said, dangling him by a leg, and dropping him into her wine glass. She took a big sip, letting him fall into her mouth. AJ swished the soldier around a bit, before swallowing, keeping him carefully pinned between her teeth. She sucked on his tiny body for a bit, before spitting him back into the glass.
“I owe you an apology and I do, kind of,” she stopped to let out a burp, “feel bad about this. But I’m about to wreck your notions of sex. After tonight, you’ll never have it as good from any other woman. So..”
“I’m OK with that, ma’am,” the soldier said with grim acceptance. “And ma’am. They should’ve chosen you to be the giant.”
AJ giggled, lowering the man toward her crotch. “There’s always hope.”