Sayuko sat in her Calculus class, barely listening to the lecture that the teacher Mr. Evans was giving. Not that she could grasp the concepts, anyway. Not without her brother, or Thomas. It was Thursday, and Thomas had not been in class since the week before.

That past Sunday, Taro had asked her to try to bond with Thomas, and she decided to at least try. Unfortunately, she had no idea how to contact him. The two had never exchanged phone numbers, though before Taro was kidnapped, she was considering it.

As the class ended, and the other students began to exit the classroom, Sayuko approached Mr. Evans, who was sitting at his desk and sorting papers. He looked up towards her as she reached his desk.

"Umm," she said. "Mr. Evans?"

"Yes, Sayuko?" he answered.

"Have you seen Thomas?"

Mr. Evans looked around the room before focusing back on her. "No, I haven't. That is odd, though, for him to miss two consecutive classes. Though he's one of my best students, so I'm sure that when he returns, he'll catch up in no time at all."

"I hope so."

"He was helping you with the material, wasn't he?"

"Yes. I'm thankful to him for that."

Mr. Evans placed the papers he was holding on the desk in front of him. "...So, what happened?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your grades have been slipping since the beginning of the month."

"Oh..."

"...Is there anything wrong?"

"...I'm just going through some emotional things right now." Sayuko sighed.

"I see... I hope they all get sorted out soon, so you can presume to excel."

"I hope so, too."

"And if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to let me know."

She forced a smile. "Thank you. I'll see you next week, then, Mr. Evans!"

Mr. Evans smiled. "Take care, Sayuko!"

Sayuko then walked back to her desk, grabbed her belongings, and then walked out of the classroom.

It was a shame that with what she needed, Mr. Evans could not help her. Neither could Thomas. How could she expect them to believe that Melissa had taken her brother hostage by using a Shrink Ray? Also, unfortunately, she saw no forseeable end to what Melissa was putting her through, so her grades would continue to sink.

She soon walked out of the college, and made her way back towards her lonely house.

Thomas laid on the cot inside of his tent, looking towards the "ceiling" of his small enclosure. For once, his friends were not in the tent with him, he opted for some alone time. Not because of Monday's events, but of what happened earlier that day, when Bruce finally returned and was informed of the unfortunate news.

~~~

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Bruce threw his pin needle to the ground in rage. "Those fucking idiots went and got themselves caught?!"

Many of the Refugees jumped at his outburst, even if they had expected it.

"Yes," Shawn said. "Unfortunately, it's true. Hunter and Joe are dead, though."

"We tried to see if we could rescue him through the closet hole," Dawson said, "but it seems Melissa moved some stuff around in there..."

Bruce slapped his palm on his forehead. "Goddamn..."

"So who's gonna get the food now?" A male Refugee asked.

Bruce's palm moved downward, covering his eyes as he started to think.

Thomas turned to Gloria, who stood beside him. "He's gotten calm all of a sudden." He whispered to her.

"Yeah... Bruce may be short-tempered, but he calms pretty fast." She responded before stepping towards Bruce.

Bruce removed his palm from his face as he saw her approach. "Gloria! My favorite mamicita!"

She rolled her eyes. "The smart thing to do now is to form a new team."

"I agree," Shawn said. "If we don't, we'll all starve."

Bruce pondered for a few seconds. "Alright... Let me think about who to put on the new team."

"Let me make your life easier," Gloria said. "I volunteer."

"What?!" Bruce was shocked. "But mi amor... it's too dangerous out there..."

Gloria sighed, apparently tiring of Bruce's Spanish terms of endearment. "I'd rather be out there doing something and sitting around here and listening to these people bitch about the current situation."

"I agree." A man stepped forward. He looked to be Latino, with Black hair, a black moustache and a growing beard. "I also want to be on this team."

"You too, Carlos?" Bruce shook his head. "Fine, but if anything happens to Gloria, it's your ass! You got me?!"

"You can count on me," Carlos confidently responded.

Dawson stepped forward. "And I make Number 3! I'm going, too!"

"Oh please!" Gloria snapped at him. "Your one arm would only be a burden to us!!"

"That's not true!" Dawson fired back.

"Yes it is," Shawn said to Dawson. "You're better off staying here with the rest of us."

"...Dammit, fine. I'll stay..." Dawson lowered his head in obvious disappointment.

Bruce turned around. "I'll let you all know tomorrow who the last guy will be. You all can go do whatever now."

As Bruce and the other Refugees began to go their seperate ways, Thomas felt a need to speak up.

"I'll do it."

Suddenly, all of the dispersing Refugees stopped cold in their tracks and focused their attention towards the "new guy." A look of surprise and shock overtook the faces of Shawn, Dawson, and Gloria. Bruce turned around, looking for this volunteer before locking eyes with Thomas, who was staring fiery at him.

"What did you say?" Bruce asked, flabergasted.

"I said that I'll be the third guy," Thomas said.

"Thomas, no!" Shawn pleaded. "You haven't been here long enough for that kind of danger and responsibility!"

"Yeah!" Dawson agreed. "Plus, no offense, but you do look kinda skinny."

"I just don't feel like sitting around here and doing nothing," Thomas said. "I was never that kind of person, especially in urgent times."

"Interesting..." Bruce said, rubbing his hand on his chin.

"Are you sure about this?" a concerned Gloria asked.

"Think about this!" Shawn said. "You saw what happened to the last team. That could be you!"

Thomas closed his eyes for a few seconds, thinking over his decision once more, before opening them again to look at his worried companions.

"My mind is made up," Thomas said. "Please, let me do this."

Shawn let out a sigh, as Dawson shook his head in either disappointment or amazement.

"If that's your decision, then we won't bother you about it anymore," Gloria said, before turning to Bruce. "Thomas will be our third person! I hope you're okay with that."

Bruce nodded. "Fine. Just make sure he doesn't fuck up too badly." With that, he resumed walking towards his tent.

Gloria walked towards Thomas, giving him a proud smile on her face, something that he thought was a rare sight. She placed her hand on his shoulder, as she walked past him and continued along her way.

Dawson walked up to Thomas and nudged him with his fist. "I hope you know what you're getting into."

~~~

Truth is, Thomas did not know what he was getting into. All he knew was that they had to find food somewhere in the large house and return, without running into Melissa. He had no idea what else to expect. On the floors below could be many pests such as mice and insects, such things which would be like wild beasts and monsters in his current state.

He wondered if he had made the right choice, but those doubts quickly faded. He was determined to serve the team well, and hopefully gain some kind of respect among the other Refugees.

~~~

Lily could not believe this was finally happening right now. Actually, she knew this day would come eventually, but she also expected to be dead. Her screams of agony filled the glass cage as several of her Homeless brethren surrounded her.

"She IS! Shit!"

"Hey guys! Get over here! It's happening now and we may need some help!"

Another contraction. Lily squeezed the hand of the man that kneeled beside her on her left, who was trying to comfort her. So tightly that she almost crushed the bones.

"She's going into labor!"

Sheryl stood in front of the woman, directing the other Homeless. "Grab whatever you can so that we can get this thing out of her!"

Lily was 4 months pregnant when she was kidnapped off of the streets and brought into Melissa's house, and by a stroke of either good or bad luck, she had avoided being taken out to be slaughtered by her captor. Of course, now this means that she will be giving birth to a child that she will not be able to care for at all.

A male held a blunt knife he had on him when he was brought in. Another pulled on some dirty gloves, not wanting to get his hands dirty with "baby scum." Sheryl moved to Lily's right and kneeled down beside her.

"How are we gonna hide this thing from her?" Sheryl said to herself as she grabbed ahold of Lily's right hand.

Lily screamed again. The contractions were getting closer.

"Pull her pants off," Sheryl ordered. She heard the snickering of other males. "Be quiet and get your minds out of the gutter if you're not going to be of any use!"

The male with the gloves laughed as he positioned himself in front of Lily. "I've never delivered a baby before. You sure you want me doing this?"

"It's not like we have a lot of options," Sheryl said. "How are you doing, Lily?"

"I'm going through the worst pain in my life! What do you think?!" Lily snapped.

"Well, sorry!" Sheryl sarcastically responded, before turning her attention towards the man at Lily's legs. "Do you see anything yet?"

"No," he responded.

"Ah... Listen, Lily," Sheryl said in a calm, reassuring voice. "We're going to get you through this."

Lily, taking deep breaths, turned towards Sheryl, and saw her smiling face. A sight that seemed to give her a little confidence.

Another contraction. Lily began squeezing the hands of Sheryl and the other man again. Sheryl bit her lip to endure the hard squeeze. The other man yelped in pain.

"I think I see something," said the man at her legs.

"Really?" Sheryl looked towards the man, and then back to Lily. "Listen, Lily, I think it's time for you to push."

"Oh god..." Lily moaned.

"You don't have much of a choice now, do you?"

After taking a deep breath, Lily began with all of her might to push out the child. With her eyes closed and sweat pouring down her face, she screamed, as if to motivate herself to push harder and harder. The squeezing on her companions hands became ever more hard, even causing Sheryl to let out a cry of pain. She kept pushing, not stopping for even a second, for the entire 3 minutes before that familiar sound was heard: the crying of a baby.

"Pull it out," Sheryl ordered.

The man in front held the child's head and slowly pulled it out while Lily pushed one last time.

"It's here!" he exclaimed. "I think it's a boy!"

Finally, Lily's ordeal was over. The man with the knife walked over and cut the umbilical cord off of the child, despite the possible risk of infecting the child from using such a dirty blade. Lily released the hands of her companions and reached for the child. Sheryl used a piece of cloth to wipe the sweat from Lily's forehead as the child was given to her.

"Welcome to the world," Lily said, smiling at the child. "Too bad you were born to me..."

~~~

From his jar in the corner, Ray looked towards the glass cages. He heard all of the commotion, and the screams, but all of that seems to have died down. Had someone been killed over there?

Wait... He heard a faint sound. A faint, somewhat familiar sound. He stood and pressed his ear against the glass.

"Is that a baby?" he wondered.

~~~

As Sheryl watched Lily and her new child, she started to wonder what was next. Melissa had not known that Lily was pregnant when she was brought in, and Lily stayed in hiding all of this time. But how were they going to hide a crying baby? More importantly, what would Melissa do to the child? Surely Melissa is not heartless enough to murder an infant, right?

"Move her back to her hiding place," Sheryl ordered. "I gotta think of something."

Three males assisted in moving her and her child back to her hidden corner in the back of the cage. Sheryl walked away from them, thinking to herself.

If Melissa didn't kill the baby, he would still starve to death. She doubted that Lily was healthy enough to breastfeed it, and the child obviously could not eat solid foods.

"Maybe it's better if the child left back out of this world," Sheryl said to herself.

~~~

The setting sun cast an orange glow on the environment as Melissa drove back to her house. Today had been an especially tiring day for her; the law firm at which she has in internship always seemed to work her to the bone. She couldn't wait to get home and just drop on her bed and rest. For once, she hoped to not see any "Bugmen" that night, because then she would be obligated to go after them. No, she just wanted to rest for the night.

But first, she had to feed the Homeless in the closet. What a bother. While she wanted them to live just a little longer, she did not feel like dealing with them that night.

No. She hadn't fed them since last week. As disposable as they were, they were her "pets," and pets need to eat. Or at least, often enough to not starve.

Her mind was made up. She was to make a beeline to the kitchen and grab about 3 slices of bread for each of the three cages to feast on.

~~~

The door swung open as Melissa walked into her room, 3 slices of bread in one hand, her black heeled pumps in the other. After walking to her bed she dropped the heels on the floor and placed the bread on her bed. She then took off her black suit jacket and untied her hair. She now stood in her white blouse, black skirt, and brown nylon stockings, far more comfortable not than she had been just mere moments ago.

"Much better."

She grabbed the bread and walked into the closet. With her free hand, she moved the hanged clothes aside and made her way to the glass cages. The faces of the people inside looked up at her, some in fear, others in anger. Without saying a word, she dropped a slice in each cage before turning around and leaving the closet. However, before she could leave, a voice called out to her.

"HEY!! HEEEEEEYYYY!!!!"

She turned back around and looked for the source of the calling. She then spotted the jar in the dark corner, the small green-haired man inside with his hands cupped over his mouth as he was calling out to her.

She sighed and walked toward the jar, kneeling down to be closer to his level.

"I'm tired, what do you want?" She said, slightly annoyed.

"I think one of them had a baby," he said.

Melissa's eyes widened in curiosity. "Oh? Is that right?"

~~~

Melissa approached the Homeless' cage. "Is that true?"

"Is what true?" Sheryl asked.

"I hear one of you had a baby."

Sheryl's heart sank, as the many of the people in the cage flinched.

Melissa shook her head. "I was going to go to bed, but that is simply unacceptable."

"No, it's a lie," Sheryl said. "There was no such thing."

"Then explain why all of you just jumped just now."

Sheryl found herself unable to respond to the question. "Shit..."

"Where is it?"

A male stepped forward. "And why would we tell you?! You're just going to kill it, you heartless bitch!"

"Damn right, I am," said Melissa said, annoyed and slightly angered. "And don't start with me right now. I'm in no mood to deal with you all. Just give me the baby, and I'll leave you alone."

Many of the captives began to express their anger at the Giantess. For once, they didn't care what she did to them. They could not let her kill an innocent child, though they knew that there was nothing they could do to stop her. Melissa's anger began to rise, but all of the commotion stopped when a loud voice commanded them to cease.

"STOP IT!! JUST STOP!!"

Sheryl turned behind her and saw Lily walking out of her corner, holding the baby who had been awakened from the noise. She whispered to the child, before bidding a tearful farewell before offering him up to Melissa.

"Lily..." Sheryl murmured, her eyes also watering.

Melissa lowered her palm into the cage, letting Lily place the baby in her hand. Melissa then brought her palm closer to her face, examining the infant that she could probably barely see due to its size and the dim light.

"Thank you." Melissa gave the small weeping woman her trademark smile. "I'll be back for you in a bit after I rest a little."

Melissa then walked out of the closet as Lily fell to her knees and covered her face, crying loudly as some of her companions tried to comfort her. Others glared at the jar in the corner, containing the green-haired man who was laughing loudly at the whole situation.

~~~

It had been about an hour since Melissa left the closet. Lily's face was still stained with tears, but thanks to Sheryl's comforting, she had calmed down. The whole day had left her physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. However, deep down, she knew that her child, whom she had named Ivan, was in a better place after having only spent mere hours in the world.

But she still felt saddened about losing her one and only son.

The closet door opened, revealing Melissa as she walked inside and toward the cage containing Lily. Without a word, her eyes scanned back and forth through the cage, as if she was seeking someone. After her eyes locked on her, she grabbed the woman out of the cage as the other Homeless called out to her, and walked out of the closet, closing the door behind her.

Lily watched as she was carried out of the bedroom, and through the hall before being brought into the bathroom. Melissa closed the bathroom door behind her, and walked toward the toilet.

"Time for your punishment," Melissa said

Lily looked up toward the Giantess. "What do you mean?"

"You're going to go the same way your kid did. Maybe you'll meet him down there."

Melissa lifted the seat on the toilet and dropped Lily into the water. Lily struggled to stay on the surface, flailing her arms haplessly. As she looked up, she saw the Giantess waving at her before flushing the toilet. Lily was spun around in the swirling vortex before being dragged down with the water. In her final thoughts, she considered that this was not much of a "punishment," compared to the other ordeals that she heard about.

In fact, if she met her son in the afterlife, then Melissa actually did her a favor; she was free from the hell she was in for the last 5 months of her life, and she would spend the rest of eternity with her newly beloved son.

She faded out into darkness, awaiting to welcome the face of her son in the afterlife.

~~~

Melissa dropped the seat back onto the toilet and walked out of the bathroom. After walking back into her room, she plopped onto her bed and closed her eyes.

"What a day..." She sighed. "Damned slut, getting pregnant like that..."

She then dozed off, now finally able to rest after a long way of work, among other things.

~~~

Melissa sat in the driver's seat of her car. The infant was in the back seat, normal-sized, sucking on a pacifier, and strapped in a baby's car seat; both of which were found in the basement.

She could not do it. Despite indiscriminately killing countless people before, and just did not have it in her to end the life of this baby.

She pulled out of her driveway and then drove down the street, back towards the downtown area, where she had come from less than an hour ago. The sun was nearly gone from the horizon, and night was falling.

"You're killing me," she said to the child as she drove. "I wanted to rest for the night, but now I have to deal with you. Maybe I should've just killed you like I had originally planned..."

The child was barely awake. Not that he could understand a single word she was saying, anyway.

"I've always had a soft spot for babies. They're just cute and adorable. Most of them, anyway."

Melissa shook her head, stopping at a red traffic light. "If I had known that woman was pregnant, I wouldn't have taken her in the first place. I gotta think of a way to deal with her when I get back."

The light turned green, and she stepped down on the accelerator.

"If I had anything to give you, I would feed you. But I don't have any baby milk, and I don't want my breasts touching the mouth of a ugly baby such as yourself." She let out a short laugh.

She drove for ten more minutes without a word. She was drawing closer to her destination.

"I have an idea. Why don't you seek me out when you turn 18? After this, you owe me big time. We're going to have lots of fun! You like fun, don't you?"

The child had since fallen asleep.

"Of course you do."

Finally, she arrived at her destination: the local orphanage. Melissa pulled into the parking lot, and then got herself and the infant out of the car. She then walked towards the front door and knocked on the door.

Seconds later, a middle-aged woman opened the door. She seemed surprised that someone had come this late. She also seemed surprised that a dark-skinned woman such as Melissa had with her a much lighter-skinned baby.

"How may I help you?" The woman asked.

"Someone left this poor kid on my doorsteps," Melissa said, faking a worried tone and appearance. "I'd keep him, but I don't have the money for that. Plus, I'm in school, and-"

"Say no more," the woman said. "Come in. I'll get the papers, and we'll give this little guy a home. He doesn't look too old at all."

"I know! He must've JUST been born. And his parents just abandoned him like that... How cruel..."

Minutes later, after filling out the necessary papers, Melissa walked out of the building, waving back at the woman who was standing at the door and holding the sleeping infant in her arms.

"Thank you so much!" Melissa said. "Take good care of him!"

"I will, and hopefully a good family will take him in," the woman said. "Thank you for your concern over this little guy! Have a good night!"

"You, too!" Melissa waved before getting into her car and then driving off.

After driving a few blocks away, she let out a sigh, before chuckling.

"I think I'd be a great actress."

She drove down the now dark road as she made her way back to her house. There was one last thing to deal with before she could finally rest for the night: the woman who had given birth to the child would surely have to be punished for her promiscuity.