Chapter 11 

After a couple minutes, Emma finally let Daniel go, and he stood up, stretching himself out a little as he “walked off” her tight embrace. Emma had silently turned back to packing her things; she knew that holding Daniel like that for a few minutes, without any explanation, might have been a bit weird for him, but she had already convinced herself that he would understand where she was coming from. 

‘He came for me…he knows I’m in…a bit of an emotionally fragile state,’ she thought to herself as she watched his (comparatively) small body stretch itself out from the corner of her eye. ‘He knows that I just need some simple love and affection right now — that’s why he didn’t try and say anything, or wriggle away when I held him.’

Emma didn’t particularly enjoy having to admit to herself that she was feeling emotionally fragile, but the more she thought back on her outburst the previous evening, the more obvious it was becoming that she was mentally “walking on eggshells.”

‘But that’s only because I’m here, stuck in this bizarre, incompetent place where they can’t even treat me,’ she reminded herself, as she looked down affectionately at Daniel giving her a slight smile as he continued to stretch out his limbs. She didn’t realize it, but he was actually in some discomfort — in holding him tightly to her for those long minutes, she had inadvertently bruised a few of his muscles. It wasn’t anything too serious, however, and at this point, Daniel was determined not to make a big deal out of it. 

‘Once Daniel takes me away from here,’ Emma continued thinking, ‘I’ll be ok. I’ll be back to my old fun-loving, confident self.’ She suddenly felt a tide of anxiety start to build over her. 

“Daniel!” she exclaimed suddenly, making wide eyes down at him. Even though she was sitting on the bed, and he was standing, his head barely even came up to her nose. 

“What!?” he replied immediately, echoing her distress with some of his own. 

“How are we going to get out of here!?” she asked, her voice taut with energy. 

“Wh-what…what do you mean?” asked Daniel, with a degree of pleading in his voice. He was hoping desperately that she wasn’t about to have another breakdown. 

“I’m not going to be able to fit in your car!” she cried. “So how am I gonna go home with you!?” 

“Oh…ohhhh, haha!” said Daniel, breathing a sigh of relief as he chuckled a little in response. “Don’t worry, Emma — I’ve, uh…I’ve already made some, ah, arrangements.”

“Arrangements?” she asked, peering down at him intently. “What do you mean?”

“N-nothing serious, Emma!” laughed Daniel, falling once again into his slightly bad habit of laughing when he was nervous. The truth was, the way Emma was looking at him made him feel rather intimidated. And…well, his “arrangements” might not make her feel super great about herself. He had hoped to reserve any talk about them for right when they were leaving, so she would want to just get out of there and not make any fuss. But she was still looking down on him, completely serious and scrutinizing in her look, despite her accompanying anxiety. He had to just go ahead and tell her what was going on. 

“S-so…so Emma, please don’t feel weird about any of this,” he started, knowing that the more he stalled, the worse it sounded. “B-but…well, it was, uh…the only way I could think of to, umm…to make sure that you had enough space on the ride back.”

“What’s going on?” she asked bluntly, starting to blink her big eyes rapidly. “What’s going on?” 

Her mouth twitched at the corners, and Daniel was scared that she might burst into tears at any moment. He had to just tell her. 

“I…I rented one of those…those horse containers, Emma! You know? The kind you see on the highway, that they use to transport horses?! B-but I…I m-made sure that there are gonna be plenty of…of mattresses and…and pillows and soft things in there so you’ll be comfortable! I…I know it’s n-not ideal Emma, but, I…I j-just wanted to make sure that…that we didn’t have to spend a whole lotta extra time here deciding how to, uh…how to get you into some sort of…of container to…ugh, god, I know this sounds bad, honey. A horse container!? Hahaha, I m-mean, I know it’s ridiculous, but…just, p-please understand that it’s all just for a couple hours, and it’s all just so that we can…can get you home as soon as…as possible.”

The words had spilled out of Daniel’s mouth, like he was trying to expel them as quickly as possible into the air, just to get it all over with. He realized, as he spoke the words, that he was a lot more nervous about Emma’s reaction to his idea than he had realized previously. He didn’t know what she was going to do, or how she was going to react — he suddenly appreciated that he was even afraid she was going to be so insulted that she would refuse to ride in it. Her initial reaction gave him nothing to go on; she simply sat there on the bed, unmoving, staring down at him. 

“Pillows?” she asked, her voice cutting through the air, breaking the silence. Once again, Daniel subconsciously registered that her voice was noticeably deeper, and…and just…more…more everything. Deeper, more timbre, more force, more power…he had no idea what her tone was right now.

“Y-yes, Emma,” he answered, his voice sounding pitifully small in his own ears. Emma kept looking at him with that same inscrutable expression, and for Daniel, it was like torture. 

“So I’m not going to be able to ride with you?” she asked after a few more moments, her voice lowered a bit to a murmur, even though it still carried weight. 

“Well, uhhh,” said Daniel, caught off-guard, “N-no…um, no, b-but…but it’s only like a two-hour drive back home. We’ll be able to be together again once we’re home, ok?”

Emma breathed in through her nose and sighed, blinking her eyes. Daniel could tell that she was disappointed, but at the moment he felt almost elated — he could deal with her slight disappointment. But even so, as he himself sighed in relief, he felt sorry for her. His sweet, innocent, gigantic girlfriend…having to travel by horse container. She didn’t deserve that. 

“I thought I was gonna be able to ride with you,” she said quietly, looking down at the floor. 

“Aww, honey,” said Daniel compassionately, becoming afraid again that she was going to cry. He walked over quickly to her and stopped in front of her huge lower legs…her massive knees were as high as his waist. How was he supposed to hug her? To comfort her? He decided that he couldn’t tarry any longer, and chose to lean in, a bit awkwardly, toward her lower torso, as he embraced as much of her left-side hips and waist as he could, and squeezed. He felt stupid and inadequate as he did so, but what else was he supposed to do? It didn’t help that Emma didn’t really react to his gesture — she just kept sitting there, staring at the floor.

“It’s only a couple hours, babe,” he spoke into her flesh. “And…and if you want…if…if you feel extra lonely…we can talk to each other on the phone on the way! Haha, I know it’s silly, but…hehe, I mean, maybe it could be fun!”

“Ok,” said Emma thickly, and Daniel suddenly felt the splash of what he felt like was a cup of water come down on his head. He started and looked up to see Emma blinking fat tears out of her eyes. 

“I’m…I’m s-sorry, Daniel,” she sputtered, her mouth twitching again at the corners as her nostrils flared and unflared. “I’m s-sorry I’m being s-such a baby right now…I just…I just wanna get out of here. And…oh god, Daniel, you’re soooo sweet. Thanks for thinking of me and…*sniff*…and planning for everything. I…I’ve j-just been too out of sorts to even…think about any of that stuff.”

“Well that’s where I come in!” exclaimed Daniel, standing back a little to keep from getting even more wet, even though he was now holding Emma’s hand in his own. The gesture itself seemed almost laughable, since Emma’s hand totally swallowed his up, to the point where Daniel even wondered if she could feel his hand at all. 

“You’re my hot, sexy mare that I’m taking back to the homestead!” he blurted out, and as soon as he had spoken, he knew that he had hit exactly the right harmony of silliness and affection. Emma choked and exhaled a hefty laugh, even as a few more tears ran from her eyes, and Daniel could feel the flesh of her torso shaking and jiggling mightily as she flexed and unflexed her stomach in laughter. 

“M-maybe you need to…to go to the bathroom and dry yourself off,” laughed Emma, recovering herself as she wiped her tears away. “They have these amazing heated towels here…that’s, uh…that’s one thing I’ll actually miss.” 

“Hehe, ok I’ll do that,” replied Daniel, grinning up at her as he felt the top of his wet head. “Which way is the men’s bathroom?”

“Uh, I think…turn right out of here, go down the hall a bit, and then it’s on your left before you turn the corner,” said Emma, once again turning to finish her packing. But then she suddenly winced a little, making Daniel pause in the doorway. 

“You…you ok?” he ventured. 

“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine,” she said, shaking her arms out a bit. Daniel was surprised to see how fleshy they had become — they were still totally proportional to the rest of her body, but when she moved them like that, he could see how…big they were. 

“Just a little muscle aches is all,” she added, reassuringly. “I’m used to it by now, haha. Get them all the time.”

“Ok,” said Daniel, and ducked out into the hall. When he was gone, Emma put her folded clothes down and resumed staring back at the floor…she knew she had just grown a little more. 

A few moments later, Daniel was walking down the hallway, marveling at how big everything was compared to him. Everything, from the wideness of the hall, to the height of the ceiling, to the size of the water fountains, seemed to be made for bigger people. It made him feel like a midget, even though at 6’1 he was taller than the average man. He was about to go into the men’s bathroom when a huge figure suddenly emerged from its doorway. Daniel stopped in his tracks, and even drew back a bit. He wasn’t in danger of being hit by the out-swinging bathroom door, but he couldn’t help stopping and staring. A gigantic man stood before him, and Daniel quickly saw that his head reached no higher than the middle of this giant’s stomach. He looked to be around middle-aged, and he moved with such an easy, swaying power, that Daniel somehow knew that this man had been huge for quite some time. 

“Oh! I’m sorry,” said the man in a deep, bass voice that seemed to vibrate the very air around Daniel’s ears. He took another step back; this man…he was just…a little too much. Daniel didn’t feel frightened of the man’s intentions per se — he seemed pleasant enough. But Daniel’s body seemed to be moving on its own accord, driven by a sense of self-preservation. He became conscious of the man’s hands, which looked about three times the size of his own. He knew Emma was big, but damn…this guy had to be bigger. How many more of these giants were there around here!? 

“Uh, n-no…no, that’s…uh, ok,” stammered Daniel, looking up to meet the man’s eyes and then looking away again. He had seen other huge people at the Institute last night, so he didn’t quite know why he was stumbling over himself like this. This particular man was bigger than all the rest of them, though, surely. Maybe Emma was close to his size…but this guy…his voice…his hands…just his sheer size — it all threw Daniel for a loop. 

“Are you lost?” asked the man. 

“Lost?” asked Daniel. 

“Well, I can see you’re not a doctor or a patient,” said the man. “Are you here on a visit?” 

“I’m…yeah, yeah, I’m actually here to take my girlfriend home,” said Daniel, starting to recover himself. 

“Oh?” asked the man, looking down at him intently. Daniel could see the man open his mouth, as if he was about to ask another question, but then he saw him close it again, like he had thought better of it. 

“Y-yeah…yeah, but…but no, I’m not lost,” said Daniel. “Just going to the restroom here…but thanks!”

“No problem,” said the man, stepping aside and holding the huge door for Daniel, gesturing for him to go in. Daniel did so, nodding appreciatively up at the huge man, as he walked into the bathroom under the massive, outstretched arm.

After drying himself off with an admittedly pleasant (and extremely large) heated towel, Daniel went back to Emma’s room. They soon finished packing up, and headed for the main entrance. Daniel had insisted on carrying Emma’s bag, which was half as large as he was. Emma didn’t put up too much resistance in trying to carry it herself, and so they proceeded along as such down the hall, with Emma leading slightly, and Daniel trailing along a bit, struggling with the bulky bag over his shoulder. 

Emma noticed, as they went down the hall, that other patients were poking their heads out of their dorms, silently watching her leave. She felt a defiant wave of hostility pass through her, and she even turned and shot challenging glances at a few of the faces, which responded by retreating quickly back into their rooms. She knew that her episode last night must have spread through the rumor mill like wildfire, which made her irritated for making such a spectacle of herself. More than anything, though, it made her feel even more childishly hostile toward the doctors, which she immediately blamed for spreading the story of her meltdown around the Institute. As they passed a few doctors in the hallway, Emma felt her heart start to beat faster: the result of her ill-will. She was glad to be getting out of there, because the level of antipathy she felt toward those pathetic little midgets in their stupid white jackets was really starting to get out of control. She even went so far as to purposefully walk in the path of several doctors, who were forced to get out of the way, with Daniel giving them a glance of apology as they passed by. 

Emma was well aware that her actions and attitude could have been interpreted as immature or petty, but she just didn’t care. She had gone to the Institute to find an answer to her growth problems, and they had failed…and worse yet, her growth had accelerated. They were worse than incompetent. And to add insult to injury, they were a bunch of cowardly, scheming know-it-alls, who had tried to corner her…and give her drugs against her will. 

‘They’re lucky I didn’t freak out more than I did,’ she thought as she and Daniel neared the front entrance. ‘They’re lucky I’m leaving now…I’d tear this place to pieces otherwise.’ As far as Emma was concerned, she was just brooding moodily. She had no idea how dangerous her energy actually would have been if she had once again lost control. 

Dr. Kline and Martha were waiting for them at the front entrance. Emma felt herself sour further as she realized that she would have to pass them by one final time. Her negative feelings were mostly reserved for Dr. Kline — she liked Martha, even though she felt that the tiny nurse was operating a little over her head. If anything, as far as Emma was concerned, Martha’s main fault was not knowing when the job was too big for her. Dr. Kline, by contrast, was a trickster, and a threat. 

“So sorry to see you go, Emma!” Dr. Kline said as she and Daniel came up on them. 

Emma didn’t even respond; just like she had done with the other doctors, she walked directly toward Dr. Kline. He appeared confused by her rapidly-approaching figure, and eventually realized what she was doing and scampered out of the way. Martha did the same. Emma chuckled down at them derisively, shaking her head….Martha’s head was a full six inches under Emma’s waist. Dr. Kline, even though he was a full-grown man, barely rose above her hips. 

‘The nerve of these tiny little doctors!’ she thought to herself. ‘Even now, they think they lie through their teeth to get me to stay. I’d like to see them try.’ 

“S-Sorry things didn’t work out!” said Daniel, trailing behind with her bag, feeling like he needed to end the whole exchange on a good note. “I know…I know you all tried as hard as you could!”

“Let me just, one final time, encourage you both to reconsider,” said Dr. Kline, putting his hands up in a motion of pleading reconciliation. “We can run more tests…we can…try a few other things.”

“Are you…are you sure about all this, Emma?” asked Daniel. 

She stopped dead; a number of things had just happened at once. She had seen the horse trailer that was attached to Daniel’s car. If they had just been allowed to walk straight out the front door, without any interruption, then Emma would have probably started laughing at the sight. Instead, though, just before she saw the trailer, her anger had flared up — not only was Dr. Kline twisting the knife by trying to guilt her into staying, but Daniel was taking his side!! And now she was faced with the horse trailer that she was forced to travel in, like an animal. She felt the hot tears pool in the sides of her eyes again. But this time, she was furious. 

She whirled around abruptly, her eyes flashing as the tears started to run down her cheeks. Martha took several tottering steps backward and ran away; Dr. Kline stepped back and put his hands up higher, in front of his face, and said, “Easy, Emma, easy!” in a halting, shaking voice. Daniel dropped the bag and nearly tripped over it. Emma saw the fear in his face…saw the fear in the doctor’s eyes, and it all somehow nipped her crying in the bud. She straightened up and wiped her eyes, looking down on them. Something new was stirring in her…and it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. She felt slightly sick…and yet, at the same time, strangely elated. Her emotions were going haywire, but she felt like she was able to float above them all, like they were a poisonous fog that was creeping low along the ground, but that couldn’t reach her…she rose above it all. 

She felt the ground shaking a little and looked up curiously. Igor was hurrying up to her, and behind him, Jessica, Bethany, and a number of others were cautiously gathering at a distance to watch. 

“Emma!” he cried, nearly running over Daniel by accident as he rushed up to her. “I..I just heard! You aren’t…you aren’t leaving, are you!?”

Emma stood up to her full height and took a great deep breath, swelling herself up even bigger. Igor looked even smaller — his head didn’t even come up to her nose anymore. She wanted to respond angrily, but she suddenly felt too calm for all that. She smiled, almost coyly, at him.

“Yes, Igor, I’m leaving,” she said, putting her hands on her hips in a challenging motion. “They don’t know what’s wrong with me, and they tried to dose me last night against my will. That’s it for me — I’m going home.” 

“B-but…But Emma!” begged Igor, “You…you can’t just leave now! Not when your growth is accelerating like it is!”

“And why not, Igor?” asked Emma, her voice beginning to take on a sharpened edge, despite her calmness. “They can’t do anything for me here. I’m gonna be growing no matter what they do. So I may as well go back home, back to my sweet boyfriend who loves me and will take care of me.” 

She gestured down to Daniel, who was still struggling with picking the bag back up. Igor creased his brow as he looked down at Daniel; their eyes met. 

“Wait,” said Igor, pointing down to Daniel, “So…he’s your boyfriend!?” 

“Yeah. And?’ asked Emma. She was preparing herself to viciously defend Daniel against whatever Igor had in store for him. 

“We…we just met,” said Igor, looking down at Daniel with a slightly puzzled expression, “In the hallway.”

“Oh…oh…ok,” said Emma, having to change her plans. She brushed the air with her hand. “But anyway, I can’t stay here, Igor. Not after last night.”

“Please Emma, please don’t just leave,” begged Igor. “I’m worried about what’s going to happen to you!”

“Well I’m worried about what’s going to happen to everyone else here if I stay!” Emma blurted out with real energy. “You don’t understand, Igor! I’m losing my mind here! I’m leaving, and that’s that!”

She made a motion towards the car, and Igor stepped quickly over to block her path. Everyone behind them, all the doctors, nurses, and patients, started buzzing with anxious whispers. A showdown was about to happen…and Daniel had a front row seat. His jaw felt slack — he didn’t really know what his face looked like. He was too busy trying to put the pieces back together of his shattered brain. That gigantic man in the hallway…Igor…was totally dwarfed by Emma, in every conceivable way. His massive legs, those enormous paws that he had for hands, his deep bass voice…all of it was neutered in Emma’s presence. She towered over him. His eyes weren’t even as high as her shoulders. It didn’t matter that he was the hugest man Daniel had ever seen. Next to Emma, he looked quite ordinary…almost small. There was no question that she weighed a good deal more than him. The only thing he had on her was the possibility that his shoulders might have been a bit broader. But even that was questionable. Every other aspect of his body was utterly put to shame by Emma’s. 

And now…they were both facing each other down. Daniel didn’t know what to think — his mind was frozen. The whole host of the institute was frozen and hushed behind him in kind. 

Emma’s lips curled slowly into a smile as she slowly tilted her head, her eyes intently on Igor’s.

“Emmmaaa,” he said, his voice rising with anxiety, “Emmmmaaaa, I don’t like that look you’re giving me!”

“No?” she responded brightly, starting to chuckle, “Then get out of my way.”

“Y-you’re…you’re not in your right mind!” declared Igor, remaining firmly in place, despite the obvious fear in his eyes. 

“I know!” laughed Emma, spreading her arms wide, as if he had just made her point for her. “I literally just told you that I’m losing my mind here!”

“You’re not making rational decisions right now,” said Igor, starting to breathe hard, as his face colored red. “Just…just come with me to the gazebo in the courtyard, ok? And we can just…just talk this out.”

Igor made a grab for Emma’s hand, but she yanked it away from him, and, in the same motion, took her other hand, planted it firmly into Igor’s chest, and shoved him powerfully back with such force that he stumbled back three whole paces before falling to the ground. 

“I SAID,” Emma repeated, “That I’m LEAVING.” She strode a couple paces over to Igor’s prone form, standing over him with her hands on her hips, in an obvious show of power. She pointed a finger down at him. 

“YOU can’t make me stay, Igor. YOU can’t make me do ANYTHING.” She looked up at the rest of the Institute and pointed at them, raising her voice. 

“NONE of you can make me do anything! Come on, Daniel, let’s go!”

She didn’t stop to look at Igor’s baffled, pleading face one last time; she didn’t stop to look at anything. She just marched right up to the horse trailer, ducked her head, and got inside. She found an array of mattresses, pillows, and blankets waiting for her. Just like Daniel had said. She felt her lips quivering again.

‘Fuck, not again,’ she thought to herself savagely as her vision blurred again from the tears. 

“Daniel, you’re so sweet,” she whispered to him through the opening of the horse trailer as he latched the door shut.

“Wh-what? What, Emma?” he asked blankly. He was still wrapping his mind around what he had just seen…and that, somehow, he was with someone as powerful as Emma had become. 

“It’s just like you said it would be in here,” she whispered again shakily, smushing her face up against the opening. “All the pillows and blankets and…soft things. I love you, Daniel!” 

“I…love you too!” he responded genuinely, not understanding her sudden shifts of mood. “O-ok Emma, you’ve…you’ve got your phone in there if you…wanna talk to me, ok?”

“Ok,” said Emma quietly, snuggling up to a mattress like it was a particularly large pillow. She almost felt like sucking her thumb. 

“It’ll just be a couple hours,” said Daniel. “Let’s get you home.” 

Neither of them had noticed the man in sunglasses at the far end of the parking lot, in an unmarked black sedan, watching the whole proceedings with binoculars.