Waking in a daze on the ground, Nathan Reynolds opened his eyes and stared up into the sky. Or, at least what looked like the sky. His vision was blurry, but all he could see above him was white. Perhaps the sky of a bright but cloudy day?

He brushed his hand through his short blond hair, and sat up. He then looked around. As his vision steadily became clear, he found that he did not see any trees or roads or buildings or anything else that would indicate that he was outside. No, instead he saw what looked like gigantic furniture: among other things a couch, a coffee table, a tall lamp off in the distance, and even further a fireplace. He looked upward, back towards the sky, and saw that it was not the sky at all; it looked to be some kind of ceiling.

He became worried. Where was he? Someone's house? If so, why was everything so big? Better question: how did he get here? The last thing he remembered was that he was walking in the park near his apartment. It was a cloudy day, but the forecast did not predict that any rain would fall, so he had decided to go for a walk. However, once he delved deep into the heavily forested area, he saw a bright flash of light, and then, he was here. Was it some kind of freak lightning strike?

Many thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"So, you're finally up," said a voice from behind.

Nathan turned in the direction the voice came from, and saw an African American man in his mid-20s approach him. His black hair was short, and was what one would describe as "nappy". He also had a small mustache and beard growing in on his face. He wore a blue and white striped T-shirt, baggy blue jeans, and white gym shoes.

Nathan stood up. "Where am I? How'd I get here? Who are you?"

The man stopped his approach as he reached Nathan. "Wow... You're askin' a lot of questions. Can't you wait 'til I answer one before you ask the next?"

Nathan stood up and faced the man. This man was a few inches taller than he was, and was slightly on the heavy side as far as weight went.

"Lemme answer in order," the man said. "You're in a giant house."

"What?!" Nathan looked around once more. "Is it some kind of prop that someone built?"

The man shook his head. "Actually... This is a normal house. ...We're just small. Very small."

Nathan's mouth dropped. "Are you kidding me?!"

"No. Besides, who'd build a giant house, anyway?"

Nathan still could not completely believe that this man was telling him. "So, if I'm small, how'd I get this small?"

"...Tina did it," the man calmly answered. "She shrunk you."

"Whoa, what?! Is that possible?!"

The man nodded. "She did the same to me. And everyone else, too. We're all around three inches, I think."

"There's more?!" Nathan responded. "But wait... Who's Tina?!"

"The most evil bitch you'll ever-"

The man was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. Massive footsteps. They were far away, but the sound of each step vibrated into the area that Nathan and the man stood in. They turned in the direction that they came from, towards a large doorway behind them.

"Shit..." The man said, still calm. "You're about to meet her."

Nathan looked at the man, and then anxiously back towards the doorway. Seconds later, Nathan's heart dropped at what he saw next: a gigantic woman walked into the room. She also looked to be in her late-20s, and was of Asian descent with brown hair that slightly extended past her shoulders. She wore a black tube top and black capris, and was barefoot. She was fairly attractive, but that did not stop her from being a menacing sight.

This was Tina.

Nathan backed away from the approaching giantess in fear, but the Black man merely stood his ground, as if he had gotten used to the sight of the titaness.

Tina stopped several feet away from where they were (on their scale), and looked down on the both of them.

"You're up!" she said, addressing Nathan. "Welcome to my home!"

"What did you do to me?!" Nathan blurted out.

She looked towards the Black man. "Didn't this one here explain it to you?"

"Yeah, I did," he responded.

"I mean," she said as she placed her hands on her hips, "it's not that hard to figure out even if no one told you about it."

"Why'd you do this to me?!" Nathan yelled out. "Why?!"

"My! You're getting testy! ...But I guess it can't be helped. It natural to act that way. Even this one acted the same way when I brought him here."

"Calm down, bro," the man said to Nathan. "She ain't gonna do nothin' to you now."

"Guh..." Nathan eased himself, and took a few steps to rejoin the man before the titaness.

"Anyway," Tina said, "I saw you in the park earlier, and I thought that you were pretty cute. I just had to have you in my collection. So I followed you in the woods, hid in the trees, and that's when I got you."

"That's insane!" Nathan shouted. "Change me back! I don't want to stay here!"

Tina simply laughed. "Oh please! Like I'm going to release you! You're staying here with me, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Nathan gritted his teeth in frustration, and looked off into the distance between her legs, towards the doorway that she entered through.

"Don't think you can make a run for it, either," she said. "I could easily just catch you again."

"The last guy who tried to run from her," the Black man said to Nathan, "got stomped."

Nathan jumped in shock. "That's horrible!"

Tina let out a melancholic sigh. "Ahh... What a shame that was... He was so cute, but he just wouldn't cooperate with me. In fact, he became annoying, so I didn't really have a choice but to crush him like a bug. After all, I could easily get more, right?" She winked at Nathan.

"No..." Nathan shook his head in disbelief.

"Little Nathan..." Tina said as she bent down at the waist. "You're not going to do anything to make me have to kill you, are you?"

"H-how do you know my name?!" Nathan asked.

"That's not important right now," Tina responded. "I just need to know if you will be a good little boy and follow the rules that I'm about to tell you."

"Rules...?" Nathan said.

Tina stood back upright. "First of all, you are allowed to explore my house. I've installed some small lifts near the stairs to make it easier to reach the other floors. However... Make sure that you don't get in my path. If you see me heading your way, make sure that you get out of the way, because I won't hesitate to step on you if you don't in time. In fact..." Tina smiled devilishly. "I kinda look forward to it."

Nathan did not respond. He merely looked on at the giantess in fear and disbelief.

"Next thing is," Tina continued, "You aren't to ever leave this house. If you do, you'll meet a very gruesome end. I mean it. Finally... If I call on you to do something for me, you better do it, or you'll be punished."

"This... This can't be real..." Nathan muttered to himself as he looked towards the floor covered with a beige carpet.

"If you follow those rules, you'll find your life in my house pretty pleasant. What do you say?"

"This has to be a dream... A nightmare..." Nathan continued to mutter. "...This can't be real. No way."

"No objections? Great! You there, I want you to show him the ropes. Alright?"

"Yeah," the man responded.

"As for me," Tina said, "I'm going upstairs for a while, but I'll be back soon."

Nathan looked up, just as Tina turned around, and walked out of the room. A few steps afterwards, she stopped, and looked back towards the two small men, though her eyes seemed to be more focused on him.

"I'm looking forward to spending time with you, Nathan," Tina said, with a smile on her face.

Then, she continued to walk away from the room, and then began to climb the stairs that were off in the distance. Soon, she was completely out of sight, but Nathan could still hear her footsteps high above him.

He felt the man place his arm around his shoulder. "Well, man, what do you think?"

"...This isn't real, is it? It's impossible..." Nathan said. "Tell me that this isn't real..."

"...Sorry, dawg, but I don't know what to tell ya."

Nathan stared at the man, before dropping to his knees, and letting out a loud scream, all the while clutching the hair on his head in his hands. Then, he lowered his upper body and pounded both of his fists on the floor.

"Goddammit!!" Nathan blurted out. "What the hell is this!? I don't want to stay here! I want to go home, not in this place!!"

"I know how you feel," the man said, "but there's nothin' you can do about it. Sorry, man..."

"...Shit..."

"Oh, and my name is D'Marco. Your second question was answered by her, so I went on to the third one."

Nathan sighed, and slowly stood to his feet. "How long have you been here, D'Marco?"

"A month, I think," D'Marco answered. "It's kinda hard to keep track of time here."

"How many more of us are there?"

"Beside you and me, eight."

Nathan chuckled a little. "Really? I expected there to be more..."

D'Marco began to walk away from Nathan. "C'mon. You gotta meet some of the others."

Nathan looked around the room. "I don't see anyone."

"We live under that couch over there." D'Marco pointed towards the couch further in the room.

"Oh." Nathan started to follow after D'Marco as he headed towards the couch.

After a while, once the two had trekked half the distance to the couch, D'Marco stopped and turned to face Nathan.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"By the way," D'Marco said, "Tina IS an evil bitch. When she calls one of us, it's to... uh, 'play' with her. ...Except half the time, someone ends up dead."

Nathan gasped. "She does it on purpose?!"

"Sometimes. Other times, she just forgets how much power she has over us. But then, there are times when she does kill someone on purpose. Then, she just goes out and find a new sucka."

"Are you calling me a sucker?!" Nathan responded, irritated.

"Sorry... Maybe that wasn't the right word."

"No, it wasn't." Nathan walked past D'Marco, and continued towards the couch.

"Hey!" D'Marco called from behind.

Nathan stopped and turned towards the man. "What?"

"You might wanna cool it. You're the newbie here. If you go in there like you are now, the others ain't gon accept you. They'll just beat you up, and leave you in the middle of the floor. And I think you know what happens next. Trust me, I've seen it happen before with some other cocky dude."

"...Fine," Nathan said, calming himself a bit, though he was still indignant.

"Cool."

With D'Marco back in the lead, the two continued walking towards the large couch. All the while, an endless array of thoughts flew within Nathan's head. He wondered what he had done wrong in his life to have made the powers that be punish him in such a manner. Sure, he did not exactly have the best upbringing, mainly because he spent most of his life in foster care, but it was not like he was a criminal or anything. He wondered if he was indeed trapped in here for as long as he was alive. Was his death imminent? Would the woman known as Tina call him, and then kill him during her twisted perception of playtime?

However, none of this mattered to him.

After all, this was just a dream. He would be awake in bed at his apartment soon enough.

~~~

Having arrived in her large bedroom, Tina headed to her desk, and turned her attention to the small creature that laid upon it: a small man in his late 40s with brown but greying hair and an equally greying mustache. His arms and legs were tightly tied up by string, and his mouth was covered by duct tape that she had shrunken down for him earlier.

"Well, Little Fred," Tina said. "I found someone else. Someone much younger and cuter than you."

She lifted the man off of the desk, and dangled him by his feet in front of his face. The man struggled in her grasp, trying to shake himself free. Unfortunately for him, he was much too small to pull off such a stunt.

"That means that I don't need you anymore. Sorry."

As she walked into the center of her bedroom, the man became even more frantic, and she could hear his muffled voice screaming through the tape on his mouth.

"Really, though. Why did you even think that I would want you? I'm still young and beautiful. YOU, however, are a dirty old man who's been through three divorces. There must be something wrong with you if you can't keep a wife." She smirked at the man. "I bet you're regretting asking me out now, aren't you? I mean, why would I ever date someone like you? I mean, with those divorces and kids you have, it's not like you have much money to spend on me."

Tina shrugged. "Oh well..." She then kneeled down, and placed the man onto the hardwood floor. Then, she stood back upright.

The man edged his body forward in a motion similar to a caterpillar, no doubt trying to escape from her. However, at the extremely slow speed that he moved, there was no hope of that happening at all.

"What are you, some kind of worm?" Tina chuckled. "Trying really had to get away? Where are you going? The door's back the other way? Or are you so into your act that you're even mimicking the intelligence of a worm?" She faked a louder laugh. "That's hilarious!"

She continued to watch the man's pitiful attempt to escape. "But, you know... When you imitate a bug, you have to take the bad stuff that comes with it."

The man looked up toward her, his face awash with fear. He shuddered, and then tried to pull his arms free from the string that was wrapped around him. He probably thought that crawling would give him a better chance of escape. However, Tina had tied the string around him so tight that he had no hope of ever breaking through the fabric.

Tina gave the man a mischievous smile as he once again looked up at her, his face filled with hopelessness and despair.

Then, without another word, she stepped forward. It only took one step with her right foot, but it bore down onto the tiny man, and completely pulverized him underneath the increasing weight of her foot. The sound and feel of the bones breaking, the warm sticky sensation of the blood bursting out in all directions underneath... Such a sensation was one that she had since come to thoroughly enjoy.

Tina moaned in satisfaction. "That's the only thing you could ever do for me. Well done." She lifted her foot from the floor and turned her sole towards her. The flattened remains of the man was plastered on her sole, surrounded with blood. As tight as the string around him was, it could not contain the force of his body being crushed under astronomical weight. On the floor below was a pool of more blood.

Then, holding her right foot with her left hand, she hopped on one foot over to her desk, and pulled a sheet of tissue from its box. She wiped the bloody remains from her sole, making sure to get every drop from her foot. Finally, she crumbled the tissue into a ball and tossed it into the nearby trash can.

Afterwards, she pulled out the chair from her desk, and sat down in it. She opened the notebook that was set on the desk's surface and shifted onto an empty page. Then, she grabbed a black ink pen from the cup that held her writing utensils, and began to write into the notebook:

After walking for quite a while, Nathan and D'Marco finally arrived underneath the gigantic couch. Nathan's legs were tired, and he wanted to find the nearest object to rest himself on as soon as possible.

"Yo, Peter!" D'Marco called out. "I got 'im!"

Nathan looked around, before he saw a Caucasian man approach them from ahead. He had dark brown hair and wore a brown shirt and white pants, and looked to be in his late-20s.

"Hi there," the man greeted as he walked up in front of the two. "Welcome to our little hellhole. My name is Peter." He held out his right hand towards Nathan.

Nathan briefly looked at the hand, then at Peter's weakly smiling face, and right back at his hand, before grabbing hold of it with his right hand and giving it a weak shake.

"I'm Nathan," he said, before withdrawing his hand.

"I know," Peter responded. "We heard Tina from here. She's quite loud, you know."

"Oh..."

Nathan looked around himself once again. Off in the distance, to the left, were two men sitting at a table and looking towards him. Both were holding a hand of playing cards, and there was a small lamp sitting on the table. Unfortunately, aside from both looking to be Caucasian as well, he could not make out much of their physical features due to the darkness of the couch.

To his right was another man, sitting seemingly asleep against one of the couch's legs. He was closer than the other two men were, and therefore Nathan could more easily make out his features: His long sandy blond hair that all but covered his face, his red jacket, his black jeans, and his black boots.

"That's Stephen," D'Marco whispered to Nathan. "He don't like being around people much. And those two over there at the table are Geoffery and Guy."

"Uh-huh..." Nathan half-heartly said, before looking towards Peter. "Do you know why she's going around shrinking people?"

Peter shook his head. "Sorry. I guess she just loves the company of little people around the house."

"D'Marco said that she also kills some people, too."

"She does."

"Why!?" Nathan asked. "That's horrible!! Why would she do that!?"

"I don't know that, either."

Nathan sighed. "You were a big help."

"Dawg!" D'Marco scolded.

"Do you at least know how she shrinks people?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah," Peter said. "She used some kind of ray gun."

"A ray gun?"

"She called it a 'Shrink Ray'."

"Whoa, what?" Nathan had heard of such a device in science fiction and other similar works, but he found it hard to believe that one actually existed. Then again, he did not think that shrinking was possible, either. "They actually exist?! Where'd she get it from?!"

Peter shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Perfect..." Nathan said, annoyed. "So, we have a crazy bitch running around town shrinking people for no reason other than to kill them. Just great."

"Anyway, you should make yourself at home."

"How?" Nathan became agitated. "This is nowhere near what I consider home."

"Ain't nothin' you can do about that," D'Marco said.

"That's right," Peter agreed. "Why don't you go chat with the others."

"Stephen is sleep," D'Marco said, "an' even then, he ain't much of a people person, so go talk to them two over there." D'Marco pointed towards Geoffery and Guy sitting at the table. They had since gone back to playing their card game.

"Fine," Nathan reluctantly said. "...Where are the rest? You said that there were eight more of us."

"They all around the house," D'Marco answered. "They might even be in Tina's room."

"Oh."

Nathan looked towards the two men at the table, before slowly making his way towards them. Looking around, he saw other objects on the floor throughout underneath the couch. He saw several chairs in various places, a few more tables, and sleeping bags on the floor. With the sleeping bags, he wondered why Stephen opted to sleep against the couch's leg, as the sleeping bag must have been more comfortable.

"Hey," Nathan greeted as he arrived at the table that Geoffery and Guy were sitting at.

Both of the men looked towards him. They did not seem too excited to meet him; it looked more as if he interrupted their card game. Now that he was closer, Nathan could now make out their features. The man on the right had short brown hair and sideburns that formed down the sides of his face and into his beard. The man on the left has very light hair, almost white, which Nathan found odd, because he did not look to be anywhere near old age.

"Uhhmm..." Nathan pondered over what he should say to the two. "So... How long have you two been here?"

"I've been here for..." The man on the left paused to think. "...Actually, I don't even know anymore."

"Me neither," said the man on the right. "I was walking down the street one night, and then, all of a sudden, I blacked out, and when I woke up, I was here."

"She got me at night, too," said the left man, "except I was in my car. She made me watch her step on my car and destroy it. All that money... wasted..." He shook his head.

"...By the way," Nathan said, "which of you is Geoffery and Guy?"

"I'm Guy," said the man on the left. "This is Geoffery."

"And you're Nathan," Geoffery said.

"Yeah," Nathan responded. "I guess you heard Tina say my name, too."

Guy placed the cards that he held in his hands face down onto the table's surface. "You should prepare yourself. Tina's probably gonna come down and get you any minute now."

Nathan's eyes widened briefly. "Huh? But I just got here, and she said that she'd be gone for a while."

"She said the same thing to us," Geoffery said, "but she came back an hour later."

"I hope you have strong arms," Guy said.

"And strong legs," Geoffery added.

"And a high tolerance for feet." Guy snickered.

"She does have lovely feet, doesn't she?" Geoffery casually said. "She's actually pretty cute, and not so bad if you do what she says."

"What?" Nathan raised an eyebrow at Geoffery's remark. "Are we talking about the same Tina?"

"Yep. If you don't mess with her, she'll give you whatever you ask for, except for junk food and to unshrink you. That's where we got these from," Geoffery said, referring to the playing cards, table, and lamp.

"The junk food are rewards," Guy added. "She usually gives us some after one of our 'sessions'."

"I see..." Nathan said "And since you say that I'm going to be taken away by her soon, what can I expect from these so-called 'sessions'?"

Geoffery and Guy briefly looked at each other, and then looked back towards Nathan.

"Like I said," Guy said, "you should have a high tolerance for feet. 'Cuz she likes to... Well... She likes to put her foot down on us, if you catch my drift."

"She's gonna step on me!?" Nathan said. "But what if she crushes me!?"

"Just cross your fingers," Geoffery said, "and enjoy it while you're still living."

"I'd rather be dead than to be under her dirty feet," Nathan said in a disgusted tone.

"Her feet are quite clean. Clean and cute."

Guy laughed. "You have to excuse Geoffery here. In case you haven't notice, he's really into feet."

Nathan grunted. "That's nasty. Why don't you like a normal body part? Like boobs?"

"That's so generic," Geoffery said. "Every guy I meet likes boobs. I want to be different."

"Whatever." Nathan turned around and prepared to walk away from the two men.

"That's all you wanted to hear from us?" Guy asked.

"For now, yeah," Nathan said.

"Oh. Okay, then."

Nathan looked back towards the table, and saw Guy pick up his cards from the table, and the both of them resume their card game. Nathan sighed, before starting to walk back to where Peter and D'Marco were.

Along the way, several thoughts cycled through his mind. Thoughts such as what exactly Tina would do with him. Geoffery and Guy did not exactly answer his question; just that he should have high tolerance for her feet, which he did not. Also, would she forget the power she had over him, and end up making him a bloodstain on the floor? The thought of being killed like a bug sent shivers down his spine.

Though, in the end, he had nothing to worry about. After all, this was just a dream. One that he would be awakened from very soon.

"So," Peter said as Nathan reached him and D'Marco, "what'd they have to say?"

"They pretty much just told me to be ready for when she gets back in a few minutes," Nathan replied.

"I see..." Peter said. "They're right. She should be coming back down here any-"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the direction of the stairs near the entrance into the large living room. Nathan looked towards the stairs, and listened as the footsteps became louder and closer. At his size, they sounded more like rumbles of thunder.

Nathan looked back towards Peter and D'Marco, who were also anxiously watching the doorway. As were Geoffery and Guy behind him, both having put a hold to their card game.

With a nervous gulp, Nathan turned back towards the doorway. While they had warned him that Tina would be back for him shortly, he could not help but feel that this was too soon. If she was indeed coming into the living room, that is.

Seconds later, sure enough, he saw her bare feet make its way into the living room and head straight for the couch. Nathan's heart began to race, and he took a few steps back. Each step she took felt like a small earthquake; he could feel the vibrations from all the way where he was.

As the massive feet soon stopped in front of the couch, they moved back slightly as they were soon blocked from sight by her knees which lowered onto the floor in front of them. Then, a large shadow appeared before them, before Tina's face appeared in the opening between the couch and the floor.

"Hi there!" she greeted while chewing on something in her mouth, most likely gum.

Nathan jumped as her voice boomed throughout the space. In the corner of his eye, he could see Stephen finally beginning to stir, but he felt tht he was not worth his attention right now.

"How are all of you doing right now?" she asked.

"We're doing just fine, Ms. Sexy Feet!" Geoffery loudly answered from behind.

Tina giggled. "You flatter me, Geoffery! I'll play with you later. How does that sound?"

"Just dandy!" He cheerfully answered.

"Anyway," Tina continued, "I'm here to see Nathan, my new little cutie. He's under here, right?"

Nathan shuddered when she said his name.

"He sure is," Geoffery said.

Nathan looked back towards the table where Geoffery and Guy were seated.

"Sh-shut up!" He quietly but fiercely scolded.

"Nathan, baby!" she called. "Come on out here. I wanna see you."

Nathan began to shake. He looked towards Peter and D'Marco, who were both looking at him.

"Go on..." Peter said.

"...If you don't, you gon make her mad," D'Marco added.

Nathan sighed, and slowly and nervously made his way towards Tina's waiting face at the couch's opening. As he was doing so, he looked behind, back towards the other men. With the exception of Stephen, who seemed to have fallen back to sleep, all were watching him walk towards the waiting giantess outside.

Right as he looked back towards Tina, he found himself surrounded by massive fingers. He tried to flee from them, but they closed in on him and gripped him before he even had time to react. He screamed as her gigantic hand pulled him out from underneath the couch and into the open space of the living room.

With him in hand, Tina stood up on her feet and released Nathan into the palm of her other hand. He stood up and considered making a run for it, but quickly reconsidered once he realized just how high up he was from the floor. He was not sure if he would survive such a fall, and even if he did, Tina would probably just kill him for defying her or some other reason.

"Don't be scared," Tina said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Despite her words, Nathan could not help but be frightened of his current predicament. He looked at each of her giant fingers. They could easily and literally squeeze the life out of him with little or no effort.

"Let's go upstairs," she said.

Still holding him in her open palm, Tina walked out of the living room and then began to climb up the stairs. With nothing else he could do, Nathan sat down and watched the scenery pass. The wall next to the stairs had a few paintings and portraits of various people and places; in one, he saw what looked like a younger Tina with her parents. Hanging high above him was a glass chandelier, though it was currently turned off.

Finally arriving onto the second floor, Tina turned to her left and walked down the hallway.

"How do you like it here so far?" she asked, still chewing on her gum. "Be honest."

"Honestly? I don't," Nathan replied. "Why did you shrink me? Why are you shrinking everyone?"

"That's a secret." She winked at him.

Nathan sighed, and looked ahead. At the end of the hallway was a window. The bright light of the sun was shining in, illuminating the hall. Several closed doors on both sides of the hall were skipped, until Tina came to an open door to her right, at the end of the hallway.

She walked inside of the room. "This is my bedroom."

Nathan looked around. It was quite large for a bedroom for one person. Her queen-sized bed, covered with red sheets, stood up at the back wall. To his left, next to the window, was a computer set up on her desk. To his right was a television, and even further along, near the back wall, was a closed door, probably her closet. The walls were painted beige, and there was no carpeting on the floor, but a round multicolored rug laid on the floor in front of the bed, as well as two red rectangular rugs laid on the floor on both sides of the bed. There was a bookshelf in the left corner of the room, and a dresser with a mirror next to the bed against the back wall.

"What do you think?" Tina asked. "Quite comfy, right?"

"I guess..." Nathan answered.

Tina pushed the bedroom door closed, and then walked towards her bed. Upon arriving there, she sat down in it, and then picked Nathan out of her palm with her other hand, and placed him on the floor between her feet.

"You're just so cute," she said in an affectionate tone. "I have a thing for cute blond guys."

With the big toe on her left foot, she stroked Nathan's cheek. He winced as her flesh made contact with his, and tried to shove her toe away from him.

She giggled. "Don't like that?"

Nathan shook his head.

"That's too bad..."

Suddenly, Tina's right foot moved over Nathan's body. Before he could move, it bore down and pushed him off of his feet and onto the floor. She then motioned her foot and spread her toes so that only his head and neck were exposed from underneath her foot, between her big and second toes.

He screamed as he tried to pull himself free. This was just far too much for him. This dream had become a nightmare.

"Do you like that?" Tina asked.

"No!!" Nathan yelled out. "Let me go!!"

"Where you are now, I could squish you very easily. Like a grape. But you're just too cute."

She lifted her foot off of his body, and placed it onto the floor besides him. Nathan quickly stood to his feet and began to run away from the giantess.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Tina asked from behind.

Nathan did not respond. Instead, he just kept running.

"Oh, geez..."

Soon, a large shadow appeared around him. He looked upward, and saw her bare sole coming down onto him. He screamed as it once again pushed him off of his feet and pinned him against the floor, face-down this time. He turned his head so that he could breathe, but his senses were overtaken by the fragrance of her foot. He almost gagged at the smell.

"Nathan-baby," Tina said, her voice muffled through the flesh that surrounded him. "Please don't make me kill you."

Just as quickly as it came down, Tina's foot moved off of Nathan's body. This time, he did not attempt to move. He did not want to incur her wrath, even if being "killed" would actually be what he would need to wake up from this nightmare.

Tina softly pressed his back with her big toe. "Are you alright?"

Nathan did not respond. He just shuddered in place.

"Hey."

Nathan soon found himself being flipped over onto his back by her toe. Then, Tina once again began to stroke his face with the same toe. He turned his head to try to avert her touch, but ultimately was unable to.

"You don't have anything to worry about," she said in a somewhat comforting tone. "I'll take good care of you. You just have to do what I say from now on."

Her foot moved away from his body, and settled onto the floor beside him.

"What do you say?" she asked.

Nathan stared up at her face, her brown eyes looking right back down on him, awaiting a response from her. Deep down, he hated to be in this situation and wanted out, but he knew that if he verbalized those complaints, she would most likely snuff him out underneath her foot. So, he opted to give her the answer that she wanted to hear.

"Fine..." Nathan said.

"What? I didn't hear you."

"I said that I'll do whatever you want!" Nathan yelled out. "Just don't kill me!"

Tina laughed. "That's a good boy! I wouldn't dream of killing you."

"Good..." Nathan breathed a sigh of relief.

Tina turned around and walked back towards her bed. Then, she turned to face him again. As she did so, Nathan found it in him to finally sit up.

"Ugh..." Tina suddenly got a disgusted look on her face. "I think I'm done with this one."

She then spat something--the gum most likely--out of her mouth. It landed on the floor not far from where Nathan was. He looked towards the saliva-covered piece of gum, and almost felt sick upon seeing the saliva spread onto the floor around it.

Then, Nathan noticed something.

The gum moved.

Nathan gasped as he stood up to get a closer look at the "gum". However, he did not have to venture close enough to it to realize that it was not gum at all; it was a person. The man had dark skin, suggesting that he was African American, and was less than half the size that Nathan was. His black shirt and grey pants were wet and tathered and torn in places.

"Percy," Tina called. "Are you all right?"

The man did not move; he seemed to be in severe pain.

"I hope I wasn't too rough on him." Tina let out a sigh.

The condition that this man was in mystified Nathan. "What the hell!?" Nathan suddenly blurted out. "How!?"

"What's wrong, Nathan?" Tina asked.

"How is he still alive!? You were chewing on him like he was gum! How did he not get mashed up!?"

"Oh yeah. I guess that is kinda weird, isn't it?" Tina walked to where her bed's pillow was, and pulled out something from underneath it: a small shoebox. With her back turned to Nathan, she placed it on her bed, and opened it. Then, she pulled out sonething from inside, and turned to face him.

"I used this," Tina said, looking down at the object she held in her hands.

"...Is that...?" Nathan examined the object as best as he could from where he was. It looked somewhat like a greyish-purple gun, except it had what looked like a satellite dish at the front end of it. On the side were several buttons and a small screen. There was also a trigger underneath it.

There was no doubt in his mind as to what the device was.

"This is a Shrink Ray," Tina proudly stated.

"This is a Shrink Ray," Tina proudly stated, while looking down at the ray gun in her hands. "I used this to shrink you and everyone else. It's pretty easy to use."

Nathan stared up at the device. The power to shrink things... Could such a power actually be contained in such a small contraption?

Tina walked over to where Percy, the man she had spat out minutes ago, was still stirring. She stood over him, watching him struggle to stand in the pool of saliva between her feet.

"Nathan-baby," Tina called. "Did you hear about those mysterious disappearances in California last year?"

"Uh... Yeah..." Nathan answered.

It was quite a remarkable case. Over twenty young adults ranging in age from 18 to 27 were kidnapped off of the streets and held captive for several months at an unknown location in Redwater County in Southern California. They were tortured, some were maimed, and most were even killed off. Then, suddenly, one of the captors turned on his comrads and then released the five surviving victims. They were blindfolded during their trip to and from wherever the criminals were holding them, and the captors themselves wore masks during the entire time, so the victims never were able to get a look at their faces. Because of that, no arrests were made, and with no leads, the case was dropped, much to the outrage of the families who lost their loved ones.

"That whole thing about being kidnapped off the streets..." Tina said. "It's all bullshit."

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked, before getting a sudden thought. "You don't mean-"

"There was no kidnappers. At least, not how they said it. The person who kidnapped and killed all those people used a Shrink Ray, too. They used an older model, though."

"Are you serious?! How do you know this?!"

"It said so in the letter that came with this shrink ray. I'd show you, but it said to burn it after I read it."

She pressed a few buttons on the ray gun in her hands. Nathan heard a sound come from the device, one that sounded as if it had been powered on.

"Anyway, this new one has a few advantages over the old one Melissa used."

"Melissa?" Nathan said.

"Oops. I let that slip. But whatever. This new one can shrink things down to however small I want them to be. I can also increase their resistance. That way, it wouldn't matter how much force I put on whoever I shrink..."

Tina moved her right foot over on top of Percy's still recovering body, and lowered the ball of her foot onto him pressing him against the hard floor. Then, with the heel raised, she began to twist her foot back and forth on his body. Nathan cringed as he heard Percy's screams underneath. Apparently, he did have enough energy left in him to let out such cries of agony.

"...Their little bodies won't give in under the pressure," Tina said, before removing her foot from Percy's twitching body. "It still hurts alot, apparently."

"Unngg..." Percy let out, struggling to lift his upper body. "Please... Stop..."

Tina looked down onto him. "Poor Percy... You got chewed like gum, and then stepped on. This must not be your day, but that's what you get for sneaking in here without permission. Next time, you announce yourself."

The man let out a loud moan, before dropping back onto the floor.

"He's still new," Tina said to Nathan. "I got him right before you. ...Well, before that old man, but he wasn't not important enough to care about."

Nathan shuddered. Deep down, he knew what became of this old man that she mentioned.

Tina pointed the front end of the shrink ray downward, towards Percy. Then, she pulled the trigger, and a beam of light shot forth from it. It bathed him in a pillar of green light that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Percy began to grow slightly, until Nathan could only assume that he was now around the same size as he was.

"Now get out of here," Tina ordered. "And be careful. You don't have your superbody anymore. I just might squish you if you're in my way."

Tina walked to the door, and opened it. Nathan watched as Percy slowly struggled to his feet, his clothes still damped with Tina's saliva, and staggered towards the door. At his rate, it would take him an hour to reach the doorway.

Tina let out a sigh, and walked toward him.

"Let me help you," she said as she stepped behind him

Then, she drew her left foot back, and kicked the small man towards the doorway. He went flying the distance, and fell back onto the floor right outside the room. He rolled a few times, before he came to a complete stop. Nathan could not see just how hurt Percy was, as Tina walked back to the door and shut it again. She then turned around and looked back toward Nathan, a hungry look on her face.

"Now he's out of the way," she said. "It's just you and me, Nathan-baby."

"Wh-what are you planning?" Nathan asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Tina started to approach him. "I just want to have some fun with you. Is that so bad?"

Nathan attempted to back away from her, but considering the huge size difference between them, it did not make a difference, as Tina had reached him within seconds. He looked high above, past her legs, her chest, her somewhat small breasts, and at her mischievously smiling face looking back down at him.

"So, what do you want to do?" Tina asked.

"Can I just go?" Nathan asked, once again backing away from her.

Tina giggled. "No."

Nathan sighed. "Then I don't know. As long as it doesn't involve any pain at all."

Tina giggled again. "Oh, Nathan-baby! You're so funny! ...I think I'll give you a demonstration."

She stepped over him, and walked to her bed. Then, she pointed the Shrink Ray at Nathan. Upon seeing this, his heart sank, and he turned around and darted towards the closed door. He had no idea why, but he just wanted to get away from her.

"Nah-ah!" Tina teased behind him. "You ain't goin' nowhere!"

From behind, the same green light that he saw with Percy minutes before flashed around him. He cursed himself inside, before tripping and falling to the floor. He looked up, and gasped as he saw the room growing even larger than it was already. Or rather, he was just shrinking.

He turned towards the growing Tina, with the same playful smile on her face, and yelled, "Don't you think I'm small enough already!?"

Tina did not respond. She merely watched him dwindle down in size.

The shrinking process soon came to a stop, and he stood up. He looked on the ground, and noticed large clumps of dirt. He had noticed them before, but they were as small as rocks then; now, they came up to his knees.

"Oops," Tina said, her voice booming all around him. "I guess I overdid it." She started to walk towards him, the vibrations caused by each of her massive footsteps almost knocking him back to the floor. She stopped right in front of him, her feet much larger than they were before, each toe as big as a house; Nathan tried not to took up, as she must have been as big as a mountain right now.

"I can barely see you anymore, Nathan-baby," Tina said. "...But thank god you're wearing light clothes, or I would have lost you. You kinda look like one of those tiny bugs."

Nathan shuddered, before her right foot lifted off of the floor and stepped forward, towards him. He screamed, and quickly stood up and attempted to run away from the foot that was now boring down on him. Unfortunately, before he could even move his foot even an inch, the massive expanse of her sole came down on him. He was pushed back into the floor by the ball of her foot, and then felt what was like the entire weight of the world being pressed on his body.

He yelled out in pain, almost to the point of tears. He felt a burning sensation inside of his body, as if his organs were trying to burst out. However, his body was denying him the release of death, and he could do nothing but scream as loud as he could, though he doubted that Tina could hear him.

Then, the weight lifted off of him, and he felt her foot settle nearby. He started to breath heavily, his body in too much pain to move.

"How did that feel?" Tina asked.

Nathan inhaled deeply, before yelling, "You weigh a billion tons! How the fuck do you think that felt!?"

"Oh, what was I thinking? I can't even hear you."

Nathan turned his head to the side, and looked up towards the mountain of a woman standing over him. Then, his eyes widened as her foot came over him again, but this time her big toe was the main part coming down on him. He tried to crawl away, but failed in doing so, as the shadow of her toe became ever larger and darker around him, before it pressed him against the floor. This time, she seemed to be exerting more force on her toe, and onto his body as well, as the pain was much more sharper than the last time. Then, he felt the flesh move, from side to side and over and over again, as if she was twisting her toe on his micro-sized body. This only served to height the already searing pain. He wished that his body would just pop like a grape, but unfortunately Tina seemed to have used the Shrink Ray to not only make him smaller, but to increase the durability of his body.

Again, the toe relented, and lifted off of him. The side of his face pressed against the floor, he could barely move at all. His body ached all over; he felt like he could burst into flames at any moment.

Tina backed away from him, and then his sight was briefly taken over by that green flash of light again. The clumps of dirt started to shrink, as did the room, which meant that he was growing.

"You should be at your old size now, Nathan-baby," Tina said. "...Well, your old small size, anyway. How did you like being stepped on?"

The growth stalled, and Nathan flipped over to his back, still taking in air. Looking up, Tina became slightly less menacing, but only because she looked smaller than she was seconds ago.

"Why?" Nathan spat out. "Why... do you like stepping on... people so much?"

"Huh?" Tina looked down at her Shrink Ray, and pressed a few buttons. Nathan heard another sound from the device, one that suggested that it was being powered off. "I just do." She placed the Shrink Ray back into the shoebox it was in before, and then shoved it back under her pillow.

Nathan sat up, and staggered to his feet. His legs felt like jelly, as if they could give out at any moment.

"I mean... It's a nice way to show who's in charge around here, you know?" Tina said. "If they don't realize that, I just stomp 'em."

"But that's inhumane!!"

"So?"

"You can't do that!"

"Oh, Nathan..." Tina approached him again. He backed away from her, as she sat down on the floor in front of him, and stretched out her legs on either side of him. "I can do whatever I want." She flashed a smile. "Like this."

Tina then turned both of her feet to their sides, and then closed them in on him. Nathan could barely move an inch, before her soles sandwiched him between them. He tried to push himself free from their hold, but she was just too strong for his tiny arms.

"I'll be careful," Tina said. "I don't want to crush my favorite little toy."

Then, she began to rub her feet back and forth against each other, the motion of which made Nathan spin around with them, his direction reversing with each movement of her massive feet. He screamed out, but was met with the taste of her flesh in his mouth and particularly on his tongue.

"Please, stop!!" Nathan pleaded. "Please!! I'm getting dizzy!!"

He merely heard Tina giggle, but she did not stop her little game. She continued to rub her feet together, making the spinning Nathan even more woozy with each stroke. Nathan kept his arms close to his body; he feared that if he stretched them out, they would snap from the force being placed on his body by her feet, and then he would have another problem to deal with. Of all the things he had been through in his life, being rubbed between the feet of another human being like he was at that moment ranked among the worst.

Soon, the motion came to a stop, and her giant feet seperated from one another, releasing Nathan from their grip and causing him to fall flat on the floor. Nathan attempted to sit up, but his head was spinning all over the place. He found it difficult to keep his bearings, and almost felt like vomiting. Saliva covered his cheeks, the result of his mouth being open while he was spun between her feet.

Tina placed her feet flat in front of her. She bent her knees closer to her body, and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"So, was that fun, Nathan-baby?" Tina asked.

Nathan did not respond in any way.

"You felt really good against my sole. I have ticklish feet, so I really enjoyed that." She looked towards her feet as she curled her toes over one another. "Look at them. Aren't they cute? Geoffery thinks so."

Nathan slowly sat up, his body still aching all over.

"What do you think, Nathan-baby?"

"I don't care," Nathan responded.

"Mm?" Tina looked towards him. "Don't you like my feet?"

Nathan groaned and turned his head to the side.

"C'mon... Answer me. Be honest."

"Are you going to stomp me if I tell you...?"

Tina smiled. "Not you. You don't have anything to worry about. I won't squish you."

"Fine... I hate them."

"What!?" Tina's eyes widened.

"It's not just your's. I hate all feet."

"Why?"

"They're dirty, they're ugly, you can't do anything with them that you can't with other better parts."

"Is that right? That's disappointing..." Tina stood up. "I bet you're thinking that you want to play with my boobs or pussy."

"No, I wasn't thinking that at all," Nathan said.

"Well, too bad," Tina said, either ignoring or not hearing his remark. "I don't want you that high up. You belong on the floor, okay? ...But maybe I'll make an exception for you when I feel you can handle me." She let out a short laugh.

"Get over yourself. You're not that hot," Nathan mumbled.

"Anyway, stand up," Tina ordered.

Nathan sighed, and did as she said, staggering to his feet. As soon as he stood straight up, he was taken off guard by Tina's right foot charging towards him. He had no time to react before it caught him between her big toe and second toe. His legs flailed about underneath as he was lifted off of the floor, and he tried to pry himself free, but the grip that her toes had on him began to tighten.

"Aww..." Tina purred affectionately. "You're so cute down there. Like a little mouse caught in a trap."

"Ugh..." The pressure on Nathan's body kept up. It was not enough to kill him, but just enough to prevent him from slipping free. Even as Tina started to swing her leg around in front of her.

"You having fun, Nathan-baby?" she asked.

"NOOOOOO!!!" Nathan yelled out. "LET ME GO!!!"

Tina giggled, and kept swaying her leg for several more seconds. Caught between her toes, Nathan felt as if the rapid movements of her leg would give him whiplash if it kept up. Soon, however, her leg slowed and lowered to the floor. The hold of her toes released him, and he fell back down to the floor. He landed on his buttocks, and then fell to his back.

He tried to stand up again, but Tina's foot stepped down on him and pinned him to the floor. Her foot was placed on his body in a position where only his head was left uncovered; on either side of his head were the very same toes she used to squeeze him just a minute before. He contemplated pushing on them, but by now knew that he could accomplish nothing by doing so.

"I wonder what would happen if I stepped down harder..." Tina teased.

"NOOO!!! Please!!" Nathan fearfully pleaded.

"Oh, I'm just joking! I wouldn't kill you like this!"

"...Then take your foot off of me!"

"No."

"Aaagh!" Nathan absolutely hated what Tina was putting him through, treating him like some kind of foot toy, a bug even. He wished that she would just end it and let him go back to where the other men were.

He tried to pull himself free, and actually felt himself slowly but graduately moving out from underneath her giant foot. He looked upward, towards her face. She was looking back down on him, still with the same playful look on her face. It was as if she was watching to see if he could free himself.

After a few arduous minutes, much of his chest had been pulled free, as well as his arms. He wondered how long she would actually let himself attempt to free himself. He found it odd that she had not tried anything to prevent him.

"You're pretty strong," Tina suddenly said. "Small, cute, and strong... You're like the complete package."

Ignoring her, Nathan continued his efforts, using the giant toes on both side of him as support. He felt the rest of his chest coming free from the hold she had on him.

"But..."

Then, the pressure on his legs increased. He screamed, and tried even harder to pull his legs out from under her giant ped. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so even slightly. Her strengthed hold brought his progress to a complete stop. He felt as if his legs would snap at any second

"...You're not strong enough for me, Nathan-baby!" Tina teased again. "You understand?"

Despite the futility of it all, Nathan continued to try to free himself. Above him, Tina laughed at his struggle, like this was some sick joke on her part. Though, in a way, Nathan knew that it was. A joke that should have never been told.

"Did you hear me?" Tina asked. "Do you understand that you're weak when around me?"

"Yes!" Nathan yelled out. "Please, just get off me!!"

Suddenly, Tina lifted her toes off from the floor. Nathan was unprepared for this, and because of the force that he was putting into pulling himself free, he ended up flying backwards some distance as soon as her toes relieved the pressure on his body.

Nathan laid on the floor, catching his breath while doing so. He looked up towards Tina, his face not trying to hide the contempt that he had for the woman.

"Good boy," Tina said, smiling at him. "I knew you'd get it."

She walked towards him, and reached down and picked him off the floor. She then stood upright, while holding him in her right hand, its giant fingers wrapped around him.

"That's all for right now," she said as she started walking towards the beddoor. "Did you have fun?"

"No!" Nathan angrily said.

"I'm sure you'll learn to love it eventually. You especially are going to be spending a lot of time with me. After all, you're my favorite little man."

"Oh god... Kill me now..."

"No way."

Nathan whimpered, as Tina reached the door, and opened it. She stepped halfway out and kneeled down. She set him on the floor, and then stood back up. Nathan immediately fell to his buttocks, his legs being too painful to stand on at that point.

"You run along now," Tina said. "I'll be careful not to squish you if I see you in the hall."

She stepped back into the room, and grabbed the door. She turned around, and looked down at Nathan again. "I'll see you later, Nathan-baby." The last he saw of her was her smiling face as it disappeared behind the closing door.

Nathan sat on the floor for several minutes, still trying to register everything that he had been through that day in his mind. This woman was a complete nutcase, what with her kidnapping so many men and doing with them what she wished. It was as if she was tiring to do the same thing that the person she mentioned in Southern California was doing the year before. He wondered who sent her the Shrink Ray, and why. He wondered if she truly planned to keep him alive. If his life in this manse would be filled with such games, he would rather be dead. Unfortunately, Tina seemed determined to keep him, more than anyone else in the house, alive.

He stood to his feet, his legs still in pain, but he felt that he would be able to endure it. He turned to his right, and began to walk down the large hallway. However, he then noticed something to his left; a man slouched against the wall. Nathan looked closer, and saw that it was none other than Percy, the man who had been chewed and grinded underneath Tina's foot.

Nathan walked towards the man. "Hey."

Percy looked up towards him. His face seemed filled with anguish.

"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked.

"...You saw what happened in there," Percy responded. "How do you think?!"

Nathan flinched at Percy snapping at him, though he could understand his frustration.

Percy lowered his head, and clenched his fists. "...Fuckin' bitch. I hate her. I fuckin' hate that bitch...."

Nathan looked down the hallway, towards the stairs in the distance, and then back at Percy. "Why don't I help you downstairs?"

Percy looked up at him again. "I can get by on my own."

"Nonsense."

Nathan reached down and grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him up to his feet. Then, he put Percy's right arm over his shoulders and held onto it with his right hand, held onto his body with his left hand, and began to help him walk down the hall.

"Are you in any shape to be helping me?" Percy asked. "You look in bad shape yourself."

"I know, but I can still move," Nathan said. "I wasn't chewed on, at least."

"Lucky bastard..."

"Anyway, what were you doing to make her do that to you?"

"...I snuck in her room while she was downstairs with you. I was trying to find that shrinking gun to make me big again, and then get revenge on her. But she came back before I even reached her bed. I tried hiding, and watched her kill some old dude, but she found me. She then said that she had to punish me, so she made me even smaller, put me in her mouth, and began chewing on me..."

"Wow... That sounds horrible..."

"You have no idea... My clothes are still wet. Fuckin' bitch."

"...But you said that you tried to get the Shrink Ray from her?"

"Yeah. I knew where it was, and thought that if I climbed her bed, I could reach it. I was wrong."

"Hmm..."

"It was stupid idea, anyway..."

"No it wasn't."

Percy turned his head towards Nathan. "Huh?"

A slight grin appeared on Nathan's face. "Maybe we could try that again one day."

"Yeah right!" Percy scoffed. "How are we going to do that?! Once she sees us, she'll stomp all of us flat! Maybe even you, Blondie!"

Nathan sighed. "You might be right... But it's worth a shot eventually, if all else fails."

"A last resort?"

"Yeah." The pain in Nathan's legs started to rise again. "Dammit... My legs..."

"You need to rest?" Percy asked.

"I'll rest when I'm back under that couch."

"That's a ways away."

"Then we better hurry."

Nathan and Percy hastened their pace, though only as much as their aching bodies would allow. As they trekked down the hall, a flurry of thoughts rushed through his mind. Many questions about Tina's ambitions and why she found it necessary to have a house filled with many tiny men to use and abuse at her own whims. However, there was one thing that he was now sure of a that point.

This was no dream. This wasn't even a nightmare. It felt too real to be either one.

This was his life.

~~~

This was not a dream.

That one statement flashed over-and-over again through Nathan's head ever since he had left Tina's room. Along with what Tina had put him through when he was inside.

Hours have passed since, as both he and Percy--both bruised--had arrived at the hub that was underneath Tina's couch. He sat at the back, further away from the rest of the men, as he watched them go along with their usual business--as much business that a 3-inch-tall person trapped in a manse could have, anyway. Guy was still playing cards, though this time he had been joined by D'Marco; Geoffery had wandered off somewhere else. Stephen had awoken, but had not interacted with anyone; he merely walked out onto the open floor and sat there, for seemingly no reason at all. Percy, who had switched his damp clothes for dry ones, was standing off in the distance while talking to Peter; most likely still recounting his bad experience with Tina hours earlier.

"Damn it all," Nathan said to himself. "Evil bitch... What the hell is wrong with her?"

That was a question that mystified him. One that he would have plenty of time to think about, it seemed. One that may be left unanswered, as Tina did not seem to have any plans to answer that question, and he was willing to bet that the others were as clueless as he was.

He sighed, before slowly standing to his feet; most of the pain that his body had been experiencing had since subsided. He then made his way out from underneath the couch, and then towards Stephen. D'Marco had described him as not much of a people-person, but he figured that a few words would not hurt. He might even be able to give him a little insight on Tina's character if he had any.

As Nathan approached him, Stephen slowly turned towards him. He wore a rather uninterested--perhaps even annoyed--look on his face.

"Hey," Nathan greeted.

"...Hey..." Stephen responded.

"So, how long have you been here?"

"I don't know."

"How did she get you?"

"...I don't really want to talk about it." Then, without another word, Stephen started to walk away from Nathan.

"Hey, wait!" Nathan called out to him.

Stephen did not stop at all.

"...What's your problem, man?!" Nathan shouted, before sighing loudly. "Whatever."

He turned around and started back for the couch, where the men underneath were looking out towards him. It looked as if they had been watching their short exchange.

Once he reached the couch, Peter spoke up. "Stephen gave you the cold shoulder, eh?"

"Yeah..." Nathan answered as he stopped in front of Peter and Percy.

"Don't worry about him. He has his own demons to deal with. Best to leave him alone."

"I guess... Do either of you know anything about him?"

Percy shook his head.

"I know a little," Peter responded. "But it's not really my place to tell you at this point."

"So I guess I have to wait until he decides to tell me?" Nathan said. "Who knows when that'll be?"

"Dude," Percy said. "It's really not that important."

"...I guess not..." Nathan looked around. "So, what do we do now?"

"Nothing," Peter answered. "Just sit down somewhere, walk around, or whatever."

"If you want to use the bathroom, you go behind the couch," Percy said.

"On the floor?!" Nathan nearly exclaimed in disbelief.

"No," Peter said. "Tina was kind enough to install some tiny toilets for us. Along with a sink for washing your hands."

"...What?" Nathan was mystified.

"Don't ask me how she did it. This entire room has its own water system built especially for us."

"I guess that's convient, but-"

"It's the bitch's way of making sure that our needs are met," Percy said. "Then, she can do whatever she wants with us in return."

"That's why she feeds us, too," Peter added. "She doesn't want any of us to die. At least, not unless she's involved somehow."

Nathan sighed. "So in her eyes, we're obligated to 'play' with her whenever she wants us to?"

"Pretty much," Percy answered.

Nathan moaned, and looked towards D'Marco and Guy, who both had gone back to playing their card game.

"Is there anything other than cards to do here?" Nathan asked.

"No," D'Marco answered. "Nothin' but walk around the house." He looked back towards Nathan. "Wanna get in on this?"

"Not really," Nathan answered. "Where did... Geoffery, right? Anyway, where'd he go?"

"Upstairs, he said," Guy answered without looking at Nathan; instead playing a card from his hand and onto the table.

"Upstairs? For what?" Nathan asked.

"Tina. He IS her 'little foot toy', after all."

"...Oh, come on..." Nathan shook his head in disgust. He still could not believe that someone could be that fascinated by feet; let alone a pair belonging to a person like Tina.

"Percy, why don't you show Nathan around?" Peter suggested. "It's about time that he knows where each of the rooms are, so he'll know where he's going. How does that sound?" he asked as he turned to Nathan.

Nathan shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Good," Peter briefly smiled at Nathan, and--as he turned around--briefly placed his hand on Percy's shoulder before walking away from the two and further back under the couch.

Nathan and Percy watched Peter depart, before they turned to each other.

"Well... Let's go," Percy said, before he started for the open floor of the room outside.

Nathan followed after him. Considering that he was going to be trapped in this house for who knows how long, he figured that it was best to know his way around the place.

"We'll start down here," Percy said. "...In fact, that's all I'm gonna show you for now."

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Because I don't want to go upstairs and deal with that bitch."

"What if she comes down here while we're walking around?"

Percy smiled slightly and briefly. "I'm willing to bet that Geoffery will keep her occupied for a while. He usually does."

"Oh, right... I hope so." As much as Nathan hated the idea of being someone's "foot toy", he had to admit that it was a necessary evil to keep Tina away for as long as possible. ...As long as he was not the toy, that is.

~~~

Soon after arriving up to the second floor via the elevator lift, Geoffery made his way towards Tina's room, all the while wearing a hungry grin on his face. Indeed, as he made his way through the large hallway, there was only one thing on his mind: Tina, or rather, her feet. Earlier that day, before she took the newcomer Nathan away, she stated that she would "play" with him, and--like many days before--he intended to see her follow through on her word.

As he drew closer to her room, he could see that its door was cracked opened, judging from the slim band of light that was shining onto the floor in front of it.

He licked his lips in anticipation, and approached the doorway. He nearly rushed inside, before he realized that, first, he had to announce that he was entering into her room. It was a rule that she had long since created; those who fail to do so are punished, as demonstrated to what happened to Percy earlier, and many others before him.

"Oh, Tina~!" Geoffery playfully called out. "It's me! Geoffery! I'm coming in~!"

Immediately after, he heard a familiar feminine giggle from within.

"Come right on in!" the voice said.

Geoffery smiled, before walking through the opening and into Tina's bedroom. The lamp on her nightstand had been switched on, illuminating the room in the pastel light of the shade that surrounded the lightbulb. The curtains on her windows were pulled closed, blocking most of the post-sunset light of the outside world. On her bed, Tina laid on her belly, facing the foot of the bed, her legs pointed upward and swinging back and forth. Below her face was what Geoffery assumed was a book.

"Hey there!" Tina greeted as she looked towards him. "You came sooner than usual."

"I did?" Geoffery feigned surprise. "I didn't notice."

She giggled. "Liar."

"Am not!"

"Admit it." Tina smiled slyly as she moved from her position on her bed. "You just couldn't wait to play with my little piggies, could you?"

"Uhh... You're right."

She giggled again as she now sat on the side of the bed, and placed her feet flat on the floor. Then, she playfully wiggled her toes. He knew that she knew that such a display would get him excited for the task at hand.

Geoffery glanced downward, at his pants. He was getting excited, all right.

Not waiting another second, Geoffery began to quickly approach Tina's giant peds. His mouth was nearly drooling in anticipation of the taste of her flesh on his lips. He shot a brief look upward towards Tina's face. She was smiling back down at him.

Upon reaching her left foot, he fell onto it and began to plant numerous kisses onto her instep. As he was doing so, he heard Tina giggle above him.

"Wow, you didn't waste any time, did you?" she gleefully said.

Geoffery kissed the foot again, before answering. "Of course not... You know I can't resist your lovely feet..."

"I know."

Tina watched as Geoffery began to rub his cheek on her foot. Her smooth skin felt very relaxing against his, and served to excite him even further.

Then, he climbed onto her foot, and laid down on it. He crawled to her toes, and began to lick the skin on her middle toe. This brought another giggle from Tina above.

"That tickles," she said.

Geoffery did not stop. He slowly worked his way to the right, between her toes and across the second toe, and eventually made his way to her big toe; his favorite one of all. He wrapped his arms around it as best as he could, and began to kiss the nail. As he was doing so, Tina brought the opposite toe on her right foot and began to softly press and rub on his back.

~~~

"...And this is the den," Percy said as both he and Nathan entered into a somewhat large room; of course, from their perspective, every room in the house was tremoundously huge.

It was fairly dark inside; with the sun long since having set, the only light in the room came from the flat plasma television that hung on the far wall. A large chair and a couch were near the TV; a computer was set up on a desk to Nathan's right near the far corner: the Windows Vista logo flashed around the black screen; there were about four bookshelfs in the room as well, and what looked like a few books sat upon a table between the chair and couch.

Such a room would have been great to have for most people; Nathan wished that he could have even come anywhere near being able to afford a room like this, let alone the entire house.

"We can come in here to watch TV," Percy said. "But she keeps the remote on the table, well out of our reach. So we don't have a choice but to watch whatever's on TV, and if the TV's off, tough shit."

"What does she usually watch?" Nathan asked.

"Lifetime."

"...Ew."

"Yeah, but like I said, we don't have a choice. It's either cards or the Feminazi Channel."

"I'd rather try and find a way out of here."

"...Speaking of which," Percy said, "you said earlier that you were thinking about getting that Shrink Ray from Tina."

"Hm?" Nathan began to think over what he said, before he remembered their agonizing walk away from Tina's room earlier that day. "Oh right! Yeah, I want to get it."

"How?" Percy asked in a somewhat harsh tone.

This sudden change of tone took Nathan by surprise. "Well-"

"How are you going to get it without her knowing?!"

"I don't know yet," Nathan answered. "Why are you getting so worked up about it, anyway?"

"You're obviously not the only one who wanted to take the Shrink Ray back from her," Percy said. "But all of them didn't have either the balls or the brains to go through with it."

"Don't compare me to them yet!" Nathan shot back. "I just got here! I'm still getting used to all of this bullshit! What about you? You obviously had one of them if you were trying to get it today!"

"Yeah, right!" Percy said. "I didn't know what the fuck I was doing. I didn't even have a plan to get on her bed, and by the time I realized that and tried to escape, it was too late!"

Nathan and Percy were both silent for a few seconds.

"...Who leaves a dangerous weapon under their pillow, anyway?" Nathan asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"I don't know what's going on in that maze of her brain," Percy responded. "All I know is that she has it, and I want to get it away from her."

"So do I. Maybe I can turn the tables and make her my little toy. I'd like to see how she'd like that."

"...She'd probably like it a lot, Blondie."

Nathan sighed. "Well, at least she'd be under my control."

Percy looked towards the TV in the far distance. "Control, huh...? You know, there was a guy here not too long ago who had ambitions like you did. He wanted to get the Shrink Ray and get out of here, too."

"Really?" Nathan said.

"Yeah." Percy turned back towards Nathan. "But he didn't have a decent plan; or rather, no plan at all. Plus, he was a control freak. He felt that we had to go through with all of his crazy plans, even though all of them had no chance of working at all. he even appointed himself our leader, and Peter didn't like that at all."

"What happened to him? Did he piss off Tina?"

"No, but she did kill him. But not before we had enough and beat him senseless."

Nathan cringed. "Whoa..."

"He was just some rich kid who had everything given to him on a silver--no--gold platter. His arrogant attitude is really what drove us over the edge."

"That must have been that guy that D'Marco told me about earlier... So then what happened? I can guess though, but..."

Percy smirked, and continued his story.

~~~

After we beat him, we tied his arms and legs up with string--at our size it was more like a rope--and then gagged him with a pair of socks. Then, we carried him up to the second floor of the house, and set him down in the middle of the hallway. He was barely conscious during the entire trip, but he regained it once we picked out the spot in the hall.

The rest then chose me to stay behind and make sure that he didn't try to escape. I didn't want to; after all, with how tight he was tied up, there was no chance of him getting away. ...But, I did what they said, and picked out a spot against the wall, inside of one of the crevices in the wall's design.

I waited there for like an hour, with nothing happening at all. The guy just laid there, barely moving at all. He did try to pull his arms free a few times, but... well, I already said why that was a fuilte effort on his part.

Then, Tina's bedroom door opened, and out came the lady of the house herself. She looked like she was about to go somewhere; she was wearing a nice pink tanktop and a black skirt, her hair was done up in a ponytail, and she was wearing these thong sandals with heels that pounded against the hardwood floor and created sounds that banged against my head.

Looking at her, I found myself lost in a trance: I forgot that she was actually pretty cute. Of course, I immediately came to my senses. Whatever cuteness she had was negated by the fact that she's batshit insane.

Anyway, with her little purse in hand, she closed her door, and made her way down the hall; towards our spoiled little victim on the floor. Of course, he saw her as soon as she appeared in the hallway, and I could hear him try to scream through the socks that were stuck in his mouth. He even tried to slither away like a snake or something. All the while, Tina was looking forward; I don't think that she even noticed him on the floor at that point. Looking at the guy struggle, I almost felt sorry for him.

Tina drew closer, and the guy began to scream even more frantically. I watched closer in anticipation--trying to ignore the crashes of her heels that I mentioned before--and prepared myself for the big splat that would soon happen.

I didn't have to wait long.

The guy was soon darkened by the shadow of her right foot, and then disappeared underneath it as it came down on him. There was a loud crunch, and I could see blood ooze out from underneath her foot as it pressed him flat against the floor. It was then that Tina finally noticed what we had done, and stopped in her tracks.

"What the hell?!" she said in a mix of shock and surprise.

She removed her foot from the spot, and looked down at the mess that remained of our outcast.

"Aww... ...That was..." she said as she examined his remains. "...I can't even tell. I guess I have to ask them later." She sighed, before placing her foot back onto the poor guy's flattened and bloody body, and began to twist it and smear it for several seconds.

After giving it one last twist, she finally stepped off of the mess, and looked down at it once more.

"I'll clean it up later," she said, before continuing to walk down the hall--leaving a trail of blood with each step of her right foot--but instead of heading down the stairs, she kept straight and entered into another room further down the hall. Probably the bathroom, to clean off the blood from her shoe.

I looked back at the man that once was. There was nothing of him left. Nothing but a big red splatter. I think even his bones were disintegrated. A normal person would have probably thrown up at the sight, but I've kinda gotten used to it.

It was kind of messed up what happened to him, but better him than me, right?

~~~

"The funny thing is," Percy said, "he wasn't even the first guy they did that to. There were two others, but those were before I was brought here."

"Really?" Nathan asked. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but..." As much as he hated Tina, he wanted to stay on her good side. He did not want to end up squashed under her foot like some kind of bug, though no doubt that she already saw them as such to do with as she wished.

"Anyway, let's go back to the living room," Percy said. "I'm tired now. I want to get some sleep."

"...You go on ahead," Nathan said. "I'll hang around here for a while."

"You sure?" Percy asked. "You know how to find your way back?"

"Of course. It's not that hard."

"...Alright, then," Percy said in a tone as if he did not completely believe him. He then turned around, and started for the large doorway that led to the previous room.

Nathan watched Percy depart, before looking towards the plasma television off in the distance. A movie was playing on the TV, about a woman who... Actually, Nathan was not sure what it was about, though given the nature of the channel that it was on, he could hazard a guess.

With nothing else to do, he walked towards where the television was.

~~~

Geoffery had nearly lost himself in lust. At the present moment, he was being held between the big and second toes of Tina's right foot. She held her foot out in front of her, giving him a playful smile. Geoffery smiled back, and kissed the webbing between her toes.

"Oh, you are too cute," Tina said affectionately. "I wish Nathan was like you. He hates my feet."

"Nathan just has bad taste," Geoffery responded. "How could anyone hate such beautiful feet as yours?" He kissed the webbing again.

"Hmm..." Tina pouted as she rested her head in her open palm.

Geoffery looked up at her. "What's wrong?"

"It's just a shame, you know? I really want him to like me, but he seems to hate me."

"Give him time. I'm sure he'll come around. ...Of course, when he does, it still won't compare to the love I have for you." Geoffery kissed her webbing for a third time.

Tina giggled. "Oh, Geoffery... We'll see about that. Once I turn him around, you may have some serious competition! ...But in the meantime..."

Then, the hold that Tina's toes had on his body loosened up, and Geoffery found himself falling to the floor. He hit the ground, but was not too badly hurt at all due to the light weight of his body.

Tina then stood from her bed, and walked to the right side of his body. She then moved her right foot over to his body, raising each of her toes, and lowering them onto him. Afterwards, they curled around him, and picked him up from the floor. A second or two later, they released him, and dropped him back onto the floor. Before he could react, the toes descended on him again and repeated the process. Again. And again. And once more.

After the fifth time, Tina let Geoffery remain on the floor. Then, she lowered her sole on his small body and let it rest on top of him for nearly a minute. While doing so, Geoffery could not help but kiss and lick her sole. After all, it was the only way he could show his appreciation, even if it also served to satiate his own urges.

Afterwards, she lifted her foot from his body, and began to stroke his cheek with her toe. The sensation of her skin against his was proving too much for him to bare much longer; he was nearly ready to lose himself.

That feeling only intensified as her toe started to rub on his entire face--stroking his nose especially--before moving lower, along his chest, and finally to his lower body. At that point, Geoffery wished that he had stripped naked beforehand, but it was too late now. Also at that point was when he could no longer keep control. As her toe pressed on where his long-since hardened member was contained within his pants, he moaned in satisfaction as it began to pulsate and drench his underpants with his liquid. It was for this very reason that he wished that he was naked.

"There you go!" Tina said in her usual playful tone as she removed her foot away from his body.

"...Thank... thank you..." Geoffery said between moans. "...My goddess..."

"There you go again. I guess I am like a goddess, right? How would you feel if I decided to crush you right now?" Tina lifted her foot above him as she said this. "After all, with gods, they can end the lives of humans just as easily, right?"

"...I... If I had to... pick a way to go... I'd love for you to... step on me..."

"Really? That's nice to know," Tina said, before lowering her foot back on the floor. "That means that, if I ever decide to squash you, you can't complain, right?"

"No," Geoffery answered.

"Good." She smiled, and stroked his cheek with her toe once more. "I wish the others were like you. No, scratch that... I wish I had--what do you call them?--cannon fodder? Now I have a sudden urge to splatter some poor sap. Maybe I should go find some other old geezer tonight..."

"If you do... be careful..." Geoffery said.

"I'm always careful, but thanks." She moved her foot away again. "Well, I've decided! I'm going out to find a guy to squish!"

"...Can I watch...?" Geoffery asked.

Tina smiled. "No, I want it to be a private affair."

"Aww..." Geoffery was disappointed.

She reached down, and picked him up with her hands. "Besides, you need to rest now, anyway. ...And change your pants." She stuck her tongue out at him in a teasing manner.

"...Right..."

"Well, let's get you back downstairs with the others."

With Geoffery in her right hand, she carried him out of her room and made her way through the hallway on the second floor and then down the stairs to the first floor. From there, she walked into the living room and headed for the couch.

Upon reaching it, she lowered herself onto the floor, reached her right hand under the couch, and dropped Geoffery onto the floor.

"I'm about to go out for a bit, but I'll be back," Tina said to everyone under the couch. "You all take care until I return, and when I do, I'll feed you. Alright?" She flashed them a smile, before she withdrew her hand, and then stood back up. Then, she exited the room and walked back upstairs.

Geoffery laid on the floor for several seconds, barely moving at all. He heard someone approaching from his side and looked in that direction. It was none other than D'Marco and Guy, who had both left from the table where they were playing their card game.

"Looks like you had fun," Guy said. "Can you move?"

"I will in a minute," Geoffery responded. "I do need to put on some dry pants now..."

"Where's she goin', anyway?" D'Marco asked.

"Out to find someone to kill," Geoffery answered. "My session with her made her hungry for some sole food, if you catch my drift." He winked at D'Marco.

"...Dude, don't do that," D'Marco responded, unimpressed by his pun. "Just... don't."

Guy merely covered his face with his hand. The joke looked to have annoyed him as well.

"What?" Geoffery asked. "It wasn't that bad..."

~~~

Nathan heard Tina off in the distance come down the stairs, and soon after go right back up. Then, minutes later, she came down again. He was expecting her to come into the den, and to find him inside. No doubt that she would have subjected him to some more of her horrific brand of torture.

Instead, he heard the front door of the manse open, and then close. She had left.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. He had already seen enough of her that day, and wanted to try to focus on himself, at least for the rest of the night.

What a horrible day, he thought. He had no idea that his life would take such a wild turn. He had high hopes for himself, but this mad woman took them all away. However, not all hope was lost, he reassured himself. If only he could get his hands on that Shrink Ray... He wished he could attempt his plan--whatever that was--while Tina was away, but he did not know how long she would be gone; it would be disasterous if she came back during his campaign. He would probably be reduced to nothing more than a mere stain on the floor like the man that Percy had told him about.

Perhaps the best bet would be to try to escape from the house, and try to get help there, but even that would be an ordeal. At his side, he had no idea how long it would take him to reach the nearest police station. He didn't even know where exactly this manse was located. Even if he got out, there was still the high chance that he would be eaten by an animal, or crushed to death by an unsuspecting pedestrian or the tires of a passing car should he need to pass through a street.

As he thought about what to do next, he laid down on the floor, barely paying attention to the television playing high above him, and began to doze off.

~~~

Tina really got lucky that evening. Instead of finding an older man like she had set out for, she instead found two relatively younger men in town. After inviting them for a drive--a move that, for all intents and purposes, could have potentially cost her her life, she drove them to a secluded area, where she shrunk them both with the Shrink Ray.

Now around an inch tall, both have since come to, and were shivering in fear at the sight of such a giant figure in front of them.

"Welcome to my house, little men," Tina greeted. "My name is Tina Yashiro, and you're going to entertain your new goddess."

She could hear one of them say something along the lines of "What do you mean?", but they were so small that she was not completely sure.

"We're going to play a game. A game I like to call 'Crush the Bugs', and guess what? You two are the bugs!" She gave the two unfortunate men a smirk.

"Welcome to my house, little men," the gigantic woman greeted. "My name is Tina Yashiro, and you're going to entertain your new goddess."

Both Bradley and Jason were shivering in fear. They could not believe what they were beholding; that they were in a giant room, standing on a giant floor, and looking at an unbelievably giant woman.

"Wh-what do you mean?!" Jason yelled out.

"We're going to play a game," she answered. "A game I like to call 'Crush the Bugs', and guess what? You two are the bugs!" She gave them a rather playful smirk.

"What?!" Bradley exclaimed. "You're joking!"

Neither Bradley or Jason, two longtime friends and roommates at their college dorm, did not expect the turn that this evening had taken. Tina had approached them at a bar that they frequented. Bradley at least did not know why they had accepted her offer to "show them a good time." Perhaps alcohol played a major factor in that decision. Nonetheless, she drove them to a secluded, heavily forested area--that should have been the first sign that something was wrong. It was there where something unnatural happened, where they were rendered unconscious. The next thing they knew, they were in this room, within the presence of Tina, who had grown over ten times her original size, it seemed.

"Here's how to play," Tina said. "It's very simple. I'll be trying to squish you. You have to run around, and try to survive for as long as you can."

She took a few steps forward, while Bradley and Jason backed away.

"Sadly, no one has ever won this game," Tina said, before sighing. "It's very depressing. After all, the game's so easy, but they all mess up somehow."

As Bradley beheld the almost majestic sight of this towering titaness, he felt a tug on his shirt from his friend.

"C'mon, man!" Jason pleaded.

Without another word, both Bradley and Jason took off on the direction opposite of where Tina stood; towards her bed.

"She's bluffing!" Bradley said. "There's no fuckin' way she would do that to us!"

"I dunno, man!" Jason responded. "I don't wanna find out. I just wanna get away from her!"

Both of them hastened their pace for the apparent safety of Tina's bed. With the darkness underneath there, as well as the small boxes strewn about, they could hide there and buy themselves some time before she hopefully became bored with this game, and then gave up. It was then that they would escape from her domain.

Soon, however, they found themselves coated in a dark shadow, before Tina's bare foot slammed down in their path. The tremors created by her foot hitting the floor caused them to stumble and fall. They looked up in terror at the terrible giantess that was now towering directly over them like a menacing mountain. Even more startling, she was looking back down at them, with a playful smile on her face.

"Nice effort," she said. "...But that's not gonna work. Try again, bugs. And don't go for my bed."

Trembling, Bradley and Jason looked at each other, before standing to their feet, as Tina then removed her foot from in front of them. They looked at each other briefly, before once again making a break for it, this time to their left. With their original plan destroyed, they were left with no choice but to run. Run as fast as they could. Perhaps, if they kept it up, they could make it to the closed door, squeeze underneath it, and attempt a break for freedom.

This new plan almost seemed better than they original plan. That is, if she did not give up on them after escaping from her room.

"Jason," Bradley called as he ran. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Depends," Jason responded. "What are you thinking?"

"You think we can get to the door if we run fast enough?"

"What other choice do we have? I don't want to be squashed by some psycho bitch!"

"I feel the same way! We need to-"

Just then, they noticed a large shadow surround them. They looked up, and saw Tina's sole descending onto them. They both yelped, and turned in opposite directions; Bradley to his right, and Jason to his left. The foot came crashing down onto the floor just as Bradley escaped from the menacing shadow. Again, the vibrations knocked him onto the floor, but be quickly picked himself back up. He then stared at the gigantic foot, in both awe and fear.

That was too close, he thought. A second later, and he would have gone the way of many actual bugs.

"Jason!!" he called. "Jason!!"

"Ohh!" Tina said in playful disappointment. "I was so close that time, but you both managed to dodge. But don't worry. I'll get you next time."

At that point, Bradley's body began to shake--not with fear, but with anger. With this newfound indignation, he yelled up at her. "What the fuck's wrong with you?! What are you doing this for?!"

Tina then looked towards Bradley, as if she had heard him. "No real reason. I just want to have some fun, y'know?" She smiled.

"I swear to God!" Bradley heard Jason blurt out. "When we get out of here, we're tellin' the cop and getting you arrested!!"

Tina chuckled. "That's not gonna happen, because you two will be long gone. Likeso..."

Then, she lifted her foot from the ground, soon giving the two guys a view of each other. Then, the large dark shadow reappeared around Bradley. He did not even need to look upward--he already knew that Tina's foot was hovering over him. He turned around and began to dash out of the shadow in an attempt to escape.

However, before he could reach the safe light of the outside floor, he felt an intense weight fall down on top of his body.

~~~

Nathan awoke once he sensed that he was no longer alone; indeed, though his eyes were still closed, he could tell that someone was in his presense. If for no other reason than that he heard whispers coming from the person or people in question.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw two pairs of shoes, leading up to two pairs of pants, shirts, and eventually the faces of the two men who stood in front of him. The one on the right had reddish dark hair, and a moustache and beard that made him look older than he would have otherwise looked--it was quite possible that he was around Nathan's age. The other man--the man on the left--had East Asian features with seemingly black hair and a small moustache growing in.

"Looks like you're up," said the red-haired man. "I guess you must be the new guy. Percy said you'd be over here."

"Yeah," Nathan answered as he sat up. "Who are you?"

"Hey, don't you know that you should give your name before you ask someone else their's?" the Asian man asked.

Nathan sighed. "Fine. My name is Nathan."

"I'm Larry," said the red-haired man. "And this is Edward."

"So, you're in here catching a few Z's, huh?" Edward said. "I'm surprised that you're not in there with the rest of them."

"I just want to be left alone for a while," Nathan replied.

"Oh I see. Your sudden upheaval from your real life must have been a shock to you. That's understandable, but remember that we're all in this together. If you try to act like you're superior-"

"Then I'll get through out and left for dead," Nathan interrupted. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Percy told me all about that last guy."

"Where were you when she plucked you up?" Larry asked.

"I was in the park," Nathan responded. "Just going for a walk like I normally do. But then, I saw a bright flash, and then I was here."

"...That's kinda boring," Edward said bluntly.

"Well, sor-ry!" Nathan responded in annoyance.

"Don't mind Eddy here," Larry said. "Anyway, as for me, she called my business because her pipes were supposedly leaking. They sent me over, and as soon as I got inside, that was it. Then, she shrunk my car and destroyed it. I had just gotten that car, too..."

"Uh-huh..." Nathan turned towards Edward. "What about you?"

"Oh, we just met on eHarmony.com," Edward responded. "They say that you should be careful of who you meet online. I guess I know now." He laughed sheepishly.

"I'm sure that she'll end up with more suckers like you," Larry said. "...In fact, she's already in her room doing stuff with these two guys she brought in."

"She's back?" Nathan asked. "...What time is it?"

"Just a little past nine," Larry responded.

"Just nine? Damn..." Nathan had figured that it was much later than that.

"Anyway, we're going back to the hub, base, or whatever you want to call it," Edward said. "You coming?"

"No. I'll go over there when I'm ready."

"Suit yourself." Edward looked at Larry, and then shrugged, before the two of them walked away from Nathan's spot and were soon out of Nathan's sight.

He breathed out heavily, before he laid back onto the floor and attempted to fall back to sleep. He hoped that his slumber would not be interrupted again, not by his "comrads" or by Tina. He knew that he would eventually have to work with the others, but for now, he just wanted to be alone.

~~~

Jason looked on in horror, his mind still trying to comprehend what his eyes had just witnessed: Tina had stepped on his best friend Bradley. He could not believe his eyes. He did not want to believe his eyes.

"Brad?!" He called out. "Brad!! BRAAAD!!!"

Tina giggled as she moved her foot back and forth on the spot. "Oh man... That feels good..." She purred.

At that point, Jason's eyes began to water with both sadness and rage, and he directed his anger towards Tina. "You bitch!! You killed him!!"

Tina did not seem to pay him any mind; she seemed to be relishing in the sick ecstacy of Bradley's body underneath her foot.

"Bitch!!" In a sudden outburst of anger, Jason began to charge towards Tina's foot; the very same one that had snuffed out the life of Bradley seconds ago. Upon reaching it, he unleashed a volley of punches onto the giant ped. He had no idea what he was trying to accomplish, especially at his size, but he wanted more than anything at that point to make her pay for what she did.

"Damn you!!" Jason screamed.

"Oh, hush," Tina said above him. "He's not dead."

She then lifted the front of her foot from the floor, exposing the shivering Bradley to the light of the room. Jason expected him to immediately stand up and make a run for it. Remarkably, he stayed curled on the floor, not making any effort of escape at all.

"Brad?" Jason called. "C'mon! Get out of there!"

"Why don't you rescue him?" Tina asked. "I mean, you're supposed to be friends, right?"

Jason gritted his teeth. He knew that he should try to pull him out from underneath Tina's foot and into relative safety, but he wondered if Tina would let him.

"What are you waiting for?" Tina taunted. "You want me to step on him again. Because I will, and this time, I'll make sure to make him flatter than a pancake."

"Bradley, get out of there!" Jason called. "She's not playing! She's going to kill you this time!!"

"So you're not going to help him? Some friend you are..."

At that point, she lowered her foot back down on the floor, covering Bradley's body once more.

"BRAD!!!" Jason called out.

"Shut up, you," Tina ordered. "You don't have a right to call him anymore. You're not his friend. If you were, you would have risked your life to save him. Of course, I would have killed the both of you anyway."

Jason looked upward, towards Tina's face high above him, and was startled to see that her playful face had been replaced with a much more serious expression. At that point, be began to back away from her foot, and the giantess herself.

She turned her attention back to her foot. She removed her foot from Bradley's body again and began to poke and prod him with her toe. Jason found it rather repulsive that she was treating him like a piece of garbage, or a small bug.

"I have to be careful," Tina said. "If I press too hard, you'll pop."

Jason continued to back away from her, until Tina seemingly became bored with her little activity. She placed her foot back onto the floor besides her other foot, as she continued to look down at Bradley.

"I changed my mind," Tina said. "I'm not going to crush you. I just had another idea."

Then, she bent down and reached onto the floor with her right hand, and picked him up and then stood back upright. Afterwards, with her other hand, she started to strip his clothing from his body, and drop them onto the floor; she even managed to pull his shoes and socks from his feet. Soon, her tiny captive was completely naked; that much Jason could tell, despite Bradley being so high up and the both of them being so small.

"There!" Tina said with glee. "I got my sweet candy all unwrapped!"

"What!?" Jason said, noting that she had referred to Bradley as candy. "You can't mean..."

Tina began to draw Bradley closer to her face, towards her mouth in particular. Then, she stuck out her tongue and began to lick his body from top to bottom, and then back to the top again.

"Stop it!" Jason shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Mmm..." Tina moaned. "What a scrumptious morsel you are... I could just eat you up."

"What?!"

Jason watched on in horror as Tina opened her mouth and shoved Bradley inside. He could hear Bradley screaming from inside, which was then silenced as she closed her mouth. He could see her swish him around her mouth, before she finally swallowed.

"NOOOOOO!!!" Jason screamed.

Tina wore a satisfied smiile on her face. "Ahh!" she said. "Delicious!"

"You bitch!!" Jason's eyes watered again, and soon his face was awash with tears. "How could you eat him!? He's not some kind of food!! Spit him ou-"

The floor was soon rocked violently as Tina heavily stomped down, knocking Jason off of his feet and onto his buttocks.

"Why don't you shut up, little man," Tina said. "Your 'friend' is gone, and there's nothing you can do about it." While saying the word "friend", she made quotation mark geistures with her fingers. "...By the way, we're still playing 'Crush the Bugs'."

Then, with a sadistic smile, she began to walk towards him. He gulped, before he stood to his feet and attempted to run from the approaching woman. However, he was so small, so insignificant compared to her, that he barely made any advance in his escape at all before her shadow loomed over him.

He looked upward, and saw her foot quickly descending onto him. He tried to make a sharp turn, but her foot was too fast for him; it bore down on him and pushed him onto the floor. With the ball of her giant ped now resting on top of him--his body face-down on the floor--he struggled to free himself. He tried to crawl out from underneath, but the weight that she was applying to him kept him pinned to the floor.

"Keep trying," he heard Tina taunt. "I wanna see if you can free yourself!"

Jason let out a long, loud grunt as he fought to pull himself out from underneath Tina's foot. A feat that, so far, was proving to be all but impossible; Tina was just too heavy for him, and it felt as if she was slowly but surely increasing the small amount of power needed to keep him in his place.

"Do you even want to live?" Tina continued to taunt. "'Cuz if not, then I can just squash you right now."

"NOOOO!!!" Jason screamed.

He knew that there was no hope. He could not free himself, no matter how hard he tried; at the rate he was going, he would sooner sever his chest from his waistline. In a matter of seconds, Tina would exert all of her force onto his body, and smear him into the ground, that much he believed.

Suddenly, he felt something. Or rather, he felt nothing. The force being pressed onto his body was soon gone. The dark shadow that had surrounded him was gone.

Shaking, he slowly looked upward, towards Tina above him. She was looking back down at him, once again with a smile on her face.

"Just kidding," she said. "I'm not going to kill you. Relax."

Jason merely stared at her for several seconds, before quickly standing to his feet and running as fast as his body could muster from the towering woman. He had to get away. He had to flee!

"...I guess you're not that stupid," Tina said. "Well then, the game is still on!"

Once again, Tina began to approach him.

"Sh-shit!!" Jason blurted to himself as she reached him in no time at all.

~~~

Tina took delight in toying with her latest guy. She especially loved how, even when the situation was literally stacked stories high against him, he was still trying to escape. She loved when her "prey" thought that there was even a slight chance that they would be able to flee from her presence. However, she had literally squashed those foolish thought many times before, and she aimed to do the same now.

She walked closer to the fleeing man, covering the distance that he had ran in just a mere few steps, until she was once again looming over him. He blurted out an expletive, before he looked upward at her, and she could barely make out a look of fearful realization on his face, before he seemed to hasten his pace.

She then lifted her foot, and dropped it down in front of him. The sudden appearance of her heel in his path seemed to take him by surprise, as he slid to a stop and crashed right into it, before falling onto the floor.

"Oops," Tina said. "I guess you should be more careful."

The man picked himself up from the floor, and continued his attempted escape, running around her foot and continuing on in the direction that he had been headed in until that point. This mystified Tina; the door was to their left, and in front of her was just the wall--nothing that he could hide behind that would conceal him from her sight.

Tina shrugged. "Well, I don't know why you're going that way, but let me give you a boost."

She then drew her right leg back, and swept its foot along the floor towards the fleeing man. Upon contact with him, he was sent flying forward as her foot rose slightly into the air in front of her. She watched him catapult through the air before he crashed right into the very wall that he seemed to be going for.

"Bull's-eye!" she said.

She placed her foot back flat on the floor as she watched the man fall to the floor. After a strike such as that, there was no way that he would be up and running again.

Remarkably, the man slowly but surely rose to his feet once again--the strength and endurance of his body impressing Tina--and began to run towards the left, in the direction of the door. If he were to reach the door, there was no doubt that he could crawl underneath it and escape; not that it would have mattered, as Tina could have still gone after him.

She stepped right in his path, and placed her right foot right in front of him again. He attempted to run between her feet, but she put a stop to this by pulling her other foot closer to its companion as he was partway through, causing him to now be completely trapped between her feet.

"Gotcha!" she said.

He screamed, and tried to pull himself free. Still wanting to toy with him a bit longer, she seperated her feet, and watched him run between them and towards the room. She turned around, and followed after him. Then, with the big toe of her right foot, she pressed against his back and pushed him onto the floor.

With the rest of her foot laying flat on the floor, she watched him attempt to pull himself free, but to no avail. She exerted slight bursts of force on his small frame every fee seconds, but not enough to kill him. What amused her even further was that she was barely making any effort at all to contain him; no matter how hard he tried, he could never free himself, especially not after being driven into the wall with as much force as she did minutes before. Sure, he was still able to run, but his body must have been aching. He must have been at his limit.

Which meant that it was nearly time for her to "win" this game.

After minute or so of watching him struggle and flail about, she released the hold that she had on his body. He slowly began to pick himself up from the floor, but before he could attempt another run, Tina had completely covered him with her foot and lowered it on top of him. She felt him swirm underneath her sole, and despite him being only an inch tall, she relished in the sensations that he gave her.

"Looks like I win, little man," she said. "But you tried your best. You did well. But I'm a guru at this game, you know?"

She smiled, before she slowly began to apply more and more weight onto the foot which held the man pinned to the floor. She felt his motions come to a stop as his body slowly flattened underneath her foot. She could feel each of his bones crack and collapse. She could feel the sticky, moist sensation of what was more than likely his blood.

Soon, it was over. His body was completely flat, or at least felt like it. She twisted the ball of her foot on the spot, making sure to smear whatever remained of him into an unrecognizable red splatter on the floor.

"Ahh..." She let out a satisfied moan. "Yes..."

She removed her foot from the spot to examine what was left on the floor, and on her sole. Nothing at all could tell that that mess was once human. He was completely demolished, his presence wiped completely from the face of the Earth.

She staggered back to her bed, and fell back on it. There, she moaned again as she reimagined not only what had just transpired, but of the day in general. It had been a good day for her, what with getting rid of that old man that she did not like at all, her "game", eating one of her participants, and, most of all, Nathan. Her newest treasure. She did not mention it to Geoffery when he was in the room, but she was actually imagining Nathan worshipping her in such a way. No doubt that she aimed to actually have Nathan as eager to please her as Geoffery is.

"...Oh right," she said. "Eating that guy reminded me that I gotta feed them. ...In a little bit."

She unzipped her pants, and shoved her hand into her underwear. Then, she started to imagine herself snuffing out the lives of dozen of tiny men who were fleeing from her menacing sight.

~~~

Nathan was awakened again, but this time by loud vibrations accompanied by thuds. The force of both seemed to be becoming stronger and louder. In that instant, he knew. He knew that Tina was approaching the den, and the spot that he was currently in.

Sure enough, he was covered by her shadow. Straight in front of her were her feet. He did not want to look up, but could not help doing so. As expected, she was looking back down at him with a smile on her face.

"Hello, Nathan-baby!" Tina cheerfully greeted. "They said that you were over here."

Nathan did not respond.

"They're eating over there now. I'm sure that you want to join them."

"I'm not hungry," Nathan lied.

"Nonsense! You have to eat! I can't have my golden man dying of starvation, now can I?"

She reached down and picked him up from the floor, and then placed him in her other palm. Then, she started to carry him out of the den, and towards the living room where the others were.

"You can't be so antisocial, Nathan-baby," Tina said. "You have to socialize, and make friends. These guys will help you get used to living here from now on."

"I want to go home," Nathan said.

Tina giggled. "Silly boy! You ARE home!"

Upon entering the living room, and the couch, Tina kneeled down and placed Nathan on the floor.

"This is your new home," she said. "They are your brothers. And I am your... well, guardian."

Nathan prepared to say something in protest, but in lieu of that just merely sighed heavily.

"You'll get it soon," Tina continued. "Soon enough, you'll be eager to serve me and make me a happy girl!" She stood upright. "Well, I'm going to bed for the night. I did so much today that I'm tired already, and it's just a bit after 10:30! Good night, everyone!"

Nathan heard some of the other men behind him respond with a "Good night" of their own. He could make out Geoffery's voice among them, as his seemed the most sincere, and that he added "my goddess" at the end of his phrase.

Tina giggled, before she turned and walked out of the room. Nathan watched as she headed up the stairs, and was soon out of sight; even her footsteps eventually came to a stop.

Nathan turned around, and walked under the couch. He saw the men indulging in hot dogs that had been shrunken for them, platter and all, along with cups and a gallon of apple juice. He sighed, and approached the platter to pick out his own meal.

"So, man," D'Marco said as he approached him. "You feelin' any better?"

"No," Nathan answered as he grabbed a bun from the platter. "I don't want to be here. I want to go home."

"...We all do, but there ain't nothin' we can do about it. We're stuck here."

After pouring a cup of apple juice, Nathan took his meal to one of the far corners of the couch, and sat down against its wooden leg. Afterwards, he took a bite out of the hot dog that he had gotten. It was rather bland; no ketchup, mustard, relish or anything of the sort. But it was food nonetheless.

He wished that he was back at his apartment, being able to pick and choose his own food and beverages, watch his own television, sleep in his own bed, and not have to worry about any psychotic woman who had an obvious affinity towards him.

However, that wish looked as if it would go unfulfilled for a long time, if not forever.

~~~

~~~

With as much force as he could muster, Felipe drove the knife he wielded into the large wall in front of him. It burrowed into the wooden frame, lodging its blade within, before Felipe pulled it back out. Left behind was a slit, joining the many others already in the wall all arranged into a triangular shape as tall as he was.

He could see small rays of light shining through half of the cuts in the wall. Figuring that it was time to try the next phase again, he took a few steps back, and ran at the triangular shape. He jumped towards the wall, and kicked it with all of his might. Upon making impact with the wall, he stumbled a bit but regained his bearings. No movement. He had to dig--nay, cut--deeper.

Again and again, he stabbed the knife into the wall, working diligently to carve his way through. Despite the giant house being cool via central air, he still found himself sweating during this task. This task that took weeks to even get as far as he did; he was determined to find a way out of this house and reunite with his family.

Minutes later, the slits had become longer, with more light shining through the thin cuts. He took a deep breath, and ran for the wall once more. Upon kicking it, the triangular shape gave away, and both it and he fell through the wall and into the outside world.

He looked up, and marveled at how huge this world was. Blades of grass and flowers towered over him. Trees seemed to stretch as high as mountains. The sky itself looked like it was as far away as heaven. Excitement welling inside of him, he ran back inside of the house, with the intention of informing his companions about what he had just done.

~~~

Having exited from the small restroom, Nathan approached Peter and D'Marco, who were both standing near the outside edge of the couch and talking to one another. D'Marco spotted him first, and then after Peter looked towards him.

"Hey, dawg," D'Marco greeted. "How was your night?"

"Not good," Nathan replied. "I didn't get much sleep."

"That's normal," Peter said. "You just have to get used to life here."

"That's the thing," Nathan said rather defiantly. "I don't want to be here. I want to be in my own house, not in here serving some sick, twisted bitch."

"Don't we all," said Peter, "but this is the reality of our life now. As much as we all want to go back to our lives, our families, and whatnot, there's a giant blocking our path."

Nathan sighed in frustration. "Whatever. One day, I'm going to get out of here, whether you all or Tina likes it or not."

Peter and D'Marco briefly looked at each other, before turning their attention back to him.

"If you ever do find a way out, I guarantee you that we'll be following you," Peter said. "It's just that this is a rather well-maintained house, and we already searched for cracks and holes that we could crawl through a long time ago."

"We ain't find a damn thing," D'Marco added.

"A few holes leading into the walls, maybe," Peter continued. "But nothing leading outside; if we did, we'd've been long gone. So we're stuck here until something happens. IF something happens. Until then, we're just going to have to put up with Tina."

"She'll kill you before that happens, though," Nathan stated. "She's gone, right?"

"Yep," D'Marco answered. "To work. She's a waitress."

"Well, we can try to look again, can't we?" Nathan asked. "Or maybe bust our way through with something."

"We'd need some sort of tool for that," Peter said. "And I don't think we can ask her for something strong enough to break through the walls without making her suspicious."

Nathan walked past them, towards the open floor outside of the couch, before turning around to face the two men. "I'm going to look for myself. Maybe you guys overlooked something."

"Be my guest." Peter shrugged. "I guarantee you that you won't find anything."

Nathan grunted, before heading out into the living room. As he wandered away from the couch, he wondered if Peter and D'Marco had actually looked everywhere that they could; perhaps they missed a spot or two. Nevertheless, Nathan was determined to get himself out of this house, even if he had to dig his way out himself with his bare hands.

He looked ahead of him, and saw another man rushing towards his direction. Nathan looked closely at this man, and his physical features; he had tan skin and seemingly black hair, as well as an equally dark mustache. His body looked rather fit, as if he was the type of man who spent much time at a gym.

The man was running fast, so much so that he nearly collided with Nathan as he passed by.

"Watch it!" Nathan said, slightly aggrivated. "...Whatever, dude." Choosing to ignore the man, Nathan continued along his way, towards the opening to the front hallway.

Minutes later, he heard a somewhat frantic voice call out to him from behind.

"Hey, Nathan!!" said what sounded like Peter's voice. "Nathan!!"

Nathan stopped, and turned to face the couch where Peter, D'Marco, and that man all stood.

"Come here!!" Peter ordered.

"Why?!" Nathan yelled back.

"We gotta tell you something!!"

Nathan let out an annoyed sigh, and made his way back to the group waiting for him underneath the couch. As he approached, he saw the few other men who were also in the vicinity--Edward, Guy, and Stephen--also draw to the group; he could make out looks of morbid curiosity on their faces. This perked his interest as to what it was that Peter wanted to tell him.

Upon arriving, he now saw that the others were more excited then curious, except for arguably Stephen. Especially the man that he had nearly collided with minutes before.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked.

"I got us a way out!" said the runner from earlier.

Nathan could not believe what he had just heard. "What!? Are you serious?!"

The man nodded excitedly. "Took me weeks to dig through with my knives, but I got us a way out!"

"...I was wondering where those knives went," Peter said. "I'm sure Tina was wondering if something was up when I kept asking her for replacements."

"Who cares?!" said Edward. "We're out of here! When do we leave?"

"Now, hold on," said Peter. "Let's not rush this. First, I want you all to bring everyone else here, so we can see what to do next."

"The answer's going to be obvious," Nathan responded. "Everyone's gonna want to get the fuck out of here."

"True, but I at least want to get their opinions on this development."

"...Fine."

Peter turned towards D'Marco and Edward. "Split up and find the others, and bring them here."

"Aight," D'Marco replied, and Edward nodded in agreement. Then, the two departed from the couch to seek out the remaining men, wherever they were in the manse.

Peter then turned to the tan-skinned man. "Felipe, I want you to show me the opening that you made."

"Of course," Felipe repled.

Peter looked towards Nathan. "Just relax here for a bit."

Nathan nodded, and as Peter and Felipe departed towards the opening that the latter claimed that he had made, Nathan walked to his sleeping bag futher underneath the couch, and sat down upon it.

This was quite a turn of events. Just as he was preparing to seek a way out of Tina's house, one was created by that man who stood well across from him, trying his hardest to hide his excitement. He could not help but hide his smile. His ordeal could very well be over sooner than he had expected. What happens afterwards, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

~~~

Nearly an hour later, all ten men had assembled in the large room, outside of the equally gigantic couch they called home. Everyone had been informed of this latest development, and nearly everyone was excited that this was their chance of finally escaping this place. Nathan could not fathom spending as much time within these walls as the rest of them had, though he was perhaps more eager than the rest to escape from the mad clutches of Tina.

As they spoke, it was revealed that Percy had actually known about Felipe's project, as the two planned it together; Felipe opted to work on it by himself as he was physically stronger and so that it would be less suspicious if the two were constantly seen leaving together.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Larry asked.

"I didn't want to get everybody's hopes up," Percy responded. "If I said something, and we wasn't able to get through, you all would look at me like a liar."

"Still," Peter added, "it would have been nice to know what you two were up to."

"He also didn't want to risk anyone snitching to Tina," Felipe said.

"But now that we know, what's stopping one of us from telling her?" Peter added, looking a bit slighted that Percy and Felipe did not trust him of all people to let him know of their project.

"Well, then, before anyone gets the chance to tell her," Percy responded, "why don't we hurry and get the fuck out of here before the bitch comes back? Whaddaya say?"

Nathan let out a short laugh. "Shit, you got my vote! I don't want to spend any more time in this hellhole!"

"I hear you, man," agreed Percy.

"Wait," Peter sounded. "When you do get out there, do you know how long it'd take for you to reach someone who could help? Yo don't even know where this house is. Not to mention that at our size, you would make easy prey for the animals out there. And what about food and water?"

"You think it's any better than waiting in here for help that will never come?" Percy retorted.

"All I'm saying is that you need to consider the risks before just jumping in like that."

"...He's right," Stephen remarkably spoke up. "It's safer to stay in here."

Nathan grunted. "Don't you have someone worried about you out there?"

Stephen stared at Nathan, and shook his head. "I don't have anything to go back to."

"I have to agree with Stephen," said Geoffery. "It's too dangerous. I think I'll stay here."

"Dude!" Guy sounded surprised. "What about your kids?"

Nathan looked towards Geoffery, this latest revelation stunning him. "You have kids? Don't you want to see them?"

"Not like this." Geoffery's mood became more somber. "It'd be embarrassing. I'd rather them think that I disappeared, at least until you all came back here with help." Then, his mood shifted to a more bright one. "Besides, I'll have more time with Tina's lovely, lovely feet!" He laughed, which garnered a collective groan from the men around him.

"Well, Geoffery and Stephen are out," Percy said. "Who else are too scared to do this?"

The other men glanced around at each other, looking to see if anyone else would speak up against this idea. There did not seem to be any more objections.

Percy and Felipe looked towards Peter. "Well...?" Percy said. "What's the verdict?"

"You and D'Marco DID say that you would be right behind me if I found a way out of here," Nathan said. "Don't tell me you were lying..."

Peter placed his right palm on his face, and sighed. "That's not it. I just didn't expect it to happen like this..." He was silent for a moment or two. "...Fine."

This answer was met with glee from the men who were willing to take this chance to escape.

"I'm going to stay here for a bit--to tie up a few loose ends, if you will--but I'll probably follow soon after," Peter continued. "Anyway, you all get ready, and I'm going to put Felipe in charge of taking you to the exit."

With these words, the majority of the group dispersed towards the couch. Stephen shrugged, and slowly walked to his dark corner, where he then laid back against the couch's leg.

"Dude, you're really not going?" Guy asked Geoffery, a bit disappointed and saddened.

"...Sorry, but I said why," Geoffery replied. "I still want to enjoy Tina while I can. Once the authorities get involved, she'll be locked up, and then I can go see my kids. Once they reverse what was done to me, that is."

"...Enjoy your toejam," said Nathan in a snide tone.

"I sure will," Geoffery responded with a smile, ignoring the tone of Nathan's comment.

Guy sighed, before stepping forward and reaching his arms out to hug him. "I'm gonna miss you, man."

Geoffery's face looked a bit embarrassed. "Stop it. Really, I'll be out of here soon. Can I ride this all the way through? Afterwards, we have have ourselves a big-ass reunion barbeque!"

A smile appeared on Guy's face. "Sounds good to me. You better not die, or I'll kill you." He said in jest.

Geoffery chuckled.

Nathan watched as the two bid their farewells. He could not believe that Geoffery actually intended to remain within the hellish house; one would think that he along with everyone else would be eager to escape from Tina's manse. Perhaps it was as he had said, that he did not want his children to see him as he was now. Or perhaps Tina had too strong of a hold on him to pull away from. Then there was Stephen, who claimed that he had nothing to look forward to outside. Earlier, Stephen had given him the cold shoulder when he tried to talk to him, and Peter said that he knew what went on in Stephen's life. Even so, Nathan could not fathom why even he would not want to seize this opportunity. Speaking of Peter, he claimed that he was going to follow after them, but why not now? He, the supposed leader, who said that he would be leaving right with the rest of them? Perhaps these "loose ends" were something that he did not want anyone else to know about, or perhaps he had no intention of following after all.

Either way it went, Nathan did not fully understand, and he instead left the two chatting men and walked towards the center of the large living room, to await his comrades. Unlike Geoffery and Stephen, he was not willing to let this chance slip through his fingers. No, he intended to grab ahold of it and hang on for dear life.

~~~

Once everyone was prepared--most of them wearing backpacks containing whatever valuables they had come to possess during their time here--Felipe began to lead them out of the large living room. Peter and Geoffery watched as the group departed further and further away from the couch, until they eventually apparently gave up and retreated back under their former lair.

The group of seven men exited the living room, walked through the front hallway in front of the staircase that led to the second floor. Nathan looked at those gigantic stairs; he imagined climbing each one at his present size. He did not know how long it would take him to ascend the entire staircase by himself; perhaps that was why Tina installed elevators and such. Between the elevator and the water system in the living room, he had to give her credit where it was due: that she was apparently skilled enough to build such convinent fixtures for them, even if she expected full obedience in return.

The group reached the doorway on the other side of the front hall, which was another hallway. Across from them was the dining room, and from what Percy had shown him during his "tour" the day before, the doorways in this hallway--to their left--led to the kitchen and the den on the same side as the dining room, and on the opposite side were the basement, a closet, and the family room.

"Where is the hole you made?" Larry asked Felipe.

"In the den," Felipe answered.

After this, the group continued their trek down the long hallway. Nathan hoped that Tina would not unexpectedly return during their trip and thwart the escape. According to the others, she would not return until around 5pm at the earliest, and it had just passed 1pm. There was plenty of time for them to make good progress away from the house within those four hours.

Nathan approached Percy, and whispered to him. "I've been meaning to ask... What about trying to get Tina's Shrink Ray?"

"Didn't you say that was a last resort?" Percy whispered back. "Besides, it's hopeless. Plus, it doesn't matter anymore. We're outta here."

"Still, it would have been nice to give her a taste of her own medicine."

"Forget about it. It's done."

"What do you have waiting out there for you, anyway?" Nathan asked.

"My folks, of course," Percy answered. "Plus, I was helping them look for my brother. I don't want them to have to go through looking for two missing sons anymore."

Nathan looked puzzled. "Your brother is missing?"

"Well, not so much missing as he just up and walked out on us. He was pretty arrogant."

"Oh really? If he doesn't want to come back, then what's the point of trying to find him?"

Percy's expression changed from one of indifference to slight. "If you were a parent, would you be able to handle your kids leaving you and not hitting you up even for a 5 minute chat?"

"No, but-"

"Exactly. My folks aren't the kind to just let their kids not talk to them. They would turn the earth over just to find where we are."

Nathan silently looked at Percy, not responding at all.

"What about you?" Percy asked. "What do you have out there?"

"My friends, my job-- hell, any reason is a good one to get out of here," Nathan answered.

"True."

The remainder of the walk to the family room was rather silent, with barely a word out of anyone in the group. Perhaps they were too anticipated with the coming freedom, or perhaps there was nothing to say. It was no short trek, but before long, they had reached the den. Unlike the night before, the room was brightly lit with the light of the sun shining through the windows. The flat television that hung from the far wall had been switched off, as was the computer.

"What now?" Edward asked.

Felipe pointed in front of him, towards the far wall. "You see that bookself over there, in the corner?"

The group of men looked in that direction, and saw the shelf that he was referring to.

"We have to get over there, and then behind it," Felipe said. "Not too hard."

Percy took a few steps forward. "Then let's get to it."

"Aren't I supposed to be the leader?" Felipe asked half-jokingly.

"Then lead!" Percy replied.

Felipe stepped past Percy, who followed immediately after, and he in turn was followed by the rest of the group. They walked past the couch and the coffee table that stood in the center of the room, bypassing one of the other bookshelfs on their left, until they eventually reached the shelf in the far corner of the room.

The apprehension that hung over the men grew as they stood before the shelf. This was the last leg of their journey before reaching freedom.

"You all ready?" Felipe asked as he looked back at them.

"Of course," Nathan answered, while the rest nodded.

"Alright, then."

The group followed Felipe as he walked towards the back of the bookshelf, and then entered through a space between it and the wall. With their backs against the wall, they edged themselves forward at a rather slow pace, until they came upon a hole in the wall just big enough for them to squeeze through.

Upon entering the hole, they were amazed at what they saw: Indeed, there was freedom looking right back at them, an opening to the outside world. They could see the lush green grass wavering in the wind, unimaginably tall trees, and the blue sky above it all, as well as the breeze blowing into the wall and touching their faces.

Suddenly, there was a great cheer among the men, as they then quickly filed out of the wall and into the dirt ground of the outside world, which some had not even seen in months except through windows. As Nathan had seen this world the day before, the effect was lost on him, though he was unnerved at just how large it was at their present size.

This would indeed be a challenge.

"Okay, so I think the front of the house is this way..." Felipe said, looking towards their right. "That's probably where the road is, so once we reach it we'll be well on our way."

Percy looked back to the rest of the group. "Let's go."

They started to walk alongside the side of the house, headed in the direction that Felipe had pointed out. Nathan looked above him, towards the large manor that had been his prison. The walls were brownish-red in color, and he could not even see the top of the manse; a combination of him being too small and being too close to the wall. All the while, he looked around himself to stay alert of his surroundings; who knew when a large insect or a bird would appear to attempt to feast on them?

After a while, the group finally reached the front of the house. To the right--high above their small frames--was a porch and a few brick steps leading up to it. In front of it was a concrete path that led off to a gate in the distance.

"What now?" Edward asked. "If we walk on the pathway, Tina might come home and see us for sure."

"Yeah..." Larry agreed. "I think we should cut through the grass."

D'Marco turned towards them. "You sure that's safe?"

"I see what they're saying, though," Guy chimed in. "At least in the grass, we could duck and cover when Tina comes back. I don't know what time it is, so that could very well be any second now."

"It's 3:24," said Percy, looking at his wristwatch on his left wrist.

"Either way, she could come home early," Guy continued. "It's happened before. Plus, it'll help us hide from birds."

"Fine, we'll go through the grass," Felipe said. "I mean, as long as we get away from here, who cares, right?"

Felipe stepped towards the large field of grass in front of him, and pushed the blades aside as he walked into them. Nathan and the others followed after him, cautious of anything that could leap out from within the green jungle and attack them.

Nathan could hear rustling through the grass around him, perhaps from the bugs that call it home. His heart started to race; he did not have anything to defend himself with, and thus a larger insect could pose a serious threat to him and perhaps the entire group.

Soon, they came to a round clearing, one that was perhaps 30 feet in diameter at their scale, and the ground was rather rough and uneven.

Felipe stepped out of the grass and into the clearing. "Just a little bit more."

He walked further away, before the rest began to follow him into the clearing. As Nathan stepped onto the soil, he felt something rumble beneath his feet. He looked towards the men in front of him, and they seemed to have noticed it as well. Soon, in front of Felipe and to his left, two mounds of dirt began to rise up, before they burst. Nathan covered his eyes as dirt spread in all directions.

Once he felt that the pelting of the dirt clumps had ceased, he opened his eyes. His mouth dropped, and his heart sunk, at what he saw next: two crimson red lizards had surfaced from underneath the ground. At the small men's scale, they were as large as a St. Bernard, and with yellow stripes along their backs and their forked tongues slithering in and out of their closed mouths as if they were snakes.

Their eyes were on Felipe especially, who was frozen in place, no doubt too scared to move, as were the other men.

Then, without warning, one of the lizards let out a terrifying cry, revealing the sharp teeth that lined its mouth, and struck at Felipe. He was knocked onto the ground, having avoided being bitten by the lizard, but now had a ripped shirt with a bloody gash on his chest. He cried out in pain, as the lizards drew closer to him.

"Shit, run!" Percy screamed out, before all of them turned around and retreated back into the grass.

The exception being Felipe, whose cries for help they heard as they fled the clearing. They then heard another shriek from the lizards, before Felipe was silenced. They continued to run as fast as their tiny bodies would allow them to, even after they had emerged from the grassy field, and headed back towards the side of Tina's house.

Soon, they came to a stop, and caught their breath as their hearts still raced at a panicked rate. They could not believe what had just happened; they expected creatures to try to hinder their progress, but they did not expect such creature as what had just appeared. They were unlike anything Nathan had ever even heard of.

"...What the fuck just happened...?" Guy finally said.

"We just left him behind to die just to save our asses..." said Percy, still in a state of shock.

"Dude, what the fuck were those things...?" asked Edward. "Devil lizards?"

Larry looked towards where they had fled from. "I can't believe it... He's dead after all that..."

The group was silent. They all knew that there was no way that Felipe could have survived both lizards bearing down on him. His silenced screams confirmed to them that he had indeed been killed in perhaps one of the worst fashions imaginable.

"What now...?" Nathan finally asked. "Are we still going to try to get out of here?"

"How?" Larry asked, becoming a bit manic. "There could be a lot more of those monsters around us. There'd be no escape like last time if we get too far!"

Percy sighed. "I don't think we have a choice... For now, we have to go back and regroup. We'll try again later."

"I was looking forward to being out of that place..." Nathan muttered to himself in disappointment.

Faced with no other option at the time, the remainder of the group began to make their way back towards the hole that they had exited the house through, their hearts heavy with the loss of one of their comrades.

~~~

Having returned to the living room, Percy has just finished explaining the events that had transpired outside to Peter and Geoffery. They were grief-stricken at the news of Felipe's fate.

"I don't believe it..." Peter lamented. "Damn..."

"We're going to come up with a better plan," said Percy, "so nothing like this won't happen again."

"This is why I told you all to not rush into this," Peter said. "Poor planning costs lives."

"We need some weapons," Edward said. "I really want to rip the tongues out of those S.O.B.'s after what they did."

D'Marco, Larry, and Guy agreed with his statement.

"Well, either way, Tina will probably be back soon," Peter said. "You won't be able to do anything after that."

Percy let out a deep groan. "Of course. The bitch always has to ruin everything. I'm starting to wish that I did have that Shrink Ray right about now..."

Suddenly, a thought popped into Nathan's head, of words that Tina had told him the day before when she had first brought him into her home. "Hey... Tina told me that whoever leave the house would meet what she called 'a gruesome end'."

Peter and D'Marco looked at each other. "Yeah, I remember that," D'Marco said.

Nathan continued. "You don't think that she..."

~~~

Having parked her car in her garage, Tina made her way from it and onto the concrete pavement leading to her house. It had been a rather tiring day for her, as it usually was, but she found joy in that, once inside, she could use her tiny houseguests to help her relax. It was that thought process that kept her going through each day of her job; she did not know how she managed without them before being sent the Shrink Ray.

Suddenly, she caught sight of something scurring on the ground below her. She looked downward, and saw two of her special lizards running about, one chasing the other. A light smile appeared on her face.

"Hello, my children," she said in a lighthearted tone. "Are you two having fun?"

Then, something else on the ground caught her attention. She kneeled down to take a closer look, and then used her fingers to pick up the object. It looked to be a tiny plaid shirt, ripped and soaked with blood. It was also it bit damp with saliva.

At that point, Tina's somewhat good mood instantly soured, as she was now gritting her teeth in anger.

"Those little shits..."

Nathan stood in the front hallway, near the large coat rack near the front door. His eyes were set upon an object that hung via string from one of the lower hooks. This object was none other than the headless body of Percy, who had been massacred by Tina earlier. True to her word, she had hung his corpse for all to see. As expected, it was a very gruesome sight. And yet, Nathan could not stop looking at it.

He heard someone approaching him from behind. He turned and found Peter walking towards him. He too glanced up at the hanging cadaver.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Peter asked. "To think... That could have been one of us."

"He didn't deserve to die like that," Nathan said. "He just wanted to get us out of here. Is that so bad?"

"To Tina, yeah. Very. As you saw with your own eyes."

Nathan sighed. "One day, I'm going to find a way out of here, and I'm going to run for it."

"Well, good luck. Tina has already blocked off the hole that Felipe made, so you're going to have to start searching again if you're serious about leaving."

Nathan fully turned towards Peter. "Peter... You sound like you're... content with being here."

Peter shook his head. "It's not that I'm 'content' with being here. It's that I've come to accept that as of right now, there's no way for us to get out of here."

"We just need to get her Shrink Ray," Nathan suggested. "Then we can turn the tables on her, and do to her what she does to us. ...Or at least get the police to come here."

"This house does not have phone service," Peter said. "Tina relies on her cell phone to talk with the outside world. And she never invites anyone over here, either. Except for when she intends to keep them here."

"...Evil bitch," Nathan muttered.

Peter reached out and placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Nathan..." he said in a calm, comforting tone. "I know it's hard being here, and no one is expecting you to adapt right away. But just know that you have a support group here in case you need us."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..."

"Mm." Peter retracted his hand, and looked back up towards Percy's body. "Percy set out to find his brother, but now his family has two reasons to grieve. No one should have to go though that..." He looked at Nathan again. "I'm sure your family is worried sick about you, too."

"...Yeah..." Nathan replied.

"Hopefully they won't have to wait too long." Peter smiled, before departing from the hallway, heading towards the living room.

Nathan watched him leave, and then became wrapped within his own thoughts. "Family..." Perhaps he could consider them--the people he grew up with--his family; though they did not share blood, they shared experiences. No doubt they too were frantically searching for him.

He hoped that if they were indeed looking for him, their search would bring them to Tina's vicinity. Wherever it was located.

~~~

Tina laid upon her bed, her eyes closed and her mind still a mix of emotions. She was still agitated over her men's failed attempt at escape, so much so that a part of her did want to slaughter each and every one of them. There was another part of her, however, that fought to suppress these urges. A part that tried to convince her that they had learned their lesson, and should leave them be for the time being.

She sighed.

She was not willing to listen to her benign side. At least not just yet.

She still had a mind to spill blood, any kind of blood. Percy's death was not satisfying to her in the least, due to the circumstances behind it, and despite their earlier actions, she found killing one of her men at that point to be a waste. That left her with one choice.

She was going to go out and hunt for someone new.

Standing up from her bed, she walked to her closet and opened its doors. As she shifted through the clothes that hung from the racks inside, she pulled out two articles that she found worth wearing: a teal tubetop and black mini-skirt. After carrying them to her bed, she changed out of her work uniform--her white blouse and black skirt--and into the clothing that she had picked out. She also pulled off her nylons and tossed them onto her bed, and while there, she reached under her bed and pulled out her heeled thong sandals.

She located her black purse, which was already on her bed. After which, she walked to the head of her bed and pulled out her Shrink Ray from underneath her pillow. She smiled mischievously to herself before placing the gun inside of her purse.

She looked outside through the window. The sun was setting, casting an amber hue to the world outside, and inside of her room as well. She did not want to be out for too long; after all, she did have to go to work in the morning.

Slipping her feet into her sandals, she grabbed her purse and walked out of her bedroom.

~~~

As Nathan continued to sit at the coat rack, he heard footsteps approaching from the floor above. Heavy footsteps that sounds like wood knocking against the floor with each step. He looked behind him, and as expected saw Tina standing at the upper level before making her way downstairs. The knocking sound that he heard turned out to be from the heels of the sandals she wore.

Her facial expression was rather serious and determined; he doubt that she even noticed that he was sitting on the floor near the rack.

"Where are you going?" Nathan asked as she approached the front door nearby.

"Piss off," Tina coldly replied. Without another word, she opened the door and exited the house.

Nathan stared at the closed door for a few seconds. "Whatever." He shrugged before turning his attention elsewhere. There was little activity from the others in the living room. After what happened earlier, Peter suggested that they all stay in the same area for the time being.

"...Sorry, pal," Nathan said, addressing Percy's body. "I gotta go back over there now."

He stood up and headed back into the living room, where his companions were gathered some distance away.

"You're finally back," Peter greeted as Nathan reached the couch that the others were underneath. "Looks like Tina's gone out again."

"Yeah..." Nathan said. "What's her problem, anyway? She still mad over what happened today?"

"No doubt," Edward answered as he approached them. "It's times like these where she goes out to blow off some steam."

"She won't be gone long, I imagine," Peter added. "But knowing her... I feel sorry for whoever falls into her web."

"...Homicidal bitch," Nathan grunted. "What are the chances that whoever she tries to take this time turns the tables on her and shrinks her instead? Give her a taste of her own medicine?"

"...Not as low as you think," Edward answered. "She seduces guys she meet in clubs and bring them to her car. She drives them off to a secluded area, and that's where she makes her move, usually while they're distracted somehow. ...I should know, because that's how she got me."

"When you think about it," Peter said, "it's a very dangerous strategy. If she were to pick up the wrong guy, that could be the end of her, but so far it's worked well for her. I think she's gotten a bit overconfident in it, even."

"But the thing is," Edward started, "if she dies, then we'd most likely be trapped in here forever, with no food or anything."

"Someone could just bust us another way out," Nathan said. "In fact, why don't we do that, anyway? I mean, now that we know what's out there, we can prepare for those things."

Peter and Edward briefly glanced at each other, and then turned back to Nathan.

"I don't think anyone's going out there anytime soon," Edward said. "I mean, I want out as much as you do, but it's pretty much certain death out there the way we are now. Plus, we don't even know where we'd be going, and it'd probably take us months to make it somewhere."

Nathan sighed. "So that's it? We're just gonna wait in here until she decides to finish us off?"

"Nathan..." Peter said in a calming tone. "I'm sure something will some up. Have faith."

"I'll try," Nathan replied. He then walked past the two of them and headed further underneath the couch. Behind him, he heard Peter and Edward's conversation shift to the subject of food. He looked around as he walked; Geoffery and Guy were playing cards once again, D'Marco and Larry were talking with each other far to his right, and as usual, Stephen was sitting down against one of the couch's legs, off in his own world.

There were only eight of them remaining at this point. Within mere hours, they had lost two companions; one to carnivorous lizards, and the other to a woman with more than a few screws loose.

As he found his spot further away from the others and sat down on his sleeping bag, he could only imagine what kind of guy would fall into Tina's trap. He hoped that he would sense that something was suspicious about her, and would avoid her like the plague.

...However, if that happened, she may come back to the house angrier than ever, and this time may just take her rage out on them after all.

Nathan sighed. "...Eh... Better him than me..."

~~~

With an excited grin on her face, Tina led her newest interest out of the bar by the hand. He was exactly what she was looking for: a tall, young, and good-looking man who immediately showed interest in her the moment she engaged him in small talk. He introduced himself as Cliff. He seemed like a very nice guy, one that was very popular with the ladies.

It almost seemed like a waste, Tina thought. But the thought of splattering such a guy to a pulp made her want him even more.

"Where are you taking me?" Cliff half-excitedly asked her.

"I want us to go somewhere more private," Tina answered with a cheerful tone. "I really like you! I can't let anyone else have you!"

Cliff laughed. "But I've never had a girl pull me out from a bar before!"

Tina giggled as the two of them reached her car. She pulled out her keys from her purse--taking note of her Shrink Ray still inside--and pressed a button on her car key to unlock the car. She opened the driver's side door and stepped inside of the car. Cliff walked to the passenger side and stepped into the car as well.

Afterwards, she started up the car and drove off from the bar from where the duo had come from.

"I almost didn't come," Tina said as she drove. "But I had a bad day at work today and needed to cool down."

"Sorry to hear that," Cliff said, with obvious sympathy in his voice. "Where do you work?"

"I'm a waitress. You know Raymond's Diner in town?"

"I pass by it all the time," Cliff answered. "Never thought about going inside. I guess I should have; we would have met a lot sooner." He smiled.

"I know!" Tina agreed. "But my boss would have chewed my head off if she caught me flirting with a customer."

"Wait... I thought the place was called 'Raymond's Diner'."

"Raymond founded and owns it, but his bitch of a wife runs the place. The old bat is jealous of us young girls, but she knows that we're part of the reason why the place is doing as good as it is now. To be honest, the food there isn't that great."

"Oh I see..."

"...But enough about my life! I wanna forget about all that for now." As the car stopped at a red traffic signal, she reached out towards Cliff with her right hand and placed it on his jean-covered crotch. He looked anxiously down at her hand, and then back at her. She gave him a smile.

"I-I can't wait," Cliff said, somewhat embarrassed but also eager.

Tina giggled, and pulled back her hand as the traffic light turned green. She pressed down on the accelerator and continued for her destination. It was not far from their present location; she could already see fewer and fewer buildings and more vegetation around her.

The two engaged in small talk during the drive, and in a matter of minutes, Tina came upon where she was specifically headed for; a dirt path on the right side of the road that led into the thick forest. She turned onto this off-road detour and began to drive down this increasingly dark path.

Cliff took notice of where they were going. "...Are you going the right way?" He asked with a concerned tone.

"Mm? Of course I am," Tina answered. "I know this area pretty well."

"If you say so..." Cliff sounded as if he was becoming suspicious. Tina knew that she had to act fast. "Don't worry. Once we're done, I'll get you back to the bar."

Cliff nodded. "Alright."

After a minute or two of driving, she slowed the car to a stop. She had arrived in a somewhat wide clearing; one could easily see the dusk sky above them through the trees.

She pulled the keys out of ignition, and turned to face Cliff, who was looking back at her expectantly and curiously.

"I know you think it's weird here," Tina said, "but I like bringing hot guys here. It's so romantic being in the middle of the woods, with no one to disturb us." She smiled.

"...Ah, I get where you're coming from," Cliff said.

Tina giggled again. "So, why don't we go back there...?" She looked towards the backseat.

Cliff eagerly nodded, and climbed out of his seat and onto the backseat. Tina did the same, taking her purse with her. Tina sat on Cliff's lap, and after placing her purse on the floor besides their feet, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips against his. He embraced her as well, and laid back flat on the backseat, taking Tina with him.

'Just as planned,' Tina thought to herself.

The two continued their passionate kissing for several minutes. Tina saw that Cliff was all but lost in lust, and knew that now was the time. She turned her cheek to the left--letting Cliff bombard it with kisses--and unwrapped her arms from him. With her left hand, she reached for her purse, and with her right she reached into his pants.

As she began to fondle his stiffened member--garnering moans of ecstasy from him--her other hand also took hold of her secret weapon: her Shrink Ray. This was the perfect moment; while he was distracted by erotic bliss, Tina withdrew her hand from his pants and backed away from him as far as she could given the size of the car, and fired the ray gun before he could realize what was happening.

"Gotcha!!" Tina excitedly exclaimed as she watched his glowing body rapidly dwindle in proportions until the glowing disappeared and the shrinking process came to a sudden halt.

Tina leaned in closer and examined his now two-inch-tall body. He was unconscious, but she knew that it would not be for long.

"Tina, you are just too good at this!" she congratulated herself while laughing. "Guys are so stupid! They see a hot girl and start thinking with their dicks! They always fall for this!" She powered down the Shrink Ray. "...But I can't complain. More little men for me!"

After placing her Shrink Ray back in her purse, she scooped up the downed Cliff in her hands and opened the car's right rear door. Stepping outside, she closely watched Cliff in the palm of her right hand as he began to stir.

"Looks like he's coming to," Tina said gleefully.

Indeed, despite the limited light in the area, she could see his body move. She heard his tired moans and saw him slowly sit up and wipe his eyes. Seconds after he removed his hands from his face, Tina heard him scream frantically.

"Calm down, Cliffy!" Tina said.

"What the hell!?" Cliff exclaimed. "What happened?! Why are you so big?!"

Tina laughed. "Silly, I'm not big at all! I'm still the same size as always! You on the other hand, you're like a little itty-bitty bug!"

"What!? How?! What did you do to me?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" She flashed a smile.

"Change me back!!" Cliff angrily and fearfully demanded.

She shook her head. "Nah-ah. Remember what I said earlier? I can't let anybody else have you. I'm going to keep you. ...For now, anyway."

Cliff stood up and attempted to run; he immediately realized that there was nowhere for him to go from Tina's palm suspended high up in the air from his perspective.

With her left hand, she grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him off of her palm. She held him in front of her face, and eyed his small frame devilishly.

"You and I are going to have lots of fun!" Tina said. "But first, I have to put you somewhere safe."

Having said those words, Tina slid her left foot out of its sandal. She kneeled down and laid Cliff on the sole of the sandal, his head just an inch away from the thong. She pressed down on his chest with her index finger.

"Don't move," she ordered, before removing her finger and standing upright.

She lifted her left foot and began to slide it into its sandal. Against her wishes, Cliff did indeed try to flee. Seeing this, she quickly stepped into the shoe, pinning him between her sole and the sandal and gripping the thong with her toes. She pressed her foot against him, relishing in the feeling of his tiny body struggling to free himself.

"Well, Cliffy," Tina said. "Let's go home!"

She closed the rear door of her car, and then stepped into the driver's seat. After starting up the car, she turned it around and began to drive back down the way she had come; back towards the main road. Upon reaching it, she turned to her right and started the drive back to her manor. All the while, Cliff was still fighting underneath her foot, and she could hear his muffled cries for help and mercy. She giggled as she applied more pressure onto his body, causing him to flail even more frantically.

Tina looked at the sky. The sun had set long ago and the stars were starting to appear. She took this time to once again marvel at the countryside. There were few building around, and few streetlights as well; the most prominent features in this area were forests and farmland. One could clearly see the night sky in these parts. A nice ways away from the bustling town; the perfect place for Tina to make her home, away from the prying eyes of any curious people.

Soon, Tina began to approach her humble abode. Her gated manor that had been gifted to her and is maintained by her father. At first, she was skeptical of living far in the boondocks, but after receiving the Shrink Ray, she found that she would not have it any other way.

After pressing a button on a remote attached to her keychain, the gate opened to allow her inside. As she drove into her driveway, the gates closed behind her. She pulled up in front of her garage, but did not open it. Instead, she placed her car's gear in "Park" and pulled out the keys from ignition, as well as left her car's headlights on.

Opening the car door, she stepped outside and walked in front of the car, where the headlights were shining. She kneeled down and lifted her left heel inside of her sandal giving her enough room to reach inside and pull out Cliff. He was breathing heavily; he has stopped struggling minutes before she had arrived at her manor. Perhaps he had tired himself out.

"Well, we're home," Tina said.

"Please..." Cliff panted. "Please... let me go..."

"No, I told you. I'm not going to give you up."

She placed him on the concrete pavement as she stood upright. He laid on the ground as Tina looked down upon him.

"To tell you the truth," Tina said. "I'm a bit rough when it comes to my toys."

Cliff looked up towards her with a fearful look on his face.

"I see that look! You wanna know how! Well, I'll show you."

Tina moved her sandal-clad right foot over to Cliff's body, holding the front of her foot over him while balancing it on its heel. She heard Cliff scream once again, which she took as her cue. She lower her foot onto his body and began to press him against the pavement. As she applied more and more pressure, she could hear Cliff's screams of agony. Agony that would never end, as while she had shrunk him, she had also set the Shrink Ray to increase his body's durability, at least for the moment.

"Keep it up!" Tina taunted as she looked down at her foot covering Cliff's entire body. "I wanna hear you cry out in pain!"

Tina shifted much of her body weight onto her right foot, going as far as to even lift her left foot from the ground and stand on Cliff's body with one leg. She could only imagine what he was feeling at that moment; having tons of weight subjected upon his weak, pitiful body.

"If you think that's bad, then it's only just beginning!" Tina announced.

After spending a few more seconds on his small frame, her left foot finally returned to the ground's surface. Keeping her right foot on the small man, she twisted the foot from side to side, as if she was grinding out a cigarette or a small bug. As expected, his frantic cries only intensified.

Tina laughed manically. "That's right! You're nothing but a little bug to me! There's no escape for you, you miserable worm!!"

He must have wanted his life to end right there, she thought. The pain of being grounded against concrete by a heavy foot could not have been any less than excruciating.

After a minute or two of this, Tina brought her foot's twisting to a halt, and then stepped off of his body, applying heavy pressure on him in the process. She turned around and looked down at the twitching, tiny body below her. His clothes were a disheveled wreck, even torn in some spots. He looked as if he was in so much pain that he could barely move.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Tina said to him. Then, bending over, she added, "But there's still more to come." She smiled.

Cliff's torture continued on, as Tina subjected his tiny body to more abuse, including stepping full-weight on various parts of his body including his head and arms, pressing the high heel of her sandal onto his head and spine, and even jumping on him as if he were some kind of trampoline. She relished in his cries of agony with each action she took, and sought out more ways to prolong his torture.

However, soon her latent desire to kill him began to grow within her until she could not bare to prolong Cliff's painful but non-lethal ordeal any longer.

As she watched as Cliff attempted to muster his strength and stand, Tina gave him a swift kick with her right foot, sending him hurtling closer to the closed garage door. He rolled on the ground a few times, before his seemingly lifeless body laid on the pavement.

Tina then headed to her car and opened the rear door. She then pulled out her Shrink Ray from her purse on the backseat.

~~~

Cliff was beaten and bruised. His body ached all over, so much so that even trying to move his arm sent a wave of pain throughout his entire body. He could not believe the turn that this night took, that he would end up the way he was at that point.

Something inside of him knew that it was suspicious that Tina--the woman that had seemingly been smitten with him--had taken him to a dark and secluded area. However, he was expecting her to rob him or something of that nature; he was certain that he would have been able to fight her off and escape in the woods should that had happened. In no way was he expecting this, to be shrunken and humiliated by that very woman. He had always thought that shrinking technology was make-believe child's play, or science fiction babble; never did he think that the technology would manifest itself in real life, let alone that he would experience it firsthand. He also wondered how his body had not collapsed into a pulp during Tina's torture; perhaps a side-effect of the shrinking, he deduced.

After being kicked away, Cliff laid on the ground, not moving a single muscle except to breathe, and rather heavily at that. He turned his head to his left and watched as Tina walked to her car and open the rear door. She then pulled out what looked like a strange gun. No doubt that that device was what she had used to shrink him in the first place. He wondered what she was planning next.

Tina then stepped closer, her heavy heels crashing against the concrete pavement. She pressed what looked like buttons on the device and then pointed it at him.

"What are you doing...?!" Cliff managed to yell out.

Tina pulled the trigger, and in an instant Cliff was blinded by a green flash. His vision returned seconds later, as he looked around. He was still the same size as before; Tina still towered over him, her figure illuminated by the light reflecting from the white garage doors, above her the growing dusk of the sky as stars could be seen flickering.

Tina stepped back from him and pressed a few buttons on the shrinking device, before she set it down on the hood of her car. She then removed the sandals from both of her feet, and walked back over to where he was.

"You're probably wondering what I just did," Tina said. "...You probably noticed that you didn't get crushed to death before, right? Well, I got rid of that, so now you really are as vulnerable as a bug." Tina giggled. "I wonder what you'll feel like when I'm bursting your little body...?"

Her malicious yet playful tone sent a shiver down Cliff's spine. Was she serious? Did she actually intend to kill him? If that was the case, Cliff knew that he could not stay there and give this crazy woman what she wanted.

Despite his severely aching body, he mustered the strength to stand to his feet, and then attempted to run.

"Oh!" Tina excitedly said. "I love it when my toys try to get away from me!"

Cliff heard Tina give chase. He knew that it was a foregone conclusion; at her size she would catch him in a matter of seconds. Indeed, that is exactly what happened, as Tina's bare foot stepped down in front of him. It then lifted slightly and brushed backward, its heel colliding with his body and sending him flying backwards away from the garage.

As he laid on the ground, he watched as Tina turned around and approach him once again. He tried to get up again, but his body denied him that action. There was nothing he could do.

"Aww... That's it?" Tina sounded disappointed. "I thought you had just a little bit of fight left in you." She shrugged. "Oh well. I guess it's time to put an end to this."

Tina moved her right foot over his body, and began to lower it.

"Wait, please!!" Cliff yelled out. "Don't kill me!! I'll do anything!!"

Tina's foot stopped and merely hovered over him. "Anything?"

"Yes!! Please!!!" He begged; it was all he could do to try to get her to spare his life.

"Alright, I'll tell you what I want you to do..."

Cliff looked up at her expectantly for his chance to save himself.

"I want you to die for me."

Cliff's heart sank. "Whaa-"

Tina's foot lowered, until it fell upon his body.

~~~

Once her foot hit the ground--and Cliff caught below it--Tina made her final move. She slowly applied pressure on Cliff's now vulnerable body. She heard him scream as first his legs were crushed by her weight. Then she shifted her weight upward, taking with it his waist and then chest; at this point his screams halted as she felt blood spurt from what she assume was his mouth. She felt his bones crunch and collapse underneath her sole, and blood spreading out from his body. Soon his head succumbed to her weight, flattening into a mess of bones, blood, and tissue.

Finally, her foot settled on the bloody mess, though she could still feel remaining uncrushed bones break underneath her weight. After grinding her foot slightly to further pulverize his body, she removed it from the lifeless pulp that was once a man and examined her work. There was no trace of any evidence that he was once a human being; his clothes were torn and soaked with Cliff's blood, and his hair was the only part of his body that could be recognized.

"Excellent!" Tina moaned as she stumbled backwards and fell down to the ground against the garage door. "You did your part well, Cliff. I feel much better now..."

She looked up towards the night sky, before closing her eyes. She then reached into her skirt and panties, and began to fondle herself. She moaned in pleasure as she relived her time with Cliff in her mind.

~~~

Nathan laid on his sleeping bag, still thinking about that day's earlier events. He was brought out of his thoughts as he heard the front door open, and the unmistakable sound of Tina's heels stepping on the hardwood floor resonate through the house. After hearing the door close, he listened as those footsteps approached the living room. From his position, he looked out towards the open floor and saw Tina's feet and legs standing halfway between the couch and the living room's entrance.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted in a cheerful tone. "I'm back, and I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I went out to think things over, and I'm feeling like my old self again!"

Nathan looked at the others, whose attention was all on Tina's presence.

"Oh!" Tina sounded as if she just realized something. "It's already this late! I need to get you all something to eat! I can't have you all starving to death on me, can I? Hold on, guys. Let me go change into something more comfortable!!"

Tina turned and walked out of the living room. Nathan watched as she turned slightly to her right, and suddenly stopped walking.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed. "I forgot all about you, Percy! I can't leave you hanging there... I guess I'll give you what they call a 'burial at sea'."

Tina walked to her right and kneeled down. Seconds later, she stood back up and walked up the stairs. Nathan could see that she was holding something in her hand.

Guy and Geoffery approached Nathan from their table.

"She's going to flush Percy down the toilet," Guy said. "Wouldn't be the first time she did it, except this time he's already dead."

"Tina's like a completely different person from when she was earlier," Nathan said.

"She probably killed someone," Guy said. "I think as long as we don't do anything, we should be good for now."

"Yeah, Peter and Edward told me about what she does."

"I kinda feel sorry for the guy, whoever he was," Geoffery said. "He talk to one girl tonight, and he ends up dying for it."

"I can't wait until all this is over," Nathan said. "I wanna get out of here. There's no telling when she'll lose it again."

Guy nodded. "Yeah. ...But I bet he wants to stay." He was referring to Geoffery.

"Of course." Geoffery grinned.

"Ugh..." Nathan sighed in disgust.

Tina's anger had been calmed. ...For the time being. Nathan knew that this woman was unbalanced in the mind, and in addition had a sick fascination with killing beings smaller than her. Guy was right when he said that they should stay on her good side, for if she were to be agitated again, there would be no telling who would make out of her wrath alive, if any at all.

Nathan at least wished that he was away from the manor should it happen again.

~~~