Dean was struggling to maintain his sanity. He found that looking on the positive side, seeing the glass half-full as it were, might be just the thing he needed to keep his brain from leaking out of his ears. From his current location, having managed to climb to the top of the big toe, he could be grateful for two things: one, the big toe he was hitchhiking upon belonged to a female, evidenced by the nail polish he viewed expanding in all directions. It was black and shiny, and even at his size it seemed immaculate. Professional job, so the girl must take care of herself. And it was black…so…well he wasn’t sure what that meant yet. He was a bit proud of his detective work on this, and it put him at ease to know that maybe it was some hot chick that he was catching a ride with; it was a better mental image than some creepy, burly dude or a gnarly grandma. Dean knew he was reaching. Well, when your entire reality is redefined, you gotta find a bright light somewhere…
The second thing that he could discern from his location on the toenail was that he on her left foot, was in a car, and the car had an automatic transmission. He watched as the other foot, taking up most of the sky, moved back and forth between what he assumed were brake and gas pedals, as he couldn’t really make them out. The foot he was on stayed motionless, for the time being. He knew that Leon was on the second toe, but he hadn’t seen him since they were thrown apart. Dean trusted that Leon could take care of himself, for the time being, but his goal at the moment had to be to meet up with him so that they can figure out what to do together. At this size, anything could happen, and Leon could be gone in a flash. He wouldn’t allow his mind to go there, because that would make him alone in this new and frightening world.
Dean took a look around him, trying to decide which way would be the best to reach Leon. Traveling down the toe over to the main mass of the foot seemed like the best idea, as not only could he reach Leon that way, he would also be off the constant movers that are toes. Dean had spied enough feet in his lifetime to know that girls were almost constantly flexing or wagging their feet and toes back and forth. I’m actually pretty lucky that she is such a calm driver; her movements have been relatively undramatic. I hope she has a long drive ahead of her…As soon as Dean allowed that thought to play across his mind, his greatest (or perhaps most current, as was likely the case) fear had come true. Her other foot had lifted off the gas and the break, and the movement of the world beyond her left foot seemed to stop as well: she was parking. Dean quickly ran to the corner of the toenail, where the nail butted skin, in an attempt to brace for movement that may shake him loose. Human beings, if nothing else, know how to adapt and adjust to any situation, and Dean was no different. This was why, as he ran to the six foot flesh colored wall, he processed it as a six foot flesh colored wall, and not as the actual flesh connected to a titan’s toenail.
Nestling himself in the corner and grabbing with all his might to the skin on either side of him, Dean prepared himself for the worst, hoping that Leon had found a secure place as well.
Samantha parked her car in her designated spot, as close to the doors as a student can park, the same parking space every time. Being the most popular girl in school had its perks. Slipping her keys into her stylish black leather purse, she steps out of the car. Before making her way to the front entrance of New Lincoln High School, she pauses for a moment, again questioning just why she is in such a good mood today. Call it woman’s intuition, I guess. Running her fingers through her hair to assure that not a strand is out of place, Samantha began a brisk walk, making her way to the front door and first period.
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!”
Leon was panicked, scared, and at wit’s end. He was not coping well with this sudden turn of events in his life. After being thrown through the air and grabbing hold of the first thing he crashed into, he had finally come to understand just how insignificant he was. He knew he was clinging for life to, of all things, a toe. He clung as it flew through the air, every step threatening to jar him from his position gripping the striations on the side of the toe.
“This fucking gigantic thing…like a toe cruise ship. I’m on a toe cruise! Ha ha! Oh god…”
Leon, on top of experiencing the fear that anyone would face in a situation, was also dealing with an extreme case of vertigo, due to his fear of heights, a fear he had never admitted to anyone.
“It’s ok, it’s ok, just start climbing man….as soon as you stop moving, that is. Man, why am I talking to myself, I’m crazy, I’m going crazy, this is some crazy shit.”
The world around him stepped into shade, and came to a stop. For now, his ride was still.
“Now’s the time, man…now’s the time. Gotta get to the top of this, come on man, just hand over hand, you got this, YOU GOT THIS!”
He was, from his estimation, about thirty feet from the top. He looked up for only a moment and soon thought better of it, figuring he would stare straight ahead at the wall of flesh until he had made it to the top. It took a few minutes, as fear is sometimes a great motivator.
Having made it to the top, he looked down onto a black plane, square in size, surrounded by fleshy hills. Farther in the distance, he saw other black plains, painted toenails, at the end of long cylinders of flesh; the rest of her toes. So, he was on a girl’s foot. He was then able to process his position, straddling on the second toe. Looking behind for only a moment, he saw a toe that dwarfed the others, rising higher than his current position, making it impossible to see the top. He looked to see if Dean had made it, perhaps hitched a ride like he had, but he saw nothing. He was gone.
“Oh god I’m alone! I’m alone. Now I gotta get this bitch’s attention all by myself…shit. I’m fucked. I’m so fucked. FUCKED! What am I gonna…what…”
The ground beneath him moved briefly, knocking him over and sending him down the side of the toe, and he landed on the toenail. The fall wasn’t far, but he had knocked his elbow, and clutched it now in pain. Her whole foot hadn’t moved, just her second toe, a casual movement. He sat down in defeat, shutting his eyes and repeatedly opening them in the vain hope that this nightmare would disappear and he would wake up. I just want things the way they were! I was on top of the world, football scholarship, gonna go pro. Now this shit’s gotta happen.Just when he believed things couldn’t get any worse, she began to move her foot; she was taking a step out of the shade. He struggled to find a footing or grip on the nail, his hands scraping against black paint, but to no avail. He slid down the nail toward the front of the toe, and saw his doom far in the distance; the pavement. Rapidly approaching the edge of the toenail, he prayed that he might pass out in the miles long fall before he reached the pavement. And just like that, the foot straightened out as it hit ground, just as Leon reached the edge. He held on to whatever he could, the thickness of the nail being almost exactly his height, as he dangled over the edge.
Before she could take another step, he swung his leg up onto the “ledge”, attempting to pull himself up the other way. Before he could completely make it, the foot was taking another step, the toe flexing up into the air. The force of the movement kept Leon in place, and although he attempted to pull himself up again, she was walking too quickly to give him any time to escape his predicament. As the cycle repeated, Leon thought, Might as well just hang tight until she gets to where she is going. Then I’ll be able to pull myself up, and I’ll be safe.
He knew he would not be safe then, or perhaps ever, unless he found a way to reverse what was done to him. But he had to convince himself, to hope. That was the only way he wasn’t just going to let go and end it all now.