Tomorrow had come and with it a new task for Matthew to complete, dusting. He hated dusting before he shrank, it was even worse after. Though, he had been given a small cotton swab for the task thankfully. He had just finished around Haven’s desk and was now headed for another corner, back to walking. He had been at it for a few hours now; Walk, dust, walk, dust, walk…dust. At this point he thought the boredom might kill him before Haven returned, she had went shopping and to get herself some food, promising him a treat for being so obedient. He almost missed her, at least he’d have someone to talk to.

For now, he kept dusting though. She should be home soon, and he wanted to be done by that time. His mind began to go numb as he started dusting near the kitchen. He wondered what his treat would be, food maybe? New clothes? His freedom? He laughed at the last idea.

*Scutter scutter scutter*

He continued to daydream as he worked, swiping away more dust bunnies.

*Scutter scutter scutter*

Matthew finally noticed the noise, bringing him back to reality. He turned around and froze. It stood about 20 feet from him, staring at him with 8 black eyes, its fuzzy legs motionless. Fear washed over him. A spider, a huge spider to be exact. Matthew darted his eyes around, looking for any place he could move towards to get out of this, careful not to make any movements. He saw no options, and his adrenaline was beginning to spike. The arachnid continued to stare him down, yet to move from its spot. His mind raced, he couldn’t outrun it, he doubted he could fight it either. Maybe he should stay still, was their vision based on movement? Maybe he cou-

The spider began to move on him, its eight legs rapidly closing the distance between them

“FUCK!”

Matthew turned and ran, his legs carrying faster than he thought possible across the apartment floor. He glanced over his shoulder, it was gaining. He pumped his legs even harder, blazing across the open floor, thank God it wasn’t as cluttered as it had been when he arrived. He glanced again, it was even closer, he wasn’t going to make it. He then realized; he still had the cotton swab. It was an awful plan, but he didn’t have a better one. He stopped in his tracks and pivoted to face the beast, it continued to scurry towards him, its fangs glistening. It lunged as it closed in on him. Matthew took his cotton tipped weapon and struck the spider right under the mouth, sending it reeling over him and tumbling. He stood in amazement of himself, it had worked!

Before he could begin celebrating though the spider was getting back on its feet, now determined to catch its prey. Matthew’s eyes went wide as he realized he hadn’t won and began sprinting in the opposite direction towards the door. As the spider began coming at him again, he heard keys jingle outside the door, and the knob began to turn. Haven! He might be saved! She opened the door holding her bags from her trip and her Baja blast from lunch.

“I’m back little dude!” she called out

“HAVEN HELP HELP HELP!” He cried in a desperate attempt to get her attention

Haven noticed his cries and looked down to see him sprinting towards her, and the small predator that chased him.

“EEEIK” She squealed, almost as scared as he was by the bug.

Her boot flew over Matthew’s head, nearly taking it clean off before slamming down directly behind him. The resulting gust of wind sent him flying, and the thunderous stomp made his ears ring. She stomped down again for good measure. She lifted the combat boot off the ground and turned her foot over to inspect what she had done. He looked on as the mangled remains of the beast that had nearly killed him were revealed, now stuck to the bottom of his owner’s boot along with the rest of the grime. The corpse served as a stark reminder of the power Haven held. Matthew shuddered at the display of power.

“AWW come on! You just fucking cleaned these!” she huffed, before grabbing a napkin and removing the mess. She then reached down and picked Matthew up, “What about you twerp, are you ok?”

“I’m ok! Thank you!” he said in between pants, trying to catch his breath from the ordeal.

“Maybe we don’t leave you unattended on the floor anymore, don’t want anything to happen to my favorite little tiny! Anyway, I think you’ve earned your little treat for being so good, and some rest for today.”

She reached into the Taco Bell bag she had brought back home and pulled out a taco, before taking it and him back to his habitat, sitting him inside. She ripped off some of the fast food for him and handed it to him, the massive chunk of meat and cheese nearly the same size as him.

“Here ya go! See, this is what happens when you’re obedient, so keep it up! Would hate to have to punish you again” She smirked. Matthew got the feeling she wouldn’t hate it nearly as much as she said.

He began to devour the oversized meal before him, it was the first time he had eaten fast food in a while, it was wonderful. Especially nice considering his tastebuds had gotten used to the taste of Haven’s feet at this point. He began to feel a sense of pride over the fact he had earned a reward from his owner. Plus, she hadn’t even punished him recently!

He realized what he had just thought and had to correct himself. She wasn’t his owner, and he shouldn’t even be worried about getting punished to begin with. What was wrong with him?! Was he becoming used to this?! He began to worry about his mental health, was she breaking him down? Eventually his stomach reminded him of the reward in front of him, and he got back to eating.