My legs were sore, my eyes were baggy, my arms were stiff. I was on the verge of collapsing in exhaustion. But the sirens and screams pushed me forward. I was still hopelessly lost in this expansive city, shambling through the streets under the moon.

A tiny ray of light flickered across my face as helicopters buzzed around me. Police cars scattered around underneath me, slowing my crawl tremendously by forcing me to second guess every step of it. It seemed like everyone in the world was after me all the sudden. There had never been resistance like this before, but did I really expect to mosey on in, take a bite from the populace, and leave unscathed?

It must have been a learned habit.

I think they were shooting at me, but it was hard to tell when their bullets were so ineffective; I felt poked and prodded from every direction but it wasn't painful in the slightest. Finally pulling myself forward a few feet (or a few dozen feet?) after trying to find safe landing zones for my hands and knees, I was at an intersection.

Again people ran this way and that, this time not even sane enough to make sure they were running away from me rather than towards; for some ungodly reason a handful of them turned in my direction, as if trying to hide underneath my own monolithic body.

They're scared, I remind myself. More than that, they're terrified, they're panicking. What would I do if a giant person was crawling around my home? I certainly wouldn't run towards her. 

Just eat them, my stomach tried to convince me. If they won't get out of the way without a little help, so be it. Besides, we really need something to eat. We're famished.

No. I've already fell for the temptations of my hunger once today, I stepped way out of line. I didn't lose count, I was fooling myself. No one escaped, that was a false reassurance. That man wasn't waiting for a turn, he was trapped just like the rest, and I had toyed with him. And taking people from buildings? Inexcusable. 

What's the difference between someone on the ground and someone on the fifth floor, huh? They both taste the same, don't they? They both die at the end, don't they? Who's fooling who?

I held my forehead in the palm of my hand, supressing a sudden headache. What was wrong with me? Looking down I saw zero progress with the crowds, still flooding the streets without any real goal. I slowly brought down my palm and held it over the ground, and the immediate response of shrill screams prompted I bring it back. 

Stand up, why don't you? Take a walk. You'll be outta here in no time.

I can't, last time I walked in a city it was on top of people. When I first saw their splattered remains all over my feet, like squashed insects, I vowed never to tread on them again. I was just being careful.

Oh, we are being rather careful, aren't we? Hunting people, ripping them apart with our teeth... I did notice how carefully you yanked that man from his office today. He didn't even get to finish his weekly report before you guzzled him down.

That wasn't me, that was you, you made me do that! You made me do all of this! I would never have eaten anybody if it weren't for you! 

You'd be dead if not for me. It's not our fault we're bigger than them. We don't punish the frog for eating the flies, that's just how it works.

They're people!

And we're much more.

This was insane. I was insane. Still I hadn't moved, still the crowd ran circles around itself. A stinging on my backside brought my attention to the armies trying to whittle me down, quickly becoming a nuisance. One of the helicopters pointed its spotlight directly into my eye, making me flinch and intensifying my headache. And the noise; everyone was screaming bloody murder, police sirens blared ceaselessly, even the tiny guns were discharging little buzzing noises. My ears were ringing and I noticed I was breathing heavily. 

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" I suddenly screamed at the top of my lungs, smashing my fist into the pavement of the street. It cracked under the force and I heard the quaking tremor, knocking everyone down and making cars jump. They were quick to obey now, gathering themselves to their feet and clearing away. From the corner of my eye I could see them barely avoiding my impatience as I huffed across.

Had I been here before? That tower looked familar. Now that I looked around, they were all familiar. Everything looked so similar, so small. I was briefly blinded again by swarms of helicopters, and I could faintly hear voices over a loudspeaker; were they trying to communicate with me? I guess I hadn't really shown many people that I could talk back. I couldn't understand it, and couldn't quite place where it was coming from, so I just trudged forward.

They were getting bolder, perhaps to try to get me to answer them. Helicopters flew inches (feet?) from my face, until I could hear their irritating rotors spin and had to turn my glance from their lights.

Eat them. Eat them.

Are you crazy?

Is that a trick question? Come on, it'll be like hard candy with a people filling. Doesn't that sound delicious? 

My hand shot up and took a helicopter between two fingers, its rotor blades struggling to turn against them. In an instant the others fled. Holding it up close I could peer inside and see a tiny pilot, but his heavy gear made him difficult to read.

He can't eject, we've got him. Now eat him. Eat the whole goddamn thing. That'll teach them to bother us.

Maybe they did need some persuasion. Maybe I would think more clearly on a full stomach. 

I'm sure it's after midnight. We can start a whole new ten. Eat him now and you won't have to eat him later.

Before I had even finished listening to my own psychotic banter I could feel a gentle scraping on the side of my tongue and I was biting into the helicopter's thick shell. The metal and machinery was putrid, but the familiar human taste was intact deep inside. What had I done? I had just made it worse; this was my response to attempted communication.

We don't need to listen to what they have to say. 

They could've helped me! 

We've been making meals of them for days now. They don't want to be friends. 

Oh, I'm such an idiot! 

No, we don't need them. What do they do for us? 

I used to know so many great people! I still have a family that raised me, I have friends that love me!

Not anymore. Don't you understand? We've grown beyond all that. We're a goddess now. They are nothing but food.

I am not a goddess! I'm... I'm... I was about to think that I was just like them, but I looked down and saw that was not true. I'm... different. But that doesn't mean I'm above morality, that didn't mean I could simply wipe them out.

Are you suggesting a coexistence? I'm sure they'd be glad to talk about it over lunch. Oh wait, that's right, they're lunch.

You're sick and twisted! I'm nothing like you! I can control myself! I can restrain myself from being the monster you think I am, as if I might expect them to worship me or something! I'm gonna get outta here, and go to bed, and it'll all be better in the morning, won't it? Won't it?

Abruptly I burst into hysterical tears, my head feeling as if it were constricted, pressed down. My arms and legs gave way and I fell to my stomach, wallowing and sobbing. I covered my eyes with my hands but knew they hadn't stopped firing as I could still feel the pinches of their shots.

With eyes still watery I rose to my feet, a strange determination filling me. Now I could see over some of the buildings, and saw a body of water with a bridge crossing over it. I could lose this army in the water. I looked down and made sure I knew where they all were before I made my first step.

Don't bother sparing them. Crush them and they won't pester us any longer.

I stepped over the army and left them behind, headed for the water. I wouldn't listen. I won't be a goddess. I don't deserve to be a goddess, giantess or not. There was nothing powerful about me, I was running away from myself just like everyone else. I began to feel afraid and broke into a sprint, desperate to get away, to go anywhere that wasn't here.

But I had become careless, I wasn't watching where I was going. The streets had suddenly deformed into twisting and turning highways, and my foot was caught in an arcing roadway. My heart skipped a beat as I tripped, falling into the bridge with a mighty crash. My weight was too much; the connection between the city and the bridge snapped, dumping me into the water along with some hapless other people and cars, and plenty of rubble. I pushed off the floor of the river and saw with dismay the pummeled assortment of vehicles that laid where I had been. 

I stood to my full height, taking my breath back. The water only reached just above the knee, almost to my thighs, but I could see people flailing widly to stay afloat, some right below me. 

Eat them, my stomach roared.

I turned away from the gruesome scene and saw some stray police cars coming my way, the helicopters not too far behind.

Eat them.

I shook my head, sending water in all directions as my hair battered to and fro. I won't. I won't. I won't. I began to step forward and saw as my leg brought upon a tidal wave that nearly drowned the people below me.

Eat them.

Eat them.

EAT THEM.

You know what, I will, will that make you fucking happy!? I bent down at the knees and scooped up everyone swimming under me in a single hand. Without ceremony I practically threw them between my teeth and cracked open every single one of them. I didn't even close my mouth as I chewed: do you see me?! Do you see me eating these people?! Am I satisying you?! 

Is this what you wanted? I waded forward and saw another gathering of swimming people, panicking and trying to paddle away. I tuned out their screams, proving to myself that I didn't care, and ate them by the handful. Seizing them from the water and crunching them down to pulp. Then I turned to the bridge and saw people running across it, completely horrified at the sight of me gorging their fellow men and women, and still looking for more.

My fist came crashing through another part of the bridge, crumbling down into the water and taking scores of doomed little people with it. Look at me, I'm eating them too. I went out of my way to eat more, because that's what's they're for, right?! Wait, I can still see people, I should eat them too, right?! Why don't I just eat everyone on the whole fucking bridge?!

I kicked out at the bridge's foundation and saw as it collapsed, dying out with a rumbling noise and filling the water with shrieks and car horns. Watch, I won't bother sparing any of them, I'll make sure they all die, just like you wanted. Chasing people through the water, snatching them up and feasting on them. Isn't this great?! Listen to them cry and beg for mercy, isn't it great?! Isn't it great how I'm murdering all of them because they dared be smaller than me?! I'll even eat the cars; they taste like crap but after a while they have that taste you like so much, the taste of death. Who knows, maybe one of these people I'm about to eat, or one of them I've already eaten is someone I know, but who cares, right?! Because I'm a goddess and goddesses shouldn't care, right?!

There, everyone's dead, I did it. Now they'll leave me alone, right? Now that I've slaughtered countless innocents I'm sure they'll just drop everything and submit to me, won't they? I don't even need to give any orders -- there's nothing they could do for me anyway, right? -- I just need to tell myself I'm the one in control of the people that I feed to myself. Isn't that what you want?  What more do you want?! 

I slowly cross the river and climb ashore into a small park, pushing aside trees to make a clearing for myself. I look over my body, see the blood and guts staining my hands, feet, legs, and chest, and feeling a thick coating of it on my teeth. There you go. I gave you more than ten. What more do you want?

I curled into a ball and cried.