Precautionary Measures

Moving cautiously and taking up a space under the fluffy black pectoral fin on Orla’s right side, Josh looked out to see what the girl was doing. She was gone, the room vacant. The chewed shoebox minus lid was still sitting on top of the bed, but she was nowhere to be seen. Crawling forward a little more, military style, he craned his neck to try and get a better look around to see if he could put eyes on her. Where the heck did she go? Is she gone? He hadn’t heard her get up and he hadn’t heard her move. How could something that incredibly big move so silently? An icy sliver of fear stabbed him. If she could shrink people, what other powers might she have? He was about to move forward a little bit more, when the girl appeared, exiting the bathroom carrying an immense pink bath towel in her left hand. Her sudden appearance caused him to hastily withdraw back under the cover of the fin. She was still fully clothed. What was she doing with the towel? He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

Crossing the carpeted floor of the room, she went over to the door. Crouching down low, she bent forward and carefully laid the towel lengthwise along the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. Using her fingers to wedge the material securely into the gap, she worked along the length of the gap and successfully manufactured a barrier to prevent them from trying to sneak out that way.

Inspecting her handiwork, she made a couple of additional pokes before standing back up and nodding. “I’ve just barricaded the door boys,” she said aloud, her voice melodic and without rancor or malice.

Josh shook his head. There would definitely be no slipping out that way when she turned in for sleep. They would have to try and wait for when she was out of the room and the towel was not in place.

Returning to the bed, she leaned her shapely bottom against it, quickly checking her phone before putting it back down again. “You might as well come out,” she encouraged. “You have to know I’m going to find you. It’s inevitable and now as you must undoubtedly be aware, there is no way out of here, well except perhaps through me,” she grinned at the double meaning as she once more patted her tummy.

“Dammit,” Josh muttered, the girl was not only huge, she was also clever. He wondered if maybe in the past she had had other box dwellers who had gotten out so this wasn’t new to her. It also meant she probably had a pretty good idea where the choice hiding spots might be. Not inside a stuffy though, he grinned, feeling particularly clever.

Waiting a moment to see if either man would reveal himself, she made a ‘tsk tsk’ noise and shook her head slowly before dropping back down to her knees beside the bed, pushing the blanket up and pulling out another cardboard box, this one looking larger and more sturdy than the one from which he had escaped. Setting the box on the bed, she swept her arm through the blanket, allowing it drape back down and as she stood up.

Pulling out the inserted tabs on the front panel of the box, she lifted the attached lid up and removed a dark colored boot, black leather maybe, ankle high, and sporting an impressive heel he estimated was probably close to double his height. She turned it around in her hands inspecting it before setting it down on the bed and removing its mate from the box. Setting the second boot down, she removed a bunch of opaque paper from the box and also put it on the bed.

Reaching into the old box with both hands, she took out Henry and Carver, one in each hand, holding them between a thumb and index finger and lifting them up by one of their arms. “I was very glad you two were smart enough to not try and get away and because you were both such good little boys, you will get a treat later on tonight,” she said, moving her hands over the new box and setting them down inside of it.

Next, she transferred over the water and food dishes before closing the box and sliding home the tabs. Looking around, she walked over to the desk and picked up a disposable pen before returning to the bed. Holding the pen tightly in her fist, point down, she stabbed it down rapidly into the top of the box a half dozen times before setting it on her night table. Picking up the box, keeping it level so as to not spill the water, she crouched down and slid it slowly back under the bed.

Standing up, she picked up the pair of boots and walked over to the door and set them down there, side by side, heels to the wall. Pausing a moment to admire them, “Sexy,” she murmured smiling to herself as she straightened up. Coming back to the bed, she brushed her hands together, a broad smile on her beautiful face. “Now that that’s all of the other incidental stuff is taken care of and out of the way, I can devote all of my energies to finding my two little wayward lost boys,” she said, nodding her head slowly as she arched an eyebrow. “Shall we begin?” she asked playfully.

Getting a feeling like someone had just walked over his grave, Josh shuffled quietly and quickly backward, getting to his feet when he felt he was far enough out of sight and moving over to Julian, “She’s going to start searching,” he whispered.

Still holding the thread in his hands, Julian nodded, “I heard,” he mumbled around the thread as he chewed faster.

Crouching low, Josh walked partway back up Orla’s side