—Chapter1 The Chase 

Tom felt the ground shake violently below him. Shooting upright, he believed it was a possible earthquake as those were common on the west coast, but that thought was immediately sidelined. He was not in his apartment. He wasn’t sure if he was even in the city anymore. Scanning his surroundings, he was perched atop what appeared to be an impossibly large root or tree branch. The coarse surface left deep creases in the wooden structure beneath him. His eyes followed the limb upward to the sheer wall of the tree as it climbed upward, impossibly high.

The ground shook again. Was he in the woods? He didn’t know trees got this large. These trees seemed larger than any sequoia. Now he was standing on the root of one among hundreds, possibly thousands. Peering over the edge, there did not appear to be any “ground” to speak of. No soil to drop to, or underbrush. There were just more gnarled roots, weaving their way down. It almost made a pseudo-cave system with how chaotically woven the roots were, while still leaving enough space to walk through if the need arose.  A slight shudder ran through his body. “Where am I?” he said out loud to no one. 

Another brief quake. Were they getting stronger? He was still wearing his sweatpants from the day before with his running shoes and loose fitting jacket with a long sleeve shirt below. That’s right, he went to the gym yesterday. “Yesterday?” He brought his hand to mouth to chew on his knuckle. “Did I even make it home last night?” The sky was still dark but heavily obscured by the foliage overhead. He stood up and reached his hands into his pockets. He had his keys, wallet and cell phone. Tapping the home button, it stuttered to life only for the screen to make an audible cracking sound in his hand. Now Tom was not an easily spooked individual, but the overwhelming amount of stimuli he was faced with caused him to jump at his phone’s sudden malfunction. It dropped out of his hand, despite his attempts to catch the falling item. The echo of the phone slamming into multiple roots as it tumbled down exciting a string of expletives from Tom.

How far did these roots go before they actually touched the ground? Another quake. This one was accompanied by the ear piercing sound of wood breaking. The sound was localized as he spun his head to try and spot its source. Falling branches came from the other direction. Tom snapped his head to the side and was able to spot a movement beyond the trees. Some large object with blue shade was passing through the forest. 

Was it some sort of vehicle? It must be huge, whatever it was. He took a hesitant step forward in hopes of getting a better line of sight, anticipating a better view any moment now. Whatever it was, it was clearly causing the earthquakes, but how? He was not certain. It seemed to cover long distances without making much impact on the surrounding environment. 

The ground shook again, this time causing Tom to lose his footing. He had to steady himself with a hand between his legs as he dropped into a crouching position.  His gaze shot back up after looking down for only a moment. It wasn’t a vehicle. He was looking at a woman with light blue skin and impossibly giant. He couldn’t be sure from this distance but he could guess she was at least over a hundred feet tall. She appeared to be scanning the area and was currently looking away from his direction but it wouldn’t take long for her to look his way. 

Thinking quickly he turned his attention downward and spun around. There was a crack in the bark of the root that he could grab onto. If he could hold on long enough, the blue woman might pass by without noticing him. Not caring to look for other options, he dipped over the curved surface and dug his arm into the crease. With his arm nicely wedged, his weight was supported and he was out of the sightline of her. His heart was beating in his chest and he felt like it could burst, but he was going to need to keep a cool head if he was to pull this off. 

“I can smell you, human” 

His blood ran cold. Was she talking to him? She had to be, at least he had to assume her comment was directed at him. The bark below his feet broke away causing his full weight to pull  on his arm. It wasn’t painful but he was starting to panic as he tried to regain purchase with his feet. A cold chill ran down his spine. The air seemed to become frigid as he was finally able to steady himself. It was not this cold a moment ago. Somewhat relieved that he did not cause too much noise, he breathed a low sigh and could see his breath. He could feel the panic and dread overflowing within and fought to keep his breathing stead, fighting the urge to hyperventilate. 

“You look stuck, little human” she said, smiling down at Tom only a few meters away. 

The melodic sound of her voice did nothing to calm Tom from her enormous proportions. She was hundreds of yards away when Tom first got a clear sight of her, and yet now she was right on him. How she was able to close the distance that quickly, all without making a sound? He did not dare to look away from the gigantic face but he needed to figure out how he was going to get away. He could just yank his arm out of the bark, but his jacket would do little to protect from a probable injury. And that says nothing to the drop below. Looking away from the creature to gauge the drop, he realized it was not an option and would betray his intention to flee. 

The creature just stared with an amused smile, apparently both parties were not wanting to make the first move.To Tom’s dismay, and possible salvation, she was not in any hurry to make her intentions known. Her cool blue complexion was framed by dark hair and uneven bangs. Her dark brown eyes twinkled with mischievous intent.

But what were her intentions? Tom thought. 

She turned her face slightly and raised an eyebrow, remaining in her hunched position so she could bring her face as close to Tom as possible without worry of blowing him away with her breath. 

She grew tired of waiting on the human, it was clear he was determined to see what she was going to do next. 

That will be fine, she thought. She loved to play with her food. 

She licked her lips slowly before finally speaking, “Are you cold? I know somewhere I can put you to help warm you up.” A blue finger came up and tapped her lower lip.

Tom’s mouth hung agape. 

“Oh hell no” he muttered under his breath before ripping his arm out of its wooden prison.

There was no way he could prevent falling with his arm now free. That didn’t matter, the giant blue woman had made her intentions known and it was not safe to stay here. The cold gaze shifted to surprise as she watched the small human drop from his perch. 

This one wasn’t frozen in fear as so many of his kind often were, she mused

Landing with a thud, he immediately began to start to roll off the sloped surface of the massive root. 

“Here goes nothing,” he thought, but was surprised to hear himself say out loud. Once he got out of sight under the dense network of roots, he would need to move quietly. 

Unable to slow his descent, he did his best to plant his feet. He launched himself forward, narrowly missing a root that passed over his head. Tom landed atop a shallow incline but kept himself from immediately collapsing. Turning to follow the past downward, he sprinted to where he hoped to find ground. 

Sparing a glance backward, he saw the massive blue hand darting towards the spot where he had been only a moment ago. If he had lingered a second longer, she would have caught him for sure. The massive appendage moved without making a sound, slinking back the area above the roots.

“Almost gotcha!” he heard from above, then nothing. 

As he ran, he tried to listen for the massive creature to get some clue for where to head next. She wasn’t making a sound. ‘How could such a large creature not make any noise?’ he thought, making sure to keep his thoughts to himself. The hard surface of the root began to soften under his feet as he descended its length. It became slippery before he could slow his progress. He began to tumble for a short while before colliding with the soil. 

It wasn’t a painful landing, as the ground was fairly soft, and damp, he thought and he spat out some of the mushy soil that got into his mouth. He looked around cautiously, trying to plan his next move. Every direction seemed to blend together into some ubiquitous maze of roots and the discarded foliage that the trees above had gifted back to the earth. There was a small trench in the dirt. It was likely caused from the remains of a trickle of water that had reabsorbed back into the ground. 

That’s my heading, he told himself before starting to move, sparing only a moment to breathe. It did nothing to calm his thundering heart, but he can’t risk making a single wrong move. Speaking of wrong moves, He looked down at his arm.

There were not any deep cuts but he could feel the dull sting of the bruised limb. It was a gamble, but at least it paid dividends. He shuddered at the thought of the woman’s words, remembering the predatory look in her eyes.  There was a hunger to them that chilled Tom to his very bones. Literally. How was she able to make the air so cold when she was nearby?, he wondered. 

Leaning down, he passed below a root and was relieved to see that the “pathway” continued onward for quite a ways. ‘Just keep going forward’ he chanted internally while moving as quietly as possible. The silence was deafening. Where did the giant woman go? Did she just get bored and move on? At her size it was easy for Tom to assume she was causing the mini-earthquakes before. If the quakes weren’t her doing then what was causing them? 

Keep moving. The path turned sharply. Tom peered around the sharp curve to see the slight glow of daylight. He slowed his pace and again tried to focus his hearing. If there was a chance of that monster still being around he didn’t want to risk revealing his location. Nearing the source of light he crouched below another low hanging root. He waited and listened. 

He waited for about fifteen long minutes, hearing nothing other than the light breeze snaking its way through the trees, while he came up with a plan for his next move. Unsure what compelled him to check, he reached his hand into his pocket where he had left his keys. They failed to materialize. ‘Great, first his phone now his keys. Let me guess’ he thought, reaching for his wallet. To no one’s surprise his wallet must have also fallen out during his getaway. He allowed himself a singular silent scream of frustration before standing upright on the other side of the root. Thank you, Root, you served me well, he thought dryly. Gotta keep moving. 

He inched closer to the small clearing. The pathway continued on the other side with little more than a downward slant. It promised cover and the more roots between him and the giant woman above. His pace slowed to a crawl, and his body began to shake with apprehension as he started to peer past the root to see the green leaves above. There was a slight bit of movement from the wind catching the leaves, but nothing else.  He saw nothing, but fear gripped his entire body.

Don’t get caught, don’t get caught, he chanted while peering to either side of the clearing. Both sides appeared to offer some light cover but he was more interested in the ground. A smaller root dipped into the soil on the right side of the clearing. ‘Left it is.’ looking up again while still remaining in the shadow, he examined the placement of the roots that stretched upward. If she’s still up there she will come from the right. ‘Shit’ he might have to backtrack if his pursuer was still giving chase. 

Taking a deep breath, Tom hunched down into a running position. He was making a lot of assumptions but he didn’t like his alternatives. Another silent scream later and he was off, darting forward. 

“Gotcha!” 

That familiar and chilling voice rang out, as he darted to the left as her arm swung in from behind. She nearly had him. Tom reversed direction, heading back to where he had just come from. He will get another chance, but for now he needs to get out of danger. 

The giant reached another arm down expecting the tiny human to continue to the other side of the clearing. She had only lost sight of him for an instant as her other hand blocked the exit. Is this one clever or just lucky?

Tom collapsed as soon as he reached the relative safety provided by the low hanging roots.  He tried to stand but the exertion on his legs left him weak opting instead to just flip over and started push himself backwards. His mind raced as he tried to predict when and where the next threat would arrive. Did I just get incredibly lucky, or did I actually manage to pull that off? Tom thought to himself. 

“Oh, Human?” her voice was back to the melodic tone. Tom silently hoped her voice would betray some hint of feigned annoyance. He needed to know if he could rely on his shitty guess work. “As much fun as this little game of your is, I really would like to continue my afternoon elsewhere” 

Tom began to speak, but only a wheezing cough escaped his mouth. He tried again “You’re free to leave, lady! Don’t let me keep you.” Great, now he was taunting the evil giant. 

“If you insist” came the reply. 

“Nope, I don’t like where this is going” he said out loud. Not loud enough for the giant to hear, he reckoned, but it wasn’t a whisper. He saw movement causing Tom to jump backward. How a creature so large was able to move so quietly was an evil trick. 

Before she was barely able to reach a few inches off the ground, because she was in a hurry. Now she had a moment to adjust herself without worry. Her time waiting above the small human certainly wet her appetite. It was enjoyable to imagine the human being fooled into a false sense of safety, while she sat mere feet above him. She was undeniably tickled by the thought as she readjusted herself to get a little more reach from her arm. “Time’s up” she practically hummed. 

‘What was she doing’ would be what Tom queried if he were still capable of any rational thought. His mind started to race, but there was no time to process the immense flow of data. He saw the outstretched arm reaching down into the clearing, but she was not reaching for him. It was as if all she wanted was to touch the ground. Tom heard the phrase “time’s up” before his body slammed into the roots that lay above as a thunderous blast hammered his ears. 

From this distance it didn’t feel like an earthquake, it felt like a violation of nature. The ground lurched upward. The impact caused Tom to see stars as the very soil seemed to recoil at the giant’s touch. At the epicenter was the unmistakable culprit. The palm of her blue hand lay flat on the ground inside a small crater lightly covered in a small layer of ice and snow. 

Tom’s vision had gone dark from the impact as a gust of frigid air rushed past, causing him to shield his face with an arm. The loose soil beneath his body gave way and he tumbled forward. 

It was surreal. All he could feel was the cold. That’s it. There was nothing to experience but the cold void while his eyes remained tightly shut. Even so, he knew she had him, there was no point in fighting. No, he thought, I need to survive this. 

“Open your eyes little one, I want you to see this coming” 

He managed a weak cough with his head slumped back, apparently being held with his body vertical. 

“Was I too rough with you?” she said. Tom did not respond. He wasn’t entirely sure if he could actually hear the giant speak. “I know you’re still alive. If anything this is actually your fault for making me wait so long. Do you have any idea how hard it is to SMELL a human for twenty minutes, on an empty stomach, no less?” 

Tom strained to open one of his eyes. He didn’t know if he was shivering because of the cold or the primal fear at what was about to happen. Her face was closer than before and he could smell her cool breath wash over him. She had begun to open her mouth to accept her prize but was jolted back again. 

“Oh goodie, you are awake.” she said with excitement. Tom noticed the hint of movement behind his predator. A blur of red passing from tree to tree. He had no more plans or schemes left in him as he slumped backward. “Wait! Hang on, try to stay awake for a bit longer. It’s better if you're fully conscious, otherwise it goes by too quickly and I can't enjoy it!” she shook him slightly, “Come on human, you were the one who made me wait. It’s the least you could do!” she pushed her lips into a pout. 

An eye shot open, “It was only fifteen minutes” Tom slurred, and the words practically oozed out of his mouth. The Giant was only able to tilt her head in response. He only had one shot and it relied on him sounding like he was not being sarcastic, so he was probably doomed. “It was only fifteen minutes. I know because I counted” he gulped a breath of air and continued, “You said I made you wait for twenty minutes. I would never make you wait that long.” 

There was a long pause. The giant stared at Tom with her mouth agape, and Tom was staring at her mouth trying to spot when it would open wider to try and accept him again. His world began to shake to the sounds of hearty laughter. “I swear you are by far one of the most interesting humans I have ever met. It’s almost a shame that our time has to be cut so short” she paused another moment, “oh well, maybe in another life” 

Tom cracked a wide smile before opening his eyes again. “Gotcha!” 

Her eyes went from confused to surprise in an instant. There was someone else behind her. She did not have time to turn around as the blurry image of a black club whizzed into the back of her head. There was no blood, but her body still reacted. Her chin slumped to her collar bone as she began to fall forward. Tom prepared mentally for being crushed to death but the fall was just as likely to kill him depending on the height. Neither happened. As she fell, her grip released, but Tom was snatched out of the air before the roots destroyed what was left of the injured body. 

He was again wrapped in another large fist. The skin was a deep red and was very warm. This time he was tightly held further up his neck so he didn’t need to strain to support his aching head. All the better. Whatever grabbed him was pumping its arms in a slight jog. Though he welcomed the distance from the ice creature, he couldn’t help but fear he had just traded one hellish fate for another. 

“I’ve got you,” it was a deeper voice, to be sure, but still feminine. 

The fierce moment made quick work of his weak body. He soon felt his consciousness leaving him as he again accepted the void. “At least this time, it’s slightly warmer” was his last thought before fading into unconsciousness.

—Chapter2 There’s always a catch 

Tom’s eyes snapped open, with the events of the prior night crashing through his aching head. His eyes were having a hard time focusing on his surroundings, a blurry mess of indecipherable shadows. He attempted to reach a hand to rub his eyes but couldn’t manage to move his arm. Trying the other brought the same result. 

Struggling his shoulder and legs made alarm bells ring in head. He was trapped. He blinked hard, willing his eyes to focus, he saw that he was trapped in what appeared to be a thick burlap material with a series of ropes tied down the length of his body. Moving his arms and legs again, he felt a thick sludge ooze out of his confines. A sickly sweet smell hit his nose. 

Don’t panic, he told himself as he fought the urge to call out for help. He wanted to scream, if only to see anyone could hear him. 

Peering around as his vision was able to perceive more and more of his apparent prison. It looked like he was in a cave laying on a flat stone that jut out of the wall.  Light danced on the face of the wall beside him as he followed its curve into the ceiling of the cave. Strain as he might, he could not spot the source of the light. The stone he found himself on seemed to cut off not far from where he was as if he were on the top of a cliff. 

Cliff, he chimed the word back in his head, wondering how far the drop would be if he rolled off. Tom needed a plan, and that was impossible without information. Counting to three, he shifted his weight with a huff, and toppled onto his stomach slipping uncomfortably close to the edge. The drop was vast. It was not a distance one could survive while bound from head to toe.  

Tom started to take heavy breaths as he tried to inch his way back from certain death as movement caught his eye in the distance. It was another giant woman. This one was probably ninety feet tall, had a deep red skin color, with horns coming from the back of her head, hugging it tightly as they pointed forward. Her hair was a pale white that fell roughly to her shoulders. She wore dark leather that seemed to form a skirt and bra, but it looked barbaric compared to anything Tom would find someone wearing in the city. Her clothing did little to cover her large chest and thighs as she carried in wood from some unknown location. As she stood upright, Tom saw her chiseled abdominals form two long rows of powerful looking muscle. He could see the clear indications of muscle everywhere he looked. She must be some sort of warrior, he mused. 

As he was taking in the visage of the beast, he was still trying to inch backward from the edge of the cliff face. Panicking as he was, he still did not want to draw attention to himself. The burlap wrapping and the thick syrup within did not make his silent retreat any easier. 

As if hearing his challenge, the mixture within had started to seep on of his confines through the creases on the parchment. As the “goo” pooled below Tom, he began to slip forward at an alarming rate. If he didn’t think of something soon, he was going to fall to his death. 

He hated himself for what he was about to do, but hopefully he would live to regret it later. “Could I have some help?” he called at the top of his lungs to the giant who had since turned away. So much for staying hidden. 

“Why is the first response of you humans to always call for help?’ she threw her hands up as she turned to face the source of the cries. 

“I’m slipping!” Tom called back as loud as he could muster. 

“OH.” was her verbal response. However, her physical response was painfully slow in comparison as she lazily walked over to the human. She reached the shelf that rose to slightly below her collarbone. 

Tom watched as she just stood there, making no apparent attempt to halt his eventual fall. “Please! I’m about to fall!” he was pleading now. 

“I know. My hand is there to catch you.” 

Tom could not see her hands from his perch and he was still trying to prevent his fall which became harder to do by the second. He started using his chin to push himself backward but could not find purchase on the wet rock below. One loose rock was all it took for him to slip forward. Once he had momentum there was nothing to stop his descent. 

If he tried to yell a final plea, it only came out as a shrill scream of terror. He fell a short distance and collided with a surface that was barely softer than rock. His feet passed over his head as he settled on his back once again. Still tightly bound in his sticky prison, he found himself in the palm of the giant, utterly defenseless. Her purple eyes felt like they could pierce right through him if she merely focused enough. A smile crossed as she raised an eyebrow, “See? I caught you” 

“Thanks,” he squeaked. He had no plan or scheme to handle this situation. His mind reached for some option to get him out of these bonds and away from this creature. The smile remained on her face but seemed to hint at questions that went unasked. When none came he opted to make the first move this time. First thing’s first, he thought before he spoke, “a little help?” His head nodded to the damp bindings. 

Her smile widened, revealing her teeth. They looked fairly human but her top and bottom canines were longer and came to a sharp point. Everything about her was almost designed to instill fear in anyone she came across. He saw a second hand rise above as he almost forgot what he had asked her to do. “Hold still. I’d hate to lose you so soon,” she chimed as she gently pinched the bindings. The tight embrace faded quickly as she seemingly snapped the knots out of existence. “Let’s see how your wounds are coming.” 

“Wounds?” Tom queried as the parchment loosened its hold on him. “That’s right, My arm!” he exclaimed as he pulled his arm free. With the light from the fire still twinkling in the background, he was able to study his bare arm. Whatever damage caused from the events of the prior day was no longer visible. Looking at his other arm, he felt around to make sure that he did not have any other hidden injuries. He pulled the parchment away to check his chest. His pale skin was sticky and wet with whatever thick fluid accompanied him. 

“Good as new!” she chirped, “Looks like the medicine did the trick.” 

Tom was about to ask another question as he removed more of the parchment concealing his body, when he made a startling discovery. He was naked. Looking back up at the woman, trying to find some way to hide from her gaze. There was no relief from his embarrassment as the giant pulled the rest of his decency away. 

“No need to hide, I was the one who took your clothes off to begin with.” She said as she brought her hand closer to her face. 

“W-Why did you take off my clothes?” In truth, he could probably guess it was to spare them the same sticky fate. It was going to be hard enough to get himself clean, his close might have become unusable after being subjected to this.  

“Let's get you cleaned up, and then we can chat” she said as she unceremoniously closed the distance between her hand and her mouth. Tom didn’t even have time to let out a scream before his world went dark. The oppressive heat and humidity surrounded him from all angles as he began to thrash wildly. 

Her tongue drew him inwards and pressed the human against the roof of her mouth. He tried to scream again as the unrelenting muscle scraped over his exposed chest. All he succeeded to do was swallow a mouthful of her saliva. He could taste the sweetness of the medicine along with strong hint smoke that he inferred belonged to the giant. The dexterous tongue flipped Tom over with expert efficiency and made quick work of the sticky substance on his back 

Content with her handiwork, the giant flipped the trapped human over again. She had already removed medicinal gel off of his skin but she loved the way they struggled helplessly in her mouth. She wanted to put on one last show of the tiny creature before relieving him of her torment. 

Tom felt himself being pulled backward towards the awaiting throat. It almost appeared to twitch in anticipation of its next victim. Coughing out the remaining saliva that had invaded his mouth he began to thrash. He willed himself to use actual words rather than incoherent screams, “Wait! Wait! Wait!” he said in quick succession. “Wait!” his voice cracked as he called once more. 

Her lips curled into a wicked smile as she reached an idle hand up to her mouth. Parting her lips slightly, she gently reached into her mouth with her thumb and middle finger to grab one of the human’s thrashing legs. Tom felt his ears pop as the pressure on his right ankle pulled him out of his fleshy prison. The cold air immediately bracing his skin in a welcome refuge from the heat of her mouth.

“There, all clean” she was clearly pleased with herself as the damp human dangled in front of her. 

Tom coughed some remaining liquid from his mouth then spoke between greedy breaths, “I thought you were going to eat me.” His whole body felt sore from the intense exertion. 

She walked a short distance to another stone platform and set the tiny human down next to a pile of human clothes haphazardly tossed into a small heap. “Get dressed,” she ordered as she turned back around and started to walk to the other side of the cave. “I’m Hinba by the way.” Tom had already started to comply with her earlier demand, finding his clothes from the night before strewn towards the edge of the pile. After he was completely dressed once again, he spared a glance back at the pile of clothes. This sight of the pile made his blood run cold. 

“Oh,” Hinba chirped from the other side of the cave as she rummaged through a stone container. “Just to let you know, I'm not going to eat you. Not yet, anyway. We only just met” 

“Yet,” Tom droned as his face turned pale. A quick glance confirmed the entrance of the cave. The unmistakable glow of moonlight was a stare contrast to the red glow of the small fire that lay below. 

He darted down the length on the stone platform. This one was lower to the ground and significantly longer, however, Tom found that it still came to an end in a similar fashion as the others; with a sheer drop off. He skidded to a stop right before looking over a twenty foot drop. It wouldn’t kill him but he would probably break a few bones. His mind raced as he heard Hinba approached from behind. 

“Someone’s in a hurry” she laughed as she stretched a leg up and over the stone platform, using it as a bench and trapping Tom between a painful fall and the giantess. Her leather apparel draped over the toned red thighs. “I haven’t told you where we’re going yet” 

“You said you were going to eat me” He was about to say more before he was interrupted

“I am going to eat you, but not right now” Tom opened his mouth to speak but Hinba continued speaking over him, “I would like to make a deal with you, little one. Would you care to listen?” 

The fall was looking more preferable by the second. Tom would need to consider his words carefully from now on. Was she promising him a way out of this hell?

He didn’t make any effort to respond but Hinba pretended his silence was a tentative agreement to hear her out. A devilish smile returned as she leaned closer, threatening to push him off the edge with her impossibly large chest. “I can offer you safe passage back to your world” 

There was another brief silence, Tom guessed that if she had made this sales pitch before this was normally the part where she would pause for questions. He did not want to hear a script so he opted to avoid the obvious question, “How?” 

Hinba raised an eyebrow, this small human was thinking about his questions a bit more than most. She did her best to contain her excitement, “There’s a worldstone on the far side of the valley.  All you have to do is touch it and you’ll be sent back to wherever you call home.” 

Tom knew there was a catch, there was always a catch. He felt the question bubbling inside but forced himself to find something, anything, else to ask. “Could you point me in the direction of the world stone?” He croaked through a dry mouth, “I trust I can find my own way.”  He did not believe what he said but did his best to remain convincing. 

She kept her smile and dropped her jaw slightly in a feigned attempt to look shocked, “Do you remember what happened last night? You’d be in a Yōkai’s stomach right now if I didn't save you.” She leaned in closer again, “I hear they digest their meals very slowly”  She slowed her speech to a crawl to emphasize her point. “You wouldn’t last a day out there,” Her warm breath washed over Tom’s small form. A shudder crept up his spine. . 

Tom was beginning to feel weak. She was teasing him, just waiting for Tom to ask the only question left in his brain. He cursed himself for not thinking of a different question to ask, “If you take me to the worldstone, and allow me to return home, what do you get for your trouble?”

She sat upright, “Finally!” she exclaimed, “I get you.” She brought a finger to Tom’s chest nudging him slightly. “Specifically, I get your soul” 

Tom blinked as his mouth hung agape. Fuck trying to keep her off skript, “What do you mean?”

“I’m so glad you asked,” she folded her hands together as if she were about to present a speech, “You see, humans are such a nice treat but you are really small. There are not enough of you that fall through the world stone to really sustain me. I did find a way to siphon off your life force, it was never truly . . . filling” She placed a hand over her abdomen to drive home the point. “But one time I happened upon a new way to consume you tiny creatures. If one of you lets me eat them willingly, then I can digest their very soul.” her eyes seemed to almost glow and she spoke. “Just one soul of a human can satisfy me for months or even years!” 

Tom fell to his knees then sat down. He wanted to run but his body was no longer listening to the commands. “I’ll take you to the worldstone and let you return home where you can live your life, but then. . .” Her voice lowered to a purr, “You’ll come back to me.” she tapped a finger to her lower lip, “and fulfill your end of the bargain” she traced her finger slowly down her neck, across her collarbone, over her breast before resting her hand flat against her core. 

He watched the display with hollow eyes then turned upward to meet her gaze. Hinba’s mouth was still slightly agape and she was eyeing him hungrily. Her tongue seemed to dance inside of her mouth in anticipation. “Go on,” she broke the silence “Ask.” 

 His mouth felt dry. There was only one question he knew to ask. “And… And if I refuse?” 

“Then our fun stops here.” she quipped.  

“S-So I don’t have a choice?” 

“You always have a choice.” she shot back, “but if you’re truly in a hurry to end your journey before it’s even begun. . .” she paused to allow Tom to predict what she was going to say next, “you could just agree to let me eat you right now. After all, if you don’t have a choice, then why wait?” 

Tom cupped his face trying to process the situation. There was movement on the bench but he couldn’t bring himself to look up. He did not want to be consumed as if he were just some chunk of food but the term “willing” was wickedly ambiguous.  A gust of warm breath washed over him. Was she trying to trick him into a false sense of willingness by highlighting the futility of his decisions? He could feel the heat of mouth pass over him and knew he was out of time to think of a response. 

That’s it! “Time!” he shouted up to the open mouth that hung above him. Hinba stopped her descent at the sound but didn’t close her mouth or even move it away. Thick strands of saliva began to drip out onto Tom as if they were crying out in anticipation of the tasty meal that lay before them. “I would like some time to consider your offer. Maybe we could discuss it further on the way to the worldstone?” 

Now she retracted. As she sat upright once again, she rubbed arm across her mouth to collect the errant drool, “very well.” She extended an open palm to Tom. “Hop on.” she commanded, “We have a long way to the worldstone and I would like to make a few stops”  

Tom eyes the outstretched hand. As soon as he stepped onto the hand, that was it. He was implying his eventual agreement to Hinba’s deal. There’ll be chances to escape, Tom told himself, incredulous to believe he was giving up his agency over his life, or soul.

He stepped onto the hand, and was lifted slowly upward. Hinba stopped her hand briefly in front of her chest. It wasn’t a long pause but she always liked to know the “type” of human she was dealing with. Tom steadied himself as his accent was halted. His gaze was traveling upward, then his eyes went wide at the sight of her exposed cleavage. He had only had a moment to take in the view before he met her gaze. 

“See something you like?” she teased as Tom looked away. It was almost too easy to mess with the small human. “Oh, it looks like I missed a spot” 

“Where?” came Tom’s reply still facing away. He was still cursing himself for getting caught looking at the giant’s chest. Something warm impacted his back and he fell forward. Her lips pinned him face down on her open palm. He tried to struggle but it was a hopeless venture as he felt her tongue gently lap at the back of his neck. 

The pressure released but Tom was too dazed to move from his prone position. “Alright, you ready?” Hinba did not wait for a reply as they exited the cave into the moonlight. 

—Chapter3 The town 

The trees were not as big as they were the night before. It must have been a different area of the forest. At her size, Tom reasoned she could cover a lot of ground very quickly. The sky was beginning to have a wider array of color. It will be morning soon. “People are going to miss me” he thought of his coworkers that would be expecting him in the office in a few hours. 

“What is it you do in the human world?” she asked. 

Tom considered the question and opted not to divulge any more information unnecessarily. “People pay me to find details that they missed,” It wasn’t far from the truth and he spoke quickly enough to avoid suspicion.  

“Hmm,” Hinba merely acknowledged she heard his response.

Tom needed to get more information out of her and sulking about his newfound station in life was not going to help. “How far away is the worldstone?” 

She replied curtly, “Far,” The tree line came up to her nose and she was intent on maintaining her brisk pace. After a moment she spoke again, “But we are not going straight there. We are going to make a few stops along the way.” Tom's shoulders sank. She intended to drag this out. “You said that you need time to consider my offer. I figured you wouldn’t mind” she smiled down at Tom, who was still in her hand. 

“That’s what I said…” In hindsight, he probably should have chosen his words more carefully, but at least he was still breathing. 

Sensing his distress, Hinba spoke up, “I’m taking you to a town nearby. They are under my charge and hopefully they will help you see that your situation isn’t as terrible as you think it is.” 

Tom spat a curse under his breath. 

“I heard that.” She remarked. A spark of fear ran through Tom. He could only imagine what might happen if he angered his captor. “I’m going to let that slide since I’m in a good mood.” she raised both her arms over her head, “Let’s go get some testimonials!” she practically yelled. 

From the higher vantage point, Tom quickly surveyed the horizon for some sort of land marking, anything to help get his bearings. It was a disappointingly uniform sea of trees. It was still too early to even determine the direction of the rising sun.

— 

“We’re almost there” 

Tom was still held aloft on his perch. Hinba occasionally ordered him to switch hands as they got tired during their long walk. Daylight now fully illuminated their surroundings. Peering over Hinba’s palm he saw the remains of structures. They were definitely scaled for human occupants but they were dilapidated, appearing more like ruins, rather than habitable structures. 

“Oh no.” Hinba said under her breath as she began to quicken her pace. 

Tom began to ask what was wrong but caught himself. It would be better if he waited to find out for himself, then he could ask questions. 

Still concealed beneath the cover of trees a vast complex of buildings sprawled out looking vaguely of ancient Japanese origin. All the buildings looked destroyed. Hinba and Tom were standing on the ruins of a sacked city. Many of the structures still had the charred markings of several small fires. 

Hinba grit her teeth. Tom wasn’t sure if it was out of anger or sadness or a mixture of both. She lowered her hand to the ground. “Get off,” there were some commands that he did not need to waste time considering. With a small hop, he landed on the loose gravel that acted as a pseudo road way. “You said that you find details that others miss?” 

Tom didn’t like where this was going. He did not offer a response, only looked up at the giant who was standing upright once again. It was his first time viewing her from the ground at her full height. He just barely rose above her ankle. 

“Help me find out what happened here. Look around. I need to go check on something on the far side. We’ll learn more if we split up. Show me that your usefulness is more than a simple snack” She was not about to wait for a response, turning, she started down a well worn pathway seeming to lead away from the town. 

Tom was amazed. Did she really trust that he would not just run away? He started to plan his escape through the forest before the giant turned to face him once again, “and human,” she called, “Do not test me.If you try to run, I will find you and I will make your final day in this world a living nightmare.” 

As she finished her threat, her eyes flashed a fiery red. Tom did not have time to question what he was seeing before he felt his body crumple to the ground. It was as if the gravity had increased around him. Even supporting himself with his hands was nearly impossible. Tom began to scream in agony as he felt his bones bending out of place. 

The pressure released in an instant and Tom was left gripping his chest to survey the damage. He found none. Tom stood with shaking legs offering little support. HInba was already gone, disappearing behind the trees sprinkling the winding pathway. 

It was a warning. Tom would be wrong to believe she trusted him not to attempt an escape. She knows he wants to get away, she just didn’t care. Tom rolled the idea in his head. She must know she could easily find him somehow… but how?. She might just be wanting to avoid the hassle of searching for him. Tom shuddered. He looked to the forest once more, hung his head and walked into the town, “Fuck my life! I’ll see what I see,” he spat. 

It was almost habitual to count the houses before he started to really examine the damage within. He ran up and down the strangely immaculate streets counting the damaged buildings one by one. There were several different crossroads, but Tom slowed down to appreciate one specific intersection. He looked down the respective street. Holding up both arms, he pointed one down a street and his other down another street. “So. . . they don’t meet at ninety degree angles” his brow furrowed, “What are you fucking doing?” he asked himself before running off. 

He approached a particular structure and kicked the door in. There was no reason to bother with the ceremony that surrounded being a guest in another’s home. Tom was on a mission. The inside of the structure looked completely decimated. Large wooden beams scattered the floor where the roof was half caved in. Tom maneuvered his way through the debris, jumping and weaving over the smoldering rubble. There was not much information to gather from one building. 

Returning to the streets, Tom darted to the next building. This one did not have a door left standing. There was a similar scene of wreckage. Whoever had caused this must have been a force of nature. He repeated this process several times, bursting into houses or structures and finding nothing useful. 

“What are you not seeing?” he asked himself. It was a common practice for him to look for the items that he would expect to find but were mysteriously absent. “An entire town burnt to the ground and what’s the common thing to find?” He looked around to the dilapidated visage. 

Death! The word rang through his mind. He had yet to see a single body. Another door was kicked in as Tom was now looking for human remains. There was nothing in the next four houses. He passed by a house that was near the center of the town and crossed by an entrance to a cellar. “I’ll come back to you!” he yelled to the simple latch. 

Tom walked through the remains of a collapsed wall. At this point he was trying to find the trace amounts of blood to know if there was even a struggle by the native occupants. The over damage to all the structures, implied that any blood stains would have already started to turn brown. His eyes caught some vivid red on a wall next to a broken door. With a great deal of effort he hoisted the charred remains of the door to the side. 

The oval shape on the wall was outlined with a reddish hue. The inside of the oval matched the dirty yellowish of the rest of the surrounding wall that were not touched by the various small fires. It looked like the outline of a football. The immediate outside of the shape had the red that caught Tom’s eye. It was not the remains of a bloody scuffle but appeared to be a small explosion. 

Tom held his hand up to the marking. “Please tell me something. . . anything?”

The marking on the wall did not respond. 

Thinking he might have missed this in a prior home, he retraced his steps. Sure enough there was a similar marking on the ceiling of a home he had previously visited. It was hiding on the remains of a ceiling in a spot he had never bothered to check. 

Checking several more houses, he found the same story. The inside of the homes were trashed, there were no bodies, no blood and a strange red marking that all seemed to have varying sizes. It was not the oval shape itself that would be different, as those were all largely the size of a football, but the red discharge scorched around. 

After almost losing count of how many buildings he had examined, he encountered one that actually had some debris on the outside. He got closer to see that it was yet another wall that had collapsed and sent some wooden shrapnel into the street. He walked into the house anyway.  

It was the same story he had seen dozens of times by now. “This is starting to get repetitive,” he was cut off by the sound of metal on metal beneath his foot. Tom looked to see that he had stepped on the shattered remains of a katana. He examined the very tip of the instrument and found the blade to still be incredibly sharp. 

Pain shot through the back of Tom’s neck. Acting on instinct, he slapped himself at the site of the pain. If it were an insect, he wanted it dead. He felt nothing on his neck. Tom raised the remains of the sword around his side to try and get a better view. Using two different parts of the blade, he was able to make out the small outline of a black star on the back of his neck. “I don’t have a tattoo,” he said. 

Tom stopped what he was doing as he heard the ground begin to rumble in a rhythmic fashion.  He stuffed the metal blade into his shoe. The familiar tempo of Hinba’s gate approached. He moved quickly to hide behind a large wooden beam hoping to avoid being spotted if she happened to look into this specific building. His heart beat into his throat as the footsteps approached. “What am I even doing?” he whispered to himself. It was a very primal part of his brain that led him to hide. Whatever magic she had used on him earlier was terrifying but the promise of Tom going unnoticed was too great. There were dozens of houses, if she started to look through each one, he could reveal himself and feign ignorance. He had to try. 

The footsteps grew louder. Tom sunk to the floor to try and make himself as small as possible against the charred beam. He covered his mouth to quiet the sound of his heavy breathing as he heard footsteps pass by. They continued for a time as they became quieter with distance. He allowed his mind to a brief moment of hope before he rose from hiding. Tentatively, Tom moved towards the doorway to try and get a visual of Hinba. His hope was to gauge her direction so he could plan accordingly.  He moved out into the road as the sound of her lumbering footsteps faded and scanned their direction. 

“Were you trying to hide from me?” 

Tom turned to see Hinba’s scowling face peeking out from behind a tall building. Her eyes glowing red with a piercing anger. The noise! It was another of her tricks. The next few moments passed incredibly slowly for Tom. Her eyes returned to their dull purple but the fury they held remained palpable as she moved towards Tom. The sound of her footsteps returning, shaking the ground with each pace. Try as he might to make his body do something, anything, Tom just stood there, frozen in fear. 

She placed a foot to either side of Tom before she lowered herself. There was nothing to cover her exposed womanhood from this angle. Tom’s eyes went wide as he saw the lips descending towards him. Did she mean to crush him in the most undignified way possible? At the final moment, Tom broke from whatever was keeping him still, jumping out of the way. 

Hinba sat on the ground and was almost disappointed that Tom came to his senses. She was annoyed at his attempt to hide that she would almost be ok with letting him expire beneath her. The sight of her town and the disappearance of her people were not helping her mood either. 

She needed to let off some steam and she knew the perfect  little recipient for her wrath. Sitting down, she placed her feet together behind Tom, surrounding him on all sides with her legs and hips. . 

He felt like a mouse caught in a cage. Tom steeled himself against the anger he saw burning in her eyes. If he were going to talk his way out of this then he needed to do so without relying on the more primal areas of his brain. The simpler areas of his brain that would have him divulge everything to his captor without regard for a long term plan. 

“Why were you hiding?” she asked, balling her fist to support her head as she leaned slightly. 

“I wasn’t.” He lied, but a quick and curt reply was his best starting move. 

“Sure,” she said in a huff, “What did you find out? You were snooping around for quite some time. I'm sure you have lots to share.'' Her words were thick with sarcasm. 

Tom gulped. It was showtime whether he was ready or not. “I think they were looking for something,” he began, “on top of finding no bodies. Everyone is simply ‘gone,’ and the interiors of the buildings were thoroughly turned over” She looked bored, he needed to think of something else. “I noticed that the buildings outside the main area were destroyed much earlier than the damage here. It also looks like the culprit for that,” he pointed towards the area of the older ruins, “That was caused by another giant. While this… was perpetrated by humans, and was done much more recently” 

Hinba continued to appear uninterested in Tom’s analysis, “Why’s that?” Her voice was monotone as if not actually caring to hear the answer. 

Tom wasn’t sure what she was asking about specifically, opting to press on regardless. “The degradation of the structures with patches of still warm embers implies that whoever is responsible is only a day ahead of us,” Hinba’s eyebrow shot up, he continued, “their heading will be easy enough to spot and they’re humans transporting an entire caravan of other humans. They will be slow… At your size you’ll be able to catch up to them with just a brisk walk.” 

Hinba smiled and Tom did the same after a moment. It was a small win but he needed to do more. He needed to dissuade Hinba from using her tricks on him in the future. He reasoned that an illusion was useless if you could see through it. If Hinba knew that her tricks didn’t work on Tom she might be less likely to attempt them. 

“I also learned something about you.” Her expression still lacked any real interest. “I found the marking you gave me on the back of my neck and I know you are using it to track where I am. Sure you could change my perception of your footsteps, specifically where they are coming from, but that was too obvious.” He eyed her, trying to gauge her reaction. 

She nodded for a moment and took a deep breath, before speaking in an even tone, “I really hate it when my humans lie to me.” Tom fought the urge to crumple under her gaze. Most of what he said had some nugget of truth but it was all twisted to be as deceptive as possible. He weighed the potential outcomes of coming clean on his lies and giving her everything he uncovered or if he should continue the charade. Hinba had played with his fear before, the threats did not feel empty but they never materialized into physical harm. It was all mental. 

This was a bluff, it had to be. The memory of the cellar door surged back into his mind. At her size she would not be able to check whatever contents the cellar may contain. If he could convince her of some evidence, she might believe him. He considered his words carefully. “The tall building at the center of town had a cellar. I was on my way back there to double check some of the items.” he raised his voice, “I know there’s more clues down there.” 

A thin smile crept across her face, “Oh human, you must really want to see what happens when I get angry,” 

Tom could feel the blood leaving his face, “What? No-” he was cut off. 

“I know all the humans are gone. I know that the outer buildings were damaged by a giant.” She reached a hand down and grabbed Tom into a tight fist before he had time to react, “-because I did it!” Now she was the one to raise her voice. “And if that wasn’t bad enough, you disobeyed me. I told you to find out about the town but you used your time to discover information about me!” Her grip tightened. Tom yelped in pain as he struggled against the mounting pressure. “Congratulations human.” her words dripped with scornful sarcasm. 

Tom got an arm free but was still unable to form words in her crushing embrace, motioning wildly to the direction of the building that contained the cellar. Hinba caught his meaning but ignored it. She reclined onto her back and brought Tom to her face, looking intensely at the terrified human. “Don’t worry, I'm not going to eat you, but I can’t promise that you will like where you’re going.” Hinba let out a long sigh as she brought Tom into her mouth, tasting his fear. It was intoxicating. 

Tom’s world went dark. The pressure on his chest released, finally allowing him to scream to his heart’s content. There was a sea of saliva that soaked through his clothes almost instantly. As soon as he was able to regain his bearings he reached back to the opening of the giant’s mouth. Grasping the hard surface of one of her front teeth, he hoisted himself up. 

She opened her mouth, bathing the small human in light as she lifted Tom back out. He was held in her hand once again with his arms pinned to his side. “Now that you’re nicely lubricated,” she began as she rolled onto her side. Tom watched in horror as he was brought along the expanse of her body, stopping high above her hips. With her other hand, Hinba undid a small clasp on her skirt causing it to fall open. Tom’s eyes went wide with the realization of what she was about to do to him, of where she was about to “put” him. 

She twisted her wrist slightly to have Tom face her but he was unable to pull his mind away from the sight below him. “Look at me,” she commanded. Her face was almost stoic but betrayed a deep arousal. Tom met her gaze as she bit her lower lip and let out a long exhale. “That's right, human. Look at me. I want you to know that I’m going to enjoy this.” They held each other's gaze for a long moment. “I’ll give you a little bit of advice, it’ll be easier on you if you tense up. But . .  once you’re nicely tucked away. . .” her voice coarse with desire. “Please squirm for me.” 

Tom found his voice, “Stop! Wait! Where do you,-” with a jerk he was moving over her hips as he was held next to her backside, “Pease! Fucking stop! I’ll do anything! No!” his cries became more and more desperate as they went unheeded. With her free arm, she reached over her hip to grab a handful of the soft flesh of her ass and lifted it to reveal its wrinkled hole. Tom’s screams fell silent as it he saw the twitching orifice which held a slight darker red than the rest of her body. It dawned on Tom that he was not about to shove into her womanhood, but that she intended to use him as her very own living butt plug. 

His screams continued as he was brought closer. Her body radiated heat and the air was thick with the smell of her arousal. The twitching quickened as he was brought closer until the wrinkled flesh seemed to open slightly before it clamped down on his entire face. 

A shiver went down her spine as she heard the screams suddenly go silent and the slight pressure felt on her asshole. She adjusted her grip slightly but kept Tom's face securely pressed into her pucker. Hinba was well aware that he could not breathe in this position but he would be able to breathe again on the inside. Depriving the little creature of oxygen might help him be a little more willing to comply. 

Tom felt her thumb pressing against the back of his head and the ring of flesh gripping his face. He struggled wildly against her grasp. The pressure on his head increased as he was pushed inward. Powerful muscles gripped his neck as his lungs began to burn. If he didn’t breathe soon he was going to die. There was no way to talk yourself out of suffocation. He hated himself for what he was about to do. Starting with his core, he made his whole body stiff and calmed his wild attempts to struggle. 

“That was quick,” she cooed at the human’s swift compliance. “Alright, in you go” Placing a single finger on his feet, she pushed him inside. Tom felt the pressure pass down the length of his body down to his ankles. The pressure of his head and upper torso released slightly but it was enough to allow him to take a breath. The air was impossibly humid and smelled of feminine musk and earthy. His feet still hung outside the threshold of her anus and his arms still held in the tight embrace around his abdomen. 

Breathing was still hard but he could manage. There was a certain risk in trying to open his eyes, but doing so only helped solidify the reality of where he was. There was no light in his tight confines. He could feel Hinba’s heartbeat all around him as the world seemed to shift around him as she rolled onto her back. Even in his current predicament he could still hear her voice as if it were coming from all around him. “It’s been a long day. Be a good boy and help me blow off some steam.” 

Tom felt her press his feet, moving him the rest of the way into her bowels. Her anus sealed itself shut behind him as he regained a small degree of motion. “Please let me out!” he cried, not even sure if she was able to hear him. The once steady drum of her heart started to quicken, “What are you doing!?” but no answer came. 

She let out a long sigh as hands began to probe her swollen lips, finding their way to her clit. “That’s right, human. Struggle.” Her pleasure started to build quickly. New humans were always the best. Their struggles were so much more energetic than those burdened with experience. It did not take her long to reach her peak. She hissed through grit teeth as she arched her back and froze as the pleasure shot through her body. After a moment she relaxed back down. The pressure threatened to break every bone in Tom’s body before it finally released. 

Exhausted and defeated, all he could do was wait for Hinba to release him. However, the human was not that lucky. He could feel her changing positions and before long she was up and walking again. Did she intend to leave him in here?! the thought terrified him. 

His body began to feel very heavy. The feeling was almost imperceptible with the constant shifting of the environment around him. He barely even noticed the sensation before he slipped into unconsciousness. 

—Chapter4 Crimes 

“Wake up” 

His eyes shot open. He sat upright to see Hinba laying on her side next to him. Her expression was cold. 

“You almost fooled me” 

Tom didn’t reply, the images of his prior torment still fresh in his mind. 

“I thought . . .” she started to draw circles in the dirt around the small human, “I thought you were just scared.” Tom hated where this was going. “I thought your newfound station in life was clouding your judgment. Which I would be ok with.” She motioned a hand down the length of her body. “This is a lot to handle. But you. . .” Tom really hated were this was going, “You are much too clever for that, aren't you?” 

Nope. Tom rolled over but before he could get to his feet, a single of Hinba’s fingers slammed into the ground. Tom felt the air pushed from his lungs. She dug her fingernail into the back of his neck before dragging it down. The action tore through Tom's clothes but luckily, or by design, never pierced the skin. 

“I’m not done with you” she rolled onto her elbows, tearing apart Tom's clothes with extreme prejudice. “You tried to lie to me.” Tom was flipped over onto his back and she placed another long scratch down his torso. His shirt came off. “Were you trying to make me believe you were the only person that could help me find them?” She was careful not to break the skin as she ripped away his pants and shoes. “You said you didn’t find any bodies!” She snarled through grit teeth.

Tom lay completely naked, skin bruised for the ordeal. He was pinned down by a massive digit and tried in vain to push it off.  “Please, just-” He was cut off. 

“Tell me! How many did you actually see in the cellar?” 

He didn’t know how to respond and remained quiet. 

After a tense silence, she continued, “I knew it. You didn’t even step foot in that fucking cellar. I told you I hated when humans lie to me.” she paused for a moment, “The deal’s off.” She lifted her finger off of Tom then pinched under his shoulders to raise him up as she adjusted into a sitting position.  “Goodbye human.”

Tom let out a panic scream as he was brought closer to her mouth as she slowly leaned her head back. Trying with all his might, there was nothing he could do to stop his descent. He kicked wildly at her teeth and tongue. His only success was an injury to his shin. She closed her lips around his midsection enjoying the flavor. With a wet slurp, she sucked Tom fully into her mouth. He felt his feet dangle over the open chasm of her throat. 

Her tongue delicately moved the squirming human towards the back of the mouth, fighting the urge to swallow him right away. She wanted it to be slow so Tom would know how badly he fucked up. Her intention was to break him, mind and body. 

There was a downward motion as her greedy throat claimed its prize. GLUCK. The sound shook him to the bone as he was pulled down to his thighs. With one hand he attempted to find something to grab onto and with the other he tried pushing on the back of her mouth. GLUCK. The arm that Tom was using to push against her throat slipped as he was sucked down to his neck. His head was forced to arch upward as his free arm was still searching for some way to pull himself out. “Please! Don’t do this!” Tom heard her let out a satisfied hum as thick globs of saliva pooled around his face in preparation to send him down, “Wait! Wai-'' GLUP. 

Hinba traced the lump as it traveled down her throat. Even with the assistance of gravity, Tom’s progress was deliciously slow. “Deeper.” she said to no one in particular. Placing a hand beneath her left breast, she felt Tom arrive in her stomach with an audible “plop.” “Thank you, human. You were a wonderful snack.”

There was no light in her stomach, Tom could helplessly listen to the sounds of a distant heart beat. There was a loud gurgle as the stomach acknowledged his presence. He tried to steady himself but his efforts were in vain. The walls had deep ridges that stretched with his touch and there was a thick mucus that had him constantly slipping deeper. 

Panic welled up in his throat as he screamed as loud as he could. The acrid air making his voice hoarse, “Please Hinba! You can’t leave me here. I’ll die!” Hinba didn’t respond but merely slapped her stomach a few times causing Tom to fall into a thick puddle of fluid. His skin began to tingle and itch as he quickly ran out of oxygen. Every mental faculty tried to find a way to escape but unconsciousness quickly took hold. 

—

“Wake up” 

He shot upright with a petrified scream. Hinba was laying down on her side next to Tom. 

“Shh, you’re ok” she cooed. Tom started to push himself backward to run but she placed an open palm against his back. 

“You-” Words failed him. “You just-”

“I ate you, yeah, but it was only a dream. You’re fine.” Her tone was matter of fact. “I can make you experience anything I want in a dream and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I can swallow you whole again and again... I can make digestion unbelievably painful and I could do it over and over and over again.” Tom broke her gaze, he was going to be sick. He covered his mouth with his hand. “I can crush you and snap you in half like a twig.” 

Tom looked at his hands and glanced around to the trees that surrounded. “Is this?” he wasn’t sure what he was asking. 

“This is real. You’re just going to have to trust me. Personally I find repetition extremely boring, but I’m not opposed to it… if I need to punish you.” she sat upright, “Please don't give me any more reasons to punish you.” 

Tom fell backward, his legs weak from the ordeal, his eyes, bloodshot. “What do you want from me?” 

A smile crept onto her face, “I’m going to ask you again, what did you find out in the town?” her eyes started to glow with a menacing red hue. “You’re going to tell me everything because I’ll know if you’re hiding something.” Tom tried to sit upright, he needed to gather his thoughts. “Don’t give me a reason to put you back to sleep.” 

He lifted both of his arms, the universal symbol for surrender. His head shook from side to side. 

“Good. I’m waiting.” 

Tom steadied his breathing trying to calm his nerves. “I really didn’t find any bodies. I don’t know how many were in the cellar because I didn’t check. I ran out of time. My hope was that I would be able to improvise when I got to that point.” 

“Continue.” 

“You were right, I was trying to deceive you… but not to try and make you think I was useful. I actually wanted you to think I would slow you down.” He really did not want to say the next part, “I figured if the humans were important to you in some way that you’d be more willing to run off to save them.” 

“You were trying to manipulate me?” her words tinged with anger but she let him continue. 

“Yes.” he agreed, “Honestly, I have no idea what happened to all the people.” He saw Hinba breathe in but he continued before she had a chance to speak. “But! I don't think humans caused this. There wasn’t much debris out in the open, barely any in fact. It was all in the individual homes. I think whatever happened, happened too quickly for anyone to really have time to react. And even then . . . “ He thought of the best way to continue. “If it were humans, it would need to be a large group and they would need to act with perfect synchrony. . .” 

“I don’t believe that” 

“I don’t either,” Tom continued. “Even if it were possible, there would still be signs of a struggle out into the road.” 

“So are you telling me you are useless?” her expression darkened. 

Tom wanted to back away but remained still, taking in another calming breath. “I’m not done. I don’t know what happened to them, but in my world we don’t have magic.” 

“Are you asking if I know of a spell that could do something like this?” her face twisted into a scowl.  

Choosing to face the danger head on, Tom kept talking in a calm, even voice, “Not quite... I assumed if you had an idea of a spell that could do something like this, then you would have already made that conclusion” he waited for a moment for her face to soften, as a sign she agreed with the logic. “In each of the homes I kept seeing this same marking, or” he motioned with his hands, “or a scar or something. It didn’t always look the same and it was not in the same exact spot in each of the homes but was enough to get me thinking of something. . . “ he made air quotes, “something, ‘Magic-ee’,” he dropped his hands. 

She considered this. “Describe it.” she ordered. 

“What?” came the reply, “the marking?” They both spoke in unison. Tom brought up his arms, “it was about this wide” he held his hands about a foot apart, “-oval shaped and it looked like it was the center of a small explosion. Like,” he took a breath, “I don’t know, it looked like an explosion but it didn’t punch through the wall? I’m sorry, I don’t buy that.” he shook his head, “Oh and it wasn’t a black char. Whatever it was, it left a red residue behind.” Tom looked up at Hinba, meeting her gaze, “does that ring any bells? If so, that's where I start looking. . . ”

She nodded in acknowledgement, “What else?”

Tom eyed his shoes, he could still feel the small bit of metal hidden inside. Looking back up he began to shake his head.  

“You’re lying again.” her eyes flared again. She tilted her head to the side. “No, you’re not lying... You do have more but you are just afraid to tell me.” she leaned in close.

Tom met her eyes as they approached, fighting back fearful tears. 

“I’m right, aren’t I? Did you find something else about me?” she propped her chin on her. “Spit it out, human.” 

“Please…” his voice was cracking as he continued to shake his head, “Don’t make me tell you.” 

A devious smile appeared on her face and her voice dropped to a sultry growl, “Are you afraid of another one of my ‘punishments?’ What if I promise I’ll be more gentle with you?” Tom slowly started to reach down to his shoe. “Oh? What do we have here?” 

With shaking hands, he produced the small blade. He held it for a time, looking down at his open palms. His eyes met the giant’s once again, She didn’t look angry, but amused. 

Covering her mouth, she let out a small laugh. “What is then?” She bellowed, “Do you intend to fight me with that?” moving to a sitting position to emphasize the height disparity, speaking through her laughter. “Tell me, Human. What are you hoping to accomplish with that?” 

There was a part of Tom’s mind that wanted to believe he did wish to fight her, if only as a means to conceal his true intentions. He wanted to lie but he knew couldn’t. He didn’t know how, but her magic would see through him, somehow. This was his only bargaining chip, this sharp piece of metal in his hands, namely, what he could do with it. 

He looked at her stomach remembering what it felt like to be swallowed, what it felt like to be digested, and it was all just a mirage. She said so herself. It could be whatever she wanted it to be. There was something so unbelievably wrong with becoming ‘food.’ He couldn’t give up. He couldn’t resign himself to cooperating with Hinba’s plan. As helpless as Tom felt, no, as helpless was, he still had one card to play. Tom brought the knife up to his neck. 

Hinba saw what Tom was doing and halted her laughter. Eyeing the small human to confirm his intentions. Her eyes began to glow, “Do not test me human.” 

“No more threats!” Tom shouted, as tears began to well in his eyes. “I know you only see me as nothing more than a live meal, but enough! You want me to believe that it makes no difference if I give myself to you willingly?! ‘Why should I care?’ Is that it?!” He held the blade against his neck as he spoke, ready to make the cut if she made any sudden movements, “How about this? Why should I care about being a live meal at all? It doesn’t make a difference to you, right? If I’m just food in the end, what difference does it make if I'm already a corpse before I become a meal?” Tears rolled down Tom’s face.

Hinba kept his gaze, choosing to let the human air out all of his pent up frustration. 

“TELL ME!” he screamed. His grip tightened on the knife, the jagged metal cutting into his hand as blood began to drip to the ground. 

“ENOUGH!” Hinba roared, causing the ground to shudder. Dust and dirt were blown into Tom's eyes causing him to flinch for only a moment but he kept the knife to his neck. After he blinked away the dust he looked back at Hinba, her eyes were ablaze with crackling sparks. 

Tom knew what was coming and tensed himself for the brunt of her magic. His body grew heavy, the knife most of all, as he fought to keep it pressed against his neck. “Fuck!” spitting the words more than speaking them. He gripped his eyes shut under the strain. 

“Look at me.” she leaned in, “I will never eat a corpse.” Tom let out a frustrated grunt.  He could no longer keep the knife against his skin as his strength began to fail. “Whether you like it or not, you will face your end inside my stomach, and I will make sure you are awake and conscious when you do.” 

Her eyes flared again, causing Tom to almost buckle under his own body weight. His hands dropped again but he held onto the knife. With both hands gripping the weight of the small piece of metal near his navel. He angled the blade upward. This was it. If he wanted to end it right now, this was his last chance. All he had to do was fall forward onto the blade. Hinba was still too far away to stop him but he couldn’t hold on much longer. He could feel his bones start to bend under her gaze. 

He belted his frustration to the sky and released his grip on the knife. It hit the ground with barely any noise. It wasn’t fair, he thought, to struggle so much with the weight of the knife only for it to make such a small sound. Tom collapsed on his side and awaited what fresh hell came for him with cold indifference. He would fight for his life another day, if he made it that far… 

Hinba slowly reached a hand towards the human. Tom steeled himself for the embrace but it never came. A giant finger came down in front of Tom and slowly, deliberately pressed the knife into the earth with her middle finger. Tom could feel the displaced earth shift beneath him, but didn’t even bother to flinch at the display.  

She pressed her finger down until the dirt reached her knuckles and she could go no further. After lifting her digit out of the soil she gently pinched the ground to close the small whole. If Tom had any real desire to retrieve the useless thing, he would need to dig several feet straight down. It seemed almost too easy for her to display her power. 

Hinba began to lay down over Tom. Here it comes, He thought. There was nothing more for him to do. Every trick and scheme he tried only blew up in his face. Whatever she wanted to do, let it happen. He didn’t care anymore. 

She laid on her side in a fetal position, careful positioning herself so Tom was directly in front of her face. Tom felt her warm breath on his back but didn’t move to face her. “You are mine and I will never let you take that away from me.” 

Neither one of them moved for several moments To his surprise, they both seemed emotionally drained from the experience. Hinba shifted the conversation before sleep threatened her as well. “That’s where we are heading” she lifted a lazy finger to point down a well worn pathway slightly above the crown of Tom's head. He arched his neck to get a visual. “You can try to run if you’d like. I know how hard this must be, so if you need to get it out of your system, I’ll understand” she paused for a moment, “You can wait until I'm asleep if you like. I won’t be angry” Tom eyed the pathway, “but you can only run in that direction. If we have to backtrack because of you, I'll carry you the rest of the way in my ass. Do you understand?” Tom didn’t respond, “I'll take that as a yes, Get some rest. . . If you dream, it will not be my doing.” 

“Thanks,” Tome replied dryly. He wasn’t sure why her comment even deserved a reply but he missed his chance to simply ignore her.

—Chapter5 The Desert and the Oasis

There was something deeply satisfying about a dreamless sleep after the flurry of recent events. Tom awoke in this same spot for the third time but on this occasion, it was on his own, not prompted by Hinba. Her arms curled on the ground around Tom, not touching him, but close enough that he could feel the heat radiating off her skin,  He still felt her warm breath wash over his body in slow even increments. She was probably still asleep but he wanted to make sure. Careful not to make any noise, Tom rolled over to face the giant. Yep, still asleep, or she was doing a really good job of pretending. Her mouth hung slightly open, the looming darkness just beyond her teeth. 

He couldn’t go back there. The torture, or “punishment” was a little different. He wasn’t sure how much of that he could take, hell, he was practically willing to give up just yesterday. But her mouth. . . That was a one way trip no matter how resilient he was. His best chances of survival involved staying on her good side. That would be hard after yesterday, but there was something he could do. 

Tom slowly crept by the gap left between her hand and forehand. His eyes fixed on the direction she had pointed the night before. Maybe Tom actually wanted to try to escape. Maybe there was a sliver of hope that if she were telling the truth about the direction of the worldstone, and he could just run there and arrive before she woke up. Could Hinba really really blame him if he tried; if he succeeded? 

No, the real reason he wanted to run was much more bleak. It would make her happy. For all of her anger, and all of her predatory intentions. . . it was still just a game to her. If she believed he had really, “got it out of his system,” she would be able to look past his earlier transgressions, or so he hoped.  She said there wouldn’t be any repercussions, but Tom didn't buy it. It didn’t matter, whatever she did to him, she would be careful to kill him. On some level the one thing Tom truly feared, besides the obvious of course, was the repetition. How many times could he be shoved up her ass before he begged her to eat him? Before he BEGGED to be put out of his misery? And even then, if she did eat him… and it was just a dream again… He shuddered at the thought.  

So he ran. Slowly at first until he was sure he was out of earshot but then increased his pace into a light jog and then a sprint. 

Looking ahead, he could see where the dense trees were replaced by blinding white light. The sun was high in the morning sky at this point. It was quickly becoming his only real means of determining the passage of time. Unless this was another dream, he thought. Slowing his pace to a walk he looked back at the giant, still sleeping where he had left her. Would she do that to him? Tell him to run only to reveal that he is still in a cage? 

Tom banished the thought and resumed his feigned escape attempt. The desired result would likely be the same even if she was just messing with him again. It would just be a little extra security that she really didn’t need. The small tattoo she left him on the back of his neck was some sort of homing beacon. That much was clear. He could probably anywhere in her world or his and she would still be able to find him. 

As he approached the clearing, his eyes began to adjust to the flood of light. The blinding white dulled into a sandy brown. A desert? There was a small drop off and fell into a massive basin of rolling dunes of sand. It almost looked like a shallow crater, the remnants of some distant celestial impact. He could barely make out the hazy tree line that circled rolling hills and only because of how the dark green contrasted the pale beige of the sand. 

At the very center of the basin he could barely make out a small twinkle of light. The way it danced reminded him of water. He wanted to get a closer look. Inching his way forward, he peered over the dirt cliff, it appeared to be held together with a network of fibrous roots. It was about a six foot drop before the steep incline of the sand would break his fall. If necessary he could find something to attach to a nearby tree to help him climb back up into the forested region. He turned sharply to begin his search and the ground gave way from under his feet. 

He scrambled to grab onto something. His fingers pierced the loose soil but they did not find purchase. After a short free fall, Tom felt his back slam into the unforgiving sand and he tumbled backward. It was unclear how far he had actually fallen, but as soon as he came to rest at the base of the incline, he clutched his chest. The wild was knocked out of his lunges and he struggled to catch his breath. 

Tom rolled onto his back and wheezed at the sky. Maybe it was best if he relaxed for a moment. He closed his eyes and felt the pleasant heat of the sun on his face. 

It wasn’t a full five minutes before he heard the telltale rumble of Hinba’s footsteps. While still on his back, Tom debated if he should put more effort into his escape attempt. If he could scale back up to the forest he might be able to hide behind a tree or possibly find some exposed roots to crawl under. She would find him eventually but it would at least prolong the inevitable. Glancing around the rolling dunes, he knew that there was nowhere to hide down here in the valley. She could spot him against against the sand miles away. 

He needed to run, just make a break for the center of the desert and hope he could reach the center before Hinba could reach him. There was a lot of coughing as Tom tried to roll over and get to his feet as the looming footsteps were getting louder. Tom managed to get one foot firmly planted beneath himself before a shadow was cast overhead. Hinba had leapt through the air, crashing to the ground with a thunderous shockwave. Tom barely had time to cover his face before he was pelted with a wall of fine particles. 

Hinba stood and turned to face Tom, she began to walk towards him. Tom couldn’t see her expression but the all too familiar twinge of fear bubbled up through his core and as he tried to inch his way backward. With the steep wall of loose sand preventing any progress, he had nowhere else to run. She was upon him in no time, kneeling down almost on top of Tom. There was a knee to his immediate left and right, her crotch blocked his path forward. In what felt like only an instant he was trapped. 

The glare of the sun cast a dark shadow on Hinba’s downturned face. There was a long and tense silence as Tom held his breath, doubting his decision to run. Hinba broke the silence, “I kinda thought you would have managed to get farther,” 

Tom let out a sign of release as he gripped his chest. “So, you’re not mad?” 

She didn’t respond to Tom’s question, probably to leave the door open for a later punishment or some other twisted reason he couldn’t quite gleam. Her hand reached down between her thighs offering a platform to Tom. “Hop on.” 

Tom still could not see her expression but he moved to the hand anyway. As he got closer, moved her hand away until the back of her hand was pressed against her skirt that covered her crotch. Oh no. Here we go. Tom felt sick. 

“Hurry up, human.” she said with an amused tone. 

Tom swallowed a dry lump of air and walked towards her hand. Taking a large step he hoisted himself up onto the outstretched hand. If she was going to do anything, now would be the time. Tom could smell her arousal. Out of muscle memory and sheer instinct, he tensed his entire body. When the hand suddenly shifted, he was thrown off balance as he raised up to her face. 

She wore a warm smile, “Are you feeling better?” 

It was an absurd question but there was always a risk in ignoring it. “Sure, but can I ask you a question?” He didn’t wait for an answer, “Is this real?” 

“Are you asking if I’m making you dream again?” Her smile kept its warmth but Tom was mentally preparing himself for the slightest hint of anger. It never came. “This is real. You can trust me.” She brushed a finger down his back. It was meant to calm him down but he still felt a tense unease from being held by a giant. “Come on, we have to get to the oasis before dusk or it will be too cold for you to wash off.”

Her hands wrapped around Tom to make sure he did not fall out as they walked to the center of the desert. Tom only had a moment to glimpse at the oasis from the tree line and it seemed like it would have taken him all day if he had been the one walking, but for Hinba it would only take about 10 minutes or so.

They arrived at the oasis in no time. To Tom, it looked like a small lake that was deceptively deep. To Hinba it was more of a large hot tub. She crouched down and opened her palm close to the ground, prompting Tom to jump off near a small pile of smooth rocks warmed by the midday sun. Hinba walked a short way to another small pile and stood facing away. Tom wasn’t sure what to do in the silence but thankfully it did not last long. “Human? What is your name?” 

His name? She had really gone this far without asking his name? “Tom,” he said blankly. 

“Tom,” she said, tasting the word. “Do you trust me, Tom?” 

“How can I trust you?” He shot back with a little more anger in his voice than he would have wanted. 

“I have told you the terms of our deal and I intend to see them though. You may not like it but that’s not what I asked.” She didn’t face Tom as she spoke. “When you asked me if this was real, I said yes. You believed me, correct?” 

He did believe her. That was the problem. On some level, her intentions were painfully transparent. She wanted to eat him, whole and alive. She also wanted him to be completely willing to the affair and, to Tom’s dismay, she was not going to let him do anything to prevent that from happening. Her intentions were an open and shut book. He still couldn’t say if he trusted her but he could lie for now and hope it would aid him, somehow, in the future. “I believe you have made your intentions clear. If that’s how we are going to describe ‘trust’ then sure.” He didn’t elaborate, that was enough for now. 

“Excellent. Now take off your clothes.” 

“How about you tell me what we’re doing here first?” He was punching his luck, sure, but something had to give. 

“We are here because we both could use a bath. The world stone is not far now and there is one more spell that I need to place on you before I send you home.” She turned to face him, “I can remove your clothes if need be, but I did not bring anything else for you to change into should your current outfit become. . . Ruined.” 

Tom met her gaze as he began to disrobe. He knew he didn’t have a choice in the matter “I hate how you are able to talk about trust in one moment, then threaten me with violence in the next.” She didn’t respond, merely watched as he stripped out of his jacket. Satisfied that he was doing what she asked, she also began to remove her clothing. 

As soon as he realized what she was doing, Tom spun around. A part of him knew that she didn’t care how naked she was in his presence. He honestly just didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. As he removed his shoes and pants he called back, “Can I leave my underwear on, at least?” There was a loud crash as her skirt hit the ground. Tom waited for a response to his question before hearing a second crash. He didn’t need to turn around to know she was completely naked. 

“God damnit,” Tom muttered to himself. There was something about taking off all of his clothes that felt like a personal betrayal but he already knew that’s exactly what she wanted. He heard the giant footsteps approach, he did not have long to comply before his dignity would be taken by force. His whole body tensed as a shadow passed over him. “God damnit,” he muttered again as he slowly reached to pull down his underwear. 

“You’re learning.” She said from above before leaving him to head towards the water. Tom watched as she dipped her toe into the small pool to test the temperature before stepping all the way in. The water level rose considerably and she waded in, threatening to overtake him on his small patch of smoothed limestone. She took a deep breath and submerged. Tom took the brief moment away from her prying eyes to lift an arm to smell himself. He definitely could use a shower. On top of all the sweat and dirt he had accumulated over the past few days, there was the lingering musk he knew commemorated his time spent in Hinba’s asshole. He walked quickly to the shoreline and started the extensive process of cupping water onto himself one handful at a time.

The water began to recede while Tom was still trying to do his best to clean himself. He saw Hinba rise above the water. His eyes went wide at the sight of the fully naked giantess, finally able to see her with the sun at his back. She was beautiful… and she was smiling down at him with mischievous intent. He desperately needed something to pull his attention away from Hinba. He needed to get home... That’s it! “You said the stone is not far. Could you give me a more precise time frame? I’m sure my friends are wondering where I am.” Tom asked with hopeful optimism. 

Hinba nodded a few times before speaking, still knee deep in the clear water. “That really depends on how agreeable you are. Like I said I have one more spell to place on you. Our bargain calls for you to eventually come back to me. I need to ensure that you can’t go running off” 

His heart sank, the more she brought it up the more he felt hopeless to do anything to stop it. He was about to protest but Hinba spoke first, “I promise, no harm will come to you. I’ll make no attempt to trick you into doing something you don’t want to do.”

“Where are you going with this?” Tom could feel his heartbeat in his ears as his mind started to race. 

Hinba was moving forward out of the water, walking on her knees to keep from towering over Tom. She wanted to make it as easy as possible to maintain eye contact. “I’m trying to say that I’m not trying eat you.” she stated bluntly and she began to crawl on her hands. “This spell requires some level of . . . intimacy, but if you’re willing to trust me, I promise it can be very enjoyable for both of us.” 

While she might intended her slow crawl to seem harmless or even placating, to Tom it was nothing but predatory. Her hips swayed from side to side with every step and her gaze was intensely focused. He only managed to take a single step backward before slipping, and landed on the cool rock. He winced at the slight pain on his back side before refocusing his eyes on Hinba. She passed over him and pressed her forehead on the ground behind Tom, not necessarily trapping him, but still forcing him to lie down completely. . 

Unsure what to do, Tom just laid there looking up at Hinba, her large face took up his entire field of view. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose. Once she was satisfied with Tom’s scent she exhaled through her mouth. “What are you doing?” He was unable to remain quiet. The entire display was deeply unsettling and he could no longer endure it in silence. 

“I’m trying to calm you.” she responded in a whisper. “Please Tom… I need this.”

It was the first time he’d heard her say “please,” and, to Tom’s dismay, she sounded genuine. As terrible as his situation was, this might be his one and only chance to get on her good side. “Can you at least tell me what you need me to do?” he let the question hang in the air for a moment, “-before I agree to anything!” The past few days were taking their effect on his mental faculties. His mind was becoming a mess as the constant internal screams of self preservation were becoming a background hum against his overloaded senses. 

She lifted her head up and moved her hips closer to Tom who was still too stunned to do more than flinch. Spreading her knees wide, Tom’s eyes drifted to her womanhood. It was still damp from the pool but while some of the liquid dripped off in fin droplets, others formed long strands as they fell to the ground. “You need to be inside me for the spell to work.” 

She moved a hand between her legs and began to slowly rub her fingers into her flush lips. Tom was too shocked to peel his eyes away. He heard a long, content sigh from above as her fingers spread open. They revealed a pink cavern of flesh that could easily swallow his entire body. The smell invaded his nostrils and his vision to haze.  Alarm bells started to ring in his head as his body began to move on its own, first standing then taking shaky steps forward. 

“That’s right, human. Just go as far as you can and I’ll handle the rest.” 

Tom closed the distance to the giant womanhood. It twitched as he brought up a hand to feel along the folds. “It’s very . . .wet,”  he said before immediately regretting it. His hands made their way to a small opening near the base and gently pressed forward. There was a small gasp from above. In his dazed state, the sudden noise startled Tom and he tried to pull his hands away. The once soft flesh gripped his hands tightly, pulling his forearms into their embrace. 

The trance-like state that gripped Tom faded in an instant as he looked upward searching for Hinba’s face. He found her staring back at him but bearing no regard for his pleading expression. “Here, let me help you,” she stated before moving a single finger under Tom and pushing him inside up to his waist. Taking a moment to enjoy the sensation before easing Tom the rest of the way inside 

The last thing Tom remembered was the feeling of her warm flesh swallowing up his feet before drifting off.

—Chapter6 Tom alone

Tom pulled the door to his small one bedroom apartment shut and tossed his keys into a small ceramic bowl atop a small end table he’s owned since high school. He always told himself that he needed to hang a proper key ring one day but had yet to get around to actually doing it. The sound of his keys hitting the bowl echoed through the small living room. Walking past his small, two seater couch, facing a small tv, he arrived at his small kitchen. “Am I actually back home?” There was still a bottle of cheap whisky and a dirty glass on the table. Even after beginning to go to the gym somewhat regularly, his old bad habits were still a daily presence in his life. He turned on his kitchen sink. The water sputtered out, getting the front of his shirt slightly wet along with a decent bit of the surrounding countertop. It was another item on his “to do” list left unchecked for the foreseeable future. 

He looked up through the small window behind his sink. Normally his view consisted of a grassy area in the middle of his apartment complex. There would often be a group of people cooking food on a small grill and kids would play on a swing set built into a sand pit. That was not the view today however. The window was a mat wall of soft natural light. It bore no discernible detail of the outside world, merely offering the illusion of a functioning window. “This is another dream, isn’t it?” He asked no one but received an answer nonetheless. 

“Clever boy,” he did not need to turn around to recognize Hinba’s voice. It was quieter than normal. It did not have the same booming presence that he had grown accustomed to. When he turned to look at the source of the voice, he saw Hinba but scaled to human size. She still had her red skin, purple eyes, horns, and white hair. She still wore the same skirt and chest piece made from rough black leather. Her smile still had the same mischievous glint that betrayed her predatory nature. It was all so familiar yet so intensely foreign when she was this size, still a foot taller than Tom but nowhere near her normal height. 

“Why are we here?” 

She motioned to the room, “You mean, ‘why are we in your apartment?’” Tom nodded. “Well I wanted to see where my little human lived.” A toothy grin plastered her face. 

Acting on shear instinct, he eyed the door to his apartment. Maybe, if he were to make it outside he could somehow wake himself up. It was worth a try. He moved forward, giving Hinba a wide berth in case she tried to lunge at him. She just stood there, watching him like he was a rat stuck in a cage. Tom grabbed the handle of his front door knob, and tried to pry it open. It was jammed. He started to panic as he began slamming his whole body into the door in a vain attempt to break through it. 

Behind him, Hinba started to laugh, and as she did so the whole building started to shake. The singular framed picture that hung on his wall fell to the ground as the walls started to crack. Her laughter quickly subsided as she noticed the shaking walls. “Sorry!” she yelled, grabbing her stomach. “I always forget about my pelvic floor . . .” her other hand covering her face as she spoke. 

 “Am I... still...” he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to his question, or even how to ask. 

Her gaze met his as one of her hands drifted down to her navel, “Are you still what?” she asked as she closed the gap between them. She was using her bedroom voice again. The one she used to previously to calm Tom down but really just put him more on edge. 

His cheeks flushed red, “You know what I mean!” he yelled through grit teeth. 

She stopped directly in front of him, moving her face inches away from him. “Are you still tucked away, deep inside me?” she put her mouth right next to his ear, “Right where you belong?” he could feel her warm breath on his ear, fighting back the urge to scream. “Yes. Yes you are my little pet. I have you right where I want you, and you’re going to stay right there,” she audibly tapped her navel, “until I’m done playing with you” 

“Why are you doing this to me?” Tom was desperate for the madness to make sense. 

“I needed you to be close to me to give you this.” She tapped his chest through his shirt. “Go ahead, cutie, look at my handiwork.” 

Tom opened his mouth to speak but didn’t say anything. Rather, he just pulled on the collar of his shirt to look down at his chest. There was a black marking not unlike a tattoo sprawled on his torso. He took a step forward to remove his shirt so he could get a better look. It was a simple black star that had five points and stretched across his entire chest. “What did you do to me?!” 

“Don’t be silly, I already told you. That’s my spell. It will help me keep tabs on you.” she made another motion to the room, “It’s what helps me reach into your mind. As the connection strengthens, I’ll learn more and more about you until there is nothing that you can hide from me,” in what seemed like a flash, she was at his side again, “I’ll know your every thought, all your hopes and dreams, all your tricks and schemes.” her voice slowed to a crawl, “no matter where you are, I’ll always be able to reach you. You’re not going to be able to escape the inevitable.” 

She backed away slightly and walked behind Tom, tracing a finger across the back of his neck. That all too familiar dread seeped into his bones, but he was starting to feel numb to it. “Inevitable?” He asked.  She’s taken everything from him except his life. That only means he knows exactly what he has left to lose. “What’s stopping you? You made me give myself to you just a moment ago. Why can’t you do that to me again?” 

“Oh?” she stepped back a moment, feigning a shocked expression. “So you think I have the ability to place a charm on you to just walk into my mouth and let me gulp you down? And?... “ scrunching her shoulders, “And didn’t use it on you the moment we first met?” Her hand touched her forehead, “Maybe it just slipped my mind?” 

Tom knew she would keep going until he put the pieces together, “Do you expect me to believe that I was acting on my own?” He backed away but she moved closer. Her body brushing against his as he backed into the wall. 

“Believe whatever you want, but the truth is quite simple,” her face pressed into Tom’s neck causing him to visibly cringe at the invasion. “You wanted this. You wanted to feel what it was like to be swallowed up by my hungry cunt.” She put her face directly in front of his and held his cheeks with both hands so he could not look away. “Do you want to know the best part?” Tom did not want to know what the ‘best part’ was but he knew she was going to tell him. “You love it. You love every minute of it. I know deep down you secretly love being my plaything… my toy.” 

“No.” He tried to look away but she held him there. 

“I can still feel it, know you? Your hard cock pressing into me. Even when you're unconscious, your body is still letting me know how much it appreciates my . . .  hospitality” she let go of his face only to grab his hand. He didn’t resist as she pressed his hand against her stomach and then guided down beneath her leather skirt to rest just slightly above her womanhood. “Just think, if I so much as sneeze with you in there. . . I might just snuff you out. You and your hard cock, all crushed in an instant.” 

He had enough. With as much force as he could muster, he pushed against Hinba. To his surprise, it worked. She was pushed back but not before grabbing his arms and pulling him along. With a precise rotation she spun around as Tom lost his balance. He fell forward and tried to right himself on the ground. Hinba was too quick. All she had to do was use her weight to sit on his chest and he was pinned again in an instant, with his arms pressed against his sides. 

“What do you want from me?!” he screamed. 

“It took you long enough! I was begging to think you just really enjoyed being trapped inside me.” her fingers were free to trace up and down Tom’s chest as she spoke. “I haven’t fully forgiven you for lying to me about my missing people and you’re going to make it up to me” 

Tom felt whiplash in more ways than one at the sudden shift in the conversation, “You said earlier that you only needed to place that spell on me then we would go to the worldstone. You didn’t say anything about another favor.” 

“True. well if you don’t want to help me i guess i could just keep you in here,” one hand tapped her crotch while the other twirled above her head. “-until we arrive. It’ll take the same amount of time for me but it’ll feel much longer to you.” she leaned in closer, “I’m sure we could find something to do to occupy our time...” Her hips started to move in small circles on his chest, daring him to remain obstinate. 

“God damnit,” His voice cracked, “Just tell me what you want.” 

“Nope, I think I'll just keep you in here. Love the apartment by the way.”  She motioned about.

“Hinba!” he screamed. 

“Oh alright,” she stretched upright again. “Remember those strange markings you saw on the walls of the buildings in the town? You described them as having a reddish char.” Tom nodded but let her continue. “It’s kind of a long shot but I know a Naga that uses amber stones to channel her magic.” 

“Am I supposed to know what a “naga” is? Is she like you?” Tom moved his head to try to emphasize her height. It was a simple gesture but she took his meaning. 

“No. She’s not as large as me, but still plenty big enough to kill a human.” 

Tom closed his eyes and smacked the back of his head against the floor. “So, what then? Do we just go talk to her?” he asked. 

“Yes, you are going to ask her about the town. See if she knows anything.” 

He raised an eyebrow, “I’m going alone? Why can’t you ask her?”

Hinba put her hands on her hips, “She doesn’t like talking to me.” her lips curled into a fake pout, “if she hears me coming, she’ll hide and we’ll never find her... but if you go alone...” her eyes lit up with her smile, “She won’t be able to resist a lone human walking around.”

“‘Resist?’” Tom really hated her choice of words. 

“She’ll see you as a quick meal.” came her blunt response. 

Tom looked around his illusionary apartment to weigh his options of just staying in his dream. She would be crazy to think he would agree to such a dangerous endeavor. “I’m trying to get home, not get eaten. Find someone else to-” 

“She won’t harm you” Hinba tapped his chest ,“Just show her that you belong to me and she won’t lay a finger on you.” 

She really wanted his help. That much he knew. She would not be trying so hard to convince him to help if she could think of another way. A small part of his mind wanted to push the issue, to really see how badly she needed his help. It was the same part of him that wanted some small bit of control back. Hinba believed he “belonged” to her, and Tom intensely needed to prove her wrong. 

His thoughts were interrupted. “Also watch out for Blue. she was the Yōkai you met before. She won’t harm you either but she does love to chase you little humans.” 

“She’s still alive?” he shot back. 

“She’s tough.” came the laconic response. 

Tom had already decided that he was going to help but it was now or never to regain some level of control back from the situation. “Look, I want to help but I really don’t want to go anywhere near Blue ever again.” He stated, and waited for her response. 

Her face twisted. Tom wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. The walls started to crack and warp as the entire room started to crumble. She brought one hand to her nose and another held up a single index finger as she clamped her eyes shut. “Hang on I have to-” she didn’t finish the sentence but Tom knew it was a sneeze. 

His eyes went wide. She began to inhale in a manner indicative of her body reacting on its own while Tom screamed for a very different reason. She pinched her nose. The walls burst inward and his mind went blank. 

—-

“Don’t!” Tom screamed as he shot upright. He was naked again, the black star tattoo splayed across his chest. His skin was still sticky and had the distinct odor of Hinba’s sex. He spotted his clothes that were tossed in a pile on the ground. “I’m back in the forest?” The trees were a dead give away. 

There wasn’t much Tom could do to brush off the lingering residue. After giving up, he put back on his clothes and looked around. The desert was long gone, replaced with a sea of tall trees and foliage. They bore the same gnarled roots he recognized from his first day in this land. There was a small arrow carved into the dirt pointing down a snaking snaking pathway, no doubt left by Hinba. He rubbed the tattoo on his chest. Something about it felt wrong, as if there were a set of eyes trained on his every movement. 

“Let’s get this over with.” He groaned as he started walking. 

—- 

After walking for a time, Tom felt a chill in the air and stopped walking to look around. “Fucking damn it, Here we go.” He saw the towering blue skinned giant staring directly at him. “Just don’t run. Stand still.” Tom remembered what Hinba had told him and made no attempt to flee, opting to stand and face the approaching giant. His mind screamed to run but he remained still. 

After taking a moment to size up the human, Blue moved towards Tom, half walking half crawling over the exposed root, careful not to touch the exposed ground. The way she moved without making a single iota of sound was infinitely unnerving. “Hello there.” Her voice was angelic and feminine. “What are you doing all the way out here all by yourself?” 

Tom wanted this to be a quick reunion so he could continue on his way. Every moment he wasted talking was another moment he was trapped in the god forsaken forest. “I’m traveling with Hinba.” He pulled the collar of his shirt down to reveal the top of his tattoo. “She’s sent me on an errand and will be expecting me back soon.” 

Blue leaned in close, getting within feet of Tom to inspect the marking of his chest. She was still careful to keep off the ground. “That’s too bad, her magic always tastes terrible.” Satisfied that the human was telling the truth she moved away. “Well I’ll let you get back to your owner” she said through a wide smile. 

That was surprisingly painless, Tom thought to himself. “Nice seeing you again.” He said dryly. It wasn’t nice to see her again but certain pleasantries had become second nature over the years. 

“Again?” She was still moving on but the question hung in the air. Blue regarded him one more time before shrugging it off, “I guess I forgot.” She started to hum as she disappeared from view.

Comfortable that she was out of earshot, “Well fuck you too.” Tom muttered under his breath then continued on his way. 

—- 

Tom could feel his legs beginning to tire. He wasn’t sure how much longer he would need to walk. The forest seemed to go on forever. When he was carried around, the environment seemed to change almost too quickly as they traveled. The true scope of the forest was much greater than he really could have anticipated. 

As his mind wandered, he spotted a stray tree branch that had fallen onto the pathway. Stepping over it was easy enough but he stopped walking forward. Tom wanted to try something. Stepping backward, put his weight on the branch. The sound it made seemed to echo through the trees with an eerie snap. He froze for a moment to appreciate the noise as it faded away. 

He was tired of walking, it was time to try something else, “It would be a real shame if someone were following me!” His voice was thick with sarcasm as he called out, breaking the stillness. 

“Alright that’s far enough!” A voice came from the forest. 

Tom stuck his hand up in the universal symbol for surrender. “Can I face you?” He didn’t want to risk overstaying his welcome. 

“Tell me what you’re doing here.” 

Tom slowly turned around, keeping his hands in the air. “I’m here on Hinba’s behalf. I have one question for you then I’ll be on my way. I promise I don’t want any trouble.” He slowly pulled the collar down on his shirt, careful not to make any sudden movements and waited for the disembodied voice to reveal itself. 

Moving into the opening, a creature with the torso of a woman and the body of a snake slithered into the pathway. She had red hair, pale skin and the scales on her tale shimmered with an emerald green. She was completely naked except for a wool satchel draped across her shoulder. With her waist at Tom’s eye level, she was nearly ten feet tall and her snake half stretched behind her for several meters. “I have no intention of helping that demon.” She spat.

“That’s fine with me. I don’t care if you help her” Tom was in a hurry and wanted to avoid an argument. “I’ll tell you everything that I came to say and you can decide what to do with that information. If you don’t want to help, you won’t hurt my feelings.” If she saw Hinba as an enemy then they had that in common. Tom kept his hands up as he spoke. ”The people of the town near Hinba’s cave disappeared. All of them, just gone. There were several oval shaped markings about yay wide.” He moved his hands about a foot across above his head. “-scattered around the building with a red tinge. Hinba mentioned that you use amber stones with your magic. That’s why I’m here.” 

“She thinks I had something to do with it?” Her voice was laced with a fierce venom. 

“Honestly, I doubt it. She didn’t even seem confident that you would know anything about it, but here we are.” Tom considered his next words carefully. “Look, she’s holding me prisoner so I really don’t care what you tell me but,” he pointed to his chest, “This thing allows her to read my mind. If you want to lie to me, feel free. Just please make it believable. If she thinks I pretended to be fooled by something that was obviously untrue… she’ll make my life even more miserable.” 

For a moment she debated whether to pity the human. Reaching into her satchel, she withdrew a small orange rock and tossed it to Tom. Unsure what to think, he flinched slightly before catching the flying object, “Come to your own conclusion, human.” 

Tom examined the object. It was a small piece of amber that seemed to glow orange in the sunlight. It had the same oval shape and fit snugly in the palm of his hand, similar to a small egg but slightly more stretched. “The shape’s right but the size and color are off.”  

“We use them to move around unseen. The magic masks others' perception of the holder. You passed right by me on the path earlier. The only reason I let you live is because I could feel Hinba’s magic on you” she let her words sink in for a moment, “Keep the stone. Don’t let Hinba know you have it and it will keep some of your thoughts hidden from her. The effect will be small so use it wisely. It’s useless if she learns of its existence.”

Tom looked up from the stone, “Why are you helping me?”

“I’m not,” came her reply. “I know Hinba well enough to know that as soon as she gets her claws into a human, they are as good as dead.” Tom winced at her words. “The stone may only make your passing a little easier. We both know how she has a taste for human souls. If she believes you’re unwilling to part with your soul… she might just keep you around.” she trailed off. “I’ve heard she has methods to convince humans to see things her way.” 

“Torture.” Tom finished the thought for her, “You’re saying she’ll just keep me around if I don’t submit willingly?” 

“I’m saying that a quick death might be preferable to life as a pet.”  

—Chapter7 The Worldstone

Tom didn’t think much on his walk back. After parting ways with the naga he needed time to not think about anything. It took him a little under two hours to find the snake woman, so he guessed that it would take roughly the same to get back to his demon friend. Sure enough, after about two more hours of walking, he rounded a sharp corner in the path and spotted Hinba reclined under a particularly shady spot. She had her eye’s closed and appeared to be enjoying her moment of relaxation. Tom had silently wished that she would still be at her “human” height but had no luck. 

Without opening her eyes she spoke, “That’s my favorite spell, you know. The first day is always the best. I get to feel and taste all your fear and emotion.” she opened her eyes slightly, “It’s almost as good as the real thing.” 

“The naga was a dead end.” Tom wanted to move on as quickly as possible. “The amber stones were a good guess but they were too small and didn’t match the color of what we were looking for.” 

She placed an open palm on the ground as an unspoken prompt for Tom to hop on. He obliged without protest. Things seemed to go horribly when he offered any form of resistance. “I figured that.” She said calmly. “Let’s get you home.” 

“Home.” Tom repeated. It seemed like a distant memory at this point even though it couldn’t have been more than a few days at most, not even a week, since he arrived here. 

He desperately wanted to distract himself. “Your blue friend is a real charmer.” he said dryly. 

“We’re not friends.” Hinba responded but didn’t offer anything more. 

Normally Tom would be ok with the silence but there was something bugging him about his interaction with Blue. “When we first met she said I was the most interesting human she had ever met but when I ran into her an hour ago, she didn’t even remember me.” as Tom spoke he watched Hinba’s expression for any reaction. She kept eyes focused on the road ahead.

“Don’t tell me you got your feelings hurt.” she said through an amused smile. 

“It didn’t happen, did it? The first time I met her, it didn’t happen. It was just another of your fucking dreams.”  She raised an eyebrow to Tom's glaring expression. 

“Clever little human.” Her response was simple but it confirmed Tom’s suspicions.

“You were lying and manipulating me before we even met.” 

“Yes, yes. You’re very upset.” She waved her free hand. “It’s not the last time I’ll end up lying to you. I hope you realize that.” Hinba stopped walking for a moment. Tom looked around to see if they had reached their destination. He didn’t spot anything in their immediate environment that would signal that they had arrived at the worldstone. Fear welled up inside him as he whirled back around. Hinba jabbed him in the stomach with her index finger and he toppled over in her hand. It surprised him more than it actually hurt, but he was too stunned to really tell the difference. “Tom… this is only going to end one of two ways. You’re either going to be a willing meal or an unwilling meal, and I really want you to be on board with this.” 

“You say it so bluntly. Why are you giving up the act now?” He said while still doubled over, grasping at his stomach. 

She resumed walking around a bend in the path. “Look if you think it’ll make it easier on you to see things my way, I’ll be painfully, graphically, honest with you….” She really took her time emphasizing her words. “Most humans I meet find the lies comforting. You want me to tell you that it’s going to be a pleasant experience? Done! I’ve never had any negative reviews. What does a stomach smell like? Probably like a meadow of flowers. Will it hurt? Of course not!... Speaking of,” She paused her tirade to look at the human in her palm. “I know you’re just pretending I hurt you. You can stop now.” 

Tom adjusted himself back into a sitting position. “You’re a monster.” He didn’t bother mincing words. 

She nodded, “And ignorance is fucking bliss… But not for you. You, my little snack, are still convinced that you’re going to make it out of this deal alive.” 

Because I am, he wanted to say before realizing she could probably hear what he was thinking. Tom could feel her eyes on him as he tried to think of something else to say. 

“Give up those thoughts, Tom.” Hinba said after a long silence, sparing Tom from needing to speak. She held up two fingers. “These are your only options and they both land you in the same place.” Tom was lowered down and watched in stunned horror as she patted her stomach several times. “All tucked away, all mine… Forever.”

Tom wanted to scream but nothing came out. He wanted to protest but was silent. He wanted to tell her she was wrong but he couldn’t. The most he could do was bite the inside of his cheek and fume internally in her general direction. It was also the least he could do because it was the only thing he could do. He never felt so powerless. 

Unable to say anything, they just continued on for a short while in silence. 

Hinba's words cut through the static, “I really wish we had more time to examine all these complex emotions you’re having, but...“ she pointed forward, “we’re here.” 

The worldstone. It wasn’t really a stone at all but a giant tree. It absolutely dwarfed everything around it, stretching miles into the sky and its trunk was more of a flat wall than a curved surface. The already large trees of the forest stopped well before coming close to the titanous expanse of the worldstone. “That’s the worldstone?” Tom asked, craning his neck up to try and take in the massive height. 

“Sort of. The worldstone is at the base of the roots. The tree gets its nutrients from the magic of the stone and the stone is kept alive from the energy produced by the tree.” She motioned upward, “Apparently, it’s mutually beneficial. The entrance isn’t far.” 

The “entrance” was a crack in the base of the truck where it met the ground that was plenty large enough for Hinba to walk through without needing to adjust her posture. The daylight was immediately replaced by the crushing blackness. Tom could not see at all but felt Hinba continue to press forward. She must have walked though this passage dozens of times, or she can see in the dark, he thought. It was probably the former. The darkness started to break into a soft blue glow that became stronger as they progressed. 

They arrived at the worldstone. It looked like a blue tinged mirror that was held in place by brown tendrils that matched the color of the tree, piercing in and out of the glowing surface. Several deep cracks ran in every direction across its surface but Tom was still able to make out the upside down reflection of Hinba on its surface. 

Tom was trying to take in every detail of the sight before him when he was brought up to Hinba’s face. Her eyes met his with the ambient glow making her gaze all the more piercing. “Before I let you go, you need to agree to my terms. I’ll send you back but only if you promise to give yourself to me willingly.” Tom didn’t reply right away. “If not, then well… “she licked her lips, “I’m hungry now, I might just take you now and go find another human that’s more cooperative.” 

Tom started to speak, “I pro-” he stopped himself from finishing his sentence, as he watched Hinba bite her tongue in a mischievous grin. It’s another trap. If he agrees to be eaten then she has no reason to send him home. If he refuses to be eaten then she eats him anyway and finds someone else. He was doubting if she ever had any intention of sending him home. This must have been part of her plan... 

She could hear his thoughts, Tom remembered she could see right through him. His realization was on full display. “It was worth a shot.” she said as she started to move Tom closer to her mouth. It was already starting to water at the approaching meal. 

The sudden movement caused Tom to lose his footing as he was quickly brought upward. “Wait! Wait! WAIT!” he screamed and the motion stopped, “Wait... “ he said for a fourth time, raising a hand to push against Hinba’s upper lip. “I promise I will seriously consider your offer.” his voice was shaking in desperation. To his relief he was brought away from her mouth but kept at eye level. 

“That’s more like it. See? Was that so hard?” she gave an innocent smile that sent a cold chill down Tom’s spine. “I also need you to promise that you aren’t going to take what’s mine.” Tom knew her meaning, “If you try to do anything dangerous, even if you just think about it ... well I’m going to force you back here and...” she trailed off, “Let’s just say it will be really unpleasant and leave it at that.” There was a long pause, “Tom, I need you to say it.” 

“I promise I won’t do anything stupid.” He didn’t bother with specifics. He wanted to live, and that wasn’t going to change. Her being able to read his mind just meant he didn’t have to worry about trying to convince her he was genuine. 

“Now for the bad news,” Tom didn’t know how this could get worse, “since I'm missing my humans, I can't give you as much time back in your world.” she rubbed her stomach as she spoke. “Normally I really would give you the rest of your natural life. While years pass for you only a few months would pass here so it’s never an issue but I’ve already gone a long while without eating.” his heart sank, “I’m afraid I can only give you. . .” she held her open palm. 

“Five.” Tom stated as his eyes glossed over. Was she going to tell him five days? Weeks? Months? He almost didn’t want to know the answer. It was a death sentence no matter how long he had. 

“Years.” She answered his mental question. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry that I can't give you more time. But I promise I’ll leave you alone. I won’t mess with your dreams or anything” she raised an eyebrow, “unless you ask nicely.” Tom shook his head a few times before slumping over. 

Tom felt himself moving closer this time but didn’t fight it. Whether he was too dead inside to care or just knew Hinba well enough to know she doesn’t do the same trick twice was anyone’s guess. He felt the warmth of her lips envelope him. She was kissing him, or making an attempt to kiss him. The difference in their respective size made the nature of the action a nebulous endeavor. 

It didn’t last long as he was moved close to the blue glow of the worldstone. The smooth surface brought his reflection into focus. He was looking at an upside down, and slightly blue, version of himself. Unsure how this was supposed to work, he opted to reach out to the stone. The background in the reflection seemed to morph into the familiar living room of his apartment. His hand got closer and closer as he inched himself forward on Hinba’s hand, careful not to fall off after he'd come so close to getting home. As his hand made contact with the stone the background of his apartment snapped back to the deep red of Hinba’s skin. Thinking he had been tricked, he turned around to face the giant to demand an explanation. “What’s g-” he was yelling at a picture he had hung on the wall. 

He turned back to face his reflection, it was replaced by his cheap television. He was back in his apartment. “I’ll see you later, human” came a disembodied voice. 

Tom was home, he rushed to the window behind the sink. It was dark but he could still make out the grill and swing set. Finding his laptop, he opened his outlook. It was a day and a half since he last sent an email but judging by the 156 emails that were unread, he could have been gone over a month. He was not looking forward to coming up with an explanation for his sudden disappearance. 

It felt almost surreal to be back after so many instances of having to fear for his life. He pulled his collar out to confirm... Yup. He still had the tattoo Hinba had gifted him. It was the only real proof that everything he experienced actually happened. 

Well almost, he thought to himself. He reached into his pocket and ran his fingers along the smooth amber stone within. She didn’t ask about it. Whatever mechanism was at work to keep its existence out of Hinba’s perception, Tom didn’t question it. He stopped touching the stone. Better to not press his luck. If he spent too much time fixated on the little thing, there’s a strong possibility that the effect would weaken.  

“Well… I guess I made it.” This didn’t feel like a victory…

—Chapter8 A Life Beyond

It was one thousand, eight hundred twenty seven days later, Tom counted every day. Turning a key to a deadbolt of his apartment. He had long since upgraded his dwelling in the past few years. Walking into the living room he looked out the balcony to see the skyline contrast against the sea of high-rise buildings. It was a great sight compared to the dingy view of a rusted grill and children's’ play area. Passing his kitchen, to his right he set down his things and walked into the center of his living room and walked towards a small square on the floor that acted as a hallway. It was really just three doorways that lead out of his living room, not even having wall space to hang a picture but it was home. The door to his left went into a small bedroom that had precious little space since he had put in a queen sized bed and a nightstand. The door to his right had an electric lock. It was part of his rental agreement that he be allowed to modify the internal locks as he saw fit. There were several nicer options within his price range that he could have chosen, but they were unwilling to acquiesce to his terms. 

He passed through the center door into a humble bathroom. Today marked the fifth year anniversary since he passed through the worldstone. Everything was planned out to avert suspicion if he suddenly disappeared. He wasn’t planning on disappearing but on the off chance that he was unable to negotiate his way out of a deal with the devil then he wanted to make sure he left an open and shut case for local authorities to sort through. There were certain latitudes granted once you reached a higher station in life. Scheduling a vacation to start on a Wednesday and continue for three weeks was one such benefit. Only a few of his coworkers even questioned the logic of not waiting until a Friday to take off. 

His “trip” was a hiking trail through a northern mountain range. He queued up several purchases to appear to occur in the region and he would travel by car to avoid the suspicion of missing a plane flight. He didn’t have to worry about saving money or having a formal will when he was still so young as he spent most of what he had and put almost nothing into savings. That was the normal thing to do in this city. People spent more than they earned and no one bothered with a retirement until they were well into their 40’s. 

The water felt nice on his skin. He looked at the deep circles under his eyes in the mirror. There was always a fear of going to sleep when dealing with an otherworldly being that can put you into a dream that made you question reality. Some nights it was easier to just stay awake, occupying his mind with other things than risk an unprompted “visit” from an unwanted admirer. It didn’t matter. The unintended benefit was that he would often throw himself into his work. He put in more hours over the past five years than most did in their entire career. It still didn’t matter but it afforded him all the earthly luxuries that he could ever want. “Earthly desires” quickly became bland and boring when you lived on borrowed time. 

Leaving the bathroom, he closed the door behind him. Another nervous habit that he picked up but was never sure how much good it would actually do. He walked to the threshold of the kitchen, on a small countertop that doubled as a bur was  his notebook he’d brought from work. There was a small lace string that was used as a bookmark. Pulling the page open he read the last of the entries. 

4:55 am, Woke up, no incident

5:15 am, left apartment, no incident 

5:27 am, entered office, no incident

5:32am, morning coffee, Kelle left her fucking mug in the sink again, no incident 

9:07am, morning bathroom break, no incident

12:55pm,lunch, pack something other than a cold turkey and mayonnaise please, no incident

1:12pm, walked to Chalie’s office, he needs to rerun materiality thresholds for petty cash and and employee expense accounts Vesento gig, no incident

3:31pm bathroom break, no incident 

6:02 pm, left office, no incident 

He glanced at his watch. Then scribbled the next entry; “6:36 pm, entered apartment, still no sign of her.” It was important to record the transitional moment passing from one space into another. Those were the best way to keep a consistent throughline of conscious awareness. When he was fooled into believing a dream was reality, it was common to not have a firm grasp of how he arrived at a given location. He thought back through his trip home and every time he passed through a doorway. He was sure he was awake right now. 

A small part of his mind wanted to believe she had forgotten about their deal and he was saved by a simple act of providence. There was a difference with how time worked when passing through the worldstone. If she forgot about their deal for even a day, he would likely have months, or years of extra time on his hands. But that hope would have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight he planned to drown his sorrows at the bottom of several bottles of cheap liquor. That was one bad habit that he never could seem to kick from his “old life” before meeting Hinba. While the stresses of work seemed almost trivial now, the stresses from the quiet moments of introspection felt like fire searing his every neuron.  

He opened his fridge. Might as well start with a beer.

There was a moment of hesitation as he was hunched over, gripping the cold glass of the fridge. He let out a pained sigh and grabbed a second bottle before standing up right. His bottle opener was a dull piece of scrap metal with a magnet glued to the back that he had since high school. He opened both bottles while still facing the fridge, and held the other off to the side. “You want one?” he asked. 

A slow clap sounded behind him, “How did you even know I was here?” the voice was one he could recognize even if he lived a thousand life times. Every inflection and quality imprinted in his brain as if it was there before he took his first breath. 

“I didn’t” he said flatly before taking another series of gulps. Turning around to face her took significant effort. All this time spent fearing their inevitable reunion only heightened his dread and discomfort. She looked different. Her dark red skin was replaced with a tan olive complexion. Her hair had the same white color and length but she sat differently in her head without her horns present. She wore distinctly human clothes, a light purple blouse and jeans and she still stood a foot taller than him but that was still preferable to her normal form. Oddly enough, she was beautiful. Tom cursed himself for noticing her ample figure before a knowing smile appeared on her face. 

“Still got it, huh?” she said before putting a hand on her hip. Tom took a deep breath and started walking towards her offering her the second beer before walking past into the living room. He took another few gulps as he walked. Hinba watched him with amused interest. She wanted to know what he was doing and probed his mind in search of an explanation. Honestly, Tom didn’t know what he was doing either, that was the secret that took months to master. It didn’t always work but with practiced focus, or the opposite of focus, he opened the door to the balcony, stepped over the railing and faced inward. 

The sun hung low in the sky. Tom met Hinba’s eyes as he stretched his arms out to the side, still holding his beer in one hand. “I have to know if it’s real. If you try to stop me, I’ll fall” he was referring to her spell that affected his perception of weight. She was completely up to speed on what Tom was trying to prove and her expression shifted to a look of genuine concern. She slowly stepped forward. “Don’t try it!” Tom called back as he pointed at her with his free hand. “Convince me this is real or I’ll do it on my own!” 

She offered no response but kept her eyes trained on Tom, trying to find the words to use. Tom lacked the patience and began to lean backwards. She screamed “WAIT!” Tom grabbed the railing and pulled himself forward. Her hand covered her mouth at the outburst “Wait. Wait. Wait.” She completed the traditional ‘four-wait’ mantra. “It’s real, just come in and we can just talk. I won’t try anything, just... please.” 

Tom stepped back over the railing, into the threshold of the balcony. He saw there were tears forming in her eyes but she didn’t make any attempt to close the gap. She was just standing there, allowing him to decide what to do. He walked up to her as she sniveled. Something about seeing her like this felt wrong. “It’s alright. It’s over, I’m sorry I just-” Maybe it was seeing her as a human that compelled him, he wasn’t sure but he hugged Hinba. She returned the embrace. This felt wrong on so many levels. Oh yeah, there’s a reason it feels wrong....”Hinba, No more games, ok? Show me where I am.” He heard her whimpering stop cold. 

—

Another practice Tom had adopted over the years was to not open his eyes right away when he woke up. The idea was to take in as much of his surroundings as possible before he actually “looked” awake to any possible observer. He was still in his bed, laying on his back with the sheets pulled up to his collarbone. There was a distant siren on the streets below, that was a common occurrence living in the city. He felt the bed shift as someone else put their weight onto the mattress. “You have got to tell me how you figured that one out. Seriously, I had our entire reunion planned out. I got every detail of your notebook and everything to make sure you were completely fooled.” 

Opening his eyes he saw the same human version of Hinba as before. “Tell me if this is real.” While her voice was playful, his voice was stern and direct. 

“Yes, This is real. If you so much as look at that balcony again I will tackle you. Now your turn! What gave it away?” 

Tom thought back, “I didn’t know, not really. I was convinced that you seemed genuinely concerned for my safety... it just seemed too good to be true.” he rolled onto his side, “I guessed I just bluffed and it paid off.” he felt helpless again, “You’re right, you had every detail of my life down perfectly.” 

“You’re gonna make me blush.” Tom was supposed to be the sarcastic one among the two. “Come on, I don’t get enough chances to visit the human world and I don't want to spend our limited time here listening to you sulk.” She jumped out of bed and walked to the doorway. “Get dressed. There’s a burger joint that I always wanted to try, but you never ate there.” she looked back at Tom and smiled, “my treat!” before passing through the door. 

Was this her version of feeding him his last meal? He thought. 

“YES!” she called back. 

Fuck.

After slipping into his streetwear he took a moment to look back at his pillow, specifically what was hidden under his pillow. He couldn’t risk lingering at the glint of cold steel unless he wanted to broadcast its existence to Hinba. It was a special something that required a permit to own if you procured it through the proper channels but improper channels were all too common in a large city. He quickly turned and followed Hinba out of the room. 

The simple act of following Hinba out into the hallway, into an enclosed elevator, out onto the city streets felt like an utter betrayal. All these years of building her up as the enemy in his head, and he was going to have dinner with her. He walked down the same street every day to get to his office but he could have just as easily been walking in a city a thousand miles away with how foreign it felt to walk with her. Beyond all reason and self interest, here he was. 

—

“So then what did you say to her?” She had an infectious laugh that seemed to fill the restaurant. 

 “I calmly but firmly told her she was wrong.” Tom couldn’t remember the last time he actually smiled. “I mean what else could I say? We already found her dummy bank account. The only thing we were missing was proof that she was acting alone.” he twirled his hands, “My boss was still convinced that it was some larger team at work, not just a single disgruntled employee” 

Hinba had quickly run out of fries and had started to pick some off Tom’s plate. “So what happened next? Did they catch her?” 

“I don’t actually know. My job was just to follow the papertrail. Once I completed my report, everything was handed off to the lawyers. The only way I’ll hear any more is if they call me to the witness stand for something, but that rarely happens. Everything I did was documented.” How long had he been talking?  “-so they really only would bring me in if there was something they thought I did incorrectly or if I missed something obvious.” he looked at his half eaten burger and then at Hinba’s empty plate. 

“You? Missing something obvious?” she repeated, “I couldn’t imagine that...” her tone was innocent and had the same playfulness that chilled Tom to the bone.

He wasn’t sure how it happened, but he had been talking about his work for the majority of their dinner. She looked out the window, and Tom followed her gaze, “When did it start raining?” he asked. 

“Oh? That started a while ago.” came her reply. She smiled at the irony. 

He felt embarrassed not just for not noticing something as simple as the rain, but also for talking so much about his own problems. She’s the enemy, remember that. He told himself. She shot him a glance and his cheeks went flush. He grabbed his temples trying in vain to calm his nerves. “So did you ever find out what happened to the people of that town?” 

“I love that you try, Tom.” she grabbed another fry off his plate. 

“So?” He pressed the issue. 

“Nothing yet, it’s all one dead end after another.” she looked at Tom’s plate. “Do you think if you don’t finish your food that we’ll just stay here forever?”

Tom did not think that, but wanted to pretend he actually had the ability to focus on self preservation, “Yeah, this place is open 24/7 so we will be here a while.” 

“Good thing the food is decent.” she shrugged. 

He raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you once say you didn’t eat dead things?” 

“Don’t worry about me. Tomorrow you’ll be sliding down my throat and you’ll be very much alive.” 

Tom’s face went white as a ghost. Putting his head in hands he looked through his fingers at his half eaten burger. Now he was kind of glad he didn’t finish it. If he had another bite in his stomach, he would probably just throw it up. 

“Did I strike a nerve?” 

Before he had time to even register her question the waitress jumped in, “Can I interest you in any dessert tonight?” 

Hinba smiled sweetly at the young girl. “No thank you, I have dessert waiting for me at home. But we are ready for the check.” she held out a credit card and the waitress hurried off. 

“I think I'm gonna be sick.” Tom hated feeling helpless and he hated himself more for agreeing to come along on this excursion. 

“Pull yourself together. I still have a lot planned for you before tomorrow. You’re not gonna want to miss it.” 

The waitress came back and put the check in front of Tom, “but she…” Tom started but read the name on the card. It was his card… 

“I’m sorry, is there something wrong with your check?” the waitress asked. 

It’s not her fault, Tom told himself and signed for the bill, leaving a nice tip. What the fuck ever. “Your treat, my ass.” He muttered under his breath. 

As they walked back in the rain Hinba pulled Tom close, “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” came her reply. 

“I doubt it” he shot back dryly. 

She leaned down and pressed her face into his neck, “You just wait.” before she breathed in deeply taking in his scent. Tom wasn’t sure if he could make it back to the apartment building before losing his “last meal.” 

—-

When they arrived back at the apartment, they were peppered with rain droplets. With nervous hands, Tom unlocked the door. Hinba walked past him, almost as if it were her apartment and he was the guest that needed to be ushered in. Following her in, he hung his keys up on the hook next to the door. Maybe if he just stared at the key hook for the next hour Hinba would just get bored and leave. Her eyes were burning holes into the back of his head, he could feel it. 

“You’ll feel better if you get out of those wet clothes.” Her voice was thick with mischievous intent. Tom turned to face her. 

“Can I get you something to drink?” He asked, more as an excuse to get one for himself. His eyes went wide as she took off her blouse to reveal a lacey black bra. Her mouth curled into a smile as she took a few steps towards Tom, trapping him in the entryway. Time felt like it slowed to a crawl as she brought her face in close while cupping his check. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips tightly against his. Tom’s eyes went wide as he felt her whole body press him against the door. 

Reaching for the handle, he was desperate for a way to escape. The kiss deepened before Hinba pulled him away from the door and slammed him against another wall still in the entryway, never breaking contact with his lips. There was very little chance Tom could actually push her away, but he was determined to try. Placing both hands on her stomach he pushed with all the strength he could muster. Her strong core didn’t budge at first, but she stepped backward suddenly and pulled Tom along with her with the practiced precision of a trained martial artist. 

Tom was pulled forward, and passed by Hinba. Before he fell flat on his face she used her body weight to force Tom to spin in his descent. Tom tried in vain to plant his feet before stumbling through his apartment. He crashed to the floor as his back slammed into his coffee table, the angle caused the back of Tom’s head to bounce off the surface. 

His visions blurred for a moment. As he tried to blink away the haze, he could make out the silhouette of Hinba disrobing. She started with her shoes, then her pants including her underwear, and finally her bra was unclasped and dropped to the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut, to force his vision back. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Hinba was completely naked. He raised a hand to try and stop her from approaching. She merely grabbed his hand in hers, and with one fluid motion swung her leg around his arm and sat her exposed womanhood directly on Tom’s mouth and nose. His arms hung on the other side of her thighs. 

Her excitement was already clearly evident. Tom had to squeeze his mouth shut to prevent her fluids from invading his mouth. He must not have been quick enough, as he was already tasting her arousal. She adjusted herself for a moment so her lips spread over Tom’s face, letting out a content sigh as she found his nose with her clit. 

She grabbed a handful of his hair. “Look at me. Tom.” His eyes trailed up her core and found her face hidden between her large breasts. He met her gaze as his lungs began to protest the lack of oxygen. “Let’s not think about tomorrow, Okay? Tonight is just about having fun.” He squeezed his eyes shut, partly due to his own shame and partly due to the burning in his lungs. “Don’t close your eyes. I need you to see me.” she commanded. 

Tom obeyed. Her face had a look that told him she was still waiting for a response. He searched her eyes for that hint of evil that let him know it was a trick but found nothing, nothing other than longing and desire. If he didn’t get air soon, he would surely pass out, but Hinba pressed herself down harder, her folds spreading farther across his. 

A thought bubbled up in the back of his head and wormed its way into his consciousness. She was very beautiful, and he was still a man. If there was some way he could just block tomorrow out of his mind... He let out a groan before opening his mouth to breathe. To her credit she let it happen, but sat back down quickly after right onto Tom’s open mouth. She gasped as she felt his tongue start to work its way into her womanhood. 

—

The next several hours were an absolute blur of sweat and flesh. To Tom’s surprise, she allowed him to grab a drink on many occasions. She also partook, but was more partial to beer rather than any of the hard liqueurs Tom kept on hand. Now, Tom was not an old man, he had yet to reach his 30 birthday, but he still lacked the same “vitality” of his younger self. It was of little consequence to a demon. After every climactic episode, Tom watched Hinba’s eyes flare with their signature red glow, and he felt his manhood stiffen again. She had no intention of allowing Tom any “down time.” 

After several occasions in the living room and a few times on the kitchen floor they eventually made their way to the bedroom. Tom made the observation that Hinba preferred to be on top. He lost count of how many times he came inside her. She slowed her pace as she was also enjoying her most recent afterglow. Her hands rested on Tom’s chest, they both were breathing heavy and covered in sweat and other bodily fluids. 

Tom’s head felt heavy against his pillow and Hinba felt even heavier on his hips. His cock still lodged into her tight cunt. It almost felt like she was sucking every single drop out of his stiff member. “I don’t know how much more I have in me.” He panted. 

She smiled down at him, moving her hips in small circles, enjoying the sensation of fullness. “Do you want to get some rest? We have a big day tomorrow.” 

That’s right, tomorrow... He had managed to push that eventually out of his mind with a surprising amount of success. The amazing sex helped a lot. She was the best he’d ever had by a wide margin, and on top of that he didn’t pursue any romantic interests during the past five years. Why not? He asked himself. Maybe because he knew she’d be jealous. She made it abundantly clear that he belonged to her and her alone.

Tom let out a long yawn, his fatigued body responding on his behalf. He put his hands beneath his head. Hinba leaned to the side to grab a bottle of beer she’d left on the nightstand, careful not to let Tom slip out. She sat upright and took several gulps, intent on finishing the bottle. His hands felt around under the pillow, and found something cold and metallic. 

She was almost done with her drink before feeling that same cold and metallic sensation pressed against her chin. Hinba finished her drink but held the liquid in her mouth, throwing the bottle to the side. She looked down at Tom, making sure she had his undivided attention before she swallowed. The audible gulp seemed to echo in the stillness. Tom felt her throat twitch against the back of his hand as he gripped his 9mm black steel Taurus handgun. She was making a show of sending her beverage down to her stomach before exhaling. “Ahh”

He pulled back the hammer and flicked off the safety. She just smiled and with a smooth motion, snaked her hand down to his neck. He didn’t flinch, merely rested his finger on the trigger, ready to act if she made a move for the gun. Her thumb caressed his cheek while pushing his head to the side. He moved his left arm to grip the firearm but she caught it with her right hand, wrapping her fingers around his wrist. She slowly, agonizingly slowly, leaned forward, pinning his arm above his head and pressing her face into Tom’s exposed ear. “Do it.” She whispered. 

Tom made his formal request, of bloodshed and death, with a squeeze of the trigger. The wail of sirens and the wheeze of the ceiling fan paused in anticipation for the roar of projectile lead. The firearm responded with the hollow click of dashed hopes and dreams. Because of course it fucking did…

The tension in Tom’s body released as he flopped his arm onto the bed. His grip on the useless piece of metal subsided, and it tumbled onto the sheets. “Do you hate me?” Her voice was soft and gentle.

He wanted to hate her but that could just as easily be the proof that he didn’t. Hell, he wanted to hate cheap whisky but that didn’t stop him from buying it. “I don’t know” It was the truth. 

“Then what do you know?” 

She wasn’t going to drop it. In all his time waiting for this day, or rather tomorrow, he knew one thing for sure, “I’m afraid of you.” 

She sat upright, “Hmm, you know for all the time you spent at the gun range, I’m surprised you never learned to feel how an empty clip affected the weight.” she eyed the gun for a moment before looking back at Tom. 

“I’m afraid of what you could do to me.” he clarified. 

“‘Could?’” She repeated. “You mean what I will do to you.” Her eyes were looking through Tom, “If your plan was to try and kill me before I … you know,” Tom knew her meaning, “Why use a gun? Last I checked, you don’t need to reload a knife?” 

“I don’t know. I guess I wanted it to be quick.” 

“Horseshit,” she shot back, “you just remembered what happened the last time you pulled a knife on me.” 

The memory haunted him like a specter. It was the first time he felt truly powerless. He wasn’t even allowed to off himself in a moderately more dignified manner. It was the first time that he truly believed there would not be a happy ending to the story of his life, that his tombstone would just read “lunch.”  

“Let me ask you again, do you hate me?” her voice lost its softness somewhere along the way. Tossed aside after serving its purpose. 

“No, I don’t hate you.” His words hung in the air like a thick fog, permeating the entire space. “I’m going to ask you a question now.”

“Sure thing.” Tom wasn’t asking for permission but she still treated it that way. This was still her game, Tom was just a pawn on the field. 

“Do you care about me? I mean . . . “Tom broke her gaze to look down, searching for the right words. “-as something more than just a piece of food?”

“More than a plaything?” Her mischievous voice was back. The voice that let Tom know he was being messed with. 

“More than a plaything, yes.” He winced. 

“More than a toy?” 

“Yes, god damnit, more than a toy!” Tom snapped, “Does my life have any purpose beyond your fucking hunger and fucking pleasure?!” He was louder than he meant to be. Maybe it was just the alcohol. Maybe it was his right to know, to have some sense of closure. 

She smiled. She just smiled, nothing more and nothing less. It was still too much for Tom to handle, or too little? He wasn’t sure.   

Tears formed in his eyes, “Please just tell me.” the words came out as little more than a squeak. 

She cupped his cheek, “Oh human, my sweet, delicious human.” She leaned in close, right up to his face. “You mean everything to me.”  Her lips met his and pressed deeply 

“I’m going to let you go now, I want you to be well rested for tomorrow. This was fun, it’s a shame that we don’t have more time. It’s a rare treat to fuck a human.” Hinba rubbed her chin, “-at this size anyway,” completing the thought. “The next time you wake up, I will be my big self again, and you will be mine.” She tapped Tom on the nose to emphasize her possession. She leaned down one last time and spoke directly into his ear so that he could feel her breath. “I hope you’re ready, my little morsel.” 

And then she was gone. There was no flash of light, no magic gesture, no extravagant display. She just was there in one moment and in the next she wasn’t. 

Tom looked over to the gun. He picked it up and wanted to scold it for its disobedience, but settled on ejecting the magazine. It was empty. That wasn’t a surprise but Tom had to be sure. He opened the night stand and fished around for the second clip. Retrieving it, he found it too was empty. All the bullets were nowhere to be seen. There was another in the dresser under a mountain of socks. Low and behold, that one was also missing its most valuable component, however this time there was a small heart scribbled in what looked like red lipstick. 

“Hope springs eternal” he muttered to himself as he opened his closet and pulled a small cardboard box out of the corner. At one point this small cardboard box held fifty 9mm bullets, now it held a wadded up, and very well used, pair of panties. They were black, lacey, and smelled very much like Hinba. “It’s like she marking her fucking territory...“ he muttered to himself, not caring that “she” was still very much able to hear him. 

Tom left the bedroom and eyed the door across the way. This door had an electric lock but Tom did not regard it and thought of other things. He started repeating a practiced mantra while he walked to a small desk in the corner of his room. In the first drawer was the latest issue of a magazine about old muscle cars. Tom had become their most unenthusiastic subscriber. Walking back to the electric lock on the door Tom punched in the final six digits of the barcode on the cover, careful to keep his mind occupied with the droning mantra and threw the magazine on the floor. 

The door swung open and Tom followed but did not register that he was passing a threshold. That was the trick. Once inside he walked for an indeterminable amount of time through an unfamiliar space, around a desk he never remembered purchasing. He grabbed a small box that he didn’t recognize and pulled off the lid.

Tom knew what the small amber stone looked like, and he knew about the single 9mm bullet that sat beside it. The magic of the amber stone allowed him to regard them with his conscious mind without fear of prying eyes. The rest of the room and even the lock required intense discipline to keep hidden and he was short on time. This was most likely the last bullet in the entire apartment. He wasn’t going to use it, a part of him was just curious if the magic would hold after she was actually in his apartment. She passed by the door several times and never once asked about it. He should not be thinking about the door! There was one other item that sat beneath both the bullet and the amber stone. It was a small envelope that Tom didn’t bother to touch. 

“Big day tomorrow,” he muttered when was back in his bed, pulling the still damp sheets over his tired body. 

—Chapter9 Finale 

“It’s time to wake, Tom” Her voice boomed. 

He didn’t open his eyes, but knew he was not in his bed anymore. The soft dirt- 

“I know you’re awake.” she interrupted one of his routines. “Seriously, you’re not fooling me. I can see straight through you.”

“Five more minutes?” he grumbled sarcastically as he rolled onto his side. At least he had put on pj’s before going to bed. “I’m back in the fucking forest again, aren’t I?” 

“Yup,” to her credit, she did not try to pick him up, opting to just keep her eyes trained on his tiny form. 

“Is this real?” 

“Are you going to ask that every time?” He did not respond.

Tom laid there uninterrupted for two minutes and thirty seven seconds. He was counting. He knew what was going to happen and he was doing everything possible to prolong the inevitable. It was doing nothing for his shattered nerves, however. When his body started to shake uncontrollably, he decided that waiting a moment longer in silence would likely melt his brain. “Are you actually going to give me the whole 5 minutes?” 

“I have been very patient these past three weeks. I promise I’ll let you know when that starts to change.” 

“Three weeks, huh?” The thought barely registered but Tom still welcomed the distraction. 

“Hop on.” Tom rolled back over to face her. His shoulder width is barely taller than her finger tips and they lay flat on the ground. There she was. The giant that haunted his dreams and rarely left his conscious mind. To say she was just like he remembered was a disservice. There was never a chance to “remember” because she never left. “It’s time, little one” 

It was a small walk away from the shadow of the giant tree that housed the worldstone. She had said they were moving to get away from “prying eyes” but the words stopped registering. The sights and sounds seemed to all blend together as they walked. Tom spent so much of his time over the past five years wanting to never return to this forest, to never see these trees again. Yet, here he was. Being carried to a secluded location away from any chance of rescue or salvation. She wanted it to be just the two of them. Tom didn’t need to read her mind to know why. It was alway her intention to make him feel powerless. The more he felt powerless, the more he accepted her power over him. The more power she had over him, the more likely he was to accept his fate. 

“We’re here” 

“Here,” was a stone pillar in the middle of a small clearing. There was a spiral staircase that snaked up to the top well above Hinba’s head. The stairs themselves were little more than stone slabs sticking out about two feet and were spread too far apart from each other to be useful as actual stairs.  

She raised her palm to a step that was slightly below her eye level. Tom hopped on and immediately pressed his back against the cold stone. The height was dizzying. Normally he could remain on his knees while he was being carried, but here on the small rock, he had to stand to avoid falling. 

“If you slip I’ll catch you so don’t worry.” she smiled sweetly. 

“It’s alright, I got it” he knew her meaning and wasn’t falling for it. 

“Would you mind taking off your clothes, you aren’t going to need them in a bit.” 

He nodded and started to slowly and very carefully remove his shirt, knowing full well that a fall would be deadly and not from the ground. 

“I can help you if you’d like” she ever so subtly licked her top lip. 

“Nope, I’m good,” it was another trick. Well maybe not a true “trick,” as she definitely would help him take off his clothes. 

He managed to get out of his shirt and wasn’t sure where to place it. He offered it to Hinba for some unknowable reason and she did not acknowledge it. Her eyes were wide and trained on Tom. There was a primal hunger that threatened to over take her at any moment but she needed to remain focused. Somewhere at the center of this little human was a gooey center that would satisfy her for many blissful months. Her patience had absolutely evaporated but that was her little secret. 

To his surprise, Tom’s pants were the easier article to remove. After they passed over his hips, it was a simple matter of letting them fall to his ankles and then quickly kicking them to the side. They fell, hitting the ground with a disappointing flop. And so he was naked. There was nowhere to go and no one was coming to save him. This is it. 

All he had were his words. It was now or never, not that he would really have too many opportunities to regret his inaction 

“Hinba, can-“ he was off to a great start as he stumbled over his words. Taking a deep breath he started again, “I would like to renegotiate the terms of our deal.”  

“Hard pass.” She said almost instantly. 

“Please, just hear me out!” He instinctively held up a hand to try and mentally prevent her from coming any closer while he was talking. “I know you tried to remove all the ammunition from my apartment last night.” 

“‘Tried?’” She raised an eyebrow. 

She was curious, that’s a good sign. “Yes, but you missed one. I didn’t do anything with it because I want to believe there’s a way I can still make it out of this in one piece.” Tom didn’t lower his hand. 

“Show me.” She commanded.

“Show you what?” Tom asked. 

“Show me the bullet I missed. Show me you’re not full of shit and just trying to back out of the deal you made five long years ago.” She was losing her temper and her patience was razor thin. 

Tom just looked down at his naked form. “I don’t have it on me.” He said sheepishly. 

“What a shame.” She said, her voice, cold and dry. “Look Tom, I’ve done all that I can for you, I’m afraid it's time. I didn’t want to force you but you’re not giving me another option.” 

Tom watched as she slowly opened her mouth and started moving towards him. Thick strands of saliva connected her tongue with her pallet. A warm huff of humid air rushed past Tom. He shrunk down on the small platform, trying to make himself as small of a target as possible. Her bottom lip came into contact with the ledge and her forehead tapped the pillar from above. He was staring directly into her cavernous mouth. 

She started to let out a noise and Tom knew it was a slight giggle but she was trying to keep herself from blowing him off his perch. Her mouth curled ever so slightly into a smile before she tilted her head to get a better angle. The interior of her mouth overtook his entire field of view as he gripped his legs tightly against his chest. Her tongue started its approach, aiming for his feet to simply lift him away from the only thing left that tethered him to the outside world. 

“Hinba, Wait.” it was barely a whisper, “Wait. Wait!” Alarms blared in his head as he raised his voice, “WAIT!!”  

Light flooded his vision and her teeth snapped shut right in front of his knees. Any closer and Tom feared losing a limb. Her head back away and looked down. Tom couldn’t see her face but saw her hands as they came up to massage her temples. “Look...“ she sighed, “last night was fun, but it might have been a mistake. I think I may have put some ideas in your head of how this thing-”

“I’ll do it,” Tom interrupted before she could finish. “I promise I’ll do it, I’ll give you what you want but please,” She raised her head to see the human, “Can you give me one more day? There's something I need to do back home.” His eyes were wide, pleading for the smallest of concessions.  

Her tone was even and calm. “Did you forget that I can see everything you did in the human world?” Tom knew she was annoyed and fighting back the urge to take it out on him. “You were very thorough. . . “ 

“Please. There's just one more thing...” This was quickly becoming an unwinnable argument but he was out of ideas.   

“Sweetheart...” She gave Tom a warm smile. “I don’t think I believe you.” He was doomed. “I can tell you’re hiding something,” her eyes narrowed looking through the corners of his shattered psyche, “But all I see in you is fear. I know what you’re trying to do. This is just one last desperate attempt to escape your destiny.” 

Tom balled his fist in indignation, yelling now, “It’s not I promise, give me one more day and I’ll prove that-” 

“No.” she shot back. “You want to prove to me that you’re not just trying to postpone the inevitable?” Hinba got uncomfortably close to Tom. This would be her preferred distance. She wanted Tom to have to choose to either look her in the eyes or stare into her mouth as she spoke. “Do it right here, right now, by being my meal... Give yourself to me willingly, and I might bring you back up,” she used air quotes to emphasize her flippant intentions then placed a hand on her stomach. “-before you become a part of me.”

It was too much to leave up to chance, “Do you promise?”

“Promise what?” she was getting sidetracked while rubbing her stomach with pleasant anticipation. 

Tom had to bring back her focus. “Promise you’ll bring me back up. I trust you. I’ll do it if you promise that you’ll give me one more day.” 

“I will do no such thing.” her words cut through him like a knife and she brought her mouth within inches of his face so he could once again feel the heat radiating off her lips. “Remember Tom, you... want… this. Remember?” She stuck out her tongue briefly to ‘tap’ his face. The action left behind a thin layer of saliva and Tom slightly dazed. 

She moved away slightly, not enough to stop being threatening but enough that Tom did not need to crane his neck to look her in the eyes. “If you only agree because you think I’m going to bring you back up unharmed... well that’s not going to work and on some level I think you know that as well, otherwise you would have suggested it sooner.” Taking a deep breath she looked to the sky for a moment. She was also choosing her words carefully. “For what it’s worth, I really want to trust you... and I know you want to trust me, but you can’t.” Her hands came up to interlace right below her collarbone. “I have every intention of keeping you.”  

Well, I’m fucked, he thought dryly. There were only so many ways this would all play out and they all centered around him becoming a meal and how willing he was to let that happen. If he believed Hinba would let him out then that meant he wasn’t really giving himself to her completely and she would likely digest him out of spite. There was a small possibility she would just find a worse way to torture him but he pushed those fears aside for now. 

He had to believe that this was a one way trip. She would see through any doubt. Tom peered over the ledge to look at Hinba’s stomach. It was a cruel trick for her to dangle that small bit of hope in front of him only to take it away so suddenly and completely. “Hope” wasn’t allowed. Self-preservation wasn’t allowed. Survival was not allowed. His legs began to shake, Hinba made a move like she was going to catch him but Tom waved it off. She was a witness to his internal debate and was merciful enough to let him reach a decision on his own. Could he even do it? Sure he could will himself to agree to it verbally but if he was forcing himself, it would be the same as if she was forcing him. Through all of this mental gymnastics, Tom came to one realization as he rose back to his feet. He was afraid. Fear occupied every element of his thought process and guided his decision. 

“Do it. I’m ready.” He was not ready. 

“Are you sure?” Hinba was willing to let him continue for as long as he needed. As long as she didn’t not see his thoughts drift to a plan for escape, she would force herself to give him time.

“I am.” He was not sure. 

“Do you want to be let out before..” she trailed off. 

“No.” He was lying  

Hinba offered a sympathetic smile. “Lie to me all you want but you can’t lie to yourself.” 

He balled his fist. “Then don’t bring me back up.” 

“Tom...” she started to reach out her hand but stopped herself. 

“Please just...” biting the inside of his cheek to keep from saying something he shouldn’t. 

Hinba took a deep breath and sighed before moving closer to Tom again. He thought that she was going to take him right then and there. Squeezing his eyes shut he waited for the inevitable. At least this time he would remain standing but nothing happened. 

 “Have it your way. Please what? I want to hear you say it.” 

Tom blinked his eyes open. She couldn’t be serious. Was she actually going to make him beg for it? It was almost enough to break him but he knew this was just another way for her to solidify her power over him. She needed to hear it just as much as he needed to say it. In a way, there was a likely chance he would lose his nerve beyond the point of no return and that would be bad for both parties... Well really just her. 

“Please eat me.” He said through a clenched jaw. 

“I want you to be more specific, start at the beginning.” Her voice was syrupy sweet but there was something sinister beneath the surface. She was enjoying this entirely too much. 

Tom took a deep breath, forcing the tension out of his body. “Please let me crawl into your mouth.”

“Hmm?” It was more of a purr than anything else. 

“Then I want you to swallow me.” 

She licked lips with a sickening slowness “Then what?” 

“Then I want you to digest me. I want my body...” He took a deep breath. “-and soul to melt inside of you.” 

“Hmmm, then what?” her eyes were twinkling with delight.  

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

Hinba reached out a finger and tapped the stone platform while biting her lips. “What happens to food after it breaks down in the stomach?” 

“Ok.” There was a moment’s hesitation as he flinched from the slight vibration passing through the pillar. It was not her intention to cause the structure to shake but at this height, Tom still felt the smallest moment. “Please Hinba. Make me a part of you.” 

Her fingers started to trace circles around her abdomen giddy with how the conversation was progressing. “What part of me? If you could pick, that is?”  

“I don’t...” There was not a good answer to that question. “I don’t think I have a strong preference.” It was the truth. 

“Just say my ass.” she cut in quickly, “I know you’re an ‘ass man.’”  

He met her gaze. There was no more fight left in him. If she wanted his dignity as well, it was her to take. “Please make me a part of your ass.” 

There it is. All the time she invested in her little human was finally about to pay off. “I want you to know that I have waited so long to hear you say that. I always knew you could do it.” She waited for just a moment to enjoy the mounting anticipation before getting uncomfortably close to Tom. As she spoke her lips threatened to press him against the stone pillar. “Ok little one. Since you asked so nicely... Crawl in.” Her mouth opened wide, ready to accept its prize. 

Tom was once again looking into the crushing darkness. “Any chance I could go feet first, like last time?” He still remembered his previous experience of being swallowed.  Even with the more amicable nature of this occurrence, going down with his head right side up still seemed preferable. 

“Nope,” came her curt reply. There was no sense arguing with her, “This is goodbye, human.” 

Human? That’s right, he wasn’t “Tom” anymore, not to her at least. He was just a snack. Placing his hand on her outstretched tongue, he moved himself forward. It was a surreal sensation, every modicum of his being was screaming at him to turn back but he continued. The space quickly became cramped as he positioned his torso over the back of her throat. There was already a small pool of saliva beginning to form, eager to aid his descent. He had reached a point where he couldn’t move forward anymore. He was about to call out to Hinba but was cut off as her tongue shifted below, pushing him down.

The descent was slow. It was painfully slow and extremely tight. Tom heard Hinba’s heart thundering in his ears as he progressed deeper. The rapid beats were a clear giveaway of her excitement. 

When Tom arrived at her stomach there was a brief moment of freefall before he splashed into a shallow puddle of acrid slim face first. He pulled himself back upright but it was a tall order as every surface was covered in a slippery fluid and the walls stretched and moved with his touch. Once he was finally upright, there was a moment where he tried to move himself out of the puddle of digestive juices, but he stopped himself. It would be an omission that he was still trying to prevent the inevitable. Tom allowed himself to slip down as far as gravity demanded, which thankfully kept his mouth above the surface. The heat was already sweltering, but the liquid seemed to grow hotter the longer it was in contact with his skin. Reasonable, he thought. It was a chemical reaction. 

The stomach began to move in a rhythmic fashion. She was moving. Walking somewhere with him as nothing more than an unwitting passenger, or perhaps a stowaway. The fleshy prison started to rumble. Her stomach was rejoicing at his arrival. He’s just food now.     

Hinba's voice seemed to emanate from all around, “I'm sure you’ve noticed that it's a little bit different from the last time you were there. How about you try and guess why that is?” 

She was trying to distract him, to get his mind as far away from the situation as possible. For all of her past cruelty, this was a mercy. Tom welcomed it. The most obvious reason was because this time was real. It wasn’t an illusion or simulation. This wasn’t some dream that she could control and tailor to fit a certain experience. This was real. He didn’t bother speaking, she could already hear his thoughts and he doubted if she could hear his voice above the incessant gurgling. When there wasn’t a response, he just assumed that there was more to yet infer. 

So that’s how it was different, he just needed to determine why it was different. Hinba’s illusions always stuck him as being able to pull from somewhere. When she first placed her spell on his chest, she was able to recreate his apartment with a startling degree of accuracy. Maybe she wasn’t able to recreate the “experience” of being eaten because she had never experienced it herself. Tom felt like he was on the right track but he was in no position to go any further as the contents of Hinba’s stomach continued to slosh around. He was quickly losing the ability to stay focused. 

“You’re actually really close, believe it or not,” came Hinba’s voice again. “I actually do get to experience as much or as little as I’d like from my meals, at least the ones that carry my charm, that’s the magic I placed on your chest. I can recreate anything I want really but you can’t. The first time in the forest was more your illusion than mine. Your fears were the source of what you experienced back then.” 

Tom appreciated that she was trying to quench his curiosity, but he was unable to find any enjoyment from the exercise. His skin was beginning to hurt. He started to feel incredibly tired and before he could even register the change, he dropped out of consciousness. 

—Epilogue 

That was her cue. As soon as any of her “treats” started to notice the pain, she would use her magic to lull them into unconsciousness. It was a common practice for every meal, regardless of how much they fought her going down. She enjoyed teasing and tormenting humans but there was a distinct line between playful cruelty and inhumane suffering. It was often hard for her to rationalize making a person experience the full extent of digestion even when she truly wanted them to suffer. Even for her, it was too much. 

She tapped her stomach and smiled. In the end, Tom gave himself to her willingly. He was still alive inside her, that was certain. It was an unmistakable sensation when she claimed a soul. Like biting into a fresh berry and the juices exploding to every corner of one's mouth, a soul’s sudden departure from the body would fill Hinba with an otherworldly sensation of pure ecstasy and satisfaction. 

She approached the giant crack in the worldtree that led to the worldstone. It was too bad that she had already made her decision to let Tom out. She made sure to walk painfully slowly. There was still a chance that the human would succumb to her stomach before she had a chance to pass through the worldstone. No one would really blame her for TRYING to save her little human. “He was the one that wanted this after all,” she told herself with a sly grin. 

There was just something that was bugging her. Last night after she left Tom’s apartment she heard him think about a door, a door she didn’t recognize. She assumed he was lying about the missing bullet, of course, but for her to miss an entire door? Thinking back to the layout of the apartment, she mentally walked to the space right outside the bedroom and bathroom, the door directly ahead went to the bathroom and the door to her left went to Tom’s bedroom. She tried to mentally turn to face the wall to her right in that same space but only succeeded in giving herself a headache. Tom was certainly a strange human to have a wall in his apartment made solely out of headaches. 

He actually surprised her. All she saw in him was fear right before she ate him. That led her to believe he was just in denial and she would be denied his soul, but somehow Tom used that fear to rationalize his actions somehow. He knew that he was willing to be eaten because of his fear rather than despite it. Even with Hinba able to see his every thought, he had still managed to come to that realization without her knowledge. “My clever little human.” She whispered to herself. 

She was nearing the worldstone, passing through the darkness with memorized precision. The walls began to dance with a vibrant blue glow. There was a brief moment where Hinba started to second guess her decision while looking at the upside down reflection of her human form laying in Tom’s bed. He was beside her in the image. There was an uneasy expression on his face and his skin was red and clearly irritated.

For a moment she hesitated. She had Tom right where she always wanted him, and now she was going to just let him go. As if in protest, her stomach let out a loud growl. “If this turns out to be nothing then I’ll just put him right back tomorrow.” She spoke to no one. “I don’t even need to wait, just drop in, look around his apartment while he’s still unconscious and if there’s nothing there then we’ll both come right back, none the wiser.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to convince herself. Something about this human just tickled her to no end. It really was a pleasure to mess with him. Maybe she will make him believe that she did digest him and drum up an illusion to make him think he’s in the afterlife. She’ll make everything flesh coloured and smell like her sex. Tom’s reflection started to twitch. He was reacting to her stomach's final death hug. “Better hurry.” She said quickly before reaching out to touch the worldstone. 

—-

Hinba rolled over on the queen sized bed to regard her human. A small layer of her stomach acid still clung to his skin and was now soaking into the blankets. She lifted the sheets just to make sure he still had both of his legs and arms. Digestion didn’t occur that quickly but she wanted to double check. If there was a chance that he could wake up in serious pain she would want to avoid it. For the most part he just looked like he had a really bad sunburn, a few blisters, and needed a shower. 

Hinba slowly got out of the bed to make sure that she didn’t disturb Tom. Walking around the bed she approached the door and opened it slowly. It was hard to focus but she could just barely make out the image of a door in front of her. “How strange...” Her brain was trying to make sense of the image. There was some powerful magic trying to keep her from perceiving this doorway. “It’s not going to work.” Her eyes began to glow and she was finally able to focus on the electric lock. “What do we have here?” 

She searched her memories of Tom’s experiences but couldn’t find the code, only that it was six digits. Her eyes moved around the room and landed on a magazine that was thrown onto the floor. “Where did you come from?” It was not there when they were in the apartment last. Tom would read these magazines for hours, reading them over and over again but he always seemed to detest reading about old cars. Hinba always assumed that it was some sort of coping mechanism to deal with the feeling of living on borrowed time. Time borrowed from her, she added. 

Her eyes drifted down to a series of numbers below a bunch of small black lines. The last six in the series looked familiar. She plugged those in and the door unlocked, “Nice try” she spoke with a small chuckle, “but I know you too well to-“ 

The room was not a room. The walls were not walls and every direction she looked felt “wrong,” somehow. There was only one bit of “something” that stuck out amongst all of the formlessness. Across the room that was not a room, she saw a small amber glow twinkling in a dense haze. “Is that naga magic?” She spoke as she made her way around a “something” that blocked her path but was easily avoided. There was a little box and inside was a small glowing amber stone, crackling and vibrating with intensity as it tried desperately to maintain its illusion. The stone failed. With a single large crack its glow dissipated and it broke in two. Hinba picked up one of the halves and examined it. “A naga would need several of these to hide from me.” She thought of Tom, “You kept all this from me only using one, AND you were under my charm... How did you manage that?” She asked aloud. 

With the amber broken she looked around at the room, there was a desk in the Center of the room that was covered in maps and sketches all of variety size and complexity. Tom was trying to retrace his past through the Forest even though he spent a lot of his time unconscious. Several bookshelves lined the walls with various tomes of all shapes and sizes. One wall had a large white board with her name written several times in a column with different spellings. Beside all of the scribbles were different languages in a second column. A marker connected the first two columns with a third for a list of possible translations. She zeroed in on one of the translations, “‘Fire hag?’ That’s not far off actually...” 

In the center of one of the walls was a large hand drawn map of her village, painstakingly recreated from memory with several pins sticking into the many buildings. A single red string snaked around each pin filling in a large portion of the map in what appeared to be three large triangles pointing out from the center. A portion of the string was hanging loose. She tilted her head as her arm reached up on its own. Wrapping her finger around the loose string she pulled it towards the center of the town and hooked it on an outstretched nail sticking out of an intersection.   

Stepping back, she looked at the image of a five pointed star overlapping her town. It was her star, the symbol of her magic. “Is this what you were doing while pretending to read magazines?” 

She looked back to the box that held the broken amber. A bullet sat next to it. So he wasn’t lying about that either. To think that he had the opportunity to take his own life but still allowed himself to be brought back to the forest... “I guess our night of “fun,” wasn’t a mistake after all. I must have really done a number on you.” She smiled to herself before noticing a small envelope placed under the bullet and stone. Placing the other contents to the side, she pulled it out and flipped it over, feeling something inside the paper. 

There was something written on the bottom right next to the seam. It read, “Take me, and I am yours. Keep me, and I will stay yours.” 

Opening the envelope, and gently shook out the contents. A large metal ring fell out. It was too large to fit around her fingers in her human form, and too small for her normal fingers either, but it didn’t matter, she knew it’s meaning, “So, my little human wants to be my little pet” she bit her lower lip. “Oh I am definitely going to make you think you’re in the afterlife” giggling to herself for a brief moment before setting down her findings and moving to the exit. Before leaving she turned one last time to the map of her village. “Or... maybe I'll just let you rest... “ She closed the door behind her and returned to her human.