“Run!” The words came in a constant, panicked stream as the two figures desperately tried to cross the wasteland before them. A booming sound was masking the tiny voices, growing louder as they tried to flee.

Matt was panting already, but he knew the punishment if he was to fail. The giantess would reach him, her foot coming down. Squished under her shoe, not even a chance of being spared a cruel, painful, and humiliating death.

“Run!” Shouted the three other men, already under the safety of the cabinet’s overhand. Matt tried, but his legs burned, his lungs screamed, his stomach was tearing at him. How many days had it been since he had last eaten? Two, three? And even then, it was literal crumbs.

The two men left running almost fell as the giant’s flat came down again, the hard sole rocking the tile floor below. Though neither was willing to look over, they knew the shoes appearance. It had almost crushed them many times before. Belonging to a middle aged woman whose body the very idea of beauty, the shoes were tight flats, made of a black leather that gripped their owner’s foot. Though the outside may have been covered in cracks, bends and chips, they looked no less radiant, nor any less deadly. Matt continued to push himself, thinking only of the safety before him, not sparing a thought to his friend that was falling behind.

A shadow came over them, the giant’s foot hanging high above, ready to come down and end their suffering. But Matt was almost in reach. He screamed, the feeling of a thousand knives stabbing his legs taking over as he desperately leapt under the cabinet. Hands grasped onto his outstretched arms, pulling him the last few paces in.

A deafening thud, a muffled scream of agony, then the sound of tiny crumbs and specks of dirt falling from a giant’s shoe as she continued her thoughtless step. Matt was still alive, in one piece, saved at the last moment. The same could not be said of his friend.

Matt looked back, his chest heaving, sweat, drenching his naked body. If his stomach had anything of substance inside he would have vomited it up at the sight of his former friend turned to a mess of blood skin and organs on the tile floor.

“Come on,” one of the others said after a moment, the shock of thier friends death still weighing heavily. He dragged Matt to his feet, ushering him to the hole they had cut out from the cabinet and the small hollow space behind that served as their home. “That’s no good to look at.”

“No,” Matt agreed, turning away. He had seen it before, and knew that he would see it again. No point in letting the sight burn itself into his mind any more than it already had.

Sleep came hard that night, partially due to the continuous gnawing in his stomach, partially because of his realization of the futility of the situation. His friend had died today and it took no more than one well-placed step by these giantesses that now tormented them. Who was going to die next?

The group of four, originally a group of six, had been convicts convicted of different crimes of different severities. Ever since the invention and legalization of shrinking technology the government had implemented it in prisons, shrinking the convicts so that they would be easier to manage, feed, and keep. As far as he knew, Matt and the others were the first people to have escaped the program.

They had ran, crossing through the streets of the town outside of the jail, always moving in the direction of a shop called Paula’s Beauty. A woman could buy anything she needed there, but Matt had a more specific goal in mind. Among the woman who worked there was a girl with fiery red hair flowing past her shoulders, green eyes that were as captivating as her smile, and a heart that was ever filled with compassion. Her name was Cassie, and she was the love of Matt’s life, the two having been in a relationship for almost two years before his conviction.   

At first he had hoped to simply call out to her, have her realize what happened, maybe even take care of him until they found a way to reverse the shrinking. Those hopes had disappeared the moment he saw the titanic girl standing thousands of times his height, his near microscopic head barely reaching past the sole of her shoes. She had almost crushed him that day, Matt only surviving because he had fit into the grooves that made up her boots.

Ever since that day the group had simply tried to survive; getting help from the gods that walked around them one of the last things on their minds. They didn’t have a chance. They were just small, naked, tiny insects to be stepped on, eaten, or to simply lay down and die in a corner. Now it was just a matter of time.

Still, none of them had the heart to give in. They continued to scurry around the shop, trying to dodge the numerous hazards that awaited them, eating whatever crumbs they could scrape off the floor.

Of the four members left of the escape party, two of them had been convicted of murder previously. Jonny claimed it was in self-defense, which Matt believed due to his generally laid back nature. Brian said that it was a revenge thing after the guy slept with his wife. Matt himself had been wrongly convicted of raping a young girl, a crime that he still denied even now. It didn’t matter though, no one believed him. Even Cassie, who had stood beside him for so long, had her doubts. She had barely even visited him in jail.

The final man had been convicted of theft and assault before, but had been put in jail due to terroristic actions that had never been detailed. Nicholas was his name.  His temperament always seemed to change, and was never easy to predict. A strange man, one whom Matt tried to avoid as much as possible. Still, in this world he couldn’t be picky when it came to help.

Matt closed his eyes tightly, trying to drown out the sounds of things creaking, tiny footsteps of the mice, and the dripping of the broken faucet high above. He tried to peel his mind away from the nightmarish thoughts that gripped it, the fact that he slept next to murderers each night, the reality that they were going to die soon, the revelation that his life meant nothing, the image of his dead friend. No, sleep would not to come easily that night. It never did.

Matt awoke to the sound of the store’s bell chiming loudly in his ear, followed soon by the heavy footsteps of one of the store clerks. He guessed by how clumsy they sounded that it was Paula herself, a woman in her late thirties with a little bit of a belly, who always wore flats that were a few sizes too small for her manish feet, and almost always had a snack in her hands.

He pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing the gunk out of his eyes, looking around that dark hollow. Sunbeams came in through some of the holes in one of the walls, allowing small patches of light to illuminate set areas of the room, larger than normal dust particles flashing as they caught the glare. The floor was simple, cold tile, the walls a dark wood.

The other three were stirring, waking up from their sleep slowly, as they would normally do. Their wasn’t much of a motivation to wake up anyway. There wasn’t anything to eat, wasn’t any real plans to reach help. Just another day of trying to survive.

Matt stretched, cracked his fingers, blinked at the sunny spots, tried to ignore the constant gnawing in his stomach. “Come on guys,” he said, receiving a unanimous grown in response. “We should get moving.”

The clock read noon, and the store was busy, a multitude of different women coming in and out of the store, their massive feet stomping on the ground, causing trembles with every thoughtless stomp.

Matt crouched in the shadows under one of the tables towards the back, a bunch of shirts stacked up on top. It was not the safest place in the store, often times the workers would need to change out merchandise and would come close to crushing them, but it did have some benefits. It was far away from the main entrance, which let in a burst of frigid winter air whenever it was opened, and it was close to the employee lounge. With some luck a couple of crumbs might be dragged out on someone's shoe today.

So far they haven’t had much luck.

“Come on!” Johnny shouted, slamming his hand on the table leg as yet another giantess walked away, no food dropping. “I’m starving.”

“Shut up,”  Nicholas spat from nearby. “Were all hungry.”

“We can’t live like this,” said Brian softly.

“Well I don’t see you thinking of anything better,” answered Nicholas, standing up. “Got any ideas, smartass?”

“No, I just-”

“Then shut your damn mouth and watch for food!”

“Okay,” Brian said, backing down from a challenge. Brian always backed down in these situations. Matt just shook his head, turning back to the floor, ignoring the fights that seemed to be growing dangerously frequent.  

The door opened, Matt’s eyes flashed upwards. He tried to make out the giantess’ face, but it was blocked by her perky breasts sticking out from her pink t-shirt and covered by the store’s white apron. Though he still knew it was Cassie. No matter what he could always recognize her.

She stepped in front of him, her massive running shoes slamming on the tile. She shifted her weight, continuing her walk, leaning more on her toes. Then, an instant later, she was gone. Matt turned away, sighing audibly, the sound of women's voices sounding in the distance.

“Hey, you still sad about-” began Jonny, but he stopped as something crashed to the floor. The four turned in unison, a single slice of bread spinning on the floor just a few inches out from the cover of the table.

It might have been the most elegant thing they had ever seen. The corner had teeth marks in it, was dripping with both the saliva of the previous owner and the sauces that had been so liberally dribbled, as well as a few loose chunks of lettuce, cheese, and even a bit of meet. To most it would be nothing more than a piece of trash to throw in the garbage. To Matt and his group, it was a miracle. They hadn’t eaten in so long.

“Food!” Johnny shouted, rushing forward, only to be stopped when Matt grabbed him by the arm.

“Careful,” he hurriedly said. “We need to wait until it's safe.”

“Come on,” Jonny continued, pulling away. “I just need a bight. That's it, just a-” he stopped as a loud thud erupted from close by. A woman was approaching, her heavy footfalls aimed close to the table.

Matt recognized her as one of Cassie’s coworkers, Amanda. Skinny, tall, great legs, an amazing body that he wasn’t happy to admit he had fantasized about. She didn’t have the best personality, often came off as a bit of a bitch, but was a decent person all the same. Today she had on a pair of thick snow boots covered in mud, dirt, and snow from outside. The soles were large, almost as thick as Matt was tall, numerous stains covering the disgusting zig-zags that formed the bottom.

“No,” Johnny whimpered as he realized where her current path would take her. They four naked men watched as the girl’s boot went up, then came down on the feeble sandwich below, crushing without any effort. “No!” He whimpered, collapsing onto his knees.

A voice called from far away, “Amanda, could you organize those shirts?”

The girl answered, “Sure,” then turned to the table opposite the micros, going to work.

“But, we could have eaten for days!”

“I know,” answered Matt.

“I’m so hungry.”

“I know.”

“But,”

“Holy fuck, just shut up,” Nicholas said, turning away from the girl.

Then Amanda started to move, shifting her weight a tiny bit, leaning up onto her toes. As she did so her sole was exposed to the group of gawking men, the carnage of the crushed lunch staining the already disgusting sole.

“Look,” Johnny said, his big eyes unable to focus on anything else but the crushed bread and condiments.

“It isn’t worth it,” Matt started, though Johnny was already trying to squirm out of his grip. “She’ll step on you, just wait until she moves!” But his words didn’t have an effect on the starved man. He broke free of Matt’s grip, rushing forward from the safety of the table, bounding to the girl’s sole. “Why didn’t you help me?” Matt said, turning desperately back to the other two. Nicholas only shrugged as he looked on.

The three stared silently as Johnny rushed to her sole, pressing his nude body against the mass of mud soaked food, scraping whatever grime covered portions he could from the girl’s waterlogged bootprint. “Thank you,” he whimpered as he ate, ignoring the taste of snow and dirt as he piled whatever he could into his mouth. “Thank you,” he said again, falling onto his knees as he continued.

“Johnny, get out of there!” Matt called, his puny voice barely carrying to his friend. If the man heard he gave no notice. He continued to enjoy the flattened contents of Amanda’s sole, crushed so carelessly, mashed into a paste that was barely even edible, yet the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

Then a voice from above, light and airy. “Okay Paula, I think I’m done.” The three men could only watch as the girl placed the last shirt on the pile, her weight shifting, her shoe falling. Johnny noticed at the last second as her shadow consumed his body. He looked up at her sole, unblinking, unthinking, dread consuming him as it came downwards.

It was over in an instant, no yell for help or scream of pain. Just a quick series of snaps as his bones were smashed and a large puddle of blood when the girl took a step away. For the moment that Matt was able to look at the pool he could tell that the body didn’t remain. Either it was crushed so thoroughly that it was no longer recognizable, or it was plastered to the underside of the giantess’ boot.

“Damn,” Nicholas said, elbowing his way past Matt. “Two dead in two days. But, I do spy a couple of crumbs. Doesn't look like anyone nearby.” He grinned. “Guess I’m eating tonight. Come on, before anyone else shows up.”

Nicholas and Brian ran into the open soon after, grabbing as many crumbs as they could carry, not giving any more thought to the travesty that they just watched. Matt stayed back, unable to turn towards that spot of blood, unable to take his mind off the latest death. He didn’t want to deal with this, didn’t want to have to watch his friends die. He didn’t want to be a naked one-inch tall man on the ground.

But his stomach growled and his throat burned. It was only a moment more until he joined the others, picking up the crumbs, doing his best to avoid the ones covered in blood. He was mortal, after all.

Almost a full week had past since the last death in the group. The trio was still alive, though their moral was barely intact. They were hungry, starving to death, and still without any real plan of becoming normal.

Matt was trying to maintain a positive outlook on life, spending any time he was not scavenging for crumbs staring longingly at his one time girlfriend, letting his mind fly back to a time when he didn’t have to worry about death. She really was beautiful.

Still, she would crush him without a thought. Just like Johnny, just like the others. He wasn’t meant to live at this size, and with each passing day he started to fear that he was never going to grow back to normal.

The day opened like most, sunlight flooding into the store, the door opening and closing as the employees meandered inside. They had started scavenging early, picking up a single crumb of what they could only assume was a bread, but finding nothing after.

“Come on,” Brian begged, his unblinking eyes watching a single cookie placed precariously on the edge of one of the tables, a few giants standing near by. A single bump could send it falling down, feeding them for at least another week. But so far there wasn’t any luck.

“Just shut up,” Nicholas answered, slapping him on the back of the head. “It isn’t going to fall just because you want it to.”

“I’m just-”

“Hungry, you’ve said that before. Now shut up.” Matt remained silent, wishing not to aggravate Nicholas any more than he already had. The man had never been pleasant to be around, but he was starting to act worse, violent at times.

A woman slammed her foot down before the group, the ground shaking from the massive impact. She was wearing a pair of high heels, the white leather new and beautiful. No cracks or creases, and not a spot of dirt darkening the surface. They might have been brand new.

Matt took a moment to appreciate the delicate design. A pointed toe, though not so much as it appeared aggressive. Seductive would have been a far better word to use. Her heel rose up a few inches above the ground, a single pole of glistening white jutting down to support her entire body weight, the tip resting on a thin square of durable rubber already dirtied with whatever grime dusted the cold sidewalks outside.

The giantess was fidgeting a bit as she did whatever she was doing, sliding her foot around every so often, leaning onto her toes, sometimes tapping her heel. In a past life, when death wasn’t looming with every motion, Matt might have found this woman, this situation, to be uncontrollably arousing.

“Think she would help us?” Brian asked longingly, his voice, like his mind, somewhere else.

“What?” Nicholas answered with disgust. “No.”

Matt shrugged. “She might, if she could see us.”

“She isn’t going to see us, stop thinking there’s a chance,” was Nicholas’s curt response.

“She might. We have to at least keep up-”

“No, we don’t. We have to be realistic about this shit. We are going to die like this.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“Why not? It's true.”

“Guys,” Brian interjected. “I think I might know her.”

“Really?” Matt asked, Nicholas rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, we worked together. He name is…” he paused thinking. “Mabel? Yeah, yeah, it's Mabel.”

“Who gives a fuck?” Asked Nicholas, moving away.

“I’m going to talk to her.”

“No, Brian you can’t,” Matt started, but the man was already running forward. “Brian!”

“Let him go,” Nicholas said as Matt rushed forward, coming to the edge of the table before stopping. “One less mouth.”

“Mabel!” Brian shouted, rushing into the sunlight of the store, begging for the giantess above him to look down. “Please, Mabel, it's me!”

Matt could only watch as his friend continued to do everything in his power to make the giantess look down, all of it failing. She was simply too large to notice the bug at her feet. Still, despite her foot slowly moving in erratic, unpredictable patterns, despite the impossibility of the situation, Brian continued to beg. “Please, it's me!”

“Brian, come back!” Matt shouted, Nicholas laughing behind him. He didn’t want to see another one of his friends die. Not like this. He couldn’t stop thinking of Johnny rushing to the underside of that girl’s boot, simply licking the food off of her sole. If he did nothing things would end the same, another carcass left on the floor. “Please,”

Brian looked back for a moment, his face devoid of anything other than longing. “No, I think she might-” his sentence suddenly halted as a shadow fell upon him. He looked up just in time to see the small rubber sole on the end of the giantess’ heel.

It slammed down, first pushing Brian to the cold floor, his face smashing against the tile, then digging downwards into his back, impaling him through. His screams echoed through the air.

Matt’s hands went up and covered his mouth, his eyes going wide at the sight. The giantess’ heel was just thin enough to pass through without actually killing the man. He was still alive, screaming, thrashing, blood spilling out of the open wound in unholy amounts. “Help!” He shouted over and over, the haunting words echoing through Matt’s mind.

“He deserves it,” Nicholas muttered close by. “Idiot should have known.”

“Please!” Brian continued to shout. The giantess then shifted her weight, spinning her foot around so she was facing a new direction, dragging the man’s body as she did so. A massive trail of blood and gore followed in a long arc. “Oh god!” Brain screamed, somehow still alive.

Matt could only stare in horror as he continued to fight for life, his organs slipping out of the massive wound. Soon enough to woman moved, stepping away from the table, Brain’s body still impaled, still stuck. His screams were audible for a while after that, until the woman had left the store.

“Gross,” Nicholas said once silence had returned. “Guess it's just you and me now, hugh?”

Matt could only remain silent, those screams echoing in his mind.

The cold of the mid winter day seeped in through the doorway of the store. When Matt breathed he could see the thin wispy white cloud exiting his mouth. He was shaking, shivering from the low temperatures, barely even able to feel his fingers or toes. But it was fine. It was all worth it. He had found a crumb.

Greedily he held it in his twitching hands, his crazed grin spreading, his stomach growling for the nourishment it needed. Two weeks had passed since Brian had been impaled by the woman’s heel, and there had barely been anything to eat. Not a crumb fell, not a speck of food. And it was starting to take its tole.

Matt had been seeing things. A few nights ago he thought he was normal again, back at home, sitting in his bed with Cassie sleeping next to him. She had rolled over, pressing her firm butt against his bare skin. He had wrapped his arms around her naked, warm body. But it wasn’t real. Would never be real.

Then things started to grow more disturbing. Monsters creeping around the corners of the store, each looking at him with hungry eyes. Nicholas was looking less and less human every day, his teeth growing longer, his hands turning into claws.

Matt knew this wasn’t real, told himself that it was just hunger consuming him, yet he couldn’t let his feelings dissipate. Nicholas was just as hungry as he, and just as desperate. Many men had become cannibals for less.

But it was fine. Matt found a crumb that had dropped out of some giant’s boot sole. With glee he buried his mouth into the sweet hunk, taking bites that were larger than he could handle, gagging as too much filled his mouth.

The sight of it had been amazing. A girl who looked to be around twenty stomped past him, the impact of her feet causing Matt to duck under a nearby table for fear of being crushed. She was attractive though, wearing a large brown coat and a pair of crisp white snow boots. She had just come in, the soles still glistening with the melting snow she had trampled on her walk inside, leaving puddles of murky water where ever she stepped. Then, as Matt watched her sole rise and fall, he caught a glimpse of a tiny object falling from in between her thick treads. He wasted no time running to the speck of food.

It tasked foul, dirty, barely even edible. Still he continued, until he heard a voice behind him.

“What you got there, Matt?” He turned, Nicholas standing behind him.

“Nothing,” he lied, despite himself.

“No, you have something. What is it?” There was an eerie calm to the other’s voice. “Food?”

“No,” he lied again.

“Come on Matt, you don’t want me to starve, do you?” Nicholas said, advancing forward, his hands clutched in fists. “Just give it to me.”

Matt stood, moving back. They were close to the edge of one of the counters, the doorway out into the world only a quick sprint away. “No,” he answered. It was his only option. He needed to eat.  

“Really?” Nicholas asked, a crazed look coming over him. “Matt, you’re not going to live much longer anyway.” He screamed the last line, “Just give it up!”

Matt pulled away, running with all his might, his former comrade sprinting after him. Hunger had completely taken over, replacing any sense of decency or community he had. After these weeks of living like an animal, of having the threat of death suffocating him constantly, he was in a state where nothing mattered, except living that extra day.

He ran into the store aisle, followed closely by his pursuer, ignorant to the giantess that was walking into his path. “Matt!” He heard the other shouting from behind, the crazed man gaining on him. Somehow Matt knew that Nicholas wouldn’t stop at simply stealing his nourishment. He’d punch him, kick him, beat him, wouldn’t stop until Matt was another dead bug.

Then matt stopped, a massive snow boot slamming into the ground with a startling speed and disgusting force, the impact sending both bugs to their knees. Matt looked up hurriedly, following the long, thin legs up to the rounded butt, to the thin waist, to the fiery hair, to Cassie’s angelic image. “Cassie,” he breathed, his former self coming back to him, if only for a moment.

“Okay,” the giantess said, her voice booming. “I’ll see everyone tomorrow.”

Matt glanced back, Nicholas pushing himself up, looking no more sane than before, then returned his gaze to the love of his life. This wasn’t fair, wasn’t right. He shouldn’t just be a pathetic bug, shouldn’t be reduced to a bloody spot on the ground. But, as he looked up at the giantess thousands of times his size, his stomach still growling, his naked form smelling of sweat and suffering, he realized that death was the only path left.

“Cassie,” he said again, standing up, rushing to follow the giantess as she continued walking. “Cassie!” He shouted, not knowing what he was doing as he rushed after his former lover, the only thing that really meant anything to him anymore.

The giantess opened the door, a cold breeze blowing over them, then she stepped outside, her boots making a deep footprint in the snow. Matt soon followed, lunging over the small lip that separated the store from the cold world beyond. “Cassie!” He screamed, his eyes following the girl as she moved to a nearby wall, leaning against it, bringing out her phone.

“Matt!” Nicholas shouted from behind, still in the store. “Matt!” The man rushed forward towards the rapidly closing door, his mind only on the life-sustaining crumb that was quickly slipping out of his reach. So thoroughly has the idea of food consumed him that he didn’t notice the growing tremors from behind, nor did he register the shadow that fell over his body. “What the?” were the last words he spoke before noticing the giantess sole hovering above.

He couldn’t see any details of the teenager that was about to crush him; her dirt covered sole taking up the entirety of his vision. It was a running shoe, that much was clear from the deep treads and multiple colors, most of which were pink, white, and purple. But, more than the vibrant lines he noticed the specs of dirt and grime. The still melting snow that had been mashed into the grooves, the mud that covered certain sections, the specs of gum that still stuck to the bottom of the girl’s sole.

It smashed down, her foot rolling over Nicholas’ body. He screamed, feeling his legs snap, crunch, disintegrate under the unimaginable weight. His body was forced against the freezing tile, his naked form exposed and vulnerable. He felt his arms break, then a pressure in his chest.

 Blood violently forced its way out of the man’s mouth as the unaware girl continued her step, not thinking about the tiny bug under her shoe. And why should she? He wasn’t human anymore. Only a tiny little parasite trying to live off of what other people drop. A naked, worthless, pathetic, disgusting waste of life. If she had seen him she probably wouldn’t even have stopped.

The girl walked past, through the door, out of the store, a tiny little bloody spot on her sole the last remaining trace of the worm that was.

The wind howled outside, its vicious bight digging deep into Matt’s exposed skin. The sun had disappeared by this point in the day, leaving the world bathed in a blackness that seemed only fitting.

Matt was passed the point of shaking, his naked body barely even moving through the deep snow. He was stopped now, motionless, standing in front of the goddess that he had loved for so long. And she looked beautiful too.

Cassie stood under one of the few lights of the shop, her long red hair dancing in the wind, her deep green eyes held steady. Matt knew she couldn’t see him, knew that his chances of surviving had fallen to almost zero. Yet, as he stood before his giantess, as he felt his body giving up, he was not sad. He regretted not being able to spend more time with her, regretted the series of events that lead to his shrinking, but didn’t regret this moment. He was going to die, that had been a certainty ever since they escaped, but at least he could die looking at her.

“Cassie,” he whispered, the wind billowing over his words. His eyes lowered to her boots. Fitting that she would be wearing his favorite pair. White, with warm tuffs of fur on the inside. Black streaks made up an intricate pattern of the sides, blending in with the laces that dripped off below and continuing to the sole she now stood on. He could still remember it, a zig-zagging pattern of thick rubber that always had something wedged between. Sometimes it was just dirt and mud, other times it was the corpse of some poor insect crushed by the giantess.

Then he saw a tiny speck sticking out from the bottom of her foot, something that reminded him of a life he no longer lived. With his last ounces of strength he crawled to her foot, moving up the the curious item.

“Oh,” he said, smiling, almost crying at the realization. It looked to be the remains of one of her sweet potatoes. Cassie wasn’t the best cook, but her potatoes were some of the best things Matt had ever tasted. He loved it whenever she made them. Perhaps he could have one last bight.

The bug bent down, pressing his tongue against the exposed sections of her sole, letting his taste buds marvel at the mixture of Cassie’s cooking, and the grime that they had been mashed in over the entire course of the day. Despite the horrid flavor, despite the humiliation of licking them off the bottom of her sole, they were still some of the best tasting things Matt had ever eaten. A fitting last meal for a bug like him.

He then looked up, his breath stolen from him as his eyes locked with the vibrant emerald orbs miles above. Cassie was looking directly at him. Then, almost kindly, the giantess spoke. “Oh,” she said, her voice flowing over the cold, barren landscape to his unworthy ears. “I thought all bugs had gone inside for the winter. Poor little guy, there’s no way you’ll survive out here.”

“No,” Matt agreed though there was no way she could hear. It was all he could do.

“I’m sorry,” the giantess said, looking genuinely concerned. She was always kind, even when it was only to a worthless little bug. “I’m not sure what to do. I’d like to help, but I can’t think of anything. If you stay out here…” She paused, soon coming to the only logical conclusion. “Here, at least let me end it quickly.” She raised up her boot, hovering it over the tiny insect.

Matt embraced it, starred up at the hovering sole of his love with a smile on his face. If this was how he was to die he had no complaints. To be squished under Cassie’s shoe was far better than anything else a disgusting worm like him could ever hope for. She might not know it, but this was the greatest mercy she could possibly give to the tiny, naked, defeated man.  

Her foot came down, the hard part of her sole slamming into Matt’s form, pushing him deep into the icy snow beneath. He felt the cold surrounding him as snow came up to devour his body, felt his love’s sole pressing harder and harder into his body. His limbs snapped first, then his chest. Blood was pushed onto the snow, turning it a deep crimson as his life was quickly brought to an end under the unimaginable pressure.

In an instant it was over, the last living member of the escape party turned into a flattened corpse. But, at least he was with her still. Maybe not alive, maybe not even in one piece, but always as a tiny red speck on the underside of his sole.

With that, Matt could be happy at last.