Preface: 

This is a story told from two disparate perspectives. As such, there will be overlapping information witnessed and repeated from different points of view. It is our hope that you’ll enjoy the process of seeing these two points of view clash, then come together both figuratively and literally, as indicated by the right and left idents noting the shift in perspectives.

In the near future, the world as we know it is no more. The wasteland covers what was once the continental U.S, and only small pockets of humanity have managed to survive and settle in the new world. In this world, however, new humans with dangerous gifts have risen to prominence, preying on the weaker humans with their ability to change their size and density at will. These ‘Shifters’ roam the wasteland, struggling to survive much like the remaining humans, even with their natural, predatory advantage.

Here we find the story of two people living in this world. So different from one another, soon to clash, and from then on to relearn what it means to be human after humanity has fallen....

~~~~~~~

Day 1

A plain of rubble overwhelmed by budding vegetation stretched in each direction around the small canyon. Hills of old ruins and buildings littering the otherwise open fields, the disintegrated remnants of concrete and asphalt indistinguishable from the dust and soil the new age grass and brush sprouted from. Dismal grey clouds were only intermittently broken by the sun’s glow, warming the brisk chill of the wasteland. The clearing hidden by what was once a small downtown center for a long gone suburban town provided ample shelter from the horizon, cutting off the chill winds that breezed carelessly over the chaparral.

Where this place was notably unremarkable on most days, the sole inhabitant that had moved in for the day brought a stillness to the air. A combination of peace and dread that followed her across the wasteland.

Maya sat in the shade of a particularly tall tree. Her legs sprawled across the ground in front of her and nearly pushing against the opposite mound of debris. Her weight pushed back on the tree and might’ve threatened its integrity were there not another mountain of rubble supporting it and, by extension, her. 

Her dark blond hair draped over one shoulder in a heavy plait. The only thing she was wearing, and let alone could wear at her stature, was a huge dark blue tarp which she used to at the least shield her substantive feminine features. Her vivid violet-blue eyes were currently closed as she tried to nap. 

The sun was just warm enough to feel good on her skin whenever it found purchase to break through the cloud cover. The arrival of spring was evident in the green daring to breakthrough the dismal landscape, a sight that delighted Maya’s heart along with the warmth of the sunbeams finally gracing her.

She snored lightly, her sizable chest rising and falling with each breath. Her tanned skin practically glowed in the sun rays, highlighting the contours of her bone structure around her shoulders and collarbone, the toned muscles running down her huge, shapely arms and legs. A powerfully elegant beauty amid the end times.

Still, these were dark times. Maya always needed to be alert, even while sleeping. Her larger build came with heightened senses. Senses which even now were picking up on small noises close by. Quiet disturbances that carried a particular timbre she recognized right away. The sound tickled her ear and she groaned under her breath; Humans. Likely from one of the nearby villages. 

She wasn’t in the mood to deal with them today. At the least, she crossed her arms under her chest and tried to further embrace her attempt to rest. She didn’t want any confrontation, even as a soft groan in her abdomen protested otherwise, she dearly hoped they’d just kept walking and leave her be.

Weaving through the open channels between looming piles of scrap and ruin, the small group couldn’t be seen. A blond man wearing a steely face mask shielding everything below his nose was up front inspecting an old metal casing. To those from the past or the eldest members of their clan, they’d have recognized the hold of a semi truck; to this group, it was just a long forgotten shell from an ancient machine. Still, such a find had value to the new humans of the wasteland. The hull itself had enough metal to construct new buildings and supports for their home. This find might’ve been enough to carry back and offer as scrap. Instead, they marked where it was on their rough map and moved on.

Their objective was to seek and retrieve anything that could be considered electrical. Components that could help them repair their generators to one day restore power to the husk of a town they all occupied.

A small settlement in the middle of vast nothingness, the wasteland spread out to every horizon in what was once a place called California. Time had ravaged the relics of the old world, plant life overtaking old cars and abandoned buildings. Highways crumbled where they dared to leave the ground, the general upkeep society once offered utterly forgotten when travel became impossible.

 Not with them out there. 

Adam trod carefully over the broken glass in front of him, keeping close to his team of six as they navigated new territory. He wasn’t new to being a scout, but his demeanor painted him as green as the grass they trod. Every minute sound, wind blowing overhead, a can tumbling down a junk pile, even his own heart beat gave him tangible shivers. Any of these noises could turn into something dangerous, the thing he feared most risking his life out here. Shifters. 

Humans that abandoned their humanity for evil powers to predate their own people. People turned towering monsters that consumed and destroyed all they saw. All of Charlie-6 had been raised on scary stories of the Giants in the wasteland. Told that if they ever had to leave, they better watch everything in the corner of their eye, lest they find themselves on some cunning giant’s meal.

So God knows why Adam wound up a scout. His village had a shortage of personnel, that he understood. But where he got the balls to actually leave the settlement walls would forever elude him. 

“Adam!” a harsh whisper shot back at him from the lead of the team, Davon, “Keep pace rookie!” 

“Ya fall back too much, we’re gonna lose ya in a ditch somewhere and never know.” another scout, Trance, joked, nudging an elbow into his partner in crime, Elena, “No kidding. He’d slip down like a straw, how scrawny he is, hah!” They’re voices were still hushed, but Adam heard everything. With short block hair, and small round head and nose, no physical build to speak of, he was in no way on equal standing with his teammates. His warm brown eyes poured with honesty, a feature that further projected his cautious thoughts to the disappointment of his more bold brothers and sister.

Adam couldn’t lie, act tough, talk smack with the troupe; it wasn’t in his nature. And this got him into more trouble than not. It’s why he couldn’t come up with a good reason to avoid being assigned to a scout regiment. Hindsight served him poorly, though he carried on anyway. All he had to do was follow orders and pray they made it back home safely. No hang ups.

Maya stayed in the sun. She was finally starting to warm up. The heater had gone out on her van which made it terribly cold inside. She had plans to fix it, but simply needed the parts. That was her strategy. To keep an eye out in the ruins she found to find anything worth salvaging. As powerful as she was, she wasn’t exempt from the struggles of surviving these lands. She intended to search the buildings around her after soaking up some rays for a while first.

She was lucky for the resilient trunk she rested against. For how much humanity had screwed up leading to the state of the Earth today, they still were wsie to cultivate such strong trees that stood the test of time. And this species would spread, the little patch of trees behind her were likely it’s offspring. One day, they would take over the world again. Until then, they grew in sparse patches here and there, wherever the conditions were perfect among the garbage.

Maya realized it would probably be easier to go back to normal height and just pretend to be a regular human but she wasn’t in the mood right now. The sun was finally out from behind the clouds, lending her its scant warmth. So she stayed put, back against the tree and legs across the road.

Still, her hearing was acute and she stayed attentive to the noisy scuttling of the humans nearby.

“We’ve gone as far as the last bend,” Farley reported, “And we found that Air Box Just at this point three days back. Likelihood is it broke off from a larger circuit. One of these buildings had to have wiring.”

“That’ll do us fine. Won’t be a big haul, but any little bit counts. Alright team,” Davon turned to address the group after conferring with their navigator, bringing his metallic mask to his neck and revealing his stubbled jaw and cheeks, “We’re looking for copper, and any cabling we can nab fast. Rubber-shielded is ideal, which will normally stand out from the garbage. Remember! Cut them into five foot pieces at minimum if you can’t yank it all out in one go-“

He stopped speaking, ducking behind the crooked wall he barely peaked over before retreating back.

The heavy of the team, Fug, stepped up to him, the rest of the group confused by this action, “Davon? What’s the pro’lem?”

The blond headed leader looked perplexed, looking to his team for confirmation of something, then a large grin sparked up on his face.

“Over this ridge. We got ourselves a Giant.”

Adam’s heart sank instantly, the other members demonstrating the spectrum of reactions one would expect from such news: shock, awe, skepticism, and excitement.

“Fuckin true? Bum this! We can try somewhere else.” Elena chimed.

Trance was less evasive, “What? You gonna run as soon as some shifter shows up? What do ya think these are for, cunt?” He shook his automatic rifle in front of him, his grenade-lined belt shaking as well, “Bet we could take him down and get some good loot.”

“Her,” Farley corrected, peering over the rubble to get his own look, “it’s a female shifter.”

“Shit. You sayin she’s...?”

“Yup.”

“Holy shit!” Trance looked excited, deciding to clamber up and get a peek, stopped immediately by Elena, “What?!”

“Just cause it’s a giant doesn’t mean I’m okay letting you ogle other women.” she shook her head, an annoyed yet amused smile on her face.

“I’m only assessing the threat, sweetheart! Don’t get your string in a bunch.” 

“She’s not naked. Seems resourceful, covered in a heavy tarp.” 

“Hey!” Davon corralled their attention, “Focus! The mission is compromised. We haven’t been able to bring back much besides hardware, and that leaves us in an uncomfortable position if we return empty handed... so,” he looked up, holding his gun with a cocky smirk, “I might agree with Trance on this one.”

The group hushed, considering their head’s announcement, Fug speaking first, “Uh… to look at her, sir?”

“No. To fight her.”

Adam gulped, and Farley looked perplexed, “I’m sorry, you want to kill that thing?” 

“Why not? Obviously if it’s surviving out here, it must have something we can take back. And we can still look for our cables when we’re done. Farl,” he put an arm around his confidant, “Think about it brother; we’d have food in excess for a week. After months of scavenging jobs, we’d be finally start getting selected for higher profile gigs. We’d be heroes.”

“I would like the big bung’low,” Fug stated, grinning while raising his heavy rifle from his waist.

 Finally, Adam spoke up, “Um… guys, are we sure about this? Do we even know if we can... kill it?”

The whole team turned back, equal parts interested that the rookie had actually spoken and annoyed over his hesitance. “No shit! They’re just big people, after all. We all know how easy any of us would go down. So if we all go in together all strategic like, we’ll have it in the bag!” Trance retorted, fire in his eyes.

“I just don’t think this a good idea. I have a bad feeling about all of this…”

“That’s because you’re a child. Elena here got more balls than you’ve even dropped,” Fug mocked bluntly.

Trance chuckled at the comment, “Holy shit mate! Leave some for us to take back to camp!”

 “Alright, alright,, focus guys.” Davon silenced the banter right away, getting straight to the plan for what he believed they now all committed too. “Fug, Trance, you have the most ‘nades on you. You two will sneak around behind her ridge and toss them when Farley flashes the signal. Elena, you and I will fire at her legs when she gets up to respond. Farley, Adam,” he looked to his friend and the cowardly teen, “Keep rifles at the ready, and take small shots where you can. Her eyes will be easy targets.”

Everyone nodded but Adam, leading to Davon zeroing in on his least courageous cadet, “Hey kid? You have us covered, right?”

  The black haired boy was close to shaking. He only played a small part, but his contribution could still mean life or death, even if he believed this whole escapade would only lead to death.

“….Yes captain.”

 Their leader nodded, patting Farley and Lug on their backs and breaking the huddle, “Excellent. Get in positions, look to Farl’s looking glass for the signal.”

The group broke up quickly, Farley and Adam climbing to the top of the heap they initially hid behind while the rest spread out to flank the giant. Once perched, the two aimed their rifles at the giant.

No, the giantess. Farley’s observation had been correct, the monster they were about to engage was a normal looking woman. Granted, she was taller than the largest building back in Barstow, but everything else about her seemed normal. In fact, beyond normal.

Her blond hair glowed with a radiance he hadn’t seen before, running along a unique tan that gave her skin the sheen of a bronzed statue in the cold. It looked smooth and powerful at the same time, a contradiction perfected by her feminine form. Her face looked content, relaxed as she seemed to be napping, and the large blue covering she wore over herself was artfully placed around her like the world’s biggest blanket turned dress.

If he didn’t know better, he’d call her beautiful. Everything from her relatively well-manicured feet to her striking facial features, he could easily believe the old stories of shifters seducing people to their doom. He wondered if he’d be so naive if it came down to it…

“Kid, focus. The others are closing in.” Farley tapped his shoulder, rifle at the ready and procuring his shard of glass to reflect the sunlight and signal the group. Adam shook himself out of it. Was it that easy for him to be taken by a shifters charm? If he wanted to be a worthwhile part of the team, he’d have to concentrate and do his part. Raising his rifle, he placed it against the ledge they were hiding on, aiming it at the peaceful giantess’ face…

Except he dropped his rifle with a little too much vigor, and the unstable ground under him and Farley trembled. Adam prayed it was a small misstep, that it would settle and they’d be able to continue with the plan unheeded.

Of course that wasn’t the case. As soon as the ridge was struck, the trash below began to fall away. Before the two could react, they were both sent tumbling down the hill of garbage and wreckage before hitting the ground gracelessly, now at level with the resting giant.

Adam had fucked up, and now they likely drew the shifter’s attention. Trembling, he turned towards her, frightened to finally see the colors of her eyes.

“Shame,” Maya muttered. She sighed and opened her violet eyes, looking down at the two humans by her knee. “If you had turned around like the one of you had suggested, you wouldn’t be in this predicament and I could have remained asleep. But no. You had to be macho and try to shoot a woman with your rifles and explosives to prove you have balls or some such shit.” Her accent was heavily foreign, a drawn, rounded, yet biting dialect which only enhanced her exotic, alien nature as it reverberated through the surrounding area.

She picked up the larger man, ignoring the scrawny, shaking one beside him. “Seriously. You could have left. I wouldn’t have chased you or anything. But no. You chose wrong. So you’re going to pay. You and all your comrades.”

Her fingers broke the frightened man’s confusion as they set about pulling at his ragged garb and gear. Realizing her move, he struggled to fight back and hold onto his belongings, futile as it was to resist her strong, probing fingers. It didn’t take her but seconds to strip him down. Her nails cut through his pitiful undergarments last, leaving the dirty but fit human naked and afraid in her palm.

He’d do. Without comment or hesitation, she parted her full lips and tossed him into her mouth. He was perhaps four inches in relation to her current size so it was easy to slurp him in. She shifted the mouthful within her large jaw, getting her first taste while surveying the area for where the others were hiding. She had turned around fully by the time she swallowed him whole.

She looked around at the trees, knowing the remaining humans were in there. “Come out, come out wherever you are,” she said in a sing-song voice. “Come on now. You did what all the stories tell you not to; you woke the sleeping giant. And now you pay.”

"Oh no, no no no--!" Adam fell straight into panic, doubling back into the wall of garbage that walled him into the clearing she occupied. His heart was beating up in his throat, clutching his rifle like a security blanket when he saw Farley get raised up. The navigator tried to fight back, but her fingers yanked away his weapon and gear in the span of three breaths.

"Put me down you overblown bi-!" he shouted before disappearing between her cruel lips. Adam gasped loudly, covering his mouth with his clenched hand. She's done it! She's fucking eating him! He sat petrified on the ground as Farley was chewed, or rather sucked on as he discovered on further investigation. His terror froze his collapsed legs to the the ground, helpless to watch the murder unfold.

A loud, thick gulp echoed in the unnatural canyon, propelling a solid, squirming lump that pushed out from the giantess' throat before disappearing just as quickly. If this was horrifying to witness for Adam, it was doubly so for the scouts that had worked and fought with the devoured man for years.

"SPIT HIM OUT BITCH!!" Trance raced out from around his hiding place, aiming his gun and taking fire. Fug heard the battle cry, following suit and tossing his grenades in the shifter’s vicinity. Adam saw the charges hit the ground, and his feet skittered back to life. He knew he would be done in more quickly if killed by explosives than caught by the giant, so he hustled, running for any kind of shelter. His one option presented itself in a small overhang that preceded a shallow cave. Practically jumping in and crouching into a fetal position, he braced himself as the explosives went off back where he'd fled from.

Maybe they'd actually do it? Even with Farley gone, they still had plenty of fire power. Maybe that blast already downed her? Adam simply clutched his body in total fear, waiting for either victory to come through, or the giants hand to pull him away.

“Humans...” Maya growled. She snagged the one that was shooting at her, trying to shield her face simultaneously. She managed to grab his weapon first. That would do.

She snapped it clean in half in her fingers before wrapping her hand around him, pinning him with no hope of escape. “That damn grenade hurt! Just for that, no nieceties for you.”

She pulled off his gear and clothes effortlessly before popping him into her mouth. She began to chew as she reached for her other attacker. Bloody drool dribbled from the corners of her mouth as she smiled. She held up the human and opened her mouth wide to show the messy gore inside. Then, mouth still wide open, she swallowed.

“Delicious,” she crooned. “Although I do love the feeling of you stupid primitives struggling in my belly. That’s my favorite part of all.” She worked as she talked, stripping down her third attacker. Again, it was into her mouth and down the hatch. She smirked and rubbed her abdomen through her canvas dress. “So good. Who’s next? I swear I won’t have to eat until breakfast if I can get all of you!” She laughed cruelly at the remark.

She wouldn't wait long. A tearful fury in her eyes, Elena sprinted out as soon as she heard her husband's gunfire cease. Her own automatic at the ready, she fired without prejudice straight at the giant's face. Planting herself several yards away, she stood her ground and unleashed hell onto the beast that had consumed her husband. She avoided shooting the body out of fear she might hit her lover somewhere inside. When ever this thing went down, she'd cut him out from her insides and he'd be fine! He, Fug, and Farley would be alive and owe their lives to her.

Davon stood on top of the opposite pile of garbage they'd started from, aiming his unique weapon at the shifter: a harpoon gun. He'd modded his weapon of choice to uniquely send a charge from an accompanying taser through the harpoon line, shocking whatever it hit. Taking aim at the giantess' hand, he let the bolt ring off, hitting its mark perfectly with a chunky pierce! Quickly, he triggered the shock, sending a current of lethal electrical current through the line into their target.

Maya screamed at the voltage that coursed through her body. It hurt like hell but wasn’t nearly enough to kill her. She lifted her arm, twisted her hand around the line and yanked the human forward. He slammed into her thigh and lay motionless.

His hand had fallen off the trigger, stopping the electricity. But the one stupid woman was still shooting at her. Maya slammed her foot right next to the woman, knocking her off her feet. The giantess moved her own bare foot on top of the small female to keep her in place as she dealt with the male that was coming around.

She picked him up, tossed his gun to the ground and ripped off all his clothes. She smiled wide to reveal her bloodstained teeth. “You won’t need any of that where you’re going,” she said. “Or ever again, really.” She dragged him down and pressed him to her stomach so he could hear her innards. “Listen close. Are they screaming? Begging for their lives? Pleading to get out? I can feel them moving all around in there. It feels fucking amazing. And you and that little female are going to be joining them real quick.” 

She lifted him back to her mouth. “But first, you need to be punished for fucking shooting me.” She tilted him sideways so his arm dangled into her mouth. Then, she snapped her jaws closed, severing it at the shoulder. She didn’t chew this time, either. She simply swallowed. Then she repeated this process with his other arm, swallowing it whole, too. 

“Alright. Buh-bye now.” She slurped him inside and swallowed promptly.

The searing pain of amputation brought Davon back to his senses. Even through being smashed into her gut then whipped around while being verbally tormented, his only thought was doing something to save his group. His head ringing from the pain also failed to notice her go for the other limb until it was already being snapped off. This time, he got to witness it first hand as his right arm slipped over her tongue and into her throat.

"ELENA! ADAM! RUN, NOW!!" he'd do anything to protect his remaining teammates, knowing he was done for. His suspicions were confirmed when his bleeding, crippled body was slid between her cruel lips and into her slimy mouth. His surroundings were gelatinous and slimy, soaking into every part of him that touched her rolling carpet of taste buds. She didn't spend much time on him, a strong nudge from her tongue slipped him down into her throat as her mouth closed, and a world crushing gulp took care of the rest.

Pulsating, kneading muscles contracted and released him down face first deeper into the organic hell. The gullet pulsed along with the organic functions happening elsewhere in her torso, her lungs expanding and deflating and her heartbeat which all tangibly jostled the chute he was trapped in. His blood mixed in with the pool of spit he'd been swallowed with, and the red tinged drool announced his entrance into the sweltering sac at the end of the line.

Davon slipped in, falling into a mess of bulky masses of meat and two bodies. He saw her swallow Farley and Trance, the broken pieces obviously Fug's remains. Quickly, he found some purchase through the shallow pool of mucus and chyme to steady himself, squeezing his back into the rubbery walls. "Farley! Trance! Report!"

He expected an answer, to be accepted by a panicking company of his comrades. That's when he saw one of them fall dumbly into the juices. "NO!" he cried, trying to step over and save his friend without wasting time. With some careful maneuvering, no thanks to the giant's movements, he was able to hoist his teammate against a wall with his weary shoulders, fighting through the pain of his fresh amputation.

There was no life in him though. The body was limp and passive. Already dead. Davon cringed his face, the pain of this loss too much to bear even in the light of his own coming demise.

He'd done this. There was clearly air to breath in her, and neither man was likely to die of shock. Their end came when his harpoon sent a deathly shock through the giant's body, including those occupants inside. On one hand, he was inadvertently guilty of ending the lives of his brothers, even if they were doomed already with only a small chance of escape should he have succeeded. On the other, he provided a quick death, one far easier than the slow digestion he was about to endure. Now the best he could hope for was that Elena and Adam would escape.

A muffled, amplified voice sounded above; the giant was speaking. And then a series of sickening slurps buried under the cacophony of organic intestinal and stomach noises were crescendoed into a loud swallow. Davon feared the worse, his guess confirmed when a female scream built in clarity, closer and closer, until a flailing body squirted out from the sphincter overhead.

Elena was less reserved than Davon was, immediately struggling and fighting to right herself, "TRANCE!! DAVON!! God... FUG!?"

"I'm here sister," her leader coldly called. She turned his direction, only seeing his silhouette and ran to embrace him. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!! I tried! My bullets did nothing, and she stepped on me, and--"

Davon pulled her into his chest, "It's fine comrade. You did everything you could..." Even in the face of death, he held strong for her sake. She was taken aback, but quickly realized his intent, "...We could still get out. She took our knives, but we can claw out! My nails are long enough, we can get--" she stopped her desperate plans when she recognized the lack of other voices. "...Where are the others? Trance?"

He felt sick bearing this news, holding her tighter to him, "My taser bolt. It gave them a quick end. They won't have to suffer."

In the dark, Davon could barley perceive the grief run through her expressive eyes. She choked back her sobs, took a deep ragged breath, and held back into him, "He would've wanted it. Davon, we can still get out. Adam's probably next if he hasn't fled!"

"Elena, you know the stories. Giants do this all the time. You think we'll succeed where countless perished? No gear, no protection?"

The feisty scout opened her mouth to rebuke when a glob of slime plopped onto her shoulder. It disgusted her, but it punctuated his point. Looking around, she saw the belly flex and churn restlessly, no sign of blemish or weakness in the massive organ. Recognition dawned on her face, and she looked back to Davon, then resumed holding tightly onto him.

"I'm sorry brother..." she whimpered.

"No... this is my doing... forgive me." 

They both latched tightly to the other as the organic walls pulsed under and around them, closing in on their huddle after sensing plenty of new human bolus to process...

Maya belched loudly then stretched out on the ground. She had a full stomach and was content. The feelings of the humans shifting around inside her stirred a powerful tickling sensation that washed through her torso. She ran her hands over her lightly stretched abdomen, rubbing in circles and then reaching up for her left breast. The sensation had by now roused her libido.

Though her one hand was hurt, she could tolerate the pain and bandage it up when she returned to her normal height. For now, she had use for it. Free of any prying eyes, she slid her hand beneath her tarp dress and began gently brushing over her exposed folds.

It was almost a habit to do this right after eating. It was a great way to shake up her meal and speed up the digestion process. She panted and moaned, knowing all the right spots to tease with her ecstatic digits. She knew her body like the machine it was, working herself thoroughly with her dextrous hand and caressing the squirming bulge below her left teat where the stupid humans would slowly churn away.

The small struggles, the fire they lit in her, the power of it all. Soon, she screamed to the heavens, shaking the loose rubble around her as she came. It didn’t matter if she was alerting anyone nearby of her presence. She was the threat others had to fear. She could do as she pleased without consequence. Her fluids gushed everywhere as she sprawled out on the road, arching her legs and back trying to ride the thrilling wave. Her carnivorous mouth locked into an o-shape, widening to a shriek with the last pulse from her climax. 

Relaxing her spine along the cracked ground, she sighed in contentment and rested her head back on a conveniently placed pile of rubble. She’d been wrong. She was glad the humans disturbed her nap. Now she got to enjoy a large meal as well as some well deserved sleep. Rolling over to her side, her curves settled into the floor, letting her gurgling stomach rest against the mountain of debris to her right. After being so rudely interrupted, she was grateful for the proper nap she’d finally earned. 

Meanwhile, in the small cave, Adam was still huddled in petrified fear. He heard everything that had transpired outside, every gunshot, shouts of protest and mocking, to each sickly gulp that marked the end of his team. He counted five total, inferring the fact that each of his brothers and sisters had been consumed mercilessly by the giantess. Even with a rifle, he was clearly powerless to stop her, especially having the weakest firearm of the group who'd still failed with significantly more effective weapons.

He wanted to cry, to scream. There wasn't room to do so, not when he could be caught any second. Adam tried consoling himself, thinking what would Davon do. Well, what would Davon do if he wasn't overly ambitious enough to piss off a hungry monster?

Certainly he had to escape. That was the only logical recourse. She hadn't found him here, but that could change any moment now.Cautiously, he began inching towards the mouth of the cave, abandoning the rifle and weapons that'd just slow him down. Unfortunately, fate was out of humanity's favor today. The huge woman lay down just outside of his hiding place. Instinctively he hid, praying she hadn't spotted him. As it turned out, her mind was on other things. From his crouched position, he heard her begin moving in a rhythmic fashion, as if she was building up a pace. For what? He tried to imagine it when a soft yet loud moan echoed into his cave.

In a second, he knew what she was doing. The ground shook lightly, shaking the garbage around him and threatening a cave in as she built up her passion. Her soft coos became louder groans as her speed increased. Adam, himself, was unversed in the ways of womanly pleasure, found his mind horrifyingly conflicted by the noise.

Obviously, she was getting off after having ended five human lives; or while she was ending those lives. The idea of her being aroused by such an atrocity made him sick, and yet the gasps and moans she made while masturbating made a stir in his own trousers. Realizing this, he internally shamed himself and his body for letting the female's eroticism influence him in such a dire, tragic moment.

Before long, her pants and whines escalated to deafening shouts, and with a final scream that quaked the cave, various bits of trash falling to the floor making him think it would certainly cave in, she relieved herself with thunderous avail!

From there, she worked herself down, settling back to a resting heart rate Adam practically felt in the air. She was done, and she didn't notice him. Surely she'd leave, giving him a window to run. On the contrary, she rolled over onto her side, curling around the outcropping of wreckage that made up his cave and proceeded to sleep, barricading the entrance with her abdomen. The boy was left hopeless, dejected to imprisonment by her belly in a less fatal way. This became evident as he heard the machinations of her innards busy digesting her prey.

Loud gurgles and bubbling percussed into his cage. A prison of gruesome, organic ambience that rejected any peace for the fearful then grieving scout, especially when he could distinctly hear muffled screams and shouts coming from inside. With no exit, he moved as far back into the cave as he could, trying to blot out the sound of churning death, and the soft breathing of the contented woman causing it.

 

Preface: 

This is a story told from two disparate perspectives. As such, there will be overlapping information witnessed and repeated from different points of view. It is our hope that you’ll enjoy the process of seeing these two points of view clash, then come together both figuratively and literally, as indicated by the right and left idents noting the shift in perspectives.

In the near future, the world as we know it is no more. The wasteland covers what was once the continental U.S, and only small pockets of humanity have managed to survive and settle in the new world. In this world, however, new humans with dangerous gifts have risen to prominence, preying on the weaker humans with their ability to change their size and density at will. These ‘Shifters’ roam the wasteland, struggling to survive much like the remaining humans, even with their natural, predatory advantage.

Here we find the story of two people living in this world. So different from one another, soon to clash, and from then on to relearn what it means to be human after humanity has fallen....

 

---

 

Day 1-2

Maya slept for a good hour or two. She could never be precise with the time, though being familiar with the sun’s position overhead gave her some sense. When she woke, it had fallen lower on the horizon. It was time to move.

She pulled herself to her feet and removed her tarp-dress, the brisk air of twilight blowing over her completely bare skin. Neatly folding up the tarp and placing it beside her van, she released a long exhale as her body started changing. A minute vibration which could only be seen at close range enveloped her skin, and in moments, she’d reduced her height back to normal. Even then, she was tall. At normal human proportions, she stood at a proud six-feet, two-inches tall, and she enjoyed the perks that came with it while disguised. 

She stretched and rolled her shoulders, about ready to move away from the rubbish pile when she heard a noise. It sounded human, like whimpering and crying. Had she missed one? She was instantly on alert. Her fast metabolism had sped up the demise of those inside her but she still had a paunch from their remains, now crushed and compacted to fit her new size. 

“Who’s there?!” She called out, met with a scuffling noise, though no one appeared. Fine; she’d go to them. 

She focused on her hearing and determined the sounds came from a little cavern of garbage to her right. Confidently, she strode forward and inside. There, she found the trembling, black haired boy she had ignored earlier. 

“Alright. Get up,” she snapped. “Don’t try anything stupid.” She grabbed the rifle he had tossed away and leveled it at him. “Get up. You’re coming with me.”

He froze at how quickly she found him. Frankly, it was his own mistake for choosing to wait for her to leave instead of sneaking off while she'd diminished. Adam couldn't believe that the towering abomination who'd murdered his team was now at human height standing over him, barely clearing the low ceiling of the unnatural cavern. 

Yet now, the term ‘abomination’ was hardly appropriate when she loomed naked over him. He'd never seen a woman nude before, and his fear became amplified by the confusing feelings her presence elicited from him.

He cringed away, diverting his gaze so to not be distracted or offend his assailant, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!! Please, just let me go!!" His voice was cracked and timid, obviously no threat to the confident shifter that held him at gunpoint.

“Get up,” she said coldly. “You’re coming with me.” Repeating herself, she lowered the end of the rifle and whacked his left shoulder, “I said now, or I’ll bust cap in your ass and not blink.” The heavy accent she spoke with made it harder for him to process her words, but her gesture to the opening behind her illustrated her point enough, “Are you coming? Or dying?”

Her words were as powerful as any bullet, biting into him to either act or accept death. Clearly going with her meant he’d live beyond this ordeal, but until when? Maybe the honorable thing to do would be to die here, on the battlefield that claimed his sworn brothers and sister... 

Adam stood, his legs shaking as he forced one in front of the other to walk around the blonde shifter. His eyes never ceased their frantic cycle between hers and the gun barrel, slowly easing himself out to the cave entrance as it followed his path.

Once out in the light, he saw the abandoned clothing and gear haphazardly thrown all about the clearing, another chilling reminder of what transpired. Adam swallowed pitifully, he’d been a coward for abandoning his team. He should’ve been with them, just a few feet back in the killer’s guts.

These thoughts and all of the sights were too much for him to stomach, and without thinking for his safety, he took the chance to juke to his left and make a mad dash for cover, escape of any kind!

“Fuckdamn!” Maya yelled. She swung the gun and fired off one round. She was an alright marksman, but good enough to fire past him. She fired, and rather than shooting to his side as a warning, the bullet grazed the timid kid’s knee and dropped him like a sack of rocks. He cried out while Maya stomped over to him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him through the garbage to her van. She opened up the door and dragged him up the steps into the vehicle.

Tossing him on the bench seat and buckling him in, she pulled his face up, watching the fear in his eye to find any trace of possible resistance. Seeing none, she pulled out a set of bungee cords and tied his hands together for good measure. Then she grabbed him by the chin and turned him to face her once more. 

The woman’s violet eyes glowed with ferocity as she spoke, “You will sit here and you will stay. I am going to get dressed and collect the supplies my meal dropped earlier. If you move, I eat you next.” 

She patted his cheek in a rough, condescending way before standing and walking to her bedroom at the back of the van. 

The pain in his knee became manageable after a minute. At first he feared she’d blown his leg off until his senses came about. He wasn’t strong enough to resist or cunning enough to remember his gear when she hauled him across the way to her large metal vehicle. He was thrown in callously and had a set of restraints locked on him. Pulling on them proved useless, loosely locked around his waist and torso to let him move, but not enough to slip from its leather strapped hold. 

When the initial panic died down, and the shifter went out of sight to the back of the vehicle, he got a chance to look around. The cabin was messy, scattered oddities littered the floor in different piles. Weapons, clothes, food, tools, she kept a substantial horde in what seemed to be a machine of human design. Did she use this place to travel? 

Then she returned, trying to fit on a worn but clean looking pair of jeans and a cross-striped button up. His stare inevitably was drawn to her gut, still peeking out from under the shirt. Somehow, beyond physical possibility, all of his team was in there. Melted away, erased from this earth. A chill ran down his spine. Why did she need him? 

It was a struggle to get dressed since her abdomen hadn’t yet returned to normal but she managed. Her belly hung over the waistline of her pants and out from underneath her shirt. It made sloshing and gurgling noises as she walked, still obviously working on its hefty load. She caught the timid human staring at it and smirked. “You’ll join them one day. Maybe tomorrow. Too full tonight.”

He didn’t wait long for his answer. Her casually cryptic warning set him into deeper despair, clutching against the taut leather of the bench he was fixed to. 

“W-w-why am I alive? If you’re just gonna.... eat me, why not just shoot me and move on?”

Her face remained indifferently smiling, like this was a funny joke she’d enjoyed countless times before. “Because that would be a waste,” Maya said. “I prefer my victims alive. Besides, I could use a wimpy little guy to lure in stronger, braver humans. Those taste so much more delicious. You have any of those that’ll come looking for you?” 

He didn’t answer, though the hallow, sunken cheeks told her his mind was dwelling on that exact possibility. His drifting thoughts gave her an opening to swoop in directly to his front, crouching down to meet his eye level. She leaned forward, her soft, menacing smile ever present before dragging her tongue up the side of his face. The wet muscle felt and looked like a human tongue, if it weren’t for the knowledge of what she did with it that made him squirm at its touch. 

His cheeks sunk when her sticky tongue, the same vessel that conveyed his friends to their demise, ran up his face. It left a cool sheen of drool where it traced his cheek to his temple, and her appraisal only deepened his fear. 

“Mmm. Not bad.” She undid his gear with much more care than she had his comrades, then tossed them to the floor, intending to organize it all later. She then left the van, going out to gather the weapons from the humans had no more use for, including the electrified harpoon. Holding the dreadful thing, she glanced at her hand, noting the open wound now dried from earlier. “Hmm...I should clean that before too much longer,” she mused. 

With her out of the cabin, he had his one chance to escape. Unfortunately, the restraints he was in proved too durable to tear through. An attempt was made to reach a nearby knife with his foot until he heard footsteps approaching from the open door. Adam resumed his silent compliance as she entered with all of the gear Charlie-6 had carried out of the settlement. Weapons that the town sorely needed. Not to mention how much was inside this vehicle that would benefit his people. 

A plan was forming in his head. Maybe he was powerless now, but tonight while she slept, he might be able to break out, kill her while she slept, and return to the people with a haul of bounty, including what must’ve been some complicated machinery in the cart itself.

Finished with gathering the equipment and hauling it all to her van, she stowed everything away before turning to look at her prisoner. “Tell me what you and the rest of my meal were doing out and about today,” she said.

She spoke to him after loading the gear. Her question threw off his train of thought. No matter Adam would work out the details for his escape later. Might just yet be able to get something out of this disaster and not let his friends have died in vain. “Uhm... we’d been scouting for parts in this region, looking for electrical wiring for our homes... and equipment.”

“Parts? Where? I heard of a small treasure trove around here but haven’t found it yet,” she said. She pulled a beer from the refrigerator, popped the top, and sat on the table as she drank it. 

“Tell me where it is. I need parts for the van. The heating element went out. I want heat when I sleep and drive so I need the parts.” She took a long drink of her beer and sighed happily. “So good. A perfect drink to wash down human.” She belched and patted her stomach. 

“You’re sick...” a mindless utterance at her callousness that he immediately regretted. 

Her expression turned deathly serious, striding closer and looming over the boy, “No, I’m Maya. And you are Snack,” she said cooly. “Now what building? There are quite a few out there.”“Not asking again. Tell me where the junk is.”

“... I don’t know. We were just going to dig in the crumbled building here and pull out the wires in the foundation...”

She moved fully onto the table and put a foot on either side of the human. Now he was practically eye-level with her bulging gut. “Tell me right now, Snack, or maybe I gorge myself a bit early.” She said.

He was getting exponentially nervous each time she moved close to him. By the time she was a woman sitting directly in front of him, asking a simple question, the horror of what she could and would do should he not comply is all that compelled him to speak. “The one with the book... the broken sign with a book I think... Farley would’ve known better...” a twinge of guilt hit him, sharing the small, offhand appraisal to his teammate now reduced to soup inches from his face. 

“We didn’t know if there’d be anything, we just found an air circulation unit the other day and thought it worth checking for more. Please, that’s all I know.” He was shivering, talking with her pushing every fiber of his psychology closer to the breaking point.

Her deadly frown held true for another few seconds, before her face entirely lit up, the deceptively enchanting smile returning in an instant “Good boy.” She patted his cheek and slid off the table, “that’s a gooood snack.” She walked forward in the cabin, and plopped into the driver’s seat and started the van. A button on the overhead dash closed the sliding door on the passenger side. She shifted into gear and began rolling back along the trail she made. 

The jolt of the van starting shocked him, the static vibration after that and the forward motion that followed left him uneasy, and yet still in awe of the technological marvel it represented. A moving vehicle! Not a horse or a bike, but an electrical carriage! If he did manage to pull off his mutiny, he’d be bringing home a remarkable treasure. 

It only took a couple minutes to get out of the trees. From there, it was careful navigating to the building her snack had spoken of. When she arrived, she parked and looked up at it through the windshield. 

“Where in the building did you find the air unit?” She asked. “The sun is getting low and I don’t feel like searching the whole damn thing tonight.”

“Uh, it was outside. Just in the ground, like it’d been knocked out when the building fell... we took it back days ago...”

“Well shit. Fine. I’ll start with the bottom floor then,” she said. She stood and looked back to her captive. “You stay here. Touch anything, I eat you. You try and run, I eat you. Simple, ya?” 

She gave him a hard look with her violet gaze. “I’ll be back shortly. And I’m not leaving the van running.” She stashed the keys in a pocket of her jacket and left. Closing and locking the van, she left to scavenge what she could with the boy trapped inside.

He didn’t intend to leave. Yet. Now was the perfect chance to assess his surroundings and come up with a plan. She made a point of showing him the keys, implying they were necessary to activate the vehicle. He’d get them off of her when the deed was done. 

His restraints still fixed him loose but tightly against the bench, only able to move a few inches in any direction. It’d come down to how far he’d be willing to bend his limbs to get out of his snare. From then on, it’d come down to what weapons to use. Bullets didn’t harm her when she was shifted, but what about at human height? It’d be a gamble, if he lost it’d mean his life. Objectively it was fair, one of them would have to die. For the memory of his fallen comrades, he’d make sure it wasn’t him.

Maya searched the bottom two floors until the sun sunk too low for her to see. She sighed in frustration, coming up with nothing and forced to call it a day too early for her tastes. She would search the final two floors tomorrow. Tonight, she needed to park the van in a concealed spot so she could sleep easy. 

She hurried down the stairs and to the van. It unlocked with the key fob. The passenger door slid open with another button push. While it was cold inside, it was better than being outside with the high winds that tore through the area at night. 

“Alright, Betty,” she said. It was almost like she was talking to herself. But she caressed the steering wheel as she spoke. “Let’s find you a bed for the night.”

“That’s not my name...” a meek voice replied from the back. True to her demands, he hadn’t moved from his spot. He regretted drawing her attention to him, but it gave him a reason to look her way, to see how the keys were used to turn on the machine.

She didn’t put the keys in the machine. It was as simple as pushing a button. Maya snorted when the man-boy spoke. “I wasn’t talking to you, snack,” she said. 

Starting the vehicle up, she headed around the side of the building, thinking she’d spotted a good hiding place while searching the building. Sure enough, her assumption was correct, there was a large overhang of another crumbled building that formed a spacious cavern. She backed the van inside and parked, getting up from the wheel and started stripping down to nothing. Her passenger immediately flinched and looked away, drawing a smirk from her. 

Tossing the clothes onto the kitchen counter, she stepped outside and quickly expanded her height. The gravity of her shift was barely audible in the reverberating cave. She eyed a large piece of sheet metal on the drive in and folded it around the front of the cavern. Stepping inside to reduce her height somewhat where her head brushed the ceiling of the cavern, she was able to close the metal “door” completely. 

Satisfied with her work, she dropped back to her normal height and went inside the van. The interior lights of the cab had turned on automatically in the darkness. Her stomach was still a sickly bulge as she pulled her clothes back on. “All nice and tucked in for the night,” she said. She looked to her pet? Snack? Future meal? Whatever he was, she pointed him to a small enclosure above the front of the van. “You’ll sleep in the bed over the cab tonight. I’ll have you in the morning.”

“The what? Wait-“ 

The thing that disturbed him most was her routine. Not what she specifically did, but moving on from the slaughter she committed like it was another day; a normal day in the wasteland. She didn’t look evil, her demeanor was tough but amiable despite the morbid teasing, and her actions were as much for self preservation as they were for cruelty. Her words to the team before she killed them rang in his head, a morbid piece of hindsight. Had they just moved along and left her alone, they’d be alive. 

“I—I have to know. We hear stories about your kind. Today I saw one play out, beat for beat. I just— why? You don’t seem so bad?” This was his other plan. Appeal to her. She wasn’t dumb, so maybe he could make her believe he wasn’t a threat even more through conversation. 

“Can’t you eat normal food? What led you all, err, or just you, to eat... us?”

“I do eat normal food.” she offered simply, leaning against the far wall with her knee propped up, “Part of my diet is normal humans.”. She moved around, turning off individual lights around the camper, “it’s somewhat cumbersome with how annoying you are, but it is what it is.” 

She grabbed a step ladder and put it below the bed loft, dropping the cargo net and pulling the boxes of materials off the small cot. She tossed them to the floor before stepping down, then briskly crossed to her room and retrieved a blanket from under the mattress frame.

“I don’t get to eat humans that often. It’s not like I go out of my way to find you. But if an opportunity presents itself, I don’t have any problem gorging myself. Higher on the food chain, after all.” 

She turned back to her captive and looked him dead in the eye. “You try and fight me and I will tear your face off. Got it?”

The answer she provided was chilling in the logic. It wasn’t just that she could become a towering maneater, but she had the option to live a normal life and chose to act as she did.

Maybe that was life in the wastes. Adam grew up in the confines of Barstow, raised in the commune and trained to cut himself off from the outside. Giants were indeed the top of the food chain, letting them survive out here as they wished. Would she have just let them by had they not interfered? Second guessing didn’t help here. He had a plan, and contingencies to support said plan. Coward he was, Adam wasn’t going down quietly. 

“I’ll sleep where you want, just get me out of these straps.”

“You’re a mouthy little one,” Maya teased. She licked his face once more and hummed in pleasure. “Hold still now, Snack.” 

She stayed close to his face, locking his gaze with hers, as she undid the seatbelt and helped it off him. Then she pulled him to his feet. In another second, the scrawny little man was over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She carried him effortlessly up the step ladder before tossing him on to the bed in the loft, leaving his hands bound as she put the cargo net back in place. Once it was in secure, she looked back to her captive. 

“Stick your arms through and I’ll unbind them,” she ordered.

As if his pride couldn’t fall any lower, being manhandled like a cargo was a humiliating ordeal. He really was just food to her, not a thinking, living person. Every word she spoke was to get information or tease him. Nothing she said implied any value of his autonomy or free thinking. 

Still, he was a prisoner. No one should expect kind treatment under such circumstances. Hauled into the cramped compartment, he reached his hands through a hole in the mesh as she requested. 

“You could Just let me go... I could help you find the parts and we could say farewell... I won’t come after you, and the people that might I’ll turn away... just let me go...” 

His face was clammy, progressively clamier as he spoke. A fact his teammates knew about him that their killer didn’t was that he would get physically sick whenever he lied. A condition that marked him as a softy, overly sensitive with no spine. Here, it meant any moment he might unload the meager contents of his stomach into his captor. He tried to repress this reflex with all of his will to see if he could convince her.

“Not happening, Snack,” Maya said. “Now sleep. Big day tomorrow for ya.” 

She removed the rest of the ropes before snapping her teeth at his fingers. She laughed loudly and uproariously at his reaction. “You’re a cute one, kid. I’m sure you’ll be delicious.” 

Maya hopped off the ladder and put it away, confident her little snack wouldn’t escape. Turning off the cabin lights before changing into some thermals, heavy socks, and a layer of sweats, she shut the door to her quarters to permit some privacy from her food’s sight. Hopefully her nest of blankets and warm sleepwear would keep her warm through the night. 

She snuggled under the blankets, her long legs sprawling out under the heavy covers. Her arms tangled themselves amid a mess of worn, mangy pillows she’d collected on her travels, weaving around like one would embrace a stuffed doll for comfort. Soon enough, she drifted off to sleep.

Snack. Delicious. How was he supposed to sleep when his immediate future was so grim? He was going to die. Like his friends, just dragging behind the team as always. 

It was his fault they were all gone. If he were just more careful and didn’t slap the ledge with his rifle, she wouldn’t have noticed them. 

Though, the way she spoke, it seemed like she knew they were there the whole time. And for what good their weapons did to her, how would a fully coordinated attack have done any differently? He was only partially to blame for the fault of the others for even wanting to kill the giant. If anything, the guilt he felt was for not fighting with his team and dying with them... 

Even so, now he could still do something. From his waistband, he pulled out a knife he’d seen under the table and across from his bench. Pulling it out, it proved small, probably not used for fighting. Ideally, it still cut, and he began quietly wielding away at the cargo net. 

The knife would turn out to be incredibly dull, barely cutting through even the outer grains in the netting. Still he wouldn’t relent, putting hours upon hours into dismantling the thick barrier. He didn’t distract himself with keeping the time in his head, telling himself that each cut mattered, maximizing his efforts were the only chance of escape. He’d take short breaks when his hands both cramped up, comforted by the dark that still lingered outside before resuming, making slow but sure progress on the crusty, weathered material.

He’d been able to cut through seven of the sixteen points he needed to in order to tear a large enough hole when a gleam hit his eyes. Blinded by the shine, he held his hand up and looked for its source. A small spot of dim, early sunshine breaking through an exposed hole in the metal door the giantess has placed. Even as light normally acted as a metaphorical beacon of hope after the night, it spelt doom for the imprisoned human. 

It was already morning! He had to keep cutting, there still had to be time before she woke up! At that moment he cut through the eighth thread and began trying to tear the rest open with his bare hands. The frayed ends gave him friction burn the harder he tried to pry them apart, drawing blood from his fresh  blisters and callouses.

When Maya’s crude alarm went off, she groaned under the sheets. She wasn’t particularly ready to leave her warm nest, but habit pushed her up. Her mass of dark blonde hair was splayed in multiple directions, a result of the daily bedhead she honestly couldn’t care much about. Getting herself tidied up was low on the to do list with only a day of scavenging ahead of her. There were still the remaining floors of the building to search in hopes of finding the needed piece to repair the van heater. 

She pulled herself out of bed, stripped her pajamas off, and hobbled to the lavatory immediately to the right of the room. Sitting down roughly, she relieved herself quickly, groaning a bit as she pooped, evacuating the remains of yesterday’s meal. Several flushes and a thorough hand washing later, she was ready to start her day. 

She walked out to the living area, turned on the lights, and scowled at her captive. “Look what you did! You’ve ripped a hole in my good cargo net!” He hadn’t anticipated her entrance, jumping in the dark and freezing when the light was turned on. She strode forward, stepping onto her toes to inspect the tears he’d made. “Aah… You’ll pay for that.” 

In the light, it was easy to see the effect that the cold had on her body. Her nipples were erect and protruding from her breasts. It was also clear that her stomach paunch had completely disappeared, returning her abdomen to a flat, taut state.

He froze, hiding the knife back in his shirt before the light had turned on. Quick to find a distraction, he spit from his mouth, making it look as if he gnawed through. 

Her nudity once more intimidated him, hindering any words he might’ve said on her entrance. He’d wanted to have something to say, practicing several speeches about how wrong she was, even fantasizing straight out declaring his escape before jumping down and striking. In the moment, the cat had his tongue, making him a shivering mess when she expressed anger at his progress. 

That, and her trim stomach. Perfectly flat, no sign of the large meal she’d consumed. Chances are that he was next. 

“Please don’t... I can still help you search, w-we can hold this until later?”

Maya didn’t say a word. She simply used the ladder to step up and undo the cargo netting, letting it dangle and leaving the ladder in place. With his egress setup, she turned away toward the main door and walked outside. Stepping lightly over the litter and mess scattered against the cracked concrete, she willed herself to begin enlarging with every step she made toward the cave entrance. Still blocked by the crude metal seal she set up, she reached her maximum height that the cave allowed and pressed her hands against the huge plate. Rather than lifting it, she exercised her muscles to push it along the ultimately smooth, cement ground, sliding it across the ground outside and letting the sunlight bleed into the cave.

Once exposed to the fresh air and open space, she stepped out and expanded further to the height she’d made use of yesterday, towering over the mound where her vehicle was hidden and the surrounding buildings. It was nowhere near her maximum potential height, but she’d never really pushed to go further than this rough estimate. She stretched pleasantly into the sky, some birds mid flight forced to dodge her invasive fists as they raised up and held for several moments. Maya let her arms relax, letting out a peaceful sigh, then looked back to the debris-cave. 

She crouched down, unable to fit inside while standing, but still able to crawl with her head and upper torso inside until her face and crossed arms came to rest just a few feet beyond the camper’s door.. “Alright! C’mere, snackie,” she called cheerfully, an eager smile blossoming on her pretty, tanned face. “Think it’s about that time, don’t you?”

 

Preface: 

This is a story told from two disparate perspectives. As such, there will be overlapping information witnessed and repeated from different points of view. It is our hope that you’ll enjoy the process of seeing these two points of view clash, then come together both figuratively and literally, as indicated by the right and left idents noting the shift in perspectives.

In the near future, the world as we know it is no more. The wasteland covers what was once the continental U.S, and only small pockets of humanity have managed to survive and settle in the new world. In this world, however, new humans with dangerous gifts have risen to prominence, preying on the weaker humans with their ability to change their size and density at will. These ‘Shifters’ roam the wasteland, struggling to survive much like the remaining humans, even with their natural, predatory advantage.

Here we find the story of two people living in this world. So different from one another, soon to clash, and from then on to relearn what it means to be human after humanity has fallen....

 

---

 

She left, without binding him again; she left the van giving him free reign of the space. If there was a time to strike, it was now. He scrambled to collect the knife he’d smuggled and hopped down from the cargo hold, hurting his leg on the landing after forgetting his wound. Clenching his teeth through the pain, he bared the knife, moving purposefully to the door where he’d go outside and strike.... 

It only took a peek out the door as the early rays of morning light broke into the cave around a massive feminine silhouette for him to know she’d already grown. He hadn’t considered how easily or quickly the process took her, even after seeing her do so the day before. 

‘Stupid!’ he cursed internally, the weapon in his hand now meaningless, just a splinter to the immense creature between him and freedom. When she stepped out into the light, increasing her size even further with every step, the tremors she made shook his soul and the loose debris that comprised the cavern. Only the lower half of her thighs were visible below the overhang as she stretched onto her tiptoes, basking in the brisk morning air that Adam would dearly miss.

She turned around, her rugged yet moderately well-kept feet now aimed towards the cave, and her knee dropped to a kneel, bringing her waist and womanhood into view. Adam’s own knees quaked as the ground shook, the shifter now dropping onto both knees and leaning over, the first hints of her blonde hair piling on the ground around her before even seeing her head.

It struck him at that moment that she was coming in, and remembering her not-so-cryptic warning from last night told him why. Hastily, he jumped back into the camper, the only refuge he could imagine where he’d at least be somewhat safe. But would she be able to just reach in? The interior looked beat up to a degree, with a number of her belongings strewn about in a nonsensical mess. How far would she go to pull him from his unfortunate sanctuary?

At that moment, he turned his head every which way around the cabin, looking for any form of escape or shelter to better his chances. Not five feet away from him was her haphazardly piled cache of guns. All unloaded with various munitions scattered amongst them. These might be his way out, but he knew that not all rounds went to all guns, and he couldn’t bank on having time to find a proper match. Still, these weapons didn’t harm her before. Why would now be different? All except possibly the unloaded harpoon taser sitting atop the pile, a fresh bolt just underneath. His heart was pounding, a possible lifeline not far off, waiting for him to take up arms…

And yet, he couldn’t move. The shaking vehicle denoted her approach, and for the life of him he couldn’t summon the courage to leave his relative safety. There wasn’t a reason behind his decision, or a conflict of indecisiveness holding him back. Just the overwhelming sense of dread that gripped his spirit with cold, sharp talons, weighing him down where he cowered as the giant approached.

The booming stomps from her crawling into the cave rocked the vehicle fiercely as she blotted out the sun outside. Adam by now had climbed up into his cot, keeping out of sight of the door. After another handful of grueling, agonizing tremors, they stopped, and the cart shook in the aftershock for some more time before coming to a rest, silence laying over the cabin.

“Alright! C’mere, snackie,” wind rushed into the cabin from just her deceptively cheerful voice, the implication in her call in no way subtle.. “Think it’s about that time, don’t you?”

Adam paled; this was it. She was calling him out to be her breakfast. Likely she grew to her current size to manage him as easily as she had his clanmates. A tear streaked down to the dusty cot, the boy clutching his useless shiv like his last tether on Earth.

“Come on human. Let’s not drag this out. I won’t bite~”

The once innocent phrase that may have implied harmless flirtation now hammered in the terror of his fate should he leave the car, especially after seeing how she obviously did ‘bite’ just yesterday. He tried to suppress his panting, not wanting to alert her to his whereabouts. There was no best case scenario besides making this as difficult for her as he could.

After all, it now came to his attention that she was giving him a choice. She was asking him to step out, not outright dragging him into her jaws. If this was the case, there was no way he was leaving the vehicle! Perhaps she was too attached to damage her vehicle for just one human, he convinced himself. Instead of obeying, he pushed himself back into his sleeping place, making himself as scarce and quiet as possible.

Maya huffed, glaring at the van. She wasn’t about to go drag him out and risk denting the interior. That’d just be more repairs to worry about later. As it stood, she’d continue trying to coax him out as is. If it came down to it, she could always just shrink back, pull him outside by force, and do things the hard way. 

“Oh little Snack, come on. Come out! I know you’ll want to see the sunshine. It’s a beautiful morning! Crisp and clear. The wind isn’t blowing for once,” she said, attempting to paint an enticing picture for him. “Ooh. I see deer in the distance. They’re adorable, prancing and bouncing like they do.”

Her broad, lilting accent brought more color to the picture she was weaving for her captive. Hopefully, he’d understand the kindness of letting him see the sun one last time. It wasn’t necessary, but on a few occasions she’d stumble on a poetic type that fell for such fanciful acts. They were funny, if a bit pathetic. She didn’t take this fearful boy for that type, but any way to make breakfast easier on herself was appreciated.

“Sh-shut up,” Nothing she said could be trusted, no matter how sweetly she spoke. Her melodic voice reverberated through the car, vibrating the surface he clung so dearly to. “I’m not falling for your lies, giant! I’m a coward, n-not an idiot!”

Maya had to laugh at that, a lovely, rhythmic chuckle that loosened more rubble from the cave walls. There was a boldness in him yet, something she hoped would reflect in his flavor. “Are you so sure about that? Come on. If I were you, I’d want to come see the pretty sunrise and cute deer.” 

She rolled over slightly, letting some sun inside as she got a proper view of the landscape beyond her declined figure. The sun was out, but no deer were present. No fauna dotted the barely greened wasteland she promised him. She’d have liked to see a deer, and have someone to share it with, for more than bait at least. 

“Oh now this is interesting. There’s a group of humans headed this way. They’re coming from the same direction my meal did yesterday. I wonder if they’re from the same village?” Her eyes lingered on the group of small figures in the distance, armed and alert to their surroundings. They didn’t behave as if they knew a shifter was nearby, and hopefully wouldn’t do anything stupid to rouse her ire like some others had foolishly attempted.

“I wonder if people from the same place taste the same? Now that would be interesting to find out. You think that’d be fun, Snack?” She was half expecting her little captive to come running out and beg for their lives. Whether he did or didn’t, she didn’t plan on messing with that other group. If they left her alone, she would leave them alone.

His head perked up. Had another scout team really been sent for him? Farley might have shared their projected coordinates before leaving, and there might be protocol for the investigation of absent teams at daily rounds. Maybe there were more of his people coming to rescue him!

Though how would they know? The monster had gathered the evidence and stowed it away with himself in her horrid living space. Even if there were others, would they have a chance taking her down? Did he even want them to try? More needless losses to just save one unimportant soul?

Then again, this was all based on the presumption that she was telling the truth. Believing any word from her mouth at this point was an idiot’s gambit. Instead, he retreated to his huddle, refusing to give in to her tricks. 

"I-I won't... I'm no idiot… and I’m not food! I'm... I'm..." Adam was losing his conviction with each frightened breath. There was no bargaining. No appealing to her humanity. No escape to look for. She wanted him for breakfast, and all that kept him outside her hellish belly was his will to stay out of her reach. There was no revelation that would save him. Just the tenacity of a mortified rodent cowering before the jaws of fate.

Maya sighed in irritation, resting her cheek on her crossed forearms facing the bus again, “Come ooon. Come see me. What kind of man doesn’t obey a woman when she bares herself to him, hmm?” She paused, listening closely to his minute movements inside, hearing his little form tense up against her cot out of her sight. She smiled, finding her next strategy to lure the boy.

“Mmm~. Maybe I’ll let you explore my breasts. Or perhaps my pussy is more to your liking.” She raised her head to bring her chest into view, pushing them up with her arms as she cooed suggestively. “You know, I haven’t had a good fucking in a long time. It’s so lonely out here in the wastes. I’m happy to make this a memorable experience for you. Long as you just step… right… out~” Her head came down, bringing her plush, smiling lips directly into the doorway of the van, blowing gently inside the cabin with her warming, alluring sigh that ended in a moan.

"Wh-what the fuck is that supposed to mean!?" Was she trying to seduce him? Her ploy couldn't get more obvious. 

"Y-you’re sick! And out of you’re mind if you think that’s gonna work!" Even while denying her outrageous proposition, he couldn't fight the blood rushing to his cheeks. Adam had little experience in this aspect of life; an honor that was reserved for the highest standing members of the commune. Her nudity already exacerbated his subconscious insecurities, and now her carnal promises proved crueler teasing to the young man. For his most recent failures, he was unworthy to make love. Not in this lifetime, and especially never would he willingly lay with the man-eating beast trying to dangle it over his head.

“Come out,” she crooned, “Come explore my body. Would it help if I was your size? Would I be more attractive then?” She sighed as she brought her head back up, her hands now raised to support her chin. “Come make love to me. I’d like a man’s touch.” 

She moaned as she bit her lip, her hands dropping to knead her breasts as they rested against the ground. Truthfully, laying down and putting any pressure on her chest was an uncomfortable position. But for the sake of her performance, she bit the bullet, hoping the boy would get some kind of view of her from the windows.

Maya cupped and squeezed her right breast, running her fingers through her unbound hair and letting her natural pheromones wash through the cave. “Anything you want, little man. You can make a fist in my hair as you ride me. You can spank me. You can call me a skank or slut. You can do it all,” she breathed. “All you have to do... is come out.”

There was no sign of her stopping. These attempts to flirt and lure him outside were more offensive than effective. Yet, a stirring in his core spoke to some part of her rhetoric that broke through to his primal urges. Of course she was beautiful. Were they in any other position he would've pined for her touch more than anything. 

"Y-y-you can't fool me. I'm not even worthy of... I--" he sighed. What honor was there in holding on to the last tether of life, hanging over the gaping pit of the void? Another few minutes of breath? There was no way she was serious about her promise... but if she were to swear. Yes, no one could break a swear. It was sacrilege in his home to turn back on a swear. 

His logical mind protested the absurd notion, but he was tired, in pain, and maybe hopeful that he might enjoy one last privilege before the end. Adam stood up, trembling in all of his limbs. He climbed down timidly from the bed, moving no farther than the bench he’d been secured to the day before. Peeking outside, he saw her full breasts and looming face cheerfully meeting his emerging gaze. Trying to discipline himself not to get lost in her enhanced assets, he addressed the violet irises directly, "Do you... do you swear to do as you promise?"

Maya tilted her head to the side, letting her long hair fall to the same angle. Her violet eyes danced with amusement. Her words had some affect after all.

 “Swear?” She chirped, her lips curling into a knowing, teasing smirk. “I swear to do exactly as I’ve promised.” For her success, she was equal parts elated, relieved, and annoyed. If she had to fuck him before eating him, fine, but she’d still get her snack in the end. Likely he wouldn’t be anything memorable, though she was honest in that it’d been a long time since her last bedfellow. “Come on out then, snack. Let’s both enjoy the morning.” she purred, beckoning him with curled, inviting fingers.

The ultimatum. Should he step forward and relinquish himself to her wishes? He had something to gain now, a privilege he never thought he'd achieve by fault of his unremarkable existence. Now, his cowardice might lead him to the pleasure he and his fellow clansmen wished for from the earliest days of pubescence. With painfully clenched fists, he approached the door outside, taking the first three steps down before stopping. 

"Miss... I'd prefer you just finished it now." His eyes were resolute, quietly confident in his decision, "I regret the events that led me here. I never wanted to harm you, I never wanted to be a scout. If this is it... I'd rather end it quickly." His lip quivered, his terror palpable, yet there was a comfort in this last trace of honor he’d found. A good man found no profit in pain or pleasure, but the honest sacrifice when faced with the end of their time. 

The horror that had suffocated him to remain inside had been melted away by an unknown defiance. Maybe it was the fact that he could deprive her of some satisfaction in any way that gave him this intrepid bravery, or maybe he’d just grown tired of clinging to a fool’s hope. Resolved, he stepped fully down to the cracked concrete ground.

 "Do what you have to do." Adam closed his eyes, waiting for the oncoming maw to swallow him into the void of the giant.

Maya would have picked him up and ate him right away, but his words made her pause. She did pick him up after a moment, just holding him above the ground, putting only enough pressure on his midsection to keep him steady without pain. Something about his tone, his voice, jogged a memory from yesterday. He didn’t want to harm her? She remembered one of the humans spoke against the plan to kill her, but didn’t associate it with her snack until now.

The recognition rattled around her head, wearing a sober expression as she got a closer look at the quivering human in her hand. That mop of black hair stuck out to her. He was the first one to reveal himself; also the first one to run. He’d made no attempt to harm her. 

Even so, he was a human. A primitive, violent race that brought her nothing but hardship and calories. She sighed, the exhaust blowing his short, shaggy hair about as she began to speak, “I- I’ll make it quick. Thank you for your honesty, Snack.”

She offered a genuine smile, debating whether she meant to not swallow him quickly or just chew him to save him the pain inside her gut. Her gentle smile parted slowly, lifting him closer to conclude their short lived obligation. He’d passed the threshold of her lips, just about to touch down on her waiting tongue...

When she was hit in her backside by a powerful explosion. She yelped, her head reeling up and knocking into the roof of the cave. It trembled momentarily as if threatening collapse, instinctively clutching her captive close to her chest. Angry for whatever hit her, she started crawling back outside, flinging her human back to the door of the camper as she reemerged into the light. 

Beyond the open valley where her body stretched out into the wastes, at least a dozen humans were armed with their weapons at the ready, aimed at her. A trail of smoke blew upwards from the nozzle of a large artillery cannon welded to the back of a crude carriage. 

She glared and bared her teeth at them. “You are going to fucking pay for that!” 

“We’re looking for our brothers, beast!” an indistinct voice called out from the carriage, amplified by a scratchy megaphone that distorted his presumably small, to her, voice, “Were you around these parts yesterday?”

Maya wasn’t afraid of their weapons. She was irritated by the intrusion, more than anything. They were parsed out by many yards all around her, so dealing with them all wouldn’t be as simple as rounding them up.

“Yeah? What if I was? Why should I tell you how I spend my time?” she growled through clenched teeth, glaring down with fiery aggression over her assailants. Then, from the corner of her eye, her attention was brought back to the cave. Rushing toward the exit was her snack, waving his arms out to the other humans.

She felt her chest jump, and hastily grabbed for the metal sheet she’d used as a makeshift seal the night before. With two hands, still seated on her side, she slid it over the entrance, cutting off the boy just before he’d made it out. There was a small relief in successfully detaining him. A relief quickly mitigated by another blast to her shoulder.

Maya cried out in anger rather than pain, turning back to the aggravating attackers who no doubt saw the boy try to escape.

“Give her hell!!” the crackly voice called out, and every one of them began firing various barrages of bullets, bombs, and rockets at her. She raised her arms, condensing herself to weather the hailfire. 

When the first round of shooters were forced to reload, she found the chance to make her move. Her arm lashed out, quickly grabbing one of the closest humans as her rear shifted her weight to her knees, beginning to rise up. The dust around her on the ground bellowed and swirled as she pushed against the ground, getting to her feet and starting to rise up to her full height, many, many, many times taller than the highest ruin nearby. The human she grabbed was like a mouse in her hand, standing up fully and crossing her arms. “You know what? I know exactly where your friends went. Right here!" She emphasized her point by smacking her trim, tan belly, "and now I'm thinking of having a little reunion."

Her threat rang heavy on the men still opening fire as her feet started moving towards them. “Come at me, fuckers!”

The metal barricade slammed shut, severing Adam’s view of the rescue outside. He’d caught the briefest glimpse of other humans approaching the cave before he was imprisoned again by the blonde giant. His view cut off, he relied on his ears to put together a picture of what was happening. Gun fire, and lots of it. Various shouts in response to the shifter's booming steps as she engaged them. Adam knew she didn't take direct assaults lightly, but the larger size and scale of the onslaught he could sense sounded substantially superior to everything his team threw at her before. Maybe they stood a chance! There was hope yet, his tears ceasing as he attentively followed the audible action.

Had they come for him? There wasn't time to recognize their faces or check for his home's emblem. Left in the dark, he scurried along the steel wall that separated him from the outside. Any crack of light against the ground might let him squeeze through and escape, but what little openings there were proved too shallow for even his thin build. 

Minutes went by, and the presence of weapon firing faded one gun at a time. The giant had demonstrated an immunity to bullets that trumped whatever firearms they were packing.  Ultimately, the sound of fighting had ceased, and the smallest hint of a wet noise cut through into the chamber. She'd dealt with them swiftly, and would be back any second. He slumped down against the ground, defeated without the power to have affected the outcome of the massacre in any way. As a huge boom slammed against the metallic barricade, he cried out miserably through the dark hole...

Maya had sat down to rest against the entrance of the cave, stuffed to the brim. Her belly was rounded out with the contents of her meal, visibly wriggling and fighting inside. She belched and patted her stomach, the sadistic satisfaction of dealing with more self-righteous pissants nearly as satisfying as her engorged mid-section.

She sighed loudly, a satisfied exhalation for a job well done. In any case, breakfast was taken care of. She chuckled to herself, amused that these humans had indirectly saved the one they were after. Though they likely didn’t anticipate how the rescue was actually meant to play out. 

Maya smiled, staring at the open plain of scattered weapons and clothes around her legs. She’d gather them herself, but wished to sit back and enjoy their struggles a bit longer. So, she sat forward briefly, reaching to her side for the edge of the metal door and pulled it slightly over, allowing a small exit out into the wild.

The satiated blonde leaned over toward the crack, speaking into the cavern where she knew her original meal was hiding, “Snack! I need you to go around and collect their things.” Her order given, she sat back up and reclined again, closing her eyes and listening for the acute footsteps of her small prisoner.

The light blasted in from the far side of the cave door, and Adam rushed to the one chance of escape he had. Maybe the boom had been the giant falling dead, and his brothers had opened up this small crack to save him! 

Unfortunately, on rushing outside, he only got as far as just beyond the wall when he was met by the Shifter’s huge voice giving him ominous commands. Once in the light, he saw a familiar field of desolation. Abandoned clothes, gear, guns all over the ground, all juxtaposed to the tanned, womanly leg that stretched out and dominated the rest of the clearing. 

To his left was the Shifter herself, sat heavily against the wall with a grotesquely stretched out gut. Another group brothers, dead. Or soon to be. Either way, the absence of any conscience regarding the life of his kind was on full display, rubbing her stomach lazily with a sick, content smile on her murderous lips.

Her orders were clear, leaving him with the dreadful task of collecting the remains of her meal. Stepping farther outside, he understood the sheer amount of people she’d consumed and shivered. However, her sloven aftermath told him a few things. One, she was too tired to get up from her recline. Two, she expected him to stay, even having released him from his cage. He looked to his right, finding an open plain that would lead him home. All he'd have to do was run. 

Moments passed before he fully processed that the shocks running through his being were from his desperate footfalls building in speed. His feet picked up several paces before he fully knew he was running. A chance to get away he didn't think possible fell into his lap, and he hauled ass to make the most of it.

Maya was close to humming for herself when she heard a familiar pitter patter to her right. She brushed it off as the kid walking around like she told him too. Until she realized the rapidity of his pace. Looking over, she saw he’d gone into a full sprint away from the scene of her morning meal.

“Fuckdamnit!” Maya growled. “Get back here!!” she rolled over, reaching out for him before realizing he’d already gone too far, “Get back or I’ll make room for one more!” 

When he kept running, she swore and pulled herself to her feet. Her belly was heavy and made it uncomfortable to move fast, but she pushed forward. It was a short distance for her no matter what before she swiped the little human up again.

She straightened up and glared at him, looking a little green around the gills. “You little shit. I told you to do one thing and you fucking take off on me. Are you deaf? Stupid? What? Give me one damn good reason not to eat you right now!”

He was so close! Just getting around the next bend of garbage would've given him the cover to bury himself and hide. Barely ten yards away and he was pulled into the cruel, vertigo-inducing grip of his thundering pursuer. The strong fingers crushed his lungs and ribs while being raised far above the ground to meet her irate face. 

She actually expected him to talk. Part of him imagined that would be it right there, but she wanted him to actually defend his actions? He swallowed thickly, finding the air to answer her through the vice of her powerful fingers.

"I--I, I just want to live... Is that so unbelievable!?!" Tears welled up in his large brown eyes forced to face her, "Are you so removed from humanity that you don’t know what it’s like to fear!? You promised you’d kill me, just like you killed my brothers and sisters! You’re cruel! Vile! And either you kill me now, or I’ll do everything I can to get away from You!" 

It all came flooding out, the emotional pressure that'd surmounted through his traumatic experience, shouting fervently at his unfeeling audience. "So here! You got me! I’m lost, just get it over with so I don't have to live in fear..."

Maya listened to him in silence, the only sound following his speech carried on the high winds natural to their elevation. She waited, then thought to speak in response until a pressure mounted in her chest. Her cheeks blowing up for the oncoming passage released as she let out a large hiccup followed by a wet belch. Maya hadn’t intended these, but the wriggling in her gut and the exertion of running with said gut definitely wasn’t agreeing with her. 

She knew her gas wouldn’t help her prey’s emotional state at all, seeing a few globs of spit had hit his head. So she dashed the thought of responding with empathy. “Fuck this. I’ll decide what to do with you later. For now, just pick up the weaponry in the clearing. Try running again and I’ll flatten you,” she warned. 

He had frozen at her threat, making her content he’d finally obey. Walking the short distance back, she crouched and set him on the ground in the clearing, amid all the discarded weaponry. “Get it cleaned up. Now.” She stood straight and crossed her arms, staring down at him.

The glutton wouldn't even suffer him the punishment she promised. He trembled until being left on the ground with her stern warning. He brought his arm up to brush the spittle away from his face while considering his options.Running and getting crushed didn't sound appealing, but it was one way to end his torment. A moment passed where he considered bolting again and accepting said fate. Still, the agency it gave her lessened the satisfaction of the hypothetical defiance.

Then an idea occurred. Doing as she wished, he paced over to the nearest rifle. Out of curiosity, he inspected the weapon, finding the crescent shield of Barstow emblazoned on the hilt. Now he knew these people had gone to find him, or at least the whole of Charlie-6. They'd died for nothing. 

No one else would die because of him. He turned the barrel up to his face and shoved it in his mouth.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Maya hit her knees beside him and yanked away the gun. “Fuck damn, are you that eager to die?!” She picked him up and glared at him. “All this damn movement is making me sick. I swear on creation’s breath, I’m not going to get to enjoy myself because of you, am I?”

He shivered in her grip, though stared back, timid defiance in his brown eyes, “They’re still squirming, ya know. Your friend’s yesterday got fried because of that stupid electric pin prick! And today I can’t even sit back and relax because you won’t do as you’re told!” 

Her violet eyes burned as she stared him down. “Fine. Then you can listen.” She swung him down and held him to her stomach as she slowly reduced her height. Those who were still alive inside her screamed in renewed terror as the space around them shrunk. Maya’s face contorted in discomfort. Her body was working hard to compact her meal but it could only go so fast. And when she did it this soon after eating, it took longer and was more difficult because her meal was still firm and intact. She stopped reducing her height when she was in the mid-to-low twenties, still holding the boy firmly against her gut with her enhanced strength rather than her inherent size. 

Now her gut was huge as it hung down over her waist, but the screams and crying had stopped. The organic sounds of her gut working had picked up intensely, working harder than ever to reduce her meal to manageable proportions. “You wanna be a coward? Fine. Stay in there until I’ve collected all the weapons.” She turned and threw him back into the cave, growing slightly more to close the metal door behind him.

Tossed again into the dark, he pushed himself back to his feet to scramble out until the dense metal sheet slammed back into the ground. He crashed into it pitifully, banging on the cold unforgiving steel. "LET ME OUT!!! JUST END IT!! LET ME DIE! Let me die!! Let me die..." he slid to his knees, his forehead scraping against the wall as he sobbed through his pleas. He wound up curled into a ball hunched over the ground, crossing his arms over his knees and sobbing uncontrollably, the screams of the now crushed people inside her ringing in this throbbing subconscious.

Maya ignored him as she gathered all of the gear. She couldn’t reduce her size any further yet. Not until the food had softened more. Once she had all the weapons, she set them next to the barricade, stretched out across the ground and napped. They’d do well for trading while on the road, or at least as some good defense if she wasn’t in the mood to grow and fight. 

The faint sounds of her captive were a mild disturbance, one she brushed off by turning away from the cave and soaking in the sunlight for a nice nap. She slept for a few hours, as she usually did following a big meal, before stirring under a cloudy overcast. 

She sat up and sighed begrudgingly, her gut now reduced enough for her to return to normal height. Before doing so, she moved the sheet metal aside with enough space for her to drive out. Inside, she found the human right away, curled up just barely inside the entryway. 

Maya looked down at him with one brow arched, “Get up. You’re going to help me look for my part,” she said. “Or a space heater. Either one would work. But you’re going to earn your life.”

He looked up to her, tear stains ran down his cheeks. He'd been curled on the ground, coming down from a psychotic break in the handful of hours he'd been trapped. Seeing the light again, he met his captor, now with a shrunken belly and a firm demand. Adam stood glumly, the life and energy drained from his expression and posture, though he stood at attention, weakly responding, "Okay..."

Maya waited to see him blurt out any kind of protest, but was surprised by his passivity. “...Right. First, I’m getting dressed, so get back inside the van while I move it outside. It needs to be in the sun to recharge,” she said, leading him back into the cavern to her vehicle. 

She pushed him back inside the van, making sure to lock the doors before driving out to the pile she’d made. Only spending a minute collecting the gear inside while still completely nude, only when it was all in the mess of weapons in her living space did she head to the back and dress. 

Maya pulled on a pair of torn jeans with a long-sleeved shirt and heavy jacket. It was just a few minutes for her to pull on thick socks and heavy boots. Stepping back into the main cabin, she slung a satchel over her shoulder and tossed another to her captive. 

“Alright, Snack, here’s the deal. Scavenge whatever the hell you want. I really don’t care. But keep your eyes out for this part.” She handed him a picture of what she was addressing, a conditioner unit as indicated by the wrinkled, outdated blueprint.

“Find that for me, and I’ll consider your freedom.” She smirked and patted his cheek before starting up the van. She drove it around the embankment where it was most likely to get direct sunshine if the clouds parted. She parked and looked back to her guest. “No smart remarks? No witty retorts about your name?”

Adam stood right where she'd shoved him, not even looking her way while milled about and finally she dressed herself, staring at the floor through her busywork, even now facing the carpeted floor with vacant eyes. He glanced at the image she showed, taking it in fully to observe its detail then weakly stuffing it in his vest pocket. 

He had to sit while the car was moving, but they didn't go far, just outside where the sun dimly glowed through the thin smog cover. She was teasing him again with freedom, this time in return for his labor. Should he try leaving again, she'd get angry. His energy was gone, not even the will to take his own life remained.

Maya paused while looking him over, then groaned and rolled her eyes. “Ugh. You think you’ve got problems? Get over yourself. From where I’m standing, I just saved your ass. Three times. And spared it a few times. Get a grip, okay.” She glanced at the clock on the dash and pursed her lips. It was well after noon. She sighed in frustration and pulled his face up to look at her. 

“When was the last time you ate?” She was making a conscious effort to soften her voice and her tone. So far all he had done was be an idiot. He didn’t deserve too much harsh treatment. “You didn’t eat last night or this morning. Did you even eat yesterday?” She pushed him back to the bench before digging around in her supplies. She came up with some bread, peanut butter and jam. She sensed his cautious observation while  making him a quick sandwich. When it was complete, she presented to him on a porcelain plate from one of the above cupboards along with a can of beer. 

“Eat. I don’t want you passing out. ” she spoke with a kind assertiveness, crossing her arms to literally watch him as he indulged.

"Uh--I--um," her words meant as encouragement were anything but. He tried responding to the mismatched motivation when she questioned him about his nutrition. He didn't have his meal of the day, so he was on time to have some food as he normally would. 

He was shocked when she actually provided it. The odd sandwich was sloppily arranged, getting the sticky brown stuff inside on his hands when he held it. The taste was sweet, nearly too sweet. And the brown spread was difficult to completely swallow without extra effort. Adam wouldn't complain, favoring the slightly hardy yet sugary breakfast over refusing her odd hospitality. Soon it was done, and he wiped the mush from his fingers on the inside of his vest. "...thank you..."

“Drink the beer,” Maya instructed. “It will help wash down the peanut butter.” She pushed the bottle towards him. “It’s not poisoned or anything. It’s just beer. So drink. Water is too precious to waste on a simple meal,” she said.

He took the can, weakly pulling the tab until it popped open like he’d seen back home. He’d never had beer himself, used to the dirty communal water supply from home. 

Drinking the stuff was bitter and uncomfortable, but he forced himself through it. By the end, he had an uncomfortable but full stomach, a small hiccup bubbling up from his hasty consumption of the beverage.

“Good. Let’s go.” She pulled him back to his feet and escorted him out of the van. “I searched the bottom two floors yesterday. We have the afternoon light but it’s only a few hours. There are two floors left. We’re searching them, then hitting the road.” Maya stopped in front of the building and looked to her captive. 

“If you find the part, call out and let me know. Otherwise, scavenge whatever you want. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find something neat.” She guided him up the stairs and stopped when she hit the third floor. “You keep going to the fourth. Meet me at the van when the light fades. Don’t make me chase you or have to come find you.”

Adam nodded, moving on to the next set of stairs like a zombie. The fourth floor was the least devastated by time. No signs of vegetation or early decay, leaving most of the space intact. He wondered what this place used to be. The book on the ruined sign gave the impression of a library, but the most he found was dust and empty shelves. Whatever they were looking for, it wouldn’t be in the open. It’d be installed in the walls, or at least that’s where he’d find the cabling he’d come out here for. 

Tearing through a panel of plaster and exposing the interior wall, he was lucky to find a cluster of cords. There it was, the bounty he’d been after. That his friends died trying to find. He stared blankly at the mess, making no move to act on his discovery. Instead he moved on, a solemn glaze in his eyes. He continued taking parts off the walling, standing up on a bare desk to reach up to the ceiling. There, he found a ventilation grate which fell off at the smallest nudge from him. Inside was a bulky box. Pulling out the image she’d given, it was similar, but not precisely the same. Still worth reporting, or at least taking it for himself. Adam didn’t know what the machine did beyond messing with air, but the gratitude exhibited by his people when they recovered the last one let him know it’s significance. Following a half hour of hardy rummaging, the box fell to the ground with a thud. A noise loud enough to be heard from the floor below.

Maya looked up when she heard the sound. What had he found? There wasn’t much on her floor worth keeping so far, so she decided to go and see what he’d found above. Making it up the rickety stairs,  she quickly found him in the dusty, dimly lit room. 

“Whatcha got, Snack?” She saw the box of parts he was rummaging through, clearly a complete unit of some kind like the one she was searching for. Moving him aside, she scraped through the myriad of components and cabling until her eyes landed on a cylindrical part buried just beneath the top of the heap. She grinned and picked it up, noting the comparable similarities between it and what she was after.

 “Oy ya! It’s not perfect but it will work. We’ll at least be warm tonight. Good job, Snack.” She ruffled his hair and turned for the door. “Come on then! Gotta plug this little boy in, then we’re off!”

He was about to blindly follow when he stopped just above the stairs. His head was looking to the right, where something interesting had him start walking over to it. In the rubble against the wall, a thin, two foot long black cloth case lay across the ground between two bricks with a velcro seal at the top. 

Adam picked it up, wondering if it was indeed what he recognized. Flipping open the seal, he caught sight of a bright wooden finish. Peaking further inside confirmed his hopes. Despite his string of apathy, a small smile worked itself onto his thin lips. Stowing under his arm, weighing almost nothing, he carried with him to follow his captor down the stairs.

Maya waited for him at the bottom of the stairs, her vigilant eyes noticing the case under his arm. “What did you find?” She stepped forward and deftly swiped it from his hold. If it was a weapon, best to confiscate it immediately. She opened the small, thin bag and examined its contents, finding a funny little stringed toy. No! An instrument. Certainly nothing he could try anything stupid with besides potentially make annoying sounds. Still, the concern in his eyes as she took it and his lingering worry made her consider the harmlessness of it all. Shrugging, she tossed it back to him, stepping outside toward the camper.

She popped the hood of the van and grabbed her toolset from under the bench in the dining area. Then she set to work replacing the heating element and modifying the connectors to make it all work. “Gonna tell me what you found? Looked neato” She asked in a chirpier accent..

Adam didn’t answer, just returning inside, glad to have his find safe from the elements and any would be abusers. Sitting on the bench, he opened the case and pulled out the mostly intact, small wooden instrument. Three strings were wound along its length, and plucking them gave a buzzy, percussive pitch. The strings were severely out of tune with each other, which Adam began trying to amend, strumming the individual strings and adjusting the loosened knobs they were wound by.

Maya heard the strumming and shrugged, not needing an answer form him She liked music, but wasn’t particularly talented when it came to playing anything. Her singing voice was nice, that was about it. Within a half hour, Maya had the piece fitted and working. To double check, she started the van and turned the heat on. A minute later, delicious hot air came pouring out of the vents. 

“Yes! It’s a warm bed tonight,” she cheered. She closed the hood and stepped into the van. With the door closed and the heat going, the cabin temperature slowly began to climb. “Time to get goin’, aye Snack,” she huffed, glad to be done with this territory where she’d been twice assaulted. She buckled her captive back in before sitting in the driver’s seat and buckling as well, starting the engine fully and heading out.

 They drove for several hours, until the moon was at its peak. At which point, Maya pulled off and found a secluded spot to park near a high ridge overlooking the valley they’d emerged out of. She stretched and sighed, feeling happy and content. During the drive, her stomach had nearly completely flattened, which showed after she’d shed the heavy coat and long sleeved shirt in favor of the tank top underneath. 

“I suppose I should feed you,” she said to her captive, swinging out of the driver’s seat and into the cabin. “I don’t want to hear whimpering in the night about being hungry. And, since you proved yourself useful, I guess I can make more than a PBJ.” She dug around in the pantry once more, producing a plastic-wrapped block of dehydrated noodles. She poured the minimum amount of water over them and set it on to boil over an electric stove.

He’d spent the drive in silent anxiety, staving off the worry of where she was taking him. Wouldn’t be home; she didn’t know where he was from. He occupied himself by tuning the instrument, a difficult task when the tuning knobs were so loose. His butter knife substituted a screwdriver trying to tighten them, which helped, but then came the slow process of finding the right pitches. A series of trial and error that took countless attempts to get anywhere close by ear.

When they’d stopped, he didn’t know where they were, and frankly, it no longer mattered. He was a dead man wherever he went. Since he was still waiting on being food, her second offer of food perplexed him, holding his instrument like a security blanket. “Eat... again? But I already...”

Maya turned and arched a brow at him. “What about this morning? You had a sandwich. That’s hardly enough to hold you all afternoon, night, and to tomorrow.” The noodle block slowly absorbed the water, hydrating and beginning to look more like food. She opened a shiny silver packet and dumped the contents, what amounted to some seasonings, into the pot of noodles. “I eat three times a day, usually, when I don’t have a large meal early on in the day. I’ve got food a plenty, and know how to get more, so I don’t bother worrying about starving myself to save it.” she said while stirring the contents of the pot.

“But, what about-“ he stopped himself. She was on her own, so conservation and consumption operated at a one to one ratio. The offer was tempting, and might settle the internal discomfort he’d been staving off while working on his find. But Adam had been trained to forget hunger, to eat only as necessity, “No thanks, it’s wasted on me,” he turned to the instrument and continued tuning it, closing in on a consonant pitch between the first two strings.

“It’s not wasted if I say it’s not,” Maya shot back. She poured the steaming noodles into two bowls, one for herself and one for him. She set one bowl in front of him, along with a beer, and sat opposite him at the table. “These things last forever and I have a fuck ton of them. So eat.” She poured a red sauce into hers and stirred it around before slurping up her first bite.

Wafts of seasoned steam rose up from the bowl she practically slammed in front of him. The smells were so pleasant that it almost offended him. Was he expected to eat something with salt? He didn’t earn it. Few did. He remembered being permitted with his team to sit down for a large meal after their inaugural mission. The main difference between his regular meals and that was the preparation, and all of the salt. With a slow reach, he picked up the fork, pulling the bowl closer to himself and leaning his head down to close the distance when he started on the soup. “....thank you.”

Maya watched him eat and nodded, pleased that he wouldn’t bother her during the night about food. Satisfied, she returned to her own meal. They proceeded in silence, and when they finished, she washed both bowls and the silverware to put them away. The disconcerting silence had lingered too long for her taste, so she turned to him and looked over his figure, “I suppose at the next trading post we stop at, I’ll have to get you more clothes. Can’t have my little snack running around in dirty, tattered rags.”

New clothes? His brows rose, perpetually confused by the kind gestures she was showing him. His resignation to being a future 'snack' was all he expected out of her. Not traveling for miles on end or being fed and clothed. "...How long are you saving me?"

Maya shrugged. “As long as I want,” she said simply, leaning against the counter as she looked at him. “While I was napping earlier, I had an idea. It’s not always easy for a lone woman to travel the country by herself,” she said. “I can eat just about anyone, yes, but then I would risk getting fat.” She sipped on her beer as she thought. “Actually, I don’t know if I can get fat.” She chuckled to herself, teasing the notion of herself putting on more weight before getting over her joke. 

“All the same, it isn’t practical to eat everyone in sight. Then I wouldn’t have anyone to trade with. Most of the time, I appear just like this. I tell them I’m a scavenger and a trader.” she sipped down the last of her beer, then Maya belched  while crushing it in her hand. 

“Lots of men see me and think ‘Oh look! A beautiful, strange woman! I could fuck her!’ and they try.” Maya thre a whimsical look to the side while biting her lip, “Oh boy do they try…  but if I had a man with me, even one as short and scrawny as you, I would be bothered less.” She smirked, hopping over and surprising the kid by plopping herself in his lap, further adding to his physical confusion by wrapping her arms around his neck. “So, Snack, how’d you like to be my arm candy? It’s a simple job, but I’ll pay you handsomely.”

“H-huh, what? I-I-I-I...” even on his lap, she sat more than a head taller than him, forced to look up at her or stare right into her bountiful chest. “S-so you’re not gonna... kill me...” 

The news didn’t sit well. He knew close to nothing outside his limited homeland except what was necessary to learn in order to be a scout. This talk of trading and traveling was as alien as her. How could he trust her after all she’d put him through? 

The cabin had warmed up considerably following her repair, and while she embraced him, the heat from her body transferred into his. Her smell was rank yet welcoming, so much so that he didn’t know whether to be offended by it or embrace it like the back of his mind was telling him to. So close, her eyes fixed on him with a look that told him that, somehow, he’d become more than a ration. He didn’t speak in response, simply nodding.

Maya grinned broadly and tweaked his nose. “Good boy! As I drive tomorrow, you can mend the cargo net. We should reach the next trading post probably a day after tomorrow. I can get rid of some of the weapons and gear in exchange for clothes and food and bedding and anything else I want.” 

Patting his chest, she stood up from his lap and gestured to the loft bed. “That will be yours. You will care for your own sheets and bedding. When we find a lake or laundry service, it will be on you to clean them. Same with your own clothes.”

“Right.” He complied. Thinking back to his plan on seeing the damaged net. Even if he could kill her, where would he go? He didn’t know how to navigate to Barstow from wherever they’d wound up. Maintaining the vehicle also seemed complicated, a skill Adam lacked and would leave him stranded in the wastes. She was his guide, and his warden. And he was a tool for her; slightly better position to be in than his nickname implied. 

“You said we’d discuss my freedom if I helped you.” He said it plainly, looking up at her with large, pleading brown eyes.

Maya paused, thought about it, then shrugged. “I did, didn’t I? Smart little snack. Alright. If you want, you can go free.” She waved her hand broadly, as if lifting a curse off of him.

“At any moment you could walk out that door. But not with anything other than the measly gun you came in with.” She began undressing with the intention of changing into her sleeping clothes. “You would become prey quickly. I’m not the only shifter wandering the wastes, you know. Plus there are all sorts of nasty animals out there.” As she spoke, she changed into a pair of tight shorts and fitted tank top. Since she had heat now, she wanted as little clothing as possible. 

“I mean, there are cougars out there, panthers, coyote. This time of year, they have pups and kits in the den. They’ll attack anything and eat anything. Including scrawny humans. Hell, you might even run into some others like me, faaar more desperate and less kind than I’ve been, Snack.” She turned the light off in the room and walked back to the boy, tilting his head up with her crooked forefinger,. “So yes. You may go free. But do you want to?”

She had a point. A devilish one, but valid all the same. His status as a prisoner was overtly illustrated and left him no will to talk anymore while faced with her overwhelming stare. If she had no use for him, he’d go to bed. He glumly climbed the narrow ladder to his minute quarters, curling himself up and facing away from her. 

If he could help it, he’d spend most of his time here where he could be alone. He wondered if she’d said her name. He might’ve missed it during the hours of stress induced paranoia. Without turning out to face her, he quietly asked, “I’m Adam... Adam Ruth. What do I call you?” If anything, he wanted to do away with her cruel pet name.

“I am Maya Fjall. You can call me Maya.” She watched him for a moment before shrugging and going to her own bed. She left the door open just in case Adam tried anything stupid again, though she felt deep down that wouldn’t be the case anymore. She slipped under her blankets and snuggled her pillows, tucking her stuffed animal in tight against her chest, and drifted off in no time without the bitter cold nipping at her secretly sensitive skin. She might even take off the covers later on with the heat back. Glad that the last days had turned out successfully, she let herself surrender to her well earned comforts.

 

 

This is a story told from two disparate perspectives. As such, there will be overlapping information witnessed and repeated from different points of view. It is our hope that you’ll enjoy the process of seeing these two points of view clash, then come together both figuratively and literally, as indicated by the right and left idents noting the shift in perspectives.

 

In the near future, the world as we know it is no more. The wasteland covers what was once the continental U.S, and only small pockets of humanity have managed to survive and settle in the new world. In this world, however, new humans with dangerous gifts have risen to prominence, preying on the weaker humans with their ability to change their size and density at will. These ‘Shifters’ roam the wasteland, struggling to survive much like the remaining humans, even with their natural, predatory advantage.

 

Here we find the story of two people living in this world. So different from one another, soon to clash, and from then on to relearn what it means to be human after humanity has fallen....

 

 

---

 

 

The following days proceeded unremarkably. Maya did her chores around the van, fed the both of them at meal times, and kept driving into the barren frontier. Beyond the settling tedium, Adam remained holed away in his cot. She didn’t mind his self-isolation, by letting him get away with this behavior, he fulfilled his purpose as an item waiting for use. When she spoke to him, it was more akin to talking with herself. He’d remain expressionless when she mused on what to do with her day, and would grimly cringe when she outwardly hoped they found some humans on the road.

 

By all regards, her wickedness would appear benign to most, just another traveler looking to survive in a cruel world. Was this a trick of hers? Adam had seen her outright monstrous side, but he thought back on the horror stories of his youth. Shifters could look like any other person. They could seek refuge, sneak into camps, enjoy the company of decent folk trying to get by, and turn on them in an instant for a quick romp and meal. Did Maya do the same? Did she charm her way into parties of unfortunate souls that had their sociability repaid with death?

 

He’d stop her. As long as he was with her, he’d vow to warn anyone they met of her intentions. It might mean his own death, but he welcomed it. One good deed he could do with his pitiful predicament.

 

The Adam boy was atrociously boring. Didn’t move or make a sound without her forcing him down for mealtime. Even then, he avoided eye contact and stayed silent, even at her light prodding. Whatever, if he wanted to be a sorry ass, he could shiver in his bed all damn day. Less for Maya to worry about, she was used to being alone anyway.

 

Though she wouldn’t be for long. They’d be coming in on her destination within the hour. She’d held off on making lunch just for the occasion. Climbing over a ridge along the broken but intact highway, a single, robust tower stood out among the grey plain, adorned with dozens of ropes and ribbons with small structures and tents around the base. An outpost, and a sorely needed respite on her trip.

 

“Right, Snack! You better make yourself presentable in a bit. Nearly there.” She called back, not willing to check if he even acknowledged her order. Maya did turn back to look at the mounds of gear she’d accrued in the last months, slovenly piled throughout the living space without so much care for organization beyond the basic categories of guns, clothes, gear, and knick knacks. Most would be sold, getting her a pretty penny before she ate.

They were arriving? Where? Without a proper view from his enclosed crevasse, he was left to wonder what she meant. He didn’t dare hop down and go for a window. For how little he moved in her company, she might interpret it as escape. Maybe he should consider some kind of escape attempt? Perhaps, but first he’d have to see where they ended up.

 

And what did she mean by presentable? His looks? Not much he could do with his ragged clothes, dirt-caked skin, and dirty hair. Still, clearly she was calling him down to finally use him. When the vehicle came to a stop, he jolted forward from the sudden stop and his own nerves.

 

Maya relieved the ignition, letting the van come to rest as she hopped up into the main space. She stretched her hands over her head, earring a satisfying pop from her left shoulder blade as she let out a sigh, relieving the tension from the long drive.

 

 “Come on, Snack! Get down from your funny hidey hole,” Maya chirped, moving back to grab a jacket she’d placed over the dining table. Turning back, she found he hadn’t moved an inch.

 

“Aww, are you tired? Do I have to come grab you down?”

 

He flinched at her tease, begrudgingly turning inwards to see her softly teasing face. Their eyes met for a moment before she was satisfied and went back to clothing herself. Adam sighed, inching himself out of the compartment.

 

His muscles ached from days of 'rest', though he hardly had the will to complain. Touching down on the floor, he started toward his usual seat at the dining area on instinct. What he hadn’t expected was Maya pulling him in front of her. Adam froze, fearing whatever horrible thing she intended. Far from trying to hurt him, she simply assessed his appearance, firmly keeping him in place with a hand on each shoulder.

 

“Hmm… yup, you’re about a medium,” Maya turned his shoulders to look inside his shirt collar for an old tag of sort from the old world. No such luck, though she was confident in her appraisal. He wasn’t the most pristine looking she could hope for in a companion, but it’d do until she got him new clothes. However, his hair could use some work. She stuck her thumb in her mouth briefly, getting it wet and fussing with his hair.

 

The prisoner couldn’t look away when her hand went to her deadly mouth, even if just to moisten her finger before assaulting his hair. The strained tangles and musses struggled against her manipulation, though eventually gave way to her urgings.

 

When she managed to find a part on the left side of his scalp, she dug in to brush his hair to either side into what looked like a modestly maintained fashion. “There! Now you’re at least some kind of cute.” She snorted, gently patting his cheek so as to not ruin her handiwork.

“Now grab some gear and go outside,” she finally released him, heading to the pile of guns and hoisting them up in a worn rucksack, a task that while insurmountable to a human came off as only a light nuisance to her, “You can get the clothes and whatever you can carry in one of those bins,” she shared on her way to the door, her head gesturing to a stacked tower of plastic containers in the kitchen..

 

Adam regarded her casual strength with a shiver, then stepped forward to do as she said. Wherever they’d wound up, likely he was about to see the belongings from his brothers and sisters go away for good. Part of him wanted to sneak a few of their belongings onto his person, but any kind of treachery on his part felt like a death sentence if he were found out. Gathering up the substantial piles of clothes and dumping them in a crate. Once stuffed, he grabbed it by the handholds and head for the door.

 

She was outside waiting, of course. Likely she’d never give him the chance to wander freely again after the last stunts he pulled. Maya smirked at his thin frame heaving the large mound of garments, almost invisible behind the pile.

 

“There we go, Snack! You can do it all in one trip you think?”

 

He was confused by her question, then had his focus drawn to a looming shape in the distance. Not a mountain or a cliff… a building? And a tall one at that, dressed in hundreds of colorful flags that streamed to the ground from the top of the spire. Well, he guessed it reached the ground. The landmark was a ways off around a small canyon, Maya having parked the van out of sight.

 

No doubt this was a settlement of some kind. Likely a human settlement. A swell of hope and a tremor of fear wrestled inside him, relieved to see civilization again, and horrified that the horror he’d imagined was to come would soon take place.

 

“Yeah, long walk, but you’ll do fine. Gonna need to make some trips anyway,” Maya commented, taking the dread in his face for disapproval of the distance they had to cover, “I try not to leave my things where humans can see. Less chance to be recognized. Oh! One more thing,”

 

She turned to him, one harm holding the sack of weapons over her shoulder while her free hand found and cupped his chin, “If you say anything, make any fuss, tell anyone what I am or try to save your skin, you may force me into an inconvenient position.”

 

Her gaze was friendly, but wielded the casual menace that’d keep him in line, “And really, I like this trading post. Would be a shame to gorge myself on it~”

 

Adam’s eyes widened as she spoke, her thumb rubbing his cheek while those violet eyes distilled visions of torment and death from their lovely hue. Until she released him, he didn’t realize he’d stopped breathing.

 

She smirked, content he got the message, “Great! Now keep up, Snack. We have a lot of work to do,” the well-built blonde turned heel and began her stride to the outpost.

 

The trading post wasn't remarkable, but the two buildings surrounded by more cars and tents surrounded by desert was new to him. There weren't any walls or patrols, just people talking, drinking, bartering. He now noticed the dozen or so stands of people eyeing the passerby's attentively, hoping for new buyers to peruse their wares. Food, clothing, jewelry, weapons, everything Adam would imagine desirable to purchase in this age was there. 

 

"Why did I come again?" He asked quietly, reluctant for any stray ears to pick up his presence, standing behind her where he could be mostly obscured under his load.

 

“We discussed this,” Maya said. “You are my arm candy. You make men think I am taken. Less men will approach and try to fuck me.” She pulled him forward and put her arm around him. “But they will only believe it if we look it, Adam. So smile at me.” She smiled at him. It was a big, genuine smile. She did like him, at least that he was useful to her, but it was still a genuine like. 

 

Adam offered a feigned, meek smile, if only to appease his captor. They continued on as such until they’d sold their stock. Adam hardly kept track, distracting himself by simply watching these strange, enterprising humans live their lives. He was forced to take it all in with trepidation, knowing that any false step could mean hell for these strangers.

 

With her goods mostly gone, and some extra money on hand, she walked him through the markets, pausing and stopping at different stalls and vendors. She picked out some clothes for Adam, trading one of the smaller rifles for the several sets of clothes, underwear, and shoes. Maya threw in some ammunition for a good pair of boots. The shifter turned and handed things to her little captive-partner. 

 

“Here. These are yours. You keep track of them today. Put them in your satchel.”

 

Holding his arm the way she did made him shiver for a number of reasons. Being dragged from stand to stand, he realized that she was parading him around like a mate. This was her meaning by calling him 'arm candy', instead of just being another pet name. Admittedly, it did appear to serve her purpose. Men would stare her way, then see him and turn away. A number of these men were large and intimidating, taller than Maya as she was. The way they would be drawn to her, then turn to him with distaste or genuine intrigue made him feel sick. It was at this time he found himself actually clinging to Maya’s arm. Upon realizing this, he didn’t dare shock her by pulling away. Better he act like he meant to do it, to keep up his act.

 

The boy was so nervous, every step they took Maya had to stop herself from laughing. Sure, he hardly looked like the type that could handle a woman like her, much to the notice of every man ogling her and the runt she was dragging along. But he was cute. Not a real man, but still cute.

 

"As I live and breath, that's Maya, ain't it?" A deep voice called from behind the duo. 

 

Adam turned first, surprised to hear her name from a human besides him. Approaching them was a man dressed in tight black pants, a dark tank top, and a heavy leather jacket littered with various patches. He bore a wide nose and strong jaw, green eyes peeking from behind a messy shade of blonde hair. 

 

He stood a foot higher than Maya, grinning smugly at his suspicion confirmed, "Shit, Gorgeous; didn't think I'd see you this way for a decade at least. Was hoping you'd be ugly by then so I wouldn't have to put everything on hold to say hi."

 

Maya turned a moment after Adam did, her violet eyes widening at the surprise. She smiled at the man walking towards them, letting go of Adam and stepping out to embrace her long-time acquaintance. “Culver!”

 

Her strong arms wrapped around the man’s torso, her face buried into his chest and shoulder. “Hah! What’s that supposed to mean? That you’d want to be a hunched over old man? Well, looks like neither of us got what we wanted.”

 

 She hugged him tightly for a moment before stepping away. “How have you been?. What, five, seven years since we split?” She looked him over and grinned. “I see time has done you some small favors. Ooo! You finally reached your father’s height.”

 

"Wasn't done growin' when we bumped heads, heh. Would you believe I'm still on the run from that sum'bitch?" he laughed for a moment and she reciprocated. 

 

Adam saw a connection between the two he didn't think possible for a human and shifter; that was, if this Culver even knew he was talking to a dangerous predator. 

 

"Hehe, where do the nights run off to.... Ya still hauling that shitty hatchback around? With your bed in the trunk?"

 

“Hey, that ‘shitty hatchback’ did it’s job,” Maya protested. “Far better than your motorcycle. It crapped out on you every day and offered zero protection from the elements.” She waved a hand to dismiss the topic. “But no. That, eh, died out a while back… So what are you up to these days? You talked of making a town. Did you manage that dream, or fuck it up?” She smiled impishly, playfully mocking him.

 

"Damn right I did!... Sorta. It's a caravan, but we look out for each other like a real, honest community. I'd be happy to talk about it over dinner if you're--" he stopped while observing Adam, dissecting his presence with his fierce eyes, "-- partner is up to it. My treat?" 

 

Adam was uncomfortably intrigued by Culver. He carried the confidence of an Elite or Elder from back in Barstow, yet traveled the land just the same as Maya. He stood as a man that could handle himself out in the world. This was a reasonable assumption, given his looks, his rugged, worldly, and that he was the leader of his own clan. He'd forgotten to reply while lost in thought, though it didn't seem to matter. Culver only had eyes for Maya, and the scout's nod barely registered to the two as his affirmation to eat.

 

“Dinner sounds good,” Maya agreed. “I’m having to teach him that it is good and normal to eat three times daily. I think his old village starved him.” She took Adam’s arm and pushed back a sleeve to show Culver how skinny he was. “He’s scrawny! He needs one of those sandwiches that is terrible for you but so good. What was that name again? Remember in that big town we went through? It had meat and vegetables and sauces. It was round but big.” She snapped her fingers in recognition as the word came to her. “Hamburger! He needs a hamburger. Perhaps that will fill him out.”

 

"Hehe, you always make any old word sound so damn kiddy," Culver chuckled, happy to have his invitation answered. He offered his arm to her, a small gesture that would relieve Adam of his duties. Oddly enough, Adam looked conflicted. Sure, he was eternally out of ease having her hold on to him through their trip, but without her he'd feel more alone than before. Culver noticed the boy’s hesitance. He'd come to his own conclusions about what Maya was doing with him, and took it upon himself to offer his other arm to the boy with a smirk, "Don't mean ta leave ya hangin, bud." 

 

Adam felt a blush run to his face. A person of such stature offering their escort was a big deal back home. Normally, he’d refuse such a gesture on merits of his lower standing… and yet...

 

Cautiously, like a scared dog, he slid his arm in, and the man’s muscled hold settled in around him. It was warm, secure, safe. The scout started to believe he liked this stranger.

 

Maya took Culver’s arm and smiled up at him. “Where are we going for dinner?” She asked. “Does this town have beef? I haven’t had beef in a long time.” She licked her lips at the thought of the rare delicacy. “Mmm beef. It tempts me every time to settle down. But I don’t plan to settle for a long time.”

 

"Lord knows I couldn't get ya to. But you're in luck, lady. Got some of that synthetic stuff the old world used to make patties out of," both parties held onto each of his arms, Adam using him more as a handlebar in contrast to Maya's comfortable fit. To the people around them, he and the disguised shifter looked like an ideal pair, while Adam fit the role of a possible child or sibling. 

 

Culver brought them to a mess area where a handful of travelers were supping for the night. He raised a hand holding three fingers up, the cook manning the exchange table nodded, putting in their order while the trio sat down. Culver let them sit next to each other, then moved around the table to face them on his own side, an attendant bringing over three mugs of ale by the time he sat on his own end, "So! Food's on the way. Plenty of time to chit chat."

 

Maya nodded and accepted the glass of beer in front of her. She smiled at Culver even as a look with her peripheral vision confirmed that Adam was seated as well. “So what has you coming through this town?” Maya asked in her heavily-accented alto, “We were headed opposite directions last time I saw you.”

 

"Frequent this outpost on our circuit. This is good country for the winter, but we'll be heading north soon," he took a hearty pull from his mug, savoring the fresh ale, "Ahh~ You're lucky you caught me at a good time. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, crack o’ dawn or whenever we feel up and ready." He nudged his eyebrows, keeping his gaze with hers, "though I'm prepared to delay a few hours if special accommodations are called for." 

 

Maya looked back to Culver and smiled coyly at his offer, but didn’t give an answer. She didn’t have one yet, but her playful eyes answered from over the rim of her mug. Interested, but undecided, taking a long, hungry gulp from her drink. “We could make accommodations. For old time’s sake.”

 

In a moment, two men brought around the three plates with strangely stacked piles of food, hasty to serve their respected patron. Adam couldn't make sense of it. No utensils to be found, he looked to Culver for answers. The man had already clasped the tall stack with both hands, bringing the whole thing up directly to his mouth to take a substantial chunk out in one bite. 

 

So messy, but he had no choice if he didn't want to offend his provider. He'd spend the next few minutes mastering the art of the hamburger while the old acquaintances caught up. 

 

"A little more than a hundred now. Families and whatnot, slowed us down quite a bit, but my boys each got the hankerin to settle down, and it seemed right to build our little crew as we went along. Love those idjits. Old gods know how many times I've put my ass on the line for 'em."

 

Maya smiled and nodded. She patted Adam on the back, “I saved him from his village. I told you he didn’t eat but once a day. Plus, some others started shooting at us. I saved him from them, too. Now I feed him and make sure he’s warm and secure at night.” She caught his chin and turned his face to her, placing a quick kiss to his forehead. “Now he is my arm candy. Less men approach and try to fuck me with him by my side.”

 

"Heh, no kiddin. Reckon that's a tried and true history for a lot of us," he looked sympathetically at the dark haired boy, raising his mug over to nudge his own in a small gesture of acknowledgement, "It's rough out here, but I promise it gets better kid. Just keep an open mind, and go with your gut. When the two don't get along, shoot or fuck your way out." He laughed, biting more from his sandwich. 

 

Adam suffered a small smile in response, lifting his own food up in sequence, "...thank you." 

 

Culver kept an eye on him for a second when a distraction came about. His eyes caught something coming from behind the two, dropping his sandwich to wave. Adam turned to see what it was to find a cluster of people in dark jackets approaching. They were smiling amiably, sharing jokes as they caught up with their leader after a fun day at the outpost saloon.

 

A stout man with long red hair helmed the pack, holding a mug of beer in one hand and a rolled smokable in the other, “Ey Archmeister! We was bout’ta head back. You comin’? Or, ah, looking for room and board?” His voice carried a thick accent that almost made his speech intangible. 

 

Culver smiled back, “Yeah, he who lives in a glass house, Isaac,” he responded, seamlessly joining in the camaraderie like it was the norm, “Just catchin’ up with old traveling’ buddies. Might hitch a ride back so we can finish eating, ya hear?” 

 

“Say no more, Cul,” a dark haired, thin man that looked close to Adam’s age called out, “We’ll make sure things are nice and tidy for ya.” 

 

Whistles and hollers accompanied his comment, which Culver masterfully took in stride. “Heh, get on out with those blankets. Marceline and Whitney are gonna need them for the nursery.” Some thumbs up and nods of agreement followed as they were already on their way back to the small fleet of trucks they’d taken, returning to the caravan. 

 

Culver returned to his dinner guests, grinning bashfully like he’d been caught by his superiors fooling around, “Good guys, loyal to the bone. Thing is, they take a negging tax to keep ‘em happy. We have our fun though.”

It was interesting seeing him equally humbled and in command while dealing with his people, though he quickly got back into the moment, "So, uh, how long have you been with her, little dude?"

 

Adam wasn't prepared to answer many questions, but felt warm being given the opportunity by his new peer, "A few days, Sir. She.... found my team and I... and…”

 

“A few days,” Maya said confidently. She had no shame about what she had done. “His team ran into me when they were looking for something in the ruins around there. I was simply napping and they began attacking me. Except him. So I spared him.” She ruffled Adam’s hair teasingly. “He doesn’t take up much room or eat much. So he’s a good companion.”

 

"Uh huh... quiet fella, ain't he?" As Culver studied the newcomer, he began to recognize familiar patterns he'd seen time and time again. He sighed and drank from his mug again, setting it down with a delicate hand, "Adam boy! I think I've finished my drink. Mind grabbing me an amber? That'd be a different kind of beer, in case you're wondering." 

 

Adam perked up and nodded, standing without a word and heading in the direction Culver indicated with a slight tilt of his head. With him gone, Culver squared his shoulders and folded his hands together, facing Maya, "Were you intending to keep the boy as long as me?"

 

Maya arched a brow as she sipped her drink. “You didn’t stay long, and you did just fine when you were with me. You were fine and so is he,” she said plainly. “Adam was not well treated by his village. That much is clear. He is better off with me. You see what he is wearing. How worn it is? That’s how he was the day I found him.“ She looked Culver straight in the eyes as she spoke, daring him to criticize her.

 

"Maya," he started, a gentle sadness coming through in his green eyes, "Me 'not staying long' ended up five years. Given, that was a special time in my life I wouldn't trade for a gun that shot gold. But... he seems delicate. He's a different breed than me." 

 

He reached out to grab her hand, out of the corner of his eye seeing Adam having trouble getting the server's attention, meaning they'd have more time than he hoped, "The boy's scared. I know you do what you do, and you're a badass about it, but that boy's seeing ghosts. I've helped his type, again and again, gave them a home." 

His strong thumb traced around her knuckles tenderly, calloused and thick, it felt nice to brush over her smooth skin, "How about you hang up the lone wolf act and join my crew for a while? He'd be in good company, we'd make sure he figured out how to acclimate out here." He looked to each side, making sure the other diners were out of ear shot when he chose to lower his voice, "If you're okay staying low key for that long. I can arrange for you to go out every so often. Just think-" 

 

Now a gentle smile came out of him, a hopeful earnestness in his tone, "the two of us back together. Your kid will be taken care off and healed in time, and if you ever want to head off, it'll be your call. What do ya think?"

 

Maya smiled and placed a gentle hand on top of his. “I appreciate the offer but I am better off by myself. I don’t do well in large groups. Not for long. You know that.” She pulled her hands out of his embrace and took another long drink of her beer. “Adam will survive. I’ll see to it. He’ll be fine in no time. He just needs to get used to things. Promise.”

 

His smile diminished slightly, but he responded to her touch with a kind reaction, "Hmhm, Magic Maya..." he sighed, closing his eyes to savor holding her hand again after so long, "... you say it's only been a few days. If his account of how y'all met is true, I’m tellin’ ya, that boy's seein' ghosts." 

 

There was a new earnestness in his face, the warmth in his speech giving way to a determined logic, "Not to mention, if he's from those cult communes down South, it's gonna be hard for him to adapt without his own kind to help him heal." His other hand joined, clasping hers between them, "You could just leave him with us. We'll take right care of him, get him trained to handle his own. He'll be happier with his own kind." 

 

Now Adam was turning back to join them, a fragile smile on his clearly exhausted face, "I reckon he's too delicate for... your lifestyle." He finished his thought when the subject in question sat back down, handing the fresh mug of warm looking beer to his unknown advocate. "It'd be best for him, May. Think about what's right."

 

“I have,” Maya said. She pulled her hands out of his embrace. “I do. He is best with me. I am not giving him to anyone else.” She wrapped one arm around Adam’s shoulder and pulled him into her side. “He stays.”

 

“I-I’m sorry?” Adam was confused. They were talking about him? Why? What had he done? "Um, I'll finish eating. I didn't know if--" Culver stopped his apology right away, "You did nothing wrong boy." The claims set in stone, he sat straight, drinking a long few draws of amber before placing it down with a heavy hand. "If it's a matter of ownership, I'll throw in eight hundred piece, and a cash of weapons I've personally curated. Rare specimen, some long range." He clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on the table while placing them to his chin, "You know I can make plenty of better offers. Just say the word." 

 

Culver was sticking to his belief that Adam should go with them. He didn't want to worry the kid who likely didn't figure he had any autonomy of his own without the guidance he'd get under his wing. He knew Maya was claiming him like a lost pup, and wouldn't treat him the way he needed to become a real man. Let alone a good one. From Adam's perspective, he was wrought with worry. Were they bartering for his life? Why did Culver want him? He was just a failed scout with no business in these lands. He looked back and forth, hopeful for some kind of context to relive his concern.

 

“No,” Maya said sternly. “Adam is not for sale. He is mine and he isn’t going anywhere.” She was nearly glaring now as she kept Adam tight against her side. “He is best off with me, where he’s safe. He has a purpose outside of living to die for someone else.”

 

"C'mon, sweetheart. You at least owe me the benefit of the doubt." He looked over at Adam. Normally a sweet young man like him with bombshell's arm protectively around him would be blushing like the luckiest man alive. The kid across the table was scared stiff, anxiety plainer than the color of his eyes while she guarded him like the last cookie in the jar. He considered his options, committed to his resolve.

 

"Look honey, seems we're at an impasse. And we're all here to have a good time and take it easy after a long day." Culver finished his drink in a few solid gulps, letting loose a refreshed sigh having finished his dinner, "I have it on good authority that the folks here have little sisters on hand. I'm sure you're familiar. Now, what if I was to, say, inquire about your last meal that squirmed out loud?" 

 

Adam's eyes widened. So he did know! Obviously they traveled together, though the boy might've guessed she played human for that time, however long it was. Culver was threatening her for his sake. It then occurred that Culver was potentially saving Adam. A transfer of ownership meant he'd be back with humans. Maybe even find a way back home. If this worked out, his ordeal would be a nightmare of the past. 

 

Culver, on his end, was making a bluff. There were some of the fabled armaments hidden away somewhere that hadn't been set to fire in ages. She had nothing to fear. But he had a damn good poker face, and his call put it in her hands to make the wise choice. 

 

"Everything I promised, I'll even make it an even thousand caps," he reached his hand out, a small smile on his face. He was doing what he thought was right, yet still saw her as his trusted friend. An old lover, and the person who helped shape him into the fucked up charity case he'd become. "C'mon May. We'll take care o' him."

 

Maya was livid. She was burning inside that he had dared to threaten her. Especially after all the help she gave him when they were together. She worked her jaw and clenched one hand under the table. She couldn’t do anything here. Not with him being so respected. She would lose any hope of continuing to trade here. So instead she smiled. 

“Fine. By the way, I found an abandoned solar van on my way here. I claimed it and brought it. Currently it’s outside the city. Come with the caps and weapons. And extra. We can make deals for the things I found.” 

 

She stood and pulled Adam with her. He had only picked at his burger so she grabbed the plate of food and handed it to him. ‘See? She was good!’ was the message in her actions. “You can’t miss it. It’s solid white with solar panels on top. But it’s a bit out of town. I’ll see you there.” She turned and walked off, Adam still under her arm, holding his plate of food.

 

"I'll join you now," he replied, standing up and leaving a handful of coins on the table where they'd left their plates and mugs. "I hope I wasn't too presumptuous, but I did kinda make you my ride earlier, heh." He was smiling again, a friendly, warm attitude that helped amplify Adam's change in mood. The boy was softly smiling as well, touched that things were turning out well for him. 

 

"If you have a car, we can take it to my train and make the trade there. He'll be yours until I make good on my word." Striding around the table over to them, he placed a hand on her shoulder, eyeing her apologetically. "I'm sorry May. I just needed you to understand. He'll be safer with us, and at least you're not goin’ empty handed, right?"

 

That did it. She was just going to scare him shitless. But no. Now that he was implying that Adam wasn’t safe with her, that she was a threat to the boy, she wouldn’t let it slide. Her eye twitched at his touch, though in a blink, she managed a shrug, passing it off as 

friendly hesitation, “If you say so, big man. This way…”

 

She silently led the way out of town and to her van. Once it was in view, she pointed it out. “Here. I found it a while back. Runs on the sun, so I just need to remember to leave it out for a few hours and it’s back on the road.”

 

“Nifty ride! Must be handy not needin’ sole battery power,” Culver admired the worn yet innovative vehicle, “Would kill for a few of these for the crew.”

 

“Very handy... Adam, go inside for a moment.” She let him go and watched as he entered the van, a nervous optimism hanging from him. This upset her even more, how could he give in to Culver’s bullshit so easily? Maya didn’t know whether to punish him later or to forgive him for letting the man’s famous charm work his magic on him. 

 

When he was safely inside, she closed and locked the door. She ditched her jacket and kicked off her boots, smiling at Culver the whole time. “I’ve thought about your ‘accommodations~’. We shouldn’t waste this chance. If I am your ride, I think it’s fair you  be mine.

 

The strong, friendly man stood in building lust as she laid her implications out to simmer, seeing the first hints of her hidden skin under the heavy garb that adorned her, “Uh huh,” he started. He was pleasantly surprised when she'd started undressing. After the stunt he'd pulled, he was lucky if she still considered him a friend. He wasn't afraid of her. They knew each other. They risked each other's lives for the other more times than he could count. When he left, she was sad, but let him go with a similar goodbye she was about to give again. Maybe this was just tradition. She'd presented herself to him, and he wouldn't refuse the invitation.

She let her pants drop to the floor and stepped out of them. Then she peeled off her shirt and bra, letting her breasts hang heavy on her ribs. “Come on then. Don’t keep me waiting,” she said.  “This might be the last we see of each other. Let’s make it count...” 

 

"Heh, your dirty talk could still use some work," Stepping forward, he brought his hand to her chin, tilting her head up where he could lean down and kiss her tenderly. A familiar exchange that warmed his heart. No woman kissed with the same passion as Maya. A predator's kiss, the kind where you know they get more out of it than you each time. He brought his hand behind her back, holding her close to him as he undid his belt and pants. 

 

When both hands were free, he brought one up to her breasts, kneading them in a queer fashion from underneath that he recalled she enjoyed. His other hand held her back, pressing into the side of the van. "Tell me when you're ready," he whispered into her, his lips nibbling her lobe beneath her heavy hair, "Don’t think I’ve gone rusty when it comes to your type."

 

Maya growled as he nibbled her ear. Oh she loved the pain. She wrapped her arms around his neck and threw one leg over his hip. Her lips curled into a smirk as she rocked her body against his. “Then let’s see, Culver. Let’s see how you fuck a real woman. To fuck a real woman.” She reached between them and grabbed his member, squeezing and stroking to bring it to its fullest attention. “Did you forget, little Cul, how it feels to be inside a real woman?” 

 

She stood on her tiptoes, used the leg on his hip for leverage to get higher, then dropped down on top of him, hilting his member in one smooth move. “Did you only fuck little human women while you were away from me?” Despite the size difference, she set the pace. She controlled their movements. “It’s too bad we didn’t work out. I was the best fuck you ever had. The best you ever will.” She punctuated her words by biting his chest. And she was not gentle in the least. She sank her teeth deep, drawing blood that she eagerly lapped up.

 

"That's unfair, sweetheart" he responded as he gained traction with his hands around her thighs, hoisting her up against the van, rocking it in the process, "How can they help it when ya set the bar so -unfgh-  high?~" He grunted as they found slow rhythm, gritting his teeth when she nipped at his left pec. She was always one to take the hard way. She taught him the hard way. 

 

"Why you little..." his right hand left her thigh, keeping her suspended with his cock and thrusts. He brought to her neck and pushed her head back roughly into the van. Her head restrained, he pushed his to hers and aggressively met her lips with his. The taste of his own blood was fresh in her mouth, and the taboo of it all fueled his lust as he increased his pace, hitching her against the van again and again and again.

 

Inside, Adam was worried by the shaking. Was there a quake? The voices outside only became apparent after a minute or so. Cautiously, he looked out the window to check on his companions. What he found made him go pale and hide behind the table. "They're... they're... oh my..." 

 

Was this normal? He shook his head in disbelief, shocked out the audacity. There was a proper ritual that must be followed to perform the sacred act, not this barbarous... no. Life was different out here. Culver said himself. Was this normal in the wasteland? Adam's courage returned in sparse supply, egging him on to feed his curiosity. Outside, he saw the incredibly tall, handsome blonde man, his pants at his ankles, jacket on the ground, the collar of his shirt torn open and a small bit of bleeding, and the brief glimpses of his genitalia emerging and disappearing from view inside Maya. The boy watched her attentively, whether he was aware. Seeing her large tanned breasts jump with each entry, her thick, strong legs wrapped around Culver's waist. He couldn't see her own intimacy from above, but the look of blind ecstasy on her face spoke to her experience. 

 

Their love making literally rocked the world. So violent, sloppy, and at the same time natural. They fit into each other like a well oiled machine, powering their passions mutually as their pace increased. Watching the enjoyment in Maya's, it made her look human. She was a being with needs, all of which he didn't understand. Now, with a slightly pained pressure mounting in his loose pants, he could imagine himself opening up to one of those needs.

 

Maya grinned down at her partner, bloody lips spread wide in a smile. The thrill washed over her face, the anger and conflict rocking into each hump and pull from her loins on him. Despite how exhilarating this was shaping up to be, the malice she’d nursed since dinner had swelled in her. He was going to pay just as soon as she had her fun. 

 

“I do set it high, don’t I?” She chuckled and pulled her hair from his restraint as she leaned forward to bite his neck. “No one will ever match me.” She rocked her hips into his again, using her pelvic muscles to squeeze and work his member. She wondered how long he would last this time. When he was with her previously, he was more of a sprinter than a long distance runner as it pertained to sex. “Come on then, Little Cully, blow your load!” She ordered. She bit his neck and licked the wound. “Fuck me like there’s no tomorrow.” She bucked her hips hard against his, working, and squeezing and doing all she knew and remembered to get him off.

 

“Little Cully’s been hungry~” he loved the shift in power. Another bite to his neck, pulling her head locked into him as she was now shoved repeatedly into the wall. His thick cock slipped easily deep into her folds, making small adjustments to course over every nook and cranny inside. She would always be the wildest flower he’d ever known, and just revisiting this old meadow had him desperate to cling on and last for her. She always deserved better than a human could give, and if memory served, he’d come the closest to doing so. 

 

Adam, meanwhile, had been quietly fascinated watching the two in coitus, wrestling with the unknown feelings brought up on watching the spectacle. It almost felt forbidden, but he couldn’t turn away. Maya simply looked beautiful; and Culver was a man’s man, something Adam knew would earn him the highest of honors had they shared a city. When they finished, the passion on display was inspiring, Adam left in wanting with a strain in his trousers. 

 

Outside, her body hiked up violently, and another three comedowns brought Culver to his limit. A loud grunt turned moan rang into the night as he sent shot after shot that filled her pussy up. He slowed his rhythm, allowing her room to unbind her legs from his waist. There were now several cuts on his chest, neck, and back, and still he panted with a smile. “pant...pant... You really should... just come with us, sweetheart.”

 

“Not happening,” Maya said. She was breathing heavily as well but was not nearly as affected as Culver. All thanks to the genetic aberrations that made her what she was. She slid off him and leaned against the van for a moment, smiling at the sky. “Oh that was nice… Hehe, your shirt is ruined, though. You should take it off.” She rested for another couple moments before standing and stretching. 

 

There was no one around. They were some distance away from the trading post and it was pitch black aside from the stars and the crescent moon. She turned and smiled at Culver, still panting against the van. Perhaps his age was catching up to him. Not her. Every year passed she grew stronger. This was an indisputable truth that validated her claim to do what was right. 

 

She kept this in mind as she let her height expand to her larger stature. Not so tall that she’d be seen over the canyon edge as she kneeled to hide her growth, but enough to do what needed to be done.

 

“That was a good fuck. Thank you. I’ll always have that memory of you,” she saw the man react to the louder voice, finally turning to see her enlarged figure, “but, see, you really pissed me off. Saying little Adam isn’t safe with me. Because he is. It was humans who fucked up his mind so bad. Why should I send him off with more humans?” 

 

“Wh-wha?” He was too late to see her grow before she was towering and naked in the moonlight, an awe inspiring sight he never got used to even while living with her. Being buzzed and lost in their afterglow, he found it a lovely spectacle. Then he considered her words, recognizing the air of threat in her tone, “N-now hold on, kitten-“ 

 

Watching her grow after stepping away had renewed Adam’s fear, even while his admiration for her bare figure clouded his pure instinct to hide. He knew what it meant when she grew, and the tempest of fear stormed between self-preservation and the desire to cry out to Culver, to tell him to run, to hide with him. Anything to avoid the looming eventuality hovering over them.

 

She didn’t give her ex-lover a chance to run, grabbing him and ripping away his clothes and pants. “Too bad. If you hadn’t threatened me, I was just going to scare you to make you leave us alone. But you did this to yourself...”

 

He was hauled away from the ground at a sickening speed, then entirely stripped. This was familiar too, but a layer of menace laid over their exchange, “Hehe, alright. Ya can still spook me, I’ll admit it. Don’t think the theatrics are necessary.” 

 

He was joking, convinced this was all an act to get back at him for earlier. The closer look he got at her powerfully deep violet eyes made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. They’d just made love, she wouldn’t…

 

 “...May?”

 

“It will be quick, I promise,” Maya said simply. “I just fucked. You should know what that does to my metabolism. Too bad. I really did like you.” She pressed a mocking kiss to his face, letting it forcefully press into him like a reluctant sendoff. After all, it was a goodbye to someone she truly cared for… once. 

 

“Should have just kept your mouth shut, Cully,” With that, her scowling lips smacked up, and she slid him into her mouth. Obviously he kicked in protest, elbowing her teeth and palate on the way in before her lips sealed around his thighs. She let him linger there for a minute, to realize the truth of it all, then slurped his squirming legs in. She promised it’d be quick, though she ventured a few suckles of his musky-laden, masculine body for a few moments longer than intended. 

Adam cowered when Culver was lifted up and stripped, like so many before him. They liked each other, right? She knew he had people counting on him, right!? None of that seemed to matter when the honorable man slipped between her full lips. His strong legs began to kick until they sealed behind them, trapping him inside. The boy watched in horror as she contemplated her lover’s flavor, praying to each of the old gods that this was some farce.

 

Keeping to her word, she steeled herself, tilted her head back and swallowed. His firm, fighting lump wriggled down her throat into her collar bone, sighing at the pressure riding into her being.

 

“NOOOOO!!” Adam screamed from the window, witnessing the whole scene. 

 

A heavy gulp settled it, launching the squirming, once respectable man into her being. Now was when Adam screamed, watching his newest hope for freedom disappear from the world just like all of his friends had.

 

Maya sighed as she felt Culver settle in her stomach. She hoped his struggles wouldn’t last long. Though, much to her expected chagrin, the rough rider fought away at her insides. Futily.

 

She had no wish to prolong this, reducing her height in a matter of moments, crushing him almost instantly. It was a mercy, though her gut bulged heavily, making the van tilt as she stepped inside at nearly eleven feet tall. Not quite able to reduce to her comfortable, normal  height, she had to duck and bend in half to fit inside. 

 

Crouched in the living area, she wedged her arm back to shut the door behind her. She proceeded to crawl to her bed, hoisting herself and her engorged stomach onto the mattress with her feet still partially out the door. She wouldn’t care for privacy tonight, opting to sleep with her feet still out in the hall while she nestled into her pillows and covers, snuggling her stuffed cat. She didn’t need to worry about Adam. The locks were all set, and he’d stay put if he knew better. 

 

Maya wished that it didn’t have to end like this. Culver had been a friend, and a wonderful lover. But those seasons were over. Now, he was another meal, like so many stupid humans before him. She would be sad, but would move on like always. She had Adam now. He would work out far better than Culver ever did. She was sure of it. Pulling the blankets over her body as much as she could, she let an arm rest on her distended gut as she fell asleep.

 

When she reduced her size to return inside, Adam practically leaped up into his cot to avoid her. Her gut was grotesquely shaped, no doubt already killing the man she’d called friend. As she retired to her chamber without closing her door, eventually falling asleep, the breath he’d been holding gushed out in a string of frantic pants. 

 

He had to leave! Hopping down from the cot, he ran for the door and tried to push it open. It refused, and fiddling with the locking mechanism did nothing. He was trapped. Knocking down the door or shattering glass would alert her, and there was no other way to get out. Defeated, miserable, he returned to his cot. He wanted to cry, to shed tears for the loss of his possible rescuer. None of his people would know what happened. They’d think he went off with an old friend and disappeared. Adam would know. He’d carry the knowledge with him for however long he had left to live. Shivering through more than the cold, he curled around himself and did his best to sleep.