Angela Riverton was starting to get worried. She had increased her pace significantly since berating Stacy, and though she had not expected to lose the girl, it had somehow happened. Angela was alone. The silence was a gift to her ears, and the lack of conversation with blonde Stacy was icing on the cake. Angela was indeed alone, but for the most part she enjoyed every minute of it. She enjoyed this silence for several hours before it all came tumbling down in one cataclysmic moment.
“Ange!” The voice came like an arrow darting through the air and impaling Angela in the heart. Had it not been such a shock and disappointment, Angela might have noticed the change in Stacy Decker’s voice. Gone was any sense of trepidation when speaking with Angela, previously Stacy had always been slightly nervous in the presence of her supposed friend, but now any hint of that emotion was gone. While Angela was busy composing herself to once again deal with Stacy, the beautiful blonde was proudly striding forward to meet her friend. She now knew something Angela would have never conceived.
“Hello Stacy.” Angela’s voice was dry and emotionless. There was no questioning where the girl had gone off to, or thanks for seeing her again; only a simple salutation. Stacy’s responsive smile belied her own obliviousness to the situation. Stacy was clearly thrilled to see her friend, and looked as though she had something important to tell her. Angela shrugged slightly without giving away her own interest in the girl’s obvious need to speak. “Alright Stacy, what is it?”
“Oh you’ll never believe it! It’s like the coolest thing I have ever seen! I know you’ll love to come and take a look at it.” Stacy almost ran out of breath as she spoke. Angela continued to stand unimpressed, taking a few moments to put her now dry black tank top back on. Despite her normal apathy to anything Stacy Decker had to say, Angela found herself mildly interested following Stacy’s statement. Perhaps it had to do with the sheer enthusiasm that Stacy Decker put into the composition of it, or the fact that she genuinely seemed to care about Angela seeing whatever this thing was. Despite the numerous tiny screams in her mind telling her ‘no’, Angela indulged her semi-friend.
“Ok… what is it?”
Stacy beamed with excitement and grabbed Angela’s arm, pulling her back the way she had come from. Angela resisted for the briefest of moments before going partially limp and following Stacy’s brisk pace. It was obvious that this atypical popular girl had something of the utmost importance to show her. Angela could only guess what it would be. Perhaps she had met some cute fuzzy animal, or perhaps Stacy had found a rock formation that looked like a celebrity. In any case, Angela was far from prepared for the sight she was about to see.
›
Tristan and Laine had paced around the hut angrily since Stacy had deposited them within. The guards posted at the entrance along with the reinforced walls had made escape all but impossible. The two were stuck in their new cage, and they both had difficulties coming to terms with it. Tristan was sitting on a crude wooden chair looking towards the doorway and debating his few escape options. Laine paced in circles around the room expounding her many thoughts; each sentence she spoke was like a missile, and since there were few targets within her range, Tristan had the honor of receiving the brunt of the attacks.
“You just had to tell her about the teachers, didn’t you!?” Laine said in a voice that teemed with both anger and sarcasm in healthy doses. Tristan rolled his eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time since arriving in the hut. He had debated the entire affair with Laine twice now, trying to explain that he was just telling the truth. “Just telling the truth were you?” Laine continued on, answering Tristan’s own mental thoughts. The girl was not truly angry at him, but he was the only means to vent her frustration, so he let her continue. “Well sometimes the truth isn’t the smart thing to say Tristan! Now look at where we are.”
Continuing to keep his gaze on the guards outside, Tristan debated his chances of overpowering or evading the men. Based on their physical prowess, the mild mannered geek was no match for them in any capacity. Both the guards remained quietly at the door, unresponsive to Laine’s shouts, each of them holding firmly onto a long wooden spear similar in style to the one Tristan had used to get Stacy’s attention. Tristan knew there would be a way to escape, eventually his caretakers would lower their guard and he would make his grand escape to continue looking for Angela. For now, Tristan could only sit and watch; eyeing any chance he had to get out of the hut he had been so carelessly dropped into. So Tristan waited, and listened to the never ending speeches of Laine.
“God only knows what that giant bimbo is doing out there! Christ, she’s probably on her way to the beach right now to step on any other witnesses!”
Tristan kept his gaze on the unmoving guards. “I don’t think so. She didn’t step on us after all.” The words came out of the boy’s mouth without his eyes ever moving. Laine noticed this and her eyes doubled in size as her anger bubbled. The girl felt completely helpless in this place, and was afraid of what would come next. Tristan’s total calmness in light of the situation was both refreshing and enraging to her, and Laine felt compelled to continue her own ranting.
“Fine then! Maybe she went to collect them, like she did us! Maybe she plans on keeping us all in this ridiculous village like her little dolls!” Laine spurted off words with her mouth barely able to keep up. Tristan had long since stopped paying attention to this random chain of thought from Laine, and intensified his own assessment of their incarceration. “Just think of it Tristan, we could be her new display! Come see Stacy Decker and her toy town; open nine to five, Monday through Friday!” The speed and voracity of Laine’s shouts had even gained the briefest attention of the guards and Tristan knew it was time to try and calm his friend.
“We’ll get out of here Laine. Stacy will come to her senses.” Tristan went so far as to change his gaze so he looked at the girl. The simple act of being looked at restored much confidence to Laine, and her incensed shouting diminished to a small whimper as her eyes looked down like an animal that had misbehaved. Tristan went on to further humble the girl with another statement. “Besides, Angela will find this place soon enough. Then everything will be alright. We don’t have anything to worry about.”
Something in Tristan’s sentence set Laine off. Her face turned red, and she tore a path of rage until she stopped right in front of calm Tristan. “God damnit! Your sister isn’t going to be some fucking miracle worker Tristan! Stacy’s probably got her on the other side of this damn island by now. You know who’s going to get us out of this? Us!” Laine’s words didn’t have the cut she had intended and Tristan kept up his casual look. He acknowledged Laine by raising his own eyes up to meet hers, though his face remained looking forward. “God Tristan! I mean it, I really do! No help is coming.”
Tristan’s eyes returned to scanning over the guards, going back to his routine of casually ignoring Laine as she went back into rant mode. The cycle had repeated for its third time, and Tristan knew there was no getting out of it. As he thought of the cyclical nature of his imprisonment, Tristan’s eyes noticed something in the distance. The forest beyond the entryway began to shake. It was barely noticeable at first, but it kept increasing until the forest was rustling with activity. By the time his brain had processed this information, Tristan could feel the slight tremors. Laine noticed them soon after, and the two shot each other a quick glance of ‘truce’ and tried to peer out the doorway, though they could see nothing with the guards blocking the way. Shortly thereafter the tremors intensified into an all too familiar feeling for the two. Giants were about.
›
With Stacy standing proudly behind her, Angela Riverton could barely express herself as she looked down at the miniscule village. As has been expressed before in the annals of this story, there was indeed a village dotted with huts and toy sized inhabitants. As they had once before, the people now looked up as a new goddess presided over their humble little village. The goddess of old stood proudly behind her, watching with anticipation as her divine equal took in what she saw. Stacy Decker didn’t really think of it in those terms, but for purposes of this story of ours, the description stands.
“Woah.” Angela’s exasperated voice washed over the village as she descended on hands and knees to inspect it. Stacy took the opportunity to cast the guards in front of Tristan’s hut a cold glare, to which they immediately responded by closing their formation to cover the door. A sweet smile followed as Stacy’s gaze returned to Angela who looked down over the kingdom at their feet. There was a sense of pride in Stacy as she saw her friend’s keen interest in the village and its people. Though she really had nothing to do with it, Stacy had found the city, and led Angela here, so in essence it was her discovery. So in her mind, Stacy considered everything that was happening of her design, and the exhilaration her friend went through was all thanks to her.
“Stacy, do you have any idea what this is?” Angela’s voice trailed off slightly and she regained full posture and looked back down at the city from her full vantage. As though on cue, Stacy ducked down on her knees excitedly looked over all the small buildings and people before her. Angela waited a moment before hearing no response, instead looking down at her friend with whom she had switched positions. Now Stacy gazed with keen interest at the small people below, her true intentions unknown. Angela worriedly took a step forward reaching to place her hand on Stacy’s shoulder. The girl once again reacted to this simple act and spoke.
“I know Ange. It’s like a city full of toys!”
Jutting her finger out like a rampant projectile Stacy poked one of the small huts. She was sure not to poke the one Tristan and Laine were trapped in, but one nearby. The result was instantaneous; as the toy like hut collapsed under the pressure, Angela yanked Stacy back, almost thrusting her away from the village. Angela could see the look of enjoyment on Stacy’s face as she pulled the girl away from the now destroyed hut, not that she had any inkling of the girl’s true intentions. As Stacy fell flat on her butt, Angela looked forward to inspect the damage, and saw the silent awe of the people below. In a moment of shock and realization, Angela recoiled as Stacy stood back up.
“Oh my… Stacy I think these people think we’re some kind of deities!”
“Deia whata?” Stacy’s response for the first time in a long while didn’t even faze Angela who continued to look down at the people below. Transfixed by their awe of her, Angela saw these people as small unaware beings who didn’t realize that she was just like them. Stacy still pondered over the meaning of ‘deity’ even though she knew the people below thought she was awesome. Instead Stacy attributed this to the same reason she was popular in high school; her well maintained looks, amusing commentary, and stunning attitude. Stacy Decker was entirely aloof to the true power she had over these people, instead fixated only on the power her size might give her.
“I think these people might think we’re some kind of gods!”
“Oh cool!” Stacy explained before starting to hunch back down; once again to inspect the village. Angela’s arm preemptively pulled the girl back once more, keeping Stacy from inflicting any further damage on the unsuspecting village below. “Awww, Ange. Come on, I just wanna take a closer look at the little guys! Don’t you want to?” Stacy knowingly goaded Angela into a response, and the one she received was exactly what she had anticipated. If Stacy was good with one thing, it was knowing people; high school popularity basically revolved around catering to it.
“No. Don’t you understand, if these people think we’re gods then we’ve already interfered with their culture.” The sentence was dry, as Angela’s mind still wrapped itself around the conundrum that literally lay sprawled at her feet. The damage wrought by Stacy was an already apparent example of the power she now had over these small people, and it was certainly power she would need to keep in check. Seeing Stacy’s pleading eyes look at her, as though expecting some kind of response, Angela could only reply with silence. This entire situation was so unreal to her, and yet so natural. Angela knew she would need to take stock of the situation and ‘handle’ Stacy’s attitude.
“But Ange… you just said we’re like gods! Why not have a little bit of fun!”
Angela could feel the frustration in Stacy’s voice as well as the mild amount of whining, but she kept her ground. She approached Stacy and whispered softly in her peer’s ear. “No Stacy. We have to keep away from these people. I mean, we’ve already affected their normal development, so I guess it’s ok to pretend to be their gods. I mean, they might be able to help us with food and water.”
“But Ange…” Stacy’s face faltered, and Angela knew she had won. Whatever peer pressure powers she had over Stacy Decker had won through, and she knew the girl could be trusted not to madly destroy the little village. Soon thereafter Angela’s thoughts turned back to finding her brother and the other survivors. This was indeed the discovery of a lifetime, but Angela needed to be sure there wasn’t anyone else on this island who needed her help. After all, it was unlikely these tiny people would be able to help anyone of her size, so clearly she would be needed if someone was still in danger. Thinking of this, Angela finally concocted a brief plan in her mind.
“Listen Stacy, there could still be people out there. I’ve got to go looking for them. You’re umm… good with people, so why don’t you stay here and try to get some supplies from the villagers. Maybe get them to send you to somewhere with clean drinking water?” The words flew out of Angela’s lips as they came into her mind. Now the girl finally had a plan, and a working one at that. Stacy could stay here with legitimate reason, and she could go off alone in search of the others. It wasn’t perfect, but it fit the bill that Angela needed, and gave her the seclusion she desired. Stacy’s face seemed to go alight with the prospect, and Angela knew she must be enthused by the possibility of dealing with the small villagers below. It was probably Stacy’s dream to be lauded as a goddess, so here was her brief opportunity to enjoy it.
“One thing Ange.” Stacy added nonchalantly, noticing the eyebrow of her compatriot raise slightly as she spoke. Most of the time, Stacy didn’t have anything intelligent to add, so perhaps this was indeed a changed woman. “Well, we already looked at the beach, so it’s probably best to head in the opposite direction right?” Angela shook her head in a mocking manner, as though she were disappointed in Stacy’s remark. Stacy began to internally panic, hoping that Angela would not return to the beach, where the other survivors remained.
“No stupid. Of course I’m not going back to the beach. We already checked that out? Do I look brainless to you?” Stacy Decker’s only response to Angela’s comment was a quick and unexpected hug. Angela was obviously disturbed by the act, but eventually let Stacy have her moment. The two had been through a lot, and this experience was sure to change them both, so Angela would let Stacy have this quaint little hug. Stacy Decker knew full well what she was doing, and she had never anticipated how well her quickly constructed plan would work.
In the world below, Tristan’s jaw dropped as he watched the two embrace from the confines of his prison.