Max's heart raced. He was running across the floor of the classroom, but there was no end in sight. Above him dozens of giants stared down, each trying to stomp him into oblivion. He was dizzy and covered in sweat. He was thrown through the air by a sandal crashing down next to him. As he tried to get up he felt himself pulled into the air. Not again, he thought. He was brought to the face of a giant teen, it was the same one who had killed Haley. Oh god, poor Haley. She had the same fate in mind for him as she tossed him into her sneaker, he foot quickly descending from above. It pressed down, her sweat mixing with his until he screamed.

---

"Dude, you have the shut the fuck up." Kelsey said to him from beside him.

He sat up, suddenly awake and sighed deeply. "You don't get what I've had to deal with" he said from his makeshift cot. He was covered in night sweats. 

"You know I do." Kelsey answered as she rolled over. He knew she was right. I mean -- the baby, he could've dealt with the baby, but the dog was a frightful thought. Not a lot he could do about a dog at their size. 

It was still dark, a sliver of moonlight slipped into their shelter. Technically it was a discarded can of Dr. Pepper sitting in a giant backyard, but to them it was home. From there they had ventured around looking for food for weeks. The danger was constant. Animals, humans, even nature seemed to be after them at any given moment. No one gave a shit about people under a certain size. 

As his heart finally started to slow its beat, Max could only gaze at the sky. He hoped that one day he would return to normal and get back to life -- but, he thought, finding a bunch of food would be good enough. At least he had Kelsey to keep him company.

She wasn't the one he would've chose, but then again the opposite was probably true as well. They didn't really have a choice out here, as they needed the other to survive. The world simply wasn't meant for them. They'd met while scavenging the trash at a particularly wasteful donut franchise. Max was damn near attacking her when she approached him, but cried when he realized there were others who had escaped. Maybe there was hope just yet. 

They had joined one another and began venturing for food and shelter. At first, Kelsey was coy about her background. Max couldn't imagine why - he considered himself pretty approachable for a guy who smelled like shit. He got a glimpse when they were hiking through a neighborhood and saw a dog. Max knew to make his way to shelter swiftly but Kelsey, Kelsey completely froze. He damn near had to carry her to safety. 

From there they had dumped their respective traumas unto one another, in addition to their typical survival stories in the wild. There was utility in their stories as well: they knew to stay away from teenagers and dogs. Max laughed to himself, they'd been reduced to hunter-gatherers telling folk tales. 

He tried to sleep but to no avail. The thoughts of what happened to Haley haunted him, and the thick smell of aged soda didn't help. Eventually he found a semi-conscious state. When he rolled out of bed, the sun was up. Kelsey wasn't in her bed. He lumbered to the opening to find her sharpening a spear outside. 

"I think we need a new place to stay, I can't listen to you scream all night." She said without looking up.

"I was just thinking the same thing. I hate soda." Max agreed. The idea of moving made him a bit nervous, but he knew it was the right thing to do. 

Within an hour he had packed the few things he had. Some small weapons, his makeshift shoes, and a "canteen" that was really just a carved out splinter

"Let's get rolling, only so much sunlight" Kelsey declared. Max was annoyed about it, but she was right. They needed a new shelter by nighttime. Nighttime was a death sentence out here. 

They navigated from yard to yard, surveying for potential threats. More than once they'd be crossing a yard and hear the terrorizing sound of a lawnmower nearby. One poorly timed venture and they'd be distributed in a fine mist without a second thought. Max grew more frustrated as Kelsey would hear distant barks and freeze up every time. 

"Keep. Moving." he would yell at her in frustration. 

"You haven't seen what I've seen dude" she said. She was right, but Max could imagine the result if a dog was let into a yard as they crossed. He didn't need to be a visionary to picture being devoured as food. 

As the sun crested across the sky, frustration mounted. They had stopped bantering hours ago. Max wondered what they were even looking for. All this risk of horrible deaths and they didn't even know what they were looking for. Suddenly, Dr. Pepper didn't sound so bad. When night hit, they would be vulnerable. 

And then they saw it. 

An old birdhouse had broken from it's tree and crashed down below. It appeared to be in good shape. The duo began their trek to it, crossing a wide yard to get there. They arrived just as the sun began to flourish the sky in color, they both hoped it was in good shape as they approached.

"Be ready, there might be an animal in there." Max ordered. They carefully looked inside, weapons drawn. It looked.. great. Max couldn't believe it. No animals and there were clean beds of straw just about ready to go. He just about dived in - it was all worth it. The two celebrated and dropped their belongings in an instant. This would be their new--

There was a sound outside. 

Once again they found themselves ready to fight to the death only moments after finding their first respite of the day. Max could feel his heartbeat in his head as he could hear grass shuffling outside. If it was a person, or a dog, or hell even a bird, they'd be doomed. Instead, a small head popped over the circular opening in the front of the birdhouse. 

A person. A tiny person. 

Max and Kelsey were frozen - they'd actually run into tinies before, but they were the dumb ones. Completely mindless. They stared  into the dark eyes of the person in front of them and saw.. someone. They weren't glazed over, they were staring back at them studying them.

"who the fuck are you?" Brad asked. 

It was only then that another head popped up. A woman. The thought crossed Max's mind that they might very well be outnumbered.

"who are you??" Kelsey retorted. 

"I didn't know there were others. I'm Brad. You're kind of in our house here" he said matter of factly as he hopped through the hole. 

"who's she?" Kelsey pelted another question his way "what's her deal?"

Max realized the other woman wasn't looking at any of them, she had followed Brad in but she didn't seem to be present. 

"Is she one of the dumb ones, one of those carbon copy dipshits?"

Brad looked irritated - "She's NOT. Her name is Becky. She's traumatized but she's a real person like you or I. She's not one of the others."

Kelsey rolled her eyes "we're all traumatized Brad" 

"we all deal with it in our own ways" Max finally interjected "we need all the help we can get. Can we stay here tonight..?"

"It'll be cramped, but yes" Brad agreed. 

"Is it just you?" Kelsey eased up.

"Just us two. We found it a week ago." he answered. "also - one rule. No sex. I'll explain why at some point but it's a story for another time." 

Kelsey scoffed, offending Max a little but he didn't mention it. He was far too tired. "Let's hit it, we can do introductions tomorrow."