Everything stopped. The pain was gone, the pressure alleviated from his miniscule body. His eyes didn’t see anything; only darkness surrounded the insignificant little bug. For a moment he truly believed himself dead, thought that the trash compactor had squished him beyond recognition.

Then light poured back into the black hole of the trash compactor. “Holly shit,” Geof said, amazed and unbelieving, as Anna opened the compactor once again. The light was at her back, illuminating her bronze skin in the most beautiful way. Perhaps it was only because she was saving his life. Either way, Geof truly believed she looked beautiful. Still, he couldn’t simply marvel at the amazing sight. Not here, not when his life could be extinguished with the simple press of a button. The little micro pushed himself to his feet, rushing forward towards the newly opened gap.

Anna, high above, gave a sigh as she dropped another pile of dirt and trash onto the tiny bug. Geoff felt pieces of dirt, leftover food, and god knows what else hit his back. He didn’t let that stop him, not when he was so close to his freedom.

The door to the compactor opened at an angle, a steep one but climbable. It was with only mild difficulty that Geoff managed to reach the top, about two feet off of the ground. His arms reached up, fingers gripping onto the topmost edge of the compactor, fresh air finally replacing the stale stink of the garbage.

“Yes!” he screamed in glee, pulling himself up the last inch. He had escaped death yet again. “Yes!” the tiny boy shouted once more, throwing his arms above his head, smiling as if he was back to normal sized.

Then Anna went to close the compactor. A simple motion, her hand pushed on the top of the compactor, sliding it back into place. Geof could do nothing other than stare in horror as the bottom of the drawer came flying forward, smashing him in the face as the compactor top disappeared under the counter.

He felt himself falling, the air rushing around his small body violently, the hard tile of the kitchen floor quickly growing closer and closer. Desperately the boy tried to rotate his body, screams of panic ringing in his ears.

“Ahhhh!” Geoff screamed, landing with a plop, he body bouncing off the unyielding ground, then rolling across the smooth surface. He was face down when he stopped, his body lying on the cold ground, his cheek pressing into crumbs that must have been microscopic to the giant’s that now tormented him.

Everything hurt, but nothing appeared to be broken. At least he had that to be thankful for. At his size impacts felt different. Perhaps his body was more resilient at this size, more flexible, or maybe a bit denser. Geoff didn’t know one way or the other, and didn’t bother giving it much thought. He had just survived a fall that, to him, had been thousands of feet.

Slam! His thoughts were jerked back into place as a pair of feet slammed into the ground on either side of him. Hurriedly the boy pushed himself to a sitting position, almost every muscle in his body screaming in protest. The view he received was one of the most horrifying he had ever encountered.

“Anna…” he whispered, their eyes locking. She towered above him, her face miles above his insignificant body, yet she was definitely looking at him. She must have seen him, must have! But, no, her face didn’t look like he had expected it to. The beautiful giant wasn’t confused at finding a tiny Geof between her feet, nor was she happy. She looked… annoyed.

“Damn,” Anna said with a sigh, crouching down lower so that she could better see the tiny thing below her. Geoff was motionless now, fear overtaking his every muscle. Her huge eyes were staring at him, massive orbs of a cool, deep brown. But they held no compassion, no sympathy. Only displeasure and disgust. “How is there another bug,” she spat, pushing herself back to her full height.

“No…” Geof whispered, the hope that he needed so badly flooding away and out of reach yet again. It was starting to feel like he would never be seen, that he would be forever doomed to repeat this loop of false hope, believing that he was saved only to be stepped on yet again. Death continuously creped behind him, dangling salvation in front of his face time and time again, just so that he would fall that much farther when he believed it.  

It was starting to hurt. He could feel it in his stomach, and gnawing at the corners of his eyes.

Anna raised her foot up yet again, the dark sole lifting until it blocked the light above, washing the tiny boy in shadows once again. It was just as dirty as before. No, it was definitely worse, her hours of cleaning causing numerous other things to become adhered to the old, worn out rubber. He could see crumbs, hair, dirt, food particles, and even the little patch of pink that marked where his body had been glued to her sole. Most of the gum had been worn off by now, or perhaps it had just been thoroughly mashed into a film. Under her unimaginable weight, such things could be possible. It wasn’t going to save him this time.

She started pushing the massive shoe downward, aiming to end his worthless life once and for all. It was only at the last moment that his legs kicked into action, pushing against the ground with everything he had, sending him just far enough to avoid the defending SLAM that erupted as her Etnies collided with the ground.

He rolled on the floor for a moment, quickly pushing himself back to his feet, his momentum easily sending him into a full sprint away from the god who thought of him as only a bug. But he wasn’t safe yet. At his height, he would never be safe. Anna’s other foot was almost in position, ready to crush his life away.

To think that he was about to be squished under Anna’s sole, the same shoes that he had stared at so lovingly, fantasized about so intensely, wished to be close to. He had wanted to touch the dark fabric that looked so soft, wanted to rub against the stitching that held it together. Even the laces, thick and pink, looked like they would be so pleasant to play with. And just the sight of that pink logo stitched so carefully into the side was enough to fill his head with dirty thoughts.

Now they were about to squish him, and the only thing the little bug could hope to do was run. It wasn’t going to be enough though, he knew that. The giant above him could move far too quickly for him to ever have a chance. Still, he couldn’t just give up. He couldn’t let his life slip away.

Her foot came down again, the impact sending waves of force through the ground as her thick sole came to a stop. Once again Geof had managed to narrowly avoid a certain death, jumping to the side as her shadow loomed overhead. Then he heard something he wasn’t prepared for. The closing of a door, followed by the booming of many pairs of feet.

“Hey Anna,” Emily said as she walked into the kitchen, a bag in her hand. Jo and her sister followed soon after.

“Hello,” the giant maid said, her attention momentarily drawn from the tiny insect scrambling at her feet. “Back from shopping so soon?”

“Yeah, the mall ended up closing early. Something about a water main or something.”

“Ah, Okay,” Anna said, turning her attention back to the ground, her eyes searching for a tiny speck to crush.

Geoff had taken advantage of the momentary distraction, running at his full speed towards the counter. At his size, even the span of a single tile was a length of considerable distance. He just barely managed to reach a relatively safe spot, under the cabinet that slightly jutted out over the floor, before Anna started her search again.

“What are you doing,” Jo then asked, taking a step around the maid, her feet causing an earthquake with every stomp. Geof could only cower against the wall, waiting for what was to come next.

“Looking for a bug,” Anna replied, her eyes still scanning the ground, coming dangerously close to Geof's hiding place.

“You found a bug?” Emily asked.

“Is that really surprising?” said Erin, dropping one of her bags onto the table.

“Good point.”

“Anna,” Erin then said, “The house looks clean. I think you could go home a bit early.”

“Oh, thank you,” the Latino goddess replied happily. Geoff let his hopes rise, thinking that his latest ordeal might have just come to a close. Anna was leaving. She wouldn’t need to crush him anymore. “Let me just find that bug.” His stomach dropped.

Geoff pressed himself harder against the wall, his heart beating faster than he was comfortable with, his breathing ragged and fast paced. He didn’t want to be found like this, didn’t want to be mistaken for a bug. The tiny boy gulped, thinking once again about a tiny stain on Anna’s Etnies, all that would remain of his being.

“No, don’t worry about it,” Jo said quickly. “I’m sure we can handle it.”

“Yeah,” Emily put in. “We know how to deal with bugs around here.” Geof jumped as her massive shoe slammed into the tile only a few paces from where he was. “We stomp ‘em!”

“Right,” Erin agreed. “Trust us, we’re fine.”

“Well, alright,” Anna finally conceded. “I’ll just get my things then leave.” The girls smiled, the maid leaving the room, her footsteps booming up until the point where the front door closed. Then it was just Geof, unknown once again, and trapped in the kitchen with his two giantess sister and girlfriend.

“Well, at least we’ll have some fun tonight,” Emily said after a moment, her voice echoing in Geof's ears.

“What do you mean?” Jo asked.

“We’ve noticed you were a bit glum about Geof.”

“Yeah,” said Erin. “So we decided to do something to take your mind off things.” She reached into her bag, pulling out two bottles of vodka. “Why not a party?”

“A party?” Jo said, obviously hesitant about the idea.

“Yeah, why not? We get a bunch of people, get shit faced, have a good time with it.”

“I don’t know. I just want to find out what happened with Geof. He hasn’t called or anything.”

“I’m sure it's fine. Besides, we already invited a bunch of people.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Now relax and have fun. I’m sure our dorky brother will be back before long. He probably just got stuck somewhere.”

A party… Geoff didn’t know how to feel about that. There would be a lot of people, almost none of them paying any attention to the ground, their feet taking up so much space on the floor. Just a single misplaced step and he’d be crushed to a pulp. But, if there were more people, more of a chance to be found, right? That's what he had to do, just be positive about things. He’d be found tonight.

The tiny bug glanced at the trash compactor, then onto the table at the bottles of alcohol. A bunch of drunk idiots trying to get laid, not exactly the perfect situation for him to be found. No, if he was going to be saved it would have to be before the party. If not, his chances of becoming a glob of dead Geoff rose exponentially. This was it, he needed to get the giants’ attention. Now.