Run.

A single thought encapsulated Adam’s life, his entire existence compressed into a single action that would be the difference between prolonging his miserable little life or being crushed under a giantess’ boot. He and James sprinted as fast as they could, neither looking back, the fear of what they might see preventing even the thought.

But they could still feel the thundering impact of every step. They came rhythmically, the girls stepping at the same time, Amy’s boots thudding with an almighty impact, the sole of Chloe’s sneaker rolling as it fell to the floor, squishing anything underneath. And each step was louder than the last, each tremor greater in magnitude. Adam could feel his legs shake when the wave came, his knees bending, threatening to send him tumbling onto the floor where he was sure death would find him. Already he was shaking, the physical exertion draining him almost as much as the pure guttural fear.

Thud

Thud

Thud

“Keep going!” Adam shouted, almost more for himself than for his friend. James was silent, his mind set to its one task. They were already panting, but the steps were coming closer. They had almost reached their limit, but this was just a casual walk for the giants. They were about to die, but to the gods it was just another step.

A shadow descended upon the two tinies, their lives enveloped by the darkness cast from Amy’s boot as she lifted it above their heads. “Run,” Adam kept saying, over and over again. “Run, run, run…”

The earth erupted around him as Amy drove the hard heel of her boot into the tile, only an inch away from the two boys. The impact was startling, the tremor in the earth enough to send them sprawling, the massive wind gust that resulted from the volume of air being crushed under her step sweeping them up and throwing them wildly.

They tumbled, rolling, the world spinning around them until finally they came to a stop. Somewhere. Adam pushed himself up as quickly as his messed up sense of balance would allow him, screaming, “James! James, where are-”

He barely had time to speak the words before the sight of the underside of Chloe’s shoe eclipsed the world above him. The boy was left wordless as the giant girl simply moved, her sole hovering overhead, like the deadly weapon of a god about to pass final judgment. He still didn’t know where James was, but in that moment it didn’t matter. Nothing seemed to matter except the underside of this high school girl’s sneaker.

Now he could make out the graphic details that made up every inch of her sole. It was a dark brown rubber, one that he knew well. More often than he would like to admit, he had looked at Chloe’s shoes, taking note of the way they bent as she walked, observing what happened to the creatures that were trodden upon. His mind was suddenly ripped back to an experience a few weeks ago when a small beetle had found its way into the office. He had watched it with mild fascination, his heart racing whenever he saw one of the girls walk over to it. But they were all just a few inches off. Then Chloe came, smiling at Adam as she walked past, not even realizing that she crushed the life out of a creature as she did so. When Adam looked at the bug’s corpse there was almost nothing left. A flattened pile of mush.

He wouldn’t have smiled if he had realized he was looking into his own future.

The shoe came down, Chloe’s thick treads slamming into the hard tile of the office floor with abandon, the impact shaking Adam’s entire body, the air pressure nearly bursting his eardrums… but he wasn’t dead.

Less than an inch. Her sole touched the floor less than an inch away from his body. But it almost didn’t matter, for he was in no better position. Directly above him was the toe section of the goddess’ shoe, the slight flare to the end momentarily saving his life, and allowing him a perfect final view of the dust and grime that had become trapped in the small treads.

And then there was nothing to do but wait. Wait for her to continue her step, to jam her toe into the ground, to crush his body without a thought, without even the need of a full step. Just a shift of her weight.

And he watched her foot start to move, the ceiling fall upon him.

And he almost felt relieved. If it was going to end, at least it would be quick.

“Oh, girls!” a voice boomed above him, enough to jolt him back to reality, enough to divert the girls’ attention. High above him Chloe and Amy turned back to the front entrance, smiling happily at the sight of Mrs. Brooks strolling inside. “How was lunch?” she asked.

“It was good, Mrs. Brooks,” Amy answered. “We just needed to drop these off.” She handed her superior a stack of papers.

Adam, still on the ground, was left in stunned silence. As Chloe turned she had moved her foot, lifting it up, gently placing it down away from him. He still couldn’t believe that he wasn’t dead. For the moment he just sat there, amazed, horrified… alive.

“Hey, have you seen any of the boys around?” Mrs. Brooks asked. “I tried finding James before, but the kid vanished.”

“I don't know,” Chloe answered. “Actually, now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve seem Mark or Nick around either. Oh, and Adam’s supposed to be working now, right?”

“Yeah, good point,” Mrs. Brooks said, glancing at Adams desk and frowning. “It's not like him to wander off.” She thought for a moment, then eventually just shrugged. “Eh, I’ll beat his butt when he gets back. Give him a good spanking. Is there anything else you two needed?”

“Nope, we’re good,” Amy said happily.

Below, Adam’s ears were still ringing from the explosive impact of the girl’s shoe, his vision filled with only the vague shape of the giants, blurred by the sheer distance between them. He saw his the two tormentors moving back towards the door, their footsteps thundering in much the same way, except now they faded, soon growing quiet.

Only to be replaced by the crash of Mrs. Brooks flat. He was ripped back to reality, his feeble state becoming all too apparent. He needed to get out of there before anything…

A small shape caught his vision. He looked to his right, finding a small creature struggling against the world, holding his head, looking down at the floor. James still hadn’t recovered, still didn’t realize what had happened…

Didn’t realize Mrs. Brook’s shoe was directly overhead.