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The coffee shop was vacant, save for a couple of employees and a lone patron. The baristas hovered behind the counter; their casual banter littered with subtle flirtations as they passed the time. The sole customer was seated at the furthest table from them, seemingly out of earshot. She flipped the pages of her newspaper over, turning to a half page ad for an upcoming event. Reaching over to her steaming drink, she sipped as her ears tuned into the conversation between the two teenagers.

“Ah, young love,” the woman muttered to herself. She pursed her lips and blew gently across her coffee, sending spirals of steam fluttering away from her heart shaped face. A lock of dirty blonde hair danced in the breeze of her breath, dangling in front of her eyes before she brushed it aside. Her eyes flickered up at the pair of baristas, the deep brown irises narrowing as she barely squinted. The world around her drowned out, the only sounds left were that of the two talking across the room. She closed her eyes completely, and drew a slow, deep breath.

“Oh, you naughty boy.”

The woman’s eyes reopened after a few seconds, and she smiled. Even after spending the past six thousand years among mortal man, Sondra never grew tired of the fantasies that ran through their minds. Reading someone’s thoughts took almost no effort for a remnant of the old gods. To Sondra, it was little more than a party trick that she had mastered centuries ago. There were far more powerful things she could do, and she loved nothing more than causing a little mischief here and there.

She turned her gaze to the female barista. Short, cute, with jet black pigtails poking out from either side of a green visor. Sondra uttered a few words under her breath, a language that had not been spoken above a whisper for millennia. The girl pulled her apron aside, treating her coworker to an unobstructed view of the low-cut shirt behind it. Sondra glanced at the boy, watching intently as he stood there, stunned.

“Any second now…” she whispered.

The door clanged as a new customer walked in. The shorter barista released her hold on her apron, letting it snap back into place as she turned to greet the new customer. Her coworker waddled off towards the back room, dazed and sexually frustrated beyond belief. As the girl rang up the newcomer’s order, Sondra smiled and turned the page in her newspaper. She could feel the sexual tension radiating from the young man, trickling towards her. She took a slow, deep breath, and relished in the energy bestowed from the boy’s frustration.

Centuries had passed, but Sondra was still a goddess of lust and mischief, and she hadn’t lost her edge yet. She stood up, having had her fill of the boy’s short-lived fantasy turned to embarrassment. It was fun, but she needed something more...satisfying. Her newspaper was folded and stuffed in the waste bin on her way out, but something caught her eye as she pushed the swinging door open. A flyer was taped to the window, adorned with rainbows of color, advertising a parade that afternoon. Sondra scanned over the poster, a smile creeping up her lips. What better place to find a hapless victim to entertain her? She turned towards the street; her smirk obscured for a second by her hair as she strode down the sidewalk. Her crafty mind was already hard at work, mentally preparing herself for the fun later that day.

********

“Come on, James, let’s go!” Christina giggled as she tugged at James’s arm towards the car. “The parade starts in like, ten minutes. We gotta go!”

“Alright, I’m coming, geez!” James chuckled, no longer offering any resistance to the incessant pulling on his arm. Internally, he wished he had said no; staying home and playing Xbox had seemed like a more fun way to spend his Saturday than standing around at some parade downtown. He settled into the seat behind the driver, one of Christina’s friends from high school.

Christina had a way of convincing him to partake in almost anything, and today was no exception. Friends since childhood, James had developed a mild crush on Christina as they reached adulthood, though he had never brought it up to her. Whether Christina picked up on his feelings or not, he wasn’t sure, but she always treated him like a friend.

Christina sandwiched herself between James and another one of her friends. James glanced over from his phone, feeling the straps of Christina’s leather boot brushing against his leg. His Achilles’ heel was feet, a pun he smirked at every time he thought of it. A flush of color invaded his cheeks as his mind wandered to within Christina’s boots. He could see the top of her mismatched socks poking above the knee-high boots, their color a sharp contrast to the rest of Christina’s otherwise black clothing scheme. Those pretty little toes, wrapped in colorful socks...

The car rumbled to life, and Nick snapped back to reality. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to flush his horny thoughts out of his head. He remembered why he had never made a move with Christina, even though he was fairly confident she might have said yes at the time. Her feet, beautiful as they were to him, were perpetually stinky. Wearing the same pair of black leather boots all day, every day, has a tendency to make one’s feet smell quite a bit. Christina’s choice of fashion always included her boots, even if it was over a hundred degrees outside.

His memory rolled back through time, to that fateful afternoon last summer. Christina and James had been lounging around her house, and he would never forget the smell when she took her boots off before they sat down to watch a movie. It was a bittersweet day for him, sitting with his friend and enjoying her company while sneaking more than a few passing looks at her feet propped up on the coffee table. The odor of leather soaked for years in a brine of sweat was heavy, and James didn’t think his enjoyment of feet would ever be able to trump the smell.

The ride to downtown was pretty short, filled with coarse jokes and laughter. Christina leaned over James’s lap the second the car was put in park and pushed the door open.

“Hurry up, let’s go guys!”

James struggled with his seatbelt, Christina’s body pinning his right arm down for a moment. He finally clicked the buckle loose, and they flopped out of the car in quick succession. The parade had just begun a few blocks away, the noise carrying down the street. Dozens of other people surrounded them, moving as a clump of bodies towards the general direction of the parade. James stuck close to Christina until they reached the waist high barriers along the parade route, the crowd becoming denser until they were practically shoulder to shoulder at the front of the group.

Christina pulled a couple of rainbow flags from her purse, the little strips of cloth standing out from the jet-black interior of the bag. She thrust the pole of one of the flags into James’s hand, then began waving hers as a group strolled down the middle of the street. James shifted in place, feeling Christina and her friends pack in a little closer together as the crowd numbers continued to swell.

Dozens of parade groups marched and drove past, painted in every permutation of the rainbow. Chants and phrases echoed through the air, sometimes intelligible over the cheers and jovial ruckus of the amassed people. James watched with only a hint of interest; he was mostly there to hang out with Christina, who had slipped away from the group for a few minutes already on more than one occasion. He had taken her place along the parade barriers, giving him an unobscured view of the street. A platoon of men dressed in all red marched past, followed by a handful of women holding slogans or twirling batons decorated in glittering tassels. James’s eyes shifted down their legs, silently admiring the various pairs of ballet slippers that danced past. He felt a rush of blood to his cheeks as he pictured removing the slippers from the girl’s feet, imagining what her feet would look like under those socks and leggings.

A firm nudge at James’s ribs broke him out of his trance. Christina wiggled back up to the barrier with him, giving a cheerful wave to the passing demonstration. James turned around and scooted back, feeling a little too cramped for comfort on the front line.

“James, where are you going?” Christina turned her head and called out after him.

“Just getting a quick breather!” James hollered over his shoulder, but his words were drowned out by the cheers of the crowd. Christina shifted away from the barrier in front of her and began wading through the sea of people after James.

The crowd thinned out around the corner, and James was surprised to spot an unoccupied bench at a bus stop. He plopped himself down on the bench, the shade of the bus stops a welcome break from the hot summer sun. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple as he took a few slow breaths, the sense of being packed like a sardine among everyone else at the parade quickly fading. He turned his head towards the crowd just as Christina emerged from it, her eyes darting back and forth in search of James.

“There you are!” She shouted, hustling over towards the bus stop. “A little too cramped up front, huh?”

James nodded sheepishly.

“That’s alright, we can head back in a few when you’re ready.” Christina sat down next to James, her hair drifting across his arm for a moment before settling against her own arm. James smiled; his attention turned towards the street as he watched people passing by. After a few minutes, he stood up.

“Want a water, Christina? It’s hot as balls out here.”

“Sure, I’ll wait here for you.” Christina chimed, idly twirling her rainbow flag between her fingers. “You’re too kind, James.” She poked the stick towards him as he turned towards the crowd.

There were vendors all along the parade route, and it only took James a couple of minutes to acquire a couple of water bottles for Christina and himself. As he maneuvered his way through the thicket of people, he brushed against a woman who was maybe an inch taller than him. Her glancing touch felt...odd, like he had touched not a person’s arm, but rather a smooth, cool stone. He turned to see who he had bumped into, but only caught a glimpse of dirty blonde hair disappear into the roving crowd. James shrugged, and continued making his way back towards Christina sitting on the bench.

A few paces deeper in the crowd, the blonde-haired woman had stopped walking. Sondra had come into contact with many people in the crowd, reading their thoughts with a simple touch as she breezed past. A wry smile crept across her lips as she probed the corners of the young man’s mind who had just pushed past her. So much sexual tension, so many naughty desires. She snickered as she turned on her heels, this was exactly the type of person she was looking for today.

Breaking through a lull in the crowd, Sondra spotted the man ahead of her. He was carrying two water bottles and was walking towards a bus stop. A girl dressed in all black sat in its shade, and Sondra quickly deduced that this was one of the girls that boy had fantasized about. Her smirk twitched a little wider as she strode after the young man, closing the distance quickly between them. Whispering an ancient phrase under her breath, she called out towards the young man.

“Excuse me! You dropped something!”

James paused. Whoever was shouting seemed to be directing their voice right at him. He turned his head to see who was calling out and saw a woman from the crowd was hustling towards him, waving one hand to capture his attention. He stopped in his tracks, allowing the woman to catch up with a few quick steps.

“Well, that was way too easy, James.” Sondra chuckled, standing face to face with him.

James squinted at the woman. She was quite beautiful, almost too perfect to be real. Dirty blonde hair flowed down past her shoulders, curling slightly as it passed her neck. Her outfit was a simple white dress that complimented her shape and olive skin perfectly. He didn’t recognize her; he’d definitely remember someone as pretty as this woman. How the hell did she know his name?

“No, we haven’t met before, James,” Sondra continued, answering his question before it left his lips. “But I do know a bit about you. Quite the little foot freak, aren’t you?”

James’s ears burned at those words. That was something he hadn’t told anyone! Was he really that obvious when he looked?

Sondra laughed, and casually grabbed one of the water bottles from James’s hand. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Besides, nobody can hear us right now anyway.” She unscrewed the lid of the bottle, then gestured towards the crowd before taking a quick sip. The people around them had slowed to almost a standstill, only the faintest of motion perceptible around them. The noise of the parade dimmed as if someone had turned the volume of the world down to the lowest setting.

“Like I said, your little fantasy is safe with me,” Sondra said seductively, taking a stride towards James. “Besides, it’ll serve me well to indulge you anyway, so what do you have to worry about?”

James’s eyes darted towards the ground. He could see Sondra’s toes, barely obscured behind the straps of two tan sandals. So soft and delicate, he...wait, was he dreaming? He turned his gaze back up to Sondra’s face, and felt his blood turn cold. She was smiling, but there was something sinister about it that spiked his adrenaline.

Sondra reached forward and tapped James on the shoulder, sending a pulse through his body. His muscles stiffened, holding him stationary like the rest of the world around him. Her smile grew, she could see the fear in his eyes.

“Oh, you’re not gonna need these in a moment.”

She grabbed the other water bottle from James’s frozen hand, his fingers offering only a slight resistance as the plastic crinkled away from his grip. Tucking the bottle under one arm, she slipped her hand down James’s side, probing her fingers into his pocket. She fished out his phone out, and quickly tapped in his passcode. James’s eyes widened slightly wider, at least as much as whatever magic held him still would allow.

“What? I can read your mind, James. How else would I know that you have a major crush on that Christina girl behind you?” Sondra typed something on James’s phone before slipping it into her own pocket, which seemed to materialize out of her dress and disappear just as seamlessly. “Shame that she now thinks you’ve left the parade early. Something about having to study for that first test.” She stepped closer, leaving just a few inches between them.

James could feel the woman’s breath wash across his face. There was no scent, but it felt unnaturally cool, especially in the warm summer air. Two deep brown eyes stared him down, and James swore he could almost feel her probing around inside his head.

“Now, about indulging me,” Sondra whispered seductively. “It’s nothing like your mortal mind is thinking, though making you kneel right now and kiss my feet in front of everyone would certainly be enjoyable. No, you see I get off on something a little more… unique.” She gently placed one hand on James’s shoulder and turned him around so that he was facing the bus stop. There was Christina, frozen in place by Sondra’s magic. Sondra cooed in James’s ear, sensing that even in his captive state, he still had a flitting perverted thought bouncing around in his mind.

“Yes, I’m going to give you what you’ve fantasized about, James.” She purred in his ear. “That’s how I draw my power, from the sexual tension of mortals. You’ll get to have Christina’s feet; I know you want it. But it won’t be in a way you’ve ever imagined.”

James’s body suddenly felt weightless, and the world around him stretched outwards in all directions. A strong sensation of vertigo overtook him, and he squeezed his eyes shut. The feeling passed as quickly as it began, and James opened his eyes. The world around him looked far away, and he was standing on the edge of a massive tan cliff.

“You’re going to get more feet than you ever could handle, James.” A voice high above him called out. James spun around, his muscles responding to his command once again. He stumbled as the towering stature of Sondra eclipsed the sky. His eyes darted down her body, along her arm, and to the very precipice he stood on. He was straddling the tip of her index finger, and it began to move.

Sondra closed her thumb down on her finger with practiced delicacy. She felt the miniscule lump between her fingers as she pinched ever so slightly down on James. Whether he was struggling or not was no concern to her, he was too small to feel. Sondra uttered another short spell, and the world around her resumed its normal pace. She smiled and strolled towards Christina, who was busy staring at her phone.

“You mind if I sit here?”

Christina glanced up from her phone at Sondra. She smiled and scooted over a bit, then nodded. “Not at all, help yourself! I’m just here until my friend comes back.”

Sondra sat down next to Christina and shifted to drop the water bottles from under her arm and onto the bench. Careful to keep the tiny prisoner between her fingers, she extended her legs out until her feet were basked in the sunlight outside the bus stop. She gently waved her empty hand towards Christina’s feet, then feigned her movement as reaching for one of the water bottles.

Christina frowned as a text from James’s phone scrolled onto her screen. Her attention was quickly diverted by an itch on the bottom of her right foot though. She twisted her foot within her boot, but the itch persisted. It was not going to scratch itself, apparently. Christina bent forward and began to unclasp the numerous straps and laces that held her knee high boots together. As each strap came undone, a little more of her rainbow striped sock became visible.

Sondra glanced over, well aware that her spell was taking an effect. As Christina pulled her foot from her boot, Sondra moved her pinched fingers towards the opening. She focused on James’s puny body and projected her voice into his head.

“That’s where you’re going, James. Doesn’t it look inviting from this angle?”

James squirmed as the fingers gently kneaded over him. Sondra’s skin was soft, but still squished down on him enough to prevent him from wriggling free. His upper body was exposed to the open air, and he glanced up as Sondra’s voice commented from within his mind. The cavernous mouth of Christina’s boot was almost directly below him, and even from here, he could smell the scent of leather brined in years of sweat.

“Aww, is it stinky, James?” Sondra’s voice mocked within his head. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to just drop you in. Oh no, I have something a bit more intimate planned. Watch.”

Christina began to roll her sock down her calf, bunching up the damp fabric around her fingers. One gentle tug later, and her foot was exposed to the open air. Christina fervently scratched at the underside of her foot, finally relieving the persistent itch on her arch. She sighed in relief, leaning her head back and closing her eyes for a moment.

Sondra leaned over and reached her hand out towards Christina’s bare foot. She gently pressed her finger into the crevice of Christina’s pinky toe, holding it there for a second before pulling her hand away. Her keen eyes could barely make out the shape of James plastered in the crook of Christina’s toe, and he disappeared from view as his new unaware tormentor flexed her toes in the air.

James felt something squeeze around him, crushing the air from his lungs. As the pressure subsided, he took a deep breath, and immediately regretted it. The air around him was tainted with the sour smell of Christina’s foot sweat, and it choked his airways. The heat radiating off her foot was causing him to sweat as well, though the miniscule amount from his body paled in comparison to the gallons of salty fluid that coated the foot flesh around him. Each twitch and squeeze of Christina’s foot felt like it would pop James like a tiny grape, but the pressure never amounted to enough to really hurt him. Still, each oversized hug of her smallest toe pressed the air out of him, causing him to suck in another sour breath.

The sky around James darkened as a massive wad of color hovered into view. He gagged as he turned his head up to look, a dribble of acrid smelling sweat soaking into his clothes. His eyes widened as the gaping mouth of Christina’s sock approached, ready to swallow her foot. He screamed as the cotton stretched and pulled around him, enveloping him in hot, sweaty darkness.

 Christina idly flexed her foot in front of her, feeling the warm breeze tickle over her bare skin. She pulled her leg back in and leaned forward to replace the sock on her toes. The damp fabric felt slightly cool against the tips of her toes, but quickly warmed to match the temperature of her feet as she began to unroll the sock up and over her ankle. With a final tug, Christina hoisted the sock up the length of her calf, wrapping her lower leg in a myriad of colored fibers.

James was in the dark. The heat had abated for only a moment and was now claiming higher than before. He was trapped in what could only be described as hell. It was a sauna fueled by the overwhelming presence of Christina’s foot sweat. His nostrils burned with each labored breath, and he could feel the salty sting of her perspiration on his tongue. The introduction of her overused sock only made the recipe of smells worse. A cheesy, almost rotten smell permeated the air, sending James into a fresh round of coughing and gagging. He squirmed with all his might, hoping to wriggle free from the moist crevice of Christina’s pinky toe.

“Welcome to your new home, James,” a voice whispered inside his head. James began to shout back at Sondra but was quickly silenced by a droplet of sweat splashed over his face. The bitter taste of moisture filtered through the battered fabric of Christina’s sock made James wretch.

“Aww, is this more feet than you were expecting?” The voice continued, mocking James’s predicament. “Just wait, it looks like she’s about to put her boot on. Oh, I bet it’ll be nice and warm in there with her foot keeping you company. All that hot, sweaty skin to smother you, with nothing but her stench to breathe in. You’re going to love it.”
James felt his world reorient as the behemoth toes shifted, their grip tightening around him once more. The plunge in the darkness set James’s stomach into spasms, the sensation of being shoved down adding nausea to the growing list of problems he was facing. There was a shuffling sound all around him, followed by a gentle scratching noise. The foot lurched forward and settled down against a firm, flat surface. James wheezed as the weight settled around him, pinning him between the dank creases of skin. Only his head was unrestrained, and even then, there wasn’t much room to move.

Somewhere above his head echoed a few metallic clicks. James figured it was Christina buckling up her boot, locking him in this nightmare. He cried out for help, but his voice couldn’t penetrate the thick fibrous barrier of her sweaty sock. The air around him was warming up even more, the thick leather shell of her boot absorbing and trapping the heat from the outside world in with James. He could feel the air thickening with more evaporated sweat and foot funk, his lungs wincing at each reluctant inhale. The sour smell was overpowering, too strong for his senses to drown out or grow numb to. Suddenly, the captivating toes flexed, and squashed down on James.
Christina stood up and stretched, arching her back and raising her hands above her head. As she turned towards the crowd, the woman next to her called out.
“Want a water bottle? I have an extra from earlier.” Sondra extended the bottle towards Christina, a gentle smile on her face as she spoke. Christina returned the smile and accepted the bottle with a quick thank you, then cracked the lid open and took a swig. It was ice cold, and the chilled liquid mapped out her throat and esophagus with a tingly sensation before dwindling away. Christina skipped back towards the crowd, water bottle in one hand and her flag in another.

Sondra watched with glee, feeling a tiny pulse of power growing in her at each of Christina’s footfalls. Each step was surely subjecting James to tons of pressure, squishing the air from him and forcing him to breathe more of the horrid stench he was trapped in. She closed her eyes and focused on the tiny man, chuckling as she telepathically tuned into his thoughts just as Christina was twisting her foot back and forth.
“Oh, I bet that sucks, little guy,” she thought to herself, not bothering to project her words into the helpless boy’s mind anymore. She leaned back in the shade of the bus stop and sipped at the remaining water in her own bottle, relishing in the power that was flowing to her from the crowd. She would definitely do this more, it was intoxicating.

Deep in the dungeon of leather and sweat, James was struggling to free himself from the grip of Christina’s toes. They were relentless, squeezing him over and over with every step she took. The sweat was pooling around him, already soaking the sock and insole to their capacity. He wasn’t sure if he was even sweating, and if he was, he wouldn’t be able to tell with the gallons of Christina’s perspiration washing over him. The brine below him swirled with a vinegary odor, and James yelped as Christina’s foot twisted and splashed another puddle of sweat across his body. He just hoped that Christina would find him somehow and make this nightmare end.

Christina stayed a few more hours at the parade, celebrating and cheering until the sun began to set. The others had fizzled out earlier, so she decided on walking the eleven blocks or so back to her apartment instead of hitching a ride. The air cooled as twilight set in, and Christina pulled out her phone as she rounded the last corner before reaching her place. She scrolled through dozens of texts, replying to some and ignoring others. When she reached the text from James, she hesitated for a moment at her front door. Shrugging, she pocketed her phone and pulled out her keys, rationalizing that James would probably reach out in the morning to explain himself. She knew he prioritized his grades anyway, so she wasn’t too upset that he left early.
Stepping inside and setting her keys aside, Christina realized how tired she was. The parade had lasted most of the afternoon, and several hours in the heat and sun had sapped her energy. She let out a long, drawn out yawn, covering her gaping mouth with one hand as she sat down on the edge of her couch. One by one, she undid the clasps of her boots and slid her feet out. She wrinkled her nose as the smell; even to her, they smelled bad.

“Phew, better air these out!”

She propped the boots up against the side of the couch, then reclined and switched on the television. Her eyes were quickly growing heavy, and she soon nodded off to sleep. The remote slipped from her fingers, tapping gently on the carpet as her hand hung limp next to her.

James was exhausted. Christina had stopped moving as much, and the dim light that trickled through the sweaty socks told him that she had finally removed her boots.
“She must be home,” he reasoned, feeling a second wind in his muscles. He squirmed as hard as he could, desperately pushing against the firm, slick skin that compressed around his small body. The thick flesh didn’t budge, holding him firmly in its smothering embrace. James grunted and tried again, a bead of his own sweat running down his brow in exertion. Panting and sore, he finally gave up and went limp, feeling the toes curl reflexively around him once more.

A soft snore rippled through the air. James groaned; she was asleep. She didn’t feel him when she was awake, so there was no way she’d notice him down here while asleep! He turned his head away from another rolling drop of sweat just in time for it to collide with the side of his neck. The liquid dispersed and seeped into his clothes, adding a fresh layer of stench for him to stew in.

Christina’s mind quickly drifted into dreams. Her brain replayed the day in black and white, highlighting various colors and shapes as she wandered about. Her hand reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. A text flickered on the screen: ‘stuck under your foot, let me out!’

Christina furrowed her brow. The text was from James, but what on earth was he talking about? She twisted her foot back and forth and flexed her toes a few times. Nothing felt out of the ordinary, so she looked at her phone again. Another text popped up: ‘hurry up, it’s really stinky! Can’t breathe :( ‘

Christina’s heart rate rose. What the hell was James talking about? She sat down on a bench and quickly unstrapped her boots. Her socks were stripped from her feet in record time, and she quickly felt all over her feet. At first, there was nothing, but then she felt something wedged under her pinky toe of her right foot. She leaned over, squinting at her foot. Tucked in the fold of her toe was a tiny person. It looked like James!

She let out a gasp of horror. How did he get there?! Without thinking, she watched as her hands moved on their own accord, pulling her sock back on with deliberate slowness. She watched as James was eclipsed from view, and swore she heard the faintest of screams as he was tucked back into her sock, and then her boot. She stood up against her will and felt a gentle squish under her toes as her weight settled.

“Noooo!”

Christina bolted upright, a sheen of cold sweat on her forehead. Her breathing was rapid and deep, the images of her nightmare still fresh in her mind. She took a moment to calm herself down; there was no way that could be real. James left to study for his test, right? She reached for her phone, her hands a little shaky with the lingering adrenaline rush of her dreams. Flicking through the messages, she breathed a sigh of relief as she reread James’s last text. It was just a bad dream after all.

She leaned over the edge of the couch and scooped up the remote, shutting off the television. The dream felt so real though, like James was actually stuck to her foot. She looked down her legs, towards the rainbow socks clinging to her feet. Out of a desire to prove to herself it was a dream; she began to remove her socks.

James breathed a sigh of relief as the sock hiding his position was pulled away. He took a deep breath of the cleanest air he has smelled in hours, even though it was still tainted with the sour scent of the plump toes around him. The foot shifted upward, coming to rest on Christina’s knee. A massive face loomed into view as Christina looked over her foot.

“Christina! I’m down here!” James cried, trying to wriggle his arms free from their pinned place at his sides. He waved his head back and forth, flicking tiny droplets of sweat from his soaked hair. He shouted over and over and swore that Christina’s gaze was directed at him.

Christina looked up and down her feet but didn’t see anything there. There was a tiny ball of lint caught under her pinky toe, but no James. She breathed a sigh of relief, chuckling to herself that she actually believed it could have been real. She started to pull her sock back up over her foot.

James was stunned. How could she not see him, she looked right at him! He continued shouting, almost loud enough that he drowned out the voice that returned within his head.

“She can’t see you, James,” the mystic voice of Sondra purred. “You’re just a speck of lint to her, nothing worth giving a second glance at.”

James twisted his body back and forth, failing to make the slightest headway in his escape. He was losing hope of freedom, knowing now that Christina couldn’t see him even if she looked right at him. A pang of terror tugged at his heart, the imminent feeling of being stuck forever growing inside him.

“This is where I leave you to your fate, James,” Sondra whispered. “You’re on your own, but don’t forget to struggle a lot down there for me. The power it gives me feels so good. Leaving you in there to be nothing more than a bit of toe jam? That’s just the icing on the cake.” Her voice faded away, and James felt a fresh wave of terror wash over his senses. He was stuck here, and it didn’t sound like he was getting out of this anytime soon.

“Oh, it’s not ‘anytime soon’, James,” the voice crept back in, offering a malicious rebuttal to his thoughts. “It’s forever. I think it’ll be more fun to just leave you in there, unseen by Christina, for the rest of your days. Whether that will be a few days, or years, well I haven’t quite decided that yet. But you better get used to your new life as a speck under Christina’s toe, because that’s all you are now.” A icy laugh echoed in James’s mind as the voice faded away, this time for good he hoped.

Christina pulled her socks back up and scooped her phone into her hand. Using the phone’s screen to illuminate the way to her bedroom, she quickly flopped into bed without changing her clothes. It was supposed to be her laundry day anyway tomorrow, one night of wearing clothes to bed wasn’t going to make a difference. Not that she had any clean pajamas anyway. She pulled the covers up over her body and snuggled into the sheets.

James could feel the heat rising again, and whatever sweat Christina’s nightmare caused was coating him in another layer of grimy sweat. The light was gone now that he was tucked under the blanket, trapping in all the smells and gross, sweaty flesh with him. He moaned as the toes smushed around him, a byproduct of Christina settling in for the night. He felt a tear forming on the edge of his eye as the reality of his predicament truly settled in. He was trapped, forever, with nothing but Christina’s stinky toes to squeeze him for the rest of his life


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