Tricia (Monday)
===
Tricia exited the principal’s office and shut the door behind her, reflecting on their hour-long conversation. She was going to get away with the attempted murder of two downsizers. The three idiots surprisingly agreed not to press charges, and forget that the whole thing even happened, simply because they wanted to protect that big bully, Bethany Palmetto.
Principal Sullivan emphasized to Tricia that the incident never occurred—and warned that if anyone discovered the truth, Tricia would face jail time, Beth would lose her downsizer handling privileges for life, and the school would expel Mateo and Emma. Tricia found the punishments unbalanced. She realized that if the other three decided to, they could easily expose her actions, landing her in jail while they faced only minor consequences. They could even do it for amusement, suffering little more than a slap on the wrist compared to her potential incarceration. But Principal Sullivan assured Tricia that she destroyed the tapes, and it would just be their words against hers, with no actual evidence.
The manufacturers equipped each of those school electric carts with a dashcam that provided real-time surveillance. Carol Sullivan watched Tricia’s sandaled feet attempting to crush the little downsizers, and that was the reason she responded to the bathroom when she did. Principal Sullivan not only got rid of the video evidence, but also the smashed cart.
So that was that. Tricia had to keep her mouth shut, keep the principal happy, and there would be no jail time. Even if the others reconsidered and wanted vengeance on Tricia, there was nothing that could stick to Tricia—in court, at least.
So why didn’t she feel good about the circumstances? Tricia sulked while walking the hallways, thinking about how Mateo and Emma were getting away with peeping at her. Then the principal threatened her with jail time for doing what exactly? She wasn’t really going to flush them down the toilet. Not something anyone could prove …
As she looked around the school and gazed upon the labyrinth of downsizer tubes running throughout the school and contemplated the ridiculous lengths humans went to accommodate downsizers sent her blood boiling. Why was so much time and resources spent on a bunch of downsized kids? What was their future? They didn’t need education.
-
After school, Tricia headed home, acting normal and unbothered by the day’s events. She wished she could tell her friends about pissing on Emma and Mateo, gaining some street cred for abusing some worthless downsizers. But that wouldn’t be possible with the pact she made with the principal.
She went through the front door, instantly smelling her mother’s cooking wafting through the air.
"That you, honey?" Her mom's voice called from the kitchen.
"Yeah, mom," Tricia replied, forcing cheerfulness into her tone. She dropped her bag by the door and headed towards the kitchen.
Her mother stood at the stove, stirring a pot of what smelled like her famous spaghetti sauce. "How was school?"
Tricia shrugged, leaning against the counter. "Same old, same old." She took some grapes from the fruit basket and tossed a couple back and chewed.
Her mother nodded, seemingly satisfied with the non-answer. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour. Your step dad's working late again."
"Okay, thanks," Tricia said, already heading for the stairs. "I've got some homework to do. I'll be down later."
Once in her room, Tricia locked the door behind her and let out a long sigh. She kicked off her flip-flops and collapsed onto her bed, the springs creaking under her weight.
"Dad?" she called out, her voice barely above a whisper. "You awake?"
A shuffling sound came from beneath her bed, followed by Steve's muffled voice. "Yes, princess. I'm here." It was a gentle tone, coming from a weathered man in his early 40s, with many miles under his belt. His response to his daughter exuded both love and respect for her.
Tricia rolled onto her stomach and peered over the edge of the bed. Her father emerged from the shadows of the underside of the bed. He hobbled forward on his crutches. He was missing his right leg from the knee down.
"You wouldn't believe the day I've had," Tricia groaned, letting her arm dangle off the bed. "These fucking downsizers, I swear. They get away with so much, because some humans think they’re so fragile and cute." She scoffed.
Steve winced at her words, but said nothing. He'd learned it was better to let her vent.
"I mean, seriously," she continued, her voice rising slightly, "they're like roaches. Can’t they just live in their shitty-ass communities and not come out to the human world? I don’t get the point of size-mixing. They decided to shrink and live their dumbass little lives like insects. Why do they have to crawl around my feet and pretend they’re equal to me? It's bad enough that we must waste tax money on them. Now they’re ruining my life."
"Honey," Steve said with apprehension, "maybe you should keep your voice down. Your mother might hear."
Tricia rolled her eyes but lowered her voice. "Whatever. How was your day, anyway? Need anything?"
Steve shook his head, leaning heavily on his crutches. "I'm okay, sweetheart. Just …” He looked under the bed. “My water jug is running low. Maybe you can refill it when you’re not busy?"
"Yeah, sure," Tricia mumbled, then her eyes softened slightly. "How's the leg today?"
"Same as always," Steve replied with a forced smile. "Don't you worry about me."
Tricia snorted. "I wasn’t."
At that, he looked away from her, crestfallen. His hands fiddled with the grips of his crutches, his armpits burning from the constant rubbing. His daughter’s words could be so sharp, it felt like they were slicing through his soul.
Tricia, still lying on her belly, let out a long breath upon seeing her dad’s mood shift. “Do you need more medicine?”
“No, Princess. I have a month's supply left.”
“You better be telling me the truth. I don’t want you suffering for weeks, just because you’re too afraid to ask.”
Tricia brought her arm over the edge of the bed and scooped him up along with his crutches. She then gently set him on the bed beside her. She rolled to her side, so she faced him and started rubbing his upper-back and shoulders with a finger. He felt cold under her fingertip and felt him shivering. Tricia made a mental note to check the wireless power source under the bed and ensure the batteries were running properly. She figured his heating wasn’t working and, of course, he would rather suffer in silence than disturb her.
“I hate school so much.” She massaged his back with two fingers now and rubbed his belly with her thumb now. “My friends were making fun of me for dating Mateo. That fucking rat.”
“I thought you liked him, Princess.”
“Liked him. I used to. Now he’s a piece-of-shit fucking downsizer, and everyone at school likes to remind me of that. They think I’ve gone soft and like those insects—even though—I broke up with him soon as I found out he was downsizing.”
“Honey, I’m a downsizer.”
“Shut up.” Her gentle stroking continued. She knew her presence and her warm fingers were helping raise his body temp, so she didn’t let up. Her fingers practically wrapped around him like a soft blanket. “You’re my dad. Not one of those …” she trailed off, not finishing her sentence.
“I’m sorry, Princess.”
“Save it.”
Steve reached over to one of her tree-sized fingers and caught it with his hand. He brought her digit close to his face and gave it a kiss. “I love you, Princess. Do you still love your dad?”
“Duh.” Tricia’s walls were up, but seeing her dad’s tender kiss helped lower. “Yes. I love you, dad. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have rescued you and you would be dead right now.”
“I now know …” His voice trailed off as he recalled a painful memory. “My decision to downsize wasn’t the best idea I’ve had. I was only doing what I thought was best for you and your mother.” He closed his eyes. He trembled as the memories from four years ago were just so terrible. “If I knew it would’ve led to this—”
“What’s the point of this, dad?” Tricia asked, bored and annoyed. “I’ve heard your regrets a million times. Changes nothing. You’re tiny and the family is broken. Thanks a lot.”
“Princess … What I’m trying to say is that I’m still your dad. Doesn’t matter that I downsized, I’m still your dad, and I love you with all my heart. And you love me. If you like this boy, please don’t give up on him because of his size.”
"Don’t tell me what the fuck to do. I don’t need this hippie shit today. Of all fucking days, I don’t need this talk right now or ever, got it?" Her powerful voice was almost enough to knock him back. She rose from the bed and swung her legs across. The weight displacement in the mattress, causing him to roll towards her legs.
“Honey, help.”
She ignored his tumble. “His life is fucking over as a downsizer—and you want me to keep dating him? To what end? Have another pathetic loser under my bed that I must take care of? I guess he could be your roommate.” She got off the bed, leaving her dad in the warm spot where she sat.
“Listen,” she said. “I don't need to hear your bitching today. I've got homework to do and later I'll bring you some dinner later, okay? Mom is making spaghetti, and I shouldn’t be the only one who should suffer.”
Without waiting for a response, Tricia moved to her desk and pulled out her textbook and folder. As she pulled out her textbooks, she could hear her father's soft sigh as he sat quietly on her bed.
-
After dinner with her mother, Tricia snuck a small plate of spaghetti for her father. While he ate his dinner on top of her desk, she took care of his living quarters under her bed. She engineered an ingenious plumbing system just for her dad. A one-gallon jug, sitting atop a dictionary, provided him with water and pressure, both for drinking and for his makeshift bathroom. She used clear tubes used for an aquarium aerator to direct water flow. A sealed plastic cup below the floorboards acted as a septic tank.
Tricia bought downsizer furniture for her dad, but also used toys and random bits to complete his home under her bed. He had a TV, a library of books, and various hobbies to keep him occupied. At first glance, the area under Tricia’s bed looked like a hoarder’s home, with so much junk stacked and cluttered everywhere. But this was by design. Should her mother, or God forbid, her stepfather, come snooping around, they’d be greeted by a mess and most likely give up snooping in her room. She also left an unused dildo near her dad’s living quarters as the ultimate deterrent if her parents were persistent. Last, should someone be unconcerned of the mess and sex toy, in the back wall along the crown molding was a crack where Steve could run and hide.
Tricia checked the power and found out that it came unplugged. She had no clue how long he went without power, and it only angered her. He was afraid of bothering her, drawing her ire, but little did he know that needlessly suffering like this infuriated her more. She decided to check on his living quarters more often in the future. Once finished taking care of her dad’s home, she crawled from under her bed and sat back at her desk. She watched him eat in peace, his crutches beside him. She wouldn’t scold him this time.
“You’re all set, dad,” she said with a cheery tone.
“Thank you, Princess. Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have you as my daughter?”
“You only say that every day.” A natural smile formed.
“Princess, have you ever thought about … Well, can you see me moving to a community? Like Lilliputian Lakes?”
Tricia snorted. “Hell no. Everyone thinks you’re dead, remember?” She kicked up her bare feet on the desk beside him. Some flecks of dirt from her soles came free and rained down on his dinner. “Mom will probably hunt you down and kill you. My friends will make fun of me for having a downsized dad … That’ll be way worse than the jokes about my ex-boyfriend being a downsizer.” She paused and thought some more. “Nah, you’re better hidden away with me.”
“I could always change my name and go under a new alias.” He finished eating, unbothered by his daughter’s feet next to him. To Tricia, it didn’t even look like he touched the food, but it was by far plenty for his tiny stomach. Especially considering one noodle was like the size of a burrito to him. “No one would know I’m your dad. I’ll even dye my hair—”
“I said no, okay?” Her foot fidgeted, toes flexing. “You’re staying with me. End of discussion.”
Tricia (Tuesday)
===
The downsizer train terminal at school stood at six-feet-high, five-feet-wide. Engineers constructed it out of acrylic, masonry, and steel, resembling a grand metropolitan station scaled down to miniature proportions. This structure served as the heart of the school's downsizer transit system. Sleek, futuristic trains glided through a network of tunnels, depositing students onto meticulously constructed platforms. From there, rows of tiny elevators, long-winding escalators, and fast electric carts whisked the tiny students deeper into the school.
The terminal's grandiose design served two purposes: connecting Lilliputian Lakes to the public school system and as a spectacle for human observers. School administrators frequently invited special guests and curious citizens to look at the microcosmic marvel, showcasing the school's commitment to mixed-size education. Politicians seeking photo opportunities, parents contemplating the downsizing plunge for their children, and education specialists from around the country all flocked to witness both downsizers and humans coming together for school.
But this meant the downsized students inside sometimes felt like animals at the zoo for human students to gawk at. Soon, certain humans gained a reputation amongst the downsizers. The giantess Beth, whose wide eyes would magnetize to their every move. And Tricia, along with her clique, who would make disparaging remarks and look down at them like vermin.
Two downsized janitorial staff members were cleaning the inside of the menagerie, similar to how window washers would clean the outside of skyscrapers. The downsized window washers used lifts to hoist them around the inside glass wall. They used soapy water and squeegee to clean the windows from terrific heights. But these heights hardly matched the height of a teenage girl.
Tricia’s friend, Lin, was teasing the window washers from the other side. She pressed her body against the glass, her breasts taking up an area larger than their lift and two window washers combined. Her white shirt couldn’t hide her erect nipples from creating a distinct outline.
“Look bitches,” Lin said. “Look and go to jail, fuckers!” Lin and her friend laughed at the downsized custodial workers. They looked away and lowered the lift, knowing they wouldn’t get work done while getting teased by a girl. “Aww, leaving so soon? I’ll show you more if you stay.”
Tricia came up to her two friends and let out a snort upon seeing them. “That’s exactly why they’re leaving,” Tricia said to Lin. “They don’t want to see your lopsided boobs.”
Lin playfully jabbed Tricia in the arms. “Bye buggies,” Lin said as the lift for the window washers reached the ground. “You’re so lucky this glass is protecting you, otherwise I’d splat you all!” She stomped the ground with her sandaled feet, knowing she was quaking the ground for the downsizers.
Tricia had to make up a white lie regarding her whereabouts from the previous day as they walked to class. It was figuratively killing Tricia that she had to keep her secret about almost killing Mateo—it would’ve been definitive proof to her friends she didn’t care about her downsized ex-boyfriend. And possibly then the teasing would stop.
Harassing downsized custodial workers outside their protective walls was one thing. But urinating on downsizers and almost flushing them away was another. It would’ve placed Tricia at a whole other level amongst her friends. That was street cred no one came close to having, and her friends would’ve regarded Tricia as a badass bitch. The poster child of pro-human rights and anti-downsizer privileges.
Their other friend went to a separate class, leaving Lin and Tricia alone in the hallways. The whine of electric downsized carts echoing above their heads. Both girls were on the shorter side and saw each other eye-to-eye.
Lin, with rich Asian features and jet-black hair, leaned into Tricia and whispered, “My cousin says it’s true.” It was a follow-up to a conversation that Lin and Tricia had in private. “But she’s all uppity and protective of the little shits. I’ll convince her I want to leave them food and supplies. I bet my cousin will tell me where they are after that.”
Tricia was almost salivating. “You better not be fucking with me.”
“I swear.”
“Okay, but don’t tell anyone about this.”
-
Tricia avoided Beth the entire day. It was rather annoying keeping her eye open for the tall athlete every second, but she’d rather not confront her. However, the second her guard was down, someone bumped into her shoulder rather hard in the hallway. When Tricia turned around to see who it was, Hazel scowled at her and said, “Sizeist cunt.”
I guess she knows about me peeing on her tiny insect that she fucks, Tricia thought. Of course, the little lesbian would tell her bigger girlfriend everything. Tricia couldn’t show weakness despite the principal’s blackmail. With Hazel looking her in the eye, Tricia grinned and made an ‘I don’t give a fuck’ expression. Hazel made a half-lunge, but Emma tapping on her shoulder stopped her.
It was hilarious for Tricia to think that such a small thing as that could control a human. Should be the other way around, she thought. The two girls parted and went their separate ways without further incident. If Mateo and I were still dating, I’d wear the pants. Fucking bastard, why did he have to downsize?
There were many qualities to like about Mateo. The way he made her feel happy about herself, the confidence he gave her, his humor when they were together. She missed him. There was no way she would date him publicly … but she wondered. Maybe her dad was onto something. She could always keep Mateo under her bed …
-
Tricia saw Beth once that day, and it was towards the end of the school day. Beth wasn’t her normal—active self. She seemed distraught and preoccupied with her thoughts. Good. That meant Tricia wouldn’t have to deal with that bitch.
-
“Come out, dad.”
Upon returning to her room, Tricia kicked off her sneakers and socks. She threw her backpack over by her desk and padded to her bed, where her father was just coming out.
“Hi Princess, how was school?” he asked, with an upbeat infliction in his voice.
Tricia bent down and scooped him up without saying a word. She ran a finger across his body. He was warm. She looked him over and observed him like a doctor. His hair was clean, skin looked healthy, and he looked well-rested. The two-inch man could do nothing but wait for his daughter to finish her inspection. Her large brown eyes moved around fast and scrutinized everything about him.
“How’s the leg?” she asked, expressionless.
“Same as always.”
“Pain?”
“None, dear.”
“Don’t fucking lie to me.”
He cringed every time his daughter cursed. He was in no pain—that day. But he wondered what if he was? What would Tricia do? The over-the-counter medicine was doing hardly anything. If he was in pain, he’d need a doctor. “I’m not lying, Princess. I feel wonderful today. Thank you for turning back my electricity. I watched some TV and had the heat on. It was a pleasant day.”
“Good.” It came out abruptly. Tricia closed her eyes and tried again. “I’m happy to hear, dad. Anything I can get you?”
“Just dinner, when the time comes. Only if you have time.”
Tricia rolled her eyes. “Of course I’ll give you dinner. I’m not going to starve you.”
-
After dinner, Tricia relaxed in her bed, playing on her phone, texting friends. On her belly, her dad read a book, his crutches beside him. A giggle from Tricia almost sent him flying over the side of her stomach, but she caught him in time.
“Oops, sorry daddy,” she said with a wide smile. She went back to her phone and tried not to laugh at a joke Lin was making. She held her phone high above her face and texted wildly.
Steve looked up at his daughter’s phone and saw the source of her laughter. Anti-downsizer memes filled her group chat. He didn’t find the humor in any of the images. All he saw was hate.
-
Tricia changed into her pajamas and was preparing to sleep. She left her dad on her bed, and he was waiting for Tricia to place him back under the bed. But that didn’t happen. Tricia crawled into bed and plucked him up. She gently placed him on a pillow and brought her face close by. She brought her finger up to him and massaged his back.
“Princess?”
“What?”
“Are you going to set me down on the floor?”
Her eyes looked up while she made a frown with her lips. “No. I don’t think I will.”
They lay in bed in silence. Tricia continued to comfort her father until she fell asleep. He crawled under her fingers, embraced by her warmth, and fell asleep himself.
Tricia (Wednesday)
===
“Wake up sleepy head,” Tricia cooed.
Steven woke up to the sound of his daughter’s sweet voice. Tricia had retrieved his pillow and blanket and let him sleep on her bed while she prepared for the day.
“I got you breakfast.” On a doll-sized plate, she had scrambled eggs and shredded pieces of bacon.
“This looks wonderful, Princess!” He sat up and took the plate. There were no utensils, but that was okay. “Umm, is it my birthday?”
Tricia shook her head with a slight smirk painted on her face.
“Oh? I guess not.” He was slightly off balance by the generous display from his daughter. “I’m super grateful, honey. But why breakfast in bed?”
“Gosh, dad!” Her grin became a wide smile, as she couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Can’t I just be nice to you for once? Not everything I do has strings attached.”
“Umm, oh.” He stammered. “It’s just—no, you’re right! Thank you, Princess. I really appreciate—”
Tricia let out a string of laughter. “I’m just kidding. I’m just being nice to you, so I can be mean later.”
Steven suddenly lost his appetite. “Princess, you don’t have to be mean. We’re starting the day so beautifully. Can we keep it like that?”
Tricia was on her knees in front of her bed with her face looming over her two-inch father. “Nope. Keep talking and I’ll punish you harder.” She was showing a lot of teeth as her grin expanded.
“Punish? Honey, I’ve been doing everything you want me—”
“And I love you for that, dad. But this is part of your bigger punishment. Y’know, for downsizing and ruining our family’s life. C’mon, eat up and we’ll get started.”
“Princess …” He looked down, despondent. “Please.” He set the plate beside him. “This morning started like no other. We can cherish it—”
Out of nowhere, Tricia produced a Q-tip and slapped her dad with the cotton-end of the swap against his face. Though the cotton swab was weightless, and the most harmless thing around, the speed of the whack was enough to knock Steven on his back. The cotton tip came back and pressed into his chest.
“I said eat your fucking food, you ungrateful shit.” With her freehand she lifted and tilted the plate over her dad, so that the food rained on his face. She tossed the plate aside and then rubbed her finger into his face, smashing the eggs and bacon into his mouth and nose. “Listen to me, dad. Listen to what I say. Four goddamn years, and you still don’t get it.” She lifted the swab off his chest and then brought it down to his crotch.
Steven screamed and leaned over from the hips to grab the stick. He tried pushing it off, but his daughter’s mere fingers overpowered. “Princess, why?”
“Because it’s what you deserve.” She snorted and then spat a wad of mucus and saliva square on her dad’s face. The impact gave him whiplash as his head snapped back against the bed. “It’s been a day? Two days? However, many days since I’ve reminded you about my crappy life—all because you thought downsizing would improve our lives. Dumbass.” She poked him several times with the Q-tip hard enough to leave bruises.
Steven rolled to his side and coughed up his daughter’s spit and breakfast that was lodged in the back of his throat. He wiped the gunk off his face and curled up in the fetal position as he coughed, gagged, and cried.
“Oh, brother,” Tricia said with an exasperated sigh. “Be a man and take your punishment, bitch.”
Between bouts of coughs, he said, “I’m sorry, Princess.” He sniffled. “I’m sorry. I’ll try.” He suppressed his cries and tried to stand on his good leg.
Tricia swiped the Q-tip under his leg, causing him to fall again. “Try better, you gimp …” Tricia went mute as she stared down at her father. He curled up again and started crying, bending over to massage his shin. “C’mon, that didn’t hurt you, big baby.”
He convulsed and trembled under her gaze.
“Daddy? Are you okay?”
He shook his head.
Tricia's bottom lips quivered. “Goddamn it,” she said under her breath. She flicked the Q-tip away and slowly scooped him into her palm. Tricia then grabbed a soft tissue and wiped her spit from his face. She breathed hot air on to him, as if she were fogging a mirror. Her hot breath enveloped him and soothed his sores. “Are you okay?”
“Better.” He sniffled. “Princess—if I can turn back time … I’d do whatever it takes so you wouldn’t hate me.”
Tricia’s eyes turned glassy. The next few words came out slowly and were genuine. “I don’t hate you.”
She got on her bed and held him close to her chest. She continued warming him and stroking him with the tissue.
“I just … Fucking. Hate. Downsizing. Can’t people see how many lives it ruins? How many families get broken because of it? How vulnerable you are? I lost my dad and my boyfriend to this idiotic trend.”
With a shaking hand, he wiped more of his daughter’s spit off him. He trembled as he looked up at his daughter. “I thought you hated downsizing because of taxes and government spending on them.” Still in pain, but with returning energy helped by Tricia’s warmth, he haphazardly sat up on her palm and stroked her thumb.
Tricia shrugged. “Eh. Fifty-fifty”
-
Before leaving for school, Tricia set her dad back in his living quarters under her bed and got another plate of breakfast for him. She ensured his electricity and water were operational while she was down there. With everything set, she kissed the tip of her finger and then patted the side of her dad’s cheek.
“Thank you, princess. I hope you have a good day at school.”
-
Beth slammed Tricia into a row of lockers against her back. Her forearm was on her upper chest, close to the neck. Beth was well over a foot taller than Tricia and had more muscles in one thigh than Tricia had in her whole body. When Beth pinned her against the locker, Tricia wasn’t going anywhere.
“Where the fuck is he?” Beth said with a snarl.
“The fuck is your problem?” Tricia yelled.
“Where’s Mateo? I won’t repeat myself.”
“How the fuck should I know? Get off me, bitch.” Tricia’s hands were powerless in pushing back the tall athlete. “I don’t give a shit about that traitor, and I never want to see him again. What the fuck are you even accusing me of?”
“I know you do! Don’t fucking lie.”
“I don’t give a shit about downsizers.” Tricia nearly shouted. Her friends were in the gathering crowd, too scared to help her. “I’m the last person you should ask about that worm.”
“I swear to god, if you’re lying to me, I won’t fucking hold back—”
Just then, Hazel pushed through a gathering crowd in the hallway. Even in the overhead downsized tubes, there were tiny students with their faces glued to the clear plastic, watching one giantess beat another. Hazel grabbed onto Beth’s arm, momentarily surprised by how firm it felt, and gave it a tug.
“She’s telling the truth,” Hazel said, worried and with a sense of urgency in her voice. Then, in a whisper, she said, “Stop this. You can’t let the principal see you fighting with Tricia.”
Beth nodded slightly and then released Tricia after some reluctance, her eyes never leaving the smaller girl. The gathering crowd groaned in disappointment that there would be no fight. They slowly dispersed and chattered while walking away.
Hazel tugged again. “I need to tell you something. In private.”
“How about a fucking apology?” Tricia asked, adjusting her shirt and backpack.
“Fuck off,” Beth said, looking down at the smaller girl, while taking a few steps back alongside Hazel.
“Hey,” Tricia said, unwilling to back down. “I don’t look for trouble. All these fucking pointless downsized problems keep finding me. Fuck them. Fuck them all.”
-
Tricia stormed into her bedroom after school in a huff, the confrontation with Beth still fresh and boiling inside her. Steve hobbled out from under the bed to greet his daughter, but froze when he saw how pissed off she was. He scrambled with his crutches, trying to get back under the bed before she noticed him, but that was futile. Tricia kicked off her sandals and dropped her book bag against the door and stomped over to him.
In Steve’s haste, trying to run away with one leg and cheap crutches, he lost his balance and fell to the ground hard. His cheeks were against the floor and before he could push himself up, he saw his daughter’s big toe in front of him. He grabbed one of his crutches and tried standing up, but Tricia gave him a flick of the toe, violently sending him to his back, landing on the floor with a thud.
“I should just kill you now,” Tricia said. “Your life ended when you downsized. Like every other downsizer. You’re an insect, hardly bigger than my toe, living under my bed like a rat. You’re broken, in constant pain, and the bane of my existence. One little step, and you’re gone. Or maybe I should tell mom I changed my mind about having a cat. It’ll do my dirty work for me.” There was a moment of silence between them as Tricia compared her tiny dad to her foot with unpainted toenails. “Well, what do you have to say? Should I get it over with?”
Steve shook his head. “Princess … I want to live. Don’t kill me. I don’t care how you treat me. I want to live.”
Tricia snorted. “We’ll see about that.”
In the next few minutes, Tricia took away her father’s water supply and electricity. She also grabbed his fridge and mini cupboard that he was using to store dry foods and tossed them in the trash.
-
Later in the evening, Tricia came back to room after eating dinner. Without speaking to her father, she got under her bed and snatched him from his couch. She sat back on her bed and held him in front of her eyes.
“Already cold?” she asked with a giggle. He almost felt like an ice cube in her hand and was shivering from both fear and temperature. “I forgot to bring you a plate of food, and that sucks, because mom made some delicious stir fry. Oh, I know!”
Tricia used her fingernail to dig between her teeth, scrapping whatever food got lodged there. She sat up higher on her bed and brought a knee close to her chest, so her right foot was flat on her bed. She then started piling the masticated food, covered in her saliva, on the toenail of her big toe. The mush of food was stuck on her cuticle like clay. She dug more between her teeth, finding broccoli and chewed up beef to add to her toenail. She then set her father down before her foot. He was on his hands and knee, looking up at his daughter, confused and afraid.
“Eat up!” she said with a smile, before dropping her voice to sound more sinister. “I said, ‘eat up.’ That’s your dinner tonight, and you will eat it all without using your hands. C’mon, daddy, eat. Eat like the dog you are.”
Steve closed his eyes and prayed under his breath. He couldn’t hesitate, otherwise Tricia would get angrier and come up with more creative punishments for him—he knew her too well, and when she was in this mood, there was no winning for him. Steve had to take her punishments without question and without objection. He crawled onto her big toe and obeyed her command by eating his dinner off her toe without his hands.
Tricia let out a snort. “You’re so pathetic! Sure, daddy, I’ll let you live. This is what you want, right?”
He was getting full after a few bites, since his stomach was smaller than usual. His irregular meals throughout the years meant he was skinny and frail. But it worried him about what Tricia would do if he didn’t complete his meal as she ordered him to. Steve continued to eat the food that was coated in his daughter’s spit.
“Good, good. Now lick it up. I want nothing left on my foot. That’s right, use your tongue to clean my nail.”
After what felt like an eternity, Steve’s tongue was dry like sandpaper, having licked up Tricia’s toenail.
“That’s a good pet,” she said, admiring his handiwork. “I still might kill you. Just for fun.”
-
Tricia finished her homework and was getting ready for bed. Just a pair of panties and a shirt were all she needed. Her father was on the floor in the middle of her room. As she dressed and prepared for the night, her bare feet came close to him, but he was in no danger. Tricia knew exactly where he was, and she stomped her feet near him, simply to scare him.
“Princess?” he asked in a feeble, defeated voice.
“What?” Tricia brushed her hair and stood in front of him.
“I’m cold. Would it be okay if I can have heat tonight? I don’t want to get sick.”
“No.”
She left her room to use the bathroom in the hallway. When she came back, she found her father where she left him. In the middle of the room, scrunched up in the fetal position, shivering from the cold.
Tricia rolled her eyes and went to her dresser, pulling out a pair of black wooly socks. She said nothing to her dad as she scooped him up and dropped him into a sock. He went tumbling all the way to the toe-section of the thick garment. She slipped her foot inside and scrunched up her toes several times until they pinned him under them. She awkwardly walked over to her bed, so she wouldn’t crush him, and slipped under the covers.
Her dad stopped shivering once the warmth from her feet raised his body temperature. He cuddled next to her toes, as it provided comfort, both from the warmth and touch of her skin. Tricia scrunched her toes twice, like giving him a hug before she fell asleep.
-
Tricia had a wet dream in the middle of the night. Would it be bad having Mateo living under her bed? Beth said something about him missing … The gears in Tricia’s head were moving.
She almost punished Mateo for downsizing, but not completely. Not like her father, who’s suffered her wrath for the past four years. Mateo taking a swim in her piss was not punishment enough. Mateo and Steve needed to stand side-by-side and atone for downsizing and upending her life.
She grabbed a pen-sized vibrator from her nightstand and got to work, pleasuring her clit. That would be nice, she dreamed. Daddy on one foot and Mateo on the other. Eating their meals from between my toes. I’ll make Mateo wish he never shrank.
Her toes nearly squeezed the life out of her dad as she climaxed.
Tricia (Thursday)
===
Tricia had the home to herself that morning; her mother and stepdad having to leave super early for work. She brought her downsized dad to the kitchen and cooked breakfast for them. Today, Tricia wore her red plaid skirt and buttoned up blouse with short sleeves. She tied her hair back and styled her bangs to cover her forehead in a cutesy style.
Tricia had her dad in her breast pocket as she fried some bacon and then cooked some eggs on top of the leftover grease. She toasted bread and set it on the table along with butter. Once finished cooking, she served the meal on a regular plate for herself and a tiny portion on a saucer for her dad.
They moved to the table, and after she sat down, Tricia pulled her dad from her pocket and gently set him next to his meal. She stroked the back of his head and gave him a smile before grabbing her fork and digging into her food.
Steve, still wary of his daughter, simply looked up at her, awaiting her permission to move.
“Eat up daddy,” she said with pep in her voice. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“I—I am.” He cautiously scooted to the saucer and reached in for a cutting board-sized slice of bacon. He tore off a piece with his teeth and chewed while looking up at his daughter with puppy-dog eyes.
Tricia buttered her toast and took a large bite. She chewed as she spoke. “Sleep good? Were you cold last night?”
Steve shook his head. “I was warm, princess. Thank you for asking.”
After eating her toast, she rubbed her fingers, getting rid of the bread crumbs. “Oh, shoot, I didn’t ask if you wanted toast. Want me to make you some?”
“No, princess, this is by far plenty of food.” Steve continued to eat and look around the home. Only once in a blue moon did he get a chance to leave Tricia’s room. The entire home seemed so alien, even after all those years of living there.
After their meal, Tricia cleaned up and took her dad back to her room. She reconnected his water and electricity. She dug out his fridge from the trash and placed it back in his living quarters. All the while, he sat on her bed and watched her with apprehension. Tricia flowed from one end of the room to the other, getting ready for school with a smile on her face. She was in a good mood, which eased Steve.
The cycle of abuse was unpredictable with Tricia. Sometimes it lasted a day, week, or, god-forbid, an entire month of torture. But once she was satisfied punishing him, came the sweet period where she was his daughter that cared and loved him. She served him fresh food, gave him new clothes, and had meaningful conversations about school life and her friends. He loved those moments. Cherished them. And dreaded the times when she would snap. All he could do was pray that she had a good time in school. If it was bad, then his day would be bad.
“How’s the leg?”
Lost in thought, he didn’t realize his daughter’s pretty face was upon him, looming over him like a billboard. Even this close, and with her features magnified, he saw no blemishes in her face. Faint freckles, and peach fuzz around her delicate skin. She appeared so sweet and heavenly during moments like this.
“Nothing I can’t handle, princess. It’s a little tingly, but I think the aspirin will help.”
Tricia sighed. “You really need a doctor. Or maybe a nurse.” She scooped him up and ran her index finger along his half-leg. “If it gets worse, lemme know. I’ll figure out something. Okay, daddy?”
“Yes, princess.”
While she was at school, Steve decided he would read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
-
“Are you still down?” Lin asked.
“Fuck yeah, I am,” Tricia said. They were in the campus parking lot, standing next to Lin’s beater of a car. “And you’re sure they’re 100% unregistered?”
“Unregistered and illegal. They shouldn’t even be in the country. They’re so fucked.” Lin laughed.
“Really?” Tricia asked, feeling her heart race. “How do those downsizers even exist?”
“Too many reasons to count, actually.” Lin vaped into Tricia’s face as she spoke. “Some got scammed into downsizing by fake companies that shrink them and steal all their money.”
“I know about that,” Tricia said, thinking of her father. “That’s pretty common.”
“Others were born downsizers but have parents that are too dumb to register them. Some are running away from past human lives, like the mob is after them. Some are criminals, trying to escape the cops. Others are from foreign countries that wind up here. It goes on and on. But as far as the government is concerned, they don’t exist.”
“So, if we get a hold of them, we can do whatever we want? Nobody will care?”
“Yes, we can do whatever we want. No, someone will care. Heard of the DPS? If they catch us—well, we don’t want to be caught. But if we do this right, nobody will care, not even the DPS. We just have to lie low after we snatch them. It’s not a big deal, y’know? If a drug dealer suddenly disappears from the street, nobody cares. The community doesn’t care, nor do the cops. If some unregistered downsizers disappear … well, same thing. We just can’t leave any trace of what happened or leave any bodies.”
“Bodies? What are you planning on doing?”
Lin raised a brow and then pointed a finger at Tricia. “Hey, I thought you were onboard—”
“I am, I am.” Tricia shook her head. “I’m just wondering what you want to do with them.”
“Fuck ‘em and kill ‘em. I’ve been doing Kegels. I bet I could crush a downsizer in my pussy. What about you?”
Tricia came up with a white lie on the spot. “I want to find one that looks like Mateo and torture him to death. I don’t know.” Trica shrugged. “I just need to let out some steam.”
The girls headed back to class. “I don’t care what you do with your share,” Lin said. “Just don’t get caught.”
Kamila
===
Five years ago, Kamila dreamed of attending a university in the US and becoming a medical doctor. Stuck in Poland, her aspiration seemed out of reach until she discovered an international student program that promised to cover every aspect of her journey—from tuition to boarding. However, the program ended up being a cruel joke. Along with twelve other hopeful students, Kamila fell victim to a scam that would cost the life she knew. The educational brokers, masquerading as counselors, led them into what appeared to be an ordinary office for a final round of paperwork before flying out to the US. Unbeknownst to Kamila and the others, they had walked into a downsizing machine disguised as a mundane office. In an instant, their dreams literally diminished, along with their size.
The scammers shrunk the 12 victims down to two inches and emptied everyone’s bank accounts, and in an instant, Kamila’s life savings were gone. The criminals gathered the victims and callously mailed them to the US in a box equipped with bare necessities to keep them alive for a couple of days. Despite having gel packets for hydration and stale bread for food, two of them died from extreme heat.
Upon arrival, the US customs policy dictated their return to Poland because of a lack of proper visas. For Kamila, this prospect was more terrifying than remaining in the US undocumented, knowing the hellish conditions downsizers faced in Poland. Most people in those times would’ve said that farm animals got better treatment than downsizers in Poland.
Downsizer tracking was less stringent in those days. Kamila and five others escaped the custody of the customs officials. Their goal was to travel from the mail delivery terminal to the downsized terminal on the other side of the airport. They spent a month living in the airport, scavenging garbage for food and securing dropped items for their survival. What made their quest extra tricky was that they had to avoid detection from the customs officials, otherwise they’d deport them back to Poland.
They eventually made it to the downsized section of the terminal, and through begging for loose change, they secured transportation to a brand-new community known as Lilliputian Lakes.
For the next five years, Kamila worked odd jobs and did whatever it took to survive. Because of her unregistered and immigration status, she could not secure a home in Lilliputian Lakes. For some time, she lived in the streets, the park, or slept at the train station, pretending to be an overnight commuter.
The mayor of the city clamped down on the unhoused during an election year held by the Nano-Habitats Corporation, who owned Lilliputian Lakes. The mayor introduced an ordinance that disallowed anyone from sleeping in public places overnight. Under the mayor’s orders, the cops rounded up all the unhoused and kicked them out of Lilliputian Lakes. But some of these individuals, like Kamila, provided labor the city couldn’t do without. So, although they were unhoused, the city welcomed them to work.
Though there was no hope of Kamila becoming a doctor because of her status, Kamila got a job at the hospital and worked herself up to becoming a nurse. She worked at the hospital in Lilliputian Lakes, but lived in a shantytown outside the city walls.
The shantytown was actually an abandoned junkyard a couple of football fields away from Lilliputian Lakes. Downsizers who had their personalized reason for not living in Lilliputian Lakes, lived in the junkyard shantytown. They lived inside the metal shells of rusted cars, or underground in mufflers, or under the desert brush.
Lilliputian Lakes had high walls and nets to keep out wildlife, but also provided the illusion of living freely outside. Because the shantytown lacked these protections, the downsizers who lived there always lived in constant fear of the elements. Out of all the wildlife to watch out for, it was the birds that were the scariest, because of how fast they could swoop down and grab someone by their talons. That’s why these downsizers hardly spent time outdoors and always used the protective cover of junk to hide their movements.
-
Kamila nearly fell asleep on the bus ride back to the junkyard. It was a long fifteen-hour day. But a few more weeks of working extra shifts would mean she’d be closer to her goal of putting a down payment on an RV she had her eyes on. With an RV, she could drive around Lilliputian Lakes and live in it, instead of leaving the protective walls of the community every day to live in the bumper of an ancient Ford Mustang.
The bus picked up the last passenger and headed through a tunnel that took them out of the downsized community. Lilliputian Lakes, from the outside, looked like a massive stadium. It had to be, in order to house 30,000 downsizers comfortably and cater to a wide variety of developments. From dense urban centers, to sprawling suburban neighborhoods. The bus exiting Lilliputian Lakes and entering the unprotected big world was jarring and frightening, every time.
The mayor promised that wildlife would be kept at bay through various ‘state-of-the-art’ means. Whatever that meant. It could’ve been something. Could’ve been a lie. It was all meant to provide comfort to the unregistered and concerned downsizers that these marginal people were looked after. But that’s all it was. A grand façade to keep downsizers from protesting their awful treatment. The bus program and shantytown were merely a way of hiding unhoused people while still exploiting their cheap labor.
“Long day?” the man seated next to Kamila asked. He had new bandages on his left leg and carried a pair of crutches. Kamilia remembered him at the hospital. He got into a fight with a rat in the junkyard and nearly lost his leg.
“Yeah. Very long,” Kamila said with a heavy Polish accent.
But working in the hospital for so long wasn’t too bad. She had running water and reliable electricity. Her home in the bumper of an old car was like camping every day, and she hated it. At least being in the hospital reminded her of civilization.
Kamila couldn’t even bother to look outside. It was just the same desert, being beaten down by the unrelenting sun. At least the bus had air conditioning, and the seat was comfortable.
Kamila snapped out of her sleep when she heard commotions coming from the other passengers. Upon opening her eyes, she saw everyone pointing to the left. Kamila looked outside and felt her stomach drop to the floor. A human girl was running at them at full speed. She kicked up sand with her white sneakers as she barreled down at them.
The bus driver hit the accelerator, but she was upon them in a second. The young giantess grabbed and lifted the entire bus without slowing down, knocking the seven passengers inside off their seats. Kamila fell into the aisle and knocked her head against a seat, leaving a nasty bruise on her forehead.
The bus jostled violently up and down as the giantess ran. Passengers, including the driver, bounced 1-2 feet in the air, knocking into each other and the fixtures in the bus. The brief journey ended abruptly, and they all nearly lost their lunch as the bus dropped back to the ground.
“Quick, now!” the giantess that took their bus shouted.
As matters couldn’t get worse, yet another young giantess came stomping onto the scene. They could only see her sandaled-clad feet and ankles from inside the bus. She dropped a copper-colored mesh tent over the bus.
The bus driver climbed back to his seat after his seat belt failed to contain his heavy frame. He lifted the protective cover over a large red SOS button and depressed it. But nothing happened. Some of the other passengers pulled out their phones, but no one had signals. Kamila, having worked with electronics and x-rays at the hospital, knew what was going on. The giantesses draped the bus in a faraday cage to prevent any electronic communications from reaching out.
“Everybody out,” one giantess said.
Nobody moved. The giantess shook the bus hard enough to knock them over onto the floor. Kamila’s palm got messed up by the rubber flooring on the bus.
“Get the fuck out, or I will kill you all.”
Those words echoed in Kamila’s head. She hated living in the wilds; she was in constant fear of snakes, coyotes, and birds killing her. But she never thought a teen giantess was a threat. The bus driver said, “Better do as she says,” and opened the door to the bus. The passengers, with great trepidation, followed him out.
Humans weren’t known to mess with downsizers. All the laws and protections were enough to keep them away. Also, all that bureaucracy that came with the MHIP was a great leveler in size difference between downsizer and humans. Unless these girls knew they, along with the bus driver, were all unregistered.
Kamila helped the man with the injured leg get off the bus. They all stood outside the bus in a line, under the copper mesh tent. Kamila looked up and got a better look at the girls. The one doing the talking was Asian, with long black hair that went past her shoulders. The other was a white girl with light brown hair, tied back. They both were pretty and seemed so innocent. Not that type to stage a heist.
“Is that really everyone?” the Asian girl asked. “Just eight downsizers? What the fuck?” The bus wasn’t a standard 40-passenger bus, but one that held 20. And even then, the bus wasn’t even half-capacity because it was running at an odd hour. If Kamila hadn’t worked overtime hours, she wouldn’t have been there. “Cell phones. I want to see all your phones on the ground in front of you. Now!”
They obeyed the girl and tossed their phones to the sand. The white girl stuck her hand underneath the copper faraday cage and collected all the phones. She set them in a pile and smashed them all under a rock the size of a boulder to the downsizers.
Kamila’s heart raced. This wasn’t a robbery or a prank, or just a general hate crime. These girls were up to something serious, and Kamila had a feeling she wasn’t returning home that night.
“Okay, good.” The Asian girl picked up the bus and wrapped it in the copper mesh. She brought the vehicle to her eyes and looked for stragglers. Satisfied it was empty, she walked over to her car and dumped it into her trunk. She returned to the other giantess and spoke to her. “Trish, because this was my plan. That means I get a bigger share. Got it?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Tricia said.
Kamila’s breathing sped up as she noticed the girl named Trish staring right at her.
“Ah, damn, looks like we got a broken one.”
“What do you mean, Lin?”
“That one, with the bandages around his legs. Hey you—yes you, cripple boy. Step forward. More. Come on, you can do it, buddy.”
Kamila wanted to reach out to the man, hobbling forward, but was too afraid to do anything objectionable in front of the giantesses. The injured man was a dozen feet in front of the others, continuing to walk until Lin told him to stop.
“Listen,” the man said. “I—I have little to nothing. No money … I don’t even live in a house. I don’t know what you want with me.”
Lin shoved him with the toe section of her white shoe, knocking him to the floor, his crutches flying out of his hands.
Tricia made a minute movement like she was going to help him, but stopped herself. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She thought she saw her dad for a moment.
“You’re right,” Lin said. “You got nothing I want. Worthless, downsized piece of shit.” There was no time for anyone to think or react. She lifted her foot and slammed it to the ground with enough force to send a shockwave of sand and dust exploding from out under her shoes. Along with bits of the downsized man.
“The fuck!” Tricia yelled over the shocked screams of the downsizers. Lin looked back at Tricia with a confused expression. Tricia only blurted out what she did because the injured man lying on the floor, looking up, reminded her so much of her father. But her uneasy outburst could send the wrong message to Lin.
From within their clique, none of them have confessed to killing a downsizer. Lin was probably the first to kill one, and, at that moment, won so much street cred. If Tricia showed any weakness or sympathy for the downsizers, especially considering her ex-boyfriend's downsizing, she risked losing status among her anti-downsizer friends. Expressing disgust at Lin’s brutal murder could lead to Tricia being labeled a poser or even ostracized from their clique, a social consequence she would not allow.
But her outburst was out there, lingering in the air, and Lin was trying to process why Tricia, the girl who vocally denounced downsizers every day and refused to do business with them, or even speak to them, was now outraged when one of them died? Lin expected a cheer from Tricia, not scolding.
Tricia had to think fast. She would not admit the downsizer reminded her of her dad. That was a secret she would take to the grave. But what else could she say? She felt like an undercover cop whose cover was nearly blown.
“Lin, you got blood on my feet!” she said with a disgusted tone and contorted face. She should’ve won an award for her performance. “Warn me before you do that shit again.”
“Jeez, don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Lin pulled her foot back, leaving a trail of viscera for insects and birds to munch on later. The downsizers at her feet nearly vomited from the sight. “Anyway, what do you think? One less downsizing moocher in the world, huh?”
“Am I supposed to be impressed?” Tricia asked.
“Uh, yeah. I killed a downsizer. What have you done?”
“I almost killed a couple of them with my piss.”
Lin blew a raspberry. “Almost doesn’t count. And eww.”
“Stepping on them shouldn’t count either. I step on bugs all the time. It’s not a big deal.”
“Alright hotshot, show me what you got?” Lin challenged. The girls, whether they knew it or not, were fighting for status. Challenging each other to see who was the most anti-downsizer. “Do you even have the guts to kill a downsizer? You’re all talk, Trish.”
Tricia’s lips pursed, and her face turned a shade of red. “Don’t think I have the guts?” Tricia looked down at the line of two-inch downsizers until her eyes fell upon a male that looked like a junior version of Mateo. He was average height, and probably closer to an inch and a half. Tricia took a step forward, her footfall sending a tremor that all downsizers could feel. She plucked the Mateo look alike between her fingers and stood back up. “I’m sure my guts can easily kill this little dude.”
The man started struggling between Tricia’s fingers, but all she had to do was give a squeeze that knocked the air out of his lungs. Tricia yanked the clothing off the struggling downsizer. She used water from a plastic bottle to give him a torrential shower, cleaning the dust and dirt off his skin. Naked and wet, he looked up at Tricia’s smiling lips and screamed as she parted them. Strands of saliva webbing in her mouth.
Lin took the bottle from Tricia and watched with rapt attention as her friend tilted her head back and hovered the downsizer over her open mouth. She won’t really … Lin’s mind trailed off. Crushing a downsizer was instantaneous. A one-second death, that was painless and over before the victim knew it. But swallowing a downsizer alive? Now, that was a torturous, cruel death.
The man shouted one last time as Tricia's fingers released him. His naked back side bounced off her wet, sticky tongue and hurled him to the back of her throat, zooming past her uvula and falling headfirst into her esophagus. Without closing her mouth, Tricia made a glucking gesture, like when a bird consumes a large animal. She didn’t even taste the downsizer before sending him to her stomach.
Tricia brought her head back down and made an exaggerated expression by licking her lips while locking eyes with Lin. Tricia moved up several pegs in their unspoken social hierarchy.
“I can still feel him,” Tricia said with a smirk as she wiped the corner of her lip with her index finger. She looked at the downsizers at her feet. They huddled and cried into each other's arms. Some stood with mouths agape, staring right back at her. Others looked for an opportunity to run away, but there was nowhere to hide from the giantesses in the desert.
“Okay, you win,” Lin said. “Jesus fuck, I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”
Tricia forced a burp and blew the hot air towards her friend. “Neither did I. Don’t test how much I hate these fucks again.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Six left,” Tricia said. “You get three, I get three.”
“No, the deal is I get more.”
“Too bad, I’m hungry now, and I want more.” Tricia stared into Lin’s eyes and both girls fought for dominance. With the confidence of eating a downsizer, and proving she had zero empathy for downsizers following her near gaffe when she saw Lin stomp on one, Tricia felt on top of the world. Lin had a similar disposition to Tricia, but wasn’t as hardcore, she would admit. Lin broke away from the stare, leaving Tricia as winner once again. “Good. I get first pick. And I want this one.”
Kamila squealed as Tricia plucked her using a thumb and index finger. The massive digits squeezed her like clamps and hurled her into the sky until she was face-to-face with the evil teen giantess. Tricia smiled and showed off her teeth, licking them with the tip of her tongue.
Tricia picked Kamila because she was wearing hospital scrubs. It implied that Kamila knew something medical and could be of use for her dad.
“Why do you want her?” Lin asked.
Tricia shrugged and came up with a lie. “She’s got big titties. I don’t know. I kinda want to slice them with a razor blade to see what it’s like.”
Kamila lost control of her bladder. Her pants soaked her urine and ran down her legs.
“Goddamn, Trish.” Lin laughed and picked out a downsizer for herself. “I bet these dudes don’t know which one of us is worse.” She giggled.
“Eww, look. She peed herself.” Tricia laughed. “Are you scared of me, you little shit?”
While she teased Kamila, the movements from within her stomach started picking up again. The digestion process kicked up in her stomach, sensing the arrival of food. It probably explained why the downsizer inside her became erratic. A moan hardly escaped Tricia’s lips as she felt the little man beat on the inside of her stomach. She never thought about eating a downsizer before. Her actions were mostly for Lin and to put her in her place. But now … It was like discovering kink she was unaware she had. That little guy in her stomach was living his last minutes inside her stomach. Broken down to mere calories and nutrition for her bigger body. Tricia licked her lips, looking at Kamila. If one downsizer brought this much pleasure, two should surely double the fun. But Kamilia was safe—for now. If she could help her dad, she would live. If not, she would become a snack.
Tricia picked another woman. Then Lin picked another downsizer, as if they were choosing teams for a baseball game. Tricia then picked a man, which left Lin with the last person.
“Okay, let’s get the fuck out of here.”
-
Lin explained she’d get rid of the downsized bus inconspicuously. The girls agreed that this never happened and would deny anything if anyone came snooping. Not that they would. Officials would probably be more concerned that a downsized bus went missing more than some undocumented downsizers.
-
Lin dropped Tricia at home. Tricia raced to her bedroom, excited to play with her new toys without consequences. She locked herself in her bedroom and dug into her backpack for her three downsizers. Steve walked out from under the bed to greet his daughter like he does every day. He was relieved to see Tricia in a good mood.
“Hiya princess. What do you have there?”
Tricia pulled out Kamila first. The nurse was trembling uncontrollably and couldn’t even stare Tricia in the face. If anything else was in her bladder, she would’ve lost it then.
“I got you a nurse, daddy! Look,” she said, lifting the downsizer for her dad to see. “Her name is …” Tricia rotated her wrist so that the crying woman was looking back at her. “What’s your name?”
Kamila didn’t respond. She was too busy crying.
“What’s your fucking name?” Tricia’s smile dropped as she asked.
“K-Kamila.”
Tricia got on her knees and lowered Kamila in front of her dad. The downsized nurse just laid there in the fetal position, too afraid to move.
“Princess? How did you—”
“She’s unregistered like you, daddy. That means she’s mine. And she’s gonna be your personal nurse that will help you with your leg.”
“Tricia, Princess, you can’t … How did you—”
“No more questions, daddy. Unless you want to make me upset …?”
Steve gulped. He shook his head.
“Good. Don’t look so down, dad. I got my own downsizers!” She pulled out a man and a woman from her backpack.
-
It was fun for Tricia, having four downsizers, including her dad, looking up at her, waiting for her next move. They all jerked their heads like a beaten red-headed child any time her arms went swinging overhead. They were so frightened of her. The downsizers remained silent and whimpered to themselves as the reality of their captivity settled in.
Tricia moved everyone to her desk. She took off her blouse because it was getting uncomfortable and remained in her bra. She grabbed some supplies from her closet and set each item down around the desk. Rubbing alcohol, tape, a lighter, an X-Acto knife.
Without speaking a word, she grabbed the male and placed him in the center of her desk. He started crying out, begging, praying … Things that meant nothing to Tricia. If her dad’s cries didn’t elicit emotions, this random, undocumented downsizer wouldn’t either. She used clear tape on his wrists and ankles, splaying him on her desk like the Vitruvian Man.
“Kamila, I need your help.” Tricia grabbed more tape because the man was able to loosen the small strip she originally laid down. This time, Tricia placed enough tape to cover his hands and fingers. His feet were out to the side and taped so much, he couldn’t even wiggle it. “C’mon, Kamila. Not going to say it again. Come over here.”
Kamila cried and took a few steps up to the taped man. She had her hands in front of her waist and her head bowed, unable to look at the giantess.
“Are you a nurse?” Tricia asked. “Like, the medical kind?”
Kamila nodded.
“Use your fucking words!”
“Yes, I’m a nurse.”
“Good.” Tricia grabbed dental floss and cut a strip. She looped it around the man’s thighs several times before she tied it off—tightly. He screamed as he felt the circulation cut to the rest of his legs. Tricia grabbed the X-Acto knife and held it up like a pencil. “You’re going to help me with a little medical procedure.”
Steve hobbled forward. He was missing his right leg—the man taped had floss around his right leg. “Princess, what are you doing?” His voice wavering.
“Just having fun, daddy.” She handed Kamila a cotton ball that was the size of a beach ball to her. Kamila held the fuzzy ball in shaky hands, mouth agape. “So, when do I make the incision below his kneecaps?” Tricia brought the blade down on the man below the kneecap, but just held it there. The man screamed bloody murder and begged the giantess to stop. “Or above the kneecap?” She moved the blade again.
Kamila was in shock. No words came out of her mouth.
“Tricia, stop!” Her dad moved in front of the man and pushed the blade away with his hand. “You cannot amputate him.”
Tricia snorted. “And? You gonna stop me?”
“Tricia, there’s no reason to do this. This, this is just torture! You can kill him. Then what? You’ll be a murderer.”
Tricia smiled. “Already am.”
Steve froze. He didn’t say a word for several moments, letting his daughter’s last words linger in the air. “What?” he said, hardly above a whisper. “Tricia?”
“He’s probably in my small intestine by now, wouldn’t you say Kamila? You know the human body better than I do. Anyway, a little tiny man like that—hardly nutritious.”
“Tricia … no.”
“Oh, yes!” She stood up and rubbed her bare stomach for all to see. “Yummy, yummy, he’s in my tummy. Anyone else want to join him? Hmm? How about you, tape boy?” Tricia grew louder as she spoke. “Listen up, you’re all alive because you might be useful to me. If not, my body will find a use for you as I turn you into shit. That’s all you are to me. Worthless! Unless you can prove me wrong, you’ll live. Kamila, you better take care of my dad and his legs. If I find out you fucking suck at your job, you’ll become my snack. Got it! And you two …” She pointed at the Thai woman and tape man. “You better bring out your skills and serve me, or I’ll eat you in a sandwich.”
Kamila caught herself from fainting. This was too much. Her life was so shitty already. Why was she given this? Why was she constantly given hardships no other person experienced?
“Tape-man, do you want me to cut your leg off?”
He shook his head and shouted, “Please God, no. Please, don’t. I’ll do whatever you want. Please don’t hurt me.”
“That’s the right attitude. If I catch you trying to escape—if you even fucking look at the door—I’ll cut your legs off with a rusty butter knife. Okay?” she shouted. “That goes for everyone. Do as I say, and no escaping.”
Tricia used the blade of the knife to cut the floss off the man’s leg. He felt relieved but still shook from primal fear.
“Kamila, darling,” Tricia said with a warm smile. “You’ll live with my dad under my bed. You can sleep on the couch or something. Anything my dad needs, you give it to him.” Tricia winked.
Kamila was unsure if that was a double entendre or not. She nodded and said, “Yes, miss.”
-
The other downsizers weren’t as lucky with their accommodations as Kamila was. Tricia grabbed two mason jars from the kitchen and punched holes in the lids. She placed the mason jars with the downsizers in them, put the jars into her closet, and shut the door.