Still hiding, the shrunken scientist considered his options. All of them seemed not only ridiculous, but beyond dangerous and frightening. He shuddered, looking up the tremendous mass the young station employee now stood made Bryan all but pee his pants.
This guy was fucking huge now - easily bigger than anything Bryan could think to compare, and likely far beyond noticing him as a teeny little speck against the filth-ridden asphalt. The titan animated suddenly, shifting his towering girth; lifting an enormous arm to deposit the nearly spent smoke between his lips and reposition his feet. Bryan watched, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, as the furthest sneaker slide against the gritty asphalt, suddenly lifting off, and swung over the other shoe with sluggish grace. With a dull, but heavy thud, the worn skate shoe settled, positioned on the toe with the exposed sole looming to the world.
Bryan immediately lost all confidence. The motion, a mere shifting of the feet, was so commonplace; so casual; that the busy scientist would never have noticed before - but, now took on almost godly significance.
He couldn't help himself staring - taking in the mind-boggling sight looming far, but close enough to stand above the landscape like an alien monument. The sheer surface of many zig-zagging crevices spanned around the white Fallen logo, which was almost blotted out by a revolting mass of unidentifiable grime. The tread around it was crammed full of various debris. Near the toe, the dark rubber was heavily worn, but spotted with dark splotches of gunk, mud, and oil from around the station. The heel was in similar shape - well-worn from everyday use by the gigantic owner. What looked like smashed M&Ms were jammed into the tread, along with more pebbles and dried oil.
This all phased the tiny man like a tourist gawking at a new world wonder. Bryan was overwhelmed. He just couldn't believe how huge it was - some stoner-type gas station clerk's sneaker, blown up to become the biggest, most impressive, and utterly intimidating thing ever. All without the owner ever knowing, as he casually spent his break smoking while leaning up against the station wall.
But, Bryan didn't write Derrick off as potential help simply because of his colossal size. The tiny man spotted something else wedged and scattered randomly against the massive sole - something more organic and downright disturbing. Tiny black shapes that Bryan recognized to be ants. Most smashed beyond recognition, but more than a few intact enough to be alive and twitching, hopelessly trapped in the cayonesque treads of Derrick's gargantuan skate shoe.
All, Bryan realized, without the young titan even knowing they existed. It seemed Derrick's prefered spot for taking his smokes had become a populated collection of ants attracted to M&Ms dropped the day before. The gigantic station attendant stomped over them without regard, never once thinking of their minuscule lives as he lit up and listlessly poked at his phone.
This was all the frightened man needed to decide against running out there. He was smaller than those ants - how the hell would he fare any better?
"No, I'll figure something else out. Something, err, better; that won't be so dangerous." Bryan reasoned, never taking his eyes off of the exposed sole.
Suddenly, a loud grunt rumbled from above, jolting Bryan from his thoughts. He glanced up to see Derrick holding what looked to be a mere nub of smoldering paper. The behemoth snorted, his expression nothing but tried and bored. Raising one massive arm, he rubbed the forearm against his nostrils, snorting, and then swung it downwards and hurled the cigarette butt towards the ground.
It sailed like a falling meteor, headed far away from Bryan who still squeaked for cover. Crash landing, the garage-sized butt rolled over the filthy ground, spewing smoke and cinders as it went, and reducing a surprised ant to smoldering ruin as it did. That was preferable, as Bryan watched the angled shoe lift away, landing on the asphalt with reverberating crash. Faster than something that huge should move, the other sneaker pulled off from the ground, raining bits of dirt and grit as it sailed towards the glowing cigarette butt. It slammed down, merciless and absolute, as it dragged backwards.
Bryan steeled himself against the intense vibrations. He dared a craned look upwards, realizing the huge guy wasn't even looking down.
The violent action stopped abruptly. The gigantic skate shoe creaked as Derrick merely shifted his weight, swinging his impossibly long leg and lifting his other sneaker off the ground. The step ended with a dull boom, shaking Bryan who sat unmoved and gawking. With a thunderous twist, the other sneaker raised and sailed away in the same fashion.
The behemoth employee stomped away, utterly unaware of his titanic presence and power. His thick arms swayed at his sides, each hand looking big enough to uproot the city park, and each booming step seeming cataclysmic as the huge skate shoes smashed anything caught underneath. Bryan gazed at the back of the giant's head as he lumbered away, wondering how he ever possibly could have been able to interact with this monster of a guy.
"Fuck!" He spat out, feeling as if it was only now safe to speak. Derrick stomped out of view, his huge form vanishing into the sliding doors set farther down the building. "Fucking... He was fucking huge!"
Bryan immediately thought back to his mixing of the formula and his decision to increase its potency, and in turn, the effective size it reduced him to.
His legs dripped, feeling warm. Patting them, the shrunken man realized he had urinated himself more than a few times by just watching the humongous employee move. Biting his lip, he had a hard time steadying his shaking limbs even.
"I need to get out of this nightmare!" He realized not even an hour had passed and he was nearly fraught with panic.
Trying to stay calm, Bryan said. "Just need to get help, any help at all, I just need help!" He was a genius - and, one to be reckoned with once he had his mind to it.
He padded forwards, approaching the mass of acrid debris that remained of Derrick's cigarette. It was nothing but a mound of ashes and shredded paper, bits of rubbish visible in the devastation. The tiny scientist could still feel the tremendous vibrations caused by the oblivious titan: each step a powerful, bone jarring, boom.
Bryan realized he needed to get moving. The longer he moved around, looking around the massive environment, the more hope blossomed in between desolation and dismay. His first encounter with a regular-sized person had been memorable - and, oddly exciting in more ways than one. The bug-sized man actually felt excited to continue this accidental adventure.
His next destination was to...
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
