The Pet Transition, anybody?

[Flippity-Floosy]

Excuse me stranger, have you seen my story?

Hehe...

All jokes aside, I'm looking for the story, The Pet Transtion by Nanogirl (aka me). This is going to sound quite weird since I was the writer of that story, but despite recalling saving the drafts and backing them up at some point, I can't seem to find that story for the life of me. If, by any chance, anyone was able to download the pages or have a saved backup of it, I'd greatly appreciate it!

[native89]

The Pet Transition

by Nano-girl » Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:40 am


Prologue

It all started three months ago.

Technically, a year ago after the first two disappearances.

She had started working Peter's Diner for about two weeks when she heard about the disappearance of Lisa Grifford. An 18-year-old girl who was in her senior year in some high school in Ohio. She had gone out for a night of fun with those in her cheerleading squad to a party in Cleveland, Ohio. She had last been seen leaving the party around 2:00 AM that morning. Her parents said she never made it home.

The second disappearance happened to a 31-year-old man who had been delivering pizza at around 10:00 PM on a Tuesday. Troy Harrisburg, hailing from Orlando, Florida, went to drop off a pepperoni pizza at a suburban home. The family reported he did stop by, but he never came back to work afterwards that day. Or the days to come.

Both had disappeared the same day, around a few hours from each other. They were not affiliated, from what authorities had said; the only thing they had in common was that both left without a trace. Not even a hair.

Two weeks later, around nearly two hundred people went missing in the same night. Around the same time. Without a trace.

The link hadn't been established at all until a month later.

On November 15, in the span of five hours, approximately seventy-three thousand people between the ages of five and forty-five went missing between 10:00 and 2:00 PM all around the United States. Vanishing without a trace.

Saffron had been watching the news while serving tea to one of the regulars, when she heard about it. Several people gathered around the chairs closest to the television in the far corner when they announced the numerous people that went missing, most having no relation to one another. It was as though they had spirited away, leaving authorities baffled and each investigation fruitless.

Her little brother told her that his homecoming dance had been postponed, in that both of the potential the homecoming king and queen, Carl Smith and Jessica Nguyen, had both been two of the students who had disappeared that day.

"Did you know them?" She asked when she called him.

"Never even knew their names until someone told me. They were both juniors. That's all I knew." He replied over the phone, his voice muffled as if he were eating something.

Almost two months later, only a week and a half after New Years, four-hundred thousand people, in the United States alone, simultaneously disappeared in the span of a few hours. At the same time, between ten and two o'clock in the morning.

She had been watching a movie when her program was interrupted by the newsfeed.

These disappearances were happening all over the globe in several countries around the globe. An estimated total of over twelve million people had vanished without a trace. All around their time zones between ten to two o'clock at night in the day of January 10th. While many suspect that the majority of the people were out and about around those times, it was estimated that at least fifteen percent of the kidnappings took place right in their own homes.

Paranoia was beginning to become commonplace, with several cities issuing or reinforcing curfews. Many places around town had closed before eight o'clock. Even the 24-hour diner she worked at closed now at 8:30 PM. She had to change her 9:00 PM shift to the morning. Theories of aliens, the apocalypse, or the illuminati had spread like wildfire. She heard more than her fair share of customers talking about it. It was hard not to.

The days were short as the nights were long, with the diner receiving it's usual forty-something customers until closing. Despite everything going on in the world, Chartersburg remained. An abysmally small countryside town where the constant state of monotony had its hold. If anything, the news had actually finally been somewhat welcomed, the mystery of twelve million people just gone in such time gave something for the people to talk about.

Saffron couldn't say that she wasn't a bit scared. So many people disappearing at once didn't seem likely to happen by normal means. She noticed her family had called her more often since the disappearances, and likewise, she would call them back too. But aside from the change in shift, her daily routine hadn't changed as much.

She woke up. Went to Work. Got off at two in the afternoon. Went shopping for whatever at the small strip of stories on St. Green's Street. Went back home. Call her family. Call Jacob. Call Regina. Watch Television. Take a Shower. Go to bed. Rinse and Repeat.

The fact that people had continued go missing out of the blue didn't put too much of a damper on her activities as it didn't seem anyone from Chartersburg was affected directly by the torrent of mysterious disappearances. If anything, the number of people who vanished without a trace had began to slowly dwindle, since the curfews held strong.

It was until April that the curfews had been lifted, after three straight weeks without any significant number of people disappearing. And the week that followed proved to be just as safe.

She was able to return to her night shift, on the twenty-first of April. A shift she was much more comfortable doing. Talks about the disappearances hadn't ceased, but had considerably died down since the lift of the curfews.

It was as though everything that had happened was like a passing storm. Her life and family back in Orlando had remained unaffected. The small town was as quiet as ever. It was almost nothing had changed.

Then came the seventh of May.

[native89]

Part One

"You know, I was thinking about something really...weird."

Saffron looked at Jeffrey, one of the regulars she came to know very quickly in a month's time. He was usually the only one who would stay until almost closing, usually to talk to her or Ricky, the only other waiter of the night shift aside from her. Mainly about his work or his pregnant wife. The man could speak for hours on end, and as much as she did like Jeffrey and his stories, she didn't miss him prattling on and on until he would leave around eleven o'clock, sometimes midnight.

"About what?' She said, taking his finished mug and tray before walking behind the counter to deposit them on the side. Jeffrey leaned back in his chair as ran the water for the sink and pulling on some latex gloves as she waited for the water to rise enough to put the dishes in.

"About how everyone's just acting like nothing happened all the sudden." He said, looking at the window at the dark, starry sky; it was one of the few perks in living in such a tiny town. More like a village, it seemed.

"It's been safer."

"Twelve million people disappeared, Saf."

"Everyone's being more cautious."

"Twelve million people..."

"I'm more than aware." Saffron stopped the tap and began washing the dishes. It had been slower than normal, and even with the lifted curfew, some of the people who came late into the night hadn't reappeared during the night hours. "How's your wife?"

After a pause, Jeffrey sighed. "She's well and all. Had a bout of morning sickness the other day though. Came right back home from work around noon." Jeffrey looked back at the twenty-four year old redheaded woman, who was scraping away at the trays. "Does talking about it make you uncomfortable?"

"Not really," Saffron answered back with a hint of annoyance. "Just that it's what everyone talks about these days."

"How can you not?" Jeffrey asked, leaning his chair back on its hind legs. "They just up and vanish from the face of the Earth. No DNA samples. No left over items. No nothing."

"Sit properly, Jeff." Saffron said placing a dish on the counter.

"I won't fall."

"These chairs are old. Two of them are already rotted."

"An employee shouldn't being talking about the welfare of their establishment."

"Ricky says you've been coming here for nearly ten years."

"Doesn't change the fact you're endangering this place's reputation."

"It's not like you'd tell."

"No," Jeff relented with a smile, "Still..."

"I trust you." Saffron said, looking up to give him a gentle smile. Jeffrey's smile grew as he gave a nod of the head.

There was a silence, with nothing but the splashing of dishes and the constant thrumming of the air conditioner as an indicator that there was life in the room. Saffron decided to break the silence after she finished placing the last dish on the drying towel spread on the counter. "You know, I was thinking of going back to live my parents and all. More job opportunities."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Problem is they are already using my room as storage since I've moved out. And Dad keeps telling me how much he wishes I went to somewhere more populated."

"Now that I think about it, why did you come here?" Jeffrey asked.

Saffron took of her gloves and placed them on a nearby rack. "I usually hate living in crowded areas. But this place is too quiet for me."

"I remember my wife said the same thing when we moved here."

"Aren't you guys originally from DC?"

"I am. She's from Philadelphia."

Saffron let out a noncommittal "Ah," before walking around the counter to take a seat facing Jeffrey. "Why'd you guys come?"

"She wanted to live in a cheaper place. DC is expensive."

"I have a friend there who said the exact same thing. He and his ex had shared an apartment there and their lease was over after a year. He's sharing a apartment with three roommates."

"Damn."

"I know right."

There was a jingle of the familiar welcome bells behind her, as she turned to see Ricky sauntering back in with a rather severe scowl on his face. Saffron was taken aback from the rather intense, negative aura radiating from the usually cheerful young man. He took a seat close to the window, practically falling into it with enough force for it to be felt from the wooden floor, and placed his hands on his head, letting out an aggravated sigh.

"You okay there man?" Jeffrey was quick to inquire, seemingly not at all disturbed by angry teenaged boy parallel form him.

Ricky shuttered before removing his hand from his face. "That bitch..."

"What?" Saffron asked, tilting her head in confusion. Ricky slammed his hand down, startling his coworker and their sole patron of the night.

"She was cheating on me!" Ricky spoke loudly, not quite yelling. "With that fucking Baxter bastard from school! She was fucking him for months!"

Jeffrey and Saffron gave each other uneasy glances as they watched the nineteen-year-old take deep breaths; it was only then that she noticed how red his face had been. It was almost like he was literally fuming. She looked at the table and realized he it was his phone he slammed on the table, not hand.

"Oh Rick..." Saffron cooed sympathetically, standing up from her chair to walk to the boy. He didn't shy away from her touch, and instead of backing away, he merely slumped down.

"We've been going out since high school...I just..."

He didn't finish. Saffron only gave the boy's shoulder a gentle squeeze. She remember him talking about how they planned to go to the movies in the next town over just last week and the many times he'd take a break once everything slowed down just to talk to her. She only saw a picture of her, with long black hair and dark blue eyes and apparently she was a showstopper the marching band they were in when they were in high school just last year. To see the young man devastated like that made her heart ache for him.

"High school sweethearts don't usually last as long." Jeffrey said, only for Saffron to send him a glare.

"Jeff, what the hell? The boy just got his heart broken!"

"I'm just trying to help here." Jeff said defensively, and it seemed only then did he notice Ricky's eyes become wet. Caught off guard, Jeffrey tried to backtrack. "What I'm trying to say is that you have a wider option now. You're going to Auburn University, right?"

Ricky didn't respond for a moment. After a few seconds he nodded.

"Well, on a college campus, you'll have so many girls to choose from. And believe me, college chicks are hot."

"You're married, Jeff." Ricky murmured to the older man.

"Happily married indeed. Doesn't mean I can't point out that some girls are just hot right?"

Ricky let out a sardonic laugh, but there was a semblance of relief in there...it seemed. "I guess so."

"And besides...if anything, you now know she ain't the one."

"You know Jeff," Ricky said, his voice slightly raspy but with a small amount of mirth, "If you talked to anyone else like that, meaning well or not, you'd get punched in the face."

Jeffrey chuckled. "It's happened before."

Saffron smiled, taking her hand away from Ricky's shoulder. "Well, Rick, I can whip you up some midnight pancakes if you want."

"Nah, you just did the dishes and all. And I was supposed to help. Actually I think I'm going to just head home. Take tomorrow off and wait til' after the weekend."

"Jeff's the only one who stays this late anyway," Saffron said tilting her head to the man, "I can handle it from here."

Ricky allowed the barest of smiles t grace his face right before his phone ringed loudly. He flinched, before he glared at the device and stomped towards it, in which Saffron realized he probably had wholeheartedly believed he was going to hear the voice of his ex.

He checked the caller ID on his phone, and his face's features softened instantly. He pressed the button and brought it to his ear.

"Hey, what's up? ...What?...What's going on?"

Saffron stared worriedly at the teen, with Jeff drumming his fingers on the table. There was a silence before Ricky said. "A-Alright I will. I'll call you later. Alright...bye."

He hung up the phone, he looked a bit more unsteady when he put it back in his pocket. "Hey Saf, where's the remote?"

"Remote? What's wrong?"

"Carl told me to turn on the television. Something bad going on."

"Oh crap. Did he say what it was?"

"I couldn't hear him too well. Too much background noise. He just said flip on the TV."

Saffron walked behind the counter and started to move some of the papers, magazines, and other paraphernalia on the side. She spotted the black remote in the crevice of the fridge and a few newspapers and fished it out before pointing it at the television.

The TV came to life, and after a few seconds, recalibrated enough for a clear picture to show.

The first thing she saw was a news reporter, her rather frightened face contrasting from the smooth words that flowed through her mouth. The second thing she saw was the red and white embers flying in the dark and wisping out like the tiniest fireflies.

And the last thing she saw, sending a feeling of dread she hadn't felt in years, was the White House engulfed in flames, burning to the high heavens.

[native89]

Part 2

"What...the hell?" Jeffrey's whispered, his gravelly voice tinted with shock.

The entire mansion was trapped in a massive wall of fire, collapsing on itself. So thick were the flames that she was almost unable to pick out the silhouette of what was once the national capital of the entire United States of America. There were several fire trucks surrounding the building, with countless firemen trying to put out the fires without getting scorched in the process, but it seemed that the intensity of the flames were so strong, it seemed that it was unfazed by the numerous hoses; as if swallowing up the water did nothing.

There were countless personal surrounding the building, as well as other news reporters and civilians who could only stare, gawk and look on as their capital continued to burn without end. The news reporters on the scene went on, speaking swiftly as the fires raged on.

"The White House was set aflame fifteen minutes ago from above. We are unsure of the president's whereabouts or if he still remains in the building. Several faculty and staff has managed to escape, many with severe burns and injuries. They are currently being escorted to the nearest hospital. No one knows how the fires start. A few witnesses say they witnessed a white light flashing down briefly before the whole building what set in flames. Local authorities are trying to get the crowds under control as more and more people are coming onto the scene. We advise all Washington DC residents to return to their homes immediately and report any suspicious activity."

The newscaster went on as the Saffron, Ricky and Jeffrey watched on in silence; their faces painted with the same look of abject horror at what they were witnessing. Suddenly, Saffron felt hot under the collar as she forced herself to take a seat.

All three of them jumped as a sudden burst of fire erupted from the right side of the building, and that seemed to be all it could take as building slouched to the side before collapsing on itself, no longer visible from the great fires. The news casters themselves were forced to briefly halt in their report and moved further away from where the burning establishment once stood. the plumes of smoke rose higher than before as the screams and cries of the onlookers grew more panicked.

Saffron's phone rung, which snapped her out of her trance from the terrible scene she was witnessing and she immediately put it to her ear. "H-hello?"

"Saffron, it's me. Peter. Lock up the restaurant and send Ricky and whoever is left home. We're closing and won't reopen until I say so." Peter ordered, his voice full of urgency. "I'll call you and Ricky in the morning."

"Alright," Saffron said, "I'm going to send them out now."

Her supervisor gave a noncommittal grunt over the phone before abruptly hanging up before she had the chance to say more. She put her phone in her pocket and looked at the two males in the room. "I need to close up shop, you guys. Ricky, Mr. Smith is going to call you tomorrow morning. He'll relay when we can come back."

"Alright." Ricky said quickly, standing up and walking by Saffron to grab his jacket and keys. Saffron grabbed the ringlet of keys and looked at Jeffrey who had pushed his chair in. "Jeff, get home safely, alright?"

"Of course," he said gruffly, zipping up his hoodie, "Get home safe as well, you two. Guess I'll see you whenever."

Saffron nodded and watched as he left out of the door, his footsteps a bit hurried. Walked to the back to lock up the pantries just as Ricky walked by her. "See you Saffron."

"See you Ricky. Sorry about today." She said as she locked the last pantry door.

"I think we're all having a bad day now."

"True."

The jingle of the door notified Saffron that she was alone as she closed and locked the kitchen doors. She locked up the registers, and went to turn off the lights and turn on the alarm. She quickly walked out the door, and with hands she didn't realize were shaking until now, locked up the front doors of Peter's Diner.

Surrounded by the sounds of cicadas and the darkness of the night, she speed-walked to her car and quickly drove out from the parking lot before driving back home on a street that suddenly seemed far more isolated and menacing than before.

---

One month had passed since the broadcast, and everyone was none the wiser.

At first, everyone believed it to be the work of terrorists. It had seemed to be the most practical solution, as they were the ones in recent history is enough animosity to launch such an attack.

But things grew murkier when news that it wasn't only the white house that had been attacked, but other international monuments and historical establishments as well. The United Kingdom's London Bridge, Japan's Tokyo Tower, France's Eiffel Tower; the list went on. Almost every major nation in the world lost something apart of them, something that represented them.

All at the same time.

With no one able to trace who was responsible.

Congress announced an edict that all international travel, aside from certain organizations and officials, would not be allowed until further notice. The national lockdown took place two days after the attack. Apparently, many nations closed their borders, most notably those within the European Union.

Saffron was suddenly very grateful that she hadn't had to endure the mass hysteria in Washington DC she had heard her friend had witnessed. She thought about Jeffrey, who said he'd grown up in DC. She could only wonder how he was taking it. It was his childhood home after all. Even more so, outside of her small town, what was going on in those major cities. There were several reports of riots and civil unrest; which was unsurprising given what had happened.

After an entire month of chaos, things began to settle down somewhat. At least outside of Washington DC as far as she knew.

She was able to return to work two weeks afterwards.

Once again, she found herself taking up another shift. Apparently, the person who had once worked the noon shift had taken off to visit her family up north. Saffron guessed she had family near the DC area. The noon sift was far busier than the night shift, even more so as it seemed that the diner was becoming a hotspot for conversations and newsfeed as everyone seemed to watch the news for more information. She actually had to remind some of the patrons to make an order.

Her employer, Peter Smith Jr., asked for her to take over the noon shift until he found someone else who could take over; more than aware that she preferred the night shift. She was ready to refuse but he offered the position of assistant manager; which entailed a higher salary. She agreed, and wound up taking the shift and the position.

Two months had passed since she got the position, and she was quickly acclimated to the more fast paced rhythm of the customers going in and out. It was somewhat pleasant. Probably because it was such a small town of country bumpkins instead of the ruder customers she would expect back in Florida or some big city like New York or someplace similar. The people had a lot to say about their families, their lives, nearly anything. While she didn't consider herself a private person, she was taken aback how much everyone had so much to share of themselves without shame or hesitance.

She woke up early, went to work, and then took care of other matters. While she did miss the night shift, the day shift was far from unbearable and she now used to it. Even though she hadn't seen Jeffrey since.

So when August 3rd rolled around, she didn't expect much of a difference.

She handed the keys to Ricky, who now ran the nightshift on his own.

"How's Jeff?" She asked him, already halfway out the door.

"He's doing well," he responded, "Says his wife is in her trimester."

"I might come by sometime tonight. I've been wondering how he was doing. Peter wants me to take the day shift for good now so I won't see him as often."

"Gotcha. If you do come by, stay for a bit, he has a lot to tell you?"

"Alright. By the way, you start college soon right? Do you know when?"

Ricky sighed, sounding a bit sullen. "They said they'll delay the semester for a week. So I start in September. Peter needs to find someone to take the night shift. I won't be able to come back here cept' for the summers."

"Ah, he'll probably change the hours again."

"Probably. Well, there's a guy coming through the door behind you, gotta get ready."

Saffron looked behind her to see a man a business suit walk through the doors and take a seat towards the back.

"He's not a regular."

"We've been getting more people come at night since we reopened. I'll catch you later."

"Alright then, I'll see you." Saffron said cheerfully, giving the college-bound teen a smile. He returned it with equal brightness before turning towards the customer, grabbing a pitcher of water to pour him a cup.

She walked out the doors and quickly drove home.

The leisurely ride home was nice and relaxing. While she needed to only stop by home to change clothes and go pick up a few things from the dollar store, she decided to take the long way on a whim to admire the scenery. Sunset was something she didn't get the chance to appreciate as much because she was usually pressed for time, so seeing the sky an amalgamation of colors in the sky was something she learned to take in when she could.

The music station played several pop songs, some she recognized and some she didn't, as she drove the twenty some minutes it took to get to her home. She turned the hill where her apartment complex was on and exhaled.

Just as she was about to round the corner into her parking lot where she caught sight of two people dressed in black waiting in front of her door.

"Wha...?" She whispered to herself as she drove into her usual spot and parked. She slung the keys into her purse and slowly walked to her door, where the two individuals waited in silence. A wave of uneasiness swept over her as she took tentative steps towards them. Upon closer inspection, she saw that one was a tall bald man wearing a pair of thick spectacles, while the other was a tall woman with dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun.

She spoke up once she was three doors away, which was when both of them turned their heads to look directly at her. "Hi, may I help you?"

The woman spoke immediately. "Are you Saffron Debra Jones?"

Caught off guard at the announcement of her entire name, she unsurely replied, "Uh...yeah, that's me. Why? Did something happen."

The man and woman in black walked towards her at a brisk pace, causing Saffron to take a couple steps back. The woman spoke. "No, nothing wrong. We're here to ask you a few questions. Is this a bad time?"

Saffron frowned. She didn't receive any calls or warnings, and she was pretty sure she wasn't doing anything illegal. "No. Who are you?"

The man this time spoke, "We apologize Ms. Jones for the suddenness. We are with the FBI," he flashed his ID, "And with the events that have been happening as of recently, we just need to speak with you."

"About what?" she asked cautiously, hugging her purse closer to her person. Aside fro her and these people, the front of the apartment was fairly empty.

"We'll go more into detail soon. Would you be willing to ride with us to the bureau?"

"Actually..." she said, glancing the way she came and to the individuals, her stomach falling through the roof. "I'd rater do it right here. No one's here, so we should be fine."

There was a silence, and no one said anything for a few seconds. The woman broke the silence and let out an exasperated sigh.

"We were hoping you'd do this the easy way." She turned to her partner. "Nab her."

Before Saffron could move, they rushed right for her. She only managed to turn around when she found herself pinned to the wall by the man. Panic flared up inside of her as she tried to scream, but the woman was quick. She found a cloth to her lower face, covering her mouth and nose and muffling her screams. She writhed and kicked as she was tried to pry herself from the two most definitely not FBI operatives, but they didn't budge. She screamed into the cloth as loud as she could but no one was around to hear them, if they could.

She suddenly began to feel very dizzy as her vision began to blur, splotches of color danced in her vision. Her struggles began to die down considerably as she soon became dizzier and more tired. Whatever was in the cloth was cool against her nose and she began to suddenly lose focus.

It didn't take long before the last thing she saw was the darkness of oblivion.

[native89]

Part 3

Saffron began to stir at the feeling of motion. Cognition hadn't returned to her fully until a minute later when she felt a thump from underneath. Her green eyes slowly opened, blinking away the bright lights casting overhead.

The first thing she saw once her eyes had calibrated was a chair in front of her, with the back of a blonde head slouching to the side.

She blinked and turned to her right.

And fully woke up.

On her right, was another woman, sitting right next to her; bound, gagged and unconscious.

She was sitting in a chair like the one in front of her, her wrists bound to the armrests of the chair with some sort of locking mechanism. She couldn't make out her face, with her head facing down and hair covering up most of her face, but she could make out what looked like duct tape being over her mouth. She was still and motionless, which caused Saffron to almost reach for her to check her pulse.

Except, she found she couldn't move her hands.

Saffron looked down in horror when she realized that she sported the same metal cuffs the woman next to her had, leaving her arms immobile. She immediately tried to stand, but the restraints held fast and she couldn't even get to her feet without bending back at an awkward angle. She screamed as loud as she could...

"Mmf...! Mmf-Mm-mmf!"

...right into the duct tape that was over her own mouth.

Her eyes frantically looked around her, her heart pounding audibly in her chest.

Everyone around her, from what she could make out from her position, was in the same position. Bound, gagged or unconscious. No one seemed awake besides her, the closest person on her left, probably a high school age kid who looked no older than fifteen, was even hunched over in what looked like an uncomfortable position to be in, and had he not been fastened to his seat, he'd probably would have fallen off.

It took her the briefest of moments to realize she was in a bus. An aisle separated each row on both side housing two people for as long as she could see. It was the size of a coach bus, maybe a bit larger from what she could tell from the number of chairs. The windows were tinted, so much so that she was pretty sure that no one from the outside could see the many people that were in there with their mouths taped.

She stomped her feet on the floor, as loudly as possible, while yelling into the duct tape mouth, in any hope that someone, anyone, would either come over or wake up at the sound.

And sure enough, she noticed, the person next to her and in front of her began to lean upwards.

The lady next to her was up in no time flat, while it seemed the man in front of her hadn't fully woken up yet. The two locked eyes, and she felt the level of fright and confusion she herself probably radiated coming from her. The lady screamed as loudly as the grey strip pressed against her lips would allow, which was more high pitched than Saffron's own voice. The man in front of them, although she couldn't make out his face, also seemed to be turning his head this way and that, definitely aware. She heard him kick against the seat in front of him, which woke up whoever was in front of him it seemed, as she could see some of the motions of a moving head in the fringes of her vision.

It didn't take long until the majority the bus came to life with the passengers, struggling to scream for help and fighting against the confines of their chairs. People kicked, bumped against their chairs, or pulled against the steel cuffs around their wrists in a failed attempt to stand.

The opening sound of a screeching intercom coming to life cut through the racket of stomps and muffled cries like a knife. "Ladies and gentlemen, we advise you to stay calm and refrain from any drastic actions that may result in self-injury." A computerized, female voice called out stoically, "We'll be arriving to our destination soon. All will be revealed there."

The people in the bus continued to wail and fight, or as much as they could. Saffron herself tried to twist her wrists from the metal cuffs, but they didn't even move any closer from being free.

Everyone was suddenly jolted forward, then backwards into their seats. Saffron felt herself begin to fall into her seat as the entire vehicle began to incline upwards before picking up speed. Well over one hundred miles of speed.

She screamed endlessly into the tape as she felt herself being, what she felt, launched higher and higher on what had to be the steepest hill she ever been on. She hadn't rode many rollercoasters, especially those that seemed were only made for thrill-seekers, but she felt she was definitely on one, but with no ability to see where she was or to even know if there was a drop. The bus shuttered again when she found herself on her back in the chair, with what felt like the bus being practically perpendicular with the ground, which she didn't feel like they were on now.

A chorus of muted screams went through the bus as she helplessly looked forward at a bright, white light in front of her. So bright, she couldn't really stare directly at it. Terrified tears streamed through her eyes as she felt herself jettison towards the light, which began to shine through the bus. When it got too bright, she was forced to close her eyes as it soon engulfed the entire bus, leaving everyone blind.

The light died down almost immediately, jarring her vision from the suddenness of the change. She peaked as she soon found the bus she was on slowly decelerate from the high speeds it was going, slowly righting itself she was back into a normal position. She looked around and saw everyone else recovering from whatever had just happened.

The ride lasted only thirty more seconds, with everyone dazed and fearful. The bus came to a stop once she fully got her vision back again. Once she heard the small exhale of the hydraulics, the intercom came back to life, with the same feminine, mechanized voice. "We have arrived. Once the doors open, you are to wait by the bus you come out of. Do not run off or go back inside. Do not stay within the buses. Do not fight or attempt to push. There are severe consequences for those who disobey these instructions."
The silence was deafening, aside from the ringing in her ears, and the small whimpers from some of the other passengers, it was very quiet aside from that voice. The voice returned. "Your restraints are going to be released. Walk out of the bus in an orderly fashion. You have two minutes."

No sooner than those were came out, the metal cuffs that had her pinned into her seat pulled apart with a ka-chink, leaving her tender wrists now free. She rubs her wrists as she slowly stood up.

Now no longer inhibited from her seated vision and limited mobility, she was able to look around fully at the people that were slowly but surely (or rather, unsurely), exiting the bus. Everyone inside looked to be around her age, give or take a few or several years. Many of the people had to be a least in their early twenties, with the man in front of her, whom she couldn't have been able to see the face of at first, had to be in his late twenties. Everyone either peeled away or were in the process of peeling away the tape across their mouths; in which she could hear a few several people say "ouch!" and "ow" around her. She took hers off slowly, but it had been pressed tightly and felt slightly painful. She rubbed and licked her lips before looking at the woman behind her, who looked to be at least twenty or twenty-one. She had her arms drawn to her and looked around fearfully, trying to look out from the tinted windows, but they were far too dark.

Her turn to come out came and she immediately took the chance, not at all curious about what consequences awaited her should she refuse. She stepped down from the two large steps, with an arm covering her face from yet another change in light.

To say the room was spacious was an understatement. It was, at the very least the size of a stadium. The huge walls were made out of metal, chrome perhaps, and rose higher than the twelve story apartment complex she lived in. The ceiling was high and wide, with bulbs of light sparsed around each corner. On the other side of the room was theatre-sized screen, hanging from the ceiling.

There were more footsteps, and she slowly walked ahead.

She gasped when she laid eyes on more buses. The buses could easily be mistaken for coach buses, but they were longer and much more simpler looking on the outside. She realized she was in front of where she should have been able to see the driver. She turned around, to see who could have possibly brought them to wherever they were now.

But there was no one in the driver's seat. Let alone a place for a driver to be.

Everyone looked as though they were expecting the very ground to cave in under them at any moment. And from she could tell from the stances of people who were beginning to come out of their own buses, they had been through the same ordeal she and the others had just endured. She actually witnessed a man vomit only seconds after getting out of their bus. She was glad she was a good distance away to not see too much detail.

"Her" group of people had gathered around each other around the other side of the bus. She retreated from the front, glancing back up at the vacant area where a driver should have been, and went into the crowd of people who all had gotten off. In the back of her mind, she estimated at least fifty or sixty people were in the same bus she was in, making it rather crowded.

"Wh-where are we?" A frightened female voice asked feebly.

"I d-d-don't know..." A male voice replied, also just as fearful.

"Hey, what were you guys doing? Did some man in black come for you?" A deeper voice asked forcefully, his voice louder than the previous.

"I got three people in black. Th-they said something about an interview..." A quieter voice said, barely audible in the chatter going around.

"What the hell...what the hell!?" , a raspy voice called out, and this time, she could pinpoint it to the guy wearing glasses three persons away from her.

"I got a man and a woman." Saffron said, just as shocked to hear that they themselves seemed to have ran into suspicious people.

"I got knocked out!"

"Me too!"

"Oh my god...oh my god..." A wistful voice repeated in a panicked mantra.

A loud ringing sound suddenly echoed from the walls, causing her and the people around her to wince or cover their ears. She let out a startled cry and crouched down, as if expecting something to fly towards her.

The screen in the middle of the furthest wall came to life, a grizzled face appearing, stern and...sorrowful?

Everyone's attention was on the face of the man, who stood on the podium. The cries, whimpers and screams halted once the man opened his mouth.

"I am Luke Carlington, an ambassador of the United States of America." There was a pause before he went on. "If you are seeing this screen, then it is with great regret to inform you that the lives you have lived until now have come to an end."

There was a series of gasps and cries from the captive audience. Saffron herself felt her heart drop from her ribs to her stomach. She turned around just in time to see a woman fall to her knees, weeping openly.

"A year ago, aliens had discovered our planet. The people who had went missing over the course of the year had been abducted, hence why we couldn't track their whereabouts no matter how much time and resources were invested in the search. We estimate that they have been aware of our planet for probably longer, but these beings will not allow us to investigate the matter."

She didn't know if it was the tone or the information that made her feel sick. Alien abductions? How could anyone believe something like that?

But somehow, she couldn't find the ability to not believe it.

"They are very powerful. The attacks that took place worldwide on May 7th were a warning. They have made it very clear that they could have colonized our planet and done whatever they wanted with the human race and all other inhabitants of Earth. We have decided to organize an agreement in order to preserve ourselves, and that was to offer a set number of people as tribute. Should we do this annually, they will not attack or threaten us. We will be able to continue peaceably so long as we do this. I apologize for the great inconvenience we have caused you, but rest knowing that it is with your lives that we are allowed to continue living. So we ask of you: please cooperate to the best of your ability with these beings, for your sake...and ours."


The face blipped out of existence from the screen, and suddenly, the ground itself began to shake. The buses behind her came to life, and everyone turned their heads to watch it reverse into a tunnel in the wall that wasn't their before. All the other buses did the same as a series of tunnels opened, closing immediately after they fully entered.

The ground continued to shake. Rhythmically even. Everyone in "her" group huddled together, and she found herself in the middle. She felt a bit heated from the body heat, but she at least had a buffer for...whatever was coming.

A surge of indescribable fear went through her when she witnessed the wall on the left jolt and lower. She found herself hugging some random person when the quaking returned, more pronounced then ever before.

Then, her eyes went completely wide when she saw a dark, shoe-cladded foot, probably as big as a truck, slam down on the ground.

Everyone screamed and she felt her group literally drag themselves away to the other wall in fear as they were forced to look up and witnessed a monster of a man take another step in the room.

A giant man that was easily ninety or one hundred feet tall.

[native89]

Part 4

The man's shadow engulfed everyone who cowered in it. The massive room suddenly felt inconsequently small with his enormous presence basking under the sky high lights. Her mind was too numb with horror to share in the loud, collective utterance surrounding her on each side.

The man's face looked stern, stoic and utterly unfazed by the shrieks and cries of terror coming from the crowds of abductees around him. His hair was black and neat, giving him a very professional appearance. His eyes were an icy, cold blue which bore down at the gathering of humans dispassionately. He wore what looked like a black, crisp three piece suit, with black gloves to even compliment his look. Had Saffron not been to stunned at the size of him, she would probably have commented on how much he looked like an older, more serious version of Elvis Presley.

She flinched when his frown turned into a sneer.

"Silence."

She didn't know if it was the sheer volume of his voice, which bounced around the metal walls, or the fact that he had addressed them, but with that simple command, everyone went silent. Nothing was heard except the suppressed whimpers and fearful sobs from some of the frightened people and the thrums of machinery that Saffron hadn't heard before.

There was a pause before the man spoke again.

"I am Halon Gressenos; the coordinator of the Human Exchange Program and CEO of Terran Resource Industries. What I'm about to say, I'll only say once, so it would be in your best interest to listen."

Everyone seemed to scuttle backwards with a small cry when he took a step forward, a step that easily caused the masses to hug the walls once he closed the gap between him. His face was shadowed as he looked down at them, eyes harder than stone. "You are all property of the planet Philona, and technically, you all belong to me. You are all now commodities, to be sold and kept as domestic companions for us. You have no guaranteed rights, no liberties, and no freedom here."

A shiver went down Saffron spine. This was insane. To be blatantly told that she was no longer a person...how could anyone rob such basic rights to them? All of them? Not too long ago, she had just gotten off work and was about to go to her apartment. How...how could the world change just like that.

But then again, with the memory of the somber message that ambassador had told them before...this, it wasn't really sudden was it?

"In approximately forty-eight of your Earth hours, you will all be on the market. For most of you, your owners will not bother learning or speaking to you in your own language, so you can either learn ours or at least learn to obey. If you choose not to obey..."

As he spoke, he started to reach down towards the group of humans nearest to his feet. They screamed and scattered away, but his intended, trembling target was too paralyzed with fear to move. A bespectacled, mousy-looking girl, who probably was around only eighteen or nineteen couldn't even scream as his fingers wrapped around her and drew her into his gloved hand.

Saffron watched in horror as the giant rose back up, with the girl rising up high with her in his hold. He opened his hand, allowing the girl to sit in his palm. She crab walked backwards into the wall of fingers, letting out whimpers and whines in fright as her green eyes was captured in his soulless ones. He held out his hand above the crowd that waited in frightened, anticipation of what he was going to do next.

His eyes left the girl and went back to the crowd and then, with absolutely no change in his facial expression, closed his fingers around her, forming tight fist, with the sound of a loud pop.

The gasps and cries were louder than ever before. The girl next to her collapsed and sobbed, covering her ears as if it would close out the terrible screams around her. She heard someone enter a mantra of "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod..." and saw another person too stunned to even move an iota. Saffron herself suddenly felt very sick, nauseous even, and was struggling to fathom that the giant above her had just crushed a teenage girl above her without explanation.

The giant's voice resumed, his voice drawing back the fear-filled attention of the crowds. "If you choose not to obey, we will have no use for you alive. Direct disobedience will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form. Your sole purpose for existing now to is to serve and obey us without question."

The giant walked towards Saffron's group. It took everything in her willpower not to scream and run immediately upon the first step. Not that they could run as the giant stopped several feet in front of them, with them literally trembling at his feet. No one, probably from being too stunned at what had just occurred and the consequences that may entail for running away which had been made very clear, moved an inch as he kneeled down, easily surrounding them. She suddenly realized how much of a double-edged sword it was to be buffered by people around her.

"However..." he said pointedly, his voice even more booming with him in close proximity.

He held out his closed fist to her group and began to slowly open his hand. She preemptively brought her hand to her mouth, ready to scream into it. He was going to show her...all of them, the girl's crushed, dead body. She wanted to look away but couldn't bring herself to.

However, when he suddenly completely opened his hand, instead of seeing a broken, shattered body of the girl they had all expected to see, there was a shivering, terrified yet completely alive and unharmed girl in a fetal position against his fingers.

"...If you obey unconditionally, you will have nothing to fear," The giant said almost softly. He brought a fingertip to the girl in his palm and ruffled her dark brown hair. Saffron couldn't tell if he was being condescending or trying to ease the girl's nerves. She curled into a smaller ball and vibrated, as if expecting another close call with death.

He tilted his hand and let the girl tumble down his fingers to the ground. The girl landed on her hands and knees, but it didn't her long for her to scurry to her feet and run behind Saffron's crowd and out of her sight, probably as far away from the behemoth that held her.

The man stood back up to his full height, looking back down at the masses. "If you give us no reason to hurt you, we'll have no reason to hurt you."

And with that, the man turned around and walked towards the massive door he had came from. He surveyed the room one more before pulling his sleeve up, revealing what looked like a cross between a watch and a disk on his wrist.

And, as though it was straight from a sci-fi film, holographic screen emerged from disks and displayed a series of alien hieroglyphics and characters. The giant, known as Halon, spoke into the disk in a very alien language, sounding like a mix between Arabic and Korean and languages she's never heard to her ears. He spoke abruptly before the hologram evaporated and walked out through the door, leaving the humans alone to ponder how and why fate had done this to them.

They only had all of eight seconds before several more equally, towering giants walked in.

Everyone became hysteric at the sudden appearance of four, far too human looking giants walking into the room. They wore lab coats and blacks slacks and shoes that caused greater tremors than the one that sole giant from before had caused. Everyone huddled to the walls becoming a blob of terrified people who only reached somewhere around their ankles.

The four giants were three men, one woman who looked be ranging from their late twenties to late fifties. One of the giants, a man with blonde hair and a face that would have looked friendly on anyone that wasn't several stories tall pointed to the far left corner. "Men, go to the wall on the right side and wait." He pointed to the parallel wall on the other side. "Women, wait on the wall on the left. Move...now."

Everyone looked at each other reluctant. Saffron looked at the faces around her, all of them sharing the same look of dread and completely unsure of what may happen. A growl from the man caught their attentions.

"Now."

The harshness of that word was all it took for the blob of people to dissolve into parts as men and women started to sprint or jog towards their appointed side. Saffron didn't realize how much her feet suddenly hurt from running in four inch heels until she felt her side touch the walls. She had wished she worn her flats instead, but then again, how was she supposed to expect something of this caliber to happen out of the blue?

Soon, most of the women had made it to their side of the wall, and from what she could tell, nearly every man had made it to theirs as well. However, where they had all once gathered before the order, were a few people who seemed too unsure or afraid to move. Roughly about thirteen women and four men remained in their spots.

The blonde man let out a rumble before he stood back up and looked at his gigantic colleagues. "Not as much this time. Gather the stragglers."

The three other giants were upon them and suddenly, they came very much more lively and ran from them.

Saffron watched wide-eyed as she watched one of the giants almost step on one of the girls, causing her to fall down with a shriek right before he scooped her up. And one of the other giants shortly after snatched up two of the four men that had been running to the other side with ease. She didn't get the chance to watch her fellow victims run around like mice fleeing from cats for long before another corridor suddenly opened to her right. She looked to see another colossus, this one with slightly messy black hair and high-tech looking glasses look down at the women and inspect them from above. He glanced up at the other giants who had already captured a few more people. He looked fairly annoyed before he looked back down to address the women at his feet. "Follow me. Those who don't will be punished."

The man turned and walked and every single last woman followed behind, too afraid to discover what punishment would be in store for any transgressions. Saffron felt a headache from all the events that had taken place as her legs basically went into autopilot.

The corridor led to a was bright and featureless hall. She could see a translucent, circular door at the end of the hall, the only door actually in the entire hallway. The giant's steps easily covered more ground than the gathering of women behind him, and he didn't bother to slow down for them it seemed. He reached the door in a matter of seconds in which it took the women minutes. He waited patiently, as if he had done this before, for them to get to the door. Saffron couldn't help but keep shivering as she heard the screams of those back in that stadium-sized room screaming and running, as well as the loud footsteps of the giants going after them.

The door parted electronically, and the giant walked in. The women soon uneasily followed. Once Saffron stepped inside, her heart dropped to the ground.

Along each wall were rows and rows of cages. If she had to estimate, there were probably nearly eighty cages in total. Each cage looked to be slightly larger than a living room, with bars easily thicker than her wrist and aligning like a prison. Hell, it basically was a prison.

And worst off, she could see that there were already people in several of them. All women who shared the same look of defeat and misery as they looked from their cages above. That was enough for the floodgates of fearful tears to stream down her face once again.

Once the last woman came in, the door shut closed inches behind her with a slam. She, and everyone else, looked back at there only exit no longer available. Not that their was any escape from this place, Saffron realized with the realization of how trapped she was.

Then, without warning, the man bent down and grabbed two blonde women without warning. Saffron attention went from the door to the two screaming women so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. High pitched screams threatened to bust her eardrums as the women ran to the other side of the wall. While the room was still huge, it was significantly smaller than the previous room, with nothing but the outside of the cages to back away against aside from the closed door.

The man inspected the screaming, struggling women in his hand for the briefest of seconds before opening one of the cages on his left side and almost haphazardly dropping them inside. He closed the lid before going to the crowd of women, who once again tried to flee, but not fast enough for him to grab four blondes in both hands and repeating the same process of putting them in cages.

A minute later, the giant door opened. A few women ran towards it only to stop when the female giant and one of the other giants who had been capturing the "stragglers" entered. In their hands were the thirteen women who hadn't moved, and they all looked as though they expected the giants to crush them in their grips right then and there.

The giants said something to the bespectacled giant in that weird tongue of theirs once again, as if questioning him. The female raised her hand, which held a blonde woman and raven haired woman in it. The bespectacled giant looked at them briefly and signaled his head towards the cage that held the blonde women he had just captured. The woman nodded and carefully dropped the blonde girl (who had been fighting against the fingers that held her) into his palm before he deposited her in the same cage. The giant woman then turned around, with the raven haired woman who was trying to push herself out of her grip with no success only to be dropped inside a cage adjacent from that of the blondes. The other giant man followed suit shortly, wordlessly dropping his "cargo" of brunettes into cage in the far corner. And then the other two giants joined them as they grabbed at the panicking women at their feet.

Saffron had situated herself where the cage met the door and tucked away as much as she could, watching as the giants deposited more and more women into the cages. It didn't take her long for her to realize that they were categorizing them by hair color of all things. From what she could tell was that blondes went the left. Brown haired brunettes on the far left, raven-haired brunettes at the farthest wall...it was almost like they were breeds. The thought that she would be regarded as such made her sick.

An African American woman ran past her, only for several, trunk sized fingers to grab her and dangle her away from her sight. Saffron suppressed a scream as she tucked herself in the corner of as much as she could.

The giants seemed unaware of her location as they continued to capture the fleeing women who tried everything they could to get away from the three giants, but to no avail. After a few minutes, she could hear most of the pounding of metal and screams coming from inside the cages. She began to hyperventilate as she realized it would only be a matter of time before they would find her and she too would be in one of those cages.

Why didn't she call her family more? Why didn't she move when she had the chance? Why did this happen in the first place? What had she done in the first place for this to happen to her? It was as though everything she had done in her life had only led to her about to spend the rest of her life as a tiny pet to a giant who could do whatever they wanted with her. They looked just like them, dammit! Why did these aliens want them? Was their government so powerless to do anything but do as they were told by these monsters? Just the thought that they had basically already taken over the world was enough to almost send her in hysterics. She was scared. She was so scared. This wasn't a dream or some childhood fear. This was reality.

A shadow blocked off the light above her and she was forced to look up.

The bespectacled giant had spotted her, and looked somewhat amused by her attempt to hide. He kneeled down, trapping her between one boulder sized knee on one side, and his truck sized shoe on the other.

Her lip quivered and she shook under his gaze right before he started to reach for her. She closed her eyes and brought her arms to her face as if to protect it, and could whisper a shaky, "N-no..." before she felt several of the thick, warm digits wrap around her body. She suddenly felt her stomach bottom out as her feet left the ground, the vertigo causing her eyes to open against her will. She felt weightless as she was dangled high above the ground. She had never been afraid of heights until now.

The giant held her in front of his enormous face and inspected her. His steely gray eyes peered right through her as she let a pathetic mewing sounds of fear, her body threatening to sob hysterically. One of the giant's eyebrows quirked up before he turned and asked something from the other giants who had finished putting all of the other women into cages, leaving no one else but her. Despite being held in the hand of a giant, she felt so alone.

The other male giant glanced at her and said something in a fairly jovial voice in that strange language before shutting the cage door to the last of his captives. The giant that held her responded, his voice incredibly loud with her being so close.

The giant turned his back to Saffron, who looked as though she was about to faint, before giving her a smirk. She had no idea what the exchange between them was but all she could do was tremble as he dangled her above.

His steps rocked her left to right and she was suddenly very afraid that she would fall from his grip. She desperately grabbed at his thumb and watched as he approached a cage in the third row on the side of the wall with the door. He opened the lid of the door and the terrible dawning that she was going to go inside that cage to be kept prisoner, like a pet rodent or small enough creature, came over her. The giant released his fingers on her and she fell from his hand to inside the cage.

She scarcely began to scream when she fell on something soft. Dazed and disoriented for only a moment, she got to her feet and rushed to the cage bars. She shook them with all her might, but they hadn't budged.

The giant let out a deep chuckle that scared her enough to scramble backwards before leaning up, looking down from her through the vertical strips of metal.

The female giant walked towards him and said something to him and the giant nodded, letting out a word that sounded like affirmation. "Arnove..." he said. Probably the equivalent of yes or okay. She didn't know.

The female giant and other giant walked out of the room with the bespectacled giant behind them. He gave the room one more careful sweep, looking at the women all imprisoned in their cages with looks of misery, confusion, and fear. Saffron shivered when his eyes landed on her.

The giant smirked before looking at them one more time. "Get along humans," he said in English, "And rest. We'll be back tomorrow. If there is any significant mishap, we will deal with you. Good night."

And with that, he dimmed the lights and closed the door behind them, leaving the gathering of nearly six hundred women, new and old, alone in their prisons.

It didn't take long before the room was filled with endless sobs.

[native89]

Part 5

Five minutes had passed since the giants had left them alone, trapped in numerous cages in a room the size of a stadium. It felt much longer than that, as the sounds of anguish hadn't quieted down a bit since that massive door had shut behind them.

She still grasped the bars, staring down into the floor that were several stories below her. The tears that had been streaming down her face had already went cold, as no sound came from her slightly parted mouth. Her head felt heavy and her mind numb. It wasn't until her legs began to throb from standing that she began to get some semblance of consciousness and collapsed into a sitting position.

It just still didn't feel real.

It still felt too much like a dream, too surreal and unfathomable. Giants...human-like, alien giants, as tall as buildings, existed. Had it not been for their sheer size, she could easily believe they were humans. They looked exactly like each other. That physical likeness made it all the worse. Where did they come from? Were they from another planet that looked like Earth? Another dimension? At this point, she was willing to believe anything. The knowledge of humanity not being alone in the universe normally would have sparked some excitement but instead, it brought her nothing but terror. If there were even more life forms like them out in the universe, she now knew there was no guarantee they would mean well.

Why did they do this? What do they want?

She knew that if they were powerful to launch those attacks worldwide and strong-arm the government that they were more than capable of taking over the world in probably record time.

'They technically already have...' she thought morosely.

"Y'know, if you're waiting for the bars to just thin out, then you'll be there forever."

Saffron perked her head up and looked behind her for the first time she entered the cage.

There, lying down on a red cot at the back of the cage was another woman, her dark blue eyes trained on her own as she propped herself up on her elbows. The woman was scowling in annoyance, as she tried to settle in a more comfortable position. "S'not like you're doing yourself any good standing there. Trust me."

Saffron stared incredulously at the woman, who looked like she was ready to nod off at any moment. She had been so terrified that she hadn't checked to see if she was alone in her enclosure.

This woman looked to be around her age, maybe a couple years older. Like her, she had red hair, but rather than the angled bob Saffron had, her hair was long and wily. Punkish even. For some reason, she had the impression that she may have been an eighties fan. She wore stylishly, ripped jeans and a black, off-shoulder shirt. She wore black ankle socks on her feet that were planted on the metallic floor of the cage, with a pair of ankle-length boots placed against the side. She looked quite pretty, but her tattoos adorned her arms and stomach, as well as the nose piercing looked very distracting. She was quite slender, almost underweight.

The woman leaned on her stomach, her eyes glazed but very much interested in the other occupant of their shared space. "Just a heads up: every now and then, one of them, show up to check up on us. They'll get reeeeal close to the cage if they see you at the bars. They won't do anything, but it's still kind of freaky." She said with an evident Boston accent she subconsciously caught.

Saffron immediately let go of the bars and faced the woman. "Who are you?" She asked, her voice a bit raspier and quieter than she had intended it to be.

"I'm Sabrina. Sabrina Welsh." She answered casually, as if they had been colleagues or coworkers. "You?"

"I-I...I...Saffron. Saffron Jones." She said with a stutter. She straightened up, and got to her feet. "Did...did they just get you too?"

"No," Sabrina said with a sigh, more out of exasperation than actual fatigue, "They picked me and a ton of us almost a month ago. Well...I think it's been a month. Time goes by slower since these big bastards don't give us anything to do, and it ain't like they gave us a calendar or anything. Already been through what you guys just did. Guess you guys are the last group."

"Last group?"

"It's like every ten days they pick up another group of people and drop them in here. The guy told us we were the first group, and that after they bring in two more shipments of people, it's to the pet stores with us. Guess he didn't bother telling you guys that."

"He...he told us that in two days we'll be on the market." Saffron loosely quoted, walking closer to the woman. Upon closer inspection, she could tell exactly how tired she looked, with bags forming under her eyes and her skin paler than most. She began to wonder if she had been that way before she got here or was being stuck in a cage for a month having that effect on her.

"Ah, so it's been about twenty eight or twenty nine days." the other red head said to herself, "Close."

"Do...do you know why they're doing this?" Saffron asked, although she had the feeling she already knew the answer to that question.

True enough, Sabrina shook her head. "Not any more than you do. Guess they just wanted some small 'Mini-Me's' or something. I mean, they look just like us after all. Cept' They're huge as all hell. Damn."

"I see..." Saffron said, no longer knowing what to say.

There was a long, impervious silence between the two until Sabrina let out a sigh.

Sabrina leaned up and went into a cross-legged position on her cot. "Here. Take a seat, you have a cot over there." Sabrina said, pointing to Saffron's left. She turned her head and looked down at the orange beanbag like cot that was on the ground, about five feet away from Sabrina's. She nodded and shook off her heels, allowing her feet the freedom it finally needed, and sat on the cot with an audible plop.

"Tell me about yourself. Where you're from? What you do? How old you are? How you got here?" Sabrina streamed as she laid back down on her cot, hands behind her head. "We might not be able to spend much time together, y'know, with us going on sale in, like, two days but now I don't feel like I'm in a penitentiary by myself now."

Saffron settled more comfortably into her spot as she gave Sabrina a faux smile. "I'm originally from Florida, born and raised but moved to a small town called Chartersburg after college. There wasn't much there. I'm a waitress for a restaurant. I'd work the night shift. I'm twenty-four years old, born on April Fools Day. And...well..." she paused, as if hesitant to go more in depth about her capture, "I was coming back from work when I saw two people in front of my apartment. They said they needed me for some investigation but they just knocked me out. You can guess the rest."

Sabrina snorted. "Well, shit, I had three guys just up and tell me they were doing a study that I signed up for. I know I did a month ago but they were just kidnappers too. Those bitches. At least get the dates right."

Despite herself, Saffron couldn't help but let out a small giggle. Maybe it was Sabrina's dry humor or the fact that the situation seemed somewhat mitigated now knowing she finally got the chance to talk to someone without looming giants overhead and enormous crowds overtaking her voice.

"Yeah, they definitely are. What about you? I mean, about your age and work and stuff?"

"Right," Sabrina drawled, one hand sliding from her head to her stomach. "I'm twenty-six years old. I worked at a nightclub as a bartender for, like, three years til' I got pregnant. I got a two year old daughter and a fiancé whom I was supposed to marry next month. Don't know how that'll pan out now though."

"Oh." Saffron said simply to that somber note. Her thoughts briefly returned to her own family. While she missed them dearly, she was quite happy that she didn't have to worry about having kids that would wonder where she'd disappear off to. Granted, she was pretty sure that her parents would probably feel that soon once she had gone missing for long enough. Then again, how long had she been out cold on those buses? "I'm...sorry." She said sincerely, her eyes turning downcast.

"Don't worry bout' it. Not your fault. We're both kinda in this together. C'mon," Sabrina said, flashing her a smile, "We gingers need to stick together."

Saffron let out a forced dry laugh, actually finding some humor in it. Apparently, out of the six-hundred women they managed to scrounge up from the Earth, they were the only ones who seemed to have sported natural, red hair.

Sabrina let out a yawn before blinking a bit. She turned onto her side, her back facing Saffron. "Listen, I'm tired. And with everyone crying and sobbing all over the place, it's lulling me to sleep. You should rest too. If you gotta use the bathroom, there is a little toilet on the corner. Has a sink with hand soap too, go figure. I'd get some rest if I were you. If you have to cry yourself to sleep, do it. But feeding time is early in the 'morning' so rest now so you can pick your fruits."

Saffron frowned a bit at her blunt morbidity, but didn't say anything as she watched the woman's breathing slow as she tried to get to sleep, despite the sounds of women crying, panicking and freaking out in the background. After a moment, Saffron stood up and looked around the cage for a bit.

The cage was easily larger than her living room, which wasn't saying much, but she surmised it to be as big as her three-person dorm room back in college. The back of the cage was a solid metal wall, while the sides and the front were barred. In the cage on the left side, she could make out a woman with long black hair in a fetal position in the back of her cage, hugging her knees as two more raven-haired woman held the bars and shook them, as if they would budge. On the cage to her right side, there were seven women, all of them with brown hair, crowded amongst each other, whispering to each other in hushed tones and sniffling and crying. Her heart ached for them, but what could she do? At least it seemed they were able to pick up camaraderie fairly quickly, clinging onto others in the exact same boat as them.

As Sabrina said, her cage had a small conspicuous high bowl attached to the wall in the back on the far left. She walked over to it and, immediately noticing the hole in the bottom, realized it was their toilet. She was quite happy she didn't need to relieve herself just yet, but she realized that she'd have to figure out some way for them to share the toilet and maintain each other's privacy. To the right of the bowl was a simple sink with a button on the front. She pressed it and a stream of water came through. Suddenly feeling parched, she cupped a hand under it and realized the water was fairly lukewarm. Nonetheless, her throat screamed for relief, and she brought the water to her mouth and swallowed. She ignored the metallic tinge and took several more sips before she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and walked to "her" cot.

She felt drained. Her eyes were closed before she even settled in a more comfortable position. She didn't realize how tired she was, her body to hyped up on adrenaline and fear for her to even notice. And with Sabrina's advice, she felt more willing to go to bed.

While her mind ran rampant with questions, her body urged her to rest. She knew once she would wake up, things would go more into motion. But while she was trapped inside a cage, suspended tens of feet high with no way down, there wasn't much she could do.

With an exhale, she allowed her body to relax and soon went to sleep.

---

Seeing the blurry, grey, vertical bars in front of her reminded her that she wasn't in a dream almost immediately.

She slowly got to her feet, and stretched to get the kinks out of her shoulder and back.

She let her eyes give a quick sweep around her. Sabrina was still asleep. and it looked like everyone in the neighboring cages were also resting as well, all of them in their own respective cots. The others were too far away across the room to see clearly but she could make out some people also awake while some were also asleep. Apparently, she rationalized, many of them spent the night crying or screaming, given that it was almost as if they ran out of energy and were forced to rest.

The air felt colder than it did yesterday. Or maybe it was just as cold and she didn't notice yesterday. Nonetheless, she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to warm herself up, rubbing them up and down. She was fairly glad she wore a long-sleeved blouse despite the summer heat. Peter's Diner had a very sporadic AC, and at times she would either be too cold or too warm. She settled into wearing long sleeves more as they could merely be rolled up when it was hot. The black pencil skirt and stockings, however, had little protection against the cold.

She glanced at the sleeping Sabrina, who was curled onto the cot, looking just as cold. She could see her shivering a bit and only wished that their captors had at least invested in getting them blankets. If they could install sinks and toilets into cages, why not something to keep them warm?

Her bladder reminded her that she had to take care of some business before she could decide whether or not she should go back to sleep, so she took the opportunity to quickly relieve herself without fear of someone watching. If anything, it was now beginning to feel more like a prison than a cage. She wondered if those giants had done it intentionally, as if to remind them that they were property, or their prisoners. With a huff, she thought, 'Probably.'

She had been washing her hands when she heard the hydraulics of something big whoosh in the background. She shook her hands free of the droplets before hurriedly walking towards the bars in the front of the cage to check where that sound had came from.

She stopped in her tracks when something massive passed by her cage.

She shrieked and fell on her bottom as the giant passed by her and the other women who were either asleep or also suddenly startled by his appearance.

It was the same bespectacled giant from before. The lights above became brighter as he looked inside several of the cages. Several people began to wake up, either form the thunderous footsteps the giant took or from the other screaming women. Nonetheless, the relative calm that had been taken place soon vanished within moments upon the giant's arrival; the entire enormous room coming back to life in a frenzy.

The giant looked satisfied for a moment, before waving behind him. The woosh-ing sound, that Saffron quickly recognized as the opening of the gigantic door, came with two more immense beings: the giantess from the other day and a new giant with neat, brown hair and light green eyes.

The giants spoke to each other briefly in that odd language once more, their voice loud and echoing throughout the room. Saffron more than anything had wanted to understand what they were discussing, most definitely something regarding them. Their voices were louder than the sounds coming from the women around them. After a moment; however, the giantess turned to those in the cage and said in a rather deep, contralto, "Be quiet, all of you."

Her tone left no room for argument or disobedience, and everyone soon became quiet as ordered.

The giantess smirked, sending a chill down Saffron's spine as she went back to speaking to her colleagues again in her tongue.

The giants talked for a few more minutes, with the near six-hundred eyes all trained on them, desperate to understand what they were saying, what they were planning. The three disbanded and soon, they all faced the women, who shrunk back from the front of the cages.

The three giants walked to the cages closest to them, the ones that held the blondes. And, in complete disregard for the stability of those inside them, the bespectacled giant picked up the first cage, which had contained nearly twelve women. They all screamed and, even form a distance, Saffron could see them fall from the sudden motion of being lifted upwards and shook left to right in a callous motion. Then, with his other hand, he grabbed another cage in the same fashion, the women in the cage looking up in horror at the giant who began to carry them out of the room.

The other two giants followed suit, and soon enough, the three had altogether gathered roughly seventy some people in so quickly and carried them out from the door.

Saffron gasped and took two steps back just as she heard a voice from behind her say, "This is new. Wonder what's up."

Saffron turned around to see a slowly standing Sabrina, who looked intrigued at early events. She was rubbing her eyes and reached down to put her boots on. "Whatever it is, I'm pretty they're going to prep us up or something."

"Prep us up? What do you mean?" Saffron asked, mildly astonished at the other woman's ability to remained composed despite everything. "Did they tell you anything before?"

"Nope," she answered with a stretch, "But we will be ready for sale by tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure they haven't brought us this far just to kill us."

"So...what do you think they plan to do with us?" Saffron asked, dread creeping up into her voice. "They've probably move the schedule up or something."

"Doubt it, y-oh look." Sabrina stopped and pointed behind Saffron.

Saffron turned around in time to see something truly out of a sci-fi novel. Robots, actual hi-tech, robots rolled in through the doors and stopped in front of the cages on the opposite side of the room. They were about half the size of the giants that had been in there, and more reminiscent of R2D2 with four wheels and two claw-like "hands". They had two optics that shined a crimson red and looked to be made out of chrome.

Had she not been so intimidated by them, she would have just stared in awe at the sheer presence of such advanced machinery.

And, just as she had expected, the five robots had grabbed several cages, two in each hand, in a uniform fashion, as if programed to work simultaneously with one another. And, just as quickly as they came, they went out of the door with the frightened women.

Saffron's mouth remained agape just as she heard Sabrina snarl, "How efficient." from behind her.

Only ten seconds had passed before another set of robots ('or were they the same robots?' ) appeared and began to take up the women, picking up the last of the blonde women before going right of the door.

It didn't take long for her to realize everyone was going to be carried off to only God knows where and that apparently, and that it would be only too short of a time before the robots would gather up Saffron's and Sabrina's cage. Saffron backed away from the cage as another set of robots came through the door only seconds after they started carrying out several cages that held chestnut-haired brunettes. "I...I knew they had to be advanced b-but..."

Sabrina merely scoffed. "Yeah, they're something. They usually bring in the food and stuff but looks like they have a new directive."

Saffron gulped and was about to say something when suddenly, both women were engulfed by a shadow right before a beam of red light encased the two of them. Saffron and Sabrina looked into the enormous, telescope-sized eyes that beamed down on them in silence, the robots systems reverberating around the confines of their cage. The robot's gaze was more than unnerving, almost malevolent it felt like to the young woman.

Then, everything jolted, and both occupants were forced to fall to the ground when the cage lifted up and brought to the robot's cylindrical side.

Saffron screamed, but the robot's motions didn't slow an iota as it went out the door and through the cavernous hallway they had travelled through before and into the hall she knew was not there before.

"Take us back!" She yelled, words she thought she'd never hear herself say, but she had more security knowing what back in that room than wherever they were taking her, "Let us go!"

She knew it was fruitless, especially screaming to what had to be nothing but drones, but she couldn't help herself. Fear was clouding her mind, and soon, she started to shake at the bars.

"Knock it off." Sabrina told her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "These are robots, not people. And even if they were, you think those bastards and bimbos would bother to even listen to us?"

The robot made a sharp turn, causing the women to tumble to the side into each other. Saffron nursed her forehead as she looked back up at the robot. "Definitely not gentle."

The robot didn't stop turning and moving until it entered a brightly lit room that was about three times as large as a football field.

There, waited a golden haired giant who looked to be in his early to mid thirties, with pale blue eyes, and a bit of a five o'clock shadow. He looked at the robot with detachment as the robot set the cage with the two women onto a white, featureless table. The giant looked at the robot and said something to it in a stern voice. The robot's optics flickered for a moment before it's head turned to make a complete one-eighty degree angle and it rolled out of the room, with a transparent door closing behind him.

The giant watched the robot leave before turning his attention to the women in the cage in an instant. Saffron flinched and backed away into the cage before glancing at Sabrina. To her shock, Sabrina looked back up at the giant with a powerful glare, lacking any visible fear.

The giant seemed to catch the other woman's glare but merely chuckled to himself before he reached down to pick up something form under the table and brought up something from underneath the table they were on. Saffron began to tremble as the man seemed to feel around for a bit before lifting his arm and placing down a box that was slightly smaller than a tool shed and placed it down to his right.

Then, without warning, he reached for the top of the cage and opened the latch.

Saffron screamed and ran to the opposite side of the cage, tucking herself underneath the sink. However, she watched as Sabrina, who wasn't so lucky, only manage two steps before the giant reached down into the cage and pick her up from her waist between two fingers.

Saffron brought her hands to her mouth to hide an "Oh my god..." as Sabrina hit at the enormous fingers that didn't budge.

"Bastard! Let me go! You son of a bitch! Let me go!" Sabrina yelled acidly as she beat at his thumb with all her might.

She was lifted up and out of the cage, leaving a frightened Saffron under the sink watching in horror as the giant brought the older woman to his eyes to inspect her. Saffron felt the need to throw her heel at him, but she was too afraid to even remove herself from underneath her inadequate hiding space.

The giant grinned, his teeth easily large enough to chomp the both of them in half. Sabrina actually went docile in his grip and looked fearful for a split second right after the giant announced, in a booming, loud voice "Alright, I'll guess I'll start off with you."

[native89]

Part 6

Saffron watched as, for the briefest of moments, a look of utter fear came upon Sabrina's face right before she returned to thrashing violently in the giant's grip. So much so, she thought for a moment she would dislocate her arms from the sheer force she was putting into trying to get out of the hand, but the giant's grin didn't falter, and instead he started reaching for her with his other hand.

The giant, despite his overall size, seemed to be quite dexterous as he managed to carefully pinch one of Sabrina's kicking legs between two fingers, keeping it still long enough for him to pull off one of her boots. Both women stared as the giant looked at the boot for a second before dropping it onto the table, with an audible thud. The giant reached back up, Sabrina still pushing against his trunk-sized fingers, and took of her other boot in the same fashion, before repeating the same process with her socks.

It was when the giant readjusted his grip and grabbed the hem of her jeans that Saffron finally had a full idea what the giant was doing.

Sabrina yelled and punched his fingernail with all her might, "You're nothing but a fucking pervert! Is this why you brought us here, you sick fuck!?" Sabrina roared, moving her legs in every direction to make it harder for the giant. The enormous man replied with a snort and tugged at the jeans until they came to her knees. Sabrina tried to reach down to stop him, but his hand obstructed her and in seconds, he managed to tug her pants right off.

"Stop it!" Saffron yelled from her position under the cage, but the giant didn't pay her any mind. The giant opened his hand some in order to get to her torso. Sabrina twisted and turned, pushing at the fingers that were trying to get a hold of her top. Sabrina wrapped her arms around herself, tightly and turned around in his palm, but didn't seem to succeed in preventing him from grabbing part of her shirt. The giant pulled her shirt back, momentarily choking the poor woman before the shirt ripped completely from the front.

The giant opened his hand to reveal a red-faced, indignant Saffron who was dressed only in a black bra and panties. She looked very much angry, and very much afraid.

The giant smirked and observed her for a moment, even poking her in the chest, which caused the woman to smack against his hand and cover herself to the best of her ability.

She looked utterly humiliated to Saffron.

The giant set her down on the table, but had her waist pinched between his thumb and forefinger as he reached down for something out of sight from the women. After a few seconds he looked up and pulled out something in his other hand that caused Saffron's heart to nearly implode on itself.

In his hand, was a very small, human sized robot. But it wasn't the robot that caught her horrified eye but what was basically the robot's left appendage. The robot's left arm was basically a syringe, that had to be at least seven inches long from the needle to the plunger. Inside it, was a bright, orange substance that she had no idea what it entailed.

Saffron screamed into her hands as she watched the giant let go of Sabrina, setting the robot next to her.

With frightening quickness, the giant pushed Sabrina onto her stomach on the table, each one of his fingers pinning her arms, legs and her head. Saffron couldn't see her face, due to the angle she was positioned in, but she could only imagine the sheer amount of terror she was feeling.

And she knew she was next to face that same amount of terror.

The robot, which looked similarly to a Dalek right out of Doctor Who, except with a significantly simpler design, came up to the immobilized woman and positioned the needle above her exposed shoulder blades, around the small of her back. After a few seconds, the needle slowly lowered until it was nearly touching the skin. The robot made a few clicking sounds before it lowered the syringe into her back, puncturing the skin. A gasp escaped the prone body and the orange liquid within the barrel began to deplete. After roughly five seconds, the robot lifted the needle from her back and made another clicking sound.

The robot backed away as the giant lifted his hand from the woman. Sabrina slowly got up, gasping and wheezing, either from exerting herself from fighting fruitlessly against the giant or from hyperventilation, Saffron wouldn't have been able to tell. It took a moment for her to compose herself, as she was too breathless for a moment to even say a single word. She looked at the giant, who had been looking down at her with detachment and snarled. "Bastard..."

The giant didn't say anything or even acknowledge her insult but merely tapped the robot on the head, with the robot letting out a small click before it's top opened up like a lid. The giant reached inside with two fingers and pulled out some sort of gray garment before dropping it on top of Sabrina's head. She grabbed at it and looked at it for a moment before the giant reached and grabbed her and opened the lid of the cage, where Saffron was trembling.

She was carefully dropped onto her cot, with whatever garment she was given, landing on her lap. However, Saffron noticed, the hand didn't leave.

The hand went straight for Saffron from under the sink.

She screamed and lowered herself even more as she was surrounded by his hand. She lowered even more when two fingers tapped against the sink above her, with his ring finger brushing against her side. She managed to roll out of the way when he tried to pinch her between two fingers, only to roll into a corner.

"Leave her alone you son of a bitch!" Sabrina yelled, her voice somewhat hoarse. Saffron was able to see the other woman make her way to her, and tried to push against his hand from his thumb. The hand folded backwards to knock Sabrina away before closing in onto Saffron. Saffron closed her eyes as tight as she could as she felt heat like no other as the hand wrapped around her, leaving her arms and legs pinned before she felt herself rise so quickly, she felt she had been rocketed into the air. Even as she rose, she heard the woman scream curses at the giant.

When the hand seemed to have stopped it's ascent, she gulped as she knew that the giant's face was in front of her, peering down and inspecting her as if she was a piece of candy. She could feel his breath, tussling her hair and causing goose bumps to crawl all over her skin. She could literally feel his presence and the enormity of it, almost as if depriving herself of the sight of him having done nothing at all.

She prayed in her mind for everything to go quickly.

She felt herself lower as the giant's smallest finger and ring finger released hold of her legs, leaving them exposed. She clenched her eyes tighter as she felt the giant grabbing at her foot, several times actually. She knew he was trying to get ahold of her stockings to pull off, and soon, despite witnessing what had happened with Sabrina, she was fighting against his huge fingers. She instinctually screamed and swung her legs in every direction.

After a moment, the giant managed to pinch her left leg between his fingers, but as he tried to roll the nearly adhesive stocking down, Saffron brought up her right leg and kicked and stomped at his thumb nail with all her might, over and over again.

After several kicks, she managed to kick underneath the fingernail of his thumb, earning a grunt form the giant. As the fingers that had held her leg in place had released, she felt a seed of triumph begin to bloom...

...until those same two fingers clamped down on the both sides of her head.

Her eyes suddenly opened, and she was forced to look at the annoyed visage of the giant. She immediately became docile as she could feel the gigantic, heated finger tips throb against her, threatening to crush her head like a grape.

The giant brought his face closer, almost pressing into her as he said in an authoritative tone, "Be still."

She whimpered a bit as the fingers remained at the sides of her cranium for a moment before slowly lowering back to her leg. The heat was still fresh though, reminding her how close she had come to death.

She offered no resistance this time as the giant worked at the stockings before managing to finally get them pulled down to her mid-thigh before he tore them off. Hot tears rolled down her face in defeat as the giant grabbed at her skirt and pulled it down. Leaving her legs even more exposed to the cool air of the room. The giant secured her shoulder and lifted his middle finger off her stomach as the fingers of his other hand pinched the blouse and pulled it away, the buttons popping off and falling far down to the surface of the table below.

And, just like Sabrina, she was in nothing more than her undergarments. A pink bra and panties.

The giant leered at her with a growing smile before she felt the hand begin to plummet. She screamed again at the feeling of vertigo right before she felt the cool surface of the table under her bare feet, and struggled to swallow as she knew the what was going to happen next. The robot, which she now had a better view of, began to roll forward towards them.

She felt the hand abruptly shift and push her to the ground. Before she could move, his hand began to spread above her and she felt his thumb and pinky pin her arms down, his ring finger and index finger pin down her legs, and the pad of his middle finger, easily bigger than her own head, press down on her skull uncomfortably against the table. The entire time, she heard Sabrina screaming for her release.

Saffron had been afraid of needles growing up, but grew out of the fear when she managed to enter the cusp of her teenage years. Now, her fear was renewed as she watched at the corner of her eye the robot creep up on her. She tried to pull against the fingers, but they hadn't budged.

She robot's tract-like wheels were next to her, and after a moment she heard the clicking sound and the sound of something moving above her. She couldn't lookup above her, but she knew what is was form seeing Sabrina's own struggled. She held her breath and closed her eyes as she felt the tip of the needle just rest against the skin, before it went in. She gritted her teeth as the needle remained inside for what felt like much longer than necessary before withdrawing out. She heard the clicks of the robot and heard it move away as the hand that was on top of her lifted, leaving her prone body.

She felt cold as she stood up to her feet, feeling her legs and arms ache from the pressure of his hand. She used her arm to wipe at her tears before wrapping around herself. She refused to look back up at the terrible giant, and turned around to look at Sabrina in the cage, who was gripping the bars and looking quite concerned.

She jumped when something gray fell in front of her, landing at her feet. She shakily reached down to grab it, and brought it up to her chest before she felt that freakishly, huge hand scoop her up off her feet and into the air once more. She hadn't screamed this time, having been collected too quickly to get enough air in, and felt herself lowered immediately onto her cot.

Once the hand left the cage, Sabrina ran up to Saffron and put her hands on her shoulders before giving her a very quick hug before looking around her for any bruises. "Are you alright?" She asked in a hushed, concerned tone.

Saffron, still shaking, merely nodded. She felt so violated. The giant that was peering down on them had robbed them of their clothes with so much ease, effortlessly. And injected something into them. Both women were in their underwear, and for some reason, she couldn't fight the fear that he would reach in, grab both of them, and even rob them of those.

The giant leaned up, causing the women to look in his direction as he looked through the bars of the cage at the women who were huddling together. "Put those clothes on that I just gave you. I will be back shortly."

And with that, the giant turned around and walked towards the door they had came in from, leaving them completely alone.

"They're all bastards. Each and every last one of them. They can all burn in hell for all I care." Sabrina growled as she rubbed Saffron's arm in a effort to comfort her. Saffron sniffled and used the back of her hand wipe her eyes.

After a moment, Saffron collected herself enough to say. "I'm alright." She stood up and let out an exhale.

"You sure?" Sabrina asked, also standing up. Saffron unconsciously realized that Sabrina was taller than her by a couple of inches. Saffron gave her a strained smile.

"Yeah. It's over so...we might as well see what we got., right?"

Unconvinced but not willing to press the issue, Sabrina nodded before walking to the gray garments on their respective cots.

As Saffron unfolded them, a pair of gray sandals fells from the folds and onto the cots. She looked down at them for a moment before focusing on the gray garment before her. It was like a mix between a Chinese qipao dress and a hospital gown in terms of shape, but aside from something around the chest area, it was very simple. The collar had a fasten, with a white hole and a drawstring. The sleeves were baggy and looked only to be about elbow length, with sides of the dress having long slits starting from the hips on down. In the middle, where the chest was, there was a series of alien characters strewn across; maybe in total of eleven or twelve characters and symbols she had never seen before in her life.

She paused for a moment before she realize that she didn't want to be only in her underwear when He would come back. She pulled the garment over her head and fully on, noting that the garment stopped a little over a hand's length above her knees. The dress was actually relatively tight and form fitting, easily showing off her slim figure. It was moments like this that she wished she had a smaller bosom. The slits on the side left the side of her legs completely exposed. Feeling as if she needed more, she reached down and looked at the sandals that seemed to look like they would operate more like slippers than anything else. Nonetheless, she pulled them on and looked to Sabrina, who had just fastened the collar.

"Gaudy..." Sabrina snarked to herself. Saffron, not for the first time, let out a short, dry yet genuine laugh.

The door opened immediately, scaring both women. The giant had returned and strolled over to the cage of two women. He seemed to be satisfied with the women now clothed in the outfits he had left for them. "Good." He said simply to them before pressing a button that was on the other side of the desk.

A voice echoed around the room, once more in that alien language and dialect. The giant replied to the voice in the same language, with an exchange that only lasted roughly ten seconds.

After a moment, a robot (perhaps even the same robot) that brought them to the room rolled into view. The giant took a step away and allowed for the robot to grab the cage and, with a jolt that caused the women to fall onto their cots, pull the cage off the table before rolling out of the room.

Saffron glanced at Sabrina, and immediately followed her fiery glare that was directed towards the giant that was watching them depart. The older woman lifted her hand and sent the giant an erect middle finger right as the door closed behind them. Even if he could see it, Saffron wondered, would he even know what the gesture meant? She certainly hoped so.

They wound up heading the way they came, with the same sharp turns and all, and were soon deposited right where they had been before with a loud clank. The robot released the cage, but opened the top. Curious and a bit afraid, she watched as some compartment opened the side of the robot and it reached inside with it's claw like appendage, drawing out a white container slightly bigger than a picnic basket.

The container hung above the opened cage before being lowered onto the surface of the cage. The robot's claw came out of the cage and withdrew back to the machine's side. And, with a flickering light, the large robot turned it's head, and rolled out of the room.

Saffron looked at the container with caution before she heard Sabrina snort. "Well, at least they didn't forget to feed us after all that."

"Feed us...?" Saffron asked curiously as Sabrina walked towards the container and pulled at the lid with both hands. The waitress watched with trepidation as the other woman seemed to struggle with the top before finally managing to pull it off with a plop. She watched as the woman let out a huff and reached inside.

She drew out a bottle of water in one hand and a green apple in the other.

Sabrina took a seat on her cot and drew her legs in. "Go ahead. It's only food. I know you haven't eaten since you've been here."

Saffron looked down and rubbed her stomach. "Now that you mention it..."

It had been probably close to an entire day since she had any food or water. The last thing she had was a granola bar before she had been abducted, hardly filling. She had been so consumed with fear the entire time, she hadn't realized how parched and famished she was.

She walked towards the bin on the floor and looked inside.

There were about three bottles of water tucked to the left, side by side to each other. There was some sort of spongy-like thing in the center, layered on each other. Almost like cake or bread, but it was a complete square, and was green. On the far right were two apples and one pear, very fresh and clean looking. The last thing she noticed were two cylinders that had a top on it, which she had no idea what was inside. She reached in and opened it, and looked down at what looked to be...yogurt?

"C'mon, grab something and eat." Sabrina said between chews, "They'll be back in about an hour or so and we usually only eat once a day."

"Once a day!?" Saffron snapped her head back up in alarm.

Sabrina nodded. "Yep. That's why you're going to need to ration. I'd recommend you eat everything if you can. I'll warn you though, that bread-looking thing tastes kind of bland and weird."

Sabrina looked back down at the food. Once a day? She'd be hungry several hours later. Granted though, there was a lot of things to fill her up for the moment though. And, according to that Halon guy from before, he said they would be on the market later soon enough, so maybe this was temporary.

She frowned.

On the market...

She was going to be a pet.

A pet to someone who looked just like her, only significantly bigger.

What was wrong with these aliens? Do they not see that they were both sapient, creatures fully capable of intelligence? They may have had the technological advantage but the sheer thought they were keeping smaller beings that were extremely similar to them was extremely disturbing. How could they not see that? She knew that for beings that definitely distinguished themselves as humans that she shouldn't have concluded they would have ideological similarities, but the fact that they could so easily enslave...no, domesticate a species capable of rationalization and sentience was beyond disgusting.

To strip them of their freedom and rights. To treat them as nothing more than simple animals. To take away so many people form their family and friends. To take them from all they've known and love. From their home...

They were all truly disgusting...heartless...

"Saffron?"

The woman was snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Sabrina, who had stopped eating her apple and was looking at her with concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah..." Saffron answered with a smile. "I'm alright. Just thinking about what you said."

"Don't think too much now. Eat." Sabrina told her before going back to what was left of her apple.

Saffron suppressed a sigh as she reached down and gathered up a bottle of water and food and set it all down on her cot.

The first thing she did was unscrewed the cap before downing the water, enjoying the trickling coolness going down her throat. While she had drunk some water from the sink, this one lacked the metallic taste and felt far more refreshing. It was nearly two-thirds the way done when she set it down and reached for the apple.

Five minutes passed between them when they were interrupted. As they ate, robot after robot would come in periodically, bringing back the cages of women to their original position, and depositing bins of food in them before leaving. Each woman sported the exact same outfit they were wearing, looking uncomfortable and frightened. Some were still weeping, and Saffron could only sympathize, having gone through the same humiliating ordeal they had endured.

The room became filled with chatter, nearly all about the giants. As Saffron reached for the yogurt, she couldn't help but eavesdrop on some of their conversations.

"Exactly what are they? They look too human!"

"I don't know and I don't care. Their nothing but monsters. Just damn monsters."

"I really want to go home..."

"These outfits are weird. I wonder what the men are wearing."

"I bet the guys went through the exact same thing as us."

"I don't want to be some pet...I don't want to be a pet!"

"I know what you mean. I'll give them hell..."

"You think all those giants will be like that?"

"I certainly hope not. I'd rather die."

"Fuck this!"

"We'll get through this...we'll somehow manage to get through this..."

"Just hurry and eat!"

"Hey, Saffron?"

Saffron looked back to Sabrina, closing out the amalgamation of voices surrounding them. The woman had just finished downing the yogurt when she asked, "You do know that if we go on the market several hours from now, we might not see each other after this, right?"

Saffron gave her a small, sad smile. "Of course."

"Right...so, I just want you to know ahead of time to just keep ahold of yourself, alright?"

There was a pause between them.

"It's just that," Sabrina continued with a sigh, "I bet a lot of these women are going to either lose it when the time comes, or just give up. I don't even know what to expect from here on out. At least, during the first week since I got here, I managed to hold it together. I still think I will even after this. I mean, I have a kid and fiancé waiting for me back home. So what I'm trying to say is...don't go complacent and give up. I know we're in a really shitty situation but...we're all in it together."

While Saffron had only known Sabrina for less than a day, she could feel how heartfelt her statement was. She felt touched, and for the first time since she had woken up from being bounded to her chair, she felt calm.

"Thanks. You do the same. We'll pull through this. Somehow." She told her with a grin. "Not too bad, really. I mean. At least we're not going to be eaten or anything. They don't seem to be keen on killing us either."

Sabrina eyes widened. "Huh? What makes you say that?"

Saffron pulled the cap off her water and took a sip as she got in a comfortable position. "When we were in that big room, that Halon guy...he was telling us what was happening if we don't obey and stuff. As he was doing that, he grabbed some poor girl and made it look like he was going to crush her and all. We all thought he killed her, but turned out she was still alive. Not hurt one bit."

When Saffron looked up, she saw a look of horror on Sabrina's face. She suddenly felt very worried. "Wh-what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sabrina stared at her for about a second longer before looking down, rubbing her head with one hand. "Sorry, it's just that...the girl was unharmed?"

Saffron nodded slowly. "Yeah. She's...she's actually in one of these cages now. I don't know which one though."

Sabrina let out a sigh. "Thank God."

"W-wait..." Saffron asked, suddenly very much alert. "What's with that reaction? You look pale..."

There was another unsteady silence between the two before Sabrina looked back at Saffron with stern eyes.

"That wasn't what happened with us."

Saffron put her bottle of water down with a shaking hand and drew them arms into her lap, clenching her hands together. "D-don't tell me..."

"Yeah," Sabrina interrupted, "He actually made an example out of one of us. Some poor guy who called them a monster. He picked him up, and...sorry you're eating."

"I'm finished," Saffron told her, showing her the bin that was nearly empty with the exception of one of those canisters of yogurt and a water bottle. "If you don't want to tell me, then you don't have to."

"No, it's not that. It's just that..." Sabrina started, at a brief loss for words. "...Do you know one of those PEZ candy dispensers they use to have everywhere? Where you open the top by flicking the head up with a thumb?"

Saffron didn't need to hear anymore. That simple comparison was more than enough for her to understand what had happened.

"Yeah..." Sabrina simply said, with no need to elaborate. "Just telling you this now so you won't have any thoughts about him being a good guy."

"I never did." Saffron told her, feeling a chill go down her spine.

"Good."

Sabrina continued to eat, reaching for the bread like substance. "On a much lighter note, what do you think about the bread?"

"Tastes fruity." Saffron answered sarcastically, lying back down on her cot, suddenly feeling tired. "Reminds me of a cinnamon bread with kiwi or something. Such rich flavors."

Sabrina let out a laugh. "Heh, I take it you didn't enjoy it."

"What's in it?" Saffron asked, reaching in for the last bottle of water.

"Beats me. They seem real keen on us having all the vitamins we need. That's what they told us in the beginning."

"They didn't tell us jack," Saffron said taking a swig of water.

"Heh, if I didn't say it before, I'll say it again. They're all bastards."

Saffron snorted.

"All bastards," Saffron repeated, "Each and every last one."

[native89]

Part 7

Not for the first time, Saffron wished she had her cellphone or at least a watch.

She couldn't tell how much time had passed after the robots returned to retrieve the containers that had once held their food, maybe three to five hours, perhaps. She was full, having finished most of everything aside from the bread-like substance given to them. She decided to keep it, just in case she grew hungrier later. While it was far from being tasty, it was nonetheless nourishment that she was willing to have later on than to let it go to waste. Sabrina, on the other hand, finished everything, leaving the apple cores and cylinders of yogurt in the container for pick up. She briefly pondered what that bread like substance was, but pushed the frivolous thought from her mind.

For the longest time, Saffron and Sabrina just talked. About anything really; from their homes, their childhoods to their favorite television shows and musicians.

Upon first impressions, Sabrina seemed a bit opinionated, outspoken, and brave; possessing a courage most of the women around her didn't seem to have. At least, the women on both sides of her cage. Then again, she realized, she had probably passed that phase after being here for so long. Saffron had learned that she had an estranged father, who left her and her mother when she was only five years old and that from her teenage years until her mother's death, she had always been working. She had been working at a small pub when she met the man who would become her fiancé. She also discovered that she had wanted to be a singer since she was a little girl.

"Can I hear you?" Saffron had asked, but Sabrina let out a sigh.

"Wish I could," she started before jabbing a finger in the direction of the cage next to them, "But for some reason, they can get antsy if I sing too loud. Plus, one of them is going back to sleep."

"Well, you definitely need to show me whenever before..." Saffron went quiet as she starkly remembered their situation. She looked down to her lap in shame before Sabrina pulled her from her destructive thoughts.

"Hey, hey, don't worry. I'm pretty sure I'll get the chance to show you." She said, flashing her a grin. While Saffron still felt terrible, she returned it.

All in all, Saffron liked Sabrina, who she wish she befriended under normal circumstances. Mainly because they shared the same cage, and that after she tried to talk with the others in the surrounding cages, they seemed reluctant to talk, even amongst themselves after a while. Not that she didn't blame them; it would take some time to wrap their heads around what was going on, let alone for them to talk about it. Nonetheless, she felt a bit better knowing that their was at least one person willing to go the mile to help her in this sudden reality.

The two seemed to talk for a long time before they felt tired of talking or just tired. Sabrina had fallen back asleep, leaving Saffron lost in her thoughts, sitting on her cot.

While Saffron was sleepy herself, she couldn't fall asleep. Not without thinking about everything.

Sabrina's story about what happened to that brazen man who stood up to the giant seemingly responsible for everything disturbed her. A lot. The imagery of a man literally having his head popped off would have been darkly funny had it not been what actually happened, instead of being in a cartoon or B-movie. She couldn't imagine being one of the people brought here earlier, and forced to witness a man being used as an example of what happens to whoever defies these giants. Somewhere, amongst these cages, was the girl who could have been in that man's position if he so chose to.

That thought only prompted the dreaded question: Would her "master" be anything like that?

Would the beings of this planet or whatever be so callous and think so little of them that they would be punished, or worse, killed if they even attempted to disobey them? The giants at the facility seemed willing to quickly rectify any rebellious behavior. She reached up and touched the side of her head, distinctly remembering the giant holding it between those massive fingers, as if ready to pop it like a tiny berry. A shiver travelled down her spine and she fought down her rising panic and memory of the incident.

Would her family ever know what happened to her? Would they soon discover that there were aliens around them, holding the entire Earth hostage in secret? Were they safe from them? She truly hoped for the latter to be true. The thought of her parents or younger brother enduring what she had going through almost sent her into tears. She only hoped and prayed that it wasn't the case, and that maybe someday, somehow she would somehow be able to relay the message that she was alive.

At first, she was angry at her government; to willingly kidnap people and give them to these enormous aliens. But her fury quickly died down when she reminded herself that these beings seemed so advanced, so gigantic and physically overwhelming that they probably had no choice but to comply. It wouldn't have made a difference if they had tried to fight, and she knew that the outcome of such a battle would most definitely not have been in Earth's favor. And the giants could have taken what they wanted. Hell, the fact that an agreement was made in the first place was a miracle of itself, given that these aliens could have easily disregarded any human propositions and killed or enslaved them all. She wondered what could have convinced them to allow humanity to live on Earth without knowledge of their existence.

While she couldn't say she was grateful, she was definitely glad that the worst hadn't happened.

At random points, she would stand up and peek outside of the her enclosure, usually to see how every women was handling the situation. She wondered if the men were in their exact same situation; more than likely, she thought. Somewhere, in these enormous place, those of the opposite sex were probably getting the same treatment: being prepped up to be pets by tomorrow. Or at least, she thought it was tomorrow. Several women in the cages she could make out were either talked amongst themselves in hushed voices, as if preparing for the giants to appear at any moment or sleeping. Many of the women looked despondent or sorrowful, of course, with many of them sitting in the corner of their cages, either sobbing, muttering to themselves or just staring. After a while, she stopped peeking outside her cage and just went back to her cot.

After some time, she finally felt the light tugging of sleep and had fallen asleep when Sabrina had started to stir.

-----

"I don't know if I should go for Engineering or Culinary."

Saffron had glanced up to Ricky who was doing the dishes. "Have you thought about double-majoring?"

He nodded. "Did, but it's kind of a lot of work, I heard. Besides, I heard it would be more expensive. I'd probably have to do another year."

"Ah...hm, what are you most passionate about?" Saffron asked, glancing at the elderly couple in the diner, who were chatting rather than eating.

"That's the thing, I like them both equally." Ricky whined, moving on to a large dish pan. "I've always been a fan of tinkering with stuff since I was little, but I always wanted to cook too. Like, be one of those chefs on the Food Network."

Saffron smiled brightly. "Oh! If that's the case, then go into Culinary then. You'll have to cook and send me some money whenever you hit it big though!"

Ricky laughed. "Saf, you'd be getting everything in pennies."

"And this is why I'm going to remind you every day to send a check."

The two laughed for a bit before Saffron composed herself. "But really though. I would recommend Engineering though. Mainly because that is what the job market is looking for nowadays."

"Huh, that's a good point." He said before moving on to the next dish. "Well, then, I guess that makes things easier than."

"Just keep in mind though," Saffron told him before walking by him to fetch the pitcher of water, "You can always change majors at any time. And since your first year is like a practice run, you'll have a better grip on what you want to do afterwards in my opinion."

"Noted."

"By the way, did you hear about Jeff?" Saffron asked, pouring two glasses of water.

"No, did something happen?" Ricky asked, his voice full of concern.

"Something good," she reassured him, "His wife is having a baby."

"Oh," Ricky said with a quick sigh of relief. "I knew that."

"Really?" she asked incredulously.

"Told me Saturday."

"Well then..." she said with a huff, a bit disappointed she couldn't surprise him before handing the glasses of water to the two patrons. "Here you guys go."

The man spoke first, bowing his head in gratitude. "Thank you, ma'am."

Saffron smiled before replying, "You're more than welcome."

She returned back towards Ricky with two of the empty cups that they had finished and placed it next to Ricky, who grabbed it immediately and started working on them.

"Did you hear about those teenagers that were snatched up some time last week in Atlanta?" Ricky asked. "It was apparently around one or two in the morning."

"I heard. One of them was only sixteen."

"So young."

"I know..."

She woke up with a start. She didn't remember falling asleep in the first place.

The sound of those robots were a low thrum that grew louder when she saw them cross the threshold of the room and stop at the cages.

She leaned up and began to panic a bit until she heard Sabrina speak up.

"Relax, they're only bringing in food." the older woman answered, looking at her from her position against the wall. "You've been asleep for a while. I was that way when I first came. Knocked out I mean."

"Have I really been asleep for that long?" She asked, watching the robot open the lid from above and lower a similar container down into the cage. She couldn't help but watch as it placed it down with gigantic claws before lifting up high above. The thought that these giant robots, as huge as they were, weren't even as big as the giant humanlike aliens that controlled them seemed was daunting.

Sabrina nodded. "Don't worry about it. When you're in here, you'll get lethargic. I remember sleeping entire days away. Almost an entire month a complete blur. Then again, we won't be here long."

That's right. If as much time had passed as they said it would, they would probably soon be on the market in a few hours. She suddenly felt very sick.

Sabrina noticed her face become pale and lifted the top immediately, grabbing a bottle of water and tossing it across to Saffron. Saffron fumbled with it before securing it between both hands. "Thanks."

"No problem," she said, opening her own bottle of water. "How'd you sleep. I mean, I had nightmares for the most part of a month since I got here.

"I actually slept well," Saffron answered before taking a swig of water. "I can't really remember my dream much but it was mundane...I think."

"Huh," Sabrina said simply. "Well, that's good."

Once again, there was silence as the two ate. Saffron wasn't feeling particularly hungry, but given that she didn't know when her next meal would come, she forced herself to eat as much as she could.

An hour had passed and the robot had returned.

"Has anyone ever tried to escape?" Saffron asked, watching the robot pull the container between two claws up and out of the cages around her.

"Probably," Sabrina shrugged. "But given that the door is nearly two hundred feet high, there are giants lurking about, and we have no idea what they would have in store for what they'd do if they caught wind of us, I don't think many would try. Plus, I'm going to guess we're on a different planet."

"Never would I think we'd come across aliens." Saffron said, mainly to herself but Sabrina heard her.

"Technically, the other way around," Sabrina pointed out, "Aliens came across us."

"Don't they look too human to you?" Saffron asked, something she was pretty sure Sabrina had thought about to.

Sabrina nodded. "It's too eerie. You'd think they would probably see us as equals or something. I mean, I know they're huge and shit but we look exactly the same, dammit. At least, from what I was able to tell."

"We don't even know what their species is called yet."

"Probably something incomprehensible or something. I don't know."

"They've probably came from light-years away. Meaning we're probably light-years away from Earth too."

Sabrina grimaced. "I know."

The massive door suddenly opened, startling all the women within the titanic room.

The dark-haired giant from before had returned, causing some of the women to back as far away from the front of their cages. Saffron heard a few women start to panic and sob. The giant took several booming steps into the room, surveying the captive women briefly while taking slow, deliberate steps that shook the ground. Saffron took a few steps back as Sabrina narrowed her eyes that the monumentally huge man.

The giant seemed unfazed by the numerous eyes that were on him, as he was more than aware that his presence commandeered their fear-driven attention. After he did a quick sweep of the room, he beckoned for something from outside her line of vision.

A different pair of robots appeared. Unlike the robots that came earlier, these robots were an obnoxiously bright orange with four "arms" each, and were only a head shorter than the giant rather than a little over half his size. They stopped immediately behind the giant, as if awaiting orders. The giant turned from them and looked at the room full of terrified women.

"Good news," he said jovially, which made Saffron cringe, "It's nearly time. You all are going to be sold soon, and owned by whoever will purchase you. Most of you have already claimed, and your owners will probably pick you up once you are released. The ones who are not claimed will be put on sale immediately. We advise you to maintain your best behavior in order to maintain value," His eyes narrowed deviously as he said in a low voice, "We are not afraid to cull those who are too unruly."

There were a few whimpers, and she heard a woman somewhere mutter, "oh god..."

"But I highly doubt any of you will prove to be of any trouble to us," he said, flashing a grin that seemed to be far more sinister to her than it would be on a man that was normal sized. "In any case, I will remind you that the moment you leave this place, most of you will not be addressed in your language again. And for those who have been claimed, you will be separated from those whom you are sharing a cage with once you get to your destination. Consider this a farewell warning."

And with that, the giant left the room as the robots advanced towards the cages.

To her surprise, Saffron's and Sabrina's cages were one of the first to be lifted up. The two women clung onto their cots as they were lifted high above the air, well above the top of the robot. Three cages were in the robot's other claws, with several of them screaming to the top of their lungs at the sudden ascent. They were most definitely higher than they had been before, and the cage seemed to swing, reminding them if the robots were to malfunction a drop the cages, they would fall to their deaths. Saffron fought that morbid thought away as the robot that held the cages went out of the room at an incredibly fast speed.

These robots, unlike the others, seem to decelerate once they had to make several turns, and poured out into the open room they had been a couple days prior.

For the first time since they were forced to separate, she saw the men.

The robots had poured from the opposite hallway with four cages in each claw, with the cages carrying the men. They looked just as shocked and frightened as them, or rather, most of them seemed somewhat more composed. From their various expressions, she could tell that they had just endured the same thing the women had. They wore a vest that strongly resembled the dress they were wearing, along with a pair of shorts that reached right below the knee. Some of them were clanging to the bars of the cage to maintain balance while others tried to lay low onto the cage floor.

She only had a few seconds to look at them before her world literally shook. The robot what going down a ramp of some sort in a hallway, which led to a door that could have been wide enough for the Milan Cathedral to fit in. The door bucked loudly before beginning to lift up. She was blinded by the sudden bright light that seemed to engulf the entire passageway. She only had a split second to glance at Sabrina, who had to cover her eyes, as the robot went unabatedly towards the door. She closed her eyes as the robot finally reached the light, allowing her world to go white.

When she had opened them, she went slack jawed.

She was outside.

The sky was a different hues of pink and orange, completely cloudless with two moons that faded in the background. It vaguely reminded her of sunrise, but it was far too warm for it to be morning. If it was morning. The buildings rose so incredibly high, they became nothing but blurs when she looked as high as she could. They were all chrome, platinum and chrome spires that that reflected brightly like gems, rising infinitely into the sky. The very walkway the robot rolled across was made of metal that shone brightly, almost mirror-like.

But what caught her off guard, were the numerous building-sized people that were starting to crowd around the gathering of robots that held them.

While she shouldn't have been surprised, just the sheer amount of giants that were around were enough for her mind to become overactive with thoughts of the cage suddenly being snatched from the claws of the robot. There were so many people, so many giants. Her heart was pumping through her ears, and she felt herself clutch the cot like it was her only lifeline.

They were all talking, their loud, echoing voices drowning out most of the cries of fright coming from her fellow humans around her. She had to cover her ears when she heard a woman who was awfully close to her cage laugh before saying something in that foreign language they were all speaking in. They were all to cacophonous for her to even hear her own thoughts.

It was when her eyes laid upon an enormous boy who couldn't have been any older than seven years of age look up at her with wide, curious eyes and began to reach up towards her cage that she shrieked.

Saffron couldn't hear Sabrina call out for her when she scrambled under the sink to hide, not that it did much good as the giants still had full sight of her. Faces that took up each side of the cage filled her vision, their gigantic eyes peering in on her and Sabrina, who was taking slow steps back away from them. She turned around to look at Saffron, who was cowering from the numerous eyes before moving in front of the sink, doing the best she could to block the woman from the enormous onlookers' eyes.

A keening voice echoed from around them, saying words she couldn't make out. The people parted away from the robots, and Saffron was finally able to catch her breath. Sabrina grabbed her hand, and slowly pulled her from underneath the sink.

"You alright," Sabrina asked as Saffron got to her feet, regaining her composure a bit.

"Y-yeah..." Saffron said, her voice very unsure. "I think so...there were just...s-so many..."

"I know," Sabrina said and it was when she flashed her a small smile that she realized the hand that was holding her own was also shaking.

"Y-you're brave, Sabrina." Saffron told her, sincerity somehow pushing from her fearful stuttering. "You didn't have to shield me. Thanks..."

Sabrina let go of her hand as the robots moved forward towards the opening of a enormous building that was large enough to nearly high rival most skyscrapers, but looked smaller than most of the buildings around it.

The building was significantly cooler than outside, the change in temperature jarring her a bit. It was twice the size of a football field, decorated with colorful paraphernalia and screens on all sides. There was a counter on the far left the length of a train that was curved outward, as well as several hooks and tables sprawled about. The robot didn't sop in the room, but was taken to a door behind the counter. The door opened automatically, and the robot continued through a completely featureless hallway and into a room with several counters. Sabrina stepped to the side of the cage to see outside the bars. She looked behind and withdrew her head after a moment. "They're not coming in after us...at least, not yet."

"I...I think I still need to lay down a bit."

The robot lowered the cage suddenly, causing both women to stumble.

Other cages were placed down next to her immediately, with people who looked frightened beyond belief. One young woman was in the corner of her cage, rocking back and forth while covering her ears with her hands in an attempt to block out the world. Saffron very much wanted to comfort her, but everyone was just as helpless as her, she realized.

They were at a pet shop. That much was very clear. Apparently, a relatively new one it seemed, as empty, pristine cages aligned the walls as far as the eye could see. Or, it was more than likely the humans that had came before them were all sold off and they were now the next batch.

Echoing footsteps grabbed her, and likewise, everyone's attention as four giants walked in. While one looked old enough to be her father, the other three had to be no older than their late teens to early twenties. Two of them were women probably eighteen-ish, but one was a man who had to be about twenty years old at most. They were all dressed in some sort of green and yellow uniform that reminded her of a server in a restaurant and a flight attendant, but she rationalized that it was more than likely the shop's standard attire. From their angle on the floor, they were even more intimidating, reminding her of Halon's own towering height. The irrational thought that they would suddenly start knocking down cages and squishing them invaded her mind for a split second before the older man said something to the three younger ones.

"Iskif dolika mozzoreen do? Brurerata gon tofa ra."

She had no idea what they had said. As did anyone else, but the three giants responded, the giant boy who looked to be merely twenty letting out an exasperated sigh. The giant looked to the boy, and said something so rapidly, the language words ("words?") seemed to blend into each other. The boy said something before waving a sarcastic hand towards the man.

"Arnove."

It was the second time she heard that word. And this time, she was pretty sure it meant either "Sure," "Yes," or "Fine." Something in the affirmative.

The elder giant gave an agitated shake of the head before pulling something that looked like a pen. It was completely silver and had no point. He pressed the button and, as if like magic, a blue holographic screen popped from the side, materializing from nothing.

She heard a few of the people gasp at the use of science fiction level technology, and even she felt a bit awed by it. The elder giant read for a few minutes before beckoning the three younger giants. He pointed to the cages around their legs and pulled out three of the pen-like hologram projectors from his pocket, handing each of them one.

Holographic screens with characters and symbols she had never seen before scrolled out as the giants activated them as if they were commonplace. And it probably was.

After a few seconds, the elder giant turned towards the cages, which caused many of the people inside to back as far away as possible; not that it did much with the giant's next action.

The elder giant opened the top of the cage which held five women, and fished them out. They were all pressed together in his fist, screaming and desperately fighting against his grip. One woman was punching down as much as possible, but the giant seemed to pay her no mind. With his free hand, he looked at the holographic screen and nodded before pressing a button on the screen. Somewhere, she heard a clank, and she looked down the long aisle and saw that one of the four cage doors had opened. The giant walked down towards them, with the women screaming in his hand.

She didn't get the chance to keep looking as the three giants did the same, opening the cages and plucking out several women at a time and opening the doors of their cages from their devices.

Saffron collapsed onto her knees, with Sabrina rushing to her aid. "Saf!"

"I-I...I'm not ready Sabrina...th-they're gonna...they're putting us on sale...we're going to be bought like animals..."

Sabrina shook her. Hard. "Listen. No matter what, don't lose it. Everything is going to work out."

A gigantic shadow encompassed them and both were forced to look up. The younger, male giant had stood up over them, his legs on both sides of the cage like an enormous arch, his freckled face tilted as he looked down curiously at the two women right before stooping down and opening the lid of the cage. Neither had the chance to even dodge the gigantic incoming hand that soon wrapped around both of them gently before pulling them up.

The two women were pressed uncomfortably against each other. Even though the giant seemed far more gentle than the giants that had handled them previously, his grip was uncomfortable and suffocating. Her head throbbed as he moved towards an open cage that was on the far left. He stopped, and lifted his hand, allowing the women to finally breath as he loosened his hand slightly.

But only a few seconds later did she feel two fingers wrap around her torso and lift him from his hand, her legs dragging across his leathery skin as she was lifted high up. She scarcely began to scream when he lowered her into the cage.

The door closed behind her immediately, and she turned around and looked through the gaps to see Sabrina still in the giant's grip.

Sabrina looked just as shocked as her before Saffron felt panic well up in her and she called out. "Sabrina!"

The giant began to walk away, and Sabrina only had a chance to mouth a quick "See you..." before the giant continued on.

Saffron pushed her head to the side of the doors and turned to see him walk, Sabrina in hand, towards an opened cage that was so incredibly far from view, she knew there would be no way she'd be able to call out to her and for her to hear her.

She frantically shook her head. No...no! There was no way the one friend she made in all this had been so far away now. As she saw the giant deposit the other red-head into the cage, she called out for her name several times, yelling to the top of her lungs. She wondered if Sabrina could even hear her, or even if Sabrina herself was calling out for her. But amongst the other screaming people around her, and the sound of the giants, she doubted it.

Her voice was hoarse and the giants had nearly finished placing the other humans in their "respective" cages. She called out weakly for Sabrina name, but was more than aware that she couldn't hear it.

She slid down from the front of the cage doors, one hand gripping the bars as she pressed her forehead towards it.

Now that she was suddenly alone, in a cage with the same area of her parent's patio, she felt more afraid than ever before. She had only managed because she had someone else with her the entire time. Now, with the side of the cage barred off by metal and the only view was a regular sized metal door, making her enclosure seem very dark, she was completely by herself, unable to tell who exactly was around her and too far across to even make out the faces of whoever was in their own separate cage clearly.

She missed her parents in Florida. She missed her younger brother. She missed Ricky, Jeff, Peter, her patrons, all of Chartersburg and it's monotony...

She missed home.

And now she was far from it and everyone else she came to know.

The giants had finally finished it seemed, as the elder giant called out for them from the other side of the door. The three giants followed, and left through the door, talking to each other in words she couldn't decipher.

As they spoke cheerfully in their strange, foreign language, she merely wept.

[native89]

Part 8

The giants worked fast. In only a few minutes, every single man and woman had been placed into the cages all around. She watched as they struggled in their hands, yelling obscenities or crying to be released. Not that the giants even seemed to regard their actions as significant enough to warrant anything aside from a cursory glance in their direction. More than once, she saw a person try to punch at the hands that held them, or for one of them to desperately ask to just kill them already, as though their future was basically over. She dismally realized that most of the cages contained only one person, including hers.

Almost everyone had already been sold, with no choice but to await the arrival of their new masters.

Saffron realized her friend was too inexorably far away for her to hear her voice. She wanted to communicate with her somehow. But with her too far away and no one in the state of mind to carry any messages across, she was aware that trying to continue calling out to her with her strained voice would not be possible.

Unlike he previous cage, there was no sink, so there was nothing she could use to appease her sore throat aside from her own saliva. There wasn't a cot either, the cage truly bare except for it's sole occupant. The air seemed much chillier, with a metal ceiling blocking the light from above, and she curled into a ball against one of the cage walls to rub some warmth into them.

After she had finished sobbing, the numbness returned. She could only stare into opposite wall as her mind slowly began to resume.

The giants had left the room, leaving the humans to their own devices. Some were trying pacing anxiously in their cages, while some dwelled in their own despair. There was truly nothing any of them could do as beyond cry, curse and wait until the giants would return.

One hour had passed.

Activity had dwindled considerably when the massive door had opened once more.

The older giant had walked through the door. But instead of the other employees, there was a giantess that was nearly as tall as him that came behind him.

She had long, raven hair that reached down towards her lower back, with a very neat and precisely cut fringe that hung above her deep blue eyes. She wore a red dress that had a white outline around the cuffs and hem, with a very high collar. It looked like something a model would wear and frankly, she definitely looked to be one with her dark mascara, plump lips, and long legs that strode across the lower line of cages in black, knee length boots.

Saffron couldn't care less about her appearance, however, as she cringed before quickly crawling into the corner of her cage. She shivered as she heard and felt the footfalls of both giants which seemed to grow in intensity. She yelped when they passed by her cage, with the enormous woman glancing at her very briefly before looking forward. She still held her breath, even when they had walked a dozen cages away.

It took a moment before curiosity reared it's ugly head in her mind, battling against the layers of fear before she finally got the tiniest of nerves to look outside the front of the cage to see what was going on. Slowly, she crawled to the edge bars and turned her head to an angle to see what was happening. She wasn't the only one, as several people peeked out from their own confines to see what the giants were doing.

The giants were speaking in their own language as they walked down the aisle of cages with a certain swiftness, the woman behind the older man. The distance seemed like a couple city blocks away to her, which they cleared in seconds. The man's voice was very deferential towards the woman who responded in kind. They seemed to be joking with each other as they both bellowed a loud laugh that rung in her ears so loudly, she winced at the volume despite how far away they were from her.

It was after a moment, they both came to a stop in front of a cage. The giant raised a finger briefly before drawing out something like that pen-like device from before. The woman nodded, and looked inside the cage. Saffron's heart dropped when she realized what exactly was going on.

The woman smiled before backing away from the cage as the older giant put something to the side of the bars and from what she could tell, the door of the cage opened.

Saffron and several other people gasped as the giant crouched down and reached his hand inside. That was when she heard the distant scream of the man that was inside. Her chest tightened as the giant retracted his hand, with something...someone in his grasp. He brought his hand to the woman who looked down approvingly into his hand before he stood back up and placed the poor person in her cupped hands.

The two giants turned around and began to walk the way they came. People scattered away from the bars of their cages, something the giants noticed and seemed amused by the collective terrified reactions as they chuckled, which sounded as loud as thunder to her.

The man in her hands hadn't stopped screaming, and it grew louder as they came by her cage.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as she saw the woman's torso and the man that was cradled in her palms come into view. The man looked to be college-aged, with bright, blonde hair and bright, green eyes that were staring up in horror at the giantess that held him. He didn't even look in Saffron's direction as he continued to let out raspy screams. He probably was close to six feet tall and well built but looked like a miniscule toy in the hands that were easily longer than he was tall. He could have been a player for a sports team. Or an athlete of some sorts.

But now he was nothing more than a possession for a giant woman; to be coddled, owned and ruled. Nothing more than a pet.

Time resumed, and the man and giantess soon left her field of vision, with the older giant following close behind.

She heard the two speak to each other once more, the woman's voice far more excitable than before.

Their conversation continued on as they walked towards the titanic door, heedless of the numerous eyes that watched them with the utmost trepidation. The giant waited for the woman to pass by first as the door automatically parted before coming behind her. He went to the side of the door and reached up to press something that was on the other side of the room. He nodded to himself before looking at the woman before they walked away from the room, the doors closing behind them.

Not once did the man stop screaming.

---

Panic filled the room as their full situation had been realized more than ever before.

Right then, right now, was the time that they would be at the whims of the giants more than ever before.

Saffron had to fight the bile that threatened to rise up in her throat as she brought her hands to her mouth.

Despite never experiencing one, she was pretty sure she was having a full blown panic attack.

She knew it was going to happen. It wasn't like the giants hid their intentions from the beginning since she had been taken away to whatever wretched planet she was on but now she was experiencing the reality. She found it hard to breathe and nothing in her mind formed any resemblance of coherency. She was barely aware of the cold sweat she was developing as she pressed herself against the furthest corner of the cage she could.

"This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real..." she repeated in her mind in an endless loop, trying to push out all evidence of the contrary. She remembered being strapped down in her seat in the bus, Halon Gressenos's cruel eyes, being stripped to her underthings, the giant's fingers pressed against her head, ready to crush her head in...oh God, oh God...

How could this happen to her? Why was it happening? Why humans, why Earth?

The sounds around her began to blend into one another, and she found soon felt as though the metallic floor itself would come up against her. Memories came in flurries in her mind, and she couldn't tell the present reality from the past and what wasn't real.

She imagined a dark, enormous silhouette blending with colors, all looming above her, moving chaotically in every direction, ready to swallow her up in shadows with no way to escape. Drowning in the blackness...no where to go...to hide...to run...

The sound of the gigantic door opening jarred her from her poisonous thoughts that had threatened to consume her.

Utter terror enveloped her when she realized that one of the working giants were back, and most likely with another potential owner.

This time, as the giants' footfalls grew, she ducked down and covered her head with her hands, her eyes firmly shut as tight as she could feel and hear the sonorous steps of the giants. She didn't know what was louder, her heart thrumming in her chest or their echoing steps.

"Relax, relax, relax...they're not coming for you." she told herself, desperately hoping it to be true as she continued trying her best to get her breathing under control.

She heard the voice of the younger male giant address another giant, higher in pitch than the older giant that had been there previously but just as booming and loud. There was another male voice, this one deeper and more authoritative then the younger male and the older male giants. It held an air of regality or strength almost, as if fit for a commander or king. It was frightening to her ears.

She clenched herself as their presence became nearly palpable before they covered her cage in darkness for a split second, before the two giants passed by her cage without incident.

While she wished she could feel relief, knowing she could be selected, she couldn't. She knew now that someone was about to meet their new master. Her throat ached for water as she inhaled a deep breath. Her body, which had felt weak finally managed to regain some functionality and strength. She didn't even get the chance to glance at the giant, she had been too afraid. She didn't know if it were for the best or not, but only waited in the tense silence that came when the giants had came into the room. She clasped her hands together, silently praying that the giants would make their leave as quickly as possible.

Soon enough, the giants came to a stop. She heard a slight buzz before hearing the faint sound of the creaking cage door opening.

A shrill female voice cried out, "No! Please, no! Let me go! Let me go! Please!"

The giants voices easily drowned out her crying and pleading as the younger giant spoke again something that sounded like admonishment, most likely addressed to the poor girl who was next to spend the rest of her life as property to one of these towering beings. Not that it helped, as the cries grew louder and more frantic. The voice of the other giant was curt and impatient, as he said something in a low voice before the woman's cries came to an abrupt stop with a squeak.

There was silence for a moment, and then the deeper, baritone voice of the giant said something in a somewhat hushed manner. The younger giant said something, sounding surprised before letting out what sounded like a short, nervous laugh. Then, she heard them start walking in her direction, and she braced herself for the quakes and appearances. She could hear the indistinct mumblings of the woman during the pauses between the giants conversation, and not a moment later, she saw the torso of the giant, dressed in a navy blue outfit, and a hand lifted with the woman situated in it's palm, a massive thumb pressed against her sternum.

This woman was young, probably no older than eighteen, with long brown hair and a white, decorative hairband adorned the top of her head. Saffron had the sinking feeling she may have either been a senior in high school or a freshman in college. Her eyes were hazel, breaming with tears. Now that she was so close, she could finally hear what she had been mumbling.

"I want to go home...I want to go home..."

Saffron's heart broke at that, with her own mind dwelling on her own mother. This poor woman...this poor girl, who had her entire life ahead of her was going to become the pet of that giant. Stolen away form her parents, her home, her life...

Just like she was...just like they all were...

A tiny bubble of righteous anger erupted within her. But was soon quenched when the giant stopped in front of another cage, only three cages away from her. Her eyes widened when she heard the younger giant say something to his client before the other giant grunted in what sounded like the affirmative. She heard the buzzing of the open door, and the sudden cry of what sounded like another female voice. The cry of shock was clipped and the younger giant said something that meant nothing to her, but something to cause the giant to respond in a long suffering voice.

Saffron wasn't collected enough to go towards the bars, but she listened closely.

And felt relieved when she heard another female voice, significantly more mature sounding, addressing the more panicked, sobbing girl saying, "Shush...It's alright...we're in this together..."

She quickly realized that the giant had purchased two humans, it seemed.

While she was vaguely glad that the poor frightened girl wouldn't be alone, she could only wonder what kind of owner he would be to his new acquisitions.

She didn't have time to think when she heard the younger giant say something in a jovial voice before hearing their footsteps recede, before she heard the familiar swish of the door opening and them leaving.

A deafening silence filled the room before cacophony resumed once no one could hear the loud voices of the room.

Although she still felt the aftereffects from her breakdown, she was amazed that she didn't crack at the arrival of the second giant. She didn't know if her body was just too tired or if she just handled it better knowing it was inevitable.

More than anything, she just wanted water.

---

After what seemed like an hour, and when nearly one hundred people were taken away, she made a few seemingly inane observations as the giants came and went, noticing a few patterns.

She began to wonder if there was a line, as one by one, a new giant would come in with one of the associates and claim a poor human. There seemed to be some sort of rotation between the working giants. The older giant would come before the younger giant, preceded by the female giant with brown hair, and lastly the giantess with the dirty blonde hair. The older male giant would seem indifferent in his handling of the humans, at least from what she could make out. In contrast, the younger male tried to hush any flailing humans in order to make an impression it seemed. The giantesses seemed much more gentle than the two men; however, she noticed that the female giantess with blonde hair seemed to baby-talk down to any human before giving them to their new owner. Nonetheless, she surmised, they all were merely workers, whose job were to give away a person into their ill-fated future as a domestic companion.

The clientele, from what she could see, seemed to be fairly well off; they looked to be at least middle class to looking to be used to living lavish lifestyles. Most of them wore attire that was somewhat futuristic in a sense, but were far more practical and fashionable, rather than gaudy and outlandish as she would have imagined from an eighties, cartoon parody of the future. She could see them popular in her modern world back on Earth. Many of them, maybe one in three, seemed to wear uniforms, some militaristic and some more casual, as if just getting off work of some kind of duty.

Most of them walked away with only one human, but occasionally, some would carry two to three in their hands. One refined-looking giant that looked to be at least sixty years of age held five in his hands. The two men and three women were huddled in the center of his cupped hands, as though trying not to fall off between his fingers. She truly hoped that he didn't buy them for the intentions of breeding. One, a couple with a young child who looked no older than eight years of age seized two humans, a man and a woman. The child held both in his massive hands as they stared up at the three giants in pure terror. The child giggled and said something to his parents as they left the room. Feeling ill at the thought of being tended by a child that stood several stories tall, she briefly prayed she wouldn't become the plaything to some young giant that were prone to more careless actions, from what she observed from children from Earth.

Saffron had been nervously picking at her nails when she heard the all too familiar swish of the door. She instinctively looked out the bars as the giants passed through, this time with the giantess with the blonde hair. Behind her, was a giant that looked to be more suited as a politician, impeccably dressed in a high collar suit and dress pants from what she could make out. He looked to be somewhere in his late thirties to early forties, from the slight outcropping of grey beginning at his hairline, with the rest of his hair a chestnut brown in a casual side sweep. His eyes were dark brown, almost black and beheld a tiny lilt of something she couldn't put her fingers on. With a neatly trimmed beard and mustache, he was handsome but at around one hundred feet in height, he was still terrifying.

The two giants strode away from her cage to her relief and continued on. Clenching and unclenching, she took a deep breath in a sighed once more. With each new giant claiming a human coming in, the more likely it became that the next one would become her new owner. The wait kept becoming more and more unbearable and she began to wonder if it would have been better if the next giant to come in would just come for her already instead of being kept in anxious anticipation each and every time.

A few seconds had passed and she heard the door to a cage being opened and the giantess's baby-talk, a grating foreign chatter amplified by her mass and the echoing walls around her. With some effort, she tuned the giantess's voice out, rubbing her arms out of habit.

However, her moment of relief was shattered immediately within seconds once the giants turned and came back the way they came.

Her eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice.

The Boston-accented voice of a redheaded female, and her companion.

She grasped the bars of her cage, and she gasped as the giants came in her view.

As well as a grimacing Sabrina, lying uneasily in the new giant's palm. Cursing loudly at the giant that held her, she tried to push herself up to the best of her ability, but to no avail.

Without thinking, she called out to her friend, "Sabrina!"

Sabrina heard her, and turned around in time for their eyes to meet.

In that brief moment, she could truly see the uncertainty and fear in the other woman's dark blue eyes. Underneath the fury in her eyes belied a frightened soul that was just as scared as she was. After all, she was only human as well. But the passion in her eyes had still burned brightly like a cerulean flame in her eyes, bright and rebellious. A person who wouldn't let the circumstances destroy her, or break her.

Saffron's mind raced; she desperately wanted to say something. Anything. To call out to her and even follow her. But time resumed once more, and the giant strode by just as Sabrina called to her before the giant's voice drowned her voice out. He spoke, with a baritone flair to the blonde giantess who said something that she would never know.

They walked on by, with Saffron trying to push herself against the bars, as if she could phase through them by magic, to see Sabrina. Her mind blanched just as she could no longer make her friend's form, only able to see the cliff side-sized back of the giant.

And, with utterly no fanfare whatsoever, the two walked out, with her friend in tow.

More than likely for her to never see her again.

---

The feeling of hopelessness was all too consuming.

No tears, no screaming, just her lying in the far corner of her cage.

She didn't bother to look up as more giants came in to gather their new pets. Not that looking out would do anything to help or save them.

She was aware of her growing thirst and the passage of time. But all she could do was wait.

And wait.

Saffron remembered a time when she was young, when she first found out her wonderful grandmother had died. At first, she believed she heard wrong, then she was suddenly overwhelmed with grief. And then, she was for the most part until her funeral days later, completely numb. She had been numb after they buried her and numb after the repast.

She was feeling just as numb as she had at that moment.

So...it was true wasn't it?

This was going to be her life now.

Her childhood, all the friends she made, graduating from college, becoming an independent adult...

All of it leading to some insignificant future as a soon-to-be pet.

There was something funny about it. Ironic even.

Her day to day routine in Chartersburg had been boring. Repetitive and predictable. She had a degree and yet worked as a waitress in a small town without many open positions. A choice she had deliberately made. At times, she would feel trapped; stuck in a monotonous daily rhythm with no outstanding occurrences, wishing for more excitement and adventure.

And now here she was, literally trapped. Out of this world. With far too much excitement and change for her to ever appreciate. She was craving her boring life more than ever before, but wondered even if she had the chance to return, knowing what she knew now about these aliens' custody of her planet, if she could truly feel safe. That these aliens literally could destroy her race on a whim. Any semblance of normality would seem unattainable knowing that everyone she knew, everyone she loved, and most of human race were blinded to the loaded gun they were held under.

The door swished opened again.

She didn't budge to go towards the cage bars to look out to see the giants come through.

The metal floor rattled under her as they walked through. By now, most of the remaining humans learned that screaming and yelling achieved nothing, but she would hear the occasional swear or yelp. The giant's quaking steps were now becoming commonplace in such a short amount of time. While the magnitude weren't strong enough to be considered cataclysmic, through the hollow cage, it would sometimes feel as though they'd be registered on the low end of the Richter's scale to her.

They grew in intensity as usual as they walked down the alignment of cages, but she didn't pay it no mind.

She slowly began to close her eyes to daydream of her home as the footsteps grew stronger and stronger.

Her eyes were half-lidded when she was enshrouded in shadow when they stopped walking.

It took her a moment to realize exactly where the giants were.

Directly in front of her cage.

Feeling and emotion pushed the numbness out of her almost immediately as she realized the door to her cage was being opened.

She got up to her feet just in time for a massive hand to lower itself into her cage, looming in her vision.

"Oh God..." she whispered as the gigantic, trunk-sized fingers corralled her towards the enormous palm before she even had the chance to sidestep, closing in around her in less than two seconds.

Her entire body was trapped with the exception of her head and shoulders. It was as if a leathery mattress had come to life around her and wrapped her in away that was soft yet secure. Just like the giant that had disrobed her. She tried to pull from the hand but it didn't seem to budge, aside from the shifting skin.

The fist withdrew, with her in it, out from the cage and under the sky-high lights far above her. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the change in environment, but just before she could make out the one who held her, the fingers loosened around her and she felt herself falling.

She scarcely began to shriek before she fell only a couple feet down her hands and knees on a similar surface. Looking down, she saw what she knew were lifelines of a palm, littered with crevices and whorls that swirled all around in a bland mockery of Van Gogh's Starry Night painting. After sitting in the cool metal cage, her body immediately warmed up to the sensation of body heat radiating from the hand she was lying in.

She took a shaky, dry gulp and slowly raised her head, to look up to the enormous being who was holding her.

This giant was huge. Bigger than most of the others she'd seen. Probably nearly a head taller than the older giant that worked there, give or take a few feet. Hell, she wondered if he would be over six feet if he were human.

His hair was dark brown, framing his face in a way that looked stylishly messy yet tame. His eyes were a bright hazel, a majestic yellowish-green that looked almost ethereal. He had a clean shaven face, with a lightly angular touch. He was dressed in a white-collared, elbow-length shirt under a black and brown vest, with black dress pants and dress boots that stretched down far below her on the ground. He looked like he would be a celebrity, but he was far too large for her to grasp that thought.

She could only look up in awe and fear at the giant whose hand she occupied.

Her new owner.

Her new master.

She suppressed a squeal when she felt the hand lift up higher to the giant's face, and immediately, she knew he was inspecting his new pet. She trembled and scooted back into his fingers, unable to stop looking at her frightened reflection in one of his pupils.

She could hear him breathe, his warm exhalations tussling her hair like a breeze in the wind. He turned his hand for different angles, causing her to grab at the skin underneath her. The older giant to her new master's left was saying something to him, not that she'd be able to understand him, but his voice seemed far more cordial with this giant, almost sycophant even. She gasped as she felt the hand lower to the giant's chest level, and looked to see the giant turn his head and say something in a rich, deep voice that sounded as though it was coming from a deity as it reverberated all around her.

She flinched as she saw his other hand reach up, actually hearing the shifts in the air as he rose his arm, and reached a finger towards her. She cried out and shut her eyes as tightly as she could, bringing her arms to her face, as if though she could fend him off.

A split second later, she felt something warm and slightly cushiony on top of her head, sliding down from right above her forehead and moving to the small of her back. Then again. And again.

She opened her eyes slowly, peering from her lifted arms and lowered them slowly.

"He's...petting me...?"

Looking up, she saw that he had a very small, almost imperceptible smile on his face before patting her on the head once more and lowering his other hand.

He turned around, an action that jolted her enough to grab at his thumb, and said something to the giant clerk. The man nodded and turned around, with him walking behind him, his hand swaying with his movements. While it wasn't the first time she hadn't been manhandled by these giants, it was definitely something she still couldn't even imagine getting used to.

As they passed the countless cages aligned on the walls, she could see the many, many faces of the other humans who looked at her from behind the bars. Many of them still beheld shock, many of them looked fearful. Some of them didn't even peer out, staring at the wall or were crouched in a fetal position, hugging their legs. And some looked resigned, their eyes looking out sadly as they passed by. Just like the women did when she was first placed in the cages from wherever she was before.

All she could do was gape, before the they reached the door.

The door automatically slid open, and just like that, she and her new master walked through, as if it were the point of no return.

[Flippity-Floosy]

May I just say that in my eyes, you are the undisputed GOAT!? Just thank you so much! I'm incredibly happy that you got most of the chapters! If technology ever evolves quick enough to reach through screens and give virtual hugs, just know I'd most certainly give you one!



Gonne resave these bad boys and edit them a bit since I'm seeing some of my old spelling errors/grammatical errors, plus, I wanna reword some of the things for it to flow better.

Seriously though dude, thanks!

EDIT: Still thanks so much! Just wondering by any chance, do you have the last chapter I posted up by any means? I think I had one last one posted up with her ending up in arriving to her "new home." If not, no worries! I can always write from there from what I remember. Nonetheless, you're the best and I really appreciate the effort you put into recovering this!

[native89]

Sorry this is all i could locate

[Flippity-Floosy]

Sorry this is all i could locate

No worries! If anything, thank you so much for finding the majority of it! You're awesome, and I greatly appreciate that you got ahold of this!

[jeffrey-dallas]

I remember this story -- I really liked it! Good characterization, giant/tiny interaction, etc. Any chance it will be continued?

[Flippity-Floosy]

I remember this story -- I really liked it! Good characterization, giant/tiny interaction, etc. Any chance it will be continued?

I actually DO want to finish it at some point or another. I do plan to touch up the chapters already made since my writing prowess had gotten better since then too, but yeah, I think I might continue it once I get my main muses finished first. Especially ATTR or ASC.

[littlest-lily]

Well I'm certainly glad you asked and that the story was found because I'm brand new to this story! Would love to see a continuation, in a sense it feels like it's just getting started, I want to learn about this new guy that she's going home with!! (So many story ideas, so little time hehe)