Halloween Candy

[Bloodthirstybutcher]

It’s been a while since my last Sonny and Claire post, so what better time than Halloween to see what these two have been getting up to?! This latest installment will be a bit different, as I felt it was time Claire got a little backstory of her own. Plus, it’ll be broken up into three parts.

Here’s the first two installments if you’d like to catch up

https://shrunken-women-board.com/phpBB3 ... f=9&t=4809

https://shrunken-women-board.com/phpBB3 ... f=9&t=5436

[Bloodthirstybutcher]

Halloween Candy

Part 1




"Come on, Claire... you can do it. Just take your time."

Sonny was seated on the creaking vinyl seat of a bar stool with tiny Claire sitting on the floor at his feet. This was a daily ritual that had developed over the recent months, one that he hoped would bring he and his little pet even closer together. While this particularly unique little runt seemed to understand Sonny's speech fairly well, she still struggled immensely with even the simplest of words. While this ability placed Claire intellectually way ahead of any runt the moody, middle-aged service driver had come across, he still felt her capable of so much more.

"Don't think of it as one word. There's three syllables... like beats... that make up the its structure. Try each one by itself first." Sonny had taken it upon himself to play English teacher with little Claire once he got home from work.

They never jumped right into it, of course. As excited as each was to see the other, a few loving nuzzles were always in order before getting down to work. It never mattered what kind of day he'd had... on the usual spectrum from bad to worse... all it ever took was the loving touch of her tiny hands embracing the bridge of his nose to make all that stress and misery melt away. Anyone who's ever bonded with their pet will know that special love.

As far as Claire was concerned, the little thing had grown so desperately eager to impress Sonny with what she could learn. With her newest challenge, she clenches her fists and winces her eyes shut as she tries to force the sounds to pass her lips. She can hear this new word inside her head just fine. It's how she'd managed to pick up on pieces of the giants' language over the years. The trouble came when she actually tried verbalizing said word. There's something lost, some kind of disconnect... something in her brain that makes actually saying them extremely difficult. No doubt a remnant of the damage the disease must have done to her parents' DNA. Something the giants seem to do be able to do so effortlessly is such a struggle for Claire... and it frustrates her to no end.

"Go on, try it again. Start small," Sonny continued with his coaching. "Don't stress yourself out. Just think about the shape your mouth needs to form in order to say each part."

For the most part he'd kept things simple. Single syllable words such as, food... drink... sleep... things that would be useful for her. His own name, consisting of two syllables, was especially hard for Claire early on, but she managed to work it out through much practice on her own while Sonny wasn't home. He was so pleasantly surprised and impressed by her efforts that that's when he decided to take things up a notch and make this into a daily practice.

This day was different though... this was Sonny's favorite holiday.

It may not have been the most crucial thing for Claire to learn, and its name consisted of a whopping three whole syllables! Sonny didn't care. He had nothing but the utmost confidence in his little Claire by then. She was quite special after all.

"Hhh...hhhaaaaalllll," Claire began. She held her eyes shut and dug her nails into the palm of her hand with nearly enough force to draw blood.

"That's great!" Sonny cheered. "This next one's easy, just make your lips into a ring... go ahead and try!"

Claire pressed the corners of her mouth together and closed her eyes again, "oooooooo..."

Sonny clapped his hands a few times in encouragement, "you're doin' so well! You've got this! Now try the last part!"

With another deep breath, the miniature girl focused on the corners of her mouth once again. She knew she needed to start out in the same position, but quickly expand them for this final part. A very strange sound, indeed.

"W-w-wuh-eeeeeen!"

"That's it!" The giant in the room exclaimed. "Now just put them all together!"

Here it was, the moment of truth. Claire shook her nerves away at the wrists and climbed to her feet. Concentrate, Claire... you can do this.

"H-hhhaaaall...oooooo.... hhhhhaaaaalllooooo-wuh..."

Sonny leaned over the edge of his seat, "you're so close!"

"Haaaalloooowuh-eeen! Hhhaaalllowweeen!" Claire opened her eyes to find the beaming smile of her owner shining down on her.

"Yes! You did it!" Sonny scooped the tiny girl off the floor faster than she could begin to comprehend and lovingly pressed her against his face. "Amazing, Claire! Say it again!"

The giant pulled her away just enough so he could look at her, allowing the teensy blonde to rest against his palm. "Hhaaallloooowweeeen!" Suddenly, where there had previously been frustration, Claire was filled with pride. She giggled as she said the word of the day once again, this time without Sonny's coaxing. "Haaaallloweeen!"

She'd done it, and Sonny was just as proud as she'd hoped he'd be. A few gentle tickles with his finger on her stomach made her giggle even more. She loved this, often pulling his finger back in to continue when her master was about to quit like a cat begging for more pets.

All that being said... just what the hell was this Halloween?

"Tell ya what," Sonny announced, "let's celebrate by ordering a pizza! I don't feel like cooking anyway."

Claire nodded enthusiastically, though she'd learned that Sonny didn't need much of an excuse to avoid cooking. For someone who'd been raised on whatever scraps she could find while living inside the walls of a rural truck stop, a gigantic edible disc that was delivered straight to your home was a wonder to behold in itself.

Sonny pulled out his cell phone and opened the app for his favorite Italian restaurant. After a few swipes of his thumb, an action that was bordering on muscle memory by this point with how many times he ordered from the place, he then removed his debit card from his wallet and punched in the twelve digit number on its face.

Claire continued to practice her new word, refining it further with each new try. She watched Sonny from the top of the kitchen counter as he placed the order. That flat, rectangular item he keeps in his wallet that somehow makes food appear was just as remarkable as the delivery system. It didn't look like much, but she knew first hand what that card was capable of. These giants were so much more powerful than she... and it made her feel so small by comparison.

Unfortunately, every time she saw Sonny's debit card... it also had dredged up an awful... awful memory. One that only took place a year before...



From her birth until the day Sonny saved her from freezing to death during the coldest winter storm in 30 years, the nameless runt who would later be called Claire had dwelled within the walls of the Sinclair Truck Stop. Her brood, often referred to as a nest, kept secreted away between the drywall and wood framing, eking out an existence to the best of their very limited ability.

Though the place was open 24 hours, the pack of thirty-three shrunken individuals found it much easier to scavenge during the night hours and sleep during the day thanks to much less foot traffic from hostile giants. Needless to say... it was a miserable existence. Living in constant fear of enormous beings that came and went from the convenience store as they pleased. Beings that would not hesitate to exterminate every last one of their kind from the building if seen. Claire didn't understand why she was supposed to fear them as a child, but by the way the others reacted to the towering creatures, she knew it had to be deathly serious.

Pleasant days were rare, but when it was warm outside her nest could sneak out to the back of the building and dig though the garbage bins for maggot-riddled scraps. It was during these times that Claire would often wander among the wildflowers and gape in awe at the corn stalks that seemed to stretch into the sky forever. It was something she thoroughly looked forward to, and something none of the others ever seemed to engage in.

Even from a very young age Claire could tell she was different from them. Her own parents and siblings hardly felt like kin. They and the other runts only seemed interested in fighting over the meager pickings and available females to mate with. Truth be told, there's more societal structure in your average sewer infestation of diseased rodents than with a nest of runts. The virus that had robbed them of their size had also left them witless and feral, save for their survival instincts... and even those were dulled to such a primitive nature. Eat... fuck... and flee. That's about all that was left of the people they once were.

Claire was different though.

She found herself sneaking away from the pack most days to gawk at the meandering titans going about their business in the convenience store. Each of whom were brought to the expansive piece of real estate by roaring metal beasts in need of their own sustenance. How great these god-like creatures must be have been to tame those four-wheeled monstrosities! Claire was entranced by them, finding more meaning in the way they interacted with one another than she did with her own kind.

As she grew into adulthood and her body began to look more and more like the other females in the nest, the males' drooling gaze began to fall on her more threateningly. Claire didn't like this in the least. The thought of getting caught up in one of their disgusting mating balls only served the desire to distance herself even further from the pack... and to watch her giants even more frequently from the safety of overlooked places.

Among the many confusing customs she witnessed the large humans engaged in was this exchange of goods and services that brought them in by the carload. One or more of them would walk in through the front doors, pick out random things from the main dealers floor, then bring those items to the large counter area. Some would hand over several sheets of green paper or silvery disks, while most just swiped one of those flat rectangles like Sonny's through some kind of contraption. Either way, they got to walk away with those items they'd brought to the counter, most never to return. Claire wasn't quite sure how it all worked, but there was one thing she was sure of... that those rectangles carried with them some kind of great power. More than that, the giants must hold even greater power in order to wield such things.

It was on that day, one like any other, that Claire would learn a hard lesson in where her place really was in the world.

She watched the giants come and go from the safety of her favorite spot, a dark, dusty space beneath the clear acrylic display shelving of the pay-as-you-go phone cards. The gaps between the green cardboard cards offered her excellent views of the entire store, and even better, its precarious position meant the male runts wouldn't dare put themselves at risk to come for her. It was a risky place to hide for sure. The entire rack was transparent and any overly observant giant might catch her looking right back at them. Claire learned quickly that few ever came near it, and when they did, they hardly seemed interested in what might be hiding amongst the dust bunnies beneath it.

A large man... even for one of them... was checking out at the register with enough junk food to give her entire nest diabetes. Claire watched him intently, bewildered by the sheer tonnage that was needed to sate this behemoth of a man. She wasn't disgusted or repelled by him so much as fascinated. The overweight were rare among runts, for obvious reasons, so this gentleman was truly something to behold. It was what happened next though that set the tiny girl on what would become an unexpected quest.

Like so many of the other giants, this man... with his stained work shirt and tattered jeans... also possessed one of those magical rectangles. It was orange with golden numbers raised across its surface. As bright and lovely an example as any Claire had ever seen. Based solely on how much the man planned to purchase, she could only fantasize about its abilities. The rotund patron quickly slid his Chase card through the reader and collected the sacks which the cashier was kind enough to assist him with. It's when he went to slip it back into his pocket that Claire's world would change.

He missed!

The card fell to the floor and rattled to a stop. Claire couldn't believe what she was seeing, nearly choking on the stale peanut she'd been munching on. The man collected his bags of processed salt and sugar and waddled out the door of the shop... leaving the card behind. He actually left it behind!

Claire backed away from her plastic window and made for the cleverly disguised hole in the drywall that provided her access to the display. As she climbed through the wall, crawling through holes others had burrowed into the framing and dodging attacks by the deadly black widow spiders her people were forced to share the walls with, her mind was in a whirl of thought. Further through the walls she went until she finally came to another exit, well-hidden behind massive cartons of Pall Mall and Marlboro cigarettes. Claire was behind the counter, and with a strait shot available beneath the wall-mounted shelving between her and the bright orange card. Waiting until the Goliath manning the register's back was safely turned, Claire made a break for it.

To her, acquiring this magical totem was the most important thing she'd ever do. It could change her life forever!

The space between the wall and the register counter was narrow, little more than a suffocating crack. Even your average runt, of whom six or seven inches tended to be the average height, wouldn't squeeze through such a claustrophobic space. But Claire and her brood were much, much smaller than that, and she had squeezed through this spot before.

The real problem was the location of the card. It came to rest out on the exposed sales floor, and at that time of day it she'd be welcoming death to risk going for it. She'd need patience, and her timing would have to be precise. Even then, she wasn't sure if she was even worthy to wield something with such importance. Would something bad happen to her if she tried to touch it? Was it conscious? Would it know she wasn't its true owner? Would it know she wasn't one of them... and would it punish her for trying to use it?

Was the risk was worth the reward? Yes. It had to be. What kind of life was she living anyway? Living in constant fear and isolation.

Yes... she had to try.

Once the current customer stepped away from the counter, their massive footfalls rumbling the tile floor with each powerful step, a clear opportunity presented itself. No one else was there and no one was coming.

Claire had to move.

She stepped out from the dusty crack, naked and trembling, terrified that she'd be seen before she could reach her prize. A giant could be lurking just out of sight. They too could see the abandoned card and choose to claim it for themselves. There was no time to lose.

Then... there it was, right there before her. It had looked so small in the chubby fingers of the giant man, but seeing the card lying at her feet made her realize how cumbersome it would be to carry away. It was almost as long as she was tall, but much wider. Cautiously she reached down to touch one of the raised numbers. Lightly at first, as though the plastic might burn her fingers upon contact. Claire pulled her hand away quickly. She rubbed her fingers together, finding them thankfully unharmed. It was only then that she crouched down, and bravely, slipped her fingers beneath its smooth surface. It was lighter than she expected, especially given the gravity of its power.

There was little time to drink in the mysterious object. As soon as she began to lift the card Claire could feel a growing rumble in the tile of more approaching steps through the very soles of her feet. It was something she'd learned to stay attuned to in hopes of avoiding detection. Claire ducked back into the shadowy crack, dragging the debit card with her as she squeezed her body through, something that was much easier to do before she developed breasts. The tiny runt didn't stop moving until she was safely back inside the wall. It was there that she could finally analyze the artifact with the attention it fully deserved.

Claire's fingers graced each numeral embossed across the surface of the card. She had no idea what they meant, but found them beautiful just the same. Long, narrow gouges in its otherwise pristine smoothness told the history of its use as though they were tree rings. On its back, hundreds more glyphs of arcane meaning, as well as a single black stripe showing its age with wear.

Although completely lost on how to use such an otherworldly creation, Claire was damn sure determined to try. The cold time was approaching... and even though she and her people had shelter within the truck stop convenience store, gathering food was so much more difficult when they lost access to the outdoors. There hadn't been a cold time since she could remember that didn't claim the life of at least one member of her nest. Even though she grew weary of the male's thirsty gazes, she still wished them no harm.

If she could somehow wield this Wells Fargo Excalibur, none of them would know empty stomachs come winter!





End Part 1

[DocRick]

I had totally forgotten about this story. Keep it going.

[Bloodthirstybutcher]

I had totally forgotten about this story. Keep it going.

I fully plan to. Revisiting these two are like comfort food for me, especially when I get stuck or frustrated with writing my longer stories. Thanks for sticking with them!

[Bloodthirstybutcher]

Part 2




Claire's reflection stared back at her with as much self satisfaction as she feeling. It too looked over the new garment she donned with both meticulousness and pride. A white napkin, stained with ketchup and mustard, then crumpled up by gigantic hands that had missed the waste bin when tossed. Claire found it on the floor near the area of the shop that contained the roller items, hot dogs and the like, and thought it might make for some nice insulated bedding come winter. After acquiring the debit card, it wasn't difficult to visualize its new potential. Draped over one shoulder and held together at the waste with a red trash bag twist-tie, even its designer couldn't believe how well the garment had turned out. She'd never worn clothing before, let alone made any. Such was the way of the giants, not of the lowly runt.

The young woman obsessively pressed at the creases in the crumpled paper smoothen them. The bursts of color the dried-on condiments provided against the wrinkly white backdrop actually made the ensemble quite striking. With a broken piece of mirrored glass she'd collected from a sunglass rack, yellowing years past it's due for replacement, Claire stared deeply into her own eyes.

Unlike the others living in the nest, a pod of witless simpletons that were known to attack their own reflection, she understood that what she was looking at was her own image. Claire could see the confidence building in the face of her doppelgänger... just as it grew inside herself.

She was going to do this. Her plan was going to work.

Having made her way back to the register area at the front of the store, Claire realized she needed one more trick to pass herself off as one of them... she needed to speak. It was a talent that even the smaller among the titans had mastered with the slightest of effort. The tiny runt knew she wasn't going to piece together anything resembling a complete sentence, but just a few words...

From her countless days of watching and learning the strange ways of the giants, there were certain sounds that they made that stood out with more frequency. If they needed assistance, the words please and help would often come up. Then, before they left the counter with their purchases, both the customer and the cashier would often exchange the words thank you, as must have been customary. Knowing when and how to speak these four words could make or break her entire endeavor.

Speaking.

Had she ever done it before, perhaps it might not have felt so daunting. These were muscles she had never used before and wasn't even sure how to even begin. The runt's limits mental capacity had rendered them mute, with most only learning they can emit sound when faced with pure existential terror. The miniature girl sucked in as much air as she could and exhaled it all at once. It was enough to make the vocal chords she wasn't even aware she had to vibrate into a deep moan. She was onto it!

"Hhhhhh.....hhhhhh......hhhhh," it didn't take long for Claire to discover the exhalation of her breath could cause other sounds to erupt from her throat. This alone made her leap for joy and spin in place. Continuing to practice, she experimented with the shape of her mouth, as she'd witnessed the giants do when communicating with one another. Another eureka moment followed, this was how they... and now she... could control and change these sounds.

"Hhhhhhhoooo....hhhhhaaaaa.....hhhhhhhhhheeeeeeep...hhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeellllllll.....hhhhhhhhheeeeeeelllllllp.... hhhhheeeeeeeellllllppp...heeeeeelp.....haaaeeelp!"

The smile beaming across her grimey face, as she repeated what may very well have been the first word ever spoken by a runt, could almost light up the dark passage within the wall with its intensity. She clenched her fists to her face with barely contained delight. A new sound erupted from her throat, one to compliment the way she felt... a light, hoarse giggle. Claire was on her way. With the easiest of the four words out of the way, she then tried the next... please.

"Ppppp...puuuhhhhh....pppppuuuhlllll.....eeeeee....puuuh...lllleeeeee....sssss. Puh...leeee...ssssuh....pppplleeeesssuh...puh-leeeee-suh!"

Once again the determined young runt danced in celebration. The next words were far more difficult, but over the course of the next hour or so, she trained her inexperienced vocal chords to force them out.

"Thhhhhaaaaaaaannnnk... yyyyy-uuuuu."

This was it! Claire had her disguise. She'd spoken in the giants' tongue. And most importantly, tucked securely under her arm, she had their magic. The time had come to put all of her hard work to the test.

The shop had died down from the drive time rush, leaving only a couple of patrons waiting their turn for the single hole restroom. Claire peeked out from within the same crack she'd dragged the debit card through earlier. Other than the pair of women standing impatiently in their urinary kiosk, the coast was clear of any gargantuan feet capable of grinding the diminutive runt into paste.

Thinking about such an unpleasant fate, Claire found herself looking down at her own dirty feet, realizing she'd overlooked a portion of her disguise. The giants always covered theirs, just like the rest of their bodies! She considered abandoning the mission right there and then! At least... that's what her anxious thoughts were telling her to do.

No, Claire shouted inside her mind, trying to bring that confident focus back. Don't talk yourself out of this! They aren't going to notice your leg hands!

With chin held high and an assured gate, Claire squeezed out of gap between the register and the wall and stepped onto the sales floor. All four inches of her standing as tall as she possibly could. It had to look like she belonged, as if she owned the place. She dared not to venture too far out and risk getting caught amidst any potential foot traffic. She'd become quite the daring explorer in a very short time span, but that didn't mean she knew better than to push her luck. Claire made for the impulse items located at the base of the register counter, the lowest hanging fruit.

A bright orange package with yellow print on its surface caught her eye immediately. A grinning jack-o-lantern pictured on its packaging meant very little to her, as the makers of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups had shipped out their usual Halloween promotions towards the end of summer. It wasn't the cartoon pumpkin that caught Claire's eye, but the chocolatey disk also pictured prominently on the wrapper. Two of them actually, one of which had been bisected to show off the delicious peanut buttery center. While she'd tasted chocolate enough times to know what it looked like, that particular filling was completely alien to her. Her mouth was already watering.

The long package slid easily enough across the floor once Claire's tiny runt hands managed to pry it from its shipping box. One would be right to think a person small enough to fit in the palm of a hand had bitten off a bit more than she could chew by going for the full King Size. Claire wasn't just thinking about herself, but also her family back in the nest... even if they were completely incapable of doing the same for her.

Craning her neck upwards, little Claire kept her eyes locked on the edge of the counter that stretched so high above her position on the floor. She kept dragging the Reese's dour pack further away from the rack until she could see the register attendant's face come into view. Now she felt exposed... standing alone on a cold, indifferent desert of checkerboard tile.

The clerk was a girl in her teens with darkly dyed hair and intricately applied makeup to complete the gothic look she was going for. Metal piercings adorned her septum and eyebrows, as well as a row of rings lining the outskirts of a single ear. The towering girl's attention rarely left her own mysterious rectangle that even more rarely left her grasp. Claire noted that hers seemed much more impressive than the thin plastic card the diminutive runt had acquired.

The black-clad girl's was much thicker and shinier, rounded on the edges and beaming light back into its owner's face. For so many to come to this girl on a daily basis for their needs, Claire reasoned that this particular giantess must be a very powerful being indeed. Any alpha such as that would require superior magic. Taking another quick glance at her own rectangle, Claire understood how captivating something that might be. She could stare at her own all day in awe.

This reject from a Tim Burton film had only been working at the station for a couple of weeks. She seemed pretty distant from her coworkers, shooting them irritated eye rolls when they weren't looking on a regular basis. Her overall entrancement with her glowing rectangle, a device which Claire would later learn was called a phone, was something else the increasingly resourceful runt could use to her advantage. If the giantess couldn't be bothered to look in Claire's direction, perhaps she also wouldn't notice that her patron was only four inches tall. She didn't take into account the vast space between herself and the card reader. The tiny girl was overwhelmed with the situation as it stood.

She positioned her first ever purchase on the ground in front of her with great care, lining its edges up neatly with those of the tile beneath her feet. Her teensy heart was pounding in her chest, as well as nervous sweats already soaking into the paper of her makeshift dress. She rubbed a few more wrinkles out for appearances sake before choking back her fear and calling out to the cashier.

"Hhhhhhaaaaaaeeelp! Puh-llleeeee-suh!"

The clerk didn't even look up from her phone, completely hypnotized by the latest Tiktok from her favorite content creator. Claire looked from side to side to ensure she and the bored teen were still alone. Her throat had dried from her heavy, nervous breathing, so she took a big gulp before trying again in a louder tone.

"Hhhhhu-aaaaaeeelpuh! Puh-luh-eeeee-suh!"

This time the towering cashier seemed to notice... sort of. She set her phone down, expecting someone to be standing on the other side of the register, only to find herself still very much alone. She figured the voice she'd heard had come from the cafe adjoining the shopping area of and shrugged it off, returning to her digital drip feed.

Claire was sweating bullets by this point. Ready to give up and return to the relative safety of the drywall, instead she chose to try one... last... time, "puh-leeeeees-uh! Hhhhhaaaaaaaalp!"

In an annoyed huff the goth girl dropped her phone on the counter and gave one of her signature eye rolls. She leaned over the sales counter and peered down towards the diner. She snapped the now flavorless gum she'd been gnawing on between her teeth and shouted, "hey! Anyone gonna help that customer?!" She settled back into place, but before she could resume filling her brain with more extravagant makeup tutorials, something caught her eye. Movement... coming from down on the floor.

Claire's heart skipped a beat. This was the first time she'd ever actually made eye contact with one of these gargantuan beings. They were intimidating enough without having one staring directly back at her. Like a mouse cornered by a cat, Claire felt like prey. Still, she'd come to far to back down now. Putting on her biggest smile, she raised the debit card over her head. Trust its power, Claire thought to herself, she'll know what it is... and you'll belong.

"EwewewewEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEW!" The clerk's reaction should have been expected, but Claire had woefully convinced herself otherwise. Before she could even react, the tiny girl had been knocked off her feet by an incoming roll of paper towel the size of a grain silo.

The cashier continued to scream at the disgusting vermin that had invaded the store, once-human trash that was clearly trying to make off with a candy bar. Whatever tough exterior she was trying to present evaporated at the sight of something smaller than a squirrel. Just another girl screaming about a mouse or a spider. Above all else was the gross out factor. The chance that this runt may have put its filthy paws on any of the other candies nearby meant that all of them would have to be thrown out.

Dazed and terrified, Claire tried to regain her footing. She instinctually made for the narrow passage next to the counter, but hesitated for just a moment. She looked for the card, now laying face down next to the peanut butter cups she'd never get to taste. She felt betrayed, naive, but most of all... angry with herself. Angry for thinking there was any other way to live than the one she'd always known.

This moment of self-reflection would be short lived. A powerful jet of industrial cleaner rained down from the hands of the cashier with all at the force of a fire hose, easily knocking Claire's insignificant form off her feet once again. The strong bleach fumes burned at her nostrils and eyes. The wet tile became slick and difficult to run on. Claire was in trouble.

Her feet and hands slipped repeatedly, causing Claire to fall twice more before finally making it back to the crevice. She was pinned, but she at least had a chance to catch her breath. Tears poured down her cheeks as her body naturally tried to expunge the bleach from her burning, reddening eyes. Claire could still see, but the searing pain made it feel like her eyes were going to burn right out of her head.

Despite all of this, that damn card was still on her mind. Even through her blurred vision she could still see the thing. It was there, resting not far from where she'd found it in the first place. So close... yet lost to her.

"What seems to be the problem, Ms. Baker," having been lured from his office by the commotion on the sales floor, the store's manager suddenly made an appearance at the front of the store. He could see his cashier grimacing and spraying cleaning spray wildly, as well as a pair of women standing near the restroom door, each recoiling in disgust.

"RUNTS," the cashier exclaimed, "I saw one! It ran under there!"

The manager's shoulders sunk as he rolled his eyes, "wonderful. That's just what I fuckin' need right now." He dropped down to his knees and peered into the tiny space. "Watch the other side and make sure it doesn't run out the other side... and maybe try not to broadcast that we have runts across the store, hmmm?"

"I ain't touching that fuckin' thing!" The girl barked back. "I'm gonna get Hanta virus or something!"

The manager shook his head, "then just put one of those big ass boots in front of it!" He'd never understand how anyone would want to spend their entire shift in shoes that looked so uncomfortable.

The cashier huffed in disgust, crossing her arms and scowling at her superior crawling around on the floor like a dog. She did as she was instructed though, placing the sole of her boot in front of the little crevice on her side of the counter.

Things had gone from bad to worse. Claire found herself trapped between an enormous blinking eye at one end of the crack and thick, heavy tread at the other. Her head darted back and forth from one to the other in a state of complete panic.

She was fucked... and she knew it.

There was a reason others like her were so afraid of the giants. They had good reason to be. She should have known better. And now, facing a sure death quite literally in the eye, Claire felt nothing but the gravest regret.

The store manager's fingers were to large to fit into the tiny crevice to extract the cowering runt. He scratched and pried at the heavy counter, but the thing wouldn't budge. "I can't get to it," he grunted as as his fingernails gnawed at the opening. His efforts were proving fruitless, a new strategy would be needed to fish the pest out. He instructed the cashier to, "hold on... don't move."

The roll of paper towel that had nearly crushed the poor, frightened Claire, was still rolling around on the floor next to him. To ensure she didn't get away while he looked for something to hook her with, the tall, dark-skinned businessman stuffed a crumpled wad into the hole. "That'll hold it for a minute. Just... stay there, Ms. Baker... while I go find something to dig it out of there with."

"Where exactly do you think I'm gonna go?" She snarked back.

Ignoring his employee's insubordination, the manager ran back into his office to search for a wire hanger. Throwing his jacket over the back of his chair, he proceeded to bend and straighten the only one he could find on his way back to sales floor. Expecting the runt to make a break for it, this not being his first rodeo when it came to catching the little nuisances, he knelt back down and carefully removed his Brawny brand paper "cork."

"It's a tiny one, for sure," he mused, as much to himself as to the increasingly impatient Ms. Baker. "Still, where there's one, there could always be a lot more."

"Duh," the cashier replied in an annoyed tone. "You think I don't know that?! Listen, man... I didn't sign up to work in some runt-infested shithole! I don't need to catch whatever they had and shrink away to nothing!"

The manager paid the bratty teenager little mind as he began to carefully insert the hooked end of the straightened hanger into the mouth of the hole. Ms. Baker wasn't the first entitled teenager he'd employed, and she certainly wouldn't be the last. He learned to bite his tongue and deal with their inane bullshit early in his promotion. "Don't worry, as soon as I get a hold of our little friend here I'll make sure to nip this problem in the bud."

The sharp metal hook crept ever closer, forcing Claire to retreat towards the equally deadly Doc Martins that could snuff out her life without so much as a yelp. Inching ever closer, the curved tip managed to catch the garbage tie holding her paper dress in place. Before the gigantic man had a chance to use this new leverage, Claire released it from her waist.

The manager didn't think twice about how strange it was for a runt to clothe itself. It was unheard of! In his mind, the stupid thing had gotten itself stuck in a wadded up napkin and couldn't get itself free. With hook planted firmly in Claire's dress, he was damned determined to use this creature's misfortune to his advantage. A quick tug was all it took and the napkin came easy. In fact, he'd managed to rip the simple garment right off her body!

"Damn!" He cursed at his own misfortune. The frustrated man suddenly felt like he was getting fucked over by an arcade claw machine. He hated claw machines.

Once again nude as the day she was born, Claire clawed at the walls like a frightened animal. She kicked back against the curved wire, knowing damn well that if it got to her, this giant had the strength to pull the metal hook right through her. It wasn't long before she'd been forced so far inside the crack that the skin of her back found the rubber sole of Ms. Baker's shoe.

"EWEWEWEW!" The cashier panicked, "I just felt it touch me!"

In a reflexive act of pure revulsion, the grossed-out goth pulled her foot away... if only for a second. The cornered runt wasn't about to waste an opportunity like that. She slid over the heavy heel like a stuntman in a seventies cop show and landed safely on her hands and knees. From there, she bolted for her life, clearing the vast plain between the counter and cigarette wall in record time... if anyone kept those kinds of records, that is. The cashier continued to squeal, anxiously dancing in place and shaking her hands in quite the pathetic display. The sheer sight of a creature so insignificant as Claire scurrying across the floor like a wolf spider had pushed the Baker girl into an outright tantrum.

"EWEWEWEWEWEWEWGROSSGROSSGROSS!"

The manager dropped his head in defeat. His patience had been tested, but everyone has their limits. Enough was enough. He climbed back to his feet and cursed out his overly dramatic employee, "goddamnit! You let it get away!"

The cashier spit back, "don't you yell at me! I told you I didn't want to touch it!"

As previously stated, this man had dealt with her type many times before and knew when it was best to take a step back. No one ever won a battle with a teenager that didn't result in them storming out of the room, and he sure as shit wasn't going to spend the rest of his evening trapped behind the counter slinging Black And Milds to smelly truckers. He took a deep breath and informed his newest and most demanding employee that he'd be in contact with an exterminator, then retreated into his office and slammed the door.

Safely back inside the wall, Claire could hear the giants bickering among themselves. When they finished, the cashier quickly closed off the hole by covering it with cigarette cartons to keep any more unwanteds from catching her off guard. Claire was left in the pitch black as a result.

She tried to rub the burn from her eyes, but more than that... she was beside herself with shame, fear and sadness. Curled up against a two by four and bawling into her hands, Claire felt lost. Alone. She didn't fit in with her own kind... and the world she so admired and desired more than anything to be part of had rejected her. For the first time in her life... Claire didn't see those out side the wall as titans or giants. She only felt how small she was.





End Part 2

[Bloodthirstybutcher]

Halloween Candy

Part 3




"Claire! Earth to Claire!"

While the sound of Sonny's voice had failed to penetrate his pet's trance-like state, it was a different one that finally snapped her out of it. A jingling sound, one he knew she couldn't resist.

Claire blinked back to reality, momentarily lost in thought and past regrets. She peered upwards from her perch on the kitchen counter to that of a joyous sight. A ball, one that looked so tiny pinched between her master's fingertips, but easily the size of a beach ball from her perspective. Not just any ball though. When shook or rolled, this magnificent sphere would light up in a rainbow of color and sing the most wonderful song when the bells within would rattle. This was Claire's favorite toy.

"There she is," Sonny mused, "thought I'd lost ya there for a minute."

Claire redirected her gaze from the glowing orb to Sonny's concerned face. She puffed out her chest and shook her head, beaming that infectious smile of hers back at him. She lifted both of her arms to beckon for her beloved distraction.

"I was saying, since you obviously weren't listening," Sonny joked, "that the pizza will be here in about thirty minutes." Claire responded by licking her lips and rubbing her stomach with one hand, a gesture that always made her giggle just as much as it did Sonny.

"Alright, well why don't you chase your ball around for a bit while I get changed out of my work clothes? Then we can kick back and watch a movie, sound like a plan, Sam?"

Claire feigned offense, patting her chest to correct him, "n-nn-aauuht-uh S-sssam! Cuh-laire!"

"My mistake," he laughed. This was a pretty common inside joke between them. A runt capable of understanding humor? Will the wonders never cease?! "Does Claire approve then?"

The tiny girl nodded enthusiastically, still grinning from ear to ear. That would be quite enough of that nonsense though, as that beautiful, shimmering globe was still going unplayed with. Claire wiggled her fingers to emphasize just how much she wanted the thing. A child-like innocence that never failed to melt Sonny's heart.

He motioned to scoop her back up in his hand to set her down on the floor, but Claire's tiny legs were already in motion out of sheer impatience and excitement. A skilled climber by any measure, it didn't take long before she was dangling over the edge of the counter and dropping onto the seat of the stool. She then scurried over to the next precipice and slid down one of the chrome legs like an oversized fire-pole. She landed safely on the carpeted floor and prepared herself for the chase.

Her agility had once kept Sonny on edge, worried to death that she'd injure herself. As time passed, he came to realize just how strong and independent Claire actually was. She'd had to survive out there on her own in a world that that cared little for the troubles of miniature feral humans. While always glad to lend a hand when she'd let him, the stubborn little runt was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Sonny grew to love and respect this about her.

"You ready?" He asked, arching his arm back like he was ready to throw a strike.

Claire jumped up and down, clapping her hands like the wings of a hummingbird. You could say she was a little excited.

"Alright... gooooooo... get it!" The ball rolled out of Sonny's and and raced across the floor to the other side of the room, jingling and flashing all the way. Claire took off after it, giggling and tripping over herself in the process. You'd think it's been months since she'd seen her rollable toy, but this was a daily ritual. Something Sonny bought at a dollar store as an afterthought brought this lovable runt more joy than most of us will ever know. A harsh life will do that. One where the concept of fun was virtually nonexistent. Physically speaking, Claire was in her twenties, but meeting Sonny had gifted her something her childhood had denied her... simple contentment.

While Sonny peeled his sweaty, grease-stained work attire away from his pasty dad bod, Claire continued to knock her ball around the room, marveling at the visual and audible beauty of the strange talisman. That stupid debit card had nothing on this! The giants were certainly capable of horrendous acts of cruelty. She'd witnessed it first hand, but things like that silly little ball reminded her of why she was so drawn to them in the first place... that they were capable of great wonders as well.

As smart as Claire was for a runt, she was still a runt, inheriting the attention span of a five year old. As she gave chase once more, her mind had drifted far away from thoughts of that horrible day nearly a year ago. Sometimes... a little ADHD isn't a bad thing.

How else would she ever cope with what she had done. She couldn't have known what she'd be responsible for causing. Even if she did, most couldn't live with that kind of guilt. That day... when, unbeknownst to her, she set the wheels in motion that would lead to the destruction of her people...


The station's manager made good on his word and contacted an extermination service to inspect the building. Unfortunately, due to the remoteness of the truck stop's location, combined with the fact that they... and every other exterminator in the area were booked up, they weren't able to get out there until December!

This came as quite a shock to the dutiful manager, thinking he'd have the situation dealt with before the nasty Midwest cold hit. He made due until then, setting glue traps and poison pellets around the property... discreetly, of course. The last thing he needed to saddle the business with was a reputation for being a filthy runt hovel. As the weeks went by though, the number of tiny humans he'd ensnared or found bloated and dead after binging on D-Con had confirmed his fears. The Sinclair station had a full-blown infestation.

Christmas Eve. That's when pest control finally arrived to deal with the problem. It was common knowledge among the staff that the place was indeed infested by that time. They'd secreted away the remains of plenty of the human vermin over the two months leading up to the holiday. It only got worse once the temperature began to drop. Given the nature of the less than noble runt, even those living in the wild would gravitate towards the giants' structures seeking shelter and food when either became scarce. A huge risk, but when your choice is that or freezing to death, even the simplest of creatures choose the risk.

The extermination team opened up several holes in the walls to probe for signs of habitation. Using a powerful vacuum unit, designed specifically for this purpose, it was fed into the wall to snake out the many nests that had accumulated that fall. The contents of the collection bin would then be safely disposed of in an incinerator back at their home base. This was to prevent the spread of pathogens the runt population could be carrying, as was the procedure recommended by FEMA and animal control.

As the days grew shorter and the nights much colder, Claire had taken to huddling with her nest again since that day she had tried to pass as one of them. She continued to clothe herself in rags for warmth, but covering herself also helped keep the hornier members of the clan from giving into their basest impulses when they saw her. She didn't want to be there, but the mass of warm bodies was difficult to turn her nose at.

When the massive drill broke through the wall that day, it marked the end of the nest altogether. First, a grinding noise reverberated through the dark passage before the bit broke through, shining light into into the nest. After that, pure, all-out chaos erupted within the wall. Claire's compatriots screamed when they had never used their vocal chords before, cowering before the spinning phallic implement. Only after the bit had retracted again did the real horror began.

To Claire's uneducated mind, a snake had found its way into their den. She'd only encountered one of the limbless reptiles once, but at the tragic cost of a brother's life when he was swallowed alive by one in the fields behind the station. In reality, the serpent invading their home that Christmas Eve was the business end of the industrial grade vacuum. People she'd known for her entire life were suddenly pulled into the air by the hurricane force suction and vanished into the gaping mouth of the plastic proboscis. Little did she know they'd meet their end in a far grislier fashion later on.

The diminutive blonde managed to escape, really the only one with the mental capability to do so. The hole leading to the outside of the building had given Claire an out when so many others were left to accept their fate. With those men clearing out the walls with their insatiable mechanical snakes in such an efficient manner, her only option was to take her chances outside the walls of the building. With only a thin scrap of fabric to cover her nakedness and nothing to protect her hands and feet, she braved a path through the snow.

It was cold. Unbearably so. Cold like Claire has never experienced before. Where green filed and stood in the summertime, now were only mountains of snow drift. The last remaining runt would find no sanctuary there. She instead to follow the footprint of the building around towards the front, being drawn by the light of the pump area. Claire knew little of life outside the walls, but light was good... light meant warmth. She came to a large, round cave or sorts, the open mouth of a plastic cup that rolled slightly in the wind. With her toes growing numb and pink from the ice beneath her feet, it was there that she would take shelter. It wasn't ideal, but it shielded her from the biting wind. The sun began to fall, and so too did temperature. Fast.

The cold was oppressive. Numbing. Relentless. The wind howled around her with incredible force, rocking the cup like a ship trapped in a squall. She cried for those whom she'd lost... who'd been eaten! The tears froze to her cheeks faster than they could fall. Her lips dried even as they turned blue. And yet the air grew colder... and colder... and colder still. Claire was going to die.

But...

A single chance presented itself.

A lone giant. Standing idly outside the store, close enough to touch. Bearded and heavy set, a monster by any measure to her tiny eyes.

He could stomp the life right out of her, kick her meager shelter into the night sky like it was nothing. On the verge of freezing, a quick death was more appealing than the slow end she was going to meet otherwise. Claire gathered what little strength she had left and called out, using the words she knew the best....

Please.

Help.

Thank you.


This time... her efforts were rewarded.


Sonny kicked back in his recliner and lifted the remote to turn the television on. Claire would join him, but only after wearing herself out in pursuit of her toy. She laid on her stomach, kicking her legs up in the air behind her, right in her favorite spot... atop Sonny's considerable tummy. It was always soft and warm there... and often resulted in loving pets from enormous, but gentle fingers. How she wished Sonny didn't have to disappear during the day so they could be together like this all of the time.

The unlikely pair binged a few YouTube videos Sonny had been meaning to catch up on while they waited for the pizza to arrive. When it did, Sonny hoovered down about half of the pie himself. Not to be outdone, Claire somehow fit an entire pepperoni inside her very tiny stomach. She'd managed to cover herself in greasy cheese and sauce, so Sonny cleaned his little friend up with a damp cloth before finally starting the movie. The single, childless man found her messy eating thoroughly entertaining and always enjoyed spoiling her with attention.

Settling back into their cozy positions, Sonny scrolled through the various streaming services looking for a good horror movie to watch for the occasion. "How about a classic," he suggested, "Halloween!"

"Hhhaaaalllooowwweeeenn!" Claire parroted.

Sonny chuckled, "that's right! Good job!" He then rewarded her with a few pets on the top of her head. It was such a magical, wonderful sensation, one that made her tingle all over and melt into the folds of his t-shirt. She rested her chin on her arms and let the blissful feeling of Sonny's touch envelop her senses. She could fall asleep with ease... and often did.

Of all the customs that remained mysterious to the happy little pet, television and movies weren't all that difficult a concept for Claire to understand. After all, she too had spent entire days sitting in her hiding spot behind the phone card display back at the gas station, doing what was basically the same thing. Watching these lumbering giants go about their daily business like a backwards ant farm. The fact that they too found enjoyment in watching each other as well was what surprised her!

Sonny loved movies. He delved into all sorts of genres, but mostly gravitated towards action and horror. Action was fine... exciting even, but horror was not to Claire's tastes. Too many real life horrors had found her during her short life, so finding entertainment in terror didn't make a lick of sense to her. Sonny explained to her several times that none of it was real. "People like telling stories," he'd say, "especially when they aren't true." She didn't quite understand what he meant by that.

The usual anxiety she got from watching these sorts of films started to spin around in the back of her mind, despite the reassuring touch from such careful and loving fingers. The Shape, Michael Meyers, was especially chilling to her. He never spoke, he had no emotion... just a stalking force of nature. A killing machine. How Sonny could sit there so casually and calmly and watch what that monster was doing astounded the now trembling girl.

She wondered if he subjected himself to these horrors to test himself. A means of facing his fears until they no longer held any power over him. As often as he indulged in the subject matter, she figured her master had to be considered especially brave among the other giants. They probably looked up to him, counted on his strength in the face of whatever real life horrors out there that she didn't even know about. As the killer in the bleached-out William Shatner mask ran his knife through another unsuspecting victim, Claire ducked behind a fold in sonny's shirt like a child hiding under the blankets from the unseen nightmares lurking in the closet. No, she thought to herself, watch it. Be brave like Sonny.

From outside the apartment, the sound of children's laughter drew Claire's attention away from the violence on screen. From the apartment's second story perch, she could see lines of young ones marching down the sidewalks, each dressed in strange attire and carrying orange pails or empty pillow cases. Looking back to the screen, amazingly there were children in the movie doing the same! What exactly was this strange ritual?

Claire tugged at Sonny's shirt in an attempt to gain his attention. It usually took a few tries as her motions could often be imperceptible to a being so large. "Oh," he exclaimed once he finally noticed, "do you need something to drink, Claire?"

The curious runt shook her head. She pointed at the children on the screen, then out the window. "Wwwww-yyyyy?"

Sonny looked out the window to see the spooky parade for himself, "oh! They're just out trick-or-treating. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Wwwwww-yyyyeeee?" She repeated.

Seeing as this was going to require a bit more of an explanation, Sonny picked up the remote and paused the film. "Trick-or-treating is... how do I explain this... so basically, every Halloween-"

"Hhhhaaaaaalllloooo-weeeen!" Claire exclaimed, cutting him off.

"Yep!" Sonny replied, "you got it! Every Halloween, which comes once a year, children dress up in silly costumes and walk from house to house where people give them free candy."

"Wwwwww-yyyyyyy?" She asked again.

Sonny chuckled, shaking the tiny girl perched on his gut of her stance a little in the process, "you know... I'm not really sure myself! Hahaha! I've never really thought about it! It's just something people have been doing for a long time. I did it when I was little too."

Claire was taken aback by this shocking revelation. She pointed back at him and asked, "y-y-yyy-ou.... sssss-mmmmm-aaaaul? Lllll-iiii-kuh Cuh-lllaire?!" She patted her chest to emphasize the point she was struggling to make.

"Hahaha!" Sonny laughed again. "No no, I wasn't ever quite as small as you, cute stuff. But I wasn't always as tall as I am now. I'm sure there was a time when you were younger that you were smaller than the other runts."

It took a moment for Claire to process what he was getting at, then when it finally dawned on her, her skin flushed to pink with embarrassment for the misunderstanding. She looked mortified, even angry with herself. The little fish out of water could be very hard on herself when it came to these kinds of mistakes. She wanted to be like the giants so badly that it made her chest hurt sometimes. Sonny had seen how upset with herself she could get, so he knew what it too, to calm her back down. That's when he had an idea...

"Hey... would you like to go trick-or-treating?"

Claire's gaze hasn't left the face of her gigantic friend, even through her budding panic attack. It was clear that tears had begun to well in her eyes, but they suddenly grew large and hopeful. In fact, her entire demeanor had shifted, that attention span of hers showing its limitations once again. She nodded apprehensively, not knowing exactly what Sonny's suggestion would entail.

The excitement on Sonny's face helped to relieve Claire of any lingering feelings of self loathing. He wrapped his fingers around his delicate little pet and rocked himself out of his chair. Setting her down on the counter, the normally stoic tow truck driver scratched his chin in thought as he looked back down at her with a wide grin. "Hhmmmmmm... now what can we do for a costume?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Sonny caught a still image on the tv screen. There was Michael Meyers, trapped in electronic limbo until the play button could free him up to continue on his butchering quest. In this particular scene, he's draped in a bed sheet, staring at a very topless and very horny P.J. Soles waiting in bed for her very dead boyfriend to return.

"Ah-ha!" Sonny exclaimed.

He looked excited and energized in a way Claire had rarely seen. He disappeared into the restroom for a quick moment before returning with a single square of toilet tissue. After forming the soft, quilted pulp around his thumb so he could slip it over her head, Sonny then poked a pair of holes in the paper so she could see out of it. A couple more holes, larger this time, in the sides would allow her arms to slip through.

"Alright Claire, lift your arms up for me, will ya?" He stated more than asked. Claire was only happy to comply. Oddly enough, Sonny had become quite skilled when it came to making pretty things for his pet to wear. Making what wear essentially doll clothes in his spare time was certainly something he hoped his coworkers never found out about... he'd never live it down. By this point in their nearly year long relationship Sonny knew Claire's dimensions like the back of his hand. He pulled the D.I.Y. costume down over her head and took a step back to critique his work. "I'll be damned! Ain't you just the cutest little ghost this side of The Haunted Mansion!"

After a quick dash back into the restroom to retrieve a small mirror, Sonny made sure she got to see just how adorable she looked. "Whatdya think, spooky girl?"

Through her tiny peepholes, the perplexed runt stared back at herself with great amusement. She had no idea what she was wearing, or what exactly a ghost was, but found it all hilarious just the same. She giggled and twirled in the T.P. costume several times before Sonny finally interrupted her.

"So, obviously I can't take you around the neighborhood...," he explained, "but we can make due in here." The giant rummaged around for a few seconds in one of the kitchen drawers. When he closed it, he was obviously palming something to obscure it from Claire's view. "Ok, so... I'm gonna go in the bedroom and close the door. When you're ready, just come knock on it and I'll give you a treat... it's that simple! Just be sure to knock hard, ok?" He continued, "your little fists might be kinda hard for me to hear. Oh, and take this with you." Sonny handed her a plastic sandwich bag, much too large for their purposes, but it'd have to do.

Claire jumped in place, clapping her hands together with her usual delightful enthusiasm. She waited until the door was closed, as Sonny instructed, then made her way down from the countertop in the same manner as she had earlier that night. Her paper costume actually made it easier to slide down the tree trunk-sized leg of the stool with so little friction holding her back... something she made a mental note of for the future. Once her bare feet felt the tickling sensation of the carpet fibers, Claire charged ahead on a dead run towards the bedroom. The sandwich bag flew open as she ran, creating drag like a parachute slowing down a drag car.

The door loomed like the entrance to some ancient temple before her. It was strange to see closed. Sonny gave her free run of the place when he was gone, so he normally left all the doors open, save for the main entrance and the balcony. Lifting her hands to the huge wooden gate, the tiny blonde pounded both fists as hard as she could against the surface in a rhythmic pattern. She wasn't sure it would be enough for Sonny to hear, but when the massive knob high above her head began to turn and the latch clicked with release, she got her answer.

Sonny was careful to open the door slowly as he couldn't see where Claire was standing from his side. Sure enough, the fun-sized specter was waiting with her comically oversized sandwich bag opened and ready. She looked so goddamned precious that the big lug could feel himself getting a little choked up. Beat the feelings back down, Sonny.

"Hhhh-aaaaalll-ooo-wuh-eeeeen!" The shrunken spook exclaimed from the tops of her lungs, lifting the bag even higher.

What started as a spit take erupted into full belly laughter. "Well... it ain't trick-or-treat, but it's close enough!" The object hidden in Sonny's hand finally appeared. He rolled the mysterious round item between his fingertips a few times to tease his eager pet before leaning down. "Alright, you puny poltergeist... here's your treat! He bent down and dropped a single foil-wrapped piece of candy into her bag. That may not sound like much, but that little piece of chocolate was the size of a wedding cake to the teensy runt.

Claire took a seat Indian style on the floor and removed the confection from her ziplock carrier. She ran her hands over the aluminum foil wrapping, gaping at the shiny covering. Sonny had seen that look in Claire's eyes before. Like the first time she ever saw her light up ball. She was going to be occupied for a spell. Deciding to leave her to it, Sonny stepped over her and headed back into the living room to finish his movie.

"I hope you enjoy it," he said as he walked away, "they've always been my favorite. Just don't eat too much if it at once or you'll give yourself a tummy ache, ok." Claire didn't respond, still entranced by the object sitting in her lap. Sonny dropped back into his easy chair and resumed with his film, knowing Claire would come join him again when she was ready.

It couldn't be...

Claire had frozen in place. Her illiteracy prevented her from reading the print on the wrapper, but she definitely recognized the shape of that logo. She tugged at the bottom of her costume and let it slide off her head and onto the floor.

It couldn't be...

With trembling hands she carefully pulled the thin metal flaps away from the top of the chocolate. A lump formed in her throat and Claire felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. The conical shaped treat was soon revealed, dark and smooth in texture. The zig-zagged edges, the black paper mold. It looked just like the picture she saw back inside the truck stop.

Claire pulled away a portion of paper to expose the side of the milk chocolate cup. With minimal effort she was able to break away the outer casing and reveal the crumbly peanut butter within. It looked so delicious. It looked so... forbidden.

The nervous runt brought a generous piece to her lips, making sure to bite into an area where she could taste both the chocolate and the peanut butter all at once. Her hesitation was understandable... she'd nearly died trying to obtain one of these things after all. Claire closed her eyes and let the crumb of Reese's cup slide into her mouth.

It was wonderful.

The milk chocolate instantly melted on her tongue, allowing it to mix with the peanut butter even more. It was everything she'd imagined it would be! Maybe even more. Like these two flavors were destined to be together, each feeling less-than without the other. Claire stuffed the remainder of the sugary chunk into her face and broke off another before chewing what she had. It too was gobbled down greedily. She licked the chocolate that had melted to her fingertips, even relishing that.

A familiar roar echoed down the hallway from where Sonny was seated. His jaw was hanging slack and his eyes were closed. Another long day on the road had apparently caught up with him. The guy'd started sawing logs almost as quickly as his ass filled the seat. This was not uncommon.

Looking back at her generous keeper, Claire couldn't help but break into tears. Not a drop or two, but one of those cries that feels like you were choking on it before letting it go.

There was no way Sonny could have known about that day back at the truck stop, nor could he know how much this meant to her. Claire's heart felt like it could burst with the love she felt for this man. A confusing feeling, for sure. The other runts didn't have the mental, or the emotional capacity for such feelings. This burning inside that filled her with elation and hurt all at the same time. Claire loved Sonny with all her heart and soul, but at the same time didn't fully understand this feeling.

None of this was brought on by a little bit of chocolate. Tossing that peanut butter cup into the well only served to make it overflow. There were so many things at made her ache for him. The way he cared for her... the ways he made her feel like she mattered. That she'd finally found the place she actually... the place she always... belonged.

The big goofball snoring away in front of the tv may not have come across as the kind-hearted, gentle soul her really was. No one knows why he felt he needed to hide that side of himself from others, but Claire got to see it. He constantly told her how special she was, believing in what she was capable of when even she wasn't sure she did. This quiet, lonely, unassuming man had taken her in and saved her life when anyone else might have killed her... or just turned their nose up in petty disgust.

No.

In Claire's eyes, she wasn't anything special. Just an insignificant creature in a world filled with giants. It was Sonny who was the special one.

In that moment, this sobbing girl was more determined than ever to break down the barriers between her inner thoughts and real, effective speech. She wanted to tell Sonny how much he meant to her, and to be able to do so without strain or stutter. Claire didn't know if a giant like him was capable of feeling the same way about a lowly runt like her, or even if the giants were capable of feeling this feeling burning her up from the inside out. She knew Sonny did care for her... but was it only the affection a pet owner feels for their cat? Was she a person to him?

Claire was sure not to consume too much more of the Reese's cup, just as Sonny had warned her not to. She wrapped it back up as neatly as it came and placed it back inside the sandwich bag. The tears she'd been crying were wiped away, the sobs choked back and controlled. Her tiny legs carried her back to her owner where she climbed her way back up the corner of lounger.

Like a cat waking its owner at 3AM by sinking its paws into their gut, Claire woke the slumbering giant. She didn't mean to, but it happened from time to time. Sonny snorted back into consciousness, feeling his tiny pet walking across him, even at her almost nonexistent weight. He'd grown so accustomed to the way it felt that he could almost sense her presence without Claire really needing to move at all.

"Hey there, little one," he said mid stretch, "guess I must have dosed off. You didn't scarf all of that chocolate down, did you?"

Claire shook her head and held up the bag to show the evidence.

"Good girl," Sonny replied through a deep yawn. "Those things are so good, but if you eat too much sweet stuff you can make yourself pretty sick. Just take it easy on that, ok?"

Claire nodded in response. She set the bag down on Sonny stomach and proceeded to walk further up his chest. It didn't take long before she'd reached his huge, bearded face. Pushing a bit of his fur aside, she planted a tiny, appreciative peck on the tip of his chin.

"Awwww... what was that for?" He asked.

"Th-th-th-an-kuh.... y-yooou... Ssss-oooonnn-eeeeey."

The giant wrapped his fingers around his little runt and held her lightly against his chest. Claire snuggled deep down inside the warmth and safety of calloused his fist. The repetitive theme of John Carpenter's score still reverberated throughout the room from the still playing movie, but Claire had the powerful rhythm of Sonny's heartbeat to focus on now. Before she too drifted off to sleep, she snuck one last tiny piece of peanut butter cup into her mouth and chewed it with closed eyes and a contented grin. A single thought crossed from her waking mind into her dreams...

Sonny...







The End.

Sonny and Claire will return...

[DocRick]

From chapter one. Posted with permission.

[Bloodthirstybutcher]