The Little Things in Life: Ch. 4

Jason kept a steady jog along the twisting and winding dirt path; the fresh air surging through his powerful lungs.  Sweat beads slowly formed and trickled down the side of his face, dropping onto his navy blue t-shirt.  It felt good to be out and clear his head; the stress of the place he worked seemed to have no end.  Especially trying to appease his father.  He slowed his pace to a walk as a surge of cool wind ran over his warm body.  He clenched his fists as hot air escaped through his nostrils; how he hated that man.

He could feel his blood slowly start to boil and feel that familiar anxiety rise up, desperately trying to escape his being.  He let in a long and steady breath, the September air relaxing his senses.  "Calm down."  He told himself, his voice rough and stern.  

"Well what do ya know," he chuckled to himself as the anxiety started to wane, "Thomas actually knows something."  His therapist, Thomas, and him clearly did not get along.  But for once instead of losing his temper or punching something (or someone) Jason decided to give one of those calming exercises a go—finding that it actually worked.

He looked toward the sky, the steady thumping of his heart slowing to normal as he drank in the golden rays of the sun.  He frowned.  Soon enough he would return to his apartment and continue with the normal, ordinary standard of living that everyone must go through.  But this way of "living" was not living at all.  Working a dream of another man until the day he dies would be the same as digging his own grave and laying in it right this moment.  A sneer rose up on his lips; it sickened him.

A rustle of leaves caught his attention from his trance, the noise catching him off guard.  He scanned the area, his dark teal eyes narrow and focused.  Suddenly a small object shot out of the brush.  At first he believed it to be a leaf caught in the wind because of the green and brown hues that the object gave off.  His eyes widened in shock as his pupils dilated immensely only to see just how wrong he was.  A small girl, no bigger than four inches and covered in mud, was sprinting out onto the dirt path.  

He shook his head, the rush of air vibrating his ear drums.  He once again opened his eyes, focusing on the tiny girl who seemed too panicked to even notice him standing a mere six feet away.  A small ugly blob followed closely behind her, each hideous leg raking the earth to find its time to strike its victim.

A sudden adrenaline sky rocked in his body as he felt his legs kick up and sprint after the pair.  He had to time this just right or the girl would be either killed by the spider or by his misplaced footing.

Claire could hear her blood dangerously pulsating in her ears as the horrible feeling of panicked rush exploded out of her body—sending a prickling sensation surging out of her battered skin.

She stared into the eyes of the creature before her.  Large, black and ominous orbs burned through her soul, hungry for her life.  Long, thick hairy fangs were bared for the crushing blow.  She could see herself in the black pits, her face gaping and her eyes were glued in a wide, horrified state.  She felt the scream that remained trapped in her throat for so long rip through her being and out to greet the fatal attack.  

An explosion erupted before her.  Dirt flew high in the air, engulfing her surroundings.  She shielded her face with her arms as the roar of wind made contact with her body.  As quickly as it happened, it was over.  The large dust cloud started to settle as bars of sunlight peaked its way through the debris.

She waved her arms to try to clear the air in front of her as she coughed several times.  She cracked her eyes open, the sudden rush of bright white luminosity blurred her vision.  As the dust completely settled, so did any noise that followed.  

She felt her heart catch in her throat, the large lump threatening to choke her.  Her face became that of pure awe as her jaw dropped.  Almost like in slow motion she gazed at the object in front of her.  The rubber and leather texture looked out of place amongst the dirt and leaves.  Pure black material held the most intricate designs along with a large, pale blue slash that glided its way into what resembled a quick check mark.

She felt her blood spike as a single leg from the spider lingered out in the open from under the massive shoe and continued to twitch.  Her head began to spin as the slow motion feeling continued into what seemed like eternity.  She craned her head, a massive shadow hovered above her and blocked out all light from the sky.

She could feel another scream begin to shred its way through her body, until all light and noise was completely snuffed out by living darkness.  The sickening feeling of traveling upward felt like her stomach was forgotten below.  She could feel the fleshy walls around her pulsating with a fast heartbeat, a warm, strong salty smell surging in her nostrils.

Jason could feel her in his hands.  Her small heartbeat fluttered at an alarming rate against his palms.  Never before had he felt more in control of anything in his life.

Claire tried to stand but only met with the walls of hot flesh on all sides.  She groped around for some kind of crack, anything to get out of the living cage.  Panicked and terrified, Claire tried with all her might to push upward to break free.  Immediately the walls reacted and swiftly closed down, threatening to crush her.  She got as close to the bottom of the cage she could go, her whimpers only being swallowed up by the warm skin that surrounded her.

Jason became slightly aggravated when the small girl tried to push her way free.  Not only one second after being saved by him and she was already trying to get away.  He forced his top hand downward, only slightly for her to stop squirming around.  He felt her go still.  

Although like a snap back to reality he realized his actions.  He slowly moved his cupped hands to his pocket in his shorts where he released the girl and he felt her fall into the cloth and against his leg.  He ran both of this hands through his sweaty hair, his eyes wide but never really focused on anything.

He was shocked and amazed at the situation that took place.  He was still baffled and trying to piece the story together in his mind, even then it sounded crazy.  But Jason also felt a twinge of guilt settle on his shoulders.  The way he just snatched her up and trapped her in the palms of his hands made him disgusted with himself.  He shook his head making his shaggy sandy hair fall down in front of his eyes.  Before he started on his way to his apartment, he wiped his shoe in the dirt several times to get the dead spider from the bottom of this shoe.  His top lip curled from the feeling of repulsiveness, he really hated spiders.

* * *

Claire felt herself falling along side of the slippery cloth.  With a thud she knocked into something hard on the other side of the material.  A strong sickening feeling make the ends of her hair stand erect, she had no doubt it was a leg.  She tried to find footing but soon fell backwards into what she assumed to be a pocket; the smooth material caressed her bruised and scraped skin.

I'm in the pocket of a giant...she thought.  She continued to think that statement over and over in her head like a recorded message.  Even after hearing it over twenty times it still seemed impossible, yet here she was.

The swaying movements of the giant's footing added to the looseness of the material made her feel sick to her stomach.  She had to break free, there was no choice in the matter.  All her life she spent time trying to discover adventure, and she was sure she didn't mean like this.  She couldn't even comprehend just how much danger she was truly in.

Being a faithful fan of anime (a secret that she kept from Aunt Meg), she thought of a plan that probably could only work in the imaginary world.  Maybe she could fight the giant, she thought.  Her eyes turned to slits as she thought about slapping herself.  Her fighting a giant?  A male one that that?  Only in the anime world did she actually stand a chance.  This unfortunately was the real world, where real danger existed.

She had to think of a more realistic way of escape.  She looked upward where the entrance of the pocket mocked her with the light that flooded in.  That was the only way out.

She rubbed her hands together as she tried to grip the thick material in her tiny grasp.  Her attempt brought no avail.  Her breathing became heavier as the giant's monstrous footsteps changed from a dense thud to a hollow echo.  They were inside a building.

Her eyes darted madly trying to find anything she could grip in order to hoist her upward to safety—to her freedom.

Nothing.

She sank down and wrapped her arms around her legs.  She dared not think what the monstrous being would do to her.  Helpless and scared, Claire covered her face and awaited the creature's next move.