This choice: Ruby unwarily steps on Blake, but he survives • Go Back... Blake desperately lept up and down, praying to the spirits that this oncoming behemoth would take notice of him.
Boom. Her step forward resounded against the school's uniform tile floor. To any other person, it would be a simple clack from her heel. Blake was not any other person. He shouted for her, cupping his hands to his tiny mouth. "Ruby!"
THUMP.
He couldn't help but gaze in astonishment at the immense width her step traversed. It'd take him a long dash to get across a few tiles; her long, smooth legs, in shape for cheer-leading sessions, could cross it in seconds. At this angle, they were even more impressive. So many powerful joints and muscles flexing and relaxing on her command, all within either limb; each as polished, firm, clean, and overbearing as the great marble statues on pillars he saw in history class. Yet, more colourful - indeed, full of colour and energy, constantly on the move, as if she were still in the middle of a cheer routine and couldn't stand still.
At Blake's height, glimpsing her footsteps was like watching the entire ceiling shift. No; like watching a whole landscape of skin and soft cotton coming to life around him, not forgetting the hard, red material of her pumps. All of it springing up from feet away, shooting high into the skies... And coming down!
THWOOOOOM!
The minuscule mage shouted again, feeling a horrendous tremble from his toes to his dark-haired scalp. Was the floor shaking with THAT much vitriol from a mere footfall? Or was that just his nerves? Goosebumps formed on him in places he didn't know they could. The sky was a scarlet barrier. Ruby's foot just barely missed him, leaving him safely under the elevated sole.
He could see the heel in front of him, and the ball of her foot behind. In fact, he didn't just *see* it: he could feel the weight either part exerted on the ground as it slid forward. Without even daring to gaze upwards (both out of respect for her modesty and fear for his life) he knew exactly how she'd positioned her foot, and how she was moving it. He experienced it all: the heel slowly lifting; the pressure she applied to the front; the slight wiggle of her ankle; every soul-crushingly immense, immaculate detail.
Before Blake regained his breath, the cheer captain moved again - taking a nonchalant step right past him, uncaring of his pounding heart. The shoe went up in an arc once again, and - BOOM. That next footfall snapped him out of his trance. He screamed out her name again; this time, running after her. The backside in the skies above jiggled slightly with her movement - but this was barely the time to stare up. He couldn't hope to keep up with the active pillars for long.
With one more scream - "RUBY!" - she suddenly stopped. Her body turned on her right heel; the sky transformed from a monolithic back to a towering torso. "Huh? Oh, wow!"
He did it! She was walking towards him! He started waving again, this time more out of joy than desperation. Her face showed no sign of confusion or skepticism; not as welcoming and sweet as Aria's, but he could still trust it. The blonde kept moving... And didn't stop.
She wasn't slowing down. She wasn't even looking at him. When he followed her line of vision, it led to the school's bulletin board - which Blake was right under. A paper attached up there grabbed Ruby's attention, not him! He tried running, but the floor's shaking grew stronger with each of her movements. It put him off-balance, leaving him to fall to the ground. The shrunken boy could only hope his screams reached her before her gigantic shoes reached him...
ThumpthumpTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP- STOMP!
His prayers were in vain.
The left heel descended upon his torso, forcing all his wind out. Unlike the close call seconds ago, this one left him totally disoriented. It was hard to think what he'd been thinking, do what he'd do next; harder still to imagine the immense scale of a whole school beyond this hall, full of students able to crush him just like this; impossible to picture any sensation more intense and real than the panic shooting through his body. Her ankle twisted slightly, carelessly grinding the footwear into Blake's diminutive solar plexus.
But... he was alive. By some miracle, he could still feel his arms, and gasp for air. It slowly came back to him: the spirits! They'd made his body hyper-strong! Once his head finally stopped spinning, he looked up to the skies to thank them.
Like distant clouds, Ruby's blonde hair bobbed slightly above. Her face kept pointed to some announcement on the board. With that cheerful visage, and the excited eye movement, she didn't seem nearly as intimidating. His little body bursting with renewed confidence (or was that blood rushing to his head?), he grabbed a firm hold of the red pillar near him and pushed.
Some of the crushing force on his chest lifted. He felt the footwear move. "Yes! It's working!" He breathed in a long breath, letting his lungs fill, before shouting: "RUBY!"
"...Huh?" She twisted around on her heel, looking behind her. The sudden rotation loosened Blake's grip on the scarlet shoe. Once again, it drove into him - this time, just narrowly missing his groin. He yelped with all his remaining breath, listening it fade into a pathetic whimper, inaudible to even a mouse.
The cheer captain stayed turned, looking for whoever called her name. Indigo was passing through the halls - could it have been her? Didn't sound like her voice - but the blonde waved anyways. The other girl nodded back, arms too full of papers and binders to wave. "Hi."
Below, Blake noticed the footsteps on the other end of the hall. Another titan, shaking the tiled floor with the same strength, served as a reminder to how tiny the teen was. Utterly unnoticeable, pinned under this girl's pump. The new shoes were completely blue - a stark contrast to the ones that pressed on him now Shaking his head, he tried again - this time, his fingers clutched firmly to the smooth red heel. He pushed up, slowly, steadily. Soon, he was able to regain his progress. With a little more freedom of movement, he put his back into it; he wrapped his arms in close to avoid slipping again. Little by little, the shoe moved from the floor.
Ruby smiled, pointing to the bulletin board. "Indy, you got great exam marks!"
"Huh. Who'd have thought." The studious girl spoke in a dry voice, fidgeting with a book. Her purple skirt fluttered gently. "Did you see the game schedule?"
She nodded, hands to her hips. "Yuh-huh! And I'm already boiling up with schooool spirit!" The young woman in red and white performed a high kick, to show off that energy; not really looking where she aimed it. The toe end of her left shoe collided with Indigo's book pile, knocking it out of her hands. "Gah! Omigosh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
"It's fine," she said, kneeling to the ground with a little sigh. The papers fluttered to the ground in a mess. "Just help me pick them up."
Blake was putting in such an effort to keep hold of the heel that his arms froze in place. The lift was followed by relief, then jaw-dropping fear, then an acute loss of his sense of gravity. He nearly flew up as the gigantic girl kicked - the impressive length of her smooth leg just adding to its heel-bound passenger's panic. Ruby's sudden movement gave him a beautiful view of the flooring the two had traversed; now, a looong drop down. And just as suddenly as it lifted, the marble pillar of a leg dropped again, loose papers flying around.
BOOOOM!
This was the worst rumble yet; the quake was enough to make him nearly airborne again. But when it stilled, he was safe again. The shoe no longer pressed down on him. He'd made it out!
Blake's first thought was to get as far away from Ruby's towering pumps. But then he noticed Indigo. Ruby and her were grabbing up papers from the ground - though it looked more like giant, heavenly hands shaping the earth. This was a chance. He could grab their attention while they had their eyes to the floor. Then again, the blue-shirted student looked like she was suspicious about him lately... And with her brains, she could probably figure out he'd been dealing with spirits. But then again, she was more level-headed than the blonde, who could take things a little too far with her playfulness. Would it be better to get help from either one? From both?
He gulped, wondering what to do.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author