Home Invasion 4: Death & the Rat

(story continues from Home Invasion 3: Crime & Punishment)

Part Four: Death & the Rat

8 Abortion

Jennifer woke with a start hearing the high, tiny shrill shrieks of one of her captors. She blinked, shifting and trying to come awake, wondering what was happening but careful not to move her aching body too much, not wanting another death on her hands.

“Take the phone!” a loud voice boomed as she struggled and craned her neck to see what was going on. She could hear the Tinies shouting and pain coursed through her as she shifted, her abused nipples and feet ablaze with agony. The shock collar was still embedded in her pussy but thankfully the pins and needles had been removed from her breasts; she vaguely recalled waking as the Tinies crawled over her sliding them out. The television flashed and flickered as Keanu Reeves leapt from a small sports car onto a speeding Los Angeles bus.

The Tinies were gathered about the far corner of the pillows, panicky and shouting as one of their own writhed in agony. Jennifer focused through her own pain and bleary eyes and saw Anne squirming in agony, holding her huge, swollen belly, screaming as her face contorted with agony.

“What are we gonna do?” one of them shouted waving his arms wildly. Others gasped in horror, as the bloated stomach seemed to throb. Some held one another in fright, staring in harsh fascination as their friend writhed in torment, unable to help. There were screams, and Jennifer saw several of the women crying as Anne screeched. “What are we gonna do?” the man shouted again, his voice high and shrill with emotion.

“End this,” Linda said with a cold, detached finality. She pushed past two of the Tinies that were trying to calm the pregnant woman; washing her down and petting her. Linda stared down at her agonized friend and Jennifer saw the leader’s head, shake from side to side, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

“Please…” Anne wailed, her voice slurred as she fought past her pain to beg. Jennifer wondered if she was pleading to save her life or to end her torment.

Linda slowly raised her sword high over Anne’s bloated body, the tiny pregnant woman squealing in pain, her words distorting into harsh sobs and grunts again. It took Jennifer a moment to realize what must have happened. The baby in Anne’s belly must have shifted and was now in such a position that the tiny woman could no longer contain it.

“God, no! Don’t!” someone shouted, but Linda ignored the woman rushing forward, her sword slicing down.

Anne shrieked again even as the blade slashed into the bulging flesh of her belly. Her stomach burst, exploding in a ghastly spray of blood, the huge fetus that had been trapped within the pregnant woman surging out to hang limp and slimy and dead from the woman’s stomach. Several of the Tinies dropped to their knees or bent over and vomited at the horrific scene and Jennifer struggled to hold down her own bile, knowing that she would suffocate if she let her body succumb. The womb was slit and the juices of nurturing life oozed onto the floor as steam rose from the gaping maw.

Incredibly Anne still lived, her screams rising in pitch from the new pain, her body bucking and flailing in convulsions. All around her the Tinies were screaming or crying, their own wailing washing together into a loud, senseless babble. Only Claire seemed composed, her face sad but hard as she held Anne down with one hand on Anne’s shoulder and the other on her forehead, stretching and exposing her neck. She looked up at Linda and the red head nodded, raising her sword and quickly slicing it down across Anne’s throat. There was another spray of blood as Anne’s cries choked off, her body arching up one final time then collapsing back onto the pillow.

Silence, heavy and dreadful save for the sounds of retching and crying, the television eerily droning in the background unheard. Everyone that could stared at their friend, now dead. Anne’s misery finally at an end.

Linda covered and dripping with blood sighed heavily and dropped to her knees her sword held limp, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry… So sorry…” she sobbed as she wrapped her arms about her belly and rocked on her knees crying.

Claire stepped lightly up and around Anne’s body, ignoring the blood that covered her own skin and dress and placed her hand on Linda’s shoulder. She then dropped to her knees as well and hugged the younger woman to her, caressing and comforting.

“It had to be done,” she whispered, cooing into Linda’s ear. “There was nothing we could do. You did the right thing. Spared her so much pain…”

Linda’s sob was racked with anguish as she took a deep breath. She tossed her bloody sword aside and hugged Claire fiercely. “She didn’t deserve that,” Linda sobbed, holding Claire tighter. “She was so sweet.”

“I know,” Claire said as she petted the larger woman’s blood slick hair. “I know…”

“We’re gonna kill him,” Linda finally said after a few minutes, her crying somewhat back under control. “Him and his whore. He won’t get away with this. BASTARD!” Claire hugged her more tightly and Jennifer felt tears welling in her eyes for the Tiny woman that had suffered so much, her own pain forgotten…

***

Jennifer craned her neck to look at her alarm clock on the small shelf above her bed. The red LED numbers showed 1:42 in the AM. She sighed as she rolled slightly, trying to get comfortable but the pain in her nipples seemed a constant, burning fire that conspired to keep her awake. She noted thankfully that someone had cleaned her breasts while she fitfully dozed in a haze earlier and she saw the bottle of rubbing alcohol not so far away. Hopefully she would not have to worry about infection.

After the traumatic experience of Anne’s death, after the Tinies had regained some control and composure, Linda had directed Jason and Bill to bag Anne’s body as they had earlier done with Ed’s. They had cleaned her as best as they could after first drawing out the remains of the fetus and cutting the umbilical cord. They then bagged both in black plastic shopping bags and several carried the bodies to the refrigerator where they stored them until they would later bury the remains outside somewhere. Everyone was somber and sullen throughout, and Jennifer was little better, trying to show respect, or at least concern for the dead.

After that the Tinies seemed to have no desire to do much of anything. The television played on silently muted in the background but no one was watching. Eventually the movie ended and the DVR shut down switching back to the news channel. Whatever food they had prepared was forgotten, and everyone simply seemed to sit in little groups, mostly silent but for the occasional weeping.

Finally Jennifer saw Linda stand from the spot on the pillow where she had been sitting with Claire, the two women speaking softly. Jennifer could still see the dark spot on the carpeting and pillow, the splattered blood glistening as the television’s glow flickered with changing scenes. She watched as Linda strode to the spot where she had flung her sword away earlier and stood over the letter opener, staring down at it in silence for a long time. Finally the small woman sighed loudly, then bent down and scooped up the blood-splattered sword. When she turned and glanced her way, Jennifer could see the grim determination masking her face.

“It’s time,” was all she had said as she turned back to her clan. Jennifer saw most of the men and a couple of the women stand and move towards their leader, a few climbing the rope ladder down to the floor from the top of the bed, the two-inch tall Frank jumping the figurative five stories to the plush pillow below. They all gathered around Linda, tiny weapons of nails and needles in hand. She saw that three of the men carried coils of string with the paperclip grappling hooks attached. Jennifer wondered what was going on, though by the dark, grim looks on all of their faces she had her suspicions.

“You shouldn’t do this,” Claire said as she limped closer supported by her makeshift cane. “You don’t have to. It’s insane… suicide!”

“We do, Claire,” Linda returned, unquenched anger still in her voice. “We owe it to Anne. She was one of us, our friend. The scum that caused this… the bastard that killed her deserves to die.” Jennifer could see that Linda was shaking, her knuckles white with the fierce grip on the hilt of her sword.

“We didn’t kill HER for Ed,” Stacy choked out with a sob, glaring as she pointed a long silver molding nail at Jennifer. Linda raised her hand to stay the further argument that was starting to swell.

“We’ve been all over this,” she said. “Ed was an accident and his own stupid fault. We punished her for killing Ed and it’s done. Finished!” Linda snapped now glaring at the smaller woman almost daring her to protest further. The two-inch tall Stacy turned away in frustration, anger still apparent from her loss.

“You’re gonna get yourselves killed.” Jennifer heard an almost imperceptible voice and looked about to see who had said that. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the speaker, a very tiny man that was standing on Claire’s shoulder and clinging to her hair for support. Jennifer had to squint in the flickering light to focus, but she could finally see that he was naked and looked to be less than a centimeter tall. He was the smallest Tiny she had so far seen in the group, and she was amazed that he had actually survived at his new size. She wondered too how monstrously huge she must appear to him.

He seemed unconcerned as he pressed on however, apparently adjusted to his size and surroundings. “All it’ll take is for the guy to roll over and crush the lot of ya. An’ god forbid he should wake up. He’ll smash you flat, or worse. Bloody Hell! He stuck the woman he loved in a birdcage and tortured her! What d’ya think he’ll do to you?”

Jennifer could hear the man’s voice rising in pitch and emotion, his words choking as he shouted to be heard. Linda simply waved away his protests.

“It’s a chance we’re all willing to take, Matt,” Linda said with a heavy voice. “A risk we have to take to get justice for Anne.”

“This isn’t justice,” a woman whose name Jennifer did not know piped up. She was black and stood just under four inches, Jennifer judged. “This is just vengeance,” she spat, her fists clenched into fists. “Don’t do this! Dammit, Frank! Don’t go!”

Jennifer saw the two-inch tall Frank frown and shake his head. “We have to, Dani. I wish we could make you understand that. Hopefully you will, eventually.”

The tiny woman burst into tears and ran forward, dropping to her knees to embrace the smaller man who was half her size, sobbing into his shoulder. Jennifer watched tearfully as Frank held her lovingly, stroking her hair until she slowly calmed. She saw others crying as well, both in the group that was leaving and those that were remaining behind. Only Claire seemed composed as she stared hard at Linda, the red-haired leader returning her gaze just as stone cold.

“Take this,” Frank said as Jennifer returned her attention to the tiny black couple, the woman Dani now towering over the shorter Frank like an adult to a child. Frank handed her the little matchstick axe, which she reluctantly accepted. “Just in case,” he added, glancing at Jennifer as he stepped past her to pick up a nail from the supply of their weapons kept at the far end of the bed under the radiator. It was large enough to be a spear in his hands.

There was a long tense moment of silence as he stepped back to the group broken only by the occasional sob until Linda finally spoke up. “Let’s go,” she said, turning away from those that were staying behind without another word. Her gaze lingered on Jennifer as she walked past, and their eyes met. Jennifer saw the tiny woman force a smile and then she was behind her and out of sight, the rest of her group trailing after her.

Several of those remaining moved away from the pillow to keep their friends in their line of sight, stepping past Jennifer and watching. Finally though they all slowly returned to their places, plopping down on the pillow in sad resignation. The mood was somber and quiet; the flashing lights of the television and the flickering candle’s flame making the scene seem surreal.

Claire’s heavy sigh finally broke the silence as she hobbled back to the pillow. She stared at the bloody stain on the floor for a long moment before looking up at the eight clan remaining. She gently raised her hand, palm up to her shoulder and waited as the miniscule Matthew stepped on before lowering him to the pillow.

“There’s nothing to be done for it now, but wait,” she said with a deep sadness in her voice. “And pray… Let’s try to get some sleep.”

Claire punched the ‘Power’ button on the television remote with her cane and instantly the room dimmed to just the light of the one candle near the bathroom door. Jennifer saw the older woman look at her for a moment, her eyes slits as she squinted through the dim, her face otherwise seemingly void of emotion. Whatever the woman was thinking was lost on Jennifer however, and Claire finally turned away to settle in a ways away from her usual spot on the pillow, avoiding the drying bloodstain.

Jennifer turned away as well, trying to get as comfortable as her bonds would allow. She closed her eyes but doubted that she or anyone in the apartment for that matter would be able to sleep that night.

Within moments though, both mentally and physically exhausted, she was sound asleep…

9 Rat

Jennifer gasped as she was fitfully burst from her dreams…

She had been bound and gagged, rope lashed tightly about her naked body and about the rough wooden pole that she had been forced against despite her wild struggles. The wood and harsh rope cut into her skin, biting into her scarred flesh to slice open the bloody welts she had received from the whipping that her tormentors had delivered the night before. She was crying, begging into her gag for them not to do this, but her pleas were ignored save for an occasional burst of laughter or shouted lewd comment.

Men were piling sticks and branches of dead wood higher and higher about her lower legs as Jennifer mewled into her gag, struggling uselessly against the binding ropes. Another man was pouring a sickly smelling oil over the wood as the pile grew higher, chuckling with delight as he watched Jennifer struggling. When they were satisfied a wickedly grinning woman stepped forward and reached up to grab Jennifer’s thick, puffy nipples. She laughed as Jennifer squealed in agony, her nails biting into the already abused, hardening nubs as she squeezed and twisted mercilessly. The mob that had gathered cheered and applauded at Jennifer’s new torment.

“That’s enough,” someone said over the din and the cruel woman stopped. As she backed away Jennifer saw another woman step forward carrying a blazing torch in one hand, an over-sized cutlass in the other. Jennifer thought that she might have been beautiful except that she was dressed in rags and for some reason drenched in blood dripping from head to toe.

“It’s time,” the woman said coldly, her dark eyes reflecting the firelight. A brief, sorrowful smile passed her lips as she casually tossed the huge burning matchstick on the pile of wood surrounding Jennifer’s feet to her knees.

Jennifer screamed into her gag in fright, her eyes tearing as she watched the flames catch to the oil-soaked wood. She could already feel the heat as the fire grew in intensity, the flames growing higher and closer to her bare flesh. She looked up at the crowd beseeching them to free her but saw that most were watching gleefully, smiling and laughing, taunting her. The blood-soaked woman was grinning as she watched intently, leaning on her long sword. Only the older woman at her side seemed impassive, her face blank as she stared at the spectacle.

Jennifer’s fearful screams turned to shrieks of agony as the flames finally licked at her skin. She gagged as she smelled the awful scent of her burning flesh, her feet already ablaze with searing pain. Smoke stung at her tearing eyes, blurring her vision and clouding the shadowy, mocking faces before her. She squealed as the flames climbed ever higher, until…

Breathing hard and eyes wide with fright Jennifer looked about the oddly flickering dim of her apartment. She was shaking and sweating, her heart hammering in her chest as she glanced about wondering where she was and what had happened. Slowly she started to calm as the dream faded away to be replaced by the reality of her situation, which was only a little better.

She was still naked and lying on the cold, scratchy carpeting that covered her small studio apartment’s floor. Still bound with handcuffs and rope, hands behind her back and her roped ankles chained to the leg of her heavy, cluttered desk. Still gagged by the thick rubber ball jammed into her mouth and buckled tightly behind her head. Still aching from strained muscles and the wounds all over her tortured body.

Still a captive.

Jennifer craned her neck as her breathing finally slowed to normal to stare at her captors. The ten tiny people that remained all seemed asleep, though one or two twitched fitfully as they too appeared to be caught in the grasp of some nightmare. She glanced up at the clock above her bed, the glow of the red LED numbers declaring that it was almost five in the morning. The rest of the clan that had invaded her home and holding her prisoner for over two days now had yet to return from their murderous mission of retribution.

Jennifer sighed and lowered her gaze once again to the pillows on the floor in front of her bed and the slumbering group of Tinies. Despite all that they had done to her; stealing her food and clothes, the tortures and torments, she still felt a pang of sorrow for them. She could not imagine the hell that their day-to-day lives must be like to simply survive. The agony of being ripped away from their lives and loved ones. The tortures that some of them had to deal with when they had been abused by the cruel giant world that some random, incurable virus had thrust them in. The horror of having people they once loved turn into monsters that thought of them now as little more than pets or play things, no longer even human beings.

Her gaze fell upon the dark stain blotting the edge of the pillowcase. She stared at the bloody spot that the Tinies now avoided; the spot where they had watched poor Anne die. The spot where the clan’s leader had killed the pregnant woman; putting her out of her misery as the baby she had carried for three months had grown too large for her stomach to contain any longer. Jennifer closed her eyes, blinking back tears as the horrible, frantic scene replayed vividly in her mind’s eye. Jennifer shuddered at the memories, wondering if she would have had the courage to do what Linda had been forced to.

Subtle movement caught her attention at the edge of her sight as she opened her eyes. She shifted her head slightly expecting to see one of the Tinies trudging sleepily back to the pillow after a trip into the bathroom -

Jennifer gasped! Her heart started to beat wildly again as her eyes flew wide with fright. Not a Tiny!

A Rat!

Jennifer was too shocked to move as she stared at the thing creeping along the boxes she had stacked beside the radiator. It was a motley dark brown and its body fat, easily six inches long with a wriggling tail doubling that length. Its black eyes sparkled in the candlelight as it turned its head to consider Jennifer, raising its long whiskered nose to sniff the air. After a moment and apparently not considering Jennifer a threat, it moved on crawling towards the pillow again, drawn by the irony scent of dried blood.

“NNNNnnnn!”

Jennifer screamed into her gag, finally overcoming her shock as the rat charged forward at the noise. She screamed again and bounced about as best she could trying to rouse the sleeping Tinies. The rat stopped and turned towards her, hissing as its tail lashed threateningly, declaring that it was ready to fight for its newfound prize.

“What the fuck?” she heard a voice groggily grumble, slurred from sleep.

“Is she trying to get away?” another voice asked, followed by others less clear. Movement on the pillow as the Tinies slowly came awake, drawing the rat’s attention. Finally someone screamed.

Jennifer struggled violently, trying to get the rat’s attention again, trying to sit up and hopefully scare the creature away, but apparently it was hungry; starving to not scurry off into the safety of whatever hole it had crawled out of. The Tinies were all smaller than it was, weaker and too tempting a meal. Jennifer knew that rats were almost omnivores; able and willing to eat anything. Their teeth were hard and sharp and able to chew through stone with relentless effort to get at whatever they were after. She remembered watching the old Seventies movie, Willard when she was a little girl. Watching in growing fright as rats gnawed away at a wooden door, then swarming over Earnest Borgnine and trying to devour him before he crashed through a window, trying to get away. She had had nightmares for weeks.

More screams as panic erupted on the pillow. Jennifer saw the little people struggling to rise, some running away even as the rat surged forward in a flurry of motion. She could not turn away as she scooted back, trying to get her arms under her again to push up on her elbows. She saw Claire struggling as well as the rat scampered close to her, its mouth open as it swept close to the pillow.

“Matt!” Claire screamed as the rat’s head twisted up, its snout high as it flicked from side to side. Jennifer blanched as she thought she saw tiny arms flailing, then disappearing down into the rat’s mouth. Jennifer forced herself to work harder, frantically pushing her body up to a sitting position.

Once up Jennifer waved her handcuffed arms up and down and all about, trying to get the rat to focus on her and maybe run away. It only glanced her way briefly, blood dripping from its snout before turning back to Claire, the old lame woman having collapsed back to the pillow, her gimp leg unable to support her without her cane.

Jennifer screamed pitifully into her gag and thrashed about, the rat ignoring her as it crept towards Claire. Then a dark flash and she saw the tiny black woman, Dani, charging forward with the razor blade axe held high. She jumped between the rat and Claire, slashing the empty air before her, her voice shouting shrilly threats.

The rat reared up to tower over the smaller woman, its tail lashing wildly, claws raking the air as it hissed its defiance. Jennifer saw Claire crawling slowly backwards, grabbing her cane at last and trying to get up again as Dani slashed the axe back and forth before the threatening creature. Some of the others were shouting and jumping up and down, waving their arms to draw the rat away, but it stayed focused on the two women directly before it.

Finally it lunged, slamming into Dani and smashing her down. The tiny woman flew back, the axe lost to her grip and spiraling away as she was pinned under the vermin’s weight. Dani punched and kicked madly, then shrieked as the rat’s teeth savagely bit down into her throat. Everyone screamed as the monster ripped away at the woman’s flesh, blood spewing and driving the creature into a bloodlust driven frenzy.

Jennifer continued to shout and struggle, trying to draw the rat away, but it continued to rip into Dani’s now still body, devouring all that it could. She saw the tiny older woman Beverly charge forward then, scooping up the axe as she ran for the rat. She leapt as gracefully as a ballerina, seeming to float in the air like Michael Jordan for untold seconds before she slashed down with the axe. With all of her weight behind it the blade bit deep into the creature’s shoulder causing it to squeal in pain and abandon its feast. It spun about, its tail slapping into Beverly and knocking her away, the axe again tumbling from limp fingers.

And again the creature lunged forward, its teeth snapping at empty air as Beverly scrambled to her feet, running for all that she was worth beyond the rat’s reach. She bounded down the pillow, dashing towards Jennifer, the rat racing behind and at her heels, gaining swiftly. Jennifer saw the tiny woman look up at her, her eyes wide with fright and hope, knowing that she was too old to outrun the beast, moving now only on adrenaline. She charged into Jennifer’s shadow even as the rat leapt for the kill.

Jennifer groped and her fingers wrapped about the creature in mid-air. A shudder of revulsion swept through her as she squeezed, feeling the thing squirming in her ever-tightening fist, the rat squealing in protest. Jennifer yelped as the thing’s sharp teeth bit into her finger, but she did not lose her grip as it gnawed away at her flesh, trying to get free. She squeezed harder, trying to crush the thing in her grasp, and she felt bones snapping but she knew that rats were flexible and this one was far too determined to die.

“Down! Bring it down!”

Jennifer looked to the floor just in time to see the rat’s whipping tail slam into the one-inch tall Melanie, knocking her away. She saw the tiny Connie barely holding up the axe that was as long as she was tall, others approaching with safety pins and nails in hand. Claire limped up and took the axe from Connie as Jennifer lowered the squirming rat to the floor and held it, pressing down with all her might and weight. It squealed loudly as more bones snapped, shrieking in pain and panic as Claire stood before it, axe held high.

Claire slammed the blade down into the rat’s neck and it screamed, struggling even harder to escape, its tail lashing and tiny claws scrabbling.

Again Claire chopped down as Connie drove a needle into its shoulder, another Tiny following suit. Blood seeped from its wounds as Jennifer squeezed as hard as she could, but still the thing would not die, writhing in desperation.

Claire hacked into its neck again as Beverly drove a nail into its flanks. But it was Melanie that finally killed the beast with a well-placed pin shoved into the rat’s eye and spiking into its brain. Jennifer felt it expel its waste as she held it tightly through its death throes, the rat finally going limp in her fist. When it was finally still she swept her arms away and tossed it towards the refrigerator, shuddering in disgust.

***

It took awhile for everyone to calm down, but finally Claire took charge and started to direct the clan.

She directed Pete and Beverly to bag the rat, but rather than storing it in the refrigerator she told them to drop it into the walls stating that she hoped it would land in the basement and draw any other vermin away from them and this apartment.

She told Melanie and Connie to clean up Dani’s body before bagging her as well, then along with a three-inch tall Tiny named Mike they transferred her body into the refrigerator alongside Ed and Anne. There was nothing they could do about Matt except mourn. She set the rest to clean up Dani’s blood, then hobbled over to Jennifer, looking up at the gigantic woman towering over her. The two women stared at one another for a long while before Claire finally broke the silence.

“Thank you,” Claire said with sincerity. She was spattered with blood again but did not seem to notice or care as she spoke on, looking up at Jennifer. “After all they… we’ve… done to you, you still helped us. You probably saved most of our lives.” Claire sagged a bit as she leaned on her cane then looked off to the side, watching her friends.

“Lay back down. We’ll get that gag out of your mouth. Get you something to eat and drink if you think you can hold it down,” she said with a slight smile.

Jennifer nodded and complied…

 

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11.03.14

story continues in Home Invasion 5: Reunion

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