She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Gregor was not there, and the house was silent. She looked around and was surprised by what she saw inside the cage. Her water container was full, and some toast and cheese had been placed for her. Since she had thrown up everything she ate the night before, she felt a strong hunger. Although it was strange to her why Gregor had left the food in the cage, perhaps he wanted to remind her that she had to stay there.

She got up and went to the cage, stepping inside. Since she was starving, she ate all the bread and cheese quickly, even though it was far more than her usual portions. When she was full, she wiped around her mouth and drank some water. Then she sat there in the cage, leaning against the bars. She didn’t know when Gregor would return. At that moment, a tempting thought occurred to her. Perhaps she could look around, to see if there was a way to save herself.

Of course, she knew how dangerous that could be. She had tried to escape once and had seen the consequences. So now she needed to just assess the situation. She couldn’t act recklessly.

She put on her clothes and carefully stepped out of the cage. The burn ointment on her body had dried, peeling off in some areas. The burn marks still hurt, but thinking that she might not get another opportunity like this, she convinced herself to continue.

The dining table, unlike the kitchen table, didn’t have a tablecloth. Therefore, she couldn’t slide it off onto the floor. Even if there had been one, with her physical condition, she wouldn’t have been able to do it.

She started walking toward the other side of the table, which was surrounded by four chairs, still too high to jump onto the chairs. Beyond that, the chairs themselves were taller than she could manage to get down to the floor. She sighed and turned around, but when she saw what was in front of her, an idea came to mind: a box of tissues.

If she could throw it onto a chair and jump onto it, the height would be reduced, and the softness of the tissues would prevent injury from the impact. But she didn’t know how heavy a box of tissues that large could be.

She went over and began pushing it. It was heavier than she expected, but with great effort, she could move it. She continued pushing and slowly brought it closer to the edge of the table.

Suddenly, she heard a sound from the entrance door. Gregor had returned. Panicking, she pushed the box back to its original place and ran to the cage, sitting in a corner. Her heart was racing.

At that moment, Gregor entered the living room. He hung his car keys on the keychain and took off his coat. Sophia knew the danger had passed right under her nose.

When his eyes fell on the cage, he said nothing and went to his room. Sophia remained sitting in the corner, knees pulled to her chest.

A few minutes later, Sophia heard the sound of the shower turning on. She exhaled the breath she had been holding and lay down on the cage floor. She thought about what might have happened if she had been caught while trying to escape. Perhaps Gregor hadn’t hurt her yet, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. Sophia thought, "He’s unpredictable."

After about fifteen minutes, Gregor came out of the bathroom wearing a towel robe. He entered the kitchen, drying his hair, and poured himself some orange juice. Sophia had moved to another corner and remained there, waiting. She preferred to be ignored all day, as if she didn’t exist at all. But what Gregor was doing wasn’t just ignoring her; he was deliberately acting indifferent to keep her in fear. Especially since Sophia had done something forbidden, and all this time she had been waiting for Gregor to notice and punish her. She had learnt that in Victor’s house.

After drinking his orange juice, he stood up and went back to his room. A few minutes later, he came out wearing a shirt and pants. He stood in front of the mirror, straightened his tie. After he combed his hair and put on his suit, he strapped his watch to his wrist, and picked up his suitcase. Then, without even glancing at Sophia, he left the house.

Sophia watched him go, dazed and speechless. The cage was still open, and she couldn’t understand his behavior. The day before, she hadn’t even been allowed a single moment outside the cage, not even during dinner. That she was suddenly shown a hint of mercy by Gregor was as unexpected as being forgiven by Victor. She saw none of these traits in either of them.

She decided not to leave the cage until she was certain Gregor had really left. Even though the cage was open, and technically she could at least sit outside it, she didn’t want to take the risk. She remembered how tired and irritable Gregor had been when he came home from work the night before.

For about an hour, she stayed seated on the floor of the cage. Occasionally, she shifted or got up to pace, but she would sit back down. When she was sure Groger wouldn’t return anytime soon, she stepped out. She had to do whatever needed to be done before nightfall.

She went back to the box of tissues and gathered all her strength to start pushing it. When the box reached the edge of the table, she stood on it to check the height again. If her estimate was wrong, the attempt would leave nothing but a trail of failed efforts, and she would be punished for something she had not even done.

She took a deep breath and pushed the box slowly. It really was heavy and pushing it took more time than her previous effort. When it landed squarely on the chair, Sophia exhaled in relief. She swallowed and took a few steps back, then ran forward and jumped from the edge of the table.

The impact on the layers of tissues hurt more than she expected, but it was cushioned enough that she wasn’t injured. For a few minutes, she lay there on the tissues, exhaling. She stared at the ceiling, knowing there was no turning back from the path she had taken.

Eventually, she stood up, stepped off the box, and onto the chair seat. She looked down from the edge again. She doubted she had judged the chair’s height correctly, since it was tricky from the table.

She sat on the edge for quite a long time, thinking whether it was safe to jump from the height or not. Of course she didn't want to lose her only opportunity, but it would be useless if she couldn't get down unharmed.

It was at that moment that she realized how much time she had been wasting, especially now that it was getting dark and she could no longer see clearly. Not only had all the pushing and jumping slowed her down, but so had constantly stopping to decide whether it was safe to move forward.

She had no choice. She couldn’t just sit there until Groger returned and saw her, doing whatever he pleased to her. She pushed the tissue box toward the chair’s edge again. When it reached the edge, she paused, then pushed it forward with all her strength. The box hit the floor with a loud thud, a sound that startled Sophia. Not because it was terrifying, but because it proved the height was greater than she had estimated. Beyond that, she couldn’t tell which way the box had landed. If it had landed as before, she could have fallen onto the tissues and lessened the impact. But if it had flipped the other way, landing on it could break her bones.

Sophia sat on the edge, bent over, but as the evening darkened and all the lights in the house were off, she couldn’t see anything. She had to make a choice: risk jumping onto the solid, unyielding box, or stay put until her captor returned.

She knew in the first option, there was a chance of escape. The second… she didn’t even want to consider it. It had been only last night that she told herself she would in no way try to escape, and this morning she told herself she would just take a look. But now she was right in the middle of it. There was no turning back. She took a deep breath and decided to jump, before the house got so dark that she couldn’t even see the floor, aiming to land at least on the box itself, not a little beyond it on the hard ground.

“Three… two… one…”

When she jumped off the edge of the chair at the count of one, she felt as if she were falling straight into death. In the darkness, she could only make out shadows of the objects around her: the table, the chairs, and the tissue box.

Crunch.

Her leg landed with a loud crunch on the box. There were no soft layers of tissue beneath her. She screamed in pain, and her cry echoed throughout the house.

The tissue box had landed upside down, and instead of falling onto the soft tissues, Sophia had hit the hard surface of the box itself.

“FUCK!”

She screamed loudly and began crying from the pain. Her whole body ached, and she couldn’t even move her leg an inch. Everywhere had become dark until then, and her eyes could see nothing.

Her face was soaked with tears. Her body trembled, and she panted heavily. She was certain her leg was broken, but what terrified her even more than the fracture or the impact was her inability to move. If Gregor returned and saw her like this, he would find out she had tried to escape, and she could in no way deny it.

She tried to pull herself onto the box and move, but the pain in her leg intensified, and she groaned loudly again.

“Fuck it… I can’t… I can’t move…”

Time passed slowly. Sophia kept taking deep breaths, letting painful moans escape her lips. Her limbs trembled, and she felt like she was burning in a fever. She didn’t know how much time she had, but it didn’t matter. Even if she had enough time, there was no way she could move.

She was regretful, regretful for having done such a foolish thing. If she could turn back time and sit in her cage like a good girl, waiting for Groger to return, she would have done it.

After countless minutes, or perhaps hours, she heard a sound. The key turned in the lock, and the door opened. Slow but firm footsteps shook the floor. Sophia swallowed hard. The overhead lamp flicked on. From beneath the table, she could see Gregor’s shoes approaching the table. He stopped when he reached it, and Sophia pressed her hand over her mouth. She could hear the cage being moved across the tabletop.

Gregor paused briefly, then continued walking, circling the table. His shadow moved across the floor, coming closer to her.

She looked up at him.

Here he was, standing like a skyscraper, staring down at her as drowning her in his shadow. Moments stretched endlessly.

After a few moments, he pulled back the chair next to the fallen tissue box and sat down, placing his foot near the box. Every few seconds, he stomped lightly on the floor, and with each thud, Sophia felt her soul momentarily leave her body and return. From the floor, she felt smaller and more helpless than ever. She knew every action of Gregor’s was a reminder of his power. Between his shoe and her frail body, there was only a slight distance. At any moment, he could smash her underfoot, but he didn’t. He terrified her and pushed her to the brink of madness, but he didn’t kill her. He leaned back in his chair, one hand resting on his leg as he looked at the empty cage, the other on the back of the chair.

After what felt like an eternity, he bent down and picked up the tissue box. Sophia let out a scream at the sudden movement, but he didn't care. He tilted the box on the table, and she rolled, falling onto it. The moment her leg hit the table, a scream of pain escaped her mouth. Gregor, indifferent, pulled his cigarette pack from his pocket and lit one.

Sophia lifted her head, only for him to blow the cigarette smoke toward her, making her cough. The air around her was filled with smoke, but more than anything, even more than the pain in her leg, what tormented her was Gregor’s silence. His gaze was cold and merciless. Sophia thought he was torturing her in his mind a thousand ways; killing her, reviving her, and killing her again.

He wasn’t angry, or at least, that’s how it seemed. He blinked slowly, his hollow dark eyes fixed on her tiny figure. Each time he exhaled cigarette smoke toward her and watched her coughing, a smirk would appear at the corner of his lips, only for him to quickly suppress it again. He flicked the ashes of his cigarette over Sophia’s head, and she screamed as the hot ash landed on her skin. It wasn’t just the pain, she felt humiliated.

Still, if this were all the punishment Gregor had planned for her, she would have accepted it wholeheartedly. But she doubted that Gregor would be satisfied so easily or let it go.

When he finished his cigarette, he brought it toward Sophia’s face, as if to put it out on her skin. She hid her head in her hands, whimpering hoarsely, “No… please don’t…I made a mistake…”

Hearing that, Gregor laughed and stubbed out his cigarette on the table.

“So you know what you did.”

Sophia lifted her head and nodded vigorously. Gregor leaned toward her, his tone dangerously calm, “Then you should also know that every mistake has its consequences.”

The color drained from her face instantly, leaving her chalk-white. She held out her hands in supplication, “Please forgive me… just… just once! I promise… I swear… I’ll never… never try to escape again…” She sobbed. She hated being so helpless and pathetic, yet it was the only way to survive. 

Gregor narrowed his eyes.

“Just once? Don’t you think your ‘once’ already passed? Have you forgotten I saved you from Victor?”

Sophia shook her head and continued pleading, “Please forgive me! It was just a mistake…and…”

She couldn’t even finish her sentences, her fear too overwhelming. The pain in her leg grew with every moment, and blisters were starting to form over her burns. Gregor waited. He wanted to hear her words. Whether they were pleas, excuses, or anything else, he enjoyed hearing them. He wanted to see how a pitiful creature like her tried to save herself from the trouble she had caused.

Unable to move her right leg, Sophia leaned on her other knee, hands still clasped in supplication. Since the day she had opened her eyes in Victor’s house, there hadn’t been a single day she hadn’t cried from fear or pain. Not a day she hadn’t wished for death. But every time she got close, or found a chance to escape, thinking it would delay her death but in reality hastening it, her survival instinct took over.

Gregor leaned back, then reclined, casting a contemptuous glance at her.

“If Victor had gotten his hands on you, he would’ve made you beg him to end your life. Just like how you’re sitting in front of me now, begging me not to harm you, you would’ve begged him to finish everything.” A corner of his mouth lifted in a sarcastic smile. “Though he wouldn’t have even let you plead. You’ll never understand what a terrifying fate you were saved from.”

Then, as if he had just realized something, he raised an eyebrow and added, “Of course, that is, if you don’t go back there again.”

Sophia froze at those words. She heard nothing anymore. Nothing but Victor’s whistle, the same one he used when torturing and killing them. She felt like he would appear from somewhere at that moment, grab her, and take her to his kitchen. She looked around Gregor’s house, then at him. Was he only threatening her? Or was this really the punishment he had planned?

Sophia knew that whatever decision he made, she couldn’t resist it. She was small and defenseless; even a spider could threaten her life. Yet Gregor was not the kind of man who only sought to torment her, and Sophia knew it. She knew he was different from Victor, and she had to do everything she could to reason with him and change his mind, no matter how or at what cost.

She had cried so much that her eyes had dried out. She had screamed so much that her vocal cords had given out. Her voice barely came out, and she swallowed with difficulty. She looked at Gregor, staring into his eyes. She wanted to see her own reflection in them again, this time, broken, helpless, and pitiful.

Gathering all her strength, she whispered softly, “I… I thought… I could do it.” She paused and lowered her head.

“Go on.” He nodded.

Sophia lifted her head again. Speaking those words was painful, an admission of her weakness and helplessness in the face of absolute power.

“Just like… the last time.”

She paused again and took a deep breath. Gregor waited as she went on, “Every time… I thought I could do it. Because Once, I truly could.”

Gregor kept listening in silence.

“There… my mistake killed someone. A… painful death. That’s never happened before… never,” she took a deep breath, “my mistakes were always fixable. Back then, they were only as big as… I was.”

She swallowed and looked at Gregor. She couldn’t read anything from his face, but her words weren’t finished.

“Here… my mistakes are bigger than… me. Here… I can’t carry them.”

Her breath grew heavy. She felt immense pressure on her chest as she struggled to continue. “But… I… I don't…”

She couldn’t finish the sentence. Saying what she felt inside was too difficult. She didn’t know how Gregor would react.

Finally, she steeled herself and finished her words,  “I just…don’t wanna die…”

As she said it, tears streamed down her face again. She wiped them with her hands, but they continued to fall on her cheeks.

After hearing her words, Gregor simply stared at her, “So you and Victor agree, then.” He said briefly.

“What?” Sophia, not expecting that remark, asked involuntarily.

Gregor took a deep breath and brought his hand near her. He ran his fingertip through her hair, still covered in cigarette ash, and let the ash fall onto the table as he replied, “Victor didn’t want you to die either, little one. He wanted you to survive as much as possible, and suffer.”

Sofphia shook her head in disbelief, “But I don’t-”

Gregor interrupted her,  “I know. You don’t wanna suffer. It's not about death.”

While running the tip of his finger along her spine, feeling her trembling beneath his touch, he continued, “You think I killed your little friend out of cruelty, when in fact, I did it a favor.”

Sophia looked away. Even recalling what Gregor had said the night before at dinner made her nauseous.“I don’t understand.” She whispered.

Gregor pressed the tip of his finger against her neck and pushed forward. Sophia couldn’t resist and bent her neck.

“What Victor wanted to drag out for hours, I finished in an instant. At first, I didn’t intend to do it, but when I saw it at the last moment, looking at me pleadingly, I decided to grant its final request,” he said, pressing further, as if to play with her.

Sophia raised his head slowly as he withdrew his finger.

“She… wanted to die?”

“It couldn’t be anything else.” he shrugged.

Sophia realized that Gregor did not grant a being like her the right to live. The desire to survive, even under harsh and painful conditions, was something she had experienced countless times. But he believed that suffering justified ending a life. He thought that since death brings an end to suffering, the wish of someone in torment must be for death itself, not merely an escape from pain.

It was at that moment that she realized why both he and Victor always used “it” when referring to Karen. They saw no reason to refer to her as a human.

Even though Gregor seemed to see them as living things who were able to comprehend, he didn't bother to consider them as humans. The realization filled her with even more humiliation.

“Of course, not just anyone, but tiny humans like me.”

Hearing that, Gregor cocked a brow. Sophia immediately realized she had spoken her thoughts out loud by mistake. She lifted her head with hesitation. If Gregor thought by killing Karen he had spared her from suffering, then why didn't he do the same to her? Why didn't he kill Sophia according to the same logic, instead of leaving her alive and bringing her to his house, imprisoning her?

This question crossed Sophia’s mind for a moment, though the pain in her leg didn’t allow her to think coherently. She just placed her hand on her leg and groaned from the pain. Gregor, who had noticed the abnormal state of her leg from the very beginning, decided to take a look. He reached toward Sophia’s leg and used his fingernail to pull up her pants. Her right leg was severely bruised and swollen. Veins were protruding, and her knee looked dislocated.

“I thought your leg was broken, but it seems to be dislocated.”

He reached toward the cage and dragged it across the table toward himself. Sophia, realizing what he intended, wanted to complain, but Gregor continued, “I’d planned a harsher punishment for what you did, but now I think this is enough. Whenever I feel you’ve learned from your mistake, I’ll give you painkillers.”

Without waiting any longer, he lifted Sophia, making her scream. He placed her in the cage, and closed the door. Sophia, in immense pain from the pressure on her leg, could not resist. She lay down on the floor of the cage as she cried softly.

Gregor ignored her, leaving the cage where it was, and went to his room to change clothes. When he returned, he went straight to the kitchen without paying attention to her, and the sounds from the previous night began again. Sophia had heard those sounds so many times in Victor’s kitchen that she could no longer ignore them. Whenever she heard chopping, she imagined living bodies being cut, and whenever the gas was lit, she pictured a human suffering on the giant pan. She tried to push those images out of her mind but couldn’t. The sounds of screams and wails merged with the clinking of utensils. Despite all this, she tried to maintain control. Apart from not wanting the previous night to repeat, she didn’t have the energy to run or thrash around physically.

When Gregor prepared his food, he dried his hands with an apron and went to the cage, lifting it and taking it to the kitchen. Sophia noticed he was moving the cage with unusual caution. She thought, “He doesn’t have the patience to put up with my little tantrums any longer."

That thought made her chuckle for a moment. It seemed that just as she could barely tolerate Gregor’s presence, he couldn’t stand hearing her screams and sudden shouts either. The difference was, she couldn’t avoid him, but he could easily silence her. She reminded herself of the previous night, when Groger punished her by describing how he had killed Karen, only because he was angered by what he considered her meaningless behavior.

“I didn’t think a creature like you could get lost in thought.”

Sophia snapped back to herself, realizing she had been staring at her water container for a considerable time. Gregor had poured some of his food for her. Without saying anything, she bent down in the cage and picked up a seasoned mushroom he had left for her. She didn’t want to admit it, but the taste of cream and fresh basil reminded her of her mother’s cooking.

Gregor continued eating. He plunged his fork into the mushrooms and cut his bloody steak with a knife. When Sophia ate the mushroom, she reached for the small piece of steak he had left her. She loved her mother’s bloody steaks, but now the circumstances were different. She now recoiled at the sight of blood, so she left the steak on the cage floor. Since she couldn’t walk, she crawled to her water dish to drink some water. Gregor, busy with his own meal, didn’t pay attention to the fact she hadn’t eaten the steak.

After finishing his meal and clearing the table, he lifted the cage again and placed it on the dining table. Then he turned off the lamps and went to his bedroom.

When Sophia was sure he wouldn’t return, she took a deep breath. She had endured a difficult day. Sophia knew he was not a merciful person, but she felt that when she had spoken to him with her pitiful and pleading tone about her life and mistakes, he had felt some pity and therefore spared her from further punishment. Otherwise, when she saw him standing over her tiny body, she felt like she was about to be crushed to death. That was truly the fate she had expected.

Despite the pain she felt throughout her body, she felt a small sense of relief deep down that she had the chance to speak. Unlike Victor, Gregor heard her words, even her pleas. That’s why he had reduced her punishment. He had seen how remorseful and regretful Sophia was and had given her a second chance. She was certain she could never ask Victor for such a thing, since he was always looking for an excuse to punish those he had imprisoned in the kitchen drawers. He brought them there to torment them, in the first place. But Sophia didn’t think Gregor had the same intentions.

On the first day, she had many doubts and feared Gregor might be like Victor, after all, he was his friend. But he was different. Maybe he enjoyed watching her mental struggle with herself and her pathetic efforts to survive; maybe he had deliberately scared her and wouldn't hesitate to harm her if he found it necessary, but he didn’t do these things purely for pleasure. Sophia thought Gregor wanted to understand them better. He wanted to know how long she could endure and how long she would cling to life. Of course he liked it, and sometimes was surprised, just like Sophia herself who lived it, suffered from it, and was always terrified!

She closed her eyes and wished to see her family in her dreams, unaware that from this moment on, her life would be intertwined with the worst nightmares.

And one of those nightmares was being awake. That night, Sophia didn’t sleep a single moment. She cried all night from the pain in her leg, holding her hand over her mouth so that Gregor wouldn’t hear her and wake up. All night, she pressed against the bars of her cage in agony, wishing that the next day he would give her some painkillers.

She stared into the darkness that had swallowed her, sometimes hallucinating whether the pressure she felt on her chest was from her pain or if someone was pressing on it. Sometimes she imagined hearing a whistle, or the wailing of a poor woman.

Days passed.

Every time the drawer opened, everyone inside scattered, trying to stay out of the giant’s sight. And every time, his hand would grab one of them, and everything would sink back into darkness again, filling the space with screams and cries.

Some days, new people were added. They were just as terrified as Sophia had been on her first day, though over time they began to accept the reality of their lives.

Karen, the girl who had spoken to Sophia on the first day, would go from person to person, holding their hands and trying to calm them.

All the while, Sophia kept thinking about how the giant chose his victims. She had noticed that when he leaned over the drawer, his eyes searched for someone specific, and he would not stop until he found them. His gaze wasn’t random. He had already made his choice. So hiding didn’t matter. In the end, he always came for someone in particular.

Every day, he still gave them water and food. Even though they all understood why, they still consumed what he gave them. Survival instincts lasted until the very end.

Until one day, something strange happened.

When the drawer opened, Sophia heard voices, two men talking.

It sounded like someone else was there besides the giant she now knew was named Victor.

“I don’t see it that way,” the other voice said. “Come on. Pick one.”

Victor, with his deadly blue eyes, scanned the scattered figures. A twisted smile lingered on his face as his gaze searched.

And then it stopped, on someone who had been sitting quietly in the corner from the very beginning, knowing it made no difference whether they hid or stayed visible.

“There you are."

His hand shot out toward Sophia.

The moment she realized he was looking at her, she froze. She couldn’t even step back before Victor had already grabbed her. She screamed from the pressure, but he tightened his grip without paying attention. Beside him stood another giant, who looked visibly displeased.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t pick this one,” he said. “It can barely even scream.”

Victor glanced at him and laughed.

“I know these little ones better than you do, Gregor."

Gregor shrugged and leaned over the drawer. Unlike Victor’s predator-like gaze, his eyes were empty, void of emotion. It didn’t even seem to matter to him who was chosen.

Finally, he pointed at someone.

“You. Come here.”

“That won’t work,” Victor said, still holding Sophia trembling in his hand.

Gregor narrowed his eyes and looked at Karen.

“If they know what happens when they disobey someone stronger, it will.”

Karen, pressed against the drawer wall in fear, shook her head. She didn’t want to walk forward and surrender herself, not even if it cost her everything.

Gregor sighed, and Victor laughed again.

“I told you,” Victor said. “They’re simple creatures. They don’t understand things like that. They just want to survive at any cost.” He paused, glancing at Sophia. The girl lay curled up in his palm, trembling as she looked up at him.

“The one I’ve got here,” Victor continued, “thought on her first day that hiding in a cage would make her untouchable. It was so funny I still remember it.” He laughed again.

Gregor looked at Sophia and raised an eyebrow. She sensed something terrible was about to happen, but she couldn’t make sense of their words.

Why did Victor think they were unintelligent? And why did Groger believe they would simply obey any command given to them.

“Anyway,” Gregor said, “we’d better get started. I don’t have much time to waste on your stupid games.”

Victor smiled at his words and nodded.

Gregor reached for Karen, who screamed as he pulled her from the drawer, and then shut it. Then they moved toward the dining table. Victor slammed Sophia onto it, the force nearly driving her into the surface. She groaned in pain and tried to crawl away, putting as much distance between them as she could.

Gregor placed Karen on the table as well. Watching Victor with Sophia, Karen felt a pang of relief that Groger had chosen her instead. But that relief was fleeting.

“Well,” Gregor said, “hand that poor thing over before you mess it up.”

Karen’s eyes went wide as she looked between the giants. Victor sighed. “Alright, alright. You’re taking this way too seriously,” he said.

Gregor reached toward Sophia while nudging Karen with his finger toward Victor. “You know I never turn down a bet,” he said.

Victor chuckled. “Yeah, I know,” he replied, drawing Karen closer to him with his fingers.

Gregor lifted Sophia, still sprawled on the table, and looked at his open palm. “I shouldn’t have agreed to pick each other’s players when you made the offer. This… can’t even sit right,” he muttered.

Victor didn’t answer. Holding Karen, not tightly enough to immobilize her, unlike Sophia, who was wracked with pain.

“Fine,” Victor said with a smile. “You can pick another one for yourself. I really don’t want you using it as an excuse not to give that dinner you promised.”

Gregor laughed. “Really? You think of me that way?”

He ran a finger through Sophia’s hair and continued, “To prove I’m not that kind of guy, I won’t switch my player. So, what are you waiting for? Let's start.”

Victor shrugged. “Alright, pay attention, little ones. Here’s the game: see that window? The first of you to reach it wins.”

He gave Karen a meaningful look. “…And the loser gets punished.”

Then he placed her on the table and nudged her slightly forward with his fingertip.

Gregor glanced at Sophia, who was now calmer but still watching him intently. There was something in her gaze he couldn’t quite read. She was clearly terrified, barely able to stand under the weight of pain and pressure, but it wasn’t the gaze of a defeated person.

He carefully set her down on the table. Sophia tried to stand on her own legs. Once she felt steady, she walked over and stood beside Karen.

Taking a deep breath, Karen whispered, “I can’t believe this.”

Sophia looked at the window across from her. “Me neither,” she replied.

“Three… Two… One. Go!”

Hearing that, Karen dashed forward, but Sophia couldn’t keep up. Her legs hurt too much to run like her rival. When Karen reached the edge of the table, she paused and looked down. A piece of cloth draped over the table continued all the way to the floor, forming a kind of slide. But the window above was still too high. Karen figured there must be a way down that would reach it, and she slid carefully along the cloth.

When Sophia reached the table’s edge, she looked at the window and then down at the cloth beneath her. She knew there was no direct path to the window. In a world where everything was gigantic, sliding down from that height was dangerous. In the end, she convinced herself she had no choice and slid down.

When she hit the floor, she looked up. The table was so tall she had to tilt her head back completely to see its top. Beneath it were the enormous shoes of Victor and Gregor. Cabinets and cupboards surrounded the area, which could be climbed if she used their edges.

Sophia spotted Karen climbing them and moved in that direction, but something caught her eye. Under the cabinets were enormous mousetraps, all placed very close together. Sophia thought Victor’s kitchen was clean and orderly; it seemed unlikely there were real mice. None of the traps had cheese anyway. Clearly, they weren’t meant to catch rodents.

This made Sophia hesitate, was the path through the cupboards really the right way? She glanced at Karen, who was almost at the top of the cabinet with only a little way left. There wasn’t much time; she had to make a decision.

She headed toward the traps. Though they were close together, there was just enough space for her to slip carefully between them. Sophia knew well that if she got caught in even one, she would die.

Reaching the other side of the cabinets, she saw the same cupboards and climbing path that Karen had used, only this time, the route led directly to the window.

Meanwhile, Karen had reached the top of the cabinet, but what she saw was unbelievable. Yellow sticky sheets covered the surface, trapping flies. She tried to find a way across, but the entire surface was coated. She knew the adhesive was too strong, she couldn’t take more than a step or two without getting stuck, and if she did, she wouldn’t reach the window.

Looking down, she realized Sophia should have arrived by then, unless she’d taken a different route. Cursing herself under her breath, Karen carefully lowered herself along the edges of the handles and descended.

At the same time, Sophia reached the middle of a cabinet she was climbing. She wiped the sweat from her brow and looked down. A fall from this height would certainly break bones. She took a deep breath and continued.

As she neared the top, she heard a voice from below.

“Help! Sophia!”

She looked down. Karen was hanging from the edge of one of the handles, calling to her.

“Karen? You okay?”

She looked up. She was almost at the top.

“Help me! Please!”

Sophia cursed under her breath and slowly lowered herself. When she reached Karen, she stretched out her hand and helped her pull herself up from the edge.

Once Karen was safely on top, she sat down, panting heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Thank you for helping me… I don’t know what would’ve happened otherwise…”

Sophia stood over her, looking down. “Do you think there’s a way for both of us to be safe?”

Karen met her gaze. “He said whoever gets there last will be punished. I don’t want-”

Sophia cut her off. “What if we both get there together? Then there’s no winner or loser.”

Karen shook her head. “As far as I know… if we both make it, he’ll punish both of us anyway.” She gripped the cabinet and hoisted herself up. “We have no choice, Sophia. We have to compete.”

Sophia hesitated. “But… what if neither of us reaches it?”

Karen’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Look! They aren’t paying attention to us. They can’t see us from there. If we escape and hide, they won’t be able to find us,” Sophia whispered.

Karen shook her head. “That’s crazy! There’s no way we could-”

Sophia pressed a hand over her mouth. “Shh! We can’t be heard. Karen, even if you make it to the top, who knows what he’ll do to you afterward?”

Karen brushed Sophia’s hand aside. “But if they catch us while we’re escaping, it’ll be worse! you don’t know him… you haven’t seen what he does to those who try to run away. He keeps them alive for days just to make them suffer.”

Sophia stepped back. Karen was right. During her time here, she had never seen anyone attempt to escape. Of course, the opportunity had never presented itself, until now. In this moment, she felt it was the best chance she would ever get.

Before that, she hadn’t even considered it; she had only wanted to reach the window. But now, knowing escape was possible, she refused to give up so easily.

Karen could guess what Sophia was thinking. It was written on her face.

“Listen,” Karen said. “We’ll try to reach the top. One of us will get there first, the other second. I appreciate your help, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to get there before you.”

Sophia took a deep breath. Karen had every right not to go with her. She stepped aside, unblocking Karen’s way.

Karen took her hand. “Sophia, don’t be foolish. Let’s try to get up there.”

But she had made her decision. “You owe me for helping you, so I want something in return.”

Karen let go of her hand.

“Wait until I’m out of sight, then go up. If you go now, they’ll see me escaping.”

Karen hesitated, then nodded.

Without hesitation, Sophia slid down from the cabinet and hid underneath. There were no mousetraps below, and on the other side was a manhole cover, likely leading to the kitchen’s drain. Sophia swallowed and approached it. Going through the drain was the last thing she wanted. She passed it and reached the other side of the kitchen, from where she could see the table where Victor and Groger were sitting.

Victor was talking while Gregor stared at the window. She remembered Gregor's gaze earlier, and how it was different from Victor’s. Victor looked at them like a predator sizing up prey. But Gregor's eyes were cold and inscrutable. He seemed utterly indifferent to whatever happened. There was no empathy or compassion, not even when he had called her “poor thing” or gently touched her hair.

She took a deep breath. She knew she could not be caught under any circumstances.

Sophia continued along her path beneath the cabinets, but suddenly the floor beneath her shuddered. She looked back. Victor and Gregor were heading toward the window.

She thought, Karen must have made it to the top.

She pressed on, moving until there were no more cabinets to crawl under. Ahead of her was an open space, with several sealed pipes running above it. Sophia didn’t know what this place was for, but one thing was certain: she had to reach the other side unseen to hide behind the refrigerator.

“How does it feel like to win?”

Gregor's voice came from a distance, followed by Victor’s booming laughter, which made Sophia cover her ears.

“Come on! I told you, you could switch your player.”

“Well… where is it now?”

Sophia froze. They had noticed her absence so quickly. She pressed herself behind the cabinet supports and covered her mouth.

Victor and Gregor searched the floor, under the cabinets, even checking under their shoes, but found nothing. Victor let out a deep breath and tightened his fingers around Karen. She screamed in pain, but Victor didn’t care.

“Where’s the other one?”

Karen, gasping from the pain, couldn’t speak. Victor’s anger grew, and he squeezed tighter, making her turn blue, unable even to cry out.

Gregor, witnessing this, walked toward the kitchen door to close it. “A dead one’s useless, Victor.”

Victor, as if snapping back to reality, released Karen, who collapsed onto the cabinet. “Even alive, she’s useless. That filthy cockroach must have hidden somewhere by now.”

After confirming there was no passage under the door, Gregor went to the window and shut it. He glanced at Karen, lying lifeless and bruised on the cabinet. He tapped her lightly with his fingertip to check for a reaction. When she curled up and trembled with fear, he withdrew his hand.

“At least it's alive.”

Victor strode to his table and sat down. “If I find it, I’ll tear it apart. Grind it to pieces. I’ll make it beg me to crush it under my feet to end its pain. I’ll do something no one’s ever done before,” he spat out through clenched teeth.

Sophia shivered with fear. This was real. She knew without a doubt that if Victor caught her, he would do exactly as he said.

“Why aren’t you using your dog?”

Victor looked at him in surprise, then quickly headed for the kitchen door and left. Gregor followed slowly, closing and locking it behind him.

He began walking the kitchen floor. His steps were deliberate and measured, as if hunting something very small. Occasionally, he crouched to peer under the cabinets.

“I know you’re here,” he murmured. “All your escape routes are blocked.”

Sophia, gasping for breath and swallowing hard, peered at the door from behind the cabinet supports. He was right. Every possible way out had been cut off.

“I’ll give you a chance. But first, you need to know this, if Victor’s dog catches you, it’ll deliver you straight to him. You only have time until he returns.”

Gregor approached Karen, who was lying on the cabinet, panting heavily. Seeing him come closer, Karen hid her head in her hands. Groger stood over her.

“If you don’t want to fall into his hands, you have to show yourself now. I’m not going to wait forever.”

As he looked at Karen, his peripheral vision scanned the cabinets to his right, where he suspected Sophia was hiding.

But Sophia was crying quietly, shaking with fear. Victor and Gregor were equally terrifying. Either could unleash the worst horrors upon her, yet in this moment, one was furious while the other was offering her a chance.

She thought, How do I know he isn’t trying to trick me? How do I know he won’t hand me over to that monster?

Yet hiding offered the same outcome: if she revealed herself, there might, just might, be a tiny chance to survive. If she didn’t, her death, one of the worst imaginable, was certain.

She made her decision.

Gregor noticed something very small moving on the floor out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t entirely sure, but a smile tugged at his lips, though he didn’t turn his head.

Sophia, her legs trembling, stepped away from the cabinet. Victor could return at any moment.

Finally, Gregor turned toward her. The instant Sophia saw him, regret flooded her, but it was too late. His gaze wasn’t one that offered help.

He took a step toward her, and the floor beneath Sophia trembled. Another step. Sophia spun and ran toward the cabinets, but Gregor's strides were longer. As soon as he realized she intended to hide under the cabinets again, he planted his foot in front of her and blocked the way. Sophia lost her balance and fell beside his shoe. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run in another direction, but Gregor placed his other foot in front of her, blocking her again.

Sophia ended up on the floor between his giant shoes. Her face was streaked with tears, her chest heaving rapidly. She knew running was useless. No matter how fast she moved, Gregor's legs covered ground much faster than hers. She tried to crawl across the floor to get away, but her pace was as slow as a snail.

Gregor lowered himself onto his legs and looked at her. A mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips, and it terrified Sophia. His smile wasn’t like Victor’s. His gaze wasn’t like his either. Victor’s eyes were wild, hunting for blood, but Gregor's… there was something Sophia couldn’t comprehend. She couldn’t tell if he took pleasure in watching the vulnerable body sprawled on the floor, or in tricking her, making her believe she could escape Victor’s reach this way.

Sophia stared at him, eyes wide with terror, her face pale.

Suddenly, a voice came from outside.

“Gregor? Why is this door locked?”

The doorknob spun rapidly, but the door wouldn’t open. Gregor glanced at it, then without hesitation grabbed Sophia and stuffed her into his pants pocket. He went toward the door.

“Looks like it’s stuck,” he muttered.

Victor’s voice came from the other side. “Damn it! I shouldn’t have put off fixing it…”

Gregor opened the door. Victor stepped into the kitchen, a black pit bull at his side. He shut the door again and unclipped the dog’s leash. Groger stayed where he was, watching.

“Alright, Titi. You know what to do. Find it!”

The dog barked and began sniffing the floor.

Leaning against the door, Groger crossed his arms. “You took your time.”

Victor sighed, “I found it in Mr. Lee’s house.”

Gregor ran a hand over his pocket to make sure Sophia was still inside. The small bulge of her body wiggled as his hand brushed against it.

Sophia was in a terrible position. She couldn’t breathe properly and was trapped on all sides. She couldn’t see anywhere and was constantly jostled. The sound of Victor and his dog terrified her, though she realized Gregor had no intention of handing her over, which gave her some relief.

Minutes passed. Titi continued sniffing, but there was no trace. The dog searched under the cabinets, especially the one where Sophia had hidden before, and the areas she had moved across to show herself to Groger, but beyond that, it stopped, looking confused.

Victor stomped his foot on the floor, growing impatient.

Gregor walked over to the table and sat on one of the chairs, making sure the small creature in his pocket didn’t get hurt. “Are you sure the dog can find it?” he asked indifferently.

Victor replied, “Of course! Its sense of smell is stronger than any dog I’ve ever seen. How could it possibly fail to find that little cockroach?”

Gregor shrugged. “Doesn’t seem so.”

Victor muttered a curse under his breath, went to his dog, and patted it. “What’s the matter, Titi? Why are you just standing there? Find it!”

The dog sat and wagged its tail, making noises. Victor frowned. “I don’t understand! You mean it's not here?”

Gregor got up and crouched beside Titi, looking under the cabinets. He spotted the floor drain cover. “I think I know where it went.”

Victor looked at him.

Gregor pointed under the cabinet. “The kitchen drain is here, right?”

Victor said, “Yeah… but the cover is on.”

Gregor looked again. “It’s on, but opening it isn’t hard, even for a weak creature like that. These covers are plastic and usually very light. One of them might not manage to open it easily, but…”

He glanced at Karen, still lying on the cabinet. Although her color had returned, she was still trembling with fear. When she noticed his gaze, she shook her head in disbelief.

Victor followed Gregor’s glance and looked at Karen, understanding what he meant. He got up and went toward her, but this time didn’t grab her. He didn’t want to kill her. Not yet.

“Did you help it get into the drain and escape?”

Karen, who had witnessed everything and knew Sophia was in Gregor’s pocket, looked at him with wide pleading eyes, full of fear and shock. Gregor just stood there, staring at her. She didn’t have the courage to bring it up. On the other hand, she knew Sophia was right. Even if she survived today, Victor would punish her in the worst possible way one day.

She felt frustrated because she wasn’t lucky enough to be in Sophia’s place. Maybe because she wasn’t brave enough to attempt escape, or desperate enough to surrender herself. Foolishly, Karen thought that if she won, she would gain Victor’s mercy, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Karen looked at Gregor pleadingly. If he had helped Sophia escape, maybe he could save her too. But Gregor had no such intention. On the contrary, his gaze was threatening. If Karen said anything, she wouldn’t survive.

Victor leaned over her, so close she could feel his hot breath on her skin, and curled up.

“Maybe I can’t reach that one, but I can reach you. I’ll make you wish for death.” His tone was serious and menacing.

 “No! Please… I didn’t do anything… I swear… I didn’t help her!” Karen pleaded.

Gregor raised an eyebrow. He had expected Karen to tell the truth, but she continued pleading instead, as useless as it was.

Victor grabbed her and slammed her onto the kitchen counter. Karen tried to get up and escape, but he pressed his finger against her back, pinning her down. She screamed and pounded the counter, begging, “Please! I didn’t do anything… believe me, I didn’t!”

Victor ignored her pleas. He took a box of toothpicks from one of the cabinets and pressed one into Karen’s back. As Karen cried in pain, he smiled and drove the toothpick fully into her body.

Her screams and wails filled the entire kitchen. Groger slipped his hand into his pocket and touched Sophia with his finger. Hearing all those sounds, knowing why Karen was being tortured, Sophia recoiled in guilt and fear, shifting inside his pocket. Gregor knew the tiny creature inside his pocket could hear everything, and that unsettled her. He pulled his hand out of the pocket and headed toward Victor.

“What are you planning to do with her?”

Victor, reassured that Karen was pinned to the board by the toothpick and couldn’t move, picked something from another cabinet and showed it to Gregor. “She’s going to be a lesson for the others.”

Gregor looked at the object: a grater.

Victor placed the grater on the board in front of Karen’s wounded body. Seeing it, Karen struggled to free herself, but her body was drenched in blood and the pain kept her immobile.

“I’m leaving. I’ll pay the bet whenever you want.” Gregor started heading for the door. Victor adjusted the toothpick in Karen’s back, and she let out a guttural scream of pain.

“Don’t you want to stay and watch?”

“Not my pleasure,” Gregor replied.

Victor laughed and pulled the toothpick from Karen’s body, making her scream in pain. The wooden board was soaked with blood. “Don’t pretend you don’t feel powerful listening to their pleas,” he said.

Gregor paused, then turned to look at Karen closely. Her half conscious body was clearly in agony. She was bleeding so much that she no longer had the strength to beg, though it wasn’t enough to kill her.

“Maybe,” he said thoughtfully.

Victor smiled and stepped back. “Once you do it and feel that power, you’ll never forget it.” He glanced at Gregor and then at Karen, who no longer even had the strength to lift her head.

“Then I’ll do it my way,” Gregor announced.

Victor shrugged, “That way she can’t be a lesson for the others,” he said, with a fake sigh of sorrow.

Without hesitation, Gregor reached toward Karen and, with one motion, crushed her under his hand. With a crunch, her bones and skull shattered in an instant, leaving nothing on the kitchen board but a bloody pulp of smashed bone and tissue. Victor, unprepared for the speed of the move, groaned. “Damn! You ruined all the fun!”

Gregor looked at his bloodied fingers. “You’re right. I told you it’s not pleasure for me. I’m leaving. See you later.”

As Gregor left the kitchen, he could hear Victor’s distant growls, but it didn’t bother him. He pulled a cloth from another pocket and cleaned his hand. Leaving the house, he got into his car. At the same time, he took Sophia out of his pocket and placed her on the dashboard. Sophia, having been in darkness for so long, couldn’t stand the sunlight and shut her eyes.

Besides that, listening to the cries, screams, and pleas of someone who had been holding her hand just minutes ago had driven her nearly mad. She knew if she hadn’t acted to escape, Karen would never have been punished so brutally for trying to help her.

Sounds.

She couldn’t see anything. The world around her was dark and murky. She could hear sounds, though she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Loud, piercing sounds. She didn’t know if they were human or animal. Screams, wails, and cries that seemed to come from far away, but not too far.

She opened her eyes. Slowly, the surroundings came into focus. She lifted her head carefully and tried to sit up. Her head spun. She closed her eyes again, took a deep breath and opened them. Still dizzy, as if the world itself was swirling around her.

She rested her head back on the ground, curled into herself, and closed her eyes. A headache throbbed. Those sounds were still ringing in her ears. She had no idea where she was. She couldn’t even remember where she had been before she woke up, or why she had been lying down. Her memories were too fragmented to piece together into anything coherent.

Sounds. That was all she could think about. In the dream she seemed trapped in, there was nothing else but those annoying sounds.

A few minutes later, when she felt slightly more alert, she opened her eyes again. This time, she could see everything clearly. The surface beneath her, which she realized was metal, was dark. She lifted her head to look ahead.

She froze.

Tall bars surrounded her on all sides. She turned her head and looked behind her. She was trapped. Above her, a metal ceiling hung low, not far from the ground.

She tried to stand, but she couldn’t. She was too weak. Sitting, she reached for the bars and gripped them with her hands, peering through to the other side.

It was unbelievable.

Everything was absurdly oversized, several times larger than normal. Across from her was a television that seemed as tall as the Great Wall of China. Beside it, and further along, were things resembling tables and chairs, but all enormous. Looking down, she realized the very metal prison she was trapped in rested on a vast brown surface that seemed to be a table. Sophia’s eyes widened as she took in the colossal furniture. She understood she was in a giant’s house, a place where doors were like the gates of a castle, through which giants might enter.

She let go of the bars and leaned back against them. What had happened? Why had everything suddenly grown so huge?

A deafening pounding shook the floor. The ground trembled beneath her feet, and the sound drew closer and closer. Suddenly, everything shook violently. She screamed as the surface beneath her tilted. She clutched the bars tightly, the enormous furniture vanished from view in an instant.

The floor beneath her leveled for a moment, then tilted the other way. Her weight fell on the bars. Looking down, she couldn’t believe her eyes. She was somehow far higher than the table she had noticed. She shut her eyes and gripped the bars tighter.

“So, you’re awake.”

The voice was so loud and close it felt like it would shatter her ears.

Suddenly, the prison door swung open, and a hand many times larger than hers reached in and grabbed her. Sophia screamed, but it was useless. The hand lifted her out. Pressed under the immense pressure, she could barely breathe, yet she looked up at the face towering above her. Her mouth hung open in terror as she stared at the gargantuan figure before her.

A man, human-like, but impossibly large. He had cold blue eyes, merciless, as if they could split her mind and read her thoughts. A mysterious smile touched his lips, and Sophia hoped she would never learn the dark intentions behind it.

His fingers tightened around her body. She felt as if her bones might crush at any moment. He lifted her slightly, examining her with the gaze of a hunter.

“You don’t seem to last long.” He looked disappointed. “I won’t name you.”

He dropped her into the prison, which Sophia realized was nothing but a bird cage. She curled up in pain as he set the cage on the table and walked away with thunderous steps.

Unable to process what had just happened, Sophia stared at the bars trapping her with wide, astonished eyes.

The man was nearly as tall as a tower. But how could that be possible?

Sophia closed her eyes. If this were a nightmare, she should have woken up by now. But it felt too real for it to be just a dream. She hugged herself, leaned against the bars, and slowly began to cry. If she was trapped in the hands of a creature a hundred times her size, and now confined to this cage, there was no telling what fate awaited her.

As time passed, Sophia kept staring straight ahead, fixed on the bars of the cage that held her captive.

Again, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from behind her. She sprang to her feet and turned around. She wasn’t imagining it, the enormous man had returned. Sophia took a step back, as if she could somehow hide from him. But he ignored her completely, lifting the cage and continuing on his way. Sophia lost her balance and fell. The cage shook violently, tossing her back and forth.

Finally, with a harsh thud, it came to a stop. Sophia, her head spinning, looked around. The surroundings had changed, and a strange smell hung in the air. She gasped, trying to figure out where she was, but nothing seemed familiar.

"Welcome to my kitchen, little one."

At the sound of his booming voice, Sophia clutched her ears. She was really in a kitchen, an enormous kitchen, with a refrigerator, stove, sink, and a dining table that now held the cage, all far larger than anything she had ever seen.

The giant walked over to a huge window behind him and opened it. A cold wind blew in, and Sophia hugged herself against it. He moved to another part of the room, opened a drawer, and pulled something out. As Sophia focused, she realized that whatever it was wasn’t just moving, it was making sounds too.

Sounds like… the ones she had heard in her dreams.

No! Let me go!"

Sophia froze. The thing in the giant’s hands was a man, and he held him as if he were worth less than an insect. Sophia gripped the bars, leaning closer to see him better and make sure of what she was witnessing. From this distance, the sounds weren’t entirely clear, but it was unmistakably screaming and crying.

The giant tossed the man onto the kitchen counter, whistling as he rummaged through cabinets for salt, pepper, and spices, sprinkling them one by one over him. The man had collapsed, hiding his head in his hands in terror and disbelief. Sophia turned pale at the sight.

Eventually, the giant fetched a kitchen knife and approached the cutting board. Sophia squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears, but she could still hear the animal-like wails.

If she could, she would never open her eyes again.

Then, silence engulfed the room. There were no more sounds of the knife striking the board, no more cries, no more screams. Her chest felt heavy, and she struggled to breathe.

Slowly, she raised her head. For a moment, time seemed to freeze. The giant was standing there. No sound came. Blood didn’t drip from his hands. Everything was still. Moments later, he set the knife aside, lifted the cutting board, and emptied its contents into a pot on the stove, turning down the flame. Sophia felt a wave of nausea. The giant walked to the sink and washed his hands. Sophia couldn’t see his face, since he was too tall, and the top of the cage blocked her view, yet she could tell from his movements that he was completely calm and perfectly unaffected.

Then, in an instant, the man turned toward her. Sophia held her breath and pressed her hand to her mouth.

He walked slowly toward her and opened the cage door. Terrified, Sophia backed to the far end and clung to the bars. And yet, if he reached in again, she knew she could offer no resistance at all.

Instead, the giant, with obvious boredom, struck the bars Sophia was leaning against. She let out a scream of terror and scrambled to the other side of the cage, but wherever she went, he hit that side too, driving her back again and again.

Finally, he tilted the cage. Sophia lost her grip on the bars and slid toward the open door, falling onto the table below. The giant smirked at the sight and set the cage aside.

Panicked, Sophia rushed toward it, trying to take shelter inside. But as she was climbing in, he slammed the door shut. Half of her body was caught between the bars, and she screamed in pain.

The giant stood over her, staring down.

Sophia didn’t even understand why she was screaming. The pressure from the cage door against her back wasn’t unbearable, though it wasn’t light either. The man bent down, smiling.

“Funny,” he said, “that you try to hide from me inside the cage.”

Sophia trembled violently, desperately trying to pull her legs inside, but she couldn’t. She didn’t have the strength.

Finally, the giant opened the cage door again. She quickly pulled herself inside and retreated into a corner, or at least tried to hide there.

The giant laughed loudly at the sight.

Sophia buried her head in her hands. She would have preferred to stay imprisoned there forever rather than go outside and suffer the same fate as that tiny man. But even that thought was too much for her, she had no control over anything.

Once again, the giant tilted the cage. This time, he held it slightly farther from the table. When Sophia fell onto the surface, her body hurt so much she could barely move.

He set the cage on the floor without hesitation and grabbed her immediately, then walked to a drawer, and threw her inside the first one.

She had no time to react. Only a scream escaped her before pain wracked her again.

Everything fell into darkness.

Moments passed.

Sophia lay curled up on the drawer floor, trembling in fear, until a hand rested on her shoulder. She quickly looked up.

She couldn’t believe it, but in the darkness, she could make out several silhouettes standing in front of her. Several figures her own size.

“Hey… are you okay?”

The voice belonged to a girl about her age, tired and concerned.

Sophia realized the hand belonged to her.

“She’s really scared,” the girl added softly.

Sophia was shaking uncontrollably. Her teeth chattered, and she panted for breath.

Another voice, this one sounding like a man, spoke, “She must’ve seen everything.”