If I made a G/t interactive story with the pet trope would anyone be interested? (The choose your own adventure poll game)
I know that a lot of people don’t prefer that trope so I thought I would ask and see if anyone would be. It would be sfw mostly fluff probably with some fearplay potential. It would have art included!!
Also if you DO and want to be added to a tag list please let me know!!
Content: group bullying, ableism, arguing, alcohol, selective mutism, pet trope, giant/tiny, gay teasing, hunger/thirst, exhaustion, (please let me know if I forgot any)
Pov: Hamster
Poll Winner: Outfit Section B
Note: This is the last chapter! Thank you so much for reading! I am planning on making more art for previous chapters so there will be art of Hamster’s outfit coming out soon! I have other plans that I will make a post for later on as well, so stay tuned ^_^
A special thanks to my friend @alittlewhump for proofreading this! Thank you <3
Art and Writing under the cut!
—
You have never been camping before in your life, and you’re not sure if you like it given your circumstances.
Your ankles are throbbing from walking for hours, and you’re pretty sure there’s cobwebs tangled in your hair. Ashley’s not even here to clean your hair out for you. Ashley’s not even here…
You’re exhausted from crying, and only manage a few stray tears as you chew on the dry sunflower seed with Soap. At least the food is familiar.
The food sucks all the moisture from your mouth, and Soap offers you some water to help wash it down. He warns you that this is all we have so you’re only allowed a few gulps. He takes it from your hands before your thirst is quenched, and you watch it leave your hands in disappointment.
A chill goes through you while you watch Soap fuss over his supplies for the 100th time, and all you can do is pull the cheap doll clothes tighter around you.The pink fluffy sweater might look warm, but the plastic material doesn’t seem to keep the heat in all too well, and it itches against your skin.
You watch Soap make a bed from your hammock and he waves you over. “Come and sleep while you can. We still have a ways to go before we make it. We have to wake up early tomorrow if we’re going to cover any ground.”
He still hasn’t told you where exactly he is taking you, but you’re too tired to care right now. You hesitantly sit beside him, and he helps you take your hair down so you can use it to keep warm. He lays beside you and pulls the hammock around both of you in a sort of sleeping bag shape. It’s warmer than you expected it to be, and Soap laying so close to you makes your heart flutter. When you look over at his face he looks serious as he stares at the ceiling. It’s almost pitch black, but you can still make out his silhouette. “Go to sleep,” he says, annoyed that you’re watching him.
The minute you close your eyes you drift off into a fitful sleep. Exhaustion winning over stress and grief.
The next day is much like the night before, except you’re tired, and sore all over. Soap pulls you along, seemingly knowing directions.
The day after that is the same, except now you’re dragging your feet to keep up with him. He lets you take a break and sits beside you. “We’re almost there Hamster. I’m taking you to some people I know. They’ll take care of you.”
They will? Is Soap going to leave you with a bunch of strangers?
After all that’s happened this is what tips you over. Your face gets hot, and you gulp back threatening tears. You point at him and pat your chest. He’s not allowed to leave you just like that. You grab his arm and hold it possessively.
He looks uncomfortable, and tugs away testingly. “Don’t be like that. You’ll be fine.”
You tug his arm closer and glare at him. You don’t understand why he seems to hate you so much. He told you he wouldn’t ditch you, but apparently he’s also a liar.
“Calm down. I’m not leaving you just yet, but I can’t stay with you forever.”
Your whole world was stolen from you, and now the only person familiar to you is talking about leaving you. It’s not fair. Hot tears start to stream down your cheeks involuntarily. Soap has been nothing but a jerk to you this whole time. You’re angry. You have a right to be angry.
You shove Soap away from you, and stand up to get away from him. His body sways back from the impact, and he catches himself with his hand on the ground.
Soap gets up too, anger in his voice when he snaps at you. “Look. I don’t know what you’re thinking because you don’t fucking talk, but let me get something straight here. I’m not a pet. I’m not obligated to help you, and throwing a temper tantrum isn’t going to get you what you want. I get that this sucks, but you don’t get to take it out on me. Got it?”
He walks away to leave you thinking about what he’s said, and you pout in the corner for a while. Maybe you can find a human who can take you back to Ashley. The human who took you from the house said that people knew you from Ashley’s blog, so anyone you find would know to return you to her. The thought is comforting, but not exactly foolproof to work, so you keep the idea tucked away as a plan B. Without much choice, you follow Soap, and pray that he will keep taking care of you.
After calming down for a bit you hesitantly approach Soap, and take his hand to hold it. He looks away awkwardly but squeezes your hand. He doesn’t say anything for a while after that.
It’s another few hours of travel before the scenery changes from dusty walls, spider webs, and insulation. The musty wood shifts into brightly painted walls filled with decorations, paintings and photographs, and the floors are scattered with warm patterned carpets. There’s a sweet scent in the air that pulls at your empty stomach. To your own nervous excitement you also hear voices chattering around the corner.
That’s when you see something you’ve never thought you would see in your life. A group of people your own size gathered around a lounge area. Just relaxing, talking, and drinking out of mugs.
You gawk at the scene as if you’re dreaming, but the moment is shattered when they all turn and look at you. Putting you on the spot. Your grip on Soap tightens, and you press against him. You don’t like how these people are looking at you, and you hide behind Soap while peeking out from behind his shoulder.
“Scrubs?” one of them chimes and a few walk up to the two of you. “Oh my god, what happened to you? You look like you’ve been caught in a rat trap.” They laugh at him and look him up and down.
They look at you, and you can’t help but shrink with your shoulders hunched. “And who’s this? Scrubs, you got a girl?” Another laugh. “We thought you were gay.” They jab him in the arm with their elbow and he swats them off.
GAY!? You’re shocked, and appalled. Any illusion you had of romance washes down the drain. You can only hope that they’re wrong, otherwise you feel embarrassed for thinking you had a chance.
He mock laughs with them and tells them to screw off. “I don’t have time to joke around. We need water and something to eat… It’s been a long week. We’re starving. C’mon Hamster, just ignore them.” He leads you to a stool and sets you down while he goes and talks to some people.
A few other people sit around you, staring. “So where are you from? What’s your name?” they ask.
You breathe in, panicked, and look to see if Soap is going to save you. You shrug at the question, while someone gives you water, and you chug as much as you can. The cold liquid fills your empty stomach, quenching your thirst and soothing your cracked lips. You pull the cup away with a satisfied sigh.
When Soap comes back he is at least able to introduce you. “This is Hamster. She’s a… Pet.” He breaks the news as if you’re tainted, a tight expression pinches his lips. “So go easy on her, she doesn’t know anything. She can’t talk so don’t bother asking her much.”
“A pet!?” The others sound shocked and the bar goes quiet, all looking at you in disbelief. One person starts coughing after choking on their drink.
“Scrubs, what have you gotten yourself into?” Another person asks.
Then another question from someone else, “Were you kept in a cage?”
“Did they grab you a lot?” And suddenly they’re all talking over each other with horrible questions. Their voices overlap and they feel like they’re closing in on you. You put your hands over your ears to block them out.
“Stop it!” Soap bellows over the crowd and puts an arm around you. “You’re traumatizing her, so knock it off. We just need a meal and we’ll be leaving.”
You wouldn’t say they were traumatizing you, as much as overwhelming you with intrusion, but you wonder if he’s more so talking about himself. You can’t pretend to not know how much he was suffering over the last few weeks. As much as you wanted him to stay with you and adjust to it, you know that things weren’t getting much better for him there.
“Leaving where? We haven’t seen you for over a year. You’re just gonna take off again?” the stranger asks.
“I’m taking her to my parents,” he says.
More murmuring and Soap tells you to ignore them. Soon you’re given a hearty bowl of soup, and some bread crumbs. It‘s steaming, and you breathe it in. You’re so hungry you burn yourself on the first spoonful, clumsy with the utensil you’re not used to using. It’s the most delicious meal you’ve ever had, and you basically inhale it along with the bread. It’s savory and buttery at the same time, with a spice you’ve never tasted before.
You wonder if Soap’s parents are as mean as he is, while you scrape at the bottom of the bowl and your heart aches for Ashley’s kind words. She always speaks softly to you, and treats you like a treasure. The thought of her crying over you being taken breaks your heart.
Some of the other tinies have pulled Soap away to ask more questions, not satisfied with what he’s told them. They keep glancing over at you. It makes you uncomfortable, but there’s nothing you can do about it.
Soap seems eager to leave after that whole scene, and takes you down a long hallway. One that’s painted, lit up with fairy lights, and a warm carpet. It’s much more inviting than any previous scenery. Soap is still tense and all he says is, “those guys are idiots. Don’t listen to them.”
Are all tinies like this? The thought makes you shudder. If that’s the case you’ll just have to go find a human and go with plan B after all.
It’s not long after that Soap is knocking on a door that’s been built to fit people your size. Everything around here is built for people your size, and it makes you feel like a giant in comparison to being in a human’s house. You feel like you’re taking up way too much space.
An older woman with warm brown skin answers the door, and gasps with a hand to her chest. “Soap Scrub! My baby, oh I wasn’t expecting you! What happened to your hair?” She puts a hand on the side of his head, staring into his eyes. Then she looks at you. “And who is this?”
Soap introduces you by just your name, and introduces her as his mother. He doesn’t answer about his hair, and he doesn’t tell her that you’re a pet just yet either, to your relief. Apparently that’s just an invitation to be harrassed, as you’ve discovered.
She gives you a curious look, but beckons you both inside. Closing the door once you’re both in.
The home is cozy with a lot of plants, and a tea candle stove. There are cushions around the table for you to sit down on while Soap carefully explains the situation. He asks if you can both stay for an unknown amount of time. His mother says of course without a second thought.
Soap gives you clean clothes to wear, and his mom fills a tub for you to clean yourself with, heating the water over the tea candle. They leave you in the bathroom by yourself, and although you know what to do, you still get a pang of hurt thinking about how alien this is to you. Ashley would usually supervise your baths and help you shampoo your hair. Your hair is too wild to reach all of it on your own, so you leave it alone.
You can hear them talking through the door, but the words are murmured. You just hope that Soap’s mom doesn’t ask you a bunch of questions too, or find you tainted like the people at that lounge seemed to.
The clothes that Soap gave you are tight, but surprisingly soft. Unlike the cheap plastic texture you’ve been forced to wear for the last few days. You hope Soap throws those away. You’re loads more comfortable anyway, and let out a content sigh.
When you come back out you sit down on the cushion at the table while Soap takes his turn in the washroom. You start picking twigs and fluff out of your hair. There’s all kinds of things stuck in it, as per usual, but you suppose you won’t be getting hamster bedding stuck in it anymore…
Soap’s mom is watching you, and you avert your eyes to the floor. She comes closer, and sits close to you. “Would you like help with your hair, honey?” she asks. You nod, your cheeks warming.
She sits behind you with a comb, and slowly starts combing the spider webs out of your curls. It feels different than Ashley’s large hands, but the sentiment makes you tear up. She’s so gentle with you. She doesn’t ask you any questions either, and you start to let your guard down.
Soap’s father comes home shortly after, and you’re introduced to him as well. He has a sturdy face, with a short sleek gray beard. Soap takes him into another room to talk to him. When he comes back out he shakes your hand firmly, and says “Welcome to the family.”
You think it's pretty bold of them to just assume they would like you living with them, and you give Soap a look. As much as Soap loves to say he doesn’t understand you, he seems to understand your look just fine and he assures you that it's okay. All you can do is keep trusting him.
Soap’s parents give you a bed, like an actual bed, and eventually you ask them (in gestures) if they can set up your hammock for you. Soap’s father puts it up for you, and his mom makes it comfy with blankets and pillows. It’s a little piece of home, and you spend most of your time rocking in it.
Soap doesn’t abandon you after all, and sticks around for a while, while you adjust to your new living arrangements, and the new people you’re living with. You have a feeling Soap needed to be home for a while too after Ashley had been so mean to him. He smiles more often, and makes jokes with his mom when they cook dinner together. He’s a lot more charming when he’s happy, and you still secretly admire him. Even if he’s not interested in you.
Soap even teaches you how to sew, even though you’re very bad at it, and it sometimes starts a fight between the two of you. Mostly because he’s still a jerk and gets frustrated with you easily. Still, for some reason he keeps trying, which you appreciate.
You really like his parents after all, and although you still miss Ashley, it's kind of fun meeting new people, and trying out a different lifestyle. Even if the adjustment is difficult. They even tell you that you could call them mom and dad if you wanted. You don’t have the courage to try talking yet, but they don’t seem to get mad about it like Soap does so you don’t force yourself.
You mostly follow Mom around the house while she teaches you things like making bread, and taking care of plants. She hums a lot, and you find it very soothing.
Sometimes you go out with Dad to socialize and meet more people. When strangers ask you about being a pet you just shrug and let Dad tell them to mind their own business. You like sitting around the bar with a few of them and listening to them tell stories to each other. You wonder how many of the stories are exaggerated but you just smile anyway.
Eventually when Soap does leave you, you don’t mind it as much as you thought you would. Even if you miss him. You’ve made a few friends with the other tinies and you know you’ll see Soap again someday.
You’ve made a new life here, one that's full of learning and purpose. One that’s fun and interesting. The more you do every day the more you realize how bored and lonely you were in that cage waiting all day for Ashley to come home from work. You hope that Ashley is able to make new friends too, and doesn’t feel lonely without you.
This is the start of your new life, and you’re happy that you found a place to call home.
Content: giant/tiny, cages, pet trope, power dynamic, home invasion, guns, death threat, fear of heights, being mocked
Pov: Soap Scrub
Poll Winner: Pet liberation rescue
Note: The last chapter ended up being over 7000 words so I decided to split it into two parts so there will be another chapter after this one :)
Special thanks to @alittlewhump for helping me edit <3 thank you
ART, WRITING, AND POLL UNDER THE CUT!
—
The weeks blur together with no chances to escape. You’ve almost stopped trying. Ashley doesn’t leave any cracks or openings to even think about slipping past her. You’ve stopped looking for them, too tired to keep up with being constantly alert.
The days are mostly the same. Ashley spends a lot of her time at work, and when she gets home she usually coddles Hamster and leaves you alone. Thankfully. Maybe she’s gotten bored of you, only using you for her photoshoots. You’re just another prop to her.
Sometimes she brings friends over who all coo over Hamster, and often torment you. None of them will help you either. They don’t seem to like your bitter attitude. That’s not how pets are supposed to act apparently.
You can’t tell if you’re successfully talking Hamster into freeing you, or if she enjoys keeping you locked up as much as Ashley does. Every time you mention anything Hamster shakes her head and stares at you with that stupid love struck smile on her face. You would think you could use her crush to your advantage, but so far it just makes her more reluctant to let you go. Being mean to her doesn’t work either because it puts you on Ashley’s bad side, and you end up being isolated. So you opt with trying to get Hamster to side with you.
You’re afraid the plan is a lost cause, but all you can do is keep working on getting Hamster to help you. She’s interested in meeting more people your size, so that's what you usually tell her about in hopes she’ll get curious enough to go with you someday.
Tonight is like any other. Ashley has Hamster cuddled up to her on the couch while they watch a sappy romance movie. You’re as hidden as you can be inside the cage, but admittedly you’re also watching the screen from an angle since the t.v. is in view from the kitchen counter.
The movie is interrupted when there’s a knock on the door. Ashley gets up to put Hamster away in her cage, walking over to answer it.
The door flies open, almost hitting her as she springs backwards. Three masked strangers rush into the house, surrounding her. One of them grabs her from behind with a gun pointed to her head, clamping a hand over her mouth. “Scream and we’ll shoot,” they hiss into her ear.
Shit. Shit. Shit!
You nestle down further into the bedding, but you have nowhere to go if they want to grab you. It's hot and suffocating. You feel like you can’t breathe under the weight of it smothering you.
Looking through the haze of the fluff you see Hamster staring openly with no cover. Making herself an easy target with her mouth gaped open in shock. She doesn’t move. She makes no attempt to hide herself at all.
Stupid girl!
She takes a breath to scream and your whole body clenches, trying to ready yourself to be noticed.
When Hamster shrieks, Ashley struggles and begs them to leave Hamster alone. Ashley is immediately shoved out of sight by two of the humans while the third looks to see where the source of the shrill scream came from.
The intruder walks up to Hamster’s cage, and when they see her they pull their mask down to reveal a pale freckled face. Concern written all over it. “Hey. Shh, it's okay. We’re not here to hurt you. I’m here to take you somewhere safe.”
Hamster scrambles back, tripping over fluff. She reaches her arm out towards the room Ashley was forced into, and looks back to the human while bawling. The message is as clear as usual, that Hamster wants Ashley.
“She’ll be okay. I’m sorry you can’t see her, but they won’t hurt her. I need to know where the other boy your size is.” The human makes no moves to give Hamster what she wants.
Hamster’s wide eyes flick towards your cage, and she shakes her head. It’s too late, the human already knows that’s where you’re hidden and peers through the bars to try to find you. Their brown eyes search every corner of the cage as their voice overwhelms you. “Hey. I’m here to help you. Are you in there?”
They must see you shaking because their gaze is concerningly close to where you’re hiding underneath the bedding. You don’t believe them for a second and refuse to move from the spot to let them know where you are.
One of the other humans pokes their head out from the hallway, and says, “They’re in the cages. Just the two.”
You’re a fool to think you could go unnoticed at this point. Dread trickles throughout your body, and you have nothing to grab onto to steady yourself. Nothing but white fluff between your fists.
The human next to you nods once, just a flick of their chin, then picks up both of your cages by the handles at the top. Your stomach churns from the sudden shift of gravity. You cover your mouth with your hands to stay quiet, but Hamster has other ideas. She’s wailing pitifully and the human’s words of reassurance do nothing to stop her.
You’re both royally fucked.
Ashley scares you, sure, but you know how much worse it could be. So, so, so much worse. Ashley can be cruel, but she’s not sadistic. Horror stories flash through your mind of humans who inflict pain for fun, and a rush of dizziness has you seeing stars. Suddenly the thought of staying with Ashley doesn’t seem so bad compared to what could be.
The human takes both of you into the back of a van and places the cages down gently onto one of the leather side seats. They sit on the floor with their legs crossed, eye level with you and Hamster. They take their toque off, and underneath they have a curly blonde mohawk. ”My name is Ratty. I’m here to take you somewhere safe,” they repeat those words: Safe.
It’s grounding in a way, being promised safety, but your skepticism has your heart pounding. There’s no way what this human is saying is true.
The van starts rumbling, and you’re being driven away that moment. The other two people are in the front seats behind protective glass, so its just Ratty in the back with you.
The human in front of you already knows you’re in the cage, so you decide to face your fears and show yourself. You throw fluff away from you, and come out with the most defiant glare you can muster while your heart hammers against your chest painfully. “Let us go!” You growl, “You have to let us go, let me out of this cage!”
“I promise I will. Hold on. Let me take a look at this.” To your surprise, they grab the lock that's on the cage door, looking at it lazily. “Are either of you hurt anywhere?”
You shake your head instantly, in fear that this human might want to touch you with prodding fingers. You look over to Hamster to see if she answers the same, but she doesn’t answer at all. Instead she just stares in horror, stuck in place by fear. It’s that same look that made you protect her from that mouse. The same look that got you into this mess in the first place.
You’re trembling, but seeing her even more terrified face prompts the next question. You ask it for her, to ease some of that panic, but you’re curious enough yourself to want to know. “W-what did you do to Ashley? Is she uh… Okay?”
“She’ll be fine. No one hurt her,” Ratty says, almost sounding bored.
“Why did you do that?! Are you the pet liberation?” You draw your hands into fists to stop them from shaking, “How did you find us?”
Ratty stops fidgeting with the lock and sits back to talk. “Yeah, we’re basically pet lib. Something like that. I saw your picture on her blog. It was hard to miss.”
“Are you actually going to let us go?” A lump forms in your throat and you find it hard to swallow.
“If that’s what you want, I promise I will. We can drop you off somewhere if you have a place to go. Or we can take you to a shelter if you don’t, but you can’t go back to Ashley, or you shouldn't anyway.”
You frown slightly, testing. “What if we did go back?”
Ratty shrugs, staying frustratingly vague. “I wouldn’t suggest it. Why? Do you want to?”
“No,” you say flatly, “but she might.”
Ratty looks to Hamster who’s now curled up weeping in the corner. “I understand,” Ratty says, “Are you two close? You and Hamster?”
Hamster nods just as you’re about to say no, and you realize there's a possibility of the two of you being separated. You don’t trust this human enough to take Hamster anywhere by herself, and you have no idea what they would do with her. “Yeah, she’s with me. So you can let us go together and I’ll take care of her. We’re not going back to Ashley.”
“Alright. Is there a place you want to go?”
You think of a known landmark that's close enough to some people you know, and request that. An apartment building in town that you know the name of.
“That sounds great,” Ratty says, distractedly, “Are you sure you’ll be okay? I want to get you some supplies first, maybe some clothes. You’re both half naked, and from what I'm guessing she’s never been outside before…”
You ask again with a frown, “How do you know all this?”
Ratty shrugs. “Ashley posts a lot on her blog. Look, I really don’t feel comfortable dropping you two off on the side of the road with no supplies. I’m sorry, you’ll have to hang tight for a bit while I get you some from the store. We’ll be quick. Anything you want?”
You glare at Ratty, but they’re right. Especially if Hamster decides to be difficult during the commute to your group of people. “I want a knife,” you start off with, testing.
“Sure.” Ratty types that into their phone and looks at you expectantly, waiting for the rest of the list.
You’re stunned at how seemingly compliant this human is, still feeling skeptical. You throw out a few more suggestions, wondering if there would be a catch to the request. “Hair ties, this size.” You hold out your hands to demonstrate. “Fabric, thread, plastic wrap, matches.” You list a few things from the top of your head, then add, “doll clothes.”
“Gotcha.” Ratty types the rest up, and knocks on the safety glass to the front seat, asking them to stop at a store.
“Can you let me out already?” You ask impatiently. Ratty hadn’t made a move to take the lock off, and you are still trapped in the cage.
“Uhh… I’m gonna be real with you, champ. If I let you out now I don’t trust that you won’t take off right away and get yourself killed somewhere in this van. I don’t want that on my conscience.”
Your face grows hot, and you retort, “Do you think I’m stupid?”
Ratty chuckles, which just adds to your anger. “No. I think you’re scared. Which is worse. I’ll be right back.” They change their shirt and put on a pair of glasses, altering their appearance well enough to not be recognized as the home invader from earlier.
Light floods the room of the van as the human exits, then the door closes again leaving you still trapped with nothing but Hamster’s blubbering cries.
You scoff loudly, “Well aren’t they a fucking delight.” You crawl over to Hamster. Her cage is right beside you, but you don’t know what to say. Your nerves are shot, and comforting people makes your skin itch. “You’re not alone, Hamster. Ashley didn’t get shot, she’s fine. So… Take a deep breath. I’m not gonna ditch you.”
Staring into her cage, you wonder if you can get her busy. “You see that hammock? Take it down and roll it up with some food in it. We’ll need it if that human is telling the truth.”
When Hamster doesn’t move you start snapping your fingers to get her attention. She startles, then moves sluggishly as if both your lives aren’t at stake right now. You sigh. This is going to be a long week of travel, especially if she slows you down.
Ratty’s back before long with a small bag of goods. “Anything I can help you do?” They ask as they show you everything. The clothes are a cheap brand- a little flashy for trying to hide in- but good enough for now.
“Give me my knife,” you demand.
Ratty slips a needle in the cage for you. It will have to do… They also break an exacto blade into manageable pieces for you to use.
The human helps you get all of your supplies ready, and you help Hamster with her clothes through the bars, wrapping her arms and legs in floral tape to keep them protected. You tie her hair back into a fluffy ponytail, and wrap fabric and plastic around her feet for makeshift shoes. The hammock is tied around her like a sash.
You do the same for yourself and wrap as many of the supplies as you can fit into your own sash to bring with you. Ratty also gives you a tiny glass jar with water in it that you tie around your hip. It's heavy, but needed.
You’re as ready as you can be and look for the human’s approval to let you go. With the way the human is smugly staring down at you with a soft smile you’d say they were pretty pleased with the way you both look.
The van stops at your destination, and Ratty asks one more time, “You sure you’ll be okay?”
“If you let me out of this cage, yes,” you huff.
“Okay… Hold on. I’ll stand watch for a minute to make sure you’re safe too,” they assure you, and lift the cages out of the van. You have seconds to find your bearings, and watch to see what side of the building you’re on when Ratty sets the cages down next to some bushes.
Ratty then flips the latches on the bottom of the cages to remove the whole top part of them. “I didn’t need to break the lock after all,” they chuckle. You were so caught up with the lock you forgot how these stupid cages even work. Fear really did cloud your judgement.
It makes you uneasy how the human is treating this like a joke, but that doesn’t matter. You can practically taste the freedom. Ratty lifts the bars off the cage and you’re free.
You’re free!
You make a break for it. The wind hitting your face like cold water. You Sprint as fast as possible to Hamster, grabbing her by the wrist, running for the first cover in sight.
Turning the corner you dive under some rubbish. Pulling Hamster against you. Covering her mouth to stop her from screaming. “Shh, don’t make a sound. Stay still,” you whisper, breathing quickly.
The human has their back to you as promised, and you only pray that this isn’t all a plan to use you as bait to find more tinies.
After an agonizing minute, the human leaves, taking both of the cages with them. You warn Hamster again not to make a sound as you take your hand off of her mouth.
She’s shaken but you don’t give her time to recover. You tell her to hold a leaf over her head so you two can run for further cover without being seen by anything that might see you as prey.
You do the same, grabbing a leaf, and check if the coast is clear before running against the hard concrete along the side of the building. Your thoughts are racing but there’s no time to reflect on them. Right now you can only focus on getting somewhere safer. Your energy is being used to survive this trek.
It's not long before Hamster starts to slow, and at this point you’re practically dragging her. She’s not used to physical labour, and admittedly you’re quite out of shape yourself from being locked up. You both end up kneeling over panting for breath behind a garbage can. You feel as if you’re about to throw up. “Fuck!” You swear under your breath. “We have to make it inside. It’s too dangerous out here.”
There are still tears in Hamster’s eyes, which you don’t have time for. You assume this is going to be a constant with her. You wait for her to catch her breath, and continue running until you find a vent that leads to the inside of the building. You pull her in, and find a hole that’s been made to lead into the walls.
Once you’re inside you collapse against the wall, sliding down against it until you’re on the ground. Your leg is throbbing, and your lungs are on fire, but you’re free. Hamster’s hand is still in yours, and she’s panting beside you. It's a good reminder that you’re both alive.
Your nerves catch up to you, and you start to laugh. You can’t believe you made it out of that cage. You made it out finally. It’s unbelievably exhilarating.
You give yourself and Hamster a minute to calm down. Catch your breath. Let the shock wear off from everything that just happened before getting up again to continue on inside the building.
There's pink fluffy insulation along the walls that has been pushed to the side to make an open hallway when you turn the corner. “Don’t touch that stuff,” you tell Hamster without an explanation.
Hamster leans away from it and keeps holding onto your hand while you take her down the hallway. Eventually you reach a makeshift ladder that goes to the second floor of the building, with little ramps along the way to take breaks on. You never thought you would miss such a shoddily made structure. It's made out of various things: nails, wood, string. “We have to climb up this,” you tell her.
As soon as Hamster looks up to see how high it is she shakes her head and slowly backs away from it. Your jaw clenches in frustration. “I know you’re scared of falling but you have to.” Hamster doesn’t move, and her face crumples while she shakes her head harder. You can’t believe this is where she draws the line.
Pinching your nose, you take a deep breath. You’ll have to wait this out until she’s ready. It’s probably the best time to take a break anyway- a proper break that is- now that you’ve at least made it inside. You sit down and do an inventory check while talking to her. “We can’t stay here all day, got it? You’ll be fine, just don’t look down and keep one hand on the bars at all times. Get ready to do that soon.”
Hamster curls up and begins crying again. Deep heartbroken sobs that wrack her whole body into uncontrollable tremors.
If she really won’t do it, you’ll have to leave her for a night or two, and go get help. You would rather not though, it still isn’t entirely safe here. Especially with someone as naive to this world as she is.
When her sobbing doesn’t clear up you squeeze your eyes shut, really not wanting to be in this position. You’re not left with a lot of options, so eventually you sit down beside her and put an arm around her. “It’s okay Hamster. Really.” You hate this.
Hamster looks at you, glasses fogged up on her tear stained face, then she grabs you into a hug. She pulls you against her and cries into your shoulder. You freeze, then slowly hug her back, tighter than you expected. You’re still shaken up from the whole experience, but you would never admit that you’re glad she’s with you.
If you can calm her down, then you can convince her to follow you up that height. You wait for as long as you can, then get up. “Are you coming with me? At least try. If you really can’t do it you’ll have to wait here. Alone. If a rat comes by you’ll be screwed, so make your choice,” you tell her and give her one of the needles to defend herself with.
You don’t wait for her to hum and haw on a decision, and instead start to climb the ladder by yourself. Halfway up you look down to see her standing at the bottom, jumping from foot to foot as if trying to convince herself to follow you.
To your astonishment, she slowly- one step at a time- starts to climb up the ladder after you. Thank god.
It does take a lot longer than you had hoped. There's a lot of crying and freezing up, but she eventually climbs up with some coaxing. Once she’s at the top, you pull her onto the platform that leads to the second floor of the building. She hugs you tightly, trembling like a leaf, but you can tell she’s relieved to have made it.
After a few more hours of slow travel you finally make it to a fenced in area that has a door with a latch to keep it closed. The area is large enough for a few people your size to camp out in with a roof over it.
“We can sleep here tonight. It’s built to keep rats and stuff out of it so we’ll be safe,” you explain and drop your sash, grateful to have the extra weight off your leg. “Let’s see your hammock.” You help Hamster untie it and roll it out, collecting the food from it to put in a pile for dinner.
You feel uneasy being in a cage for the night after finally escaping one, but realistically you know the difference. Maybe it’ll calm Hamster down by being familiar to her. You’re both exhausted and don’t make much conversation while chewing on some dried seeds. Both of you are thankful to be sitting down, and done travelling for the night.
