Another 10 Minutes (2023) (Patreon)

Walden quietly stewed. Looking down at his mobile game, he wasn't sure why he was still here. His friend had texted him , told him to meet him here, at this exact hotel room, for some photography practice he wanted to do. It's been 15 minutes and the only sound he's heard was the low hum of the air conditioning unit beneath the window beside him, and some people walking out in the hallway.'Where is he?' he wondered. It wasn't like Nick to bail, or to keep him waiting in a low-cost, surprisingly nice looking, hotel room by the highway. Feeling a slight tinge on his right foot, he shuffled his bare feet into the rough hotel carpet, and continued to play his game. He'll give him another 10 minutes and then he's out of here.---"Shit! Shit! SHIT!!" Nick cried, holding his now defunct cell phone in his hand, trying to send a text to Walden, now towering above him, sitting on a chair. His large, hairy foot mere feet away from his now tiny body. His signal bars only said SOS and his message bubble sent out was green, with red lettering underneath: Could not be delivered. "WALDEN!" Nick cried up to his giant friend. "LOOK DOWN! RIGHT HERE! IN THE CARPET! HERE!" The giant above merely cleared his throat, indicating he didn't hear Nick's tiny cries. Not knowing what to do, Nick was startled when the giant foot near him moved a slight inch into the other, a slight rub. That gave Nick an idea. If sound wouldn't work...maybe pressure would. Nick sprinted across the rough carpet toward the massive foot.

The heat hit him immediately. It was warm, living, and radiating off the foot like a furnace. Comforting in some twisted way, and utterly terrifying in every other.

Walden had kicked off his casual slip-ons earlier; the foot carried that familiar, lived-in smell. Not rancid, just heavy and unmistakable from hours of wear. Nick’s instincts kicked in. He started breathing through his mouth instead of his nose, shallow and quick.Nick started pounding his tiny fists against the hardened skin of Walden's foot.

The surface was warm and tough, like thick leather. Each hit barely made a sound. He pressed both hands flat and pushed with everything he had, trying to budge the massive foot.

It didn't move at all. His palms sank only the tiniest fraction into the outer layer before the deeper flesh resisted, solid as ever.

Breathing heavy, sweat dripped down Nick's face. He inhaled sharply through his nose, habitually, and immediately regretted it. The heat from the sole surrounded him, thick with that heavy, familiar scent. He hammered again, frantic little strikes against an uncaring wall.

Up above, Walden felt the tinge, but merely dismissed it as a nerve tingle. The large foot began moving, and Nick was too close to get away as it rolled over his tiny body and shuffled on top of him.