The first thing Lucia sensed was the ringing – a shrill ringing at her ears, followed by a grueling pressure on her head. The air around her was dense and warm. She opened her eyes, only to be greeted by darkness. As her senses awakened, she sensed the pressure all over her body – hands, legs, feet. She tried to stretch, but quickly realized she was pinned down – a large mound rested on top of her, almost like a giant mattress - its surface slightly rough and wrinkled, her face and scruffy curls rubbing against it as she tried to turn. This solid mound covered her completely and had her pinned down against a rough, carpet-like surface. There was a muggy scent in the air – somewhat reminiscent of vinegar. And worn socks.
Her instincts kicking in, Lucia tried to free herself from the grip of the pounding mass above her. It proved to be of no use – the mass was much heavier than she could lift, and there didn’t seem to be much room for it to move to. Lucia felt her heart starting to pound faster - she was sealed in darkness, unsure of where she was or how long she had been there.
She screamed for help at the top of her lungs, but the sound quickly faded within the confines of her dark prison. No echo to be heard. Lucia desperately wracked her brain, trying to figure out what had happened. Her thoughts raced, and her breath became faster and sharper. Last she remembered, she was on campus. She’d met a friend for coffee, and was going to the library. She tried to remember the rest, but the pounding on her head and the incessant pressure at her limbs made it difficult to focus. Everything was a blur. She pressed her hands against the giant mound, her fingernails sinking into its surface. It felt soft, almost like flesh.
Lucia gasped as she felt the mound collapse against her, quickly enveloping her and pressing her against the rough surface underneath. The pressure built up at her head and limbs and she immediately saw flashes of red - her body wracked with pain, feeling like any moment it could burst and splatter like an egg. Lucia screamed, feeling her body being compressed, her organs being pushed down, almost collapsing into themselves.
Within seconds, the pressure was eased, and the mountainous bundle backed off. Lucia’s instinct was again to try to free herself, to no avail. The air was getting warmer, and the bundle atop her was becoming moist – droplets of fluid ran down its surface and dripped onto her face. Lucia tried shouting for help again, but the giant pad pressed down her body again. The pain returned for an instant, then the ground underneath her sank, and it was almost like she was floating weightless, till the floor returned and again she was squeezed between the two surfaces. Lucia heard a loud snap, followed instantly by a seething pain at her ribs. The air was forced from her lungs in a single blow, leaving Lucia to squirm and shudder frantically as the weight crippled her body.
The air in her confine got muggier and more fetid with every passing second –an almost acidic scent. The giant pad pushed down and dragged its surface over Lucia’s body, leaving her pinned two smaller, rounded pillars. In the background, sounding hundreds of feet above her, she could hear a faint melodic sound…
It was music. There was music coming from outside. As it slowly got louder, the tune sounded eerily familiar. Lucia quickly recognized it was the warm-up song for her college dance group. What kind of nightmare was this?
Trying to push her face away from the increasingly damp mass, Lucia noticed what looked like a dim blue light peeking through the far edges of the chamber. It ran in a slightly curved line, along the ground and farther up past her. As the mass pressed down on her, the light appeared to grow brighter. Lucia strained her eyes, trying to make out the shapes of the tube-like pillars that pummeled her. She ran her hands along the surface, puzzled at the soft feel, lined with small wrinkles. There were two, three, tube-like heaps scrunching, almost in the shape of...
Toes. Giant toes. Larger even than her torso. Lucia felt a cold panicked sweat run down her neck. She was inside a shoe. This was a giant foot on top of her. And whose ever it was, they were walking with her inside, slowly crushing her alive with every step.
It's impossible, she thought. They HAD to know she was there. How could anyone possibly NOT feel her struggling? She started pummeling at the surface of what she now knew was the heel, scratching, trying to get any form of a reaction. The foot slammed down again on her again, the giant toes squeezing and pressing into her head. The tumultuous weight was unforgiving as it crushed her fragile body, almost intent on smearing her into the ground.
She wasn’t here by accident. This was intentional. She was somebody’s captive. And they were trying to crush her alive. The uncertainty only fed her anxiety and drove her thoughts frantic. Was she small? Was her captor giant? The music outside blared on, far above her - heavy with synths and snares. Was it someone in her dance group?
Lucia’s mind filled with panic, only exacerbated by the fact that her every action was restrained. Her eyes rendered useless by the darkness – her mouth and nostrils invaded by the foul dirt and moisture. Her hands and feet caught between the shoe’s insole and the pounding flesh of the giant foot, crippling her limbs and bones. Fight, she thought. Do SOMETHING. Desperate, Lucia clamped her mouth on the moistened flesh and bit as hard as she could.
Stupid idea.
Within seconds, Lucia felt the ground sink from underneath her. There was a brief weightlessness as she felt the chamber lift mid-air, and then a sudden drop as the giant foot slammed onto her mercilessly. There were several loud cracks, and Lucia felt a gush of blood spew out her mouth. She coughed forcefully, struggling to breathe, the sharp pounding and agonizing pain tearing through her body. Lucia sobbed desperately, feeling her limbs starting to tear. Why would anyone do this? Who would want to do her this much harm?
Once again the floor collapsed from beneath her. Lucia clenched her teeth and braced herself for another impact. The music suddenly stopped, and a different song began – Lucia recognized it as the first in her team’s practice list. She could make out the sound of muffled voices. More of her teammates were arriving. The routine was going to start.
The blue light dimmed and lit again as the foot continued its cruel routine, slamming into Lucia’s weakened and breaking body. Lucia realized the light was also intentional. This was all planned. Her captor, possibly one of her teammates, was wearing these shoes because she wanted her to know. She wanted her to realize the torment coming for her. And to realize that there wasn’t a single thing she could do to stop it. Any attempt of fighting back, her captor could return twenty times as strong.
Lucia felt powerless - defeated. Her grim reality began to sink in. You’re screwed. There's no way out. This is probably where you'll take your last breath.
It took only mere seconds for the music to start and for the shoe to start shifting to all sides, lifting and dropping rapidly, the massive foot crushing down on Lucia, stomping her and grinding her against the floor, all in rhythmic repetition. Every blow crippling her innards, dislocating joints and shattering bones. Lucia’s world turned to absolute pain, a constant feeling of ripping and crushing and shredding. Her arms disjointed and broke, crippling under the pressure. Lucia shrieked only to be forced against the bottom of the sole again and having sweat drops forced into her mouth. The flesh enveloped her and slid across her. The scent, the pressure, the shifting back and forth, it was all nauseating, and she threw up in disgust, only to be smeared against the spill with every step.
Lucia begged for it to stop. She just wanted it to end. Just kill me, she pleaded. Free me from this nightmare! I don't want to feel this anymore.
The foot pummeled her one more time, and slid its damp surface across her shattered body, pressing down to keep her in place. Lucia’s head was swallowed up between two of the toes, her nose plunging into the crevice between them. Lucia could no longer breathe – her attempts drew in only the sweat and grime caught between the pillaring toes. They clamped down on Lucia and pressed mercilessly against her head. The pressure built rapidly, like a vacuum sucking her deeper and deeper against it. Lucia heaved and heaved again, her struggles growing more frantic. Warmth was rapidly building in her chest, and she felt herself fading. The ground sank once more, and Lucia felt the vertigo one last time as she was falling quickly, and a final flash of red as her senses finally gave out.
As the first song from the routine wrapped up, Mara bent down to refasten the buckle on her dance shoe. She dragged her foot up and down the floor, amused at feeling the previously-bulky object beneath it now felt flat. Some of her teammates approached and chatted as she collected herself.
“Mara, you are getting down today! Someone’s gunning for the lead spot!”
“You heard anything about Lucia? No one’s seen or heard from her since last night.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about the competition. Mara here looks more than ready to take the lead. I just hope Lucia’s okay.
Smirking, Mara dragged her foot across the floor, content at the power rush she felt establishing her dominance. Adjusting her headband over her dark hair, she trotted back into her place on the line.
The drumbeat for the next song kicked in.
Lucia’s eyes shot wide open and she gasped for breath. She found herself still enveloped in darkness, and the merciless pressure of the giant foot still above her. Far above, the booming bass prevailed over the beat of the music. Her arms and limbs were intact, but the crippling feeling and memory of her last ordeal still lingered. The blue light still crept in from under the sole’s edges. The trickling sweatdrops still covered her. The surface of the shoe still felt wet- soaked in sweat and blood. But she was breathing. Lucia broke down in tears. She never thought she'd dread this much being alive. How was she still here?
As the next song kicked in, Mara stretched her hands, reciting a chant softly under her breath. A chant she was all too familiar with.
She smirked, looking around the room at her unsuspecting teammates. Lucia was not getting off THAT easy. She wanted her nice and healthy for each and every one of the songs. Mara was determined to make each and every one an unending torment. Now Mara could relish the freedom of dancing and showing off her skills as she always wanted, song by song, unrestrained by anyone’s petty attitude. No one to hold her back. Lucia could only die when she said so.
Lucia broke apart in tears, humiliated, wrecked by the utter desperation, the feeling of uselessness, of being used as nothing more than an insole. As the music got faster and more upbeat, Mara’s foot piled down on her, the blue light from the sneaker’s peeking through the edges of the sole. Lucia braced herself for the torture… a torture Mara gladly would repeat again and again, with no end in sight. Mara had complete dominion and control over Lucia’s fate. And the playlist was just getting started...