Naomi was late, a fact that did not require a keen eye to see, the woman in her young twenties was anything but calm and collected as she navigated through the street, her shoulder length black hair had started to frizz, a few signs of perspiration were evident on her white t-shirt and jean shorts as she exerted herself in the summer heat.
‘Fuck, fuck, shit’ she muttered under her exasperated breath as she beat a hasty path down the street. Dodging and ducking between the various saturday shoppers she continued to her destination, which came into view as she rounded a shop corner.
‘Oh thank god’ she breathlessly continued to herself, the bus station lay before her, a busy hub of arrivals and departures ferrying people to and from the surrounding towns and villages. She continued at her pace, shimmying her way through the crowds of waiting people
‘Please still be there, please still be there’ she repeated as she entered the station proper, heading for her routes terminal and allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief as it sat there, the double decker bus had yet to depart, with an orderly queue of eager men and women embarking.
This was fine! She was totally not going to be late! She reassured herself before getting hampered a large group of loud teens, the group was content to chatter amongst themselves while completely blocking the way with their beyond leisurely step. She snarled and side stepped past the group as the last of the queue embarked the double decker. Finally a clear line to the entrance lay before her and she went for it, not caring for her loss of composure she surged towards it, surely she’d made it!
She skittered forward, as she met the threshold a series of hydraulic whirs and clunks met her, an outstretched palm was all she received from the bus driver as the doors slammed shut, he then looked away dismissively and began to reverse out of the station. She blinked a few times in disbelief, a spark brewed in her gut, shock and anger bubbling and boiling as it took over her form. Obviously he could have seen her walking up? Why didn’t he just wait a split second more!?
The vitriol boiled over as the women lost control of her emotions. “You fucking prick!” she snarled and kicked at the door ineffectually, only eliciting a quiet thud as rubber met reinforced glass, she raised a middle digit in response to him as she huffed and turned about. She then began to dramatically storm off, some of the onlookers turned to glance at her, a few evidently enjoying her misfortune as she noticed a smirk or two.
“Fuuck. This absolutely sucks’ she bitterly murmured to herself as she walked her way back to the town's high street, as she walked she considered her options, the route the bus took out of the station meant that it would leave and then circle round the outskirts, if she could get to the other side of the high street then perhaps she wouldn't be late!
Looking down the busy street however that seemed highly unlikely, if it was a clear path and she went into a full sprint then maybe, which left one other option. She sighed as she resigned herself to it, the aftermath of these was always such a pain, But she couldn't afford to be late! Besides, that bus driver has it coming.
The tension begin to seep away as she shook her limbs loose before walking forward again, a much more confident meaningful stride this time as with seemingly each step she began to see more of the street, over the heads of more of the public
It took a while for people take much notice, perhaps one or two having a double take as the now 6 foot plus woman strode down the centre of the street. Even as she began to surge beyond the possible heights that people could reach it remained fairly low key until she reached her first obstacle: a large group of men blocking her path
Now set in her plan she chose to move through them rather than around, the man closest to her given a hefty shunt to the side.
“Hey what the fuck! Watch it…” he trailed off as he re-adjusted, going quiet as he turned and got a facefull of midriff.
“I wouldn't try anything, totally not worth it” she offered in response, barely suppressing a chuckle as she pushed her way through the group, the majority of them stopped dead in their tracks and watched the woman continue on, no one dared challenge her.
It was at about the 10 foot mark when the first scream started, a shriek from a girl who looked up to see Naomi walk at her, forcing her to leap-step to the side to avoid being bowled over.
“Well that lasted longer than usual” she noted as many stopped and turned towards the commotion, a rush of noise followed as people began vocolasing their bewilderment at the slowly swelling woman filling the street, but she was evidently in no mood to be admired as she continued along with increasing pace.
Her body was effortlessly expanding, quick enough now that it was clear to everyone that his has just begun, soon hitting the 20 foot mark a thin grin crossed her lips again as she noted it was now like wading through a playground.
She continued in her set path now, with no need to deviate as the sea of people parted, not wanting to collide with now a few tons of woman. “see how much easier this is now? Just stay out of the way and this'll go fiiiine.” she offered in the form of some reassurance to the increasingly panicking ground.
As she grew she began to notice that as a converse clad foot connected with the ground it created a satisfying thud, one that was now causing those nearby to struggle for footing. This simple act continued to stir her mood, this effortless superiority she began to demonstrate was not lost on her, as those below were finding out.
A few steps away lay a series of market stools, the now 40 foot prompting an early end to today's sales as stall owners yelped and fled from their possessions, some looking back just in time to see the rubberised sole of her shoe slam down. Tables, chairs and their produce swiftly lost a dimension, a series of crunches confirming this to those nearby ‘oops’ she offered in a flat, unapologetic tone as her steps began to rack up thousands in damages, things were only getting worse below.
The scene now was one of general panic, peoples fight or flight responses were clicking into gear and the mass of people began to desperately escape off the street, many flooding into open stores or small side streets and alleys
This proved to be one of the smarter moves as the woman's growth seemed to have no end, now easily surging over 50 feet her head now peered over the row of shops and apartments that flanked the street. this increased height brought with it an alarming increase in the distance she could cover.
Those scrambling under her struggled to deal with the ever changing path she trod and had to back up further and further as the black converse filled more and more of the street.
Naomi herself was also already taking less notice of the people below, as they dwindled in size to her so did her interest which shifted out as she gazed to the nearby streets, now more focussed on hunting her bus.
Her growth was now pulling her up to the 100 foot mark her steps now shook those nearby off their feet if they were not balanced, only further disrupting escapes attempts, now the very ground itself struggled against her, loose paving stones dislodging, jutting upwards like small craters around her tread.
“Ahh there it is.. Won’t be so smug in a minute” she smugly muttered to herself as she located the bus, which appeared to be still dutifully following its route. Down below her most recent step had knocked a large group over, they scrambled other each others prone forms as the sky darkened above them.
The melody of her rhythmic booming was accompanied by a grim symphony of crunches and pops, her foot slid a bit as she completed her step, causing her to stop. “Oh you gotta be kidding me…” the now 140 foot woman complained.
The foot lifted up, showing the grim remains of around a half dozen people, their innards pressed into ground and decorating the tread of her shoe.
“Ughh come on guys! It's not like it’s hard to see me coming is it?” she bluntly questioned the terrified public “better not have stained the sides..” she continued as she shook her leg, smatterings of gore flying off into unfortunate parts of the crowd before giving her a foot a wipe, leaving a long smear of red.
She then continued on as if little had happened, mercifully for the shoppers the end of the high street was upon her, Naomi grinned as she fixed eyes with the bus, which was now trapped in gridlocked traffic, as she padded nearer she began to notice people attempting to flee from it, a few falling out as the driver panicked and threw the bus into gear. She began to giggle as it rammed backwards and forwards ineffectually into the surrounding vehicles.
“Oh so you did see me, well that makes you quite rude doesn't it?” she remarked, the horn of the bus began blaring as she closed in, the public nearby seemed to catch on as well and began to space themselves from the bus.
“Looks like your kinda trapped in there, how about i turn the other cheek and help you out? Show what a good person I am” her foot lifted up, the area in front of the bus began to darken before a resounding crash rocked the bus, causing it to bounce. The two cars before it were now replaced with a view of black fabric and ankle.
“See now the path is clear! And i can meet you at the next stop” she chirped with a fake niceness, lifting her foot and placing it to the side so she was no straddling the bus. Inside the driver continued to break down, many of the commuters became too scared to leave, trapping themselves onboard. “I’m waiting” the voice boomed from above. The driver keyed the ignition and the engine coughed and sputtered, trying to come to life.
“Doesn't sound good, have you broke the bus as well? You really are awful at your job, at least i'm here to help again.” two thuds knocked the bus, accompanied by a groan of metal, people aboard shrieked as glass shattered around them, the digits of a palm now flanked the sides of the bus. People aboard were flung from their seats as forces pulled them up and around.
Now over 200 foot, the bus looked more like a model or toy, it still had a heft and weight, but nothing Naomi had to exert for, a confident smirk etched across her face as she lifted up to her face, a pair of eyes now filled the drivers window screen.
“So” she began, her grip tightening causing the bus to bend, creak and groan in distress “let's try how this should have gone again” she prys a fingernail into the door and soon it was cleaved free.”I’ll have a day return ticket please”
Naomi was late, and she was going to make sure everyone on that bus knew about it.