Bucky's

Chapter 6: The Next Day

Patty had nightmares about being violently eaten, having her limbs ripped off, one by one, by huge white teeth, her blood spurting like a fountain from the severed stumps. Giant fingers squeezed her body with unbearable pressure, crushing her ribcage and causing her organs to pop out. She saw a Giant laughing, red rivers running down his lips and chin, before he went in for the kill, shattering her vertebrae with a hard crunch between his incisors. She awoke with a start to thunderous banging on the ceiling.

"Rise and shine, my little bipedal sausages! It's time for the breakfast shift!" Bucky's voice rumbled overhead. Patty groaned with despair as her memories from yesterday came flooding back to her. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be safe at home. She hauled herself out of bed, with the knowledge that Bucky probably wouldn't be too keen on having stragglers. She prepared for the day as best she could, shoveling in more leftovers for breakfast. As she ate, Little Debbie nudged her to get her attention and handed her a new nametag.

"Put this on," she whispered. "You don't want Bucky to see you without one." She motioned to a stack of nametags, so Patty would know where to get a new one in the future.

"Thanks," Patty mumbled back, sticking the tag to her chest. She thought to herself what a sweet and thoughtful person Little Debbie was, to care about others as she did. Patty didn't know if she could be capable of the same generosity herself, especially considering that her survival might be better served throwing someone else under the bus rather than cooperating as a team. She realized, with how frantic she had been yesterday, she had stuck out like a sore thumb. The others, excluding Little Debbie and Slim Jim, had purposely refused to help her because she was an easy target, and if she was selected to be eaten their chances of not being picked themselves increased. These thoughts filled her with disquiet, but she couldn't really blame them for looking out for themselves. She doubted any of them had much control over their fate as it were.

She recalled Little Debbie's missing fingers and cringed internally. She didn't deserve such cruel treatment. Patty discreetly glanced around and noticed some of the other humans were missing fingers and toes as well, forms of mutilation subtle enough that restaurant patrons wouldn't notice the blemishes, with how small the humans were. She comprehended, with a creeping tightness in her chest, that those were merely the punishments for disobedience that she could physically see. Bucky probably did other things, just as bad, that didn't leave physical scars. Patty knew she needed to stay on Bucky's good side.

The ceiling lifted, and Patty experienced a surge of frightened electricity in her gut at the sight of Bucky looming over all the humans. "Line up for inspection!" he commanded, and the humans scrambled into rows. Patty caught on quickly and fell into line. Bucky leaned forward and studied each human carefully, occasionally lifting someone up in his hand and turning them over to get a closer look. Patty drew in a sharp breath when his huge sapphire eyes scanned her, but after a moment of scrutiny he passed over her without incident. Even so, she didn't feel like she could breathe easily even after.

"Graham!" Bucky bellowed, snatching up the tiny man in his fist. "I told you before, you can't wear your glasses in the dining room! They're not digestible!"

Graham Cracker squirmed uselessly against Bucky's tight grip. "S-sorry! I'll go put them away! I just can't see without them!" he gasped, clearly straining just to breathe with the pressure on his chest. Bucky narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'll give you one more chance," he growled. "No more excuses. Next time this happens, I'm smashing those glasses." He set Graham down and he sprinted away in terror. Bucky ignored him and looked over the rest of the group, gruffly telling two of the ladies to restyle their hair and reminding another to put on a nametag. Once he was satisfied, he released the group and nudged the tiny humans into the tunnel that led to the tank in the dining area. There was a shuttle that resembled a big capsule that shot along a cable, that had to be operated by a Giant on the outside. Patty observed these details warily as she thought about ways to escape.