Meet Ocean Riggs

A tale about a school teacher finding a shrunken civilization in a forest.

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"To hell with all of you little blighters!" Ocean Riggs uttered, unleashing her pent-up anger as her shiny black boot kicked against a dented can of beer, skidding it across the cobbled, stoned street with a clatter that startled a tiny dog.

Its owner, an old lady, glared in reproach as she vainly tried to silence her pooch.

Ocean ignored her glare and walked past her like she did not exist.

A chilly gust of wind blew through the narrow alleyway, whipping Ocean's voluminous auburn hair into a sensual dance. She shivered and tugged her beige trench coat tightly around her neck as she continued her journey.

Ocean had reached the end of her rope with her student's insufferable behavior this morning. The brash youngsters gave her a lot of lip and openly decided to argue with her about things that did not concern them, while others shouted "No!" or "Sorry, not today." in response when Ocean asked them kindly to be quiet and listen to her lecture. Some of them whispered snidely to one another while grinning uncontrollably as they looked at her.

To make matters worse, Ocean was forced to endure the incessant chatter of an annoying co-worker at a school meeting. The individual went on endlessly about tedious bureaucratic changes that would benefit the school but would require more work from an already exhausting list of tasks in addition to teaching classes.

Much to Ocean's chagrin – and that of her co-workers – the director reacted positively to the wench's plan, thus obliging her and her colleagues to add yet another responsibility to their already swamped range of duties.

It was high time for an outlet, and Ocean knew just the place.

It was a place where no one would be in the position to backtalk her, A place where she was admired and feared, where she was a queen. No, a Goddess even, possessing earthshattering power with just the nail of her pinky finger.

The citizens of Frumont – the name bestowed upon them by their founders who established the Capitol and laid a solid basis for the society as it stands today–went about their daily lives, from working hard at the office to leisurely shopping for the sake of shopping, or even taking a stroll through one of the many parks.

The memories of recent horrors still lingered in the minds of every citizen, brought on by the sight of horrific wreckage still visible in various parts of the country, which had a population of over one billion souls.

But the people of Frumont were resilient and had a strong spirit and approach to life – important attributes that contributed to their survival despite their miniature size, thus bringing them the prosperity they could enjoy today.

It was a stroke of misfortune that their sophisticated cloaking technology malfunctioned in the same instant a human passed by their secluded corner of the forest that served as their community's home.

It had been years since any human had come near this spot. Even when they did, Frumonts' cloaking system masked their presence so that the gigantic humans unknowingly wandered by, whistling as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

But that day, some weeks ago, was unlike any other. The Frumont nation was on edge when a human was spotted nearby. Out of precaution, their government issued an order for the citizens to take shelter and stay off the streets until the human had departed.

Millions of terrified eyes peered wide with anticipation through gaps in the curtains that covered the windows. The ground shuddered beneath them as their human visitor drew nearer.

When she emerged at last, ducking underneath a drooping tree limb while her boots crunched in the carpet of dead leaves, a collective gasp surged through their society.

The young Frumontians had never seen a human in their lives, and certainly not from this close, but this female, this comely-looking lady – because that's what she was – was awe-inspiring as she carried an immense presence.

Even her shiny black boot, which relentlessly annihilated a whole village with just one step, soared higher than multiple of their tallest skyscrapers stacked upon one another.

Trained how to act when approached by beings larger than their entire civilization, the Frumontians remained uncompromised in their attempt to stay calm, blindly relying on their sophisticated devices solely designed to make them unnoticeable by the outer world.

Cloaking towers throughout the civilization operate 24/7 to deflect light around its infrastructures, rendering them invisible to at least part of the electrospectrum.

The towers that dot the landscape are more than just homes and meeting places; they also conceal soundproofing devices and air purification units set up to deter possible predators. With these safeguards in place, the inhabitants can go about their lives without fear of being scented or heard.

Despite all the measures taken, they were still vulnerable to attacks. A thing proven once again when the boot of that young woman with godlike proportions charged her boot straight through a carefully constructed village that was built in a period of several decades in a split second to compress it into oblivion.

The millions of Furmontians were frightened and amazed as they gazed upon the towering woman whose silhouette dominated the sky.

They had not always been this small. In fact, their far ancestors were even the same size as this woman in a remote past.

Rumor has it that their ancestors were shrunken down to a fraction of their original size by a group of witches hundreds of years ago as retribution for chopping down a centuries-old oak tree that was considered sacred by them.

The Frumontians hoped the human would stroll off elsewhere and that their society would remain as it was since there wasn't anything captivating for the woman to observe here.

They could not have been more wrong. Their unwavering trust in their invulnerability began to waver as the woman, whose beautiful face soared at unreachable heights to them – directed a curious look at them. Her face lifted, her eyes full of confusion.

A few people realized their cloaking technology was not functioning, leaving them vulnerable and exposed to the giant human looming above them.

She slowly knelt, leaning over deep while placing her hands at the sides of their society, and squinted at them, attempting to decipher what she was looking at.

Suddenly, chaos ensued when she lightly tapped one of Frumont's proud skyscrapers, causing it to topple over and collide with the building next to it.

They were seen! The young woman with the captivating blue eyes and cascading auburn hair had spotted them!

Utter terror caused people to flee, cramming themselves into busses, planes, and cars to escape her wrath.

A thunderous laugh echoed through the atmosphere, like the spouse of God was finding joy in the destruction she caused as another finger of doom descended from the sky and destroyed more with simple pokes like she was crushing ants.

That was all several weeks ago. And the Frumontians were lucky that the young woman had not annihilated them completely. From one moment to the next, after destroying a good number of buildings while killing many, she simply left.

After licking their wounds, all of Frumont rolled up their sleeves to repair the damage that was done by the evil Goddess.

Entire districts that took decades to build had to be reconstructed after the human destroyed it all in a matter of seconds.

The so-called experts of society reassured the public that they did not have to fear another assault from the human, as every effort was being made to repair their devices that made them as good as invisible to the outside world. They had faith that the human would not exactly know where to look if she decided to come back, for this forest looked the same everywhere.

The whole society stood on high alert when the human was spotted again near their civilization as she was rooting around, peering at the ground with an intense search gaze in an attempt to find them.

While the majority could not see her, the majority could feel her mighty strides, quaking violently through the society and causing fissures to form in many of their walls.

Hands instantly flew up to cover ears when a deafening scream ricocheted off the walls. The woman was loudly voicing her displeasure at being unable to locate them.

The Frumonatians held their breath, anxiously praying that she would finally leave and never return.

The Frumonatians experienced a painful understanding of their smallness as they grasped the reality of their situation.

This was just an ordinary young woman who probably was nothing special in her own world, just another individual, forced to dance to the tunes society had written down for her. Their ancestors were once like her. But in these circumstances, in this time, this sole girl was a frightening force, an unstoppable Goddess who could rain down so much misery upon them while they remained defenseless to do anything about it.

When news from their scouts reached them that the woman was no longer searching for them, jubilation erupted. Champagne corks were popped, and joyous songs filled the air as families embraced in tears of elation.

The danger had passed, and the Goddess was gone. Then, one by one, everyone turned their heads to the east horizon, their expressions twisted in utter shock and awe at what they saw.

Unknown to them, Ocean Riggs had lit a cigarette and flung its smoldering remains near a pile of dried leaves before she had taken her leave.

Before they could react, the fire began smoldering and quickly grew into an inferno that seemed intent on consuming them.