Chapter 11 Giant's Crushing Grip

Bumblebelly, in a fit of genius or madness, attempted to mimic a boulder by curling his rotund body into a tight ball, striving to remain perfectly still amidst the racket. His tiny goblin form quivered with the effort, and his beady eyes darted nervously.

"Bumblebelly, ya gotta be as still as a pebble! I-I'll be a rock... a silent, still rock..." he whispered to himself, his voice quivering with fear.

Unfortunately, the wobbles in his movement gave him away as he rolled headfirst into another fleeing goblin.

Bumblebelly squeaked frightened, "A blunder! A blunder! Stay perfectly still! Wait! Spare me! I do not wish to meet my end in this way!"

One of the giant goblins picked them both up then bit off Bumblebelly's head and munched on him like he was a snack. The other hatchling met the same fate.

Diggy scuttled towards the tiny cave he had dug into the mountain of feces. He knew it was his only hope, and he dove headfirst into the hole, his puny legs paddling desperately as he tried to squeeze his tiny body inside. In a voice that was half-scream, half-jibberish mumble, he babbled and whimpered, praying for safety.

"Oh, oh no! Why are they doing this? It's so unfair! I just wanted to survive... I don't want to be squished like Daddy! It's a nightmare! Someone help us! Please, have mercy!"

However, the giants, their senses keen and ruthless, didn't overlook Diggy's desperate attempt at hiding. Their massive hands reached for him, and their grip closed around his trembling form, unyielding and cold. Diggy, now dangling helplessly in the grasp of these colossal beings, emitted a series of terrified goblin mumbles, his voice a blend of fear and desperation.

"Reeeee! N-no, please! Don't squish me! I'm too tiny to eat, see? Spare me, giants! I'll be a good goblin, I promise! Please, let me go! I'll be your friend, I promise! Just put me down! I won't bother you! I'll be a good goblin, I swear! Don't squish me like poor Daddy!"

But the big goblin didn't care what he was chirping and after a closer look, he threw Diggy to the ground and smashed him into a pile of gore while bellowing, "Another worthless trash, meager ears and scrawny like a branch! This yield is trash! Only a few out of many have fine ears! It is all your fault! You useless slave trash!"

The adult goblin slave squeaked and covered in the corner begging for mercy, he was clutching his buttock and his bloated belly, desperately trying to hold in the urge to defecate and pee.

"Master! Mercy! Please! I beg of you! Forgiveness!"

He fell to his knees, crawled to the oppressing goblin, and started to kiss and lick his filth-covered feet.  

"Munch... Oh, mighty goblin! Lick-lick... Please show mercy to this pitiful slave! Munch... munch..."

The cavern, now shrouded in a grim atmosphere, echoed with the frantic pitter-patter of tiny goblin feet. Hatchlings, their faces contorted in fear, scuttled about in a frenzied panic. Each attempt at hiding became more ludicrous and futile than the last as desperation clouded our judgment.

Some goblins squeezed themselves into narrow cracks, praying that their minuscule forms would go unnoticed by the colossal goblin giants. Others huddled beneath fragments of broken stone, trembling and hoping that shadows would cloak them from impending doom.

Some hatchlings darted towards small piles of decaying leaves that had gathered in the corners of the cave. They hoped that the earthy scent might mask their presence from the giants.

Others squeezed into narrow holes and crevices in the rocky walls of the cave, trembling in the shadows, hoping to remain unseen.

A few foolish goblins scurried towards abandoned spider nests, taking shelter amidst the sticky silk, praying that the giant goblins would avoid these arachnid nests. But all it did was get them stuck in a sticky spider web and get assaulted by a swarm of tiny baby spiders.

A handful of goblins waded into the puddles of urine, using the foul-smelling liquid as a disguise, their eyes just above the surface, trying to mimic debris in the stagnant lakes.

A group of hatchlings scampered towards the mountain of wet, steaming feces, hoping that the stench would deter the giants. They nestled among the hundreds of hatched and cracked goblin eggs, blending in with the remnants of their kin.

The scent of decay led a few goblins to clusters of wriggling maggots feasting on excrement. They nestled among the squirming larvae, hoping their presence would go unnoticed amidst the grotesque feast.

But in this dark and foreboding realm, there was no refuge, no sanctuary that could guarantee our safety. All of them were quickly found and examined.

A lone hatchling stumbled upon a tiny concealed tunnel entrance, partially obscured by a crumbling rock. Panic surging through him, he made a split-second decision. Without hesitation, he dove headfirst into the narrow crack in the wall, squeezing his tiny body through the opening.

It was a tight squeeze, the jagged walls scraping against his fragile form, but he was driven by the instinct to survive. I witnessed his disappearance into the tiny crack and knew that it was my only chance to escape the clutches of the giant goblins. With a heart pounding in my chest, I followed his lead, leaping into the gap and wriggling myself through the constricting passage.

Inside, I found the poor fellow hatchling curled up into a trembling goblin ball. He cradled his arms around himself, his massive ears pressed close against his head, a haunted look in his eyes. He rocked back and forth in a state of shock, chanting the same words over and over again like a broken record, "Big gobbies bad, big gobbies scary... Big gobbies bad, big gobbies scary..."

I gently reached out to him, trying to soothe his terror-stricken soul, "It's alright, gobbie friend. The small cave is safe, no big gobbie enters the small cave. But we need to stay quiet and hidden or the big gobbies find us."

The fellow goblin didn't respond to my words; he had been pushed too far by the horrors he had witnessed. His mind had broken under the weight of fear and trauma. His eyes twitched uncontrollably, his frail body trembling like a leaf in a storm.

The cavern outside echoed with the sounds of the giant goblins continuing their ruthless selection process and our fellow hatchlings tormented screams and chirps. In this cramped rat-made cave, the two of us clung to each other, seeking solace in our shared fear and desperation to survive the horrors.

I held him tightly, wrapping my meaty ears around his shivering form, our warm naked bodies pressed together for a bit of comfort amidst the relentless darkness of this tiny cave. The panic-fueled goblin slowly began to calm down, his frenzied breathing easing into shallow gasps. He slumped into my embrace, returning the hug with surprising strength as if seeking solace in our shared vulnerability. We hugged each other tightly and wrapped ourselves in our meaty ears' cacoon of comfort and comfort. 

His eyes welled with tears, he burst into a torrent of sobs and incoherent mutterings, a fractured noise of clicks and chirps. Snot dripped from his nose, mingling with the tears that flowed down his cheeks.

"G-gobbie... b-big... b-bad... s-s-scary... n-n-never... H-helpp-glik, save... fear... please, meaty ears, keep... hide... gobbie... Click-clack... sniffle... chirp-chirp... They-big-gobbies... no more... no more..."

His snot dripped onto my shoulder, mingling with his tears as the overwhelming fear and trauma of our nightmarish ordeal poured out of him. In this suffocating darkness, the only solace we could offer one another was the simple act of being there.

Moments passed, and we continued our cautious journey deeper into the tiny hole. A faint glow caught our attention, and we discovered a small, shiny mushroom.

The faint glow of the mushrooms ahead drew our attention, offering a glimmer of hope. 

"Look, look! Shiny mushrooms! Maybe they'll show us the way out of here!" I yelped, as we hurried toward the feeble light source.

 With trembling hands, we plucked a few of these tiny shrooms to light our path, casting a feeble but reassuring glow ahead.

As we ventured further, we walked for several minutes until the cramped tunnel opened up into a slightly larger chamber, a minuscule cave room by our standards. In the center of this space, we beheld a sight that filled us with both awe and fear - a giant nest crafted from a bizarre assortment of scraps and materials. Twigs, leaves, and even small crumbs of cloth were woven together into this patchwork abode.

We huddled together, our tiny voices trembling with fear and confusion.

 "W-what is that?" I whispered, staring at the monstrous nest with wide eyes.

 "Is it a giant spider's lair?"

My fellow goblin hatchling wailed in distress, "I want to go home! This place is scary!" Tears welled up in his tiny eyes as he clung to me. 

"What do we do? What do we do?" he cried, his voice rising in panic.

Suddenly, from within the mound of discarded materials, a pair of massive, glinting eyes fixed upon us. We froze in place, terror gripping our hearts. Before our disbelieving eyes, a colossal beast emerged from the makeshift nest, a Rat.

The Rat lunged at us without hesitation, its monstrous jaws snapping shut with terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, I tumbled backward, scrambling desperately across the ground, my scrawny body driven by sheer instinct. The cavern floor was rough and uneven beneath me as I clawed backward, my heart pounding in my chest.

Amidst the chaos, the anguished cry of my goblin companion filled the air, his tiny voice tremulous with terror and despair.

"Help! Somebody, help me! It's got me! It's got me! Aaaargh!"

My heart pounded mercilessly as I witnessed the tragic fate of my friend. The Rat's colossal jaws clamped down with merciless force, rending my friend's fragile body into two gruesome halves. The cavern was filled with the sickening sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing, and my own distressed wails joined the cacophony of horror. The best seized him by the head and legs with its big clawed hands, while its massive jaws gripped his torso. With a sickening, bone-crushing sound, the Rat pulled in opposite directions, tearing my friend's fragile body in two.

As I scuttled desperately from the beast, my heart pounded in my chest, and my mind raced with terror. The Rat's monstrous appetite had claimed my goblin friend in a two-bite demise, and now it lunged after me relentlessly.

I emerged from the hole in the cave wall but my relief was short-lived. A colossal, gnarled hand the size of a boulder swooped down upon me, gripping me with crushing force. The pain was excruciating, and I couldn't help but let out a pitiful squeak. The pressure was unbearable, and in my distress, I couldn't control my bodily functions. My belly juice spewed from my mouth, and I involuntarily pooped myself.

Just as the Rat leaped out of the hole moments later, it was met with a horrifying fate. The same giant goblin who had seized me bellowed in anger, his massive foot descending upon the Rat with a bone-crushing stomp. The cavern trembled with the impact, and the Rat's agonized squeals were abruptly silenced.

The giant goblin seethed with anger, his voice thundering through the cavern.

 "What is this now?! Not only is the hatchery filthy, full of spiders, and eggs thrown around, we have rats running around too?! Punishment is in order! Simply crushing you damn slave is not enough! You will be whipped, tied against the tree!"

The adult slave goblin fell to his knees and begged desperately, "No... no, please! Have mercy! I will clean the place, I will look after the hatchlings! I will do a good job! I will!"