The bugs ran for hours through impossible architecture. Halls stretched like city blocks, their metal floors vibrating with distant machinery. Ceilings disappeared into darkness so high they might as well have been skies. Jackob's chitinous legs burned with exertion, his compound eyes scanning for any advantage in this nightmare maze.
They didn't stop. Couldn't stop. The giantess's playful counting echoed through the metallic canyons, her voice carrying unnatural clarity despite the distance.
After what felt like a full day's sprint, they finally saw her - a crimson-haired titan standing casually near what appeared to be a doorway scaled for gods. She watched their approach with four glittering eyes, amusement playing across her alien features.
"The right hand," her voice rolled over them like a tsunami, "...that does not look like one - stays." Her gaze pinned Golo, who nearly collapsed from the weight of her attention. The once-feared warrior now looked every bit the aging soldier, his carapace dull with exhaustion.
"The rest," she continued with a smile that showed too many teeth, "...with me."
No one argued. What followed were two more days of relentless movement through the belly of this impossible ship. They traversed corridors wide enough to park battleships, crossed platforms that swayed like living things, rode lifts that moved with silent, terrifying speed.
When they finally reached their destination, it was almost disappointing in its simplicity. Just a room. Not a throne room or command center, but a personal chamber scaled for divinity. A desk like a mountain range. Walls etched with glowing runes. A bed platform large enough to host armies.
Jackob's mind reeled at the implications. This wasn't just a ship - it was a mobile palace for beings who treated planets as waystations.
Thizz - as he'd overheard her called - tilted her head in that birdlike way of hers. "I only need four," she declared, dismissing Golo with a casual wave. The old warrior didn't protest, just turned and limped away, his once-proud form diminished against the impossible scale of everything.
Then the real game began.
Let's play, my little cuties." Lizz's voice dripped with mock sweetness as she addressed the four remaining bugs. Every instinct in Jackob's stolen body screamed danger. This wasn't a game - it was predation dressed up as amusement.
"I'll count. You hide." Her smile widened. "You have ten minutes. Already generous, don't you think?"
Jackob's mandibles clicked nervously. Ten minutes in a chamber this size might as well have been ten seconds. The other bugs shifted uneasily, their antennae twitching in distress.
"After ten..." lizz's eyes gleamed, "...I'll start searching. And if I find you..." A giggle that chilled Jackob to his core. "...I'll show you the other side of your big cute sis."
The countdown began. "1... 2... 3..."
Jackob didn't wait for the rest. He was already moving, his mind racing through options. The chamber's sheer size was both curse and blessing - endless hiding spots, but impossible to reach in time.
"4... 5... Hide, little piggies~"
The pet name made Jackob's carapace crawl. What was it with gods and their demeaning nicknames? He pushed the thought aside as he spotted his target - a closet-sized alcove in the far wall, partially obscured by hanging fabrics.
"6... 7... 8..."
That's when he made his decision. With a thought, he shed his Red Bug form, his body shrinking and reshaping into his original human form. The change brought immediate relief - lighter frame, more efficient muscles, better stamina for running.
He darted across the open floor like a shadow, his bare feet silent against the cool metal. The counting continued behind him, each number hitting like a hammer blow.
"9... 10... Ready or not~"
Jackob dove through the fabric curtain just as lizz's final sing-song call echoed through the chamber. He found himself in what appeared to be a clothing storage area - massive folded fabrics stacked like geological formations, strange alien garments hanging from racks the size of skyscrapers.
Heart pounding, he didn't pause to rest. The first rule of hiding from predators - never stop moving. His eyes locked onto a length of braided cord hanging from a particularly large garment. Some sort of support strap, maybe.
Without hesitation, he began to climb.