Mother always told me about the day I was born. How lucky I was that I was born into a hospital where Preds were banned, how lucky I was that the drive home did not attract the attention of the Colossi, and that I did not cry loud enough for the neighbors to do the same thing they did to the homeless man that made flower crowns for me when he learned my parents were expecting. My father told me to learn so that I may be of use, for if you are useful you would not be targeted, and quick of mind, for my eyes will be of even more importance to avoid the ire of others, and to be strong, for they will always look for weakness to punish. As a child not yet in school, I had these moments and lessons forced down my throat at every waking moment.
 
 
It was because of those lessons that I survived. From day one of school, I was subjected to the whims and laws of those who claimed power. Teachers grabbing students who couldn’t keep their tears hidden and commenting how salty they tasted. Older students giving out dares of “Who could last longer in a stomach” to the new students, saying that those who chickened out would end up getting buried in the playground. Parents being called to the school to be informed that their child was currently stewing in a student and that they would have to talk to the other parents to get the remains back.
 
 
I did as my father taught me and remembered my mothers words. I stayed low, never speaking out even as my friends were gurgling beside me. I stayed quiet as my parents had guests and coworkers over, making sure that I was never going to be a show of weakness to my parents or a snack that could be snapped up. I allowed myself to observe everything so that I may learn; learn how the preds work, learn how the prey react, learn how the preds fear the Colossi.
 
 
But even all of those lessons and all of that practice would not mean that I was completely invisible. I knew the day would come where I was staring down a throat and had to choose between my own life or the life of the next unfortunate soul that was on the menu. I just didn’t know which I would choose.
 
 
It was when I was on a date with David. I asked for a shortcut, we were buzzed and I knew that my father would be disappointed that I made that choice without asking him to be my ride. Looking back, I knew that he was looking out for a daughter that he loved, but at the time I was just thinking of David. We were young and stupid, thinking that simply because we were in love we could overcome anything together. The shortcut I led him through was one that I had taken many times, but I wasn’t as quiet as I thought and this time through I was not alone. That drew attention, attention that we didn’t even realize we had until it was too late.
 
 
These gangs were common, a leader that ruled through threats of devourment and members who would do anything to make sure that they were not next on the platter. Anyone else, though, was free game as long as the pred agreed. David and I were grabbed, gagged, stripped, and dragged into a dark room, the stench of sexual fluid and burning acid filling the room. The pred was a woman, as most were, and seemed very excited to see us, at least that’s what I observed from the drool around her teeth.
 
 
Before the meal, there was the show. I could feel my hips flex as my flesh stretched to a near breaking point, the gang members thrusting me again and again on a pole that pushed against my diaphragm. The fact I did not break only confirmed that tiny voice in the back of my head, the voice that whispered through my life to dominate, to consume, to turn those smaller than me, those who I hated, those that may not even deserve it into shit. As much as I could try to deny it, now I couldn’t forget the fact that I was what I tried to avoid on a daily basis.
 
 
I was a pred. If I wasn’t getting pushed down over a concrete pole, I probably would have had a different reason to cry.
 
 
After my display, it was David’s turn. He proved the reason why I fell in love with him, never taking his eyes off of me as the pred forced herself onto him, pushed her tongue down his throat, and slammed him down in order to try and break his spirit. He didn’t care that she grew mad, didn’t care that he received blows to the head and arms, didn’t care when the leader commanded him to be lifted up. His eyes, his beautiful eyes of blue that seemed to hold the sky and the infinite potential they had, never left mine even as the preds teeth bit into his legs.
 
 
I cried then, the dam that my parents helped build for me was finally broken. I screamed, bawled, tried to crawl, fight, do anything in order to stop this nightmare. But as all nightmares go, I could do nothing as the teeth clacked shut and the bulge of a face traveled down the throat. There was a simple jiggle of her stomach as David settled into his prison, one where there was no escaping from. I have seen so many people eaten and have fought against the walls that crushed them to no avail.
 
 
My tears were dry at this point, an acceptance of death I would later understand. Even as the pred pressed her stomach in my face and tried to gloat and threaten, I was spent. So, the pred did not get the satisfaction she was looking for, which pissed her off even more to the point where I was grabbed and lifted by the throat above her head.
 
 
I remember the lucid feeling I had then. The lack of air was minimal as the pred began to scream at me, demanding my attention, my fear, anything. She just ate my boyfriend, after all. When I did not respond, she seemed to realize that I was going to be of no more use for her. So, she did the only thing that bounced around her empty skull and opened her mouth to devour me.
 
 
The throat was tight, but for some reason not as tugging as I thought it would be. She used gravity to get me down, pushing me in with her hands, fighting to get me in. The sphincter opened up and I felt David’s hand press into my face, the acid that coated him burning me as he seemed to whisper something, his last words ever said to me drowned out by the gurgling of the bitches stomach.
 
 
And then, he pushed. I landed back on the ground as the pred retched, stumbling backwards and landing on her ass. Her gang members rushed to help her, giving me the time to get up and run. I don’t know how long I ran, my bare skin goosebumping as I tried to find somewhere, anywhere where I could hide, where I could at least attempt to process what happened.
 
 
I hid for 2 days before I returned home, nude and dirty, but safe. My parents immediately hugged me close and at that, I cried again. I didn’t tell them everything, only that David was grabbed and I managed to escape, and my parents again comforted me.
 
 
But even with all of that comfort, I knew that what happened, what awoke, would never go away.
 
 
*****5 years later*****
 
 
“Another round! Bring it up!”
 
 
Another 12 tankards were slid across the table, one by one getting grabbed by the large business women that seemed to have dominated the local bar. The other patrons were long gone, it was late at night and any sensible person knew that alcohol and preds led to a very bad time. However, the women’s assistants were not as lucky, as they were not only the ones to call the cabs but also had to support the women in both pleasure and services.
 
 
Magoline slammed the drink back, her mouth going all the way around the tankard and almost swallowing it before popping it out with a loud smack and slamming it down. Her coworkers, other businesses that worked under the banner of “All for One Gut; AOG”, did the same, letting out huge belches as there were sporadic ticks from their stomachs.
 
 
Magoline looked around and slurred, “Where is the, *hic*, my little cutie?”
 
 
One of her co-workers, who was more sloshed than Magoline, looked across the bar and smiled, slapping her stomach which jiggled as a humanoid form wrestled about inside of it. “S-s-s-orry, Mango. I was, *hic*, looking for a snack and he just walked on by. I, *hic*, couldn’t resist.”
 
 
“You st-st-stupid… bith.” Magoline slurred, leaning as far as she could across the bar, only making it a few inches thanks to her enormous bust. “He-he was going to fuck me tonight. I even bought the… the…” Magoline paused, then let out a burp that shook the windows across the room. “The new oil that I saw advertised.”
 
 
“Go grab someone off the street, who wouldn’t want a piece of you?” Another coworker said, reaching a hand down and grabbing a large chunk of Magoline’s ass. Magoline let out a start, grinning drunkardly at her.
 
 
“You know what? *hic*, You-you’re right. Who wouldn’t want a piece of me?” She got up, swaying over and catching herself on a table. “I’ll see you, *hic*, cuties tomorrow, alright?”
 
 
“Go get your beautiful ass fucked tonight!”
 
 
“I can’t stop loving you, bitch!”
 
 
“You’re hips don’t lie!”
 
 
Magoline pushed open the door and staggered out, squinting in the street lamp light. The father and daughter on the other side of the street saw her come out and quickly turned away, the daughter leading her white-haired father carefully into a vehicle.
 
 
Magoline huffed, starting to make her way down the street. She was going to get laid tonight and nothing was going to stop her. Magoline looked down as she stumbled, spitting a curse at her heels which had caught in one of the cracks. She fixed her shoe and gave it a stomp out of frustration.
 
 
Magoline looked up and saw a single person, wearing a deepset hood over a rather morbid looking cloak. The clicking of boots accompanied the strangers movements, but Magoline smiled. Prostotution wasn’t very well policed, especially at this hour, but she was still surprised that she lucked out to find one.
 
 
“Hey, do I see beauty tonight!?” Magoline said, waving at the prostitute. Magoline moved closer, pulling her shirt open a little, showing more of her bust. “What do you say you and I get to know each other a little bit-”
 
 
There was a meaty thwack and Magoline blinked. Standing back up, she felt the swaying that had come with a night of drinking had subsided somewhat. Confused, she raised a hand to her temple and looked at her fingers, seeing something seeping around her ruby-red nails. She looked up at the figure, tracing their arm down to a hanging bag held tight in their fist, which was stained with the same crimson that was on her hand.
 
 
Magoline felt her eyes roll back and then darkness took her.
 
 
*****
 
 
The wind was loud here, even for how high they were. No matter, speaking was still possible.
 
 
Magoline stirred, slowly pulling apart her eyes. A groan squeezed past the gag in her mouth and Magoline blinked, trying to get a sense of where she was.
 
 
“Ah, you’re awake. Goodie,” a voice, female, husky, worn with emotion. “Then we can begin your history lesson.”
 
 
Magoline saw her, the same deep hood hiding her face. She was sitting a few meters away, leaned up against the metal beams that towered over them. Magoline tried to move, but found that she was bound, her feet scraping against the ground as she hung in a make-shift harness. When she wiggled, the rope only twisted slightly, changing her view slightly.
 
 
The woman stood up and picked something up that was beside her, Magoline not getting a good look at it before it disappeared under the cloak. “At some point during the history of the world, a group of people decided that being normal wasn’t enough. They had money and fame and all manner of wealth, but it wasn’t enough for them. They wanted to have a new way, a better way, to grind those that they considered under them into the dirt.
 
 
“What the response was and how they did it was lost to history, but we can see what happened as a result. People who bully and push around others, who believed themselves superior because of their genes. Normally, if a person was to rob a store, they would be punished by the law. However, for some reason, a person can consume another with no other reason than ‘I was hungry’ and no repercussion was to be expected or given.
 
 
“I wondered why I lived in a world of such blatant power depravity.”
 
 
Magoline tried to speak, pushing her tongue against the gag. However, only a murmur came out and Magoline struggled against her rope, panic starting to set in as she realized her predicament.
 
 
She was a predator, she wasn’t supposed to be like this! She was the peak of the human evolution, one that literally feasted on the underlings that she commanded! Her word was the law in her building, her stomach the only place for those who could not pull their weight! How dare this underling even try to face her down?
 
 
“Hey, shh, shh, shh, it’s alright,” the woman said, stepping up close to Magoline as she struggled. There was a glint of light and Magoline froze, a fucking sword kissing her cheek above the gag. She felt it part her skin, the warm blood dripping down her chin.
 
 
“It’s amazing what a simple tool can do when used against the right people.” the woman said, stepping back and examining the blood. “Really does show how easy it is to close the distance between the power depravity.”
 
 
The woman seemed lost in thought, then spoke again. “I used to wonder why you people, the preds as you call it, would go out of your way to scare and eat and present yourself in such a way that all would fear you. People don’t oppose you, don’t fight back, don’t even speak up when their children, parents, and siblings are being digested right in front of them. The indoctrination to be small, to not draw attention, to accept your role as a prey.
 
 
“I used to call you preds villains,” the woman said, her off hand reaching up to the rim of her hood. “But now that I have seen the truth of all predators. You are nothing more than an overextending posse of bullies.”
 
 
The woman removed the hood, revealing a beautiful face that was heavily marred by an acid burn. With her good eye, she looked down at Magoline. “You don’t recognize me, do you? If it wasn’t for your weak throat muscles, I would be in the same place as David. That was his name, David. But I bet you don’t even care about such mundane things like that.
 
 
“The reason why I stopped calling you villains was because I saw your fear. I saw your weakness. I saw how human you are. And most importantly, I saw how fragile you are.
 
 
“You and your friends and colleagues are not villains,” the woman said, raising her sword above her head. “Because I am.” Magoline squeezed her eyes shut, screaming through the gag as the sword fell.
 
 
But no blow happened. Magoline waited, only hearing the wind and a loud gong of a bell. She opened her eyes, seeing that the blow wasn’t targeted towards her but to the side, freeing a large bell that was not allowed to make its noise. What was happening, why did she play a bell? After that whole speech of-
 
 
Wait. Where was she? Magoline twisted around in her binding, finally taking in the area. The beams were large, reaching over 30ft in height. However, each one was sheared and warped as if a giant force had torn at them. Not too far away there was a cliff, a straight drop to the unknown.
 
 
Magoline knew exactly where she was and what was happening. She began to scream, thrashing around in her restraints. Briana looked on with disdain, slipping the sword back under the cloak. “Not bad for a “prey”, huh? I’ll get going before the Colossi get here. If you actually manage to escape, make sure that you spread the news that things are about to change and your group is no longer safe.
 
 
“If you don’t? Well, sorry, not sorry.” Briana turned on her heel and dashed away, swinging around a beam to the motorcycle that she had stached for this moment. As she started it up, Briana felt the ground shaking as a Colossi approached. Smiling grimly, Briana tore away, heading back towards the city.
 
 
The revolution was officially underway.