Tyler leaned gingerly back on his seat. He was comfortable on his couch, a large, dirty, sock. When Katie first left for her friend’s house the girl had considered dropping Tyler in one of her shoes again. Thankfully the little bug was able to negotiate his way out of it. He loved Katie, he loved her feet, but the smell of her shoes might be able to kill him!
            So he found himself relaxing on the soft bed of her sock, looking out through her open window, not a care in the world. He was really getting used to his new role in life. Being so small was scary, but if you’re with someone you trust, someone like Katie, it doesn’t seem so bad.

            Then the door swung open, its hinges squeaking in protest as another giant, far more menacing than Katie, stepped in. Tyler’s eyes went wide at the sight. Katie’s dad was a very nice person. He and Tyler got along well on most occasions. But, if Tyler was to be found, at this size, in the giant’s daughter’s room, things might not go so well.

            “Wow,” George, Katie’s dad, said as he glanced around the room, dissatisfied. “Can that girl get any messier?” He bent over, picking up one of her shirts and tossing it into the hamper he held at his side. “She can’t even put her cloths away!”

            Tyler hurriedly tried to move away, but Katie’s dad was too quick. Before the tiny boy had time to clear the dirty sock he was pulled into the air. He fell, disoriented, onto the dirty pile of laundry. “Wait!” the boy called as George tossed a pair of Katie’s shorts on top of him.

            As the giant continued to pick up Katie’s dirty clothes, Tyler desperately crawled to what he hoped would be an exit. Every few seconds another article of clothing would be piled on top of him, increasing the already substantial pressure. If he didn’t find his way out soon, he would be crushed, or possibly worse, trapped. He entertained the idea of being put in the wash for only a second before pushing it stubbornly from his mind. “I’m not getting tossed in a washing machine!” Tyler yelled as he pushed forward.

            Soon he could see light in front of him. He crawled to it with a reinvigorated energy, breaching out into the open soon after. “Yeah!” he shouted as he pushed himself through the clothes and into the open air. His eagerness was almost instantly stolen from him when he glanced down at the floor many miles below. Would he survive the fall? He glanced back at the laundry basket. Could he survive not taking the risk?

            “How do I keep finding myself in these situations?” he asked himself before leaping into the air.

            His landing was hard and painful, but not nearly as terrible as he had thought it would be. His bones seemed to be intact, his head in one piece. It was probably thanks to the thick carpet that lined Katie’s room, though he wasn’t really concerned with the hows of his survival. He was more concerned with keeping himself that alive. Especially after George’s foot slammed down to the ground only a few inches away from him.

            Tyler jumped up, running away from the massive appendage. He didn’t know how well his body would do if this giant stepped on him, and honestly, he didn’t care to find out.

            The small boy quickly found a shirt lying on the ground. Thinking only of a safe hiding place, he crawled below it.

            “Alright,” he said through deep breaths a few moments later. “At least I’m safe now. Under Katie’s shirt. Her dirty shirt.” It was at that moment that the true implications of his horrible hiding spot hit him. “Crap,” he said, shaking his head. Then light poured onto him as Katie’s dad lifted up her shirt. “Crap!” Tyler yelled as he quickly sprung onto his feet, running as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.

            “Oh great,” Katie’s dad sighed as he looked at the small black dot moving across his daughter’s floor. “Not only is she gross, but she even has bugs!” He moved his foot over the little insect.

            The shadow fell over little Tyler. He turned around just in time to see the massive foot hovering over him. Then it came down, pressing his tiny form into the ground below.

            Again the carpet saved him, though only just. Katie’s dad leaned on the little boy, pressing him, grinding his face into his dirty sole. “Please,” Tyler tried to say, but the breath was pushed out of him.

            George’s feet weren’t as disgusting as Katie’s, but that isn’t saying much. There was still dirt stuck to the sole and still a thick grime coating. But, at least Tyler wasn’t being forced to lick it, right?

            Katie’s dad, satisfied that the bug was squished, continued on with his cleaning, completely unaware of the tiny boy below him.