Chapter Two

            The world looked different as it passed by at a blistering pace. The buildings and cars were but a blur. It was like looking at the world through the window of a racecar as I pushed and pulled at the giant ropes that made up this purse.

            My heart leapt with fear as this cage remained in constant motion banging against her hip as she walked down the street chatting casually with her friend both oblivious to my existence. My body began to bruise and become stiff, my joints swollen as my fingers dig into the fabric as I struggle to remain upright.

            “Hey mommy look” a young girl says as she points to me in the purse.

            “Katie, it’s not nice to point at people” her mom reprimands as they continue by neither party stopping. I felt alive for a moment, I could feel a twinge of excitement in me rise as I was alive and real. I knew that I had to get out of here, I had to get back to Caitlin I just had to. I knew if that girl saw me as a person she would too. I was so naïve back then.

            The girls had finally stopped, I let go and fell to the bottom of the purse. I muscled relaxed as I lay there limply. A faint jingling drifted through the air like a feather falling to the ground. The air around me was still, the city was quiet or so it seemed.  It felt good to lie there but everything erupted into turmoil as the door pulled open and I felt myself flying through the air. The wind was now coarse and cold as it bled through me.

            Everything came to a crashing halt as the purse exploded against the back seat in a lump. The fabric was heavy and covered my body like a blanket. I reached my hand out of one of the many small square fabric holes running along the firm fabric of the seat. It was a car seat; I was really trapped this time. If they could have lived close by I maybe could have escaped but if they are driving, a simple block would be miles if I had to walk it. I turned my head looking at the light that shone through the car windows. The car jostled from side to side as they sat down, a pleated sky then appeared overhead, and before I could scream it fell upon me covering the purse with ease. A simple pleated skirt blinded me in darkness as the rumble of the car engine drowned out their voices. It was semi peaceful but before to long the sounds of Britney Spears stole away any peaceful innocence that was left.

            The car twisted about starting and stopping, fear pushed through me as if it was one with my blood. The lack of sight or control was driving me mad, as if the smell of that nasty perfume in Caitlin’s boutique was not bad enough the vanilla air freshener in the car certainly was. I kicked my legs and pounded my fists against the floor of the seat for a moment before I resigned myself to my fate. I was stuck for the time being, I can’t get out of here and even if I could being trapped in the girls car was not any better then where I am now.

            The car finally shut off, I heard the two getting ready to make there departure. I braced myself as best I could as I knew what was about to come, however it was a bit different then before. This time her fingers wrapped around the skirt and purse, I could feel the warmth of her hands through the layers of fabric as she grabbed both the purse and skirt in one bundle.

            I nervously held onto what I could not sure what to expect as they plodded up stair after stair. I was unsure if they were walking up stairs or climbing Mount Everest, as it seemed to take an eternity before they stopped. My stomach lurched forward as she unlocked the door and sped into her home in one fluid motion. The mindless banter drifted into nothingness then I felt the painful g’s of dissent and a painful crash against something. I lay motionless for a few minutes as I heard thundering footsteps swell about the room. I nervously lie in fear hoping it would all go away.

            Bright light painfully shines into my eyes as the skirt covering the purse is lifted up; I stare up at the blonde haired giant, as she held the plaid skirt against herself admiring her newest purchase.

            I nervously bit my lip hoping she wouldn’t see me but she had already spun around tossing the skirt a few feet from me on her bed as she stomped out of the bedroom.

            She was so huge I thought to myself, I could hardly see her. My heart was pounding as I looked about this giant monstrosity of a room. As scared, as I was I knew I had to get out of here, as she would eventually want to use her purse.

            I was relieved that the purse wasn’t pulled shut using the drawstring so I could easily crawl out of the purse and out onto the bed. As I looked around the room, I found myself in awe of its stature and size in comparison to myself. I began to understand just how my life had changed as I stared about the bedroom.

            The bed itself extended in what looked like city block after block only these blocks were covered in baby blue flowers. I only knew that I needed to get off the bed, as detection would be all too easy. If I ever want to see Caitlin or the rest of my family then I definitely had to do it on my own.

            At this time, I didn’t really know what to do or where to go. The situation was so unique, so unheard of that I wasn’t even sure if it was real, but my primal fears started to emerge. They told me to run, to hide, but most importantly to get off this bed.

            As I ran my feet sunk a bit into the bed, I had to hurdle the folds in the mattress. I wasn’t even half way to the edge and I was already breathing heavily as sweat dripped from my brow to the mattress. I could taste the salty sweat in my mouth as I pushed myself forward. I knew I had to get away, I just had too.  I kept pushing myself on jumping fold after fold, the air filled with a hint of vanilla. Laughter from seemingly beyond this world was in the distance but still filled the air like a space shuttle taking off.

            I began to get into the lull of jumping and running, the burning of my lungs, the fits of laughter all around that I almost jumped clear off the edge of the bed. I came to a halt all too quick. I peered over the immense cliff. I couldn’t believe how far down it looked. I nervously started to back away from the edge of the bed when the floorboards began to creek and bed rumbled slightly. I looked towards the door that was slightly closed and stared in awe as it was pushed open with ease. The monolithic structure easily strolled in, first a blonde then a brunette.

            “So what dress do you think will look good?” said the brunette as she started to lower herself onto the bed.

            I wanted to scream in terror as the largest ass I had ever seen in my life was being lowered towards me. It was as if my legs couldn’t move fast enough as I ran back the way I had came. I made a diving effort to get out of the way but it was no good as the brunette’s bottom smashed into me from the waist down. My back sunk into the bed as she continued to press into the mattress. I pushed at her bottom but it was no use, the denim was too thick for her to feel my minute plights to escape.

            Part of me wanted to scream for help, to have them find me but I knew that would never work. What could they possibly do for me? This just isn’t some kind of common occurrence. The only person who could help me is Caitlin. Maybe there is another perfume that can restore me? That’s all I have going for me right now.

            As the brunette began to stand up I found my chance to escape from the top of this bed. I grabbed at the edge of her back pocket and before I knew it my body lurched forward and smacked against her bottom. My arms and face racked against the denim as she her bottom wiggled from left to right as she walked. I had greatly underestimated this girl’s strength. Each blow sent painful shivers down my spine as my fingers fight to hold my body weight as falling would almost certainly mean death.

            “That would be perfect Nadia for your date with Matthew, you could borrow my red shoes, you know those dress ones I wore to your aunts wedding.”

            “Oh yeah, let me try them on.” begged Nadia as she followed Rochelle out of the room.

            Each step the brunette took my hold eased slightly more until I found myself falling the length of her body, I hit her thigh and bounced down her leg finally resting in the high shag carpet below. I looked back to see the blonde coming towards me. I tried to stand up but my body was entangled in the carpet. It was a very high shag light brown carpet with loops making up each strand of the carpeting. I continued to twist, kick and pull trying to free my body but it only made it worse. I cringed as her foot rose over me. I am going to die I thought to myself. I kept waiting for her to smash into me but it nothing was happening. I slowly opened my eyes shocked to see the face of two young women staring down at me.

            “I told you something dropped from your pocket.” Exclaimed Nadia as she pointed her finger at me.

            “What do you think it is? It looks a bit to big to be any kind of bug I have ever seen.” says Rochelle as she lowers her hand covering me in darkness, filling the air with her scent and warmth from her hand.

            “Don’t touch it Rochelle, it could be dangerous.” curiously says Nadia as she flicks me with her toe sending me flying through the air eventually crashing into one of those backless sneakers. I was happy to be free from the carpet but I didn’t want to be discovered by those girls either. I crawled into the shoe immediately heading towards the toe area.

            “Where did he go? It had to be a bug, I flicked it over that way and it’s gone, it must have flown away.”

            “Who cares, I want to see if those shoes are going to work. It’s just a dumb bug after all, onto more important matters.” I breathed a sigh of relief as I heard the pounding of their foot steps disappear.

            Now what, I thought to myself as I made my way out of the shoe. I don’t even know where to.

            “Found you” The voice erupted at seemingly a 1000 decibels, the blonde haired girl reached her hand out towards me. I shuddered as her fingers clasped around me and I was lifted into the air. She began to spread her fingers apart which forced me to grab a hold of her pointer finger. She giggled as held her pointer finger out in front of her face examining me with her eyes oblivious to my fight and struggle to hold onto her finger.

            “Hey Rochelle! I found it! I don’t think it’s a bug at all. It looks like a mini man,” yells the blonde which nearly makes my ears bleed. Within moments, the face of a brunette was positioned behind me. She poked at my back causing me to swing back and forth on the blonde’s fingers.

            “He does look like a tiny person. I wonder what he is doing here?” inquisitively asks Rochelle.

            “Dazzled by my beauty of course, he saw me from afar and used up all his strength forcing his little legs to follow my giant strides wishing to be found by me, held by me, as I caress his itty bitty body in my power grip.”

            “Or scared shitless by your hideous face.” retorts Rochelle as I watch the blonde playfully push her with her opposite hand.

            “Very funny Rochelle.” laughs the blonde.

            Caitlin scurried back towards the perfume counter as the two young women walked out carrying a knit purse and a skirt. Caitlin still couldn’t believe her twin brother had shrunk. Sure she wasn’t a nice as she could be to him but she still loved him dearly. There has to be away to get him back to normal prayed Caitlin.

            “Sam, Sam they are gone you can come out now? You did a good job hiding, they didn’t see you. Its all clear Sam, SAM!”

            “Caitlin, what are you doing? Who are you talking too?” asks her co-worker Dallas.

            “Oh um I was just talking to myself, you see it’s a creative writing project, we have to use personification on an object and report back on how it worked. Pretty lame huh” says Caitlin trying to force a laugh.

            “Whatever, but you know that group of teenagers who walked in, they each but a purse so do you want to get a few from the back room while I close out the till.”

            “Teenagers! Dallas did anyone else come over her besides those teenagers?”

            “Umm why? I think some college girls those teenagers and a younger looking woman she looked Mexican but she bought this cute Prada backpack.

            “Oh no” Caitlin cries.

            “What’s wrong? I know you were hoping to get that proda backpack but I’m sure we will get more in stock.

            I stared at these two giant girls from the coffee table where they had set me down on. I was embarrassed as I stood before them. They couldn’t even hear me so I had to talk into Rochelle, the brunette’s microphone on her laptop. I felt humiliated. I couldn’t even carry on a normal conversation unless they put there face up really close to me, or we had electronic help.

            “Don’t worry little guy, we will take good care of you” Rochelle said as she closed her laptop. I tried to scream to her that I still needed that as I was in the midst of saying that they needed to call Caitlin but it was to late now as the brunettes hand was already coming towards me. I hardly had time to react before her hand was pressing against me and I was cuddled into her palm, surrounded by her strong grip. I felt myself lift off the coffee table as she tried to gently walk across the room but I was still strewn about a bit until she spilled me out onto there kitchen table. As I looked about there apartment I saw that it was a typical college apartment. They were obviously doing everything on there own as there wasn’t a lot of nice stuff around, there was some like the television and sofa and such but a lot of the other things looked to be normal college furniture.

            My thoughts were interrupted by a bottle cap with a giant hunk of ham a few potato chip crumbs being set down in front of me. I looked up at them and then down at the food. My mouth watered as I dove into it.

            “Look at him go, he must have been starving. You know Rochelle, having a pet is a big responsibility. This isn’t like roger”

            “I was eight years old! I didn’t know any better,” snapped Rochelle back as she watched me finish the food.  

            “We better get ready, it’s already late and I’m sure Carolyn and the girls will be here soon enough to hit the clubs.

            “Damn, it is seven already…” I hardly have time to flinch before Rochelle grabs me and carries me back into Nadia’s room. I cringe as she opens up the same knit purse I arrived in drops me in followed by pulling the drawstring shut.

            “This should hold you” gloats Rochelle as she hangs the purse up on a hook inside Nadia’s closet. I look from the left and then to the right nothing but purses on either side of me. I huff as I slink down to the floor.

            I spent the rest of the night alone in that closet. I could hear the muffled sounds of the girls leaving and then hours later they came back. It sounded like Nadia passed out as soon as she hit her bed.  Unfortunately, I would see Nadia first thing in the morning. Things were about to get a lot worse before they got better.