Small Chapter 2: Last Moments

“No viable solution has yet been found.” Izzellah stared at those words for hours. She hadn’t slept that night. She had chosen to spend that time combing the internet for every shred of information on the Shrink Effect and it all led to the same conclusion. The effects were permanent, there was no cure. Volunteers had been monitored and it was concluded that it always happened within the first year. One year. That’s all she had, if that. There was so much she’d wanted to do. One year wasn’t enough time.

“Izzellah, have you been up all night?” Her mother was leaning in the door frame with an armful of cardboard boxes.

“What are you doing?” she gave her mother a look but the stern woman’s face was unreadable.

“You are packing up your things.” Gloria stated. “Clothes first, save just enough for a week.”

“Why?!” Izzellah screeched. “What the fuck do you want with my clothes?!”

“Language!” Gloria lectured. She pressed her palm into her forehead. “I’m donating them, obviously. After Sabrina picks out the one’s she likes.”

“You can’t do that! They’re MY clothes, MY things!”

“And what will you do with YOUR clothes, YOUR things, when you’re the smaller than a pencil, Izzellah?!”

She was silent.

“I know this isn’t easy for you mija, but we can’t just ignore reality.” Gloria placed the cardboard boxes next to the bed. “It’s better you start getting used to it now.” She heard a quiet slap on her bed. Izzellah turned to see her mom leaving the room and a magazine resting on her comforter. It had a picture of a man and woman smiling on it in light blue jumpsuits. They were standing next to a teacup twice their size. They were either shrink victims or it was and elaborate stage setup. The title read “Small Comforts”. She skimmed through the book, it was a catalog of items and clothing designed to cater to shrink victims. She sneered and tossed the magazine into her waste bin.

Izzellah was quiet at breakfast. She picked at the omelette on her plate with her fork Her appetite seemed to have vanished.

“You know what else would be cool when you’re small?” Sabrina chirped. “The food! It would be all big and stuff.” She stretched out her hands for emphasis. “And you know what else”

“SHUT UP!” Izzellah snapped.

“Don’t speak to your sister that way!” Gloria chastised.

“No it’s okay mom.” Sabrina defended. “Part of being her caretaker means I’ll have to learn to manage tantrums and mood swings.”

Izzellah almost choked on her first bite of omelette. “What?!”

“I’ll be taking care of you.” Sabrina smiled. “Isn’t that great?!”
“No fucking way!”

“Language, Izzellah!”

“Mom you can’t be serious?!” Izzellah pleaded.

“Yes I am.” Gloria informed between bites of her own omelette. “I’ll be recognized as your guardian legally but Sabrina will be in charge from day to day.”
“She’s twelve!” Izzellah fought.

“She’s your sister!” Gloria returned. “I’m to busy at the hospital and to watch you all day. She’ll be taking you to school with her. It’ll be fine you can help her with her homework.”

“No!” Izzellah refused. “No way I’m going to school with her! No way I’m going to be her…..pet.”

“Ooooh I like that word.” Sabrina chuckled. “My little pet sister!”

“Izzellah, calm down. Sabrina, stop teasing your sister.” Gloria ordered. “You’re not her pet Izzellah, but you have to think. I can’t leave you home by yourself. How would you survive? How would you feed yourself?”

“I can go to school myself, You know like a normal high school student.” Izzellah proposed.

“Are you insane mija?!” Gloria gritted. “No one will be watching out for you. Who knows what could happen to you in those hallways. You could get ran over, stepped on, or worse.”

“Worse?”

“Taken and used by some oversexed, hormone addled teenager! I know what happens in highschool.”

“But.”

“But nothing!” Gloria slammed her fist shaking the dining table. “With Sabrina you at least have someone watching you at all times. That’s what you need. No exceptions.”

“Don’t worry Izzy.” Sabrina rose from her chair to wrap her arms around her sister’s waist. She pecked her on the stomach. “I’ll take good care of you.”

“Don’t call me that!” Izzellah pushed her sister away with enough force to knock her to the floor. “And don’t fucking touch me.”

Gloria took a deep breath. “Izzellah, do you think that was wise?” Her oldest daughter met her eyes with daggers of anger and confusion. “If I were you I would apologize to my sister now while she still looks up to me.”

Izzellah went pale. She turned her attention to her younger sister as she picked herself up off the kitchen tile. She was barely grazing  five feet tall. Her head only reached Izzellah’s chest. How long before Izzellah wouldn’t even reach this child’s ankles? Sabrina wrapped her arms around her sister once again and smiled at her.

“I love you “little” sis.” she said sweetly. They met eyes and Sabrina winked. It sent a chill through her spine. “I’ll take good care of you.” Izzellah hadn’t been the best big sister. She suddenly regretted that very much.

“If you get even a little tired, head straight to the nurse’s office. Understand?”

“Yes.” Izzellah mumbled. She couldn’t even make eye contact with her mother.

“Izzellah look at me.” Gloria grabbed her daughter by the chin. “I can take you home.”

“No.” Izzellah defied. She wanted to say goodbye to her….to her friends.

“You look like hell.” Rebecca crunched on a bag of spicy Doritos as she gave Izzellah casual once over.

“How observant.” Brenda snarked. “ Ms. Izzellah are you alright?”

“I didn’t have time to put myself together this morning.” she sheepishly straightened her shirt and brushed her hair with her hand.

“Something’s wrong.” Brenda stated. She pressed a palm against Izzellah’s head. “Temperatures fine.” She gripped Izzellah’s wrist and used her thumb to check her pulse. “Pulse is up.”

“Relax, Brenda.” Izzellah took her hand back. “I’m just a little tense. Didn’t get a smoke this morning.”

“You’re lying.” Brenda stared right into Izzellah’s face. She was too good. “Why are you lying.”

“I-I”m….I have..” Izzellah struggled to find the words. For some reason this was harder than it should be. She actually cared about these people. More than just tools. “I won’t be coming to school anymore.”

“Fuuuck.” Rebecca chomped on another handful of chips.

“You’re a shrinker.” Rebecca spoke bluntly. “That’s messed up.”

“Shrink positive.” Brenda corrected. She was busy surfing on her laptop for any shred of information related to the Shrink Effect. Izzellah didn’t have the heart to tell her it was wasted effort. “It says here that shrink positive individuals can survive falls relative to over one-hundred feet.”

“Well that’s a perk right?” Rebecca proposed. “I couldn’t survive a fall from the top of the school.”

“It also says you forfeit most of your rights and technically become property?” Brenda had to double check the information she’d just read.

“No way!” Rebecca exclaimed. She leaned up from her reclined position against the cafeteria wall. “Like as in owned by someone else.”

“Yeah.” Izzellah whispered.

“You should let it be me!” Rebecca suggested to dual expressions of shock and terror. “What?” she shrugged.

“What possible reason would you have for wanting a shrink victim?” Brenda inquired.

“Why wouldn’t I? Rebecca smiled. “A personal slave sounds awesome.”

Izzellah froze.

“That’s terrible!” Brenda gasped. “How could you even say such a thing?”

“Like you’re not thinking about it.” Rebecca challenged. “A tiny will always be there, can never disobey you, that you can do whatever you want with.” She bent over and removed one of her sneakers revealing a petite foot with baby blue painted toenails. “Imagine it Izz. Snuggling up to these everyday. Devoting yourself only to me. Worshipping your own personal goddess. I would make it good for you. And in exchange you would want for nothing. No more worrying about school, or bills, or food. A pure utopia of bliss where your only concern is pleasing me, and fighting off multiple orgasms!” Rebecca was drooling at the mouth high on her own fantasies.

“That’s never happening.” Izzellah passed with a frigid monotone. They held eyes for a moment before Rebecca soured into a pout.

“It would be soo hot though!”

“Not ever.”

“You. Are no fun.”

There was a silence.

“Besides.” Brenda spoke up. “If any of us were to “own” her it would obviously be me.”

“Why you!?” Rebecca jeered. “Because you have a crush on her!”

“Because!” Brenda emphasized. “I’m the most qualified. I know everything she likes and wouldn’t use her as an outlet for my secret perversions.”

This continued for longer than it should. All the while Izzellah sat in silence as her two “friends” argued and debated over the logistics of who would “own” her and why they were the superior choice. It was like to children arguing over a new toy. Had they already stopped seeing her as a person.

“I think I’m gonna go.” Izzellah stated. “It...was good seeing you two.”

“Look what you did!” Brenda fumed.

“What I did?!” Rebecca scoffed. “You’re the one who brought up mandatory hand baths..daily.”

“Hygiene is important!”

“We’re going to have so much fun tonight!” Sabrina bounced up and down on her bed with the energy of a toddler on a sugar rush. “We can paint our toenails and watch a scary movie and-”

“What are you five?!” Izzellah spat. “This isn’t a sleepover. My took away my room.”

“Mom says it’s a safety thing, incase you shrink at night.”

“Mom is full of shit.” Izzellah sprawled across Sabrina’s queen sized mattress. She grimaced at the pastels that painted her walls. The music notes that were engraved into the wood. Posters of Taylor Swift, Arriana Grande, and the like were displayed. This room was entirely too loud. Her little sister was a cliche. She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the..everything. She felt a tug and a light pressure. She cracked an eye open and sighed.

“You feeling tired?” Sabrina asked as she leaned into Izzellahs stomach. “That’s one of the signs that you’ll shrink soon.”

“Quiet.” She had a migraine, and she WAS tired. She’d been tired since last night. The news itself was draining but she knew it was something else. The overclocked machines were busy at work converting all her mass into energy for something. What it was for she didn’t know, but it damn sure wasn’t for her. She needed to rest. Just for a few moments. Then it would be back to research. There had to be an answer, there had to be something. She closed her eyes and embraced the blissful darkness. She felt the soft warmth of a comforter be pulled over her.

“Goodnight “little” sis.”

“Izzellah it’s time to get up.”

“Daddy?” Izzellah opened her eyes. She was in her room. The window was open and the morning rays cascaded across her.

“It’s time to get up baby girl. Breakfast is almost ready.”

“Okay daddy.” Izzellah mumbled. She rose out of bed and stretched her arms over her head. She looked around but her father was nowhere to be found. “Daddy where are you.”

“Down stairs, mija. Do me a favor and wake up your sister.”

“Okay.” Izzellah smiled. She skipped down the hall towards her sister’s room. She stared at the large door that was cracked half open. The room was dark, the windows covered. She ambled over to the large bed Sabrina slept in. A large form rose and fell with her sister’s breath.

She gave it a nudge. “Sabby….Sabby wake up! Breakfast is almost ready.”

She heard a groan and saw the mass of blankets shuffle. “What have I said about calling me Sabby?” Her sister rose from bed and loomed over her. She was four years younger but you wouldn’t know it from her titanic size. She stared daggers at Izzellah causing the smaller girl to step back.

“Sorry?” Izzellah was confused. She’d never said anything about her nickname before. A large hand palmed the entirety of her head and ruffled her hair. She was lifted up under her arms into her sister’s loving embrace.

“Don’t worry about it Izzy.” Sabrina smiled. “I was just messing with you.”

“Breakfast is ready.” Izzellah grinned, She cuddled deeper into her sister’s chest.

“Just give me a minute.” Sabrina rose from to her full height taking Izzellah with her. It was a daunting view being lifted almost twelve feet in the air. Sabrina opened up her curtains and finally let some light flood in. Clothes were strewn across the floor and assorted books, cd’s, blu rays, and other random accessories laid about.

“You’re room’s a mess. Mom’s gonna yell at you again.”

“Mom’s full of shit.” Sabrina snickered.

Izzellah gasped. “You can’t say that about mom!”

“She’s not here is she?”

Izzellah gave Sabrina a look.“You can put me down now.”

“Or I can just carry you down stairs.”

“I can walk just fine thank you.”

“Pleeaasse.” Sabrina begged. “Is it wrong to occasionally pamper my little sister?”

“What?” Izzellah asked. There was something wrong with that question.

“I said I want to pamper you silly!” she gave Izzellah a playful squeeze. “Cause you’re my cute and adorable little sister.”

“Little sister?” Izzellah was truly puzzled. “No I’m not.”

“Of course you are.” Sabrina corrected. “You fit in the palm of my hand. That’s pretty little to me.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t fit in the-” She looked around and was surrounded by the fleshy expanse of her sister’s palm. The world shook as Sabrina stepped out the bedroom. “Sabby I’m scared! What’s happening?!”

“Don’t be scared little sis.” Sabrina stroked Izzellah’s back with her finger the way she always liked. Right between the shoulder blades. “I’m not going to drop you.”

“Drop me?”

“Okay!” Sabrina chirped then she tilted her hand. Izzellah tried to hang on but Sabrina gave her palm a violent shake.

Izzellah fell for longer than it seemed possible. She hit the soft carpet but the impact still hurt considerably. A jolt of pain shot up her back and rung her brain.

“While you’re down there you think you could do big sis a favor and rub her feet?” Sabrina’s giant food hovered above her casting a long shadow over her body.

“Sabrina stop! Please.”

“Sorry I can’t hear you down there. But don’t worry. I would never hurt my little sis.” The titanic ped came crashing down upon her body with immense pressure. Izzellah gritted her teeth as her bones rattled under her sister’s weight. She was rolled back and forth as the Sabrina slid her foot across her body before trapping her torso between her big and second toes. They squeezed causing her to gasp for air. She earned a mouthful of stale sweat for her trouble.

“Girls breakfast!” The voice of their mother rang from downstairs.

“We better go.” Sabrina giggled. “You know how pissed mom can get.” She took another step lifting Izzellah with her then sending her crashing back down, crushing and trapping her deeper into the crevice of her ‘big’ sister’s toes.

Izzellah woke up in a cold sweat. She shivered. It was irregularly cold in the dim light of Sabrina’s room. She wrapped her arms around herself and noticed her shirt was missing. She was topless? No….she was naked. She turned onto her stomach and pulled herself up to her knees. Where was Sabrina? Was this some kind of prank. She felt the bed rumble and shake with enough force to knock her down. A loud noise like sawing wood dominated her. A warm breeze flowed over her body with the scent of stale berries and mint. She turned towards it’s source and gasped at what she saw. Her sister’s face, but goliath in size and proportion. All at once she collapsed in on herself and screamed into her knees. It had happened all too quickly. Her life as a human was over and any chance at freedom was gone. She had shrunk.