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Noreen sat massaging her calf muscles, trying to keep them warmed up so they wouldn’t cramp. She had no idea that a tiny, shrunken Chris was currently on the floor next to the ottoman upon which she was resting her tired feet, jumping up and down, waving his arms madly, and screaming her name, desperately vying for her attention. Ironically, Noreen’s thoughts were on Chris and how he was feeling at the moment. She toyed with the idea of sneaking upstairs to check on him while Shannon was in the bathroom, but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to have to explain to her friend why she was snooping through someone else’s home. Instead, Noreen decided to make herself a little more comfortable.

“NOREEN, HELP! IT’S CHRIS! I’M DOWN HERE! PLEASE, LOOK FOR ME! NOREEN!”
Chris was still desperately shouting for the giant woman’s help, doing everything he could to get her to notice him, but she wasn’t looking in his direction, nor did it appear that Noreen was able to hear him. Several times it appeared that Noreen was going to turn her head and look down, but Chris’s hopes were continuously dashed when she’d look in a different direction. He wasn’t about to give up though, otherwise he’d be stuck with Shannon until the shrinking potion were off again; unfortunately, he was running out of time: Shannon could be back any minute.

Once Noreen finished massaging her legs, she was about to recline again, but she still wasn’t quite comfortable. Her socks were bothering her; Noreen wondered if Shannon would mind if she just kicked them off for a minute. Seeing that her friend hadn’t returned yet, Noreen shrugged her shoulders and brought her right foot towards her, removing her sock and tossing it onto the ottoman out of the way, then she bent forward to remove the left one. She had no sooner gotten it off when she was startled by Shannon calling from the hallway:
“Noreen!” Shannon called.
Noreen jumped so suddenly her sock flew out of her hand and onto the floor next to the ottoman.

Chris was still frantically calling Noreen’s as he watched her remove her sock when he heard a loud thumping coming from the kitchen: Shannon was coming back! He was out of time!
“NOREEN, HELP! HELP!” he screamed in a panic, hoping she’d see him before Shannon arrived and silenced him.
Suddenly, Shannon’s thunderous voice boomed from the hallway, calling Noreen’s name. It was so loud Chris instinctively covered his ears and lowered his head. Then, all of a sudden, while he was still reeling from the sound, everything went dark.

Shannon quickly stomped out of the bathroom and through the kitchen, keeping her eyes peeled for the tiny Chris as she hurried back to the living room. If Chris HAD escaped, she had no doubt he’d try to contact Noreen and he was still big enough to be seen; Shannon had to stop him before that happened.
“Noreen!” Shannon yelled as she stomped down the hallway and turned the corner into the living room, right as Noreen’s sock hit the floor.
“Geez, Shannon! You scared me!” Noreen complained, holding her chest. “I thought you were trying to keep it down so Chris could sleep.”
“Y-Yeah, I did,” she stuttered. “Is everything OK?”
“Well, if you mean besides scaring me to death, then yes!” Noreen said acrimoniously. “Did you bring my water!”
“No, Sorry. I had to hurry back. I, Uh....” Shannon paused, trying to think on her feet. “I was wondering....have you heard anyone else calling your name?”
“Uh, no,” Noreen replied, somewhat confused. “Only you, why?”
“I thought I heard someone calling you while I was in the bathroom.” Shannon said intently scanning the floor. “Must have been my imagination.”
“Did you, uh, lose something, girl?” Noreen asked, checking the floor to see what Shannon was looking at, but only finding her dropped sock.
“I....don’t know,” Shannon replied.
“Then, could you please bring me some water? I’m kinda thirsty.”
“Hey, why don’t you come chill with me in the kitchen for a bit?”
“Really, Shannon, I literally just got comfortable.”
“You can prop your feet up in the kitchen, Nor. Come on.”
“Honey,” Noreen whined, “I just want to sit here and close my eyes for a second. Please?”
“Alright, fine,” Shannon relented. “But I need to check this room for a second.”
“For what? What are you looking for?”
“For whatever....was stuck....” Shannon extended her sentence as she knelt down and started searching the couch cushion she’d been sitting on. “In my....panties.”
“Why? If it’s gone, what does it matter?”
“I’m just curious,” Shannon replied, getting down to check the floor under the couch. Then, as she turned her head to check under the ottoman, her eyes fell upon Noreen’s discarded sock. Her eyes grew wide and she bit her lip. Like a hungry cat stalking its prey, she approached the sock, carefully gripped it between her fingers...

Chris was in near total darkness. The small amount of light that trickled into his surroundings flickered as intermittent movement from outside interrupted the light source. He was soaked in stinky fluid, and the familiar smell of sweaty feet invaded his nostrils. Chris realized he must’ve been underneath Noreen’s sock, and it smelled rank. If it weren’t for his newly discovered penchant for feet, it would have been unbearable.
He started calling for help, but quickly stifled himself, not wanting Shannon to find him. Chris heard every word in the giant women's conversation outside, and could feel Shannon’s giant bare feet slapping the wood floor nearby with tremendous booms as they shook the ground. He started fumbling about trying to get out from under the sock. He knew he’d risk Shannon finding him, but that wouldn’t matter if either one of the giant women stepped on the sock while he was still beneath it.
Chris guessed the general direction of the ottoman and crawled about on all fours, hoping to get free.
Suddenly, he got an unsettling feeling that something big was about to happen...

In one quick motion, Shannon lifted the sock off the floor, simultaneously cupping her other hand over the spot where it had been, hoping to grab Chris before he could make a sound.
Carefully, she got down and looked under her hand...

On a gut feeling, Chris grabbed the fabric of the sock....just as it was hoisted into the air! He clung to the sock’s toe section desperately, watching Shannon inspect a spot underneath her cupped hand on the floor....the very spot where he’d just been.
Chris was a sitting duck. Even though he’d just narrowly avoided capture, all Shannon had to do was inspect the sock in her other hand and he’d be discovered. He contemplated letting go, but the fall was too risky.
Shannon lifted her head.
Chris’s heart sank; this was it!

“Here!” Noreen called, “Toss me that. I’ll get it out of the way.”
“Huh?” Shannon’s head snapped up. “Oh! Sure!”
Without thinking, Shannon tossed the sock towards the couch.

“Shannon, wait!” Chris panicked upon hearing Noreen’s call. He frantically peddled his legs as if trying to get away. In one fell swoop, Shannon flicked her wrist and tossed the sock away. The two went sailing through the air, the sock rotating like helicopter blade.
Chris couldn’t hold on; he separated from the sock mid-flight. His limbs flailed as he flew, screaming the whole way. While the sock landed in Noreen’s grasp, Chris bounced off the surface the the ottoman and skidded across the surface, rolling to stop just before falling off the edge near the couch.

Noreen recoiled, scrunching up her body as she caught the sock.
“Shannon,” Noreen addressed her again, “curiosities aside, why are you so desperate to find....whatever it was?”
Shannon’s eyes locked onto Noreen with extreme intensity.
“Look, don’t freak out, OK?” Shannon said intently.
“What? What is it?” Noreen asked, becoming very worried.
“That thing in my panties....” Shannon whispered, “....I think it may have been a bug.”
“Ew!” Noreen exclaimed, “Why would you think that?”
“Because I think I felt it squirming around,” Shannon said, gritting her teeth.
“Yuck!” Noreen shivered, “How did a bug get into your panties?!”
“I don’t know, but when I went to check just now, I didn’t find anything, and I looked all over. Whatever it was must have fallen out.”
“Shannon, what is it with you and bugs lately?”
“What do you mean?” Shannon asked, perplexed.
“Yesterday in my bathroom, and now today in Chris’s house. Why are you so fascinated with BUGS?!”
“It’s not a ‘fascination’, Nor, I just don’t want bugs crawling around the place, just like I’m sure you wouldn’t want any crawling around your’s.”
Noreen hugged her knees to her chest and quickly scanned the couch around her, just in case there WERE any bugs crawling around.

Chris’s skin was burning from the friction of his stop; his red, naked body hurt all over. While the giant women conversed about bugs, he lay prone, trying to recover, the pain preventing him from even moving. Chris turned his gazed to Noreen, who was intently searching the couch, no doubt looking for the fictional bug Shannon lied about.
“Noreen!” he strained to speak, reaching his arm out desperately for her. “Noreen, help me! Please!”
Knowing that he couldn’t just lie where he was, Chris mustered as much strength as he could and attempted to stand up. He was extremely unsteady as he pushed through the pain, and lost his balance before he even made it to his feet; somehow, Chris kept his balance. He was nearly hoarse from shouting so much, but his rescue was literally right in front of him; so close he could taste it.
“Noreen!” he tried calling, feeling stronger with each call. “Noreen!”

“Well, I don’t see any bug, Shannon,” Noreen said, “but would you mind getting me that water now? Please?”
“OK, fine,” Shannon finally agreed, getting to her feet, “but stay here, and if you hear someone calling your name again, let me know.”
“Uh, yeah. I’ll do that,” Noreen replied reluctantly, settling back onto the couch.
As Shannon stepped out of the room, Noreen retrieved her phone from her pocket and propped her feet on the edge of the ottoman.

“Help!” Chris called exhaustedly, “Help!”
Suddenly, two huge feet headed right in his direction. Chris had barely any time to react as they collided with the edge of the ottoman.
“Whoa, AAH!” Chris yelped as he fell forward from the impact. “Ack! Noreen, be careful!”
He quickly pushed himself back up to check his surroundings. Noreen’s huge, sweaty soles teetered precariously above him, her toes scrunching and wiggling ominously. Despite having just been in direct contact with one of her socks, the smell was even more overwhelming. Chris couldn’t understand why her feet smelled worse than her sock, but of course, there were two giant, smelly objects now.
“Noreen, please help me!” He cried desperately. “Please!”

Noreen looked up from her phone; she had just gotten an extremely weird feeling, like something was off. Her mind kept drifting back to that strange dream she’d had the day before, about Chris being tiny. At first, she wondered why she was dwelling on it and tried to shake it off, but she soon concluded it must have been from Shannon’s strange behavior.
What is it with Shannon and bugs lately? Noreen thought, turning her gaze toward the hallway. First, at her house yesterday, and now at Chris’s house today. Why was Shannon acting so weird?
Noreen shrugged off her feelings and went back to her phone...
...She stopped again, mid sentence.
Unless...No, that’s ridiculous! Noreen reassured herself. It was just a dream. A weird dream to be sure, but a dream nonetheless.
Then, Noreen’s eyes fell upon the big toe of her left foot. She could vividly recall the pain of that bug biting her; the feelings were so vivid, in fact, that she had to use her other toe to massage and numb the pain all over again.
Stupid bug, she thought, rubbing her big toes together, why couldn’t you have just been a dream—
Noreen suddenly realized something: Shannon said that she’d fallen asleep during the foot rub yesterday, but that happened after she’d been bit, so that part was real. But if that part was real, and the rest of it a dream, then what the hell bit her?
What if....what if it wasn’t a dream? Noreen wondered again.
“Noreen, come on,” she said to herself, “that’s ridiculous! Total science fiction!”
But, what if...
Noreen suddenly had a terrible thought. She slowly scanned the room, checking the floor near the couch.
“Chris?” she whispered, pausing for a response. “Chris, are you there?”
She hesitantly spread her legs apart slightly, keeping her feet firmly on the ottoman, and stared at the ground directly beneath her, looking for any sign of....something out of place.

Chris was exhausted; he wasn’t sure how much more punishment he could take. Noreen’s huge soles kept teetering ominously on the edge of the cushion, threatening to collapse on top of him at a moment’s notice. His cries for help went unanswered, and there was no way Noreen would spot him with her big feet in the way.
Despite the threat of being squished, Chris headed closer to Noreen’s feet. At this point, he didn’t have many options: it was either scoot back and hope Noreen spotted him, or find a way to climb onto her via her feet. Chris chose the latter; at least if Noreen didn’t see him, he had a real chance of escaping. If only Noreen had left your socks on the ottoman, he might have had an alternative, but they were both tossed aside on the couch.
“NOREEN!” he shouted in frustration.
Then, without warning, the monstrous big toes that loomed overhead started rubbing against each other, inadvertently dislodging small pieces of dirt and lint. While they may have been nearly microscopic and unnoticeable to Noreen, for Chris they were that size of small boulders. He was in a rockslide: the debris bounced off the fabric as it crashed all around him. Chris yelled and screamed for Noreen to stop what she was doing, while simultaneously trying to avoid being hit and getting out-of-the-way. Chris cowered in place, squeezed his eyes shut, and awaited imminent death.
“Chris.”
The thunderous whisper fell upon his tiny ears like the call of an angel. He opened his eyes and relaxed a bit.
“Chris, are you there?” the voice called again.
“Noreen?” Chris called, standing back up. “Noreen, can you hear me?”
The ground shifted. Chris struggled to hold his footing. He watched in amazement as Noreen’s feet started rotating outwards.
“Chris, are you in the floor?” Noreen called.
“NOREEN! NOREEN, ON THE OTTOMAN!” Chris shouted with newfound vigor. “LOOK ON THE OTTOMAN! NOREEN, I’M HERE! LOOK FOR ME!”

Noreen was just about to remove her feet from the ottoman when Shannon stepped back into the room with a glass of water.
“Alright, here you go, sweetie,” Shannon said.
Noreen was so spooked by her friend’s sudden reappearance she slammed her legs closed, as if she’d just been caught in a compromising situation.

For Chris, things happened quickly: as soon as Shannon stepped back into the room, Noreen’s huge legs slammed closed, jostling the ottoman. Chris lost his footing and fell forwards onto he cushion.

“Oh,” Noreen replied, slightly jumpy. “Thanks.”
She took the glass from Shannon and hastily gulped it down.
“Ah!” Noreen sighed, taking a much needed series of breaths. “Much better, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Sharon replied, “Well, I have some stuff I wanna get done before Chris wakes up, so...”
“Yeah, about that,” Noreen interjected, “What all do you have to do?”
“Oh, you know,” Shannon replied, “just some housework, laundry, stuff like that.”
“Uh, well, why don’t I help you?” Noreen proposed.
“Oh, that’s OK sweetie, I-I don’t wanna keep you. I can take care of it myself.”
“Come on, Shannon, I don’t mind. Besides, you could use the help, what with Chris being sick and all.”
“Noreen, it’s fine. I’m fine, really. You don’t have to.”
“At least let me help you get a load of laundry started,” Noreen offered, pushing her feet into the cushion of the ottoman to stand up. “It won’t take long.”

Chris barely had enough time to recover. He tried to crawl away, fearing any more of Noreen’s sudden movements, when she started to stand up. The huge feet that had been precariously teetering on the edge of the cushion flopped on top of him.
“NO!” Chris yelped as Noreen’s huge toes enveloped him.
Then, her feet left the cushion....Chris was gone.

“Noreen, you really don’t have to. I got it, honestly.”
“Shannon, I’m only trying to help.” Noreen said, stopping for a moment to push scratch an itch between her toes.
“Actually, you know what?” Shannon said nervously, “I-I think I might just take a nap first.”
“Well, why I don’t help you get a load of laundry started, and then you could nap?”
“Noreen, I’m really tired, OK?”
“Shannon,” Noreen laughed suspiciously, “why are you so eager for me to leave?”
“I-I’m not eager,” Shannon replied nervously, “I just want to get back to what I was doing.”
Noreen looked into Shannon’s face with great intensity. Whatever was going on, Shannon was intently being deceptive.
“Shannon, what’s going on?”

From the moment Noreen’s toes had closed around him, Chris felt like he was going to pop. The huge digits squeezed him on all sides, It was no use wiggling free, as he was completely immobilized by the immense pressure. The toes were literally squeezing the life out of him. Then, just quickly as they’d grabbed him, Noreen’s toes relaxed. Unfortunately, Chris was still stuck to the skin in between them.
“Help!” Chris squeaked weakly. “Help! Noreen, I’m stuck! Let me go!”
Ironically, Chris’s pleas were answered. He looked up just in time to see a huge finger headed right for him. He closed his eyes and braces for impact. The finger slammed into his head, dislodging his tiny body from its perch and pushing him out of the crevice. Chris screamed for help as he fell a short distance to the floor.
“Oof!” he cried, landing with a thud.
Chris shook off the impact and had pushed himself up on all fours when a huge shadow fell overhead. He looked up....and reeled in terror: Noreen was still talking to Shannon while nonchalantly running her finger between the two toes where he’d just been, as if scratching an itch. Then, once she’d finished scratching, her huge foot stared descending right on top of him. Chris quickly rolled out of the way, just as Noreen’s sole smacked the floor.
“EEK!” Chris squeaked, “Noreen, don’t squish me!”
The huge foot lifted up, swinging over Chris’s head with tremendous force, and heading over to join the giant Shannon’s.
Chris stood up and brushed himself off. He stared back up to the ottoman where he’d just been, then looked over to Noreen.
What the hell had just happened?! Why had Noreen called his name? Had she heard him? Every other time he’d called for help his voice had been too small, and she’d nearly squished him without even realizing it. What changed?
As he headed under the ottoman to get closer and tuned into the giant women’s conversation, Chris began to suspect that Noreen was getting wise to the whole shrinking situation, and was trying to make an excuse to stay. Maybe she realized the dream hadn’t been a dream at all. That meant she’d been trying to find him!
Chris became extremely anxious. He had to get Noreen’s attention before Shannon convinced her to leave!

“What do you mean?” Shannon asked, trying to hide her anxiety, “Nothing’s going on.”
“What I mean is: why have you been acting so strange lately?” Noreen clarified.
“Strange? I haven’t been acting strange,” Shannon replied defensively.
“Oh really? You’ve been acting nervous ever since I got here, like you’re freaked out about something.”
“I’m not ‘freaked out’ about anything, Noreen.”
“I think you are, Shannon. In fact, I think you’ve been hiding something. You’ve been acting weird for the past two days. First, you’ve developed this weird obsession with bugs; first at my place, and now here; you’re trying to rush me out the door; and then there was that weird dream that I had about Chris being tiny—at least, you told me it was a dream.”
“What about it, Noreen?” Shannon said with confusion. “It WAS just a dream.”
“Yeah? Well, oddly enough, that dream would actually explain what’s been going on around here, and why you’ve been intently searching the floor.”
“Noreen, you’re talking crazy.”
“Really? Then why haven’t I seen Chris at all today?”
“I told you, he’s upstairs asleep.”
“Then why won’t you let me check in on him? Are you afraid I might find out the truth?”
“Noreen, just calm down,” Shannon begged.
“No, Shannon. I wanna know what’s going on and I wanna know right now!” Noreen demanded, stomping her foot on the floor.

The boom from Noreen’s stomping foot echoed throughout the room, piercing Chris’s ears, while the earthquake completely knocked him off his feet.

“Noreen, DON’T!” Shannon screeched.
“Don’t what? Stomp on the floor?” Noreen inquired, lifting her foot into the air again.

“Oh no,” Chris pleaded from his prone position as he watched Noreen lift her foot into the air. “NOREEN, PLEASE! DON’T!”

“Noreen, stop!” Shannon yelped as her friend’s foot smacked the floor again.
“Why?” Noreen asked intently. “What’s the matter?”
“I-I don’t want you to wake Chris.”
“Wake him....or squish him?!”
“Squish him?!” Noreen, what are you talking about?!”
“Don’t play dumb, Shannon! Admit it, it wasn’t a dream when I found Chris stuck to the bottom of my foot yesterday! YOU SHRUNK HIM!”

Chris was so excited. He felt waves of elation surge over him. Noreen had figured it out! She’d realized the truth. He was as good as rescued!

“Noreen, listen to yourself: you’re being ridiculous!“ Shannon insisted, knowing full well it was a bold-faced lie. “Chris is NOT TINY!”
“Oh my God, Shannon! What have you done?! How could you have done this?! Where is he? Is he on the floor?! Is that why you didn’t want me stomping? Oh, crap! Did I just step on him?!”
Noreen picked up her foot and scanned her sole, looking for any sign of a squished little boy.
“Noreen, stop it!” Shannon begged. “You’re scaring me!”
“Shannon, quick! H-He could be anywhere! Check your feet! Make sure you didn’t step on him either!”
“Noreen, pull yourself together!” Shannon shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking frantically. “Geez, do you hear yourself?! Do you realize how crazy you sound?! Chris shrunk?! The size of a bug?! Think about it: it-it’s nonsense! Science fiction! It’s just not possible! Now, GET A GRIP!”
Noreen suddenly felt very strange, as if huge wave of common sense washed over.
“O-Oh my God, Shannon! I-I’m so sorry!” Noreen apologized. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“Noreen, I think even working out too much,” Shannon said calmly. “Maybe you’d better go home and take a nap yourself.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right, Shannon,” Noreen said, turning back towards the sofa. “I think I’m going crazy.”

“No, Noreen!” Chris squeaked, running out from under the ottoman. “Noreen! You’re not going crazy! She DID shrink me! Noreen, I’m down here!”
Chris was so busy waving his arms and screaming for help he wasn’t paying attention to where Noreen’s huge feet were stomping.
“Aah!” Chris eked, darting out of the way and back under the ottoman to avoid being squished.

“Shannon, I am SO sorry, Noreen said as she sat down on the couch and began putting her socks on, “I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s fine honey,” Shannon replied, “I just think you need some rest.”
“Yeah,” Noreen agreed, “maybe you’re right.”

Chris ran to the couch side of the ottoman as fast as he could, hoping to catch Noreen when she was looking down, but he wasn’t fast enough. He made last ditch effort to reach her sock-clad feet, but it was too late. Noreen was walking away.
“NO, NOREEN! PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!” Chris pleaded as Noreen‘s foot flew overhead.

“Hey, do you want me to drive you home?” Shannon asked.
“No, that’s OK,” Noreen answered, heading out of the room, “I’ll be fine. I’ll just take it easy on my way home, but once I get there, I’m taking a shower and going right to bed. I just wanna put this whole day behind me.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Shannon said. “I want this day to be over as well.”

“NOREEN!” Chris shouted, trying to make its way across the huge living room, “NOREEN, DON’T GO! LOOK FOR ME, PLEASE!”

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” Shannon asked.
“Yeah, Shannon, I’ll be fine,” Noreen said, slipping her shoes back on and readjusting the laces before opening the front door.

“NOREEN, GO UPSTAIRS!” Chris squeaked as the women disappeared around the corner. “PLEASE, GO CHECK ON ME!”

“I’m so sorry for accusing you, Shannon. I hope I didn’t wake Chris up.”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” Shannon said. “I tell you what: when he’s feeling better, I’ll call you and you can come over and check in on us, OK?”
“That sounds great, Shannon. Thanks.”

“NOREEN, PLEASE COME BACK! PLEASE!” Chris squeaked as he finally reached the hallway. He was just in time to see the two giantesses bid each other goodbye as Shannon closed the front door and locked the deadbolt.
Then, after Shannon watched through the peephole as Noreen headed down the walk and turned out of sight, Chris watched the giant woman turned around and stood with her hands on her hips, calling out like an evil witch:
“All right, Chris. Where are you?”
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