Chapter 1

“Having been found guilty on two counts of first degree murder, you are hereby sentenced to be reduced in size. You are to be taken to the Department of Corrections – Special Division where you will be reduced to eight inches in height,” the judge spoke, with sternness and anger in his voice and demeanor.

 Gasps, murmuring and low cheers could be heard in the gallery.

 The judge rapped his gavel to quell the minor outbursts before continuing, “Furthermore, in accordance with the laws governing this particular form of punishment, you are to be released into the custody of Mrs. Moira Cantrell as her sole property… May she show mercy towards you.” 

In amidst of stunned and vocal onlookers, the judge brought down his gavel, stood up and adjourned court for the night.

Shannon McCluran’s heart sank. She was being released to Moira Cantrell, the woman whose husband and young daughter she’d killed during her failed grocery store robbery. This form of punishment meant almost certain death.

 Since the ACLU lost the Supreme Court case on this type of sentence, there were no laws to protect her once she was shrunken. Once reduced, Mrs. Cantrell was allowed to do anything she wished to her, including a painful and agonizing demise. Once shrunken, she would cease being a person and become merely a possession.

She was in big trouble.

Moira Cantrell released a sigh of relief. She had feared Shannon would only serve a minimal prison term for the murders of her husband, John and her eight year-old daughter, Jenna. John had spotted a 9MM Beretta pistol under her coat before the robbery had begun.

 He called out to inform security and she panicked.

 She had shot at John first, but missed and hit Jenna, killing her instantly, they said. She kept shooting and finally hit John, killing him as well. She dropped the gun and ran out of the store, only to get caught two blocks away. Now, Moira’s nightmare was over. Moira had finally won after a year of fighting in court. She had hoped for life imprisonment, but this was even better.

 Yes, owning her as a shrunken woman was a pleasant alternative.

 Two guards, one male and one female, led Shannon down a small corridor leading towards the Shrinking Chambers. The male guard opened the door and Shannon was walked in. She looked around and saw there was nothing but a booth an examining table and a window where Moira was sitting and waiting patiently on the other side.

 The two guards began undressing her. A normal part of this punishment was the humiliation, being striped of her humanity as it were.

 The eyes of the two women met.

While Shannon’s eyes revealed her fear, Moira’s revealed just sadness. A tear escaped Moira’s eye. She wasn’t sure if it was from relief or a feeling of sympathy for the young woman before her.

 Shannon saw this and began to sob. Dropping to her knees, she clasped her hands together and began to beg not to be shrunken. “Mrs. Cantrell, please…Oh god please… Don’t shrink me! I…I’m Sorry! I’m so SORRY! Please don’t do this! Don’t let them make me small, PLEASE! I’ll-I’ll go to prison for life if that’s what you want! Just don’t--”

A voice came over the intercom.

 “Mrs. Cantrell, the subject has become hysterical. Do you wish us to sedate her or allow her to fully comprehend the Shrinking Process?”

 Trembling terribly, Shannon looked around hysterically as the voice spoke, and then she looked back to Moira sadly, and silently began pleading her case again.

 Moira thought to herself as she watched the pathetic woman in the other room. ‘I’ll show you a little mercy.’ “You can sedate her,” she answered.

“No… NO!!! No please…don’t!” Shannon pleaded as the guards grabbed her arms to hold her still. “Don’t do this to me! Please! I’m begging you! NO!!

 The female guard whispered into Shannon’s ear softly, “Easy now… It’s going to be all right…” she promised as she administered the injection to the struggling woman. “You won’t feel a thing.”

“Please…don’t,” Shannon whimpered. “I…I don’t want to be…s-sm--”

 Almost instantly, Shannon’s body relaxed and then went limp as she drifted into deep slumber. The two guards hefted the unconscious prisoner by her arms and legs, and laid her on the table and left the room.

The female guard entered the room where Moira was waiting. “Thank you for allowing us to sedate her, Mrs. Cantrell.”

 “She deserves at least that much,” Moira replied, trying to smile. “Even though she’s responsible for the deaths of my family, I still feel pity for her. In a few moments, she’ll be totally helpless… Regardless of what she’s done, I cannot let this bring me down to her level. I must control my power over her with compassion and mercy.”

 The guard turned her attention back to the sleeping figure lying on the table and joked, “Well, I don’t think you’ll be able to STOOP to her level anytime soon…not once they finish with her. To be honest, I don’t know if I could be this kind to someone who murdered my entire family. It doesn’t sound like much of a punishment if you ask me.”

 Moira swallowed hard.

The two women fell silent as a technician walked into Shannon’s room and over to the booth in the corner where the console of the extraction apparatus resided, and started to set the controls.

 Both women commented on the sexiness of Shannon’s body and the fullness of her breasts as the man adjusted her on the table. The technician then turned to them and asked, “Are you ready, Ma’am?”

 “Yes,” Moira answered. “Uh… How will I get her home?”

 “In a steel cage we provide,” he answered. “You can have us put her in it or you can do it yourself if you wish.”

 “I think I can handle it,” Moira said. “I’ll have to get used to handling her anyway.”

The technician nodded and went back to work, positioning the particle collector above Shannon’s sleeping form and then back to the screened control booth to make his final adjustments. Once done, he activated the machine.

 A bright blue beam suddenly struck out and hit Shannon in her mid-section, spreading over her quickly and leaving her in a blue haze. At first, the shrinking was barely noticeable, but soon the effect started to accelerate.

 The once six feet and one half inch tall woman was now five foot nine and steadily getting smaller.

 As she shrunk, Moira learned that the particle extraction process was totally painless and Shannon wasn't feeling anything, not even the beam striking her. Shannon was now at two foot seven, much less than half her original size. Moira smiled as Shannon reached the foot and a half mark, then finally dwindling into an eight-inch tall woman.

 Shannon was perfectly proportioned, but now just a much smaller version of her former self.

 The technician shut down the machine and the guard escorted Moira into the chamber. A young man waited for them with a medium-sized cage in his hands.

 “Ma’am,” he said, “if you want, you can use this as her holding cell too, not just to transport her. It’s stronger than any cage you’ll find in the pet stores.”

 Moira nodded and opened the cage door. She reached out for Shannon and her hand gently wrapped around the tiny woman to pick her up. Moira was amazed how warm Shannon felt in her hand, despite her small size, marveling at the tiny, delicate features.

 Moira placed Shannon’s limp form inside the cage carefully and latched the door. She thanked everyone and left the courthouse. Once in her car, Moira placed the cage on the passenger seat and proceeded to drive home, occasionally glancing at the tiny prisoner sleeping inside.

 ‘This,’ she thought, ‘will be very interesting….’