Current
setting –
Everyone thought COVID was bad, they had no idea. The second pandemic to hit
the Earth, MISDV-001 (Male Impacting Size Diminishing Virus 001) was something
completely different. No scientists had yet uncovered what caused the incredible
side effects to occur, or why they only occurred in men, but what started as
simple cold / flu symptoms, soon followed on with the victim shrinking. There
was no rhyme or reason that could be determined, but once someone started
shrinking they would continue to do so until they stopped somewhere between 1
and 6 inches in height.
The only
(relatively) positive side was that these victims developed extraordinary
physical resilience to the point where many previously fatal falls, drops, and
impacts would be unlikely to kill the person outright. This did not mean they
were immune to damage, but it took relatively more force to cause injury.
Initially
these men were protected and still viewed as people. With the prospect of
having to live in a world where all men would keep shrinking, a plan had to be
implemented to make the world a safer place to prevent extinction of the human
race. To this end , workplaces, homes, transport were all aimed to be able to
accommodate normal people and those who contracted the shrinking virus.
However this
progress came grinding to a halt when a bio-pharmaceutical company in the USA made
three incredible breakthroughs:
1) A vaccine with a 95% efficacy rating;
2) A cure for those victims who had
diminished in size.
3) A way to culture and effectively
‘bottle’ the virus so that it could be orally administered to another person
The
downsides to these discoveries were that the vaccine was expensive, the cure
was exorbitant to the point not many could afford it, and the bottled virus meant
anyone could shrunk either willingly or against their will.
The development
of the bottled virus and the associated cure led to all sorts of shenanigans
across the globe, as anyone with enough money could really do whatever they
wanted. This ranged from roleplaying, to humiliating an enemy, to allowing almost
unsolvable murder cases.
The sudden
prospect at not all men shrinking, and only a small minority being victimised,
made these mass retrofits and changes to everyday life seem unnecessary. Slowly
over the next few years, these ‘shrinkies’ slowly lost attention and care from
the wider community, and eventually became viewed as sub-human by many people.
An
international law was introduced that ‘in theory’ gave these sub-humans the
same rights as normal people, but it was all just lip service. By this point,
too many people had given up on being careful with the shrinkies, and no law
enforcement agencies bothered to get involved. Walking around an office without
watching where every footfall was placed led to thousands of deaths per year.
Many shrinkies were thrown out of their homes by girlfriends and wives that
just wanted someone normal size in their life.
Eventually,
many people viewed shrinkies as pests and treated them as such – either
avoiding them through disgust, or going out of their way to end their
existence.
Chapter 1
Present
day
It was a
sunny March evening in Sydney, Australia. Sunny, but not too hot. That nice
gentle heat from the sun but with a cool breeze that makes a long walk through
the city streets feel like a pleasant stroll.
You were
walking to the Ferry terminal to head home following a long day (actually a
long week) at work in the city, at a job that underpaid and underappreciated
you. You couldn’t wait to get home, crack open a beer and watch some T.V.
having started work at 7am, getting out at 7pm was not an uncommon occurrence,
but it was starting to get on your nerves.
As you
approached the terminal you saw your ferry just pulling in. Not wanting to wait
another 20 minutes for the next one, you broke into a jog whilst pulling out
your tap-on/off card from your pocket. Tapping the card on the reader as you
head onto the wharf, you have to side-step the crowd of people that have
disembarked the ferry, all walking up the narrow jetty. Fortunately the worker
handing the load-on ramp notice your plight and hold wave at you, indicating
that they will wait.
Once on the
ferry you finally catch your breath and turn to the crew member “phew, thanks mate,
really did not want to wait for the next one”
“No
problem” he replies.
You turn
and walk to the rear of the ferry, hoping to get some more of that sweet cool
breeze and get a good look at the city you call home. Surprisingly, the rear of
the ferry is pretty empty, with only a group of three young women, in the left
corner closest to doorway leading to the inside seating compartment of the boat.
They were all giggling and had clearly had a couple of drinks in the city
before heading home. You decide to have some space and sit on the back row
right in the middle, spreading out and deeply breathing in the sea air.
Thinking it would be nice to put on some music, you reach for your over-ear
headphones that are in your bag. They were a gift from your girlfriend and you
loved them. The sound was crisp and the quality was perfect. They even had an
ambient sound setting, so you could keep your headphones on, pause your music
and still have a conversation with someone without having to take them off. As
you put them on you notice one of the women at the front glance sideways at
you, and note that they have all gone silent and trying to stifle a giggle.
You don’t
think anything of it, you’re a guy in good shape and work out at least 3 times
a week, they are probably just eyeing you up after all. Regardless you find
yourself curious, so you put your headphones onto the ambient sound mode, put
your sunglasses on, and lean back into your seat giving the appearance of
someone not paying any attention to their surroundings. The group of women
giggle and turn back to the front of the boat. You crack your eye open and tilt
your head down. Now you can study them subtly without them knowing. You realise
that they are actually a very attractive group. Due to the slats in the seats,
you can move your head slowly around and get a good look at them.
The one on
closest to you on the left is a petit blonde with long, flowing hair, wearing a
denim jacket over her tight white shirt and black pencil skirt, finished off
with beige open-toe heels with light blue polish on her nails. Her sharp face
and small but perky breasts instantly grab your attention as you think she is
pretty cute. In the middle is a slightly larger bosomed brunette who also looks
more muscular, wearing a tight fitting sweater covering her huge boobs, blue
jeans, and a pair of white Nike trainers. Furthest from you is a what you can
only describe as a well toned yoga babe. She has long dark hair tied in a
pony-tail on top of an intense yet friendly looking face with deep brown eyes,
a tight black crop top visible under a mesh style shirt, exposing her toned
abs, and tight shiny faux leather leggings and black flats on her feet. Her complexion
is a little darker than the other two, suggesting some Mediterranean origins.
The women
have all stopped glancing at you and gone back to what they were doing. It
looked like they were looking at something on the floor, but you weren’t sure
what…
From
the women’s perspective a few minutes earlier
“Oh my god
Clare, I think you really hurt him!” said Hannah, the petit blonde on the left
Clare the
dark haired one on the right giggled “oh come on I barely touched him, look
he’s fine!”
“No Clare,
I think Hannah is right, he actually looks to be in pain, look…” said the
brunette sitting in the centre as she prodded the three inch tall naked man
with the front of her white shoe.
“Please
stop!” yelled Greg, wincing from being hit by a car sized shoe “there’s no need
for this. It was an accident I swear! I was just heading towards the place I
live inside the cabin”
“Hmmmm”
pondered Clare “curious that you decide to take the route that goes right under
our seats rather than going another way. You wanted to get a look up Hannah’s
skirt did you, you little perv?”
Hannah
giggled “aww, that would be a compliment if it wasn’t so creepy”
Greg didn’t
know what to say, and could muse on how he had ended up in such a precarious
position.
He had
simply been walking from the rear of the boat where condensation formed on the
metal bars, it was the only source of (relatively) clean water he had access
to, before heading back to his hiding hole inside the boat cabin. Midway
through his return journey, the three ladies came and sat right infront of
where he was cowering by the leg of a bench. ‘they aren’t paying attention, ill
have to run for it before more people arrive’ thought Greg. With that he ran
towards the front of the boat, sticking as close to the side wall as he could,
when a black purse slammed down infront of him. Unable to stop himself he tried
to run around the bag, but tripped on the strap, and tumbled to the ground
right infront of the group. Before he could get his bearings, he heard a
thunderous noise from above, prompting him to roll onto his back and look up to
the three giantesses above him
“Oh my god,
Ellen look!” shrieked Hannah, pointing downwards at Greg
“Huh?”
questioned Ellen in the middle, looking down “oh! What are you doing little guy?
You lost or something?”
“Lost my
arse, lying on his back staring up at us, dirty little bug probably just trying
to get a good eye full” Clare growled as she pushed the tip of her black flat
into the leg closest to her, feeling resistance as she pressed harder until the
little man squeaked, before removing her foot and placing it back down on the
floor.
“Fuck,
could this week be any worse” grumbled Greg as he grabbed his almost crushed
leg in pain.
“Guys,
someone is coming!” exclaimed Clare “quick hide him, just encase this guy is a
shrinky protector, or whatever those softies call themselves”
Ellen
quickly lifted her trainer and placed it over Greg, who barely had time to
exclaim before the sole came down, trapping him against the cold, hard floor. Ellen
enjoyed feeling him under there and slowly rolled her foot side to side,
forward and backwards, feeling his body creak and groan under her.
As Greg
felt the weight shifting across his body, his last few months flashed through
his eyes as he waited to be for inevitable
death.
Last
night
Having been
thrown out of home by his wife a few months back after he contracted the
shrinking disease, Greg had teamed up with some other shrinkies he found on the
street. Eventually they decided to play it safe and find somewhere that was
warm, secure, and would have frequent food drops nearby. Someone suggested a
ferry and they all saw the sense in it. They were in use in the day, locked up
at night, and there would be people constantly using them, dropping
life-sustaining food. Of the 6 that left, only 5 made it to the ferry. The
first loss was a complete accident – having to get onto the ferry in
night-time, they were sneaking from bench to bench at the wharf when a seagull
snatched one of them. After that they travelled in a tight formation and made
it to a ferry moored at the wharf. They clambered over the mooring line, onto
the boat, and under the door into the cabin. From here they found a section of
wall that was hollow and worked to make a hidden entrance.
They lived
here for months. There was an extremely limited window to get out and find food
once the day was over and the cleaners removed anything they would be able to
eat, so they resorted to daytime excursions, using the fixed benches and seats
to carefully scavenge what they could. One by one they got crushed they were
killed, mostly by accident. A sudden move or step of someone in an unexpected
direction unknowingly ending a life, with the exception of one day when Greg
and Lenny were scavenging. Rushing around underneath seats on a crowded day,
Lenny stopped between two black high heels and looked up a blue skirt, ogling
at all he could see. The woman to whom the panties belonged happened to look
down and see Lenny, and with a scowl quickly slipped her foot out of her right
heel and slammed Lenny into the ground with the ball of her foot, causing Greg
to slide to a stop just beneath her chair. Greg could only see the flailing legs
of his compatriot and the arch of her foot rising high above his head. After
pondering if there was anything he could do to help, the foot started to grind
slowly but firmly left and right, eliciting muffled cries from the man trapped
there. After a minute, the foot began lifting with Lenny’s chest trapped
between the big and second toe, with his head now free Lenny started screaming
in horror. Giggling, the giantess squeezed her toes tightly until the shrinky
went red in the face and coughed up a bit of blood before lowering her foot
back into the heel. Once slipping it on, she stood up and walked to the exit
ramp of the ferry, satisfied with her commute on public transport.
By this
point only two remained, Greg, and Frank who was only two inches in height.
Until last night anyway.
Greg was
lying in their hideaway when frank said he needed to go to the toilet, and
lifted the small ‘door’ that they used to get in and out of their hollow wall
home. After a few seconds Greg heard a shrill scream “Help, Greg! I’m stuck!”.
Greg jumped up and was about to rush out the hatch when he heard footsteps ‘no,
no, no’ he thought, and peaked out
slowly. By this point his last friend had stopped screaming, and simply watched
in horror as the cleaner came around the corner ‘but they never clean this late’
he thought to himself ‘and why isn’t he running!’. With shock Greg realised
that Frank was stuck on a strip of sticky paper, the same kind used to catch flies
“the poor guy didn’t even notice it” muttered Greg. As Frank looked at him with
pleading eyes, Greg realised he couldn’t risk being seen, so he slowly
retreated as the young Asian looking cleaner approached, closing the hatch
behind him hearing Frank curing him for not helping. Weirdly rather than
sadness, he thought ‘damn’ he thought ‘she was cute!’
Frank’s
anguished yelling turned into sobbing cries as he heard the cleaner exclaim “I
knew it! Didn’t you think it was convenient that I missed a whole biscuit on
the floor last night, right? I came back in the morning to check and guess
what… it was gone. This is amazing!” she exclaimed “well, it is for me anyway.
There’s a new bonus scheme for every shrinky we find, so youuuuu” she pointed
at the immobilised and naked Frank “get me a sweet hundred bucks!”
“Please,
I’m sorry, I’ll leave the boat and go elsewhere, you don’t have to hand me over
to anyone”
“Hand you
over? No, its just based on evidence of finding a shrinky and disposing of
them” and with that Greg heard that electronic ‘click’ sound smartphones make
when you take a picture.
“Now comes
the disposal!” she sang, slipping her white adidas socked foot out of her left
boot “I hope you don’t mind, you just feel sooo much better this way”
“Wait,
wait, please I’ll… hmphh” Frank was grabbed by the giantess and squeezed hard
until he couldn’t breathe. With her other hand she held the paper down and
yanked him off of it, pulling the skin from the bottom of his feet “mmpphhhh!”
he yelped
“Oh please,
that’s nothing compared to what you’re about to feel” she winked at Frank
before bending forward and dropping him from about a foot off the ground (which
to him felt like a two storey drop)
“Thanks for
the bonus, bug” giggled the girl as she stood upright, lifting her sock clad
foot over Frank.
Lowering
her foot until he was buried under her sock, with his head between her big and
second toes, and his chest below the ball of her left foot, she taunted “come
on little bug, at least try to get away or something, its no fun if you don’t
struggle” as she increased the pressure, then releasing before increasing again.
Frank tried to scramble out from under the crushing weight, but ultimately was
trapped. After a few ‘pumps’ of her foot, she decided to spice things up a bit.
“Ok bug, I do feel a bit bad about the paper and all, so I’ll give you to the
count of 100 to run, starting…. now!” as she lifted her foot.
Frank was
in panic mode and had no room for rational thought after being steamrolled by
this girl’s foot, so he took off in a straight line from her towards the exit
door.
“One… two…
skip a few, ninety-nine, one hundred!” exclaimed the girl.
‘No, that’s
not fair’ thought Frank having only made it about half a meter from the girl.
Turning around, he got his first good look at her. Average height, with sharp
facial features, deep dark eyes and black hair tied in a bun, “fuck you” said
Frank
Genuinely
taken aback she scoffed “excuse me?”
“You heard
me, that was cheating! I could have made it away and you know it”
“Errrr, no.
I caught you already so you already lost dude, just take it like a man, alright?”
“How can
you live with yourself?”
“Easy, like
this” she said as she swung he foot forward catching Frank in the chest and
sending him flying across the cabin.
Lying in
agony, Frank could only whimper as the girl skipped towards him, sending huge tremors
through the ground. As she reached him she taunted “aww what happened to your
big mouth?”
All Frank
could do was look up and the cheerful face above him as she thought out loud
“well, I was going to end you quickly, but that display of rudeness deserves
punishment”. With that she used her socked foot to roll Frank onto his back
with his arms and legs spread “are your limbs broken? Let me check”. She first
placed her big toe on his left forearm and pushed down hard, smashing the limb
into gore and broken bone “yep that one’s definitely gone” she giggled as Frank
screamed unintelligibly.
“Ok next!”
she smiled as she repeated the process on his left leg, then right leg, and
finally his right arm. By this point Frank was in shock and just lay there staring
blankly up at her.
“Wow I
don’t think one of you has ever stayed awake through that, well done! But let’s
see you survive this…” and with that she raised her heel above Frank and
smashed it down as hard as she could, destroying everything that was left
intact and squirting blood in a small area around her foot.
Smiling,
the girl went back to where she had dropped her boot and slipped her foot back inside,
picking up the paper and her cleaning kit. Giving the blood stains a quick wipe
she sighed contently and left, happy she had made a bonus that night.
Greg just
sat in silence, knowing he was the last, and how long could he survive alone?