Ben struggled to come around from what felt like his deepest sleep ever, his sluggish consciousness was taking its dear sweet time regaining a grip on his senses. The first thing he could be sure of was that he felt rather cold. Whatever he was lying on was certainly not his soft bed either. He opened his eyes only to be greeted by a blur of light and movement. His hearing slowly caught up, and both the blurs and distorted sounds were gradually forming into something resembling useful information.

  He found himself looking at a multitude of men and women, none of whom possessed a shred of clothing. Some were standing up and looking around, some sat staring at nothing in particular and others, much like him just moments before, were sleeping. Those awake seemed confused and there were questions bouncing around regarding how they all ended up in this non-distinct room and state of undress. Despite the strangeness of the situation, no one seemed too concerned about waking up somewhere other than their beds, or being naked amongst apparent nudists. Ben chalked this up to the dreaminess of the situation. Everyone was likely too dazed to think straight. He certainly felt 'out of it', as the saying goes.

  He hauled himself to his feet and stretched out to pop the odd joint back into place. Sleeping on hard surfaces being a rare event for Ben, his body was making it clear it didn't want a repeat anytime soon. He took in the scene before him. The room was large... at least as long as a tennis court, but a little narrower. The surfaces all appeared a plain, off-white colour. The light immersing everyone wasn't coming from any specific fittings, rather instead emanating from all around. The walls, floor and ceiling all seemed plastic-like in appearance. Light from outside, he guessed, was diffusing into the space within, but the walls were sufficiently opaque as to prevent the discerning of any details of beyond.

  While inspecting what he was considering to be the newest concoction of his over active imagination, he noticed a familiar face within the crowd of strangers... his girlfriend, Jenna. She caught sight of him at that moment too, recognition lighting up her eyes. They made their way to each other, nearing the centre of the room when they met. They immediately hugged each other, both feeling a great deal of relief at having found the other in this weird setting. They held each other for several moments and shared a chaste kiss. Love and familiarity helped to dull the worry that had just begun to creep into their thoughts.

  A sudden jolt took the bewildered people off guard. Ben, Jenna and everybody else standing were brought to their knees or arses by the movement. All were now awake as a sensation of movement, not unlike that of an elevator ride, caught everyone's attention. The direction of movement was difficult to judge, the acceleration feeling strangely indistinct. Light levels through the room's walls and floor began subtly shifting; suggesting objects outside the walls were passing by at a fair pace.

  Before anyone could ask some obvious questions, another jolt signalled the end of the ride. The two shortest walls were now much darker, the diffused light dulled to an almost imperceptible level. The few people near those ends of the room scooted away from the unnerving shadows. Murmurs passing through the group were curtailed before anything meaningful could be said by a sudden flash of movement from left to right across the dark walls. At the same moment, half a dozen small metal cones pierced the ceiling. They protruded a dozen inches or so into the room and were covered in scores of tiny holes.

  All in the room were silent, until the cones began spraying a fine mist of clear fluid over everyone. This turn of events seemed to finally elicit some semblance of normal reaction in everyone as there were gasps of shock and screams of fear heard throughout the group. Ben and Jenna just held each other as tiny droplets coated them and everyone around them in a glistening, slippery film of oil-like liquid.

  Jenna ran a hand over her thigh and then raised it so she and Ben could inspect a larger deposit of the substance on her open palm. It was crystal clear, didn't smell of anything distinct and the little bit of the mist that was finding its way into their mouths tasted uninteresting. It didn't seem dangerous... just very slippery.

  The dark walls began sliding downwards, generating fresh expletives from many of the now floundering occupants of the room. The flashes of movement had apparently been some kind of gigantic slicing blade, severing the furthest walls from the rest of the structure. At one end of the room, the disappearing wall revealed machinery covering the entire opening. Unimpeded light was visible through gaps between what appeared to be stationary fan blades.

  The other end of the room had a different, deeper and far more complicated apparatus revealed. It had various unidentifiable moving parts in front of three funnel structures, which in turn had clear plastic tubes leading away into infinite distance beyond. Each tube was more than large enough to accommodate a whole person.

  The fans roared to life, reaching frightening velocity in seconds. The strength of the gale being generated began forcing their slippery bodies towards the funnelled structure, with a frightening inevitability since there was absolutely nothing to gain purchase on. Ben and Jenna locked their arms and legs around each other as best as they could to avoid being pulled apart. They were chest to chest for now, but the effort to remain so was going to sap stamina very quickly.

  Ben managed to angle his head to allow him to see where they were heading. The people nearest to the funnel assembly screamed as a combination of rubber-like cushions, and stiff rubber armatures manipulated their bodies into position to force them into the funnels head-first, with arms at their sides. The force from the airflow seemed to be amplified by the narrowing funnels until, in rapid succession, the oil slickened people went hurtling away through the plastic tubes. Ben quickly lost sight of the people as they disappeared into the unknown beyond.

  Ben could make out flashes of laser light over the people just before they passed into the manipulation zone. In a moment of clear thinking and earnest observation he noticed that the people, who were already orientated as the machinery seemingly desired, were passing through the apparatus untouched by the manipulation equipment. Realisation dawned that the lasers were sensing people's orientation, and commanding their reposition as needed.

  Ben immediately feared his forced separation from Jenna, should those lasers pick up their entwined forms. He mustered what energy he could spare to roll their bodies such that they were head-first towards a funnel, with himself atop Jenna.

  Though the sound of the machinery, wind and screams were making communication difficult, he managed to instruct Jenna to keep her arms around his lower body, and to try to match her leg's positions to his own. Even though this would reduce the strength of their holds on one another, he knew that no amount of raw strength would be enough against the manipulation equipment anyway. The only hope of staying together was to fool the sensors into believing there was only one person passing though.

  Dozens of people were disappearing down the tubes before them as they all too quickly found themselves sliding into the manipulation zone. Ben held his breath in worried anticipation as the laser light washed over them. In mere moments, they passed through the zone untouched and found themselves flying down a tube together.

  Ben and Jenna held each other as tightly as they could despite the slippery fluid still coating their bodies. It was obvious now that the fluid was a lubricant meant to allow their smooth passage out of the original enclosure and through this tubing. They travelled at an unknown speed with little but the sound of rushing air and the occasional squeak from where parts of their bodies briefly touched the tube around them.

  Visible through the tubing was a vast facility filled with machinery and a handful of people going about their work. Something didn't make sense to Ben and Jenna (aside from the overall experience thus far)... the scale of everything and everyone seemed wrong. It all seemed just too big, but they found it difficult to gauge anything with certainty as they continued their flight through this unknown.

  Jenna was the first to have her confusion resolved as they passed through a stretch of the tube which happened to run beside a workstation of some sort. She was shocked to see a Man's face blur by at a scale that was unmistakeable. His head seemed to be the size of a billboard, if not bigger. It was hard to tell exactly from the brief proximity and their constantly changing perspective, but the man was definitely huge! That couldn't be, though. The facility would have to be immense enough to be seen from space!

  Realisation dawned for Jenna. It was themselves who were off scale, not the surrounding environment. She shared this revelation with Ben, her voice an almost imperceptible whisper in the rushing air. Ben brought his head up from where it had been positioned beside his girlfriend's. He locked eyes with her to attempt to confirm that he hadn't imagined what she'd said. There was certainty in her gaze. They themselves were tiny, and passing through industrial machinery inside of a factory complex.

  They felt a change in the airflow and tilted their heads to view the tube ahead of them. They were coming up to the side of a machine, promptly finding themselves plunged into pitch black as the tube entered an opening in the side of the monolithic structure. In a moment, they felt themselves simultaneously emerge from the tube and come to rest on a smooth surface. They had no time to fully register the pleasantness of the calm air around them, nor the relative warmth of the surface they were laying upon, as it suddenly tilted forward.

  They slid, still unable to see anything within the dark machine, and could only curse this whole situation as they felt a new change in their surroundings. Coming to rest again, Ben dared to release a hand from his grip on Jenna to allow him to feel the surface they were on. Whatever they had just slid across had definitely been metal, but this new surface felt smoother and didn't seem to be as hard. A distinct scent of warm polymer had washed over them as they had come to rest.

  The couple were jerked sideways as they began moving again. They emerged from the total darkness into another area of the machinery. The new section was bathed in a dull light from a grubby viewing panel that seemingly occupied an entire wall beside them. This light enabled both Ben and Jenna to see that they had slid into a large polythene bag. The part of the film they were laying upon seemed firmly stuck to the conveyor belt below them, not budging at all with their movements. Close inspection revealed it was being held firm by suction from hundreds of tiny holes in the belt... each creating slight dimples in the film where the pressure difference made the plastic want to reach into the vacuum below.

  A thin tube of metal protruded from an apparatus into the bag, and loomed just above the couple's reclined bodies. The apparatus was following their movement along the conveyor belt. The tube had an opening at its tip which was jetting a continuous stream of air into the bag, the purpose of which was clearly to keep the bag inflated as the shrunken couple had passed into it.

  Both Jenna and Ben looked towards the open end of the bag, the metal tube and flow of air keeping it wide open with the sides fluttering slightly in the breeze. They were about two body-lengths from the opening. The tiny couple felt they had an opportunity in that moment to escape the current situation. They released each another and attempted to scramble out of the opening, only to discover they could not gain any purchase on the plastic due to still being covered in the slippery oil.

  With mutual grunts of frustration they continued their efforts, unwilling to be so easily rendered immobile, floundering around until their opportunity was unceremoniously denied to them. The rod above them suddenly retracted into the apparatus at the open end of the bag. The polythene around them, no longer supported by the protrusion and airflow, gently descend on top of them. It quickly took to the contours of their bodies as it draped over them. The oil on their skin seemed to encourage the smooth and flexible film to fall about them, leaving almost no gaps at all as it settled over them.

  They looked ahead through the transparent plastic to see another part of the apparatus proceed to take hold of the once wide open end of the bag. The bag was pulled taut over their bodies as the vacuum holding the plastic to the conveyor, and the apparatus at its end, engaged in a brief tug-of-war. Another component of the apparatus then rushed forward to a point only an arm's length from their heads, and clamped down over the plastic. It held for a few seconds, then retreated back revealing that the bag had been sealed where it had been compressed. The apparatus then removed some of the excess plastic above the seal line before disengaging and retracting back.

  The couple were silent and still for several moments as they took stock. The bag, loosely draped over their combined forms, gave no resistance to them rolling over onto their backs. Both raised their arms slightly to keep the plastic from falling onto their faces. There was enough air trapped with them that they were at least able to create a space over their heads for comfort and breathing... but creating this little void brought the material tighter around their legs and lower torsos. In a split second both realised that they were now sealed in an apparently airtight enclosure. Panic overtook them.

  The tiny couple flailed their limbs as they tried to get a grip on their translucent prison's flexible walls. They both instinctively screamed for help as they tried with all their might to breach the material. Were they normal sized, tearing the thin plastic would have been effortless, but in their reduced state the plastic seemed as impregnable as a curtain of chainmail. Even if the oil slickening their hands was to suddenly vanish, it was unlikely they would be able to tear the material.

  Time seemed to slow as they struggled with unbridled viciousness against their containment. Hours could have passed, but the couple wouldn't have known. Ancient survival instincts proving more than capable of overriding higher thought. When their muscles finally refused any more abuse, they collapsed back and just managed to pull each other into a close embrace. With bodies quaking from extreme exertion, Jenna and Ben faced the terrifying reality of impending suffocation. Bright light flooded over them as they emerged from the dulled environment of the machine. Neither really noticed as they awaited the dizziness and lethargy of carbon dioxide poisoning.

  Eventually, as mental chaos gave way to beleaguered calm, the shrunken couple's senses began to register the sounds and vibrations around them. They were uncertain of how long it took for suffocation to occur, but both were convinced that they would have noticed some change by now... the taste of the air going foul at least. They were dumbfounded to discover that they were still breathing normally. Many minutes must have passed by now... yet they weren't gasping for air?!

  The plastic was all around them and seemed to have no holes to allow exchange of air. It didn't add up. Ben tilted his head enough to allow his face to come into contact with the plastic. As the flexible material made contact with his lips and nose he attempted to breathe deeply. The film clamped around his face and halted the intake, as he expected it to. He held his nerve and waited. His focus morphed into bewilderment as time passed. There was no sense of shortness of breath, no building sensation of burning in the lungs that usually accompanied holding one's breath. He felt perfectly aware, too... no dizziness or increasing stupor evident at all.

  After nearly a minute, Ben felt perfectly fine. He blew out what little air was in his lungs, lifting the plastic from his face in the process. Jenna had also taken notice of how they both seemed to be completely fine. She had been watching Ben's actions closely, and had come to the same conclusion. Neither of them seemed to actually need to breathe. The diminutive couple relaxed from their embrace, rolling onto their backs once again.

  The polythene bag surrounding them would have been quite substantial for a single occupant. With the partners' side-by-side, they found they filled the width with only relative inches to spare. With the smooth film draping gently over their bodies, they looked beyond their confines. To their left and right the conveyor extended into the vastness of the facility, though nearer to themselves they could see other shrinkees also lying on the conveyor, in their own bags. Some were still in a panic while others seemed sedate. Machinery and the occasional giant came and went from their field of view. During this lull between activities, Jenna expressed her gratitude for the quick thinking which had kept them together. Simple words of thanks from the exhausted woman were followed by a modest dismissal of the actions from the equally tired man. They both had little doubt left as to whether they were dreaming... everything felt too real, too vivid... the only lingering doubt originating from the fact that they seemed to no longer require air, an impossibility as far as they knew.

  The bag was jostled suddenly at the head end. A new apparatus had come down upon the little bit of spare plastic beyond the seal-line. In a moment the machine lifted up and pulled the bag with it. Ben and Jenna slipped to the bottom of the bag and found themselves dangling high above the ground and rising quickly into more machinery above. They continued their journey towards another section of the factory, carried by the rig above them which now ran along a simple rail. Jenna and Ben were once again in awe of what they could see from their vantage point. Everything was so far beyond normal descriptive terms like 'vast', 'huge' or 'gigantic'... they could only try and fathom that which passed close by. While probably mere meters away to the normal-sized, some things seemed to be acres distant to the miniature people.

  The rail carried them through an aperture in a wall, which opened out into yet another factory space. The machinery in this new area seemed to have a differing purpose to the packaging equipment they had just left behind. There was much more movement here. Gigantic rolls of paper were spinning at great velocity and reducing in diameter as they were fed off into the machinery... the sound from all around proving almost deafening to the tiny twosome. Endless plains of the material passed through rollers and associated equipment as Ben and Jenna could do nothing but watch and wait. The strength of the polythene encompassing them provided reassurance now as they tried to ignore the dizzying heights at which they were suspended.

  The couple quickly passed through this new area and into another. The rail carrying them dropped down to a lower level and began to run along-side three parallel conveyor belts. Jenna and Ben's attention was immediately drawn to the items on the conveyors... freshly printed glossy magazines. Each conveyor carried a different publication, though all three seemed to be of a typical women's interest nature. One seemed to be dedicated to fashion and style, another gossip and the third, currently on the conveyor nearest to the couple, appeared to be a generic lifestyle magazine. It had an image of a young woman wearing an attractive dress dominating the cover. Text to the sides of the cover listed the usual 'Look your best for...', '10 best ways to...' and 'Spice things up by...', and so on. It was far thicker than the other two publications. Neither Jenna nor Ben recognised the names of the magazines, though. A slight jolt from the rail momentarily distracted them from their observations, resulting in the now unnerved partners failing to properly register a line that read 'Guide to getting the most enjoyment from Wrigglers, inside this issue'.

  The conveyor's positions relative to each other changed. Ben and Jenna watched as they merged into a single contraption which proceeded to deposit the fashion magazine on top of the gossip magazine, then finally dropping the more substantial magazine atop the previous two. Ben and Jenna continued their observation in fascination as the stacked publications were then manipulated until being slipped into cellophane display packaging, which was just big enough for the three combined. Emblazoned across the top of the exceptionally shiny plastic were the words 'Three top magazines for the price of one!' and across the bottom of the otherwise crystal clear material were the words 'Free Wriggler included... a gift to our valued readers. Enjoy!'.

  The rail carrying the miniaturized people then swung across the stacked publications below. Ben and Jenna felt a bump against their backs as a slightly rounded scoop of hard plastic appeared against them. It tilted up, forcing the couple into a reclined position once again. The shape of the scoop kept them safe from falling off the sides as the apparatus gripping them released. The scoop then dropped down towards the conveyor below. Ben and Jenna felt the momentary acceleration downwards before stopping abruptly. They both looked towards their feet, beyond the film of their personal enclosure. They saw the larger cellophane packaging containing the magazines before them. It was being held open at its end by a simple rod attached to a small armature. Ben and Jenna were then thrust towards the open maw of the smooth, shiny packaging and it's equally smooth, glossy contents. The motion towards the shimmering depths of colourful paper and glistening plastic changed suddenly as the scoop tilted forwards slightly, then shot back away from the awaiting packaging. The polythene of the couple's personal enclosure possessed no friction against the retreating scoop, so Ben and Jenna found that they simply continued into the depths of the cellophane packaging. They slipped off the tip of the withdrawing scoop and came to rest atop the stacked publications. Jenna exclaimed at the heat they felt radiating off the freshly printed paper below them. Ben found himself relieved that the warm cover, and pages below it, gave slightly under their weight, providing a welcome change from hard surfaces. The cellophane above rapidly descended as the rod withdrew. The couple once again looked above their heads, observing equipment take hold of the open cellophane packaging. The new layer of plastic became tauter against their bodies as the open end was sealed around the top edges of the magazines.

  Ben and Jenna's attention came back to each other, eyes locking and holding each other's hands in an attempt at reassurance. They finally knew something of what was happening to them and the other shrinkees. In this world, wherever or whenever it was in the universes spanning existence, people were seemingly abducted from their lives, miniaturised, physically altered to no longer need air, and treated as things so valueless that they would be given away as mere trinkets along with ultimately valueless everyday things.

  The ridiculousness could barely compute in their minds, but every sight, sound, touch, taste and smell told the couple that this was indeed happening as it appeared. It was also now possible to make a reasonable estimate of their diminished stature. From their position, coupled with their knowledge of how big these magazines tended to be, it was likely that Ben and Jenna were no more than five inches from head to foot. They could do nothing but look outward from their transparent confinement as the last of the machinery around them disappeared from view.

  It wasn't long before they felt a moment of downwards acceleration followed by a substantial bump from below the pages they were lying upon. The view above was now limited to only a patch of the factory ceiling far above them, everything else being obstructed by the towering sides of a cardboard box. The edge of another bundled pack of magazines, undoubtedly containing another shrinkee, came into view above the rim of the box.

  Ben and Jenna realised it was about to drop on top of them, and shifted instinctually to try to get out of the way. The slippery oil and layers of polythene and cellophane made sure it was a vain effort. They braced for the crushing impact.

  With a hefty thump, the bundle came to rest on top of them. The force was certainly extreme from their perspectives, but Ben and Jenna found themselves both astounded and immeasurably thankful that they were not only still alive, but completely unharmed. There was undeniable weight from the bundle resting atop them, but they found it did not seem to be painful or even uncomfortable. The only really negative effect they felt was a restriction to movement and the blocking of almost all the light around them.

  Another thud from another bundle joining the stack of packaged paper and people shook the couple. The sensation of weight pinning them increased, though they still felt no pain or discomfort what so ever. Ben managed to voice a query as to why they weren't being crushed by what should feel like tons of material, before another thud indicated yet another bundle had joined them. Again more weight pressing down on them, but no harmful effects.

  Jenna was the first to offer up an idea on this oddity, surmising that the shrinking process must have done more than just alleviate their need of air. They seemed resilient to physical harm too! How such would be possible, without fantastical magic or wholly noticeable changes to physics, neither could begin to theorise. What little remaining light that had been reaching them from around the sides of the bundles above promptly disappeared. The box had been sealed.

  The couple now only had muffled sound and the feeling of various shifts and movements to occupy their senses. The box was no doubt being manipulated in preparation for dispatch. Barely audible voices could be heard, though there was no telling if they were from outside the box or from other trapped shrinkees contained within. Ben and Jenna were both thankful that neither of them was facing this alone, unlike the others. Jenna couldn't bear to think of what state she would be in had they been separated by that first machine. Ben too didn't much like considering how he would handle this with only his own thoughts for company. He didn't know how long they were going to be like this, but days kept creeping into his mind. His heart tore when he considered the other shrinkee's isolation. The poor souls were going to be wrecks before long, if not already. Surrounded by darkness, Ben and Jenna resolved to keep each other sane, no matter what.

  Time lost most of its meaning for Ben and Jenna. They knew not whether glorious day or majestic night graced the outside world. They had no idea how many hours, days... or even weeks had passed while trapped in their plastic wrapped prison. They drifted between sleep and quiet talk of lives, people and even jobs sorely missed.

  At some point, seemingly distant yet recent all the same, the couple had become aware of other impossibilities to top-off the list of inexplicable changes to their bodies. Neither had felt hunger or thirst since the last day they were together at home. Also, they had not yet experienced any feelings associated with needing a bathroom.

  Ben was adamant that they were still fleshy organics, rather than androids or some such nonsense. Being in an artificial body had been the only plausible explanation they could muster for a time, but neither of the tiny people was convinced. Both felt their heartbeats and all other sensations across their bodies as keenly as ever. They felt totally normal.

  Until understanding presented itself voluntarily, the perplexed pair resigned themselves to the temporarily acceptable idea that 'magic' explained all that escaped human reasoning. Such whimsical ideas sufficed for generations upon generations of God-fearing, paranoid medieval individuals... so why not present day lost and confused souls? It was enough for them, for now.

  The pitch-black and the unfathomable passage of time triggered moments of panic every so often, but a tender touch from the other's hand and gently spoken words of comfort would quell those feelings before they could take root. The other shrinkees must have gone mad by now. Thoughts for those people had to be ignored, though, so the couple could keep their own feelings from plummeting into an inescapable abyss of despair. They had to stay positive.

  The reminiscent conversations gradually gave way to hopeful fantasies of the two being saved by whoever eventually bought the magazines. Wishes of being helped... restored to their normal selves... being sent home after grovelling apologies from authorities for the terrible mistake that brought them into this situation... all served to bolster the couple's emotional defences. Even if such imaginings were as unlikely as both Ben and Jenna knew they were, the pleasant thoughts were sorely needed. They allowed themselves to dream.

  Time dragged agonisingly slowly. The couple conversed as much as they could but eventually began to struggle to come up with new topics of interest. While still sparing the much needed words of reassurance every so often, they both slowly drifted off into their own thoughts whilst between bouts of sleep.

  Jenna tried thinking about anything from TV shows to academics to pass her conscious time. She never did get on well with silence and boredom, and now was no different. She doubted that even her beloved tablet and a connection to the internet would help her endure this much downtime... not like she'd have the room to use it anyhow. There was just no getting away from the restriction created by the weight of the bundles above. A dozing semi-consciousness gradually became her world when not actually sleeping, and proved to be her most effective response to the boredom.

  Ben couldn't focus his thoughts very well. Trying to direct his mind to the normality of back home, he would begin a train of thought only to have it cut off by another unexpectedly. It made for a frustrating lack of progress in any area. He found the only thoughts he could properly explore related to their current predicament. The short time spent in the factory seemed so interesting now, especially compared to the maddeningly dull ordeal of darkness and waiting.

  Ben replayed the experience in his mind many times over. Each time he focused on a different aspect, be it a certain sight, sound, or sensation. Very little could be considered pleasant, for sure, but there were moments which now held a strange fascination.

  He found himself becoming thoroughly engrossed in his recollections of first discovering being inside the polythene bag, then having the flexible film drape over his and Jenna's bodies. Ignoring the part where they thought they were going to suffocate, Ben chose to focus on the sensations. The film sliding over his skin aided by the oily residue, the tight formfitting cling around his lower body when they tried to create an air pocket over their heads... he found the physicality of the experience intriguing.

  He then imagined what it would have looked like to a third party, looking down upon them as Ben and Jenna were sealed up in the gleaming, liquid-like draping plastic. Ben slowly became aware of a warm feeling deep within him as he reran the memories and imagined images over and over. Unbelievably, he was getting excited. He knew that nearly anything normally unrelated to sex could trigger a person's desires, and equally not another... the term 'fetish' used to explain such disparity. Ben was discovering one he had not known he had, it seemed.

  He brought his senses back to the present. He could still feel the membrane around them, though the pressure bearing down nearly overwhelmed the sensation. He wriggled slightly to generate some sliding of the plastic over his body; all the while focusing on the signals his skin was sending into his nervous system. He did like the feeling. He did find the sensation of smooth, flexible and clinging plastic gliding over his skin stimulating.

  In immediate response he felt his member swell, quickly achieving its full stature despite being forced into a slightly uncomfortable position between his legs. The lack of space and restriction due to the ever-present weight atop them made any attempt to gain access with a hand futile. Ben inwardly cursed, growing frustration serving to undermine his newfound happy place in his mind. He had to let go of the excitement and return to calm if he was going to endure the uncertain length of time trapped like this.

  Reluctantly, he forced himself to think about anything other than arousal. He found holding a train of thought a bit easier now, too. With no shortage of unpleasant memories from before this weirdness to call upon, he rapidly returned to a non-excited condition. After a further period of stabilising thought, he began dropping into a semi-lucid state... fatigue sapping his awareness again. This was ok, though. Dozing was likely the best thing for enduring the seemingly endless waiting anyway.

  The ordeal did eventually take its inevitable, yet desperately sought after, turn. Jenna was awake when rougher movements jostled the box's contents, and light finally returned around the edges of the bundles atop them. She nudged Ben awake while nursing her complaining eyes. Even the restricted light proved painful for eyes grown used to not doing anything for their owners. The couple felt the weight above them change as their eyes readjusted to increasing illumination. In moments, they were flooded with a combination of artificial and natural daylight. They couldn't discern anything visually as their eyes continued to recover, but felt the acceleration upwards followed by a change in orientation as the bundle they were a part of emerged from the box.

  As they were rendered upright, their personal polythene bag slid to the bottom of the cellophane packaging. Ben and Jenna were just able to make out the presence of a giant, no doubt the one currently handling them, followed by a vast open area of light. They felt their movement suddenly end with a bump from below. Details of the wider environment were only just resolving in their weak eyes when the scene was cut off by the approach of the back of another magazine bundle. It came to rest leant against their bundle, but to the couple's relief the angle it leant at meant that they did not have their movement restricted. The back of the bundle stood several inches in front of them, from the couple's perspective.

  They both shook down their overly-rested bodies, muscles coming back to life after the long period unexercised. The film surrounding them rustled in response to the action... proving to be a welcome input to ears accustomed to only hearing muffled noises and two tired voices. There was a slight twitch from the magazine bundle obstructing their view, likely caused by another bundle being rested in front of it.

  After a minute or so of bracing for more activity, they concluded that the shelf was now probably full. Ben and Jenna looked to their left and right. There was less light then they would have liked, but more than enough to see around themselves. They could easily see the page edges of loose magazines to their right, and the spine-edges of yet more to their left. Ben deduced that they had been placed on a shelf in a magazine rack of some sort. Jenna agreed, describing what she had managed to see before having the view cut off. Her eyes had adjusted fast enough that she had been able to make out, for a brief moment, rows of low-level shelving holding various miscellaneous wares and a number of giants roaming between them. They were defiantly in a grocery store of some sort.

  With yet another period of waiting before of them, they resigned to once again keeping each other sane and lucid... starting with a long awaited hug. It began as a gentle one, Jenna's head resting on Ben's shoulder as their arms wrapped around each other loosely. Before long, this graduated into a tight embrace, including a deep and prolonged kiss. Their lack of need of breath made for the longest unbroken make-out session either had ever experienced... a definite plus to their present condition. They eventually broke the kiss and relaxed into another loose hug, swaying slightly as they allowed the slight buzz from their brief intimacy to wash away a great deal of the pent-up stress.

  As time passed, seemingly much more slowly now they had sight, they took turns sitting at the bottom of the bag. There wasn't enough room for both to sit comfortably at once, unfortunately. The clingy polythene had become a familiar sensation to both, the still present oily residue ensuring easy transitions between sitting and standing. Were it not for the oil, odds are they would have found their sweat and body heat leading to the plastic gripping their skin and restricting movement.

  They listened to the sounds from beyond the bundles, all of which being far more distinct than during the long journey in the box. Shopping related clattering of tins, rustling of bags and benign chatter from various men, women and children provided distraction in between idle conversation of their own.

  After a long while, Ben and Jenna noticed a shift from the bundle in front of them. It seemed that the bundle ahead of it had been removed. Both felt a nervous anticipation born of the knowledge that there was only one more bundle to go before they would get to properly see what was happening beyond their confines... and that would also mean that they would then be next to be 'purchased'. For now, they allowed themselves to feel a positive anticipation. It would be nice to have a view to enrich their incarceration, after all.

  The nervy couple didn't have to wait so long before there was movement, however. Only minutes passed before the bundle ahead began to retreat away from them. The daylight streaming in through the banks of windows around the walls had a dullness about it, making adjusting to the unobstructed light easier. A quick glance around resulted in Ben noticing a clock showing the time to be just before 6pm... early evening Spring or Autumn sunlight, it seemed.

  The retreat also revealed the presence of a young woman, in her early twenties, holding the bundle and inspecting its contents closely. Judging by her slightly informal but never-the-less smart attire, she probably worked in an office environment to earn her living. She had a sizable leather shoulder bag hanging off her right shoulder, which couldn't be doing her frame any long-term good. She must have stopped in to pick up a few bits on her way home from work, if the basket at her feet was anything to go by.

  Ben and Jenna found themselves staring dumbly at the woman. Their shelf was high, putting them just above the woman's head, and was made of clear acrylic allowing for an unimpeded view of the giantess. This was the first time they had a chance to really take in the difference in scale. The young woman filled a large portion of their vision and, with no disorientating travel through industrial machinery to disrupt their observations, they were able to take in every detail. The weave of the fabric of her clothes, the minor blemishes on her skin, the slightly askew hair indicating a long day at work... all clearly visible to the tiny couple.

  The woman breathed in a steady rhythm, her chest rising and falling gently as she regarded the contents of her hand. She motioned to place the bundle in her basket, but abruptly stopped as she appeared to notice Jenna and Ben through the corner of her eye. She straightened back up and brought her head around to look squarely at the couple. Ben and Jenna stood stock-still as her eyes scanned the pair. Her features took on an expression indicative of someone who just had a stroke of luck.

  She raised her empty hand in the direction of their bundle and gripped it above their heads. They watched as they moved away from the magazine rack and descended towards the basket below. As they descended, they saw the original bundle she had picked up in her other hand. After they came to rest face-up atop the basket's contents, they saw the woman grip the handle and return to a standing position, lifting the whole thing in one smooth motion. From their location beside the woman's leg, they could see the originally held bundle being placed back on the shelf. In a moment, the woman took off towards the front of the store.

  Ben and Jenna felt the swing of the basket as she approached the payment counters. They held each other close as they were lifted out of the basket, passed through the checkout scanner and came to rest in the bagging area. They were followed by the various other items that had been in the basket. They watched as best they could as the woman packed the groceries into a small canvass bag, which she had recovered from her shoulder bag. The woman chatted with the cashier as she packed. Jenna and Ben noted the pleasantly soft tones of her voice. She sounded nice, friendly and, as far as they could tell from tone alone, caring. They held out hope that maybe she would actually be their saviour.

  They waited, expecting to be placed within the canvass bag too, but the register rang off before that could happen. The woman fished out a purse from her shoulder bag and then lent over the counter to place her bank card in the terminal. Ben and Jenna had their view fully dominated by the woman's chest as she punched in her PIN. After a few moments, a confirming beep signalled successful payment. The woman straightened up again and proceeded to return her purse to her shoulder bag. She adjusted the strap over her right shoulder and then picked up the canvas bag with her left hand. Finally, she grasped the bundle near its bottom with her right hand, and lifted it off the surface. The position of her hand meant she had to curve the bundle slightly to keep it from flopping over itself while being picked up. Ben and Jenna were slightly off to one side, so did not find themselves gripped by the giant fingers at bundle's centre.

  The couple stared ahead as they quickly approached her chest. They found themselves pressed against the area just below her right breast as she adjusted her grip slightly to allow her to comfortably carry the bundle against herself. Ben and Jenna found themselves once again restricted, though this time by not only the magazines at their backs, but also the endless wall of chest in front of them. Heat from the woman's body permeated easily through her clothes and into the cellophane bound bundle. Ben and Jenna squirmed to find a comfortable position as the woman began to stride out of the store and towards her home... wherever that was.

  The young woman walked briskly, leaving Ben and Jenna to occupy their time with more general chitchat while being engulfed by body heat and the sounds of regular breathing and a steady heartbeat. The woman had kept a firm hold of the bundle the whole time. Ben contemplated how this would look to yet another imagined third party... a young woman carrying home her shopping, bag at her side and magazines against her chest supported by a hand. It would be so 'every day', so mundane as to draw no attention at all. There would be nothing visible to suggest she was carrying two shrunken people amongst her purchases, she would seem so normal and uninteresting to anyone she passed... unless of course someone found her attractive, sneaking a glance or two in passing. Even then, there would be nothing to give the captive's presence away. They might as well not even exist. Ben shuddered at the idea that he and his girlfriend were now so insignificant. Jenna did her level best to keep Ben from getting too worked up over it, utilising the now relied upon hug for their mutual reassurance.

  After no more than fifteen minutes, Jenna and Ben felt some new movements from the woman. They saw below them that she had placed her shopping bag on the ground. The bundled up couple were jostled slightly, their position now allowed them to see that the shoulder bag had been brought round to the woman's front. It was immediately below them now. Through the layers of plastic at their feet, they watched the bag open, revealing a jumble of personal effects as she proceeded to retrieve a key from the chaotic contents. There followed the sound of a mechanical click and a lightly creaking door in need of some oil. The woman pickup up her shopping bag again and entered her home.

  The magazine bundle was deposited onto a worktop in the woman's kitchen. Ben and Jenna were able to angle themselves enough to view the woman turn her oven on then go about emptying the shopping bag and stow the items away. She disappeared around a corner for a moment, returning with what appeared to be some kind of frozen ready meal in her hands... the freezer apparently being in an alcove around the corner. The woman removed the packaging as needed and then placed the meal in the oven.

  She stepped out of the room briefly, returning after seemingly making herself more comfortable. Her jacket had been removed and she had undone the top few buttons of her blouse. She seemed visibly more relaxed now. Her stride and posture had also changed, suggesting she had removed her undoubtedly aggravating formal footwear in favour of something more recreational.

  Jenna and Ben watched as she pulled a bottle of something from the fridge, open it and begin swigging from it. She stared towards the bound couple, but wasn't quite looking at them. Explanation came suddenly as the tiny couple were dazzled by bright artificial light. They were apparently resting in front of a TV. The woman had used a remote control to activate it and now the contained couple were bathed in the flickering light from the changing images. Their ears were filled with sound from its speakers, but the volume wasn't so great as to cause discomfort.

  For the next three quarters of an hour the couple had their attention divided between the gigantic TV beside them and the equally gigantic woman going about various kitchen related tasks. The meal had cooked through after about thirty minutes and she was just now tidying up after eating it.

  With her kitchen activities concluded she switched off the TV, grabbed another bottle from the fridge, then scooped up the magazine bundle and walked through a short hallway into a much larger room. She flopped down heavily onto a particularly plush sofa, with Ben and Jenna coming to rest with a thump beside her on the cushions. They looked up at the woman, watching her body's movements as she settled into a comfortable position. More artificial light and sound appeared from another TV, though this one was well across the room. Ben and Jenna couldn't see it this time, as the woman's weight had caused the cushion to lean slightly towards her. The top edge of the bundle raised enough to obstruct their view.

  With the woman now close by and no longer occupied with miscellaneous tasks, they were both now thinking about actually trying to get her attention and, hopefully, assistance. Just as they were about to try to wave their arms or something of that nature, the woman placed her drink down on a side-table and turned towards the magazines.

  Without hesitation or ceremony, she lifted the bundle up and pulled open the glued flap of cellophane at the top of the publications. She removed the magazines in one motion. The cover of the top most one sliding effortlessly over Jenna and Ben's backs as it withdrew. They remained in their polythene bag at the bottom of the now spacious cellophane packaging, but only for a moment as the woman reached back into it to fish them out. Her hand wrapped around the couple and gently lifted them clear.

  The sensation of being held in this manor was so alien to the couple that they forgot their previous train of thought while they absorbed what their senses were conveying to their overwhelmed minds. The woman's grip was firm enough that they felt secure from falling, but soft enough to be considered not unpleasant. They were bought up to the woman's face and regarded closely, being rolled over onto their fronts briefly as she inspected their tiny forms.

  The clear polythene did nothing to hide the couple's modesty, leading to both suddenly becoming very aware of their nudity. Ben and Jenna instinctively tried to conceal their respective private areas with their arms and hands. The woman seemed satisfied after a few moments, proceeding to place them down on the cushion beside her. The shrunken partners looked back up towards the woman. She had the three magazines resting on her lap and was shuffling them until settling on the gossip one. She began flicking through the glossy pages, completely ignoring the couple.

  Jenna was the first to voice what was on both of their minds after being handled. The woman had had plenty of opportunity to engage with them, talk to them... do something to suggest she recognised them as people. All they saw in her expression was the intrigue one would exhibit for a new trinket before then placing it on a self to be forgotten about. Ben and Jenna felt a very real chill run down their spines... they were not going to be helped by this woman, nor probably by anyone else on this world. They really were seen as a commodity. The couple came close to tears in that moment, the only thing preventing the waterworks being the embrace they had fallen into to try to stifle the sickening despair now threatening to lock its icy talons around their hearts.

  They stopped paying much attention to the environment outside their polythene prison, choosing instead to simply hold each other close. They barely noticed the woman's occasional shifts in her seat, though they did register the shadow passing over as she placed the gossip magazine, now finished with, on the sofa beside them. Ben and Jenna spared only the briefest of glances for this, before going back to gently rocking back and forth in each other's arms. Soon stress took its toll, causing them to slip in and out of consciousness.

  Time passed by, its flow uncertain and unfathomable to the captives until Ben and Jenna were sufficiently disturbed to rouse them from their stupor. They regained some semblance of emotional control as they became alert once more. Their attention was quickly drawn to the woman still sat beside them, due to the contemplative murmurs they could hear her making. She had at some point finished perusing the fashion magazine, it now also lying beside them, and was now solidly half way through the pages of the main magazine. She was deeply engrossed in whatever she was reading, her hums and murmurs indicating that she was both intrigued by and liked whatever was printed on the glossy pages.

  Ben and Jenna felt a new weariness as they watched. The woman cast glances their way often enough that the couple felt it highly likely that the contents of the pages related to them. The tone in the woman's indistinct vocalisations slowly took on one that both recognised with growing certainty... arousal. The woman seemed to be becoming excited by what she was reading. This hypothesis was reinforced visually when the woman lifted a hand to adjust her blouse over her breasts, leading the couple to notice her nipples straining at the fabrics containing them. The bulges proved to be a dead giveaway as to her state of mind.

  She flicked another page over, seeming once again to find more to fuel her growing excitement. A moment later she turned her head fully towards the polythene clad couple, looking directly at the pair with a mixture of desire and an almost predatory resolve displayed in her expression. She looked them both over for a few seconds, then suddenly stood up to her towering full height. She placed the open magazine down where she had sat, then turned and strode out of the room.

  Ben and Jenna checked that they were on the same proverbial wavelength as one another over what they just saw. They had no idea what had gotten the woman riled up, nor what she was now off and doing. They only just began to speculate when their discussion was cut short by the footfalls of the woman as she came back into the room. She held in one hand a pair of scissors and a clump of thin nylon cord. In rapid uninterrupted movements, she pickup up Ben and Jenna with her free hand, placed them in the middle of the open pages of the magazine, flipped the magazine closed over them and then picked up the publication.

  Ben and Jenna felt her walk for a short distance, the motion then changing to include repeated bursts of upward acceleration. Ben guessed that she was taking them up some stairs. Jenna simply agreed, but chose not to share her own suspicions. There was only one likely destination for a young woman who had just excited herself while reading something appealing... her bedroom. Jenna felt that she knew what to expect, at least to a point. This woman was likely going to continue from where she left off in the living room, only within the more intimate sanctum of her bedroom. It was a decision she herself had made on several occasions when enjoying the odd evening alone. This woman wasn't alone, though... and Jenna felt her unease grow as she knew that she and Ben were going to be involved in activities to come.

  She should have felt panic, or at least intense concern, but the earlier emotional overload seemed to have rendered her unable to process any feelings stronger than her current level of unease. She stopped herself from sharing her suspicions with Ben, though. He tended to be more sensitive to stress, and she didn't want to risk undermining his mental state... especially when they could not avoid the source of the stress. In a relatively calm state, they both waited again for what was to come.

  Ben and Jenna felt the magazine come to rest. The heavy pages draped over them pulled away to reveal the woman's excited face. She turned away from the couple, bent down and started rummaging through a drawer. They looked around as best they could during the woman's shifted attention. They were definitely lying on her bed, a bedside cabinet holding a glowing lamp clearly visible to the reclined pair. They could see pillows on the bed sporting a vibrant array of colours and patterns. The light from the lamp reached out across the room to illuminate the upper halves of various pieces of furniture, most of which were topped by generic personal items. One unit had various grooming and beauty products surrounding a mirror, another had a pile of folded clothes stacked up level with the bottom of the drawn curtains above, and a wardrobe supported a collection of stuffed toys which obviously held sentimental value to the young woman.

  The young woman in question turned back to the couple after recovering what she had been looking for... an unopened condom package. She put it down on the bed next to the cord and scissors, which sat near the splayed magazine. The couple felt a hand wrap around them, lifting them off the pages. The woman adjusted her grip and effortlessly tore open the top of the couple's bag with her other hand. She slid the couple out of the breached polythene and onto an open palm. She turned her head away for a moment as she discarded the bag into a bin beside the bedside cabinet, then brought her attention back to couple on her open hand. There was no hesitation from her as she picked Jenna up with her free hand and placed her back down on the bed.

  Jenna sank slightly into the soft duvet, the uneven and giving surface hindered her efforts to stand after being released. She shakily righted herself, feeling weak and dizzy after spending so much time lying down. Looking up, she watched as the woman gripped her boyfriend above her. The woman held him against her palm with three fingers while the remaining one, and opposing thumb, worked in conjunction with her other hand to remove the condom from its wrapper.

  Jenna stared, dumbstruck by the scene of her boyfriend having the slick latex unrolled over his whole body. The woman worked the slippery membrane over him until it was fully unrolled, well past his feet. The wrapper was discarded into the bin. The woman took hold of the open end, leaving Ben dangling headfirst towards the bed below him. She worked the condom until it was thoroughly knotted, just below Ben's feet. She then picked up the cord from the bed surface and proceeded to tie it tightly around the bulge of knotted latex. She tugged on the cord to confirm its hold on Ben's trapped form. The woman picked up the scissors and used them to trim off the excess latex below the knot and then reduce the length of the now dangling cord. She placed Ben down on the bed beside Jenna, then stepped over to a chest of draws across the room. The leftover cord and scissors were placed atop the unit as she opened a drawer. After a moment, a brightly coloured satin chemise was dropped onto the corner of the bed.

  Jenna quickly averted her gaze as the woman began to strip off her clothing. She turned to Ben, who was looking none too happy about his latest means of containment. Despite everything that had occurred and the emotional impact of the last hour, Jenna actually chuckled a little at the sight. She tentatively stepped towards him, taking care whilst traversing the soft surface. She took to her hands and knees after a few laboured steps proved too troublesome. She reached Ben and straddled his latex clad hips. They exchanged a few words of encouragement through the muffling membrane, once again falling into their now well-practised mutual support roles. Curiosity prompted Jenna to run her hands over Ben's chest. The lightly lubricated latex felt quite nice to touch. Ben quizzically eyed Jenna before choosing to go along with it, making comment on how condoms were known to diminish sensation. Jenna rolled her eyes at the attempt at humour. It was a relief to her that he seemed ok for now.

  In the corner of her eyes, despite doing her best not to notice, she kept catching glimpses of the giant woman as she undressed. For no reason she could justify, she now decided that it was pointless to try to preserve normal decorum and allowed herself to look directly at the immense display of the feminine form beyond the plain of bedding. Either television and movie nudity had done its desensitising work... or the earlier breakdown had done more damage than expected.

  Jenna took in the display of bare skin, clean curves, pert breasts and flowing hair now free from the binds and coverings that kept all modest during the course of daily life.

  Like all balanced people, Jenna had no difficultly recognising that the giantess before her was quite attractive. The great diversity to femininity was well known to anyone who regularly browsed printed or digital gossip and lifestyle columns, and Jenna herself was well exposed... though all examples she encountered still involved being clothed.

  Her heterosexuality, combined with her general belief that women were too often objectified in life, meant she expected to feel uncomfortable and agitated by the display before her. This was proving not to be the case, however. Fascination instead ruled, rendering her content to watch as the woman worked her head and arms through the chemise's straps. The gathered up satin eventually fell over the woman's breasts and down the front of her body before reaching its full length just below her crotch. The nightwear was not an 'everyday' item, Jenna noted. Now that the garment was draped over a body it was designed for, it was easy to see that this was an item specifically meant for inspiring eroticism and intimacy. The young woman ran her hands down her sides, seemingly enjoying the sensation against her skin.

  Jenna continued to observe as the woman reached under the hem and slipped her underwear away from her nether region, releasing it to fall down her legs and out of view. The woman then bent down and removed her final articles of daytime attire, her socks. She left her discarded clothing strewn over the floor, and walked into a dark adjoining room. A click from a light switch was followed by bright light revealing the room to be a reasonably-sized bathroom. A sink, cabinet, and toilet were clearly visible and the edge to a shower cubicle could also be made out through the door frame. The woman lifted the toilet lid and sat down.

  While apparently not minding the nudity of a few moments ago, Jenna didn't fancy watching this woman relieve herself. She returned her gaze to Ben who inquired as to what was going on. His position had kept him from seeing what Jenna had. She shrugged at the query, and commented that it was really nothing unusual for a bedroom in the evening... which was true when she thought about it. Most people change into nightwear of some sort before bed. Ben didn't push the matter, instead querying their next move.

  Jenna looked around the bed. She sighted the magazine and decided to take a look at what had prompted the woman to retire early. She lifted herself off of Ben after stating her intention, and crawled towards the open publication. Ben wanted to protest her going off alone, but his containment kept him from any effective action.

  Whilst traversing the soft landscape, Jenna heard a flush followed by running water from the bathroom. Looking towards the open door, she saw the woman finishing up the washing of her hands before proceeding to prepare her toothbrush. Jenna continued her approach to the magazine and before long was able to crawl onto the glossy spread. The paper felt cool and smooth to touch and, while deforming slightly under her weight, it was firm enough to make standing up possible. The scent of the page's glaze was quite heady, but not unpleasant. Jenna never really paid much attention to such things before, but her diminished state and proximity to the shiny sheets made it hard to ignore. She strolled over the page and attempted to take in what was printed beneath her feet.

  There were diagrams and descriptions all around her, ordered into a list which seemed to detail various uses for shrunken people, like her and Ben, giving preference based on popularity with the magazine's readers. The entries on these two pages detailed techniques for gaining the most from shrinkees as anal stimulation.

  Jenna nearly collapsed to her knees. The silhouette of a shrinkee encased in a condom with a cord attached was clear as day near the top of the list. Text described this as the best way to gain pleasure without having difficulty with removal afterwards. Jenna looked towards Ben, mournful of her newfound knowledge. They were both intended for use as sex toys, and her boyfriend would be taking on the role of one sizable anal bead.

  The giant woman began making some strange murmurs from inside the bathroom. Jenna looked towards the open door again, and witnessed her stood with one leg on the toilet lid, her back towards the bedroom and hunched forward slightly. Jenna saw the woman's rear clearly as the satin had slipped up over her protruding buttocks. She watched as a finger covered in a clear gel was carefully pushed into her puckered rear entrance. The finger moved in and out slowly, evidently being used to loosen up and lubricate in preparation.

  Jenna slowly turned her attention back to the page. She briefly noticed that the top anal activity was to slip a shrinkee in wholly, without any cover or recovery cord and allow him/her to remain trapped within the anus, providing stimulation to the sensitive depths until 'natural passing' at a later time... often reported as many hours later.

  Jenna felt sick. A part of her mind spoke up to remind her that Ben was not facing that precise depravity, he was protected from any foulness by the latex and would likely be pulled out after a relatively short time. Not really reassuring, but the thought prevented her from breaking-down. Jenna closed her eyes and took a moment to clear her mind of the unsettling thoughts.

  She moved to the edge of the magazine and stepped down onto the duvet. She turned around and grasped the page she had been standing on. She lifted it and peered at the previous page below. There were definitely more pages before this one dedicated to shrinkees and their uses. Jenna repeated her action, gathering three more page edges in her hands until she found the first page of this article. It was awkward, but she managed to push the pages over to the centre of the magazine and further until they fell away from her hands and came to rest on the other side. Jenna then began to read from the beginning.

  There was a fair amount of text which she had to skim through in the short time she felt she had. She gathered that she and her partner were known in the pleasure business as Wrigglers. A summary spelled out that Wrigglers were in fact people in other realities, until an innovating company began 'harvesting' them using advanced technologies. The original purpose was to provide slave labour for this world; a world which, Jenna got the impression, viewed life from other realities as meaningless compared its own. The endeavour hadn't worked out for some unmentioned reason.

  Other uses were found once 'quantum manipulation' became a viable technology. Harvesting resumed and limited numbers were bought here, miniaturised and altered biologically to be able to gain sustenance from a new organ that converted raw quantum energies into whatever the body physically needed to survive. The miniaturisation process also significantly toughened up the shrinkee, due to changes to electrostatic interactions between shrunken and normal matter.

  Jenna stopped skimming for a moment. She looked down herself. She felt nothing out of place or new anywhere, but this did explain her and Ben's resilience and lack of hunger or other digestive functions. The idea that they had been surgically altered was very unsettling. She wished they had been subjected to 'magic' after all... that would have been far less disturbing than the reality. After a few moments of deliberate deep breathing, she returned to reviewing the summary.

  There was mention that early harvesting yielded very few successful results. Availability of shrinkees to the fledgling industries intent on capitalising on the developments was limited. Shrinkees had been expensive back then. Recently, process refinements meant that sufficiently vast numbers were regularly available and supply issues were becoming a thing of the past. One of the latest and most rampantly popular new uses was as sex toys. Having a living, wriggling being stimulate sensitive areas was proving to be a bit hit for people everywhere, especially women.

  The summary ended with a self-congratulating note that this magazine was the only one to give away Wrigglers free to its readers, proving it's dedication, beyond all other rivals, to see it's readership get the satisfaction they deserved.

  Jenna felt dizzy with her new understanding. This young woman knew that she was about to use real living people as toys, and it was completely ok with her culture to truly objectify them simply because they were not from the same world.

  Every prejudice and intolerance of Jenna's own world now seemed so pointless compared to this ultimate violation of humanity. If everyone back home knew that such a vile version of human culture existed, they would stop bickering over 'gender' this and 'race' that and work together to solve truly meaningful issues. Invading this alternate Earth and making its occupants see the error of their exclusionist beliefs would be first priority. Jenna entertained a brief vision of nukes scorching this retched world, until being snapped back to reality by a massive quake through the bed.

  Jenna lost her footing and fell onto her backside. She looked towards the source of the tremor. The woman had re-entered the bedroom, the bathroom now dark. She had lifted a leg up onto the bed in a similar manner to when she was in the bathroom. She leaned forward to pick Ben up off the duvet. She did not straighten up, though. She remained leant forward towards the magazine, giving Jenna an unavoidable view of cleavage disappearing into depths of satin and skin. Jenna saw the hand holding Ben move up and back, passing around her hips and further behind, towards the woman's rear.

  Ben had been waiting patiently for Jenna to return from her fact finding, expecting her return after a few minutes at most. He shifted around in the latex to work his muscles. The lubricated material slid over his skin as effortlessly as the polythene had, but its greater weight made for a very different tactile experience. He actually liked this sensation too. Thoughts of exploring the use of latex in their own bedroom activities began to seep into his mind. Fetish wear was fairly common, after all. Ben chuckled to himself. Even after all that had happened and was happening, his male mind still endeavoured to keep his libido very near the surface. He closed his eyes as he let his imagination keep him entertained while passing the time. He couldn't see very much in detail through the unclear material anyway.

  More time passed than he expected however, with yet no indication of Jenna returning. Worry began to override his yearnings, leading him to roll over onto his front and squint through the membrane in the direction Jenna had set off in. He could just discern the shape of Jenna moving around slowly, but could not resolve any details. He called out to her, but observed no change in her movements. She couldn't hear him.

  His world suddenly rocked around him. Before he could attempt to identify the cause, he felt the fingers of the woman wrap around his body once more. He lost his orientation as he was carried away from his resting spot. Shape, shadow and dull colours whirled around him while the fingers gripping him worked him into a new position in the woman's hand. The rapid movement lasted only moments, giving way to slower more subtle shifts. Ben felt the top of his head come into contact with something very warm, a little soft and conforming to the shape of his crown.

  He rotated his head to try to gain some idea of what was happening. The opaque latex failed to let in enough of the now nearly nonexistent light, leaving Ben guessing as to what was beyond his rubbery confines. The woman's grip tightened and Ben felt whatever was at his head beginning to open up and slide around to his ears and face. The heat increased dramatically as the ring of... something... engulfed his head.

  The ring exerted a disabling hold on his head, keeping him from moving it as the woman increased the force she was applying again. A tremor came from the ring, followed by the pressure over his head letting-up significantly. He could still feel whatever it was, but it now seemed to rest loosely about his head, rather than bear down upon it. The looser structure began slipping over his shoulders, trembling slightly as it stretched to accommodate them. Once his widest part was encompassed, Ben felt the ring slip smoothly down his chest and resume its tight grip once again, this time around his midsection.

  With the unyielding ring halted around his abdomen, Ben felt his head and upper half now exposed to an all-round embrace of something softer and ...squishy? He wasn't sure how to describe the hot and soft presence surrounding his upper body. There was a twitch all around him, followed by a sudden increase in pressure. He felt the squeeze keenly around his top half, increasing to an almost crushing force where the tighter ring gripped his midsection. It only lasted a moment before subsiding, Ben feeling himself slip further into the hot embrace of softness as the pressure returned to what it had been. The tighter ring was now firmly around his pelvis.

  Ben noticed something... something familiar from earlier in the day; regular pulses of sound coming from somewhere indistinct around him. It seemed similar to the sound he and Jenna had gotten quite used to while being carried against the woman's chest, only now it was faster and louder. Realisation smacked Ben's consciousness so hard it could have left a scar... he was hearing the woman's heartbeat again, but now from within her body, not from outside of it. The situation finally added up... he was pelvis deep inside this woman and, since there was only one orifice that gripped like a vice almost constantly, he knew he had to be entering her anus.

  The inner flesh engulfing his torso squeezed down again before releasing. Ben felt the fingers, now around his legs, apply force again. He began to thrash around as the tighter ring of the woman's anal entrance had no difficulty admitting the reducing girth of his legs. He slid deeper into the depths, all the while hearing the steadily increasing heart rate of the woman who was, without doubt, enjoying the sensations his body's presence was eliciting. The fingers were no longer present, now all the pressure and heat engulfing his tiny body came from the flesh gradually swallowing him. His feet felt the last of the pressure from the woman's rear entrance pass over, the moment they were released from the grip corresponding to a sudden slip of his whole body deeper into the woman's dark innards. The flesh all around him continually quivered and regularly squeezed itself snugly against his shrunken body.

  There was a shift in gravity, the nearly horizontal angle he had been at as he was pushed into the woman's now gorged backside, changed such that he knew she had returned to an upright stance. The assault of heat and quivering anal flesh continued without interruption as more shifts in gravity signalled the woman was moving around her bedroom. Ben struggled within his latex cocoon in-between fleshy squeezes.

  He cried out for his girlfriend, needing her soft words of reassurance now more than ever. He knew, though, that she could not come to his aid. He faced this insane experience alone. An errant thought wormed its way into his mind... at least, if this was his fate, Jenna would likely be spared it. He then realised, with great sadness, that there was at least one other orifice this woman was likely to want stimulated at a time like this, and Jenna was the only remaining option for filling it. In a singular moment of religious conformity, Ben said a prayer for his beloved girlfriend's wellbeing.

  Jenna gawked as the young woman stood upright. She could just make out the dangling end of the nylon cord between her slightly parted thighs. The woman had a dreamy expression on her face as she was obviously focusing on the sensations from within. She stretched, arms reaching for the ceiling while humming a pleasant melody. She slowly turned ninety degrees, allowing Jenna to see her satin clad buttocks from the side. There was a visible clench, coinciding with an approving murmur from the young woman. Jenna noticed the dangling cord shorten slightly at the same time. The buttocks relaxed then clenched again, though this time the cord didn't diminish... the woman's new 'toy' having seemingly found it's resting spot within her youthful posterior. The woman's arms flopped back to her sides as she looked down at Jenna, smiling a smile dripping in lurid sentiment.

  The woman sauntered around the bed. Jenna followed her movement without taking her eyes off her expression. She felt her heart rate spike as fear finally resurfaced in her abused psyche. She wanted to run but her body was stuck playing catch-up to the cascading processes in her mind. Were there any chance for Jenna to actually react, she had already missed it. The giantess leant down and pushed the magazine across to the opposite side of the bed. Jenna was knocked over by the movement, falling forward onto the glossy paper. The young woman pulled the duvet up and slipped under the covers, rocking the whole bed such that Jenna tumbled back to her knees after trying to stand up.

  The rocking subsided, allowing Jenna to right herself again. As she shakily returned to her feet, she brought her gaze back towards the woman in time to see a giant hand fill her vision. With a startled yelp, Jenna's body was encompassed by giant digits and lifted off the magazine. She stared at the quickly approaching face of the excited young woman. As she was brought closer, the smell of minty breath filled her nose. The woman opened her hand enough to allow her to inspect Jenna's nude form, attention she really didn't want. Jenna covered her intimate areas with her hands and arms in defence, all the while staring into the giant eyes immediately in front of her tiny body.

  Jenna just couldn't function right now. She was stuck in a self-sustaining cycle of fear, shock and awe. All the while... and it was becoming quite a long while... the young woman just looked her up and down; her expression shifting between anticipation, desire and bliss. Subtle moans began escaping the young woman's lips, prompting Jenna to break out of her stupor. She noticed rhythmic vibrations running through the arm and hand suspending her. She twisted enough to look over the edge of the fingers supporting her and was able to discern movements underneath the covers below. The direction and speed were unmistakable... the woman was using her free hand to masturbate. Jenna returned her now more focused attention back to the young woman's face. She was smiling that smile again.

  Jenna was rocked from side to side as the woman extracted her free hand from under the covers. The hand in question appeared beside Jenna, its two main fingers thoroughly coated in glistening natural lubricant. The musky sweet scent emanating from the substance rolled over Jenna's tiny form, overwhelming her sense of smell completely. Remembering that she could just hold her breath to avoid the assault, Jenna tried willing herself to do so. She couldn't manage it though, the act proving impossible as the pheromone filled scent had already triggered some natural response in Jenna's body, causing her to continue involuntarily inhaling deeply. The scent filled her being, bringing about sensations akin to intoxication and leaving Jenna's mind swimming in conflicting emotions.

  One of the practically dripping fingers approached Jenna's reclined body. Its tip was pressed to Jenna's chest then began circling her breasts, coating them in the slippery lube. Jenna squirmed against the action but could do nothing to break away. The finger left her breasts and was run down her abdomen to her crotch, leaving a trail of the pungent substance in its wake. Jenna couldn't fully comprehend her mental state anymore. She was terrified by the unfolding events, but at the same time the powerful scent seemed to be rousing a primal response from her body. She attempted to fight down the effects of biology, trying to remind her body that it shouldn't react this way to this woman's actions... but soon it became all too clear this was a struggle beyond recovery. Rationale gave out as her own hormones surged, leaving Jenna relaxing into carnal anticipation.

  The young woman rubbed more of the slick juices off of her fingers and onto Jenna's body. The shrunken woman wriggled, though this time not from a desire to evade, but rather to ensure as much of the intoxicating substance reached as much of her naked form as possible. After a few moments the fingers withdrew, followed by the free hand moving away and down. The hand supporting Jenna closed lightly around her body, then began to descend. Jenna was quickly enveloped by shadow and then darkness as it was moved under the covers. She was able to free an arm from the digits holding her and reached out. She felt her hand contact the satin of the chemise, feeling its luxuriously smooth surface slid over her palm as she was moved deeper under the covers. The heat from the lingerie clad body seemed to amplify the already potent scent all around her.

  The satin disappeared from Jenna's reach as she felt her orientation change along with the position of the digits surrounding her. The scent of womanly arousal intensified yet again, coupled now with staggering humidity. The darkness prevented Jenna from seeing anything, but she knew exactly where she was. A gentle acceleration forwards brought Jenna's naked body into contact with hot, wet and smooth flesh. She felt the flesh press up against her entire front half and curve around to her sides. There was no doubt at all... she was now held up against the young woman's womanhood, it's engorged labial folds eagerly enveloping her shrunken form.

  Jenna could feel her legs receiving a fresh coating of feminine lubricant, their position seemingly right up against the quivering entrance to the young woman's intimate depths. She also found a bulge of firmer flesh occupying the crook of her neck; it's protrusion against her throat restricting movement of her head a little.

  The hand of the young woman was still firmly against Jenna's back. It began slow upward and downward motions, dragging Jenna's body with it as it moved. Jenna slid smoothly against the wall of flesh. The fluid seeping from the trembling entrance spread all over her body as she was rubbed over the youthful femininity. The bulge bumped across Jenna's face then between her slippery breasts as it came and went over her upper body. Each time it contacted the features of her face, she could hear a muffled moan from beyond the infinite darkness... this bulge, the swollen clitoris it seemed, responding well to the textures of Jenna's upper half.

  The motion continued for ages, rendering Jenna utterly drenched in vaginal fluid. Her higher consciousness having long departed, she was lost to the erotic experience, now running entirely on primal desire alone. She was loving this. Never before had she experienced such an intense sexual fury as she was now. As the hand at her back worked her relentlessly over the sensuously soft flesh between the ravenous vagina and swollen nub, she had already brought her hands down to her own, now eager, womanhood and was doing her best to get-off during the epic ride. The taste of the fresh and constantly replenished feminine juices was now as welcome and savoured as the finest of wines. She lapped it off of the passing flesh on every upward rub.

  Eventually, a change to the ministrations had to come. Jenna felt the giant digits once again wrap around her body, and was pulled away from the hot wet folds of labial delight. In short order, she was repositioned within the grip of the giant hand and felt acceleration back towards the young woman's body.

  With little resistance Jenna's head, shoulders and chest down to her breasts were engulfed by a hot quivering embrace of feminine sex. The wet heat struck Jenna as the delicate flesh consumed her upper body. She was assaulted from all sides by the sound of a thunderously racing heart and repeated tight squeezes from the flesh enveloping her. She felt a tug from the hand gripping her lower body, causing her to slide back towards the outside world. Just as her shoulders threatened to emerge, the hand reversed its course, sending Jenna back into the steamy depths. This time Jenna sank in as far as her hips, the surfaces of the young love-tunnel rippling gorgeously over her engulfed body.

  Jenna was desperate now to be completely consumed by this woman's hungry pussy, eager to feel her whole form massaged by the closest and most intimate encounter with sexuality possible. She wriggled her body in hopes of triggering stronger contractions of the feminine flesh, efforts which where immediately rewarded. As the quivering hold strengthened, Jenna could just make out the reverberations which had to be the young woman's first unchecked moan... one loud enough that it penetrated all the way to the tiny woman's immersed ears. Jenna smiled to herself as she shifted her hands from her sides to her own womanhood, despite the vaginal entrance around her hips making the movement a challenge. She managed to get her hands where she wanted them, though, and promptly set about ensuring her own pleasure.

  The hand around Jenna's legs once again pulled her back towards unwanted freedom, Jenna's rock hard nipples dragging across contours and textures which drove her increasingly wild with every moment of stimulation. Again she was stopped short of her shoulders, and plunged back into the soaking sensual sauna. The undulating flesh squeezing and trembling almost constantly as it admitted her once again.

  Jenna worked herself as hard as she could while being smothered from all around. Her own clit shooting unbelievably intense bursts of pleasure through her as her animalistic mind soaked up the sensations from its enraptured body.

  The giant woman continued pumping Jenna in and out without respite. The sounds of sopping wet sex, a titanic pounding heart and muffled cries of delight conspired along with the physical stimulation to deliver Jenna to the precipice of an almightily release in no time. She cried out within the inescapable depths, nearly screaming in anticipation of the climax threatening to rip apart her very essence. There would be, could be, nothing like this ever again. There was nothing that compared from before this experience, and nothing that she could imagine topping it after. She was right where she wanted to be. Nothing else mattered.

  Following a final immense shove, Jenna felt the hand gripping her legs let go as she was enveloped down past her knees. Immediately, there was force on the bottom of her feet as two fingers drove her the rest of the way into the young woman's ravenous pussy. The womanly flesh crushed down on her engulfed body with a force unlike anything meant to be felt by the human form. A scream of ecstasy came through the quaking flesh around her, the giantess now caught in the throes of intense orgasm.

  This was the final straw for Jenna. She felt her own release strike like a dragoness in heat. She went ridged, every muscle burning as pleasure beyond description became her world. Flesh pressed in from all around, milking her body as it would an invading phallus. Jenna saw stars as she only barely maintained consciousness, her own release relentlessly washing over her straining body and inundated mind.

  Many minutes passed as Jenna and the young woman rode out the last of their respective orgasms. The squeezes from the young woman's vaginal flesh gradually became gentler and less frequent. Jenna relaxed into the diminishing embraces. She found her thoughts returning to her now that the hormone fuelled carnal drive had seemingly been sated.

  Jenna squirmed slightly, triggering a tighter squeeze from the walls. She expected to find this whole situation undesirable again now that arousal wasn't controlling her, but instead felt great emotional warmth and security when contemplating her position. She wriggled again, receiving yet another tighter squeeze from the young woman's hot flesh. Jenna giggled to herself. She did not mind this one bit. The thought that she could actually have a significant impact upon the giant woman allowed Jenna to feel a reasonable amount of power again... the first since the moment she awoke within the factory. She continued to bask in the aftermath of her pleasure, quite content to be a part of whatever this young woman desired.

  Visions crossed Jenna's mind. She imagined seeing through the woman's eyes... looking down towards her private drawer of personal pleasures... slowly pulling it open to reveal Jenna and Ben nestled amongst silky lingerie and erotic toys. Heck, Jenna felt she could go for being bound in plastic again... it just added to the fun. She shuddered as she envisioned being picked up and carried off for use anywhere and everywhere possible.

  Jenna brought a hand to her now tender but nether-the-less responding pussy, while using her other to gently kneed a sensitive breast. She allowed herself to build up fresh excitement as she explored newfound aspects of her sexuality with her thoughts. She could picture the sexy young woman toying with her and Ben in so many delicious ways. She revelled in the provocative ideas, hoping to experience as many of them as possible.

  Jenna believed... knew even, it was highly likely she would have her wishes fulfilled.

  Kate's sweaty, panting body lay back over her displaced pillows. She shifted her satin clad curves under her bed's covers as she sought a comfy position to recover from one of her best orgasms yet. She always knew that a warm living Wriggler was going to be immensely superior to her usual ridged and lifeless toys, and a fair improvement over her powered ones too... but this really had been a treat!

  She wondered why she hadn't been able to justify spending money on one before. Now she knew what she was missing, her frugal spending habits were a source of regret. Still, wasn't really an issue any more. When she had heard that her favourite magazine had gotten dibs on the whole of the season's harvest, and were giving them away for free, she made sure to visit her local grocery store on the relevant issue's release day. To then find a bundle with not one, but two Wrigglers contained within was a wonderful stroke of luck.

  Kate closed her eyes and waited for her recovery to conclude. She enjoyed the sensation of the two Wrigglers deep within her, delighting in the feeling of them squirming in response to gentle squeezes from her passionate depths. She hummed to herself as her heart slowed to its normal rate and sweaty heat gave way to comfortable warmth.

  After a few minutes, she felt ready to enjoy the rest of her evening. She propped herself up with her plush pillows, and picked up the magazine that never failed to take care of her needs. She flicked through the glossy pages, passing by a multitude of adverts for perfumes and jewellery. A double page spread depicting a perfectly airbrushed model sporting gorgeous lingerie held her attention for a few moments, advertising a sexy little set of items she could see herself wearing with pleasure. Kate took mental note to buy some from the advertiser's store before continuing to flick past pages of articles and interviews until she reached the section she sought.

  She snuggled down slightly under the covers, bringing her legs up such that she could rest the magazine at a good reading angle while giving her access to her still dripping womanhood with her right hand.

  Kate began reading the first of a half-dozen or so erotic short stories, which were the main reason she liked to buy this glorious publication. She would flip the pages when needed with her left hand while her right worked at re-energising her sensitive folds beneath the sheets. Re-firing her excitement proved effortless as the printed deliciousness spurred her mind back into sensual action and was wonderfully enhanced by the Wrigglers within her satin clad body.

  She loved these private evenings, wrapped in sexy lingerie, lost in imagination and gently working herself through her typically numerous orgasms... the latter always her chief goal for such sessions. This was going to be a particularly enjoyable evening, she knew. She continued to hum melodically to herself while reading and working herself back up. The Wrigglers responded brilliantly and she decided that, despite only just beginning her evening, her new favourite toys were going to be spending this whole evening and night tucked deep within her... and many more to come. Her friends were undoubtedly enjoying very similar activities right now, and they were all going to relish discussing their experiences tomorrow over their ritualised coffee shop gathering before work... much to the attractive young Waiter's perpetual discomfort. The poor guy had to overhear so many scandalous and dirty things from them... and tales of these joys were going to be shared without censor whether he could stomach it or not.

  She giggled at her thoughts. Perhaps she and her friends would make it up to him one day. For now though she had herself, her toys and her favourite sort of reading materials to while away the evenings... and that was just how she liked it.

  End.