Ryan read over the boring message sent to everyone in the office about something trivial. Apparently, someone forgot to use the correct font for their report and now the higher ups needed to remind everyone that they use 12 font and not 14 because something about taking up space on paper or what not. It was stupid and annoying that Ryan had to force himself to read over the message. Ryan closed the message and quickly looked over his social media for the 10th time in the past 2 minutes, just to past the time.

At the age of 26, he never expected himself to work in a cubical, writing reports for a big company like the one that hired him, but life was funny that way. Deciding to take a quick walk, Ryan headed toward the break room on his floor to grab a cup of water and maybe talk to whoever was at the water cooler. Getting up, Ryan walked the small distance to the water cooler to socialize.

Ryan walked into the room and cursed under his breath, Jimmy was here. Ryan didn't hate Jimmy, he just didn't care for him. Jimmy was the kind of person who always talked about himself and always seemed to try and one up you. You could be talking about the weather and somehow Jimmy would find a way to turn it into a conversation about him. Ryan would rather sit at his cubical completely bored than converse with Jimmy, but Jimmy already spotted him. Ryan couldn't just walk away now...

"Ryan," Jimmy called out.

"Hi Jimmy," Ryan said trying to not strike up a conversation but not seem too rude to him.

Jimmy smiled with a cocky grin and held his cup in his hand. Jimmy started to head over to Ryan who did his best not to look annoyed. "How was your weekend?"

"It was good..." Ryan said grabbing some water from the tank in front of him. Ryan wanted to keep the conversations short and quick. He could already sense that Jimmy was about to tell one of his stories.

"You and Emily go out last night," Jimmy asked.

"Uh, no. We just stayed in watched a movie and stuff," Ryan told him.

Jimmy just nodded as he took a sip of his drink. "Nothing wrong with that," Jimmy said. He continued, "Some of the best nights can be just staying at home. I remember just a few weeks ago, I picked up this one chick and we just spent all day at her place. You should have seen her, she had a nice set on her..."

Ryan did his best not to look annoyed as Jimmy went on about some random person that he felt was 100% made up right now. However, Ryan just stood there silently letting Jimmy drone on about this person until he nearly ran out of water. Ryan was about to tell Jimmy he needed to go when another coworker came in. It was Allison.

"Hi Jimmy," She said cutting Jimmy off from his speech.

"Hey Allison, looking good as always," Jimmy told her with a gleam in his eyes.

Allison laughed, "Would you stop already," Allison smirked at him. "Ryan you got a minute?"

"Sure," Ryan quickly replied. Allison was a life saver.

"Bye Jimmy," Allison waved as she started to walk Ryan out of the room.

"Oh wait a second Allie, Ryan," Jimmy called out to them. "I got something."

Allison paused and turned around to see Jimmy pull a small box out of his pocket.

Immediately Allison's face perked up at the sight of the box. "Nooo, you didn't?" Jimmy grinned and nodded. Allison smiled grew larger and she giggled with excitement. "Oh, just what I needed to perk up my day! You got to let me have one," Allison said quickly heading over toward Jimmy practically dragging Ryan with them. Ryan didn't say anything as they all stood around the small pocket-sized box that Jimmy was holding sealed.

Jimmy started to warn them about the work place policies, "Now, you know you guys can't say anything about-"

Allison just rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry, "No one is going to tell on you Jimmy. Just hurry up," Allison said nearly jumping up and down.

"Alright," Jimmy said as he pulled the top of the box off revealing 4 little shrinkies in the box. Allison let out a squeal at the sight of the 4 barely inch tall people cowering in the box. There were 3 women looking to be about Ryan's age, and one male that barely looked to be 15. All 4 of them were cowering in a single corner trying to stay away from the enormous giants above them. "I got them this morning," Jimmy told them sounding proud of himself.

"Ohhhh," Allison said sounding excited looking over each and every one of the helpless people.

"You can have first pick," Jimmy offered Allison. Allison didn't even hesitate as she pointed at the teen. The kid shook his head as he couldn't believe what was about to happen. Allison smiled as she reached forward with her hand and pinched the tiny body with her fingers and extracted him from the small cluster of women. Allison wasted no time throwing the screaming figure into her mouth and closing her mouth shut. Allison closed her eyes as she swished the small person around in her mouth for a few moments. Slushing the tiny figure from one side of her mouth to the other. She made sure to get him all slippery and gooey. Ryan wasn't sure if Allison was doing it on purpose or subconsciously, but she was letting out soft moans of pleasure as she sucked on the kid, extracting whatever flavor from him. It didn't take more than a few more moments before Allison stopped her tongue movements and...

GULP

"Ahhh," Allison said tracing her hand down her throat with the small budge moving down slowly. "That was great..." Allison told Jimmy. "I definitely needed that. I always work better with a little squirmier in me," Allison laughed patting her stomach.

"Anytime," Jimmy grinned at her, as he picked up a random shrinky and tossed it into his drink not even looking. "Ryan," Jimmy said offering the box for him to grab one as he took a sip of his drink. There was a tiny scream coming from the cup, but Ryan couldn't make out if the shrinky was screaming from being swallowed or just frightened from the enormous mouth at the front of the mug.

"Nah," Ryan declined no. He wasn't feeling in the mood.

"Oh, come on Ryan," Allison pouted.

"What," Ryan asked.

"You know you want one, go ahead," Allison pressured him.

Ryan looked down at the two trembling women who were shaking their heads no. Both were pleading to be left alone. However, Ryan was feeling kind of peckish. Ryan just rolled his eyes as he took one of the women and brought her up to his face. He looked over the terrified shrinky who was trying to beg for him to let her go. Ryan ignored her words as he tossed the small thing in his mouth and chased it down with the last of his water. Ryan gulped the mass down his throat and felt the lump roll down his esophagus and into his gullet where it made a splash with the rest of the water and left-over breakfast that he had earlier. Ryan could already feel the small movements of the shrinky in his stomach.

"You want the last one Allie," Jimmy offered.

Allison really looked like she wanted it as she bit her lip in anticipation, "No, I shouldn't."

"Come on," Jimmy then pushed the box closer. That was all the persuasion that Allison needed. Allison thanked Jimmy and picked up the shrunken women who was now begging for her life. No one in the room other than the tiny person seemed to care. Jimmy watched Allison lift the terrified person above her head and held her there.

"Down you go," Allison spoke to her with a cheery tone that betrayed the situation the small women was in. Ryan waited for Allison to finish her snack so they could get back to whatever she needed to talk to him about. Allison on the other hand didn't seem that impatient as she slowly lowered her hand toward her mouth. Allison made sure to stick her fingers in her mouth and directly deposited the threshing and crying women right in the center of her throat. With the struggling morsel's feet placed inside her esophagus, Allison just needed to swallow to send her down to meet her fate. It only took a fraction of a second and a loud gulping sound and a familiar bulge appeared as a muffled screech traveled down past Allison's collar to vanish from the world. Allison let out a satisfied sound, "Thanks Jimmy."

Jimmy had a grin on his face as he downed the last of his drink and whatever might have been in the cup, "Anytime."

Ryan couldn't help but noticed a small bulge in Jimmy's pants that showed that he was a little more thankful for Allison's company than she was of his.

Before Ryan could respond, Allison was already walking Ryan out of the breakroom. "You know he's got a thing for you," Ryan said to Allison when he was sure they were outside of his hearing.

"What Jimmy? Nooo," She said trying to play it off. "We're just coworkers. Besides, he's not my type."

Ryan just shrugged, "So what did you need?"

"I'm having issues with my computer again and the tech guy said he can't get to it till later and I got some important stuff that needs to get done. Can you work your magic for me," Allison begged giving him the puppy dog face, "Please?"

Ryan laughed and rolled his eyes, "What did you do this time?"

Allison looked hurt, "It wasn't my fault." Allison tried to tell Ryan who looked at her computer. It didn't take too long for Ryan to fix the small technical issue. "Thank you," Allison said giving Ryan a quick hug. "What would I do without you?"

"Probably get someone else to fix it," Ryan retorted.

Allison didn't respond as she brought her hand up to her face to cover her mouth. There was a muffled burp that she emitted that betrayed her feminine looks. Allison just laughed it off, "They really like to struggle in there."

Ryan didn't comment at the mention of the two people stewing away in there until their untimely death. "I should get back to work," Ryan told Allison.

"Ok, I'll see you and Emily at the gym later?"

"Yep, Yoga day," Ryan said as he headed off to his desk. Ryan made his way back to his desk without running into any more people and sat down in his chair. Looking at his computer, Ryan decided to start up the day's work, but found that he didn't have much that needed to be done right now. Bored again, Ryan thought about looking over his phone but a small ticklish sensation on the inside of his stomach distracted him. That was when he remembered the shrunken person being digested.

Ryan couldn't help but think about the society they lived in right now. A world that had normal people and tiny people. These tiny people used to be normal humans, but thanks to a rare disease that suddenly appeared a long time ago, human society was never the same. 1 in 3 people have a chance of contracting the disease known as shrinkism. A baffling and unseen disease that no one knew where or how it came to be or how it spreads or works. Everything about the disease was a mystery. The only thing that everyone knew was that anyone up the age of 21 had a 33% of catching it. As strange as the disease was, it was even more stranger that once you turn 21 there was a 0% chance of catching the shrinking disease. There was no rhyme or reason behind it as you could be born with the disease and never grow an inch, you would just lose your height over the first few years as a baby. You could even be 20 years old and 9 months at 7 feet tall and the next day find out that you have about a week before your barely even an inch tall. There was nothing more frightening to find out that you only had a week before you were nothing more than an incest compared to everyone else around you.

Most of the population felt sorry for the tiny people, but that didn't help pass too many laws for the infected 33% of the population. The government made it illegal to trade or abuse a tiny, but this only seemed to increase the demand for it. Just like any drug that was banned the desire for them usually increased. What made it worse was that it wasn't even a criminal offense for breaking that law, it was more of an infraction with a minor fine that was somewhere around a parking ticket. No one really cared about the shrunken people. In fact, it was more like you weren't really a person once you lost your height.

"Ryan!" A female shouted out his name causing him to jump. Suddenly Tess, a new intern who was barely 22 showed up out of nowhere scaring Ryan out of his thoughts.

"Jesus, Tess... you nearly gave me a heart attack," Ryan laughed off his shock. "What are you doing on this floor?" Ryan asked not sure why the new intern would be up here. Usually it's Tim that covered this floor.

Tess just gave Ryan a sly smile. Ryan felt a little nervous around Tess. She was cute and nice but, something about her just didn't set right with him. "I got promoted."

"You did?"

"Yep," Tess said sounding please. "Didn't you hear?"

Ryan looked confused, "Heard? What?"

Tess leaned in, "It's about Tim... he shrunk!" Tess said sounding supper happy about it.

"What?! Tim? But... he couldn't have he's 22," Ryan said trying to defend the impossible idea.

Tess shook her head, "Nope, he was lying. He faked his information, so everyone would think he was over the age when he was actually..." She couldn't stop from laughing, "HE was 2 weeks away from his 21st! Oh god how hilarious is that," Tess said laughing almost demonically.

Ryan was about to ask why he would fake his age, but then it wasn't uncommon for those under 21 to fake their age to get a job. A lot of companies require the age to be 21 just because they didn't want a worker to shrink and have to find someone to replace them within a few days just because they contracted the disease. In fact, it happened quite often.

Ryan couldn't help but feel sorry for his coworker. He was a nice guy and Ryan hated to hear that Tim was sick. Ryan remember what is was like being under 21.... Always afraid of the day that might come at any second...

"Did you hear me," Tess said almost snickering.

"Sorry, what," Ryan said pulling himself out of his thoughts.

"He's coming in today to pick up his pay check. I wonder how small he's gotten," She snickered again. "Isn't this so great! I get to work up here with you!"

"Uh yeah," Ryan said trying not to sound uncomfortable about it. Tess seemed a little too pleased that a coworker just caught the most fatal disease there was. She just took his job without a care towards her coworker and was even laughing about it.

"Hey, if he's smaller than 12 inches..." Tess leaned closer, "Should we grab him?"

Ryan felt a chill run up his spine at that thought... "Grab Tim?" Was she serious about kidnapping Tim?!

Suddenly Tess laughed and patted Ryan on the shoulder, "I'm joking! Jeez calm down Mr. Serious. You know that's illegal, right," Tess laughed giving him a wink. "I'll talk to you later," Tess said as she headed back to her department.

Ryan shook his head at the crazy woman, she seemed way too delighted about the misfortune of her coworker to not feel nervous around her. However, as Ryan watched Tess leave with a skip in her step, he couldn't help but wonder about his other coworkers. Did they feel the same way? He noticed a few delighted faces as Tess walked by, that told Ryan he wasn't the only one that got the news of Tim. And not a lot of their faces looked upset, more like pleased to hear it happen.

Just then Ryan felt a pathetic and weak wisp of movement in his gut that quickly reminded Ryan what he did. He was no better than anyone else. He had taken his fair share of enjoyment out of shrinkies. That's just how it was. Ryan couldn't judge his coworkers. They all went through what Ryan and everyone else in the world had to go through in their childhood, always afraid of when your time was up. However, the only difference is that they all made it. That was just hard reality for anyone else who hadn't made it, it just wasn't meant to be.

Ryan shrugged these thought off as he had work to complete and quickly went back to his desktop to catch up on the assignment that needed to get done today.

"Em," Ryan called out trying to get his long-time girlfriend's attention. Emily looked around and spotted Ryan and Allison waiting outside the gym doors for her. Ryan waited for Emily to come over and kiss him hello. Once she greeted Ryan, she and Allison quickly went into girl mode as they started to talk about whatever it was they wanted. Ryan didn't mind being in the background as his girlfriend chatted away. He's been with Emily almost 5 years. Ryan thought about proposing to her, but just never found a good time to do it. They both loved each other, but Ryan wasn't sure if he was ready for that next step. It was a big one and he didn't want to jump and find out Emily wasn't ready. That was last thing he wanted to do. So, he was content with just being how they were now. Living together in the same apartment and doing everything together. It wasn't bad.

"So how was your day," Emily asked Ryan finally after a long chat with Allison.

"Meh," Ryan said letting Emily know just how dull it was.

"That bad," Emily asked laughing.

"Not my fault that my job is boring," Ryan told her.

"It's not that boring," Allison interjected.

"Oh really," Ryan asked. He mimicked himself typing on his keyboard, "8 hours. 8 hours of typing, that is my job."

"That does sound bad," Emily said feeling sympathetic toward his plight.

"But it could be worse, I could have your job," Ryan joked.

Emily looked shocked, "Hey!"

Allison agreed, "He's right Em, working as a teacher sounds pretty bad."

"It's not! I get to enjoy helping children learn and grow-"

Ryan started to snore.

"Stop that," Emily said hitting Ryan in the gut making him cut out his obnoxious snoring.

Laughing, Ryan apologized, "Sorry Em."

"Whatever," Emily grumbled.

They all headed toward the gym room that their yoga instructor was in for their typical exercise. They all got their mats and everything they needed for their workout. It was a nice hour long session for everyone as they did stretching and poses that helped their muscles and joints. Once they all finished the session everyone began to pack up and start to leave or talk with one another. Ryan went to the bathroom before they left.

As Ryan headed back to the gym together his things, he noticed a small group of women trying to comfort one of the older women who was somewhere in her 40's weeping hysterically. Ryan looked confused. Why was she crying? What was going on? Heading over to Emily and Allison he figured he ask them instead of the group of women that would surely rip his head off for disrupting them.

"What's going on," Ryan asked as quietly as he could to Emily and Allison.

"It's Wendy," Emily told him. Ryan waited until she explained. Emily was as quite as she could be told him what was going on "This is her last class."

"Why," Ryan asked.

"Her son Bobby, he caught it... he just started shrinking today," Emily told him. Ryan quickly recalled Wendy's youngest son, he wasn't even 7 yet. Now he would have to live the rest of his life as a shrinky. Emily continued, "I'm going to say goodbye and wish her luck. You two can wait for me outside," Emily told Allison and Ryan. Ryan nodded and headed outside. He didn't know Wendy very well and didn't want to offend her with false words of sorrow. It wasn't his place to try and help.

Both Ryan and Allison waited near the doors to the outside for Emily to show up.

"That must suck," Ryan said. "Having a family member contract shrinkism. That would be hard to deal with."

"Do you really think she's going to quit yoga," Allison asked sounding worried.

"I don't know, I mean it's going to be hard to raise a shrinky. I think she might."

"That sucks," Allison said sounding upset. Ryan was about to comfort Allison with how upset she sounded when she continued, "I really wanted to try and taste Bobby," Allison said rubbing her stomach.

Ryan looked at Allison who looked like she was trying to imagine what it would taste like. She couldn't' have been serious right? There was no way she could be thinking of doing something like that to a child. Right?

"He's only 7," Ryan stated trying to get Allison to understand.

"I hear they taste better when they are younger. Have you ever had a shrinky that young? It just makes my mouth water just thinking about it..."

Ryan didn't answer Allison's question. Before Allison could continue or for Ryan to say something, Emily showed up. "Time to go," Ryan said cutting Allison's daydreams short as they all exited the gym.

"Is she leaving?" Allison asked Emily.

"I don't think so. I think I might of talked her out of it," Emily told them.

"Oh, thank goodness," Allison said sounding releveled. Ryan knew that it wasn't relief for Wendy being able to return to the yoga workout, but the possibility for her to get closer to a shrunken Bobby.

"Is everything ok," Emily asked as both she and Ryan were in bed trying to sleep.

"I don't know," Ryan told her. He felt so weird since this morning. Not just from the whole contradicting and conflicting emotions he felt throughout the day, but also weird in his body. Almost as if his body was tingling from something. "How do you feel about the shrinkies?"

"Huh," Emily asked cuddling up against Ryan.

"The shrinkies. What's your thoughts about them?"

Emily let out a soft laugh, "Where is this coming from? Is it because of Wendy?"

"Kind of... so?"

"... I don't know. I mean, it's not like I've thought about it. I mean they're just .... Shrinkies."

"True," Ryan said to her response.

"What's going on," Emily asked now sounding worried.

"Nothing. I just... been a long day. Someone at work turned out to be under 21 and .... Well it was his time."

"Oh..." Emily said sounding disheartened for him. "Are you worried about him?"

Ryan just shrugged, "Not really, I mean he was nice and always told funny jokes and stuff. I just don't know how I feel about him not coming to work anymore. I guess I'm I'll little upset that I won't be able to talk to him about Monday's Super Slamtastic Show, you know the wrestling show."

"Ahhh, you're going to miss him," Emily responded snuggling closer.

"Yeah...." Ryan said pulling Emily closer as he felt sleep baring down on him. "Maybe Tess watches the show..."

Ryan woke up to the sound of his alarm going off. Groggily he hit the alarm to shut it up as he got out of bed and out of Emily's arms. She loved to wrap herself around him, but sometimes it was hard to get out from her grip. As much of a hassle it was to dispatch her from him, Ryan liked how attached she was to him. Yawning Ryan headed to the bathroom to use the restroom and prepare for the day. After using the toilet, Ryan headed to the sink to wash up his face and wake himself up with the water. Looking into the mirror, Ryan told himself just a few more days until Friday, then it was the weekend. Heading away from the washroom, Ryan grabbed some work clothes and headed downstairs to eat and prepare for the day. Once done with his breakfast he went to brush his teeth. Ryan made sure to get his teeth clean and spit out the toothpaste and water. Looing in the mirror he smiled to make sure he got out any residue of food.

"What the..." Ryan said squinting in the mirror. He was looking at himself in the mirror and was wondering if his eyes were betraying him. No, it was impossible. Ryan quickly shook his head and looked again. That's weird...

Ryan decided to make sure he wasn't just hallucinating as he walked over to his closet and went inside where his clothes were at along with a scale. Getting on the scale, he made sure to use it to check his size. As he pulled down the poll to match his height he got off the scale and looked at it with shocked and terrified eyes.

Was he.... Smaller?

Ryan looked at his height. No, it wasn't possible, Ryan was over 21. There was no way he lost height. It was impossible for him to catch the shrinking disease if he was older than 21. Then it dawned on him, he was barely missing an inch. About the same amount of height that a pair of shoes would give him. Ryan shook his head at how ridiculous he was acting. Last time he must have had his shoes on, that's why he was shorter. He would have to remember not to wear his shoes when he measured his weight and height next time.

Stepping off the scale, Ryan got the last things he needed before he headed off to work. Ryan was already in his daily routine not letting that little panic attack he had this morning throw him off. He decided to use the bathroom real quick before leaving. Once done with his morning business he stepped out and washed his hands. As he turned around he saw that Emily was just getting up. Sometimes he would be gone before Emily woke up sometimes she would be waking up just as he was leaving, enough time for a kiss goodbye. Deciding on putting everything to rest with his little morning scare, he decided to run it past her.

"Morning," Ryan greeted a still groggy Emily.

She was still kind of sleep walking toward the bathroom as she was really not a morning person before her coffee. Emily greeted Ryan with a low moan, "mmmm." Which was the closes thing to a morning greeting that he was going to get.

"Em, I got a question for you. Does anything look different about me," Ryan asked hoping that she would see anything wrong like maybe his height.

Emily paused as she glanced at Ryan. After a few moments she asked, "Is this suppose to be a test? Like when a girl asks a guy about it, to see if they notice their hair or makeup?"

Ryan laughed. "No seriously."

Emily frowned for a few more moments. She shrugged, "New tie? Did you comb your hair different," She asked.

"Ok, you can stop now," Ryan told her realizing that it was all in fact in his head. If Emily didn't see it, than he knew it was just his paranoia that was getting to him.

"What," Emily asked confused. "You're not seriously, going to hold this against me because I didn't notice anything, right?"

"I'll think about it," Ryan kissed her as he headed off.

Emily called out to Ryan before he left, "You suck."

"Love you too," Ryan laughed

As Ryan headed to work, he couldn't help but think about that quick panic attack he had this morning. Why would he even think that he was shrinking? Then he remembered Tim and then Wendy's kid the other day. That must have sparked some kind of weird delusion or fear for him. Ryan nodded as he thought it over. It made sense. All his life as a child he feared the worse, that he would one day contract Shrinkism. It was pretty much a death sentence for anyone who got it. Something that had him terrified all his life until he was 21. That would definitely leave some kind of lingering fear in him even to this day. It wouldn't be unheard of some kind of psychotic scaring left inside him about possibly losing his height.

Just thinking about it made Ryan recalled some past events that he buried away.

When Ryan was in middle school, he was never the tall kid in class. He was on the rather short side. Due to this, a lot of kids would make fun of him about how he would be the next shrinky of the class or how he was already shrinking in front of everyone. Some of the other meaner students found him a very simple target to pick on and would make his school life not the most pleasant.

One of the worse bullies that Ryan encountered, was around 5th grade. His name was Jack. Ryan wasn't sure what he did to piss him off, but on the first day of school Jack had it out for him. Jack and his cronies, would torment him everyday they could all through 5th grade. It was nonstop bullying whenever Jack had the chance. Some of Jack's favorite insults was calling Ryan little shit, as in what he would be when Jack was through with him after he shrunk.

If it wasn't verbal abuse, it would be physical. Jack wouldn't waste anytime knocking things off Ryan's desk when the teacher wasn't looking, or when passing by just slamming into Ryan knocking him down. As bad as it was, luckily Ryan wasn't the only student focused by the bully in class. Jack or what most of the class would call him behind his back, Jackass, was a bother to everyone. However, no one would stand up to the towering behemoth.

One of the cruelest things that Jack did still haunted Ryan to this day.

Ryan didn't have a lot of friends in school thanks to his size and how much he was picked on. No one wanted to be targeted by Jack more because they hung out with him. However, Peter was an exception. Peter was just a nice kid in general and didn't let Jack's bullying get in the way of their friendship. To Ryan, Peter was the coolest kid in class because he didn't let Jack stop him from hanging out with him during lunch or recess or any other times. So when the horrible news of Peter catching Shrinkism spread through the class, Ryan swore he would cry. It was the most horrible thing he ever heard and over the next few weeks he got to watch his best friend diminish in size everyday until he was hardly noticeable.

Most parents would have pulled their kids out of school the moment they found out they caught the disease, mostly out of safety and concern. Although the school had rules in place to protect shrinkies, not all of them made it through the year. It wasn't rare for students to "go missing" and never be found. Although, teachers would punish any student found messing around with a shrinky, that didn't mean they took extra steps to prevent it. However, Peter's mom wasn't like most parents and she wanted him to finish the year before homeschooling him.

Peter didn't even last a day after he came to class less than a few inches tall. Ryan remembered seeing Peter at the start of the class across the room trying to take notes. When the bell rang for lunch everyone hurried out to go eat at the cafeteria. Ryan was going to take Peter with him, when he found that Peter was missing. Ryan tried to find his friend but couldn't. He was missing.

Ryan went to ask the teacher to tell him he was missing.

"Jack said he would take him to the cafeteria."

Those words sent a wave of panic through Ryan as he hurried to the cafeteria to try and save Peter. Ryan arrived at the cafeteria just in time to watch as Jack held a small object above his head before he dropped it into his mouth. Ryan quickly tried to get a teacher to notice Jack eating Peter, but he was too quick. By the time the teacher in the cafeteria came over Jack had already swallowed Peter.

"Let him go!" Ryan shouted at Jack.

"Let who go," Jack said trying to play the dumb. "I don't know what your talking about."

Ryan pointed to Jack, "You took Peter and just swallowed him."

The teacher had a serious look on his face, "Is this true?"

Again Jack just shrugged, "I don't know what he's talking about."

Ryan then swore he heard a tiny cry from Jack's gut. It was Peter begging for help. "Did you hear him?! He's in his stomach," Ryan shouted to the teacher trying to get his attention to focus on the noise.

The teacher again gave Jack a disapproved look before leaning in. Leaning down the teacher tried to listen to any cries for help from Jack's gut.

Just as soon as the teacher leaned in, Jack opened his mouth and let out an obnoxious burp right in the teacher face causing the whole cafeteria to erupt into laughter. The teacher pulled back disgusted and glared at Jack. He pointed toward the door, "Principals office, NOW!"

Jack just laughed and said, "Fine."

Ryan watched as Jack just headed to the Principals office with his best friend trapped, begging for someone to save him. Peter was never found.

Jack never let Ryan forget about his friend becoming nothing more than a snack for him as he used it as a new way to torment him. It went on and on until it was the last few weeks of school. It wasn't until someone pointed out that Jack looked a little smaller than normal before people started to realize that there was a God after all. It seemed that Jack's reign of terror was over as the class quickly learned that Jack did in fact catch the shrinking disease. Ryan didn't know why Jack showed up to class, maybe he thought he was still top dog of the class, even though he was losing a couple of inches every day. He still tried to bully people but found that when he was smaller than his target, they tended to fight back. Soon even Ryan was larger than Jack and he had no one to pick on. Finally it was the last week of class and Jack was about the same size Peter was when he "disappeared".

Ryan watched as Jack's normal group of bullies came into class. He looked over the 3 kids and realized that Jack wasn't with any of them. The first time in a long time, Ryan felt relief and not dread at the start of class. Ryan watched as Jack's right hand man Will, walked over to take a seat next to Ryan.

Ryan decided to ask Will about Jack, "Where's Jack?"

Will turned toward Ryan, "Oh, Jackass? I'm sure he's around here somewhere." Will than proceeded to sit down.

Just before Will's butt hit the seat, Ryan swore he heard Jack's small voice let out a muffled cry that soon was silenced when Will's rear end touched the seat.

No one knew what happened to Jack, and no one really cared. They were all just glad that Jack was finally gone. Sure Will and the other still bullied some of the students once in a while, but it was never as bad as when Jack did it.

Ryan learned that year that karma could be a bitch sometimes. That was why he never bothered any shrinkies. That was until he turned 21.

Usually someones birthday didn't mean much when any day they could catch Shrinkism. Ryan never enjoyed his birthdays, that was until he was 21. At 21 people would celebrate this joyous moment of reaching the safe year where they couldn't catch Shrinkism. This birthday party was called their relief day for obvious reasons, where everyone who was over 21 would celebrate the newest member to society. The only people who weren't 21 there, were all the shrinkies, who had the unfortunate pleasure of being the parties main entertainment.

During his relief party, Ryan finally decided that since he would be able to live his life out normally, he would find someone and ask them out. There was now no fear of catching Shrinkism and having to either give up on the person or fearing of them turning on him when he became too small. With that weight off his shoulders, Ryan felt like it was time to start living.

Heading back toward the kitchen where his best friends had decided to line up some interesting drinks for everyone, Ryan went to get a little more liquid courage. Ryan passed a lot of his friends that helped through this massive party, all of them partaking in the pleasures of the shrinkies at the party. Some of the things they were doing, Ryan tried out for the first time in his life, and found ho pleasurable shrinkies could be. Ryan did things he never even though were possible to do with shrinkies, and then some.

Ryan tried to steady himself as he found he was feeling pretty buzzed right now.

Ryan was going to grab one more shrunken shot before he tried his luck with some of the pretty girls at the party. Heading over to a table that had a bunch of shot glasses filled with different liquids that held a small shrinky trying to stay afloat in each glass. Ryan went for a shot only to have his hand collide with someone else.

"Oh shit! My bad," Ryan tried to apologize the best he could while not seeming like an asshole to the person.

There was an adorable laugh, as possible the pretties girl Ryan had ever seen just smiled at him. "It's ok. You look like your having fun," She commented.

"Yeah," Ryan chuckled, "Just turned 21. 21!" Ryan shouted which anyone who could hear him cheered for him.

"Oh, so this party is for you?" She asked sounding surprised.

"Yep," Ryan smirked. "What about you?"

"Oh, I just turned 21 a few weeks ago. So how you feeling," She asked as she went to grab a shot for each of them.

"Now I know why it's called, the relief," Ryan told her as he took the shot glass with a tiny person waving their hands to get his attention. As if Ryan didn't know there was someone in his cup.

"Same here," The girl said smiling at Ryan.

"To being 21," Ryan lifted his glass up to the girl for a toast.

"21," She said as they clinked their shot glasses together and downed the drink along with it's special treat. Ryan downed his drink fast and was able to get the pleasure of watching the hot babe in front of him give him a show. When she gulped she used her finger to trace down the trail the gulp was making from her throat to her stomach. Once it hit home, she let out a satisfied sigh as she opened her eyes and smiled again, "I love that feeling."

It took Ryan a few seconds to snap out of his dumbfounded gaze and ask, "Wh-what's your name?"

"Emily."

"I'm Ryan," He introduced himself.

As Ryan headed too his work station at his job, he recalled that wonderful night he met Emily. She blew him away with how funny and greet of a person she was. He made sure to get her number, and in a few days they went on a date. In a couple of weeks Ryan had his first time with Emily in his dorm. They've been together ever since.

Heading to his desk, Ryan sat down and started up his computer. How the years have gone by since that day. 5 years had pass since the first time he met Emily, and since he turned 21.

Ryan let out a sigh as he started to get into work mode. It already started to kill his happy thoughts as he started typing up the sheets left on his desk. As Ryan zipped through his work load, he couldn't help but get distracted as he heard some of his coworkers talking. They were chatting away about Tim not showing up yesterday for his pay check.

Ryan frowned at that comment, why wouldn't Tim grab his last pay check? He worked for it, so why not come in and grab it?

Shaking his head and getting back to his boring job, Ryan blasted through his work load only to find that he was done before lunch.

"Great," Ryan complained realizing he had to find something to do for the next couple of hours. Deciding it was too early to eat, Ryan went on his social media profiles and did a little surfing and posting. Soon that got boring too as he caught up to everything new that had happen since he last checked. Deciding to send a message to Emily, Ryan pulled up his messages. After just sending Emily a couple of messages asking how things were going and stuff, Ryan put his phone away and checked the time. It was barely half past noon. "I guess I could go for some lunch," Ryan told himself finding that there was nothing else to do right now. Getting up from his desk he headed away from his cubical and toward the elevator. Once he reached it he hit the button to head to the ground floor, someone spoke out to get his attention.

"Wait," Allison called out as she rushed toward the elevator. Ryan did as he was asked and hit the hold door button for Allison. "Thanks," She said as she got into the elevator.

"Yep," Ryan responded.

"You going to lunch," Allison asked.

"That's the plan," Ryan told her.

"Same here, want to join me?"

Ryan shrugged, "Sure." He didn't have anywhere in mind he wanted to go.

"Cool," Allison said sounding happy, "I know this place that just opened and was looking for someone to go with."

"Sounds good," Ryan told her. "It's not too far from here?"

"Nope. It's just a few blocks away. You know where Jimmy's burgers used to be?" Ryan nodded. "It's across the street."

Ryan nodded again in confirming how close the place was. "What's it called?"

"Small snacks," Allison told him.

"Small snacks?" Ryan asked reconfirming the name of the establishment. "What do they specialize in?"

"That's a secret," Allison said trying to act cryptic.

Ryan just rolled his eyes at Allison as the elevator doors opened letting them off the ground floor. Ryan let Allison out first before following her out of the building they worked in and headed down toward Small Snacks. As they walked they talked about stupid stuff. Some of it was about work or coworkers and little things like the up coming movie that was coming out next month. Just typical stuff one would talk about. It didn't take too long before Allison arrived at the new spot. Ryan looked at the store and saw the picture of a large mouth opening up with the words Small Snack being expelled from the open mouth as the header for the store.

"Interesting name," Ryan told Allison.

"Oh it gets better," Allison told him sounding extremely excited. She entered through the doors as Ryan followed her to notice that there was a decent line of customers waiting in line. Ryan was surprised at both how many people were here but also how very little there was for such a new place. It was just enough to feel like it was kind of popular, but not enough to make one want to find another place to eat due to the wait. As Ryan waited in line with Allison, he looked over the menu. It wasn't very descriptive at all. It all read as special 1-10 only describing a few things that came with it like a drink a side and some sauces. For example the one that Ryan was going to get was the special number 4 a burger with some fries and a special sauce, but the price for the said burger was extreme.

"20 dollars for a burger? Isn't that a bit much," Ryan asked Allison.

"Trust me," Allison told him. "If you want, I can cover-" Allison offer.

"No, I got it. I just think that it better be worth it, you know what I mean?"

"It will be," Allison promised sounding very suspicious as it seemed that she knew that Ryan would like the average sounding burger.

Ryan decided to trust Allison as they were next up to order. Allison ordered a number 9, which seemed like a plan salad with some toppings for around 25 dollars. Ryan would have flipped out for paying that much for a salad but stayed silent. When it was his turn he ordered his burger. After paying they were ushered to the side so the next person could order. As Ryan waited for his food, he watched as he could see the cooks cooking and prepping the food for them. It didn't look all too fancy and definitely not worth the $20 he just spent. Finally, when the order was done, Ryan grabbed his bag and started to head out.

"Wait," Allison told him.

"Huh? What," Ryan asked.

"We have to eat here," Allison told him.

"What? Really? Why," Ryan asked about the weird remark.

"It's their policy, come on," Allison told him.

Ryan was skeptical but didn't want to cause an issue so he followed Allison to a section to sit. Once they sat down, Ryan went to grab his burger from his bag as Allison opened up her salad.

"Oh I got a big one," Allison said as she looked extremely delighted.

Ryan thought she meant that she got a big salad and didn't think anything of it... until he unwrapped his burger and saw something he wasn't expecting. There were two feet kicking out from under the bun. Ryan was shocked as he saw the wiggling feet trying to escape from underneath the breading of his burger. Ryan was about to say something when he looked up at Allison and her meal. It was about now that he saw that she was licking her lips in anticipation. Ryan looked at her salad and in the bed of leafy greens he saw a rather large shrinky shaking in the middle of the green bedding.

Ryan started to ask, "Is that a-"

Allison only winked at Ryan before she grabbed her salad dressing and drenched her lettuce and shrinky with the creamy sauce. Before Ryan could comment again, Allison stabbed her fork into her salad as she started to enjoy her meal. Ryan was a little hesitant, if he was caught trying to eat/hurt a shrinky in public he could get charged with a fine. Ryan looked around a little and noticed how slightly dim the place was. The lighting was just enough that it wasn't hard to see but would make it a little difficult to clearly see across the room. It was now that Ryan noticed the windows were also tinted making it hard for anyone to see clearly inside.

"Aren't you going to eat," Allison asked through her mouthful of lettuce.

This brought Ryan back to the present and the food in his hand. Ryan didn't respond as he brought up his burger and prepared to chomp into it. He hoped that it tasted better than it looked. Not wasting any more of his lunch time, Ryan started to eat from the opposite side of where he saw the feet sticking out of. Ryan usually saved the best parts of his meals for last. Taking his first bite, he found that there wasn't anything special about his meal that would have made him think it was worth the extra money charged. As Ryan worked his way toward the end he last saw the kicking feet, he looked up to see Allison toying around with her meal. As she munched away on what he could only assume was a mediocre salad, Allison took her fork and started to poke and prod the tiny person on top of her salad. Ryan watched as the little person tried to roll away or stand up, to try and escape the looming utensil that stabbed at him. The small person would occasionally slip due to the dressing that soaked him. Ryan soon realized how pointless it was for the tiny person, as the container holding the shrinky was just big enough to keep him from climbing out.

Allison let out a pleased sound as she gulped down her mouth full of greens before smirking, "Time for a little protein." Allison stabbed her fork down just inches away from the terrified shrinky who let out a miserable cry. Allison didn't even hesitate as she continued to stab near the little shrinky. It wasn't long before Allison had collected a large amount of lettuce before her fork was full. The shrinky looked relieved that monstrous spears were now covered with the harmless leaves, unable to cause any damage to him, for now. Allison pulled the fork away from the tiny person in her salad dish as she ushered it toward her mouth. She quickly put her fork between her teeth as she extracted the utensil removing any source of food that once was on it.

Looking down at his food, Ryan took another bite of his burger, still not finding the main source of the faint squirming he felt coming from the burger. Ryan noticed he still had a bout a third of his meal left. Looking back up he continued to watch as Allison chewed the leafy green in her mouth. Both the shrinky and Ryan were too busy watching Allison to not notice her free hand that wasn't carrying the fork. Ryan only saw the slightest of movements caused by Allison as she was already moving her other hand toward the shrinky from behind. She had a spoon as she approached from behind. The shrinky had no chance as the utensil took out his legs causing him to fall backward into the curved spoon. The shrinky was whisked away from the salad bowl he was in and toward the chewing mouth. Allison operated quickly as she brought the tiny figure toward her mouth. She opened her mouth just wide enough to scoot the spoon with the shrinky on it toward her parted lips. Ryan continued to watch as the spoon was tilted slightly tossing the small person into her awaiting maw. Allison's lips were wide enough for the shrinky to fall in and allow Ryan to see what was awaiting the shrinky. What was once fresh green lettuce was gone. Instead of a bed of leaves, the shrinky was falling into what looked more like a swamp as the mashed up greens were turned more into a paste with it's liquids mixed with whatever saliva that Allison had. The goo filled most of Allison's mouth as the shrinky plopped right into the mess.

It only last for a brief moment but the shrinky was able to look out to Ryan and started to reach out for help. Allison never gave him a chance as she closed her mouth sealing it's fate along with everything else that entered. Allison tossed the shrinky around a little as she prepared to swallow. Allison wasted no time as she gulped down the mouthful of food.

Allison had a look of delight on her face as she enjoyed the feeling of the large amount of food heading down her throat to her stomach. She let out a soft sigh, "Oh yeah. That hit the spo-"

Allison was cut off by the sound of a quick and unexpected burp that escaped her lips.

"Excuse me," Allison laughed trying not to be too embarrassed at the surprise. "The little devil is making a ruckus," Allison laughed as she leaned back with her meal finished. She put her hand on her gut looking quite comfortable.

Ryan wasn't sure how he should react to that, but as he went back to his meal he again saw part of the shrinky under his burger bun trying to hide. This was posing to be a problem for it, as there wasn't much left to hide under. There was barely a fifth of the burger left and just enough for Ryan to toss in his mouth complete. Wanting to finish his meal, Ryan tossed the rest of his meal into his mouth and closed it. He didn't waste anytime starting to chew into his meal. Almost immediately the shrinky must have giving up on the act of hiding in the meal as it dove out of the breading trying to escape it's impending destruction. Ryan kept chewing the burger not really caring about the moving object trying to find an escape. It didn't take too long before everything was turned into a similar mush and piled all together smothering whatever movement the shrinky was doing before hand. Ryan was about to swallow when he heard a muffled cry for mercy.

Ryan didn't pay attention to whatever meaningless plead the shrinky was trying to say as he didn't waste another second swallowing his lunch. The pile of mush that contained the last of his burger and the little shrinky slide down his throat painfully slow. Ryan felt the almost too large of a gulp trying to move down but needed a little assistance. Ryan didn't hesitate to chase it all down with a good couple of gulps of his drink. The cool refreshing drink help shove the rest of the resisting meal down to meet it's fate as food in Ryan's gut.

"You want some of my fries," Ryan asked offering some to Allison.

"Sure," She said as she help Ryan finish off his side dish. Both Allison and Ryan talked about their morning in their different departments as they nibbled on the last few fries. As Ryan told Allison about the mundane work load he had to do, he finished the fries and his drink. As soon as the last gulp of liquid met his stomach it started to churn and rumble as it started to process the meal he just added to his stomach. The faint feeling of something trying to struggle out of his active gut reminded him of the interesting special topping on his burger.

"So, this is an interesting place," Ryan told Allison.

"I know right," Allison replied to Ryan, sounding very pleased with her discovery. "I've enjoyed every meal I've had here." Then Allison put on a pout as she added, "I just wish it wasn't so expensive. I don't know if my wallet can keep up."

Ryan shook his head, "I mean the food was ok, I just don't know about the pricing."

Allison tried to defend the restaurant, "Well, if they ever get finned for selling shrinkys they need to be able to pay it off, right? So I don't see a problem with charging so much for their specials."

Ryan just shrugged, "I guess. You ready to head back? My lunch break is almost over."

Allison nodded as she picked up her salad bowl and headed over to drop of her dishes. As soon as she was done, Ryan decided to stand up and head out. Once Ryan stood up he felt his stomach shift from the movement and the little tickling sensation he had in his stomach quickly vanished from the sudden shift washing it away with the sloshing of it's contents. As Ryan walked back to the office, he couldn't help but wish to feel that struggling sensation return, if not for a little bit longer.

Ryan was busy completing some more work when he heard a small commotion. Curious he leaned back from his computer to look around and see what was going on. There was some rather loud talking from some of his neighboring coworkers.

"I heard hes coming in today." Someone said.

There was a stifled laugh, "No way, really?"

"I heard he's trying to be secretive about it," another person added.

Ryan frowned at the gossip going around. Ryan wasn't sure what everyone was talking about but soon it became very clear when a door opened up. Ryan watched, stunned to see Tim walking in. Ryan was shocked at how small he had become. He looked more like a child now. The clothes he had on made it seem more like a child trying to pretend to play dress up. He must had lost a couple of inches since he put them on today because the clothes looked to be a little loose. Ryan heard a few snickers from his coworkers as they watched Tim walk past a few cubicals heading to the HR office down the hall to collect his pay check for his work. Ryan watched as Tim tried not to act too humiliated at the situation he was in. He hurried as fast as his smaller legs could carry him to the door. Ryan was able to see the child like Tim strain as he tried to open the door. Luckily he was able to open it and walk inside without having to ask for assistance.

Someone laughed which started a chain reaction of laughter and snickering as everyone tried to get back to work after watching such a hilarious ordeal. Ryan was probably the only one in the office not laughing. He truly felt bad for Tim. Sure they weren't friends to be exact, but Ryan wouldn't say they weren't close. Hopefully Tim had someone to look after him or something. Ryan went back to work as he still had plenty to do.

After about 15 minutes or so, Ryan heard the door to the HR office open. Henry, the head of HR, said, "I wish you the best of luck." Ryan could tell it was all mechanical, and truly wasn't meant. Tim didn't say anything as he headed back the way he came to leave the office. As Ryan again felt a little sympathy for Tim, he wanted to at least give him his regards. Just before Ryan thought about getting up, he noticed someone moving past him. Ryan looked to see who it was.

It was Tess, and she seemed to have her sights on something or to be more exact someone. Ryan's eyes followed Tess, as she approached behind Tim who just reached the door.

"Let me help you with that," Tess offered kindly as she opened the door for Tim. Tim didn't response as he walked out the door followed by Tess.

Ryan figured he might as well catch Tim before he leaves the office. Ryan got up out of his chair and started to head after Tim. As Ryan walked toward the door, someone stopped him real quick as they had a question about some formatting that needed to be done. It took only a few minutes but by the time Ryan was done, he figured he might have missed his opportunity to say bye to Tim. Trying to see if maybe he could catch him, Ryan headed out the door and looked to see if by any chance the elevator was acting slow today. Ryan saw that there was no one near the elevator.

"Damn it," Ryan said to himself realizing that he blew it. Sighing, he figured he would go to the bathroom that was off to the side of the elevator before heading back to work. As Ryan headed toward the bathroom he heard someones voice near it.

It belonged to Tess. She was talking to someone. Ryan didn't want to intrude on her conversation and decided to wait till it was done or just quickly try and get pass without interfering with it. However as Ryan got closer to the sound of the conversation he found it sounded very one sided as Tess was the only one talking. Ryan got a little closer before he was about to turn the corner to head toward the bathrooms, he finally was able to make out the conversation. Ryan didn't know who the other person was but as soon as he heard a familiar whimper from the other person, Ryan immediately picked up that it belonged to Tim.

"I mean look at you. You look like a 9 year old," Tess chuckled. "Did your mom have to drive you here? I bet she's waiting for you, her little baby boy to show up. What do you think she would do if you don't show up, huh? Do you think she would look for you, like some lost child? Or do you think she would be relieved to finally get rid of your pathetically tiny body?" Tess laughed, "I bet she already left. What would you do? Would you try to get a ride home from someone else?" Tess laughed again as she continued with her taunting. "Is there anyone here that you could trust to drive you home? Would you try walking home? You never know who might grab you off the streets. I mean if I saw someone already as small as you, I would. Heck it would be like what... 2 days or something before your just the right size..." Tess let out a deep moan. "Oh, just the thought of the things I'd do to you. Do you want to know," Tess asked again. Tess voice grew quieter but Ryan was right at the corner and could hear only a select few words that Tess excitedly whispered to Tim. "... shoved up... and... choking... pressed in... gagging...maybe.... And then... finally-" Tess started to say only to get cut off by Tim letting out a horrible sound. It was like he was trying to cry but unabled. "Oh my god are you crying," Tess asked delighted in his reaction. "As much as I do enjoy this sight, I would save those tears for when you really will need them."

Ryan couldn't take it anymore as he had to do something. "What's going on," Ryan asked as he came around the corner. It wasn't until now that he saw that Tess had body blocked Tim into the corner just outside the bathroom. She practically had him cowering there as she towered over him.

"Oh, hey Ryan," Tess said acting like everything was normal. It was a complete 180 of how she was just acting. "I was just talking to Tim. Just letting him know how much were going to miss him, right," She asked Tim who was visibly shaking. "Oh, he's just a little sad at all the friends he's going miss." Tess must have had her fun because she backed off the smaller person as she started to walk back toward the office. Just before she left Ryan and Tim, she shot Tim a look from behind Ryan's back that he couldn't see but it made Tim give off a quick whimper, "I'll see you soon Tim."

As soon as Tess was gone, Tim nearly collapsed.

"Are you ok, Tim?" Ryan asked as he went over to help him up. He didn't response as he looked quite traumatized. "Come on, let's get you out of here," Ryan offered as he helped Tim up and to the elevator. Ryan hit the button for the ground floor. "Do you have a ride home?" Tim stiffened at the question but didn't response. Ryan quickly remembered what Tess said about trusting anyone. It kind of hurt that Tim thought that he would do something like that to him, but could he blame him? "I didn't mean it like that, I just didn't want you walking around like this."

Tim seemed to calm his nerves as he spoke, "I have a ride."

"That's good." Ryan told him as they continued to descend in the lift. "I'm sorry about Tess... she didn't mean any of that," Ryan said trying to comfort Tim but realized that it wasn't working as Tim didn't respond. "So... I just, um," Ryan stumbled across his words thinking of how to give Tim a good fare well. Finally Ryan decided to ask him the one thing had been bothering him, "Are you going to be ok? I mean, someone is going to look after you, right? You're going to be fine, right?"

Tim finally looked at Ryan just before they reached the lobby, "It was nice knowing you Ryan," Tim told him. The elevator doors opened. Before Tim left he added, "Just be thankful it wasn't you." Before Ryan could comment on that, Tim started to walk out. Ryan watched as Tim headed toward a grown women who seemed very impatient. She had some features that looked similar to Tim, which would lead Ryan to believe that was an older sister or his mother.

"What took you so long," She nearly barked at Tim who didn't say anything. "Is that your paycheck," She asked as she took the check and looked at the amount on it. "Hurry up and get in the car, I have places to go," She said as she walked with Tim out of the lobby. Ryan hit the button to head back to his floor. Just as the door were closing Ryan saw Tim and his family member walking toward a vehicle that Tim had to climb up into the seat due to his lack of height.

Ryan couldn't help but feel bad for Tim and think how horrible it would be to catch Shrinkism.

Ryan hadn't even sat down for longer than a minute before Tess showed up with a smile on her face.

"Oh my god! That was hilarious! Did you see Tim? Oh man... THAT made my day. What about you? Did you think it was funny how he could barely even open the door," Tess asked giggling.

"Uhh, yeah sure. Look, Tess, I got a lot to do. Do you mind?"

Tess quickly paused from her laughter. "Oh yeah, definitely. I'll catch you later?"

"Sounds good," Ryan said trying to not think of what Tess said to Tim before he left.

"Oh by the way," Tess said leaning in a little closer. "Is something different about you?"

Ryan paused at the comment. "Different," Ryan asked suddenly feeling a chill.

"Yeah... are you... smaller," Tess asked with a slightly disturbing tone to her voice.

"Smaller," Ryan repeated. Ryan looked at Tess now feeling a sickening wave roll over him.

Tess looked at Ryan for the longest time before she burst into laughter, "I'm joking! Jeez, you need to relax more. I swear you look like you actually believed me."

Ryan rolled his eyes at the stupid joke that Tess pulled on him as he felt relieved at the sound of the dumb prank. "Hahaha," Ryan feigned before he said, "I should get back to work."

Tess just kept laughing as she walked away. Ryan tried to get back to work, but something tugged at him. Ryan couldn't stop thinking about his morning. Did he really look smaller?

Ryan stood on his scale wondering why he was doing this. It was stupid. There was no way that he shrunk. Tess even said she was joking. Yet as Ryan got ready to measure his height he couldn't help but be worry that there might be a layer of truth behind Tess's words. Ryan started to operate the scale as he started to measure his height. Just when Ryan thought the bar would stop, it moved a little lower from the original mark this morning.

"That can't be right," Ryan said as he saw that it showed he lost just an inch from today's measurements. Just as a feeling of panic hit Ryan he suddenly realized that he forgot that he didn't have his shoes on like he did this morning. Ryan let out an alleviated sigh as he forgot that this morning he had to been wearing his shoes when he measured himself. That was why he was missing that small amount of his height. Chuckling at his silliness he stepped off the scales and was about to leave the bathroom until he heard a squeak come from beneath his feet. Ryan looked down. Ryan's heart stop beating as he looked down at his feet that were still covered by his shoes.

"No..." Ryan barely whispered in a horrible tone at the suddenly realization that he really did contract Shrinkism.

Ryan felt a weird sensation while he was sleeping. His back ached from something that brought him out of his dreams. He must have slept in a bad position because his back was feeling a little sore. The sore feeling caused Ryan to try force himself out of bed. As Ryan tried to sit up he found that his bed was weird... it was softer? Ryan opened his eyes. Still a little blurry Ryan looked around his bed only to find himself on a slanted white field sloping downward. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes and rub them to wake up only to find that his vision was correct.

It took Ryan a few moments to look across the field he was on, only to realized that it wasn't a field, it was his pillow. He was barely an inch on his bedroom pillow. He was now looking over the vast space of his bed that he used to barely fill, now there was plenty of room.

"This can't be happening," Ryan told himself as he must have shrunk in his sleep. He was now completely shrunken to this tiny state. "What do I do?" What should he do? Ryan figured the only thing he could do was get some help, he needed to find Emily.

Looking over to the other side of the bed he noticed that Emily wasn't there.

"EMILY!" Ryan shouted out loud hoping that she was still here getting ready for work. There was no response.

"Damn it, she must have left for work..." Ryan muttered. "Now what?"

Ryan wasn't sure what to do, he still wasn't thinking too clearly after waking up. The only thing that made sense for him was to find a way off his bed, then maybe something else might come to mind. Ryan spotted at the foot of the bed his blanket reaching the floor. If he headed down there he might be able to slide off the bed and to the floor.

Deciding that it was best thing to start from, Ryan made his way down his pillow. Ryan practically stumbled down as the fluffy pillow made it difficult to slide down or walk. It wasn't until Ryan finally made it to his mattress that he just realized just how insignificantly small he was. The folds in his blanket towered over him blocking Ryan's view of the bed.

This was going to be a long morning...

Ryan started to climb over the blanket and headed to the foot of the bed. After what seemed like hours of walking and climbing his ruffled blanket, he made it to the edge of the bed. Ryan peered down at the hundred foot drop to the floor. Ryan's idea was now seeming far less likely to succeed now that he was actually looking down from where he stood. It seemed suicidal.

"Its just like a water slide," Ryan told himself as he looked at the steep decent his blanket offered down to the ground. It wasn't until now that Ryan started to think he might be afraid of heights.

"Ok, ok, ok," Ryan told himself trying to pump himself up for the extremely stupid idea. With one more deep breath, Ryan jump down and prayed that his plan wasn't as stupid as it looked. Ryan used the blanket to help slow his decent as he rushed down toward the floor. Ryan felt his heart beating like crazy as he continued to fall/slide down to the ground at break neck speeds. It took only a few more moments before Ryan came to the ground and just like a water slide was thrown across the floor a good couple of yards before he tumbled to a stop.

Laughing, Ryan slowly got up, "holy shit that actually worked!" Ryan couldn't believe it. Ryan stood there wondering what was next? Now that he was ground level what should he do...

Suddenly the sound of Ryan's phone going off filled the room.

"My phone!" Ryan remembered plugging it in last night to charge on his nightstand. Normally any charging cable that Ryan would use to charge is phone wouldn't be that long, however the one in the bedroom that was charging his phone right now was extra long. So long that it drags on the floor when it's used to charge a device. He could crawl up it and get to his phone and call Emily or someone to help.

Ryan with a new goal, headed toward the nightstand near his side of the bed. It took a little while to reach the cable but when Ryan made it he looked up at the cord he would have to try and climb. This was going to be difficult. Ryan grabbed the plastic cable that lead up to his phone high above him. Ryan took hold of the large cable and gave it a tug to make sure he wasn't going to drag the phone of the table. When he gave it a yank he realized how stupid that was considering that if felt like he was trying to move a car, or a bus to be more exact.

"Yeah it's not budging," Ryan told himself as he started to begin his climb. Giving it his best, Ryan tried to yank himself up the cable. It wasn't until now that he realized the plastic cable was too smooth and large to firmly grip it. All Ryan did was jump up a few inches and slide back down to the ground.

"Damn it! Come on," Ryan tried again only to get the same results.

Tired and annoyed at the waste of time and just barely being out of reach, Ryan tried to think of another way up there or another plan.

Suddenly someone called out Ryan's name. "Ryan?"

Ryan puzzled and shocked spun around just in time to see the most unlikely of people to be in his home, Allison.

Allison called out again, "Ryan, you here? You didn't show up to work today, are you sick? I came to check up on you?"

Ryan was confused at Allison's suddenly appearance but he didn't think too much of it anyway. Finally there was someone here to help him. "Allison! Down here," Ryan called out.

Allison stepped into the bedroom, "Ryan? Are you in here?" Ryan watched the now enormous Allison spot him on the ground. Allison let out a gasp, "Oh my god! Ryan that is you!"

"Yeah it's me," Ryan told her.

"And your tiny," Allison continued sounding way more excited than Ryan was feeling.

It wasn't until Allison took another step toward Ryan did he start to feel uneasy. "Uh yeah..."

"Wow," Allison gleeful gasped. "This is..." Allison continued to move toward Ryan while she showed more excitement than worry or concern.

"Can you call Emily," Ryan asked taking a step back out of instinct at the approaching Giantess.

"Call Emily?" Allison asked seeming confused. "Why would I do that? It would ruin all the fun we can have," Allison told him.

Ryan immediately felt a deadly chill run up his spin as Allison gave him a very sinister happy smile. Nooo she wouldn't, would she?

It was at that moment it hit Ryan, he wasn't Ryan to Allison anymore. He was just another shrinky to her, and Ryan knew exactly what Allison did to shrinkies. Ryan was trapped in his bedroom with a hungry looking Allison. Ryan never felt more frightened in his life than this very moment. It was without a fact the most terrifying thing that could happen. Ryan was frozen in fear and horror as he watched Allison take another step toward him with that delighted look on her face.

Ryan didn't know what he was doing but his body did. Ryan ran. He wasn't sure where he was heading but it was as far away from Allison as he could get. The next thing Ryan knew was he was running under his bed with Allison happily diving after him.

"WAIT, Come back! Ryan!" Allison sadly called out as there was a loud thumping sound of Allison dove after Ryan. "Don't you want to have some fun?"

Ryan didn't bother even answering as he continued to run. He had to get out of here. Still running he could hear the sounds of Allison calling out for him as she tried to snatch him up. Ryan saw light from under the bed and saw he was running toward the foot of the bed, toward the door to the bedroom. Taking a quick glance behind him, he saw that Allison was still searching for him as she reached under the bed, "Ryan, oh Ryan... come on out Ryan." Ryan didn't bother responding as he sprinted for the door. Maybe she wouldn't see him and he could hide till Emily came home. It was worth a shot... but where would he go? The couch? Yeah that sounded fine. Ryan headed toward the doorway. He could hear Allison still calling out for him from behind him but she didn't seem to know that he was already out of the bedroom. He had to reach the couch.

Ryan made it out of the bedroom and saw the couch. It was a long run but, he might be able to make it. Ryan ran as hard as he could as he made his long sprint toward the only safe haven he could think of. Just as his legs were sore and his lungs burned, Ryan was more than halfway there. He could make it. Allison hadn't left the bedroom yet, he had time!

Suddenly the front door opened causing Ryan to pause and look toward the door.

What Ryan saw made his heart stop. It was Emily and Jimmy from his work making out passionately as they entered the room. The sickening sounds of Jimmy sucking on Emily's face enraged him but the way that Emily was returning the affection ripped his heart to pieces.

"Emily," Ryan called out in sorrow already feeling tears forming.

Emily paused her kissing but didn't seem all too shocked to see Ryan.

"Oh, Ryan," Emily responded like it was nothing.

"Hey Ryan," Jimmy called out in a nonchalant way.

"What the fuck," Ryan asked with disbelief.

Emily looked at Ryan and than spoke the most destructive words he ever heard her say to him, "What? I mean look at you? Why would I be with someone as small as you? Besides I think Jimmy's kind of hot," Emily smirked. "Let's head to the bedroom, where we can continue."

"What ever you say baby," Jimmy responded as he continued to make out with Emily as they stumbled toward the bedroom.

"EMILY!" Ryan called out so loud his throat hurt.

Suddenly the sound of them having sex filled the air as Emily made those cute noises she always made when she really got into it. They were followed by the sounds of Jimmy grunting and making sounds that Ryan couldn't handle. What sickened Ryan more is that he heard Jimmy's annoying voice calling out her name as they continued to fuck on his bed.

Ryan just stood in the middle of the room heartbroken and betrayed. Why is this happening.

Before he could get an answer he saw Allison come crawling on all fours out of the bedroom.

"There you are Ryan," Allison said as she let out a delighted laugh, "I found you. Now time to have some fun." She started to crawl toward him.

"No, get away," Ryan yelled as he ran away from her. He went to the only other place he could... the front door. It was open, he could get out. After that, he didn't know but he wasn't thinking that far ahead, he just had to run. The sounds of Allison coming after him kept getting louder and louder as she was easily catching up to him with very little effort. The thumping of her limbs grew louder and louder as Allison was closing the distance with ease. However, Ryan was closer to the door. He would be able to make it! Ryan was just about to make it to the doorway when a figure suddenly came out of nowhere.

Ryan stuttered step to a stop as he looked up at the new person, it was Tess. She towered over him as she gave him a very sadistic look, "Hey Ryan, did you get smaller?"

"Tess?"

Tess was dressed in her usual work clothes with a skirt and dress shirt as she began to squat down above Ryan. It was at this point he could see up the skirt and notice she didn't have anything on under it.

"Don't worry I know just where to hide you," She said with a wicked tone in her voice.

Ryan let out cry for help as Tess grabbed him. He couldn't breath as she held on tight. So tight that he was suffocating. His breath wasn't coming out as he was moved toward Tess's private parts that were waiting to swallow him whole.

Ryan bolted up out of bed with so much panic that he nearly fell out of bed.

His breathing was in a panic as he looked around for any danger.

To his relief he was in his bed at his usual size.

It was all just a dream. Only a fucking dream.

"God damn it..."

It was now that Ryan noticed how he was sleeping with his pillow tossed to the floor and the sheets warped around him in a tight embraced. No wonder why he had a nightmare.

The sound of Emily's voice from the bathroom seemed to relax him a little as she was humming a song over the shower she was taking.

"What a fucking nightmare," Ryan said as he brought his hand up to his face. He quickly brushed off all the sweat that was being produced from his dream. He hadn't had a nightmare this bad since he was a kid.

It wasn't until now that it made perfect sense that it was obviously a dream. Tess doesn't even know where he lives. It was so stupid and absurder that Ryan couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head at his fucking mind. Yeah right, like Emily or Allison would have done any of that.

Right?

Before Ryan could question it anymore the shower turned off and the sound of Emily getting out of the shower could be heard. It wasn't long before Emily was out of the bathroom already dressed for her job, "Did my shower wake you?"

Ryan shook his head, "No, just had a bad dream."

The look of concern on Emily's face was heart warming as she seemed worried, "Everything ok? What was it about."

Ryan stopped himself from telling her, "I don't recall it was something stupid..."

"You sure?" Ryan nodded. "By the way," Emily continued, "You going into work? Aren't you running a little late?"

Ryan hadn't told Emily last night, but he made a call to the doctors and set up an appointment. He was going to get checked up just to be 100% sure about his condition. Maybe this was normal height loss. Like when you get older you loss a few inches or something. Ryan wasn't sure what this could be but he was sure it wasn't shrinkism. So there was no point in telling Emily over something so minor.

"I'm um, going to take a sick day. You know, just take it easy," Ryan told her.

Emily smirked, "Taking a sick day? When have you ever taken a day off?"

"Exactly."

"It has nothing to do with tonight?"

Ryan frowned, tonight... what about tonight...? TODAY!

It was Emily's birthday today!

It was now that Emily started to laugh, "You forgot didn't you?"

Ryan shook his head, "No."

Emily laughed again, "Your such a bad liar. It's ok, I know works been hard for you." She gave Ryan a quick kiss, "Besides you got until tonight to make it up, right? I'll meet you later tonight," Emily told him as she left.

"Happy birthday," Ryan called out as Emily left. Ryan shook his head, he was an idiot. How could he have forgotten her birthday. He would have to get her something really good after his doctor's visit.

"What seems to be the problem," Dr. Herb asked Ryan as he greeted him.

"Well..." Ryan started trying to think of how to explain this. "I.. I've lost some height..."

Dr. Herb frowned, "Height? Really now?"

Ryan nodded, "Yeah."

"Let's see shall we?"

Ryan again nodded and followed Dr. Herb to the stadiometer to check his height. When Dr. Herb measured his height he let out a surprised sound. "Yeah you have lost some height."

"IS that normal," Ryan asked more concerned now than when he measured himself.

Dr. Herb shook his head, "It's normal for someone to lose a few inches."

Ryan felt so relieved "Really?!"

Dr. Herb nodded, "After you reach a certain point you start to loser your height, granted this is a little bit sooner than most but not uncommon."

Ryan let out a relieved sigh.

"Do you want me to do a full work up? You know all the bells and whistles?"

Ryan chuckled, "Please."

"Ok," Dr. Herb said as he proceeded to follow up on all the processes of a normal physical. He measured his weight, Ryan's eye sight, ears, heart and lungs. Everything was checked. Finally it came to the blood test. "Now, just for the blood. Let me get a sample..." Dr. Herb said as he inserted the needle to extract the blood from Ryan. "There we go... ok, let me run this to the lab real quick. Shouldn't take more than an a few minutes." With that Dr. Herb left the room.

Ryan was feeling very relaxed and much much better now that he talked with Dr. Herb. He just had to wait for Dr. Herb to return and than he would go shopping for Emily.

As Ryan waited time seemed to go by slower than usual.

Had it been an hour already?

Ryan wasn't sure if he had ever waited this long before, or maybe he had and he didn't recall. Ryan looked around the room for the 5th time already today, rereading all the posters that were set up on the walls and diagrams of medical pictures. What caught Ryan's attention were the small post it notes that had similar designs. Was that for shrinkies?

Before Ryan could look at them and get a better understanding, Dr. Herb opened the door and came in with a folder. Ryan turned to Dr. Herb who didn't seem very happy. Dr. Herb grabbed a seat as he sat across from Ryan. "I'm going to come out and say it ... you do have shrinkism."

Ryan felt his gut drop at those words. Impossible. He couldn't, "No that's not possible, I'm-I'm over 21!"

Dr. Herb nodded, "It seems... we're not sure what could have happened or why but the virus is for some reason is acting up now. Normally after so long the virus goes dormant for good, but..." Dr. Herb rubbed his head, "We think it might be a mutated strand or something."

"So..." Ryan started but couldn't finish his thoughts.

Dr. Herb was silent for a little while before he continued, "I'm going to take a few more blood samples and ship them out to other facilities, some that have better gear than we have here. There's a possibility that there might be a cure for this..." Dr. Herb told Ryan, but Ryan knew that wasn't true. It's just something he was saying to give him some hope. No, Ryan had one last hope this morning and now it's gone. He had Shrinkism and he would eventually turn into a shrinky...

Ryan sat in his car at the restaurant that both Emily and Allison were waiting for him. Ryan had been sitting here for a while as he tried to think of how to explain this to them. He was shrinking. Ryan went over conversations after conversations but none of them could prepare him for this talk.

"And on her birthday too..." Ryan said to himself.

He couldn't tell her today, it would ruin her night. No, he had to put on a smile and pretend everything was fine. He would have to act like everything was fine, and that he wasn't going to shrink to the size of a bug in no time at all...

Putting on a fake smile he grabbed Emily's present he got after his doctor's visit. A present that he could barely put his heart into. It was difficult finding a present for someone when your thoughts were preoccupied. Thankfully, Allison was able to text him some ideas.

Walking into the restaurant that Emily loved to go to.

"There you are," Emily called out to Ryan waving from a table that both Allison and Emily were waiting. "What took you so long," Emily asked as Ryan pulled a seat out for himself.

"He was trying to find the perfect gift," Allison chimed in for Ryan. "Right," Allison said giving him a wink.

"Yeah," Ryan told them not wanting them to know he really was just sitting outside worrying more about himself. He had to stop that. This was Emily's birthday, it's about her not him. "So what did I miss?" Ryan asked as he sat down.

Allison answered, "We were just talking about how much Em wanted to break up with you."

"Allison," Emily quickly gasped in shock.

Allison just smirked as if nothing were wrong. "What?"

"Stop teasing him," Allison said before she leaned over toward Ryan, "She's just joking."

"I figured as much," Ryan told them.

Allison gave a pout, "Your no fun. What's wrong with teasing him," Allison asked Emily.

Emily just gave Allison a look, "Ally..."

"Fiiiiine," Allison said rolling her eyes, as she sat back and took a sip of her drink. She did mumble one thing before she stayed silent, "Your no fun..."

"Here," Emily said handing Ryan a menu. "We already ordered, the waiter should be back soon for you to order."

Ryan took the menu and started to look over it. He found something to drink and something to eat and had an idea what he wanted for dinner. After finding out what he wanted he only had to wait a few minutes before the waiter came by to take his order. After Ryan got his order placed, he decided to act like everything was normal and chatted away with Emily and Allison about basic things. They talked about the weather, work, friends, and even hobbies. Just casual conversation to pass the time until they were served. It wasn't long before their food came to the table along with the drinks they ordered. They all thanked their servers for the food as soon as it was all set out.

Thanks to the whole atmosphere and good looking food, Ryan had forgotten about his worries and what happened today. He was just living in the now with Emily and Allison as they enjoyed each other's company at the table. Soon most of the meal was done except for some small scraps of food on everyone's plate.

Soon the waiter came over and asked if there was anything else like a dessert.

"Oh no, were too stuffed," Emily told him laughing.

Ryan spoke up, "Em, it's your birthday, just indulgent yourself. What do you want?"

Emily shook her head, "I couldn't..."

"You got anything with, like a lot of chocolate in it," Ryan asked the waiter.

"We have today's special, blackout dark chocolate cake," The waiter said as he started to describe the delicious sounding treat, Ryan couldn't help but smile as he watched Emily's mouth starting to drool.

"That sounds excellent, we'll take it."

"Very good, I'll be right back with that order."

Emily did her best not to look to happy about the dessert mouth across from the table "thank you" to Ryan. Allison then continued back to their conversation at hand. It felt good to make Emily happy, so good that Ryan finally truly smiled.

It couldn't have been longer than 5 minutes or so before their waiter came back with the most delicious looking slice of cake Ryan had ever seen. There was so much chocolate and sweets on it that Ryan wasn't sure where the actual cake was under the mass of dripping sauce and shaved chocolate. Soon the plate was set down near Emily who giddily tried to act like an adult around the dessert.

"Enjoy," The waiter said setting down some silverware for Emily.

"Let me get a picture," Allison said as she pulled out her phone.

"Ok. I'm going to the bathroom really quick," Emily told them as she moved to head to the restroom.

Ryan chuckled as it seemed that Emily was rushing to the bathroom just so she could get back to her treat quicker. As all this was happening the waiter gave Ryan the bill that he quickly paid for and left a good tip for him. All that was left was to watch Emily enjoy her birthday dessert.

Emily was still in the bathroom by the time that Allison finished getting all her pictures of the insane pile of chocolaty treat set out before them. Allison started to put her phone away in her purse and then continued to rummage around. Ryan didn't think much of it until she was still digging through her purse for longer than usual. "You lose something," Ryan asked Allison.

"No... just...trying to...THERE," Allison exclaimed finding whatever it was she was looking for.

"What is it," Ryan asked not sure what it was that Allison was trying to find. He couldn't tell from where he was sitting with the table blocking his view.

"Emily's present," Allison sneakily responded. Ryan frowned at Allison as she pulled away from her purse. He watched Allison look around real quick as if she didn't want to be spotted by anyone. Before Ryan could ask what she was doing, Allison leaned over quickly with one of her hands quickly opened her fist. Ryan watched as a small speck of an object fall from her hand and into the awaited desert below. Allison giggled and held up her finger to let Ryan know to be quite. It took him a moment to realize what Allison just did. On top of the dessert there was small movement as it looked like a large chunk of chocolate was alive. It was then that Ryan noticed it was actually a shrinky that was covered in the chocolate syrup it fell on, trying to find it's way off the massive mound of chocolate cake. It wasn't until now that Ryan realized that Allison spiked Emily's meal with a shrinky. Just the thought of this brought today's problems back into his mind. How he will too be that size some day...

Before Ryan could say anything, Emily was back from the bathroom. "Ohhh it looks so good," Emily said excited as she sat down. Ryan wasn't sure what he should do. Did he ignore Allison's wishes and tell Emily? If he did how would she react? Would she react? It wasn't new for Emily to ate shrinkies or use them. It wasn't very common for her, but that was how Ryan first meet Emily, so why would he try and stop her? Was it now that he was shrinking that he was starting to feel some kind of form of sympathy... or maybe it was empathy for he would soon be like that poor thing...

The sound of Emily picking up her fork brought Ryan out of his thoughts. He couldn't help but spot the small person whose gender was unrecognizable from this distance, trying to make it's way off the cake. Ryan couldn't help but imagine what it would be like for him, down on that massive chunk of cake, covered in the sticky frosting and chocolate sauce caking to his body slowing his movements to less than a crawl. All while he tried to get Emily to recognize him... or maybe he would try to escape knowing there would be no mercy for him. In fact Emily's face looked starving even after the large meal they all enjoyed. Ryan wasn't sure what he would do, but the shrinky did, it was making a break for it. No sooner did the shrinky get out of the way did the large metal prongs stab into the moist cake severing off a large chunk of cake and removing it from the rest. Emily wasted no time scooping up the piece and shoving it into her mouth. She let out a delighted squeal at the flavors that filled her mouth. A sound that Ryan would have taken a delight in hearing, but knew that the sound only meant that Emily would want more...

Ryan's feelings were mixed as he wanted to be happy for Emily as she enjoyed the food, but he also wanted to be upset she hadn't noticed the small shrinky trying to save it's life. What if that was him? Would that be him...

Ryan didn't even notice Emily going in for seconds, "OH GOD! This is soooo good," Emily commented as she sliced another good piece off making the cake shudder from the uneasy balance it once had. The shrinky wobbled too falling down and grabbing a large chocolate chip for balance. Ryan's notice went back to the fork that was leading back to Emily's mouth. Once she opened it, Ryan couldn't look away at the scene in front of him. It was the probably the first time he ever watched Emily with so much intensity when she ate, but now he was seeing things he never noticed. Like how large her mouth gaped open, how all the dark chocolate stained saliva dripped down from the roof of her mouth, or all the soaked crumbs left in her mouth from her first bite. How all her molars were black from chewing up the last bite the best she could. The slimy tongue preparing for the next delicious deposit of chocolate cake. It was a mix between being mesmerized and terrified.

The fork entered Emily's mouth and soon her lips plopped down on the metal device and stayed shut as the fork was slowly removed. Nothing was left on the fork except some small smears of chocolate sauce. A quick couple of chews and some delighted sounds from Emily could be heard before everything was gulped down with a loud swallow.

Emily quickly sipped some water before apologizing, "Sorry that was too big of a bite. Did anyone want some," She offered. Allison shook her head no still seeming to enjoy the show as much as Ryan was hating it. When Ryan didn't respond Emily did a quick wave, "Ryan? Did you?" Ryan snapped out of it quickly and shook his head no. Emily pouted, "You guys really going to make me eat all this myself?"

"Sometime you need to be greedy," Allison laughed, "Eat up!"

Emily didn't seem too pleased but part of her must have been because not even a millisecond later she slashed another piece off and sent it to her mouth. There was less than a third of what was original there and the shrinky was petrified at this point. It hadn't moved since the last slice. Either the shrinky gave up trying to escape or was stuck because it wasn't moving from it's position. Ryan wasn't sure which it was but figured it didn't' mater, Emily didn't notice it. At the speed she was devouring the cake, it only had less than a minute at best.

The way Emily was eating it almost seemed like she hadn't eating dinner. It wasn't long before there was just a little piece with the shrinky still remaining where it was. Ryan wasn't sure if he heard little cries for help or he was imagining it. Suddenly Emily leaned back, "ooh I am stuffffffed. I don't think I can eat another bite."

Ryan wasn't sure who was more relieved him or the shrinky.

"Oh come on Em, your a big girl, you got to finish your plate." Allison cooed her on. Ryan looked at Allison who was really wanting Emily to finish.

Emily just shook her head, "I couldn't... there's too much chocolate. I'm way too full."

"Just the top than," Allison told her. Trying to goad her into at least getting the tiny figure still trying to desperately to get away.

"The top? That's all frosting," Emily responded confused at what Allison was trying to get her to do. Before anyone could say anything, Emily leaned forward inspecting the top of the cake. She narrowed her eyes as she spotted something, "What the... is that..." using her fork she scraped up the small area that the shrinky was stuck in and brought it up to her face.

"Happy birthday," Allison giggled as she excitedly congratulated Emily on finding her present.

"You bough a shrinky for me?" Emily asked sounding a little confused.

"Mhmm," Allison nodded.

"And then you snuck it in my food without telling me?"

Allison just nodded and acted like what she did was fine. Ryan heard the slight tone in Emily's voice as she questioned Allison's actions. Ryan realized that Allison messed up, and Emily was upset with her. Of course she would be, who would enjoy someone hiding things in their food? Especially a shrinky-

"I love it!" Emily told Allison sounding excited.

Ryan felt shock and confusion and... was that horror?

Emily just smiled as she examined the small being on the fork that must have been more horrified at those words than Ryan was feeling. If it was trying to get away, Ryan couldn't tell. He could only watch as Emily opened her mouth. She didn't even hesitate one second as she placed the fork on her tongue and began to close her mouth around it. Ryan watched as she removed the fork like countless times before. The shrinky was gone from the fork and somewhere in Emily's mouth. She began to close her eyes as she tasted the small person in her mouth. Soon she began to play with it as she swished it around in her mouth, collecting not only it but any other pieces of cake that was left hiding somewhere in her mouth. After a few moments she proceeded to slowly swallow everything that was gathered in her mouth, along with a bunch of saliva she must have belt up during the process. The gulp was long and as slow as possible as Emily seemed to be taking greet pleasure in eating her gift. Ryan could only watch the whole spectacle until it was over.

"Ahhh," Emily said sounding very pleased. "That was amazing.... Almost better than the cake, almost." Emily than smiled at Allison, "You know me so well."

"Anything for my besty," Allison smiled.

It was now that Ryan realized that maybe he didn't know Emily as well as he thought.

It was the longest and most silent drive back home Ryan had ever experienced with Emily. Normally they would be chatting away or talking about something, but not now. Ryan remained dead quite as he drove Emily home.

Finally out of no where Emily started to talk, "Sooo... your being very quite tonight. Everything ok? You look a little worried about something."

"It's nothing-"

Emily cut him off sounding upset, "It's not nothing. Ever since dinner you been looking," She gestured to him, "Gloom?"

Ryan didn't comment as he kept driving. "Something happened?"

"I..." Ryan started but didn't finish. This caused Emily to huff a little and stop talking. She was definitely upset. She looked out the passagner window stayed silent for the rest of the drive.

Once they arrived at their apartment they still weren't talking as they headed for their room. Ryan opened the door for Emily and she didn't comment as she walked silently past Ryan.

Ryan couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want to fight with Emily. "Em..." Ryan called out causing her to stop in the living room.

She turned around but didn't say anything as she waited.

"Do... do you notice anything," Ryan took a deep breath, "Do you notice anything different about me today?"

Emily looked confused, "This again? What's going on Ryan?"

"Em, I'm being serious. Do I look different, do you see anything wrong with me?"

Emily was now looking more concerned. "Wrong with you? Like what?"

Ryan walked up to Emily and stood in front of her. It took her a few seconds of looking before Ryan finally gave it away. "I'm shrinking..."

"...Shrinking?"

Ryan nodded. "I have shrinkism..." It was hard for Ryan to say this. Just uttering it seemed like any doubt he had about having shrinkism vanished and confirming his fear. Ryan finally accepted his fate and repeated it one more time for not just Emily to hear again but himself. "I have shrinkism. I'm going to be a sh-shrinky."

Emily just stood there for the longest time until she finally said, "But your-"

Ryan did his best not to snap as he finished the same thing that had been running through his mind since he found out, "21, I know... but Dr. Herb confirmed it. It's," Ryan waved his hands, "Some fucking new strand or something! I don't know but," Ryan had to walk around as he finally let everything vent out, "I fucking have it! I've fucking lost a few inches since fucking Monday!" Ryan paced around as he continued, "I mean my clothes even feel smaller! AND IT'S ONLY BEEN TWO DAY! Oh god..."

"But..." Emily repeated still trying to follow it. "No, no this is a mistake he messed up. Dr. Herb had to mix up your test results right? Your-" She stop from saying his age. "You can't..."

"I've been going to Dr. Herb for longer than we've been together," Ryan told Emily. "I know him. There is no way he would make a stupid mistake like mixing my damn test results up with someone else." Ryan paced a little more before he said, "I have to sit down." Ryan took a seat on the couch with his hands covering his head. "Why me," He muttered.

It took a minute but Emily finally walked over and sat next to Ryan. She wrapped her arms around her and leaned into him. "It's ok..." She said trying to comfort him. "We... we can get through this."

"We? Em..."

"Shhh," She said hugging him harder so he would shut up.

They just sat there silent as Ryan tried to just forget everything except the embrace that Emily was giving him. Ryan let this moment absorb all his anger and worries. Emily's presences and touch seemed to diminish any fear that Ryan had. He needed this more than anything.

Finally after a long time Ryan broke the silence, "What do we do?"

"Well for starters," Emily said finally breaking the comforting embrace, "I- I think I should cancel your birthday present. That suit will never fit you now," She said giving a nervous laugh.

Ryan looked stunned and frowned, "Your kidding right?"

Emily gave him a weak smile, "Sorry, bad joke?"

Ryan couldn't help but smile, "No... that, I needed that."

"God, it was so corny," Emily sighed.

Ryan just nodded, "Yeah, but I like corny."

Emily just looked down, "Shut up..."

Ryan laughed and sighed and waited a few moments before saying, "I'm serious Em... what do we do? Do I tell..." Ryan thought about it and than said, "I don't think we should tell anyone..."

Emily frowned, "No one? What about your mom," Emily asked. Ryan shook his head. He didn't need her freaking out and rushing over her demanding to stay and watch over him. He couldn't do that to both Emily and her. After Ryan's dad died in action while serving, his mom was ever that more clingy and overprotecting of him now that he was all she had. Last thing he needed was his mother being more protective than a mother hen. Plus his mother was heavily religious. So if she moved in she would demand that him and Emily slept in separate rooms since they were not married and all that other junk. Yeah, no he didn't need to deal with his mother. Not at this time.

"Please don't, you know how she is..." Ryan told Emily.

"Ok... but we have to tell Allison-"

"No," Ryan quickly said cutting her off. The look on Emily's face told him that she was more confused why they shouldn't' tell her best friend and his coworker friend that they've know for the longest of times. The person that had always been there to help them along and was fun to be with. She was like a sister or something closer than that to the both of them. So why not tell her. Ryan couldn't tell Emily it was because... he was scared of her. No he had to think of a better response. "You know her... she would worry more than my mom," Ryan told her.

Emily seemed to believe it as she nodded. "Yeah, your right. She would probably donate a kidney to raise money for you."

Ryan wasn't so sure about that but he he didn't comment.

"So we tell no one," Emily said as she thought it over. "What do we do when they finally find out?"

Ryan shook his head. "I don't know, Em... I really don't know. I wasn't even sure if should of told you-"

"WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN," Emily asked clearly disturbed at his words.

"I didn't want to bother you," Ryan simply told her.

She glared at him, "You know you piss me off sometimes Ryan." She got up and walked way.

"Em-"

"I got work in the morning," Emily commented as she walked toward the bedroom.

"I'm sorry," Ryan said trying to apologize for upsetting her but still not knowing what he did.

She didn't say anything.

"Em, come on. I didn't want to bother," Ryan said again trying to get his point across.

It was now that Emily turned on him, "Bother me?! Ryan, we are together. I come to you all the time for help and support. ALL the time. If it's a hangnail or if it were cancer, I would tell you. If I have a nightmare your the first person I tell. Ryan, I lean on you all the time, because I know you will help support me when I need it. I-I-I," She sputtered clearly upset. "I just don't understand why you can't do the same."

"Em-"

Emily held up her hand. "I'm going to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow," She said as she entered the bedroom and got ready for bed.

Ryan stood there clearly at a lost. He wanted to go in there and see if he could recover from his mistake but... that would only make it worse. No, he had to let her be for now. He would stay out here for at least an hour or so, than head to bed too. He just hoped that tomorrow wasn't as bad as today....

Ryan woke up and noticed that Emily left extra early today.

"Shit..." Ryan said as he knew she was still upset from last night. "What did I do," he muttered to himself. He didn't know. Emily hadn't been this mad at him since that one time he ate her pudding without asking. It was a stupid thing and Ryan learned to never touch any sweets that Emily bought ever again. So as Ryan sulked about how he could make it up to her or at least right his wrong, he got up and headed to the bathroom. After emptying himself, he headed toward the kitchen to grab some breakfast and then prepare for the day. It was a typical standard morning for Ryan. He ate a bowl of oatmeal, drank some water, pulled out some food for dinner later, and then went to brush his teeth and get dressed. Ryan looked in the mirror as he was brushing and noticed that he did look ever so slightly smaller than before.

Ryan might be able to get away with his lack of height as long as no one stare too much. He was sure he could probably sit in his cubical all day and just hide till his shift was over.

"Sounds like a plan," Ryan muttered to himself as he headed to his clothes he had ready for himself. Ryan started to put his pants on. As Ryan hiked up his pants he went to buckle them and found that he had more than enough room. Looking down in disbelief Ryan saw that when he expanded the waistband there was at least a good inch and a half of space between his hips and pants. Ryan went to tighten his belt to close the gap so his pants didn't fall... he was just a notch too short.

"No..." Ryan grumbled. He tried to tighten his pants to the last notch on his belt only to find that it was just barely hanging onto him. If he tired to walk around in them, he had a high chance of them sliding down and revealing his underwear to everyone in the office. "WHY," Ryan shouted out in frustration.

Maybe he could tuck his shirt in and fluff it so it filled the gap?

It was his only solution as he tried to put his shirt on. This was when he found out that his shirt too was a little too big.

Ryan was at no means a large man. He wasn't extremely overweight, obese, or thick. But when he looked into his mirror it looked like he lost a good 10 or so pounds, as his shirt hung loosely off his body. Even if he tucked his shirt in to keep his pants on, he would have to explain why his shirt didn't fit. Would he tell everyone he was on a new diet?

Swallowing harshly as he debated what the best solution would be.

"Should I call out again..." Ryan asked himself as he thought of the consequences. If he did, he would have to get a doctor's note after the second day in a row. If he did, the whole office would know he had shrinkism and that was exactly what he was trying to avoid.

No, he had to go to work today, but how...

Ryan walked toward his cubical. He quickly wiped at his forehead, removing any sweat that was appearing on his face from both his nervousness of being found out about his disease and the multiple layers of clothing he was wearing under his work clothes. It was the only solution he could think of. He was wearing 3 pairs of shorts under his pants and about the same amount of shirts to puff out. Not to mention he had to wear multiple socks just to fit his shoes. Each step in was like walking on pillows, causing him to wobble ever so slightly. He just prayed no one noticed his weird stepping. It also didn't help that the inside of the office felt like it was cranked up to 96 degrees. It was sweltering in here.

Ryan quickly made it past everyone and to his cubical without anyone looking at him.

Ryan sat down and felt his butt sit on top of the many layers of clothing he was wearing. It felt like he stuffed a pillow under his ass.

"If I get found out this will be fucking humiliating," Ryan said doing his best to sit normally.

He should be safe now. He just had to hunker down and be a ghost so no one would-

"Hey," Tess greeted Ryan out of no where making him nearly jump from his seat.

"Tess! God damn... you need to give me a warning before scaring me like that," Ryan scolded her.

She raised an eyebrow, "Scare you? Why are you scared of little old me?"

"Never mind," Ryan said brushing her question of his fear out of the way. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Tess said leaning against one of the cubical walls. "Just saying hi."

Normally Ryan would chat a little and do his best to avoid his work, but he couldn't do that. He couldn't risk Tess finding out about his shrinking. So he played the only card he had.

"Sorry can't talk much, got to make up for yesterday."

This didn't seem to phase Tess one bit, "Yeah about that, I heard you called out. You sick or something?" Before Ryan could respond she gasped, "Are you sweating?"

Ryan quickly dabbed at his forehead removing the perspiration on it, "Yeah." he cleared his throat, "Still not at 100%, but got to pay the bills, right," Ryan asked laughing nervously.

"Yeah I guess," Tess replied. She didn't say anything else as she stood there silently for a few moments. All she was doing was looking at Ryan. Staring at him... like she was sizing him up.

"Soooo, I should get back to work," Ryan said tying to get Tess to leave. She didn't say anything but continued to look. Trying not to act weird, Ryan asked, "Something wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Tess said as she continued to observe Ryan. "Somethings different about you..."

Ryan felt his heart beat into overdrive. She knows! She found out! What the fuck did he do now!!

"Did you lose weight? You look a lot thinner."

Ryan felt his heart stop beating. Doing his best to remain as calm as possible Ryan laughed, "Yeah, I'm trying this new diet thing. Emily thinks I've gain some weight. It's suppose to help shed a few pounds," Ryan laughed again trying to push the humor onto Tess.

"Really?" Tess continued sounding a little worried, "You might want to stop. Looks like you lost more than a few pounds."

"Yeah, so it's working?"

Tess just shrugged, "If you wanted to look smaller, than yeah." With that Tess left Ryan to his work.

When she was out of ear shout, Ryan let out a nervous breath as he tried to keep calm. That was way to fucking close. Tess was way to observant of him. He would have to avoid her from now on. Hell he should of just stayed home and said fuck it about the sick policy. That conversation was the hardest thing he had to do in a long time.

However, Ryan couldn't help but think how long he could put up this act. Sooner or later it wouldn't' matter how much he wore or lied, he would be found out. And that time felt like it was coming sooner than he was ready for.

Ryan was typing on his computer and doing the best he could at work without fretting over someone else stopping by to chat and notice his lack in size. It had to have been over an hour since he talked to Tess, and she hadn't dropped by again. That was fine. The less she was around the less likely she would catch on to his shrinking. Ryan went to type a letter on his keyboard only to realize he missed the letter. He was just shy of reaching the key he wanted that his finger hit the wrong one.

Odd...

Ryan looked up at the screen and stop from letting out a horrified noise. When he started to type up this draft, Ryan's eye sight was aligned with the top of the computer. However now his eyesight dipped just below the top. He shrunk more at work! Panicked Ryan looked around to make sure no one noticed.

Luckily anyone nearby was too busy doing their own thing, talking to people on the phone or with other coworkers. They were all too busy to notice Ryan's loss of height in the past hour.

"Shit," Ryan whispered to himself. This was not good.

Ryan didn't know what to do and before he knew it he found himself texting Emily.

"I lost more height! I can barely fit in my clothes! What do I do?!"

Ryan waited for a response but after a minute or two Ryan realized that Emily must still be mad at him. She wasn't responding. Putting the phone down, Ryan tried to think of what to do. He couldn't keep working here. One day he could be here at like 3 feet tall and leave that night at 2 or less. At that height you were easily prone to being kidnapped by someone, and he knew just the person who would do it. She already thought of it before with Tim, he was next. No! He had to leave...

He had to quit. But if Ryan left his paycheck for the week would be cut in half and he still had bills to pay. It wasn't like he could get severance pay.

Ryan stopped his train of thought. Severance pay... he should be eligible for it!

Never had Ryan felt grateful for having shrinkism, till now.

Normally a company would grant severance pay to anyone with a debilitating disease or condition. For example being blind, losing a limb at work, or catching shrinkism. It was one of the reasons the company required the working age to be 21, not just so companies didn't have to locate another replacement in such short time, but so not to pay off ever shrinky that worked for them that was looking for a big check.

Getting up, Ryan went toward his boss's office. Each step he felt his feet wobble a little in his stuffed shoes. When he left work his feet were jammed packed into his shoes, but now he could feel them moving a little. There had to be at least a few cm of room created from his constant shrinking over the past couple of hours. Ryan wouldn't be surprised if he was down one or two shoe sizes by the time work was over. He needed a new wardrobe already...

Ryan got lucky that no one focused on him as he walked to his boss's office. When he reached the door he knocked on it.

"Sir?"

"Come in," Ryan's boss said through the door.

Reaching for the knob, Ryan opened it and came inside.

"What is it," Ryan's boss asked busy looking over some documents and papers. He didn't bother looking up at who it was as he was too preoccupied with his work.

"Um sir," Ryan said. "I... there's something I need to talk to you about." It wasn't till now Ryan realized how unprepared he was right now.

Ryan's boss let out an annoyed sound, "What is it," He asked already sounding done with this conversation.

"Well... do you mind if I take a seat," Ryan asked feeling how nervous he was. He was about to quit his job and ask for severance pay for an impossible disease he shouldn't have.

Again Ryan's boss didn't look pleased at his presences but he gestured to the open chair at his desk. Ryan took the seat. "So," He asked waiting for Ryan to get on with whatever he was here for.

"Sir... I, I'm not sure how to put this but... I have sh-shrinkism."

Ryan's boss didn't say anything for a moment and just chuckled, "Good one. If you wanted to leave early you should have just-"

Ryan tried to act as serious as he could, "Sir, I'm tell you the truth. I have shrinkism."

Ryan's boss let out an annoyed sound, "We both know-"

"I'm over 21," Ryan cut him off getting tired of that statement. "I have a unique strand or something," Ryan tried to explain. Instead he just reached into his pocked, "Look," he found Dr. Herb's number. "This is my doctor, I'll call him and have him explain."

Ryan's boss looked less than amused, "Your taking this pretty far for a silly joke."

Ryan didn't comment on his boss's reaction, he couldn't blame him. Ryan wouldn't have believed anyone who was in his position either.

It only took a few rings before Dr. Herb picked, "Hello?"

"Dr. Herb, It's me Ryan. I'm here with my boss. I'm trying to tell him about my problem."

"... the shrinkism?" Ryan's boss demeanor changed slightly. "Yes it's true. Ryan does have shrinkism. I've gone through his results and it's conclusive. However like I told Ryan, we are going to send the samples to the best labs there are. I'm confident that we will find a cure for him soon."

Ryan's looked as his boss and saw the same doubt that he had about that. They both knew that was impossible. "Uh, thank you Dr..."

"Dr. Herb," he corrected.

"Yes, thank you for the information. Do you have a number I can use to contact you for any forms or paper work we may need," Ryan's boss asked.

"Oh yes, here you go," Dr. Herb gave Ryan's boss his person and work phone number.

"Thank you again doctor," Ryan's boss said as he hung up the phone and handed it back to Ryan. They both sat there for a few moment as both seemed to be mulling over what just transpired. "So you really do have it..."

Ryan nodded not saying anything.

"... I'm assuming your looking for a severance pay."

Ryan didn't say anything again as it was clear that had to be the only reason he would release this information to his boss.

Ryan's boss nodded, "I understand. However, you have to understand to get that much money... it will take a few days. The best I can do is Monday."

Monday wasn't too far away, however, "I would have to be here to fill out the paper forms." There was no telling how small he would be by than.

Ryan's boss nodded, "Yes, it's policy that any severance pay must be completed in person and on company grounds. I'm sorry there's no way around that."

Ryan thought about it for a little bit and nodded, "I understand sir."

"Good," Ryan's boss said as he stood up and offered his hand in agreement with their pact. Ryan took it. As he shook it, his boss couldn't help but say, "I'm terribly sorry about your misfortune." It was like he was already marking him off as a terminally ill patient. Which to be honest is what Ryan felt. They both know that the life expectancy for a shrinky was low, very low.

Deciding this was the best time to at least stick it to his boss "I would say it was a pleasure to work with you, but we both know that would be a lie."

Ryan watched his boss grin for a moment before return back to his regular demeanor, "I'll see you in a few days."

With that, Ryan headed out of the office and back to his cubical. Once he reached his cubical, he decided to say "fuck it" and head home. He grabbed his phone and out of habit looked at the screen to see he missed a few text and calls from Emily.

After quickly looking over the messages and voice mail, Ryan called Emily back. It rang a few times before it was finally picked up.

"Hey," Emily greeted.

"Yeah, you called?"

"Yeah," Emily said. "You got me at a bad time in class."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Ryan apologized for not recognizing that she was at work.

"So, I have a few students that know a couple of sh-" Emily paused as she seemed to catch herself from saying it, "People in a similar situation. So I asked around about it," Emily told him.

"Mhmm," Ryan replied wondering what this was leading to.

"So, they told me there are stores that sell clothing for shri-, I mean people with height problems." Ryan wasn't sure why she was avoiding the work shrinky. Was it so she could avoid the hard truth of what was happening to him? Was it to sympathize with him? Ryan wasn't sure but continued to listen.

"Ok," Ryan said letting Emily keep talking.

"Well, there's a store in the mall. Shrinkies R Us."

"Shrinkies R Us? Never heard of it," Ryan told her as he puzzled over the name.

"It's a place that rents out all different sized clothes for shrink-, I mean-"

"You can say shrinkies around me," Ryan said cutting Emily off.

"... well anyway they rent out clothing of different sizes for a few days or so. You buy some and trade them in for a different size when you... you know, can't fit them anymore."

Ryan knew what she was saying. It sounded like the store did a rental deal for clothing to those who would shrink out of clothing too fast. So instead of spending a ton of money for different sized clothing in a week, a shrinky or whoever was buying it could swap them out when they needed a smaller size. Therefor saving money and not needing 13 different wardrobes.

"You said it was in the mall," Ryan asked.

"That's what they told me," Emily said.

"Ok, I'm going to head there."

"What about work,"Emily asked sounding a little worried about his job.

"I've taken care of it," Ryan told her not explaining more.

"... okay," Emily responded sounding a little hesitant. "I got to go, I'll be home a little later tonight."

"See you," Ryan said as he followed it with the typical "love you". Ryan waited for a response but she hung up before he heard her say anything. Trying not to dwell on that, Ryan packed his thing up and started to leave. Once everything was collected he headed out and to his car. He needed to get to that store so he could find some decent sized clothes for himself. These shoes were killing him.

Ryan was in the parking lot already shading a few layers. Now that he wasn't at the office any more he didn't need to pretend about his height. Ryan hadn't lost enough height for an average person to know about his disease, as long as there wasn't anyone around that knew him he would be fine. However, there wasn't much he could do about his shoes. He didn't have a smaller size and he couldn't walk in the mall barefoot, so he decided to push through the awkward way he had to walk so his shoes didn't come off.

Heading into the mall it didn't take Ryan long to find the store that Emily mentioned on the map. He just had to head a little further into the mall and up some stairs. Ryan followed the map that he memorized from entrance of the mall and made his way to the store. Ryan saw the sign for the store and knew it had to be that store before even reading the name of it. It showed a person with an arrow pointing to a smaller version and than another arrow to a smaller person and at last a really small version of the original person wearing the same set of clothes.

On the doors that lead into the story it showed the name of the store, "Shrinkies R Us."

Ryan headed inside and was greeted by a world he never knew existed before. There were so many clothes all over the place. Some were regular sized clothes that an average sized person would wear ranging from women's to men's different sizes. Across were some of the same outfits, but suited for some the size of maybe a child in their teens or late childhood. Ryan looked further into the store and saw that the size of the clothing started to shrink in size from late childhood to almost baby size. Than it got even smaller like the size you would put on a small pet or animal, than it was about doll sized clothing, and finally the fate that awaited Ryan when he would be done shrinking... the smallest set of clothes he ever saw. They were maybe an inch or two tall almost like a speck at the distance he was from the clothing. Ryan was in a daze at the sight of clothing. It wasn't until now he realized just how small he would get. So small that you wouldn't even recognize him if you weren't just a foot away.

"Can I help you," A women asked from behind Ryan startling him. Ryan turned around and looked at the person who asked if he needed help. She was an employee of the story wearing her name tag and clothes that matched their unique color design and atmosphere of the store.

"Uh, yeah," He looked at the name tag, "Aimee. I'm looking for some clothes."

When Ryan didn't elaborate on anything Aimee gave him a slow nod, "We sell clothes... uh what were you looking for? Do you know the size? The type you want? Who are they for..." She gave him a look as she went on, "Anything that I might be able to narrow down the selection?"

"OH! Sorry yeah, I-I'm looking for clothes for my ... nephew," Ryan lied.

"Is he here by chance," Aimee asked looking around, "Is he in your pocket?"

Ryan had to process what she was asking. It took him a second to mentally hit himself. Of course she would wonder where he was. If they were getting clothes for his fake nephew he doesn't have, how were they suppose to know what size he wears.

"Uh, no... he's still in school." Ryan started to come up with whatever excuses he could, "I was going to get him a surprise, you know?"

Aimee nodded, "So what size is he?"

"Size...? He's umm, I would say about my size... yeah!" Ryan shook his head trying to act somber, "He just started to lose height. He had a chance to play basketball for a university... it's a shame," Ryan said trying to think up a good excuse why they would be trying clothes on his nephew that would be his size and not smaller. "So I was going to try some out and than bring them to him after school," Ryan told her.

Aimee again nodded, "Awww, poor thing." Aimee seemed to sympathize with the nonexistent person, "I hear it's hardest for those who have to loose the most height. How tall was he?"

Ryan just stuck his hand above his head a good foot or so. "Yeah, we're all still so," Ryan faked a sadden look, "Shaken up by it."

"Well," Aimee said trying to brighten the mood, "I hear that there's a plan to bring out an all shrinky basketball team in a couple of years. If you nephew keeps up with his practicing he could try out for them."

"I'll... let him know, thanks," Ryan said not sure why he put himself in this weird situation of a fake nephew who plays basketball and is shrinking and now will try out for a basketball league for shrinkies. "So, I'm just going to try out some stuff and I'll let you know if I need help," Ryan said to Aimee.

"Ok, I would start over here if your nephew is about your size," Aimee told him leading the way to a part of the store.

"So how does this work," Ryan asked as she showed him some clothes that he should try on.

Aimee seemed a little confused, "You mean our policy?" Ryan nodded as he picked up a shirt that he was going to try on along with some shoes for his "nephew". "Well," Aimee started, "First we take a down payment for the clothes in case if we don't get them back. After that there is a charge per day or you can get a 10% discount for a weekly charge. The weekly charge also allows you to come in anytime to swap out clothes. The last offer we have is the premium which would be 20% more than the weekly charge. The premium your able to order online and we will send the clothes out to wherever you chose."

"Wherever?"

Aimee added, "We say wherever but it must be withing a certain radius of one of our stores. So if your at the park or in the movie theater and your clothing doesn't fit, you can place an order and we will arrive as fast as we can."

"And how fast is that usually," Ryan asked wondering if it would be worth it. Did he want to chance it?

Aimee shrugged, "Again depends on the distance but usually 15 minutes to about an hour or so."

"Tips," Ryan asked wondering if he would need to tip the deliver.

"They are always welcomed but are not required..." Aimee looked around to make sure none of the other employees were listen. "If you were going to go with the premium I would recommend giving a good tip. I've heard rumors of what some of the others can do if they don't get a tip... later on."

Ryan gulped at the thought of what those could be. Ryan grabbed some pants and headed to the changing room they had. Ryan noticed that there was a small area set off for some of the smaller customers to use. Before Ryan entered he had to ask, "Is the premium... is it worth it?"

"Well," Aimee started, "It is the more expensive option but..." She seemed to be thinking about it, "Well let me ask you this, if your nephew was at basketball game or with his friends and suddenly his pants fell down in public. What do you think would happen? Do you think he would want to walk around with practically no clothes on? I think it would be nice of you to buy him the service, and make sure to put a tip on your credit."

Ryan didn't say anything. She made a good point. If he was in public and he lost his pants it would be horrifying. However he could just avoid going out till he was done shrinking. Yet... did he want to look like a cheap asshole in front of her for not helping his make believe nephew...

"Do I have to decided now? Or can I upgrade later?"

Aimee nodded in approval, "You can always upgrade your status, however sometimes it takes a while for the order to go through and you might end up waiting longer for the delivery service than you expected."

"I'll think about it," Ryan said as he entered the changing room and proceed to try the clothes on.

"Ok sir, just let me know if you need anything I'll be right outside."

Ryan didn't waste anytime as he started to try on the clothes that he picked out. The shirts fit along with the pants. The last thing that Ryan tried on were the shoes. As he slipped one of them on he felt the familiar comfort of his foot fitting snug in the sneaker. Never had he thought he would be so grateful to have the right sized shoe. To have his feet to be tucked away nice and tight was a blessing he never thought he would miss. Ryan picked out the two best outfits that he though went well with him before picking them out. He didn't want to grab too many more because he wouldn't fit long in them, even if they were just rentals. Changing back to his slightly baggy clothes, Ryan opened the door and stepped outside to see that Aimee was still waiting for him.

"I think he'll like these," Ryan said holding up the clothing he was going with.

"Right this way," Aimee said leading him to a cash register. "Did you decided which service you wanted to go with?"

Ryan was leaning toward the weekly payment... however Aimee did make a good point. If he were out in public and shrunk out of his clothes, what would he do? Better be safe than sorry. Besides in about a week or so, he would be too small to even worry about that...

"I'll do the premium."

"Smart choice sir, I'm sure your Nephew will appreciate it."

Ryan did his best not to grumble, "Yeah, sure."

As Aimee rung him up, Ryan got out his card to pay for the clothing. Once he left he was going to go to the bathroom nearby and change into them, especially the shoes.

"Here you go," Aimee said handing Ryan the bill. "You have a nice day," She said waving goodbye to Ryan.

Ryan didn't comment as he walked out of the store. He decided to make a bee line for the bathrooms. They were literally right around the corner. Once Ryan walked in he found a stall that was unoccupied and close the door. Not wasting any time he practically ripped his clothes and shoes off and replaced them with the ones he bought. Once the clothes were on and were a nice snug fit, Ryan tossed his old ones into the bags and headed out of the bathroom. Before he left he looked in the mirror and saw the clothing he picked out. They fit him perfectly.

If only his size would stay like this...

Trying not to think of that Ryan exited the bathroom and decided he didn't need to shop for anything else. He should just head home. No point in spending time at the mall-

"Ryan?"

Ryan felt his heart stop beating as he heard the last person he would every dream of coming to the mall today, Allison.

"Ryan?" She called out again from behind him. Ryan turned around to see a confused Allison walking up to him, "What are you doing here?"

SHIT, SHIT SHIT!

"Uhhh," Ryan started think of an excuse, but Allison pointed to the bags.

"Shrinkies R Us? Why would you go to a shrinky store?"

How did everyone know about this store except him?

Ryan tossed that thought aside as he tried to think of the most logical explanation why he wasn't at work and why he went shopping at a rental clothing store for shrinkies.

"Uh, my... nephew," Ryan told her.

"Nephew? You have a Nephew?"

FUCK!

Of course she knew he didn't have a fucking nephew she practically knew his life better than he did. Quickly he racked his brain for any possible recovery from his mistake.

"Well," Ryan said acting like it was a simple misunderstand, "not MY nephew. It's Emily's. It's just I feel like we are pretty close that he's basically my own nephew."

Allison gasped, "Richard is a shrinky?!"

"..." Ryan nodded rolling with it the name. "Yeah. Yeah he started to shrink the other day." Ryan did his best to act like this was common news.

"oh... oh that's so sad." Allison said sounding upset. "I didn't think he would catch it. He just turned 20."

"I know," Ryan said running with whatever Allison was saying. He had no idea who the fuck Richard was. He knew Emily had a nephew but he didn't know his name or age or anything really about him. What was worse was Allison knew more about Richard than he did, and he was Emily's significant other. He just hoped that Allison didn't catch him in his lie.

"Wow, that's a shocker." Allison seemed to be trying to take this in.

Trying to divert her attention to another topic Ryan deiced to ask, "So what are you doing here?"

It took Allison a few moment before she answered, "Oh right, so long story short, I'm dating this guy."

"Ok..."

Allison seemed a little embarrassed as she continued, "Well, we kind of hit a rough patch... things aren't so good in the sexual department, if you know what I mean."

"Uhhhh, yeah I totally understand," Ryan lied. He wasn't sure what she was saying so he tried to think of a way to get out of this awkward conversation.

"Well, I thought I would come and find something to, you know, spice things up," Allison hinted to him.

Ryan nodded, "Cool. Look I should get going-"

"You should come with me," Allison quickly said excited.

Ryan gave her a dead look, "What?"

"Yeah, you and Emily could use some flare in your bedroom."

Ryan blinked a few times before it registered with him. "What?"

Allison just rolled her eyes, "Emily told me. You guys hit a wall."

Ryan was baffled, "We didn't hit a wall-"

Allison gave him a look that stopped his words. Apparently she knew more than Ryan did, yet again. "Come on Ryan..."

Ryan thought about it for a few moments.

No... Emily wouldn't...

"She's not enjoying it," Ryan asked having his ego crushed.

"Don't think about it that way. Every relationship hits a stale moment or two. Look," Allison said as she took Ryan arm and started to lead him toward wherever she was going. "Just have a glance around and than if you don't find anything you like, you leave. Ok?"

"I...uhhh..." Ryan said uncertain about this as Allison lead him back toward where he just came from.

Ryan saw that they were getting closer and closer to Shrinkies R Us. However just as he thought they were going to entered, Allison lead them to a store that was right across from it. This store had a sign that read, "It's a small world." Ryan frowned at the name of the store. He tried to look into the store but found the windows and glass all shaded so you could not see within.

"What is this place," Ryan asked as Allison lead them toward the doors.

"Don't worry, you'll enjoy it."

Ryan wasn't so sure.

He waited until the they walked thought he doors and found the room pretty dark and dim of light. As they came in there was a chime that signaled that there were customers coming in. In no time a female of around 30 or so came out from behind a door near the cash register and greeted them, "Welcome. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ryan ignored the women as he looked around. It took him a few moments until it clicked where he was. He was in an adult sex shop.

There were various sexual devices and toys strewn throughout the room. Dildos, leather suits, whips, bondage material, and many many more.

"I'm Abby," The store employee greeted, "If there is anything you need, just let me know and I'll be more than happy to help."

"That's great, I was wondering..." Allison said as she walked up to the counter to talk to the employee.

Ryan didn't pay attention to their conversation as he couldn't help but look at all the bizarre gear that hung off walls and shelves. Ryan came closer to one of the adult toys. He looked at the design. It was obviously a dildo. Yet as he observed it he noticed more and more features to it. For starters it was see through clear, like glass. And there were a lot of mini holes covering it, possibly for stimulation of some sort. Ryan wasn't sure if that's what some women liked or not. It wasn't until he got to the base that he saw a sort of hollowed out chamber or compartment of some kind in it. Something just small enough to hold an object about an inch or so tall...

The size of a shrinky.

Ryan nearly jumped back at the knowledge of what the toy was used for. Some sort of sexual torture device that held a shrinky in as the owner of it would perform sex with themselves or their partner. It was clear now that the holes covering the dildo weren't just for pleasure but a way to draw in any liquid in and pull it down until it filled the small space near the base of the dildo.

Ryan couldn't stop himself from seeing the device and imagine what kind of twisted nightmare that would be. Unable to stop himself, Ryan could see himself in the clear plastic dildo looking up as one or more Giantess was ready to use his prison as a sexual joy ride. He could clearly imagine himself yelling for it to stop as the Giantess easily started to slide down the tip of his cylindrical prison. It would soon be less of a prison and more of a safe space for him as the sounds of the Giantess sliding lower and lower until her gaping hole engulfed any light for Ryan, as she sunk all the way down to the base. It couldn't get any worse... is what he would have thought until he felt the immense steaming atmosphere from the Giantess depths seep in through the narrow channels in the dildo. It wouldn't' take long before the Giantess started to move up and then down, pushing more of her steaming musky air into his chamber. Ryan wouldn't be able to do anything as he was locked in, pounding on the walls trying to get out. Soon the sounds of moister filling the air would hit the chamber. Followed by a sickening goo that would leak from the ceiling of Ryan's cage. The slime would fall down and stick to Ryan as it continued to come in. A frantic Ryan would rush to the holes in the top and try to plug them up only to find there were far too many, and the liquid was steadily increasing as did the sound of excitement from the Giantess around him. Soon the small amount of creamy clear goo would increase to a drenching down pour as the chamber started to flood. Ryan would have no way out as the Giantess smashed her hips down on the dildo trying to maximize her pleasure. In doing so she would shove more juices into Ryan's chamber filling any free space he had. It wouldn't take long for Ryan to have the hot moist love lube up to his neck threatening to drown him. The Giantess increased her tempo and suddenly slammed down harder than before and cried out as she climaxed on the dildo. Just as Ryan thought she would get off, the Giantess stayed still, keeping him and the dildo stuffed inside her. The last little space Ryan had left suddenly was hit by an onslaught of juices that seeped into the chamber pushing all the fluids up over his head in an instant. Ryan screamed out for help as he felt his lungs inhale the burning hot cream that wouldn't stop filling his lung-

"RYAN?!" Allison called out.

Ryan stepped back realizing he lost himself in that horrible and quite vivid nightmare.

"Huh," Ryan replied turning toward Allison who seemed to be standing there with Abby. Apparently it looked like she had been trying to get his attention for a while.

"You got to see this. Come on," Allison said as she waved for him to follow them to a the counter near the cash register.

Ryan headed toward them for whatever stupid reason, maybe it was to get away from that horrible dildo and the horrible thoughts that came with it.

However as Ryan passed by more objects it became very clear what kind of shop this was. Ryan passed by a long string of clear plastic balls that just like the dildo had small holes poked in them and looked like the hollowed out shell was meant to contain something else inside of it. Ryan saw the name of the toy as "shrinky beads". If there was any question that Ryan had about them there was an image of a black stick figured bent over either pulling or pushing in the beads up their butt. Ryan saw closer in the image that there were smaller stick figures in each bead clearly trying to get out.

Ryan shudder as he passed it without trying to think what that might be like.

Ryan got closer to the counter where Abby and Allison waited for him. Just before he reached the counter there was another toy that caught his eye. It looked like it was a choker or collar of some sort. It couldn't be that bad right? That was until Ryan noticed what was so special about it. The normal collar looked the same as any except that the clasp of the collar looked to be unable to connect. Instead there were four small metal clasp that looked to be very similar to restraints to hold someone starched out. The only clue to what this toy did, clearly told it all on the side of the collar. It read, "Snap my shrinky." It took Ryan a second to realized that the clasp to hold the collar together would have to be a shrinky as the middle man. Looking at the choker Ryan could tell that if whoever was wearing the choker even so much as swallowed, he was sure the force would rip the small person in two.

Ryan once again, did his best not to imagine what it would be like acting like the buckle to holding that together...

"What are those," Allison asked Abby just as Ryan came to the counter. She pointed to something that was behind the counter on display.

"Those," Abby asked as she step toward what looked to be clothes. She brought them to the counter to show both Ryan and Allison. They were a set of clothes designed for shrinkies. However unlike the store that Ryan just came form where they sold everyday clothes, these were more like Halloween outfits. "Are for some role playing. These " Abby said pointing at the two outfits out of the three. The suits had little antennas stick out of the top and six sleeves. One resembled an ant and the other also resembled an insect, like a cockroach. "Are for a game called exterminator," Abby said smirking. Abby didn't have to explain what kind of game that would be. Ryan could already tell that it might involve a lot of stomping and attempts to crushing the said infestation...

"This one," Abby said point to the last of the outfits, "Is my favorite." Ryan looked at it and saw it was a small little mouse like outfit. It even had a little tail and all attached to the suit. "It comes with these for the game," Abby said pointing to a package of cat ears and tail along with kitty paws.

"What's it called," Allison asked sounding very interested.

"Cat and mouse..." Abby told her smiling. "I played it the other night actually."

"Ohhh," Allison cooed.

Abby smirked, "The best part," She picked up the moues outfit, "100% safe to digest. So when kitty catches her prey..." She rubbed her belly, "Yummy yummy in her tummy."

Allison giggled, "That is Amazing! Oh just the thought of it..."

"$35 dollars for the set, $15 for one of these little guys," Abby told Allison holding the mouse outfit.

"That might be a winner," Allison said looking at the outfit thinking about it.

Horrified at the idea of Allison buying that... and the possibility it would be him running away from her in a kitty outfit freaked Ryan out. Before Ryan could stop himself he blurted out, "How can you sell this stuff." Abby looked at Ryan like he just said something ridiculously stupid. "I mean," Ryan said trying to recover, "Isn't it illegal to sell something like these or," He pointed to the countless torture devices surrounding them, "Those?"

Abby laughed, "It is illegal to sell something that would harm a shrinky... but these are just toys. There aren't any real shrinkies being hurt, right?"

Of course. That was the loop hole. These weren't really sex toys to torment shrinkies they were just props or other things to "pretend". There was no actual proof that these were being used on shrinkies and even if they were it wasn't the shops responsibility. Once it's sold it's then up to the customer to take responsibility.

Allison laughed, "That's good."

"Here," Abby said pulling something up from behind the counter. "This what we wanted to show you." Abby pulled out a small device that looked kind of like some kind of reader that detected something. Kind of like a Geiger counter. Ryan was stumped at what this could be and why it would be in a shop like this.

Abby smirked a grin, "This bad boy allows you to find people with the shrinking disease."

Ryan felt his heart freeze. "What?"

Abby nodded as she picked it up. "Yeah, it's kind of expensive but it will pick up when someone has Shrinkism."

Allison shook her head in disbelief. "That's not possible... right?"

"Oh it's possible," Abby continued. "Sometimes it's hard to tell who has Shrinkism before they are only a few inches tall, but if they lost even a mm of height to Shrinkism," She patted it gently. "It'll sniff them out. Want me to show you?"

Allison nodded.

Ryan felt his heart speeding up to a dangerous rate as he felt his limbs stiffen. "I-I-I don't think we should," Ryan tried to stop them but Abby was already flipping the switch on the device.

"It should pick up anyone in 5 meters of-"

The device started to ping and react. Allison looked to Abby. "Is it working?"

"Yeah... it says ... that someone in here is a shrinky," Abby told Allison.

"But it's just us," Allison said confused.

"Yeah," Abby agreed confused. "But it only act up if there's someone with shrinkism is near by..." She started to slowly wave the device around. As soon as it passed Ryan it reacted louder as it pinged faster. Abby pulled it away and the device slowed it's pinging. Abby waved it over Ryan and it jumped again pining faster. She frowned.

Ryan took a step back but found his body was petrified, "No... it-it-it's got to be broken."

"Ryan... you have shrinkism," Allison asked sounding baffled. Allison looked at Abby and she looked back.

"It's never wrong," Abby told Allison before their attention turned back to Ryan.

"... I-I-I," Ryan stuttered unable to speak properly. All he wanted to do was turn and run out the door. He was found out and now his life was over. Allison would most likely-

The sound of laughter filled the room so fast and loud that Ryan jumped at it.

"OH MY GOD!" Abby cried as she nearly toppled over from her hysterical fit.

"YOUR FACE," Allison laughed pointing to Ryan while she did her best not to fall like Abby did.

Ryan was confused. Why were they acting like this.

Finally they sobered up a little and Abby said, "It's a toy you dummy," She said waving it around. She pointed it to Allison and the pinging went crazy. "You press this button down here and you make it freak out."

"I can't believe you feel for that, Your over 21," Allison mocked as she gave him a playful push.

"yeah, I guess I forgot," Ryan said still trying to recover from the heart attack he just had.

"Yeah, this is great for pranking kids. You just whip it out and pick someone to prank and boom! They start to freak out and cry. Almost like this poor sap right here," Abby said point the device to Ryan and making it ping like crazy again. "I did this to my cousin, he freaked out so much he hid in his room for like a week." Abby laughed before shaking her head, "Yeah, now my aunt hates me for it." She just shrugged, "Aw well. So you want it?"

"How much," Allison asked. "It, might be fun to prank some of the interns. What do you think Ryan?"

"... yeah."

"Aw someone still upset," Allison mocked. "Come on cheer up."

"The shrinky detector is $70."

Allison grimaced, "Yeah, maybe not. Kind of expensive for a prank."

Abby then pointed to the shrinky outfits, "Did you want to go ahead with just these?"

Allison seemed to think about for a moment, "Yeah, toss it in a bag with..." Allison said looking over the counter at some of the goods behind them. There were countless items mostly condoms and lube. "lets see..." Allison continued to muse as she pointed to a package of flavored condoms, "Medium size, apple flavored," Allison told Abby who tossed them in after ringing them up, "That should be it..."

Abby looked a little confused, "You didn't want to grab some?"

Allison looked just as confused as Abby was at the question, "Some of what?"

"Oh," Abby said letting out a silly chuckle. "I forgot this is your first time here. We sell certain "materials" that are not allowed to be displayed for obvious reason," Abby told her. Abby than pointed to a small sign on the wall beside the counter.

1 for $10

3 for $25

10 for $75

"Are those shrinky prices," Ryan asked as it all seemed to click.

"Sir," Abby commented acting very professional and spoke as if she were reading a script. "We do not sell shrinkies, that is against the law. We just offer products that are not displayed out for customers and are only able to sell from the back of the store."

It was clear that they sold shrinkies and this was just the legal defense that had to pitched. Again just like how they sold the sex toys/torture devices and get away with it.

"Can I pick," Allison asked.

"Why of course, but only after purchase."

Allison opened her wallet and slammed her card down, "10 please."

Ryan gaped at Allison who turned to him and gave him a smile, "What? Some for tonight and some...well, I'll save them for later."

Abby rung up Allison and bagged everything for her. When the receipt was printed out, Abby lead Allison to a door that was off to the side that read employees only. Ryan didn't know why he would, but he followed after them until they reached the door. Abby opened it and let Allison in. Ryan was about to step through when Abby stopped him, "Sorry, but only customers who have paid for the special product are allowed back here." Abby just gave him a sympathetic look, "Company policy, I can literally get fired for just let you walk through." She pointed to a camera, "And trust me, they are ALWAYS watching."

Ryan wasn't sure if he was relieved by this. He honestly didn't know what he would do if he saw a room filled with Shrinkies stocked for people to...

"I understand," Ryan said stepping away. "I'll just wait here."

"I'll be back soon," Allison told Ryan as Abby lead Allison into the back.

Ryan waited for 10 or so minutes until Abby and Allison came out both laughing and joking around like they were BFFs.

"I told you it would be worth it," Abby asked as she closed the door.

"Totally. I'll have to remember to come back when I'm out. So I'll be back tomorrow morning," Allison said laughing.

"Girl, if you're back that soon than you might be an addict," Abby laughed.

"I just might be," Allison continued joking. "Alright, we should get out of here, I still got to get ready for my date."

"Have fun tonight, and enjoy!"

"I will, thanks," Allison replied back before leaving the shop with Ryan behind her.

"Isn't that place great," Allison asked as they left. Suddenly it dawned on her, "SHOOT, we didn't get you anything for-"

"Uh, no that's ok," Ryan quickly said. "I don't think I'm into any of that stuff," Ryan told Allison.

"Really? I mean it doesn't hurt to try? We could asked Abby if she knows anything you might like-"

Ryan shook his head no as he tried to forget most of the stuff he saw in the shop. A lot of it would probably give him nightmares tonight. Like the plastic cock cage he saw before they left. It was a simple device that would lock the tip of ones penis up, which also looked to have just enough room to trap someone down there too. Ryan tried not to think of what would happen when the owner of the piece couldn't help but get hard and start to filled up the space, smothering whatever else was in there with it. Ryan shuddered.

"You ok?" Allison asked seeing Ryan shivering.

"Yeah, just... tired. I didn't get much sleep."

Allison seemed to buy it as they continued to walk back to the parking lot. As they approached the parking lot, Ryan and Allison were about to go their separate ways due to where they ended up parking.

As Ryan was about to say goodbye he realized he kind of just wanted to walk away without saying anything. He wasn't sure if he was upset or disappointed with Allison but there was an uneasiness he had around her now. What Allison purchased today and planned to do with then...

No, she was his friend. She might be like this, but that's because she was always like this. Just cause she treated shrinkies like that didn't mean she would would treat him like that too. Right?

"Ok, I'll see you later," Allison said before Ryan could complete his inner debate about her. She caught Ryan by surprise by hugging. "Thanks for coming with me. Did you want one before you leave," Allison asked.

"Want one?" Ryan asked not sure what she was asking.

"What? Did you think I was going to keep them all to myself? I'm not THAT greedy," Allison laughed. Ryan watched as Allison opened the brown bag that held the shrinkies she just purchased. Ryan felt his stomach flutter in distress at the sight of the small people freaking out as he peered into the bag. He felt horrible watching them all acting panic but unable to do anything but pray they weren't picked. Ryan shook his head no. "Are you sure," Allison asked Ryan sounding a little lost at his answer.

"Yeah, I'm good," Ryan said. As he stepped back he couldn't help but notice the fright and tension from all the shrinkies start to fade just a few degrees. It could be seen on all 9 of their faces... wait 9?

"I thought you bought 10," Ryan asked. Did she get ripped off or forget to grab one?

Allison smiled, "Oh I did. I just couldn't wait." Allison turned a little pinkish. "Abby told me that I should try one before I went home. You know before I go out with my date."

Ryan nodded trying not to seem disgusted at the thought of Allison eating a shrinky.

Allison seemed to shift a little bit on her feet as she bit her lip. "He's still squirming."

Ryan knew he would be too if he was in a stomach... the thought terrified him-

Allison quickly gasped.

Ryan looked puzzled at reaction, "Allison are you ok?"

"Y-y—yeah," Allison said blushing with her hand over her mouth. "Sorry you saw that... he just wont stop wiggling," Allison said as she brought her hand down from her mouth toward her stomach... and then lower. Ryan watched as her hand sunk lower and lower until it reached down past her waist and near her crotch were she stopped. "I should go before another one hits me."

Ryan was either too shocked or just oblivious to what she was saying but before he could stop himself he asked her, "Another what?"

Allison rolled her eyes, "Don't make me say it. I'm sure you've seen Emily cum before."

With that, Allison headed back.

It was now that Ryan figured out where the last shrinky was.

"Oh god," Ryan said feeling sick. He headed back to the car.

Ryan made it back home before Emily did and laid in bed trying to get his emotions in check. He never thought he would be terrified of Allison, but now... there was no way she could know about him. He would end up just like all those other shrinkies in that bag. Just another snack or plaything. Or maybe worse. There was no telling what Allison would have in store for him.

The front door opening broke Ryan out of his thoughts. He got up and went to greet Emily.

Emily was already in the kitchen looking for something to snack on like she usually did when she got home from a long day at work.

"Em?" Ryan called out to her.

"... I'm still mad at you," Emily said still looking for something like a slice of cheese or a yogurt cup. She continued, "Don't think just because it's been barely 24 hours that I would forget what you said." Emily found what she was looking for and closed the fridge. She grabbed a spoon and started to turn around. "Just thinking about it pisses me off-" Emily stopped her rant when she spotted Ryan. The misery and tortured look on his face and cut her off.

"Oh my God, Ryan? What's wrong?"

Before Emily could get to him to help comfort him, Ryan broke down as everything that happened today hit him full force. His coworkers, his loss in height in just a day, that torturing event at the mall with Allison. What he would get to look forward to as soon as he was just the right size. Ryan just let it out as he weakly told her, "Em, I'm so fucked..."

Ryan sat in Emily's hands safely, as she carried Ryan around, due to his incredibly small size. They both entered through the front doors of the mall. Ryan continued to listen to Emily chatting away about her class room and her students. Just simply talking about her everyday stuff. Ryan couldn't help but enjoy how much Emily treated him like he was still normal, even at his current size. She didn't even seem to notice that he barely filled her hand. It was almost somewhat comforting to be carried this way, it was like her fingers curled upward slightly were like a safety bar for him from the outside world. Sure there were glances to him from other large sized people, but it was just quick looks. It didn't seem like anyone cared or was fixated on him.

Suddenly Emily asked, "Are you hungry? We can get something to eat," Emily offered turning toward the food court in the mall. Ryan nodded his head noticing how hunger he was at the mention of food. They arrived at the food court in no time. "Hmm," Emily thought out loud, "I'm feeling like pizza. What about you?"

"Sure," Ryan called out, nodding in agreement. He wasn't sure if Emily could hear him over the loud talking going on throughout the food court. There was 20 or 30 people all sitting around talking and eating. A family of 5 all eating something different. A couple sitting next to each other flirting with each other. There were countless people all talking on a phone while trying to eat at the same time.

Emily must have heard him or saw his head gesture because she walked up to the counter and to the employee taking orders.

"One slice please," Emily said pointing toward the freshly cut pizza.

Emily quickly took the plate that had the slice of pizza and found a table to sit down. She carefully placed Ryan down next to the pizza. Ryan was feeling slightly more hungry from the food being right next to him. He watched Emily take a knife and cut a small chunk off the tip of the pizza before handing the enormous pizza to him. It was like he was carrying a large beach ball of pizza. His hands grabbing the doughy bread and still hot cheese and sauce.

"Careful it's hot," Emily warned Ryan who didn't seem to care. He was already eating the food. Sadly it didn't taste like pizza... actually it didn't really taste like anything.

"Hey Em," Ryan called out as she bite into her slice. "I think you got some bad pizza."

"Mmm, this is so good," Emily practically moaned at what seemed like the most delicious slice of pizza in the world.

Ryan took another bite trying to find that godly flavor that Emily was enjoying, but was greeted with the same bland empty flavor. Almost as if eating nothing.

Ryan decided to just finish the enormous amount of food and ignored the flavor. Emily and Ryan finished about the same time. Ryan sat back patting his stomach.

"That was filling," He called out to Emily.

"You look full," Emily laughed at Ryan before she was about to add something else. Only someone called out her name over the constant chatter around them.

Alison's voice cut through the noise, "EMILY!"

"Alison?" Emily looked just as confused as Ryan when Alison came out of no where.

"I can't believe you're here too?!" Alison happily greeted her. "Oh it's been so long, come on let's chat," Alison said starting to pull Emily up.

Suddenly Ryan felt a weird feeling in his gut, as Emily started to get up from the table but was leaving him there.

"Hey.. HEY, EM!" Ryan called out afraid that she would leave him.

"Just a minute, I'm not going anywhere," Emily promised Ryan.

Ryan watched as Alison started to talk to Emily but he couldn't hear them talking over the noise in the food court. Ryan decided to just ignore them, as he looked around the enormous room. He was just watching other people going about their lives, not having to worry about their size like him he did. It must be so nice...

Ryan completed his 360 view and finally turned around only to feel his heart drop from his chest. Emily was gone!

"EM?! EMILY!" Ryan shouted trying to get over the deafening sound of the food court.

Where was she? She was just here?! Ryan got off the plate and headed to the edge of the table trying to see where she could have gone.

There was a flash of Emily's hair on the edge of the food court. Alison was walking with Emily away from the food court, without him. As much as Ryan tried to call and make noises Emily didn't notice. She started to laugh at whatever Alison was telling her. She looked so peaceful and carefree. Something that Ryan was feeling the complete opposite.

"DON'T LEAVE ME," Ryan screamed as Alison and Emily vanished from his view and disappeared.

The moment he lost sight of Emily all noise stopped. There was no longer the sound of chatter, movement, or eating. Everything seemed to freeze. Ryan felt his spine shiver as he looked around at everyone that seemed to stop moving all together. Before Ryan could ask what was going on, everyone in the room turned their heads toward him. All eyes were on him as children, men, and women all made direct eye contact with him. No one moved, they just kept looking straight at him. It was something from a horror film as no one's attention was diverted from Ryan. Ryan couldn't hear anything except his own panicked breaths at the horrible unnerving situation he was in.

Suddenly the sound of every living person in the food court jumping out of their seat's and chairs filled the room as all 30 of the horribly gigantic people dashed toward him in a mad race to get to him. Tables and chairs were flung out of the way as everyone made a mad rush for Ryan. Ryan yelled out fright as the sound of 30 pairs of running feet filled the air with their noise, as more things were being shoved and thrown out of way as they all got closer and closer. Their arms outstretched like some crazy zombie like monster reaching and grasping toward him. Ryan tried to back up but there was nowhere to go as he was dead center of the table with people closing in on him in a mater of moments. Ryan watched as those creepy eyes stayed locked onto him and nothing else as everyone rushed and dove for the table Ryan was on. Ryan felt the first enormous hand wrap around him as it snatched him off the table.

Ryan woke up with a silent scream as he felt himself tangled up in the covers of his bed.

He had another horrible nightmare, again. Ryan tried to calm his heart down as he tried to forget the horrible emotional pain he felt having Emily walk away from him. The feeling of dread being left alone somewhere out in the open...

Ryan closed his eyes and tried to forget the stupid dream. Just like last time, he just had to forget it. As much as Ryan tried to, he couldn't fall asleep. Each time he tried to drift off to sleep, he swore he could feel his body losing centimeters or even inches of himself as he shrunk in the middle of his vacant dreams, making him wake up in a panic and freaked out state. The fright of losing his height while he slept didn't help Ryan with his slumber. Turning to Emily, who was snoring peacefully didn't help him in the least. The fact that she had no worries about losing her height like Ryan did, kind of frustrated him. The question he had since day one, that ran through his head, "why him?" There was no reason he should be the only one shrinking after the age of 21, but here he was. All by himself at 3:38 at night covered in sweat and heart racing from the countless panic attacks he had.

"Water," Ryan spoke to himself out loud, but soft enough not to wake Em. As much as Ryan loved her, she didn't need to be worry about his problems. This was Ryan's issue, not Em's. She had enough to worry about at work.

Doing his best to be quite and silent, Ryan snuck out of bed without waking Em. She still snored gently on her side of the bed without being disturbed, as Ryan pulled the covers off and slipped out from the blanket.

Out of bed, Ryan crept out from the bedroom door, and toward the kitchen. Out of the bedroom, Ryan felt a slight feeling of ease, now that he didn't wake Emily from her sleep. He tip toed to the kitchen and looked at the cabinets above him that held the cups. It sure didn't seem too far away, but higher than normal.

Ryan just wanted some water.

Rayn reached for the handle and ended up frowning. Ryan's hand was just shy of the handle, less than a millimeter. Just enough that his hand couldn't reach it. He must have lost some height since the last time he grabbed a cup.

"Fuck," Ryan spat out. Stupid Shrinkism. Looking around, Ryan didn't see anything nearby to get and deiced to just fucking do it without help. Ryan reached out, used his toes to prop him up just a little bit higher to just reach the handle bar. As Ryan yanked with his fingers, the cabinet open and revealed the many shelves and dishes that were hidden away.

"Finally," Ryan quietly said to himself. He didn't want to wake up Emily in the other room. With the wooden cabinet door open, Ryan had access to...

"You have to be kidding me," Ryan growled in frustrating. The cups were on the second shelf. It was higher up than the cabinet handle was. Just his luck.

"Why did we put them so high up," Ryan asked out loud dumbfounded by the placement of the simple dishware he wanted. Of course he knew that neither Emily or himself figured they would catch shrinkism and would need to lower the cups for easier access. Who would have thought of that at the time.

Whatever.

Ryan didn't want to spend time thinking of what they should of or could of done. He just wanted some damn water. Standing on his tippy toes, Ryan reached out for the glass cup that just happened to be out of reach of his fingertips.

"Come on," Ryan groaned stretching as much as he could to at least touch the cup. However he had no luck tonight. The item was just out of reach. He must have lost just enough height to be out of reach of a simple fucking cup.

"Son of a bitch," Ryan cursed as quietly as he could, not to wake up Emily in the other room. The fucking clear cup he was reaching for was just a fingertip away from him. He couldn't reach a damn basic cup at his height. No... he could, if he jumped as high as he could.

Ryan didn't even think of trying anything else. He didn't think of trying to get a stool, a chair, or even trying to climb the counter top. No, Ryan was going to do this like a man. He would get his own damn cup without any other help. He'd be damned if he needed something like a chair to prop him up to get a stupid glass for some stupid water. Looking up Ryan figured he was right where he needed to be as he bent his legs.

Letting his legs spring upward, Ryan jumped upward just high enough that he could now reach the cups. Not wasting a nanosecond, Ryan snatch a cup form the shelf, not even looking, and started to fall downward. However what Ryan wasn't expecting was how much force he used to grab a cup. Ryan's hand slapped at the cup and he yanked it off the shelf in time, however the cup collided with another cup and another causing a chain reaction causing several cups to come off the shelf. Ryan looked up with dread as he saw a handful of cups starting to rain down on him.

The sound of the dishes smashing on the ground and shattering filled the air as Ryan stood in the center of the mess of broken glass. The entire kitchen was like a minefield with shards of glass ranging form all kinds of sizes all over the floor. Ryan just looked at the mess he made before damning himself. He was such an idiot.

Suddenly a light flipped on.

"Ryan? What was that?" Emily called out from the bedroom as she came out and saw Ryan just standing in the kitchen like a robber caught in the act.

"I just wanted some water," Ryan tried to explain.

Emily looked around at the chaos Ryan made before saying, "Why didn't you wake me?"

Ryan felt a stab of annoyance at the question. Why didn't he ask his girlfriend to wake up in the middle of the night just to get him a fucking cup of water and than head back to bed? "I wasn't thinking," Ryan told her. The last thing Ryan wanted to do was fight with her.

Emily let out a tired noise, as she headed off to grab a broom and trashcan to clean up. Ryan didn't move as he figured one step could send a shard right into his foot. So he stood there as Emily swept and cleaned in the middle of the night, fixing Ryan's mess that he made. It was humiliating and also demeaning for him to watch Emily pick up after him. However Emily didn't seem all that troubled which made Ryan feel even more guilty about what he did. It was like she was expecting something like this to happen. It didn't take too long till everything was cleaned up.

"Next time just ask," Emily told Ryan as she put the broom and trash can away and headed back to bed. Ryan was left in the kitchen with a cup feeling like an asshole for trying to get just a simple cup of water. He just wanted to still be a normal person and be able to help himself.

Ryan woke up the next day and saw that Emily was gone already. Ryan was left home by himself as Emily still had to teach. Ryan headed to the bathroom and saw his biggest fear, he had shrunken even more. It looked to be another couple of inches taken off of his height. He was now too small for his old clothes and shoes. If he tried to put them on, it would be obvious at work just how much height he lost. He would have to place another order for the right sized clothes from Shrinkies R Us.

"Fucking shrinkism," Ryan muttered as he walked out of the bathroom and to the living room. He turned on the TV and sat down on the couch. Luckily, even thought he was shrinking, he could still prop his feet up on the coffee table from the couch. It was the little things...

However that wouldn't last long.

Ryan decided to spend today just relaxing and trying to calm his worked nerves and find some tranquility. Throwing on some show that Ryan found interesting, he took a much needed break from the horrible life he was living. Ryan laughed and cheered throughout the show that was on the air. Soon it was getting close to lunch time. Ryan got up and started to head to the kitchen where he was going to make a sandwich. It wasn't until he realized he needed a plate that he paused. He didn't want a repeat of last night. Emily would probably snap at him if he broke any more dishes.

Doing what he should have done last night, Ryan went and grabbed a dinning chair and set it up so he could climb it and reach the cups and plates. Ryan grabbed a plate and put it down on the counter where he could make his lunch. Heading to the fridge, Ryan opened it and started to pull out some lunch meat and condiment. It didn't take too long to throw a simple sandwich together. Finally for a drink...

Ryan looked up to see the beers on the top shelf.

"WHY!" Ryan groaned at his stupid height being just short of the top shelf where he usually kept his beers to drink. Again, he never thought he had to worry about his height till now...

Picking up the chair that was still in the kitchen, Ryan set it up so he could reach the beer. The sad thing was he didn't need the full chair to help him get his needed beer, he just needed that extra 3-4 inches. He almost felt like a child trying to sneak a drink from his parents. It was so humiliating. Ryan grabbed his beer and got down from the chair and closed the fridge. He didn't bother with the chair, he would probably need it later.

Ryan heard Emily come home. He didn't notice the time till the door opened and she came in. Ryan got up to greet her.

"How was your day," Emily asked setting her stuff down and seeing Ryan greeting her.

"Lazy... kind of nice," Ryan told her.

"Nothing wrong with a lazy day," Emily agreed as she headed toward the kitchen. She paused. "Ummm why is there a chair in the kitchen.

"Oh right," Ryan said completely forgetting about the stool he used it as. "I needed a plate and didn't want a repeat from last night."

Emily had a look of concern recalling last night, "Right... that was pretty bad."

"It should be fine, for a little while," Ryan said trying not to sound as worried as he was. "But I think we might need to move the beers lower."

Emily couldn't help but let out a soft giggle, and teased him a little, "I bet that was, a little annoying."

"You have no idea," Ryan said feeling a slight smile finally appear on his face after a long time. He kind of missed the small teasing and puns he and Emily would throw at each other. "What about you? How was your day?"

Emily let out a sigh as she grabbed a beer for each of them, "You know, same old same old. Kids being kids."

Ryan nodded as he listened to Emily vent about her day. She talked about her students, coworkers, and some of the parents she had to talk with after school. Just when Ryan thought she was done releasing she seemed to pause on a thought before trying to not think about it.

"What?" Ryan asked picking up on her reaction.

"Huh?"

"You were going to say something," Ryan told her as he watched Emily look a little uncertain.

"Well...I mean."

"Go on," Ryan urged as now his interest was peaked.

Emily let out a sigh as she started to continue, "One of the students in my class, she's got shrinkism."

"Oh," Ryan responded somberly as the word seemed to bring him back to his own problems he forgotten a few moments ago.

Emily nodded, "Yeah. I couldn't stop her from crying. I tried to tell her it was ok, but... I knew it wasn't." Ryan didn't say anything as Emily continued, "Her mom was talking to me, because she pulling her out of school. I just... when she was talking to me about all her worries... I just couldn't' help but sympathize with her. You know, with your situation."

Ryan nodded as he continued to listen.

"So..." Emily paused trying to gather her words for what she was going to say next. "I think your mother should move in."

Ryan nearly spat out his beer, "WHAT?!"

"Listen," Emily quickly interjected before Ryan could say anything else. "Like you said, it's going to get worse. What if I don't get home and your-your trapped in like the sink, or like you can't get any food?! What if you shrink like 4 feet before I get home and I can't find you?!" Emily started to voice her worries. It was clear she was upset and was trying to get Ryan to see her point of view. "Ryan, you need someone here to help you. Last night woke me up, literately and figuratively. And," Emily continued before Ryan could add his voice to the conversation, "We both know how people are around Shrinkies. I can't trust a stranger looking after you. Your mom might be the only one we can trust."

"But... but she's my mom! Em, I don't need her looking out for me, I'm 26! I'm old enough-"

"Ryan," Emily cut him off, "Your shrinking." She stated. It was all she needed to say to keep Ryan from continuing. "If you can think of someone else to help you better than your mother, I'm all ears. Do you trust anyone more than your mother? I know I don't. I may not like how she treats our relationship or some of the things she says about us, but I know she will look out for you. I don't have to worry about coming home and wondering if something happened to you. I...I think this is for the best."

Ryan glared down at his beer. She was right. As much as he hated it... Emily was 100% right. His mother was the most qualified person to watch and keep him safe as he shrank. His mom would be worse than an overly protective mother hen. Although, Ryan wasn't sure if he wanted his mom here.

"Can I at least think about it," Ryan asked.

"Babe," Emily said touching his arm, "I'm just suggesting it. In the end if you don't want her here, I'll drop it. But please, for me. Just think about it."

Ryan sipped his beer as he did think about it.

Emily too took a swig and set her beer down, "I'm going to grab a quick shower. I didn't mean to upset you, but please just think about it, ok?" Ryan nodded. "Ok," Emily smiled, "We can start making something for dinner after I clean up. What did you want to eat?" Emily started to walk away.

"Sloppy Joes?"

Emily headed into the bedroom and called out, "If you start making it, I'll clean it up." With that being said, Emily was already in the bathroom with the door closed.

Ryan thought of what Emily said about his mom as he started to make the Sloppy Joes.

The weekend was gone.

It was finally Monday.

The day Ryan would need to enter the office to collect his severance pay.

The day Ryan would face his coworkers. The same coworkers he spent countless hours with, some he even shared shrinkies with... now he had to go face them with a height that was laughable. He could barely reach the car's gas and break pedals. He had to be at least 4 or less feet tall now. In the last couple of days he lost more of his height than he thought was possible.

As Ryan stood in the elevator by himself, he was rethinking this all. Emily warned him to maybe wait till later, when she was off work or another time, but Ryan didn't want to wait any longer. There was no telling how small he would be this afternoon, or tomorrow or the next day. He rather do this when he still had some of his original height. However that thought soon started to vanish as each passing floor the elevator went up the more uncertain Ryan was about this. Maybe he should have waited for Emily.

No sooner did that thought go through his mind, the elevator stopped and pinged his arrival.

Too late.

Ryan was not ready for the doors to part and let him off at his office floor. Luckily there wasn't anyone in the elevator lobby on that floor. It was just Ryan standing outside the lifts doors while the doors to the room that held multiple cubicles in the large office was just around the corner. He could already hear everyone talking on the phone or with their coworkers through the walls and the doors.

Wanting to be done and home, Ryan headed for the door and prepared to push them open. He couldn't get over the fact that the push bar was about the same height as his chest.

He was so small...

Slow and deep breaths.

Ryan pushed the double doors open and walked inside.

The moment he entered, a wave of silence washed over the room. Everyone stop talking and looked at Ryan. The sound of shocked gasps and dumbfound reactions rippled through the room as everyone followed their coworkers reaction and stood up or peeked out to see what everyone was looking at.

Ryan did his best to ignore all of them as he kept walking toward his boss's office in the back of the work place. He wanted to get in and out.

Ryan picked up a kind of fast pace, but not fast enough to look like he was running away from something. It was more like a pace that showed he had stuff to do and this was just a simple chore that he was knocking off his list. He didn't break his stride for a moment. Even when he heard his name whispered around the office as he passed cubicles. It was almost like last week with Tim when he came in. Only there was less humor and more confusion.

The doors to his boss's office was exactly like the ones he came through to the main office. Pushing them open, Ryan entered the room where his boss was working on whatever future project he had for the business.

He looked up from his computer, and sure enough, a look similar to everyone else covered his.

"Ryan..." He said sounding probably more shocked than anyone else had reacted in the office. "I know your doctor told me everything, but I-"

Ryan cut him off, "I know, I still don't believe it. I don't want to be rude, but maybe we can finish this as quickly as possible?"

Ryan's boss stood up for a brief moment and nodded, "Uh, yeah. Give me a couple of minutes to grab the paper work for you to sign. Than I'll just have to head to HR and than payroll for your severance pay. We should be done in less than half an hour?"

Ryan nodded as he headed toward one of the chairs near his boss's office. He came to the same seat he took last week, and noticed just how much more roomier it was now. Losing a foot of your size would do that. Ryan sat in the chair and waited for his boss to return, however he couldn't help but hear the muttering and commotion outside the office of people talking about him.

"Did you see-"

"Isn't he 21-"

"So small-"

"Ryan-"

"How-"

Ryan did his best to ignore those conversations spreading as the murmuring was growing louder and louder. Soon that was all the was being talked about throughout the office. Feeling a little nervous and uneasy, Ryan half expected someone to come in to ask him a direct question. Maybe it would be Allison, who still had no idea about his situation. Maybe it would be Tess just to see what he looked like. Jimmy? Maybe Jimmy would want to gloat or something.

It felt like hours had went by, and Ryan needed his phone to tell him that it had only been a few minutes. As he checked his phone's clock, he noticed a message from Emily.

"Heading out early, see you at home. Everything ok?"

"For now," Ryan messaged as he put his phone down.

The doors opened and Ryan spun around to see his boss coming in with the forms, "Sorry about that, we needed to print new copies out." Ryan just nodded as he watched his boss walk over to his desk and set the forms down for Ryan to fill out and sign. It took a little while longer as his boss had to formally read off the forms and what Ryan was agreeing to. After Ryan filled the last form, his boss got up.

"Ok, with everything done and filled out, we're good here."

"Great," Ryan said getting up too.

It wasn't until they shook hands one more time that his boss finally said something about his height, "So... what's it like? You know, with the whole," He gestured toward Ryan.

Deciding to finally say something about it to someone other Emily, Ryan told him, "It sucks. I can't even reach for a cup or even a beer."

Ryan's boss couldn't help give a sympathetic laugh, "That does sound bad. Have you thought of maybe remodeling?"

Ryan paused, "Remolding? What like my place?"

"Yeah, you never heard of it," Ryan's boss asked only to have Ryan shaking his head. He went over to his desk and started to look around and finally grabbed a businesses card, "I play golf with a buddy of mine, he runs a shrinky remodeling team. They add like," He had to think of the best way to explain it, "stairs and stuff for shrinkies to get up and down things, doors. Just stuff like that."

Ryan looked at the card and saw the number to call, "He does that stuff?"

"To be honest never really looked into it at all, but his contact information is on it. Just let him know I sent you and I'm sure any waiting list he has, he'll bump you up. He's not that good of a golfer, I got a couple of favors he owes for letting him slide on some of the games," He laughed.

"Uh, thanks," Ryan said not sure what to say.

"You take care," Ryan's boss said again and walked him to the door.

"You too," Ryan said leaving his boss's office feeling better. It was the first time since he worked here that he actually felt like talking with his boss was productive.

Feeling good, Ryan headed off toward the elevators ignoring all the looks and whispers that followed him. Once he was at the elevator he hit the button for the-

"Ryan? Is that really you," Tess called out directly behind him with a sound of uncertainty. Ryan felt his blood freeze. Shit. He didn't want to talk to anyone other than his boss today.

"Yeah," Ryan said turning around to come face to chest with Tess. He had to tilt his head to look up at her.

Tess had a look like everyone else. A look of confusion, shock, and curiosity. "How?"

Ryan sigh, "Don't know. I just," He gestured to himself, "Am."

"Ohh," She said, interested. "Since when?"

Ryan couldn't wait for the door behind him to open. He wanted to leave. "A week, I think."

Tess frowned, "A week? Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why would I tell you," Ryan asked not aware of how unfriendly it sounded. He just didn't understand why Tess thought he would share that with her.

Tess looked taken back. "What? Aren't we friends?"

"I mean, we're coworkers." Ryan stated.

"... coworkers?" Tess was upset at that statement. "Just coworkers... I see."

"Uh," Ryan stammered not realizing that he said something stupid, again. It was like with Emily last week. Maybe he should say something else-

The doors opened behind Ryan. Ryan didn't want to say anything that would offend Tess anymore, so Ryan got in the elevator and hit the lobby. Tess stood there watching Ryan in an almost too uncomfortable way. Ryan was going to say something, maybe goodbye or sorry. Something but he couldn't get his mouth to work. He just stood there as the doors started to close.

Suddenly Tess stuck her hand out stopping the doors.

"Hey Ryan," She spoke with a weird tone.

"Uh, yeah?" Ryan responded uncertain of what Tess was doing. Part of Ryan felt scared that the taller women stopping him from leaving. But he knew that if it got physical, he could still over power her... right? It shouldn't have to come to that.

"I just thought I should give you some advice before you leave. You should be nicer to your "coworkers". You never know. One of them might be friends with Sharon from HR." Ryan felt a very uncomfortable sense of dread building. What was she getting out. "And you never know. Maybe HR might accidentally leave a file out. Maybe something that holds personal information on it. Like maybe someone's address and where they live. Just some parting words," Tess said with a look on her face. It was one that made Ryan's heart skip a beat as she gave a cruel smile as she followed up with, "I'll see you around? Maybe sooner than you think. BYE!" With that she let go of the elevator doors and left.

"w-w-wha-" Was all Ryan got out before the door sealed the elevator and started to descend. It was like they were trying to catch up with Ryan's stomach that seemed to kept falling from hearing those words.

Ryan stood at the front of his apartment. Tess's words and the look on her face filled his mind. She wouldn't. However the more he thought about it, Tess could come by his place anytime he was smaller. The only thing keeping him safe from her was this door. Ryan reached out and touched the doorknob. He tried it to see how sturdy it was.

The handle turned with no resistance. It was completely unlocked. Ryan opened the door finding it so easy for anyone to break in without any effort.

"Oh your back," Emily said looking out from the kitchen not seeing how scary it was to leave the door unlocked for anyone to walk in on them.

"Y-yeah, hey hon, maybe we should lock the door more often," Ryan called out closing and locking it.

"Huh, oh." Emily laughed, "Sorry I thought did. I must have forgotten."

Ryan didn't pursue the carelessness of that action. "And... maybe we should talk about remodeling."

Emily paused as she grabbed a snack for the both of them and meet him in the living room. "Remodeling?"

Ryan offered the card his boss gave him still feeling kind of sick about this afternoon with Tess. How vulnerable he would be soon. Having someone like Tess stalking around...

"My mom... maybe," He started catching Emily off guard. "Maybe we should give her a call?"

"BABY YOU LOOK SO SMALL!!" Ryan's mom called out in the middle of the open doorway not really realizing how demeaning it was to hear that from the larger women. His mom rushed over as soon as she could when Ryan called her. It had been 2 days since he called and he already lost another foot or so. "You practically look like your a kid again!"

Ryan didn't say anything as he stood at waist high height. Sure enough his mother knew exactly what to say to make him still feel like a child.

Emily tried not to laugh as Ryan glanced over at her. "You kind of do..."

"Thanks mom," Ryan groaned.

His mom didn't seem to sense the tone of his sarcastic comment as she came inside with what looked to be everything she owned. Setting down a duffle bag, 2 suitcases and a large purse. "Did you bring enough stuff, mom?" Ryan against asked sarcastically.

"Oh hush, you know there is no such thing. Now come and give your mommy a hug." Ryan closed his eyes as his mother practically scooped him up and spun him around like when he was 10 years old. "I missed you so much! It's been too long!"

Ryan felt a little guilty for not seeing his mother that often, but he did have a reason. Anytime he was around her, she was just too much! He loved her, but she could be extreme and overbearing. Like how he and Emily had to sleep in different rooms, or that she HAD to cook. If Emily even tried his mother would practically push her out of the kitchen or take over, demanding that she do it herself, "It's what a mother is suppose to do." Ryan gave up a while ago trying to change his mother's ways. Now she was here, already starting her usual things.

"Look at this place," His mother said looking around. "I love how pretty it is."

"Thanks, Marry," Emily told her.

"Did you pick out the color?"

"Mhmm, I thought that the shade would bring out the floor and," Emily went on explain her thoughts idea on the apartment's color scheme and stuff. Emily and his mother started to walk around leaving her bags on the floor with Ryan.

"Yeah don't mind me," Ryan said to himself as he grab the large duffle bag full of God knows what. All he knew was that it weight probably as much as him. He started to lug it toward the spare bedroom they had for guest. Ryan heaved the bag toward the room and followed up by grabbing each other suitcase and finally the last item before feeling exhausted from the simple act of carrying bags to another room. Ryan sat down on the couch listen to his mom and girlfriend talk about the apartment and other women things. As much as he found his mom slightly annoying, he loved that Emily was able to at least talk to her like this.

After a while Emily and Ryan's mom walked out of the bathroom after talking about replacing something with another thing or whatever. Ryan wasn't paying attention as he just surfed on his phone over social media and other sites.

"Baby! Why are you so quite," Ryan's mom asked seeing him sit there.

"Didn't want to bother you two."

"Nonsense!" Ryan's mom cried out. "Come on," She said heading into the kitchen. "We haven't talked in a while." Ryan got up and headed to the kitchen.

"Mary, I can-" Emily offered before she shook her head not letting Emily finish.

"Now now, take a seat," She said pointing to one of the chairs near the counter in the kitchen. Before Ryan could say or move, his mother lifted him up like he was a baby and sat him down next to Emily. "We can all talk and I'll make us something to eat," She told them as she was already acting like this was her kitchen.

Ryan looked over to Emily. She just gave him a sympathetic look, as if she knew what he was thinking right now. Especially about the picking him up. He told Emily how much he hated the thought when she asked him one time if he needed help. At least Emily asked, his mother didn't even seem to consider it and acted like it was natural.

Ryan tried not to dwell on it too much as he started, "Uh, how was the flight?"

"Oh it was horrible," Ryan's mother exclaimed as she went into detail of how horrible the flight was, and how long it took to wait for her bags (which if she brought less wouldn't be so bad), and all the other small things that made it bad. Ryan sat there with Emily listening to his mother go on and on like she usually did while she worked. It was just like her to start one story and lead to another one as she chattered away. It was something Ryan noticed a while back. It was like while he was gone and his mom was alone, she would bottle up all the talking she normally would do over the time and spill it out when they meet. Which they usually didn't meet for a while. So his mom went on a long string of rants and stories as she pretty much cooked some snacks, dinner, and some breakfast for tomorrow. It was like he was at his mother's house all over again.

"That's so sad," Emily replied with sympathy to one of his mother's countless stories.

"She was only this tall," Ryan's mom said, showing how large the shrinky was that went missing in her neighborhood. "Poor Nell... she was a smart bright girl too."

Ryan looked at the size that his mother showed them with her hands and imagined when that would be his size.

Much of the rest of the conversation was just an average talk between the three of them as they all started to eat. As they continued to talk and enjoy each other's company, it didn't take long for the food was finished and it was getting close to the time that Emily would turn in for the night. Ryan helped the best he could with putting away the left overs and dishes, but his height didn't allow him to do much except bus things from the table to the kitchen for the others to finish. Finally with everything done, it was time to head to bed.

It was at this time his mother dropped the unavoidable and annoying question he knew was coming up, "Ryan, where were you going to sleep tonight?"

Ryan held back a groan at the obvious answer he was going to say, "In my bedroom." He told her as calm and reasonable as he could.

"With Emily?" She asked with a slight tone of judgment in it.

Sighing Ryan turned to his mom, "I may look like a child, but I'm not mom. I'm 26 years old. I love Emily and she loves me. Sorry if this make you uncomfortable that I sleep with my girlfriend. If you don't like it, i'm sorry but you can leave."

Ryan watched as his mother looked hurt and was going to argue but stopped. "Your right... I'm sorry. Your house, your rules."

Ryan felt a slight stab of guilt about going off on his mom but he needed to let her know that she was a guest not in their home, not her house. "I'll see you in the morning," Ryan said before going over and giving his mother a hug. Or what he could give as a hug at his size, before heading back to his bedroom where Emily was already sitting in bed.

Emily grimaced as Ryan closed the door. "She asked, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Ryan sighed as he got into bed.

"You know I love her as much as you do, but she can be a little-"

"Controlling, I know," Ryan said trying to get used to sleeping in a king sized bed, when it wasn't. His size allowed for more space but it was a weird feeling. "I just hope she didn't take it too hard. I've been trying to tell her that I'm an adult but..."

Emily nodded, "Well, when I'm at work you two can make up. I'm sure your mom would like to go and do something together?"

"Can't," Ryan told her. "The contractors are coming tomorrow to set up the new stuff for when-" Ryan didn't want to say it. Emily knew what he was getting at.

"Oh, how long will that be?"

Ryan shrugged, "They said a few days. A week, tops."

Emily nodded. "You know I love you right?"

"Huh," Ryan said taken back at the sudden abrupt thing Emily said.

"You been looking so depressed." Emily scooted closer to Ryan and tried to comfort him. It was a very odd feeling for Ryan, as his larger girlfriend was acting almost motherly to him. "I just wanted you to remember that I'm still here, and I'll love you no matter what."

"Yeah, I know," Ryan said trying to enjoy Emily's compassion and cheerful words, but it felt weird. Almost like his mother-

Oh God that was not what he wanted to think about right now!

"Gah," Ryan groaned in annoyance.

"What," Emily asked confused.

Ryan slammed his head down backwards onto the pillow, "... you're reminding me of my mom."

Emily caught herself form laughing. "Awww, is my little man upset? Does mommy need to kiss him goodnight?"

Ryan rolled his eyes as Emily tried to tease him. "Don't," He joking told her. "It's bad enough my mom is here, I don't need two of them."

Emily kissed him on the forehead. "Well, if you just need one mommy, I'm here for you."

"Em, you seriously are twisted," Ryan laughed at her horrible sense of humor.

"Maybe," She laughed, "now get some sleep we all have a big day tomorrow... well maybe for some of us."

Ryan just gaped at Emily making fun of his size, "Ok, now that is too far," He laughed at her pun.

"Goodnight," Emily laughed as she turned off her light putting them in darkness.

"Big day," Ryan muttered shaking his head as he tried to get some sleep.

It had been almost a week since the contractors started working on their apartment and Ryan was annoyed at how long it took, but glad he called them when he did. By the time the apartment was done, Ryan was already as small as he was going to get. He was about and inch and half maybe two tall. If he waited any longer he would have had issues moving around the house when he got to this size. Luckily it was all done. They added stairs and ladder for Ryan to climb just about anything. Some of them made sense like dinner table or kitchen counter top, but others were more questionable. Why would he want to get up and reach his nightstand? Or the dresser? Maybe that's why it took so long, was that they installed them everywhere. It didn't really matter too much to Ryan. It was done. The one thing he did enjoy and was happy they did it, was the small door added on their front door. Down by the hinge there was a small door that he could use to open the door to leave or enter the apartment. He wouldn't have to worry about having his mother or Emily opening the door for him to enter or leave. He was as free to leave as much as he wanted, which wasn't really that often. But the option felt good.

He couldn't think of when he would need to leave or enter the apartment but he was kind of glad that it was added. Especially after he dumbly asked why they didn't just cut a hole for him to use. The contractor laughed and said, "Do you want rats and other pest to come in uninvited?"

Ryan than shut up about it all and let them do their thing, which was add stairs to just about everything that was out of his reach.

The contractors also worked with other shrinky devices and items. Like the transmitter around his neck, that looked like a collar or the small ear pieces that his mom and Emily could wear. It helped them hear him. Although they could hear him just fine... if he screamed out loud... and they were paying attention... they could hear just about 70% of what he yelled at them. With this device his voice was directed to the ear pieces so no one had to strain to hear him and to communicate with each other way better.

Ryan sat there on the counter with his smaller version of a table and chair sipping on a small portion of coffee. It was early in the morning and Ryan had been up for a while.

There was the sound of footsteps followed by a very fast and late looking Emily. She was grabbing things for her job before heading out. Ryan waved at her and said, "Good morning." Emily didn't even flinch as she seemed to ignore him. She entered the kitchen and grabbed a cup and poured coffee into it splashing some. "Whoa, slow down a bit," Ryan called out again.

Emily didn't respond. As she tried to clean up the spill before heading toward the door.

"I LOVE YOU!" Ryan shouted as loud as he could.

Emily paused for a brief moment and looked around. She spotted Ryan.

"Ryan? Oh shit," She said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the hearing device. She turned it on and put it into her ear, "I didn't know you were up."

"Sorry," Ryan said realizing that she was deaf to him those few minutes.

"I'm late I got to go, I'll see you tonight. Love you," Emily said heading over to him and giving him a body sized kiss that left him smelling the sweet smell of her morning breath mixed with coffee. Ryan held back any sign of disgust and just waved goodbye. Ryan watched Emily reach for the door before removing her ear piece and leaving the apartment.

"God, disgusting," Ryan said shivering at the still linger smell all over his body. He loved Emily, but sometimes he wonder how someone could be so forgetful about brushing their teeth before work. Whatever. Wasn't the first time, probably wont be the last.

As Ryan started to get up and walk around. He didn't really have much to do. As a shrinky, there wasn't much he could do. There weren't any phones or devices he could use that would let him surf the web. The TV was always on, just for Ryan to watch whenever, but he couldn't change the channel till someone woke up. He could try and exercise but, what was the point? It was almost pointless for him to even be up. Yet it was hard for Ryan to break out of the old habit of waking up for work that was so engraved in him, that he found himself waking up early no mater how late he stayed up.

Hopefully his body would change it's sleep clock soon. This was pretty annoying.

"Morning," Ryan's mother called out.

"Morning mom," Ryan called out.

His mother didn't response to his gretting. He watched as his mother walked out of her bedroom sleepily.

"Hey mom, can you hear me?" There was no response as she sleepily walked into the kitchen looking for something to pour a cup of coffee. "MOM!" Ryan shouted out. His only response he got was his mother yawning loudly.

It wasn't until his mom turned that he spotted her ear was empty of the ear piece. OF COURSE!

Why did he even buy them if no one was going to wear them. The whole point was for him to be heard without trying so hard, but now... it seemed like no one remembered.

Maybe it would just take sometime for them to get used to it. It has only been 3 days since they tired using them.

Ryan tried to think if he should try shouting or something, like with Emily. But he figured he could wait-

The slamming of his mother's coffee cup on the counter only 20 feet away shook his bones.

That was close.

"Mornings..." His mother groaned.

"MOM!" Ryan shouted as he watched his mother standing above him. Clearly oblivious of his location beneath her. "MOM?!"

No response. The only thing his mother did was lift up the hot pot of coffee and started to pour the dark liquid into her cup that was off to the side. As soon as Ryan's mom finished filling her cup, she pulled the coffee pot away and set it back where it was. Ryan watched as she swung the coffee pot back to it's home. If Ryan wasn't looking up he wouldn't have noticed it before it was too late.

Ryan jumped out of his mini chair as a small drop spilled from the lip of the pot from the motion. It fell down heading straight for where Ryan just was as it splashed and soaked the small chair and table he was using for his morning cup of Joe. Ryan looked horrified as the liquid seemed to still be bubbling from the heat...

"MOM!" Ryan screamed. It was totally lost on her ears. Ryan could only watch his mom head out of the kitchen and to the family room where she took a seat on the couch and started to watch the news that was playing.

Ryan just looked at the sizzling chair and the smell of hot coffee that fill the air he was breathing. He without a doubt knew that he would have died or been severely scared if that drop of coffee hit him....

"Fucking really?" He would definitely have to scowled her later.

Ryan woke up again, with a bad dream of someone trying to crush him with their shoe. He never saw the face, just knew that he had to run away, but could never get away. It was always around the same time he woke every morning. Feeling exhausted but awake, Ryan figured he might as well start the day. He got up from his small bed on the night stand near Emily's side of the bed. The sound of Emily sleeping soundlessly, always helped lull him to sleep. So being next to her nightstand was the closes thing to actually sleeping next to her, without any of the risk.

Getting out of the bed, Ryan headed toward the small ladder that let him climb down, he made it to the floor with ease. Heading to the kitchen, he started his 5 minute journey to the kitchen. Than it would be another minute or so to climb up to the counter to start making his morning coffee, like usual.

Making his way to the kitchen, Ryan didn't even bother looking around. He knew the path by heart now. He was making his way to the stairs that lead upward. He paused for a moment. Did he see something?

Ryan looked off to the right, the path that lead to the fridge. He saw something in the center between the counter and the fridge. A small shape that seemed to be moving around.

"H-h-hello," Ryan called out ready to scamper up the ladder if it turned out to be an insect or something worse.

The shape froze.

Ryan went up one rung, "Are you-"

"You live here," a stranger's voice called out shocked.

"Yes, and you? Who are you," Ryan called out stepping down, but not letting go of the rung. There was no telling if maybe this person was hostile or not. He didn't want to take a chance.

"OH THANK GOD!" The voice said as it slowly headed toward him, "I'm Steven."

"What are you doing here, Steven?" Ryan asked still ready to head up the ladder if he made the wrong move.

"Oh, sorry," Steven said stopping a couple of feet away. Now that he was closer, Ryan could see him better. "I didn't mean to intrude, well I guess I did. I just saw the door and didn't think."

Oh right... Ryan never locked the small door. So another shrinky could easily enter his apartment.

"So," Ryan asked again, "What are you doing here?"

Steven seemed ashamed, "Food... I was looking for food."

"Food?"

Steven nodded, "Yeah. I haven't had anything for a couple of days." As if on cue, Ryan heard the stomach growl.

"Well, if you want. I have some food up there," Ryan pointed to the top of the counter.

"Really?!" Steven couldn't hold back how excited and desperate he sounded.

"Uh, yeah," Ryan said as he started to climb.

"Oh, you have no idea how happy I am right now," Steven told Ryan as he followed.

Ryan thought of making conversation as they climbed, "So, how long have you been a shrinky?"

"2 years. I was 19," Steven told him.

"You lived in the complex?"

"Yeah, I was two floors up."

Ryan got off the ladder and on the top of the counter top waiting for Steven. When he was standing up there, he followed Ryan as he lead him to the small stash of food for Ryan up here. "So, did you live with someone? Why did you leave?"

Steven took a soccer ball sized ball of bread, and started to eat it before answering. "I was with my older sister..." Steven paused for a moment before continue, "She... her boyfriend didn't like me to begin with. When I started to shrink, it would have just a matter of time an "accident" happened. I wasn't even sure if my sister even saw me as a person anymore when I started to shrink..."

"Sorry," Ryan said hearing that.

"Do, you live by yourself?"

Ryan shook his head, "No."

Steven stop eating, "No?" Steven looked around from the counter-top before he asked, "Are you sure you can" Steven looked worried, "Trust them?"

It wasn't until now that Ryan actually thought about it, trust. Could he trust Emily and his mother?

"Yeah," Ryan told Steven. "Emily wouldn't hurt me, and my-"

"Wouldn't or couldn't," Steven cut in.

"Huh," Ryan asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean they wouldn't or couldn't? They might not mean to hurt you and still do it. There is no certainty that they won't hurt you. Maybe they slip and fall on you, or they drop something, or maybe they just don't see you when they're walking."

Ryan let those words sink in. They could accidentally kill him?

"It's one of the many reasons why I left," Steven told him. "That, and I don't trust anyone larger than a few inches. You never know who's out to get you."

Ryan frowned at his words. They almost sound like the words of a paranoid person, "You make it sound like it's you verse the world."

"Is it not?" Steven asked finishing the bread and looking pleased.

"So where are you living?"

"... There's a crack in the floor and wall between apartment 305 and 306. I've been hiding in there till night."

Ryan felt a sense of guilt for the small person. He couldn't just not help. "Look, there's plenty of space-"

Steven stopped him, "Thanks, but no. You might trust those you live with... but I can't. I'd rather live in a small space, safe, than in a large apartment hoping not to get stepped on or worse."

Ryan wanted to argue, but he let Steven make his own decision. Who was he to tell him how to live. "Well, if you ever need some where to stay or something to eat, the door is always open for you."

Steven paused, "Really?"

"Of course," Ryan told him. "I mean, it's not like I have many friends or people over anymore. It's... it's nice talking to someone who kind of understands me and my situation."

"Thanks. You have no idea how much this means to me. I..." Steven looked like he wanted to cry but held it back, "I owe you man. I mean it."

"Don't mention it," Ryan said.

"I should get going, I don't want to get caught heading back by someone. Usually now is the perfect time to walk around."

Ryan nodded and followed Steven down the ladder. They talked a little more heading to the small door for him to use to get out.

"Well, I'll meet you tomorrow?"

"If it's not too much to ask, yeah!"

Ryan laughed, "Alright. I'll see if I can have something more than bread for you."

"OH GOD, you have no idea how happy that makes me," Steven said with a look of true bliss. "I haven't had anything except crumbs for the past two years."

"Well, looks like you have something to look forward to."

Steven smiled for the first time, "Definitely."

Ryan wished Steven good luck, and closed the door. Now he didn't want to lock the small door. Especially if there were more people like Steven out there looking for just some food.

"You meet another shrinky," Emily asked eating breakfast with Ryan.

"Yeah," Ryan told her.

Emily started to look around, "Is it.. is it here?"

Ryan paused, "He. It is a he, and no. He didn't feel safe here."

Emily looked just as confused as Ryan was when Steven didn't take Ryan up on his offer. "Not safe?"

"I know, I was thinking the same thing. If he doesn't want to stay, that's fine."

"So," Emily started. "Is it weird now that you mention it... that a shrinky can come into this place without use knowing?"

"Huh?"

"I mean," Emily continued, "Just the thought that shrinkies can come in and out of this place without us knowing just feels...creepy."

"Creepy?"

"Yeah," Emily said still sounding a little upset, "What if there are some already here, hiding and sneaking around," Emily almost sounded disgusted.

"What are you saying," Ryan asked not sure what she was implying.

"Sorry," Emily said. "I just, the thought of me trying to dress or sleeping, and a stranger could be watching," Emily shivered.

"Oh," Ryan said not realizing what she meant till now. Although, it almost sounded like Emily thought of Shrinkies as something disgusting, like a bug. "I mean, I'll lock the door from now on. I just didn't want to leave Steven out there."

"Thanks," Emily said sounding a little relieved. "I just hope he was the only one that knew about the door. I just can't imagine more of them."

There it was again. Them.

How Emily said THEM, made it clear. She didn't see Shrinkies as people. So what did she see him as? Ryan or something else?

Ryan stood at the small open door he left open. The past couple of mornings, Ryan's been opening up the door for Steven. He normally woke up early anyway. He would just let Steven in, and feed him. They would hang out for a little while, and than he would leave. It was odd. It had only been a few days, but he was feeling like he and Steven were becoming best buddies. Sure he was a little younger than he was, but they both had similar likes and worries. Maybe it was that they were both shrinkies, but he was finding that it was nice having someone like him to talk to about some of this stuff.

The sound of small steps could be heard before Ryan saw Steven appear.

"Was wondering how long it would take you," Ryan joke with Steven.

Steven apologized, "Sorry, it's not like I have a clock to tell me what time it is. I usually have to wait till 306 comes back to go to sleep before I leave. He didn't get back till latter than usual."

Ryan noticed that Steven didn't pick up on his joking manner, "You know I'm just messing with you? You don't have to apologize about it."

Steven nodded and smirked, "It's been a while since someone was just messing with me. Kind of forgot what I sounded like."

"I can tell. Come on, lets get some food." Ryan closed the door and walked with Steven toward the kitchen and the normal ladder they would climb.

"The lights are on," Steven asked noticing that one of the kitchen lights was still shining. Normally they would be in the dark, which would make it hard for them to move and walk around without much light.

"Yeah, I asked Emily to leave them on for us."

"Oh, that's nice of her," Steven said sounding surprised.

"I told you, you can trust her," Ryan tired to tell him.

Steven looked uncertain. "I know you guys have been together for a while, but come on. Do you really think it'll last? Can you really trust someone like her?"

Ryan didn't say anything. He wanted to argue with Steven, maybe even get pissed at him for even thinking that about her. But Steven had more experience being a shrinky than himself. While he's only been this small for about a week or two, Steven had 2 years over him. The way he talked of his sister not even caring anymore about him... Yeah, Ryan would have issues trusting people again too.

"Sorry," Steven sincerely apologized. "I shouldn't have said that. Like I said, I-I haven't talked to people in a while. I tend to say whatever comes to my mind."

"It's alright," Ryan forgave him.

Steven still looked troubled by what he said to Ryan. "No, it's not. I'm just throwing my anger and pain out at you, only cause your the only one around. It's good that you can still be with the person you love. I just wish... I just wanted someone like that for me, you know? When I needed it."

"You don't have to stay out there," Ryan told him as they approached the ladder. "Stay here. We can give you plenty of food and shelter. You wouldn't have to worry about that 306 dick having to come home to leave. Or about that dog in 303 sniffing you out."

Steven thought about it. He stood there for a few moments, "It does sound nice..."

Ryan laughed, "If your worried if we have room for you, I think we got plenty."

Steven chuckled, "You sure about this? I mean, I don't want to-"

"I'm sure! Besides who else will I get to complain to about having to climb 5 stories just to take a piss?"

Steven laughed at the dumb joke, "True. Yeah... yeah alright. I'll stay."

Ryan felt happy at the news. Now he wouldn't have to worry about one day when Steven might not show up cause something happened to him. Besides, Ryan was feeling slightly lonely. Sure Emily and his mom were living in here, but no one for Ryan to just hang out with. Thanks to his height Ryan was finding that he needed to socialize with someone more his size.

"Cool. I can't wait for you to meet Emily, I swear man, you will not regret this."

Steven was going to say something and than stopped, "Hey, is that...?" Steven pointed off deeper into the kitchen. "Is that a chocolate chip?! Oh shit man! I haven't had chocolate in... forever." Before Ryan could stop Steven, he was already heading toward the dropped piece of chocolate on the floor. Emily or Ryan's mom must have dropped it when they had some dessert.

"STEVEN!" Ryan called out but he didn't listen. Ryan couldn't believe what Steven was doing. He was going to eat chocolate that was left on the floor. Disgusting! He could easily wait till Emily got up to ask for some. Heading after Steven, Ryan went to stop him. "Dude I can get you some later. You don't have to."

"I just want a nibble," Steven told him as he approach the large chunk of chocolate. It was too inciting for Steven to pass up.

Ryan was going to say something but let it go. If Steven wanted some chocolate, than have at it. Ryan wouldn't eat something like that even if he was paid to do it. He was pretty sure that this might have been left her longer than last night. The last time he remember seeing anything with chocolate was a while ago, maybe even a week...

Steven snapped off the top part, which happened to be just as large as a handful of chocolate. He took a deep bite out of the chunk and looked like he was going to orgasm from it.

"OH GOD! You have no idea how good this taste."

"I've had chocolate before," Ryan mumbled not wanting to shame Steven for this.

"It's been far too long. I could die right now and not regret it."

"Ok, it's not that good," Ryan told him.

Steven just laughed as he took another bite. "It's like tasting heaven." Steven held out a little amount for Ryan to take, "You sure you don't want any?"

Ryan was about to shake his head no when all of a sudden a large shadow appeared out of nowhere. One moment Steven was standing there offering some food to Ryan the next a large object smashed into the ground with an ungodly sound that shook Ryan to his core. The object vanished as it bounced before landing off a distance away. Ryan felt something splatter on him as he kept looking at where Steven should be, only to find nothing. Ryan looked down on the ground and saw a red puddle and the small piece of chocolate that Steven was just munching on not even a second ago. Ryan still shocked, and unable to hear much from the loud booming that shook his world, Ryan glanced toward the large white like object off to the side. It was a shoe. A sneaker to be more exact. The bottom of the sneaker was laying on the side letting Ryan see the bottom of the sole. There in the middle was a blood splatter of what was left of Steven.

"Damn I missed one," Hissed a frustrated voice.

Ryan turned around to see his mother glaring in his direction just out side the kitchen.

"m-m-mom?" Ryan called out.

She obviously didn't even react as she started to head toward Ryan and what was left of Steven.

Ryan didn't know what to do except what his instincts were telling him. RUN!

Ryan bolted, he didn't know where he was going as he ran toward any safe space from his mother. Ryan ran toward the shadows of the closes thing, the stove. Feeling safe under the stove, Ryan turned around and looked out from the shadows with his heart still beating.

"Disgusting insects," Ryan's mom spat. Ryan watched as she grabbed a paper towel and damped it before coming over to the small splattered mark left by Steven as she carelessly wiped it up with the chocolate chip left there. She tossed it away before saying, "Can't be leaving crumbs around. It's going to attract more of those disgusting bugs." She bent over and picked up her sneaker before smiling, "I still got it. One down, one to go... now where did that little pest go." She looked around trying to spot Ryan, who was still not sure if he should be calling out for her yet or stay hidden. Finally after looking around his mother gave up a huff, "If I see that little shit again, he's dead. Nothing is going to hurt my little man, not while I'm around."

Ryan just shook as his mother seemed prod of her bug killing deed. Leaving the kitchen, Ryan's mom turned off the light muttering something about wasting power, before heading back to bed.

Ryan didn't want to leave the safety of the stove... he felt safe and protected. However, the sticky feeling of something wet and gooey covering him finally filtered through Ryan's brain. Stepping out from the stove, Ryan made a slow walk back to his bed room. He didn't even notice how long it took him to get to the bathroom in his room before he started to climb up the sink. All he knew was he felt disgusting covered with something that was starting to feel more like syrup as time went on. Finally on top of the sink, he headed over to a small part that held like a miniature bathroom for him right there on the sink. It was hooked up to the water pipes to draw some water if he need to use the toilet, shower or a sink for someone his size. As he approached the small bathroom in the bathroom, there was a nightlight hooked up to the wall to give him some light when Emily had the bathroom lights turned off. The nightlight gave enough light for Ryan to do what he needed without having the entire bathroom lighting up the bedroom. Ryan walked over to the giant mirror and looked at himself through the mirror and in the light.

He was covered in red.

It was the rest of his only friend, Steven...

Ryan's ruined clothes were balled up and tossed to the side of the miniature shower, as he sat in the shower trying to drain the blood off himself. For some reason even though the water wasn't red anymore, he still felt like he missed some spots. Ryan was still shell shocked by the sound of the shoe nearly hitting him and making him the same undistinguished puddle of goo that Steven was. Would anyone know that it was him? Or would it be just like Steven. When his mom cleaned him up, could Emily or anyone else know what happened to him? Would it matter?

These thoughts ran through Ryan's head at just how insignificant his presence was in the house. Just one misstep or mistake and he could be just as dead as Steven. Ryan had to take precautions as not to be like Steven. He needed to warn Emily and his mother, and he would have to be strict with them. This was his life that they could destroy in a second by thinking he was a fucking bug!

Like Steven...

Ryan bite back a sob at the thought of the younger man's demise. He didn't even have time to react before his mother killed him.

Speaking of, what will he say to his mom? Did he yell and scold her for killing Steven? Would she even care? She thought it was just two bugs... she thought he was a bug. What would she do if she knew she almost killed him? How would his mom react? Did he want to know?

It horrified Ryan to think about. Part of him wanted to shame his mom and make her sad at what she did and could have done to him. The other part of him was horrified that she might never forgive herself for almost harming him. There was a possibility that she turned it around and scold him for not being more careful, that it was his fault for being on ground level at night.

Ryan shook his head. He didn't want to think about this. It was just too much right now. Still trying to recover from the experience, Ryan finally turned the water off and started to get out of the shower. As he got out he noticed how ruined and stained his bloody clothes were. Did he try to return them like this or toss them out? There was a slight thought that maybe he would be investigated for the blood, but than again no one cared what happened to a shrinky.

Did anyone really care about shrinkies?

Ryan let that thought float around a little as he figured he rather toss the clothes. He went over to the dark side of the sink and peered over into the black abyss over the side. No one would have been able to see the enormous trash can off to the side of the sink, but Ryan knew it was there from countless years of using it. He simply let the clothes fall downward till they vanished from sight. He didn't even hear them make a noise when they landed in the trash. They were too insignificant and tiny to make much noise, kind of like himself...

Ryan hurried away from the edge, as he figured if he stood there long enough he might find a reason just to jump and end it all now.

"I can't do that. Not to Emily," Ryan said finding a good enough reason to keep going. Just the thought of Emily finding out he was gone and the way she would react.

Ryan paused, how would Emily react? Would she cry? Would she break down and weep, or would she move on? Would she even care that he was gone? It almost seemed like they were growing apart from the lack of time together and all the extra steps he had to go through just to talk with her. As Ryan headed down the large sink to get back to bed, he saw Emily still sleeping. Oblivious to his frightening fears and his near death experience not even an hour ago.

There was a disconnect between them now. Something that Ryan felt was growing every day.

"How do I fix that?" Ryan asked out loud, knowing that no one could hear him or even give him an answer.

Ryan sat in his makeshift bed still having a slight panic attack about this morning, that and the increasing worries of his new life at his size. He was too deep in his own distraught he didn't even see the looming face of Emily that appeared to his side. As Ryan was dwelling on the events a few hours ago the large voice of Emily, "Good morning," freaked him out to fall out of his small bed.

"Jesus, Emily," Ryan shouted getting up. "What was that for?"

Emily frowned at Ryan's question, "I was just saying good morning, you're the one that freaked out. What was that for?" Emily gave Ryan a concerned look, "Something wrong?"

Ryan hesitated at unloading his worries and fears to Emily. Would she understand his fears or think they were just silly fears? Ryan swallowed his fears away as he decided he would keep them hidden, just like the fact that his mom killed his only friend since he shrunk. "Nothing."

Emily's frown grew harder as she looked at Ryan, who was obviously lying and had a lot on his mind. Ryan did his best to fake a smile but it did little to help Emily's suspicion about him. She finally shook her head and let out a huff, "Fine." She was obviously upset at Ryan's lack of communication with her and Ryan knew he messed up.

"Wa-" Was the only thing he got out before Emily already was getting out of her bed, and out of earshot. "EMILY!" Ryan shouted again hoping she heard him or the earpiece picked up his yelling. Neither seemed to get to Emily as she headed to the bathroom. Ryan watched as she made the trip in just a few seconds which carried her out of the room. The bathroom door was closed shut, which normally Emily wouldn't have done just in case Ryan needed something. This showed how pissed off she was. "Fuck!" Ryan yelled at his stupid behavior. Why didn't he just tell her what was bothering him? "So stupid," Ryan insulted himself.

Thinking about maybe waiting here for Emily, Ryan sat in his bed and waited for Emily to get out of the bathroom to at least continue their conversation or try to apologize or something. The last thing he wanted was to increase the distance that was starting to grow over this stupid thing.

The sound of the shower coming on could be heard right before Emily left the bathroom and head to the dresser.

"Emily," Ryan tried to call out over the shower but the sounds of his voice was drowned out by the falling water. That or Emily was ignoring him. Soon, Emily had her clothing with her and headed back to the shower not even giving Ryan a glance in his direction. Again the door closed and Ryan was alone in the bedroom. Part of Ryan wanted to be difficult and just not move till Emily acknowledged him, but the other part of him was starting to get hungry. As much as he hated to leave and head to the kitchen, Ryan was sure his stomach was going to implode. Hating that he had to make the long journey there and leave the bedroom in such a sour mood, Ryan headed off to grab something to eat for breakfast.

Emily was still in the shower by the time he made it to the kitchen counter, and started to climb up. Ryan couldn't help but look off to the side where Steven meet his end. There wasn't even a speck of him left as evidence of what happened. The floor was clean and spotless.

"Morning Sugar," Ryan's mom called out from behind him frightening him making him almost lose his grip.

"Jesus," Ryan reacted as he regain his grip, "What's with everyone trying to freaking me out."

Mary didn't respond as she leaned in closer until she was crouching beside Ryan watching him struggle his way upward. "Do you need me to help you," Mary asked before reaching out toward Ryan without waiting for his answer.

"Mom I can do-"

Ryan felt the looming hand pluck him so easily of the ladder that if he didn't let go, his arms would have been left behind. Ryan was dragged upwards at speeds he wasn't used to as his mom set him down on the counter, "There we go! See that was so much faster."

Ryan had to stop his heart from bursting from the sudden unexpecting help he got. Maybe if he was ready he wouldn't have been so freaked out, "Mom I said I didn't need-"

Mary looked at Ryan before cutting him off, "Oh right." She let out a light laugh, "I forgot about..." She fished around in her pocket and pulled out the little earpiece before spending like 2 minutes trying to turn it on. Finally she looked back at Ryan, "What was that dear?"

Ryan just glared at his mom before saying, "I told you mom, you HAVE to wear it at all times! What if you were about to step on me?!"

Mary gave Ryan a look like he was crazy, "Oh sweetie, don't be like. I wouldn't be so careless." She laughed, "I mean I did raise you as a child. I think I can take care of my little man when he's this small," Mary said showing how big he was with her fingers. "I mean you were such a handful back than," Mary said as she went on about her tales of raising Ryan as a child. Mary walked away from Ryan as she continued and started to make her breakfast, completely ignoring Ryan who was trying to cut her off. She was totally missing the point. Finally after what felt like 30 minutes of her talking and pouring a bowel of frosted flakes she paused, "What were we talking about before..."

"The earpieces mom. Why didn't-"

Mary nodded her head before cutting Ryan off again, "Right the ear thing. They hurt my ear if I wear it too long," She said already pulling at the device to rubbed the spot before putting them back in. "I didn't think we would have to wear them all the time," She said defending her point as if it wasn't a big deal that she wouldn't be able to hear him without wearing it.

Ryan was on the verge of saying something about last night and how she killed Steven or almost killing him without knowing, cause she was fucking deaf to him if she wasn't wearing it. However Emily coming into the kitchen. Ryan went to call out to her or to talk with her about earlier, but Emily didn't have her earpiece in either!

"Oh come on! Why did we even get them if you both wont wear them."

Mary looked to Emily who obviously didn't hear a thing. Emily looked at Mary confused, "What?"

"Ryan wants to know why you're not wearing your ear thingy thing," Mary pointed to her earpiece.

"Well, you can tell Ryan that I don't feel like talking to him. Apparently there's nothing to talk about, so you let him know, when I want to talk I'll put it in."

Ryan looked at Emily shocked at how she was acting. Emily obviously wasn't going to even dignify him with a look in his direction. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of cereal too, only Emily headed to the kitchen table instead of the counter top to go eat. She was purposely avoiding him.

"Are you two fighting," Mary asked.

Emily and Ryan both answered at the same time.

Ryan said, "No."

Emily said, "Yes."

Ryan was starting to get upset and felt himself starting to rant out his side of the story. "We are?! What? Why are we fighting? I just didn't want to say anything about how I-"

Ryan's mom again cut him off, "Baby, I don't think she can hear you."

"This is some bullshit!" Ryan yelled hoping that Emily could hear him. She couldn't. What the fuck. This was worse than the silent treatment. At least than he knew his words could reach her. Now he knew that she couldn't even hear him, which was total bullshit.

Mary on the other hand gave Ryan an upset look, "If you're going to speak like that," Ryan watched his mom remove her earpiece.

"MOM! WHAT ARE YOU..." Ryan watched as Mary went to join Emily at the table.

Ryan was fuming right now. Seriously! Even his mom seemed to be siding with Emily.

Here Ryan was standing on the kitchen counter while the two giantess continued their morning together as if he didn't even exist...

"This is some bullshit," Ryan repeated to himself as he went to go eat whatever crumbs he could call breakfast.

Ryan could do nothing, as neither his mother or Emily had put in their earpieces since breakfast. Ryan was left alone on the counter, not really feeling like there was anything he could do. He could only watch as Emily and his mother sat on the couch talking and watching some TV. Ryan just sat there like an upset child who was being punished, which it kind of felt like it with the way they were treating him. All over a simple misunderstanding.

Ryan was thinking of maybe finally heading to the bed room to find something to do. There wasn't going to be anything, but he was getting tired of just waiting for the other two try and interact with him. If they were going to pretend he didn't exist he might as well just get out of here. Ryan stood up from his makeshift table and chair and started to head off when he heard the doorbell go off. Ryan froze at the ringing sound that flooded the room with it's annoying buzzing noise. Ryan looked over to Emily and his mom to see Emily get up and start heading for the door.

"Who could that be," Emily questioned out loud as she approached the door. She didn't bother looking as she opened the door and greeted the person on the other side. "Allison? What are you doing here," Emily asked sounding shocked.

"Hey, Em," Allison greeted at the door. "I haven't seen you or Ryan in a while. I thought I would stop by and say hi. Is Ryan here," Allison asked peering behind Emily.

Ryan's heart pulsated in fear. Allision?! She can't be here. There's no way she would come by. However there was no mistaking her voice on the other side of the door. Luckily, the counter that Ryan was on was obscured by the way the door opened up. Allison wouldn't be able to see the counter top that Ryan was panicking on. He kept looking for a place to hide. Why? He wasn't sure but he just had a feeling he might want to find some cover.

"Well," Emily said hesitant, "He's, uh, busy right now."

Ryan would need to thank Emily for the nice cover. She wasn't telling Allison about his situation. Hopefully she could get Allison-

"Who's there," Ryan's mom called out from the couch.

Ryan couldn't see Allison's face but he could hear the questioning tone in it, "Is that Ryan's mom? Hi Mrs.-"

Mary cut her off, "Oh please dear, just call me Mary, like everyone else. Come on in," she invited her in.

Ryan threw a dagger like look at his mom. Was she crazy?! What the hell was she doing?!

Emily tried to say something, "I don't think-"

Allison just happily cut her off, "Well if you insist, I don't mind."

Ryan spotted the cold coffee maker and panicked. He hurried toward it before Allison came through the door and into the small apartment. Ryan did his best to hide and watch at the same time as he spotted Emily looking toward where he used to be and found he wasn't there. She did a quick scan over the counter. Emily didn't spot Ryan, and quickly turned her attention back to her friend.

Ryan saw Allison's eyes and head scope out the entire room as if she were looking for something, or someone.

"Hello there dear, It's been a while," Mary said getting up and giving Allison a warm hug. Why was Ryan's mom always so cheery and welcoming of everyone?

"Hi Mary. It's been a while, right? I just came by to check up on everyone." Allison turned to Emily, "I haven't seen Ryan in a while. Is he ok?" Ryan ducked back behind the coffee maker as Allison looked around again. "Ryan?" She called out.

"He's, uh not feeling too good right now," Emily told Allison. She was doing her best not to expose Ryan which was what he-

"What? He's not," Mary gasped obviously clueless of Ryan's wishes to be quite about his situation with Allison.

"No, remember he's sick," Emily told Ryan's mom. Hopefully she would catch the tone she was implying.

"He's not sick," Mary scoffed, "He's just small, that's all. There's nothing wrong with being tiny."

Ryan smacked his head on the coffee maker. God damn it. Why did his mom have to be so... his mom!

Allison lifted an eyebrow at Mary's words. "So the rumors were true? He's got... shrinkism?"

Ryan wasn't sure if anyone other than himself had caught the almost hopeful wishing in her words.

"Look Allison, I hope you understand. Ryan isn't feeling... the best. This is really hard on him and," Emily gave Allison an 'I am sorry look'. "We thought we would keep it quite till Ryan was ready to let others know. He's very upset about the whole thing and well, we thought it would be better to wait till he was feeling more comfortable about his size. You understand right?"

Ryan peeked around again to see Emily and Allison talking. He couldn't help but notice how Allison didn't seem to be phased by it. In fact Ryan was almost under the suspicion that she didn't care. In fact the way her eyes seemed to be looking past Emily and his mom, like they were still searching and probing around the apartment.

"She's looking for me," Ryan said as he pulled back behind the coffee maker praying she didn't have X-ray vision.

"I totally get it Em," Allison told her. "But, do you think I can at least say hi to Ryan?"

"Sure," Mary said still being a little too simple for this situation. Ryan really wanted to throw something at her.

"Uh," Emily said with hesitant before adding, "I don't know. He's still kind of... shy about it. Do you mind?"

Allison was quite for a few seconds before smiling and saying, "Oh, of course. Can you give Ryan a message? Tess from work says that he left a few things at the office and that he should come in and pick them up."

"What things," Emily asked.

Allison shrugged, "Don't know. But maybe I could take him in sometime to get them?"

"Sure," Emily told Allison, "I'll let him know."

Yeah, no... there was no fucking way Ryan was going into the office for some "items" he left. The only thing Ryan wasn't sure of, was if Tess really said that or if Allison was making it up... or maybe it was both of them working together?

Ryan shuddered at the thought. Those two working together just to get him, was a new nightmare all on it's own.

"Alright, well," Allison started to head for the door before calling out, "BYE RYAN, SEE YOU SOON!"

Ryan didn't respond. He was too frightened that she might hear him. Ryan's breathing didn't return to normal till he heard the door close and Allison was finally gone. As Ryan was calming down from his near heart attack that Allison nearly gave him, his mother decided it was now time to ask her question, "What was that about?"

Emily ignored the question as she came toward the counter. She took her earpiece and put it in before calling out, "Ryan you still here?"

Ryan didn't move for a moment as he tried to calm himself down before saying, "Yeah I'm here, just getting some coffee." Ryan heard Emily coming around the corner of the counter and spot him just sitting next to the giant coffee maker.

"Are you ok," Emily asked noticing how Ryan was sitting behind the device, hiding.

"Yeah, just... what an unexpecting visit, right," Ryan laughed with no real humor behind it. "Thanks for doing that," Ryan told Emily who was reaching out for him. "Sorry you had to cover for me and everything but thanks," Ryan apologized again. "Was she mad?"

Emily shook her head no. However she seemed a little sadden, "She wasn't mad but... well," Emily looked at Ryan a little worried, "when she learned about your size, she had a slight look of..." Emily tired to recall it. "I think she was kind of happy?"

Mary now with her earpiece in thought that now was the time to join in the conversation, "Happy? Why would she be happy? You two shouldn't be treating your friends like this. She came all this way to say hi and see how you were doing. The least you could have done was greet her," Mary scowled Ryan, "I thought I raised a better child than this."

"Mom," Ryan called out with a bit of anger in his voice while in Emily's hand. He needed to get this through her head, "I'M NOT A CHILD!" Ryan wanted to go at it with his mom, but calmed done a degree, "I love you mom, but you have to stop treating me like a kid. I'm a grown-" Ryan stop himself at the contradicting word and his size. "Adult, who can make his own discussions on who I want to be with and who I don't want to talk to. I need you to stop running MY life," Ryan emphasized on the word by pointing at himself. "Like it's YOUR life," Ryan said pointing at his mom.

Ryan's mom stood there with an appalled look. "I don't treat you like-" The look on Emily's face stopped Mary from continuing her objection. "I-I," Mary said before she finally realized that she wasn't going to change anyone's mind here. Silently she seemed to accept it before walking away.

"Mom," Ryan called out trying to get her to come back. "Mom come on," But she didn't listened as she went to her room. "I messed up again didn't I," Ryan asked Emily.

"Yep," Emily confirmed his worry. "You're not wrong about how she treats you but, there was probably a nicer way of going about telling her."

Ryan sat there silently as Emily continued to hold him in her palm while she sat at the counter. It was nice being held like this. As horrifiying as Allison's visit was for Ryan, he was kind of glad she showed up. It at least got Emily and him to talk, if not just for a little while.

It had been a few days since Steven's death and Allison coming over. Again Ryan was used to waking up earlier than everyone, however there was no point in doing it now. There wasn't anyone to hang out with or talk to. However Ryan didn't feel like sitting in bed unable to sleep while he listen to Emily sleeping peacefully. Ryan slowly got out of his bed and started his morning routine of his five minute walk to the bathroom and than another five or so to the kitchen for some food.

By the time Ryan was on top of the counter and started to pull together some kind of breakfast, he heard Emily starting to get up. The sound of a shower starting signaled that she was getting ready for her day. After Allison came over, Emily still seemed a little less upset, or at least less distant than before. Ryan hated that Emily was acting like that, but maybe a goodbye would change her mood? Ryan wasn't sure but it was better than nothing, right? The other day Emily was still mostly silent. She seemed to be distancing herself more and more since that morning.

Finally after what Ryan thought was at least half an hour, Emily came out of the bathroom. She was already heading to the kitchen when Ryan saw her eyes lock on him.

"Morning," Ryan greeted. Ryan had to fight back his anger, as he watched her fish out her earpiece she should have been wearing.

"Sorry... did you say something," Emily asked innocently.

"Just good morning," Ryan repeated.

"Still waking up early," Emily asked as she started to make a quick thing before she had to leave.

Ryan was feeling a little better now that she had said more to him now than in the past 2 days. "Yeah, I'm still stuck in that weird work schedule," Ryan laughed. Emily didn't comment as she grabbed some bread to make some toast, before pouring some coffee. "So, yeah..." Ryan said trying to not let the little conversation they just had die so easily. Ryan didn't know how much he craved talking to Emily till she didn't speak.

Emily raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? Yeah what?"

Ryan just shook his head, "Nothing just, you know..." Ryan could see the disinterest growing in Emily's eyes and panicked as he said the first thing that was coming to his mind. "Work... I was, thinking, I could... go... with you?"

Emily nearly choked on her coffee, "What? No wait, Why?" Emily corrected her question to Ryan.

Ryan not sure why he did but he kept going, "Because we haven't talked in a while and I just wanted to, you know... be with you for the day."

"Ryan," Emily protested as her toast popped up, "We can talk when I get home."

"Or I can be with for the day," Ryan told her as she was already grabbing her stuff to leave. Emily was almost at the door before she stopped and turned to look at Ryan. She didn't look too thrilled but Ryan saw something that under her worry that made him smile a little. Emily wanted Ryan to come to work with her.

"Are you sure about this..." Emily asked hesitant at bring Ryan with her.

Ryan didn't even give it a moment's thought, "Yeah. It'll be fun."

What could go wrong?

Ryan's excitement and joy of being with Emily soon vanished the moment she walked toward the high school's doors. What was he doing? Why did he think this was a good idea? No... no it'll be fine.

Or at least that's what Ryan was hoping to trick himself into thinking, as Emily walked toward the door and into the high school. Ryan watched from a small side pocket on Emily's purse that he was hidden away in. He was able to stand up in it, but still be slightly obscured. The enormous glass doors were easily pushed open by Emily as she walked through them. Ryan watched as Emily walked through the front doors of the nearly empty high school. Ryan found that there were a few young high schoolers already in the building on their phones as they waited for something. Ryan made sure to duck a little bit further down just in case one of them looked up and toward the purse he was in.

"Morning, Cathy," Emily called out to one of the students who looked up at Emily.

"Morning, Ms. Baker."

"You finish last nights homework," Emily asked in a teasing tone.

Cathy apparently just laughed, "I still have till fifth period, I got time."

Emily gave a mocking tsk sound, "As long as it's done before my class starts..."

"I will Ms. Baker," Cathy told her before going back to her texting.

Emily went into the administration office to check in before heading to her class room. There she greeted her fellow educational staff members. Just as Emily was done signing in, someone much older man came out of one of the many rooms attached to the administration room.

"Ah, Ms Baker, good morning."

"Principal Rice," Emily greeted. Ryan felt Emily shifting her arm to shake his hand. Ryan was bounced up and down as the man shook her hand, and in turn the purse with him in it. Ryan held back a jarring sound till the shake was done.

"How are things," Principal Rice asked.

"Things are going good," Emily responded as she readjusted the bag that Ryan was in.

"I thought I should be the one to tell you this, but we are going to have to combine Mr. Sanford's class with your eighth period class. I checked that you have some open seats, enough for the new students."

"Combine," Emily asked sounding confused, "It's kind of far in the year to merge our classes like that..."

Principal Rice apologized, "Sorry, but the class has dropped to 7 students over the year. You could say it's shrunken," Principal Rice said with a little chuckle before he found he was the only one laughing at the joke. He cleared his throat before saying, "It's probably the most we've seen in a while. We plan to merge the class and free up an empty class room, for some of the newer teachers to have time to collaborate and build their curriculum for the upcoming year." Principal Rice handed Emily a small folder, "This is the list of student's that are joining your class, Mr. Sanford left some notes on them and where he left off with them. Do you think you can handle this?"

"I..uh," Emily said sounding unsure. After a brief pause, she finally said, "Yeah. Shouldn't be an issue at all."

Ryan could hear the joy in the Principal's voice as he thanked Emily, "I knew I could count on you Ms. Baker. I'll have to remember to get you a thank you gift. You like doughnuts? I could bring some in for you tomorrow morning?"

"Oh, you don't have to," Emily said. "I should probably get going, I need to set up for first period."

"Right, right. Off you go than, and keep up the good work. I hear your student's enjoy your class the most," Principoal Rice praised Emily.

Emily laughed, "Oh I'm sure they're only saying that to make their other teachers jealous."

Ryan watched as Emily moved, and headed out of the administration office. Once they left the office Ryan saw that more students were in the hallway, waiting for the first period bell. As Emily walked to her class she greeted student's from all ages. Young ones that looked like maybe freshmen, to older ones that looked to be seniors in school... or maybe they were held back a few years. It shocked Ryan how well Emily was known or how everyone seemed to be friendly to her. Of course she was always a friendly person, especially with kids. It was why she went into education, she liked helping and teaching new things to these young adults.

Finally after what felt like 100 or so greetings, Emily made her way to her class room. Ryan felt the purse he was riding in start to move more as Emily took it off and set it down on her desk that was set up at the back of the class room. Ryan looked out at the enormous room. There was about 30 or 40 seats set up in rows as they faced a whiteboard. There were posters of math equations or jokes scatter around the room. Some were things that Ryan remembered like pythagorean theorem or that PEMDAS thing. There were other's that Ryan didn't recall but remember he had to use in his last math class years ago.

"So this is your class room," Ryan asked as Emily helped him out of her purse as she started to go through her stuff on her desk.

Emily who was still wearing her earpiece nodded, "Yeah. Have you not been here before?"

Ryan shook his head before saying, "I don't think so." Ryan knew he never been here before, he never had a reason to come to Emily's school. Not till now. As Ryan looked onto the foreign room seeing some funny math posters like, why was 6 afraid of 7?

"Well," Emily said as she grabbed a stack of paper and started to straighten them up. "I guess I should tell you my schedule. I have a class of freshman for algebra first and second period. Than for third period I teach Algebra 2. Fourth and fifth is Trigonometry. Sixth and seventh period is planing and lunch. Than last period is calculus for the upper class men. They're mostly seniors and a few juniors."

"Oh ok," Ryan said not really following what she was telling him. He figured he might as well ask now, "So how many have shrinkies?"

Emily paused as she thought about it. "I've never really thought about it," Emily told Ryan now just thinking about it. "Usually I'll get a note or something from a parent or the Principal letting me know that someone isn't going to come back. As for those who have Shrinkism and still in class, I think 5 in total?"

Ryan wasn't sure if he should get upset with the fact that Emily wasn't at all that concerned or even knew how many of her student's were shrinkies or not. "What's their sizes," Ryan asked wondering if there were any his size, and how they are still around.

"Well, Mark just got it, he's in my second period. I think he just lost half an inch? I'm not sure..." Ryan wanted to be appalled, how could she not know? Than again, Ryan didn't recall all his classmates over the years that caught shrinkism. Could he fault Emily? Emily went on as she started to think of her other student's, "William dropped out I think it was last week, so no one in my fourth. My Fifth period Kayla and Derrick are still here. They're your size already."

Ryan popped up at the response, "My size? How are they doing?"

"Uh, well... I guess good. I mean, as good as they can be at that size. I usually have Derrick sit on my desk, his vision isn't as obscured back there, and Kayla has her twin sister Kristy to help her." Ryan didn't say anything about how it must suck to watch your own twin sister shrink. It would be like watching yourself get smaller and smaller. "And I think I'm getting a shrinky from Mr. Sanford's class..." Emily said as she was reading through the folder that the principal gave her. "Teddy... looks like he's been with the class as a shrinky since day one. Huh," Emily commented as she looked over it. "He's been doing good on his test too. Must be a smart little guy," Emily told Ryan.

Ryan wasn't sure if she did it on purpose or by accident, but a little smirk flicked across her face when she said, little guy. Maybe it was a subconscious joke or she was trying to get Ryan to laugh with her, but when Ryan didn't, Emily's smirk disappear just as fast.

"Welp, just a little longer and my student's will arrive," Emily commented as she got up from her desk and headed to the classroom door. "If you need anything I'll be listening, ok?" Emily said pointing to her earpiece.

"Can I talk dirty to you during class," Ryan joked.

Emily tried not to laugh but failed, "I swear to God Ryan..." Emily warned still smiling.

Ryan begged, "Please?"

"Ryan, don't make me regret this," Emily told him. "Or I'll sit you on top of the book shelf."

Ryan looked over to the large tall book shelf that held all the math books that Emily kept in her class for student's who "Forgot" to bring their book to class. It was enormous even at normal size. So for him to be put up there, would be like set on mount Everest with no way down.

"I'll behave," Ryan told her.

"Good boy," Emily mocked as she opened the door just in time for the morning bell to ring.

Ryan was just calming down from the joking when he spotted the first bright eyed student to come into Emily's classroom.

"MORNING," He shouted as the young teen quickly headed for his seat.

"Good morning Zac, please take out your homework and I'll collecting when class starts."

The kid did as Emily asked and it wasn't long before a small group of girls came in greeting Emily at the door. She instructed them to do the same thing as Zac. After a few more seconds another group of student's appeared. Soon the class room was filling up with freshman who looked eager to learn, or were too tired to talk. Once the class was filled and everyone had taken their seats, Emily closed the door just as the bell rang.

"Ok class," Emily greeted everyone. "I'll come by to take your homework in a moment. Before that I wanted everyone to say hello to someone." Ryan wasn't expecting this, he watched everyone turn in their seats to look for someone in the room, obviously not expecting to look on Emily's desk for a shrinky. After a few moments of looking Emily finally continued, "His name is Ryan, and he wanted to meet everyone in class today."

"Ms. Baker, who are talking about," Zac asked for the class as he didn't understand who she was speaking of.

"Look on my desk," Emily told everyone.

Finally Ryan noticed all the 30 or so set of eyes focus on him as they finally spot his tiny form on Emily enormous desk.

"It's a shrinky!" Someone called out which everyone now looked at him with wonder. A shrinky in class, on their teacher's desk. This was a very special occasion for sure. Ryan could tell that everyone was getting excited or antsy about his presence. Something that Ryan felt like should not be happening.

"Ryan say hello," Emily called out.

"uh, Hi," Ryan said waving. Obviously no one heard him.

"He says hello, Class, please greet him too."

A loud chores of, "HELLO RYAN," Filled the room.

"Ok, now class, please be on your best behavior for our guest," Emily instructed as she started to collect the papers. Ryan noticed some of the students' eyes lingering on him before they turned around for class. Those looks, were a little frightening as there was something dark hidden in them. However when Emily came to them for their homework, they quickly turned around and paid attention to her instructions.

Ryan watched as Emily finished collecting the work and brought it to her desk where she put the pile down before saying to Ryan, "Do you mind grading these for me?" She gave him a playful smile before heading back to the front of the classroom.

Ryan rolled his eyes at the impossible feat of going through 30 some pages of homework before the class was over. Assuming he even remembered how to do algebra correctly. Instead he sat on the desk and watched Emily do her thing, teaching the class about exponents and whatever. Simple Math terms that Ryan wasn't paying attention to, which some other student's couldn't either. They couldn't stop looking over their shoulders when Emily had her back to them. Ryan kept an eye out for those 2 or 3 student's who were unable to stop looking back at him.

Although, it was impossible for them to even try something if that's what they were planing. He had his collar and Emily had her earpiece in. She would hear Ryan call for her if there was an issue, not to mention Emily seemed to always turn around and glance to make sure Ryan was doing ok up on her desk. Soon any fear that Ryan had at the start of the day was fading away. It wasn't long before Ryan was sitting there relaxing on Emily's desk enjoying the show of her teaching these kids how to do math. It was kind of adorable watching her smile and explain how to properly finish the equations she gave the class to practice. Soon the class was over and the bell started to ring.

"Don't forget to do the problems on page 258, 1-13 odds, and the ones on 267, 2-20 evens. I'm talking to you too Jack, don't make me give you a zero for forgetting again."

"Yes Ms Baker," Everyone called out as they started to hurry up and leave the class for their next subject.

"That wasn't so bad," Ryan told Emily who was still at the door.

"First period always is the easiest," Emily told Ryan. Ryan wasn't sure what she meant, but before he could ask Emily to explain, she was greeting everyone from her next period as they came through the door like her previous class. "Please get your homework out," Emily told them as they all approached their desk. Some of the kids were talking with their classmates or sending a quick text or whatever with their phones before class started.

Ryan couldn't help but hear some of the class snickering, "Here he comes." or "Incoming shrinky..."

Ryan looked to the door to see a very depressed 9 year old... no it wasn't a 9 year old. He just looked that young because of his lack in height. If the kid was anything like his classmates, he must have lost about 2 feet of height. The small nearly 3 foot tall child walked into the classroom. The room was getting louder with whispering and murmured words. This had to be Mark.

"Morning Mark," Emily greeted not mentioning anything about his height.

"mmm," Mark groaned.

"Hey tiny over here," Someone called out.

Emily looked to see who said it but the class was already laughing at Mark before Emily could spot who was being rude to Mark. Mark on the other hand was already heading toward his seat. Ryan wasn't sure if it was bad luck but Mark was near the back of the class and where most of the gossiping and talking came from. Mark was literately in the center of were all the bullying was coming from. Ryan wasn't sure if Emily could hear some of the remarks that were being made about Mark, but Ryan was close enough to hear them all.

Once everyone was in their seats, Emily greeted everyone again as the class started and again introduced Ryan. Ryan on the other hand wasn't so sure about this. As the class gazed on him, everyone, except for Mark and maybe one or two other student's smiled a very uncomfortable looking grin, especially the ones that were closest to Mark. It took Emily a little longer to get everyone to turn around and pay attention but that's when things started to get bad for Mark.

As Emily taught the class, the kids around Mark started to whisper things to him.

"Pst, Mark. When your that small... I got first dibs on you. I got a spot I need you to scratch that only a shrinky can reach. You know where that is?"

Mark didn't say anything as he tried to not feed into their taunts.

"Mark," Another bully called out too quite for Emily to pick up. The crude girl just leaned over and said, "You're going up my cunt, bitch."

The small group snickered and laughed as quietly as possible.

"Jammie," Emily called out, "Would you like to tell the class what is so funny?"

"Nothing Ms. Baker," Jammie the one who was laughing the most said trying to keep it in.

"Don't make me have to send you to the principal's office again." Emily warned.

Ryan knew that it wasn't much of a threat for the girl who just calmed down her laughing. Soon Emily went back to her teaching, and so did the bullying. It was 50 minutes of pure horror for Mark, as Ryan listen to ever rude and possible disgusting thing the bullies had for him. One involved gluing him to the bottom of someone's seat in class, Ryan could only guess that the person wasn't the cleanest kid, and having him suffer there all class. Another was sticking Mark to the eraser and watch Ms. Baker scrub him into the white board till he .... well Ryan didn't want to think of Emily accidentally killing her student that way. There were more twisted ideas, some were chewing parts off or taking him to science class to dissect him. Ryan tried his best to not listen, but like Mark, he was stuck there having to listen to the torment go on for the entire class. Emily was completely oblivious to it all.

Ryan wanted to call out to her, but he had a sinking feeling that the bullies attention would be pulled toward himself and that was something Ryan wanted to avoid... sorry Mark.

By the time the bell rang, Mark was the first one to jump out of his seat before Emily dismissed the class. The bullies laughed as they got up and started to head after him. Ryan wasn't sure if it was cause they had the next class or wanted to share some more twisted ideas that they came up for him. Either way, he felt bad for Mark. He just hoped he dropped out sooner than later.

As the bell rang and everyone got up and started to leave, Ryan tried to get Emily's attention by calling out to her. Maybe he could let her know what was going on? Sadly all the chatter and noise from everyone leaving must have drowned out his calls to her or she just assumed it was one of her student's trying to say goodbye. Either way, Emily didn't hear anything and it seemed she was actually clueless to Mark's situation.

"Emily," Ryan called out now that the class was empty.

Emily who was waiting at the door looked back at Ryan, "Yeah?"

Ryan wasn't sure how to put it, but he figured to ask her about the bullying Mark was getting. "Did you not hear-"

"HI MS. BAKER!" A student called out as he greeted his teacher, obviously cutting Mark's words off. Emily turned to greet the student and proceeded to hand out what looked to be a worksheet.

"Not a pop quiz!"

"Chad, I gave everyone fair warning about it," Emily remarked.

Chad just laughed, "I thought it was a joke. Come on MS. B, don't do this to me, I was having a good morning."

"Well, you don't have to take it if you don't want to," Emily told him.

"Really?" Chad perked up as he sat down. Emily handed out another pop quiz to another incoming student greeting her.

"Oh yeah, really. I mean I'll have to mark it down as a zero, but it's up to you."

Chad shook his head, "Your mean, Ms. B."

Ryan watched as the class room filled up soon. Unlike before, Emily didn't introduce Ryan. Everyone was quite as the class did their pop quiz over whatever it was they were suppose to know. Ryan couldn't help but be bored as he sat on Emily's desk while she walked around observing and helping student's that had questions about the quiz. Suddenly someone raised a hand.

It was Chad, "Can I sharpen my pencil, MS. B?"

Emily nodded as she went on to the next hand that came up with a question. Ryan watched as the large sophomore, or maybe he was a junior, came toward Emily's desk. Ryan wouldn't have had an issue except as the child came closer his size seemed to grow rapidly until he was towering over the desk. The enormous teen was way taller than Ryan was expecting. Soon the massive child was standing in front of the desk that Ryan was sitting on. Luckily Chad hadn't noticed Ryan as he started to shove his pencil into the electric sharpener.

Ryan wasn't prepared for the whole desk to shake and vibrate like there was an earthquake. The deafening sound of whirling and grinding could be heard through the classroom as the pencil was shredded and peeled apart bit by bit till until a tip started to form. Ryan had to hold his ears and try and stay grounded as the desk continued to vibrate and try and throw him off. Finally after what felt like minutes, Chad removed his pencil and inspected it. He shoved it back into the pencil sharpener again and the sound of his pencil being grated down again filled Ryan's ears.

Chad just stood there grinning as he kept sharpening his pencil over and over until Emily noticed the annoying sound that was still going, "Chad," Emily called out.

"Yeah Ms. B?"

"I think it's sharp enough."

Chad seemed to be having fun teasing Emily, which for some reason was getting under Ryan's skin. Chad did a couple more jabs into the pencil sharpener which filled the room with a few quick burst of whirling sound. Emily gave Chad a warning look, which finally he took serious before heading back to his seat.

"Is he always that annoying," Ryan asked about the large child's behavior. Emily didn't say anything, but Ryan caught her nodding her head to answer his question. Trying to lighten Emily's mood, Ryan said, "Should have known with that hair cut." To Ryan's delight he got Emily to stifle a laugh in the middle of the quiz. Everyone looked at Emily who had to apologize for her sudden burst of noise.

Emily tired to cover it up with a cough and said, "Sorry." This was immediately followed up by a glare from Emily. Ryan couldn't help but smile. It was kind of nice being able to tease Emily like this. However he didn't want her too mad at him, so Ryan held back his many jokes that he could have followed that one up with.

Finally after the quick quiz Emily collected the papers and started to hand them back to random students to do a quick class grading. The rest of the period was going over the quiz and handing them back to review what was done right and wrong on the test. Just minutes before the class was over, Emily finally recollected the papers to grade and gave out her homework assignment for everyone.

"I'll see everyone tomorrow," Emily called out as the bell rang and the class started to leave. Emily came and sat down and started to go over the papers really quick to see how the class average was doing, giving Ryan some time to talk with her.

"This isn't so bad," Ryan told Emily as he went on, "I mean Chad was a little something, and the kids from second period-"

Emily frowned as she went over the marked grades, "What about second period?" Emily questioned as she didn't break her concentration from the pop quiz, "Melisa... We went over these," Emily sighed as she saw someone's results.

"Well, I think that maybe you might want to-"

"Hi Ms Baker," A female student greeted as she came into the class room. This brought Emily's attention away from the papers and Ryan's conversation.

"Amanda, did you have a nice weekend," Emily asked from her seat.

"It was ok. Didn't do anything," Amanda told Emily as she took her seat.

Ryan was about to say something when again, another student appeared and greeted Emily. It wasn't until now that Ryan found that he wouldn't have much time to talk and spend with Emily till later. When was her lunch, sixth period? That shouldn't be too long from now.

Fourth period started in a few minutes. This time Emily seemed to forget that Ryan was here, and didn't introduce him like in the first two classes. Maybe she forgot...

Ryan hoped not, that was a terrifying thought that Emily could lose track of him in her own class room. Yet, Emily didn't mention or even look at him through the whole class. Emily was only concerned about her classroom full of large teenagers trying to learn about shapes and numbers. Finally the bell rang and everyone started to leave.

"Bye Ms. Baker," most of the class said as they headed out.

Ryan was waiting for Emily to come back to her desk to maybe look over her previous class's quiz, but instead she stood at the door. Ryan was slightly annoyed, because to him it seemed that she still hadn't recalled that he was in the classroom with her. Ryan was about to call out to Emily, but someone came into the doorway. The person was a grown man. and he looked to be carrying something.

"Derrick, Mr. Holt," Emily greeted.

At the name of Derrick, Ryan noticed the small object in Mr. Holt's hands happen to be moving. Ryan wasn't sure if Derrick said anything to Emily's greeting or not but Emily took the small student from the man who started to leave.

"Who was that," Ryan asked as Emily walked to her desk.

The slight look of surprise told Ryan that his worse fear came true. She had forgotten about him, "That, was one of our Administrators," Emily explained walking Derrick to her desk before continuing, "Administrators help care for the students, even the smaller ones like Derrick. They walk them to class or other places."

Ryan finally was able to see Derrick as he was set down on Emily's desk.

"Who are you," Derrick asked looking surprised and confused at Ryan.

"Ryan," he introduced himself.

"Uh, why are you here," Derrick asked still confused and looked to Emily who was already walking away.

Ryan looked over the pretty simple looking high schooler that was around his size. "I'm Emil- I mean Ms. Baker's boyfriend," Ryan told the teenager.

"Boyfriend?" Derrick obviously didn't believe him. "But you're a shrinky, like me."

"Really?" Ryan asked looking at himself. "oh my... I didn't notice," Ryan said sarcastically emphasizing on the fact that he was well aware of his size.

Derrick laughed, "Sorry... just, Ms. Baker never said she had a shrinky."

Ryan didn't press the way Derrick said that. If Ryan wasn't mistaken, it almost sounded like Derrick thought he was Emily's pet.

"Hi Ms B," a student greeted Emily. Ryan looked over to see that it was a girl who happened to be carrying something- no someone. Just like the Administrator a few moments ago.

"Kristy, Kayla. You finished the assignment over the weekend?"

"It was a piece of cake," Kristy said. "Kayla thought so too... I did not," Kristy said toward her hand. Kristy rolled her eyes, "Kayla says I copied off her paper."

Emily smiled, "Nothing wrong with helping each other, but you should do your own homework."

"I know," Kristy said as she walked toward her seat. Ryan noticed just as she was about to sit down that she too had an ear piece in her ear.

"She's got a communicator?"

Derrick nodded, "Yeah. It helps her and Kayla ask questions in class."

"... can Emily not hear her?"

Derrick frowned for a few seconds trying to think who Emily was before he spoke, "You didn't know? The communicators are linked to set pieces. Like, you could call out for Kristy and she would never hear a syllable from you."

Ryan was shocked. He didn't know this. He thought anyone with an ear piece would hear him. That was a little more frightening now that he learned this.

"How long have you been a shrinky," Derrick asked.

"Not long," Ryan told him not wanting to give out his age or how old he was when he started to shrink. "You?"

Derrick sighed, "8 years. If it weren't for my mom... I wouldn't ever walk into a classroom. But she thinks that even at my size, I need an education. She doesn't get it," Derrick started to complain. "I'm more likely to end up ..." Derrick stopped from saying something he probably had heard hundreds of times in school. "I don't know what she's thinking, it's not like I can get a job, or even go to collage." Derrick shook his head, "She always says, 'they might find a cure, than what? You want to be a drop out when that happens?' Like that would ever happen."

Ryan seemed to understand where Derrick's mom was coming from. A lot of people tried to stay positive about the whole Shrinkism thing, but honestly it was wasted. No one was closer to the cure or how to prevent the Shrinkism. Just look at himself, it shouldn't be possible but here he was too old to catch it and he still shrunk.

After a few more words, Ryan heard more students starting to come closer to the open door.

"Cathy, it's fifth period," Emily reminded the student Ryan saw earlier this morning.

"It's fine Ms. Baker, I got it right here," Cathy said smiling as she shook the pieces of paper. "I got it done like 20 minutes ago," Cathy laughed.

Emily shook her head at what she hopped was a joke, "As long as it's done, and done right."

Cathy paused, "Well... it's done that's for sure." Cathy gave Emily a playful grin.

"Go take your seat," Emily pointed. Cathy laughed as she headed toward Kristy and Kayla where she took her seat behind them. Cathy proceeded to proper her feet up on the small metal bar that hung below all the class room chairs. The small connection of Cathy's feet shook the desk ever so slightly. This vibration caused the small girl that was sitting on the table top of the desk to fall backwards from the quake.

"Hey, watch it!" Kristy warned as she spun around.

Cathy just snickered, "Ops, sorry."

Kristy gave a warning glare before turning around and helping Kayla back up.

Derrick sighed, "She always does that."

"Emily doesn't do anything?"

"Like what?"

Ryan shrugged, "I don't know... send her to the principal's office or move Cathy's seat?"

Derrick just scoffed, "For what?" Derrick used air quotes, "An Accident?" Derrick shook his head, "Trust me, this is harmless... some of us would be grateful to get that kind of treatment." Derrick didn't continue as it sounded like there were fates worse than being bothered like that.

Soon more students came into the classroom and finally the class was full.

"Ok everyone, I'd like you all to turn in your homework," Emily called out as she started to collect the paper.

"Except for Kayla, no point in reading what a Shrinky wrote," Someone on the other side of the classroom said before everyone started to laugh.

Emily looked toward the voice, "Careful, don't make me send you out of the class again, Trevor."

Ryan was appalled that was all Emily was going to do. However the look on Derrick's face told him that this was an average threat that Emily used for the class. After the homework was collected, Emily started the class like any other period. Derrick, as much as he hated the idea of school, was actually taking notes and copying Emily's teachings. Ryan didn't want to interrupted Derrick or Emily teaching but with someone his size near him, Ryan couldn't help but ask questions.

Derrick entertained Ryan and answered what seemed to be basic math questions that Ryan should have known. Still, it was kind of nice to talk to someone without worrying that they misheard his voice. Most of the class went by without much of an issue. That was until there was only 10 or so minutes left.

"Ms. Baker, can I used the bathroom," Kristy asked.

"You may," Emily responded as she continued the last little bit of her lesson.

"oh no," Derrick grumbled. "Not again."

"What," Ryan asked confused.

Kristy was already out of the classroom to use the bathroom, and Ryan saw that she left her twin sister in the class. Before Ryan could say anything, Emily turned her back to the class to write something on the board. Cathy took this time to use her feet to drag the desk which was connected to the seat that Kayla was on toward herself. Kayla fell down again like before. Cathy's classmates smirked at the reaction of the shrinky falling down on the desk. Cathy dragged the desk closer making a noise that maybe Emily turn around.

"Sorry, Ms. Baker. Feet slipped," Cathy explained. Emily seemed to buy it as she turned around.

"What, no Emily she's-" Ryan tried to say only to watch as Cathy brought her feet up and set them in the seat that was connected to the desk. Ryan found that most of the class was more interested in what Cathy was up to than the lesson itself. All eyes were on Kayla as she stood there helpless. Cathy proceeded to use her feet to rock the empty desk. She was able to tilt the desk upward knocking the shrinky onto her back before Cathy set the desk back down. Cathy smirked as she wiggled the desk around on it's wobbly legs. Ryan watched as Kayla let out screams for help as she was shaken and rocked around on the desk in random directions. It looked like Cathy was playing a wicked game, as she moved the desk with great skill. Obviously she was used to playing this game with Kayla.

Ryan tried to get Emily's attention to turn around, however when she did turn around. Cathy was too quick. She had the desk flat on the ground like nothing had happen. Emily had a puzzled look and just gave Ryan a, "What?" look. It was pointless...

Once Emily was turned back around, Cathy was at it again as she wobbled the desk left and right flinging Kayla almost off the edge.

"She's going too far," Ryan protested.

"It doesn't matter..." Derrick told him. "I just hope, Kristy gets back soon."

Cathy grinned as she used her feet that were manipulating the desk with great skill, to tilt it upward. She rocked the desk into a slanted 70 degree angle. Ryan watched with fear and pity for Kayla as she had nothing to hold onto and start to slide. She was flying fast toward the ledge of the desk, where she would fall off and hit the floor. Somewhere Ryan was sure where Cathy wanted the small little person. Kayla was falling faster and faster to the ledge-

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" An angry Kristy yelled from the class room door.

Cathy quickly stopped what she was doing and set the desk down, "What?" She asked innocently. "I was keeping your seat warm for you."

Emily noticed what was happen and was about to say something when the bell rang.

"Whoops, time to go," Cathy quickly said as she laughed before bolting out for the door. Avoiding any kind of punishment or argument with Emily or Kristy.

"She does this a lot," Ryan asked horrified.

"Anytime she can. A few weeks ago she used a few spit balls to try and hit Kayla..."

"What the fuck," Ryan said disgust and rage. "And Emily didn't stop her?"

Derrick just gave a sad smile, "She can't protect Kayla all the time. You saw it, she's got a class to teach." Ryan didn't know what to say. Suddenly Mr Holt from before came into the room. Derrick said in a joking tone, "Looks like my ride is here. It was nice meeting you."

Ryan watched as Derrick got into Mr. Holt's hand and was carried off to where ever his next period was. Ryan was dumbfounded at how casual everyone was, like they didn't just witness Kayla getting thrown around like some toy by Cathy. Yet, no one said anything or remarked about it as the classroom emptied and left just Ryan and Emily.

"Lunch time," Emily announced as she headed toward her desk. "Time sure flies when you teach a class," Emily remarked as she sat down in her chair and pulled out her lunch.

Ryan waited until she had her food out of her lunch box and decided now was the time to ask, "So are we going to talk about it?"

Emily paused mid bit of her sandwich, "About what?" She asked confused on what Ryan was talking about.

"Your classes."

Emily still confused just shrugged, "Sure. What about them," She asked as she took a bite of her meal.

"Well, what about Mark? Did you not know the kids in the back of the classroom pick on him all class?"

Emily just frowned at Ryan, "You mean the teasing?"

Ryan wasn't sure what she meant by teasing, but the disregard she had for it seemed to tick him off. "Teasing? You call that teasing? The kid was almost crying in class! That wasn't teasing that was straight up harassment!"

Emily didn't seem so convinced, "They make fun of each other all the time," Emily blew off Ryan's concern.

"That wasn't fun." Ryan told her, "That was verbal abuse. Did you even hear what they said to him? Do you ever wonder why Mark is the first out of the classroom?"

Emily still didn't seem phased, "He has class on the other side of the building. I'm well aware of what the other say to him. Mark always joked around and said funny things back at his friends. Nothing's changed since he lost a few inches," Emily told Ryan.

It was now that Ryan realized that she hadn't picked up on how the kids were treating Mark lost his height. In fact it almost seemed like she was unaware of Mark's plight in her class. Ryan felt so lost right now. Was Emily that oblivious to a shrinky's problem that she couldn't tell when they needed help? Well... what about the others.

"Ok, so what about Kayla today?"

Again Emily paused mid bite of her sandwich that was now starting to shrink in size. She was finishing up with her food while Ryan complained to her. "What about her?" Emily asked just as confused as to why he was bringing her up like Mark.

"What about her? What do you mean?! Did you not notice how Cathy was tormenting her?"

"Tormenting," Emily sputtered. "What are you talking about?" Emily asked bewildered.

"Today, Cathy was picking on Kayla. Did you not see her nearly throw her off the desk she was on?"

"Ryan, what are you talking about?"

Ryan was aghast at Emily's blindness to her students. "Emily, Cathy was kicking the desk that Kayla was on. Did you not notice Kristy's reaction when she got back to the classroom?"

Emily shook her head, "Look, Ryan, I'm glad you're taking notice of my students, but I've been teaching them for nearly a year. I think I know them better than you do. Maybe they play a prank or two, but they're just kids. This stuff happens."

Ryan watched as Emily brushed off Ryan's words. She was ignoring the harassment and bullying happening right under her nose. She didn't care at all. Was it because they were shrinkies or cause she didn't care about her students? This was beyond disturbing. What if one of her students started to bother him during class? Would she take his side or just act like it's a normal occurrence? A kid just having fun? If so than what was Ryan to Emily, some pet to be played with?

Ryan wanted to get Emily to open her eyes to the acts that were happening in her class, but she was too busy eating and grading papers. Emily's attention was anywhere but with Ryan. It was either a glance at her food as she tried to eat, or on one of the papers that she was grading.

"So can we talk," Ryan asked trying to at least discussion something important.

"Yeah, sure," Emily said still not breaking concentration on her work.

"Well, I was wondering... how do you see... what do you see when you look at me," Ryan asked wanting to finally know what his girlfriend truly thought of him at his size.

"...see what, what did you say?" Emily asked glancing back at him for a moment before going back to the small yogurt cup she was eating now.

"ME! What am I to you?!"

Emily flipped over a page of paper and looked at a few seconds blinking. "You.... Are... uh...Sorry... do you think we can talk later? I got a lot to grade, we can pick this up after we get home, ok?"

Ryan stood there looking defeated. She never once glanced at him, just acted like she was talking on the phone with him and not to him. She was too engrossed in her work to remove any more of her attention from it. It was now that Ryan realized that coming to work with Emily was silly. Obviously she would be too busy with work and her students to even bother with him.

Disheartened by the lack of attention, Ryan just agreed, "Yeah, sure." He had a feeling when they got back home Emily would forget about their talk or just be too busy with something else to give him any attention.

Ryan sat on Emily's desk watching her continue her lunch break and grading for the next hour and a half. Occasionally she would offer a little crumb or part of her meal for Ryan, but it was usually a quick glance or not even her looking toward him. She was fully immersed in her grading. Marking spots on the paper circling things and arrows and other marks. Emily was dedicated to her classes and helping them prepare for whatever exam they would need to pass at the end of the school year.

Ryan could see the clock was getting close to eighth period. They had about ten more minutes before the bell would ring.

Emily let out a sound of exhaustion, "Finally... maybe I shouldn't give them so much homework," Emily laughed as she leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms. "Ok... so what were we talking about?"

Ryan perked up at Emily remembering they were trying to talk like an hour ago. "I was saying-"

Suddenly Emily spotted a folder that Ryan was sitting on, "SHIT! I forgot about the new students! Oh man..." Emily gently picked up Ryan and removed him from his seat that he had been using all day. Emily quickly opened the file that Principal Rice gave her earlier today. She quickly started to go through it while muttering things like, "They know derivatives... z axis... what about..."

Ryan let out an upset sigh as Emily was once again back into her work. Of course, leave it to Emily to get his hopes up for talking and throw them away thanks to some stupid students joining her class.

The rest of the time that Ryan thought they would have together was wasted on Emily making a few adjustments to the class and the topic they would be learning. She moved a few extra chairs/desk around and corrected a couple of notes on her lecture before the bell finally rung for seventh period to end and to head to everyone's last class of the day.

"Don't worry Ryan," Emily said as she headed to the door to open it up for her students. "Last period always goes by in a flash."

Ryan just let out a sigh as he could care less. It wasn't like he was in a rush or anything. He just wanted to finally able to be with Emily who would be paying attention to him rather than her students. Ryan knew he was sounding very greedy and selfish but the only reason he came was so he and Emily could talk and spend some time together. Something they hadn't done since he started to shrink.

Ryan's thoughts were interrupted when an older teenage boy came into the doorway with another boy his age.

"HEY MS B, What up?! Is it true that Ethan's class is joining us?" the cheery boy asked tilting his head toward the other boy.

Emily couldn't help but smile at the boys enthusiastic greeting. "Rex," Emily greeted as she answered his question, "We are getting new students, yes."

"Sweet! Yo, Ethan you're going to love Ms B's class. She is dope as fuuuu- heck," Rex grinned at Emily as he stop from cursing in front of his teacher. "Ms. B you don't have to worry about a thing. I'll get Ethan caught up in like a few seconds, you don't have to sweat a thing," Rex told her.

"Well, thank you Rex, but you might be surprise. Ethan's class is actually ahead of our class."

"WHAT?" Rex asked looking shocked. "No way. Dude, why didn't you tell me that," Rex asked Ethan at the door way. Ethan just shrugged. "Alright let's grab a seat," Rex told Ethan as they headed into the classroom.

Ryan watched the two older teens grab seats near Emily's desk but they didn't notice him at all. Ryan couldn't help but listen to the conversation they were having.

"So it's true, you guys had like 20 shrinkies in your class?"

Ethan nodded, "Yeah... little things were dropping out like flies. Only got a few of them before we merged classes."

"Sweet dude," Rex said. "They still around?

Ethan scoffed, "No. Broke those little nerds like the first night. Shrinkies are so weak man. I swear..."

"And you didn't even share," Rex laughed.

Ryan gulped at the horrible words coming from the big teenagers. They obviously didn't care if you were a classmate or not, a shrinky was a shrinky to them. Yeah... he would definitely try and avoid them at all cost. Wanting to hide, Ryan looked around on Emily's desk only to find that it was pretty empty for things to use for cover.

More students filled the room and soon the class was filled with probably the largest and oldest student's all day. Ryan realized that they were all the upper class men and it showed as they were easily larger than anyone he had seen today. Some were even taller than Emily.

"Ok class," Emily started, "Obviously everyone can see that we have new students. Mr. Sanford's class will be joining our class till the end of the year. Also there is someone else I'd like to introduce, class please meet Ryan." Ryan watched with horror as the whole class turned around and looked to where Emily was pointing, right at him. The absolute horror that Ryan experienced was worse than any of the other classes. These weren't kids, they all looked like monsters as they all had different looks on their faces. Some were of disgust, others were of surprise and delight, and than there was the ones on Rex and Ethan's. They both glanced at each other with a knowing grin over their face.

Before Ryan could warn Emily about the looks she went on, "Now as for Mr. Sanford's class, does someone want to introduce the 7 of you to the class?"

Ethan stood up and said, "Actually there's only 6 now. Teddy isn't here anymore."

"Really," Emily asked confused, "I didn't hear anything about that-"

There was a knock on the door before another adult like person was at the door. Ryan watched as the man who was close to his age, possible a little older came in.

"Ms. Baker. Sorry for interrupting but, I forgot to give Principal Rice a few things from my class. Do you mind coming to my classroom down the hall, it will only take a few minutes."

"Oh, Mr. Sanford, uh," She looked at her class before saying, "Class please do the problems on page 228 and 229, as warm ups. I'll be right back." Ryan watched as Emily started to follow Mr. Sanford. The last things he heard before Emily left was her and Mr. Sanford chatting.

"You can call me Rick," He replied as they left.

"W-w-wait, Emily," Ryan called out trying to get her attention before he was left here with a very terrifying classroom. None of the student's moved... until the door closed.

It was like one of Ryan's horrible nightmares as nearly half the class turned around and started to examine his helpless tiny body left on the desk. Worse of all were Rex and Ethan who were already sizing him up.

"Dude, who the fuck is that," Ethan asked.

"No idea." Rex said. "Why does Ms. B have a shrinky in class?"

Ryan didn't know why but he decided to speak up, "I'm her boyfriend!"

"... I think he said something," Ethan said as he and Rex got closer.

Ryan watched as the large teens moved their desk closer to Emily's as they approached Ryan. A few other curious student's followed but it seemed Rex and Ethan were obviously in charge.

"Hey isn't that," One of the other student's said pointing to his neck to show what he was talking about, "That collar thing they wear to be heard?"

Rex laughed, as he reached out for Ryan. Ryan tried to step back but it was no use, "Hey don't-don't touch me! Emily!"

"Dude he's calling for help... What if Ms. Baker hears," Ethan asked nervous now that the teacher would hear Ryan's cries.

Ryan kept calling out, "EMILY HELP ME!! EMILY!!!!"

Rex on the other hand was acting too cool. He wasn't even phased by the possible fact that Emily would be race back to class to save Ryan. "Relax will you... the thing has like a 20 foot range."

Ryan stop struggling in between the two fingers as he was brought over to Rex's desk where a small crowd already formed. Ryan wasn't sure which horrified him more, the leering faces looking at him or the cold words from Rex. "20 feet? How would you know," Ryan asked not sure if he was heard.

"Little brother is a shrinky. Learned the hard way. Little twerp has a big mouth, but luckily the basement is more than 20 feet away from Mom and Dad."

Ryan felt sickened by the reveal of how Rex knowing the limits of the collars and earpieces. Ryan gulped as he was at the mercy of the giant. Before Ryan could stop it, one of Rex's large index finger flicked at the collar on Ryan's neck ripping it off his neck and having the speaking device land on the hard desk top almost soundlessly.

"There, no more collar, no more issues," Rex smirked. "So, who are you anyway? Why does Ms. B have you in class?"

Ryan tried to be brave, or as brave as he could in front of the large teen. "I'm her boyfriend." Ryan told him.

Everyone who could hear him laughed, and spread it through he classroom which eventually had everyone chuckling or giggling at the silly response. "You?" Rex asked. "Yeah right. Look at you, you couldn't even be an ant's boyfriend."

Ryan wanted to argue, but... this was just a kid. A stupid kid, who only wanted to get him worked up. He just had to buy time till Emily got back and than they would see who got the last laugh when she ripped into all of them like a lioness for even touching him!

"Dude sounds like you got some competition," Ethan laughed.

"Shut up. Me and Ms. B definitely got a thing going."

Ryan felt a weird feeling crawl over him. What?! Rex had a thing for Emily?

Ethan kept laughing, "Sounds like Mr Sanford has a better chance than you. He and Ms. Baker are on a first name basis, and your still stuck calling her Ms. B!" Ethan smirked and laughed.

"Whatever, I've got a plan," Rex said starting to explain. "I've seen how she looks at me. I just need like 30 minutes alone with her."

Ryan felt his gut turning. This kid had to be delusional. There was no way Emily was into him. Maybe Mr Sanford-

No what was he saying! She wasn't into him either! Ryan and Emily were a thing, and she wouldn't ever cheat on him...

Of course that was before he was this small.

Ryan felt himself being swung back and forth as Rex toyed with him, "I got it... if her "Boyfriend"," Rex mocked Ryan, "Went missing... I could stay after class. You know help her find him and whatever, spend some quality time with her." The look on Rex's face was a cruel and sinister look.

Ryan shook his head, "No..."

"So? What do we do with him," Ethan asked already into it. The few student's around them agreed. Everyone else seemed to not care or wanted no part in this twisted plan of Rex's.

"I could put him in my shoe," Rex suggested.

"No put him in mine," A girl standing in the semi circle said excited. "I just came from gym," She explained looking really thrilled. "Had to run the mile."

Ryan shook his head, "No, don't do this!"

Rex shrugged, "Works for me." Rex simple tossed Ryan through the air and toward the girl who lite up at the sight of Ryan fumbling through the air. Ryan didn't even know what was going on until he landed in the hands of his new tormentor.

"WAIT! YOU-"

Ryan's words were cut off as the hands collapsed over him covering him in darkness. He heard the cruel excited giggle from above as the girl, he didn't even know, start to take a seat. It wasn't until he heard the slamming of a shoe on a desk did it truly hit Ryan. This was happening.

Soon the hands opened up and Ryan landed on the wooden surface with one long leg stretched out with a large sneaker near him. Ryan looked at the shoe and the smell of stale and fresh sweat mixed together, already leaking out of the horrible looking tennis shoe.

"Oh shit he looks scared," Ethan laughed. "Little guy you ever seen a shoe that big before?"

Ryan didn't respond. He wanted to run but he was stunned by the smell and size of the shoe near him.

"Better hurry Lindsy, Ms. B could be back soon," Someone responded.

"Don't rush me," Lindsy told him. "Got to take off my shoe." Lindsy reached to her shoe and untied it before yanking the shoe off. The group of people around her desk took a step back as the air filled with her stench.

"DAMN IT LINDSY," Rex coughed. "What the fuck is that smell," Rex asked.

Lindsy just laughed, "That's the smell of running the mile in 8 minutes, new record."

Ryan looked horrified as the white sock, or what should have been white, was yellow and crusty. There were wet sploshes of fresh sweat already soaked into the sock. "Alright little guy. Time to take his place," Lindsy told Ryan.

"H-his?" Ryan gagged over the smell.

Lindsy tipped her shoe over and a small object came out of the shoe. Ryan jumped back with a frightened noise as he saw what looked to be a person, or what was left of him. The object that was on the desk was a crumpled heap and deformed beyond recognition. Ryan felt himself starting to break down at the sight of the small shrinky that was crushed to death under the foot of this fucking monster.

"Holy shit... is that Teddy?!" Ethan laughed. "When did you...?"

Lindsy smiled, "I know people. He was good with numbers but not with running. Hmmm, I think he went," Lindsy made a sickening squishing noise, "Around my second lap? Almost messed up my run time." Lindsy simply took her hand and brushed the corpse off the desk to fall down on the ground. "Anywhooooo," Lindsy laughed, "Get in!"

Ryan shook his head no. There was no way he was going to-

"She's coming back," Someone said near the door.

"Fuck," Rex said. "Just toss him in," Rex said as everyone went back to looking like they were doing work. Ryan wasn't prepared for the large hand that swept him up and brushed him off the desk. One second Ryan was standing the next he was fumbling on the desk and than in the air before landing in a dark and horrible smelling area. Ryan didn't have time to think as an object came into view and Ryan found out it was a sock covered foot. Ryan did the only thing he could, he crawled away, deeper into the shoe he was in. He was on his hands and knees as he desperately moved as fast as he could. He crawled across the ups and downs made by the small dips in the insole of the shoe from being worn too long. The stench got worse the deeper he went, however it was the only thing he could do. As fast as Ryan moved, he was no match to the speed of the enormous foot that slammed into him. It pushed into Ryan's back and rolled over him. Ryan found he was pinned face down into the moist surface of the insole of the shoe. The taste and smell of perspiration filled his face as he got to taste just how nasty Lindsy's sweat was. Ryan tired to fight and get out from under the foot but Lindsy scrunched up her toes. The tension from her foot flexing, pinned Ryan down hard into the somewhat soft but hard material of the shoe. Ryan let out a cry for help but got a mouth full of old fabric and grime left form whatever sports Lindsy did in these shoes.

"Sorry class," The sound of Emily calling out to everyone could be heard.

"EMMMMWWWWY," Ryan called out getting his voice muffled into the shoe. Ryan regretted even trying as he got more smelly shoe stuff shoved in his sweat soaked face. There was no way Emily would hear him. So it was pointless to try. However he wouldn't give up. Ryan refused to die like this. Not like Teddy...

Ryan wiggled a little and found that he just barely moved. Lindsy either didn't feel it or couldn't do anything about it. Ryan moved a little more, the more he wiggled and moved the more he rubbed his body with the sweltering sweat from his body and Lindsy's soaked sock. The liquids were like some kind of disgusting lube that helped him slide out from under the ball of her foot and out from her toes. His head was just out from her little piggies when he heard Emily starting to teach. She was oblivious to him missing...

That stung more than the sweat that started to get into his eyes. Emily wouldn't notice him missing till it was too late. She would never expect Lindsy's fucking foot to be trapping him in her god damn shoe!

Ryan let out an angry noise as he fought to free more of his body. However it was Lindsy's turn to fight back. She did something that made Ryan let out a squeak. She rocked her shoe up and lifted her foot off fo the insole. Suddenly Ryan felt the gap made between Lindsy's foot and shoe, which was just large enough for his body to slide between. He desperately grabbed onto one of Lindsy's toes to keep from sliding down to her heel, where he was sure she would grind her foot into him.

Ryan was not going to let that happen.

Lindsy must have been getting frustrated cause she kept tapping her shoe, trying to shake him off her toe. Ryan didn't let go of the socked toe. He was tempted to bite her toe, but the disgusting smell coming off the toe warned him not to. Finally after the long struggle, Lindsy gave up.

The foot rocked back down and pressed down on Ryan and squeezed the air out of him as she pressed down as hard as she could. It was jut enough to almost kill him...

Still Ryan didn't give up as he wormed his way into the tip of the shoe so only half of his body was under Lindsy's toes. Sure it hurt with her pressing on his legs, but it was better than his chest. After a few attempts this even stopped.

Finally...

"Ms. Baker," Lindsy called out from above.

"Yes," Emily answered.

"Can I go to the bathroom? I have stupid pebble in my shoe I want to get rid of."

Ryan felt the color fade from his face. She was talking about him. No no no!

"Can it wait till after class, this is important," Emily told Lindsy.

Ryan felt his heart slow back down. Emily just saved his life, for now. He wasn't sure what Lindsy had in store for him, but it didn't sound good.

Ryan didn't know what he could do or how he could get out. He could only wait for the right moment to escape. Maybe when Emily went to collect some class work he could try and do something?

The only thing he could think of was...

Ryan gulped.

Bite Lindsy.

Maybe it would freak her out or hurt her or something causing an issue or something and getting Emily to investigate?!

It was the only trump card he had left.

Ryan waited patently in the tip of the now sweltering shoe for the right moment. Lindsy on the other hand kept wiggling her toes and moving her foot to recapture Ryan under her. However, Ryan wasn't allowing it. He struggled and fought as he stayed out of reach. It wasn't easy, but he was doing it.

After what felt like a year he heard Emily say out loud, "It's almost the end of class. Any questions before everyone leaves for the day?"

This was it... this was his chance. He had to time this perfectly. When the class was quite, when Lindsy least expects it.

Someone asked a question but after that, it was silent. This was it!

Ryan quickly brought his face to the nasty smelling toe. The rank stench coming off the toe made Ryan pause and gag as the rotten air hitting him hard. Did she not wash her feet?! Ryan ignored that question as he dipped his head down to the middle toe and brought his disgusted mouth to the horrendously pungent toe. Ryan's mouth bite down with all it's might as he pretended he was trying to bite into a large piece of steak, which it wasn't. Ryan tasted the nasty odor and stinky sweat covered sock more than the toe itself. Ryan clamped down and growled as he did his best to try and take a chunk of skin out of the toe itself. Ryan wasn't sure if he was hurting Lindsy but he did get the response he wanted.

The sound of Lindsy letting out an alarmed and surprise yelp got everyone's attention.

"Everything ok," Emily asked.

Ryan started to bite more and more on different parts of the nasty toe as he tried to get Lindsy to act suspicious.

"S-sorry," Lindsy apologized, "Foot feel asleep," She said.

Suddenly Ryan was slammed around and lost his grip and bite as Lindsy smacked her foot hard on the floor. Ryan let out a desperate noise as he slipped past the toes and to the heel of Lindsy's shoe. Lindsy wasted no time and smashing her heel into Ryan as she tried to grind him into a stain in her shoe.

"BETTER," Lindsy spoke with a bitter note in her voice.

Ryan was pinned hard into the shoe. He was about to break. It felt like his bones were popping out of place as Lindsy didn't let up, as she pressed down as hard as she could. She was literally trying to merge her foot into the floor. It was horrendous. Thank god she wasn't standing up...

The thought was horrifying as Ryan realized the moment the bell rang, Lindsy would stand up, and obliterate him with her full weight on her shoe.

"Nnnnnnn," Ryan yelled under the foot. He couldn't go out like this!

"Alright, if that's everything class," Emily said.

It was almost time to go!!!!

"I'll see you all tomorrow. Please say goodbye to Ryan before you go... Ryan? Ryan??" Emily called out. The pressure on Ryan stopped.

"EMMMMIIIILLLLLYYYY," Ryan called out desperately hoping she could hear.

"Has anyone seen RYAN?! RYAN!" Emily obviously was looking for Ryan. But she would never find him in time. "Ryan why aren't you saying anything?"

Ryan closed his eyes and waited for the end.

"Don't worry Ms. B. I'll help look for him," Rex said sounding like he was really worried too. "I'll stay after class to look-"

"He's in Lindsy's shoe," Someone called out.

"SHE'S LYING," Lindsy instantly spat out.

Ryan did his best to struggle, but Lindsy still had him pinned.

"Lindsy?" Emily questioned.

Ryan prayed for god that the bell didn't ring or that Lindsy decided to stand up and walk away. His only hope was for Emily to check Lindsy...

"Ms. Baker, I saw her put him in her left shoe," The same person from before spoke up again.

"Shut up, Bitch," Lindsy defiantly shouted. "Nichole is lying!"

"Lindsy," Emily said standing closer now. Ryan prayed she was blocking Emily's exit. "Is this true?"

"..."

"Do I need to get an administrator in here," Emily warned.

"... it was just a joke," Lindsy said defensively as she took off her shoe. Ryan had never been happier to see florescence lighting.

Ryan let out a gasp of air. "EMILY," Ryan wheezed as he saw Lindsy's face looking in at him. The look of anger in Lindsy's eyes were easy to read. She was pissed. However, there was a hand held out close to her face showing that Emily was waiting for her to put Ryan in her hand.

Lindsy dipped her fingers into the shoe and pinched Ryan by his bruised midsection as she lifted him out of the shoe. "Here," She said. "It was just a joke," Lindsy repeated.

"Thank you," Emily said as she held Ryan in her hand.

Ryan did a quick look around and saw most of the class looking at a shy looking girl near the front of the class. Ryan did a best guess assuming she was his savor. He would thank her when he could. Especially when it looked like she just made the whole class her enemy...

The bell rang.

Everyone got up and started to leave.

"See you later Ms. B! You too... uh," Rex said acting like he already forgot Ryan's name. The little shit.

"Ryan," Emily said.

"Right, see you latter little guy."

"Fucking prick," Ryan spoke quietly unable to speak too much after that abuse.

Everyone but Emily and Nichole had left the class room.

"Is he ok," She asked sounding worried.

"I think so," Emily said setting Ryan down.

"I'm sorry. I should have said something sooner," Nichole spoke to Ryan.

"I'm just glad you said something," Ryan gasped not sure if Nichole heard him or not.

"What happen to the communicator?"

"It fell off," Ryan said to Emily who just made it out.

"Do we have a spare?"

"At home," Ryan again told her finally able to breathe normally. He was glad he had a few spares.

"I'm sorry Ms. Baker..." Nichole said again. "I... I wanted to say something, but..." Before Ryan or Emily could say anything to Nichole looked at the clock and she quickly started to leave, "I have to go. The buss wont wait for me."

Ryan watched his guardian angel rush out the classroom. He just hoped she wasn't bullied for this.

"So what happened," Emily asked.

"Fucking kids..." it was all Ryan wanted to say right now. "Can we just... can we go? I just want a shower and something to drink."

Emily nodded as she started to gather her things up and pick up Ryan. As she carried him with her to the door she asked again, "So what happened?"

Ryan was going to say something until he spotted a crumpled speck of a person in Emily's path to the door. Before Ryan could tell her about it, she carelessly stepped on what was left of Teddy, removing any remains of him from being recognized. She didn't even slow down her walking speed, completely oblivious to what she stepped on.

"What did you expect," Ryan said not sure if she could hear him, "I'm a shrinky, this shit happens all the time."

Emily left the class room and started to head for her vehicle to take them both home.

As Emily started to get into her car, Rick was driving by and slowed down. "How were they Emily? I hope they weren't too much trouble?"

"Oh they were fine Rick," Emily told him. As if she had forgotten what they did to Ryan not even 10 minutes ago.

Ryan could hear the whole conversation. As Emily and Rick said their goodbyes.

Rick finally told Emily, "If you ever need help, let me know. I'll give you my number. If you want, we can meet up and go over some lesson plans for the classes?"

"Oh, that actually sounds great," Emiy said sounding happy about the idea.

Ryan looked toward Emily as Rick gave his number to Emily who was taking it down in her phone.

Ryan sat there unable to believe it. As Emily took each digit down and laughed at some silly joke Rick said, he couldn't help but wonder, did Emily find this guy attractive? Was Emily interested in him?  Was Ryan going to lose Emily to this guy?...

The car ride home was quite for Ryan. There wasn’t a point in talking when it was clear the Emily wouldn’t hear a word he said. Besides, Ryan wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk. His feelings were all over the place and a mixed bag of anger, fear, and neglect. Probably the worse part of the whole school experience, other than the sweaty foot smell that still clung to Ryan, was probably the fact that he didn’t really spend time with Emily. Ryan wasn’t even sure why he even bothered going in the first place, it was a stupid idea. Ryan had never been a big fan of school even when he was normal sized, now that he was smaller…

Well the experience didn’t improve his outlook on school.

Ryan kept looking up at Emily who was busy driving to see him. Emily’s smile showed just how happy she was. Did she always look this happy when she got off work? Or was there another reason. Was it because of Rick? Was she happy cause Rick flirted with her today?

Ryan had to look away or else Emily might see his furrowed brow and glare toward her. Ryan had to calm down. Rick didn’t flirt with her, he just was being a helpful coworker…

But what about the time she was gone? Did something happen outside the classroom while he was being tormented. Ryan shook his head, he had to stop with these thoughts. Not just cause he didn’t want to experience the whole foot and shoe thing again, he didn’t want to think about Emily messing around with a normal sized person.

A cold feeling went through Ryan at those last few words spun in his head. A normal sized person.

Normal sized person.

Ryan wasn’t a normal sized person, and would never be.

Those self eating words kept gnawing at Ryan for the rest of the ride home. He was so consumed by the horrible thoughts, that he didn’t even noticed Emily stop the car and unbuckle her seat belt. In fact Ryan let out a sudden sound of surprise and shock when Emily picked him up.

“What?” Emily asked shocked by Ryan’s sudden reaction to her touching him. Emily looked worried, “Are you ok?”

Ryan spoke up as loud as he could, “You just startled me, that’s all.”

“Sorry,” Emily weakly smiled at Ryan.

“It’s ok-”

“I didn’t hear what did you say,” Emily told Ryan cutting him off. Ryan felt his heart drop a little as Emily was unable to hear him. “Let’s get that spare communicator, it’s so hard hearing you.”

Ryan slumped down in Emily’s hand, “Of course… what a shocker.” Ryan sarcastically said knowing that it wouldn’t change much.

Emily continued to carry Ryan to their apartment. Once Emily opened the door, she walked in on Ryan’s mom sitting on the couch sipping a drink and watching TV. She turned around and spotted Emily, and the small Ryan in her hands.

“There you are,” Ryan’s mom said sounding a little upset and relieved. “I was wondering where my little man was.”

“MOM I’M NOT- oh what’s the point, she can’t even hear me,” Ryan muttered as he watched his large mother heading over to greeted him.

“Welcome home,” Mary said as she headed over and picked up Ryan from Emily’s palm with little effort. Ryan was soon pulled close to his mom’s lips as she was about to kiss him when she spotted. Ryan felt the air around him whiff up a few times as his mother sniffed and pulled him back. “P U,” Mary said holding Ryan away from her mouth. “Someone stinks, what happened?”

As much as he hated smelling like this, he was kind of grateful for it. As much as he loved his mom, he didn’t want a full body kiss from the women. He wasn’t really in the mood to be treated like a child. Ryan felt even less incline to be mothered by his mom.

“Ryan came to work with me, and some of the kids played a prank on him,” Emily told his mom as Mary set Ryan down on the kitchen counter top nearby.

“Prank,” Ryan said sounding aghast at Emily’s wording. Emily was acting like it was just kids being kids, like his life wasn’t in pearl or that he couldn’t have ended up like the poor shrinky student that went missing during gym class. The crushed and bloody husk of a person, smothered under a large sweaty foot that belonged to that horrible girl that trapped Ryan. The same body that Emily step on without knowing...

“A prank,” Mary asked frowning the sound of anger or disapproval was clear. “You let your student’s bully my son?”

As much as Ryan loved his mom for standing up for him, he really wasn’t liking how his mom was making Emily out to be the only villain here and how it wasn’t the student’s themselves to blame. It was nice, but Ryan felt like the anger was being misdirected. But what could he do? Not like either one of the giantess were going to listen to him.

Ryan decided to try and change that and headed to the bed room and grab one of the few communicators he had left. As he walked across the counter he heard Emily defending herself, “I didn’t LET them bully Ryan.”

“Oh, than why does my son smell like a locker room? Were you too busy to notice him being picked on,” Mary asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Emily was now starting to get upset, “I’m sorry, how am I the bad guy here?”

Ryan tried to tune out the two large women arguing. It was already starting to devolve from Ryan’s safety to almost a blame game, as the two women started to chisel down certain aspect or flaws they found in the other. Ryan didn’t care, in fact he just wanted to take a damn shower-

“Ryan, where are you going,” Mary called out just as Ryan was about to climb down the ladder to the floor and to head to his room.

“Shower,” Ryan muttered not really bothered with the fact they could hear him.

“Why isn’t he talking,” Mary asked sounding worried like a mother would be with a silent child.

“His communicator broke,” Emily told her.

“Broke? Oh no. Well, we have a spare, right?”

“I think that’s where he’s going,” Emily said. “Here, Ryan let me help you,” Emily said coming over to Ryan to pick him up off the ladder.

Ryan would have protested but it didn’t mater as he was plucked off without warning. Emily carried Ryan to their bedroom and set down near his bed. He grabbed one of the spare communicators and attached it before stating, “I’m taking a shower.” Ryan didn’t wait for the two Giantess to try and ask him questions or anything. He just wanted to get this stench off him. It was a lingering reminder of being trapped in that shoe and nearly crushed to death.

“I’ll have dinner ready,” Ryan’s mom said like that would cheer him up.

“Do you want my help,” Emily told Ryan rather than asking. She was already picking him up before he could say anything. As Emily carried Ryan to the sink in the bathroomwhere his miniature shower was, he couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t even a person to her now. She was treating him like a pet right now, and not like a boyfriend. She wasn’t even waiting for his response or even tried to consider how little he felt whenever she treated him the way she wanted to.

As soon as Ryan was set down on the sink, Emily started to ask, “Do you want me to wash-”

“I can wash myself,” Ryan told her. Ryan didn’t think he snapped at her but she did seem a little taken back at the suddenness of the words. “Just,” Ryan started to say, “can I just shower?”

“Sorry,” Emily said sadden. She left the bathroom leaving him alone in peace and alone.

Sure it would have been nice for Emily to wash him, but not right now. He just didn’t want to be taken care of, he just wanted to feel like he could still do things himself. Which was starting to look like those moments were becoming less and less.

Dinner was quite. Almost worse than the car ride. Anytime Emily or Ryan’s mom tried to ask about the classroom, Ryan just responded with, “I don’t want to talk about it.” As much as Ryan wanted to start blaming people like Emily for leaving him or the students for kidnapping him, what was the point? There was nothing she could do to fix what had happen, maybe prevent next time. Which was laughable that Ryan would even think that there was going to be a next time. No way was he going back to a school so long as he lived. Instead, Ryan just felt the weight of the day hit him and after nibbling on the small piece of meatloaf that his mother made, he just wanted to head to bed. After dinner Ryan was off to bed. There wasn’t really a reason for him to stay up. As Ryan headed to bed he heard both Emily and his mom wish him a good night.

Ryan got into bed and tried to sleep. The only thing that helped Ryan sleep a little better at night, was that his mom and Emily both sounded worried about him. That at least showed they had some sort of sense of concern toward him as a person. Or was it a different kind of concern, like one for a thing or pet…

Ryan woke up seeing Emily was already gone and left for work. Getting up, Ryan noticed it was still kind of early. It didn’t sound like his mother was up yet, so Ryan headed off to the kitchen to try and get some breakfast in the silent apartment. It wasn’t too long of a walk, now that Ryan was getting used to the distance from his bedroom to the kitchen. Taking his ladder up to the top of the counter, Ryan headed off to his little stash of food and drink. Fixing up a meager meal, Ryan sat there on the counter to enjoy his food and morning. Ryan was doing much better since the other day. With a good rest, and some food, Ryan was feeling restored. It was amazing what a little bit of sleep and a good breakfast could do for you.

Ryan was still on the counter top and just munching on a tiny chunk of pop-tart when he heard his mother coming out of her room. At first Ryan didn’t even bother saying anything till his mother came into the kitchen in her drowsy state.

“Ryan,” His mother called out as she looked around. It was obvious she missed Ryan on the counter as she called out again and headed off into the his open bedroom. Ryan didn’t call out as he figured he could finish his meal first before talking to his mother. As he swallowed his pop-tart chunk he watched as his mother exited the bed room.

“I guess he’s not here. Probably went with Emily again,” Mary said out loud reaching up to her ear and pulling out the receiver.

“No wait, MOM!” Ryan shouted. Obvious it went unheard as his mother held the ear piece and put it into her pocket. She wiggled a finger in her to ear alleviating any discomfort she had from wearing the hearing device.

“Why would he go back to that school,” Mary questioned unaware to her son who was in fact still in the house with her.

Ryan shouted again to get his mom’s attention but she didn’t hear a word he said. Instead she walked into the kitchen and headed to the fridge.

“MOM! COME ON!! HEY!!!!! MOTHER!!!!!” Ryan screamed with all his might that his voice broke and his throat hurt. He gave off a hard cough as he looked to see his mother not hear a single sound. She must have some sort of hearing issues or Ryan was really just that small that his voice didn’t carry at all. Ryan could do nothing as his massive mother headed to the fridge and opened it up. She looked around for a few moments before grabbing what looked to be some bacon and a small thing of already scrambled eggs from a previous breakfast. Ryan continued to try and get her attention but with his mother’s back turned toward him, not a single sound got to her.

Ryan watched his mother toss a thing of eggs and bacon into the microwave and grabbed a cup of orange juice before taking everything to the dinning table to eat her breakfast. As she munched on her food, Ryan was on the fence about leaving the counter to try and get his mother to notice him. However, he didn’t want to try and rush to the kitchen table. By the time he reached his mother, she would have been done with her food and off to do whatever else. It was best if he stayed put for his mother to notice. As Ryan waited, his mother scrapped and shoveled food into her mouth till she was done and full.

“Ahhh, nothing like some bacon to start the day,” Ryan’s mom said as she sat back in the dinning chair. Ryan headed to the edge of the counter that would get him the closest to his mother, who was still far away, and tried shouting. Just as Ryan inhaled to yell the sound of a remote clicking and the giant TV turning on filled the air with the sounds of whatever his mother turned the channel to.

“God damn it,” Ryan said to himself as the sounds of the early talk show filled the silent room with it’s loud voice. “Now it’s impossible to call out to mom.” Ryan was so peeved right now. Of course his mother would turn on the television. Sure enough, his mother sat there just about a few feet away from him with her back to him and toward the show she was watching. So… what did he do? It was safest to stay here without having to worry about his mother mistaking him as something else again. And there was no real rush to leave the counter top, sure he could head to his room but still it would be better for his mother to know he was here with her at some point.

Deciding it was best to stay where he was, he would eventually get his mother’s attention…

An hour had passed and Ryan’s mother hadn’t budged an inch. Ryan was annoyed and pissed. How long was his mother going to just sit there and do nothing! Finally Ryan watched his mother starting to get up and pick up her plate and her empty cup. Just as Ryan saw his mom turning around, she stumbled. Ryan watched as his mother dropped her plate and it clattered to the ground unbroken. However the plate’s crumbs and little food particles that Mary hadn’t eaten scattered over the floor.

“OH poop...” Ryan’s mom huffed. “I would do something like this today… I guess this place could use some cleaning,” Ryan’s mom smiled and nodded in agreement to her words. “Might as well do some house choirs while everyone is out. That way no one is in my way,” She spoke to herself, and to Ryan who just picked up her words.

“Cleaning,” Ryan repeated. “She’s going to clean?”

Ryan watched his mother walk away from the mess and back to her bedroom. What was she doing? Ryan only had to wait a few minutes before he let out an aghast noise as his mother walked out of her room in nothing more than a thin pair of underwear and bra covering her body. A swimming suit would have covered more as his unaware mom carried a large load of clothing out of her room and to the small laundry room. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING MOM?!” Ryan cried out trying not to see his mother prancing around the apartment nearly nude. “Oh god,” Ryan muttered embarrassed of his mother’s near nudity.

As if she were answer her son’s unheard question Mary walked out of the laundry room still wearing nothing but a thin string of cloting. Ryan tried not to watch his mother standing off in the distance lifting her hands over her head and stretching. Her ample chest thrust out more as she leaned backwards a bit stretching her shoulders and arms. Mary let out a few sounds of release as she sighed, “Don't want to pull anything. Cleaning always was the best way to work out,” She said happily as she leaned forward and touched her toes. Ryan could see his mother’s ass crack revealing itself as she bent forward.

“what the fuck...” Ryan looked away not wanting to see anymore. “Why is she….” Ryan didn’t want an answer, he just wanted his mother clothed and not showing so much skin. She always found a way to make Ryan feel uncomfortable and now was no exception.

Just as soon as Ryan’s mom was done doing her stretching, he watched as she rummaged around the laundry room and pulled out a duster.

“She’s really going to do this,” Ryan muttered in disbelief as she started on the far end of the living room and started to dust everything from top to bottom. Starting with the shelves holding all the movies and disk that Ryan and Emily owned. Than Mary moved onto the TV and entertainment systems they had. She worked her way around the room. She had to rise up on her tiptoes to reach the high places and dust them.

“Goodness, do they not dust?” Mary asked herself over the television that was still playing in the background. “Well good thing I'm here!”

Ryan covered his eyes as his mother pulled her underwear out from her ass crack for the third time since she started cleaning. It seemed each time she reached up, the small string found it’s way back into the naughty place. “God damn it,” Ryan muttered trying not to think about it. It would have been hot to see Emily doing this, bending and leaning around with her cloths sticking to her skin of showing off parts of her body, now that was something...but his mom?

Now it wasn’t like Ryan’s mom was in bad shape or ugly, it was far from it. She was probably the most healthy and attractive mom there was for her age. Her chest was the kind of size that someone could lose their head in between them, and Ryan would probably lose his entire body if he tired. Mary’s back side was just as tone and supple, as it shook just slightly with each step she took. The bouncing that her booty did as Mary walked around the living room dusting, anyone would have loved grabbing them checks or slapping that wiggling flesh. However there was one problem, THAT WAS RYAN’S MOM! The woman that gave birth to him and took care of him, kissed him good night when he was a little boy... and still tries to do it even when he was over 25!

Ryan couldn’t watch his mom dust anymore. As a son he was disgusted, but as a man… yeah he wasn’t going to even touch that thought. It was best if he just waited till she was done doing her cleaning, however long that might be.

Ryan looked into the kitchen, the complete opposite direction of his mother as she let out grunts and groans as she reached those hard to reach spots with the duster. She was making her way around the doorway to the apartment and was getting close to Ryan. Hopefully she would see him? He wanted to turn around and see how close his mom was, but he wouldn’t chance seeing something that would make him regret looking. The shame he was already feeling was immense. He didn’t want to add anymore-

A shadow blocked out any light from behind Ryan, covering him in darkness. Out of reflexes, Ryan spun around caught a glimpse of his mother’s belly button hovering just a few inches away. She was cleaning directly behind him. Ryan looked up at the enormous fleshy wall that towered up and toward the moon sized boobs blocking out any sign of Mary’s face. Ryan gulped at the size of his mother being so close. He could feel the heat coming off her body, and see the sweat already building up as it trickled down her tummy and down...

Ryan didn’t even look past her belly as he didn’t want to see past the thin cloth that covered his mother’s private parts. Instead he looked up to the heavens as his mother reached and struggled to clean the top of the cabinets above Ryan’s head. Whatever she was reaching for, was difficult as she had to be on the very tip of her big toe like a ballerina trying to get that last spot without a chair for help.

“Almost,” She grumbled from above Ryan. Ryan didn’t know why, but he felt like he should probably step back. He was a little too close to his mom.

It happened in a blink of an eye, but Ryan was able to see it all happen in slow motion. Ryan’s mom slipped or her toe gave out or something else, but all of a sudden her body collapsed and fell down… right on Ryan. Her chest came dropping down like boulders or mountains crumbling. Ryan could only hold up his hands as the two fleshy orbs came crashing down with so much force that if he were anywhere else he would be a small splat under his mother’s gigantic tits. However God was on Ryan’s side, as he was directly in between each massive flesh bag, and slipped right in between his mother’s sweaty boobs. The sweat help slide him inside with no resistance as he was instantly compressed and squeezed by the walls around him. The amount of liquid covered and drenched Ryan to the point it felt like he just dove into a pool. A very warm sweaty pool made from his mom’s boob sweat. Ryan closed his eyes as his mother’s perspiration covered his head and threatened to sting his eyes if he opened them. Ryan’s arms were pinned to his side as his legs were firmly pressed together, restricting any movement

Ryan let out a yell for help, “MOOOOM!”

However there was no response. Ryan was still stuck in the extremely tight spot, as it was very clear that his mother needed another bra size due to how tight it was. The amount of space he had was abysmal and he couldn’t imagine how his mother felt all day wearing something this tight pressing her fun bags so close together.

There was a deep rumble as his mother spoke, “Ooow, thank goodness I had my babies to catch me.”

Ryan felt his prison warp and shake as his mother was doing something. His whole fleshy world wiggled and jiggled as he was displaced even more somewhere else. As the walls warped and bent around him, Ryan let out a gasp of air as they pressed down on him. The lack of air made it clear he was running out of breath. He was going to suffocate in his mother’s cleavage! Ryan tried to move while the flesh jiggled around him. After just a little longer, Ryan felt fresh air on his face and he took a deep breath of the clean fresh air as he gasped for oxygen.

Ryan caught a few breaths of air as he blinked through the layer of sweat accumulated on his head. Just as he blinked away the liquid, he could see the sea of flesh around him wiggling as his mother was touching and playing with her boobs.

“Cushioned me from my fall,” She laughed before letting go of her breast. Ryan heard his mother from above who wasn’t even looking between her breast, and so not at him, “I guess that’s what the kids mean by, more cushion for the pushin?”

Ryan didn’t comment as he didn’t want to think about his mother and that sexual phrase. Instead he was trying to wiggle out of his mother’s booby trap. It seemed he was still stuck, and only his head was sticking out. His arms and hands were still pinned.

“MOM!” Ryan shouted for the hundredth time today, only to have her not hear him over the stupid television in the background. Or maybe he was just that small and insignificant.

Without her noticing Ryan’s situation, his mother once again went back to cleaning, and Ryan was along for the ride. His mother’s enormous face was tilted upward as she continued to brush and dust away at the top of the kitchen cabinets.

Ryan tried to worm or wiggle, only to find he wasn’t pulling himself out, he was sliding downward. Ryan stop struggling the moment his shoulder slide downward and only his head was sticking out. As much as Ryan hated this, he hated not breathing more… so Ryan remained as still as possible as his mother cleaned and dusted.

“There,” Ryan’s mom finally said as she got the last spot. “Whew,” Mary said whipping at the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. “That was a good work out,” Mary laughed shaking Ryan with her deep laughter. Ryan watched as his mother’s large hand came into view as it towered above him.

“Mom?”

Before he got his answer the hand dove downward right into Ryan. The large massive hand pushed and shoved Ryan deeper into the cleavage as it started to more around. Ryan was battered and pushed around as he was drenched back in the hot sweaty chamber. The liquid again assaulted Ryan’s face forcing him to close his eyes and go along for the ride. “So sweaty,” Mary’s deep voice could be heard all around Ryan as she must have been cleaning up her titty sweat with her hand. Ryan on the other hand was battered and swatted around between his mother’s bosom. Ryan felt his head smack into something hard like a finger or something.

“Huh, what was that,” Mary’s voice vibrated Ryan as she spoke. Sure enough, Ryan’s mom started to search more friskily which only made things worse for Ryan.

Unable to speak or move, again, Ryan was only able to stay still as the chamber he was in vibrated and moved. His mother was searching for him, or whatever she thought was stuck in between her breast. Just as Ryan felt his mother’s fingers dig a little deeper and toward him, his feet popped out. Soon his whole body followed suit as he didn’t have time to react. Ryan fell out of his mother’s grasp and went tumbling downward. Ryan couldn’t see, but he hit something fleshy or soft, than rolled and bounced and hit something as equally soft. Through the commotion of falling and hitting things, Ryan finally landed on something hard and rolled to a stop. He felt sore and had to wipe the sweat from his eyes, yet again. But this time he could move his arms.

“oooh,” Ryan moaned as he laid there not moving. He must have rolled down his mother’s body or bounced off her leg or something… it seemed to break his fall for the most part.

Before Ryan could get assessed to his situation he heard his mother say out loud, “Must have been some dust or crumbs from breakfast. Speaking of crumbs...” There was stomping as Ryan’s mom left the kitchen, going somewhere.

“Fucking hell,” Ryan said sitting up and rubbing his shoulder and leg. It wasn’t bad, just a little sore from the fall. Luckily his fall was cushioned and he didn’t slap into the ground from the fall. Maybe he would have survived or maybe not, it wasn’t something Ryan wanted to try. Looking up, he saw that he was standing iunder the counter top. Looking off to the side where the ladder was at the end of the counter top, it was only a couple of feet away… if he was normal size, now it looked like a football field. Ryan was just a few minutes away form safety.

Not waiting for his mom, Ryan stood up and started to work his way toward the-

A large object slammed down near Ryan distracting him. He turned his head just in time to see a large dust pan off to the side. The large object’s handled shot up into the sky where he spotted his mom with the broom in her other hand.

“MO-”

The large hairs on the broom slapped down next to Ryan and swept with such force that he felt a gust of air as it swept all the materials in it’s path toward the dust pan. The sound of small things hitting the plastic container filled the air as his mother carelessly swept the floor. It wasn’t till the large broom moved onto the next spot to be swept that Ryan realized it was too late. The large black hairs slapped and pinned him down on the ground. Soon his body was rolled and pushed around as he tumbled and tripped over himself. The broom grabbed and swatted at his body as Ryan and everything else around him was tossed into the dust pan with such force that Ryan was in darkness before he even knew what was going on.

“DAMN IT MOM! FUCKING LOOK-” Ryan’s words were cut off as the broom slammed more stuff into the dust pan, spraying Ryan with materials. Dust, dirt, salt, crumbs, and whatever else that was scattered on the floor. All of it pelted Ryan’s body as he was stuck in the firing zone.

“OWW,” Ryan shouted as he felt his skin stinging where he was hit. Ryan didn’t have a chance to stand up as his mother picked up the dust pan. The pan tilted and tossed Ryan and all the collected trash into the back of the pan. Ryan had just enough time to see his mother not looking down at what she collected before moving onto the next spot. As Mary placed the pan down, Ryan tumbled forward and could see the opening tilted to the floor… just as the broom slammed more shit at him. Ryan held up his hands over his face as small particles pelted him yet again. Hard bits of dried rice and cheese slapped at Ryan’s body as he protected himself the best he could. Chunks of uneaten food and debris left by were flung at Ryan and the dust pan.

Ryan’s mother kept sweeping the floor, not giving Ryan any time to escape the dust pan. Any progress he made, was erased when the pan tilted, or he was hit with such debris he couldn’t move in time. Ryan didn’t even have time to call out to his mom. After the pan collect enough dirty and droppings left after the last time the floor was cleaned, Mary figured it was enough to toss. Ryan was standing in the tilted dust pan with enough trash and dirt to cover up to his hip. Ryan knew there was only one place that it was all heading.

“MOM! GOD DAMN IT!! MOTHER LOOK FUCKING DOWN HERE,” Ryan screamed his lungs out only to be ignored. Sure enough, the familiar looking surrounds past his mother’s nearly nude body, told Ryan that he was just a few steps away from the kitchen’s trash can. If he was tossed in there, would anyone know? Maybe Emily could save him when she got home?? Would his mother empty the trash before????

Ryan felt himself breaking down in tears as his heart was racing. His mother was going to throw him away!

Ryan watched as his oblivious mother started to lift and tilt the dust pan. Everything started to slide and start to head to the lip of the incoming trash can. Sure enough the trash was looking full, but not full enough for Ryan to escape. If he didn’t get his mother to-

A loud pinging could be heard throughout the apartment.

“OH, the laundry is washed,” Mary said setting the dust pan down next to the trash can. Ryan blinked for just a second realizing his mother’s lack of clothing and laundry saved his life…

Ryan didn’t hesitate as he left the dust pan. He felt his reddened skin complain as if he had what felt like sun burn or bee stings on his skin where the piece of food and dirt hit. Ryan didn’t waste much time as he looked around for a safe place. Ryan was done trying to get his mom to help him. He had to survive on his own. He wouldn’t trust her to save him from herself. No, Ryan wasn’t take a fucking chance on this. Instead Ryan headed to the oven… just like last time, he dove under there and hide. Sure enough his mom came back in a few moments as she must have put all the laundry in the dryer. She effortlessly flung all the debris from the dust pan into the trash. In less than a moment she pulled the edges closed and sealed the trash up and was carrying it to door to throw away later. There wouldn’t have been a moment for Ryan to try and get help from his mom. If she didn’t see him in that split second he would have been doomed…

“Fuck...” Ryan gasped laying on his back under the oven. He took a few gulps of air, and some much needed rest. Ryan was on the ground in the dark safe space from his mother’s nearly death experiences. This was too much for Ryan to take.

Soon the sounds of his mother’s bare feet walking back to the kitchen could be heard. Ryan looked out form under the oven and watched as his mom’s large legs walked into the kitchen and stood next to the empty trash can. Sure enough she put a new bag in, and set the broom and dust pan away. Ryan stayed under the oven as his mom walked around in the kitchen. It seemed the next thing on her list was dishes. Her large feet were just off to the side of the stove where the sink was.

“I’m just going to stay here all day,” Ryan said to himself.

There was a scurrying sound from deeper in the dark.

“Wh-what was that,” Ryan whispered as his head spun to look into the dark. He couldn’t see anything… but there was a very creepy feeling that chilled Ryan. The sound of something moving made Ryan start to panic. “Whose there,” Ryan stupidly called out. Ryan wasn’t ready for the sound of movement heading closer toward him. Ryan let out a cry of alarm as he crawled out from under the stove. He headed instinctual toward the light and to safety from whatever was making that noise. Ryan spotted a large dark mass pass him and head out into the open light of the kitchen. That was when he was able to spot the incest about his size crawling away from Ryan. Ryan must have spooked the-

In a flash a large bare foot slapped down on the kitchen tile floor with a loud thump. The sound of squishing and crunching of the insects’ body could be heard from Ryan’s position. Ryan watched his mother’s foot start to twist and grind the remains of the bug under her bare sole, just a few inches from his spot. Flashes of Steven getting squished by a shoe and now this foot all hit Ryan at once. His mother squashed the bug without any hesitation or remorse.

“Ugh… disgusting,” Ryan’s mom said with hate in her voice. “Creepy,” Mary said giving her foot a good twist smearing the juices around, “crawly,” another sickening twist could be heard, “Bugs!” Ryan watched his mom pull and drag her foot across the tile leaving a nice trail of bug guts on the ground. Ryan felt his body shiver and shake from the sight. That could have been him. His mother didn’t even give the bug a nanosecond of a though before murdering the creature. If he was just slightly faster than he was now…

Ryan’s mom easily wiped up the remains of the bug and tossed it in the trash. Ryan didn’t move as an enormous eye tried peering under the oven. “How many of you disgusting creatures are there? Living off our crumbs…” Ryan’s mom asked. Soon Mart got up and left. But before she left the kitchen Ryan heard her say, “Where’s the bug spray...”

“SHIT!” Ryan said sounding panicked. His mom would be relentless with that shit. She would debug the oven by spraying and pouring all kinds of toxic chemicals in her with him. He had to get out now, before she returned. Ryan darted out of from the kitchen and headed to the underside of the counter. As Ryan ran past the spot the bug was crushed, Ryan spotted just a leg or antenna left. There was Just the faintest color of the insects gooey bug blood left behind on the tile floor. Just enough that someone at Ryan’s size would be able to make out as a stain. As Ryan made it to the slight cover of the kitchen counter, he ran toward the ladder. He had to get off the ground.

Ryan made it to the end of the counter and turned toward his ladder, only to freeze in his tracks…

“WHERE IS THE FUCKING LADDER?!?!”

Ryan saw nothing where his ladder should have been for him to climb up. Looking around for any sign of the ladder, Ryan’s eyes spotted something near the sink.

Ryan let out an aggravated noise, “Are you fucking kidding me?! Why are you washing the fucking ladder?!?!?!” Ryan cried out as he spotted his ladder being washed with the dishes. His mother was cleaning his only too to get off the ground and to the counter. “FUCK!” What did he do now? The sound of some rustling could be heard from the laundry room as it sounded like his mom found the bug spray. With nowhere to run, Ryan had to get out of view. Sure enough, he spun around the corner so he was on the inside of the kitchen, hugging the counter of the counter. He would have to wait for his mom to enter the kitchen to run around the corner and to the other side where he was, just before his mother swept him up by the broom. Ryan held his chest hoping the sound of his heart pounding didn’t give him away. Soon the gigantic stomping feet thundered toward Ryan. Ryan watched his still nearly nude mother walk into the kitchen with a grin on her face.

“Time to die bugs!” Ryan watched as his mother knelt by the oven. She pointed her ass out and looked back under the oven, “Chock on this,” She called out as she held the bug spray and sprayed the chemicals under the oven. She swept it back and forth over and over again… emptying the bottle of toxic chemicals under the stove. If Ryan was under there, he was sure he’d be dead…

Not wanting to watch his mother’s ass shake back and forth as she swayed with the joy of exterminating what she assumed was a nest of insects, Ryan headed over to the other side of the counter and sat down. His mother was insane…

“There… pest free,” Ryan’s mom said before the sound of the empty can hit the bottom of the trash can. “Now back to cleaning!” Ryan heard his mother gleefully hum as she washed the ladder on the other side of the only protection he had from her. “There, all clean. Now it just needs to dry,” Ryan’s mom said setting the ladder down on the counter top to dry… still out of reach.

The sudden stomping shook Ryan to the core as he stayed sitting down on the ground. Mary’s large feet pads slapped the ground with earthquake like vibrations as she walked out of the kitchen to do something else. Ryan didn’t budge… where could he go that would be safe from his mom? He couldn’t go back to the oven, not for a while. He knew the bug spray would kill him if he so much as tried to crawl under there again. It would take at least an hour or two for the chemicals to dissipate enough for him to try. He could try and hid in the living room, under a chair or sofa… but he was almost positive his mother would be cleaning there next. Head to his room? She wouldn’t-

Suddenly the sound of a large device being wheeled from the laundry room to his bed room was heard.

“What is she-”

The sound of the vacuum turning on was heard. The whirling sound of sucking and cleaning filled the apartment with it’s defining sounds, even blocking out the sound of the TV. She was cleaning his bedroom?! This was his time to run… but where? His mind was drawling a blank. The first place he saw that wasn’t in the open was the kitchen table. Ryan ran and hide behind one of the table legs. Ryan was on the other side of the wooden leg as his mom came out of the bed room. She was still vacuuming and seemed to be dancing while she sucked up any dirt stuck in the carpet. Ryan’s mom twisted her body left and right as she pushed and pulled the vacuum to whatever beat she was singing in her head. She looked to be having fun as she cleaned. She closed Ryan’s door as she continued to vacuum the carpet that lead to the living room. Right past the kitchen and counter. She definitely would have spotted him if he stayed where he was.

The continues sound of the vacuum grew louder as Ryan’s mom kept sucking up whatever was in it’s path. Next she headed to her room and started to clean up her living space. Ryan leaned up against the kitchen table and tried to ignore the sounds of his mom.

Suddenly a soft voice could be heard off to his left, “HEY YOU!”

Ryan frowned as he turned his head toward the sound. Past the kitchen table he spotted something… something around his size under the couch. Ryan frowned and looked harder. It was a head that belong to a girl that looked to be around her early 20’s or late teens. “What? Who-”

“What’s going on!” She yelled over the sound of the vacuum.

Ryan was finding it hard to hear her over the vacuum. Maybe Ryan should be shocked or surprise that there was a shrinky in his house, but that didn't’ cross his mind. Instead, he headed to the other side of the dinning room table and closer to the girl. There was probably a good 2 feet or so from the kitchen table to the living room and than another foot or so to the back of the sofa where the girl was hiding under. Once Ryan was close enough he called out to her, “She’s cleaning!”

The nervous and frightened women looked around, “Cleaning what?”

“The whole apartment,” Ryan yelled over the noise. “It’s not safe there you need to come here-”

The woman looked confused before shouting, “Fuck that! I’ve been safe under here for weeks!”

“Weeks?” Ryan shook his head, “Never mind, just hurry up before-”

The sound of Mary’s bedroom door closing and the vacuum getting louder filled the air. It was too late, his mom was in the living room. Sure enough she was vacuuming the whole house. Ryan watched the unknown girl dive back under the couch. Ryan was about to head after her when his mother came around and started to vacuum nearby. Ryan hide behind the kitchen’s wooden leg and prayed his mom didn’t see him. He felt exposed, but he knew he was fine… right?

Soon his mom vacuumed toward the TV with her back turned to Ryan and the couch. She switched the TV off as she pushed the vacuum close to the television and wall it was attached to. Now was his chance to try and convince the girl it wasn’t safe. “HEY YOU NEED TO RUN TO ME NOW!”

Either she wasn’t listening or didn’t hear him or didn’t believe him. Whatever the reason was she gave no response or reaction to his warning. Ryan tried again but it was the same result. Ryan was about to go in after the girl when his mom turned around. Ryan spun back around the table leg and remained still. Soon his mother danced and wiggled her behind toward the couch and started to suck up whatever crumbs left behind from the endless days of snacking he and Emily had. They used to just eat popcorn or chips while watching a movie. There were countless crumbs and bits of food left behind from their careless snacking.

The sounds of grains of food and whatever else was sucked up the vacuum, filling the air with the rattling sounds before vanishing into the depth of the loud device. Ryan’s mom pushed and pulled the vacuum over a spot a few times before she was satisfied with the results.

The sound of the vacuum clicking upright filled the room as his mom turned it off and set it to the side.

“Oooof,” His mother grunted as she shoved the coach out of the way and pushed it with all her might. Ryan turned around to see his mom effortlessly shoving the large sofa out of the way so she can vacuum the spot where the couch sat. With a look of horror he saw the frighten girl cowering in the now open spot as his mom removed any hiding spot for the girl to hide.

“What-” Ryan’s mom called out looking down at the shrunken girl. “Who?” Ryan’s mom frowned as she squinted and looked at the little girl. Ryan watched not sure what was going to happen. His mom saw the girl, now what?

Ryan heard the tiny women scream, “Please! Don’t hurt me!”

Ryan continued to watch the women and his mom look at each other for just a few moments.

Mary let out a tired and annoyed sigh, “Bugs, and now vermin…”

Ryan was horrified by what he just heard, but the way she said it was full of disgust and coldness. Suddenly Ryan watched his mom grab the vacuum and switch it on. The roar of the vacuum coming to life and sucking up on the carpet was heard. Ryan couldn’t turn away as he watched his own mother just push the vacuum forward and toward the screaming girl. The shrinky had no chance as the vacuum ran over her body and whatever other crumbs around her and sucked them all up. The rattling and slurping sounds that filled the air as the vacuum ate and swallowed whatever was in it’s path shook Ryan to the core. His mom went back to her little dancing booty wiggling as she pushed and pulled the vacuum over the same spot a few times not even reacting to sucking up the helpless girl. It was just another piece of rubbish being cleaned up…

Ryan fell to his knees and huddled behind the table leg as his mom practically pranced around in her underwear finishing up her cleaning. Another huff and the couch was pushed back into place, almost as if it never even was moved. Ryan shook as his mom finished cleaning the living room and turned off the vacuum. She pushed it away and to the laundry room. Still Ryan didn’t move. How could he? He was still shaking and petrified at what his mother did.

The sound of the dryer going off was heard as his mom started to get her clothes. Ryan remained hidden from his mom as she got her clothes and headed to her room. Sure enough the sounds of a shower running was heard as his mother was now cleaning herself after cleaning the house. The joyful sounds of his mother singing in the shower filled the apartment as she bathed off any sweat she built up.

All it did was chill Ryan even more.

“I knew having mom around here was a bad idea,” Ryan nearly cried as he sat huddled behind a table leg that offered barely any cover from his mother.

Ryan felt like a child again hiding in his bed from his mother.

The moment he got the courage to move he ran for his room. He headed straight for the small door that had been added to the much larger one, scurrying as quick as he could while his mom showered. No sooner than he entered the room did he go to the only safe place for himself; his bed, which in retrospect didn’t really offer any more safety or comfort anymore. His mother continued with her shower for some time, only to continue with whatever choirs she still had left to do.  After a long period of time, Ryan heard the front door open and close followed by the reassuring silence that commotion his mom was making had ended. He remained put for some time until his senses kicked in and it dawned on him that he was in fact starving. He considered grabbing a bite of something but he remembered that without proper assistance he couldn’t grab anything to eat due to his mom cleaning his only way to access food. With no way to cure his hunger he would just have to wait until Emily got back.

He spotted the clock on Emily’s side of the bed showing the time. It was close to five, which was around the time Emily usually got back from work.  However, Ryan wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this to Emily, that he was nearly killed by his mom for just staying home?  Would she tell him to come back to school with her from now on? Somehow the smell of Lindsey’s feet still seemed to be come out of nowhere and hit Ryan’s nose.  The looks that those teens gave him when Emily wasn’t with him.  The sounds of them rushing him that day.  If anything, going back to school would be far worse! 

Ryan shuddered at what his life had become.

Time ticked on until it was only minutes from Five when suddenly the sound of the front door opening could be heard.  At first Ryan thought it was his mom, but Emily’s voice could be heard as she was talking to someone.  Ryan frowned, who was she talking to? 
“Emily?”  He called out from the bedroom.  She didn’t respond.  Probably because she didn’t have her ear piece in, like usual.

The bedroom door opened and Emily strolled in with her phone to her ear as she continued to talk, “I guess I could… well, no.  Well that’s because...” Emily sighed. The voice on the other end of the phone continued to mutter. “FINE, I’ll go.  NO Ryan isn’t coming.  Well why would-”  Ryan saw Emily stopped talking as she spotted him in his bed. She stared at him for a moment as the mystery person spoke on until she said, “I gotta go.  Talk to you later.”
 
Hanging up the phone Emily, put her stuff down as she pulled out her earpiece and put it in. “Hey…” She mumbled almost enthusiastically before clearing her throat “How was your day?”  She Asked before pointing to Ryan and the small bed, “You spent all day sleeping?”

Ryan felt kind of annoyed at her assumption.  Yeah cause he wasn’t just nearly killed by his mom a few hours ago.  “No, I just… was napping,” He said not sure why he didn’t speak up about the near death experiences he faced.  Probably the same reason why he didn’t mention the other day with Emily.

She laughed as she got off the bed and headed to the bathroom, most likely to clean up after working. “Yeah I've heard you say that before.  Last time you said that you never left the bedroom.”

“I probably should have,” Ryan said to himself.  Staying in his room seemed like a better idea than roaming his own apartment with his mom in it.  “Who was that on the phone,” Ryan asked, sliding out of his bed.

“Allison,” Emily called back as she turned the shower on.  “Give me a few minutes!”
Ryan waited for her to finish showering up before coming back out of the bathroom with a towel around her body and hair.  She slipped the ear piece back in as she looked for some clothing to put on.  “She wanted to have, like, a girl’s night out.”

As Emily answered Ryan’s question, she started to change.  Ryan paused any thinking he was doing as he watched Emily’s nude form carelessly strip the damp towel and slowly dress herself.  Ryan felt his attraction for Emily start to ignite.  He couldn’t help but try and recall the last time they were intimate.  It had been a while.   Ryan went silent as he watched his girlfriend bend forward and grab some clothes to put on.  Ryan wanted to say something or act kind of like he would if he saw her like this, but Emily didn’t even seem to notice his reaction toward her.  After the long pause and Emily slipping on some underwear, she started to dig around for some more clothing.  Any form of romance that Ryan thought they could have had died as Emily slipped her clothes on.  Ignoring the annoying feeling of missing a chance to reignite their passion that some how vanished, Ryan went on.

Ryan cleared his throat to bring Emily back to himself rather than the clothes she was putting on, “A girl’s night out?  What tomorrow,” Ryan asked.

Emily put her shirt on before continuing, and as soon as the shirt covered her skin, Ryan lost any lust he had.  “Yeah Friday night…” Emily rubbed at her neck as she hesitantly continued, “She, uh, kind of invited you to come...”  Ryan frowned before Emily continued, “I told her it wouldn’t be a good idea but she was saying something about meeting up like old times or something.  Finally she settled for just us girls.”

Ryan nodded. Em knew what Ryan’s answer to the invite would have been anyway, a solid NO.  He wasn’t sure how long he should, be avoiding Allison but the meeting a few days ago of her visiting just … It just rubbed him the wrong way.  He wasn’t sure how she would react to seeing him and that’s probably what scared him the most.  Would she treat him like a normal person, or a normal shrinky.  He knew what she did with those...  “Yeah you two should hang out without me.”

“It’ll just be for like a drink, just an hour or so,” Emily explained as she dried her hair while talking to Ryan.

“Em you can stay out longer than that.  You don’t have to look after me all the time,” Ryan told her feeling kind of guilty about weighing her down.  It wasn’t until now that he truly realized that Emily had really been putting a lot of her life on hold for Ryan.  The fact that she hadn’t talked or went out with Allison since he shrank meant a lot to him, and there must be some things that she missed doing.  “Besides,” Ryan went on, “You haven’t really let loose in a while, right?  Just have fun tomorrow night.”

“Yeah?” Emily asked, while thinking about it.  “Okay, yeah, you’re right, I should have a fun night.  You’re going to be okay here without me?” The tone in her voice shifted to a more worried sound.

Ryan stifled a scoff, getting a little ticked off at the concern of her question of leaving him home alone.  However, after this afternoon he was really rethinking it.  Would he be safe here?  If he told Emily now about his mom, she would freak out and most likely not even go out.  If there was any doubt in Ryan’s mind about not sharing his little near death experience with Emily, it had all but perished.  At least for the next 24 hours.  “Yeah I’ll just be laying around in bed,” he answered, patting his mattress.

Emily gave him a pout, “You make it sound so depressing… I could-”

Ryan laughed, “EM, GO OUT!  I meant I’ll just be here probably watching TV or something.”

Emily nodded as she got up and headed into the bathroom to brush her hair.  After finish changing into her after work “relaxing” mode, she went to carry the towel she had used out of the room and putting it in the laundry bin.  When she came back she had a perplexed look on her face, “It seems cleaner.  Did your mom clean the place, and our room too?”

Ryan couldn’t help but nod and grimly say, “Yeah.”

Emily picked up Ryan from the night stand he was on before asking, “Something wrong?”

“No, it was just loud.  That’s all” He paused for a moment before swiftly changing the topic. “Hey maybe we can get some food? I’m kind of hungry.”

Dinner was a little awkward as Ryan tried not to look at his mom who seemed happier than normal.  Maybe the cleaning made her feel useful or helpful, or when she left this afternoon she went somewhere she enjoyed.  Ryan didn’t say it but Emily thanked his mom for the cleaning up.  His mom acted like it was no big deal.  She only added that everyone needed to try and keep the place a little cleaner and less crumbs.

Ryan didn’t comment on how it was projected more at Emily than anyone else at the table.  Something that he wasn’t sure if Emily picked up on or chose to ignore it.  After dinner Emily and Ryan went to bed, she still had work in the morning, and Ryan was exhausted.  Emily set Ryan and her phone down on his night stand by the side of the bed as she started to get ready for bed.
Ryan started to crawl into bed when suddenly he felt his whole bed shake and a loud notification sound startled Ryan.  Nearly jumping out of his bed, it took him the briefest of moments to see the screen on Emily’s phone light up and then fade.  She just got a text. 
“Hey Em, you got a message,” he called out.  She didn’t respond.  Either she heard him and was busy or she didn’t hear him at all.  Either way it didn’t really concern Ryan until another one came ringing in again.  “Stupid phone,” Ryan said as he started to hit the do not disturb switch on the side of the phone.  Heading over to the phone’s side, he was just about to click it off when another message came through.  Ryan couldn’t help but see who it was from.  Allison.  As the new message popped up the older ones where shown.  The past three messages were from Allison talking about tomorrow night.

“Hey girl, i’m sooo exicted for tomorrow ;)”
“Wear something fancy”
“Now that we’re both single, need to find some hotties”

“Both single???  What?”  Ryan said confused at Allison’s message.  What did she mean both were single, Emily wasn’t single.  What were they going to do, hook up with two strangers tomorrow?  Did Emily tell Allison she was single now?  Was Allison just being Allison, and goofing off?

Ryan’s mind was jumping to conclusions of what Allison meant.  The message vanished to a black screen just a few moments before Emily came out of the bathroom.  She wished Ryan a good night as she got into bed and grabbed her phone.  Before settling he opened it and looked at the message.

“So uh, who message you,” Ryan asked, trying not to act like he knew.
“...huh, oh it’s nothing,” Emily said as she typed out a response and sent it before setting the phone down, not elaborating further.

“Nothing?  That was a whole lot of nothing to get that many messages in a few seconds,” Ryan commented.
Emily frowned at Ryan, “Wha- did you look at my phone?”  The tone was telling Ryan that he needed to tread carefully about this.

Ryan shook his head, “NO!  I just meant the night stand shook like three or four times, I just thought, it was like an emergency or something.”

Emily shook her head, “No, everything is fine.  Like I said it was nothing.”
Ryan saw behind those words, that wasn’t nothing, it was definitely SOMETHING, but should he try to confront Emily about the message of “both are single” or just let it go?  He desperately wanted to let it go, and be man enough to believe Emily.  That Allison was just teasing or something, but things haven’t been the best around the apartment.  Emily had seemed more distant, less happy and not smiling as much as she used to.  Things that were normally signs of infidelity between couples.
 
Ryan watched Emily start to take out her earpiece, “I love you,” Ryan called out to Emily. 
“Mhmm,” She responded as she set the piece down and turned off the light. 
Ryan was left in the dark in his own bed, while Emily seemed to be content with a simple acknowledgment of his love for her.  Something that was drilled further home when Emily picked up her phone and sent a quick message before setting it back down and started to go to sleep.  The action made Ryan feel insecure about their relationship status now.  However he couldn’t tell Emily that.  She would either laugh it off, or just deny her cheating and hooking up with people.  No, if Ryan wanted the truth, he would have to witness it in person.  No matter how much it would hurt to see it happen, he had to know.  Even if it would kill him.

Ryan spent most of the day thinking about how to go about this.  If he was going to sneak out with Emily not knowing, he would have to hide somewhere on her, but obviously not ON her.  He wasn’t planning on hiding in her clothes or like in a shoe, that would be a silly idea and a good way of either getting hurt or being discovered by Emily.  Which could be worse than getting hurt.  So that only left one place, her purse. There were plenty of pockets for him to hide in, but he needed to be careful not to be in a spot that she would look at while trying to grab her phone or wallet.  That only one left the side pocket that he was in when she brought him to high school. 

Ryan was feeling nervous about this plan.  He wasn’t sure if it was because he felt bad for not trusting Emily, or if it was the fear of leaving the house and venturing outside. Maybe it was both?  Or it was something else entirely. Ryan couldn’t really determine what it was.  But as he was trying to think if he should really go through with this, when Emily came home through the door.  She looked really excited and happy.  The energy that was coming off her wasn’t because she was home with Ryan, but because of her plans tonight, with Allison.  That was what stung the most to Ryan, she seemed happier to be without him than with him.  He felt his anger and fear feed into him as it helped steadfast his resolve on spying on Emily tonight.

“Hey hon,” Ryan called out as Emily entered the bedroom.

“Oh, Ryan, didn’t see you there,” Emily spoke out as she headed to the bathroom to clean up.  “Allison was going to come by and we were going to share a ride to the club.”

“Which club,” Ryan asked, as Emily started to prepare a shower while looking through her clothing options for tonight. 

“Uhhh, you know, I didn’t ask,” Emily said as she glanced between the two dresses.  Ryan had never seen Emily wear either.  They were both gorgeous, of course anything was gorgeous on her, but Ryan thought maybe it was too much for just a simple girls’ night out.  Something that told him that she was dressing up for an important reason.

Ryan watched as Emily prepared her clothes and jumped into the shower.  He looked around until he eventually spotted Emily’s purse she left on the floor.  Should he try and sneak into the purse now?  Would she notice he wasn’t on the nightstand anymore?
Fuck it.

Ryan wasn’t going to miss his only chance.  Ryan quickly headed down from the nightstand and over to the purse.  He crossed past the slightly open door to the bathroom where he couldn’t see Emily showering but instead hear her singing something through the crack.  She almost never sang in the shower.  Just another layer of suspicion that was building up.  By the time Emily was done showering and getting out, Ryan was at the purse and found the small pouch he was going to hide in.  Just as Emily was stepping out of the shower, Ryan was inside the small pocket.  He forgot how small it really was… he felt exposed, but really he should be fine.  If he laid down he would be completely unseeable, hopefully.

“Nothing like a hot shower right,” Emily asked.  Ryan panicked, debating on whether he should respond and talk to her or whether that would give himself away.  Before Ryan could comment, Emily’s phone shook Ryan as it buzzed and vibrated the whole bag.  She was getting a call.  “Where...” Emily muttered as she walked toward her purse.  The vibrating phone sang it’s ring tone as Emily walked toward it.  Ryan could feel the soft thumps of Emily’s feet as they approached.  Ryan held his breath as Emily picked up the whole purse and started to look for her phone.  Ryan was jerked up into the air as Emily searched for the noise.  The bag shook and swung as she dug around, making Ryan hold on as he feared he was either going to be found or thrown out of the purse. The ringing went on for a little while before Emily pulled out her phone, oblivious to Ryan in her purse.  “Hey… no, almost.  Like a few minutes,” Emily responded to someone on the phone.  “The ride is here?  Shoot, okay give me like 10 seconds,” Emily said flustered as she quickly hung up and grabbed her things.  “I’ll be back later Ryan, Love you,” Emily called out, before she paused, “Ryan?”

“Love you too,” Ryan called out from her purse.  The voice through his communicator relayed the message to Emily.
“Bye,” Emily said, not bothering looking for Ryan.  Ryan heard the bedroom door close, and then Emily muttering to herself, “Right, don’t need to wear this...” Emily paused for a few seconds allowing Ryan to look up through the small gap in the opening of the pouch he was sitting down in.  Emily was pulling out her earpiece.  She than set it down somewhere in the apartment, most likely the counter.  “Good night Mary,” Emily called out before she started to leave.

“Stay safe,” Mary called out to Emily as she left.

Ryan felt Emily swaying the purse as she walked to the door of the apartment.  She opened the door and started to leave. Just as the door closed, Ryan had a slight feeling that maybe… maybe this wasn’t a good idea?

Ryan tried not to move at all as he felt that even the slightest shift would give away his position.  However it was very unlikely, as he was set on the other side of Emily who was busy chatting to Allison in the back of the vehicle, while their driver took them to wherever it was they asked them to drive to.

“It’s been too long,” Allison said laughing.
 
“I know, I'm sorry.  It’s just been so difficult,” Emily told Allison.

“I just don’t know why Ryan doesn’t want to see me right now,” Allison said, sounding upset.

“… I know, again, and I’m sorry.  Just give him a little time, he’s been,” Emily made an uncertain noise, “acting really off.”

“Off?” Allison asked.

“Off?” Ryan repeated.  What did she mean by that?

“Oh you know, just like… not himself.  He’s been so pulled back recently.  Like we NEVER talk anymore,” Emily said going on about their problems with Allison.

Ryan looked confused, “NEVER TALK?  YOU NEVER LISTEN,” Ryan huffed at the countless times she either didn’t hear him or ignored him. 

“And don’t even get me started on how upset he gets over the littlest things, I mean for his size,” Emily and Allison laughed at the joke about Ryan’s size.

Ryan had to hold his mouth shut cause he nearly jumped up and yelled at Emily for hitting such a low blow to his ego.  She knew that his size was a very touchy subject, and for her to talk to Allison like this?  The two girls chattered back and forth as they caught up with the last month or so, with all that they had missed not been together.  Finally the driver had to cut in, “We’re almost there, just 5 more minutes.”

“Oh that’s right,” Emily commented as she just realized they were going somewhere, “Where were we going?  Ryan asked and I totally forgot,” Emily chuckled at her lack of memory.

Allison laughed, “Weeell you didn’t forget, I haven’t told you yet.”

“Uhh, oh, um okay so which place is it?” Emily asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Not telling,” Allison teased, “You’re just going to have to trust me on this,” Allison laughed.
Ryan didn’t like how Allison was being evasive about the whole conversation.  Why not tell Emily about the club or place they were heading?  It seemed very fishy to leave the name of the place out of any conversation.  Yet, Emily just went along with it, trusting her best friend and ignoring common sense.  The last couple of minutes in the car ride were just girl talk about some work things and other stuff until they arrived at their destination.  Ryan felt his world rumble as Emily grabbed her purse and exited the car with Allison.  There was some music playing from somewhere and as they got closer, the sound got a little louder, but not loud enough to drown out a conversation. 

“This a new place?”  Emily asked as she walked toward what Ryan could only assume was the doors to the club.

“Yup,” Allison said, sounding excited.

A deep voice greeted both of them, “Welcome ladies.”

“Heeeey,” Allison greeted.

“Uh, hello,” Emily greeted before they walked through the doors.  Ryan could tell by the large voice that it had to be the bouncer to the club.  Instinctual Ryan held his breath, not sure why he did it, but he held it till Emily crossed the threshold of the doors and headed inside.  Only then did Ryan exhale.
 
“Quick I see a booth in the bar!” Allison told Emily as they moved onward.  Ryan heard the footsteps of Emily’s and Allison’s shoes as they walked over toward some seats.  The purse slowed it’s swinging and soon it was set down letting Ryan recover from any motion sickness he might have had.  Ryan slowly peeked up over the side of the purse pocket to see across a shiny black table top.  He saw Allison sitting across from Emily as they tried to wave down an employee to serve them.  Allison was in a flashy get up, more revealing than that of Emily.  However the eye grabbing dress was catchy, Emily’s was still more gorgeous.  The two were a combo of looks and Ryan could tell that they had to be fishing for men.  Ryan looked around to see the dim lights and multiple people sitting at a bar, booth, or a table with drinks and plates spread across the many table tops.  As Ryan looked at his environment, and what kind of guys were around, he also tried to spot the uniform or something that might have given away the place.  Just as he saw someone walking toward them Emily started to turn around toward his direction.

“Oh, I should get my ID out,” Emily told Allison.

Ryan ducked down into the pocket and felt the purse starting to move as Emily dug around looking for her ID so she could order drinks.  He felt the purse walls behind him ruffle and move as Emily shifted things around.  Suddenly Emily's giant Claw like hand stopped moving as it bumped into him from the other side of the purse. 

SHIT DID SHE FIND HIM-

“Found it,” She eagerly cheered as she yanked her hand out of the purse and returned back to waving down someone to get their order.

“Geez...” Ryan complained as he swore that he nearly got busted.  He sunk deeper into the small pocket as he wanted to calm down from the fright he just had.  It wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong, so he had nothing to worry about, right?  He was just … Well there wasn’t a response in his mind that he could use that would make it sound nice, or that Emily would enjoy hearing.  Words like spying, watching, making sure, or any other term he could think of.  No, it was best he tried to avoid having that conversation.  They were already kind of growing apart, this would just be adding fuel to the fire.  Which is why he hid deeper into the pocket when Emily let out a delighted sound and a new voice was heard.  It had to be their waitress.

“Welcome to Small shots, I’ll be your waitress, Vanilla.  Is this your first time here?”

“Vanilla,” Emily repeated, “Is that your real name or-”

There was a laugh from the waitress, “Oh no, we just have like stage names and stuff.  It’s like a theme or something, named after flavors and whatnot.”

“Well, Vanilla it is our first time here, any recommendations for us,” Allison asked.

“Hmmm, well, we are having a special right now.  Happy hour!  We’re offering a dollar off all shots and drinks,” Vanilla told the two.

Ryan couldn’t help but peek up and look out at Emily and Allison, who were trying to order something.  They both had a sheet in front of them as they glanced over the list of what Ryan could only assume were drinks.
“Oh,” Allison lit up as she spotted something.  “I’m going to get the first round!  Vanilla can we have two of these,” Allison said pointing to something on her menu.  “And make it special for us.”

Vanilla smiled and nodded before she wrote down the order, “Can I see ID’s please,” Vanilla asked.  Both Emily and Allison handed them over as Vanilla checked them and nodded, “I’ll be right back with your order.”

“What did you get us,” Emily asked as she went to put her ID back.  Ryan ducked again as Emily just slipped the card away inside the purse somewhere.

Allison laughed and just said, “You’ll see.”

Emily just shrugged and looked around.  “Wow, so this is a new place right?  Small shots?  They had to have just opened.”

Allison nodded, “Yup.  I looked up some reviews and they have like a secret menu and stuff.”

“Secret menu?  What’s that suppose to mean?”

Allison opened her mouth to say something but smiled and pointed to Vanilla carrying two shot glasses toward them, “Were about to find out.”

Ryan watched Vanilla come back set two crystal clear shots down as she placed one in front of Emily and one in front of Allison.  “Enjoy,” Vanilla told them before she left them and headed off.  Ryan had to blink a few times as he looked across the table at the two shots, trying to determine what they ordered.  It was a clear liquid with something in it.  Something dark and...moving?  Was that…

Emily was the first to respond, “What the?  Is that a shrinky in my drink?!”

Allison laughed as she leaned forward and responded, “I know!  See, I knew you were going to enjoy this place-”

“Allison,” Emily spoke with disbelief, “I… what are you thinking?”

Allison paused as she was about to pick up the cup with the inch small person trying to climb out of the 2 inch shot glass.  “What?”

“I can’t drink this,” Emily told her.

“Why not,” Allison asked sounding confused.  Emily gave Allison a knowing look before Allison just rolled her eyes, “oh come on!  He’s not even here,” Allison told her.  “You telling me that your not going to do a shot with your best friend because of Ryan?”

Ryan never felt so proud of Emily.  She wasn’t going to do the shot.  “Allison,” Emily warned as she looked at the cup in front of her.

“What?  You used to love doing a shrunken shot,” Allison reminded Emily.  The term for the drink was obvious as to what the drink contained.  “Are you telling me that if Ryan was still normal size, and he probably would be with us right now, you still wouldn’t drink?”

“That’s not fair,” Emily argued as she tilted the drink a little sloshing some of the fluid around in the semi full cup with the helpless person inside of the tall shot glass.

“No what’s not fair is I can’t even take my best friend out for fun anymore,” Allison complained.  “You’ve changed, ever since Ryan … look, fine, you don’t want it, fine.  But don’t pretend like your a different person all of a sudden.”

Ryan watched Emily break down her resolve, “That’s not it!  It’s just… it feels weird, like you know with Ryan and all that.  It just feels kind of messed up.”

Ryan wasn’t sure what to make of the conversation.  He watched as Emily and Allison talked and finally Allison said, “So don’t tell him.  He’s not here, he’ll never know.  It’s girls night.  It’s just you,” Allison said pointing her drink to Emily, “Me,” She said bringing the drink back to herself as she gestured, “And these scrumptious things,” Allison said as she slide the shots into each other.  Ryan was horrified at Allison’s solution, but what was worse was how Emily was falling for Allison’s plan.  Finally Allison said, “Just one, just for old times sake?”

Emily didn’t respond for a few moments, “… Just one, you hear me,” Emily warned her as she picked up the shot.

“That’s my EM!”  Allison cheered.

Ryan watched as Emily’s morals crumble away as she clinked the glasses together and brought the small container with the shrunken person closer to her lips.  Emily opened her mouth and quickly tilted the glass and it’s contents into her mouth as she slurped up everything in one mouthful.  Soon Emily gulped and a slight bulge lumped out of her throat as the mass of alcohol and little person made it’s journey down into her stomach.

“Ahhh,” Allison sighed out as she rubbed her stomach, “That’s the stuff.”

“Ooo, oh,” Emily gasped.  “I-i haven’t felt-”

“This in a long time,” Allison finished her sentence.  “I know, see what you’ve been missing out on?”
Ryan couldn’t help but look horrified at the delighted look on Emily’s face as she looked down at her midsection like she could see through it, and at it’s contents inside.  Any pride that Ryan felt in Emily died as as Allison called over Vanilla for another round.
“Same thing, please,” Allison told her.

Emily quickly added, “Uh, without the special-”

“Ugh, right,” Allison groaned but quickly added, “Without the special side to the drink… for now,” Allison winked at Emily.

“I meant it Allison,” Emily told her as firmly as she could.

“The night is still young,” Allison teased as she laughed at the look that Emily tried to give her.  Ryan on the other hand wasn’t laughing.  He felt sick as she slumped back into the safety of the purse.  The sounds of the two giantess at the table talking like they hadn’t just swallowed two people stunned Ryan to the core.  The atmosphere in the club reflected the opposite of Ryan’s mood right now.  Everyone seemed happy or having fun, whereas Ryan couldn’t help but keep imagining what it would have been like to be on the receiving end of that shot glass that Emily downed.  To slide down into her pitch black gut, to be in there as she talked to Allison like it was nothing.  Like he was nothing but a consumed drink or small piece of food.  Ryan shook his head to get the idea out of his head.

Just like how Allison said the night was young, she meant it.  Ryan stayed hunkered down not bothering to look as Allison and Emily ordered drink after drink as they goofed off like best friends would do.  He lost count after a while but he knew they were past the fourth or so shot a while ago.  He could hear some patterns coming out from the giantess’ at the table.  Allison’s laugh that seemed to always come after anything she said, regardless of what that was.  Emily’s deep sighing after each sip or shot she took could be heard from where Ryan was hiding.

They continued to order drinks till Allison finally said, “Soooo? Any new hot guys in your life,” Allison asked trying to get something juicy out of her friend.  Ryan perked up at the new talk.

“Oh please,” Emily just pushed the question away only for Allison to come back with it.  “What?  I’m STILL with Ryan.”

Allison scoffed, “Please, he’s a shrinky now.  There’s no way he’s satisfying you… or is he?”

“Oh my god Allison, would you stop it.  No we haven’t done anything like that.”

“Why not,” Allison asked.

Ryan wasn’t sure he liked what he was listening to, but he kept his ears open and even went as far as to he take a look at how the conversation was going.  He saw that Emily was looking really embarrassed as Allison continued to question her, “Em, we’ve talked about sex with Ryan before.”

“Well not like this!  I mean, how am I supposed to… you know with him?  Like he’s not even as big as my finger any more,” Emily sputtered out wiggling her index finger.  “Beside what if I hurt him or-”

“So you need to find someone else who can satisfy you,” Allison flatly told Emily.  Ryan couldn’t believe what he was hearing right now.  This was so painful to hear.  He wanted to jump out of the purse and run to Emily, but he couldn’t do that.  Emily screwed up her face, but she didn’t say no.  It was possible that she was thinking about it.  However she finally shook her head as they went back to debating it.  Ryan was forced to listen to them talking about him and Emily finding someone else.  Finally after some edging and back and forth Allison gave up, “Fine you won't cheat on Ryan, but you're telling me there isn’t anyone that’s caught your eye?”

Ryan watched Emily become bashful as she fiddled with her cup, “Well… I mean, there is one person.”

“Ooo,” Allison cooed.  “You have to share with your best friend.”

Emily sipped her drink as she pondered what to say and finally gave in, “Fine but just us.”  This also included the eavesdropping Ryan.  “There’s this guy at work,” Emily told Allison.

“Young or old?”

Emily scrunched up her face, “Well, he’s not old, but older than our age.  Like a few years.”

“Hot?”  Allison asked.
Emily just shrugged, “I don’t know, I mean I don’t see him like that, just like a decent coworker I guess.”

“Mhmm,” Allison, “Sounds like he’s more than that.”

“Oh shut up,” Emily laughed, “Anyway he just helped me with his class.”

“His class,” Allison asked.

Ryan gasped, she didn’t mean “him”, did she?

“Yeah, Rick’s class merged into mine so he helped set up the curriculum for both classes.”
Ryan gaped at Emily.  So she did have something for the other teacher, he knew it!  Or that’s what he wanted to shout but like Emily said it wasn’t anything romantic.  It was just platonic, right?

“Okay enough with the silly stuff, tell me what he looks like,” Allison demanded.

“Jeez pushy much,” Emily retorted.

“Me?” Allison commented as she laughed, “You're the one talking about boring things like work and stuff, come on how big are his arms?  Does he have a 6 pack?  Oh what about-”

“I haven’t seen him naked!”  Emily protested louder than she should have in the club.  She found others were turning toward them from the outburst as she hushed down, “Christ Allison, I told you we just work together.”

“Sorry,” Allison laughed, “So?”

Emily shook her head as she started to describe what Rick looked liked.  His height, size, hair color and other features.  Finally after Emily described what Rick looked like, Allison smirked, “And glasses too?”

“Uh, yeah...” Emily nodded, “How did-”

Ryan watched Allison’s eyes smirk as she lifted her drink and with the finger around the cup pointed, “Cause I think I see Riiiiick,” Allison chuckled.

Ryan couldn’t see from the position from how low to the table he was with the purse, but he could see Emily’s reaction.  She frowned and turned around not believing her friends’ words.  That was till she let out a noise and spun around, “Holy shit… what’s he doing here?  Oh my god-”

Before Emily could stop Allison she called, “HEY RICK!  RICK THE TEACHER YOOOOHOOO!”

Emily nearly knocked over her drink and the few empty ones near her tried to shut up Allison, however it didn’t stop her from waving and bring attention to her.  Ryan watched as sure enough, Rick from school walked over.

“Do I know… Emily?  What are you doing here,” he asked, sounding shocked as he saw her there.

“That’s what we wanted to know,” Allison asked, smirking.  “I’m Allison by the way, Emily’s best friend.  And you are that guy she was just telling me about-”

“ALLY,” Emily hissed.  “It’s not what you think,” Emily quickly said.  “She was just asking about work and our class combination came up and-”

Rick nodded, “That’s right, how were they this week, none of them were rude were they?”

Emily shook her head, “No! I mean no they were great and everything.”

“Oh that’s good,” Rick said, sounding pleased.

“So Rick,” Allison came back into the conversation, “What are you doing here?  I don’t see a drink in your hands...” Allison teased.

“Oh right, it’s my niece, she turned 21,” Ryan watched as Rick pointed to someone out of view, “So I told my brother I would take her out with her friends and be a DD for them.  Buy a few rounds to celebrate.  You know how crazy it can get in your 21’s.”

“Oh we both know,” Allison commented as she sipped her drink.

Emily quickly told Rick, “Well we didn’t mean to bother you,” Emily looked at Allison, “You should get back-”

“JOIN US,” Allison said as she got up and gave Emily a look that Ryan knew was only trouble.

 “HEY GIRLS,” Allison was already waving whoever it was over to their table, “Let me buy you all a round of shots!”

Ryan saw three young girls coming to the table to join Emily and Allison.  Allison shooed Rick into the booth before he or Emily could protest.  Ryan watched as Emily started to slide down the booth and table.  Ryan ducked as her hand reached to her purse and picked it up.  Ryan felt his world shake before it was suddenly dropped.  Ryan let out a cry as the bag hit the floor.  Suddenly his feet and butt were bounced with the material under him, as it popped him out of his secret hiding spot.  Ryan felt his heart fly up his chest as he was propelled out of the purse and across the floor and between two massive feet in front of him before he hit the bottom of the booth.

Ryan groaned as he rubbed his head that hit the plastic seating before standing up.  Looking around the dark underside of the table, he saw 6 massive sets of legs under the table all wearing different footwear.  Ryan didn’t recognize any of them except the ones straight across from him.  He saw Emily’s shoes she put on this evening, and the purse on the floor by her feet, tip to its side from being dropped off the table.  Ryan was about to step forward when the two massive legs directly above him moved.  They were different from everyone elses leg type.  These were thicker, more muscular, and hairier than the other thin and smooth legs.  Sure enough it belonged to the only male at the table, Rick.  Ryan watched as he moved his feet a bit and cut off any path that Ryan had straight to the purse as his bare feet in flip flops blocked Ryan’s sight of the purse.
Ryan couldn’t help but protest at the man’s taste of footwear at the bar, “Flip flops?  Who does that?”

There was some commotion above that Ryan couldn’t hear, but he saw another set of legs come by.  It had to be Vanilla, taking orders.  Whatever was going on it seemed that most of the table was trying to get someone to do something.  Ryan wasn’t sure, so he figured he’d try and use this time to make it back to Emily’s purse undetected.  He saw that there was space between Rick’s feet, enough for him to just walk between and head to Emily’s seat.  Heading in that direction, Ryan did his best not to look up at the large legs running parallel to him.  The large arches dipped down toward the feet in flip flops just up ahead.  It didn’t take too long for Ryan to walk up between both heels of Rick’s foot-
There was some shuffling to Ryan’s side that made him stop and look.  He just caught a glimpse of two pairs of legs moving and disappearing as the owners got out of the booth leaving Rick and Ryan as the only ones on this side.
Ryan frowned, “Wh-”

Something massive collided with Ryan and scooped him up with it from behind.  Ryan fell backwards as he looked up at the bottom of Rick’s fleshy heel as it started to come down.
“NOOO-”

He felt the heel of Rick’s foot mush him down on something soft before pulling up off him.  Ryan only had time to roll over and see that the foot was leaving the booth too, before he got crushed again as Rick took another step.  Then the heel came off the back of the flip flop as Rick walked, showing Ryan that he got out of the both.  The new young girls slid back into their seats and went back to drinking before Ryan felt the massive weight of Rick’s heel pushing back onto his back and blocked out the rest of the world as he took another step, then again, and again as he walked off somewhere. 
Ryan let out muffled noises as he tried to escape, but the pressure pushed him into the squishy mold just long enough to prevent much movement before the foot came back down on Ryan.  He was along for the ride as each step seemed to make it worse for Ryan.  Any air he inhaled, carried the scent of the footwear.  It reeked of sweat or something else he couldn’t quite place it, but it wasn’t roses.  The smell of foot linger on him with every step, which made Ryan want to yell out in protest.  The sound of a door opening and then some more steps.
WHERE WERE THEY GOING?!

Suddenly the steps stopped, as Rick stood on top of Ryan and stood still.  Ryan only heard muffled sounds and the faintest noise of trickling and splashing???  It suddenly dawned on Ryan, they were in the bathroom!  RICK WAS PEEING!! 

Sure enough the sound was now familiar to Ryan as he heard the muffled sound of peeing at the urinal as Ryan was underfoot, of the Giant while he took a piss.  This was truly a nightmare as Ryan didn’t know if he could take the pressure any more.  The weight of Rick was so much that even with the soft cushion like material under him absorbing most of the weight, it was taking its toll on Ryan.  Finally the peeing sound stopped and a few more seconds before Rick started to walk again.  They headed to the sink and then they went back to the booth.  Ryan had to fight to stay conscious after a few minutes under Rick. Soon enough his heel came up from the flip flop as he took his seat, Ryan crawled and rolled out from under the foot. 

He yanked and pulled his body off the sponge like material and flopped down on the hard floor back where he originally started.  However this time he was off to the side of Rick’s foot and laid there exhausted from the ordeal.

“Your feet… suck,” Ryan panted feeling sore from all the walking.  The few moments it took to reach the bathroom and then come back was taxing for Ryan’s body.  Ryan slowly got up from the floor as he looked over to the large foot that had him pinned him down for just a few minutes.  He couldn’t imagine being under that enormous monster more than that without actually being severely injured.  The smell that came off his skin was slowly fading, but not fast enough for Ryan to not have the lingering smell of Rick’s feet and sandals leave his nose.

The muffled sounds of stuff happening above brought Ryan back to his situation as Rick’s foot started to move.  Ryan wasn’t sure what was going on, but he wasn't going to get caught up in Rick’s sandals again.  Ryan moved away from the legs, and headed toward Emily’s tilted over purse.  The way the purse fell and how he was flung out, had the pocket on the top part of the purse, as it was laying down on it’s side.  He would have either been crushed or pinned down by the weight of the purse and it’s many contents if it landed the other way. 

“Lucky me,” Ryan muttered as he started to close the gap between him and the-
Emily’s large hand dipped down under the table and picked up her purse.

“W-wait!  EMILY!”  Ryan yelled as she pulled her purse up off the ground and back onto the booth.  Ryan shouted for her to stop, even though he didn’t want to be noticed.   However with his only safe haven disappearing, Ryan couldn’t help but let out a cry of desperation as Emily now had her purse way out of reach and next to her and the table wall she was sitting next to.  Not even the strap was dangling off the seat for him to climb!  How the hell was he going to get up there?

“Calm down...” Ryan spoke to himself as he felt panic rising.  He was under a table with everyone unaware of his presence that shouldn’t have been there.  Emily would probably never assume or guess that Ryan was here at the club if she found him missing!  He had to get back to the purse or at least get Emily's attention, especially before everyone called it a night.

“Her legs!”  Ryan said as he started to head toward her shoes to climb-
Emil’s foot shifted positions.  Her feet were crisscrossed and she quickly unfolded them and swung them apart.  The gesture was simple but Ryan watched as the shoe swept past him and nearly smashed into his body…

“Oh Jesus,” Ryan spoke nervous from the sudden massive movement she did.  One hit from her foot and Ryan was sure he wouldn’t be getting up for a while.  “This is crazy,” Ryan complained as he looked at Emily’s feet that were just a little further away from his position.  However the more Ryan thought it through, the less he liked his plan.  If he so much as touched or irritated Emily she could hurt him unknowingly.  Or if he tried to hold onto her shoe, she could fling him off just by walking.  How was he going to get her attention in a safe way?

Something caught Ryan’s eye off to his side.  There seemed to be a wire or something leading from the ground and up the side of the booth wall.  Ryan looked at it for a moment and realized it was a cable that led right up the side and onto the table above.  It had to be connected to something electronic.  Ryan tried to rack his brain to think what it could be connected to, it wasn’t a phone, but the wire looked kind of weak.  Deciding to give it a shot before attempting Emily’s legs, Ryan ran over and gave it a slight and hard tug.  It seemed sturdy to climb.  Looking straight up he saw that the cable was sneaking through a thin gap between the wall and table that he should be able to squeeze through, once on the table he could get Emily’s attention!  He just didn’t know what he was climbing up, but judging by the location it’s where all the salt and condiments would be at the end of the table.
 
“No telling how long till Emily and Allison leave...”  Ryan started his climb up the wall.  His progress was slow but he was making his way up the cable.  As Ryan was climbing he was able to hear better the closer to the top of the table he reached. 

Emily was speaking about something and Ryan only got a few words from it like, “Congrats” and enjoy “something to the fullest”.  Rick added something to it. Ryan thought he heard grades and school, but he didn’t really care.  He wasn't paying attention to the conversation.  But judging by the words it sounded like they were talking to the birthday girl.
 
Ryan reached the top of the table and saw that he was climbing what looked to be an electronic fake candle or lighting that gave some light to the dim bar-like atmosphere.  Ryan found that there was a salt and pepper shaker twice his size blocking his view from the table, but offered him cover from anyone looking toward him.  He was able to climb up on the table and be hidden, thank God for that.  Ryan caught his breath as he heard the chatter of everyone talking at the table.  Emily speaking to the young adults, obviously trying to give them advice or something.  It was hard to tell, the words were coming off a little fast, as it was clear the drinks were now hitting her.

“I’m telling you, you need to live your life to the fullest,” Emily told someone.

“YOU TELL HER EM!”  Allison cheered her on from the other side of the table.

“Like, like, go travel a little bit, like you know the beaches at,” Emily started to tap the table thinking of the place.  Each tap Ryan felt the vibrations under foot.  “Uhhh, that one place...”

“You mean Barcelona,” Rick offered.

“YEAH!” Emily slapped the table and Ryan felt his feet give out from the shake as everything vibrated.  Glasses and whatever else on the table, “OH sorry,” Emily laughed off the sudden action.  “I should use the bathroom,” Emily told everyone.

Ryan peeked out from the salt and pepper shakers and saw two young girls scoot out of the way for Emily to leave the booth.  “EM!”  Ryan shouted but it went unnoticed, as Emily was already pulling herself past the seating.  “No wait… oh come on!”  Ryan shouted under his breath.  Now he had to wait for Emily to come back to try and get her attention.

“I’ll come with you,” Allison offered as she slipped off the end of the booth and walked Emily to the bathroom together. 

Ryan watched the only two people he knew leave. Soon the two girls that had to be around 21 or so slipped back into the booth.  However to Ryan’s horror they didn’t stay at the end they slid all the way down.  Suddenly a strange blonde hair girl was where Emily was, pressed up against Emily’s purse as she slid her drink down and started to talk to Rick.

“Thanks so much uncle Rick.  This is the best birthday ever,” She giggled as she lifted up her glass and started to drink some more.

“I’m glad you're enjoying yourself,” Rick responded.

“You have to be the best Uncle ever,” The young girl next to the blonde commented as it was obvious the three girls were just happy to be drinking.

Rick laughed, “Maybe for the night, but I’m sure Penny and you girls are going to be cursing me in the morning after your hangovers hit.”

The girls protested Rick’s words but Ryan could tell that they were as drunk or worse than Emily was, and she was pretty drunk.  As they talked Ryan found out the birthday girl, Penny, was the closest Giantess to him, her friend Michele was on her left and Cleo was next to Rick.  They were all talking about whatever as Ryan waited for Emily to return.  He didn’t want to try and risk it and test their sympathy or how good nature anyone might be at the table.  It was a couple of minutes and finally Emily and Allison returned.  Both equally leaning on one another to support each other from tipping over or falling.

Michele and Penny were about to move out of the seat when Emily just shook her head, “You can stay there.”

Those words horrified Ryan.  “No, Emily sit back in your original seat!” Ryan hissed as he watched Emily plopped down at the end of the table.  “NO… fucking hell,” Ryan cursed as the one only safe person at the table was literately a football field away.  There was no chance he could make it to her without being noticed.  “Now I have to fucking climb back down!”  Ryan angrily said to himself as he was about to head toward the wire when he saw Emily’s purse… it was still at this end of the booth.  In fact, he could probably jump for it.  Although the distance from the salt shaker to the edge of the table wasn’t very far, it would leave him exposed for a few seconds.  He was almost positive he wouldn’t be able to make it if he ran at the wrong time.  He needed a distraction or to wait till they were more drunk.

It seemed like the last option was more likely as vanilla returned and everyone wanted another round.

“And make it special this time,” Allison giggled.

Ryan waited for Emily to protest… she didn’t.

Ryan wanted to get upset or something, but he was too busy trying to not get noticed as he kept peeking in and out from behind the shakers.  Vanilla came back pretty fast as she started to set out the shots of liquor, each with a different color to it.

“Apple,” Vanilla said, setting a green one down in front of Penny who seemed delighted as she oohed at the struggling man trying to climb out of the too tall glass.  “Chocolate,” A dark brown liquid was placed down near Michele.  Again a shrinky squirming and desperately trying to knock or climb out of the shot glass could be seen.  Ryan shook his head in disgust as all 5 women had a shrinky in their shot glass.  “Enjoy,” Vanilla said as she left to wait on another table.

“Cheeeeeeers,” Penny happily called out, lifting her green shot and the protesting shrinky.  They all clinked glasses and threw the liquid down their mouth.  Ryan watched Penny’s face swim with delight as she gulped down the shot and shrinky in a few quick gulps.  “ooooh” She exclaimed “I love these shots so much.”

Cleo let out a soft belch and laughed, “But they keep moving in my tummy… making me,” Another little burp came out, “bubbly.”  Ryan felt sick hearing the drunken Giantess describing what it felt like.  It only worsened when he heard Emily’s response.

“I like it.  It’s like that feeling of butterflies only… their not butterflies,” Emily laughed.  “The tickling makes me feel so excited and hor-'' Emily stopped herself.  She may have been drunk but she recalled who was at the table, “Hungry,” Emily finished.  Ryan knew she didn’t mean hungry but horny.  It was how they first met anyway… Now Ryan felt sick thinking about it.

“Well, what do you girls feel like getting,” Rick spoke up.

“NACHOS,” Penny blurted out.

“Yeah I could go for some nachos,” Allison agreed.

“Ally we can get our own food,” Emily protested.

“It’s fine, I can get a few of them,” Rick told everyone.

Emily shook her head before realizing that was a bad idea and stop moving her head like that, “nooo, Rick we can-”

“It’s not a problem,” Rick added as he waved Vanilla over.  “Can we get some nachos?  Just like 3 of them?”

“Coming right up,” Vanilla said.

“AND ANOTHER ROUND OF SHRUNK SHOTS,” Allison added as Vanilla left.

“I think you had too much,” Emily told Allison.  Ryan couldn’t agree more, but sadly the more they have the easier it would be for Ryan to get out of here unnoticed.  It felt wrong wanting them to drink more so he could get out but at this point was right anymore?

“You can never have too many,” Allison said.  “So Rick, how do you feel about Emily?”

“ALLISON!”  Emily blurted out as she looked like she wanted to tackle her friend.

“I think she’s a great coworker,” Rick told her and everyone else as anyone in this position would have said it.

“Are you blushing Uncle Rick,” Penny asked laughing.

“I think you might have had too much to drink,” Rick told Penny, obviously trying to mask his own embarrassment.

“Oh he is… or maybe we all are, it’s kind of hot in here isn’t it” Allison went on.  “Ooooh, yep this might be the last round for me hehe,” Allison muttered as she spotted their drinks.

As the drinks came to the table, Ryan heard everyone agreeing with Allison.  This would be the last round, and Ryan’s chance to make a move.  Ryan waited patiently as the girls all did their shots.  The 5 synchronized gulps were heard clearly as Ryan didn’t bother looking this time. He knew that none of them would spare their shrinky.  After a few more quick comments about something, Penny excitedly said, “NACHOS ARE HERE,”  The unified sounds of everyone seeing the food, made Ryan peek out to see that all heads were looking at Vanilla carrying three big plates of cheesy nachos.  This was it.
Ryan decided it was time to make a move while they were distracted.  Ryan ran forward just as the plates were being set down.

“Let me move these,” Penny said to herself as she pushed her multiple glasses to the side.  Ryan skidded to a stop as a wall of glass was knocked into the wall in front of him and behind him, forming a pincer formation on him.  Ryan’s heart exploded in fear as he turned around clearly out in the open, blocked by two large see through glasses forming a semi cage around him.  No one saw him as they were making room for food or grabbing some of the chips already and eating.  He looked left and right and left again, he had to move closer to Penny to get out from the large glasses.  It would take just a few seconds to run to her and then he could run for the purse.  Not liking it, but having to do it, Ryan ran toward the large blonde haired birthday girl who was chomping down on some stringy cheese nachos.  Ryan could hear her crunching the chips and enjoying the taste.

“Mmmm so good,” Penny said as her right hand came down.  Ryan watched with horror as he tried to get out of the way but he was right under her palm as it slammed down on the table.  “Napkin,” She muttered with a mouth full looking for her napkin without taking her eyes off the pile of chips.  Her hand gripped around Ryan as she picked him up.  Not even realizing what she was doing she dabbed her lips with Ryan. 

Ryan watched as the yellow sauce and some flakes of corn chips were rushed toward him as she pushed him into her enormous mouth.  Ryan thought for sure she was going to eat him, however instead he was smeared into the sticky mess.  The goo collided with his head and clothes drenching him in the very warm mess.  Once he was pulled back, that was when Ryan felt his life end.  Penny was looking at him.  She didn’t seem to understand what she was holding, but it wasn’t a napkin… it was a shrinky.

“Oooo,” A grin started to appear on her face.  “You're going to make the best topping...”

“No,” Ryan shook his head.  “I’m not food, I’m WITH HER!”  Ryan shouted and pointed to Emily.  No one seemed to see or hear Ryan, and Penny didn’t even look over to Emily.

“EMILY!!!”  Ryan shouted again before something touched his feet.  He looked down to see a large triangle chip topped with a pool of sticky cheese, some tomatoes the size of Ryan’s arm and black olives littered over the top.  He was pushed onto the chip, the sheer size dwarfing himself.  The large chip was already heading toward Penny’s open maw.

“Mahhhhhhh,” Penny moaned as she started to push the loaded chip and Ryan toward her mouth.

“AHHH,” Ryan yelled in response as he saw how large and disgusting her mouth looked with the remains of her last chip scattered through her mouth.  Her tongue still had a small amount of food left on it, some crushed tomato and dissolved chip material lingering there.  Penny was about to add Ryan and more nacho chips into her mouth.  “FUCKING LET ME GO!”  Ryan shouted in response.

Penny’s hand shook either due to the chip touching her lip or maybe for no reason, but regardless, the wobbling hand was enough to tip the chip just right.  Ryan slid off the side of the and fell screaming downward toward her lap.  Ryan landed on her dress and bounced for a split second.
 
“Oh no,” Penny cried out as she looked at her chip.

“What’s wrong,” Rick asked.

“I dropped some of my chips,” Penny complained, already trying to find Ryan.

Ryan never moved as fast as he did in his whole life.  The moment he bounced on her dress, he was already off her lap and running toward the purse next to her.  He crawled and ran over the purse and dove into the pocket he originally came from.  Ryan’s heart wouldn’t stop beating as he listened to the outside world.  The sound of Penny looking around for him could be heard, and he prayed to God that the small cheese trail that he might have dripped on his way to the purse wasn’t noticeable. 
After the longest 5 seconds of his life, Penny finally gave up, “stupid shrinky.” She muttered as the shattering sound of her crunching into the chip filled the air nearby.  Ryan didn’t so much as move an inch as he listened to Penny and the others devour the plates of nachos and possibly the plates themselves at the speed they ate. 

Ryan would say he felt safe… but that would have been a lie.  He didn’t feel safe, just safer than when he was on the table or about to be eaten by a drunk girl, or stepped on by a man’s large foot, or nearly kicked by Emily herself.  The small layer of the purse protecting him only gave him a slight sense of security, one that could easily be removed just by a curious Penny looking for the lost shrinky. 

However with everyone fed, and now feeling the effect of the countless shots or drinks they had, it was clear they were done for the night.
 
“I’ll get the check,” Rick told someone.

“Nooooo,” Emily complained, “Let me cover some of it… wait… my purse-” Emily panicked before Penny said.

“This one?”

Ryan felt his world get yanked upward as he flew with the purse toward Emily as she was handed her missing apparel.  Ryan could hear Emily much closer now thanking Penny.  There was some digging around Ryan felt Emily pull out her wallet and went to pay for some of the meal and drinks.  There was some more talking between everyone and finally the check was paid for.

“You all have a good night,” Vanilla told everyone.

“Thanks,” Emily responded.

“Have a nice night,” Cleo repeated.

“Best girls night ever,” Allison happily spoke.

“Do you need a ride,” Rick asked.

“Oh… uh well,” Emily stuttered thinking about it for a moment.

“YES PLEASE,” Allison cooed.  “If you don’t mind?”

“Sure,” Rick told them.  “Where do you both live?”

Emily and Allison told Rick their address.  Luckily it wasn’t too far off from Rick’s drive.  Ryan still lay in his little hole, ignoring the itching sensation from the hardening cheese and sticky material that covered him.  Even though he was in Emily’s lap during the car ride home, he didn’t feel entirely safe.  He half expected Penny or someone to open up the small sliver of an opening and peer inside at his small hidden form.  As unlikely as that maybe seemed, he still couldn’t stop himself from worrying and panicking over the horrible possibility.

The slowing of the car was audible and before long the door opened.  There was some movement as it turned out that Emily was the first to leave.

“You're going to be okay getting to your place,” Rick asked.

“I’m not that drunk,” Emily protested as she wobbled at her own words.  Ryan wouldn’t have been surprised if she fell over right there, but she kept her composure, “Thank you for tonight.”

Rick laughed, “Maybe next time I’ll share a drink with you?  Good night.”

Ryan would have been upset about how they were being so friendly toward each other, but he just wanted to get back to the safety of their apartment.  It was a long walk to their place, but finally they arrived and the sound of Emily closing the door could be heard.  However he still didn’t move.  He waited till Emily set down the purse to leave the pocket.  Emily shifted a little left and right before Ryan finally felt the purse get set down on what he assumed was the counter.  He finally peeked out and saw he was in fact on the counter top.  Getting out of the pocket Ryan noticed Emily wasn’t here.  Ryan turned and saw the ear piece still on the counter where Emily left it.  Looking the other way he saw the bedroom light on as Emily was in their bedroom.

Ryan stood on the counter and finally let out a shaky breath of relief.  How lucky could he be?  He should be dead right now.  Ryan sat down on the counter trying to recover from the -
A large hand wrapped around Ryan as he was being clutched by a large fist.

“LET ME GO!”  Ryan shouted at the top of his lungs at whoever his attacker was.  “EMILY!! EMILY HELP!!”

Soon the first opened up and Ryan saw who it was, Emily herself.
“What … a shrinky?”

Ryan shook his head, “It’s Ryan,” He said in disbelief.  Could she not see him?

Emily answered him with a few blinks before she squinted.  “Did you come from the bar?”
“EMILY IT’S RYAN!!”  Ryan shouted for her to hear him. 

“Ryan?  No your not Ryan,” Emily said looking at the bedroom.  “He’s home sleeping…. Did you try to lie to me?”

“Oh my god!  LOOK AT ME!”  Ryan shouted at her to look closer.  Emily pulled Ryan closer with her lazy looking eyes.  As she pulled him closer to her face, Ryan saw her nose sniff a little before she sniffed harder.

“You smell like cheese… nacho cheese… you are from the bar!”  Emily said with a frown, “You … shrinky, you shouldn’t be here.  If Ryan finds out ….  I can’t let him find you- then he’ll know,” Emily gasped in a panic as if she was in trouble.

“Emily what are you talking about,” Ryan shouted at her only to have her hand wrap around him tight.  The sound of a cupboard opening and closing and then something else being grabbed was heard.  “EM LET ME GO!”  Ryan tried to fight out of her grip.  It was hopeless and meaningless as Emily wasn’t listening and wasn’t letting go.  Until she was ready, which was now.

Ryan felt himself falling down and landing in a cup.  A glass cup and a very drunk looking Emily standing above it.

Ryan barely had time to talk “WH-”

Suddenly a bottle appeared above Ryan and a liquid poured out and down on him like a waterfall.  The strong smell of alcohol hit Ryan as he was drenched in the liquid.  Ryan coughed up the strong potent smelling liquid and taste filling his mouth.  As Ryan recovered he noticed he was hip deep in what smelled of vodka or some hard liquor, like a shot…

Emily grabbed the cup sending Ryan splashing into the strong clear liquid that stung his eyes.
“DON’T!” Ryan cried out not seeing where he was going.  However the tilting of the cup and the flow of alcohol was clear that Ryan was being poured out.  Ryan wiped the alcohol from his face as sure enough Emily was lifting the glass rather quickly for the shot.  She had her eyes closed and her mouth open, as she brought the cup to her lips.  “EMILY!”  Ryan screamed out at her as the cup was lifted up and Ryan fell forward toward her wide mouth.  The alcohol rushed into Emily’s mouth and Ryan tumbled out of the cup and into her mouth.  It happened in a split second and even quicker Emily was already gulping. Ryan filled Emily’s mouth and let out a horrible sound as she swallowed, flinging him into the back of her mouth with the rest of her drink.  The hot walls around her throat warped and expanded enough for him to slink down into her esophagus.  Ryan fought by trying to use his hands to stop himself from going down, but it didn't help as the opening hole grew wider and his hands started to slide down Emily’s throat.  Ryan wiggled and cried out again, “EMILYYYYY!!!”  Her response was pushing from the outside of her throat and sliding him down her throat with her fingers tips tracing over him.  Ryan could feel the digits helping him get slurped down and soon his feet were swallowed up.  Ryan screamed out as he slid deeper and deeper into the dark hot throat.

“NOOOOO!” Ryan screamed and begged as he soon followed the countless drinks path that night into Emily’s stomach.  Sure enough the smell of strong alcohol, vomit, and nachos filled his nose’s sense of smell before he landed in the mess where the scent was the strongest.  Ryan splashed into the dark mysterious liquid and was covered in hot slimy stinky gunk that he had no idea was really made of.  “Emily-” Ryan coughed as his lungs and eyes were already burning like he himself threw up.  Either it was from the alcohol content from the drink, or the acid that was already working on her previous meal.  Neither was a good thing.  “HELP ME!!!!  MOM!!!???  PLEASE,” Ryan begged praying to god that his mother could hear him from inside the apartment.

His response was Emily moving somewhere.  The thumping she was doing was muffled as she swayed and wobbled around in the apartment.  Ryan felt the waves of stomach material roll over him, trying to bury him in the ocean of acid, food, and drink.  Something solid hit him, and it wasn’t a nacho… it was more Ryan sized and shape.  Ryan panicked as he moved away from it, whoever it used to be.  He bumped into a wall.  Ryan kicked and punched it as hard as he could.  He didn’t bother shouting… it wasn’t going to save him.  IF he was going to die, it would fight.  He gave Emily’s gut a punch and another kick, as he sloshed in the hellish fluids.  He was done, so fucking done with all this!  SO FED UP WITH IT ALL! 
Anger rolled over Ryan as he lost any hope to escape.  He gave Emily one last hit just in spite of-

Everything started to move quicker as the ocean started to rage and storm.  Ryan felt his world become chaotic and disastrous as he didn’t understand what was going on.  Suddenly a hacking sound was heard and Ryan was forced up a long tube!

“Ahhhhh,” Ryan screamed as he was projected out of Emily’s mouth and into a big toilet bowl of water.  He had a few seconds to see Emily looking sick as she started to puke.  An enormous tidal wave of vomit spewed out of her mouth and collided with the toilet.  Ryan was slathered in the vile muck as more and more was ejected from Emily as she cried while she vomited more and more.
 
“BLUU GGGGHHHH,” Emily heaved as she spit the last of her stomach content out into the toilet.  There she leaned forward and rested her head on the side of the toilet bowl as she closed her eyes and fell asleep draped over the toilet.

Ryan laid on the side of the toilet bowl as he looked down into the swampy waters or what should have been water, and looked at the contents in the toilet bowl.  Sure enough anything that went into Emily that night was now here, including himself.  And those who weren’t so lucky.  Ryan shook his head.  This was too much…

Ryan looked at Emily who was passed out.  Ryan saw that a few strands of her hair were dipping into the toilet bowl.  Ryan headed over to the hair and used the strands to help pull himself up and onto Emily.  He didn’t even check on her as he quickly climbed down her body and toward the ladder to the sink.  Still he needed a shower.  His skin was itching and felt sore.  Like it was in the sun for hours and wanted to melt off.  Ryan jumped into the shower and cleaned himself up.  Once he was done, he felt better… like instead of being at 1 percent he was now at a good whopping 2 percent.  He heard Emily muttering something but he didn’t understand. 

“I can’t do this,” Ryan said as he headed out of the bathroom.  He wasn’t safe here, hell he would have been safer under the table at the fucking club, than coming home to Emily or his mom.  They both nearly killed him or were the reason for his near death in the past week or two.  The two people he trusted the most, and thought loved him more than anyone else were responsible for the most messed up stuff he experienced in his life.  If he stayed he would most likely be killed by his mom or Emily by accident.  Ryan grabbed some clothes and his blanket on his bed.  He tossed everything into a sack that he bought to help carry things around easier.  Heading to the kitchen, Ryan climbed up the ladder and saw the bottle that Emily drank from, still on the counter with the cup he was in.  “Fucking unbelievable...” Ryan muttered, pissed and more angry than before at the reminder of what Emily tried to do to him.  Ryan grabbed any food and drink he could and tossed them in his carrying bag.  Deciding that would at least help him, Ryan headed down from the counter and toward the door.  He opened the small door to lead outside.  Ryan was about to leave when he felt the communicator on his neck.
He thought of keeping it, but what was the use?  No one could hear him with it on, only the ear pieces connected to it would work. The same ones that were never worn when he needed them to be.  Taking it off he tossed the communicator back into the apartment before he closed the door and left for good.

Ryan was done trying to live with people who didn’t care about him,  he would live on his own.  He was a shrinky after all...

"Did you want some eggs," Sora asked Willow as she fixed her glasses on her young face.  Willow watched the 13 year old girl give her a warm smile as she offered a forkful of scrambled eggs up to her.  The short brown hair giving a slight tomboyish feature to the young teen as she carefully held the fork out for Willow.  Willow looked around at the simple bedroom, a pair of soccer cleats on the floor and a couple of sport trophies on a shelf over her bed, as the giantess continued to offer her eggs to WIllow.  "I thought you would be hungry."  Sora said carefully offering the chunk of eggs off her fork.  "I hope you don't mind me helping you," Sora added with the same smile.

"...Thanks," Willow muttered as she plucked off the egg from the fork.

"You don't need to be shy," Sora said giving Willow some more.  Plenty of food for the small one inch tall girl.  "There's plenty of food for you," Sora went on.  "I'm glad I found you... it looked like you were going to... well, not make it," Sora said sounding sadden at the thought.    

"I-thank you," Willow told Sora sounding a little shocked at her concern.  "But, why?  I"m a... shrinky," Willow muttered the last part.

Sora frowned at her words, "I don't understand, aren't you a person too?"

Willow paused with the handful of eggs in her hands.  "Person?  Y-yeah!  Of course I am!"

"So why wouldn't I help?"

"I...I," Willow stuttered wondering those exact words.  Why wouldn't she or anyone else try to help her?  She was just as normal as anyone else, JUST SMALLER!  "I don't know," Willow sniffed recalling her family's actions toward her.  Her sister and father... 

"Well, small one," Sora said offering her finger as she dabbed at her face.  Pushing some hair and eggs out of the way.  "I'll take care of you.  Don't worry.  I'll make sure-"

The sound of a door slamming shut could be heard, scaring Willow at the sudden noise.  The sound of a male voice was heard calling out, "Sora, were back. "  Willow listen to the stranger's voice as the sound of movement somewhere further inside the home.  Willow listen to the sounds of the footsteps grow louder as they approached the open door.  "Sora?"  The father like voice called out.  "Are you in your room?"  The thumping got louder till the sight of a large father figure showed up in the doorway.  "Honey," the voice asked as Willow watched the adult figure come into view.  The larger male body took up the doorway as Willow watched the figure come into view.  His mouth opened in pure disregard toward her, "Is that a shrinky?  I thought we went over this.  You know how much your mother and I don't want those things in our home."

Willow paused mid munch on the bit of eggs at the way Sora's father spoke about her.  Sora on the other hand didn't seem to understand her father's distaste toward Willow.  "But Dad, she needed some help-"

"Sora," The father said with a stern and unmoving tone.  "No Shrinkies.  It's not up for discussion.  Please get rid of it."  Willow didn't understand, why was the Dad so opposed to her staying?  He didn't even know her yet.  As the father left the room, Sora turned around looking upset and sadden at her father's words.  

"Sorry... I-" Sora started to say.

"NO WAIT," Willow shouted horrified at the news.  She didn’t want to leave,  "Please, don't kick me out," Willow begged tears forming in her eyes.  "I'll be good, I swear," She went on.

Sora looked sadden  by her words but could only simple apologized again as she reached out for Willow.  Willow wanted to run away and escape the looming palm, but she couldn't move.  She was too scared and upset at the news of her being kicked out of the home.  It was just like before…

Willow sat up quickly throwing the small cloth blanket off of herself.  Sitting up she looked around the dark area she was sleeping in.  The sense of urgency from before bleed over from her dreams into her current self.  Willow sat in the dark and slowly brought her hands up to her face and rubbed her eyes as she tried to calm down.

"Fucking dreams...just fucking dreams," She muttered to herself as she went to lay back down.  She couldn't help it but dream of the past.  The things that happened to her, the things she had to do, the things done to her.  They all fed into her nightmares that wouldn't stop haunting her, even in sleep.  Willow closed her eyes and tried to get some more sleep as she recalled that memory in her dream.  Willow sighed as she recalled back those 15 or so years...

She was so naive and innocent back than.  Nothing like how she was now.  Years and years of living as a Shrinky did that to a person, or at least for her.  Her life was anything but easy.  All the heartache and pain since she started to shrink only made her a stronger and more fierce person.  Any trace of wishful thinking or inner child was long gone.  Which only left the Willow she was today.  A fighter.  A survivor. 

The sound of one of here fellow travelers making a deep snoring in their sleep, a noise that kept her from finding peace and quite.  Willow made a deep sound of annoyance as she found she couldn't go back to sleep.  "Now I'm up..."  Willow said irritated, she might as well start the day early.

Willow climbed out of her make shift sleeping bag made of a shred of clothing she found a while back.  She recalled finding the torn cloth, probably from a shirt or shorts or something thrown out for whatever reason.  It took her a while to rip this chunk off the unwanted rag away from the full set, but she was glad she spent the couple of hours to do so.  She got out of the cloth that she used to sleep in and started to fold and roll it up till it would fit in her large backpack bag.  

Her backpack was another item she found, and was really happy she picked it up.  She never knew who it belonged to before her, the previous owner of it was no where to be found and it seemed to have been left out.  Willow would have felt a sense of shame for stealing or taking something not hers but the thing came in hand so many times over the years, any regret or shame she had was gone.  Willow stuffed her sleeping gear into the bag and pulled out what was the last of her food that she gathered with the other, a block of slightly moldy cheese.  

Willow checked one more time over at her fellow ... companions?  

No that wouldn't be the right word, a companion is someone you can trust.  Willow hadn't trusted in anyone in a long time.  She would have stayed alone if it wasn't more useful to have a few people with you.  Especially if you need to out run an animal.  A lesson she learned a while back, always be faster than someone else.

Willow saw that the other three were still sleeping in their own make shift sleeping bags.  One was made of an old piece of newspaper, the owner was an older man somewhere in his 40's.  The other was looked to be a very ripped up piece of a plastic zip lock bag, a man early 20's.  The last person in the group was a young teen girl, about 15 or so.  She didn't have anything to sleep with.  She was the most recent person they picked up.  Willow didn't do names, so she never recalled what any of their names were.  She used a lot of pronouns.  "You" "old man" "him" "new girl".  It kept from getting too close to someone.  

Willow saw that none of them were up yet.  Which was fine for her, the sun was just barely starting to rise and brighten the sky.  Willow bite into her breakfast as she looked around a little more from under the heavy green bush outside a building complex.  She didn't see much happening out on the side walk or streets.  Some parked cars, but mostly it wasn't too busy this early.  Normally now would be the right time to travel, around when the sun just started to rise and set.  However their supplies were running low, so they needed to scavenge for more.  Normally Willow would advice against entering some of these complexes, especially if she didn't know the lay out.  But she knew someone here, and they would come in handy in knowing more about what they would be getting into.  

As soon as the others got up, they would wait till most of the residents left for work, school, or whatever.  Than they would use the small opening in the siding of the complex near the bushes they were sleeping under.  If Willow remember correctly the person should be somewhere on the third floor, between 305 and 306.

Ryan didn't know what he was doing.  The moment he left his apartment he felt kind of better, but now he had no idea where to go.  Did he just try and wonder around the complex?  Did he try to leave the building and risk walking around outside in the wild?  Ryan felt like maybe this was a dumb idea.  He hadn't thought past his anger toward his mom and Emily.  The feeling of betrayal stung a bit too hard for him to not act rash.  The insanity of what Emily did, swallow him, filled his mind.  The feeling of her stomach contents still felt like it was on his skin, right now.  The fear for his life ending still hung over his head.  He half expected to be dreaming this all up right now, all while still being digested by a drunk Emily.

"That's a morbid thought," Ryan said to himself as he decided to head to the only spot he could think of.  Steven said he had a place he was hiding out at.  As messed up as it sounded, he at least knew there was a safe spot for him.  Heading over to the small hole that Steven mentioned, Ryan carried his small bag of food and clothes over toward his destination.  As Ryan made his way through the long hallway that connected the apartments to each other, he read the numbers on the large doors.  Every time he had to walk past a doorway, Ryan feared that it would swing open randomly and he would see a giant person looking right at him, as if waiting for him to cross past their door.  His heart rate speed up as he jogged a little faster when crossing the front door to an apartment.  

Ryan made the long walk, crossing each of the apartments until he found the spot that Steven was talking about.  The small hole in the wall, between apartment 305 and 306.  As Ryan made his way past the door of 306, he could hear the sounds of heavy thumping.  It sounded like whoever was in 306 was still up and was watching or listening to something very loud.  Ryan carried his baggage over to the opening that was just tall enough that he would have to crawl through the small gap.  

Just the sight of the small hole made Ryan rethink all this.  The small space was frighteningly small, and Ryan was afraid that it might only get smaller if he crawled in there.  What if there were b-bugs?!  That reminded him of the time under the stove...

As Ryan was looking at the small gap in the wall, he heard the door to room 305 swing open.  Ryan felt his heart rate skyrocket at the sudden nose and a large slipper foot came stomping out.  Ryan dove forward with his stuff and tried to hide as the stomping feet walked by.  There was a sudden pounding on the apartment of 306.  The echos of the loud knocking could be heard and felt through the wall that Ryan was in.

"It's fucking 3 am!  I have work in the morning!  Turn that damn noise down," An angry voice shouted at the door.  Ryan let out a deep sigh as it seemed the person was more interested in shouting at their neighbor than spotting him.   Now that Ryan was inside the hiding hole, he figured he might as well keep going.  As Ryan crawled through the small opening, he found the ground dipped out and opened just a bit more giving him more room.  He was able to stand up in the dark room.  However the standing part only solved his fear of being stuck in a small place, next was what might be in here.  It was insanely dark in this hole, no light was able to reach inside, so Ryan was left stumbling around in the darkness.  Ryan couldn't see anything in the dark.  He carefully pushed his hands up against the nearest wall.  Following it, he bumped into one end of the room, and than another one.  It only took a few frightening moments in the dark, till Ryan realized how big the room was.  It was barely a handful of steps deep, and even smaller across.  Ryan also bumped into something, a small patch of fluff about the size of a small bed.  It felt like stuffing from a toy or pillow.  

Ryan sighed as he set his bag down next to the cotton cushion pile.  This was clearly a bed of some sort, just long enough for him to lay down in the room.  His feet easily bumped into the end of the room, and his head he had a sense was just a few inches away from the other wall.  He was sure if he had light in here, he would see how cramped the room really was.  However in the dark, Ryan couldn't tell how close or far the walls were from him as he laid on the material beneath him.  It wasn't till he was laying down did the whole day finally hit him.  He was so tired and sore from the whole night.  Not to mention it had to be like 3 or 4 am in the morning.  Ryan's eyes were so heavy that he didn't even know when the darkness of the room and the darkness of his sleep molded together into one, and sleep took over.

The dream or dreams he had weren't something he wanted to recall.  An evil laughing and taunting Emily haunted Ryan.  Giggling at his size, Emily easily picked him up, carrying him in her hands.  Emily was saying something that he couldn't understand but he got the feeling the words were demeaning and hurtful toward him.  Although Ryan couldn't hear the actual words he still felt hurt by the way Emily was talking to him.  She slowly brought him up to her mouth, kind of like before.  Without much effort, Emily tossed Ryan into her mouth, easily swallowing Ryan down.  He couldn't see or move as he fell down her throat.  The warm feeling of being smothered hit Ryan as the familiar smell of acid and alcohol hit him as his skin felt like it was being cooked alive!

Suddenly Ryan was back in Emily's hands all over again.  She seemed pleased with his horrified expression as she went to start to eat him yet again.  Mocking wordless words were spoken this time, cutting into Ryan's heart.  He didn't know what she was saying but it felt like she was saying goodbye or time to move on.  Words that a significant other would use when they wanted to break up.  Knowing that Emily was about to eat him yet again, Ryan found unable to move or even call out to Emily.  She was yet again going to swallow him, or so he thought.  As Ryan was being brought toward Emily's mouth, he watched that giant maw of hers open wide and slam shut with a loud chomp.  Emily smirked with a wide toothy grin as she opened her mouth and chomped again as she lowered Ryan closer to her mouth.  Ryan struggled as he was lowered closer and closer.  Each clamping of her jaw that much closer and closer.  Until finally he felt Emily's teeth.  The first incisors bitting into-

Ryan gasp and jumped awake as something slammed into him and the bed he was sleeping on.  He quickly jumped awake to find that the dark room he was in had a dim glow of light coming from what looked to be a light on the ceiling.  He turned to his side and found someone kicking the bed.

"Where's Steven," She questioned in a demanding tone.  

"Wh-what the-" Ryan stuttered as he looked around slowly recalling where he was.  The nasty dream he had of Emily.  And the strange woman standing over the bed he was in.  She had a look on her face that told Ryan not to mess around.  "He's uh, well... he's dead." Ryan told the woman.  Her reaction didn't seem to be one of grief, just a grim sorrow.

"Oh."  She said in a low tone.

That was all she said.  Just a simple "Oh".  

Ryan started to get up from the bed and figured it was a good idea to try and introduce himself.  "I'm Rya-"

"Don't care," The woman said abruptly, as she already started to head out of the room.

Ryan watched her start to crawl out of the space.  "What?"  He called out as he went to reach for her, "Hey!  Wait! I was just-"  Ryan started to say as he put his hand on the Woman’s shoulder to slow her down.  The moment he touched her she stopped and went stiff.

In a cold and stern voice, without turning around she spoke.  "Remove your hand."  Ryan did as she commanded.  She didn't turn around as she continued to speak, "If you ever touch me again, I'll rip off your arms and beat you with them."

Ryan felt a shiver run up his spine at those words.  It sounded like she meant it, and Ryan didn't want to figure out if she could back up that threat.  "S-sorry.  I just... I just- Look I knew Steven and it sounds like so did you."

"No," The woman said turning around.  "You knew him.  He was just an acquaintance.  I showed him a few things and set up the light," She said pointing upward to the small light bulb that Ryan didn't even know existed.  He somehow missed the little cord dangling from the ceiling earlier.

Ryan took a moment.  It seemed like he messed up somehow in someway so he decided to restart.  "Look, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.  My name is Ryan," He said holding out his hand toward the woman.

She gave Ryan a glare.  "I said, I don't care who you are.  What part of that didn't you get?"

Ryan just gaped at her, "Did I do something wrong?"

The woman just rolled her eyes, "Look I don't have time for this, I have to go get supplies before-"

Ryan quickly said, "I got like a weeks worth of food."  He quickly pointed to his sack.  "I don't mind sharing."

It was now he saw a reaction from the woman rather than contempt.  She showed him a shocked and confused look, "You- why did you tell me that?'

Ryan looked confused at her reaction, "What?"

"Why would you tell me about your food supplies?  How do you know i wouldn't take them for myself?"

Ryan froze at those words.... "Uh, wh-why would you do that?"

The woman looked just even more confused at Ryan.  "You're either really trusting or just plain stupid, and I don't know which you are..."

"Um thank you?  I think... So, does that mean were good?"  Ryan asked trying to gauge the mysterious woman's mood.  He couldn't tell but somewhere in her eyes she seemed to be lost in thought.  Ryan was hesitant about remarking about it and figured he should give her some time.  After a few moments Ryan finally said, "I can come along, right?"

These words seemed to bring the woman back to the world as she looked at Ryan with an accusing look.  After a few long moments she finally decided to speak.  "...Yeah.  But we have rules."

"Oh," Ryan said nodding in agreement.  "Yeah rules are good... like what kind?"

"I’ll explain them later, come on," she said not elaborating on the rules she mentioned.

Ryan frowned once again at the vague and confusing ways that the woman was reacting.  She wouldn't give her name, she didn't explain anything, and she was acting very hostile toward Ryan.  If not aggressive, she seemed to be acting defensive and guarded toward him.  Ryan didn't know who this woman was but kind of felt attacked or at least upset at how she was acting toward him.  He hadn't done anything to warrant this kind of behavior toward him, yet she was treating him like an enemy.  Ryan felt baffled and hurt, he wanted to address her behavior toward him, but he didn't want to piss this woman off.  If she wanted to keep him at a distance, that would be fine. 

He followed after the woman as she started to crawl out of the hole.  She worked her way out with ease as Ryan followed after her.  Once they were outside of Steven's home, Ryan saw a couple of more Shrinkies.  One seemed to be younger than anyone here.  She was in her teens, the next was an older person compared to girl, someone around Ryan's age, maybe younger.  The last was an older man who seemed calmer than the rest.  Someone who seemed to be used to the situation more than the others.  Based on his age Ryan would figure he would be the leader or at least the most experience of all the others.

The younger girl of the group called out "You're," she turned toward Ryan and said, "Steven?  It's so nice to meet you," The girl said smiling a friendly smile.

"Oh... uh, no.  Um, It's Ryan.  Steven... well he's not..." Ryan said leaving the rest of the explanation hanging in the air.  The look on the young girl's face faded.

"oh...well it's nice to meet you Ryan," She said offering another smile.

"Oh, yeah thanks.  Nice to meet you too," Ryan said.  

The younger of the males, the man a few year younger than Ryan started to complain, "So this was a waste?!"

The woman who kicked Ryan awake gave the man a look, "No.  He's got food.  Calm down.  If you want to freak out you can leave... no? Than calm down." She said with enough authority that even Ryan felt like he would need to follow her words.

"...fine.  But is it enough?"  The younger man asked.

"For now," The woman told him, not explaining how much food and supplies Ryan had.

Ryan wanted to speak up but the way the woman said those word it left him with a feeling he might want to keep the amount a secret to the others.

"Fine." The man huffed.

"Um, sorry, but ... my name is Ryan.  What's everyone's name?"

Ryan waited and just as he thought everyone was going to stay silence the younger girl spoke up, "My name is Katty."  She pointed toward the older man, "This is Brand." Next was the other man, who was being difficult, "Thomas or Tom."  Ryan nodded and looked to the woman who woke him up.  Just when he thought he wouldn't get her name, Katty said, "And she's Willow."

Willow cut Katty a glare like she wanted to give her a piece of her mind for giving out people’s names.  The look was long enough that Ryan thought she was going to do something to Katty, but Willow turned away.

"Willow." Ryan repeated the new name of the mysterious woman who kicked him awake and just seemed she didn't know how to be nice to people in general.

Katty nodded before leaning closer to Ryan so Willow couldn't hear and whispered, "She's, like a really rude bitch... pardon my French."

Ryan looked at Katty who just gave him a soft sweet smile before he looked back at Willow who was already leading the small group of people forward.  Ryan watched as Willow was the first in the small squad to head off.  Ryan and the rest of the group started to follow Willow as she made her way away from the hole they just came from.  Ryan wanted to ask where they were going, but there was a chance that Willow might snap at him for a simple question.  So he stayed silent and followed after her and the others.  Katty was the closest to Ryan as they followed Willow's lead.

"How long have you been a shrinky," She asked Ryan out of the blue, most likely trying to make conversation, however it came as a shock to him.

Ryan didn't know how to respond.  Did he tell the truth, that he's only been a shrinky for about a month, even though its impossible?  Would that change anything?  Would they all treat him differently?  Ryan wasn't sure, but he had a sinking suspicion that it was possible.  Fearing for the worse, Ryan figured he would just lie. "For a while now," Ryan said, which to him it felt like years.

"Really," Katty asked.  "I can't imagine what you and everyone else has gone through."  Ryan was curious at what she meant, as Katty went on.  "I've only been a shrinky for about a month or so.  I mean, I didn't start shrinking till a few months ago.  I hadn’t even had my birthday yet!  I turned 16 while tiny..."  Katty complained.

Luckily, she hadn't asked for Ryan's birthday as he walked with Katty.  "Where were you when you first found out?"  Ryan asked trying to keep the conversation focused on her.  Katty just seemed happy to be talking to someone as she went on to explain her Shrinkism to him.

"You would be surprised.  I was at a friends house when I realized I wasn't as tall as i should have been.  My friends thought it would be funny and ‘amusing’ to watch me slowly shrink over the next couple of days.”  Katty shook her head,  “I ran before they could see the final results.  I was just so scared of what would happen when they saw me small.  That's when I ran into Willow," Katty said sounding a little disappointing in the memory.  "She offered me a spot in this little shrinky group, but that was all.  So here I am," Katty stated, "following after a mean woman who I'd rather not," Katty gestured toward Willow.  "At a size I never dreamed of being, doing God knows what... life is so unfair," Katty grumbled.

"I know what you mean," Ryan told her as he felt pretty much the same as her.  Life is unfair.  "So, where exactly are we going?"

Katty gave a half shrug, "To be honest I'm not really sure.  I figured anywhere was better than where I was."

Ryan nodded again in agreement, he wasn't sure how long he would have been able to stay in that hole.  He didn't really have a plan other than to get out of his apartment.  To get away from Emily and his mom.  Away from Alison and anyone else in his life that might viewed him as something less than a person.  It was a sad feeling, but he was starting to accept his size and role in the world now.  "Yeah I know what you mean," Ryan told Katty.

Katty offered him a sincere look, "Hey, at least we meet right?  Now I at least have someone to talk to other than them," Katty tilted her head to the other three and gave a lighthearted laugh at her own comment.

Katty’s smile and laugh put a smile on Ryan's face.  It felt nice just talking with someone again.  Steven was the last one he talked to like this.  How much he missed those mornings...

All the talking that Ryan was doing with Katty, he hardly noticed how far they went before they were at what looked to be a drainage point for the floor that went down to the ground level.  The opening was just large enough for one or two of them to go down at a time.  Ryan looked at the small opening and how everyone seemed ready to jump in.

"Uh, we're going down that?"  Ryan asked.  Willow gave him a look that told him that he asked a rather dumb question.  "I just meant like, is it safe?"

Willow let out a tired sigh, "If you don't want to, than don't.  But I'm taking the food with us."  Ryan looked between the others and found even Katty was on Willow's side of this.  Ryan wasn't sure if he could out run or even stop Willow herself from taking his supplies.  If the others helped her, he was certain they would take his bag with little effort.

"Whose first," Ryan said trying to change his tune about the drainage pipe.

"You," Willow told him in a tone that let him know it wasn't a debate.

"M-me-" 

Before Ryan could continue Willow grabbed him by the shirt and nearly chucked him into the hole.  Ryan let out a cry as he tumbled down the opening and hit the side of the tube.  It was too dark to see in the tunnel, but he could feel the siding of the tube.  Going down the drainage pipe kind of reminded him of a water slide.  Just without the water.  Ryan continued to slide and bonce off the sides of the tunnel until he came tumbling out of an opening and landed on soft yet hard ground.  Ryan rubbed the aching parts of his body as he looked around and saw he was now outside the complex.  It looked like he was right under a bush or some kind of-

A sudden impact from behind slammed into him and pushed him back into the ground face first.  He could feel something heavy on his back as it pinned him down.

"HEY!"  The sharp cry of Willow shouted out from above.  "Get out of the way!"  Ryan groaned as he felt Willow's weight on top of him.  It wasn't crushing, but just surprising.  She got up off him in a flash before yanking Ryan to his feet.  "What moron blocks the opening like that?"

Ryan wasn't sure if she was seriously asking or just being sarcastic.   Unsure he replied with a weak answer, "Me?"

Willow rolled her eyes as she pulled Ryan clear form the drain opening as Katty came out next, than Tom, and finally Brand.  Everyone was standing under a familiarly large bush that Ryan recalled passing by so many times before when he was larger.  Never once in his life did he ever think that there could be shrinkies under the small little shrub, so close to his home.

Ryan looked around the underbrush and than back to Willow.  "So, where to now?"  Willow, didn’t answer or even made a sound that she heard him.  She simple started to walk off in a direction and the others followed.  Ryan gave the group a puzzled look as they didn’t even ask, they just did.  Ryan followed up the rear as he muttered “Okay than…”

Emily’s head felt like it exploded and than imploded only to blow up again.  Her head was so fuzzy and messed up she didn’t even recall her name.

“Oooooo,” Emily moaned as she tried to get out of bed… wait this wasn’t her bed.  Emily was sitting slouched over something.  The faint smell of… puke?  Was that puke?  Did she throw up?!  Emily felt her eyes slowly flutter open and found herself leaning into the toilet.  It took all her strength to pull herself up from the toilet and look down.  “oooo,” Emily moaned again at the sight of the nasty looking toilet water.  Yup, she threw up.  Not really bothering to look at the toilet, she flushed it and watched clean water flow back into the toilet bowl washing away her mess.  Emily let out a sigh, and the sight of water brought her to the massive splitting headache. 

Not really able to walk, she went to the closest source of water, the faucet.  Turning it on, she practically dove under the water slurping and gulping whatever she could as she felt the cold water drench her throat and relieving any pain of her sore throat.  After a few long minutes of drinking water like her life was in danger, she looked into the mirror in front of herself.

“Oh god,” Emily muttered to herself.  She looked worse than that girl from the Exorcist movie.  Any make up she had on was smeared and dried in a running pattern.  She had vomit in some of her hair, which looked to have been hit by an F5 tornado.  It was all tangled, messy, and in a heap.  Emily could see that her eyes were slightly red and bloodshot from throwing up some time last night, and her face looked exhausted.  “At least it’s the weekend…” Emily continued to mutter to herself.  Emily yanked off whatever remaining clothing she had on and turned on the shower.  Emily jumped into the ice cold water shocking herself awake, HELLO!

Emily felt her heart pick up pace as she quickly waking up from one of the worse hangovers she had in a long time.  Emily took her time cleaning up in the shower.  Enjoying the freezing frigid water turn into a nice warm and hot relaxing temperature.  Emily sighed as she let the warm water wash over her sore and aching body.  Emily stood there letting the water help erase last nights conclusion.  As Emily soaked, she tried to recall the night.  It was so blurry.  She recalled Rick, drinking, shots, drinking, and some nachos?  

After that things got blurry.  Emily recalled doing a shrinky shot… or maybe it was two?  She couldn’t recall which drinks had the small people in them.  Emily felt her stomach turn as she tried to remember the rest of the night.  She only recalled flashes and vague memories of coming home.  Emily rubbed her head, heck she didn’t even recall throwing up in the toilet.  If she hadn’t found her self at the toilet looking the way she did (and if Ryan was his normal size) she would have assumed it was Ryan that threw up last night. 

At the thought of Ryan, Emily groaned.  Oh how he was going to tease her about throwing up last night.  She could already hear him, “Looks like someone had too much fun last night.”

Maybe he didn’t hear her?

Emily scoffed, and winced in the shower at the throbbing headache.  The messy way it looked in the toilet there was no way he didn’t hear her.  She just hoped that he didn’t learn about what kind of drinks she had last night.  The guilt of taking those shots with Allison hit her hard.  She really shouldn’t have.  As much as Emily liked Allison, she always had a special way of breaking down Emily’s resolve.  Allison was like the only person who could peer pressure Emily into doing something like that.

A sour churn in her gut made Emily whimper, “no more shrinking shots…” She swore holding her stomach as it felt like she will regret last night for a while longer.

Emily turned off the shower and slowly got out.  Drying herself off, she left the bathroom and into the bedroom.  She paused as she noticed the bedroom door was open.  Had she not closed it last night?  Feeling a little embarrassed standing in the open with only a towel  on, Ryan’s mom could walk by anytime.  Emily went to shut the door for just till she was fully dressed.

“Did I leave the door open last night,” Emily asked closing the door.

There was no answer.  Emily rolled her eyes, right… the silly earpiece.  “Sorry honey, give me a minute,” Emily started to look for her earpiece.  It wasn’t on the dresser.  She checked the bathroom.  A spike of fear hit her, did she flush it down the toilet?!  A memory of her putting it on the counter in the kitchen kicked in and she sighed.  That’s right.  Emily quickly got dressed, “Sorry, one more minute…” Emily spoke as she pulled on some underwear and shorts.  A simple long sleve shirt was next before Emily opened the door.  

She seemed to have timed her morning just right, as Mary was also waking up.

“Morning dear,” Mary greeted as she headed from her room into the kitchen.

“Morning.” Emily responded blinking away a grimace at the sound of someone’s voice hitting her heard.  She was still pretty banged up.  She need her caffeine, something salty, something sweet, and a bottle of Motrin.  Heading into the kitchen with Mary behind her, Emily spotted her ear piece next to an empty cup.  Emily paused and looked at the cup and the bottle of liquor next to it, did she do that?  No…

Mary sighed, “Had a little night cap last night?”

“I…” Emily said feeling embarrassed.  “I don’t recall.”

Mary laughed, “Well it wasn’t me or Ryan, that’s for sure.  It’s alright dear, just clean up after yourself.  Don’t want to attract more bugs and pest.”

Emily wanted to comment on the fact that bugs don’t drink alcohol but her head told her to just be quite till she felt better.  Emily put the remnants of her late night drink away and put the ear piece in.  She head back into her bedroom as Mary started to put a cup of coffee on.  “Ryan… sorry about that.”

Emily headed over to Ryan’s bed.  He wasn’t there.  In fact his blanket was missing.  Emily frowned, “Ryan?  Honey, uh where are you,” Emily called out looking down at her feet.  She was WAY too hung over for this.  The fear of stepping on Ryan was the only thing keeping her mind focused.  Emily didn’t spot Ryan anywhere.  Maybe he was already up and getting breakfast?  She looked at the clock on the other night stand by the her bed and saw that it was possible.  Being as careful as she could, Emily looked down at the ground and did her best to look for a tiny Ryan as she made her way back to the kitchen.

“Want some eggs on toast with some bacon,” Mary called out to Emily from the kitchen.

“Sure,” Emily responded as she kept her eyes on the ground.  “Is Ryan out there with you?”

“mmm, I don’t think so.  Oh, silly me, where did I put my hearing aid,” Mary said out in the kitchen.

Emily continued to look around for Ryan as she called out for him.  Still she didn’t hear a response, and when she reached the kitchen and didn’t spot Ryan on the counter she started to feel a little uneasy.  There normally isn’t many places that Ryan would go other than the bed room and kitchen.  She checked the kitchen table and finally the family room.  Now her nervousness was increasing along with a very painful throbbing headache.  It seemed the more she worried the worse her head hurt.  Why couldn’t she find Ryan.  “Mary, when did you last see Ryan,” Emily asked as she headed into the kitchen to get her coffee.  She needed to think straight.  Grabbing her breakfast sandwich and finally fixing her hunger and headache with food and drink, she waited for Mary to respond.

Chewing she frowned, “Hmmm, not sure.”

Emily frowned, “Not sure?  You didn’t say goodnight to your son?”

The look on Mary’s face made Emily regret how she said that, “Like he said before, he’s a big boy.  So, no, I didn’t tuck him in if that’s what your asking.”

“Sorry,” Emily responded as she continued to look around for Ryan.  Maybe he was outside??  Even as crazy as that sounded, she should at least look, “I just,” Emily sighed, “It was a rough night and even rougher morning, sorry.”

Mary nodded before apologizing for sounding snappy.  As Emily started to head to the door, Mary went on, “It’s just some times I feel like I’m cleaning up after 2 children.”

Emily paused and looked at the older woman.  It wasn’t like she meant any harm in what she said, but it kind of dug into Emily.  Still riding out her hangover, Emily couldn’t help but probe in a miffed tone, “And what do you mean by that?”

Mary paused and looked around the kitchen, “Well, I mean, picking up after yourself a little more might be nice,” Mary said as nicely as she could.

“Uh, okay… now you’re making it sound like I’m a slob,” Emily pointed out as nicely as she could.  Her anger was starting to boil with her headache that seemed to be reaching a new level of pain.  Emily never thought living with Mary would drive her up the walls as much as it had, but now it seemed to be all coming together now.

Mary seemed to catch on to how she said it and backpedaled a little, “Oh dear, no!  Not a slob, I’m sorry.  I’m meant more like, the crumbs and dishes.  I mean, just like a while ago… I woke up one morning and found a bug like this big,” Mary said recalling the morning.  She held her fingers up showing the kind of large sized bug.  It seemed to about the size of Ryan…

“B-bug?” Emily stuttered as she vaguely recalled something a while back.  “Are you sure it was a bug?”

Mary seemed confused, “Well, what else could it have been?”

Emily closed her eyes and tried to keep from blowing up the situation, “I’m saying are you sure you saw a bug and not someONE...I mean you’re 100% sure about that?”

Mary opened her mouth to say something and stopped for a moment, “Well… I was pretty sure.”

“Oh god,” Emily muttered closing her eyes.  “Please… what did you do?”

Mary sipped her drink before saying, “I took care of it.”

“Mary…” Emily said slowly, “Ryan had a friend over here a while ago.  He would come by to visit… Ryan told me he wouldn’t be coming back anymore.  Soooo… again,” Emily told Mary with a harsher tone, “What, happened?”

It was now that Mary seemed to slowly realized what Emily was saying.  “I-I… it …”

“Oh god,” Emily gasped, “Oh fu- did Ryan see it happen?!  Please for the love of God, tell me you didn’t while he was around.”

Mary grew more pale as something about that night was recalled, “I thought, well I thought I might have saw two that night…”

Emily blinked back tears at the news.  Why didn’t Ryan say anything to her about it?!  

“How could you?!  Jesus… Why would you go around killing bugs when your son could be-”

“Don’t act like I’m the only one that’s hurt Ryan,” Mary spat out in her defense.

Emily frowned, “What are you talking about?”

“You had my son go to school, and than he comes back bullied and smelling like someone’s dirty feet!  You let your students pick on my son, did the one who do it at least get in trouble,” Mary asked with some venom in her voice.

“Well, no,” Emily said recalling the day.  “She was just playing a-a joke on Ryan...”

It was Mary’s turn to attack Emily.  She scoffed, “Oh?  And how many jokes do you know that end up with someone smelling like a nasty foot?  If you thought that was just some silly joke, I hate to see what your student’s do to each other behind your back…”

Emily gasped, “My student’s are not monsters!”

“Anyone who would pick on my little son, I would call a monster,” Mary explained to Emily.

Emily shook her head at the way Ryan’s mom was behaving.  “You know… Ryan was right, we shouldn’t have invited you here.”

Emily immediately regretted what she said as Emily felt a stab at her heart when she saw the look on Mary’s face, “M-my… my Ryan didn’t want me here??”  It wasn’t till now that Emily realized that maybe she shouldn’t have said that.  No mater how mean she wanted to be, she might have crossed the line.  Mary looked crushed, “Why… why wouldn’t he…” Mary asked looking devastated at those words.  

“Mary… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.  Look, Ryan didn’t-” Emily went on to talk as she walked from the door to the kitchen table, where Mary had taken a seat at.  Emily felt her left bare foot step on something.  Emily let out a natural gasp and nearly jumped off the ground as she removed her foot from the object.  Fearing that maybe she stepped on someone rather than something, she stood on one foot and held her left foot in her hand.

“What is it,” Mary asked alarmed at her sudden noise she made and her actions.  

“I stepped on something,” Emily breathed a sigh of relief, glad it wasn’t Ryan.  Emily pulled the small object off her foot and held it up.  She squinted at it and slowly recognized the hard tiny little speck of an object.  “A communicator?    What’s it doing on the floor?”

“Ryan’s communicator,” Mary repeated just as confused.  “Wait… so he isn’t wearing his communicator, than we can’t hear him,” Mary asked the very obvious question.

Emily didn’t say anything as she tried to see if Ryan was nearby.  There was no sign of him.  Emily didn’t like this, why would his communicator be on the ground like this.  Near the door too…

Emily opened the front door and looked around.  There wasn’t a trace of Ryan outside the apartment, “Ryan?”  Emily called.  There was obviously no answer.  Emily tried again as see tried looking down the long hallway toward the other apartments and toward the stairs.  Did Ryan climb down the stairs?  Could he?  Emily didn’t know what to do or where to look.  “Mary,” Emily said turning around toward the older woman.  “I, I think Ryan left.”

“Left,” Mary asked sounding just as confused and worried.  She got up and headed to the door,  “Where?”

Emily shook her head feeling troubled and worried, “I don’t know, I don’t know where he would go.  He could be anywhere…”

Ryan didn't know how long they had walked but he felt like it had to have been at least a couple of hours or so.  They had made it past his apartment complex a little while ago.  However they weren’t anywhere near leaving the neighborhood that Ryan lived in.  It was weird for Ryan to walk on the concert pathing at this size.  The smooth surface he used to walk on, felt more like lumpy asphalt to him.  The rough texture was slightly uneven on his feet.  Ryan found that Willow seemed like a very cautious person.  She was always looking for something, as if the whole world was out to get her.  Ryan felt like maybe she was being a little too paranoid or scared.  Normally Ryan probably wouldn’t mind if they took their time, however they only made it a block or two since they left Ryan’s place.  Just when Ryan thought they would keep going, Willow decided it was enough.  She quickly lead the group back under some plant life lining the sidewalk.

“Wait what,” Ryan asked as he followed them.  “We… we barely went anywhere,” Ryan told them as if they didn’t know how far they just went.

“We’re done for the day,” Willow said already pulling her pack off.  Ryan watched the others, including Katty, follow her lead.

“Whoa, wait… I don’t know where were going, but… at this pace?  Our food wont last,” Ryan told them.

“Than we’ll get more,” Willow told him like it was that simple.

Hearing those words brought up the shrinky in his home, the one his mom sucked up with a vacuum.  The roar of the vacuum was a sound he wouldn’t forget, nor the sounds of the shrinky lost inside of it.  If they were going to look for food, there was a chance that could be his fate, or worse.  “Scavenge for food?!  Isn’t that super dangerous?”  Ryan realized how stupid of a question that was when all four of them looked at Ryan.  “I-I just mean like shouldn’t we try to stretch out our reserves by going as far as possible?”

“Look at the sky,” Willow grumbled as she pointed upward.  Ryan looked up and saw that the sky was covered with clouds, a lot of light and dark gray clouds.  “It’s going to rain soon. So were staying put till it’s over, which might be all day.  Now… take a seat,” Willow said a little more forcefully.

“Rain?”  Ryan wanted to scoff, “We’re stopping because of some rain?  What, you don’t want to get wet?  Come on, that’s crazy, we can easily get another block or two in before it might start getting really dark.”

Willow squinted her eyes at Ryan, “Look here, you-”

“Ryan,” Ryan told her feeling a little pissed at how she refused to use his name.

“YOU,”  She growled again as she stood up, “don’t know what you’re talking about.  I told you there are rules!”

“What rules?!  You haven’t explained anything to me yet?  Where are we going?  Why are you so scared of rain?  You act like I would know this stuff.”

The look on Willow’s face was one between “I’m going to punch you” and “Are you being serious right now?”  She looked baffled at Ryan’s words.

Katty finally said something, “M-maybe we can go a little further?”

Willow cut a look to Katty who shrinked back a little.  “A little further?”

“… at least till the first drop,” Tom offered.

Ryan felt like he just won a battle with more support.  Willow gave Tom her signature look and than directed it back at Ryan.  Ryan would definitely need to watch himself around her.  However she grumbled and hefted up her supplies.  Brand followed after Willow as they started to continue their journey again.  Ryan looked over to Katty and leaned over and quietly said, “Thanks for backing me up there.”

Katty nodded and gave him a smile.  “Got to look out for each other.”  Ryan nodded returning the smile.  

They continued to follow Willow, who never dropped her guard as she continued to be like a paranoid person peering into every shadow they were walking past.  They went on for another 20 minutes or so, they pasted a few more homes during this time.  Ryan figured since Willow wasn’t going to answer any of his questions he would ask someone who might, “So, what are these rules?  Why are you all so scared of the rain?”

Katty looked confused just like Willow was earlier, “Are you being serious?  Like, I thought you were-”

Ryan heard it, a splash or pop off to his left.  Ryan turned to the sound and saw a drenched spot on the concert.  “Is that rain,” Ryan asked looking up.  He didn’t notice the others already ducking for cover under the same looking type of planted bush that was surprisingly common in the area.

As Ryan confirmed that it was indeed raining, he looked back to see the three were already out from the opening.  Ryan was stunned at their actions, “It’s just a little sprinkle-”

Something hard and fast slammed into Ryan’s chest knocking him flat on his back.  Any air he had in his lungs was kicked out as he felt cold and wet.  Something like a dodge ball thrown at him had hit him.  Coughing and getting air back in his lungs, he realized he was almost drenched.  He got up on his feet and saw the splatter marks of a raindrop that landed right on him.  Did he just get hit by a raindrop?!  Holy shit!

Another splash and another as the sprinkling of water from the sky rained down randomly.  Ryan got to his feet flicking off any collection of water still on him.  Ryan watched as no one left the cover to come help him.  What were they doing-

Another splash near him cliped him and forces him to take a step to the side where a water droplet smacked him in the back of the head and into the ground again.  The little dribble of water started to pick up out of nowhere as the increase in rainfall meant it was like a minefield for Ryan as all around him splashes and explosions of water filled his world.  The droplets hit and pushed him around, it was like he was in a whirlwind full of thick dodge balls being chucked at him.  Ryan was making a little progress toward safety, when he felt something underneath him.  Looking down he saw a layer of water covering the surface of the sidewalk.  The layer grew faster and faster as the rain continued.  Before he knew it, he was caught in a downpour of water that was forming a stream that rose up and picked him up easily with the flood of rain.

“oh no! NO NO NO!”  Ryan shouted trying to grab something as the mass of water was now a stream as the down pour only continued.  The water wasn’t deeper than probably knee high or so, but the force of it was strong as it was already pulling him somewhere.  Ryan found that he was getting pulled away from the group as the water washed him away.  “Help,” Ryan shouted and tried to get their attention.

He couldn’t see if anyone was coming to save him, but it might be too late.  The torrent of water was just picking up speed as he was carried away with the debris of old leafs, dead insects, dirt, and whatever small things that was left out to be collected.  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Ryan shouted over the splashing of water.  He would occasional get hit with a raindrop every so often, but it was the current that was freaking him out.  It was like those movies where someone fell out of a boat and was trapped in the rapids of a river.  Only this wasn’t a movie, this was really happening.  Ryan found himself racing down the slight decline in the side walk as he saw where he was heading.

“Oh no…” Ryan felt his heart started to race when he saw the little trail of water he was stuck in take a nasty turn off the side walk and down into the storm drain off the side of the walkway.  The flow of water from all around the area was clearly heading for the dark bottomless pit.  If Ryan went down there…

That thought was enough to send Ryan into a panic as he tried to redirect himself out of the flow of water.  However the rainfall kept increasing and the strong stream soon became a raging river.  Ryan found nothing to grab or catch as he was starting to realize how close he was to his doom.  Why did he leave the safety of his apartment?  Ryan’s last thoughts were that of Emily, as horrible the last few weeks were with her, he still could recall the good times.

Giving up, Ryan said to himself, “Maybe I should have left her a note or something…”

As Ryan came closer toward the storm drain, Ryan didn’t notice the rain was letting up.  It most have been a brief downpour, but it didn’t matter there was enough water already on the ground to pull him down the storm drain.  Ryan was closer than before, already a foot or two from the storm drain.  He watched as the water rushed over the side of the sidewalk and down into the abyss.  The sound of the water crashing down onto the street and draining into the opening could be heard and chilled Ryan to his core.  “Fuck,” Ryan whimpered as he found it would just be a few more seconds till-

Just as Ryan went off the side walk and in through the air, something snapped at him and yanked him out of the torrent of water.  The crescendo of water falling into the pitch black darkness below him could be heard.  The echo of crashing water filled the air below Ryan as he dangled in the air.  Ryan looked behind him and saw Willow grabbing at him while holding onto a piece of string, rope, or something long.  Shocked and stunned as Willow struggled to hold onto Ryan by the bag on his back, Ryan felt pure happiness in his heart.  Slowly, Willow yanked him upward, it didn’t take too long before Ryan was safe on the damp sidewalk looking at the others helping Willow save his life.  Ryan smiled and flopped backwards breathing a sigh of relief, “You saved me… thank you.”

Ryan opened his eyes and watched Willow walk into view of his eyesight.  The same scow and look covered her face.  Willow stood over Ryan, looking down at him.  “I didn’t save you,” She told him with no emotional concern for him, “I saved the supplies.”

The honesty in her tone chilled Ryan to the core, worse than the chilling water that drenched him.  She couldn’t give a damn about him, he was just a food supply for her.  So what happened when he ran out of food and usefulness?  Almost as if to answer his dire question, the sound of the water being discarded off the sidewalk a little ways away answered it.  Once she was done with Ryan, he wouldn’t be shocked if she left him behind or worse got ride of him herself.  

What did Ryan get himself into...

Emily sat at the dinner table looking at the wide open front door to the apartment complex.  She had been sitting there for over an hour, looking at the floor for even the slightest looking speck of dust to come in, praying it was Ryan.  However as the day went on, slowly ticking by, there was no sign of Ryan.  The longer Emily waited the worse she felt, as she needed to talk to Ryan.  Emily had so many questions going through her head right now. Why did he leave for so long?  Was he just taking a walk?  Why did he leave his communicator on the ground?  What was the point of doing that?  Did he leave and run away?   

Each question that Emily thought up produced another question to follow up on.  She wasn’t sure how she would react when she saw Ryan.  Would she be happy that he was finally back?  Would she be furious for not saying anything?  What if he didn’t come back?  Should she go looking for Ryan?  If she did, would Ryan be upset she got all panicky about him?  Did he need her help?

“Where are you,” Emily muttered as she bite her lip in distress and looking at the clock on her phone.  It had been well over an hour since she noticed he was gone and was bleeding into two hours.  Emily got up from the table and started to pace back and forth muttering as she worried about what she needed to do.  “Fuck it,” She said sounding upset but also worried.

Mary called out from the couch seeming just as worried waiting for Ryan to come back home, “What are you going to do?”

“I can’t wait for him, maybe he’s lost or hurt or… I don’t know,” Emily responded the best she could without freaking out.  “I don't understand why he would just up and leave like this.  It doesn’t make sense.”

Mary seemed to want to offer a reason but she too was at a lost.  Like she told Emily before, he never ran away before as a child.  Still, Emily just couldn’t sit there waiting all day for something that might not happen.  Feeling a sick feeling in her gut, Emily left the apartment and went outside into the hallway.  She had checked outside the apartment before, but she doubled checked again… just in case she missed something or if Ryan was just returning from whatever the hell he was doing.  Emily checked along the wall of the complex and didn’t spot him.  Continuing down one side of the hallway, she made her way past the stairs, too busy looking downward to spot one of their neighbors walking past.

Emily examined the entire hallway and didn’t spot much.  There was a small crack in the ground near a wall, but it seemed far too small for Ryan to fall or fit in.  In fact Emily would have barely registered the small cracked sized hole, if she wasn’t looking downward.  It was so insignificant to see that she was sure most people didn’t even know it was there.  Not seeing Ryan, Emily headed back to her apartment, where the door was still wide open.  

“You don't think he tried going down the steps, do you?”  Emily asked Mary who looked just as unsure.  

Not waiting for a response, Emily decided to check the steps again.  She climbed down each step, carefully checking each nook and cranny for any signs of Ryan.  Each step she passed by she felt her heart sink a little further in her chest as she didn’t see Ryan.  Part of her was glad that she didn’t find Ryan.  She was horrified of seeing a red stain or a part of Ryan left after an accident.  That was the most horrifying thing she could think of that might have happened to him.  He went for a walk or something and someone accidentally hurt him, or worse… 

Emily shook her head, she needed to stay positive.

Heading once again back to her open apartment after examining the entire stairway and main floor, Emily checked to see if Ryan came back while she went looking those few minutes.  There was no such luck.  

Emotions wild, Emily couldn’t help but snap and say out loud in an angry yet worried tone, “I swear when he gets back I’m going to implant a tracker on him or something!”  

“Dear, just try and stay cal-”

“I CAN’T!”  Emily blurted out, “I can’t stay calm!  I just… damn it,” Emily paced back and forth through the kitchen and living room, “He’s not here in the apartment, he’s not outside the door, he’s not on this floor, and he’s not downstairs.”  Emily complained.  “I mean where else could he have gone…”

Emily paused as she thought about it.  Maybe someone else saw where he went?  It was only now that she thought of asking the neighbors if they had spotted Ryan today.  Emily felt a ray of hope at the possibility that their neighbors knew something.  Emily hurried out the door not paying any attention to Mary wondering what she was doing.  Heading to the first door, Emily knocked on the door and waited for a response from their next door neighbor.

“Janice,” Emily called out as she knocked.  It took a few moments before the door opened and an older woman, in her late 30’s opened the door.  “Hey, Janice.”

“Emily?  Is everything okay,” Janice asked noticing something was clearly wrong.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for bothering you but, well I was wondering if you seen Ryan today?”

“Ryan?”  Janice repeated his name, “Well, actually no.  I haven’t seen him in a WHILE.”  Janice told Emily sounding perplex.  “Did something happen?  Is everything okay,” Janice asked again.

“Well, no, actually.  I can’t find Ryan,” Emily told Janice.

Janice smirked, “Sounds like you misplaced him,” She chuckled.  “Where did you last leave him,” Janice asked like Emily had misplaced her keys or her phone.

“Well, I last left him in our bedroom, but I think he ran away this morning,” Emily explained.  “I found his communicator on the ground this -”

Janice cut her off, “Communicator?  Like a shrinky, communicator?  For a shrinky?”  Janice asked confused.

“Well yeah, Ryan is a shrink-”

The look on Janice face was one of shock, surprise, and a tinge of delight, “Really?!  Oh, how far along is he?  He’s got to be pretty far if he’s using a communicator,” Janice asked.

Emily slowly nodded, “He’s um, kind of already done shrinking.  Look, I was just checking to see if he might be around or if you saw him.”

Janice shook her head, “Sorry, I haven’t.  But if I do, I’ll make sure to let you know.”  Something about those words sounded hollow to Emily.  Emily could see that Janice wasn’t being honest.  A feeling that hit Emily hard.

“I should get going,” Emily told Janice as she started to walk away.

“Oh, Emily.  If you find him, and ever need someone to watch him for you, I would be more than happy to help out.  Just let me know,” Janice called out.  

“...Yeah, sure.”  Emily replied with no real emotion behind it.  Emily didn’t like how Janice said IF and how she was so willing to watch Ryan.

Emily slowly digested her conversation with Janice.  Recalling her reaction to the news of Ryan’s size.  The change in attitude at Ryan’s shrinkism.  It was shocking that someone that lived so closely and for so long, would react like that toward Ryan.  They were neighbors.  Not wanting to dwell too much on Janice, Emily made a mental note not to invite her over ever again with Ryan still in the house.  

Trying the next closest neighbor, Emily went and knocked on the door to Charlie’s place.  Ryan came over here more often than anyone else in the complex, that was for sure.  Emily wanted to kick herself for not going to Charlie first, it was more likely that Ryan was at Charlie’s than with Janice.  Emily went to knock on Charlie’s door.  However Janice reaction made Emily pause.  Charlie was different, right?  Emily feared the worse but went ahead and knocked anyway.

The young 23 year old opened the door greeting Emily.  Charlie was one of the younger residents in the complex, which might have been why he and Ryan bonded so easily.  They both had some things in common.  Still, Emily felt like maybe she should keep Ryan’s shrinkism a secret if he didn’t already know.  “Hi Charlie, hey I was wondering, have you seen Ryan recently?  Haven't seen him all morning.”

Charlie shook his head as he looked like he was trying to recall seeing Ryan.  “Mmm, no not really.  Everything okay?”

“Oh yeah, everything is fine,” Emily lied.  “Was just curious, I’m sure Ryan went to grab something to eat… oh, Charlie… maybe you can decided a stupid bet I had with Ryan.”

Charlie shrugged, “Sure I guess.  What is it?”

“Well,” Emily gave a weak laugh as if it were a joke, “We were messing around and Ryan asked… this is stupid but, if he were a shrinky, would you treat him different?”

Charlie snorted, “Ryan?  A shrinky?  He’s like 26 or something right?” Charlie laughed till he saw that Emily was being serious about the question.  Charlie shrugged, “I don't know.  Shit, to be honest?  I’d treat him like any other shrinky.”

Emily felt her body stiffen, “What?”

Again Charlie just shrugged, “Yeah, I mean IF he were a shrinky, why wouldn’t I treat him like a shirnky?”  Charlie went further on with the thought, “Even if I knew him before he shrank, once you become a shrinky, that’s it for you… but don’t tell him that,” Charlie laughed, “I don’t want him holding a grudge of a dumb hypothetical question.  “Anyway, tell him we need to hang out soon, feels like it’s been ages.”

“Uh, yeah I’ll tell him.”  Emily responded feeling even more dead inside at Charlie’s words.  

“Alright,” Charlie said as he started to close his door.

Emily left the front of Charlie’s apartment and headed back to home.  She didn’t feel like asking anyone else if they had seen Ryan.  It seemed clear that even the most hospitable and friendly neighbors were not the same if you were a shrinky.  It terrified Emily to learn that if someone that was friendly and knew Ryan for a few years would treat him as a normal shrinky, than what would a random stranger on the street do to him?  It made Emily shiver and nearly break down at the thought of her poor little Ryan coming across some very twisted monster.

“Where did you go,” Emily muttered as she head back to the apartment feeling worse than when she left a few minutes ago.  

Ryan sat silently under the bush still recovering.  He didn’t want to talk to anyone as he tried to come to terms with what had happened.  Willow saved him or to be more precise, saved the supplies that just happened to be attached to him.  He was almost positive she would have just let him fall down that man hole without much more than a blink in his general direction.  

Ran shook his head as he tried to not imagine what it would have been like to fall down that dark hole and into oblivion.  To drown in the current of water and have his body never be found by anyone.  He could still feel his body being dragged with the water’s current and being tossed off the sidewalk and toward his doom.  Still wet and cold, Ryan tried his best not to show any signs of trauma from such an event.  Ryan looked up from the ground he was sitting on and saw that Brand and Thomas were too busy checking their packs for whatever they were looking for.  Willow was once again looking out from under the bush through the slight drizzle of rain, as if looking for the next impending disaster to hit them.  Katty on the other hand, was the only one standing off from the others and closer to Ryan.  She was just close enough to talk to him.

“Are you okay,” She asked sounding worried.  Probably the only one in the group that cared.

“Y-yeah…” Ryan said still recuperating.  He was a little glade that they weren’t moving anymore because of the rain, he would have time to rest and recover from the horror he just went through.  Ryan was sure his legs weren’t able to move just yet.

“Why didn’t you listen to Willow,” Katty asked perplexed and confused.

Ryan looked at her like she said something crazy.  “Why didn’t I… I thought you agreed that she’s kind of a-” Ryan looked over to Willow who seemed to be out of ear shout.  However he felt like maybe he shouldn’t say the word.  “You know,” Ryan said giving her a look that she confirmed with a nod.  “I thought she was just being all talk.  I didn’t know rain would be so… difficult,” Ryan said finding the term for the experience.

“Well of course,” Katty told Ryan as if it was common knowledge.  Katty saw that Ryan was new to this knowledge and gasped, “You’ve never been outside before have you?”

Ryan shook his head, “No, not really.  At least not like this, during a down pour,” Ryan told her.  Looking back out from under the bush he could still see a few droplets of water the same size as before that knocked him off his feet.  The splashing of the water in the distance made Ryan flinch a little.  “I guess I should have said something sooner,” Ryan remarked.

Katty sighed, “Well, I know I complained about her,” Katty brought Ryan’s attention to Willow who was still observing the outside world, “But that doesn’t mean you should ignore her advice.  She’s helped not just me but the others out plenty of times.  She’s not easy to get along with but, you should listen to her,” Katty told Ryan.

Ryan didn’t want to say anything but simply nodded.  He would definitely keep Willow’s words of advice and decision in mind.  Who was he, someone that had been a shrinky for less than a month, to think he knew what he was talking about.  Willow did seem like she knew way more about this new world he was in now.  Besides he owed Willow his life, even if she didn’t mean to save him, the least he could do was shut up and follow her decision and orders.

As Ryan was still recovering from his post traumatic experience, and Katty chatted about her dislike for being outside even at this size.  When Ryan finally felt better and got a hold of himself, he saw Willow pull back from the edge of the underbrush and walk toward the center near him.  Willow walked over to Ryan’s stuff and opened it without asking him.  Ryan was about to say something but held his tongue.  He didn’t want to piss her off any more than he already had.

“We should eat,” Willow told everyone as she pulled out some of the food in Ryan’s stuff.  She started to toss everyone portions of the supplies.  Ryan held onto the small chunk of food in his hands, feeling hungry after such an ordeal he had gone through, Ryan quickly consumed his portion.  He looked around  at the other four who were eating just as quickly if not faster.

“So what’s the plan,” Thomas asked, more toward Willow than anyone else.  She waited till she finished her food before answering.

“We rest for the day.  We’ll leave in the morning,” Willow told everyone.

Ryan didn’t know why it bothered him so much, but he really wanted to know where Willow was planing on going.  Not knowing the destination was a little troubling for Ryan.  Not that he had somewhere he wanted to go, or knew about, he just felt a little uneasy to be left in the dark.  “Sorry to ask again, but where is it that we’re heading to,” Ryan spoke up.

Willow answered with a curt and cold response, “You can follow or leave.  It’s up to you I wont stop you.  However like I said before, the food stays.”  Again there was no discussion on the topic, and it didn’t look like Willow was going to share he plan.  Ryan finally gave up and figured where ever they were going, it had to be relatively safe.  Ryan finished the last of his food and looked over to Katty who was already trying to find a decent place to lay down.

It didn’t look like it was going to get dark for a while, but the others were already starting to prepare for bed.  Ryan watched as the other three pulled out some form of old material to be used as blankets.  He was the only one with an actual blanket itself.  As Tom and Brand tucked themselves close to each other, Willow laid down away from everyone else, and Katty was close by without anything to sleep with.  Ryan grabbed his blanket and moved closer to Katty.  “Uh, do you not have something to cover up with?”

Katty shook her head as she lay on her side.  “I haven’t found anything yet, even though it’s been a while.”  Katty let out a bitter chuckle, “Thank goodness it hasn’t been too cold.”

“Um, well,” Ryan said sitting down near Katty, “We could share.”  Katty rolled over and looked at Ryan and it was now that Ryan had to quickly add, “I didn’t mean like in a weird way or anything!  Just like…”

Katty shook her head as she laughed, “Yeah I know what you mean.  Don’t worry I didn’t get that vibe from you at all.”  Ryan couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

As Ryan offered the other half of the blanket he ended up asking, “So did the others not offer or did you get a… VIBE from them?”

Katty snorted, “They didn’t ask, but to be honest if they did I wouldn’t have.  I would rather freeze than sleep using a plastic bag or an old smelly piece of newspaper as a blanket.”

Ryan didn’t say anything, but Katty’s view on what she would and wouldn’t do to survive seemed very prissy.  Ryan hadn’t been put in her situation for very long but he felt like he would take what he could.  If it was a torn piece of plastic or newspaper, it was better than nothing.  However, Ryan wasn’t going to judge Katty too much, she had only been a shrinky a little longer than himself.  Ryan tossed more of the blanket over toward the younger teen.

Ryan got comfy and looked around and spotted something that chilled his soul.  Willow was glaring daggers at him.  It was a warning look, like she was expecting to see Ryan doing something unsavory.  Ryan wasn’t that kind of person, but the look that Willow gave him made him want to scurry out from under the blanket just so she would stop glaring.  The moment Willow looked away from Ryan, he let out a sigh and tried to get some sleep.

As Ryan tried to sleep he found that his dreams were restless.  Once again like earlier, it was all dreams of being swallowed or hurt by Emily and now his mother was added into the mix.  After one of them swallowed him, he would end up in the other’s hand.  Chewed or swallowed whole, Ryan relived the constant torment of those two getting their kicks out of his pain and sorrow.  It was on the third time that his mother decided to chew a part of his arm off that Ryan shot up gasping at his numb arm.  A sense of panicky him him as he really thought he lost his arm… only to start to feel his arm coming back to life. .

It turned out that Ryan was sleeping on his arm and it went numb in his sleep.  Gasping and trying to calm his beating heart, he looked around.  Everyone was still asleep, Katty, Brand, Tom, and…. where was Willow?  Ryan didn’t see her in her sleeping bag, in fact her bag wasn’t even there.  Ryan sat further up as he looked around, a sense of fear and anxiety hit Ryan as he feared that Willow took off without them.  The last place Ryan looked was near the edge of the under bush, where Willow kept watch the other day.  Sure enough there she was, with her gear all ready and set, watching the outside like a guard dog.  

Ryan found he was already up, and deiced to join Willow or to at least try and get on some kind of good side with her.  Walking over toward her, Ryan was a few steps behind Willow before she spoke up, “Were going to need supplies.”

“Oh, uh, yeah… I think we have enough for-”

“A day,” Willow told him.  “I’d rather grab some more before were starving.  You didn’t bring as much as I thought you had.”  Willow said sounding a little disappointing in him, like it was his fault. She continued to look out into the world beyond the shrub.  Ryan watched Willow be... well Willow, as she kept looking from right to left for something to come out of nowhere.  Ryan and Willow both sat in the dark, as the sun started to rise and bring color to the blackened world.  It was slow, but the sun started to slowly rise up from the horizon.  Ryan watched the sky fill with the beauty of the sun before he sighed and decided to try and make some conversation with Willow.

“So… how long have you been a shrinky?”

There was a long pause as Willow didn’t speak.  Ryan had a feeling she wouldn’t say much but finally after a long pause she said, “A while…”

“A while,” Ryan repeated not sure how to take the information.  “So how long have you been in charge of this little group?” Ryan asked trying to at least keep the conversation going.  Willow turned toward him and gave him an uncertain look before she went back to gazing at the surroundings. 

As Willow spoke it seemed like she was hesitant explaining, when it came to names.  “A few years.  Brand was the first, I found him after his family was captured and… disposed of.  Thomas was next, he couldn’t stop worrying about how I lead the group.  Than there was Katty… Look I don’t like to talk about the others,” Willow quickly spat out like it hurt to say their names.

“Oh, shit, sorry.  I didn’t know.  I just… is there a reason?”  Ryan asked curious.

Willow gave Ryan a hard stare, which he was starting to get accustomed to,  before she went back to her gazing on the rest of the world.  Ryan figured she wouldn’t say much but as he was about to leave, Willow spoke with deep sorrow, “I’ve had too many …. not make it.  It’s easier to not care if you don’t know them.  To look the other way when IT happens.”  Willow told Ryan.  She was silent for a while before she said, “I sometimes dream about them.  About trying to help…”

Ryan stayed silent as Willow explained her plight.  He wasn’t 100% what she was talking about, but he just knew that it trouble her.  Willow had some dark demons bothering her, and Ryan couldn't help but feel like he should help.  He watched Willow as she looked lost in her memories.  “Uh, well you have us-”  Ryan stopped talking when Willow cut an upset and angry glare to him.  She seemed to still be in sorrow and rage about her memories that Ryan knew it was time to shut up.  He sat there in silence as Willow did her thing.  A deep inhale came from Willow as she continued to look upon the empty world of the sidewalk.  She started to calm down after a few more moments, but didn’t say anything.  Ryan wanted to talk some more but figured silence was best.  They sat there looking out at the slowly brightening world as the sun started to rise higher.

“We should start moving soon,” Willow told Ryan as she started to get up from the ground.  Ryan followed Willow’s action as he stood up.  Heading back to his blanket, where Katty was still sleeping, he tried to slowly wake her up.  It seemed like Katty didn’t want to, as both Brand and Thomas were easier to wake up than her, still Ryan had to give her a shake to wake her up.

“Katty, were leaving,” Ryan tried to tell her.

“Mmm, 5 more minutes,” Katty said pulling the blanket closer.

“I don’t think she’s going to wait that long,” Ryan told Katty giving her another gentle shake.  “Come on, don’t make me leave my blanket behind,” Ryan joked.  

Katty muttered something but finally started to get up.  “It’s been too long since I had a blanket… kind of forget how comfy it can be.”

Ryan didn’t say anything since he’s never really slept without covers.  Once Katty was up and Ryan had his blanket back, he packed up his stuff again and wrapped them up.  Hiking up his makeshift backpack he joined everyone near the sidewalk.  The sun was already out giving them plenty of light to see, but it had to be still early for most people.  There wasn’t anyone on the street or on the sidewalk. 

“Come on,” Willow said as she started to lead everyone on their continued adventure to where ever Willow was heading

Ryan fell into the similar marching order, with the others up front and Ryan in the back.  Katty was nearby as it seemed she was more fond of talking to him than the other three.  As they were walking along the sidewalk again, with the row of small hedges or bushes lining one side of the walk way.  It provided perfect cover for hiding when they would need to duck under them.  It was rare that they had to tuck themselves under one.  Someone walking by or jogging on either sidewalk along the road, someone coming out of their house to grab some mail or leave for work.  Luckily most of the giants and giantess were way to busy with their actions to pay too much attention or to even consider to check for shrinkies nearby.  

However everything was not so simple, they must have walked over a block or two.  Before they came to the first problem of the day, the side walk ended and there was a road to cross.  Normally it would take 3-5 seconds to walk across at normal size, but as Ryan looked out across the road, it was gigantic.  They would be out in the open for way to long, not to mention any possible cars that could be driving across it.

Willow didn’t seem too worried about any of Ryan’s concerns as she started to head toward the dip in the sidewalk that merged into the asphalt for bikes or wheeled transportation to cross with ease.  “Whoa, wait do we have to cross?  Shouldn’t we wait till later?” Ryan spoke up.  Sure enough Willow gave him a look that told him to not question her, especially after yesterday.  Yet, his concern must have been very dramatic or telegraphed for her, because Willow let out a sigh and started to answer him instead of ignoring him.

“If we wait too long it’s going to be too hot to cross,” She explained like she was dealing with a child.  It was now that Ryan realized that their timing was perfect. It was starting to get hotter now that the sun has risen slightly higher in the sky.  “Besides, we have to go this way, so it’s now or later tonight.”  Ryan thought it wouldn’t be so bad to say tonight but just as he was about to say it, Willow was already starting to cross the road.  The other three didn’t bother to consider the other option as they followed after Willow.

“This is stupid,” Ryan muttered his objections, as he quickly followed after Willow and the others.  Sure enough when they stepped out on the black top, Ryan could feel the warmth starting to radiate off the ground.  It was kind of hot, but he was sure it would have been so much worse if they waited a few hours longer, when it would be the hottest time of the day.  The thought of running across a burn hot beach came to mind, only much longer and no water at the end of the line.  Thankfully it didn’t take so long to run across as Ryan thought it would, but it sure was frightening. Ryan half expected a car to come down the street at any second, running over them.  Or maybe he would be lucky enough that someone spotted the five of them running across the black top and stopping in time.  

It wasn’t till they made it up the other side of the walkway that Ryan realized just how repetitive the neighborhood was.  The same kind of plant life lining the side of the walk way continued on this side of the road too.  It seemed far to covenant with the covering provided, but something told Ryan that Willow probably picked this path for this specific reason.  He was stunned by Willow ability to recall her surroundings that she might have seen or been through before.  It wasn’t something that Ryan was sure he could do it himself.

“So I’m guessing she’s been through here before,” Ryan asked Katty, since it seemed Willow most likely wouldn’t answer his question.

Katty shook her head and shrugged not knowing, “First time I’ve been through here.  She might have.  I just know that she’s determined to go to someplace far away.  Where that is,” Katty shrugged, “Again don’t know.”

Ryan’s curiosity about Willow increased, as Katty mentioned far away place.  Where or what could this place be?  Was this like some kind of journey that Willow makes or was she just a roaming traveler picking up random strangers till she reaches her destination?  Ryan really wanted to know, there was just something about her that was compelling to him.  Or maybe this was just Ryan trying to associate with other’s his size.  He would be lying to himself if he didn’t feel friendly already toward the others too, and he had only talked to Katty and Willow.  Maybe he should try getting to know Brand and Thomas a little better.

Ryan thought about it.  Wanting to get friendly with the others he started to walk a little faster to catch up to-

“HIDE,” Willow barked out as everyone jumped off the sidewalk into the bushes to the side.  Everyone except Ryan at first.  It took him a few moments to realize what was going on before he too followed after everyone else.  Ryan took cover under the dark shade of a small hedge as he tried to peer out at the reason to Willow’s sudden command.  Ryan wasn’t sure how Willow heard it before he did, but from behind them the sound of pitter patter coming up the sidewalk started to get louder.  Sure enough, Ryan spotted white tennis shoes jogging followed up by four brown legged paws of what could only belong to a dog.  Taking a wild guess by the size and color of the shoes, it had to be a young girl easily early teens.

Ryan wasn’t paying much attention as the feet started to come up to where they were hiding.  He figured they would pass by them like all the other foot traffic this morning.  However it was the four paws that slowed down that caught Ryan’s attention.  He immediately saw the black square nose of the dog pointing down at the ground.

Ryan gasped as he recognized the snout of the canine animal sniffing around just where Ryan was walking a few seconds ago.  Ryan let out a silent curse as the snorting and sniffing of the dog increased.  The nose started to get closer toward him as the dog was tracking him!  The large maw of the dog went off the sidewalk and headed toward the very spot Ryan was hiding.  The increase in sniffing deafened Ryan’s hearing as he stood frozen, unable to back up further from where he was as his legs were locked.  The massive sniffer, snorted one more time, blasting Ryan with a gust of hot air as the dog poked it’s nose under the bush and almost into Ryan himself. 

“Come on Mandy!”  The young girl called out, as the sound of a leash being tugged, yanked the dog out and away from Ryan.  “We’re almost home, don’t stop now,” the girl called out still trying to keep her walking pace and giving her pet a nice tug to bring her along.  The dog gave one more sniff before doing as her master ordered and left Ryan in peace.

By the time the dog and owner left, Ryan’s heart beat started to drop back down to normal.  That was way too close for his comfort.  So when Willow was already telling everyone to hurry up, Ryan couldn’t help but snap.  “Would you just hold up!  I was nearly found out!”

Willow shook her head at his outburst ignoring his outburst, “AND?  Your point is?”

“My point?!” Ryan was looking for someone to say something but once again, he was the only one acting like this.  “There’s got to be an easier and safer way to travel.  Like,” Ryan quickly pointed out, “We could be going at night.  Than we wouldn’t have to worry about crossing hot streets or people finding us,” Ryan told Willow.

“If you want to travel at night, go ahead,” Willow replied with a sarcastic tone.  “I’m sure you won’t have any issues with cats.”

Ryan felt all his anger vanish at the mention of cats.  “C-cats?”

Willow was already walking back to the sidewalk, “You’re in a neighborhood, I can fucking guarantee there’s at least a couple of cats roaming around at night.  At least during the day I can see and react better than in the darkness.  But hey I’m sure you wouldn’t mind trying to fend off a cat or two.  I’ve seen my fair share of what a cat do with shrinkies to know not to come across one.  Especially when they hunt at night.”  Willow remarked.

Ryan gulped at the comment.  Ryan wasn’t a cat person, but he heard enough stories about them.  Bringing dead mice or birds back home.  He never though about what they did to shrinkies, and the way Willow grimy told him from her “experience” that he didn’t want to know.  Feeling stupid for questioning Willow’s judgment, Ryan fell back in line and followed.  

Willow carefully observed Ryan as they all started to rest under another set of bushes outside of a random home.  Willow didn’t know how Ryan survived for so long, he looked to be about her age, so at the least he had to have been a shrinky for 6 years.  However he was acting like everything was so new to him!  It was like he just shrank recently.  He was completely oblivious to all the dangers or potential threats.  Maybe he had a sheltered life?  Was he someone’s pet for those years or got EXTREMELY lucky and had actual loving parents and family?  Willow shook her head as she finished the last of her food supplies.  It seemed everyone's food just ran out, and so now they would need to get more.  

Willow told everyone to get some sleep for a little while, they were going to do a supply run on this house.  Willow hated this, but sadly there wouldn’t be any other way to get food besides entering the home.  There were a few lights turned on, so someone was home, but Willow didn’t see who or how many lived in the building.  Sadly they really didn’t have a choice, they need to get something to eat for the next few days.  Willow glanced over at Ryan and Katty, the two newest ones to the group.  She was sure one if not both of them wouldn’t make it tonight.  It wasn’t rare for her to lose someone on a food run, especially someone new.

Trying to steel herself for the event that might happen, she saw the last lights turn off and signal the owner was going to sleep.  Willow stood up and grabbed her stuff.  She woke everyone up.  As they got ready, Willow checked the clearing through the lawn and didn’t spot anything moving in the yard.  It was hard to tell at night, but luckily there was some light from the moon and other homes that still had thier lights on.  

“Let’s go,” Willow told everyone as she rushed toward the house.  She didn’t know what kind of animal life was around, and sure as heck didn’t want to be out in the open too long.  Luckily the grass was cut short enough that it wasn’t too hard to run through and still see the entrance to the house.  It wasn’t too long of a run, but it did leave a few of the others out of breath.  The moment they were up against the side of the home, they took a quick breather.

“Wh-what now,” Ryan gasped catching his breath.

“We go in,” Willow told him.

“How?”

Willow was about to ignore the question, but once again the remark reminded her of a newly shrinky.  He truly didn’t know how to live as a shrinky.  “Unless you want to go knocking on the door and see if they’ll open it,” Willow dryly remarked, “We’re going to sneak in, through…” Willow said as she pushed her hand along the foundation and siding of the home.  She felt a small gap going upward… and warm air.  “Here,” Willow stated.  

Willow slowly entered the small gap and found it was tight, but accessible.  There was a little crawling around that needed to be done but soon she was going left and right in the small dark space.  Willow followed the air current like the many times before this.  It was almost like second nature to her as she easily found the path she needed to take.  Soon there was a small and dim glow in the distance.  Willow headed toward the light in the dark passage way and saw a small crack opening up.  Squeezing out of the gap left between the baseboard and a corner of a room, she peeked her head out and examined the new area.  It was dark, but the dim glow was coming off a TV playing in the room.  The TV on the entertainment stand was softly playing some show, movie, or something.  The sound of a deep snore coming from the couch brought her attention to the noise.  There, she spotted a large older man passed out on the couch, laying down on his back.  One arm hung off and touching the ground, while the other was flung over his head and arm rest.  His feet kicked up on the other arm rest, and a good handful of beer bottles were between him and the TV, resting on the coffee table.  He seemed passed out laying down on the couch.  

Relived to see the state of the drunken man, Willow continued to observed the room some more.  A few chairs were left in the room unoccupied, but telling Willow there was could be more people in the home.  Willow looked back behind her and whispered to the others, “One sleeping in the room.  Stay quite.”  Willow exited the small gap, barely large enough for her to squeeze through and stood on the other side of the wall.  As the others snuck out from behind the baseboard, Willow peered around more, seeing that the one story tall home, had a hallway past the kitchen leading deeper into the house.  The wall to Willow’s right that held the TV near it, ran toward the front door and another wall cutting toward the kitchen.  To Willow’s left was the other corner of the room, it ran along parallel to Willow’s right side, but it quickly opened up into a kitchen.  There was a round table with four chairs.  The kitchen had a counter running along the back wall with appliances but nothing stopping anyone from going to the fridge and back to the living room, making it seem very spacious.  

“Okay, let’s head to the kitchen and get what we can,” Willow told everyone before adding one more thing, “Everyone knows the rule.”  She turned her attention to the newbie of the group, Ryan. “No hero’s.  If you’re caught that’s it.  We leave you, no one is coming to save you, you’re on your own, got it?”  Willow saw the horrified look on the man’s face.

“What do you mean?”  The disbelief in his voice was clear.  

“Like I said, you’re on your own if something happens.”  Willow didn’t have time to explain anymore to the new guy.  She needed to find enough food to last for a few more days and whatever else she could use.  Willow pointed to everyone but Ryan and said, “Food.  Whatever you can find.”  All three of them nodded as she started to lead them all toward the kitchen.  As Willow started to walk on the carpet, she need a few moments to adjust from hard firm ground to the fluffy spongy floor.  Once stable, she followed along the wall of the living room, with the slumbering Giant sleeping away.  There were a few points when Willow froze when the sleeping man moved in his sleep, but that was all he did.  Thankful that he was passed out, Willow continued, making her way toward to corner of the room.  Once there she followed along the wall toward the opening of the kitchen.  Stepping off the soft carpet and onto the hard tile ground covering the kitchen, Willow scanned the dark dim room’s floor for any food.  The only light helping was the fading light from the TV in the other room, and the few windows letting in the moon light.

Willow and the others started to spread out and look for any kind of crumbs or scraps of food left behind.  Anything was better than nothing, as Willow was used to it.  She headed over to the table, which was closer to a large hallway leading deeper into the home.  Willow found a couple droplets of old food, pieces of lasagna, dried and hard.  She quickly started to stash them away in her bag.  She was about to call the others over when she spotted something horrifying.

RYAN!  The dumb idiot was standing in the open moon light looking upward.  What the fuck was he doing?!

 “YOU!”  Willow hissed trying to get his attention.  Heading over to him as fast as she could, Willow grabbed the man and yanked him out of the lighten.  “The fuck are you doing?!  Are you trying to get caught,” Willow asked with pure anger in her voice.

“Wh-what?  No-no,” he stammered before pointing up toward the counter top.  “I was looking for food, look,” he said pointing upward at the counter.  Willow followed his eyes and spotted a loaf of bread.  “I was trying to find a way up there,” He explained.

Willow shook her head, no it was way too risky…

“Just help with the crumbs,” Willow told him pointing to the small bits of scattered food around the table. 

“But there’s plenty of FRESH food up there,” he argued.

Willow wanted to hit him for being so combative, “Yeah and it’s too damn dangerous, we don’t have time to look for a way up…”

Willow stopped her speech, as she spotted the space between the counter and oven.  It looked like enough room for someone to wall climb up.  She could do it… she could climb up there.  It wouldn’t be too hard.  The appeal to eating something fresh weighted in her mind.  It had been far too long since she had fresh bread and not stale or moldy bits left behind.  Willow looked around one more time for any signs of danger…

“Fine,” Willow growled letting Ryan know how much she hated the idea. “I’LL go get enough to fill my bag.  YOU grab some crumbs,” Willow ordered him again pointing to the table she was just at.

Ryan quickly offered, “You sure I could come-”

Willow snorted at the thought of him trying to follow after her, “Yeah right, just get some damn food.”  Heading off toward the oven, she stood in the small crevice and looked on either side of her.  It wasn’t like the siding was going to give way, but she still tested it out of habit.  Finding it sturdy, Willow pushed her arms and legs into he wall and started to climb up.  Pushing and pulling with her legs and arm moving vertically upwards.  It took her a few moments to climb to the top of the counter but she made it.  Pulling herself up to the counter top from the small gap between the appliance and the counter itself, Willow looked down at the kitchen and spotted everyone.  Ryan and the others made their way to the dinner table and were picking up what they could.  Willow made her way across the counter and toward the bread left on a cutting board.  There was a fresh slice laying down already cut.  She would just tear off a couple good clump and leave with it.  

Once next to the board, Willow pulled her bag off and dumped out the crappy crumbs she found and went to rip off some bread.  Shoving a good couple of chunks into her bag Willow couldn’t help but smile.  The smell of the bread was heavenly and delightful.  Wanting to try the still fresh bread, Willow pulled off some for herself to try right now.  Bringing the bread up to her face, Willow bit into the fluffy freshly risen baked bread.  Willow could just die from the taste of it filling her mouth-

The sound of footsteps coming from off in the distance pulled Willow out of her world of bliss.  She spun around just in time to be hit by the blinding kitchen light flipping on.  Willow winched, and started to try and recover her eyesight as a new giant person entered the kitchen.  Her eyes were still adjusting, as Willow held her hands up to shield the light from her eyes.  Willow first caught two large feet approaching from the other side of the kitchen, as they passed the dinner table.  She spotted the blurry shapes of the others hiding.  By the time Willow’s eyes were accustom to the new light, the sound of the footsteps speeding up filled the room.  Willow had the pleasure of seeing a young teen boy rushing her before she could even move from the counter.  His enormous form filling all of her vision.

“Oh shit,” the boy whispered as his hands were already around Willow in a heartbeat.  “I caught a shrinky!  And a girl one too!”    

Willow felt the enormous fingers wrap around her as the boy snatched her up and held her up to his gigantic face.  Willow winced again as she felt the pressure around her body building to the point she thought she felt something crack and pop.  It would be a lie if she told herself she wasn’t afraid.  There was always a hint of fear at being caught.  Now in the grasp of this smiling and smirking boy, she felt the familiar feeling of fright rising up in her.  The delight in the boy’s eyes told her that he was already thinking up things to do with her.  She seen plenty of Giants and Giantess that captured shrinkies to know that it’s never ever a good thing.

The delighted boy chuckled as he reached into a cabinet and pulled out a clear cup and started to get some water from the fridge.  He started to speak, “I came to get some water, and I find you sneaking around.  I thought tonight was going to suck.”

Willow glared at her captive but didn’t remark.  Instead she struggled a little more only to have the boy gulp the water down and chuckle, “And a fighter too…”

Willow defiantly gave the boy another hard glare. If this was it, she wouldn’t show any form of weakness to the monster.   As horrible as the situation was for her now, the least she could do was keep him distracted for the others to get out.  Brand had been with her long enough to know what to do, he should be using this time to clear out of the kitchen or hid in a better spot.  She had already marked her self down as dead, hopefully it wouldn’t be meaningless for the others.

“Fuck you!”  Willow spat.  The boy only grinned more at those words.  Redoubling her effort to escape, if not to break free than to put on a good show.  It didn’t help as the boy didn’t so much as relax a muscle in his hand.

“Feisty, but I can’t have dad finding you.”  The boy held Willow over the glass cup before dropping her in the glass chamber.  Willow landed with a clink in the little ankle deep water with a splash.  “I’ll keep you in there till mom picks me up,” The boy explained heading out of the kitchen and turning the lights off.  He kept talking sounding thrilled, “Than when I get back home, we can play around without being disturbed.”  Willow now felt true terror from her captive.  It didn’t sound like she would be lucky enough for a quick finish.  This monster liked to play.  Willow shuddered and pulled her legs inward as she held herself.

Willow hadn’t felt this fearful in a long time.  It was almost comical how she tired to be brave and still was the frighten child her family abandon in the park.  Willow felt the cup set down on a nightstand next to a simple bed room.  There was a desk nearby covered in messy papers and trash.  A dresser in the other corner of the room and a TV with a gaming system across from the bed.  Nothing of use for her.

The boy gave Willow a mocking kiss through the other side of the glass as he laughed at how she reacted in disgust.  The boy soon turned off his lights and was in bed sleeping.  Willow couldn’t help it, she was tired, scared, and powerless in the dark.  Unable to do much she felt herself falling asleep horrified of what was to come.  But, at least the others weren’t caught.  

Her sacrifice for their safety would be last good deed she ever did in this cruel world.

Willow knew she was dreaming, but it didn’t stop her from reenacting and reliving the moment that played out for her.  She was back in Sora’s room.  Unlike before, she wasn’t her younger self, she was her current age, well pass the age she was found by the young girl.  Her outfit the same as what she was wearing when she was caught by that teenage boy.  Willow saw Sora and Sora’s father talking to each other.  Willow couldn’t make out much of the conversation but she knew how it went.  Sora had to get rid of her.  Willow knew that no amount of arguing or begging she did would sway the father.

Unable to change the dream she went along with it, her emotions more calm than the actually real day that this happened on.  Maybe cause she knew the outcome or the fact that she knew it was all just a dream that it helped her stay composed.  Willow waited till Sora’s father left, than Sora turned toward Willow.  Willow looked up at the young teen, damp and foggy eyes as she slowly walked over to her desk where Willow was still at.

“Sorry,” Sora muttered sounding depressed at what she had to do.  Willow didn’t comment.  She remembered trying to plead with Sora, trying to get her to hid her from her parents, but the girl couldn’t.  Willow just went along with the dream as Sora slowly picked Willow up and put her back in her hand.  They traveled through the small house, things were shady or cloudy of details as they passed by parts of the home, things that Willow couldn’t remember.  Sora constantly repeating sorry to Willow over and over again through the hour long walk through the house.  They were like on an infinite loop of Sora carrying Willow out of the house.  It had to be Willow’s anxiety that help prolong this part of the dream, because she kept feeling the so helpless through the long event.

Finally Willow looked outward and saw the front door wide open.  Sora’s dad holding it open for them to leave.  Willow felt anger building in her at the man who wouldn’t even look at her, kick her out of the safety of the house.  Oh how she wished she were larger, than she could knock that bland looking expression right of his face.  However Willow was stuck in the dream at her current size, too small to even do more than tickle him with her punches.   

Sora walked outside and down the first two steps of the porch before Willow heard the door slowly close.

“Sorry little one,” Sora said as she held Willow in her hands.

Willow figured it couldn’t hurt to talk.  She let out a disappointed sigh, “Don’t be.  It’s not your fault.”

Sora didn’t react much to those words, maybe because that wasn’t what Willow said in the past.  Or maybe, like a dream, it didn’t really matter what she did.  However the dream kept on going.  Willow watched Sora look around a little before she spotted something.  Carrying Willow in her palm, Sora headed over to a nearby shrub planted by the side of the house she lived in.  Sora carefully set Willow down near the plant.  Willow hopped off Sora’s soft hand and onto the hard ground.  Looking back at Sora she looked so worried and upset…

“I kept some for you,” Sora spoke quietly as she pulled out some of the left over eggs she was giving to Willow.  “Here,” Sora said handing the enormous chunk of scrambled egg to Willow.  Willow watched the little teen put the yellow basketball pieced egg into her hands.  The only kind gesture she got since she shrunk.

Unable to stop herself, Willow smiled, “Thanks.”

“Maybe…” Sora continued to speak like her father was watching.  “I can bring you more?  Like tomorrow?  Would that be okay?”  Willow nodded, bringing a smile to Sora’s face.  “Okay… I’ll bring you something tomorrow… well bye for now,”  Willow watched Sora get up from her crouching and head off back to the front door.  It was the first time anyone did anything nice for her since she shrank.  Something that she wouldn’t forget for a long time.

Still reliving her memory from her dream, Willow went to take a bite of egg in her hand.  Just as she was about to bite into it she felt something touching her back.  Before she could stop herself, Willow turned around and acted out of pure instinct and went to attack.

Willow came awake swinging her little fist at whatever touched her shoulder.  She swung hard and spasticly at whatever she couldn’t see.  She was already on her feet throwing her hands at whatever it was, which just happen to be Ryan.  “WHOA!”  Ryan hissed as he tried to duck out of Willow’s punch only to find Willow already going for another volley at him.

Willow had just enough time to pull back her second punch to become aware of where she was.  She blinked a few times to wake herself up and look around.  She was still stuck in the glass cup that the teenager dropped her in earlier.  However there was a new addition to the cup, Ryan was in here with her.

“What- what the- what are you doing,” Willow barked at him with an equally annoyed and shocked expression of Ryan’s presence. 

Ryan seemed to be rethinking his next words as he spoke slowly to Willow.  Ryan looked confused,  “I… came to… rescue you?  What does it look like?”  His perplexed look was almost comical.

Willow continued to look at Ryan like he was the dumbest person to have walked the earth.  He came to rescue her?  What the heck was he talking about? 

It wasn’t till now that she saw something tied around Ryan and going straight up out of the cup.  The line cleared the rim of the glass cup and continued to head upward to a small stack of books that slightly towered over the cup nearby.  Willow could see the others from the group up above holding onto the hair like material being used as rope to lower Ryan into the cup.  It was now clear that they were helping Ryan save her from the giant slumbering boy in the room.

Willow wasn’t prepared for this.

She never imagined someone rescuing her from her doomed fate… especially not this guy.

“I…” Willow tried to think of some words but Ryan cut her off.

“Look, I don’t know how long he’s going to be asleep.  It took way to long getting up the stupid desk, we need to go, like NOW,” Ryan told her.  Willow watch Ryan walk closer to her and took a hold of her in a tight hug before tugging on the rope.

Willow was about to protest when she felt the hair rope and Ryan start to get yanked upward.  Willow let out a shocked gasp as her feet were pulled out of the puddle of water they sat in, for god knew how long.  Willow closed her eyes as she felt each jerking motion from the pulling rope, bring her and Ryan closer to the top of the cup.  Suddenly Willow felt a sudden slipping sensation and Ryan’s hand suddenly grabbed at her backside for more support.

“HEY WATCH YOUR HANDS!”  Willow yelped at the sudden groping that happened on her backside.

“Sorry!  It wasn’t on purpose,” Ryan protested as he tried to explain himself, “You were slipping!”  Willow glowered at Ryan, she was still wondering if he did it on purpose or if it was truly a mistake. 

It didn’t take as long as Willow would have thought for them to be yanked out of the cup and back on top of the small stack of school books the others were using.  When Willow was on the ground again, she quickly separated herself from Ryan.  She looked at the others who all had different expressions on their faces.  Katty relieved and happy for the rescuing, Brand still having a stoic and stern face, and Tom who looked around nervously at the sleeping giant and the open door with panic.

“What the hell are you all doing,” Willow asked looking at each of them.  “I told you no heroes.”

“See I knew it,” Tom quickly told everyone.  “We should have just left, like she would have wanted.”  Willow felt a little hurt at those words, but also grateful.  It seemed at least someone had some brains.  “Now can we go before someone catches us?!  We’re too exposed!”

“We couldn’t just leave her,” Katty protested, as she also seemed on the same page of getting out of the house as quickly as possible.  Willow was going to argue with Katty’s response, about saving her but she rather get out of here first.  Everyone was heading over toward a side of the books they were on, Ryan still unraveling the hair he used to save Willow herself, and packing it back into Brand’s bag.  Katty still went on as they made their way to the ledge, “Ryan made the right call.”

“I’m sure you guys would have done the same if it were me,” Ryan remarked casually.  It was eerily quite between everyone.  “Oh…” Ryan commented looking around at everyone reaction and realizing the truth.

“Come on, enough chit chat,” Willow told everyone reining everyone back into the group.  Willow was back in charge and needed to lead.  She headed toward the ledge of the large school book everyone was standing on.  Peering over the edge she saw that there was a decent drop to the next book, but the way they were stacked it was like ledges or shelving sticking out from the book.  It didn’t take too long for everyone to climb down the stack of books.  “Okay how did you all get up here,” Willow asked looking across the vast desk.  

“Over here,” Ryan said pointing toward a computer monitor.  Ryan lead everyone toward the back of the monitor and the many many cables sticking out from it, headed downward toward the floor.  “Just grab one of the hdmi or power cords and it’s a straight shot to the computer tower on the floor.”

Willow was surprised, it wouldn’t have been her first thought.  Willow followed after Ryan and the others, using one of the many cords to help slide and drop down to the ground.  It wasn’t the easiest time but definitely the quickest way down.  Now on the ground Willow could easily maneuver everyone out of the bedroom and back toward the kitchen.  The long hallway toward the kitchen was simple.  They quickly made it back to the main room.  The man or father of the house wasn’t in his chair anymore.  

Willow quickly looked around, especially in the shadows for the looming giant to be hiding.  Ryan quickly spoke up, “He went to bed a while ago, he was still pretty drunk, were fine.”  Willow relaxed a little, but not a lot.  Just cause he looked drunk didn’t mean he was disoriented.  Still, it did make traveling across the dark family room back to their little entry point much easier for them.  Using the same spot they came in from, Willow lead everyone out of the home and back outside.  Being the last one to exit the small crack in the home’s foundation, Willow looked outside so happy to be free and alive.  She noticed the sky was just starting to glow from the impending sunrise.  

“Let’s find some cover,” Willow told everyone.  No one argued as they started to head back to the familiar underside of a big bushy plant near the sidewalk.  As everyone headed over to the protective cover, Willow needed to check on their inventory.  “We got food right,” Willow asked Tom and his supply bag.

“Some food,” Tom responded almost with a bitter tone.  “Had to cut it short for a rescue mission…”

Willow didn’t like the news she was hearing.  They would definitely need to scavenge for more sooner than she wanted.  However, she did feel grateful that she was rescued.  Not sure who to thank someone personally she decided to stay silent and drop back a little as they headed toward the safety of the bush up ahead.  Letting Brand take the lead and falling back to the only person she felt should get the response, she waited for Ryan to catch up to her, so she was walking beside him.

“Y-yeah,” he asked nervous at Willow’s presence near him.

Willow wasn’t sure if it was her pride or something else but it took more effort to say something that she thought, “...thanks.  For helping...”

Ryan seemed shocked at her words.  Willow wasn’t sure why it felt so hard to say it but she did it.  Ryan gave a half shrug in response, “It was nothing-”

Willow frowned at him and his relaxed response, “It wasn’t nothing.  As thankful as I am… which I really really am, I don’t think you can possibly understand how grateful I am… but you got extremely lucky.”

Ryan shook his head at Willow’s words.  “Lucky?  What do you mean?  Lucky from what?”

Willow sighed, “Look… all I’m saying is thanks, but don’t expect the same treatment.  If it were reversed I can guarantee that I won’t be coming to save you.”  The look on Ryan’s face was pure confusing and disbelief at her response.  It was like someone knocked him upside the head with a bat.

“What?  Wait did I do something wrong,” Ryan asked Willow unsure of her response.  “I’m pretty sure a thank you isn’t suppose to be followed up with a, ‘but don’t expect the same thing’.  Or did things change when you shrink?  What kind of response is that?”

Willow ignored his outburst, “That’s why I’m telling you again, for your own good,” Willow told Ryan right before walking ahead leaving Ryan sputtering at her own reply. 

“HOW?  What the hell is that suppose to mean,” Ryan grumbled as Willow went to catch up to Brand.  

It wasn’t too long of a walk to the underbrush, and Willow quickly grabbed some old food that was harder than a rock, but still edible.  Dishing out some food, not as enjoyable as the last fresh meal they had the other day, Willow forced her self to eat the dried up droppings and crumbs from a meal well past it’s due date.  The lasagna was crunchy and hard, something Willow was all too used to.  She couldn’t remember a time lasagna wasn’t stale.  Still the group was roughly quite, munching on the food, not much conversation going on.

Willow checked everyone's supplies to make sure that she didn’t miss count their rations and found that they would have only a day and a half, maybe two if they spread it out thinly.  If she didn’t dump out the contents of her bag last night, they could have had more… stupid idea for fresh bread.  Willow now felt a little more annoyed at Ryan.  Not only did he break the rules of save her own skin, he had her chasing a fucking dream for fresh bread.  Something she wouldn’t have done.

And she thanked him for that too...

What was she thinking?

As much as she wanted to stand up and walk over to Ryan and punch him in the face for fucking up the whole operation, she couldn’t do that.  Part of her blamed Ryan but the most of it weighted on her, she was as much, if not more to blame.  She easily could have told him to fuck off, but she didn’t.  She let herself fall for the desire of fresh bread rather than the safe floor food.  The more she thought about it, the more she was upset with herself for not listening to her damn rules.  The same ones that kept her safe for so long.  How could she let a new comer fuck with her plans so easily?  

Making a mental note to not let it happen again, Willow looked around.  Unlike the others, Willow was able to sleep a little last night.  They were busy rescuing her and missed precious sleep.  Sure they rested before they entered that home, but they probably went through a lot just to rescue her.  Deciding that it was best if they got some sleep rather than none, she told them all to get some rest.

“I’ll take watch for a bit, just rest your eyes for an hour or two… than were on the move again.”

No one complained as they started to get ready to sleep.  Willow made sure that they were close enough to be woken up with a word if need be.  It wasn’t long before everyone was asleep and Willow watched the outside world slowly come to life.  Joggers and walkers passing by unsuspecting of their location.  It wouldn’t be long before they got closer to their destination.  Than all this horror would be behind them.  A safe place at last.

Emily sat on the toilet, the feeling to need to shit hit her hard.  Grunting and pushing harder than she ever had to in her life, Emily felt some movement.  Why was it so difficult to poop?  A question she didn’t know the answer to.  However as she sat there and continued to do what nature forced all animals to do, Emily felt some progress achieve over the hour of sitting down and using the toilet.  The amount of effort was reward with a solid sounding noise that filled the bathroom.  

“Fucking finally,” Emily groaned at the feeling of emptiness she was looking for.  She also felt a weird sensation following it.  Something ominous but familiar.  “Huh,” Emily muttered at the weird dreamy like feeling she had.  Not sure what it was, Emily put it out of mind as she wiped her butt with just one piece of toilet paper.  Feeling clean, Emily got up and thought of flushing the toilet.

Not sure why, Emily decided to look into the toilet bowl.  As she peered in she didn’t see anything in the toilet except the clean and empty toilet paper despite the her earlier attempt at using it.  

“odd…” Emily thought as she continued to look.  Than she saw it.  A shrinky floating up from the depths of her toilet.  Emily was shocked and confused.  She started to squint and lean in closer to inspect what was going on.  As she got closer she gasped.  The shrinky she quickly recognized, it was Ryan.  It was obviously him, she could tell by his features or what remained of them after being expelled from her backside.  The more she looked the more she wanted to cry.  The idea of her Ryan having to go through her digestive system was something that tore at her soul as she examined the small remains of her boyfriend.  A scream left not just her lips but her soul as it ripped through her... 

Emily sat up in bed panting heavily from her nightmare.  She vaguely recalled her dream.  Emily didn’t know what it was about, but her feeling of anxiety hit her like a truck and she couldn’t stop herself form waking in sweat.  Turning on the bedroom lamp light she quickly turned to her side in a panicked state.

“Hon,” Emily started to call out, “I had a night...mare,” She spoke seeing the empty bed on the night stand.  Ryan still hadn’t come back.  It was now that Emily realized her sleep was affected by the absent of her boyfriend.  She was unable to seek comfort from her horrible dream.  Ryan never came back the other day, and now she didn’t know what to do.  Letting out a deep sigh she shook her head as she leaned back into her bed and looked at the time.  It was a little past four AM.  She was up way earlier than normal.

Emily wasn’t sure what she should do.  Of course she wanted to leave her room, put some slippers on and search the apartment complex again, but it was clear Ryan wasn’t anywhere to be found here.  He had to have run somewhere else.  Still, Emily had two questions that needed answering, WHY and WHERE.  It didn’t make any sense to her!

Emily turned the light off and tossed onto her side trying to get some more sleep.  She did her best but it didn’t help her racing mind asking questions.  Why would Ryan leave?  Was he kidnapped?  Why leave his communicator?

Emily’s mind started to try and answer some of these important questions zooming in her mind.  Did they have a fight?  Emily tried to recall the last conversation they had.   The things she might have done to provoke some kind of negative emotion from Ryan, but she couldn’t think of one.  Everything seemed so normal and calm, if anything she was the last one that Ryan would have argued with.  So that couldn’t be the reason he ran off.  So kidnapping?

Mary had sworn she locked the door the night Ryan went missing.  Sadly Emily didn’t remember the back half of the night.  She couldn’t recall using the keys to open the door or if it was unlocked when she got home.  Still nothing else was missing and someone breaking into their place to just only kidnap Ryan was highly unlikely.  The only one who really knew about Ryan was Allison, and she was with Emily all night… or of what she recalled of that night.  It really was a blur.

Emily sighed as she rolled over again trying to rest but more question came up about Ryan.  So it had to be Ryan himself that left… but why?  Did he hear something?  Did something scare him out of the apartment?  None of it at all explained the communicator and why it was left on the floor out of no where.  

Than a thought came to Emily… was it shrinkies?

Could they have broken in, taken Ryan and removed his collar as they kidnapped him?  Emily was so shocked at the possible idea that she wasn’t sure if she should believe it.  She had never heard of that happening before, and it made no sense as to why it would happen.  Maybe to blackmail Emily and Mary?  It was the only thing that would explain Ryan’s disappearance and his lack of communicator.  Still wouldn't that mean leaving a note or message for Emily or Mary to understand the situation?

The more Emily pondered about what could have happen only lead to crazy and more bizarre theories that just made it even more confusing for Emily to understand.  It wasn’t till her thoughts drifted to aliens abducting Ryan that she realized that she was just being ridiculous.  Rolling over in bed she saw the clock, it had hardly been thirty minutes.

“Oh my god,” Emily groaned starting to get up out of bed.  She did have work today, but she was going to call out to help search more for Ryan.  As unlikely and horrifying as it sounded, she was going to search around the apartment complex to see if there was any sign of Ryan recently.  Even though it was so unlikely it will help, Emily couldn’t do nothing at all.  Getting up, Emily found she couldn’t wait any longer.  Even thought it was four thirty in the morning, Emily decided to start with some coffee and a quick look around for Ryan.

Emily went to use the toilet.  She sat down and started to empty her bladder.  It wasn’t till she went to flush that her mind raced to the terrible nightmare earlier that started this all.  What a horrible dream, but it couldn’t have been real...  Emily watched the colored water flushing down, a small twisted feeling came over her worried that she would see Ryan’s body being flushed down the bowl.  Luckily it was just a dream and only her urine was flushed away.  Shaking it off, Emily headed to the sink and washed her hands, Emily began to prepare for the day.  Grabbing her phone and checking messages, she read up to the missed text she got from Allison.

“Where you at?”

“Something happen?  Why so quite?”

“Should I come over?”

“Hello, are you dead?”

Emily saw that she missed a lot of messages and the last one kind of hit her as she read it.

“Did you catch shrinkism too? LOL come on… what’s going on, for real!”

Emily was tempted to answer but Allison wouldn’t be up.  Instead she put a pin in the conversation and would reply later.  She had someone else to call.  First she phoned her boss, Principal Rice.  She let him know that she wasn’t feeling good and would need a sub to cover her classes.  She also let him know where all her class notes could be found.  Finally Emily pulled up Rick’s phone number.  Dialing it, she was hopping it would go to voice mail like, the Principal’s, but shockingly Rick picked up on the second ring.

“Hello,” A sleepy voice answered.

“Oh, sorry, Rick, It’s Emily… I didn’t think you were going to answer.”

“Emily…” He repeated before quickly recognizing her name, “Emily.  Right, sorry.  Uh what’s, what’s going on?  Is everything okay?”

Emily nodded before saying, “Yeah, kind of, look.  I’m not going to be able to go in today, and as confident as I am with the notes I left, I don't think the substitute will be able to cover derivatives of inverse functions,” Emily chuckled at what the substitute's reaction would have been covering the topic.  “So… I was wondering if you can do me a favor… could you-”

Rick chuckled, “Help them out?  Yeah I can cover your calculus class for you.”

Emily let out a relieved sigh, “Thanks, this means a lot,” Emily told Rick.

“So is everything okay?” Rick asked and with a joking tone,  “Cause it doesn’t sound like your very sick to me.”

“Uh well,” Emily said hesitant on who she should share the information with.  As much as Emily thought she could trust Rick with her situation, she wasn’t sure how he felt toward Shrinkies.  Sure she couldn’t really recall him eating or doing anything with a shrinky.  And of course he wasn’t doing any shrinky shots, not that she remember most of the night, but he was the driver for his niece.  So clearly he wasn’t drinking the other night.  Still she wasn’t sure if telling him about Ryan would help.  “I just have something that came up.”

“Alright, if you need anything else, just let me know, okay?”  Rick offered over the phone.

Emily smiled, “Thanks, I will.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Rick asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be in tomorrow.”

Rick quickly added, “And if you need anything, just let me know.  Alright?”

Emily again felt a sense of relief and support from those words.  “Yeah, thank you.  Not just for covering my class but saying that.”

Rick spoke up sounding genuinely sincere, “Oh yeah no problem.  Alright, I guess I should probably get ready for work now that I’m up.” Rick laughed.

Emily winced as she recalled the time, “Yeah, sorry again, about calling so early.”

Rick laughed again, “Don’t worry about it.  Just take it easy and good luck with whatever you have going on.  Alright, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Emily replied.

“Bye,” Rick gave his farewell and waited till Emily gave hers before hanging up.

Emily finally hung up her phone.  It wasn’t even five yet.  Not having to worry about her classes today, Emily felt a small weight lifted off her as she could focus on looking for Ryan.  Grabbing some clothes and putting them on, Emily headed for the bedroom door.  Opening the door and leaving the bedroom, she went to the kitchen to make some coffee to give her a much needed wake up.  As she reached for the coffee maker, Emily spotted something in the living room.  Turning toward one of the chairs, she spotted Mary slouched in the chair asleep in the dark.

Emily felt bad for Ryan’s mother.  It looked like she stayed up as long as she could in the chair waiting for Ryan to come back.  She must have passed out a little while ago.  Emily looked at the slumped and slouched body in the chair.  The small ear piece visible to Emily where she stood, even though Ryan didn’t have his communicator on him.  It seemed Mary still had hopes that Ryan would come back last night and call out to her.

Doing her best not to wake Mary, Emily started to make herself a cup of coffee as quietly as she could.  However it didn’t help as the room started to smell like the roasted beans.  Soon Mary came too, looking tired.

“Mmm, did I fall asleep,” She asked out loud as she started to sit up in her seat rubbing at her neck.

“You should probably head to bed and get some proper sleep,” Emily told Mary.  “I’m calling out today, gonna keep looking around for Ryan,” Emily explained.  Emily sipped the black liquid to try and gain some energy out of the drink.

“I’m fine,” Mary said, but clearly she was exhausted.  It was all in the tone of her voice and actions, as she groggily got up from the seat.  

Emily didn’t feel like protesting but still she couldn’t let the older woman push her self too hard.  “You’re not, I can clearly see it,” Emily told Mary.  “Just go lay down for a bit.  It’ll be fine.”

Mary grumbled a little but nodded before heading off to her room to get some proper sleep.  It was clear they both were worried about the same thing, both of them trying to do whatever they can to find Ryan.  However Mary seemed like she was going a little too far.

Emily sipped her coffee and finished her cup before setting in the sink.  Grabbing some shoes, Emily opened the door and headed outside into the hallway.  Deciding to check the current floor level again, Emily looked down at her feet and scanned the ground.  She was looking for any miniature items or traces of a shrinky (hopefully Ryan).  Sadly the floor was clean and there was nothing that she could make heads or tails of as evidence of shrinkies being here.  Rolling her eyes at her naivete thinking that she would find something this soon.  Emily decided to head lower.  Going down a floor she repeated her searing investigation on the next level and the next.  It wasn’t till she was on the ground floor that she realized she went through the whole complex.  Again, Emily figured there would be no evidence popping up now.  She searched the other day and found none, today shouldn’t be any different.  However she was now going to search outside the apartment complex, which was new for her.

Emily exited the apartment complex and was standing outside.  The sidewalk the lead to the complex had a long row of shrubs leading to the walkway that lead deeper into the neighborhood.  Emily wasn’t sure what she should do now.  Unaware of how to look for Shrinkies, like Ryan, Emily decided to peek under each bush… every and every single one of them.  Emily bent forward and peered under the first shrub, than the next, and the next.  Emily could feel the strain in her back as she checked under every plant that was planted out in front of the complex.  However as much as she peered and looked she couldn’t find Ryan or any trace of him.

It was getting closer to morning and sunrise, a time most of the complex started to get active.  Emily was busy looking under a bush when someone called out to her.

“Oh, hey Emily…” one of Emily’s many neighbors greeted her.

“Hey,” Emily replied curtly not really listening as she squinted at the dark underbelly of the bush.

“Looking for something?” the voice asked curious and possibly being too nosy for their own good.

“YEAH,” Emily grunted as she pulled up from peering under the plant.  With a slightly annoyed voice,  “Look, I don’t really have the time to chat, so… do you mind?”

“Oh, yeah… uh, sure…” the neighbor picked up on the mood Emily was in, and went about their day.

Emily shook her head at the annoyance breaking her attention from her searching.  She quickly went back to seeking Ryan.  Checking under a bush and than the next and the next… 

Each inch Emily covered resulted in the same discovery, nothing.  There were no signs of anyone or anything that would lead Emily to believe that Ryan was ever outside the apartment.  Feeling the ache in her knees, hands, and especially in her back, from pretty much crawling all over the ground, Emily stood up and rubbed the sore spots.  Feeling what had to be the last hope she had of locating Ryan vanish, Emily started to head back to the apartment.  She hadn’t noticed how long she had been outside, but it had been at least an hour or two.  By the time Emily opened the door and went inside, she spotted Mary up and about, getting ready to leave.

Confused by the sudden appearance of activity from the older woman made Emily raise an eyebrow at her.  “You sure you got enough sleep already, Mary,” Emily asked seeing her grabbing her purse and phone.  Mary was already grabbing a snack bar and looked like she had a cup of coffee to go, as she started to head for the door next.  Unable not to say something Emily spoke up as Mary went to pass her,  “Uh, where you going?”  Emily was looking for an answer as Ryan’s mom went to leave past her.

Mary opened the door and paused as she turned to answer, “Heading to work.”

Emily was now even more confused.  Mary took a sabbatical from work till she felt more at ease with Ryan’s situation when he first shrank.  Now that he was missing she was leaving, to go to her job?  “Ryan’s missing and your going to go back to work,” Emily asked with a more accusing tone than she wanted to use.  She didn’t want to sound like a bitch but it was hard seeing the woman running away from the situation.

Mary either took the harsh question in stride or she was too out of it to pick up the tone in Emily’s voice.  She simple said, “I know my son is out there.  That’s why I’m going to work.  I’m going to ask some of my friends to help look for him.  The more help we have, the quicker we can find him and the safer he will be.”

Emily bit her lip, “Are you sure we can trust them with Ryan?”

Now this seemed to make Mary upset at her judgment toward her friends.  Mary turned to Emily with a  stern look,  “I’ve known these ladies for years.  Some of them have personally known Ryan since he was a wee baby.  Of course we can trust them.”

Emily felt bad about saying that and questioning Mary.  “Sorry… just been a long few days…”

Mary now gave a sympathetic look and came over and gave Emily a soft pat on the shoulder and than a hug, “I know.  It has been for the both of us.  I think you should grab some sleep too, you seem pretty tired.”  

Emily nodded as she was now feeling the lack of sleep hit her at the mention of slumber.  Still she wasn’t sure if she could.  Instead she just waited till Mary said goodbye and headed off to her job.  Emily tried to think if she should rest up or stay up in case Ryan came back.  

As Emily was lost in her debate her phone started to ring.  Not sure why she thought it could have been Ryan, she grabbed it and looked at the name and number, praying to see Ryan’s name and face.  However it wasn’t him, obviously.  Instead it was Allison.  Emily let out a disappointed sigh but picked up on the third ring.  Emily was hit by an alarmed and upset Allison on the phone, “Okay what the hell is going on!  I thought you died or something girl!  Is everything okay?  Did something happen?  You have to tell me, I’m so totally freaking out over here!”

Emily gave the basic response, “Yeah, everything is fine-”

Allison nearly shouted Emily’s ear off, “That’s a load of crap and you know it!  NOW TELL,” Allison demanded with worry in her voice.  Emily either sucked at lying or Allison just knew her way too well.  

Emily was silent.  She wasn’t sure if she should tell Allison.  It wasn’t cause she was worried she couldn’t trust Allison, it was more that she didn’t want to drag her into this.  Just as Emily wanted to say not to worry, she recalled what Mary said.  They needed more help.  Who better to help than Emily and Ryan’s best friend…

“Yeah,” Emily final spoke as she spilled the beans.  “Ryan’s missing.”

“WHAT?! HOW?! WHEN?! WHY?!”  Allison’s voice exploded with concern on the other end.

Emily had to pull the phone back and wince at the loud noise coming from it.  “I don’t know when exactly,” Emily told Allison as she went on with details, “It was sometime between when we went out to drink and the next morning.  How and why I have no idea… I woke up and found his communicator on the ground and I haven’t seen him since.  Sorry, I haven’t been able to respond but you can imagine how worried I am… like what if something happened to him?  One of our neighbors has a dog, like what if it attacked Ryan when he went outside?”  Emily couldn’t help but lay out her worries over the phone about Ryan’s safety.

“Oh my god… Em, I’m sure that didn’t happen.  Look, I’m coming over,” Allison told Emily over the phone.  The sound of Allison moving while still on the phone could be heard.

“No, no you shouldn’t.  You have work and-”

“No, fuck that.  I’m already in my car,” Allison told her.  Sure enough the car engine turning over could be heard.  “I’m hanging up, but I’ll be there faster than you can say… well I don’t know what you would say, but you get the point.” Allison told Emily. 

Emily couldn’t help but smile at her friends actions.  She was going to blow off work to come over to support her.  Something she could really use right now.  Just as Allison claimed how fast she would be there, she showed up in record time.  Allison was pretty much pounded the door down with her knocking.  Emily opened the door and Allison was already stepping inside before she could speak.   Allison gave Emily a quick hug before she took a seat at the table while Emily closed the door.  “Okay what happened,” Allison asked Emily, urging her to tell her all the details.  Emily sat down and started to fill Allison in on the situation.

Allison sat through the whole talk, from when Emily woke up hung over and finding the communicator.  How Emily and Mary searched the apartment and the complex from top to bottom.  She even told Allison about her fears for Ryan and what could have possibly happen.  Finally Emily told Allison about Mary getting her friends and coworkers to help out.

“So…” Emily finally said worried at what Allison might say, “I was thinking, it would easier if we had more people looking out for Ryan.  Do you think you can help-”

Before Emily could finish Allison cut her off, “OF COURSE!”  She nearly shouted startling Emily at her sudden jump in to help.  However it wasn’t so shocking, this was Allison after all.  Allison went on, “You can count on me Em, I’ll find Ryan for sure!  Just leave it to me, before you know it, I’ll have little tiny Ryan in my hands in no time,” Allison smiled holding out her cupped hands together, looking down at the place she imagined holding Ryan in.  The cupped palms held out for everyone at the table to see what Allison meant. 

Emily smiled at those words.  She knew she could count on Allison to help her out.  She was truly her best friend.  Now she could relax a little with yet another person looking for her poor little Ryan...

Ryan heard Willow telling everyone they should need to get moving.  Ryan didn’t know how tired he was till he feel asleep this morning.  He found that staying up all night trying to save someone, as inconsiderate as they were, was far more taxing than he thought.  Still it wasn’t till Katty tapped him on the shoulder warning that Willow would most likely leave him.  Hearing this, Ryan sat up and let out a grumble. 

“Of course she would…” Ryan muttered knowing it wasn’t a threat, it was more of a promise.  Doing his best not to throw a fit, Ryan got up off the ground.  He struggled to not glare at Willow who seemed more rested than he was, even though he was the one that got some sleep out of the two.

Willow was already looking out for danger as Ryan and the others gathered around her.  Judging by the heat and the position of the sun, it had to be noon or some time mid day.  Ryan wasn't very good at judging time with the sun, he just knew that it wasn't morning and sunset was a ways away.  Still unlike the other day, Willow seemed more willing to walk around at this time of day.  Their journey was exactly like yesterday, hiding in the shadows the best they could.  Avoid any noticing eyes that might be looking for them while trying to get to whatever destination they were going to.

After a long and grueling walk, and a few close calls or at least for Ryan, Willow found a decent spot to camp.  It was under a knoll of roots from a big tree in a yard.  The massive tree gave plenty of shade in the small yard and the roots were so large and sprouting from the ground, there was plenty of space to use it for cover.  

“Stay close to the roots,” She told Ryan and the others as they were setting up for the night, the sun already starting to get low.

“Aren’t you worried about… bugs,” Ryan asked looking under the roots in fear of what might be there.

“Most wont bother us,” Willow told Ryan.  The way she said “most” told him that she knew a thing or two about what might attack them.  Ryan took a seat and sat down resting while he heard Willow talking to Brand.  She told him to gather some wood chips or splinters from the tree.  Brand moved off to do as she told him without much more than a nod.  

Ryan was curious as to what Willow wanted those for.  However he didn’t want to ask, instead he just rubbed his feet from all the walking they just did.  Ryan suddenly heard water splashing and quickly looked to see Katty pouring water from her canteen all over her head to clean up her hair.

“Wait!  We should be saving our water!” Ryan protested in alarm.

Everyone, especially Katty, jumped at Ryan’s unexpected outburst.  Ryan felt silly now that everyone was looking at him like he just said the silliest thing.  Willow spoke up, “There will be plenty of water in the morning, don’t worry about it.”

“In the morning,” Ryan repeated and quickly looked up at the sky, “Is it suppose to rain?”  He couldn’t help but shiver at the idea of the down pour.

“uh… no,” Willow said slowly as she too used some water to wash her hands and arms from any dirt.  “You really haven’t been outside…” She muttered, “Morning dew.  Plenty of water to get before we leave.  So wash up and drink as much as you want, I promise we’ll have enough in the morning,” Willow explained.

It wasn’t till now that Ryan understood.  The yard would be covered in dew drops in the early morning, plenty to collect and use for later.  It was shocking how much the world was different at his size.  Normally he wouldn’t have thought of dew drops being anything more than wet marks on his shoes in the morning.  Now they were going to be used as a water supply.  He really needed to see things from a different perspective…

Just as Ryan was following the everyone’s example of “bathing” with their water supply, Brand came back with a very large collection of long sticks in his big arms.  Well, long sticks to Ryan or someone his size, they probably wouldn’t have been recognized by a normal person unless they stepped on it at just the right angle.  They were less than an inch or so tall, almost the size of any shrinky would be.  Brand dropped the bundle of wood on the ground near Willow who nodded with approval.  She grabbed two and started to head toward the outskirts of their little makeshift camp.  She started to stick them in the ground at an angle, making a small semicircle around them with the big sticks.  The jagged tips pointed outward away from everyone inside the circle.  Willow saw Ryan’s staring gaze and said, “For the bugs.”

Ryan watched Willow and Brand set up a fence of pike like sticks toward anything that might be coming in on them in the night.  Ryan was afraid of what could possibly try and come at them and than he was more worried about things that wouldn’t be stopped by this.  An ever increasing dread hit him as he worried over what they might face in the dark.

By the time Willow and Brand finished gathering and setting up their defense for everyone, Ryan noticed it was starting to get dark.  He hopped that the perimeter was secure and kept them safe from the things in the dark.  Everyone used the last of the day light to set up their little sleeping areas.  Once settled in everyone started to pull out some food to eat for dinner… or what they could call food.  

Ryan wanted to gag as he bit into a hard and firm piece of meat?  He hopped it was dropped hamburger meat, otherwise he had no idea what he was biting into.  Still he kept at it till he knew his stomach was full and not sick from the thought of eating day old, or ever longer scraps.  Everyone was more or less silent as they chewed on whatever left overs they had before starting to set up for the night.  

Seeing that everyone was ready to sleep, Ryan pulled out his blanket and started to lay down and get some sleep.  He noticed Katty glancing toward his soft and comfy blanket.  Trying not to chuckle at her hesitant action to the desired cover, he quickly patted the other side of the blanket for her.  The look on her face would have made Ryan blush at how she smiled with delight.  In a flash she was already tucked under the blanket.

“Thanks,” She said as she snugged into the blanket and sighed at the comfort.  Ryan just smiled before he closed his eyes and tired to get some sleep.

Ryan was back at his apartment, obviously dreaming.  He couldn’t help but struggle in his dream, as Emily was drunk again.  It was the same scene and event as last time.  She pulled out a cup, and dropped him in chilling cold liquid.  The cold glass being brought up to her lips.  A quick flick of her wrist and Ryan was kicking and struggling to get out of Emily’s mouth, but with no results.  Emily was swallowing Ryan before he could call out her name.  Oddly enough it wasn’t warm and hot like in real life, it was cold and chilling.  The complete opposite of what Ryan thought it would be.  Still it didn’t stop him from shivering in fear and coldness.  Ryan was struggling and soon landed in Emily’s stomach.  Emily’s voice was cold and deep as it echoed around him.  “Just a shrinky….”

Ryan sat up shivering.  It was all just a dream…

Ryan sighed as he shivered yet again and noticed he didn’t have any of his blanket covering him.  It was still dark, the moon giving some light but not enough to see past their little camp.  Ryan looked around for his warm blanket and looked to his side.  Katty was curled up in a cocoon of fabrics grinning in her slepp as she laid like a burrito on the ground.  She stole all of the covers for herself while in her sleep.

Ryan let out a deep sigh as he really wanted some blanket for himself, but Katty seemed intent on keeping it all to herself.  Besides Ryan didn’t want to wake her up, she seemed at peace in her sleep.

“Well… it sure got cold,” Ryan muttered to himself as he couldn’t help but look around with a slight shiver agian.  He didn’t see anything out of place or abnormal.  He spotted Brand and Tom sleeping on the other sides of the encircled area.  Ryan turned and looked toward Willow just cause he was looking around.  She was up, siting upward looking out in the distances.  Ryan was confused why she would be up, hopefully she got some sleep last night.  

Willow was glancing around cover in her small ripped cloth fabric she was using as a blanket, completely wrapped around her.  As if she could sense his gaze she turned toward Ryan and looked right at him.  Ryan felt embarrassed with Willow looking at him just sitting there staring at her.  Before Ryan could try and pretend to go back to sleep she opened her blanket and patted the ground by her side for him to join.

Ryan was hesitant but… he was kind of cold.  Getting up, he walked over and sat next to Willow as she let him wrap himself up in the cloth.

“Thanks,” Ryan told her.

She simply shrugged, “Figured I should repay the help you gave me yesterday.”  Ryan didn’t comment, than the haunting silence filled the air.  Willow finally said, “Thanks… again, about… yesterday and everything.”

Ryan didn’t know why but he chuckled, “Oh come on, you didn’t really think we were going to leave you…”

Willow’s face in the moon light told Ryan the truth, she truly did.

“But why,” Ryan asked confused and now feeling the weight of her reaction hit him.  It seemed she truly was ready to die.

Willow was quite.  She stared off in the distant.  Not like an empty stare, she looked through the darkness as if to distract herself from the question.  It wasn’t till Ryan was going to repeat it when she spoke up.

“There’s a reason I said no heroes...”

Ryan waited but Willow seemed to want to leave it at that.  Ryan needed to know, so he pushed on.  He asked again, “Why?”

Willow took a deep breath as she sat there still gazing into the darkness.  “… I was young.  It was a long time ago.  I forgot how long but I remember him.  I was in a group, kind of like this one, but way more friendlier,” She let out chuckle at the irony before continuing.  “Like I said I was young.  So… I wasn’t ready for THIS world…” Willow spat out the words.  “I… I was dumb, a fucking… a fucking idiot, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Willow paused for a moment.  She was clearly recalling the event.  Ryan didn’t comment as Willow tried to keep herself under control before continuing.  “I ran into something, a weird… a weird pile of sticky stuff.  I can still smell it, you know?  Some kind of minty like scent coming from it.  My arm and legs got stuck, I couldn’t get out.  It was sticky yet… very firm.  I was glued to the pavement.  I…” Willow paused and Ryan saw that this was hard for her.  Yet she went on.  Another brave breath, “I called out for help.  The group I was in didn’t notice, and was still moving on ahead without me.  That’s when he… Fuck… I don’t even know his name,” Willow exhaled deeply as she struggled with the fact.  Her voice struggling to remain calm,  “He… well he turned around.”  Again another pause as Willow fought, but kept calm and went on, “So, he comes to save me, like anyone would have done.  Well, it was hard.  The stuff was all over my arms and legs, I was trapped in that stuff and he was doing his best yanking and pulling.  I was trying to get out, crying,” Willow shook her head before going on.  “Well… that’s when we saw it.  Someone was jogging down the pathway. You ever seen a running shoe coming at you?”

Ryan waited for a moment till he realized that Willow was waiting for him, he quickly shook his head and replied  “Uh, no… sorry.”

“Well,” Willow said with another short breath, “It’s not a pretty sight.  The sounds of the thumping of each footstep, the sight of the underside of it flashing at you... We only had seconds before it would be on us… I tried to tell him to leave me, but he wouldn’t.  He refused saying he would save me.”  Willow rubbed at her eyes with her right forearm before going on, “The damn bastard… he did the only thing he could.  He threw himself at me as hard as he could, put his whole freaking weight into me!”  Willow exclaimed.  “Shoved me so hard that I was pushed out of the way and clear of the pile of sticky stuff…”  Again Willow had to pause and gain control of herself, struggling with her voice  “Well… I made it.  Right?”

Ryan wasn’t sure if he should have asked, but he did, “What about him?”

“… well, he took my place.  He pushed me out of the way, and was than stuck in that shit.” Willow let out a bitter sound, “I had enough time to look back as he laid trap in that white ball of sticky glue as the god damn bottom of that shoe come crashing down right on top of him!”  Willow closed her eyes as she went on, “I could hear the sound of the foot pushing down, mushing down on him… it happened in a split second but when the shoe was gone, so was the man and the gooey trap.  Nothing was left.  It was like he never existed.” Opening her eyes from the nightmare she recalled and finally gave Ryan a bitter look, “I watched as my HERO got run down by a fucking shoe just cause I was being a fucking idiot… So, when I say don’t be a hero, I mean don’t end up like him…”  Willow had so many emotions playing as she told Ryan this.  It was clearly all over her face right now that Ryan didn’t know how to comfort her.  She was obviously being torn apart at what had happen in the past.

Ryan figured he should say something and started to speak, “It wasn’t your fa-”

“Don’t…” Willow said in a stern, firm, but also soft voice.  “It was.  Nothing you say will change that.  I got him killed and that’s the truth.  Don’t down play it,”  Ryan nodded and accepted her words.  Willow sighed again and continued, “What I’m trying to say is, I have rules for a reason.  It’s not cause I’m a bitch,” Willow emphasized, letting Ryan know that she heard him and Katty talking the other day.  “It’s cause I don’t want anyone else to end up like him, or like the others.  It’s to keep you all safe.  If I have to die to let you four get away… than yeah, I’m going to do it.  It’s my job, my responsibility.”  

As much as Ryan hated to hear it, he could see where Willow was coming from.  He was just trying to do the right thing, something anyone should do in his position.  Right?  Anyone would try and save someone, but it sounded like that isn’t the best thing to do.  “So you’re saying I should stop being so naive?”

Willow frowned for a few second before asking Ryan, “Naive?  What’s that?”

Ryan was caught off guard by the question, but went on to explain it, “Uh, oh, like innocent or like childish.”

Willow slowly nodded, “Yeah, no, that sums it up.”  Ryan didn’t response as Willow grinned, “You are pretty childish out here.”  Ryan rolled his eyes as he looked out into the now slowly glowing night sky.  It was starting to become dawn.  Than Willow asked Ryan a question, “So what’s your story?  Like did you get thrown out or something?  It’s clear you aren't used to the outside world.”

“What do you mean,” Ryan asked hesitant on revealing too much.  Willow on the other hand gave him a droll stair.  It was so obvious she could see through him.  Ryan let out a very common sigh tonight as he gave in and decided to tell Willow more.  “Well, I do have-had a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” Willow said unimpressed and not believing him.

“Yeah!  We were together for over 5 years now… or were,” Ryan commented as he recalled how long it would be to this date.

“So what happened?  I mean it sounds like she was okay with you being a shrinking for 5 years, that’s rare, something had to happen to have you running away like this,” Willow asked Ryan with as much curiosity as he had about her back story.

“I… I don’t even know where to began, it’s complicated,” Ryan told Willow.  Still Willow seemed to be waiting for him to share.  Ryan let out a deep sigh, “Well, yeah everything seemed okay, like she took it well, me being a shrinky,” Ryan recalled, “Weird how things slowly change as you shrink, things start to grow weird, you know?”

Willow shrugged, “Kind of, it all happened so fast and long ago for me.  I almost don’t recall being ‘normal’.  I recall somethings about my family, some good... but mostly bad things.  Sometimes I wonder if it was always there or only came out when I started to shrink.”  Willow shook her head, “Doesn’t mater, can’t be worrying too much about the past.  Anyway, go on,” Willow told Ryan as she listened.

Ryan nodded at how bleak and horrible Willow past was.  Already he could tell there was way more in her history than what she told him.  It almost made his few months of shrinkism look like a chump change compared to Willow.  Ryan felt like his problems were so trivial, but he went on.  “Well, it was small things at first.  Like how I couldn’t wake her up if I needed to talk, or wish a good morning.  Kind of hard to talk to someone who can’t hear you, right?  Little mannerisms that were harmless become deadly.”

“Mannerisms,” Willow asked confused by the word.

Ryan stopped his explanation and thought how to explain the word, “Oh… uh like, actions,” Ryan explained.  “Like… I went to tap her hand, when she was grading some school work.  Her hand did this,” Ryan lifted his hand and gave it a small jerk like he flinched.  “I got launched like four feet back, and she hardly noticed it…” Ryan shook his head at the experience, “I couldn’t imagine if she went to slap at my little tickling of her hand, I probably wouldn't be here.” Ryan heard a noise as he was telling Willow his story.  Ryan quickly jerked his head toward the noise looking out into the grass he heard the sound, trying to see what made the sound.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing to worry about, go on,” Willow urged him on, reassuring him it was safe.  Her calmness was a little reassuring for Ryan, and it help.

“Uh… right… um,” Ryan tried to go back to his experience with Emily.  “It was hard.  So naturally things grew distant… which only made it worse.  If we got in a fight, she could simply pull out her ear piece and I’m basically a ghost to her.  She could pick and choose when she wanted to talk with me,” Ryan grunted at the action Emily did.  “Hard to say sorry when you have to wait till she’s ready to talk… anyway a few days ago, she was going to a club with a friend.  Nothing new, in fact I urged her to do it.”  Ryan explained.  “I thought, ‘hey she needs some relaxation, she works way too hard!’ so I told her to go.  And than I got jealous,” Ryan recalled the text, “I thought she was going to cheat or something… I don’t know why, it was dumb.  So stupid,” Ryan frowned at himself for being so petty.  “I followed her to the club.”

Willow raised an eyebrow at his actions, “You followed her?”

“I told you… it was stupid,” Ryan explained trying to defend his actions.  “I wasn’t thinking, it… look I jumped into her purse and went to the bar… and than I learned we lived in different worlds.  You know how alcohol works…”  Ryan looked to Willow who slowly shook her head no.  “Oh, well it helps relax people but on the other hand makes them different: less in control, more forgetful, less aware.  They tend to act on inner instincts I guess the best way to put it,” Ryan tried to explain and stopped.  “Well, she’s a normal sized person and I’m not.  To her, I’m just another shrinky.  And well she tried to eat me…”

Willow gave her best sympathetic response at those dire words, “Sorry…”

Ryan scoffed as he rolled his eyes at his own words, “Tried would imply she didn’t succeed… she DID eat me.  Hell I would be just nutrition for her body or fat on her ass if she didn’t throw me up!  All because she would want to keep a fucking secret from me,” Ryan said feeling his anger building on the events that he went through.  “She would kill just so I wouldn’t know.”  Than Ryan thought of something even worse, “Or maybe she didn’t even think it was murder… just a simple snack,” Ryan felt even worse if that was the truth.  His emotions flaring and shaking at the thought,  “So yeah, that’s when I knew that there was nothing for us, not anymore.  I was either going to die by accident or worse, become some kind of thing or pet that Emily would have to look after.   Like it was a CHOIR,” Rayn spat the word in disgust, “or REQUIREMENT,” He spat again,  “doing it not out of love but because she HAD to.”

Willow was silent, letting Ryan sulk.  After a little while longer she asked Ryan a question, “Do you think they’re all like that?  All the normal people?”  The fear in her voice was clear.

Ryan was confused at her question, “What do you mean?  Like what, like Emily??”

Willow slowly nodded.  The worry and concern in the action clear.  “Yeah.  Like deep down they don’t care about us…”

Ryan thought about it.  Sadly he figured he knew the answer, “Deep down, yeah.  I think on some kind of deep carnal or primal part of themselves, all of them are like that.  I mean, if you didn’t shrink to this size, do you think you would have the same outlook toward someone our size?  You would be just like them wouldn’t, right?”

Those words hit Willow hard as she looked devastated by Ryan’s confession.  Words that hit harder than Ryan thought it would.  Willow finally muttered,  “Than what am I even doing?”

“What do you mean,” Ryan asked.

Willow looked around at the others who were still sleeping before looking back at Ryan.  The sun was peaking out more, brightening the world as she struggled on the question.  Still it seemed Willow’s mood was even worse than before, as she looked sadden by what Ryan just said.  “You’ve asked me where we were going.  I was traveling to a friends place, Sora’s.  The only normal sized person to ever be nice to me, someone I thought I could trust.  If what you’re telling me is true…” Willow looked horrified at the idea as she struggled over it, “Than we can’t trust her.  If I can’t trust her, than I don’t know where to go,” Willow confessed sounding truly disturbed.  

Ryan was shocked at Willows sudden break in character.  She looked almost like a lost lonely child now.  Ryan wanted to punch himself for pushing Willow into such a state.  It looked like he just crushed their leader’s only plan.   Without a plan, it looked like they were were stranded with no idea what to do next...

Emily didn’t want to wake up. Her alarm was going off, and she felt like she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. The dreams that plagued her always woke her up, or a sudden feeling of worry kept her from falling back asleep. The fact that she was awake before her alarm went off was a testament to how crappy her night was. Looking at her phone for the hundredth time tonight, she noticed the time and the lack of messages. She didn’t get a single one from Allison. There was no news from Mary either. Once again she was in the dark on what might have happened to Ryan or where he might have gone.

Thinking that maybe she should call out once again, Emily was about to phone the school when she thought, what was the point? Sitting alone at home wasn’t going to help. She would just beat herself up with the mystery of where Ryan is, and then what? Maybe it was best she went back to work, like everything was normal? At least hopefully it would take Ryan’s disappearance off her mind. Deciding that her presence at home wasn’t helping the situation, Emily got out of bed and prepared for work. Taking a shower and washing up, using the bathroom, and picking out some clothes. It hadn’t been longer than thirty minutes or so before Emily exited her bedroom. She headed to the kitchen to make a batch of coffee for the morning. Her exhaustion would be a problem if she didn’t put some caffeine in her veins.

As Emily was making a cup of Joe, her eyes wandered the empty apartment out of habit, only to spot Mary sleeping in one of the chairs in the living room. A blanket covering her, and a pillow propping her head up as she was passed out. Most likely from trying to stay up all night, in hopes of seeing Ryan coming home. Emily was tempted to wake up the older woman and shoo her into a proper bed, but as someone suffering from lack of sleep, Emily thought not to. Instead, Emily tried to be extra quiet now that she knew Mary was in the same room.

Finding a quick breakfast bar, Emily picked that up and tossed it in her bag as she headed for the front door. Silently she opened it and gently closed it shut. Just before leaving, Emily knelt down and tried the tiny little shrinky door. The handle wiggled and the door swung open. Making sure the door could be used, in case Ryan came back, she shut it and headed down the stairs to drive off to work.

Principal Rice greeted Emily like any other morning when she came into school, “Hello Ms. Baker.”

“Principal Rice, how are you,” Emily greeted casually as she signed into the school's registry. Just going through the normal routine to take her mind off things. However there was something off.

Emily watched Mr. Rice look a little worried, “Is everything okay? Mr. Sanford told me you called him to cover your last period.”

“OH!” Emily tried to brush it off, “It was nothing… well it wasn’t nothing but, I think I’m fine now. Thanks for worrying.”

“If you need more time,” Principal Rice offered.

“NO!” Emily objected, “No, I’m fine, really. I just… I can’t. I should be teaching, if not to help the students that need it, than to help redirect my focus for me. I think this is the best. There’s no need to worry, honestly.” Emily offered her most sincere smile to help ease any worry that the principal had. “I’m sure my student’s would be worried about my absence after two days.”

Principal Rice nodded but spoke out, “Just don’t push yourself too hard. You’re one of the most liked teachers in the school. It would break the students' hearts to hear that you were pushing yourself too hard.”

The mention of her students worrying about her touched her heart, “I won't. Thank you Mr. Rice.”

After their little talk, Emily decided to head to her classroom to get ready for the first period of the day. She saw there were some notes left from Rick’s lecture with her students the other day. She quickly skimmed over it. She was shocked at how descriptive and spot on he was with the terms and equations for the lecture. Emily was impressed, Rick surely knew his stuff. Taking one more glance at the notes and numbers covering the board, Emily went to erase it. Once the board was clear she started to put up her lesson plan for the first class.

The bell rang and students came filing in greeting Emily. Most of them seemed happy to see her, others were still exhausted from the early morning class. Each student took their seat as Emily greeted them all. She made sure everyone had their books out or notes, as she introduced the new topic today. It didn’t seem as long as she thought before the sound of the bell ringing, signaling the end of class. Soon her students were sliding out of their chairs and heading for the door. However, they were just slow enough for Emily to assign some homework before they left.

Emily was cleaning down the board for the next class, when she spotted someone she wasn’t expecting. It was one of the many administrators working for the school. He was walking into her room, which was odd because she didn’t have-

Any curious thoughts left Emily’s mind as she spotted her only shrinking student for this class in the palms of Mr. Nubar. It seemed over the weekend, and with Emily taking Monday off, Mark had shrunken drastically. He was now just three or so inches in Mr. Nubar’s palm.

“Mark?” Emily called out in surprise and disbelief. Has it really been that long since he started shrinking?

His voice was hardly heard as he called out to Emily. “Hi, Ms. Baker.”

Emily was about to ask what happened, but that was a stupid question to ask. Instead she just opened her mouth and gave a weak smile, “Did you have a nice weekend?” Mark said something but Emily could only pick up about 60% of what he said. She could only keep the smile on her face and nod like she heard him. As Mr. Nubar stood there holding Mark, some students came into the classroom. They were gradually taking their seat, as Emily tried to greet each and every one of them. Finally she asked Mark, “Well why don’t you take your seat,” Emily pointed to Mark’s empty desk.

Before Mr. Nubar moved Mark was saying and protesting. Emily had to pause from turning toward the white board when she saw him moving, “What’s wrong?” Emily frowned as she couldn’t make out what Mark was saying but she asked, “Do you need to sit closer to the front-”

Mark nodded vigorously at Emily’s question. Assuming it was his height, Emily didn't think much of it as she pointed out Gina’s desk at the front of the class, “Well, if Gina doesn’t mind…” Gina made no objections as she looked to be making room for Mark to join her on the desk. Mr. Nubar lowered the few inch tall student down before heading out of the classroom.

“Is this better?” Emily asked, seeing Mark nod in response.

Emily smiled as she turned back to the board and started to teach her class today’s subject. She was so engrossed in writing that she hardly looked back on her student’s as she explained how to do the mathematical problems that she wrote up on the large board. Emily had been so lost in her teaching that once again time slipped by in moments. Feeling like she was gonna hear the bell ring. Emily turned around to check on the clock. As she looked at the time, she caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye, in the direction of Gina’s desk. Emily’s were pulled from the clock and toward Gina. She was holding her pen pointed at Mark, the pointy end near his abdomen, poking him backwards. Mark was being pushed toward the edge like some kind of messed up pirate film. Gina was threatening to poke Mark off her desk or take a belly full of her pen.

“GINA?!” Emily shouted in complete shock and confusion, causing everyone in the class to nearly jump out of their seats. All eyes were on Emily, Gina, and the small little Mark trying to dodge the pen aimed at him. “What are you doing?!” Emily asked, heading over to her desk. Emily was beyond shocked. She was horrified that one of her students was treating their fellow student like that. Questions were flying through her mind wondering why this happened, but she needed to make sure that Mark wasn’t stabbed or worse pushed off the desk. Emily kept up her approach on Gina, prepared to snatch the pen from her.

“I… uh, no… it’s… uh…” Gina stuttered as it was clear she was busted doing something she shouldn’t be doing. The pen in her hand dropped, and she quickly had a panicked look on her face. Emily opened her mouth to say something, but the bell rang. Never in Emily’s life had she seen a student move so quickly. Gina had slapped all her shit that was on her desk into her bag, and was out the door before anyone else moved an inch. Emily was beyond shocked as she turned back to Mark who was still standing on the desk looking like he just survived a death sentence.

Before Emily could fully check in on Mark, Mr. Nubar was already walking into the room. He picked up Mark, not really checking on his condition but just doing his job, and started to head out of the classroom. Emily gapped at the nearly inhuman action of taking care of a student, especially one that was having serious traumatization. It was like he only saw Mark as a job, and not a person. It was gut wrenching to see the administrator just pluck a shrunken student up like he was a package to be dropped off to the next class.

Emily still wanted to talk to Mark about what happened. Emily needed to know that Mark was doing okay, that this was some kind of misunderstanding or something. She quickly called out, “Mr. Nubar-”

However the administrator was already on his way out and didn’t hear Emily, or maybe he didn’t care. Worse, her other students were already coming into her classroom greeting her. The new influx of people prevented her from following after them. Not one to ignore her students, Emily had to focus her attention on the few that came in early, greeting each one. That gave Mark and Mr. Nubar time to leave without her stopping them. Unable to talk to Mark, she would just have to wait to get his side of the story tomorrow when he came to class. Hurting on the inside of what she witnessed, Emily did the only thing she could, she went to focus on her next group of students.

Third and fourth period went just the same as any other day. Chad doing everything he could to be annoying and a distraction for the class. Luckily the class wasn’t too bad other than telling Chad to stop messing around or to pay attention. The trouble maker was doing everything he could not to take notes, and Emily had to spend more time than she wanted to remind him this was still a class. Still it went relatively fast and unhindered.

Then it was fifth period, more than halfway done with school day. Obviously, Derrick was first to enter with Mr. Holt carrying him over to Emily’s desk. Derrick just sat there as Mr. Holt left the classroom. She was so used to Derrick sitting at her desk she never thought of asking him if he wanted to sit closer like Mark. Did she need to keep her smaller students on her desk from now on for safety? Suddenly students coming in distracted her thoughts, as she watched them all filed in greeting her with pleasant welcomings. One of the last ones to enter her class was the two twins. Emily didn’t think much about it, but maybe it was what had happened today, or the fact that both Kayla and Kristy were getting along that it reminded her of Ryan, but it all led to a thought that came to Emily. If a shrinky were to run away, where would they go? Kayla happened to be a shrinky in her class, perhaps she could help fill in Emily where shrinkies go after leaving home and their family?

The thought of Kayla running away one day, like Ryan did, flew through Emily’s mind making her wonder what would cause it. Could Kayla just run away one day from her family? Did she not worry what her family would feel or think? How could someone act so callous toward their loved ones?

Emily was so deep in thought and trying to teach at the same time that it was very clear that she lost track of time.It wasn’t long before the bell woke her up from her deep thoughts. Emily looked at her class, more importantly at the two twins that were getting ready to leave for their other classes. Emily forced herself to not shout out the names of the two students and start demanding some answers to her questions. Sadly she didn’t know if she should rope her students into her worries. However, her need for any whereabouts of a runaway shrinky might go, making her buckle down for interrogating them.

The wait was unbearable as she tried to make her way toward the twins and tried to think how to ask them without sounding, well, odd. Kristy was busy packing up her supplies talking to Kayla about whatever as Emily approached them. Emily’s head was swimming with multiple questions for the little shrunken twin, but how did she approach the question? It wasn’t gonna be easy to ask.

As time wasn’t on her side, Emily finally reached Kristy’s and Kayla’s desk. Not wanting to frighten the two girls, Emily cleared her dry throat to get their attention. It would be probably the first time she came to them, and it was clear that Kristy looked like she was in trouble. “Kayla… I have a personal question to ask.” Emily saw that both girls were shocked at her sudden appearance. Kristy looked down at her hand holding Kayla waiting to see if she had any objections.

Emily watched as Kayla spoke, but her words were empty at her size. Looking toward Krisy, Emily waited till the larger sibling spoke and translated for her, “She asked about what?”

“Well…” Emily was hesitant on how to approach this. Did she just come out or did she approach it slower and more cautiously. Finally after deciding that she didn’t have much time, Emily asked her question. “I … I wanted to know… if,” Emily felt horrible for asking, “If… if you,” Emily gave a soft chuckle to help ease the question out, “were to run away… is there a certain place you would go?”

It was quite between Emily and her students who clearly were not enjoying the question. As the milliseconds passed, Emily quickly caved faster than a house of cards in the wind, “Ryan, well he’s my boyfriend,” Emily told them feeling a tinge of guilt bring it up. “He… he left, or maybe ran away, or like… I don’t know! He just…” Emily took a breath, trying to calm down in front of her confused students. “Please, if there is somewhere, ANYWHERE, that someone,” Emily hesitated as she tried to think of how to say it. Finally she just threw it out there, “Your size, were to go, where would that be?”

Emily watched Kayla stand there not speaking. Her lips not budging an inch and Emily felt like she hit a wall. It was obvious the question wasn’t something she should have asked. However, the moment Emily was going to apologize for the question, Kristy looked down as Kayla’s little lips that started to flutter. “Kayla says… that… she would go to SAFE HAVEN?? What’s that?… WHAT…? YOU WHAT?!” Emily had to bite back her own questions as it looked like the twins were now starting to get into a big fight, debate, or maybe it was an argument? It was hard for Emily to tell, as she could only hear one side with the sound of the larger sibling. Finally After a few moments, just before Emily was going to break it up, Kristy huffed and grumbled before looking at Emily. “Kayla says THERE IS a place for shrinkies.”

“Yeah?!” Emily gasped.

“Yeah…” Kristy again muttered and looked peeved, “Kayla said, it’s where she would go if she needed to, like, if she had to run away from her FAMILY,” Kristy barked at her palm. Kayla looked hurt but didn’t protest what her sister was saying was wrong. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes in disgust Kristy went on, “She won't say where it is. But it’s a place that most Shrinkies go. It’s like a …'' there was a pause as Kayla told her, “She said they’re like a community of shrinkies. A place for most to gather and survive together away from others, like their own FAMILY…” Kristy stabbed that last part in, making Kayla look miserable at how her sister was reacting to the news. It was clear Kristy was feeling anger at the fact that her sister was hiding this from her.

Emily was torn in trying to reconnect the two, but she had to know… she needed to know where this place was, maybe Ryan was there. “So there’s a place like that?”

Kristy slowly nodded, “Yeah, and my sister said it was her,” It seemed very hurtful for Kristy to say but she got it out, “BACK UP PLAN. Like, were freaking sisters.” Kristy complained clearly feeling emotional about this news. Kayla was saying something but Kristy just slowly shook her head and averted her eyes.

The news was helpful for Emily, but now… she felt horrible seeing the two sisters so torn. She knew it was all her fault, but unfortunately, she couldn’t regret it. Not if it meant finding and helping Ryan. Still, these were her students, and it was clear that this was not something that they needed to work past. Hopefully Emily knew how to fix this.

“Kristy,” Emily slowly told her student. “there’s nothing wrong with a backup plan. Sometimes it’s better to have a plan and not need it than not have one when it’s needed. The fact she’s letting you know means she trusted you with something very serious. I can’t imagine this place is supposed to be given out to anyone. Besides it doesn’t seem like this is gonna be an issue with you and your family right? That’s probably why she never brought it up, right?” Emily asked, seeing Kayla saying and moving her body around for Kristy to hear. Then Emily went on, “You couldn’t possibly watch after your sister all the time right? It would be almost impossible,” Emily remarked before continuing. “So what if you got separated from Kayla? Or something happened and now Kayla was missing? Well, now you know there’s a safe place out there for her. I can’t speak for Kayla, but I would want a back up plan just in case. Like… like our fire drills,” Emily remarked, “We have a place to meet up and a back up plan to where to meet.  You remember where those are right?  Places to go when things don’t turn out the way you thought they would.” 

Kristy frowned but it was clear that she was considering this, “A back up plan.”  The larger sister was thinking it over while looking down at Kayla. Kayla did a few hand gestures and words that went unheard by Emily. Apparently the twins had some stuff to talk about. As much as Emily wanted to keep them there to talk, the bell gave a warning and both twins looked at the clock, “Oh SHI-shoot,” Kristy shouted looking at the time, “Sorry Ms. B we got to go.” Before Emily could ask any more questions about this “safe haven” both girls were out of her classroom and heading to their next period.

Emily wanted to stop them or at least go after them, but that wasn’t going to happen. As much as she wanted to divulge the information from the two, Emily couldn’t trouble her students as much as she already had. Still, the information about this shrinkies only place was news to her. She had no idea the place existed. Is that where Ryan went? How did he know about it and WHY did he leave for it? It made no sense, but maybe there was a reason? Maybe he was lonely and-

The bell for next period cut into Emily’s thoughts reminding her she was still at school and had a job to do. Sure it was her lunch period but she had a ton of work to catch up on. She put a pin in the thoughts of Ryan and what the heck he was doing, and headed to her desk. Emily started to check over the students' work and the notes from the previous day.

Rereading the note that Rick left for her upcoming class, she couldn’t help but smile at how nice of him to leave her the little message on the paper. Apparently Rex was having some issues with integrals. She would have to make a note to check in on him next period. Seeing that there weren't many issues, Emily prepared for her next class to teach. Making sure to go over everything Rick did, Emily felt caught up just as the bell started for her last class. The familiar faces of her calculus class started to come in.

Her students all greeting her and saying hello, helped Emily psych herself up for the class. Some of the last straggling students to come in were Rex and Ethan. Rex as usual called out to her, “MS. B! Your back. I was worried you wouldn’t make it today.”

Emily just rolled her eyes at her student’s worry, “Oh please, It wasn’t anything too-” Emily paused as she thought of finishing that statement. Finding Ryan wasn’t that serious? No, that wasn’t what she wanted to say… but what then?

Not sure how to finish her statement, Emily went on, “Well, never mind that. I was told you were having some issues with Integrals?”

Rex blew some air out his mouth with a scoff.  “Oh please, is that what Mr. Sanford wrote? Nah, I’m fine, just wasn’t feeling it yesterday… I mean how could I without you teaching me, right Ms. B?”

Emily almost snorted at his response, “Really Rex? Should I be concerned when you graduate and go to college? I can’t always teach you about this stuff.”

Rex just shrugged before remarking, “Maybe you can give me private lessons, you know, like tutor me and stuff?”

Emily let out a soft laugh, “Very funny. Now why don’t you both go take your seat. Class is about to start.”

As Emily was done greeting the last students running to her class, she spotted Rick walking by. He looked over at Emily in the class door way. Emily gave him a smile and waved him over. It took only a few moments for Rick to close the distance.  

“Are you doing okay,” Rick asked, obviously concerned.

“A little better. Look, I just want to thank you for what you did the other day. Means a lot to me,” Emily thanked him.

“Oh, it’s no big deal. I would have been free anyway. Besides, it sounded like you needed help yesterday morning.” Rick gave Emily a sincere look, “You are doing better, right?”

Emily sighed and slowly nodded, “Things are looking better, yeah.” Emily recalled the help she’s been getting to find Ryan. Not only was Ryan’s mom looking, but last she heard so were her friends. Allison too, she worked with Ryan long enough to know what he would be thinking. The last bit of help was from Kristy and Kayla, now she knew where she should try and start looking for where Ryan might have left for.

Both teachers could sense the bell was about to ring. Rick was the one to disengage, “Well, shouldn’t hold you up too long. I know how difficult teaching can be, especially when you start late.” Rick gave Emily a smile and waved goodbye, “If you ever need help again, just let me know. Oh, and I expect you to pick up the tab for the next lunch we have, as a proper thank you.” Rick gave Emily a smirk before heading off.

Emily chuckled, “Sure thing,” She told Rick before heading back into class to teach. Emily felt more upbeat now after her little chat with Rick. He helped lift her mood and seemed like someone she could really count on now. The last class went by just as fast as the others and before Emily knew it, the bell was ringing. The end of the day was here. She could hardly believe it as all her students started to leave. Some students were happier than others as they started to file out. Emily called out, “DON’T FORGET, PROBLEMS ONE THROUGH FIVE!” She called out to everyone so they couldn’t pretend they didn't hear her giving out the homework.

Assuming all her student’s have left, Emily headed back to her desk and started to get ready to pack up to leave in a little while. However there was a soft cough causing Emily to look up from her desk. It was Rex, “Oh… Rex, what can I do for you?”

Rex looked a little worried, which didn’t seem normal for him.  “Well… that’s what I was gonna ask you Ms. B. You seemed off today, or at least at the start of class. Is everything okay?”

Emily felt touched that her student cared so much, “I’m fine Rex, thanks for asking.”

“Ms. B. I’m serious. If there’s anything-”

Emily smiled and stopped him, “I’m fine… Thanks for asking Rex, but I’m okay…” Emily paused as she thought about it. Should she ask Rex about Ryan? He seemed like a nice student. He might not be the smartest in class, but he did seem very warm and friendly. Always greeting and talking to Emily before and after class. Also, the more people looking, the better right? Someone would be bound to find Ryan eventually. The more the merrier, right? “Actually…” Emily watched as Rex perked up at her pause. “I, well, I-my boyfriend… do you remember him the other day?”

Rex looked to be thinking as he frowned, then he snapped his fingers and pointed at Emily, “Oh yeah the Shrinky-I mean the little guy, right? What about him?”

“Well,” Emily didn’t know how to explain this.  Should she be putting this on one of her students?

However now Rex was interested, “What is it Ms. B?  You can tell me.”

Emily finally caved and sighed as she explained, “Do you remember what he looked like right?”

Rex looked to be recalling before he lifted his fingers up, “About this tall?”

Emily couldn’t help but laugh at the stupid joke, “Yes… all shrinkies are about that size…” Emily rolled her eyes at her smart-alecky student. She finally described what Ryan looked like to Rex and he seemed to recall the features she mentioned.

“Oh yeah, now it’s all coming back to me.” Rex nodded, “Yeah I remember what he looked like. What about him?”

Emily paused longer than she wanted but Rex looked to be sticking around till she answered. Finally Emily let it out, “He ran away. Or something happened. I’m looking for him.”

“Noooo,” Rex gasped. “Seriously? He left you? Like… Oh, Ms. B… that’s messed up. I can see why you needed a day off,” Rex chuckled trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah…” Emily sighed. “Just, can you help me out? Like if you hear anything from someone? Or like… see him… please can you at least let him know I’m looking for him?”

Rex shifted a little before he answered, “yeah… yeah I think I can do that. Ms. B. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to the guys on the team. We’ll find that,” Rex paused for a second before grinning, “You’re boyfriend, Ryan. You can count on us.”

Emily felt another surge of relief as yet another reliable person offered to help her on the quest of bringing Ryan home. “Thanks, Rex, you're a lifesaver.” Emily let out a soft chuckle, “Maybe I should make this an extra credit assignment in all my classes… help me find my boyfriend.” Emily joked.

Rex just shrugged, “Not sure if that’s needed, cause I’ll make sure to look under every stone and tree branch for that little guy.” Emily smiled at Rex’s resolve. “Mark my words, Ms. B. I’m gonna find this little person and be your favorite student in no time!” Emily shook her head in mocking disbelief, but thanked Rex for his enthusiasm.

Emily couldn't see her student’s face as he left the room. All that was on Rex’s mind as he was leaving the classroom, was how Ms. B. could thank him for “saving her little boyfriend”. Maybe a night out and a good night in bed would be on the table?   It seemed like Rex needed to go find himself a shrinky.

Willow sat there stunned after Ryan’s words hit her. The whole world was crashing down and unraveling. There was no way. Was it possible that no one could love a shrinky? Not even her friend Sora?? Those thoughts rung in her head till a voice cut through her horribly muffled brain.

“That’s just me,” Ryan spoke again. “I… well I think if this Sora person is that important or nice, it wouldn't hurt to see her. You know to listen to her out.”

Willow shook her head at the contradiction she just heard, “What?! You just said-”

Ryan threw his hands up, “That’s my view on them… I mean FUCK…” Ryan bursted out. “My freaking girlfriend for FIVE years… she tired to fucking swallow me. I’d be shit right now if I wasn’t so damn lucky,” Ryan rubbed his hand through his hair. “… look… I don’t know what the hell I’m saying right now. Just… I’ll follow you,” Ryan said, sounding more serious than Willow had heard him be before. “IF you really really think this is a good idea. I just… I have nowhere else to go,” Ryan blurted out, “I just don’t want to end up as that shrinky in the shot again.”

Willow frowned, “Shot? What are you talking about, a shrinky in a shot?”

There was a nervous look on Ryan’s face before he quickly commented, “Nothing, just forget it. I’m just saying I don’t want to end up dead or thrown away.”

Willow scoffed as she pulled the blanket tighter around her and Ryan. It was just getting close to dawn and the temperature was getting as cold as it would before it got warmer. “I can’t promise the dead thing… that …'' Willow felt a sudden sadness, “Happens. But for the thrown away part… we stick together. Unless you do something that makes me have to kick you out.”  Willow gave Ryan a playful smirk before going on, “It’s literally us against the world. I told you, just follow my rules and you’ll live.”

Willow looked at an unsure Ryan. His mouth opened as he hunkered closer for warmth, “I want to, but like I said… I’m new to all this. I never thought I would end up… like this,” Ryan explained.

Willow arched a brow at what he was saying. As a person shrunken to his size for a while, she didn’t know what he was talking about. It almost sounded like he hadn’t been this small for long…

“Wow,” Ryan gasped.

“What,” Willow asked, feeling her body getting ready to fight off something abnormal.

“The sunrise,” Ryan spoke, pointing to the sun rising, setting the sky to a red and orange hue.

“What? It’s the sun,” Willow shrugged off.

“Well, I mean… look at the colors… I don’t think I’ve seen the sky like this since… well,” Ryan chuckled, “Since I was a boy. Wow,” Ryan admired the beauty of the sky as Willow couldn’t understand. Maybe because she had been out here for so long it didn’t matter to her.

Willow looked at Ryan. There was something about him. He just seemed so...innocent? Like he didn’t know what was wrong with the world. What could possibly be harmful and dangerous to him.  He acted too ignorant to it all.   He was like a child out here. As much as Willow felt she needed to protect or save him from his blunders…. Should she? Sacrifice her life for someone who was daft to the simple rules of how to survive? Willow was about to answer her question with a FUCK NO, but how he looked fascinated and enthralled at the simplest sunrise, she felt weird. He held pure admiration for the simple everyday act that the sun did everyone morning. Something she never felt or had felt in many years. “You act like you never watched the sun rise,” Willow asked. Not just for Ryan but for herself.

Ryans shrugged, “Never felt like I wanted to… but now seeing it happen. It’s gorgeous. Do you always watch it rise like this?”

Willow thought about the question. Of course not, it was a waste of time. “No. I only use it as a clock. Speaking of, they should be leaving soon,” Willow pointed out the house behind themselves. “So I would save the happy go lucky talk for later. We have a lot to do.” Before Willow could explain she heard Brand waking. Thomas soon followed and lastly Katty. With the rest of the group waking, Willow had nothing more to say as she got up and started to pack up her blanket. She wasn’t sure how much any of them heard but none of them looked like they were listening to a thing.

As the rest of the group slowly woke up from their slumber, Willow looked at each one of them. She knew what to expect from each individual. Looking at Katty and Thomas she quickly spoke, “water.” They were gone with less than a sound as they started looking for the watery dew scattered around on the grass. Turning to Brand he was already packing up their camp area. That only left one person.  “Ryan,” Willow called out, causing him to look startled at her using his name like that.  “I need you to … well,” Willow spoke, realizing she didn’t really need Ryan to do anything. In fact she wasn’t sure if he would just get in the way. “Never mind, just don’t go running off somewhere unless you want to be left behind.” She watched Ryan look kind of confused at her order but he did head back to his sleeping area to pack up the blanket that Katty was using a moment ago.

Willow kept her eyes and ears open as she looked over at the enormous home, waiting for their chance to head in without the owners being there. She had climbed up the side of the tree root they slept by, giving her enough vision across the yard. It didn’t take too long before the garage door opened and a car pulled out and drove off. Willow spotted multiple people in the vehicle as it backed out. It seemed at least most if not all of them had left the home. Nodding, and noticing how large the home was, it was possible not all of the occupants left for sure. However she would not make a mistake like the other night, she would suspect at least one or more people were still in the home.

“Alright everyone,” Willow called out as she descended pretty fast from her elevated position. “They left, we should make our way over to…” Willow paused as she looked between the familiar faces and noticed there was one missing. “Where is he,” Willow asked, sounding annoyed. He had one freaking job. Which was TO DO NOTHING!

Katty pointed over past some grass, “I think he said bathroom?”

“Of course,” Willow grumbled. “I say stay in camp… and he doesn’t,” Willow muttered to herself as she headed over toward Ryan’s location. She was tempted to just leave the silly guy, but the least she could do is chew him out. He did save her life, so she could cut him just a tiny smidgen of slack. Willow quickly looked at everyone else, “Just,” She let out her stress in the sigh, “take the rest of camp down. We’ll be leaving in a few seconds, I don’t want anyone tracking us.” Willow picked up one of the many pointy sticks still sticking up from last night's little barrier they put up.

It wasn’t long before Willow found Ryan. He was zipping up his pants as she headed over to him, “I told you to stay in camp.”

Ryan made a noise from the shock and spun around looking at Willow with a fright that caused her to grin.  She wanted to laugh at his reaction. “Jesus! I didn’t know you were there! Could you have warned me or something?  I didn’t hear you at all.”

Willow shook her head, “Good. If you can’t hear me then that means I’m doing something right. What are you doing so far away from camp?”

Ryan looked innocently at her, “What? I had to use the bathroom.”

Willow looked at him waiting for an explanation. “And?”

Ryan continued to look confused, “And what? Wait, did you think I was gonna go to the bathroom with everyone around watching.”

Willow shrugged, “Why not. Happens all the time-”

“NOW THAT’S JUST DISGUSTING,” Ryan protested. “Like how could you possibly think that I or anyone else would be comfortable doing such a thing?”

Willow let out an annoyed huff as Ryan acted like they had much of a choice. Safety out weighted any kind of sense of-

Willow’s thoughts vanished as she watched Ryan, or more importantly what was behind him. As he had his back turned to the monster approaching, Willow knew she didn't have time to warn him. She needed to act fast. Still holding onto the wooden splinter from before, as she was using it as a walking stick a few moments ago, she was already in motion. She didn’t have time to witness Ryan’s look of pure horror and shock, as he must have thought she was gonna kill him by throwing it at him. No, instead of throwing the chunk of wood at Ryan’s chest, Willow hurled the long splinter with extreme strength and accuracy. The wooden spike flew past Ryan’s cheek and slammed into the encroaching spider creeping up right behind him. The half inch of wood slammed between three of it’s buggy eyes, piercing the insect in the head. The sound of the spider letting out what could only be the sound of a dying squeal, cut the air just before Willow marched over to the spider. Grabbing the spear still sticking out of it’s injured head, she gave it one quick jab downward and deeper into the insect, watching the spider twitch for a moment and go still. Willow extracted the now dirty weapon and turned to Ryan.

“That is why you don’t leave camp…” Walking past Ryan, she headed back to the others. Willow didn’t have to say anything as she heard the hurried footsteps of Ryan following after her.

Willow came back to the campsite, and saw the rest of the wooden pikes used as a barricade extracted from the ground and chucked away. She learned the hard way that people were more observant than she hoped. Any normal person would have recognized the circle of little sticks as a sign that they had been there. Willow had enough on her plate right now, and didn’t need to worry about a giant or giantess stalking them. Although the alternative was less appealing, not having a defense barrier up at night, having seen what could happen to a shrinky at night with no protection…

Heading past Brand and Thomas, Willow led the group toward the house they were about to raid. She hoped that she found enough food and any useful supplies to help them. As she recalled the path toward the home, she had plenty of time to think over what Ryan said this morning.

Willow’s thoughts drifted to Sora. It had been nearly eight years since she saw her. Hell it had been about as long as she knew her. After being thrown out by her family, Sora was the only one that took care of her. Feeding her, talking to her, Sora even gave Willow a makeover once. The years with Sora were the happiest times that WIllow ever experienced. That was until Sora’s parents found out. Willow barely had time to run away, which was the time she ran into a group of other shrinkies heading to Safe Haven. Sadly nowhere was as safe or wonderful as Sora’s home, or the times she spent with the girl. Maybe it was her kindness or general care for her, but Sora made Willow feel safe and happy. Something she desperately wanted to get back again. The amount of stuff she had to deal with the last eight or so years really drilled into her how much she missed Sora’s personality and care. The things they talked about, the things they shared, and the things they experienced. They were the only moments Willow knew of happiness.

Shoving back some grass in the way, Willow went on thinking as they got closer to the house. Especially what Ryan had said. Did she truly know Sora? It had been over eight years. People change… look at her. Could Sora even remember who she was, especially after so long. They hadn’t seen or spoken in years, who's to say that Sora even remembers her name? In fact Willow didn’t even know if Sora was a normal person or a shrinky! Last time she saw her, she still had a few years before she was “safe”. Willow felt a stab of sadness at the thought of her poor little Sora shrunken and like her. Shit… what would her parents have done-

Willow’s thoughts died as she looked up at the house and she came back to reality. Her thoughts could wait, she had important stuff to do. Just like most homes, Willow could see the few flaws in the building design from a quick glance. Cracks or gaps in the sidings and walls of the house, the ones across the structure of the foundation. Space that over years of weathering would have opened the home to outsiders like herself. Yeah it would be a tight squeeze, but it beat trying to climb up to a freaking window or through a mail slot. Finding the entry point wasn’t as easy as it seemed, however Willow found the nook she was looking for.

“This way,” Willow spoke as she started to crawl up and inside the gap. It was tight, but Willow had to slip between much smaller cracks before. As Willow climbed up the small opening that was oblivious to larger eyes, she couldn’t help but wonder if this was the right call. Shouldn’t they wait till night to do this? Willow shook off the idea of using night cover to mask their movements and quickly climbed up and around bends and curves till she finally snuck out between a small opening in the crown molding. Giving a good grunt to shove the specially designed wooden material apart for her to slip by.

“Fucking seriously,” Willow grumbled as she shoved harder and finally breaking the lining that kept her and the others out from the home. Hearing the wood snap and pop so there was an opening in the section, Willow peeked her head out and looked around. This place was much fancier than she expected. The last home they were in was a dump compared to this place. If Willow would have guessed, they had to be upper class… or what she would assume was upper class. “Looks clear,” Willow whispered behind her.

Willow parted from the wall and kept looking around. She never let her eyes stay still, always darting around looking for danger. Luckily there wasn’t anything that caught her eyes. A clock, a TV, some fine plates in a glass cabinet, a lazy boy, and whatever else. There was nothing in this room that signaled danger. Waving for the others to come out, she waited till everyone was out of the wall and finally turned to them. “We need food.” Willow pointed to Thomas, Brand, and Ryan…

Ryan was the only one that looked uncertain…. Willow sighed, “WHAT?!”

“Well,” Ryan said, sounding a little unsure, “Should we be splitting up? Like that’s how everyone dies in the movies…”

Willow narrowed her eyes, “Movies… are you seriously basing our freaking lives on some movie shit?! LOOK,” Willow almost barked at him, “I have no idea when they are getting back. I need YOU!” Willow said pointing, but holding back from jabbing her finger into Ryan’s shoulder, even though she wanted to.  “To collect food while WE,” She gestured to Katty, “Go looking for other supplies. I know I’m asking for maybe a lot from you, but just please… PLEASE,” Willow was so close to begging right now, “Just…” Willow took a deep breath to calm down and asked seriously, “Can I trust you to do this?”

Ryan opened his mouth but shut it before nodding.

Willow felt a sense of relief, “Okay… twenty minutes tops. I want to be gone before any of those monsters are back. Brand, Thomas… make sure newbie here doesn't do anything stupid, got it?”

Ryan looked insulted as he started to say something, but Willow didn’t have time. She was already rushing along with Katty in tow. If Ryan was saying something Willow didn’t hear it as she headed in the other direction of the kitchen. She knew this was a long shot but she could use some extra supplies. A strand of giantess hair could be used as rope. A staple discarded could be used as a weapon or hell even a freaking old toenail. Willow didn’t know what she was looking for, but when she saw it she would know.

“Maybe Ryan is right,” Katty called out trying to keep up with Willow who was obviously outpacing her. “Should we be separating like this?”

Willow wanted to roll her eyes at the girl, “Yes… food isn’t the only thing we're looking for. Now stop complaining and hurry up,” Willow barked at the girl who tried to keep up pace with her. They ran through a large room with a table and chair, probably a dining room. As they finally passed the room, they came to a smaller room that was open and had what looked to be books and other things inside like a small library for a home. “This way,” Willow ordered as she ran inside. Willow looked for something to scavenge and to be of use. There was nothing. She came across a large sofa and just as she was about to leave, she spotted something small and tiny reflecting a little light. Or tiny to normal people, to her it was kind of large. “I think I see something,” Willow called out to Katty.

“What is it?” She asked not seeing what Willow was talking about.

“Not sure, hold tight…” Willow headed under the sofa and toward the slightly reflective surface of the object. Once Willow came to the shiny object, and grabbed it, she realized what it was. It was a stray button that fell off some pants, shirt, jacket, or whatever. The button was small, but to a shrinky… it was the size of a decent sized shield. Picking up the slightly large but amazingly light object, Willow held onto the stray strands of thread on the inside of the button. She could slip her hand through it and hold it like a bulky shield, “This could be useful.” Willow held onto the attached shield on her hand and moved it around. It was a little heavy but could probably be helpful if attacked by certain creatures that were shrinky size. Not one to pass up a good item like this, Willow found a way to strap it to her back. It was a little hefty but nothing she wasn’t used to.

As Willow stepped out of the coach with the lump of plastic on her back Katty let out a gasp, “Oh MY GOD, you look like that one person…. That … oh shoot…” She was having a problem remembering whoever it was. Willow had no idea what she was talking about but Katty was adamant about it, “I think it was captain… captain something. Dang it, it’s on the tip of my tongue….”

Willow gave a shrug not knowing what the girl was saying. “Come on it’s been long enough, we should help the others with finding food.” Katty nodded as they ran out of the little study room and back through the dining room that was attached. Willow felt something was off as she and Katty ran toward the kitchen deeper into the house. As she ran her gaze caught something in the corner of her eye that she missed when they came through the room. She spotted a large dish on the ground hidden in the shadows of the wall it was against. Willow slowed down and gazed at the silver bowl. “Oh… oh no,” Willow whimpered.

Katty paused before looking where Willow was viewing, “What?”

“They have a fucking pet!” Willow shouted. “We have to warn the others!” Pure dread hit Willow as she recognized the animal dish and picked up the pace as she bolted toward the kitchen. Willow prayed that whatever the others were doing, they were doing it stealthily…

Ryan watched Willow and Katty head off on their own in another direction inside the home. Ryan felt a little prickly feeling of loneliness seeing the only two people he actually talked to, leaving him behind with the two he didn’t know. Well, maybe this was the time to get to know the others? Ryan looked over at Brand, the stoic and unemotional face of the man kept Ryan from saying much. Turning toward Thomas, his expression was one of worry and agitation. It was clear he didn’t want to be here right now. Ryan mentally sighed as he realized this wasn’t the group to be with. “Uh…” Ryan spoke, noticing neither cared for his questions.  “I guess we should start heading toward the kitchen?” Ryan offered. Both of them didn’t say a thing as they walked toward their destination. Ryan wasn't sure what the problem was between those two and himself, but Ryan followed after them. Not sure what they had planned or what they intended to do. Luckily the silent journey didn't take too long. They soon came across a new wooden flooring that laid out the kitchen. Ryan glanced around the large room, like most kitchens it had a countertop near a sink and fridge. There was a small round table off to the side near the opposite wall of the room, with some chairs pushed out from it. Looking across the ground, Ryan frowned at the sight. There didn’t seem to be any scraps of food on the ground like the last house. In fact it looked like a vacuum came by and slurped up all the leftovers that were on the floor. The landscape looked post cleaned, with not a speck of food or edible droppings in sight.

Unsure what to do next, Ryan voiced his concerns as the three of them walked deeper into the kitchen looking for something. “Uh… what do we do if there is no food,” Ryan asked, watching the others look around the long vacant and vast floor for something to gather. “I mean… like, is this common?”

Thomas groaned before spinning on Ryan, “Look just stop talking, and look for something to eat. It’s not like someone was gonna leave a small piece of food and a note saying: For any hungry shrinkies out there.” Ryan held back a bitter comment as he realized that it was stupid to try and attack Tom for his behavior.  Thomas went on, “Besides there’s probably something under the fridge. Those rarely get cleaned under.”

Ryan held back any sound of disgust thinking of food that might have been left under the dark underbelly of the fridge in the corner of the kitchen. Who knew how old that food could be, or if it was still edible. Then another thought hit him making him pause, what about insects? Ryan shivered as he recalled that enormous, almost enormous dog sized spider not too long ago.  How Willow saved his life with a wooden spear.  If there was something like that under the fridge, would the others save him like Willow did, or would they bail on him to defend himself?

Ryan stayed back as the others looked under the fridge for a few moments. Ryan was nervously praying that they didn’t find anything, and once they came out from under the fridge, he was relieved that they were empty handed and unharmed. However, that raised another problem, “Now what?”

Thomas gave Ryan a look that told him that he was starting to get annoyed at his questioning. Ryan couldn’t help it this time as he gave Thomas an equally peeved comment. “Look this is like day fucking three for me, alright? Cut me some slack.” Ryan paced a little trying to cool off from his outburst. “Sorry, just… What about up there? Can we check the counters for something?”

Brand glanced up and seemed to be thinking or calculating something. Meanwhile Thomas seemed to be the downer of the group, “And how do you expect us to get up there?”

Just as Ryan was going to respond with a snappy remark, Brand headed over to the wooden counter. Ryan followed after him and watched as Brand started to touch and feel the material of the countertop’s siding. “What are you doing,” Ryan asked, confused as to what was going on. That was till Brand started to climb. Ryan watched the older man hoist himself up, wall climbing the wooden siding. Ryan went up behind Brand and inspected it, the way the material was put together, there were small rough groves. It seemed that the counter Brand was climbing, had horizontal etches in them, making the wall of the countertop almost seem like a mountain climbing wall. Ryan’s hands were trying to grasp the tiny indents that most normal people wouldn’t have seen or noticed, maybe if they ran a finger over it. Ryan turned around and saw Tom looking skittish now. “Come on,” Ryan called out, “We might need your help.”

The man said something that Ryan didn’t catch but slowly started to walk up toward him and Brand's position. Ryan didn’t know how fast Brand was going or himself for that matter but he was up to the top of the counter in what felt like a few minutes of climbing. Yanking himself up to the flat surface, Ryan looked around as Thomas followed up after him still looking sick or frightened. He almost looked terrified, was he afraid of heights? Before Ryan could ask, Thomas was up on the counter with them taking a deep breath. Not wanting to start a fight, Ryan dropped the question.

Ryan had to take in the awe of the entire countertop for a moment. It reminded him of when he was back in his apartment. The vast landscape of emptiness except for a few things scatter on top of it. That was when he spotted them. By the side of the sink were a set of dishes. A handful of cups and plates lay by the side, but not in the sink yet. He spotted a piece of bread or toast sticking off one, a half eaten slice of bread left behind from breakfast. “See!” Ryan shouted in excitement, “Food. Come on, I bet it’s fresher than most of the stuff you guys usually eat.”

Brand followed after Ryan who hurried forward, Thomas was still dragging behind glancing over the side of the countertop. Ryan didn’t pay him much attention to him, as he was too busy trying to gather food for the rest of the group. Reaching the couple of plates, there were some egg scraps and a chunk of toast untouched by the owners of the home. Plenty of food for them to collect without being noticed or having to worry about lack of food. “We hit the jackpot,” Ryan laughed as he was about to start shoving food into his sack. That was when he spotted Thomas gazing at a glass that was set off a little from the others. “What are you doing? Hurry up and help us,” Ryan called out at the almost zombified man. 

Thomas didn’t move a muscle as he gazed at what looked to be an empty glass. Ryan had nearly enough of this procrastinator. Willow was worried about Ryan slowing or messing up these two. However this guy was the one slowing them down at every step, and now with their goal in sight, he wasn’t helping at all. Ryan shoved a few more handfuls of egg, cheese, and whatever else was on the plate he was gathering from into his bag before stopping. Standing up, he headed over to Thomas and was about to start something with the entranced shrinky.

“Is that what I think it is…” Tom muttered looking at the cup.

Ryan frowned and glanced over at the empty container. Well, not empty. There was a dark brown liquid in it. It was obviously too small for a normal person to think about sipping it away. It would probably take more effort trying to claim the bottom liquid with their mouths than most would put in for it. Not even a full shot’s worth of liquid, more of little splash. However that little sip or collective of droplets, would be plenty for someone at Ryan’s size. And Thomas was fixated on it. “What are you doing,” Ryan asked as Thomas started to walk toward it.

“That’s whiskey,” he told Ryan. “...Alcohol… I haven't had it in… oh god, so long.”

“HEY!” Ryan called out grabbing him, “What are you doing?!” Ryan repeated trying to snap him out of it. “We’re not here for liquor. Get a hold of yourself.” Ryan looked at Thomas and now he saw how desperate he was for it. Something that told Ryan that Thomas needed the drink more for his past rather than the actual act of consumption of it.

“You don’t understand,” Tom barked.

“It’s just a freaking drink,” Ryan remarked watching as Tom pulled out his water flask and dumped the water he collected it out. Ryan tried to stop him but was kept away.

“Maybe for you,” Tom remarked looking back at the cup in front of him, “But I need this… we need this.”

Playing the only trump card that Ryan could think of he shouted out, “Willow will kill you when she finds out!”

Thomas finally paused his walking toward the cup and turned around. “Maybe… Maybe not. You know,” Thomas snorted, “I’d bet my life she never had any before.” Thomas laughed, “Come on,” He grinned with a desperate look on his face, “Don’t you want to see what our ‘leader’ is like drunk? I know I wouldn’t mind,” the laugh continued to emanate from his mouth. “That would be a win we ALL need. We could all use a drink.'' Thomas stopped for a second before shrugging, “Well maybe not for Katty... but whatever, I won't judge. Look, you can help me get some or you can go back to gathering scraps of leftovers…”

Ryan watched Thomas heading to the eight ounce cup trying to find a way to get inside for the fabled drink he desired gathered at the bottom of the glass. Spinning around he watched Brand continue to stuff more bread, eggs, and whatever he could get his hands on let on the plate.

“Damn it,” Ryan grumbled as he realized they should have plenty food, if not just for a few more days. Complaining, Ryan headed after Thomas who was already trying to climb the side of the cup. He was trying to find a way into the glass container. Ryan didn’t want to help him, but the sooner he got his freaking alcohol the sooner they could get back to the mission and leave. So, Ryan decided to help. Pulling out a piece of his rope, or hair to be exact, the one with an anchored tip that they used to rescue Willow from a cup the other night. How ironic they were back to cups all over again. Ryan gave it a good toss and was delighted in seeing the other end go over the side of the glass. Having plenty of length for the line to go over the top and into the cup, Ryan gave it a test yank for securing it. It looked to be about three maybe four stories tall, “Alright,” Ryan huffed to Thomas. “Hurry up.”

The look in Thomas’ eyes were of amazement and shock, but he didn’t waste any time. Thomas nodded and quickly scrambled up the rope as fast as he could. The line looked secure enough for Ryan to walk away. Not wanting to face Willow’s wrath for not collecting enough food, Ryan headed back to Brand who was busy topping off his bag with enough food to make it bulging. “Can you fill ours,” Ryan asked Brand as he kept an eye on Thomas rising higher up. He would need to help lower him into the cup, but they need more food than one bag.

Brand didn’t speak but took the two extra bags and continued with collecting food. Ryan hurried over as he watched Thomas reach the top and was ready for the next step. Still thinking this was stupid, Ryan helped lower Thomas slowly as he held his end and Thomas went over the side. It wasn't as easy as Ryan thought it would be but Thomas was slowly lowered down into the bottom of the cup. The moment he landed in the brown dark liquid at the bottom of the glass, Thomas went to dip his cantine into the ankle high whiskey.

Ryan was relaxing as everything seemed to be going okay. He glanced back to Brand, who was busy filling the third pack with food. Looking back to Thomas, who seemed more than giddy to collect the amber-like fluid he was gathering. Nothing was going wrong… or so Ryan thought. It wasn’t till he looked to his side that he saw two people he wasn’t expecting to see. Frowning at the sight of Willow and Katty sprinting from the other side of the counter toward them, Ryan realized something wasn’t right.

“What are you doing?!” Willow nearly screamed but in a very soft and hushed tone. Almost like she was afraid of someone hearing them.

“What?” Ryan shouted in confusion, “We're getting supplies.” Grinning at the fact that everything was going so well. He gestured toward Thomas and laughed, “You won't believe what we-”

Willow almost tackled him when she hissed so loud at Ryan that he shut up, “QUITE!”

Ryan felt his skin crawl as everyone, including Thomas stopped what they were doing and looked at the worried Willow. She went to speak, “There’s a-”

Suddenly out of Ryan's right eye he saw something move. Something he never noticed till now. He saw a flap to the kitchen door connected to the back yard move and open. The sound of paws hitting the ground and jingling of what had to be a collar filled the kitchen as something massive entered the room. Ryan turned to peek over the side of the counter, he saw a massive beast trotting through the kitchen like it owned the place. Ryan felt any words forming in his throat die, as the large dog was now in the kitchen at ground level.

Ryan’s eyes looked toward Willow with fear, as Willow just gave him a stern look. It said “no sounds” and “move your ass”.

Not needing any motivation, Ryan looked to Thomas who was busy trying to climb out of the cup. Focusing on his effort, Ryan started to haul and pull Thomas out of the whiskey glass with the rope. Willow and Katty went to Brand to gather the food packs. Ryan tried not to panic as he heard the sounds of sniffing coming from down below them. The dog was smelling something. It wasn’t till now that he realized why the ground was so clean… the family had a freaking dog cleaning up their scraps that they dropped on the floor.

By the time that Ryan got Thomas out of the cup, the rest of the group was done gathering stuff and were heading back toward them. Ryan looked to Willow, and as quietly as he could with the monstrous beast below them and asked, “Now what?”

Willow looked around the room as Ryan followed suit. He couldn’t help but look back where they climbed up, only to see a brown tail flag around the area. The dog was hovering around the path they used to get here. If they wanted to climb down, they needed another spot. Ryan glanced across the counter and toward the room they snuck into the house from. Could they make it back to the opening in the wall that they came in from in time?

The sound of the dog sniffing and snorting louder, followed by a soft woof told Ryan that either some or none of them would make it in time. This dog was large, even compared to normal people, to shrinkies like themselves, it would be hopeless. They were trapped up on the counter. Ryan bit his lip as he looked at the others who were easily just as confused as to where to go. No one was coming up with a good plan to get away…

Ryan squinted as he saw something on the other side of the counter. It was a simple window. A plan window that was allowing sunlight and a soft breeze into the room.

Ryan’s eyes widened in shock at the soft breeze. The window was open!

Ryan grabbed at Willow to get her attention without using a sound, and pointed toward the opening across the counter. Willow frowned but the pointing jabbing from Ryan got her attention toward the opening. Her eyes locked onto it before looking back at Ryan with a new light of usefulness. She seemed to be pleased with his discovery. Ryan felt a growing feeling of pride in his gut…

That was before Willow grabbed his hand and yanked him so hard that his arm nearly popped out of its socket. Everyone else ran after Willow as quietly as they could. They were running toward the area the dog was still standing under at ground level. They would have to pass by the sniffing and pacing pooch that was far below them. Ryan had to be dragging his feet or was completely out of shape, because he was pulling Willow behind the other three. It wasn’t till Katty passed by them that Ryan realized he was slowing down Willow herself, who was tugging on him to pick up the pace.

Brand was the first to the window, far ahead of them, and was inspecting it. Ryan and Willow were a good distance behind them as they were following after the others. The sound of the dog grew quiet as they were heading past it’s general area. Ryan thought maybe it lost track of them. There was no way it knew where they all were, right? How Ryan wished he was wrong.

Just as Ryan thought they were safe, off to their side a loud roar came out of nowhere causing Ryan and Willow to jump back. The massive maw of the mutt below them came up from the side of the counter snapping and licking as it leapt up at them. The dog was so massive that It’s upper body and maw came over the side of the counter and landed just near them, blocking their path and cutting them off from the others. The sniffing snout pointing down and sniffing for whatever it was tracking, which looked to be them. Both paws slapped on the counter blocking most if not all of the path toward the window as the beast looked around. Ryan and Willow stopped as they watched the dog’s large, beady eyes spot them and its upper body shifted toward them. With a mighty bark the dog’s mouth woofed at them as it tried some weird tippy toe shuffle toward them.  The dog wasn't fully able to put all it’s weight on it’s back paws, as it tried to wiggle and shift closer to them. The large upper part of the furry animal was inching in their direction, it’s mouth opening and closing as it continued to try and lap them up. The noises of the dog whining as it tried to get them withing reach to snatch Ryan and Willow up.

“HOLY SHIT,” Ryan screamed seeing the dog’s happy expression at finding two creatures in it’s home. Both of them were clearly caught by it, and now were subjected to it’s enjoyment. The dog’s paws continued to slap and pull as it’s upper body attempted to pull itself closer or even to help pull itself up on the counter if it could. Ryan pulled back and felt his arm tug and stop for a moment as the person holding it didn’t move. He looked at Willow who looked stonily at the dog. Her face blank, her eyes wide, her face frozen, and so was her body. “WILLOW?!” Ryan shouted tugging only to get a frozen response from her. She seemed like a statue made of rock with no freaking expression or reaction at the incoming dog. It was like she didn’t even see it or recognized it. She was completely out of it.

Ryan tugged again only pulling her along as the mighty paw and mouth of the puppy grew closer, pushing them further away from the others at the window. The mega mutt was sniffing and panting, tail wagging, almost smiling as it’s eyes looked directly into Ryan’s soul. He could feel the nasty warm mouth mist coming off the mutt, hitting him with each excited pant the dog made. The rotten smell of what could only be described as dog breath, hit him making his nose curled in disgust. “WILLLLLOOOOOW!” Ryan yelled again, tugging her with him out of range so she wouldn’t be caught by the licking of the dog’s tongue slurping out for a Willow or Ryan snack. One lick would be more than enough to be catapulted down that dog’s throat.

Willow still seemed petrified, hell… Ryan swore he saw tears forming on her face. She was still stunned or whatever the hell this was. Desperate to snap her the fuck out of it, Ryan spun Willow around as best he could so she was now looking at her, “FUCKING COME ON! SNAP OUT OF IT!” Ryan shouted, shaking the woman in his arms by the shoulders a few time. It wasn’t till the third shake that her eyes focused on him and that look of disapproval came back to her face.   That famous Willow scowl.

“What are you doing?!” She shouted at Ryan clearly not understanding what was going on.

“Snaping you the hell out of it,” Ryan barked again as he pulled her one step back as another strong snort and sniff from the encroaching dog threatening to pull them closer.

The sounds of the dog brought Willow’s attention back to the creature, and just before Ryan thought she was going to go into shock or petrified state again, her eyes narrowed at the beast. That scowl that she showed Ryan so many times before was back, and now it was focused on the obstruction in their way. “Get ready to run!” Willow ordered with determination in her voice.

Ryan had no idea what Willow had in mind. In fact, he half expected Willow to charge the dog and attack it. However she did something else. Willow grabbed at something on her back. It was something that Ryan hadn't noticed till now. It was a button, a large brown button that Ryan just noticed attached to Willow. Grabbing it with her hands, Willow pulled it off and started to give herself a mighty spin and with the strength of an Olympic thrower, she hurled it away at the dog. Ryan watched with confusion as the brown disk whisked away, completely off course not even coming closer to hitting the dog.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!” Ryan shouted as he watched their one and only weapon get thrown away and sail so far off, it was amazing that Willow even tried to hit the dog in the first place. The insult that Ryan slung at Willow didn’t phase her as she stood there waiting for something to happen. Ryan was terrified as the dog inched a little closer and realized they were going to run out of room soon. Then the softest of plinks was heard on the ground. Ryan watched the dog’s ears perk up and it’s attention quickly darted from them to the sound the button made across the room. It was a miracle as the dog’s upper body came off the counter as it went to investigate the strange noise on the ground.

“RUN!” Willow ordered as she took Ryan’s hand and returned the previous favor of trying to yank his arm off his body. Willow was fast, and Ryan found he was pretty much being dragged behind rather than to keep up. However, Willow was tugging and yanking Ryan behind her like he was a little child trying to keep up. By the time they meet the others, Ryan wasn’t sure he even had an arm. “What are you all waiting for,” Willow asked the others.

Katty answered, “There’s a screen in the way,” She whimpered. “We can’t break it!”

No sooner did she respond, did the sound of a thud returning. The dog was back, and this time it seemed more intent on getting them than before. The attention of the dog locked in on them as it was scrambling in closer trying to, instead of get closer, to get UP on the counter. Ryan panicked and stumbled backward into the screen window watching the dog nearly succeed to get it’s ass up on the counter. This was one big and determined dog.

“Hurry up,” Ryan panicked, watching the dog struggle to pull itself up on the countertop, it’s back paws flicking and nearly kicking itself up there.

“We can’t,” Thomas complained back to Ryan.

Ryan looked at the others who were trying to rip the screen mesh apart. They weren’t going to get anywhere like this. However, that dog would be on them before they managed to snap a single strand. Ryan looked around for a tool to… wait…

His eyes darted to the little knobs on the far side of each of the windows. He noticed that they held the screen into place. If they popped those out, the screen would fall out of place. “Quick, the latches!” Ryan shouted pointing to the one far to the right and left. Willow looked and nodded, “Brand!” She pointed to the far left and she hurried to the one to the right. The sounds of scurrying of paws again and claws scraping on the countertop brought Ryan back to the dog…. It had one of its back legs up on the counter. The dog had three out of four limbs up on the counter and didn’t seem to be slowing it’s attempt to get to them.  They would be beyond fucked if it got up to them!

“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” Ryan complained as he couldn’t stop watching the dog scurrying up the side of the countertop toward them. The noises it was making were all that Ryan heard as he swore the dog was singling him out of all the others.

“I’M TRYING!” Willow screamed before there was a click and another click. Suddenly the black barred wall of the screen window popped out of place and fell away. The barrier holding them back was gone. Willow quickly sighed before shouting, “Let’s go……” Willow’s voice died as she looked down. “Shit.”

“WHAT?!” Ryan cried out as the dog inched closer, whimpering in anticipation of catching them. Each inch was a couple of feet closer to them in shirnky perspective.

“It’s gonna be a long drop,” Willow replied as she looked down. Ryan heard those words and took his eyes off the canine for a moment. He saw what Willow was referring to, and saw the hundreds if not thousands of feet drop to the ground.

“What the hell,” Ryan cried out again. “What do we do?!”

“Jump,” Willow remarked as she spotted something, “Aim for the bush.”

It was the last thing Willow said before she hoped out of the window. Ryan gasped as Willow was out the window faster than her words. Thomas shouted in fear, which now Ryan knew he was truly afraid of heights, jumping out of the window next screaming all the way down. Katty was next, who was not as thrilled as the others. That left just Brand and Ryan.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Ryan shouted watching everyone make the jump but him and Brand. “You are all insane!!!!” Ryan panicked, again seeing them crash into the small bush made him freak out. There was no sign that they made it. “oh come on… there has to be another way,” Ryan muttered to himself as he looked for anything that could be used as a rope or to help him climb down. Ryan turned around and saw time was up. The dog managed to get it’s last leg up and was standing on the counter looking at him. Ryan looked on at the monster whose eyes were locked in on him like a a gun pointed at a target. It’s paws were already slowly slapping forward on the counter top as the giant goliath sized animal hurried toward Ryan.

This was it… Ryan was gonna be puppy chow…

Something hit Ryan in the chest hard. There was a large bag that was shoved into his chest as Ryan fell backwards. Ryan felt himself tumbling backwards as he fell out the window. Ryan looked up seeing Brand shoving him and his collected bag of supplies into Ryan's body, as he fell. It was the push Ryan needed to fall out the window and down below in free fall. Things moved slowly as Brand’s first smile to Ryan was offered to him as Ryan fell from the window. Brand had saved Ryan by shoving him first.  Before Brand could move, the mouth of the large dog was opening up and catching Brand in it’s maw. A wall of teeth and lips wrapping around his smiling form. The sounds of the dog snatching Brand up filled Ryan’s ears as he continued to fall backwards toward the ground unable to look away. His voice was silent as he shouted out for the fellow shrinky that saved his life in exchange for his own. The murderous mutt claimed it’s prize as it seemed more than pleased with Brand as it’s treat. The dog continued to watch Ryan fall, almost wondering if it would be worth following him. Just before Ryan hit the bush below him, he watched the dog give off a sputter of disappointment before leaving the window and retreating back inside the home. That was when the first branch struck Ryan in the back and knocked the breath out of him before he flipped and hit another branch and then another. He swore he felt the air get punched out of him and then his arm and legs hit something before slamming into the ground with a loud noise.  Ryan felt his lungs were crunched and deflated from all the air whacked out of him.

Ryan couldn't see much from either the darkness the bush gave or the fact that he felt like he had a concussion. However Willow was the first to be in his face shouting questions.

“RYAN, WHERE’S BRAND?! HEY RYAN? HEY?!”

Ryan felt his vision go fuzzy for a moment before it came back and he coughed up a lungful of air that he found he was holding onto. Rolling to his side Ryan wheezed and coughed till he could breath normally. It felt like someone tried to rip out his lungs from his guts till he couldn’t talk anymore. His back was raging with pain as he started to get up off the ground, “B-'' Ryan had to take another breath seeing as he needed to catch more of it. “Brand… isn’t…” Ryan looked at the others as he held the extra bag. “He didn’t make it.”

The look of sadness and disbelief was evident over everyone’s face. But the one that hurt Ryan the most was Willow’s. She looked like she just heard her best friend had died. The look stayed on her face for a few moments before that usual mad glower covered her face. The anger seemed to be directed at Ryan before she pushed past him and grumbled, “Let’s go….”

It was quiet as they traveled. Way too quiet for Ryan to feel comfortable. Ryan didn’t know why but he almost felt like everyone was judging him. Katty, Thomas, and even Willow. It wasn’t his fault, right? He didn’t cause Brand’s death…

Yet, Ryan knew that wasn’t true. It was him. Ryan was just too slow, too stupid, and too ignorant in this new world. His hesitation cost Brand his own life in return for his mistake. However, what shocked Ryan the most, was how upset Willow was over the loss of Brand. Was there a connection? How close was Willow to Brand? Did she blame him?

Ryan shook his head at the silly thought, of course, she blamed him. The look on her face when Ryan told her about Brand said it all. How she was acting right now was a clear sign. Shit, Ryan wouldn’t be more shocked if she decided to kick him out of the group right here and now. Or maybe she was planning on something else? Ryan shudder at the thought of Willow getting revenge for Brand. He looked at their leader walking ahead of the group, and as much as he tried, he couldn’t gauge her emotions. Willow was a closed book, as she didn’t even glance back at Ryan or the others. Instead, she headed forward, always moving and not stopping for a moment.

Feeling bad Ryan tried to think of what to say. Something like, “Sorry for getting Brand killed?” Or maybe it should be more like, “Thank goodness most of us made it out…” Ryan had a feeling neither of those would go well with anyone. So instead of talking, Ryan took the other route, silence. He followed after Willow as she set the pace. Jogging and running after her as she didn’t break her pace for a second. Ryan felt like he was lagging behind everyone, and just as he was going to collapse, he heard the praised holy word come from Willow, “Break.”

Ryan sighed in relief as he stopped to recover from the constant running they were doing. The non stop hiding and running out of sight were taking a toll on him as he wasn’t accustomed to the constant physical activity of surviving. Sitting down, Ryan tried to catch his breath from the dashing they just did the past hour or so from one shadow to another. Ryan didn’t even notice someone sitting next to him till they spoke to him. Willow let out a soft sigh, “How are you doing.”

It was so soft of a sound that Ryan nearly thought he imagined it as he turned to look at Willow, “What? Did you just ask…”

Willow gave him a dull stare, “How you are doing, yes. Do I need to worry about you,” Willow asked looking over at Ryan.

Ryan was confused at the question, “What do you mean?”

Willow shrugged but never broke eye contact with Ryan. “I sometimes forget that you’re new, not just to us, but all of it,” Willow said, still looking on at Ryan as to measure his reaction. “A lot has happened, I’m just making sure you’re okay.”

Ryan was confused, but it started to make more sense as he thought it over. Willow was just making sure he wouldn’t weigh them down. For him to become a straggler that would be a hindrance to them.

“Uh, no. No, I should be fine,” Ryan spoke, trying not to show any signs of weakness that would make them abandon him here.

Willow looked at Ryan longer, “You sure?”

Ryan slowly nodded, “Yeah. Nothing to worry about. I’m fine.”

Willow finally broke eye contact with Ryan and sighed again. It felt like forever before she spoke, “You know he had a family.”

Ryan felt his blood freeze. Those words hit harder than Ryan expected. He never suspected that of Brand, but he knew Willow wasn’t lying. He never even considered that even a possibility of the man. Slowly Ryan muttered, “What?”

Willow was trying to compose herself as she finally nodded and looked down at the ground. ‘Yeah, Brand had a family.” Ryan felt his tongue die in his mouth as he listened to Willow continue. “Kids and a wife.” Ryan tried not to show his emotions but it was impossible as it hit him harder the more Willow went on, “They didn’t make it. Brand was a horrible mess after that incident. Hardly ever spoke again. For some reason, I don’t know why but he was close to me. Maybe he saw me as a daughter, I hope, because,” Willow inhaled deeply as she steady herself for what she was gonna say. “He was like a dad to me. Something I hadn't had in a LONG time.”

Ryan gulped as he realized he did more damage than he thought. Brand was more than just someone in the party. He was a father figure for Willow. He was sure any second now she would be strangling him to death. Ryan had to force himself not to try and put some distance between each other. “I… I didn’t know-”

Willow let out a scoff, “No shit. Of course you didn’t know, that’s not the point. What I’m saying is, well… we lose people. People that are close to us, people we care about.” Willow told Ryan while looking at him. “Maybe family, maybe a friend, or lover,” Willow took another breath as she looked away. Ryan saw Willow dwell on some possible memories as she was silent for a few moments. Ryan could tell she was visualizing what he could only assume were the others that weren’t here anymore. Finally, Willow came back to her old self just as Ryan looked back at her. “You can’t let it weigh you down, not right now.” Willow pushed her fist towards Ryan’s shoulder giving him a soft but firm punch. “Just, stay positive.”

Ryan didn’t know how to take that speech. Stay positive…? That was some fucking hippy bullshit. How was he supposed to stay positive?! After everything he just learned and then some, there was no way he didn’t feel even more shitty-

A fist jabbed at the same spot as before breaking his thoughts. It was just hard enough that Ryan thought he might have a bruise now.

“Hey,” Willow frowned at Ryan, “I said to stay positive. If you can’t do it for me then you at least owe it to Brand.” The frown slowly disappeared as Willow went on, “We lost enough today, I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

The concern on her face hit Ryan harder than he thought. She did care. This was the first time Ryan saw the worry on Willow’s face. It wasn’t a glare or a scowl but genuine worry. An emotion that Ryan wasn’t used to seeing on her. Just before Ryan could speak, Willow stood up. Ryan watched Willow hold out her hand to help him up. Ryan took it.

“We good,” Willow asked Ryan.

Ryan nodded, feeling a little more at ease now. “Yeah,” Ryan said now, feeling a little better ever since this morning.

Willow seemed to take his word on it. “Good.” Then in a flash, Willow’s curt personality came back, “Now stop slacking, we got a long way to go, and I don’t want to turn around and see you lagging behind again.” With that Willow parted from Ryan and went to grab her gear and Brand’s bag.

Ryan was left standing there unsure of what he just heard. One moment they were actually talking, and the next she went back to that serious persona. Willow was telling the others the break was over. It didn’t take long for Willow to set the pace that Thomas and Katty easily matched. It was now that Ryan recalled how exhausted he was and groaned at his lack of physical activities in his younger years. To be fair he never expected to shrink either but here he was.

Not sure how long he could keep up, Ryan raced after them.  What Willow told him seemed to help him focus more on running after them.  He just wished she gave him a longer break…

Emily checked her phone once work was over. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, a massage or maybe a call from someone, but her phone was empty. It was something she figured, but still, she had a small piece of hope that she would be wrong. However, Emily was forced to look at the home screen on her phone, an image of Ryan and her taking a selfie at an amusement park. Probably one of her favorite memories with him.  It would probably be the last time they ever go to an amusement park again.

Putting the phone to sleep, Emily walked toward her car. It was starting to get late and the papers from classes were all graded and done for the day. Emily could have gone home with them, but it was too lonely there. Mary barely stayed home ever since Ryan disappeared, and without Ryan, the apartment was so quiet and bare. At least at the school, there were some fellow teachers or students that hung around a little while longer.  They helped Emily feel less lonely, with a side of distraction to her grading.  However, with no food at the school, Emily had to eventually head home.

The drive back to the apartment was just as bad as Emily recalled this morning. Even with music or a radio talk show playing, it just felt so hollow. She couldn't help but wonder what Ryan was doing right now or where he was. Still dwelling on the fact that Ryan was missing, she tried to recall through her memories when he was a shrinky or was normal-sized, did he give any hints of where he would go? That Safe whatever, that Kayla and Kristy were talking about was the only thing that made sense for Ryan to go to. However, how she was gonna find it was just beyond her.

Emily was so distracted in her thoughts, that she wasn’t even looking at her door. It wasn’t till she got to the front door to open it that she spotted something by her foot. Emily glanced down and saw a shocking sight. The little door was open. Someone used it!

Feeling a sudden surge of hope and relief, Emily fiddled with her keys as she unlocked the door. Swinging it open Emily flipped on some lights, “RYAN?!”

Emily only heard silence as she stepped into the seemingly empty apartment. “Ryan, are you back?” Emily called out. Each silent heartbeat gave her a dull sinking feeling. There was no answer. “Ryan,” Emily tried again as she closed the door behind her. Emily was looking around on the ground level to see where, hopefully, Ryan was. Emily started to head toward the bedroom to see if maybe Ryan was in the bathroom or sleeping, but something made a noise on the counter. Emily quickly looked over and saw a fork still clattering on the marble surface. It was Emily’s breakfast fork, one that she was sure she left over by the sink, however it was now all the way over by the fruit basket, something she hardly ever touched. It was clear the fork was propped up against the basket, but now it seemed to have been knocked over.

“Ryan,” Emily called out again heading toward the silverware still making noise as it settled down. Emily wasn’t sure if it was Ryan or not, why wasn’t he answering? 

Oh right, he didn’t have his communicator on and she didn’t have her earpiece in. Such simple things that she casually forgot about. It was so hard for her to get used to this kind of stuff. Emily made her way toward the kitchen to see if Ryan was near the fruit basket. By the time she came around the corner, she didn’t see anyone. “Ryan,” Emily called out, “I’m not sure what’s going on, but are you mad? You don’t have to hide, if that’s what you're doing,” Emily said, feeling a little uneasy with the silence. Why wasn’t he showing himself? Still calling out for Ryan, she looked around on the countertop, there wasn’t any way he could have gotten down without her seeing him. It wasn’t till Emily picked up the fork that she noticed an apple in the basket moving slightly. Something was in the basket.

Not sure if she was getting upset about him hiding or maybe it was the joy of finding Ryan she quickly picked up the apple and removed it from the basket. “RYA-”

Emily’s words died as she spotted someone else in the fruit bowl, and it wasn’t Ryan. The not Ryan, was hunched down as best as he could trying to hide behind nothing now. Emily felt her emotions dip at the sight of the stranger. “You’re not Ryan,” Emily exclaimed disappointedly in the fact that her boyfriend wasn’t back.

The person didn’t move but continued to cower, holding up their hands and arms to try and shield themselves from Emily.

Emily felt depressed however after a few moments her attention came back to the fact that there was someone breaking into her home.  Narrowing her eyes at the shrinky she spoke with a warning in her voice, “Who are you and what are you doing in my home?”

There was just silence. Emily was just about to say it louder and more forceful when she noticed how scared the little ball of a person was. Calming down Emily slowly lowered her hand into the basket and scooped up the shrinky carefully. It was clear that he was terrified now as he lay in Emily’s palm. Emily continued to hold the shrinky and as the minutes passed by the shrinky was slowly calming down more seeing as nothing was happening.  Emily waited till his hands and arms came away from his face before she actually saw the person.  She quickly realized it was just a boy, and couldn't have been older than eighteen or so. He looked starving and possibly dehydrated. The look he had on his face stung Emily as he looked petrified of her.

“It’s okay,” Emily softly spoke, “you look hungry and probably thirsty. Do you want something to drink and eat?”

The teenager didn’t respond, he only continued to wearily look at her or quick glance around.

Taking his hungry gaze and partial dry-looking face, Emily went ahead and decided for the shrinky, “Let me get you some water.” Emily slowly lowered her hand and the shrinky tried to leave her palm but seemed to think about it. Did he think it was a trap or trick? The hesitation in his actions worried Emily. “Here,” Emily spoke, using her other hand to help pick him up off her hand and setting him down on the countertop. With him out of her hand, she could easily get some water for him. Grabbing some of Ryan’s small cups she was able to get the worn-out-looking shrinky some water. As he took the large “bowl” like object from Emily, she proceeded to place the apple she took out of the fruit bowl and set it on a plate. Slicing a chunk out of it, she cut a small slice and handed it to the shrinky. He looked very confused but took it anyway.

After the tiny boy ate some apple and drank some water Emily proceeded to lean into the counter and rest her head on her propped-up hands. She waited till he was done chewing and finally spoke in a more gentle tone, “So… what’s your name?”

Emily waited a few moments and saw the small lips move, but no sound reached her ears. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

Again the lips moved and this time some words hit her ears, “Sa…”

Emily frowned at hardly picking up much sound, “Hmmm, this is gonna be difficult-”

Emily stood up and snapped her fingers and pointed at the shrinky who nearly fell over at her sudden burst in movement. “I know!” Emily headed into the bedroom and grabbed her earpiece and quickly grabbed one of the spare communicators that they still had after Ryan’s broke at school. Emily mentally thanked herself for buying more than one communicator in case Ryan got his broken again. As Emily returned she noticed the shrinky looking skeptical as she approached. Slowing down her delighted walk, so as not to freak him out too much, Emily opened her hand and showed off the small collar-looking object. Emily put her earpiece in and already had it synced up, “Here you go… just put it on your neck…” Emily instructed.

The shrinky slowly put it on, still, he looked very cautious about it. Emily wasn’t sure if he ever saw a communicator or if he thought it was going to be some trick. Once it was put on, Emily finally said, “Okay now let’s try this again.” She leaned in, maybe closer this time as she folded her arms on the counter and leaned forward to rest her chin on her folded hands. “What’s your name, little guy?”

“Sh-shawn.”

“Hi Shawn,” Emily greeted smiling, “I’m Emily…” There was a silent pause as Emily waited for Shawn to greet her, but he seemed silent. Seeing as he wasn’t speaking Emily went on trying to sound as non threatening as possible, “So, do you mind telling me why you’re in my home?”

“I… I was,” Emily could tell that Shawn was already panicking from her question.

“I’m not mad,” Emily quickly spoke, trying to get him to understand.

“I was hungry,” Shawn finished. “I s-saw the door… I thought there were others. Like me.”

Emily slowly nodded her head as she observed the late teenager who only calmed down a fraction of his frightened self. “I see. And,” Emily couldn’t help but ask, “Did you see anyone else? Maybe someone called Ryan,” Emily pushed the question at him hoping among the slim chance that maybe they crossed paths.

Shawn slowly shook his head, “n-no. No one was he-here.”

Emily felt her body slowly slacken at the news. She could already feel the smile she was giving Shawn start to dip. It was now that Shawn started to panic at her sudden change in mood. “No no no, wait,” Emily said before the boy could freak out anymore. “Sorry. I just, I’ve been looking for someone. His name is Ryan. He used to, well he does live here, but I think he ran away or something happened to him. I just don’t know right now, and…” Emily let out a deep sigh. The simple gust of air tugged a little at Shawn’s hair and clothes, “Oh,” Emily quickly blurted out seeing her puff of air rustle him. “Sorry… I’m not very good at this whole shrinky thing.” Emily confessed, almost repeating the same mistake as before, letting out another disappointed sigh that would have hit Shawn.  This time, she exhaled upwards instead.

Shawn looked a little bristled by the gust of air, but he didn’t seem as terrified as when she first found him. “Is…” Shawn asked, stopping as Emily lifted her eyebrows at his words. It took him a few seconds before going on, “Ryan, is he your brother?”

Emily couldn’t help but chuckle, “No. He’s my boyfriend.”

Shawn looked shocked, “You’re dating a shrinky?!”

“Well,” Emily said leaning back from the counter. Emily went to get some water, “He wasn’t a shrinky when we were dating beforehand.”

“Oh,” Shawn spoke into Emily’s ear as she poured some water for herself, “So he’s just living with you.” The statement caught Emily off guard.

Emily frowned at his words, “What do you mean?” Shawn seemed to rethink what he said before Emily could stop him. “No, you're not in trouble or anything, I just want to know what you meant by that.” Emily didn’t know why he was so jumpy around her, was she really that terrifying to someone his size?  Now that she thought about it, most of her students in the first few weeks acted the same way.

Shawn again seemed to be rethinking what he said but before Emily felt like she needed to coax more out of him or change the subject he spoke, “Just… the way you said it. Like being a shrinky changed things. Like he’s not your boyfriend.”

Emily gasped, “I didn’t say that.” Shawn flinched causing Emily to try and not act too dramatic, “I didn’t mean- is that what it sounded like?” Shawn nodded, causing Emily to gasp again, “Oh my god,” Emily muttered still holding her water but now looking at it. “I…” She continued to gaze at the cup trying to recall things she said or did. “I didn’t,” Emily tried to recall some conversations or words she might have used, maybe actions toward Ryan the past month or so. Is that what happened? Did Ryan think she didn’t see him as her boyfriend anymore? It was so ridiculous that Emily wanted to laugh. However it’s been a while since he caught Shrinkism and as much as she hated to say it, things had changed between them.

“All this time did I really,” Emily felt a sense of dread hit her as she felt like maybe she did push Ryan away to the point of leaving. That wasn’t what she wanted. It was the complete opposite of what Emily was trying to do with Ryan.

“Are you okay,” Shawn asked, sounding a little worried for her.

“Uh…” Emily said, still distracted, deep in her thoughts.  “I, I don’t know.”

There was a long moment of silence as Emily kept looking at her water recalling things over the past month with Ryan. Just little things like words she said or actions she might have done. Stuff that could have made Ryan think that she wanted to move on. She deliberately told him she was gonna stay with him, so what the hell?!

All these thoughts only help fuel Emily’s need to find Ryan and get the truth from him, even if it meant holding him upside down and shaking it out of him.

“Sorry,” Emily said before taking a sip of the much-needed cold water. “It’s been a rough week.”

“I know what you mean,” Shawn said, sounding equally exhausted.

Emily couldn’t help but smile. “Well after I shared my baggage, you want to do the same?”

“I… uh,” Shawn shrugged before going on. “Have Shrinkism.” Emily stifled a laugh at the obvious fact. Shawn chuckled, “As you can plainly see. I started shrinking a few weeks ago.”

“Do you live around here,” Emily asked, trying to recall seeing him in the apartment complex over the past few years she lived here with Ryan.

Shawn shook his head no, something Emily would have missed if he didn’t say “No.”

“So how did you end up here?” Emily asked before sipping some more water, finishing it off.

“I was going to school with my little brother. He’s a freshman at my school…” Shawn paused for a moment. Clearly, something happened.

Emily bent down closer to Shawn, “What? Did something happen?”

“I… I was never a good brother,” Shawn remarked. “I mean… I could have been a better brother, but I wasn’t. So… we were going to school, Nat was carrying me. And, I said something I shouldn't have and… well,” Shawn had to take a deep breath looking upset and torn, “That was it for him. He set me down and said I either get the hell away from him, or he was going to step on me…”

Emily gasped, “What?!”

“Like I said… I’m not the best big brother…” Shawn said, sounding more guilty than upset at his little brother’s threat. “Anyway, as you can see, I didn’t stick around. I ran to the closest place, your apartment complex. Snuck on an elevator when one of your neighbors took it to this floor, and I found one door with a shrinky size door and… well I hadn't eaten in a few days.”

At those words, Emily quickly realized his apple slice was gone, “OH! I can get you more,” Emily quickly blurted out, slicing another tiny-sized slice for him.

“Th-thanks,” Shawn said, accepting the food. He had a little more before going on, “I can’t blame Nat. I would have done worse if it was reversed…” Shawn held back a sniffle the best he could, but Emily could pick it up on her earpiece.

“I’m sorry,” Emily said, offering some comfort for the small teenager. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like. Or what you went through all alone for the last couple of days.” Emily had the deepest sympathy for Shawn’s predicament. “I… do you want me to take you home,” Emily asked, not sure if that’s the right call.

Shawn slowly shook his head no, “I...it was only a matter of time.” Shawn sniffed, “If not my brother then my mom or dad… I just, never thought I would be a shrinky!” It all started to come out as Shawn broke down. Emily did the only thing she could do, she helped get Shawn through the tears. Telling him it was okay. She gave him emotional and physical support as she picked him up and held him in her palms. It took a little while before Shawn was done weeping, and Emily couldn’t help but feel overly sympathetic for him.

“It’s okay,” Emily repeated till he was done. “It sounds like you don’t have anywhere to go,” Emily stated the very obvious fact. Shawn just shook his head. “That’s okay. If you want, I don’t mind if you stay here.”

Shawn was still recovering from his breakdown and sniffing, “What?”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, I don’t mind if you stay.” Emily held up her fingers to show a pinch, “I’d feel a smidge better if someone was home waiting for Ryan. So if you want to stay, I wouldn’t mind. I’m not sure if Ryan is coming back or if he drops by when I’m not around, but if you see him you could just tell him how I feel. If he ran away, let him know that it was a mistake or accident or…” Emily sighed before she stopped her rambling. “The point is, you can stay if you want.”

“You mean it?” Shawn asked.

Emily smiled, “Of course.”

Shawn for the first time smiled. “Thank you!” Emily smiled at the sincerity in that thank you. “But,” Shawn added real quick.

Emily looked confused, “What?”

“Uh… do you have a picture of Ryan?” Shawn laughed, “I don’t want to accidentally let a random shrinky in by mistake.”

Ryan felt his legs turn to heavy steel rods as he continued to run with everyone. He was so out of shape, it wasn’t even funny. Just as Ryan was gonna say something Katty beat him to it.

“Why are we still running,” Katty whined to Willow.

Ryan wasn’t gonna join in, but he was totally with Katty right now. It felt like all they had been doing all day was run. Run into the house, run through the house, run from that massive mutt, and then run away from the house. It was worse than doing two marathons back to back, and Ryan never even ran a single marathon before.

“Because,” Willow said, slowing down again to let the others catch up. “That was a dog back there.”

“No… shit…” Thomas panted as he was also having a problem keeping up with Willow’s pace. “That was … hours … ago…”

Willow rolled her eyes at Thomas, “That dog can get outside. There’s no telling whose,” Willow emphasized the word, “scent it picked up. All it takes is a few minutes for that thing to track that person down. An hour of running is less than a minute of walking for a dog.”

Ryan would have frowned if wasn’t so tired at that news. That was some very concerning news that all this effort they put into running away could be so easily erased by a pet’s leisure stroll. In fact, Ryan couldn’t help but glance behind them to check if they were being followed. Sure he couldn’t spot the home they had left, but he was looking more for a massive dog following them for another quick snack. Luckily Ryan didn’t see the horrible creature.

“Just-” Ryan wheezed as he tried to get his voice out there too. “A-” Ryan inhaled trying not to fall behind, “Second!”

Ryan wasn’t sure if what he said got through to Willow, but she slowed down and finally said, “Fine. We’ll take a quick breather. Don’t,” Willow looked directly at Ryan, “Wander off…”

Ryan almost collapsed on the ground, “Can’t even… if I wanted to…” Ryan moaned as he closed his eyes and tried to stop his pounding heart. Just trying to keep up with Willow was impossible for Ryan. He just didn’t have the stamina.

Ryan was too busy breathing to notice it. The sound of a vehicle, a school bus, pulled up to the side of the street. By the time Ryan turned his head toward the noise. Ryan could just make out the yellow paint to the side of the school bus, the large black wheels, and the glass door slowly swinging open. Even under the shrubbery that covered them, Ryan still worried they would be spotted. Maybe it was his fear or a combination of that and his tiredness, Ryan didn’t move a muscle. The sounds of shoes stepping off the school bus could be heard as a group of people were getting off.  Each thump of a foot landing on the descending steps grew louder as they got closer to the sidewalk Ryan was near.

Ryan looked over at the others who hadn’t moved, but he could tell that Willow was carefully observing the extra legs that were now stepping onto the sidewalk. Ryan could tell that they were all girls based on their shoes, legs, and voices as they chatted. Not sure how old, Ryan had to guess somewhere in middle school. Based on the time it was, it happened to be around that time when kids were done with school and would have headed home. All four sets of legs stood there on the sidewalk as the higher-pitched voice of kids chattering and laughing filled the air. Ryan slowly grew more at ease as none of them pointed him or the others out, which was probably almost impossible.

The strangers started to say goodbye, and two sets of legs walked off, toward the same direction that Ryan and the others came from. As they headed down the sidewalk, Ryan relaxed even more knowing that they were all going to leave them alone and head home very soon.

Both legs didn’t move after a few moments, still staying near Ryan’s bush covering hideout. Finally one of them spoke, “So? Did you get him?”

There was a loud popping of bubble gum as a mischievous giggle left the bubble popping girl. “Of course!  Was a piece of cake.”

“Let me see,” The first girl pleaded, sounding very happy and excited.

There was some rummaging but finally, there was a squeal from the first girl, “He’s so tiny!” Ryan slowly sat up. They had a shrinky with them? A bad feeling crept into Ryan’s body.  Not knowing why, Ryan felt a panic feeling rush through him.

“So why didn’t you want Stacy to see him,” the bubblegum girl asked. Again the sound of another bubble popping could be heard.

The first girl laughed, “Because, she’s got a mad crush on him. Isn’t that right Henry.” The cheerful sound in her voice did little to help Ryan’s mood as he didn’t like how those two were acting.

“Well, here you go,” Bubblegum girl said as Ryan could only assume that Henry was being handed to the other girl.

“You heading home,” the girl asked the bubblegum girl.

Another pop and a set of feet were starting to head toward the street. “Yeah, I have to study for my spelling test tomorrow.”

The legs of the other girl walked off out of Ryan’s sight and across the street heading to her home. That now just left one giantess left.

“Just you and me…” The voice spoke, sounding way more excited than Ryan wanted to hear. “I need to get home soon Henry, but I wanted to play a quick little game after school.” Ryan watched as a large hand reached down toward the sidewalk and dropped a small person on the hard concrete ground. Ryan couldn’t help but slowly stand up as he looked at the horrified Henry.  A sympathetic wave hit Ryan as memories of Peter from middle school came back.  Henry looked very similar and now Ryan felt even more worried.

Ryan took a slight step forward to the cowering Henry, “What’s going-”

Before Ryan could move Willow was already there looking at him. The look in her eyes told him not to. Willow was standing in between Ryan and the horrified Henry, who was busy looking up to see them way off to his side. Ryan looked at Willow for a moment and he saw her slowly shake her head. Her words were barely a whisper for Ryan to hear, “We can’t help him.”

He wanted to say something but reason came back to Ryan. How were they supposed to help? Anything they did would only get them noticed. Yet, Ryan wanted to try and at least do what he could. He had to at least try and save him, right?

“You just want to leave him out there,” Ryan asked, sounding disgusted at the idea. Suddenly he could already tell that her resolve was set and Willow wasn’t going to budge.

“We can’t save everyone,” Willow told Ryan. Words that she spoke earlier hit Ryan harder than he expected. So was that what she meant? Letting something like this happen, and not doing anything about it?

As Ryan was swallowing those facts, the giantess went on with her speech, “The game is soooo easy, it’s called hopscotch. Have you ever played before?” The question hung in the air and Ryan wasn’t sure if Henry replied or not. Either way, the girl went on, “I’m gonna skip over there,” She spoke, probably pointing somewhere, “and then I’m gonna skip back here. That gives you like ummm, I don’t know ten seconds or something to get out of the way.” There was an evilly delighted laugh that filled the air, “But I’ll let you know, I’m a fast skipper!”

Ryan looked past Willow and saw Henry still sitting there looking up those long terrifyingly large legs. If he was planning on running, it didn’t show. Instead, Ryan watched Henry try and say something and gesture at the girl.

“Sorry can’t hear you, but I’ll take that as you're ready,” The girl laughed again with humor that only she was feeling. “Alright!”

Ryan watched as both legs of the giantess vanished out of view before they came crashing down away from the Shrinky. The force of her feet slamming into the ground could be felt all the way from where Ryan and the others were at. The sound of the girl counting as she landed, “One.”

Sure enough, once one foot landed, the giantess was already propelling herself off the ground and skipping to another block of concrete. Landing with a loud thump and a “Two.” Ryan looked back at Henry who was just sitting there too shocked to move.

He couldn’t stop himself, Ryan shouted, “HEY! OVER HERE!!” The look from Willow and the others was of pure horror. “HEEEYY!!!” Ryan shouted again toward the shrinky. Willow was one step away from gut-punching him, but Katty already tackled Ryan and covered his mouth.

“Stop,” She whispered, terrified at what might happen. Thomas was already grabbing his legs to keep Ryan pinned. Ryan struggled but he was too tired to do anything but flail around. Ryan glanced past them and saw that Henry heard them. He was already standing up. Ryan watched as Henry quickly started to head toward them.

“Fuck,” Willow hissed. “God damn it,” She growled as it was clear Henry heard Ryan and was coming toward them.

However, the sound of the giantess saying Ten got everyone’s attention. Sure enough, she was about ten or so concrete slabs away. Ryan could already see her feet twisting around on the ground, making a grinding sound as she spun around and was going to head back.  Ryan muffled through Katty’s hands, “HURRY UP!” Ryan shouted.

The sounds of feet skipping filled the air as Henry continued to run toward everyone. Willow looked at the others, “We need to leave!”

Katty and Thomas quickly got off Ryan and ran to their bags as they were already preparing to leave. Ryan got up and quickly looked over at Henry who was doing everything he could, to run toward him.

“THREE,” Came the giantess's voice.

The thumping of her weight hitting the earth was enough to send another earthquake through the ground.  There was enough force to cause Henry to sway and lose his balance.

“TWO,” She sang out happily. The large legs were already in view as she built-up tension in her calves. Ryan looked back at Henry and back to those pink sketcher shoes. He wasn’t going to make it. Ryan saw the panic look on the shrinky as he struggled to get off the concrete block of death. However, it was all in vain. He just wasn’t fast enough.

“OOOONNNNEEEE!”

Ryan watched in horror as the legs vanished in the air for a split second. Then a shadow appeared under Henry as he was running. The black spot grew vastly as it eventually swallowed all of Henry and then more. The giant shoe came down, it was almost too fast for Ryan to comprehend. Just like Steven, one second Henry was there, the next he was gone. The sound of Henry being stomped on vanished under the subsonic sound of thumping. All of the schoolgirl’s weight came crashing down on that one central point, the sickening sound of crunching could be heard just under the sound of feet hitting the pavement.  Any hope Ryan had for the tiny was gone as the girl laughed standing in place of where Henry was. As if to make things worse, the giantess slowly started to twist in place. Grinding her sneaker over the concrete, the sounds of gravel, shoe, and something else being worn into each other filled Ryan’s ears.

“Told you I would make you a stain under my sneaker” The girl laughed again to herself. Humming a happy tune to herself, the cruel girl spun on her heel, smearing what was left of Henry some more as she turned around. Singing to herself, she started to skip away, like she didn’t just crush someone under her shoe.

Ryan didn’t want to look, so he turned away from the sidewalk, and what was effectively Henry’s grave.

It was only a few seconds, but suddenly someone was grabbing at Ryan. Willow grabbed Ryan by the shirt and yanked him to his feet, “What the fuck was that!” The furry on her face was enough to make most men cower in fear. But Ryan felt his rage finally come out. It was their fault Henry died. If they said something sooner, if they tried to help him, he would be alive.  Yet no one wanted to help the poor person.

“He almost fucking made it!” Ryan yelled, knocking Willow’s grip off him. “If someone,” Ryan said looking at Katty and Thomas and then back to Willow, “Said something SOONER! He wouldn’t have died!” Ryan pointed to the area Henry’s remains were. Ryan couldn’t look in that area, but he hoped his point was getting across.

Willow didn’t yell she just shook her head, “Wake the fuck up. He never was gonna make it. He was dead the minute those monsters got him.”

Ryan frowned, “He was less than-”

“She’s right,” Katty said, cutting Ryan off agreeing with Willow. “It doesn’t matter what she said,” Katty said referring to the giantess, “He wasn’t going to make it.”

“They never play fair, they never keep a promise, and they can never be trusted,” Willow said, bringing Ryan back to her. Willow shook her head, “You think she would have let him go? If he made it here, she would have just come looking for him. Then what? Now she found four shrinkies to play with instead of one… stop dreaming like the world isn’t how it is.”

Ryan didn’t know what to say as Willow was right. Heck, they were all right. He never really thought it through. Of all the times he watched others use or play with a shrinky, it never ended well for them. In the end, it was a cruel trick or game for the enjoyment of the larger ones. Why Ryan thought it would have been different, he didn’t know. Maybe he felt like he needed to repay Brand or save someone like his best friend Peter from middle school, just trying to save someone to be a hero or something…

Whatever the reason, Ryan felt like he might have learned something important today.  

“We’ll rest here,” Willow spoke as she picked a spot that was along a tree line. With all the running they did today, Ryan knew he was gonna pass out the moment he laid down. They were almost out of the neighborhood, which to Ryan’s surprise, he thought it would take much longer at their size. No one had spoken since the school girl incident. There wasn’t much to say after such a scene.

“Katty set up our rations for tonight,” Willow ordered. “Thomas, collect something to use for a fire. We’re away from all the houses.” Willow turned to Ryan. “Can you start a fire,” She asked, sounding very skeptical. Ryan slowly shook his head. Just when Ryan thought she was gonna say something like “why the hell not” or “of course”, Willow slowly nodded, “Fine. See if you can find something to use as a fence. Sticks, plastic, whatever we can use.”

Ryan nodded, “Okay-”

“And don’t go too far,” Willow quickly added, like a mother would tell a child in a toy store.

Ryan wasn’t sure how far, too far was, but he figured he would find out soon when Willow yelled at him for going too far. Feeling like maybe Willow was underestimating him, Ryan couldn’t help but feel like he got the crappy job. Walking through the head tall grass, Ryan searched for anything they could use as a fortification. He found parts of a candy wrapper, God knows what that could do, but figured Willow would either use it or toss it. Setting the candy bar wrapper laying there, Ryan gathered it and looked for something more sturdy. However the more Ryan looked, the less useful things he found. Or maybe he didn’t know what he was looking for.  Everything was either too big or seemed more like trash than actual help

“This is fucking stupid…” Ryan grumbled as he picked up a dead blade of grass wondering if it was worth it to take back. As Ryan was pondering what anyone could use it for, he heard something behind him. Spinning around, Ryan got ready to meet his doom as he suspected some kind of creature was attacking. What Ryan saw shocked him in the dimming light, he saw another person approach him.

The stranger a few years younger than Ryan called out hesitantly, “Hello.”

Ryan was shocked and forgot how to speak as the person slowly approached Ryan.  “Uh, hey,” Ryan called out, getting the mans’ attention.

“Oh thank God!” The younger man said, sounding relieved, “I thought… never mind, it’s great that there’s someone else out here!”

Ryan heard how thankful and happy the guy was at finding him, “Uh, yeah. I mean, what? Are you out here by yourself?”

“Yes, well… I mean kind of…” The man came closer before pausing in front of Ryan. “Sorry, uh… I’m Marcus… “

“Ryan.” He held his hand out for a handshake that Marcus took.

“Are you out here by yourself,” Marcus asked, sounding worried.

“Uh… no, actually there’s a couple of us,” Ryan told him.

“DO-” Marcus paused as he swallowed, “Do you have food? Maybe a little water?”

Ryan could see how desperate he was, “Yeah. Yeah, we got some, here let me take you back to our camp.”

“Thank god…” Marcus sighed.

As Ryan led Marcus back he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you by yourself? How long have you been out here?”

Marcus coughed, “Just me… and too long. It’s better than back there.”

Ryan didn’t ask where that was, he figured it had to have been worth running from.

“Well, don’t worry. We’re kind of all the same, I think. At least I am. Come on, let me show you to the rest of the group.”

Willow was trying to start a fire with the limited tools she had. It wasn’t easy and she found herself getting more fed up with it, with each failed spark to catch the dead grass sent another spark of rage through her.  After the uncountable attempt, she finally was greeted with a puff of gray smoke. Soon that smoke grew and Willow sat back in relief seeing the small flame grow on the kindling.

“Finally,” Willow sighed, making sure not to blow out the growing flame. Getting up, Willow looked around. Katty was sifting through the bags getting fresh servings of old food out, Thomas was returning with enough burnable material that they could have a warm fire tonight, and Ryan….

Willow closed her eyes, “Where is he,” She muttered to herself. He had been gone for far too long for collecting simple barrier material. Trying to stay cool, for it had been a rough day, Willow was about to go after Ryan, when there was some movement in the grass. Never so certain that it wasn’t something dangerous, Willow picked up a pebble the size of her fist and got ready to use it as a weapon. It wasn’t till she heard Ryan’s voice coming that she calmed down, however, there was something off… was he talking to himself or someone else?

Sure enough, out of the folds of foliage, Ryan was coming back without much more than some useful material and someone in tow. Willow's frown deepened as the stranger approached their make-shift camp. Someone she had no idea about, someone she didn’t know, and someone she didn’t trust.

“Ryan, I asked for fucking supplies, not,” Willow gave a hard look at the shocked newcomer, “THIS.”

Ryan looked confused, “What… what are you saying?”

Willow tried her best not to direct her anger and distrust toward Ryan but it was hard, “What I’m saying is,” Willow looked back at the startled person, “Who are you? And what do you want,” Willow didn’t waver in her tone around the stranger.

“I...uh, I’m Marcus,” he said, looking uncertain. “I … don’t have any food-”

“And?” Willow added quickly, cutting him off. “What’s that got to do with us?”

It was silent for a few moments before Ryan’s voice cut through the tension, “Willow, he’s starving. I… look we have plenty of food to-”

Willow glared back at Ryan who slowed down his speech but went on, “We can feed him, at least for tonight…”

Willow looked back at the stranger. She didn’t like him. Well… she didn’t like A LOT of people, but she definitely had some sour feelings toward him. If there was one thing that kept her alive for so long, it was her gut. Right now, it was telling her to worry about him. Willow was about to open her mouth and tell the person to fuck off, but someone spoke before she could get it out.

“I… I think we should help,” Katty meekly replied as she was already going to dish out more food for Marcus.

Willow was surprised by Katty’s remark. As she was about to comment Thomas’ jumped in too, “We could use another hand.”

It was now that Willow realized how much control she lost. What used to be just her in command, things seemed to shift already. It was less to follow her, and more of a group vote system. Now the single outsider, she watched the other three looking at her, waiting for her reaction. Part of Willow wanted to storm off, to tell them to go to hell for not listening. However, the other side of her knew that going around alone was more dangerous. Yet, Willow wasn’t going to trust some new person walking into their group. Especially if she wasn’t the one that found them.

Taking another glance over the person, she spotted the bag on his back. Not one to shy around the situation or looming question, Willow headed toward the stranger, “What’s in the bag.” She demanded.

As Willow reached for the bag on Marcus’ back Ryan was in the way, “Willow what the fuck?! What are you doing?”

Willow was already pushing him aside disregarding his question, “Give me the bag,” Willow demanded reaching for the small satchel. The man flinched and pulled away. Willow narrowed her eyes, “I said give me-”

Ryan was already pushing her away, “Stop! What are you doing?!”

“Get out of my way Ryan,” Willow growled, hating how much he was opposing her. “You have no idea-”

“He’s fucking alone,” Ryan barked back. “All by himself. Hungry… thirsty… I don't know what you’re thinking, but I promised I would give Marcus something to eat and drink.” The look that Ryan gave Willow was of complete disgust or maybe it was disappointment, she wasn’t sure but all she knew was that it kind of stung. “If you don’t want to share, fine… I’ll give him my supplies. Is that good enough for you,” Ryan asked with a bite to his voice.

Willow felt aghast, that wasn’t the issue, “That’s not-”

“He can have some of mine too,” Katty added, quickly taking Ryan’s side.

Willow spun on Katty. What was she saying?

“… I guess me too,” Thomas added, not sounding so friendly about the idea but still helping out.

“Wh-” Willow was now looking at everyone turning on her. “That’s-” Willow didn’t know how to process this. If Brand was here… That thought slammed into her emotional state, hitting her harder than she wanted before calming the feeling of loss. Realizing that none of them have been with her long enough, she had to spell it out for them. “He isn’t one of us,” Willow said, jabbing her finger at Marcus.

Ryan spoke up, “He’s a shrinky! Just like all of us,” Ryan said, gesturing to the others. “What are you talking about?”

Willow had enough, “Just show me the goddamn bag! Right fucking now,” Willow was done with this. She didn’t care anymore, if the others wanted to throw their lives away fine, she wasn’t taking any chances.

Just as Willow was going to push her way through Ryan, with force, Marcus finally spoke.

“O-okay,” he soon took his bag off. Walking past Ryan he gave his bag to Willow.

Still in the heat of the moment, Willow yanked the bag out of Marcus’ hands and opened it. It was mostly basic stuff, some scraps of clothing, no food or water. Some materials-

Willow touched something she feared to find. Pulling out a collar-looking object, a communicator, she held it up.

“I fucking knew it,” Willow growled turning on Marcus in an instant. As she approached the slime ball, she was moments away from attacking when Ryan again slipped between them keeping her from reaching the bastard behind him.

“Willow!” Ryan spoke, blocking her.

“Out of my way Ryan,” Willow said looking past him at the frightened Marcus. Ryan shouted out her name again causing her to look at him. She could see the confusion and worry about him. It was clear he had no idea why she was so upset. Of course… and the others were just as confused

Willow calmed down a smidge of a degree, before she jerked her hand with the communicator out at Marcus, “He’s a goddamn turny!”

“A… a what,” Ryan asked, blinking a few times.

“A fucking turny,” Willow shouted seeing that no one knew the term. Rolling her eyes Willow stabbed Marcus with her hatred, “He’s with the god damn monsters.  When we least expect it he’s gonna turn on us, he’s gonna sell us out with this!” Willow shook the collar like it was all the proof she needed.

“n-no that’s not true,” Marcus spoke, sounding horrified and scared. “I… I’m looking for my sister. We got separated a while ago… I thought if I saw her, maybe I could call out to her with it.”

As Willow was going to call bullshit Ryan spoke up, “He’s right. I’ve used a communicator before.  He’s just looking for his sister.”

“OH COME ON,” Willow called out. “Are you really buying that bullshit?”

Willow looked at Ryan, and she could tell… he did. Spinning to the other, Thomas and Katty seemed to also accept the new person for his word. “What?! No! Look I-” The more Willow tried to explain to the others, the less they seemed to listen.

“Willow, it’s been a long day. You’re tired. I get it. Just, calm down,” Ryan said, easing closer to her in a relaxing tone.

Maybe… maybe he was right. Was Willow overthinking this? She had just lost Brand, and been going for a while. Maybe she was over thinking-

“Fuck off,” Willow muttered as she dropped Marcus’ pack and communicator. She didn’t listen to Ryan calling for her as she walked away. There was no way she was going to let some fucking stranger make her doubt herself. She lived long enough on her gut instinct and it was screaming this was all wrong. Sadly she needed the others too much to force her hand on kicking Marcus out. Deciding to remove herself from the situation she sat away from everyone and started to eat her food.

It had been hours, and Willow still hadn’t joined in the conversation. She stayed out of it and away from the others as they chatted and grew closer and familiar with Marcus. Willow didn’t care, she felt in her gut that Marcus couldn’t be trusted, and she wouldn’t trust him till it went away, regardless of how long that would take. Willow kept one eye on him the whole time, and another out for impending danger. As relaxed as the others were, Willow wasn’t. She knew how horrible things could go when unprepared.

The fire was slowly burning down, and Willow knew it was time for some rest.  “I’ll take the first watch,” Willow called out letting the others know it was time. She didn’t care who was next to keep watch, she was too on guard right now to care. Instead, she got into a decent position to keep watch on any problems big or small. The others were already getting ready to call it a night, tucking in and getting some sleep. Willow made sure to eyeball Marcus as he pulled out a small little blanket he had and went to lay down for the night.

As the others went to sleep, Willow stayed up and kept her mind sharp while she kept watching. Sitting there listening to the night and looking for any-

“How’s it going,” Ryan’s voice startled Willow as she wasn’t even keeping tabs on him.

Willow muttered, “Jesus!  What are you doing?”

Ryan jumped back at her remark as she turned on him with a startled look. “Sorry,” Ryan apologized as he held up his hands, “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Willow took a deep breath and rolled her eyes, “You didn’t.” She lied as she got back to sentry mode.  If Ryan could get the jump on Willow, she must have been more exhausted than she thought. “What do you want,” She grumbled.

“Uh, well just was checking in on you… you don’t seem so, uh, happy a little while ago.” Ryan remarked.

Willow rolled her eyes in the dark, “Why would I be happy? You let a fucking turny in our group.”

Ryan sighed, “He’s not so bad-”

Willow scoffed at Ryan’s judgment, “Not so bad…”

“What?” Ryan asked, not understanding. Of course he didn’t, Willow didn’t understand why she was even explaining it to him.

“You don’t understand,” Willow remarked, directing her words at Ryan. “You didn’t grow up out here, I did.  THIS is my life. I might sound like a bitch, but there’s a good reason why. It’s not US against THEM,” Willow remarked. She jabbed her finger at Ryan, It’s YOU against EVERYONE. Our food? That’s precious supplies we will need for ourselves. Sharing it to a stranger can get us killed,” Willow told Ryan. The words seemed to hit him as he started to realize, “I know you all hate me. I get it, but I’m not looking out for myself, I'm looking out for us. The more we have in our group taking food and supplies the less we have. Especially with people we can’t trust and just meet.”

Ryan looked confused, “Marcus-”

Willow beat Ryan to his words, “Is a shrinky? Come on…” Willow saw that her words weren’t hitting home and finally she let out a tired sigh. “Look, Ryan, I know it’s very new to you, but …. there are things you need to look out for than the larger threats. Just because he’s a shrinky doesn't make him an ally. They can be just as bad as those monsters. Trust me,” Willow spoke sincerely.

Ryan was silent as Willow left him with some advice. It wasn’t till now she felt that the night was getting late, “Maybe I should get some rest,” Willow muttered, already feeling the exhaustion starting to roll over her.

“I’ll… I’ll take watch,” Ryan offered.

“…...okay,” Willow finally spoke after a long pause.  Maybe those words should have worried Willow, but right now she felt like she could trust him. Willow started to head to her supplies for her sleeping gear when she paused. She turned toward Marcus and the others and then back to Ryan. “Just…. Please… keep an eye on him.”

Ryan slowly nodded, “I will.”

“I mean it.” Willow spoke trying not to pull up some memories, “You never know how desperate someone can get,” Willow whispered. She didn’t know if Ryan heard her or not. Instead, she headed to the further part of the camp and took her gear out to sleep. She was so tired that by the time she laid down she was already dreaming. Sadly they weren't happy dreams…

Willow was dreaming. She knew it because it was impossible for the man on top of her to be alive right now. She made sure of it a long time ago. However, it didn’t stop her from dreaming of that horrible night. The night that someone attacked her while she slept. It was blurry and horrifying. The man many years older than her forcing himself on her while she was defenseless was triggering for her. She fought like a demon but nothing helped as her limbs felt too soggy to react in time. Her body being shaken and jerked around.  Just as that man was going to proceed to rape Willow, she broke free and her hand went swing to break his jaw.

“FUCK!” Ryan shouted as Willow threw a punch out and clipped Ryan in the face.

“AHH,” Willow shouted, sitting up with her hands clenched for a fight and looking around. There wasn’t anyone but an injured Ryan holding his face where Willow punched him from her sleep. Willow panted for a few moments and quickly looked around again to assess the situation. Ryan and Willow were the only ones up and it didn’t look like Marcus did anything all night. Still confused Willow gasped, “What?”

A muttering Ryan holding his jaw grumbled, “It’s morning… fuck…” Ryan cursed again as he rubbed his face right where he was hit.

“Morning?” Willow repeatedly looked around and noticed he was right. The sun was starting to rise.

“You were having a bad dream… was trying to wake you up.” Ryan was explained still rubbing his jaw and moving his mouth to see if his teeth were loose from the hit.

“oh… I’m…” Willow started but wasn’t sure how to approach it. Finally after a pause I said the word, “sorry.” Ryan was still massaging his face, and Willow couldn’t help it as she got closer, “Let me see it.”

Ryan tried to wave her off, “It’s fine I just-”

“Oh shut up will you,” Willow told him in a kinder manner than what the words meant.  “Let me see,” as she took his hand away and looked at the slightly swollen mark. “Shit… I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”

“It’s fine,” Ryan remarked

“It’s not,” Willow retorted. “I didn’t mean to hit you… just…” Willow tried to treat the injury as she paused her speech. Finally, she spoke after she made sure there wasn’t any permanent damage, “I have nightmares.”

Ryan looked at Willow and after a few minutes spoke, “Want to talk about it? If you want, that is.”

“Not really… it’s just things I should have done. People I shouldn't have trusted.” Those words were bitter in her throat as she recalled that night. It was like she said the other day, the giant people aren’t the only ones they need to look out for.

“I’m sorry,” Ryan said sincerely, finally letting go of his jaw showing the nice welt left from Willow’s punch.

“Oh… oh that’s pretty bad,” Willow remarked, wincing at the swollen red spot on his face that seemed to be growing.

“I’ve had worse,” Ryan chuckled, playing it off.

Willow couldn’t help but smile, “Really? I’m pretty sure I clocked you pretty good. Are you telling me someone punched you harder than me?”

There was a slow pause before Ryan spoke. “… no. You hit me harder than anyone ever had.” Ryan laughed, “Was just trying to be cool for a moment.”

Willow shook her head, “Cool? Oh please….” Willow quickly patted Ryan on the shoulder, “Just to let you know that was like half my strength.”

“What?!” Ryan gasped moving a few inches away from Willow, “You were holding back?!”

Willow laughed at his reaction before shrugging with a grin, “As I said, I was dreaming.”

Ryan’s worry slowly grew into a smile, “Well thank goodness you were dreaming, otherwise you would have punched my jaw off.”

Willow continued to laugh, “That’s true.”

Both of them sat there smiling at their little conversation. The sun slowly rising up, eradicating more shadows and showing off the waking world  with its rays. Willow noticed the other slowly stirring. It was nice talking to Ryan, but she knew how much they had to do today. Turning more serious than a few moments ago, Willow spoke, “You should get ready to move out.”

Ryan stood up but didn’t move away, “Are we still going to your friend’s place?”

Willow froze at the comment. “I…” Willow wasn’t sure.  The other day Ryan made a good point. Was Sora any better than the rest of them? Hell, the last time Willow saw her was years ago, and even then there felt like there was something between them.  However the time apart from the only kind normal sized person had really made Willow worry that maybe Sora isn’t the only nice one out there.  Maybe she was like the others. “I…” Willow said, still not sure.

“Look, I said some stuff, and it might have been distracting to you,” He said. Willow couldn’t help but think, yeah no shit. Still, Ryan went on, “I think if you can trust her, then the rest of us will.  I mean, it’s only been a few days, but you seem to know your shit that’s for sure.”  Ryan shrugged and smiled,   “So, if you’re willing to trust whoever this person is,” Ryan chuckled,  “Well, I got nowhere better to go. Just promise me that if this ends bad,” Ryan again paused and gave Willow a look that struck her. A sincere and personal gaze, “You won't give up… you’ll stay with us...okay?”

Willow froze as she heard how serious Ryan was. The idea that Sora might be different, yes it was possible. A billion to one chance, but still possible. Heck… Willow hadn’t planned beyond that, if Sora was like everyone else, then she was ready to meet her fate right there and then. However, Ryan’s words slowly dragged her out of that thought. If Sora couldn’t be trusted, then what?

“Trust me, she can be,” Willow remarked, pulling up her blanket and only pausing for a moment. Willow was silent as she went through the possibility. “But…” Willow spoke, sighing. “If she can’t… then I’ll do everything to get you all out of there.” Willow looked at Ryan and saw hope and relief flow through him.

“Okay,” Ryan said, nodding. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

“Good,” Willow quickly spoke, “Now shut the hell up and get your shit together. We have a lot of ground to cover.” Willow watched Ryan nod as he slowly trudged over toward his gear. His reaction pulled her attention to him till she noticed the sounds of the others getting up. Forcing herself to look away, she eyed the others. Thomas was slowly getting up, checking his baggage for something before happily packing up. Katty was slower but doing the same. It wasn't’ till now that Willow’s worry had her directing her attention toward the last person in their group, Marcus. He seemed to already be up and milling about. Willow’s attention was solely set on the stranger. It wasn’t till now that she felt like her attention should have been on them the whole night. Sadly she was way too exhausted to keep track of him the full night.  She just hoped that Ryan did as he promised and kept close attention to Marcus while she slept.

Making sure her gear was stuffed and packed away, Willow pulled in closer to the center of camp. The others were slowly doing so, as Willow watched the others get ready for breakfast and ready for the day. Willow kept one eye on Marcus and the other on her surroundings. It didn’t feel good seeing the stranger acting so calm and happy this morning. It sent the wrong signal to Willow. However, she stayed silent in her own thoughts and actions.

It was quiet between everyone, just a few remarks or talk as they silently packed up and gathered their things. Finally, someone broke the silence, it was  Marcus , “So, where are we going?”

Everyone seemed caught off by the words, looking confused and toward Willow. She didn’t want to talk to the person but the curious looks from the others forced her hand, “Somewhere safe,” Willow skeptically told Marcus.

“Well, have you heard of a place called Safe Haven?” Marcus asked.

Thomas seemed to perk up at that word, “Safe Haven?!”

Marcus nodded, “Yeah, I heard about it. It’s in that-”

Willow cut off Marcus, “We’re not going there.”

Ryan looked to Willow who seemed adamant on not heading in that direction.  Ryan was about to open his mouth, but slowly closed it.  Willow wasn’t sure if Ryan was rethinking questioning her or was just yawning.

Then Katty said it, “What’s Safe Haven?”

Marcus quickly and delightedly answered her, “A place for Shrinkies like us to hide safely. A community of shrinkies.”

Willow wanted to chuck something at Marcus right now, but she didn’t have anything in hand she could afford to lose. “And in the opposite direction of where we were heading,” Willow told everyone. She quickly jerked her hand toward the direction south, “That’s not where we want to head.”

“Why not,” Thomas quickly added. “A safe place for shrinkies? That sounds like where we should be heading.”

Willow shook her head but slowly saw that not everyone was on the same page.  Willow shook her head, ‘Whatever if you want to go there go ahead, I’m not.”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Ryan quickly spoke moving toward Willow. Willow watched Ryan look at her as he quietly asked her, “What’s wrong? You sound very certain about it.  I mean, maybe we should talk it out?”

Willow glanced back at Marcus then back at Ryan.  Grumbling Willow spoke, sounding so annoyed that she had to talk about it.  “Look, I’ve been there. It’s not as cracked up as it sounds. A place for Shrinkies? Sure sounds good…. But it doesn’t work.”  Willow was already getting her bag repacked after breakfast.

Ryan looked confused. “What do you mean?” Ryan called her name, stopping her from packing up the last of her supplies. “What are you talking about?”

Willow was about to tell him to do whatever he wanted, maybe even to fuck off. However, she stopped, her gaze going to Thomas and Katty who were just as confused and worried by Willow’s outburst and refusal to go to Safe Haven. Willow finally sighed. “It might be safe, but it’s no paradise,” Willow spoke. The reaction on Marcus was almost priceless as Willow continued to talk. “Yes, you're safe, but at the cost of your food. I spent a year or two there…” Everyone was looking at Willow. Not sure if they would understand she pulled out a chunk of food from her bag. Holding it up she showed it to the others. “Gathers bring back food and other supplies. Everything collected is given to everyone in the community.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Ryan remarked, getting a look from Willow.

“Sure…” Willow responded as she took her food and broke it up and handed parts of it to everyone. “But when the gathers come back with only so much food… sometimes your big break turns into…” She showed off the fraction of her food she started with, “Fucking scraps. I can’t tell you how many times I went hungry when I was the only one coming back with food, or coming back at all. It sounds good sharing everything you have with everyone, that is until you are forced to eat little scraps of what you just collected. So yeah, it’s safe, but not a paradise. There are far too many mouths to feed there and far too little supplies.” Willow hiked up her bag and started to head off in the opposite direction, “So yeah, if you want to go to Safe Haven, go ahead,” Willow remarked, “But I promise you that things probably haven't changed since I left.  Not enough people are volunteering to go on runs, fewer have experience, and even less make it back.”

Now it was Marcus’s turn as the other looked at him. Marcus seemed a little at a loss, “I, uh… well I don’t know about that, but it’s supposed to be shrinky safe. Isn’t that worth something?’

“Yeah, sure,” Willow remarked, “If you want to starve to death. Look,” Willow sighed, “I’m not stopping anyone. If you want to go, fine. I’m just letting you know what you're walking into. That place is a sinking ship. There’s a reason why I left. I can’t promise it’s safer with me, but I can promise that you’ll at least have some sort of food.” Willow looked at the others who were hesitant. “I’m not gonna take your share of food, it’s yours,” Willow remarked, continuing in the opposite direction of where Marcus and Safe Haven were, “But I will say, you can expect that most if not all of your supplies to be taken to ‘share’ with the others. Just think about it, all that work, only to be tossed to others who hadn’t even worked a fraction as hard as you did. Risking your life to only get scraps…” Willow was recalling some of her experience with Safe Haven. “Yeah… go ahead, it’s a perfect utopia for Shrinkies…”

Willow didn’t even tell them of the times she had to gather food and was the sole savior to return. Only to watch as that weeks worth of food she nearly died for, vanish into a crowd of shrinkies… something she barely savored as it was split among the countless others who refused to look for food cause it was too hard or scary. It was a broken system, one that hurt her more than it helped.

“Anyway, pick your choice, I’m moving on… “ Willow remarked as she started to walk away from camp.

“Wait,” Ryan called out again, his feet quickly following after Willow.

Willow paused and turned around. Sure enough, Ryan was gathering his stuff and picked his choice. Willow felt a little flutter of joy seeing Ryan come after her. Then Katty, and slowly Thomas. They were on her side. Marcus was the last one.

“Uh… Yeah, what was I thinking,” Marcus chucked while getting his stuff, “I’ll follow after you all.”

Willow turned away so they couldn’t see her annoyance.  The one person she DIDN’T want to follow after them.  She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Yeah, great.”

Being far away from the gigantic houses helped their travel in not having to worry about someone walking by. Walking along the woods to one side and a street kept Willow’s attention in one direction rather than from both sides. Sadly it was a far walk to Sora’s home, one that could take at least a week or two. She lived far away, at least for a shrinky to travel. They would need to make at least two or more food runs and that was hoping they collected plenty of food like the last exploration. Willow spotted Ryan behind her with the others in tow following her. She didn’t know why Ryan choosing to follow her meant so much. Him being the first to say he was with her, made her heart act a way she hadn’t felt in… ten or more years.  She felt joy or happiness.  Having someone like him rely and believe in her moved her.  Sure he was an idiot, and was never thinking about his own safety.  Yet she couldn’t hate to have someone always looking out for her.  Something that she only trusted Brand with.  Willow didn’t know if she could or even should trust Ryan that much. Willow slowed down and let Ryan catch up with her. As he slowly walked along with her she couldn’t help but ask him about what was on her mind.

“Why did you follow me?”  Willow asked, sounding a little confused and shocked.  “I mean, you barely know me and you nearly died probably more times in the past few days than in your entire life.”

Ryan looked at willow confused at the question, “Well… I mean… you seem to know your shit,” Ryan laughed for a moment and stopped seeing as Willow wasn’t laughing. “I uh, I mean, it hasn’t been easy but, I think you made the best calls so far. And I won’t lie,” Ryan said looking at Willow, “I think you still make the right calls, if Safe Haven isn’t the right place to go then I believe you.  Besides, I couldn’t leave you all by yourself,” Ryan gave Willow a playful smirk.  Willow felt a tingle in her core running up her spine. This was the first time anyone said anything remotely kind or endearing to her.  Ryan shrugged and chuckled, “What do I know anyway. Maybe I did pick the wrong path, then so be it. At least I’m with everyone, right? Fuck it, at least I’ll be with you in the end right,” Ryan smiled.

Willow quickly looked away as she felt something warm spread over her face. What the hell… who the fuck would say something like that. He was an idiot. He should have gone toward Safe Haven. That was the smarter thing to do. Yet here he was, following her.

Willow was quiet for a moment and finally spoke to Ryan, “Thanks…. That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Ryan looked and laughed like it was a joke before he realized Willow wasn’t kidding., “No.  No, really? You’re being serious right now? Oh shit, no problem?  I think?”  Willow wanted to laugh at how silly he looked confused at what reaction to have.

Willow slowly nodded, “Yeah. I mean It’s not like…” Willow stopped. Ryan slowed down, followed by Thomas and Katty. Willow suddenly felt off as something was off.  Or more like someone was missing,“Where is Marcus?”

Willow noticed that he vanished. He was behind everyone but now he was gone.

“Huh …. he was just here,” Ryan said, sounding worried.

Willow looked around and didn’t see a scrap of Marcus. He was gone. “Fuck…. Marcus!” Willow called out feeling a sense of dread and worry. Yes, she didn’t trust him, but a missing member of the group regardless of their shade level was something to worry about. Willow inhaled about to shout out his name again when there was some rustling.

“Sorry,” Marcus gasped coming from the grass wall behind them. “Lost… my…. Breath…” He panted.

Willow sighed but glared at him. “Fucking say something next time… fine. Let’s take a break.”

“Thank….. you….” Marcus gasped, taking a seat.

Willow took a seat and Ryan was next to her recovering from the slight exhaustion. “Looks like someone is worse off than you,” Willow muttered to Ryan as a playful jab at him.

Ryan chuckled. ““Yeah… hey!  I’m not that out of shape.”

Willow smiled as she took her breath in letting her lungs relax for a moment, “I don’t know, you were kind of slow the other day. Glad you kept up though.”

“Really? I would have thought you were trying to ditch me for sure,” Ryan grumbled.

Willow felt a childish sense of fun teasing him, “Maybe the first few hours… but you kept up. I’m proud of you,” Willow sat up looking at the grumbling Ryan. “Awww don’t be like that. I thought it was…. Kind of… “ Willow’s words slowly died in her throat as she spotted something off.  Frowning she narrowed her eyes looking past Ryan… past Thomas… past Katty…

Willow was looking right at Marcus. Something was different, out of place. Something was setting off her alarms.  He was sitting there by himself breathing and taking a drink of water. Yet Willow’s senses were screaming at her. But why? She didn’t know…. Everything looked the same. The only thing that caught her attention was the weird communicator on his neck….

Why was the communicator on his neck?

“FUCK!” Willow bolted up as everyone looked at her.

Just as Willow was about to go for Marcus a dark shadow loomed over them. Almost like a set of clouds rolled over the sky, but Willow knew better. Her eyes moved up and she was greeted by a large and well rounded woman peering down at them with a wicked smile.

“There you are….” She spoke with a glee in her voice.  “I knew you could find some.”

“RUN!” Willow yelled, tossing her bag off for more speed. She knew she was twice as fast without supplies weighing her down. Sadly, Willow was the first person the giantess reached for. Willow tried to duck and get out of the way but the attention of the giantess on her made her easy prey. The hand nabbed at her and soon Willow was plucked off the ground and heading toward a cloth pouch. Soon Willow was chucked into it. Willow landed in the empty pouch breathing heavily, already looking for a way out. Soon another joined her, Thomas, soon Katty was next, and finally Ryan.

All four of them were looking up at the small portal opening at the slightly chubby giantess. “Oh shit! Four?! Nice going brother.” Willow glared up and saw that the giantess was holding Marcus in her hand as she peered down at them. “What a nice catch.”

Willow didn’t care how Marcus looked, his apologetic look meant nothing to her. The fucking turny showed his true colors as she spoke and the giantess said something, “Oh don’t worry about them. They're just for tomorrow’s party. Anyway, I’ll get you a little treat for helping me out.”

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” Willow shouted with rage before she watched the opening slowly close as the pouch opening was tightened shut.

“wh-wha the fuck,” Willow heard Ryan muttered so confused.

There was a sudden movement as the giantess started to move. “I told you,” Willow spoke angrily, not because she blamed Ryan but because she let her guard down. “He’s a turny. Sometimes it’s not the large ones you have to look out for.”

The feeling of swaying and movement tossed Willow and the others around. Willow didn’t even fight it as she collided with someone. That was the least of her issues. She was now captured by a giantess and was now at the mercy of a merciless creature that would do whatever she wanted. Willow just hoped that their suffering wasn’t going to be too harsh. However, the look on the giantess' chubby face when she easily captured Willow, told her there were wicked plans for them.

Willow sighed in defeat, so this was how she was going to die…

Ryan sat there in complete silence and confusion. Why was this happening to them, what the heck was going on. “I… I don’t understand,” Ryan muttered to no one in particular in the dark. Ryan once again attempted to rebalance himself from the constant swaying they were experiencing. Each step the giantess that held them captive swayed and swung their prison around.

“What’s there not to get,” Thomas muttered obviously upset, “He fucking ratted us out.”

Ryan couldn’t help response to the disheartening answer, “But he’s a Shrinky-”

Willow’s sharp and corrective voice cut him off, “TURNY… he’s not one of us. Never was. The little-” The bitterness in her voice was oozing out before Willow let out a disappointed sigh, “I told you before, you can’t trust everyone. Marcus just baited us into a trap and we fell for it…” Willow quietly muttered, “I fell for it.”

Ryan was silent as he let those words sink in, he trusted Marcus and ignored Willow’s words. She hit the nail on the head too, Marcus was a no good son of a bitch and yet he ignored her warning. Ryan felt something in him shatter and crumble. Maybe it was the trust he felt toward people in general but Ryan felt something snap in him that just made his anger grow. “Next time I see Marcus I’m gonna-”

The sharp snort from Thomas cut Ryan off. “Next time? There isn’t going to be a next time. This is it…”

“W-what do you mean,” Katty asked off to the side somewhere in the dark. She sounded worried as panic seemed to fill every word, “What do mean, this is it?”

No one wanted to say the obvious to Katty but it was clear they were all trapped in a small pouch of a stranger. What would happen next would involve the Giantess and her plans. Whatever they were, Ryan knew for a fact that it couldn’t be good. If there was anything that he learned so far, it was that normal sized people held no care or love for people like him. Take Emily, his loving girlfriend for example. She only saw him as another Shrinky in the end.

Not wanting this to be the end of things, Ryan quickly felt a spark of hope or maybe it was his desperation trying to find a way out, “Did anyone keep their gear? A knife or something like that to cut our way out?”

“No,” Willow sighed. “It was all in my bag that I dropped.”

Katty didn’t say anything but Ryan swore he could feel or sense the shaking of her head.

“I don’t have anything to cut with,” Thomas explained.

“Fuck,” Ryan muttered as he thought about trying to tear the material under him. Obviously that was dumb as he knew he could barely even rip a shirt apart when he was normal size. The fabric would be way too hard to do so. Ryan felt his hope die down as he swayed back and forth in the dark of the cloth fabric prison. Only able to curse his stupidity for getting everyone stuck in his own mess.

It felt like forever before things changed. The rhythm of swaying changed patterns and some noises were heard outside the clothed bag.

Ryan and the others were set down on something hard and sturdy as muffled voices grew quiet leaving them alone. Knowing they were set down, Ryan wasn't sure what to expect but he tried the opening that used to be up in the air, but now was level in height with them. Ryan stuck his hands out and started to pull on the tightly closed opening. Sadly the pouch opening was drawn too tight, that not even his hand could get through.

“Damn it,” Ryan cursed while stepping backward.

“Just sit down,” Willow sighed with defeat.

“And what give up?!” Ryan shouted before he realized how upset he sounded.

No one said anything for a few moments. “Ryan…” Willow called out calmly, “It’s okay, sit down.”

“It’s not okay,” Ryan shouted, already feeling his anger and rage building, “It’s my fault we're here and I-I need to fix it!”

Again it was quiet till Willow spoke, “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. What happened, happened. Beating yourself up over it won’t help. Sit down, calm down, and we can think of our next move. I can guarantee that you won't get that open, unless you’re telling me you've been pretending you were out of shape all this time…” Ryan didn’t know why but he felt a wave of embarrassment hit him at the remark. A sound of a hand slapping the ground nearby told Ryan where to head to.

“Why, no how, are you so calm,” Ryan asked, getting closer to the sound and sitting down near Willow.

“Don’t know,” Willow responded. “Maybe because I knew this day was coming eventually. Sometimes… I don’t know when or where it would happen, but THIS,” Willow said in the dark. Ryan thought he felt her wave her hands around. “was bound to happen to me. I mean a few days ago I was trapped like this … then you save me.”

Ryan recalled that time, “So you think someone will save us?”

Willow’s laugh was nice to hear, but hurt as she went on, “Hell no… we’re so screwed. I’m just saying that after a while… you get used to it. You know, the,” she did another gesture in the dark Ryan couldn't see, “We’re all gonna die soon. I guess it’s a feeling I’m too familiar with.”

Ryan didn’t think about it that way, and recalled the amount of times he almost died after shrinking. It had to be at least ten times more often than when he was normal sized. How life changes on someone after a shift in size and perspective. Feeling Willow’s words more than he thought, Ryan felt defeated in his quest for escape. The negative atmosphere filled the dark chamber as he sat down letting the cruel feeling fill him as he realized that this was it. Ryan was gonna die here.

It was silent in the bag. No one knew what to say and so between the four of them they were extremely quiet. Stuck in the dark recessives of the satchel. Ryan wanted to talk but Willow’s words rang heavy in his head. Sadly no one else seemed like they wanted to share anything. The time flew by until suddenly there was a jerking sensation and Ryan went tumbling into someone.

“HEY!” Willow shouted in Ryan's face. In the situation it seemed that Ryan landed on top of Willow, and he accidentally touched spots he shouldn’t have.

Immediately apologizing, Ryan tried to disengage from Willow, but the swaying of the bag prevented such a move. “SORRY,” Ryan shouted as he felt his hand hit a very tender part of Willow’s chest. Ryan kept shouting sorry till he felt a hand shove in-between his legs and brush a very private part of himself.

A sound that Ryan thought he would never hear from Willow as she let out a startled gasp. “WHAT THE -” a sudden jerk and Ryan and everyone went tumbling around again, as he cupped himself from the impending attack from Willow. Ryan bumped and slammed into people as they moved.

A deep but girly voice filled the room and spoke, “Well it’s just about time. Got a party to set up. Time to get started. Can’t have a party without the main entertainment.”

Ryan wasn’t sure what that meant till everything started moving again and he bumped into someone. Ryan felt the features of the woman with his hands. He made sure to separate himself from Willow the best he could before the accidental bumping into each other was misunderstood. “I didn’t mean to,” Ryan protested as he distanced himself the best he could inside the now swaying bag. It was difficult but Ryan made sure to stay out of collision range with Willow.

There was a long silence from Willow before she sighed, “I know… I just wasn't expecting any of that.”

Ryan gulped and nodded hoping that she wasn’t staring daggers at him. It sounded like she wasn’t but he couldn’t be completely sure, “S-same.” Ryan did his best to forget what happened as he felt the pulling and swaying inside the small bag they were stuck inside. Wherever they were going, it didn’t seem too far as the Giantess again went through some doors and through wherever they were now, probably another house. Ryan strangely got comfortable with their situation, or maybe he grew accustomed to what might happen. It was like Willow had said, that this was bound to happen someday. However unlike Willow and the others, he wasn’t about to let this be the end, at least without a fight. He was determined to keep fighting, although he didn’t know what yet, but he promised himself he wouldn’t lay down and give up. Ryan had been through a lot the past few days and with Brand’s death he felt like he owed it at least to him to keep going.

“We’re gonna make it,” Ryan said, more confident than he thought.

“What,” Willow’s confused and amused voice asked. “What make you think-”

Willow was cut off from a sudden jerking and everyone bounced off a hard surface beneath them. The swinging stopped and they were all motionless now. Ryan looked around trying to find out where or what just happened. Before Ryan could ask or ponder what happened, suddenly something hit a hard surface, like plastic or glass being set down. Soon they were all jerked upward again and everything flipped upside down. Ryan was falling and right before he hit the top of the satchel, or to be exact the top now that it was flipped, it opened. Ryan was greeted by a sudden incoming surface as he collided with a hard surface followed by a few body's landing on him.

Ryan let out a sound of protest as he felt Willow, Katty, and Thomas right on top of him. By the time everyone got off Ryan and he could look around, he noticed the Giantess was already walking away with the empty brown bag. Ryan observed his surroundings and found out they were in a kitchen, stuck inside what looked to be a large cooking bowl or mixer. The walls were tall and they were all curving upward. “Where are we,” Ryan asked, not looking for an answer.

Ryan slowly started to put things together, that girl said party. Shrinkies and a party.

“Oh shit…” Ryan whispered to himself.

“What,” Katty asked, hearing him.

“This is bad,” Ryan said, not explaining as he already knew what was going on. They were so screwed.

Emily covered her mouth doing her best not to laugh too loud in front of Shawn. It was only after the second time that she did it, that she realized how louder her voice was to Shawn. It wasn’t till she spotted the slight wincing he did, which made her regret having such a loud voice around him. However, part of her couldn’t help but wonder if he liked it, cause he wouldn’t lay off the jokes even for a moment. Anytime that Emily went to do something, he would crack a joke forcing her to snicker or snort at such silly but humorist conversation. “Where do you get these jokes?” Emily asked snickering as she got up from the kitchen countertop to check in on their food.

“I happen to be the class clown for several years in school. It was the only trait most of my classmates enjoyed. If I wasn’t funny, I wouldn't stand out.” Shawn explained.

“Aww, that’s kind of sad,” Emily responded as she spun the noodles in the pot around and sipped some of the sauce for their spaghetti night. “I’m sure there were other things people liked,” Emily checked the toast in the oven to make sure the garlic bread wasn’t burning. Seeing as everything was in order she headed back to Shawn and leaned down toward him to continue their talk. “I’m sure with a good sense of humor you had all the girls swooning for you.”

It was now that Shawn seemed skittish as he shrugged his shoulders, “Not really. I could make them laugh, but they just never cared for much after that. I guess a guy that can make you laugh is only good for one thing, being a joke.”

Emily gasped, “Don’t say that! I think you’re really funny. I love someone that can make me laugh. A sense of humor is very important.” Emily explained trying to help Shawn’s confidence. She smiled recalling how lame and cheesy Ryan’s jokes were back in the day. As painfully lame and goofy they were, it always seemed to cheer Emily up from a rough day. It was one of the reasons why she couldn’t stay away from Ryan. That goofball making puns or telling dumb jokes at the right time to brighten her day up was what made her fall in love with him.

“Really,” Shawn asked skeptical at Emily’s words.

Emily nodded, “Totally, it’s like a major turn on for us women.” Emily laughed. “But just some advice, it’s nice to make fun of things with a woman, just never make fun of the woman… that’s a big no no.”

Shawn shook his head, “I would never make fun of you, or any other woman. That would just be mean.”

Emily winked at Shawn who seemed to get the point she was making, “Exactly. You got to be a gentleman.”

“That I can do,” Shawn promised, smiling at Emily.

“Good,” Emily chuckled as she heard one of her timers go off for dinner. Checking the pasta she drained it and prepared it with the red sauce and soon the hot bread from the oven. It wasn't long before Emily had dinner ready for everyone. Now they were just waiting for Mary to come home for “family” dinner night. Emily made sure to have Shawn’s portions served up, which was a little difficult but after a few attempts, Emily had a good sized meal for him. A crumb or so of garlic bread, a few noodles about half the size of Shawn’s actual arm, and just a tiny splash of spaghetti sauce over the noodles. She really hoped he enjoyed it.

Emily couldn’t help but recall the times she cooked for Ryan having to find ways to portion some of the meals to the size he could eat them safely. Shawn kind of reminded Emily of Ryan, how helpless they were with making and getting food for themselves. Emily would have been much worse at this if she and Ryan hadn’t spent more than a month together as a size difference couple. It helped Emily ease Shawn into the same role of being a Shrinky in her apartment. Emily smiled at Shawn as she dished herself up and paused on the possible third plate. Mary hadn’t been around much today and Emily had no idea when she would be coming home. Usually it was later than now, so to plate out some food for her could possibly be a waste of food. Emily decided to hold off on Mary, and just serve the two people right now.

Shawn’s voice was heard in Emily’s ear as she poured herself a drink, “I’ll never get used to the size of food… like that looks like a landfill of pasta on your plate.”

Emily smirked, “Really? It doesn’t look like that much to me.”

“Well to you obviously, but to me… One could get lost in that sea of noodles and pasta sauce. I better make sure not to get close to your enormous amounts of food.”

Emily couldn’t help but smile at the teasing he was doing, deciding to do her own playful taunting, “What are you saying? Are you calling me fat with how much I ate,” Emily asked in a friendly manner.

“I would never,” Shawn protested quickly. “Just that it would take me at least a few days to finish what you have on your plate right now.”

After a pause Emily started to laugh, “I’m just messing around with you.” The humor seemed to make the conversation go pretty quick. “I’m just messing around with you,” Emily laughed at Shawn trying to determine what was a joke or not.

Laughing, Shawn went on, “Good, cause if you were going to ask if I want your leftovers, I don’t think I could eat spaghetti for the next week or so straight. No matter how good it was.”

Emily chuckled, “Not sure if that’s a compliment or not, but I’ll take it.”

Shawn smiled and went into his food about the same time Emily did. As they were eating, Emily went for a sip of her drink when she heard someone at the door. At first, her reaction was thinking it was Ryan… but the person touching the lock and doorknob told Emily that it couldn’t be Ryan due to his current size. Sure enough the door swung open and Ryan’s mom walked in with an angry scrawl. Mary looked exhausted and clearly tired from her long day. Feeling some sympathy for the weary looking older woman Emily called out to her, “I made dinner., if you want some Mary.”

“That's great dear,” Mary spoke slowly, walking past the table looking like a defeated gladiator from the Roman times. Her slumped body told a story that Mary might never explain. She clearly had a very long day from her appearance.

“It’s still warm,” Emily offered hoping that would help to appeal to the tired woman, “Spaghetti and meat sauce. It was, I mean, is Ryan’s favorite,” Emily called out before Mary disappeared to her room. The mention of Ryan had Mary pause for a moment and slowly turn toward the table. “I’ll get you a plate,” Emily said with some joy in her tone. She got up and quickly got some silverware and other utensils for the older woman. Coming back to the table she started to set the wooden dinner table for Ryan’s mother to eat. Emily felt a sense of relief having Ryan’s mom finally relax and eat with her. Dropping a good sized portion of food on the plate Emily smiled at the tired looking woman.

Suddenly her eyes spotted something off to Emily’s side. “What’s that,” Mary asked with a hint of disgust in her voice.

“Hmm,” Emily responded, not sure what Mary was saying.

“What’s THAT doing at the table?” Mary asked glowering at a spot across Emily’s seat, right where Ryan used to sit.

Emily traced the look toward Shawn. “Oh, this is Shawn. I meet him today and-”

“And you’re letting it sit at the table?” Mary asked, sounding displeased and appalled at the idea.

“… Yes… I’m letting HIM stay at the table…” Emily told Mary, making sure she understood what she was saying. “Shawn is eating with us.” Emily pointed out with a firm tone in her voice to get it across Mary’s mind.

However Mary didn’t seem happy about that. “So… you’re just gonna let some Shrinky eat at the table? While my son, RYAN, is out there all alone wandering around looking for help? All while you are just gonna let some random Shrinky sit at the table like my son isn’t lost out in the wild?!” Mary stabbed her finger toward the door as she emphasized her point.

“What?” Emily was taken back at the sudden attack from Mary. “I… I’m sorry what? What are you saying? Do you think I forgot about Ryan or just don’t care?” Emily asked, sounding horrified at the accusation.

“It looks like you already have,” Mary grumbled looking at Shawn then back at Emily. Disapproval was written all over her face.

Emily gasped, “Oh my god! Are you- I can’t- What the hell Mary?! Don’t you DARE direct any of this on poor little Shawn! He didn’t do ANYTHING wrong! Yes, I found him, but he has nothing to do with Ryan’s disappearance,” Emily barked at Mary. Emily couldn’t stop herself from getting super defensive with Shawn and herself being attacked like that. “I HAVEN’T SLEPT SINCE RYAN LEFT!!” Emily shouted, feeling her rage building. “I am worried sick about him every minute,” Emily pointed her finger toward Mary. “I wake up every night TERRIFIED FOR HIM!” Emily felt her emotions erupting and her anger and fear was being directed at Mary. “I would give ANYTHING for Ryan to come back home… but that’s not going to happen. So what do you want me to do? Do you think I should quit my job and run around looking for Ryan on every street in the whole town??!!”

“At least that would be more helpful than playing house with that thing, Mary spoke with spite in her voice.

Emily felt the last straw snap. She couldn’t take it any more. “… Mary… I want you to apologize to Shawn right now, or leave.”

“What?” Mary asked, sounding confused at the demand.

.

Emily stood firm as she spoke, “This is Ryan’s and MY home, and I don’t appreciate you talking down to our, my, guest, Shawn. So, I want you to apologize to Shawn,” Emily said, directing Mary’s attention to him.

It took a few minutes but finally Mary made her choice. “You would rather sit here and joke around with that Shrinky, instead of helping look for my son…” Mary shook her head, sounding disgusted at the idea. “Fine. I’ll be going.”

Emily felt a sudden stab of surprise and regret as she never expected Mary to pick the other option of her ultimatum. Mary started to head to the guest room where she was staying. The sound of things being moved and opening startled Emily, it sounded like Mary was packing her things. Emily followed toward the room and sure enough Mary was in there packing, “What? Why? Just… what are you doing?” Emily asked, watching Mary shove her clothes into her baggage.

“Leaving,” Mary responded curtly and in rage.

“But… Mary, come on, be reasonable. I just…. Why are you being like this?!” Emily asked not understanding why she was being so difficult right now.

“Why,” Mary asked as she slammed her suitcase shut. “Why?! I’m out there looking for my only son!” Mary shouted. “I’m doing everything I can for my son and you, you are,” Mary gestured and pointed toward the kitchen table, “You are feeding that that THING dinner!”

Emily felt a punch to the gut. “That thing?? His name is SHAWN! Why are you like this?!”

“The point is,” Mary paused for a moment before going on, “my son is in danger! And you don’t care. You’re over here pretending that everything is normal. Well it’s not. Ryan is out there scared, cold, and alone. I’m not gonna let my son suffer while you try to pretend to care about that Shrinky out there like he’s my son.” Mary grabbed her bag and hauled it off her bed toward the door.

“Mary what the heck are you going on about?!” Emily shouted following after the older woman. “Mary just stop!” Emily called out as Mary headed for the door. “Where are you going?”

Mary turned toward Emily as she glared at her, “I’m doing what you said, leaving. My son needs me. Carla told me earlier today that she saw Ryan… or someone like Ryan the other day. I’m gonna go look for MY SON, while you,” Mary waved her hands around the area, “Do whatever it is you are doing. Which obviously isn’t looking for Ryan!”

Emily felt a stab at the remark. “Someone saw Ryan? Where? When? Mary why didn’t you say anything till now,” Emily asked as Mary headed for the door.

Mary shook her head as she pulled her bags toward the front door. “My son is my business now. You don’t have to worry about him anymore, I’m gonna make sure to take good care of him.” Mary looked back at Emily. Emily could feel the disappointment in her eyes, “Something I wish you could have done.”

Emily felt her heart shatter as Mary slammed the door closed behind her. Those words were like a knife to the gut. Her heart was breaking at the accusation of Mary’s final words. It wasn’t her fault that Ryan left, right? Surely he didn’t run away because of her…

However the more Emily thought about it, surely Mary had to be speaking some kind of truth. That dreaded feeling crept up on her like a lioness sneaking up on its prey. Emily was to blame. She said or did something over the last couple of weeks, maybe it even stemmed back further before Ryan shrank. Emily could feel the self doubt and the guilt piling up as she shoulder the blame on Ryan leaving. Mary had a point that-

“Emily,” Shawn’s voice spoke into her ear from the ear piece she was still wearing.

Emily heard it and did her best to concentrate on reality at this point and not the past she couldn’t control. “Uh… sorry, uh… I,” Emily looked for some walking shoes, “I need to go.”

“Go where,” Shawn asked, sounding worried.

Emily wasn’t sure. She hadn’t needed to take a run in a long time. She only ran when she was lost and confused and just needed to do something when there was nothing for her to do. A way to try escape, if only for a few minutes of running down the street. Emily hadn’t felt the same way since she woke up with Ryan gone. She felt almost sick and lightheaded, almost as if she had a fever building. “Just for some fresh air,” Emily told Shawn.

Shawn decided to join her as he called out, “I could come with you-”

Emily shook her head, “No… I just need some alone time.” Emily did her best to not show her emotions right now. Luckily teaching highschoolers helped build that trait of smiling through other emotions. Heading for the door, Emily left and soon found herself running. She didn’t take the elevator so she could stay moving. Running out the building and toward the sidewalk. It was late but there was enough light for her to see the ground in-front of her. She didn't have a direction or a path, just followed the sidewalk. It was now that her emotions came out through her need to run. Sweat and tears came rolling off her as she fought herself from breaking down in a mess. Mary’s words hit harder than Emily thought and she needed some time to confront them and tackle the issue.

Emily hadn’t forgotten Ryan, she still cared. She loved Ryan. Whatever the reason for his disappearance Emily wanted to find out more than ever now. She needed Ryan to tell her why. No matter what it was, or how upsetting it might be, Emily needed to hear the answer from his own words. It would probably be the only thing that would help Emily at this point.

The longer Emily ran and cycled through the words that Mary spoke, the more she honed in on something. The words that stuck hard were the ones about Carla spotting Ryan. Emily dug into that small slice of hope that Ryan was still okay. He might not be safe, or maybe he was, Emily didn’t know. However he was still out there. Something that Emily fretted over till now. Ryan was still alive, so she just needed to find him.

Ryan felt horror grab him, as it was just like he suspected, more people were soon added to their prison. Some were added by new faces, others were dropped in by that same slightly chubby Giantess that kidnapped them. It seemed every time she dropped one in she gave Ryan a look. A look that Ryan knew all too well, one that he had seen on countless others eyeing a particular Shrinky they wanted to “enjoy”. It seemed Ryan was her type, and boy did she look like she wanted him. It had to have been about an hour or so before the large plastic container was slowly filling with countless people. Each one having a different reaction to the situation. Some were screaming and crying, others angry and shouting. Either way, Ryan could feel the disorder filling the chamber. It seemed most if not all the ones trapped, hadn’t the slightest clue of what was going to happen to them. Except for Ryan, who had been on the opposite end of the situation. This was clearly a relief party, something that usually ended up bad for anyone as small as they were.

Ryan looked around and noticed how many people were stuck in this bowl. It was quite a lot, and judging by the sides of the container, maybe they could probably try and climb out if they worked together. Ryan felt a sudden thrill at the idea of escaping. “Willow,” Ryan called out pointing to the high curved sides of the bowl they were in, “We could try forming like a pyramid or something and climb out! There should be plenty of us in here to-”

Willow shook her head, “Forget it, there's no way you can get any of them to listen right now,” Willow jerked her head toward the chaotic mass of people.

Ryan tried to explain, “We just have to tell them the plan-”

“Look, Ryan,” Willow blurted out. “They are unrealized.” Willow seemed to have given up on any form of support from the others.

Ryan was about to argue with Willow when heavy footsteps headed their way. Ryan saw a slightly familiar face approaching. Ryan watched as the girl started to lower a protesting and struggling person into their prison. He was shouting out a name, Bell or something. Watching the giantess smile at the newly added prisoner, Ryan felt a weird sensation down his spine. She was enjoying this more than someone would have. It almost seemed personal.

The Giantess then spoke, “I would tell you all to say hello, but it won't matter soon.” The Giantess spoke as she took a sip of her drink, she was sounding more excited than someone should be at their situation. Ryan continued to observe the Giantess, as her eyes swept over the countless people below her before she spoke again, “Actually…” a giant gleam crossed her eyes as she locked in on someone, it was Ryan. Her gaze was piercing his soul with that horrifying smile, “One wouldn’t hurt.”

Ryan watched with pure fear as the Giantess hand came toward him, reaching out with two fingers directed toward him. Ryan thought of running but his legs froze up. He couldn’t move them as he watched those digits descend toward him. Just as Ryan thought he was done for, the fingers passed by him by a foot or two, picking someone else up. Ryan felt a feeling of rejoice for not being her victim, that was till he heard a familiar cry. Ryan’s attention went toward the kicking and struggling figure in those powerful pinching fingers.

“NO, NO, NO!” Katty screamed trying to break out of the clutches of the Giantess. No matter how much she struggled, Katty wasn’t getting free. Ryan’s rejoice soon turned to dread and terror and he watched the Giantess bring Katty to her face.

Ryan felt himself already calling out, “KATTY!” However it was far too late as her kicking legs were already well out of reach. Ryan felt his heart break as he could only watch up in horror at what was about to happen.

A cold and sickening voice filled the room, “You look tasty.” Immediately Katty’s scream was heard as she was dropped into the red cup being held below her. Ryan held back any more noise, as all he wanted to do was scream out as he heard the sounds of a small splash from inside the cup. Almost immediately the monstrous woman smiled, “Bottoms up!” Ryan could only watch with dismay as the girl tilted the cup to her lips and pounded the drink into her mouth, followed by a few quick gulps filling the air before removing the cup from her lips. A cruel and happy smile crept over the monster’s mouth, “Mmm now that hit the spot.” A quick lick of her lips and she was glancing back toward Ryan. For a moment Ryan feared this time he was next, however she had other plans, “But,” She spoke, “I should save the rest of you guys for later, it is a party after all, got to share.” With a cruel smile she was already leaving the room, along with poor Katty stuck in her gut.

Ryan tried to swallow the dread and hopelessness growing in him at what just happened. Katty was gone….

“WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!” Someone screamed and panic started to fill the bowl, as others started to protest and freak out at what they just witnessed. Ryan quickly buried his feeling of dread and sorrow as he looked around at the crowd of people trying to escape without a single plan. It was chaos as everyone wanted to get away from this bowl of doom but were unable to. Ryan for some reason spotted someone standing still, not running, it was the last person just added by the one who just swallowed Katty a moment ago.

Maybe it was the fact that they weren’t moving or that they were closest to Ryan, he headed over to him first. He quickly put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Hey, we're trying to get out, we could use your help.” The person looked confused for a moment but suddenly Nodded and responded to him. Happy to have someone on the same page, Ryan quickly asked what his name was.

“Chris,” he responded.

Ryan nodded and brought him over to the others. As he approached Willow and Thomas he started roping others into the group until they had a small set of people. Most of them were up to helping but a woman much younger than Ryan started to freak out, she was sowing self doubt into the group as she was throwing out negative remarks about Ryan's plan

.

Her negativity wasn’t helping and the fact that Katty was gone, caused Ryan to snap at her. “We have to try! It’s better than doing nothing and ending up like…” Ryan bite back a sob at what just happened, “ Katty.” Ryan slowly calmed his emotions as he knew crying over the loss of someone close wouldn’t help him right now.

“Then who goes up top!” The woman asked, sounding argumentative with Ryan and his plan. Before Ryan could suggest someone Chris spoke up.

“My Girlfriend. She’s part of the party, if I can get her attention she should be able to help us.” Ryan slowly nodded at the plan. However the cranky girl had other plans and barked at Chris. Chris quickly retorted back, “Bell isn’t like Emily! She’ll save you, I swear it!”

Ryan couldn’t help but freeze up when he heard the word Emily and thought of his Ex. He couldn’t help but feel himself drifting off in thoughts about his Emily and how she almost swallowed him. Almost like how THIS Emily wanted to too... It wasn’t till Willow tugged at his sleeve that he came back to reality. Apparently she saw him blanking out as Chris and the woman argued. Seeing as it wasn’t going anywhere Ryan had to cut in. “Alright, it’s a small chance, but it’s still a chance.”

The girl was pissed at the decision of letting Chris escape first to find his girlfriend. Ryan didn’t say anything but he really hoped Bell wasn’t like that girl, Emily. Hopefully she had a kinder heart, especially if she is dating a Shrinky. Not trying to focus too much on this Bell, Ryan started to tell the others how to line up. Ryan took the base of the tower and helped others up to prop Chris toward the lip of the container. It was shocking how many people helped, but it was enough to get Chris to the top. Ryan held his ground letting the young man climb up him toward the top. Ryan did his best to stay firm and steady so he wouldn’t fall as Chris clambered up his and beyond him. All Chris had to do was-

To Ryan’s horror he felt the shaking as someone was approaching. Just as the thumping grew louder and more harsh Ryan felt the tower of people collapsing. It wasn’t too long before the face of his capture showed up, that smirking smile on the large girl’s face that felt like it was in control of the entire world. A chuckle left her lips, “Were you all trying to escape?!” She spoke with disbelief and contempt in her voice. Suddenly laughter filled the air, “Oh my god that’s so funny. Stupid,” She spoke still smiling, “but funny.”

Ryan tried to ignore the response from the giantess but she had other plans already for them. Her voice called out and a few strangers appeared, “Well grab some of them, we can’t play ball without them.”

Ryan wasn’t sure what she was saying, but it wasn’t till he saw multiple hands dipping into the bowl that it became obvious. Still stuck under the pile of people that collapsed on him from the sudden arrival of the large woman. Ryan didn’t start to panic until he saw the now descending fingers reaching toward him in the mangled pile of limbs and bodies. Someone was aiming for the tangled mass that Ryan was currently under, and he was dead center of the palm approaching

.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Ryan shouted over the increasing noise of everyone around and on top of him. He couldn’t budge as he felt the weight of everyone pressing down on him, compressing Ryan’s arms and interlocked them with someone else's limbs. Screams and cries were being shouted as one hand and another reached in and extracted people. Finally Ryan felt him and a few others being pushed tougher and lifted upward. “NO!” Ryan shouted, feeling himself leave the safety of the bowl and crowd of others.

“Ryan!” Willow’s voice called out nearby in the chaos ensuing.

Ryan tried to respond with her name but it was hard with someone’s elbow jabbed into his gut. He was sure her name came out with a huff rather than a shout. It was hard for Ryan to move while he was pushed into a human ball of moving bodies. Still it was good to know he was still near Willow-

All thoughts vanished when he felt a large log like object jab into him and pried him away from the mass of people. A giant finger flicked Ryan out of the palm of some guy and sent flying through the air. Panicking Ryan spun around mid fall, just in time to see the fluid below him in a large red cup. Not thinking, Ryan pointed his feet down toward the half filled cup and shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Plummeting into the liquid, Ryan splashed into the large body of water. Surfacing and licking his lips, Ryan realized it wasn’t water like he thought. Frowning he licked his lips again and sipped some of the fluids around himself to identify the liquid.

“B-beer?” Ryan looked up the tall white walls and watched the hand move away before the sound of something plunking into liquid was heard near him. The sounds of laughs and curses following each noise. It continued a few more times. Ryan was confused as to what was going on, until his memories of the “fun” nights drinking with his buddies and playing some beer pong came to him. “No.. oh fuck no…”

Dread filled Ryan as he recalled the couple of nights he and his buddies got trashed chugging beer cups with a Shrinky or two in a cup. Now it seemed fate had brought it all back to him, only now it was all in reverse, Ryan wouldn’t be doing the swallowing, instead he would be the one swallowed Sure enough someone shouted a term Ryan remembered, “RACK THEM UP.”

Ryan felt his cup jerk as he was pulled somewhere and the sound of plastic colliding next to each other could be heard as something bumped into each side of his cup. Pure fear washed over Ryan as he headed to the siding of the cup to try and climb out. No amount of effort helped as the plastic was too smooth to grab. He was stuck swimming in the yellowish fluid.

Looking up, Ryan watched with his anxiety on overdrive as he watched a white ball coming sailing toward the top of his cup. Ryan closed his eyes praying it missed…

The sudden jarring sound of plastic on plastic colliding filled his new prison, but nothing splashed inside. Ryan opened his eyes and heard a giant somewhere near him laughing.

“Dude you suck at this,” the male laughed.

“SHUT UP… I’m just rusty,” Someone responded from the other side of the table.

Ryan nearly pissed himself at how close to death he just came to. If the ball landed in here with him, he would soon be swimming in some freaking drunk frat boy’s belly like any other unfortunate Shrinky tonight. He needed to find a way out of here, and fast. Ryan tried another side again, and another. Violently looking for some kind of weakness or rougher side to the ever smooth plastic insides of the cup. All the while the sound of a plastic ball bouncing and clipping each cup nearby. Every once in a while a splash would be heard, and a cheer before the sound of gulping was heard and a cup being tossed away. In the back of Ryan’s mind was him praying for “his” team to win this before it was too late. However, then what would happen to him?

Shaking his head, Ryan tried to focus on some way to not get swallowed. Maybe he could move his cup out of the way so the ball didn’t hit it? Well that was just wishful thinking at the size he was, he would be lucky to push it over with no beer in it to start. A few more close calls and Ryan was realizing that he had to be one of very few cups left, considering how often the other team was aiming for his cup. Luck was on his side, as they were shit throwers, or just too drunk to aim properly.

“Hehe, three left, RE-RACK!” Someone called out from the other team.

Ryan wasn't sure what scared him the most, the fact that he was one of three left, or that they were calling for a re-rack. Ryan listened to both teams arguing the rules and if it was fair to condense the possibly spread out cups closer for easier grouping. Ryan prayed that they played differently than he did in college. Maybe they wouldn’t-

The evil woman that kidnapped Ryan and the others spoke up, “My house my rules, each team gets one re-rack”

Suddenly two fingers approached Ryan’s cup and grabbed the lip of his cup. Waves of beer came crashing into him as he was dragged and pulled toward what had to be the remaining cups and collided with them. Ryan closed his eyes and prayed that he wasn’t next. He hated that he hoped the fellow Shrinkies near him were targeted instead of him, but it was Ryan or them.

The startling sound of a splashing freaked Ryan out, only he didn’t feel any liquid hit him. Opening his eyes he saw the ball wasn’t in his cup. So it seemed luck was on his side as it was his neighboring Shrinky that got hit. As horrible as it sounded, Ryan was thankful it wasn't him. However he didn’t know how much longer his luck would hold up. As Ryan felt guilty for feeling this way, he was expecting to hear a gulping or chugging of the nearby cup of beer and Shrinky.

However one of the giants on his side quickly remarked, “Don’t drink, he cheated.”

Ryan frowned at the accusation, but felt some relief that maybe his fellow Shrinky might live. If the other team cheated, the shot wouldn’t count. Ryan listened carefully as both teams argued over the invalid shot made. As Ryan listened to the four argue over who was right and who was wrong, something happened. Ryan felt his cup get bumped. Suddenly gallons of cheap shitty beer was knocked over and Ryan went sprawling out of his cup and across a large table. Sounds of shock and anger filled the room as Ryan and two others went tumbling toward the edge of the table only to stop a good distance from it.

Ryan was still recovering from the surge of liquid pushing him and spinning him around. His head was woozy from the water-slide-like ride he just went through. However a desperate sounding Willow broke his confusion from his stupor.

“HURRY UP RYAN!” Willow’s hand grabbed his and yanked him up so hard he felt his wrist bone pop. The grip she had on Ryan’s hand was so strong he thought she shattered every bone. However she didn’t hesitate or apologize as she dragged and pulled Ryan with her. She was aiming for the edge of the table.

“NICE MOVES YOU IDIOTS!” Someone shouted in the crowd of upset people.

“SHUT UP!” Someone barked as Ryan picked up his pace and followed after Willow as quickly as he could.    

“Both of you shut up and clean up the mess,” Abby called out annoyed.

Willow came to a sudden stop as Ryan and her were at the edge of the table. Both peered down over the edge and saw how far down the drop was. Willow seemed to be considering their options and looking for what to do next, however she didn’t look behind her. Ryan on the other hand did, and he saw that they were out of time, a hand was quickly approaching. It was swooping in behind them. Not having enough time, he looked one last time and saw something. He prayed it worked, and shoved Willow forward and out of the hand’s grasp.

The look on Willow’s face was of shock and fright as she fell off the table and out of sight. Ryan didn’t have time to follow as the hand snatched him and the other Shrinky coming up from behind. Ryan was crunched together with a familiar person. The same guy from before that had his girlfriend at the party.

Ryan closed his eyes in the dark fist and prayed that Willow made it.

“Hey where did the other one go,” Someone called out in the room.

“I can’t find it,” A response that made Ryan smile, it seemed like Willow got away. This was probably for the best.

Ryan listened to them argue some more before being tossed into another dry cup with Chris. As Ryan tried to stand up, the cup was moved around as the large woman looked in and smiled at him… no not Ryan, at Chris. Apparently the two knew each other as she teased and taunted him.

“Abby, bring me to Bell,” Chris demanded with such force that Ryan almost thought that Chris had no fear of the larger woman.

Just as Ryan thought that the girl was gonna tell him to forget it, or not a chance, she just smiled and spoke, “Sure…”

Ryan saw that Chris had the same look that he had, confusion. Surely they weren’t gonna be handed off to his girlfriend that easily, right? Something didn’t sit well with Ryan at the lax way that Abby was handling this. She was too relaxed. It didn’t take long before Ryan and Chris were carried off to another spot in the house.

Quickly they were tossed in yet another container, however this one had much fewer Shrinkies in it than the first one Ryan was stuck in. Each looked to be worried or frightened, however Ryan didn’t see Willow or Thomas. He could only hope that Willow ran, and Thomas, well he didn’t end up in someone’s belly already like Katty.

As Ryan was considering the fate of his friends he was jostled out of his thoughts with the conversations the larger people were having.

Abby was speaking about the game they would be participating in. “So here is how it’s going to go, I’ll spin the bottle with the Shrinky in it. Whoever it lands on picks truth or dare. Truth: you have to tell the truth and then you get the Shrinky. Dare: you have to do a dare with the Shrinky. Simple right?” Ryan wasn’t sure how simple this could be as he listened to the rules. It seemed no matter what, they were fucked. Sure enough a girl younger than Ryan was picked from the almost dozen trapped people, and tossed into a bottle. Quickly it was spun and the question of Truth or Dare was asked. Ryan could only watch the horrible Giantess smirk as she decided the fate of the Shrinky. “Oh dare. I pick dare!” Ryan turned toward the one asking the question, and it was that fucking bitch, the one who ate Katty. Abby pointed between her legs as she responded.

“I dare you to put her,” a snicker, “Inside you…”

Ryan was disgusted as he looked at the two Giantess, surely they couldn’t possibly be thinking what he thought they were-

“Hand her over,” the delighted woman said, smirking at the challenge issued to her. Ryan watched in horror as it soon turned into a giant show for everyone in the room to watch. The giantess taking a swig of her drink before slowly making do the dare. Taking a seat, she started to unbutton her jean shorts. Giving her enough room to insert her hand between her panties and skin. Ryan felt his stomach twist as the Giantess grimaces, smiled, and made other faces as she shoved her hand with the Shrinky into her crotch. Ryan couldn’t hear any noises over all the guys in the room hooting and hollering as the Giantess inserted a protesting Shrinky deep inside her pussy. The sounds Ryan could pick up were the slick and sloshing noises of something being put inside the woman. Wet sounds that only made the crowd of mostly male watches intensify. Finally, once the deed was done, or to the best of the dared woman could do, she stood up and got a cheer from most of the crowd. Ryan could only look up at the sticky looking fingers wiped along the jean shorts that were still unbutton at the hem.

“Oohhh, she’s still squirming in there,” was the only remark the Giantess made, as she shivered a little before finally buttoning up her shorts and sealing the tomb of the poor woman trapped inside. Ryan was too shocked to even consider what was going to happen next. However by the time Ryan came back to himself, he watched the Giantess reaching in and toward his unmoving body. Ryan was greeted by the sickening smelly scent of fresh feminine juices that leaked from the still slightly damp fingers. The large digits held onto Ryan as he got to experience a small sample of what that poor Shrinky was living through right now, that was if she was still alive.

“Wash your freaking fingers,” Ryan coughed, not expecting anyone to hear his complaints at the fresh smell of her womanhood. Instead he was soon carried over to a clear glass bottle about to send him to his doom. Ryan was held over the small size hole and was dropped into it. Ryan landed on one of the tilted sides and slid to the back of the bottle before coming to a halt on the glass surface beneath and around him. Ryan stood up and tried to get his legs steady in the slight circular circumference of the bottle. It was hard to stay standing when the walls curved upward just enough that it wasn’t flat anymore. Ryan peered out through the slightly murky looking walls of the bottle. He had all of two seconds to see the enormous hand grab the bottle by the side.

Ryan shook his head, “No, WAI-”

His world exploded into chaos as the bottle was spun quickly. Ryan was tossed to the floor or maybe it was the ceiling? It wasn’t hard to tell what was up or down, left or right. Ryan just knew he was flung around the glass chamber hitting the sides as he spun with enough G-force to liquefy his brain and push them to the bottom of his feet. Ryan felt himself starting to pass out just before it all started to slow down. The dimming lights in his vision slowed down and soon slowly came back. Ryan was beyond wobbly, as he watched the small opening of the bottle slowly stop on a very confused and shocked looking woman. She seemed more surprised that the bottle stopped on her, than Ryan did, as he felt that the spinning would never end. The room was still twisting and turning that Ryan wanted to throw up.

“Truth or dare,” The question was asked as Ryan was still trying to find out why the room hadn’t stopped spinning even though the bottle clearly had.

“Truth.”

Luckily Ryan figured there wasn’t much to worry about if the choice was truth. Unlike dare, which sounded like using him for something unsavory but entertaining for the others, his doom wouldn’t be humiliating… hopefully. As Ryan recovered from his dizziness, he continued to hear an argument between the giantesses. He wasn’t sure what was going on but it all seemed to be revolving around that Chris person. He was being held up by the bitch that swallowed Katty. Ryan felt a wave of sorrow for the poor girl who was asked the questions. It almost felt like she had feelings-

Ryan’s worries vanished when the upset Giantess, the one who asked the questions, grabbed the bottle he was in. Her anger was still directed at the others before she tipped Ryan out of his glass prison. Ryan felt his body being dragged down the glass walls. He couldn’t stop his descent as he felt the slick surface give no resistance. Ran tried to grab something but eventually he found the narrow neck of the bottle before he was spat out. Ryan was now exposed and out in the open of this woman’s palm. She didn’t waste much time looking at Ryan, rage was still on her face from how she was treated by the others. Oh shit, was she gonna use him as a scapegoat for her wrath and anger?!

As if to answer Ryan’s worries she quickly tossed him into her mouth.

“WAI-” Ryan yelled only to land on a slimy tongue smelling heavily of alcohol and booze. “Shit shit shit,” Ryan muttered once again recalling the other time he was in someone’s drunken mouth. Trying not to think about it, Ryan tried to crawl toward the lips that were closed tight, just a little further ahead of him. He couldn’t see a thing in the dark dank chamber, but he knew they had to be close to the exit, he just needed to reach them.

Ryan watched a line of light open as he realized he was just a few inches away from those lips…

Sadly that was about the time he saw the red cup with just enough alcoholic drink to fill the large mouth. The cup came rushing forward and blocked out the opening gap just before the tidal wave of booze came rushing in.

“NO NO NO!” Ryan shouted as he watched the dark liquid rush in and slam into him, swirling him around and filling the chamber with the cold beverage. All Ryan could think of was how horrible this was, but how similar it felt like when he was being swallowed by Emily. Ryan didn’t know why he was thinking about that time, but he couldn’t help but compare mouths. As messed up as it was, if he had to be swallowed by anyone he rather it be Emily than a fucking stranger, especially for this young woman who just causally treated him like a freaking snack. However that changed nothing as Ryan felt himself starting to get swished around in the mouth. He felt the air in his lunge leaving faster as he was swished and swashed around like some article of clothing in a washer machine. Just as Ryan thought he was gonna run out of air, the ground below him pushed him upward into a meaty wall. It was curved and fleshy, the roof of the mouth. Here it comes, Ryan closed his eyes as he was about to be swallowed…

The feeling of liquid rushing past him and draining from the mouth was quickly followed by heavy sounds of gulping, but Ryan was still pinned firmly to the roof of the woman’s mouth. Ryan was confused as he was stuck in the warm embrace of the sticky wet walls all around him. Maybe she was gonna savor tormenting him with more drinking? Or maybe she wanted to chew him like some fucking gummy bear or snack? Oh god maybe she wanted to feel him squirming somewhere else like inside her-

Ryan was quickly released from the pushing and pinning appendage and sent him sliding forward on the slippery slimy tongue. Just as Ryan thought he was gonna land on some tough teeth, the lips before him, opened and parted just enough that Ryan went sliding past them and out into open air. He collided gently with a plastic wall and slid down into the bottom of a familiar drinking cup. Ryan was stunned as he looked up at the giantess that had just tossed him into her mouth a few moments ago. She gave him a quick glance before she averted her eyes away from Ryan and spoke to the rest of the room.

“It’s my turn.” She proclaimed with a disdain at the idea.

There was some movement but nothing too jarring for Ryan. Ryan watched the woman hold her hand over the top of the cup like a net, trapping him inside… or maybe it was shielding him from the outside??? Ryan didn’t know what to say as the sky was blocked by the palm of the woman holding her cup, sealing the opening to the cup from most light. Some more talking and the sound of a glass bottle being spun, “Okay truth or dare,” Ryan’s capture asked someone.

“Dare,” A very familiar voice spoke with a very familiar voice sounding kind of cocky. It obviously belonged to the larger woman that captured Ryan and the others.

Ryan listened as the one holding him spoke, “I dare you NOT to hurt this Shrinky.”

Ryan looked stunned at those words. That combined with him not in the woman’s stomach made him feel like maybe his hunch about her was wrong. Could she be someone kind toward Shrinkies? Ryan stayed silent as he listened to the argument ensue about not being able to do this and that during a game of truth or dare. Things progressed and as Ryan listened, it got heated to a point of almost shouting and screaming. Some more words were spoken and the sound of a very hot and intense kiss could be heard from across the room followed by a loud gulp.

Abby finally spoke, “Ops… Paul pushed the Shrinky down my throat. It wasn’t me, I swear.”

Ryan could only piece together what he was hearing but by the way the fingers holding the cup above him twitch and flexed, he feared that this girl holding the cup was gonna break the flimsy plastic cup by accident. Ryan prayed that she controlled herself as Abby went on with her taunting tone.

“Next truth or dare… Chris!” Abby called out.

“What?!” A started and confused voice left the giantess holding Ryan in her cup. It seemed very clear that this wasn’t something she was expecting.

“Who do you like more, Beth or your girlfriend Isebell, ops sorry EX girlfriend I mean.” Ryan listened the best he could, but it was hard making out what Chris was saying. Finally everyone heard the answer and Abby chimed in “You hear that Beth? He still likes Bell, even after your confession.”

Ryan watched the hand above him tremble with rage or maybe it was heartache. Ryan couldn’t tell but he could hear the venom in Beth’s voice, “You’re such a bitch!”

Suddenly Ryan was swung into one of the walls as Beth turned and stormed out of the room. She was heading somewhere, it sounded up some stairs? Finally a slamming of a door and Ryan felt himself being slammed onto a firm surface followed by some heavy breathing and sniffs. Ryan didn’t know what to say or if he should. He was stuck with Beth and she seemed to be having a hard time right now. Shit… Ryan knew nothing about the girl and what she intended to do with him. For all he knew, maybe she was planning to use him to get some stress out after such a rough night. It wasn’t till a few longer moments of Beth being more upset that Ryan figured he could only take so much silence and crying.

“Uh… Hello? Um… Beth, is it?” Ryan called out. He didn’t get any form of acknowledgement, just a few sharp sniffs and more sad noises from the woman. “I… I don’t know if you can hear me… but thank you…” Ryan called out from his prison. Continuing to sit there in his plastic and slightly sticky prison from the drying sugary drink, Ryan couldn’t help but notice the scent of alcohol rising from the leftover droplets of the drink that clung around him. Ryan quickly feared that Beth might be just a bit too drunk to-

Suddenly two fingers grabbed the cup’s lip and gently pulled it downward. Ryan steadied his feet as he watched the towering cup soon become a tunnel as Beth lowered the cup to its side toward her. Now able to see the woman, Ryan could see she was indeed crying and sitting on a toilet. They must be in a bathroom, and Ryan was on the sink beside the toilet.

Ryan noticed Beth glanced at him but went back to looking at the ground with her hands covering her face. Shit… Ryan couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor girl. Well, to call her a girl would be the wrong word. She wasn’t that much younger than Ryan, just a few years. Clearly she wasn’t a child, but she couldn’t be older than twenty, maybe just old enough to be out of Shrinkism range. “Uh… hi,” Ryan spoke slowly, stepping out of the overturned cup.

Beth didn’t respond for a moment but she muttered in her hands, “H-hello… sorry… I…” Another sniff, “It’s a very bad night for me.”

Ryan slowly nodded, “Uh, same,” he gave a weak chuckle. “Or it was, till you saved me, so… uh, again thanks.”

Beth didn’t comment but continued to sulk on the toilet, holding back most of her tears the best she could. Finally Ryan couldn’t stop from saying it, “You really liked him… didn’t you?”

It was now that Beth slowly turned to Ryan. She looked saddening at his words. Looking Ryan in the eyes he knew his answer. Still Beth went on, “Not at first… but, Bell was growing tired of it. I thought, maybe, maybe this was my chance. I could help Chris. Maybe show him that maybe I could look after him, care for him… love him... Eventually getting my feeling across to him,” Beth slowly shook her head, “But he ended up picking Bell anyway.”

Ryan was speaking before he could stop himself. Maybe he was feeling bad for Beth, or he really felt for her, either way he said it without thinking, “It’s still not too late, maybe you can-”

Beth shook her head, cutting Ryan off, “It doesn’t matter. He picked Isebell… no matter what I say or do, he’ll always think of her over me in the end. What’s the point, I mean,” Beth sniffed again looking away before talking, “Who am I kidding. I thought maybe there was a chance for us or something.” Beth shook her head before grabbing a tissue nearby and dabbing at her eyes and nose, “Who am I kidding, just cause my sister is dating a Shrinky, I thought maybe I… never mind…” Beth stopped talking and made another sniff as she did whatever she could to keep her tears from swarming her face.

Ryan felt bad for Beth, but he also couldn’t stop from wondering about his friends. As shitty as asking right now, he couldn’t help but do it. “I… uh, Beth… I know you're going through a rough time. And you did just save me so I have no right to ask for a favor, but…” Ryan waited for Beth to clean up her face a little more. When she was done and turned to Ryan he did his best to plead with her possible loving heart, “I have some friends. I don’t know if they're still alive right now, but please… Can you help me?”

Willow felt herself free falling before she felt the shove from behind. She spun around just in time to see Ryan giving her a shove off the table. One second she glared at him ready to scream a curse till she saw the enormous hand snatch him off the table in a quick swipe. The next second Willow knew, she hit something unexpected, it wasn’t hard like the floor, but soft and fluffy. Something with a bounce that kept her from going splat. She had enough force to spring her off it and through the air slightly, propelling her away from the object. One moment she was near the table and the next she was flung into a deep dark space. Willow slammed and bounced off the floor roughly a few times. As bad as it would have been, like dropping five hundred feet to a hard flat floor to go splat or crunch, she found that she came out of the situation relatively safe.

Grimacing, Willow pushed up off the stiff wooden floor and winced at the sore in her shoulder and ankle. They throbbed with pain, but she ignored it, “Fucking Ryan,” Willow grunted and grumbled still recovering. “Fuck… Ryan,” Willow quickly recalled him still being up there as he was captured just a few moments ago. Looking around she glanced around and quickly put together where she was. It seemed she was thrown under a couch or some furniture nearby the table once she was pushed off of by Ryan and into that cushion or pillow. Walking the best she could without further injuring her foot, Willow crept toward an opening from under the couch to observe what was going on.

Willow saw a dozen people looking around and complaining about trying to find a single Shrinky, that being Willow, that escaped magically.

“Are you sure we lost one,” A male asked, sounding annoyed at looking.

Willow recognized Abby when she spoke, “Of course you dumbass, there’s three cups and we only got two of them! Oh my god… fine! Time for a new game, come on,” She spoke getting up from the couch Willow was hiding under. Sure enough the larger woman was moving away and to another part of the room behind the couch. Willow spotted the male that captured Ryan and watched him follow after Abby. Spinning around, Willow headed to the backside of the couch, her feet feeling a little better already as she reached the back of the couch. Crouching and peering under the little flap hanging from the couch, Willow watched as Ryan was dropped into another container with more people.

“Shit…” Willow cursed seeing where Ryan was, in the middle of a room with a freaking monster watching him and the others trapped. There was no way she could even get close without getting caught, let alone save Ryan… wait why was she thinking of trying to save him?

Willow shook her head as she continued to watch as more started to gather around and start talking about another game. Willow was lost and didn’t care, she had to wait for an opportunity to get to Ryan. However she watched as someone picked out another Shrinky from the batch. Willow was confused by the weird ritual of spinning a glass bottle for whatever reason. Finally when it stopped on someone, that person took the Shrinky, Willow watched as she bluntly shoved the poor woman up inside her personal hole that was below her hips. Willow nearly gagged and vomited at the sight. “Oh god… oh, oh…” Willow shuddered at what that would be like. That was probably the worst thing she could think of happening to her as a Shrinky. Shoved up some strangers snatch, to suffocate in some small smelly scummy place.

As Willow was recovering from the sight she watched Ryan get selected next. Terrified at what was going to be done to him, she couldn’t do a thing as she watched a fight break out between the two women in some argument. Whatever it was about, it finally ended and that bitch holding Ryan, whoever it was, simply tossed Ryan in her mouth and gulped him down quicker than Willow could gasp.

Willow couldn’t help but cover her mouth and cried out his name as he was swallowed like some common garnish to a drink. Willow never felt more torn up at losing a comrade as she did now in her whole life. She didn't understand why, but all she knew was that it hurt more than she thought, as her heart pounded harder than she ever expected or experienced. Just as Willow felt a few tears form, she shut her eyes and started to breathe heavily, “No no no, not now… no… keep it together. Stay strong… there isn’t time for this,” Willow ordered herself to stop those sudden feelings from hitting so hard. Just like with Brand, Katty, Mitchel, Lori, and the many others before Ryan, Willow buried Ryan’s death deep down. Yes, Ryan felt special, but she couldn’t sub-come to her emotions now when she needed to stay strong and rational. She was alive and that’s what count. She needed to FUCKING LIVE!

Tearing her sight from the horrible scene of Ryan’s execution, Willow started to calm her raging emotions and think of what she needed to do next. She needed to get out of here. Willow didn’t recall seeing any way to escape, and sure she could wait under the couch for however long it might take. However, she knew they were looking for a missing Shrinky. It would only take a few moments for them to recall the lost one and start searching for her again. Which would lead to looking under furniture, which was exactly where she was. So, did she head toward the kitchen?

Turning to look toward the kitchen, she spotted too many feet stampeding in and out of the kitchen’s opening to even consider running there. The kitchen was out of the question for sure. So she needed to find somewhere else to go. Looking out from under the couch, into the room with the cups and table, Willow saw it was completely empty. It seemed everyone was too busy with that new game, or getting drinks in the kitchen. Peering out she tried to decide where her next move would lead her. It had to be fast and reasonable. That’s when she spotted some shut curtains. They draped down to the floor, an easy thing to use to climb and head up off the ground. Maybe she could try the window or just hide behind it for later? Either way, the window curtain sounded like a good spot to hide. However… that was a very fucking long distance to go, especially for someone her size. Willow winced as she put more pressure on her right heel, it still throbbed, but she could fight through it. She had to.

“Okay, okay, you can do this. YOU CAN DO THIS!” Willow barked at herself motivating herself to charge out from under the couch and toward the underside of the tall table. Beyond that would be an open space that anyone would spot her, but if she were fast enough she could make it in time. If Willow made it she would have a black curtain to hide behind and climb up for some safety. The dash across the simple empty room was traumatizing for Willow. Each cheer or shout from someone startled her into thinking she was caught. She didn’t bother looking to see if someone was watching, she just prayed they were all too busy. If anyone did see her, she was fucked either way. As much as she rather use the shadows cast by objects to hide her, she knew with her sprained ankle and slight limping, she would take too long. Luckily everyone was focused on the truth and dare game happening in the other part of the room to look toward her direction. This gave her enough time to hobble toward the long droopy drapes hanging around the window. Crawling under, and grabbing some of the fabric, Willow was already climbing before she knew it. Her hands were squeezing and clinging to the fabric. Willow slowly pulled herself up toward the windowsill itself. There might be a crack or some times people left them open with just a smidge of air flow, something that might seem to be impossible but not improbable. Heck even some windows had small gaps that Willow might be able to squeeze through if she were lucky. It wouldn’t be the first time Willow got out of a sticky situation from human flaws in home development.

Willow climbed the best she could with her protesting arm that still stung from her fall. Her shoulder let out a sore stinging sensation from her painful injury that tugged at her while trying to climb. It was enough to make Willow wince and grunt, but it didn’t stop her from rising upward.

Willow felt her arms growing more tired than they should have as she climbed higher up. She was reaching her limit with her strength, something she didn’t know she was running out of. Willow hadn’t had a proper rest in a while and after this morning, the exhaustion of the past couple of days started pounding her harder than she expected. It didn’t help that Willow started to hear voices coming closer as a group of monsters approached the room she was still in. Luckily she didn’t hear anything about someone spotting her. Using her momentum, Willow forced herself higher up. The surrounding darkness helped her feel safe as she climbed. One hand at a time reaching up and grabbing for her-

Willow felt her hand slip.

Her sore arm reached out and protested as it missed the mark. Willow’s whole weight was all put in her reaching upward, and once she grabbed air and nothingness, it hit Willow hard. With no grip on the currents, Willow felt her climb turn into a descent. Her body pulled her down as she quickly and frantically grabbed at the fabric around her to stop the fall. However, at the pace she was falling, the cloth was ripped out of her grasp anytime she grabbed it, her fall speed was quickly increasing to a frightening speed. Willow panted and panicked as she struggled to slow or even stop her descent but nothing stuck to her hands. Willow had no idea how far up she was but the ground was certainly coming closer to her. Willow struggled and finally did the only thing she could think of before slamming into the ground, she used her legs and hands to hug the cloth in-front of her in a tight bear hug. Sure enough she started to slow down from wrapping her body around the fabric.

However it wasn’t soon enough. Willow felt her butt and thighs slam into the floor and roll her. Willow was tossed to the floor with her whole body aching from the impact as she lay there wincing from the collision.

Willow felt her body cry out from the suddenly jarring fact that the ground was hard. Wincing, Willow sat up realizing the next fact to her dilemma… there was light shining on her. Light meant exposure and that meant-

“Oh shit, look at you!” A manly voice spoke.

Willow had enough time to widen her eyes to see the horrible person reaching for her. Willow struggled to get up from the floor, but her body wasn’t reacting in time. As soon the large manly grip of the stranger was around her body, slowly picking Willow up off the ground, she knew it was over. Willow winced again feeling her sore body being held tightly by this new stranger. Willow glared at the smiling face of the young man examining her. Fighting, Willow tried to squirm or even bite the nearest chunk of skin warped around her, but the hand was just below her shoulders, just out of reach of her face.

“I caught me a fighter,” The giant male said with a toothy grin. He brought his cup up to his mouth and took a heavy sip, “And here I was about to make another drink, but looks like I found myself a drinking partner. What do you say, ready to go for a swim?”

Willow held her tongue on her responses to his question. Not because she was scared or anything. She knew that pleading and cursing the giant would be a waste of breath, something she would most likely need in a few moments. Exhausting herself or tiring out before she could find a way out of the situation could mean her death.

Willow just gave the boy the hardest stare down that slowly weakened his mocking smile. However, the giant was intending to put her in his cup. He lifted his closed fist around Willow over his plastic cup, half empty of its contents already. Willow took a deep breath through her nose to steady any nerves of being dropped in the plastic container. Getting a nose full of “mystery” drink could be disastrous for her. She would need to be prepared for-

A sudden female voice called out from behind Willow, “Hey Vince.”

Willow couldn’t turn around to see, but she felt the presence of the female approaching. Willow watched the boy's face looking shocked and confused, “Uh.. me?”

There was a soft laugh, “Is Vince not your name?”

“I-it is,” The boy flustered, still holding Willow over his cup, almost as if he forgot she was in his hands.

“Wh-what’s up?” Willow’s captor reeked of nervousness and confusion.

“Well,” The voice got closer as a shadow was now cast over Willow. She still couldn’t see the stranger from behind her, but it was clear she was getting closer with the intentions of something personal with Vince. Sure enough Willow found out, “I was wondering, do you mind if you gave me that Shrinky? I have a thing for squirmers like her.” It almost sounded like the slut was begging to swallow Willow.

Willow wasn’t sure if Vince caught the tone, or maybe he was just feeling horny, that look that comes over every male hit Vince. It was like having a winning hand in poker, now that he knew what this female stranger wanted. Sure enough Vince tried to remain cool, “This one?”

“Well, do you have any other Shrinkies on you,” she joked.

“Oh, uh, no… just uh well… I could,” Vince said, trying to not act as nervous as he was. Willow could feel his hands sweating up as he talked, “Trade her to you… for something.”

“Sure,” the stranger said, sounding happy at the news. “What did you want?”

It was now that Vince went for it. Willow watched Vince move the cup out from under her, in order to take a sip of liquid courage before replying. “Well, we’re both single, I was thinking… maybe… we could…”

“Maybe… maybe what? You want to have sex,” The woman asked with just as much joy Willow was feeling. Willow watched the reaction on Vince’s face as it seemed he crossed the line with the woman.

“No! I mean, no it doesn’t- like… maybe just your mouth,” Willow was waiting for the slap as Vince fumbled on, “Or a quick handy or something,” He told the girl standing behind Willow, still trying to negotiate something before this trade deal crumbled to the ground, leaving him with nothing but a single Shrinky.

Willow scoffed at the desperate attempt Vince was doing. Who would stoop to such a level to just swallow Willow as to give him sexual pleasure. It was-

“Fine,” The sudden response made Willow look not just horrified but disgusted at the slutty acceptance of sex for her. Willow was appalled by this whore giving herself up just to get her hands on Willow. Hell, Willow had no idea what this woman looked like and she was already being passed off to the bitch. “But first,” The woman told Vince, “If I’m to get in the mood, I'm gonna need her in advance. If you know what I mean.” Willow felt the presence of the woman move closer as the words left her lips in a whisper, “The tickling turns me on…”

Willow watched Vince’s reaction as he blew up and turned an extra darker shade of red. Willow felt a chilling sensation run up her body. As bad as her situation was, she feared the worst, because the woman never said WHERE she liked the ‘tickling’. The thought of that poor person not even twenty minutes ago suffocating in someone slut’s snatch made Willow shiver. Not like that...

“Ye-yeah, of course!” Vince blurted out. “I’ll just drop her,” Willow felt the fist she was trapped in moving toward something, “Your cup to-”

“No,” the woman quickly cut Vince off. He looked confused before Willow heard a mouth open with a loud AH! “You can put her in here…” the sexy voice spoke as Willow winced, feeling warm moisture sprinkle down just lightly on her.

A loud gulp was heard, and it was from Vince. “You want me to… put her in… your mouth…” Another gulp.

“Mmmmhmmmm,” The woman purred.

Another gulp. “Okay,” Vince said. Willow felt the fist around her shifting and moving. Willow tried to roll out of the hand, but Vince was sober enough to maneuver his finger and thumb around Willow’s torso and put her into a pinch. As Vince prepared Willow for a more “insertive” position, Willow was spun around to see her predator. Recognition hit her immediately.

“You bitch…” Willow muttered staring her hate at the creature that swallowed Ryan a while ago. “I hope you choke on me,” Willow growled as she prepared to be the most difficult Shrinky ever swallowed in this bitches life.

Willow watched as the whore’s mouth grew closer as Vince started to insert her between the gaping maw. The smell of her throat strangely wasn’t as bad as Willow was expecting. However there was a hint of eye watering stench coursing up from that throat. Willow prepared to do whatever she could to exact revenge for her seek and Ryan’s too. As she got closer she couldn’t help but wonder about Ryan himself, would he still be in there? Was it too late? Would Willow end up down there moments before he passed, only for her to join soon?

These thoughts flooded Willow’s mind as she desperately tried to ignore that stupid dummy of a guy. Saving her only for her to end up with the same fate as him… and with the same fucking bitch too! Oh the damn irony to it all.

The temperature jumped drastically as Willow was now inserted into the mouth of her devourer. She was hit by more humid hot air. The sticky layer of goo was already forming on her face and arms, some building up around the fingers still holding her. Willow gave a swing at the tongue below her, only missing or slightly grazing the object. She couldn’t tell if the bitch felt it or not. However the moment she was pushed into the tongue, things became hectic. Light started to close as the woman was closing her mouth. The fingers holding her let go fast, but the sound of them being caught between lips was soon replaced by them sliding out of the shuting mouth instinctually. It was all followed by a pop sound as those lips locked shut keeping Willow trapped in the dark.

Willow forced herself up on her arms and knees only to be shuddered by a loud moan from the woman. Suddenly the ground beneath her slammed her hard into the roof of the mouth. Willow grunted and groaned from the pressure of being crushed by the fleshy carpet below her and the hard surface of the upper mouth that cupped around her. This was it, she was gonna be joining Ryan soon. A loud gulp filled the chamber, coming much deeper in the mouth and just beyond Willow…

It took Willow a few moments to realize she hadn’t moved. She could feel the mouth move and the tongue slide over her, but she continued to be firmly pressed up toward the roof of the mouth. After a brief pause, the tongue was lowered. Willow was baffled and confused at what happened. She was too stunned to speak or act as she lay in a growing puddle of goo. Suddenly a line of light opened up from behind Willow. Spinning around she saw a dark red cup coming closer before she realized what was happening. She was gonna be swallowed with a fucking drink! Of course!

Those lips pressed into the plastic surface as it blocked out the light. Willow waited for the liquid to come pouring in and wash her away like a piece of food. However the tongue under her surged forward, toward the lips. Willow was pushed and shoved forward to the opening despite her protest. Confused and shocked, Willow couldn’t help but shout out “WHAT THE HELL!”

Instead of being swallowed, Willow was spat out into the cup. Sure enough Willow went sliding down the plastic walls of the cup. Willow couldn’t make heads or tails of things as she kept sliding downward, looking at the slightly open lips pretending to slurp something that wasn’t there. Willow landed at the bottom of the cup more confused than ever, “What the-!”

A hand clasped over her mouth in an instant, shutting her up. Willow, feeling shocked and violated, struggled and went for an elbow that she was hoping to land. She was in mid jab when an all too familiar voice shushed her, “Shhh, she’s helping us.”

Willow would have thrown that elbow if she didn’t recognize Ryan’s voice. “RYAN?!” Willow’s words still muffed on by his hand.

“Shhh,” He whispered again as he slowly removed his hand from Willow’s mouth. Willow spun around expecting to see an impostor or someone she didn’t know. Someone that just so happens to have the same voice as Ryan.  However it was impossible to mistake who it really was, her Ryan. What the heck was going on?

As if to help answer her question she heard a gulp above and that bitch that spat her out giggled, “oooh she sure is a fighter, aaaall the waaaaay down….”

Willow frowned at the obvious lie but it apparently wasn’t to Vince who let out what sounded like a dog whimpering. “I...i...uh… maybe we should find a r-room?”

“Sure thing… just give me a moment, I need to use the bathroom. All these drinks are hitting me harder than I thought.” The woman cooed.

“Sure sure, I’ll be upstairs, third door down the left hallway,” Vince told the woman who was… their helper?

Willow felt the cup moving as the giantess holding them moved. Suddenly a hushed whisper came from above as the mouth came back toward the cup like it was drinking, “You said one more?”

Willow frowned and looked at Ryan who was already calling out, not in a shout but a loud voice, “Thomas, kitchen, maybe…”

“Okay, got to make it quick not sure how long he’ll learn I’m not showing up,” the giantess spoke again into the cup before removing it from her lips like she sipped it.

Willow suddenly turned to Ryan and felt several emotions hit her. Relief for being alive. Anger at shoving her without warning, trying to sacrifice himself like some kind of goddamn hero. Confusion on working with one of THEM. Along with a bunch of other feelings that she didn’t understand yet but she held it all back as she finally bottled it all up and asked the one thing that was imperative, “What, is going on?”

“Beth,” Ryan said pointing upwards to the top of the empty cup. Willow could just make out the chin and some other facial features of the giantess keeping them captured in her cup. “Is helping us.”

Willow looked at Ryan. She gave him a questionable look that turned to glower. There was no way she was helping them, “What are you saying? Didn’t you just tell me you don’t trust-”

Ryan silently threw his hands up, “I don’t know what to think anymore!” Ryan sighed, “Look, she is literally the only hope we have at getting out. I don’t know if that means living for a few more hours or not, but so far she hasn’t tried to kill me and she just saved your life. So maybe we should try and hold back some kind of judgment, at least till we find Thomas…”

Willow hated to agree with Ryan, Beth was literally probably the only thing getting them out of this home alive and breathing. Still, Willow was far from trusting. The moment she found an opening, she was taking it, regardless of what Ryan thinks.

Just as Willow was gonna say something she heard a voice call out to Beth. Some other girl was coming to talk to Beth while she walked toward the kitchen. It was meaningless chat, or at least to Willow, however she noticed Ryan signal silence. Willow wasn’t sure if anyone would hear them whisper inside a cup, but Willow wasn’t one to take a chance like that. So she stayed silent and waited till the peppy sounding girl ran off with someone else as Beth disengaged with the stranger. Finally the sound of shoes on tile told Willow they were in another room.

“oh, oh no,” Beth whispered into the cup.

“What,” Ryan asked.

“There’s only… one left,” Willow heard the pain threaded into those words.

After a few moments, Willow looked up to see two fingers holding someone between them as Beth lowered them as far into the cup before dropping the person in. Willow looked onto the face of their fellow comrade Thomas who had his eyes shut and prepared for a splash that never came. The moment he hit the bottom of a dry cup he slowly opened his eyes.

Willow and Thomas said the same thing point at each other, “How the fuck are you still…”

“Shhhh,” Ryan hissed at both of them. “Jesus, we made it, that's all that matters. Now shut up before someone other than Beth hears you.”

“Is that him,” Beth asked, sounding worried.

Ryan responded “Yeah, thank you so much…”

Willow watched Beth give a small nod before lowering her cup away from her mouth. Beth palmed the top of the cup to keep most sight away from the inside. Willow was tempted to talk, but Ryan made a point, better silent and safe than being discovered no matter how slim that might be. Willow felt the gentle swing of Beth’s arm move them around softly. It felt like they were making progress toward what Willow prayed was the front door, and not toward a bedroom with a sexually aroused Vince waiting for some action. It would be just Willow’s luck to have Beth betray them for some fucking sexy time or whatever.

Yet there were no stairs or doors closing instead, the sound of talking and music was dying down slightly as they moved away from it all. Were they really leaving-

“Beth?” A voice called out. Willow recalled the accent and quirky tone to it. That mother fucking bitch that ate Katty! Willow felt her anger and rage build over that reminder, but she kept her mouth shut. She had more control over her emotions not to let an outburst escape her so easily.

Beth paused and turned. “What?”

“You’re leaving? The party just started,” she asked, sounding confused.

“Look, you guys are out of shrinkies. I’m just gonna head home.”

“What already,” The girl laughed, “They never last long… but we still got plenty of drinks. You should stay and-”

Beth quickly cut her off, “I better go.”

“Oh come on Beth, please… You’re still not mad about the truth and dare thing, are you?”

The sound of the cup Willow was in started to creak and groan from what looked like a firmer grip clenching it. Willow didn’t know what the stranger meant, but it seemed to tick Beth off. Just before Willow thought Beth might crush the cup with her hand she eased up. Beth let out a huff, “Tell Abby bye for me. I’m probably just drunk and PMSing right now… I just want to lay down and pass out. You guys are probably right, I’m just overreacting.”

“Uh… well if you want I can walk with-”

Beth cut her off, “It’s fine. Just let Abby know I left and I’ll talk to you all later.”

Willow felt them moving and were finally leaving. The last thing she heard was the other giantess speaking, “Okay well I’ll see you later.” Right before a door was opened and closed. Now outside Willow sat there in the cup and wondered what was gonna happen now.

Beth on the other hand seemed to have a plan for them, as she continued to walk. Willow listened and only heard quieter voices far off talking to each other. Willow figured it was safe to talk now, or at least to whisper to each other “Okay… so what now?”

“Well…” Ryan said, looking between the two of them. “I … don’t know…”

Willow lifted an eyebrow in shock, “What? You get HER,” Willow said, jabbing her finger upwards toward the hand still holding them. “To help… and this is as far as you got?!” What kind of freaking plan was that????

Ryan gave her frown before shrugging, “Oh I’m sorry, are you in some asshole’s gut right now? No? Well then I think both Beth and I earned a thank you.”

Willow shook her head at what she was hearing. “YOU?! You freaking pushed me off a fucking table without warning!”

Ryan looked hurt, “I was trying to save you from what almost happened to me!”

As Willow went back to argue, Thomas cut in, “Will you two just shut up!” It was now that Willow turned on Thomas.

Willow almost sounded skeptical when she spoke, “What about you? How the heck are you the-”

“Luckiest son of a bitch alive,” Thomas asked, sounding just as confused as she was, if not more. The sound of fear filled his words. “I … I don’t know,” Thomas spoke inhaling sharply like he was gonna freak out. “Do you know, what it’s like? To watch everyone around you vanish, one by one… sometimes even by the handfuls?! Your turn to be next increasing every fucking moment someone is plucked away till you are the very last one! How your fifty fifty of being picked goes to a one hundred percent chance of being next?! Only to not be EATEN?!” Thomas looked like he was one second from having a panic attack.

Willow felt bad for bringing it up. She stayed silent for a moment till Thomas calmed down as he seemed to be living through his own PTSD moment. After a silent few minutes Willow sighed, “Sorry… both of you. This was all my fault. I shouldn’t have trust Marcus-”

Ryan stopped Willow, “No, he was my mistake… that was my fuck up.” Willow wanted to argue but it seemed that it was something that Ryan wanted to own. Something that he deserved to regret, if not to repeat a similar mistake. Sometimes the best way to grow is to carry those damning mistakes with you, only to avoid it ever happening again. Willow stayed silent and let Ryan’s words sink in.

“So,” Thomas finally spoke after some more silence, “It’s just us… what now?”

“I don’t know.” Willow sighed. “I guess it’s really up to her,” Willow said, pointing upward toward Beth. It was now that Ryan didn’t say anything about their savior. How could he? It was clear and obvious that they were saved but why? Was it better to be saved from a party of a bunch of chaotic people being distracted with drinks and sex, or to be in the clutches of one woman that had them literately in the palm of her hand? The same one holding the plastic cup that felt like a shield a few minutes ago, was now looking more like another prison every growing second.

Willow wasn’t sure if they were rescued from doom, or being saved for something else…

“This is fucking bullshit,” Thomas grumbled, as Ryan, Willow, and himself swayed in the enormous nearly empty plastic drinking cup. The puddles of mixed drink settled around them as they had nowhere else to sit, but in a damp mixed party drink. Ryan rolled his eyes as Thomas voiced his opinion about the fact that they were stuck inside a red solo cup as Beth walked home casually, only inhibited by a slight sway to her steps. As much as Ryan tried to calm the two others, neither of them were taking it kindly.  Especially Willow, she was bouncing off the walls of the solid plastic walls, literally.  Ryan winced as he watched Willow throw her self into the dumb white wall to see if it gave, yet again, as if that was even possible.  It didn’t, just like the hundreds of times she tried before hand.

“GOD DAMN IT!”  Willow shouted as she rammed into the plastic wall surrounding them.  Ryan desperately wanted to tell her how futile it was to keep going, but he didn’t want any lash back from the woman as she threw a punch into the firm barrier.  She didn’t seem injured by the jab but the look she gave the plastic walls was deadly with rage.

“I… I don’t think that’s helping,” Ryan spoke calmly.  

Willow turned on him with a heated look that told him to be careful.  Last thing he needed was her taking that anger out on him instead of the cup.  “Yeah well I’m not gonna wait for ‘Ms. I got you captive in a cup’ over here to FUCKING EAT ME OR WHATEVER!”  

Ryan winced at the crude words Willow used but refrained from correcting her on that outlook.  Unlike the others, Ryan trusted Beth.  If not for the fact that they would be doomed either way, he trusted the woman to help since she seemed like more than a decent person.  Or at least compared to the rest of the party people they ran into.  Sure, Willow didn’t believer Beth about helping, but at least she was carrying them away from that fucked up massacre that was being called a party.  The same one that killed Katty….

Ryan sighed as he tried his best not to remember the young girl he was growing close with.  She didn’t deserve what happened to her.  Ryan only hoped that she didn’t suffer.  It was almost worse than what Brand went through but now he had to remember that sweet girl-

“RYAN!”  Willow shouted causing Ryan to jerk his thoughts away from those deep thoughts.  “Were you zoning out?!”  Willow asked in complete utter disbelief.

Ryan gasped at the accusation.  Ryan sputtered before replying, “I wasn’t zoning out!  I just… was thinking.”  Ryan avoided explaining the exact things on his mind right now.

“Thinking?  Thinking about what?” Willow asked, sounding upset.  Willow jerked her hands around showing the space they were trapped in, “Like, was it trying to find a way to get out??”

Ryan was gonna say something but he knew Willow wasn’t an idiot.  Last thing Ryan wanted to do was make a sarcastic remark that would end up with her hitting him over it.  “I… no, I was thinking about the others… especially Katty…” Ryan said, sounding depressed at the remark.

Willow looked at Ryan and just as he thought she was gonna say something or worse, hit him.  She huffed before closing her eyes and calming down a degree.  “That wasn’t your fault.”

Ryan didn’t see how she could think that, tracing back all the fucked up mistakes he did, it was so clear that it was totally his-

“HEY!”  Willow barked, cutting Ryan out of his thoughts.  “I said, it wasn’t your fault.”  Willow gave another annoyed sigh before pointing at Ryan, “So stop it.  No way could you have stopped that from happening, and it wasn’t your fault that it happened…” Willow repeated with a calmer and more concerned and worried tone.  Ryan’s self doubt and pity was slowly disappearing, but still, Ryan couldn’t stop feeling guilty.  Willow looked at Ryan and gave another huff once again before walking over and sitting next to Ryan.  She was silent at first but after a few moments she went on, “That shit will eat you up… trust me,” Willow remarked as she sat next to Ryan.  “What if, if only I did this, and I could have done that…” Willow took a deep sigh as she closed her eyes and reminisced about whatever it was.  Ryan could tell she held plenty of ghosts as she pushed her head into the wall behind her.  “It’ll eat you up inside.  Trust me… it’ll eat you up inside till your too numb to go on.  As fucked up as it sounds, we just keep going.  It’s hard but ending up like them would be worse, like I said, stay positive.”

Ryan wanted to but it was so hard.  For some reason he never thought Katty would have been someone eaten so casually like that.  Never did Ryan think that he would see the most chipper looking personality in the group vanish.  Yet the sounds of her begging for help was seared into Ryan’s brain.  It was that same horrified face he saw when he blinked or closed his eyes.  Katty’s voice when-

Willow’s firm fist found its way into Ryan’s thoughts when he felt a jab into his shoulder, “WHAT THE HECK,” Ryan called out, feeling the impact.

Willow just snorted, “I told you…”

Ryan glared at her, “Are you seriously gonna punch me every time-”

Willow cut him off, “You zone out?  Uh, yeah?  I’ll stop when I know you aren’t thinking about them…”  As much as Ryan wanted to hate Willow for being like this.  Deep down, Ryan felt glad she was here to bully him out of that self destructive hole he kept falling into.  Sure maybe he should feel guilty and horrible for what has happened, but Willow kept him off those thoughts and in the present.  Maybe later when he was alone he could feel the pain and suffering for his fuck ups, but now… he was too busy rubbing his sore arm to consider that right now.

Ever the one in charge, Willow went on as she started to get up from next to Ryan.  “Now… to find a freaking way out of here,” Willow remarked as she kicked the plastic flooring.  All that happened was her foot rebounded off like a spring.  Willow looked less than impressed at the material as it seemed like she was looking for another approach to attack it.

“Uhh,” Ryan remarked trying to stop Willow from going into a boxing match with the cup to escape.  “Maybe we should wait?  Like… Beth doesn’t seem so bad, right?”

Willow gave Ryan a confused look, “Not so bad?”

Thomas chimed in, “Yeah no, like who wouldn't want to keep three shrinkies in a cup just to save them… you know for later, totally not normal.”

Ryan ignored Thomas' jaded comments.  He may not know Beth, but she didn't seem like someone trying to trick them.  At least not to Ryan… although that didn’t mean much with his track record so far.  Ryan may not trust all of the normal sized people, but Beth… well she showed her true colors in the bathroom earlier, she cared about a shrinky.  Like she truly deeply cared on an emotional level.  Sadly, her crush didn’t feel the same and was, well, no longer here, but Ryan felt that those emotions might transfer over to them as they were just like Chris…all Shrinkies.

Ryan didn’t know if it was worth trying to speak his thought process on this, so figured he just stay silent and let the other two struggle around trying to break the indestructible cup they were trapped in.  Not wanting to get a verbal beating from the two, Ryan stayed seated and looked up past Beth’s large fingers holding the top of the cup.  He could make out some stars and the night sky as Beth walked them… well to wherever she was going.  Ryan assumed it was her home but, well, he honestly didn’t know Beth as well as he hoped.  

Just as the doubt started to sink in that maybe the others were right, he heard a door open and shut before the sky changed from dark and starry into a bright home lit room.  The sudden change in environment caused Willow and Thomas to calm down or at least pause their destructive actions.  

An older male voice called out from afar that Ryan assumed it was Beth’s father, “Back already Beth?  I thought you were going to a party?’

Ryan felt the cup stop moving as Beth paused her walk to respond, “I did… well, it’s complicated.  I just wasn’t in the mood to stay and decided to head home.”

Beth’s dad sounded worried, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Ryan couldn't see it but he swore he could hear Beth shaking her head, “It’s fine just, you know, it’s that time of the month… I just need some alone time.”

At the mere mention of the taboo phrase Ryan heard the male quickly back pedal, “Oh, oh yeah sweety, I understand.  Well, I’ll just be down here watching the game.  I think your mom bought some ice cream today, if that helps at all.”

The sound of the TV turning back on signaled the supposedly father going back to minding his own business.  Beth went back to heading to her room.  The first step she took sent Thomas and Willow stumbling from the sudden inertia of going up instead of forward.  Willow, who was unprepared for the jerking motion, felt herself tripping and falling.  Ryan had enough time to put his arms up as she stumbled into him.

“OW,” Ryan cried out as he felt Willow’s body collided into him.  He could feel her hands grabbing and holding him as she tried to keep from hurting herself from the fall.

“Sorry,” Willow responded as she steady herself on top of Ryan.  Ryan didn’t say a word as he looked into her eyes as she laid on top of him.  Both of their bodies connecting and touching in a way that would have been embarrassing if there were people watching.  A moment of recognition collided with Ryan as he started to remember all the times he was with Emily, how she would get on top of him-

NO!

Ryan had to close his eyes not to think about her in his current situation.  

It took a few breaths for Ryan to recall the way Emily tried to devoure him in a fucking shrinky shot.  He could still smell the hint of vodka and acid from her stomach trying to digest him.  No, they were so freaking over.  They weren’t a thing anymore.  Sure it hadn’t been more than a week since that happened, but he was done.  Time to move on-

“Don’t get any weird ideas!”  Willow sputtered over Ryan.  Ryan’s eyes opened to see the blushing look on her face.  Before Ryan could say a thing she rolled off of him.  “I was caught off guard,” Willow told Ran as she didn’t look at him as she got off him.

“Uh, yeah, uh I get it,” Ryan nodded as he was trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

The sounds of footsteps on the stairs could be heard as Ryan’s attention went back to the unseen world he was hearing around him.  Silently Ryan listened to the footsteps and climbing of steps before they were back to the usual swaying of the cup from the casual walking on level ground.  Soon a door closed, and finally after a long time Beth’s face appeared, “Sorry about that.”  

Ryan was the first if not the only one to respond, “It’s fine.”

“Well, here’s my room,” Beth told them, sounding a little hesitant.

Ryan, apparently, was now the spokesman for everyone in the cup, could only smirk before laughing, “Hard to see when we are still stuck in … well a cup.”

It took Beth a moment to understand as she quickly looked apologetic, “Oh my god!  Oh!  Oh right, sorry.  Sorry, I can get forgetful when I’m nervous.”  

Ryan would have said something, however he wasn’t ready for the tilting of their plastic prison.  The cup soon tipped over and Ryan and the others were poured out in as gentle of a way as one could be.  Ryan felt the slippery walls under his butt as he ran over the little ridges near the top of the cup, and soon was tossed out in a heap with Willow and Thomas.  They were all recovering when Beth tossed the cup away.  Ryan was still taking in the surroundings, as he observed the pretty plan bedroom.  The colors were a typical girls room, not a lot of wall decorations, a very bland white bed, and the obviously stereotypical desk everyone was now laying on.  Ryan hated to say it, but Beth had a very average and basic bedroom.  “This is nice,” Ryan said not seeing much that told him about Beth.  Heck, Ryan was more concerned now seeing this very normal basic looking bedroom, as if she was hiding something from them.

“Sorry… I didn’t get to clean up,” Beth apologized.

Ryan looked around and didn’t see a scrap of clothing or trash anywhere.  In fact it looked the opposite, like Beth actually cleaned up her room recently for a reason.  The thought dug back at the confession she made for Chris earlier.  Right… that was probably why the room was so spotless.

“It’s fine,” Ryan called out again for Beth to hear him on her desk.  “It’s uh, cute?”

Beth’s lips twitched at the remark before she looked at Thomas and Willow, “So, this is my room… um.  If you need anything, just let me know-”

Thomas didn’t waste a second on that offer as he quickly called out his one demand, “WHISKEY!”

That word floated in the air for a moment before all eyes turned on him.  The room was silent as everyone waited to hear what exactly Thomas said.  Finally snapping out of his shock, Ryan spoke, “What?”

Beth followed that up with an equally confused, “Sorry?”

Willow was frowning as she mouthed the word before saying, “A what?”

Thomas didn’t seem to back down as he looked more determined now than ever before, which wasn’t too long of a time since Ryan knew him.  “Whiskey, or something alcoholic.  I don’t care, just something to drink,” Thomas said waving his hands around.

Ryan frowned at Thomas’ request, “What?  You can’t be-”

Thomas cut him off, “Serious?  Deadly.”  It was now that Ryan noticed how serious this was to him.  Thomas had a stern look on his face, “I was in a fucking bowl all fucking night, about to be eaten or used by someone.  Each time my chances of being swallowed growing.  The only thing that kept me sane and not breaking down was the fact that I would be tossed into a FUCKING drink.  Something to get drunk on for the last few moments of my small little life.  And then I’m saved,” Thomas turned to Beth with the least amount of venom he could go on, “Which, I’m so happy you did that, but” Thomas turned back to Ryan and went on not sounding as kind as he was with Beth.  “Robbed me of the only time I could or would drink.  Do you know how long it’s been,” Thomas asked Ryan.  The question didn’t stay unanswered long enough as Thomas went on, “Years.  Ever since I fucking shrank!”  Thomas paused as he seemed to try to calm down, “Look… I need this.  I was so close not even a day ago, and then,” he waved his hands around in a frantic manner, “Shit hit the fan and now… I would die for a crisp shot of whiskey.  Just something to take the edge off from this long long,” Thomas took a deep sigh, “Long nightmare.”

Wanting to hit Thomas for his crass and unreasonable demand, Ryan sadly could see his point of view.  A man that had confronted death and doom so much in one night, he would want something to dull his nerves and numb himself.  Something to calm that sensation that was nipping at him.  Hoping this wasn’t a stupid question to ask Ryan finally turned to Beth, “I guess… sorry, do you have something to help some of us?  You know, take the edge off such a shitty night?”  Ryan didn't know how much he too wanted something to help.  He probably hadn’t had it as bad as Thomas or Willow, so he could only imagine what they were feeling.

Beth thought about it for a moment, “I think my dad has something.  Give me a few minutes, I’ll see what I can find,” Beth said as she headed for the door.  

“THANKS!”  Ryan shouted, not sure if Beth heard him.

Ryan, Willow, and Thomas stood there on the spacey desk looking out of place as they observed the room that Beth left.  Finally Willow broke the silence, “What’s Whiskey?”

Ryan just casually explained, “Oh, it’s alcohol.”

“Right,” Willow nodded followed by some silence.

Willow finally cut the silence with another question, “What’s… uh, Alcohol?”

Ryan frowned at the innocent question, “You know, like beer?  Wine?  Booze?”

When Willow gave him a blank look not really following, Ryan realized that she’s never touched or probably even heard of it, “You never drank before?”

Before Willow could respond Thomas let out a sharp laugh, “WHAT?!  The fearless Willow never touched alcohol before???  Oh my-”

The devastating look that Willow glared at Thomas had him shutting up quieter than a clam.  Willow quickly turned the glare to Ryan who didn’t say a word.

Seeing how quiet they were and Willow’s reaction, Ryan quickly tried to fill her in, “It’s just something to relax yourself with.”

“Relax,” Willow repeated sounding unsure of what Ryan was saying.

Not wanting the wrath of Willow sprung on him he quickly said, “Look, alcohol isn’t the best thing but considering we never know when we might die… I’d say it’s worth getting drunk when we can.”

Thomas laughed as he added his own words to it, “Amen.”

Turning back to Willow, Ryan went on, “Look you can try some, but just be aware you might not like it.  And things can get a little…” Ryan wobbled his hand around.

Willow gave Ryan a weird look but shook her head as she seemed to drop the subject, as she went from questioning him to observing the room they were in.  Chances were she was looking for escape routes if needed.  Something that maybe Ryan should be doing too, but seeing as how helpful and friendly Beth was, he didn’t see the problem of letting his guard down.  Besides, Ryan was exhausted and worn out.  The last thing he wanted to do tonight was start freaking out on something he didn’t need to.

Ryan sighed as he looked around and spotted Beth’s phone left on the desk they were standing on.  The large device was a familiar model to his old phone.  “Hmm…” Ryan muttered as he headed over to the enormous device.  The smartphone was just thin enough that it took Ryan a few attempts to climb up the side of it, but he was tall enough not to need help to get up.  Smiling at his accomplishment, Ryan stood on the phone and looked down at the black dead screen.  Standing on the screen, Ryan prayed to God he didn’t break the phone, as he jumped up and landed on the screen to turn it on.  

Nothing, it was still pitch black.

“Oh come on… I’m not that small,” Ryan grumbled as he did another jump and another.  Still the screen remained inactive.  “You son of a bitch-” Ryan shouted as he jumped up harder and landed with more force than he intended, causing him to fall forward.  Ryan panicked and threw his arms out and let them hit the screen.  The moment both his hands slapped the screen it jumped to life and a bright light shone up at Ryan.  It took Ryan a moment to realize how silly he was, “Touch screen…”

Shaking his head at how stupid he was, Ryan hoped his luck stayed up as he headed toward the bar that had the phone locked.  “Please don’t have a password,” Ryan told himself as he headed down across the lit ground.  Slumping over and placing his hands down on the swipe bar, Ryan moved forward dragging his hands across the glass.  To his delight he watched the bar slide with him as he swiped the bar from locked to unlocked.  The moment it hit the other side of the phone with Ryan, there was a digital click before the phone’s screen unlocked to the home screen.  

Apparently Beth didn’t have a password for her device.  Either she was very trusting of people, or had nothing to hide.  That was a good sign.

As Ryan was looking around the phone for what he wanted, Willow looked up at him and called out, “Ryan what are you doing?”

“There it is,” Ryan said to himself as he walked over to the music app, “I figured since Beth was getting drinks.  And we’re trying to relax… how about some music,” Ryan said as he pushed the app and watched the screen change.  

“Music,” Willow called out confused.  “Stop being stupid and get down from there.”

“In a minute,” Ryan called out as he looked through Beth’s playlist.  He wasn’t sure what he was looking for but finally there was a familiar band he noticed.  “Oh, nice taste…” Ryan smirked as he hit the album and prayed that his good luck stayed that way.  The last thing he wanted was to blast Willow and Thomas with ear shattering music, or worse get the attention of someone or something not as friendly as Beth.  There was no telling if Beth had pets or a nearby parent or sibling, Ryan really hoped he wasn’t doing something he would regret.

Ryan went to the play button and noticed the sound seemed turned down, but it was hard to judge how quiet that would be for everyone.  Wincing Ryan went for it, “Here goes nothing…” The moment Ryan hit the big arrow to play the music, he was rewarded with the familiar instruments playing for the familiar song.  Ryan closed his eyes and mouthed a silent “thank you” for things finally turning out his way.

“What did you do,” Willow called out again, sounding upset.

“I told you, playing some music,” Ryan said jumping off the phone and landing near Willow, “I mean… you have heard of-”

Willow crossed her arms in with a very unamused look on her face, “YES!  I’ve heard of music!”

Ryan laughed but only got an eye roll out of Willow who didn’t seem to enjoy the fact that Ryan seemed so at ease.  “So have you heard of them before,” Ryan asked, jerking his thumbs toward the phone playing the music.  Willow slowly shook her head.  “Oh well, I got a feeling you’re gonna love them.  What about you Thomas,” Ryan called out.

Thomas shrugged, not really interested, “I haven’t heard a lot of music since I shrank.”

It wasn’t till now that Ryan realized how true that would be for him.  His grin slowly died as he recalled his size and the situation he was in.  Like how was he supposed to buy the new album next year?  Was he gonna borrow someone’s phone or just walk into a store to ask for the disk?  Hell he didn’t even have a CD player any more or a computer to download it.  “Right…” Ryan sighed realizing that maybe the music wasn’t the best idea.  It was only bringing him down and everyone else's mood down in the room.

Before Ryan could shut off the music or even climb the phone, he heard the door to the room open wider.  Beth had returned with what looked to be a bottle of half empty, dark amber looking liquid, and two shot glasses.  Beth cocked her head as she caught the music playing from her phone, “Did… did you guys touch my phone?”

Ryan suddenly felt bad as he quickly started to take the blame for invading her property, “Sorry I just thought with some drinks and music we could have our own party or whatever.”  As Beth came closer, Ryan quickly prayed that she wasn’t mad, “Please don’t blame them, I did it myself they had nothing to do with it.”

Beth didn’t look that upset as she started to shake her head, “I’m not mad… just surprised.  I… didn’t- wait, did you pick this band?”

Ryan slowly nodded, “I’m shocked you know of them.  I thought I was like one of three people who knew them.”

Beth laughed as she moved her phone out of the way but let the music play, “Well, I guess that makes me number two.  I wonder who the third person is.”

Ryan laughed along with Beth as she set the two shot glasses and the bottle of alcohol down.  “I figured I could do a few with you all before going to bed,” Beth said, popping the top of the bottle and starting to pour herself a big shot-full and pouring a fourth of a shot or less in the empty glass.  “Sorry we don’t have anything smaller.”

Thomas was the first to go for it, he headed over to the shot glass and tried to climb or lift the glass container.  Seeing as neither was working, Ryan saw the look in Thomas’ eyes that told him he was about to try and knock it over and lick the contents up off the table.  

Before he could even attempt that strategy, Beth was there helping, “Here,” She said picking up the glass and tilting it ever so slowly.  The contents of the glass shot started to creep closer as it started to balance out and Thomas was rewarded with a wave of whiskey.  It was almost like he was inhaling the drink as he gulped a few times before pushing the shot glass up and having Beth tip it right side up.

Thomas looked like a man in heaven as he cracked a rare smile never before seen, “You are truly a goddess.”

Beth looked stunned, “No, I’m not.  Trust me,” Beth said sounding a little embarrassed.

“If this is some kind of weird trap or something,” Thomas went on, “I don’t care what you do with me, just let me have a few more drinks before you step on me or swallow me or whatever else, that’s all I’m begging from you.”

Ryan gasped at the accusation, and saw Beth looking more concerned and worried about what he said.  Ryan decided to step in.  “Dude, stop making this freaking weird.”

Thomas looked at Ryan and held up his hands but decided he made his speech and stepped away to let the others get a drink.  Ryan shook his head and apologized, “Sorry, it’s been… well a long week for me, and longer for them.”  The sympathetic look on Beth’s face let Ryan know that Thomas hadn’t hurt her feelings or anything.  “Anyways, thanks for this, and saving us, and… well, all of it.”  Ryan told Beth, who seemed to blush at those words.

Before Beth could respond, she quickly downed her shot before offering Ryan a drink.  Like Thomas, he had to do some funky maneuvering before he could get his first swig.  Gulping and pushing the cup up, Ryan stepped back and let that horribly hot sensation burn down his throat and warm his belly.  It was the first real drink he had in so long.  Ryan had to blink a few times before he could feel the familiar sensation of whiskey in his belly.  “Oh… your dad has great taste,” Ryan remarked.  Thomas was quick to add to the praise of the drink.

Then the awkward moment came, Beth looked at Willow.  This caused Ryan to turn toward Willow, and finally Thomas glanced over.  Everyone was observing Willow who didn’t seem so inclined to drink.  Ryan wasn’t sure if Beth knew that Willow never drank but she still held the shot glass slightly tilted.  “Did… sorry, did you want some?”  Beth asked Willow, who wasn’t showing much interest in the offered drink.

Willow looked between the three of them.  First she glanced toward Thomas who just seemed to snort and hold back a snicker, like he knew a bad joke but wasn’t risking Willow’s wraith by saying something.  Then she glanced at Beth before looking back at Ryan.  Ryan shrugged, “You don’t have to try it.  It isn’t the kind of drink I would recommend for someone’s first time…”

Ryan was trying to be genuine but it almost seemed to push Willow the wrong way.  What was trying to sound like a warning only seemed to push Willow toward the drink, like he was daring her.  Just as Ryan was about to say another word, Willow stepped up and put her head toward the opening tilted glass that was positioned toward her.  She took one sniff before she pulled her head back, “That smells like-”

Ryan nodded holding back his own chuckle, “Yeah…”

Still, Willow didn’t pull all the way back.  She finally went in and had herself a drink.  After a few moments and a gulp she pulled back and started to cough, “That- taste- like-”

Ryan again nodded and laughed, “Yeah… I know.”

“You drink that shit,” Willow coughed out as she almost looked like she was gonna puke.  Luckily she kept it down.

“It’s… a taste that grows on you, or not...” Ryan admitted.

Beth set down the shot glass that still had what looked to be an eighth of a shot or so left in it.  It was hard for Ryan to judge with his current size, but he went over to Willow and patted her back as she rubbed her throat, “That stings,” Willow remarked, “Why would anyone drink that stuff!”

Ryan laughed and shook his head, “It’s uh, complicated.”  As much as he thought Willow was gonna vomit up what she drank, she was a trooper and kept it down.  She only needed a few more moments, and a lot of disgusted looks were directed at Ryan.  Ryan ignored them as Willow recovered from her first taste of probably the worst thing she ever sampled before.  Once Willow stopped coughing and recovered enough, Ryan saw Thomas going back for more.  Ryan on the other hand wasn’t that thirsty for another drink, he would stay close to Willow, making sure she didn’t yak out of nowhere when no one was looking.

It wasn’t too long before Ryan was feeling the affects of the alcohol on him.  His body felt lighter and looser, his mind was less worried and more relaxed.  It was like he was drifting into a dream.  A smile was already forming on his face as he sat there listening to the music playing, reminding him of the good days.

“I can’t wait till their new album drops,” Beth spoke as she finished giving Thomas another drink.

Ryan jerked his head toward Beth at the mention of the upcoming release, “Yeah, that’s gonna be a killer.”

Beth smiled and nodded, “I love the bassist, she’s got some killer riffs.”

“Yeah, but what about the lyrics?  So good,” Ryan gushed as he started to enjoy talking with another fan of his all time favorite band.  “You know I went to see them live.”

Beth gasped, “No way!  I’m so fucking jealous.  My parents wouldn’t let me go when they toured around here… what was it like?”

Ryan laughed before getting up for another sip of whiskey.  “They sound way better live.  And the energy they pump into the crowd… easily top ten best nights of my life,” Ryan explained before drinking another helping.

“God you're so lucky,” Beth sighed.

“Was… I was lucky,” Ryan said as his thoughts went to how he would never see them live again.  Wouldn’t get that CD.  Hell, this was probably the last time he would hear them…

Speaking of hearing them, Ryan’s favorite song of all time came on next.  Excited at hearing it again, Ryan was feeling good and energetic as his mood increased to an all time high in a long time, “I love this song!”

Beth agreed as she nodded with Ryan’s excitement.  

Ryan spotted Willow sitting down nearby.  There was a rare smile on her face, something that he almost never saw on her face.  Not sure if it was the alcohol, music, or whatever but she looked more happy than Ryan had ever seen her since he knew her.  Unable to stop himself, Ryan headed over and held his hand out to her, “Want to dance?”

Willow looked at the hand and blinked a few times, “What?”

Ryan gave Willow a smirk, “Dance, or have you never danced-”

Willow rolled her eyes in a mocking way, “I have, just not since I was a kid...” Willow seemed to be recalling something that was making her smile slowly disappear.  Ryan didn’t want to see her upset, so he did a bold move, he took her hand and lifted her up off the ground.

“Good, cause I think we should dance.”  Ryan started to move and guided Willow with him in time to the music.  Ryan was prepared for a solid smack to the face or punch to the gut, but Willow’s shocked face soon turned to a nice smile.  It was probably the happiest Ryan had seen Willow as she tried to keep up with the fun music.  The tune was forging to Willow, but she seemed to catch on to the musical notes that danced around them.  Soon she was laughing and playfully enjoying herself as they twirled and swinged together.  Ryan couldn’t help but mirror Willow’s ecstatic energy and joy.  It was so infectious that he hardly noticed when the song changed.

Hearing the shift in music, Ryan figured he could go for another drink.  “I’ll be right back just gonna get some,” Ryan jerked his hand and thumb toward the shot glass.  As Ryan was leaving Willow seemed to take his hand to follow.

“I’ll come along…” She said slightly hesitantly.

“Uh… you sure,” Ryan said feeling a little confused.  She didn’t seem to enjoy her taste of whiskey.  “Cause I didn’t think you liked it that much.”

Willow made a cringe and disgusted look before she spoke, “Yeah, no it’s bad.  Like really bad… but I mean… I do feel, like,” Willow gave a sheepish smile and shrugged.

Ryan smiled and nodded, “Yeah I know what you mean.  Just be careful,” Ryan warned as they headed toward the drink, “This stuff has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.” 

Beth and Thomas were saying stuff that Ryan wasn’t paying attention to as they approached the drink.  He was too busy enjoying the sensation of Willow holding his hand.  Something that he never thought he would say.  Thoughts were coming up in his head about Willow and how nice it was, but he didn’t want to make anything weird between them.  It was clear she cared about Ryan, but it was probably in a totally platonic way.  Ryan didn’t need to fuck their relationship up, if that’s something he could call this small band of people working together as.

Finally approaching the shot glass, Ryan waved Beth down from her chit chat with Thomas for a drink.  Getting used to the Whiskey, Ryan already had his body prepared for the after taste.  Willow… unfortunately wasn’t.  She was coughing again, but not as bad.  She again seemed to direct any misfortune she had at Ryan, but when the coughing stopped she gave a grimacing smile before saying, “Yeah… still bad.”

Ryan shook his head at the comment, “Just sounds like we need to take your mind off the taste, I’m sure there's another song we can dance to.”

Willow followed and before he knew it they were laughing and dancing once again.  Ryan was busy explaining stupid trivia about the band.  Things he knew that Willow had no idea about and probably didn’t care, but she was just having a nice time talking.  Enjoying their time together, Ryan found the night was progressing nicely.  Song after song Willow and Ryan danced to slow songs, fast songs, and whatever else that came on.  It didn’t take long before Ryan noticed that everyone was feeling the drinks.

Ryan didn’t know when it happened, but Thomas was knocked out on his back.  Beth seemed to be dozing in and out as she must have hit her limit too.  Ryan wasn’t sure if he was the only one that knew how to hold his liquor or if the others just went too hard too fast.  Either way, he watched Beth slowly get up to head to bed.  Ryan realized that their “bartender” was calling it quits and without her, the alcohol was technically being shut off.  Sighing, it was probably for the best as they should all head to bed by now anyway.  Ryan was about to call out for Beth to have a good night and sleep tight, only to have her start to undress.  Ryan’s eyes widened as he watched the shirt and top go before Beth went for the other remaining clothing.  Ryan spun around faster than he thought possible as the kind and lovely Giantess was stripping nude for bed.  She might have forgotten they were in her room, or too drunk to care.  Whatever the reason, Beth didn’t seem bothered by showing her skin off to those around and still awake.

Turning away from Beth meant spinning around almost directly into Willow, nearly colliding with her.  “Uh hey,” Ryan said looking at Willow who didn’t seem to notice Beth stripping behind him.  She seemed to be preoccupied with looking at him with a longing look.

“Hey,” She repeated in a goofy manner.

“Sooo, looks like we're all gonna just head to bed,” Ryan suggested pointing out the passed out Thomas and the empty desk seat that Beth just left.

Willow slowly nodded before she yawned.  Ryan was expecting her to let go of his hand… but she didn’t.  Ryan gave Willow a look and slowly lifted their hands up that were still being held.  The look that Willow gave to Ryan was one that he knew from the little experience he had with the other sex.  Any doubt he had was gone the moment she spoke in a soft tone, “Why… why are you so…” 

Ryan gulped as he knew where this was going with that particular look she gave him, “Uh… Willow, maybe we should hold off-”

“What,” Willow asked sounding confused.  Then her mood dipped as she looked sad, “Am I… like not, your type?”

Ryan had to blink a few times to understand what he heard, “NO!  No, I mean like you are but… you’re probably not thinking right.  We should wait till another time to, you know,” Ryan gestured around trying to distract Willow but she didn’t seem to budge

.  

Willow arched an eyebrow at what she just heard, “Another time?”

Ryan nodded.  “Yeah a time that we’re not so, you know…”  Ryan trailed off hoping that Willow understood what he was saying.  As Ryan looked into those eyes and inviting face, he couldn’t help but be at a loss for words.  When Willow made the next move, Ryan felt the whole world go blank around him.  Willow dove in for a secret attack and kissed Ryan before he even knew what was happening.  Any concern he had was gone the moment those soft lips met his.  Ryan’s world was slowly vanishing in a spin as all he could think of was Willow.  Sure the taste wasn’t as appealing as he would want with the drinking, but something about how she behaved made up for it as he ignored the flavor in her mouth.  Willow was all over Ryan as they were making out like it was the end of the world.  One moment Ryan had been worried about Willow, the next he was touching parts of her body he was sure would have gotten him a slap or punch a few hours ago.  Her slim but taunt body was luscious in his hands as they were sliding and gliding over Willow’s supple body.  Before Ryan knew it he was soon on his back with Willow on top dictating how things were going.  She was so commanding and directive that Ryan had to give up trying to take the lead and go with her flow.  She was guiding his hands and mouth to parts of her body that he wouldn’t have tempted for if it weren’t for her help and assistance. 

“Wait wait,” Ryan muttered out between any small gaps in their congregation.  Ryan had to push Willow a little off him, “Are you sure-”

Willow just gave Ryan a groan, “Just shut up and fuck me.”

Ryan hesitated for a split second as he heard those words.  Then it clicked,  “Sure.”

Ryan didn’t need any more thoughts clouding his brain as he had a smoking hot woman on top of him wanting to have sex.  She was totally into it and so all he had to do was follow her lead.  Ryan looked down to see that he still had his lower garments on, while Willow had magically disclothed down to nothing and was straddling him.  Shit… 

Ryan didn’t know how feisty Willow was, but he had to work her up off his body in order to disrobe his lower clothes.  Nude from the waist down, he felt the warm skin of Willow’s neither region laying just on top of him.  The long feeling of someone’s flesh touching his in this sexual way was thrilling and lovely.  Something Ryan hadn’t experienced in a while especially after he shrunk.  Ryan couldn’t help but feel excited and turned on at it.  The sexual desire he had pent up and need for release was overwhelming.  It only took a look at Willow’s face to help… and when she tore off her shirt, oh boy.  Ryan was so excited he nearly busted right there looking at Willow’s naked form on top of him.  Was she always this gorgeous?  Her glorious body was something of a dream, something that would make many athletes jealous of her physique and frame.  

“Oh… oh my god…” Ryan muttered looking up at the stradling Willow.

“You mean, Goddess,” Willow cooed with a delighted smirk.  “I’m gonna be your goddess tonight.”

“Yes please,” Ryan muttered, reaching up and touching those supple breasts.  Ryan felt Willow’s body slide backwards and onto his sturdy stiff stick.  The moment he felt himself insert into Willow’s private opening, Ryan nearly popped off.  He had to cut his thoughts off and think of something nasty and bad just to keep from blowing his load from the tight but accompanying insides of Willow’s body.  As Ryan got control of himself he slowly opened his shut eyes to see a giggling Willow.

Willow’s voice was devoid of any anger or harshness that she typically had, “Awww are you having a hard time,” She asked as Willow took her finger and traced it around Ryan’s jaw.  As her finger grazed his skin, Ryan shuddered at the sensation as she dragged it down toward his throat and chest.  The warm and ticklish sensation flaring up his skin along the trail left behind.

Ryan struggled for a few moments of that beloved sensation, “You have NO idea…”

Ryan watched Willow laugh again… that was till he trusted upward making her gasp and look shocked like she just experienced nirvana for a moment.   Ryan paused for a second and replicated the cocky smirk, “Did you like that…”

Willow was slow to respond but the shocked and delighted nod she gave, told Ryan that he did something right for her.  Enjoying this new playful and outgoing Willow that he hardly knew before, Ryan went back to pleasing the woman in his hands and on his hips.  He didn’t want to hurt or freak out Willow, so he started slow, a little thrusting at a decent pace.  A way for both of them to get used to each other’s personal private parts.  The little pumping and grinding started to go faster and harder.  A low twenty percent movement soon increased into fifty percent as Ryan picked it up.  Making sure to go deeper with his thrusting motions.  Willow was making sounds that Ryan would have never expected this woman to make.  The fierce and stern warrior woman was making noises that would have made Ryan blushed if he heard them beforehand.  She was riding him like a champ, matching each thrust like she was some cowgirl from the wild wild west.  The incoming blows that Willow rode out only help sever as a way for Ryan to pick up the pace in this, well it was just a fuck fest of two lovers banging away their emotions for each other.  Ryan was trying to hold back his cries of joy only to see how far away Thomas was, and how fucked up he looked splayed out like that.  A quick glance at the snoring giantess in her big bed, told Ryan that he could scream bloody Mary and wouldn’t even stir the sleeping ones.

“I’m… oh, so… fucking close,” Ryan gasped as he was prepared to pull out in the last moment.

“ME TOO!”  Willow panted as she bounced up and down in bliss.  Her body was shaking from their love making, only making Ryan come closer to his climax.

Feeling the blissful sensation, Ryan couldn’t help but groan,, “I’m gonna-”

Willow did the unexpected as she leaned forward into Ryan.  Ryan felt the tight grip of Willow’s arms and legs wrapping around him and hugging tighter than any fucking bear hug.  As Willow orgasmed around him, clenching his whole body, he could feel the vibrations of her climaxing and shuddering that shook him to his core.  Combine that with the sensation of grappling vaginal walls and tight warm snug closeness he desperately craved, Ryan was a goner.  Her mouth was clamped down on his sucking the life force from him as she kissed him to climax.  He felt himself spraying off into Willow’s deepest depths as his sperm sprayed into action.  Ryan quivered and shook as he felt himself reach a level of ecstasy that he only found with Emily.    

It wasn’t till he felt his balls drain and his penis starting to retract that he knew he was done.  Ryan felt Willow’s limp body on top of him laying there resting.  Just as he was about to move her, he heard the soft breathing of her passed out asleep, he stayed still at the sound of sleep.

“Oh… oh shit,” Ryan muttered as he now realized how tired and sleepy he was.  He was about to move Willow off of him, but the feeling of her embrace, and her wrapped around  him… well, he wasn’t a complete bastard.  Ryan had ached for this sensation since he started to shrink so long ago.  Feeling someone hug him and cuddle with him was just too much for Ryan.  Smiling at the love that he found, Ryan slowly embarrassed Willow and held her naked body to his.  Sleep came soon after as he held Willow in his grasp.  The words fell from his lips before he was passed out in dream land.  Ryan didn’t know if it was his true feeling or years of repeating these words but they came out nevertheless, “Good night, I love you….”

The first thing Willow recalled was that her head hurt.  It felt like she had a concussion or something as it throbbed.  Just as she was about to reach up and touch her head, to check for damages, she felt something almost restraining and draped over her.  It wasn’t her usual blanket, or trash to be exact, it was warm and kind of heavy for a blanket.  That was when Willow opened her confused eyes and felt someone’s breath on her neck.  Immediately she recoiled in response,  Willow wasted no time rolling out from the stranger's arm on her.  Willow was already rolling into a prepared aggressive position when she turned to look at the person.

A very startled and confused looking Ryan was puzzled at Willow's reaction, like she was possessed or something.  Willow on the other hand was more confused, and then like a blurry fog, her questions were being answered.  She slowly recalled things from last night, the things they did.  Talk, dance, and fucked-

Willow felt another wave of headaches hit her, “Shit…” She muttered as she sat up.  “Why does my head hurt so much?”  Willow muttered holding her skull.

Ryan sat up and looked guilty, “Yeah… that’s a hangover.”

“A what,” Willow asked, not sure what that meant.

“Uh, your gonna feel like shit for a bit.  Kind of what happens when you drink, like a lot.”  Ryan told her.

Willow shook her head to try and dull the pain, but that was a bad mistake.  “Ugh,” Willow grumbled as she slowly felt the reciding headache dull a little, “Fuck.”  Willow was still putting together her thoughts as she recalled more of the night.  “Fuck…” She repeated as she recalled more of the night, especially with Ryan.  She didn’t know why but she couldn’t help but start to feel attracted to him.  Any guards she had up to try and keep herself distant from him, were broken down after last night.  She wouldn’t, no, she couldn’t get attached to him.  She wasn’t willing to go through that, the chances that something happened to him, were too great and she didn’t know if she could take it.  She was already a few steps away from falling apart from all the years and years of dealing with her losses and pain.

Now it seemed she was making a whole new mistake.  “Fuck,” Willow repeated as she looked at Ryan who was sitting up looking worried.

Ryan reached out, “Are you okay-”

Willow jerked her hands toward her shirt and pants near Ryan, “Clothes.”  Willow spoke curtly wanting to get dressed.  “And you should put some on too…” Willow said, trying not to look at him and his nude body.  She didn’t know why but his body just sort of made her feel so aroused-

Willow shook her head only to be reminded of how bad her headache was and hissed, “Shit… fucking Whiskey…” Willow grumbled as she cursed whoever came up with such a demonic liquid.  It didn’t take long before Ryan got Willow her clothes and she started to dress.  By the time she and Ryan were clothed Willow was starting to feel the effects of that wicked drink leaving her.  Her head was clearing up as she only felt a mild discomfort in her skull, something she could deal with easily.

Still as she sat there, with Ryan, it was very quiet.  Only the sounds of Beth or Thomas sleeping could be heard, and some early birds outside chirping away.  Willow wouldn’t have minded the silence, but she felt like there was something wrong in the air.  Ryan was close but didn't say anything.  Normally he say something stupid or whatever, but he was quite.  Finally, not wanting things to be weird or whatever, she spoke, “Sorry.”

Ryan frowned and looked at Willow, “Sorry?  Sorry for what?”

Willow shifted a little in as she sat there not looking at Ryan, “You know… if I … wasn’t,” She took a moment to go on, “Good enough…”

Ryan was blubbering like a moron causing Willow to glance over at him who was waving his hands, “Are you kidding?  Why would you even think?!”

Willow shrugged, “I don’t know, it just felt weird with you being quiet and all that.”

“The only reason I’m quiet is cause I’m like fifty percent sure if I say something it will lead to you hitting me.”

Willow chuckled, “Only fifty percent?”

Ryan smiled and shrugged, “Eh, maybe forty sixty… not sure which is which.”

Willow nodded, feeling a grin on her face, “Fair enough.”

After a small laugh Ryan went on, “So… should we, you know, talk about last night?”

Willow sighed as she prepared for something she was worried about.  She had so many bottled emotions right now.  Hell, it hadn’t even been twenty four hours since she swore she had watched Ryan fucking die!  Then she slept with him… things were getting too complicated way too fast.  “Look… I,” Willow said turning to Ryan to gaze at him and gauge his reaction.  “WE,” Willow corrected as she nodded to him, “Can’t get attached.  You understand?”

Ryan again looked confused, “Not really… What do you mean?  Like we're just friends with benefits?”

It was Willow’s turn to look confused, “Friends with benefits?  Like we help each other?”  Ryan continued to look at Willow and then slowly gave her a particular look.  Something that said that he was implying something.  Not sure she went ahead and said, “Is that not what we are doing?  I keep you alive you keep me alive… same with Thomas,” She jerked her head toward him.

Ryan opened his mouth in silence before muttering, “Right.”  He sighed before he went on, “No.  I mean… like,” he did some hand movements before going on, “When you want to… we can, you know, do it.  Not strings attached.”  Willow wasn’t sure she understood what he meant, but when he used his fingers to show what he was talking about, Willow quickly nodded as she understood.

“Yes, right, sex, but not,” Willow pointed to herself and Ryan and back again showing a connection between them.  “All the bonding and stuff.”  Smiling Willow thought she got it through to Ryan but he just looked a little upset and saddened at the news.  “What,” Willow asked worried she said something wrong.

Ryan shook his head, “Nothing.  Just kind of… never mind, it’s fine.”  Ryan was clearly not so happy about Willow’s suggestion.

“Well clearly it’s not,” Willow said, not letting it go.

Ryan sighed, “Look I get it, you don’t want to get attached.  Fine, but I don’t think that’s something I can do.”  Ryan told Willow.  Willow felt shocked at the statement.  Why couldn’t he do that?  Did he really have, like, feelings too?  Willow looked away as she feared that she would be the same.  Ryan went on, “I enjoyed last night, like a lot… but I’ll be honest, I don’t think I can feel so detached with someone, especially if we're gonna be around each other so often.”

Willow turned toward Ryan, “But that’s the whole point!”  Willow examined.  “I don’t want-” Willow paused as she contorted her outburst, “That’s just it, I don’t want to feel worse than I did yesterday when I thought you were gone.”

As Willow looked at Ryan she felt his hand take her into them.  “I’d rather we feel something than try and hide or bury them away till it’s too late.  To actually experience something worth it, than never at all in the end.”

Those words hit Willow harder than she thought.  She couldn’t help but think it over for a moment as Ryan seemed serious about his statement.  Willow opened her mouth to say something to protest but how Ryan was looking at her she couldn’t argue with him.  Anything she had to say was silent till she finally huffed and quietly said, “Fine. But,” Willow warned smirking, “If you pull something like what you did last night, that self sacrificing shit…”  Willow gave Ryan a tighter squeeze in his hand that made him wince from her grip, “Just know, when I come to save you, I’m gonna kick your ass, got it?”  Ryan quickly nodded still wincing from her grip.  Smiling, Willow let up on her grip and moved closer to give Ryan a quick kiss on the lips, “Good.”

Sitting there with Ryan gave Willow a sense of peace, relief, and joy.  Emotions she hadn’t felt in a very very long time.  It was the same feelings that Willow had when she was with Sora in her teenage years.  Security and serenity.  The only time she was happy after she shrank, but now she was feeling similar feelings.  New moments that she was hoping to look forward to.

That was until the sound of Beth rolling over in her bed brought Willow’s thoughts and feelings out of its blissful dreaming.  They were in a foreign room with a giantess slumbering.  No matter how kind and helpful she seemed, Willow knew better than to let her guard down.  “Alright, with that settled,” Willow said letting go of Ryan’s hand, she looked around, “We need to find an escape.”

Willow got up and was about to look around when she noticed Ryan wasn’t moving.  Turning around she saw him looking confused and shocked.  Frowning he gave a puzzled look at Willow, “What?”

Willow looked at Ryan like he just said something stupid, “What do you mean, what??”

“I mean what do you mean,” Ryan retorted, looking at Willow like she asked him to open the closed door to the bedroom.

It was now that Willow realized what was going on, “Oh come on Ryan… are you seriously trusting her?”  Willow pointed to the bed where some muttering of sleep talk words were grumbling incoherently.  “So big deal she saved us and brought us here and gave us some whiskey-” Willow felt her body shudder at the word before she went on trying to hold back any more distasteful reactions.  Trying to continue without looking like she was about to gag, Willow went on, “We need to find escape routes and places to hide if need be.  Worse case scenarios should always be the first thing to prepare for.”  Ryan opened his mouth to argue, and Willow was ready for that typical response but he slowly nodded in agreement, which was surprising to Willow.  He seemed more docile now than before.  Was he only doing that because what happened last night?  

“Okay, fair… plan for the worse I agree,” Ryan said, nodding as he stood up.  “But, I trust her,” Ryan said pointing over to Beth’s sleeping body.  “Why would she save us, give us something to drink, party, and be so nice… Maybe we’ve misjudged her?”  Ryan told Willow, trying to sway her option on her.  Willow was gonna say something but Ryan quickly added, “I mean…” A sadden look came over him as he let out a curt laugh, “She could have easily tossed us in the freaking shot glass and gulped us down like a damn shrinky shot,” Ryan protested.

Willow frowned at the weird phrase she just heard, “Shrinky shot?”

Ryan shook his head as he waved the question off, “Never mind.  Just look, she had plenty of times to harm us.  I just don’t see why she would suddenly turn on us this quickly?”

“Well I can,” Willow said sternly.  “Like you said before, can we really trust them?”  This made Ryan reconsider his stance on their discussion a few days ago.  Still Willow went on, “I know you want to trust her but you’ve been out here for less than a week, so maybe you should trust me on this.”

Ryan sighed and slowly nodded, “Fine.  But I’ll just let you know, she cried… that kid last night, Chris.  She cared about him.  Now maybe she was faking or whatever, but I think this is a very long and convoluted con that she’s pulling off, if that’s the truth.  Still, a back up plan never hurt anyone, so what do you need me to do?”

Willow wanted to ask what convoluted meant but it was irrelevant right now, with Ryan helping they could cover double the ground.  “You check over there,” Willow said pointing to the other side of the desk, “Look for anything to get down with.  Then we’ll meet up in five minutes to share what we find.”

Ryan nodded and walked past Thomas as he checked for escape routes, as Willow did the same.  Still his words hung around in her thoughts.  Did Beth really cry over a shrinky?  Ryan might be right that she cared, but crying over a Shrinky couldn’t prove she wasn’t trying to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.  Willow had seen normal children pull a similar trick, so she couldn’t put it past someone much older doing the same.  Sympathy always made others weak, which was why Willow did her best to kill that emotion when she could.  Heck, Willow would have used all of last night to find a way out of here, if it weren’t for her and Ryan…

Willow felt her face warm up at the thought of their sexual actions last night.

Willow shook her slightly as her head continued to throb, “NO,” She hissed to herself.  She needed to focus and not think about it.  Yes, it was nice, it felt great…  but here and now wasn’t the place for her to indulge in her desires.

Heading toward the ledge of the desk Willow found nothing to use to get down from the wooden platform.  Sighing Willow checked the desk and found the wood was smooth and creaseless to use as handholds and footholds to climb down.  The slick siding of the desk would be impossible to get down that way.  Seeing as there was nothing to use, Willow headed back to wait for good news from Ryan.  It didn’t take him long before Ryan rejoined her, “So?”  Willow asked.

“Nothing,” Ryan reported.

“Nothing?  What about the computer,” Willow asked pointing to the other side of the desk.

“The laptop isn’t plugged in.  No cables,” Ryan explained.  Willow felt the sensation of defeat as she looked around for any other electronics on the wooden desktop, but it was void of most things.

“Fine… plan B,” Willow responded as she stepped closer to the edge of the desk.

“Plan B,” Ryan repeated confused, “What was plan A?”  Ryan asked Willow, following her.

“Plan A is to find a safe escape route, Plan B… is improvise,” Willow said as she looked off the ledge of the desk.  She quickly looked down at the ground as Ryan inhaled quickly at the distance.

“Oh shit… that's far down…” He said looking at the floor.

“Yeah, just like last night,” Willow remarked looking back at Ryan with a smirk at the reminder of what happened at the party.

“… Wait, no, Willow,” Ryan protested as he slowly realized what she meant.

“Look for a safe landing,” Willow told him as she examined the areas around the desk.  It only took a few moments and Willow felt a familiar anger building at their fruitless search.  There wasn’t even a fucking pair of underwear discard nearby to use as a cushion for a jump.  Beth had a very VERY clean room.  The only scrap of clothing on the ground was the dang shirt she wore last night, and that was on the other side of the room by the bed.  Then something came to her mind, “THE TRASH CAN!”  Willow chirped quickly recalling the small plastic container by the side of the desk.  Quickly heading over there she looked down and felt her shoulders slump at the freshly replaced bag for the can.  Willow shook her head as she recalled the only time she used a trash can to escape was when it was overflowing with discarded stuff, but if they tried this empty one… well they would just be stuck till Beth found them.  “Shit…” Willow muttered as she backed away with Ryan, confused at her actions.

“What,” Ryan asked as Willow stepped away and headed back toward Thomas who was still, even now, passed out.

“Can’t use that either, we’d be sitting ducks in there,” Willow remarked as she glanced around the room for some other way to get down and to freedom.

Ryan sighed, “I think, since there’s nothing we can do, we should at least wait till Beth gets up.  Maybe she isn’t as bad as you think.  I mean,” Ryan laughed as he made a quick joke, “Anyone who listens to them,” He pointed to the smart phone off to the side, “Can’t be all that bad, right?”  Ryan chuckled.

Willow turned around to look at Ryan and his goofy mockery of the situation, “Are you being serious right now?”

Ryan looked hurt from her tone, “What?”

“Are you gonna base your trust on one of them with what kind of music you have in common with them?”  Willow asked annoyed.

Ryan shook his head, “It- I mean I was just kind of joking-”

“A joke?”  Willow barked.  “Brand is dead… Katty too… and we're stuck here, with no escape route and you want to make jokes?!”  Willow could feel her anger and rage building.  It wasn’t just them that she was recalling, it was also the countless others that she lost or watched meet their end in the many years.

“I- I mean… sorry,” Ryan said sincerely.

Willow wanted to go on but the look on Ryan’s face hit her harder than she wanted to admit, “I,” Sighing Willow quickly apologized, “Sorry… I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just,” Willow looked over at Beth and back to Thomas and then Ryan, “I’ve been out there for so long, and now this might be it for us. I’m glad you still have hope that things will be fine, but for me… that hope died a long time ago, and now all I can think of is preparing for the worse.”  Willow took a few steps away from Ryan, “So again, sorry, but I can’t hope for the best to happen.  I’m gonna keep looking for some way out in case things turn out as bad as I think they can.  You should stay here and just,” Willow shrugged, “I guess wait till she wakes-”  Ryan stepped forward and took Willow’s hand and shook his head.

“I’ll come with you,” he told her.  “yeah I trust Beth, but I mean…” Ryan smirked that stupidly goofy smile at Willow, “Helping you find a way to escape beats waiting for sleeping beauty to wake up, right?  I mean you never know, I might spot something useful, four eyes are better than two.”

Willow opened her mouth to protest, but couldn’t help but feel a creeping smile as she shook her head in disbelief, “Oh my god, your impossible, fine.”  Willow started to lead the way to do another walk around, but this time she and Ryan were gonna keep company.  Something that helped ease her nerves.  Maybe being stuck up here on this wooden desk wouldn’t be so bad?

Willow sat down in utter defeat.  There wasn’t a single way down without taking a hundred plus drop to the floor.  There was a desk chair they could try and use but that didn’t seem to help as they would still be very high up.  With no way to escape, Willow finally gave up and took a seat back where they first woke up this morning.  At least it wasn’t a complete waste, sure enough Ryan helped the best he could.  He wasn’t the best help, but he kept Willow calm with his insistent banter and talking of silly little things.  Granted she didn’t understand everything he was talking about but it was a nice distraction to keep Willow from getting frustrated at their situation.

As Willow sat there thinking of what they could do, she could only think of what she wanted to do.  Everyone was still asleep, and Ryan was right there next to her.  They could try and repeat what happened the other night, the sex that was.  Willow closed her eyes recalling the lovely sensation from last night’s activities.  She wouldn’t mind having some fun with -

The sudden sound of Beth’s bed pulled Willow out of her lust filled thoughts.  Beth was sitting up holding her head while groaning.  It seemed Willow wasn’t the only one that had a rough night with that drink, Whiskey.  Willow watched as Beth let out a low groan as she slowly rocked herself up from the bedding.  It took her a while before she was sitting on the side of her bed holding her head muttering complaints about something. 

After a good few minutes she stood up and walked wobbly over to a dresser and yanked it open before rummaging around for some clothing.  Willow watched, not saying anything, but Ryan was shouting and waving at Beth for her attention.  Of course she didn’t react, unable to hear any of them as the room was too vast, she went on about her morning.  It didn’t take long before Beth was out the door and going somewhere, most likely the bathroom.  The sound of another door closing only helped prove Willow’s point.

Ryan sighed before taking a seat again, “Man I really hate not having a communicator sometimes.  So hard getting someone’s attention when you need them.”

“Yeah,” Willow muttered as she did her best not to spit at the idea of wearing one of those collars.  Nothing seemed more humiliating than wearing one of them just so you can talk to a larger person to beg for help.  Willow didn’t wait for Ryan to retort to her grumbling, as she headed over to Thomas and checked in on him.  He was acting similar to how everyone else did this morning, holding his head and complaining about a headache, however he seemed more attuned or expecting such symptoms.  “You good,” Willow asked as Thomas held his head and rolled over.

“Nothing I haven’t gone through before,” He grumbled before standing up and seeming to handle his ‘hangover’ better than she did.  

“Good,” Willow said as she took a step back and reexamined the room.  “We’ve been looking for a way to escape but couldn’t find any-”

Thomas quickly cut in, “Escape?  What for?”

Willow held back a rude remark as she looked between Ryan and Thomas.  She could deal with Ryan being optimistic but not Thomas too.  “Sorry, but at what point did you two decided to move in with her?”

Thomas shrugged, “Probably when she got us fucking drunk.  I don’t know about you but anyone willing to give me a drink is a friend in my book.  Besides, if she does turn out to be as nasty as you think she can or will be, I don’t think it could be worse than this hangover.”

Willow shook her head looking at Thomas’ lazy and carefree emotions.  “So that’s it?  You’re content on staying here?’

“Well, what’s so bad about that,” Ryan asked, sounding serious.  “If she does turn out to be nice, why not live here?  She already saved us, and even brought us something to celebrate with.  So what would be so bad about living here with Beth?”

Willow looked back at Ryan and then to Thomas, “You too?”

Thomas gave a weak shrug, “I don’t know if she’s just playing us or not, but last night I had enough.  If I’m gonna die for whatever reason, might as well be so fucked up it don’t matter.  If Beth comes in here wanting to eat, step, sit, or insert me into whatever cruel orifice she has in mind… I’ll just ask her to pour me another drink before we start.”

Willow couldn’t fathom what Thomas was saying.  Just for Whiskey he was content not just taking a chance with his life but also just forfeiting it.  Willow’s eyes shifted to Ryan wondering if that’s what he thought too.  However he quickly shook his head, “I wouldn’t go that far.  I just trust her.  She’s one of the first people I’ve ever met that wouldn’t swallow me, a shrinky in her cup.”

She wasn’t sure why she thought Ryan would have changed his mind so soon.  However, it didn’t help that she wasn’t expecting to be the only one worried that things might not be as happy and carefree as they were hoping.  Unable to convince or even sway them, Willow found that she was the only one really worried at this point.  

Willow crossed her arms before she heard the sound of flushing and water running for a few moments.  It didn’t take too long before the water was shut off and the far off door opened.  Beth slowly walked back into her room, clearly looking like she was a zombie back from the dead.  Stumbling in and shuffling across the room.

“Beth,” Ryan called out, waving.

Willow watched Beth flinch and grimace like someone had just slapped her on the back.  “Not so loud,” Beth whispered as she headed over and slowly slid into the desk chair with a look that told Willow that she wasn’t faring any better than she was earlier.  

“Oh, sorry,” Ryan apologized, dropping an octave.

“Morning,” Beth yawned as she still looked half asleep.  Willow kept her eyes on Beth’s hands for the slightest signs of aggression.  “How did you all sleep?” Beth asked rubbing at her face to clear up her sleepy look.

Thomas shrugged, “Could be worse.  A desktop isn’t too bad to sleep on.”

“Oh shit!”  Beth quickly sat up in a startling manner. Willow nearly tackled Ryan to the ground in her jerking motion, “I totally forgot about that, oh no…” Beth muttered as she covered her face and threw her head back.  “I’m such an idiot.  Why didn’t I get you guys something to sleep on,” Beth complained with a sudden muffled voice through her hands.

“It’s fine,” Ryan quickly called out, “He just meant it beats sleeping on a rocky ground.  We were fine, besides no one can blame you for something we didn’t ask for.”  Ryan’s words seemed to help sooth Beth’s worried expression.  “But uh, speaking of asking… do you mind helping with something.”  Willow frowned at Ryan’s words.  What was he talking about?  Then he asked a question Willow never thought of asking before, “Do you mind if we use the restroom… been trying to hold it in for a little too long.”

It wasn’t till now that Willow realized how much she too needed the bathroom too.  Beth had a similar shocked look before nodding and gently proceeded to help them out.  Willow watched those two climb up into the open palm without a second thought.  Willow was more hesitant but the bulging bladder she had told her that she either did it right here and now or she risked trusting Beth.  Sighing, Willow climbed up and let Beth carry them toward the bathroom or maybe to their doom.  

“Should I just… uh, I guess the sink is safe and fine right?”  Beth asked not sure where to put them as she entered the bathroom.  Willow watched as they were lowered into the bottom of the sink.  As Beth retracted her hand she quickly turned around, not looking at what was going to happen.

Willow wanted to examine the room for escape routes, now that Beth wasn’t looking but the urge to pee was too much.  She started to pull down her pants and start to do her morning routine when Ryan let out a shocked noise before turning around and walking away from Willow.

Willow wasn’t bashful at all and more confused as watched Ryan be, well like Ryan, “What’s that all about?”

“I’m giving you some privacy,” Ryan remarked walking to what would be the other side of the sink.  Willow wasn’t sure why he was acting like that, maybe if he never seen her naked before that might be it, but that wasn’t the case.  Shaking her head at Ryan’s silly behavior, she and Thomas finished their morning relief without any issues.  If anything Ryan was the one making the whole situation weird.

Beth gave them just enough time before she was back checking in on them.  Picking them up, she turned on the water and washed the sink quickly with some splashes of water before leaving the bathroom.  Feeling better and thinking more clearly, Willow tried to reevaluate their situation at hand.  Beth took them back to her room and set them back on the inescapable desk.  

“Alright,” Willow said, hopping off the hand that was holding them, to land on the sturdy ground.  “I’m gonna go ahead and say it,” Willow told Beth.  Ryan started to protest and tried to stop Willow, but she didn’t feel like waiting anymore, “When are you going to release us?”

“Re-release you,” Beth asked sounding confused.

“She didn’t mean it like that,” Ryan said giving Willow a stern look, “She meant-”

Willow didn’t want to suck up to Beth if she wasn’t gonna let them go.  Better she show her true colors now rather than later, “Yeah, release us.  Let us go.  We’re kind of stuck here till you decide our fate.”

“The heck are you saying,” Ryan hissed to Willow before trying to talk to Beth.

Thomas was next to cut into the conversation, “They might want to leave but I’d rather stay.”

Willow turned toward Thomas but before she could talk any sense into him, Beth’s confused voice spoke, “Release you?  I wasn’t keeping you here… you can leave if you want, I never meant to hold you up here.”

Willow turned toward Beth and crossed her arms before speaking, “Really?  Then how do you expect us to get down from here?”  Willow watched Beth look a little unsure and then it dawned on the giantess.

“Ohhh… I see…” Beth apologized sincerely, “Sorry, I’ve never had any shrinkies over before.  Sure my sister’s boyfriend comes over most of the time but obviously not to my room or anything.  I just, never thought about it…”  Beth stood up and looked around.  “Some string or like a shoelace should work right?”  Willow watched as Beth took a shoelace from a pair of sneakers and started to attach it to a fixed object on her desk.  It wasn’t long before there was a long string rope leading toward the floor.  “There, sorry about that, is that better?”

It was hard for Willow to suspect the woman but she had to keep her guard up, “Thanks.  I guess we should head out soon.”

“Well, if you want I can grab some food,” Beth offered.  “My mom usually makes some breakfast before her shift.  There would be more than enough for everyone…”

“Drinks and breakfast,” Thomas chuckled and laughed, “Yes please!”

Willow turned to Thomas but before she could decline, Beth smiled and got up, “I’ll be right back with something.”  

As Beth walked off Willow took a deep breath, “I can’t believe you two.”

“What,” Ryan and Thomas said in shock.

Thomas went on, “Oh come on, when was the last time anyone offered us something to drink, to eat, use THE BATHROOM, and let's not forget, gave us a way to leave?”

Willow gave Thomas a stern look, “Exactly.  When was that?”

Ryan interjected, “Look, the point I think Thomas is making is we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Willow ran those words through her head a few times.  Willow looked at Ryan baffled, “What… what does a horse have to do with our situation?”

Both Ryan and Willow looked confused at one another trying to determine who was being silly right now.  Ryan slowly shook his head, “No not an actual horse… it’s a saying.  Like don’t- look never mind.  The point is, we should accept Beth’s help.  She isn’t like the others.  Statistically, you run into a nice person every once in a while right?”

Willow had to really think about that.  She could only think of one or two.  Maybe four if she really tried to recall.  However, besides Sora, Willow never stayed around long enough to make sure they weren’t lying or faking it.  Willow was about to remark at how long Ryan had been out here in the real world, but Beth was already returning.  

Sure enough there was a feast on her plate.  Willow hadn’t seen that much food in… well a freaking long time.  There were mountains of food that she hadn’t seen in decades.  She had grown so accustomed to scraps and droppings of crumbs that she forgot what warm hot food would feel or taste like.  It took all of her resolve not to dive onto that plate and start digging in.

“I didn’t know what you all would want, so I thought I would grab a little of everything,” Beth told them as she moved the plate of breakfast closer to them.

Thomas was the first to dive in… literally.  Ryan was more composed but he looked thrilled nevertheless.  Willow was the only one with restraint as she eyed the plate and Beth.  Was this a trap to draw them in defenselessly…

The smell of fresh cooked bacon brought back memories that Willow hadn’t visited in years.  The smell of her mother making bacon on Saturdays nearly made her sob.  A buried memory she didn’t want to visit but couldn’t help.  

“Bacon…” Willow muttered losing most of her sanity as she tracked down the heavenly smelling food.

By the time Willow came to her senses she felt full and stuffed with foods she could only eat in her dreams.  Fresh warm eggs, bacon, cream cheese on a bagel that wasn’t rock hard from being left out for days…  The things she missed having, were thrown at her with no restraint.  Still, Willow wasn’t totally relaxed; she kept an eye or two on Beth at all times as she gorged herself on the mass of food.  

Full, Willow made her way off the plate as Beth sat there patiently watching them all.  It wasn’t till Ryan and Thomas left that Beth started to eat the leftovers (if you could call what they didn’t eat to be leftovers).  The speed at Beth’s motions showed how starving the woman was, and it was slowly coming to Willow how right the others might be.  Beth wasn’t like the others.  She was kind and considerate, willing to give them first taste and consumption of the food before digging in herself?  A selfish act… and showing how hungry she really was, said a lot.

“Sorry,” Beth muttered behind her hand as she chewed some food, “I didn’t eat much at the party last night…,” Beth gave a weak laugh with some eggs and bacon still in her maw.

Willow didn’t comment on the fact that the others were snacking on shrinkies, unlike Beth.  It would be a bad idea to dig into that topic for everyone here.  Instead Willow just nodded as she let her stomach protest at the amount she devoured moments ago.  

As Beth finished literally a freaking ton of food, Willow decided to go on with her conversation before food got involved.  “So…”  Willow spoke, getting Beth’s attention.

Beth took a sip of her glass of milk before nodding, “Mhmm?”

“I was thinking, maybe you can drop us off somewhere?  It shouldn’t be too far from here,” Willow asked hoping she was right.

“Drop you off,” Beth repeated as she bit into a bagel large enough to feed thirty shrinkies.  After a few chews she swallowed before saying, “Where at?  I have work a little later today but if it’s close or on the way,” Beth shrugged, “I could if that’s what you want.”

Willow felt a smile forming as she went on talking to Beth, “Great, all three of us-”

“Two!”  Thomas called out as he laid down on the desk like he was trying to get a tan from the bedroom lighting.  “I think…I think I’m done.”

Willow blinked a few times, “What?”

“I told you…” Thomas muttered, sighing as he lay there splayed out and eyes closed, “I’m done.”

“Done,” Willow repeated to Thomas.  “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means,” Thomas went on not raising his voice as he almost sounded like he was at peace, “If Beth doesn’t mind… I’d like to live with her however long she will let me.  Drinking Whiskey or whatever, able to sleep a full night without a worry, and even eating fucking fresh breakfast… yeah, now THIS is Safe Haven.”

“He does have a point,” Ryan added.

Willow felt a stab in her gut at Ryan’s words, “What?  You too?”

Ryan slowly shrugged and gave his sympathetic look, “Thomas does make a good point… why not stay here?”

Willow couldn’t help but snap, “Because she’s not Sora!”

Things grew quiet as Willow realized that was much louder than she wanted to be.  All eyes were on her as she stood there silently.  

Ryan was the first to speak as he asked, “What do you mean?”

Willow turned to face all three of them as she came out, “I’m… I’m looking for someone.  Her name is Sora.  I used to live with her a long time ago.  We…” Willow buried the emotions welling up in her that wanted to spill more than what was needed, “We were kind of like sisters.  Anyway,” Willow sighed as she reigned in her emotions, “I’m trying to see her one more time.  At least so she knows I’m fine.  It’s the least I can do, with everything she did for me back then.”

Everyone seemed considerate, something that took Willow by surprise.  She wasn’t expecting them to understand or at least give her the time to recover from her outbreak.  Beth was the first to ask, “Well, if you have an address… I could swing by today or tomorrow.  Just to bring you to her home?”

Willow felt a smile grow on her face at the kind gesture… until a question came up in her head, “Address?” 

Beth nodded, “Yeah where she lives.”

“Uh…” Willow didn’t know the address.  “I know what the house looks like,” Willow offered.

“whoa whoa whoa,” Ryan objected, “You don’t know the address of the home?  Just what it looks like?”

Willow spun toward Ryan at his remark, her embarrassment coming out with a glare, “It wasn’t like I thought I needed to know something I wouldn't use.  Who needs an address when that’s the only place you thought you were gonna be living.”  Willow saw Ryan pull back at her remark.  “She… it’s the house that has three windows on the front,” Willow described.

“Right…” Beth paused, sounding uncertain before saying, “anything else,” Beth asked looking a little worried at the description Willow offered. 

“Uh… white paint … I think….” Willow tried to recall the house paint so many years ago.

“White, three windows… sound very generic,” Ryan added.  “Anything… anything that stands out that would help?”

Willow felt flustered as no one seemed to understand what she was describing, “A tree… I remember a big tree in the yard.”

Thomas scoffed, “Big?  Are we saying big like OUR size or big like,” He pointed to Beth, “Her big?”

Willow felt a wave of heat rush her face as she realized how silly this was.  “I… I just remember it was big...”

Ryan made a weird noise, “Whoooa wait.  Are you saying you only recall what the freaking house looked like and nothing else?”

Willow gave Ryan a warning look.  A glare that made him squelch back a little, “I recall the street.  Laners grove.”

Ryan and Beth both repeated what Willow said, “LANERS GROVE?!”

Willow looked between the two as they also turned to look at each other, “Yeah…” Willow muttered, “How do you all know it?”

Beth spoke first, “It’s the high-school my sister goes to.  It’s on Laners Grove.  It’s the school I went to too.”

Willow turned to Ryan who looked sick and upset at the news.  “What,” Willow asked, confused at his expression.

“Fucking really…” Ryan muttered.  “Yeah I know it,” Ryan shook his head, “It’s where my EX works, she teaches math there.”

“Math?” Beth repeated.  “So you know a teacher at the school?”

Ryan waved the question off, “Know, yeah.  So this HOUSE is somewhere on that street?”  Ryan asked Willow.

“I don’t remember a school so it has to be further down the road… or maybe up it,” Willow offered.

Beth chimed in, “There’s nothing before school.  The school is built at a crossroad, it’s the start of Lanners Grove.  So it’s somewhere down the road.”

“Well that doesn’t sound so bad,” Ryan offered.  “We just pass the school and keep going till Willow recognizes the home.”

Willow didn’t mention the second issue that she would be facing as they discussed how to help her out.  It was a problem she would need to figure out when they came to it, whenever that would be.  Till then, it’s finding Sora’s old home first.

“So can you take us there,” Ryan asked sounding a little too excited.  It wasn’t till Beth slowly shook her head.

“Sorry… Like I said I have work.  I can’t be that late, and I don’t think I should bring you along for my shift just to walk down the street afterwards.  I don’t have a day off till Wednesday.”  Beth looked appogletic at the news.  That was till her face looked like someone shocked her with an electric prod.  “OH!  BUT MY SISTER!!”

“Your sister,” Willow asked, not liking where this was going.

Beth nodded, “Yeah she goes to that high school.  I mean, she can take you AFTER school.  It will be much sooner than waiting for me, so it might help but yeah I’m sure she wouldn’t mind walking the couple of blocks to,” Beth waved her hands around, “Where ever this place is.”

Willow immediately went defensive, “Wait, you want us to give us to your sister?”

Beth didn’t pick up on Willow’s sudden apprehension.  “Yeah, my sister, Brook.”

“Brook,” Ryan repeated…. “Beth and Brook?”

Beth for the first time frowned and showed some aggression at the questioning words, “Yeah?  What about it??”

“Nothing!”  Ryan chirped.  “Just getting your names, that’s all,” Ryan laughed the issue off.  “So Brook is gonna take us to Sora’s place or house or… what is it?”  Ryan asked Willow

Willow shook her head at Ryan’s words.  He didn’t need to come along, “Why would you come with me?  No, no, it should just be me-”

“And me,” Ryan interjected defensively.  It was something that he didn’t seem to be willing to back down from, “I’m coming with you.” 

Willow wanted to argue, but the emotions that Ryan showed touched her on a level she wasn’t ready for.  He wasn’t here to do his own thing, he was here to help Willow.  Something that struck hard with her.  Giving up, Willow accepted Ryan on her quest. 

“I guess it’s just me and Ryan,” Willow said looking at Thomas who showed no signs of effort to help.  “Which is fine.”

“Just you two?”  Beth asked, concerned.

“Yeah,”  Willow nodded, more certain now, “We’ve been through a lot.”  Willow stood there looking at Ryan and Beth before putting her last thought out there, “So, your sister...how helpful is she gonna be?”

Beth scoffed, “Oh she’ll help… I think.”

“OH, Ms Baker, just who I was looking for,” Principal Rice called out joyfully at Emily's presence.  Emily paused and held back a sigh, at the upcoming news that was sure to make her day that much harder for her. 

Smiling Emily turned toward Principal Rice with a look of complacency, “Yes?”

“I'm so sorry to ask this of you,” Principal Rice said shifting around before Emily.  “We… have an issue.  Well not an issue, more like a slight inconvenience.  One of our staff called out, and well it was their day to watch over seventh period lunch for today.”  Principal Rice looked hesitant as he pondered his question before asking, but he went through it with, “I figured since you have that slot open, maybe you could cover?  I’m at my limit on who to ask and-”

Emily gave a weak smile and nodded, “I understand.  I’ll just have to make sure to eat fast before hand, just to get some grading done.”

Principal Rice looked like he wanted to cry in gratitude, “Oh thank you so much!  I was worried I would have to call in some favors from another school.  Ms Baker you truly are an amazing teacher.”

The praise wasn’t needed as Emily nodded.  She normally didn’t have to watch the students at lunch, but it sounded like Principal Rice was desperate.  “It’s nothing.  I figured if it was the other way around, someone would help cover for me.  Anyway, I should probably head to the classroom.  I have a lot to do before the first period starts.”

Principal Rice continued to thank Emily as she headed off.  Considering today was Friday and the end of the school week, Emily figured the students wouldn’t be trying to do anything mischievous to get detention on a Saturday.  That would probably be the saving factor for Emily, how much these kids would fear losing a precious weekend over doing something dumb like starting a food fight or whatever kids did at lunch period.  Emily tried not to worry too much about it, with some teachers and staff in the cafeteria with her, things wouldn’t be so bad.

Instead of trying to worry about lunch duty, Emily should be more worried about Mary’s words the other day.  If she was right and someone had found Ryan, some girl, then was he safe now?  Was that even Ryan that was found?  Lastly, Emily recalled, even she had issues recognizing Ryan at a distance, so how would an older woman notice him from afar?  

Emily headed to her room as she was preparing for her first period and the rest of the day.  Emily just hoped after that fight they had yesterday that if Mary did find Ryan, she would at least let Emily know.  Emily would be able to sleep much easier knowing exactly where Ryan was, but again that was just a hopeful thought, something that was pushed aside as her first students started to walk into her classroom.

“Good morning,” Emily said forcing a smile to her face as she got ready to do her job.

By the time Emily was done eating and graded a few sheets of paper to grade, her alarm went off on her phone.  It seemed she had even less time than she thought.  Seventh period was gonna start soon, and she needed to head to the cafeteria to watch over the teenage students.  Sighing, Emily got up from her desk, and headed out of her room.  Making sure to lock up the classroom, Emily headed to the cafeteria at Principal Rice’s request.

Emily was able to reach the cafeteria when she came across the other supervisors and teachers for this period.

“Emily?”  A familiar voice called out from behind her.  Emily turned toward Ms. Jackson, the AP world history teacher for the school, who was looking shocked to see her here.  “What are you doing here?”

Emily gave Ms. Jackson a smile as she walked up to the slightly older woman.  Emily always saw Ms. Jackson as more of a mentor since she had been teaching her for a while.  She helped Emily get acquainted with most of the school policies and had been something of like a mother figure or older sister.  “Ms. Jackson-”

“Oh please,” Ms. Jackson waved the formality away, “My students call me that, I told you, call me Jessica when they’re not around.”

Emily nodded, “Sorry, right.  Uh, Principal Rice asked if I could step in for someone to watch over the students for lunch.”

“Oh,” Jessica nodded, “I was wondering why I hadn’t seen Henderson, he’s usually the first one here, must have called out sick.  Well, it’s good to see that we won't be short handed today.  Thanks for covering, I’ll make sure he sends you a thank you card or something for helping out.”

Emily laughed, “It’s fine.”

“Well anyways, you can cover his area over there,” Jessica said pointing to a portion of the empty tables in the cafeteria.  Emily looked slightly confused before Jessica’s eyes widen in shock, “Oh wait… this is your first time watching the students for lunch, right?”

Emily gave a weak shrug, “Kind of, yeah.”

Jessica gave Emily a warm reassuring look, “It’s fine.  There isn’t anything you need to worry about.  You just gotta make sure no one stabs anyone with a plastic knife or fork.”

Emily laughed for a second only to see Jessica was being serious, “Wait what?  That’s happened before?!”

“You know kids and their hormones.  Anyway, I’ll be close by and so will Mr Higens, any problems or concerns or anything at all,” Jessica said reassuring Emily, “We’ll be there quicker than you can blink.”

“uh… okay,” Emily muttered softly as she now had the horrible feeling that today she might witness her first stabbing in a school.  Emily stood over near the back of the cafeteria and looked at the dozen of tables she was responsible to cover and look after.  Just as she was reassuring herself, the bell rang.  It took less than a minute before the masses of students started to pour into the room.  Seats were being occupied as some kids brought their own food, others didn't have anything to eat, and the last portion of kids headed to the lunch line for their school meal.  Emily spotted a small group of guys walking in before taking their seat near Emily.  “uh, Hello,” Emily greeted them with a slight wave.  Only one student gave her a half hearted wave before ignoring her.  Emily held back any sign of annoyance or dislike. “Right,” Emily muttered to herself.  “Just watch them, they aren’t your students, just hungry teenagers.  I can do this.”

Sure enough before the next bell for tardiness could ring, the cafeteria was swarming with more students than Emily had ever seen together.  Well, maybe besides in the hallways between switching classes, but even then, the room was large enough to feel like she was in a sea of children.  Voices were filling the room and soon Emily thought she would be lost in the constant conversations happening around her.  Emily looked over to Jessica who gave her a positive thumbs up.  Emily wasn’t sure what that was for, but she felt a warm feeling of pride in her at the “good job” she had to be doing.  Seeing the other supervisors and teachers slowly walking their area’s, Emily decided it was best she did the same.  Not sure what she was looking for, Emily just kept glancing between tables to make sure no one was arguing or worse, brandishing a knife or fork like a weapon.  

Things were going amazingly well.  She was actually feeling more confident as she walked around her dozen or so tables.  Hearing student’s talking about what they are doing this weekend, or how much of a “bastard/bitch” that one teacher was, Emily had to mentally block out names so not to get judgy of her colleagues.  All in all, it was just teens being teens.

Emily glanced over at the clock and saw that lunch was coming to a close.  There was probably ten or so minutes left before the bell rang.  Still everything was going so well-

Out of the corner of Emily’s eyes she saw a small group of girls huddling around the back corner of the cafeteria.  The group had been relatively quiet and concentrated that Emily didn’t pick it up on her radar till now.  If it wasn’t for the small growing squad of girls, she wouldn’t have noticed.  What used to be five or so girls now had about eleven of them huddled around the table in a decent size circle.  Curious, Emily started to walk toward the table of teen girls.  All of them hunch over and looking at something that held all their attention.

Emily slowly approached the table.  It wasn’t till she was within earshot that she started to pick up some words coming from the table.

“Look at that tiny little thing,” Someone giggled.

“Ewww,” someone snickered.

“Poke it again,” laughed one of the girls.

There was some movement and the group of girls burst into a fit of giggles and laughs.

“What’s so funny,” Emily asked as she stood over the table finally getting a sight of what was happening.  

Before Emily could get a response, all eleven pairs of eyes quickly darted up at Emily.  Emily could see the startled and worried looks on most of the girls.  However, what caught her attention wasn’t all the teen faces, but the tiny shrinky boy in the center of the table.  The nude and shivering shrinky was trying to cover himself, but there were several large hands belonging to some of the girls at the table who were busy pushing and pulling them away.  They were poking and touching the frightened Shrinky as he quaked in fear and shame.

“Wh-what’s going on,” Emily asked shocked at the sight.  Never had she seen such actions done before to a shrinky.  The poor shrinky looked to be in tears as he looked up at Emily, the only adult here, to help him.  Emily looked at all the teenage girls before she opened her mouth to ask her question again.  However it was that split second that most of the students split.  Emily watched as seven faces disappeared and headed off toward another table out of sight in the crowded cafeteria.  Now with only four girls, Emily found herself looking at the only culprits, “Well?!”  Emily asked them, “What’s going on,” Emily asked sounding more upset and infuriated.

One of them finally spoke up, “uh, um, uh nothing Ms… uh-”

“Baker,” Emily told her, “It’s Ms Baker.”  The sternness in her voice caused the children to straighten and  glance down out of her sight.  “Are you bullying a fellow student?”  Emily asked.  No one said a thing for a few moments before someone muttered something.

“...not a student-”

Emily frowned before cutting the whimpering voice off, “Sorry, what was that?”

The black-haired girl of the group spoke up a little louder but still didn’t make eye contact, “Not a student… found it the other day-”

Emily heard the IT and felt something snap, “That doesn’t matter.  Were you picking on HIM?”

No one dared answer Emily’s question.  Feeling appalled by what she found, Emily reached out to the startled shrinky.  At first it pulled back horrified at the new hand.  Emily’s heart broke for the tiny person, “It’s okay…”  Emily told him.  Still he looked hesitant but finally decided to climb into Emily’s hand.  Looking back at the four students, Emily was about to say something when she felt someone nearby.  Turning, Emily saw who it was.  “Jessica- I mean Ms. Jackson.”

“Is everything okay, Ms Baker?”  Jessica asked with a serious tone, looking between her and the four girls who now looked extremely pale and nervous at the extra teacher at their table.  

“I just caught these students terrorizing this defenseless shrinky,” Emily said showing off the still nude and frighten shrinky.

“Is he a student here,” Jessica asked looking him up and down for recognition.

Emily looked at the black hair student for a moment before the student spoke up, “N-no.”

“Oh my,” Jessica said shaking her head.  “You kids… you know the rules.”

Emily saw the ashamed students starting to nod and mutter, “Yes.”

“Should we take them to see Principal Rice,” Emily asked.

The mention of the name caused the students to look up in horror at the possible consequences.  Jessica stood there for a few moments and sighed, “I don’t think so.  This is the first time they did this.  They get at least a warning,” Jessica said with a stern tone, “If it continues or happens again they WILL be sent to the Principal's office, and if God forbid it happens YET again, suspended for a day… than expelled if it doesn’t stop happening.”

Emily blinked a few times.  That seemed way too lenient for such cruelty and bullying.  They were practically tormenting the poor Shrinky.  Emily heard that if a student is caught bullying it’s immediate expulsion.  No if’s, ands, or buts.  However this seemed too tame, “Are you sure about this?”

Jessica nodded before saying in a stern voice, “Isn’t that right, girls?  This WON'T happen again, am I clear?”

It was unanimous as they spoke in unison, “No it won’t Ms. Jackson.”

Emily wanted to press on this matter, but she trusted Jessica’s wisdom.  “So what now,” Emily asked as they started to walk away from the terrified table.

“Well, I can take the little guy to the nurses office,” Jessica told Emily.  Emily carefully traded the shrinky over to Jessica’s outstretched hand.  “Once there, we’ll try and see if he has anyone he wants to contact, like parents or a sibling.  Worse case, we just let him go on his way… if that’s what he wants.”

“Let him go on his way,” Emily repeated, “Like out in the world?”

Jessica nodded, “Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry about it.  I’ll just take care of him and you can keep an eye out for a little while longer.  Lunch is almost over anyways.”

Emily nodded, “Uh, sure.  OH,” Emily quickly blurted out as Jessica was leaving, “Thanks for the help.”

Jessica gave a warm smile, “Of course dear, we teachers got to look out for each other right?”

Emily nodded, “For sure.”

Emily sighed as she leaned back in her teacher’s chair as she finished up her grading after her last period.  School was over and she FINALLY finished all her papers.  It wasn’t too late, but most of the staff was gone.  Emily got up and headed for the classroom door.  As she was closing up she heard footsteps.  Looking toward the sound that was coming toward her, Emily spotted Jessica walking down their hallway.  “Oh Jessica, you’re still here?”

Jessica looked shocked before calming down, “Yeah.  Was just wrapping things up.  And you?”

Emily nodded, “Same… oh by the way, that shrinky, Did anyone come pick him up?”

“Shrinky… OH YES.  He had someone drop by,” Jessica smiled warmly.  “I personally saw him leave with them.  It was a very fulfilling moment,” Jessica laughed as she held her gut, “It was something I won't forget seeing.  He’s in a much better place now, that’s for sure.  Nothing to worry about Emily.”

Emily smiled with relief.  The fact that the poor shrinky had someone looking after him and coming to help made Emily’s day.  “That’s a relief.  I was worried when you said he might have to be let back out THERE…” Emily jerked her thumb toward the nearous door outside the school.  “I couldn’t imagine someone living a life like that.”

Jessica nodded, “It would be bad, but thankfully he’s better off now, safe and sound,” Jessica looked at Emily before she quickly covered her mouth.  A simple burp escaped behind her hand, “OH my!”  Jessica said, “Must have been something I ate recently,” Jessica laughed.  “Anyway, I’m parked over there,” Jessica said pointing toward the opposite side of the school.

“Oh,”  Emily said smiling before pointing in the other direction, “I’m over there, I guess I’ll see you next week, or actually in a few days right?”

“Of course,” Jessica laughed, “no rest for us school teachers, am I right?”

Emily shook her head and smiled, “Exactly.  I swear, all the weekend is good for catching up on the missed hours of sleep nowadays.  Anyway, I should head home.  Got to think of something for dinner, and to binge that new show that just came out.”

Jessica chuckled, “That was today wasn’t it, well looks like there goes my whole weekend.  Alright, I’ll talk to you another time.”

“Bye,” Emily called out heading off toward her car.  Feeling so much better about today’s events, Emily left the school halls and headed into the parking lot toward her vehicle.  The distance between the school and her ride wasn’t very far.  It would only be a quick walk and she would be ready to go home.  However, as Emily approached her car, she saw a small group of male students nearby.  They were all leaning up against a parked car near her’s.  Emily frowned as she spotted the group and noticed one of them.  It wasn’t till she got closer that she was certain who it was, “Rex?”

Rex did a double take as she spotted Emily, “MS B?!  What, why… hey!” he chuckled as he leaned off the parked car next to Emily’s.  

“You’re still here,” Emily asked approaching him and her own car a few parking spots away.

“Well, practice ended early.  Was gonna head home… and then you came by,” Rex smirked with a nice grin across his face.  “What luck, am I right?”

“Luck,” Emily asked shaking her head, “Sure it was.  I’m guessing you didn’t park near me for a reason?”

Rex chuckled before he shrugged with that cocky grin, “Oh come on Ms B, why shouldn’t I park next to the best teacher in the whole school?”

Emily shook her head as she got closer to the vehicles, “Right, the best teacher…”  Emily was close enough to press the unlocking for her car.  “Try not to stay out too late,” Emily told Rex as she started to pass him, “I know what it’s like to be your age and wanting to have ‘fun’,”  Emily remarked.

Rex gave Emily a weird look that would have made her question the sly smirk, but one of the other boys called out, “YO YO, She posted!  Dude I told you,” The excited guy remarked making Rex turn toward his friends standing by his parked car.  “Check it out,” he told everyone as he held his phone out for Rex to see.

Emily normally wouldn’t have cared about what these kids were looking at, but the excited and thrilled reaction that everyone had made Emily curious.  Maybe it was to stay hip with her students or how extreme they were acting, Emily needed to know.  Stepping slightly closer to see what they were looking at Emily asked, “What’s going on?  Who posted what?”

Rex held the phone before tilting it to let Emily catch a glimpse of the still image on the phone.  “Just someone we follow,” Rex commented as if  it wasn’t a big deal and scoffed.  “These jokers,” Rex flicked his thumb toward his friends, “Think that she works here.”  Emily frowned as Rex showed the thumbnail of a video.  At first Emily was gonna brush it off till she noticed something odd.  The outfit on the woman, who was cut off from the neck down, seemed to tug at her memories.  She saw it somewhere recently.  Emily frowned harder at the image on the device.  

“Wait, what is this?” Emily asked as she now looked a little closer.

Before Rex could comment, the friend that pulled the video up spoke, “I’m telling you bro, that’s the girls bathroom!”

Emily shifted her focus to the background of the thumbnail and sure enough, Emily spotted the graphite on one of the stall doors.  Emily wouldn’t have recognized it, if Principal Rice didn’t make it a big deal by calling in the janitor and anyone wanting to work over the weekend to clean up the bathrooms.  Emily obviously passed up on the request but she did check some of the girl’s bathrooms recently, and that one she recalled the rude remark on the door in the background.  “What is this video about,” Emily asked, not liking the sickening feeling building in her gut.

It was now that Rex was starting to seem nervous, “Uh, Ms. B, you might not want to watch it…”

Before Emily could react, Rex’s friends huddled around her and the phone, “Forget that.  We totally got to watch this.”

Someone reached toward the screen and hit the play button before Emily could think of pulling the phone away or stopping the finger.  The moment the video went live Emily felt her gut churn.  Her confusion turned to horror as she watched the camera on the device starting to shift.  The outfit she recognized, now flicked into her memory as she saw the rest of the outfit belonging to a slightly older woman.  Her face was blurred out but the moment she spoke Emily knew who it was.

Jessica.

“Hello all my followers, it’s been a while.  Of course I don’t pick when I can post,” Jessica chuckled.

Emily was confused. What was Jessica doing?  What was this video about?  Maybe it was something educational??  However, one glance to the teen boys around her, she knew that the look on their faces, that this wasn’t about learning.

The video went on as Jessica took a step back and brought up her hands.  Emily gasped as she saw the young man from lunch, the one that Jessica took to the nurse’s office.  He looked just as confused and worried as Emily was feeling right now.  Maybe Jessica was making a video to help prevent bullying or to save a shrinky?  That’s what this was all about, right?

“Say hi to everyone,” Jessica told the Shrinky.  Emily didn’t hear anything if he did actually say something.  However Jessica brought the naked Shrinky toward the camera, “Tell everyone your name,” Jessica repeated.

This time Emily was able to catch the word, “E-Evan.”

Jessica repeated the name, “Evan, and how many times have I told you Evan that if you're late to my class there will be consequences?”

“Wh-what,” Evan muttered looking confused.  Emily was lost at what Jessica was saying.  Evan didn’t go to the school, so what did she mean?  It wasn’t making any sense to Emily, but that didn’t stop Jessica from going on.

Jessica never corrected her statement as she went on, Emily could hear the grin in her voice, “Young man I’ve told you countless times… and then I find out that you were naked in the girls bathroom too?”  Jessica gave a loud tsking noise.  “That’s strike three for you little one.”  Emily watched her colleague pull Evan away from the camera.  She could just make out his panic and fear as he tried to say something that wasn’t picked up by the recording.  Pulling the poor shrinky closer to her face Jessica went on talking over him, “Do you know what we do with trouble makers here?”

There was a short pause before Jessica went on, “We put them in detention.  However we clearly can’t put you in regular detention, now can we?  No, we need a very special place for all you LITTLE trouble makers.”  Jessica chuckled, “Do you know where this special detention is?”

Evan slowly shook his head at the question.  Emily watched the slightly blurred out face smirk.  Jessica’s mouth was the only thing not completely blurred out, and the way her mouth twitched at Evan’s reaction didn’t sit well for Emily.

Jessica sighed, “Well, I’ll give you a hint Evan.  It’s not too far away.  In fact, I’m sure if you’re really very silent, you can hear it nearby…”  Emily frowned at the response she just heard.  What did that mean?  The video was silent for a brief moment before Jessica said, “Shhh, listen.”  Sure enough Emily heard something.  The hand holding Evan brought him closer to Jessica’s body and the lowest grumble and growl that could be heard from just beyond Jessica’s clothing echoed out from her belly.  Evan looked like he just heard the devil speak to him as he tried to escape from the stomach growls.  “You heard it, didn’t you?  It sounds like detention is starting its roll call, and I’m pretty sure I just heard your name being called, EVAN.”

Emily heard one or two of the boys hooting or laughing at the remark, obviously they were enjoying this.  Emily, however, was too stunned and terrified at what she was watching Jessica doing, to even process the teenager's sounds.  Emily couldn’t peel her eyes off the horror show as Evan desperately tried to escape the palm he was in.  Emily could see his terror stricken face as he clawed away from the approaching fingers from Jessica's other hand.  Evan didn’t make it far before Jessica pinched Evan’s leg and pulled him back to the center of her palm.  Wordless sounds left his mouth as Jessica peered down at him.  Suddenly she laughed.

“Oh, I don’t think the camera picked that up, do you want me to repeat that for everyone watching?”  Jessica held Evan upside down as she dangled him closer to the recording device.  Evan’s limbs were flaying about as he was brought closer till he took up most of the camera.

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!”  Evan cried out loud.

Jessica mockingly gave Evan a slight shake making him cry out harder before the camera, “I can’t do this to you?  Oh please, Evan, I can do anything I want to you.  Because you’re just a bad student, a bad apple to be more exact.  Can’t have you spoiling the rest of the bunch, so it’s my job to make sure you get the treatment you deserve.”  As Evan continued to protest and plead with not just his captor but anyone watching, Jessica pulled him away from the recorder.  “Now, hush up, it's time to send you off to where you belong.”  Jessica grinned at the camera as she went on, “It sounds like the bell for detention is ringing, can you hear that?  Shhhh, listen again.”  Jessica held the tiny Evan just in front of her belly.  The video was quiet enough that Emily heard it again, a lower gurgling and growling noise exploding from Jessica’s gut area.  Jessica’s belly let out a disgustingly loud scream for food.  Jessica pushed Evan into her belly and rolled him around in a slow small circle, laughing, “See, I told you.  That was your tardy bell just now.  See the problem with being a teacher, is you rarely get time to eat between classes.  Lucky for me, I got a tiny little snack to fix that.”

Emily felt her heart drop at those words.  No, she wouldn’t, Jessica told her that Evan went home…

Evan’s muffed words were harder to hear as Jessica kept him pinned under her hand and into her clothed belly.  The moment Jessica pulled her hand away Evan’s words were filling the room the best they could, which were hardly picked up on the phone.

“Okay you bad boy, time for me to drop you off for breaking the rules.  Now this is for your own good…” There was a half chuckle that came from Jessica before she added, “Well, actually that’s not true, it’s also for my good too.  Could use a nice little snacky like you, little morsel.  Anyway little guy,” Jessica said, pulling Evan up to her blurred out face.  Jessica’s lips were the only clear visible sight not blurred out, as she smirked, “I’m no biology teacher, but I think it’s time for you to learn about MY digestion.  You can really study this up while stewing in my detention room, my belly.  It’s best you take notes on what you go through, you never know it could be on your next exam…”  A snort left Jessica’s lips as she held Evan above her.  

Jessica’s free hand reached out and picked up her phone as she brought it closer.  Emily was subjected to getting a closer view of Evan before Jessica’s mouth.  Her red lips parting showing off those white pearly teeth.  The toothy grin growing wider before the wall of white parted, Jessica’s voice louder now that she was closer to the camera, “Any last words you little delinquent?”

Evan was finally able to be heard now that he was closer to the phone.  “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!  I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG!!”

Jessica chuckled.  Emily finally heard something that didn’t sound so staged or practiced as Jessica paused.  What she heard was the truth and it made her heart freeze, “Honestly?  Do you really think I can live on a teacher’s salary alone?”  Jessica shrugged, “This helps.”  Evan mirrored Emily’s horrified reaction to that statement.  Without another word, Jessica put on that sinister smile and went on, “Now, time to send you on your way, I think twenty four hours in detention is more than enough to think about what you did.  Then I’ll let you out.  Trust me you will be REFORMED… as my…”  Jessica snickered before remarking toward the camera, “Well I think we all know what happens after digestion right, class?”  Jessica laughed out loud swinging Evan around in her hand.  

Finally, not waiting any longer, Jessica opened her mouth much wider.  Her full cavernous opening showed  just how insignificant Evan was to Jessica.  Evan tried to struggle away, but the two fingers holding his midsection held him too firmly.  Evan was being slowly pushed into Jessica’s mouth.  Those puffy lips pushing outward and warping themselves outward to meet the struggling shrinky.  Both kicking feet passing those flushed red lined lips.  Soon the dark crimson walls slurped up Jessica’s finger, engulfing Evan.  Emily could hear Jessica sucking and slurping for a few moments before her fingers left her mouth.  Evan was gone.  He was lost in the closed mouth as the camera stayed focused on Jessica’s empty mouth.  Her cheeks started to move and swish as she let out noises that weren’t necessary.  Moaning and groaning as she swished and sucked on Evan.  After a few very long moments of “playing” with Evan, Jessica slowly opened her mouth with a wet popping sound.

The camera took a few moments to adjust to the dim lit mouth, but Emily could make out Evan laying there coughing and hacking up what had to be lungfuls of spit.  He looked defeated and worn out.  A pond of saliva pooled around him.  Jessica’s tongue under him lay flat as it held his shaking body as he coughed again trying to recover from his torment in her mouth. 

There was not much of a warning, one moment Emily was watching Evan recover from his waterboarding  that Jessica put him through, the next the dark red muscle started to curl and push upward in a swallowing fashion.  The floor that Evan was on tilted and he, with gallons of spit, started to slide back toward Jessica’s throat.  The camera that was filming it all started to pan downward to Jessica’s throat.  The sound of Jessica gulping was heard as a small bulge popped out of her tilted neck.  Emily watched with anxiety for Evan as she could just make out the small shape of his body.  The tiny little hands and legs were pushing against the throat muscles making them clearly seen on the descent.  The lump that was Evan descended faster than Emily would have thought possible.  One moment she saw the last efforts of Evan struggling to get away, the next it was simply an image of Jessica’s smooth neck.

The video was still going but everything was silent for a moment.  Suddenly a bell rang, “Oh look at that, just in time.”  Jessica announced, cheerfully.  “Well, it’s time to get to class.  I’m sure this little snack will get me through the period, hopefully,” Jessica snickered and laughed. “Well until next time,” The camera pulled back showing Jessica rubbing her belly under her clothes.  “OH, and for all you small students that might be watching,” The smile on Jessica’s grin grew extremely wide, “Better watch out you naughty ones.”  Jessica quickly drew the camera toward her face and mouth.  She quickly gave the recording phone a big chomp with her now close-up of her glistening teeth.  The startling remark was followed by a chuckle from Jessica, “Till next time my fans…”  

The video finally ended.

Emily could feel herself breaking down at witnessing such a horrible video.  Worse was the teens watching it right next to her were enjoying this more than they should have.  The sounds of their approval and cheers made her gut churn at the pleasure they took out of the horror show.  Watching this poor shrinky, no, not just a shrinky, he had a name.  It was Evan.  Emily knew him, if not for just a moment.  The poor person she saved only to end up in Jessica’s terrible stomach, instead of safely getting him home, Emily helped hurt him more than she could imagine.  Emily could recall what Jessica said to her not even an hour ago.  Evan was so close by, in a horrible hell as Emily waved off his safety thanks to Jessica’s words.  

Emily started to back away from Rex’s phone as she felt her world starting to crumble.  Was she any better than Jessica?  Sure Emily didn’t record herself swallowing shrinkies but she did occasionally eat them.  Would she be any better than Jessica if Ryan hadn’t shrunk?  She remembered the weeks before Ryan told her he had Shrinkism.  She didn’t have the same connection or feelings toward them as she did now.  Ryan, Shawn, Evan, and even her students in class have started to help her see things a little more clearly.  

Emily shook her head as she quickly headed to her car feeling sick and guilty of things that she never once thought about.  

“Ms. B?”  Rex called out as Emily opened her car door.  Emily paused as she tried to regain some composure before her student.  Steadying herself, Emily turned toward him, “Uh, sorry about that Ms. B… I see you’re not a big fan of those videos.”

“No… not really,” Emily told him, saddened at what she saw not even a few seconds ago.

Before Emily could say goodbye, Rex spoke, “You know I’ve been looking.”

Emily frowned, “Sorry, looking?”

Rex nodded, “Yeah for,” he started to snap his fingers to recall something before getting it, “RYAN!  Yeah, him, got like the WHOLE team out looking for him.”  Emily couldn’t help but feel some joy at hearing that news.  The relief helped her a little bit better.  “Yeah,” Rex went on, “I told them about him, and sorry Ms. B… not sure if I described him right.  Do you have a picture or something of him that I can pass around?”

Emily nodded as she started to pull her phone out.  

Then a thought struck her… 

She froze as her hand let go of her pocketed phone that had plenty of pictures of Ryan on it, “Actually, my phone died this afternoon.  I forgot to charge it last night.”  Emily faked a weak smile as she thought about something, could she trust Rex?  Could she trust ANYONE?  Looking at Jessica, she was supposed to be her mentor and coworker and friend.  One of the most trustworthy people she could possibly know.  Yet she lied and killed poor little Evan like he wasn’t even a person.  Who could Emily TRULY  trust…

Rex laughed, “You’re phone died, Ms. B?  Oh damn, you might want to get one of those portable chargers.”

Emily slowly nodded, “Yeah, I probably should.  Anyway, I should get going.  I still need to grade everyone’s homework.”

Rex nodded before giving her a charming smirk, “Speaking of school work.  I’m having some trouble keeping up in class, with all the games and practices and other stuff, it’s getting hard.  I was wondering, maybe you can give me some private lessons or something?”

Emily felt her brows furrow, was Rex having issues in her class, maybe she’s been a little too preoccupied to notice.  His grades weren’t showing that, but as a teacher she couldn’t deny her student some help.  “Uh, sure, I think.  I can try and find some spare time to help.  I could do some after school tutoring or something,” Emily muttered before nodding, “I’ll have to ask the Principal, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Rex nodded with a wide grin, “Thanks Ms. B, you're the coolest.”  He gave Emily a two finger gun gesture before heading back to his buddies.

Emily scoffed at the remark before getting into her car.  It took her a few moments to come back to her reality of what she saw on that video and how she felt.  How Jessica could swallow Evan without so much as a guilty conscience.  How she could just pretend he wasn’t being digested when she talked to each other not too long ago.  Emily didn’t know who was trustworthy now.  Hell… could Ryan’s mom be reliable?  How much she despised and hated Shrinkies, did she really care for Ryan?

Emily rolled her eyes, at that thought.  Mary cared for Ryan, it was the others that needed to look out for her.  Speaking of Mary, Emily was wondering what she was doing.  Maybe she found Ryan?  Did she track down that “girl” or whoever she heard about?  What are the chances that it was actually Ryan?

Doing her best to ignore those thoughts.  Emily tried to put the idea behind her as she drove home.  She did her best to try and not feel so guilty about what happened today at school.  How she saw things a little clearer now only made her feel more horrible.  However those emotional feelings she was having barely overshadowed the sick and nauseous feeling she’s getting for a while.  That disgusting feeling she had seen Ryan ran away, slowly burned away in her gut and heart.  A feeling that she prayed and only assumed would go away when she finally found Ryan...

Ryan suddenly shot up from his bed as he felt his entire night come awake from his dreams.

“OH JESUS!” Ryan gasped as he held his chest with his hand as he tried to calm down from such a viscous visual nightmare. Everything felt so real and horrible that he couldn’t tell what was real. Looking around the bedroom, Ryan spotted the familiar room that he lived in. It was his bedroom in his apartment, and everything looked to be of familiar size. Nothing was enormous, it was the average basic size of normal furniture.

Suddenly Emily’s voice next to Ryan spoke up, “What?! Ryan?! What’s wrong?”

Ryan sat up in the bed as he heard Emily get up and turn on the light on their night stand. Ryan took a few gasp as he looked around and saw Emily at her normal human size. She looked worried as she glanced at Ryan with a troubled look on her face.

Ryan took a few breaths as he tried to calm down from his obvious dream, “It’s nothing… just… a dream.”

“A dream? About what?” Emily asked sounding concern for Ryan as he took a few more breaths to calm down.

“Just… something…” Ryan told her trying to recall what was a dream and what wasn’t.

Emily scoffed as she let out an annoyed sound before laughing, “Well I’m up now, so might as well tell me…”

Ryan sighed as he felt like he was coming back to reality, “I was just dreaming I had shrinkism… that I turned tiny and was in a world of small and large people. I left and was being tracked by everyone I knew and meet some tiny friends… and, well basically surviving I guess.” Ryan said recalling his dream.

“Shrinkism… tiny people…” Emily said slowly.

“Yeah…” Ryan nodded.

“You know,” Emily said slowly, “It’s not real, right? Shrinkism or whatever… tiny people… It’s was all a dream right?”

Ryan slowly recalled what Emily was telling him. Of course it was all made up. There couldn’t be something called Shrinkism, and little tiny people running around. That was all in his head. Ryan slowly nodded, “Of course.”

Emily took Ryan’s hand in hers and held it, “Everything going okay at work?”

Ryan slowly nodded at Emily’s worry about his job and how it could be affecting his dreams. “It’s fine. I just had too much to drink, or it was something I ate at dinner. It’s fine. Really,” Ryan reassured Emily.

Emily gave Ryan a loving smile before rubbing his arm and saying, “If you say so. I’ll be right here if there is something you want to talk about.”

Ryan nodded as Emily slowly laid back in bed before turning the lights off. Ryan sat there for a few moments and recalled his dreams and reality. Of course there wasn’t some shrinking disease or whatever turning people tiny. That was clearly all just a dream. Ryan had more important things to worry about, like his job and stuff.

Ryan sighed as he laid back in his bed and slowly closed his eyes forgetting about the stupid dream he was living a few minutes ago.

Shrinkism, what a stupid name for a stupid disease...



THE END

Emily woke up in a startled stupor as she looked around not knowing where she was. She immediately turned to her left to get some sort of grounding, seeing Ryan would help…

Ryan’s side of the bed was void and empty.

It took Emily a second to recall that he shrank. She slowly rolled over to her night stand and regretfully turned the light on. Fearing she was gonna wake Ryan from his slumber, she looked at the makeshift bed on her night stand, which too was empty. It took Emily another moment to recall that Ryan hadn’t slept in that bed in a while.

“Right,” Emily sighed deeply as she laid back in bed and had her hazy memories slowly crawl back to her, after such a startling waking, things were creeping back to her. It only took a few moments, but things started to fall back into place as Emily recalled Ryan’s disappearance. His lack of presence was enough to make her want to cry and shout at the anger and grief of not knowing where he was or how he was. The horrible question of WHY, still floated around in her head as to what would even make him want to leave without a word like that. Maybe he felt sorry for her and wanted to leave so she could get on with her life… Which was total bullshit. How could she just forget about Ryan like that. After everything they've been through and did, he thought he could just freaking disappear on her and it would be okay? Heck no!

Staying in bed wasn’t helping, as Emily tossed and turned. It wasn’t till she noticed what time it was. It was a few hours before she had to get up for work, and she knew that she wasn’t going to get any sleep in the next hour or so. So instead, she slowly got out of bed and headed into the living room to help distract her wandering mind. She spotted Mary’s open and vacant room, something that still sat weird with Emily. The fact she would just up and leave, sure to look for Ryan, but Emily felt it was more because of their new resident. How Mary could see Ryan as her son and not a shrinky, but look at Shawn and think otherwise was baffling to Emily. Sure Emily could kind of understand to a certain degree, but at the same time it was hard for Emily to side with how Mary couldn’t do the same. Maybe it was her age, sometimes it was hard for older folks to change their ways and views of things they grew up with.

Either way Emily tried to forget about the stubborn mother, as much as she felt bad about Mary leaving, part of her didn't mind not having Ryan’s mom nitpicking everything Emily did or rub edges against everything Emily tried to say or do. As lonely as it felt not to have her here, Emily took some joy in not having to restrain or act nicely around someone like Mary just for Ryan’s sake.

Trying to veg out before work, just to forget that aching feeling Emily had from her dreams, she slowly picked up the TV remote and turned it on. She turned the sound down and put subtitles on as she threw a random movie on, from a channel she didn’t even recognize, and just sat there zoning out. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen the film or didn’t care, she was just more for burning time and trying to wake herself up before work.

It wasn’t till she heard a soft shouting coming from her side that Emily jumped and glanced around the darkened room. She spotted something, or someone, on the table waving at her.

“Oh, Shawn,” Emily said as she figured it could only be him. Slowly she reached out and picked up the tiny man as she brought him closer to her face. “Sorry… Did I wake you? I was trying to keep it down.”

“No, you're fine,” Shawn’s soft but vocalized voice reached Emily’s ears from her hand.

“What are you doing up,” Emily asked, holding Shawn in her hand near her lap.

“I was gonna ask you the same. I wasn't sure who it was that was up, but… since it’s just us… I figured I’d go check in on you,” Shawn said, sounding worried.

“Awww, that’s sweet…” Emily sighed. “yeah… I couldn’t sleep. Not sure if it was my fight with Mary, or that Ryan was still missing or like… I don’t know the OTHER hundred things going on in my life.” Emily sighed again, slumping into the couch while the TV played. “I just felt like watching something might help me relax or maybe wake me up, you know?”

Shawn didn’t say anything for a few moments, then he finally spoke when the TV quieted down for a moment in the movie. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Part of Emily was shocked at the question, however it didn’t sound unappealing as she slowly nodded and answered, “Of course not.”

Emily and Shawn sat on the couch together watching some film that Emily had seen dozens of times. She would quote stupid facts about the actors or the upcoming scene to Shawn who seemed thrilled or excited to learn them. Silly stuff like how one actor was sick so they filmed them in the shadows the entire scene, or that female lead was so horrified by explosions they had to add an extra layer of sound because they couldn't film with her on set with the sound effects.

It was nice having someone to chat to and talk, especially after such a fucking messed up week… no, make that a messed up month. Ryan shrinking and everything going down, it had been one horrible moment after another. Emily hadn’t had this much down time or relaxation in a very long time. Not since before Mary had shown up. Emily felt that things were going well without Ryan’s mom showing up, and just throwing freaking fastballs and curveballs at Emily one after another. It was just such a hard thing for Emily to-

“Something wrong,” Shawn asked out of the blue.

“Huh,” Emily replied, shocked at his small voice calling out and cutting into her train of thought.

“You got really quiet all of a sudden, was worried… sorry didn’t mean to make it sound weird but, like yeah you got sad all of a sudden,” Shawn explained.

“Oh… no, well, like…” Emily sighed, “I was just deep in thought. I’m just worried about Ryan, and like…” Emily got stern, “I wasn’t wrong about Mary… Ryan’s mom,” Emily explained, not sure if she ever told Shawn about her. “She was WAY out of line.”

Shawn gave a soft chuckle, “I’m used to people like her.”

Emily shook her head, “That doesn’t mean she was right! I’m just saying… I thought she could at least...MAYBE,” Emily huffed before she went on, “She could have at least toned or curved how she spoke around you. I mean, not to be rude, but like her son is a shrinky too now. I would think she would try to turn over a new leaf or something, like me.”

“You turned over a new leaf,” Shawn asked, shocked.

Emily paused as she realized what she said. “I mean… like…” Emily had to take a moment before continuing. “I’m not perfect. Yeah, I’ve done things with shrinkies before, but like, I’ve realized that I can’t anymore, not with people I care about in my life that are like that. I’d be the biggest hypocrite there was.” Emily again let out a harsh sigh as she lay there with Shawn in her hand. “I guess what I'm saying is, I didn’t know or maybe didn’t care… But I'm trying to be different. I’m trying to change, for the better.”

Shawn was quiet for a while. A silence that was only broken by the soft TV sounds. Emily couldn't make out Shawn’s features, and couldn't tell if what she said upset or terrified him. Maybe she made him horrified at her past actions, or maybe didn’t believe her words. The outburst was sudden and would have been shocking to anyone listening.

However Shawn finally spoke his peace, “Well, I can’t judge you. I will say, it’s good to hear you’re trying. I’ll be here for you for as long as you need me.”

Emily smiled as she couldn't help but respond with a sappy, “Awww, thanks. That means a lot to me.”

Shawn was trying to act cool as he tried to play it off, “Well of course, you need someone to look after you. I mean just cause I’m smaller than your hand, doesn’t mean I can’t be helpful to you in some other ways, Emily.”

“Fair,” Emily laughed as she felt better talking with Shawn.

It wasn’t too long before the movie was ending and Emily saw the time. She didn’t have long before she needed to get ready to leave for work. “Oh dang, I need to get going.” Emily put Shawn down on the coffee table as she started to get up. “I’ll be back later tonight. I’ll make sure to leave something out for lunch for you. I think there were some leftovers from last night.”

Emily headed to her room as she started to change and pack up her teaching supplies. She was in such a hurry that she was set in auto pilot, not closing doors and grabbing things off a hanger and slipping into the kitchen for her daily dose of coffee. Emily spotted the tiny Shawn already climbing up on the counter after she was dressed and ready to leave for work.

There was a quick wave and motion before Emily noticed the ear gesturing before she slipped her ear piece in for Shawn to talk to her. “Is there anything I can do to help while you're gone?”

Emily shook her head as she waited for her coffee to brew. “It’s fine, I mean, not like I can ask you to clean up the house or like, start dinner for me,” Emily laughed, giving Shawn a goofy grin. “Just… I guess just keep an eye out-”

Shawn cut Emily off, “Ryan, yup got it. Just saying, like if there was anything else you need, I could do it for you…”

Emily really couldn’t think of anything as she started to pour a cup of her morning Joe and open the fridge for some leftover food for breakfast. She spotted some eggs and bacon from the other day and grabbed it. Sliding the dish over to Shawn, she made sure to scoop some up for herself and a little for Shawn to eat. As she nuked the cold food, she mused over the thought. “I mean…” She couldn’t help but look around and spot some dust on the counter, “You could maybe… clean up the kitchen? Like dust it up while I’m gone?” Emily shrugged not expecting Shawn to agree but to her shock he nodded.

Shawn's very thrilled voice hit Emily’s ear, “Sure! Anything for you, I mean I’d feel bad not helping out while I’m here. I can’t be a freeloader while you take care of me.”

“You sure? I mean that’s a lot of work for someone your size…. I mean like-” Emily tried to backpedal her words about his size, but Shawn wasn’t letting it go.

“No no, I mean, yeah it is but like what else am I gonna do,” Shawn laughed, “I’ve seen most of the stuff on TV and like I’m just sitting around for hours till you get home. Dusting the counter tops and stuff shouldn’t be that hard. It gives me something to do, right?”

Emily scooped some of the food off her plate to place for Shawn, right before she started to shake her head at his silly response, “Just don’t do anything dangerous, okay? I don’t need to come home with you, like stuck between the fridge and counter because you thought you could dust it, or whatever.”

Shawn laughed, “No way, I hate small places.”

“Good, now…” Emily said smiling as she grabbed her coffee, “I got like ten minutes to get into the school before the principal catches me and talks my ears off about his silly boring day.”

“BYE!” Shawn called out as Emily left the apartment and headed downstairs to her car.

Emily took her communicator out and put it in her pocket as she started her car and took the not too long drive to the highschool she taught at. Normally most teachers showed up at the last moment, but Emily enjoyed getting a little early just to plan and set up for the day for her classes. Entering the school, Emily was able to sneak by Principal Rice as he was talking to a supervisor.

Hurrying to her classroom, Emily made it before anyone could stop her, giving her time to relax and pull out her notes for her classroom periods coming up. As Emily was pulling out papers, her phone pinged her. Slowly pulling her phone out wondering who it could be, she took a glance and saw Allison texted her.

“Girls night TONIGHT!”

Emily smiled but sadly she didn’t feel it, “Sorry, not tonight.” Emily replied.

Emily got a sudden message immediately before she could pocket her phone, “WHAT, WHY NOT?!”

Taking her phone in her hand, Emily answered, “Cuase,” Emily tried to think of a good reason but saying she didn’t feel like it, felt like she was telling her she didn't want to hang out. So instead she lied… or kind of as she used the typical teacher excuse, “I have papers to grade.”

There was a long pause.

Emily was about to put her phone away before she got a message, “You're lying to me.”

Shocked at how Allison could tell, Emily couldn’t help but ask, “How would you know?”

An immediate response hit Emily, “Cause it’s FRIDAY! Also, I’m your best friend, and I know you wouldn’t grade papers over the weekend if you can help it. A perfectly free weekend wide open, and you'd set yourself up with stupid work work? Not likely. Now stop being a stick in the mud and go out with me! I heard of a new place that’s got good cheap drinks and nice snacks :) ” Allison added a few extra emotes at the end of her message to get her point across.

Emily rolled her eyes at Allison's determination to take Emily out on a girls night. As tempting as it was, Emily wasn’t feeling it. It didn’t even feel that long since they went out. Yet, as Emily started to pull out her work sheets and paper for her classes, she sighed and reached for her phone.

“Fine, but no shots. My head still feels fuzzy from last time,” Emily said.

The reply was, “No promises.” The devilish emoji left made Emily shake her head at her party happy friend. Of course she would want to go wild on the weekend. Allison was never one to let a weekend slide away. It might have been a while since Ryan started to shrink and pull away from their friend circle, but that shouldn’t stop Emily from going… right? Emily wasn’t entirely sure where she should be drawing the line with Allison, but she figured that she could do it later when they met up.

Placing the last of her stuff on her desk, Emily sighed as she sat in her chair and recalled the past events she went through. It had been a rough week, Ryan leaving and everything falling down on her with her hundreds of worries. Now it seemed like everyone she knew wasn’t who she thought, or maybe who she couldn’t trust at all. Allison being one of them, the way Ryan was insistent she didn’t come around their place while he shrank. But Alision wasn't like that, right? She was nice… to… shrinkies?

Emily rethought what she knew, especially after Jessica the other day. Emily felt her world starting to crumble and fall in as she didn’t even know her own mentors… hell she didn’t even know her neighbors, look at Dillian or even Janice! She had been living next to them for ages and now she learns they wouldn't treat Ryan any different than a normal shrinky they found. What was this world coming to-

The sound of a knock on the door jolted Emily out of her worried state. It was Rick tapping on her open door looking worried.

“Hey, you okay,” Rick asked, sounding concerned.

“Uh, yeah just, uh, a lot going on,” Emily sighed, not sure how much to reveal to him.

“Yeah? Anything I can help with,” Rick asked standing in the doorway as he offered his help.

“Uh, no no, I should be fine,” Emily quickly spoke as she sat up trying to find something to do to distract herself from her thoughts.

“You sure? I mean, there’s no harm in asking for help,” Rick offered as he started to take a step closer.

“RICK,” Emily blurted out harsher than she wanted to. She saw his startled reaction before taking a deep breath, “Sorry… just, there is A LOT of stuff going on, work and real life things. And thank you, really I appreciate it, but I don't think there's anything you can help me with,” Emily said, sounding upset.

Rick stood there for a moment and nodded, “You just want to be left alone?”

“I… Yeah, I think that would be best,” Emily said, not so certain as she didn’t know what else could or would help her situation.

Rick nodded again heading back to the door, “Okay. But just so you know, whenever you do need help. I’m not that far away. Just down the hall. Just let me know, okay,” Rick said offering a warming smile, “I’ll help the best that I can.”

Emily bit her tongue as she watched Rick finally leave. She desperately wanted to spill her guts on her personal life and Ryan missing and everything that’s happened in like the past month or so! However, her faith in her colleagues and even her students was wavering. She didn’t have anyone she could turn to. Heck even Ryan’s mom had left, which was one less person Emily could confine to about these things.

These hard facts were hitting Emily harder than she was expecting and realized that it was really just her that she could depend on. No one else. That meant she couldn't sit back and wait for Ryan to come home, or someone to find and return him. If Emily wanted to find Ryan, she would have to do it herself.

The Sudden realization that hit Emily was hard and stern. With the only one she could depend on was herself, then she would have to do it by herself. Emily started to think about where Ryan would have gone and how far he could go, so she would know how far to travel and look for him. Her weekend, or even weekends, would be dedicated to finding Ryan or what happened to him at least.

Nodding to herself, Emily reached into her pocket for her phone to let Allison know that they couldn't hang out because she was looking for Ryan. However, before that could happen, her first period was starting soon as one after another, her students came into her class to get ready for her lesson.

“Right work,” Emily said to herself as she got up out of her seat and started to greet her students. As pressing as a matter was for her to physically look for Ryan, she did have a job to do. Hopefully Ryan was safe and not in danger.

A sick thought rolled into Emily’s mind that made her banish it the moment it whispered into her ear. “What if Ryan was in the school?”

Emily rolled her eyes at the ridiculous thought as she scoffed at the silly thought. Mentally she said back to her self imposed question, “Then Ryan would be in deep trouble, cause this place would be a nightmare for him, besides it’s probably the last place he would ever go…”

It was a true hell for Willow as she tried to run away. She had Ryan tugging behind her as she tried to outrun the giants and giantess chasing after them. They were so large and fast that Willow knew they would catch her eventually, however she never gave up. Sadly Ryan was dragging behind her like the dead weight she hoped he wasn’t. However, as much as she wished he moved faster his feet kept stumbling and tripping, slowing her down. Willow begged and screamed for Rayn to pick up the pace but he kept pulling and dragging Willow down to his slow pathetic pace. As much as Ryan was hindering Willow, she never once thought of letting go of his hand. She kept it, embracing it and tugging and yanking Ryan along like a sulking child in a grocery store. Before she knew it Willow had a giant hand wrapped around her as a loud laughing and taunting voice brought her toward the open mouth to toss her inside as just a simple snack.

“AH!” Willow blurted out as she sat up terrified from the nightmare, she quickly shot up in the dark bedroom abruptly. Willow had to take a few breaths as she looked around in the dark and saw everything was fine. Tom was sleeping sprawled out on the desk, probably from the horrible liquor he ingested last night. He looked like he was already dead, which might be an improvement to be honest.

Willow shook her head as she looked around for Ryan…

It wasn’t till she felt a nice taunt and constricting arm on her hips that she felt a sudden urge to jump up and kick the person touching her. However the tiny rational part of her brain told her to wait for just a slight moment before acting.

Luckily she listened as she followed the arm to a sleeping Ryan, the stupid moron was zonked out beyond belief as he was snoring and holding onto Willow like she was a lifeline back to a peaceful reality. Willow scoffed as she slowly laid back down and tried to calm down from such a horrible dream. The feeling of comfort from Ryan was enjoyable, but also a little… neeeew. She hadn’t had any contact she could really rely on, and with Ryan being this clingy, Willow felt a little startled at the new sensation she hadn’t experienced in her life.

The feeling brought her back to when she was still a “normal” size. A faint shadowy memory of Willow hugging her mom or dad after a bad dream. Something that she hadn’t thought of in so many longing years. It was a very touching and saddening memory, however this wouldn’t get to Willow as she finally felt like letting that feeling go and enjoying the feeling and need of another desiring her. Ryan’s warm embrace calmed Willow down from her nightmare enough that she was able to close her eyes and drift back to sleep. It was much faster than if she was by herself, that was for sure. Willow was already back in slumber town before she knew it…

As Willow went back to dreamland, where she prayed her nightmares were done, a weird sound woke her up. Willow opened her eyes, noticing the light outside had changed before glancing around. It had been a few hours at least since she woke up at first, but now that she heard the sound of footsteps she glanced up and saw Beth getting up. She shuffled toward a dresser and pulled out some clothing before walking toward the door and leaving the room. Willow slowly sat up and gently pushed Ryan’s arm off of her as she started to take in the surrounding room once again. Her survival instincts were kicking in as she noticed several escape paths and ways out of the room if things get dicey.

Why that might happen, Willow didn’t know, but she wasn’t planning to be caught off guard again if she could help it. As Willow sat there with the others sleeping, she couldn’t help but think about last night and how nice it was. Ryan showing his affection for her was a new feeling that was tickling at Willow’s heart. This was all sudden and something she wasn’t sure how to process. Part of her wanted to suspect Ryan trying to use her, but that was insane. Willow was just too paranoid that the world was out to get her to be able to accept that things were going good for her.

As Willow mauled over her feelings and emotions, she felt Ryan waking up as he started to turn and twist in his sleep. Whatever dream he had it had to be more pleasant than Willows, that was for sure. Willow watched Ryan slowly wake up and sit up as he looked around like he was in a new land.

“Oh right,” Ryan slowly nodded as she recalled where they were at. Finally he looked back to Willow with that fucking goofy and endearing grin, “How’d you sleep?”

“FINE,” Willow huffed, trying not to look at Ryan as she tried to pretend to be busy looking around for something useful.

“Oh… you sure?” Ryan asked sounding worried, “it doesn’t sound like you did-”

Willow spun around and looked at Ryan and was about to tell him to mind his own business. But the concerned look on his face made her freeze. She opened her mouth and felt words forming as she was spilling the beans quicker than she wanted to, “I had a nightmare, that’s all.”

Ryan didn’t laugh, he didn’t snicker, in fact he looked more worried. Something Willow wasn’t ready for. He nodded before asking gently, “You want to talk about it?’

Willow again, was ready to tell Ryan to butt out of it and fuck off… but she didn’t. A feeling that burned in her wanted to actually talk to him. To express herself. It took her longer than she thought it would. Willow swore Ryan would have moved on but he sat there waiting as Willow struggled to finally tell Ryan her stupid silly dream that meant nothing at all. How she was trying to run away with him and it didn’t work out. Willow phrased it the best way she could as she explained the nightmare. When she was done, she saw a look of disappointment in Ryan’s face. Willow frowned, “What?”

Ryan let out a weak sigh before he spoke. “So you think I’m holding you back?”

Willow shook her head, “I didn’t say that-”

Ryan quickly nodded, “Right, but like, your subconscious did. That’s why you dreamt that.”

Willow frowned harder at a word she never heard before, “My sub what?”

Ryan tried to explain, “Your subconscious, it’s like the inner you that fears, regrets, or worries about stuff.”

Willow shook her head defiantly at the absurd remark, “Why would I be worried about that stuff? It’s not like that would ever happen!” Willow felt her face turning red at the mention of her concern for Ryan. Something she couldn’t let him know was true.

Ryan just smirked, “Sure, but real or fake, it’s something that you personally care or fear about happening. Right?”

Willow looked at Ryan and had to turn away as he hit the nail on the head. She was terrified about what might happen to stupid Ryan. His goofy look, his silly smile, his warm embrace, his cheerful personality, and his-

Willow shook her head to clear it up of Ryan. “Whatever,” Willow muttered, not wanting to affirm Ryan of her new feelings. Willow was too busy trying not to think of Ryan that way as she glanced around again looking for her exits and escape routes, something that was getting old repeating over and over again all too often. It wasn’t like there was much she needed to do to escape the room, Beth left plenty of ways for them to leave or explore, so it wasn’t like Willow was stuck or imprisoned. Still, it didn't help that Ryan was being so happy and cheerful around Willow. It was so freaking odd, but in a kind of nice way.

As Willow was trying to come to terms with her inner feelings, Beth came into her bedroom wrapped in a towel after her shower or bath. Willow couldn’t help but notice the nearly nude woman walking in, an instinct in her made Willow cut a glance to Ryan. Ryan was too busy watching like a kid, as the enormous normal sized person entered the room nearly naked. Her towel barely covered much of her skin and her assets being exposed by the limited coverage the flimsy fabric offered.

Willow felt a tinge in her body as she glared at Ryan and his wandering gaze at the giantess. It only lasted a few seconds before he cut his head back to Willow, his expression showing shock at her glare. Willow had no words for Ryan who looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he glanced around, “What?”

“Right…” Willow muttered before rolling her eyes and checking on the supplies they had after being kidnapped before, which wasn’t much. They were definitely low on food, equipment, and other supplies. Willow was contemplating if she should just leave the room and travers the house for supplies by herself when Beth walked over, still covered in nothing but a damp towel letting Ryan imagine what was under the cloth before him.

“Sorry, my sister is still sleeping, she should be up soon,” Beth whispered softly as not to wake anyone up at this hour. “You guys want something to eat…or drink? I mean, like, I got to check what we got, but like, I could bring you all something while you wait?”

Ryan beat Willow to the punch as he started to chit chat with Beth about food. He was asking for anything that they could eat, something called LEFTOVERS, a word Willow didn’t know of. Willow didn’t have a problem with the food request but when the conversation started to change into a more friendly and personal talk, Willow started to feel a hint of anger and jealousy in her. Something that was extremely new to her, unaware of what she was doing, Willow felt her body moving on its own. Before Willow knew it she was walking over to Ryan. By the time she got to him, Beth was laughing and looking for clothes while talking to him. Willow had enough time to sucker Ryan in the shoulder after Beth turned away to get an outfit for the day.

The instant reaction Ryan gave Willow was one that brought a slight smile to Willow, on the inside, as Ryan looked puzzled and shocked at the action. “What was that for?!”

Willow gave Ryan a dull look as she stood there giving him the low down, “She sure looks good without her clothes on.”

Ryan looked confused as if she just asked him an advanced mathematical question, “What?”

Willow gave Ryan another glare as she rolled her eyes before walking off, Willow wasn’t sure why she felt the need to confront Ryan about Beth. Why should Willow get upset about that, not like she cared what Ryan thought about her-”

Willow bit her tongue as she fought on that stupid silly thought. She shouldn’t give a damn what Ryan thought or did, however, Willow did. It felt painful and upsetting that Ryan was so friendly with Beth… who wasn’t even the same size as him, unlike Willow. The idea of Ryan giving attention to someone else… it just stung worse than that time she was attacked by that freaking hornet.

Walking away, Willow went over to her supplies to grab. She was gonna do her own thing, forget sticking around here with stupid Ryan-

“What’s going on,” Ryan asked, sounding worried.

Willow stopped and turned around to see Ryan walking after her, “Nothing just forget it.”

Ryan didn’t as he looked lost, “What’s going on, seriously? You had a bad dream and now you're acting really…”

Willow waited a few moments before she finally barked, “What? I’m acting, what?”

“Jealous…” Ryan said looking perplexed.

“Jealous? I don’t even know what that means,” Willow slowly shook her head at Ryan’s stupid words. She swore he was making words up at this point.

Ryan didn’t shut up as he went on looking for the right words to explain, “It means feeling...upset about comparing yourself to another. Are you comparing yourself to Beth?” Ryan asked, sounding shocked recalling how Willow acted when Beth showed up.

“NO,” Willow blurted out, crossing her arms as she glared at Ryan. Willow went on, “Why would I care that you’re spending your time with her or whatever. You know what, forget it, whatever, I got stuff to do.” Willow said, realizing she was explaining more than she wanted.

Before Willow could turn around, Ryan started to talk again with his stupid fucking mouth, “You can’t possibly think that me and her…” Ryan didn’t go on as it was clear he picked up on Willow’s expressions that she was sucking at hiding from him. “Willow, serious, I mean it. Nothing is going to happen between us, I swear it. I mean how could anything happen between us, she’s like,” Ryan gestured over to Beth who was going about her morning in her room oblivious to this conversation. “And well, I'm a shrinky.” Ryan told her trying to get it across to Willow.

Willow had to rationalize those words as Ryan seemed genuine about it. He really didn’t think a shrinky and normal sized person could be a thing. Willow could see the sadness in those words as if he lived that reality. Just as Willow went to ask what he meant, another large person, looking very similar to Beth but only younger, came into the room.

“What’s up sis,” She said, sounding exhausted and rubbing her eyes clearly just waking up.

“Brook, I told you to stop sleeping in or you're gonna miss your class. Whatever,” Beth sighed as she was still dressing and came to her door. “I got something to ask of you.”

“Ugh…. What,” She muttered yawning in the doorway. “I got stuff to do today,” Brook complained as she stood there looking like a zombie.

“Sure you do,” Beth muttered as she grabbed her shoes and looked back at Willow and the others. “LOOK,” Beth grumbled, “I have work soon. I can take you to school but I need you to help THEM,” Beth said pointing toward Willow and everyone else on her desk.

Brook still looked exhausted as she glanced toward Willow and Ryan.

It took only a moment before her eyes grew wide, “SHRINKIES?! Sis! Where did you find them,” She asked, shocked as she hurried over to her desk. Willow held her ground as she glared up at the stranger approaching with such delight. “Awww, they're soooo cute! Hey,” Brook asked, sounding excited and grinning, “Do any of you know a Barry?!”

Willow didn’t say anything as she looked at Tom and Ryan who didn't react at all. Willow wasn’t sure who this Barry was, so she shook her head no. The look of disappointment was clear on Brook’s face but that didn’t diminish her excitement. “So what do you want me to do?”

Beth sighed as she grabbed her purse and muttered, “Really…” before she spoke clearly, “ I need you to watch over them till school is over and walk to ….” Beth scrubbed her mind for Sora’s address before she repeated it.

“Really,” Brook asked, sounding a little disappointed, “That’s not that close. I mean I’ll have to walk a while to get to-”

Beth cut off Brook, “I know.. just like, can you do this for me,” Beth asked giving her a tired look, “I’ll get you whatever you want, I’m just trying to help them out. They didn’t have a good night the other day, and they could use a little help.”

Brook let out a puff of air, but didn't say no, “Fine, I was thinking of taking Barry to the movies next week, you can buy us tickets!”

Beth slowly shrugged, “Fine. Just keep an eye on them, will you?” Beth said slowly coming toward Willow and Ryan. “You guys ready? My sister will take care of you.”

Willow looked at the younger girl as she contemplated going with her. She was someone she didn’t know and was now holding their lives in her hand. Willow didn’t know how anyone could trust-

Ryan walked past Willow as stepped in the open hand, “Nice to meet you, I’m Ryan.”

Willow wanted to throw Ryan across the room as he seemed more trusting than he should have. Glaring at Ryan, Willow slowly walked onto the open hand, still wondering if this was a good idea. “You gotta be kidding me,” Willow muttered as she was putting her life in Brook’s hands, literally.

As Brook pulled away she seemed happy, “This is so amazing… Barry is gonna lose his mind seeing others like you!”

Puzzled at what Brook said, all Willow could think was who this Barry was. “Barry?”

Brook looked more than thrilled as she smiled wider than before, “Yeah, Barry my boyfriend!”

Willow had to confine her emotions as she met the more than positive Barry who was added to their little group. He was beyond thrilled to meet both Willow and Ryan. The younger but same sized shrinky was on a quest to know the secrets of the world as he threw questions at Willow and Ryan. Everything from where they live and what they were doing, all the way down to what their favorite food was. Willow tried to ignore the pestering boy, but Ryan seemed more open and friendly with the childish Barry.

The journey to Brook’s school wasn’t long, but the walk was slightly jarring, as they were in her pants pocket. The walls were confining and close, almost enough to pin one to the thick thigh they were attached to, if it weren’t for the little paper eraser propped up at the opening to give them a little wiggle room. Brook had wedged it inside her pocket.

Willow looked up at the pink wall keeping the blue fabric from clamping down on them. Willow wasn’t a fan of this method, but Barry reassured her it was safe.

“It’s fine, just mind the little hole in the corner pocket,” Barry laughed, trying to comfort Willow. It wasn’t helping. Willow kept looking up waiting for the rubber material to fall or break. Barry leaned over toward Ryan and whispered poorly to him, “Is she always this tense?”

“You have no idea,” Ryan whispered back just as equally adept at whispering.

Willow rolled her eyes at Ryan’s remark and remembered to give him a solid punch after this was over.

Barry seemed to be trying to break the ice with them as he tried to chat with Willow and Ryan. “So like, where are you guys going? Does your family know about it?”

Willow slowly turned her head to Barry and spoke with a calm and almost emotionless response, “My family left me for dead when I was a kid.”

The pocket was quiet at her somber response. “uh, sorry to hear that,” Barry responded finally before turning to Ryan, “And you?”

“Uh, well,” Ryan sighed, “Kind of similar, I mean like it’s hard living with people larger than you. You never know when you could get hurt. It’s kind of why I left.”

Barry looked more let down or horrified at their response. “oh… well I mean, sorry to hear that. I didn’t know that you guys had it so rough. Do you want to, uh, maybe talk about it-”

Willow couldn’t help but give Barry the coldest, “No.”

The pocket was once again silent as they could only hear outside of the fabric into the bustling world of highschool drama. Willow hated the chatter she heard from random strangers, but mostly she hated the fact she wasn’t in control of her own life. At any moment she could be crushed by a random stranger bumping into Brook, or a slap from some horny football player slapping Brook’s juicy thick thigh. For anyone this would have broken their sanity waiting for an accident or harm coming to them, but Willow’s had learned to deal with it. She had lived her life always in that dangerous zone, that she didn’t know anything outside of it. It was what made her who she was, always on the edge.

The silence was finally broken by Barry who said, “Uh, so first class is english. Not much for us to do, you know, since the books are too big to read,” Barry laughed. He was the only one finding this funny as Willow didn’t care for reading or books. She cared more about the end of the school and being brought closer to Sora’s place.

Willow heard the sound of a classroom, as more voices were heard but in a more confined space than an open hallway. Willow wasn’t paying attention till she heard some movement and suddenly a large object was coming in from above, past the pink barrier. Willow looked up and saw Brook’s hand reaching past the twisted eraser and moving down toward them. “What’s she doing?!” Willow asked, alarmed as she seemed to be the only one panicking.

“Oh,” Barry spoke, seeming less startled than Ryan and Willow. “Class is gonna start soon, so she’s taking us out to learn.” It seemed so matter of fact that Willow had to do a double take to look at Barry to see if he was fucking with her.

“Outside?! What the fuck-” Willow’s words were cut off as the mighty fingers wrapped around her and everyone else gently. It was more like being scooped up than grabbed. It was an unexpecting move that Willow wasn’t prepared for, and so was trapped in the mighty fist of Brook as she pulled her and the others out of her pocket. Before Willow knew it, she was exposed and out in the open of a classroom full of large students sitting around waiting for class to start. Willow couldn’t help but glare back up at Brook who wasn’t giving any notice to her. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING,” Willow hissed at her giantess, as she kept looking around for someone to attack them like the cruel beast they were.

“What,” Barry spoke for Brook as she didn’t hear Willow’s words.

“WHAT?!” Willow barked back at Barry, “She just fucking exposed us out in the open! Now everyone can see us!”

Barry slowly nodded, “I mean, yeah… how else are we,” Barry gestured toward the other shrinky students in class, “Suppose to learn? If we can’t see the board, we can’t know the assignment.” Willow looked around to see that it was true, that they weren’t the only ones exposed. There were a few others on desks getting ready for class, with their Giantess companions sitting behind them. Willow looked around some more and realized that no one was going after anyone tiny. Barry again told them, “Mr. Green’s class has always been Shrinky friendly. His daughter is a shrinky, so he made the class open and more friendly to everyone, large or small.”

Willow was taking this in for the first time seeing how peaceful the classroom was, sure there were some students giving the smaller ones an eye or glare, but none of them made a move at them. Willow couldn’t help but ask, “So this is like a safe space for everyone? Like a safe haven?”

Barry looked around, “I mean it’s not,” He air quoted, SAFE, “But like no one is gonna fuck with us if that’s what your asking.”

Ryan was the next to ask Barry, “Why not?”

Barry laughed as he spoke, “Like I said, Mr. Green has a soft spot for Shrinkies. Last person who messed around in class… let’s just say he made it a mission to suspend that student and have them kicked out of school for good. This is probably the most shrinky friendly class in the whole school.”

Before Willow could ask anymore questions on this “safe zone” the teacher, Mr. Green came into class. He didn’t look like any teacher Willow would have suspected to see. If Barry told her that Mr. Green PHYSICALLY made sure those students didn’t show up at class, she would believe it. The man looked more like a pro wrestler than a teacher. Willow watched as the gentle giant came into the classroom all friendly like, something about him made Willow feel safe. If Willow had any hesitation or suspicion about the man, the moment he came into the class he called out one of his students with a quick glance

“Jeffery you better be eyeballing that text book more than Susie, or so help me...” Mr Green warned. Willowed watched as one student, who had to be Jeffery, nearly jumped out of his seat to stop looking at a Shrinky and quickly looked down at his desk, which didn't even have a text book on it.

Willow was shocked at how everyone was listening to Mr. Green as he entered the class. Not all his students seemed happy to see Mr. Green came into the classroom, but the majority, especially the smaller students, were delighted to see this muscle man make his way toward the front of the classroom. Willow was perplexed to see how much respect, fear, or admiration Mr. Green was given in the classroom. This was probably the only time she felt safe and relaxed. It was amazing to see how much Mr. Green made sure his students behaved in his class.

Still a teacher, Mr. Green started his English course by talking about some kind of book they were supposed to read. Willow couldn’t stop herself as she walked over to Barry, who was relaxing on Brook’s wrist like it was a pole or wall to lean up against. “So are all the teachers like this,” Willow asked Barry, pulling him out of his education.

“Huh, oh, uh, no… I mean Mr. Green is like a rare exception. I don’t think anyone is as friendly as he is with us, but there are some that you can trust,” Barry told Willow. “Just, like a word of advice, try not to get too far from Brook,” Barry warned Willow. “We might be safe here now… but like stuff can happen when people aren’t looking.”

Willow wasn’t planning on doing that. Yet, how Barry spoke, it almost sounded like he knew that things happen when someone wasn’t watching. A fact that Willow knew all too well, “Wasn’t going to.”


Barry nodded, “Good, now if you don’t mind, I should pay a little more attention to class. Can’t let Brook score better on her test again.” Barry laughed as he rolled his eyes at his little humorous joke, “She’ll never let it down that I did worse than her.”

Willow nodded as she wasn’t sure she knew what Barry meant, but figured she should leave him be. Willow shuffled over to Ryan who seemed to be bored out of his mind as he lay there on the desk looking up at the ceiling.

“What are you doing,” Willow asked, perplexed at his action. Like most things Ryan did the oddest things.

Ryan sighed, “Bored. I’ve been to school. I’ve learned all this stuff before. Figured I could burn time just staring at the ceiling and daydreaming.”

Willow never had time to relax and daydream like that. Her life hadn’t let her do that since, well since she shrank. Deciding to do the same, she laid down next to Ryan and looked up. The white splotched ceiling was horrendous but she could see some shapes and objects in the ugly weird patterns. The sound of Mr. Green teaching was mostly the only noise that filled the classroom, besides the occasional question. Willow was silently letting time pass when she heard Ryan speak to her. “Heh… that looks like a bunny…” Ryan spoke softly with a chuckle.

“Huh,” Willow frowned looking around. Ryan pointed up at the splattered patterned ceiling and showed Willow what he meant. Willow frowned and glared at the shape, “A bunny? That’s more like a dragon. You see the wings!” Willow pointed out to Ryan. It took him a moment before he laughed, “Yeah, okay, yeah I can see a Dragon with wings. What about that over there,” Rayn asked, pointing to another splotch in the ceiling.

“Obviously a construction truck,” Willow told him without hesitation.

It took Ryan a moment before he nodded, “Yeah… okay, yeah I can see that. You're good at this,” Ryan laughed.

Willow couldn’t help but slowly smile as she pointed to another pathetic pattern of paste on the roof of the room and blurted out the sight she saw. Ryan lay next to her agreeing or suggesting other shapes. This was something that Willow had never experienced in her life, a single moment of fun and happiness with someone else. A time to not care about size or worries, not to fear for what will come next. Just living in the moment with someone she cared about.

It felt like hours, but after playing around with Ryan, a loud bell rang and everyone in the room started to get up. Willow shot up and got ready to fight, like the bell to a cage match just went off.

“WOOW, calm down there,” Ryan protested as he started to sooth Willow down from her fighting stance.

Barry looked concerned as he glanced between Ryan and Willow. Barry quickly spoke, “You uh, okay there?”

Willow looked at Barry and Ryan, who both looked more calm than they should be. “That noise…”

Barry looked at Ryan confused but Ryan gave him a look that said he got this. Ryan calmly explained, “It’s to let everyone know the class is over and it’s time to go to your next one.”

Willow didn’t know why they needed bells for that, as a child she didn’t recall hearing bells for her next class. However her past wasn’t the best source of reliable information when it came to normal people stuff. If Willow had a doubt about what Ryan said, in the next moment or two, students were already getting up to leave.

It was jarring to see the towering beasts walking out of Mr. Green’s class. The masses of mighty people marching out of the class room was something Willow was perplexed by, but she understood to some degree that this had to be normal? At least she expected it when Brook started to get up and pack her things up. Willow watched as she proceeded to slap her books into her bag and start to leave her seat. Willow wasn’t prepared as Brook slammed her palm down upside for them to climb on. Willow watched as Barry and Ryan headed toward the open palm that she was still hesitant to follow. It wasn't till Ryan looked back at her and said, “You coming? Or would you rather stay here till next class?”

Willow thought for a moment about staying in Mr. Green’s class… but that wouldn’t get her anywhere near her destination she wanted to. Brook was her one and only ride back to her goal, and as horrible as it was to take the journey there, she had to. Willow reluctantly climbed up on the hand as Brook took off faster than she was ready.

The movement of Brook was faster and more sudden that Barry and Ryan fell down as Willow stood fast to the sudden jerking sensation.

“WOW, Brook what the hell,” Barry called out.

“We're gonna be late!” Brook announced as she started to dart through the halls faster than Barry and Ryan could keep up. Willow was the only one able to stay standing and observe where they were heading. Liking going light speed, Willow watched as Willow, majestically gilded around and flew past people like she was a river. Willow couldn’t help but feel like she was riding on a log floom or rafting. Brook twisted and turned around people, jerking her around and spinning Willow around like she was on a float. Before Willow and the others knew it, they were in another classroom. Willow was still standing on Brook’s hand while the others were still unable to get up.

“BROOOK,” Barry whined, “Why were you running so fast!”

Willow turned around to see the two huddled in a ball as if they were gonna die. “Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad,” Willow retorted.

“Says you,” Ryan groaned. “I feel like I’m about to …” He covered his mouth and hesitated there for a moment. Willow rolled her eyes at the softness of Ryan, unable to handle some “harsh” movements of a normal size person going to her next class.

“Oh quiet complaining,” Willow chuckled as she hopped off Brook’s hand and onto the desk. Willow looked around the classroom and saw that there weren't as many, if any, shrinkies in the class as before. As Willow glanced around, the sound of someone sitting down nearby brought her attention to a male lingering over from his seat.

“Hey Brook, how's it going-” his speaking was cut off as he looked at Willow and Ryan. “Holy shit! Did you get more shrinkies?! Hey where’s BB? Did he bring some friends to class?”

“Haha, very funny Josh,” Barry said as he limped out of Brook’s hand. “At least I got new friends, unlike you…” Barry said as he steady himself.

“OOOH, BB got some jabs to throw at me? What else have you got? At your size I’m sure I can take them,” Josh said smirking at Barry.

Willow looked at Rayn who just shrugged at the bitter comments they were throwing at each other. Willow didn’t say anything as she let Barry and this “Josh” bicker back and forth. Willow wasn’t paying much attention till she saw a large hand leaning over toward them. It was coming for Willow and Ryan attempting to make direct contact with them. Willow didn’t even hesitate as she spotted a pen nearby that Brook had laid out. Leaning toward the large pole-like object, Willow hoisted it up and jammed it toward the incoming hand. Josh had just hardly enough time to pull his hand back from the pen being pointed at his open palm.

“Wooow,” Josh laughed, pulling back, “Careful there, I didn’t mean anything like that,” Josh spoke as Willow continued to point the enormous pen toward the hand like a pike to skewer an oncoming enemy horse. “Didn’t know you had it in you,” Josh spoke as he closed his hand into a fist and gently brought it toward Willow, “Props….”

Willow looked at the fist pointing toward her with a confused look. It wasn’t till Ryan spoke, “Fist bump….”

“WHAT?!” Willow asked, confused, while holding the enormous tree trunk pen as a weapon.

“HE WANTS A FIST BUMP…” Ryan said behind her. He showed the action for Willow to repeat. Still skeptical…. Willow dropped the pen and held her hand out like Ryan showed and watched as the two ton beast of a hand tapped her fist.

Josh nodded, “You’re cool… keep that shit up, little one.”

Willow frowned at Josh’s words but he seemed to to leave them alone on Brook’s desk as classes started.

Somewhere in the middle of the lecture Barry came up to Willow, “Holy shit! You fucking… what the fuck?! That was soooo cool.”

Willow frowned at Barry’s words, “What?”

“The fucking pen! And the whole Josh thing?! That was amazing,” Barry spoke, sounding amazed at Willow’s actions.

Willow softly shrugged, “Oh… I mean, I was just defending us from,” Willow jerked her head toward Josh. “Him.”

Barry couldn’t help from looking amazed as he just spoke what came to him, “I mean Josh wouldn’t hurt us, not with Brook around, but still that was fucking awsome!”

Willow wasn’t sure how to react to Barry’s excitement at her action, but she just took the praise. Shenodded as she placed the pen down on the desk seeing as she didn't need it anymore. Looking over to Ryan who was also just as shocked as Barry, headed over to him, “What,” Willow asked.

“You… picked a fucking pen up like it was nothing…” Ryan spoked bewildered.

“Oh please,” Willow rolled her eyes, “It wasn’t that heavy. Probably almost empty of ink anyway.”

Ryan looked shocked but didn’t press the astonishment of that feat, “Whatever you say.”

Willow didn’t know if she needed to, but she sat next to the unused pen while class went on, just in case. Ryan and Willow sat near each other as the class went on. Willow was still keeping an eye out for any attackers but she couldn’t help but spot Barry taking notes or listening. Willow slowly shook her head.

“What's the point,” She muttered unaware that Ryan heard her.

“Point of what,” Ryan asked, wondering what she meant.

Willow slowly shrugged, “The learning… like what’s the point for him? Learning about…” Willow tried to recall the confusing things being taught, “That oxygen having seven electrons in a valence shell.”

“Uh,” Ryan shifted around looking uneasy at what Willow said. “It’s actually six, and it kind of determines what it can bond and combine with…you know, chemistry stuff.”

Willow looked at Ryan shocked as she slowly shook her head, “Yeah whatever, the point is what’s with all this learning when you're not gonna…” Willow looked around and spoke quieter so Barry couldn’t hear her, “Be able to do anything with it. Like he could be learning how to survive out there instead of this stupid stuff that means nothing when it counts…” Willow couldn’t stop her self as she felt her real emotions coming out, “Like no one is gonna quiz you on this shit in the real world before they fucking kill you.”

Ryan didn’t say anything as he listened to Willow rant. After a few silent moments he finally spoke. “I’m sure he or anyone else still going to school, is holding out for the possibility that they can help others. Teach someone that needs to learn, or just apply their knowledge in the scientific field or whatever subject they are into. I think… I respect Barry for still learning and staying in school, even though it’s dangerous, he’s trying to learn to maybe help others in some way.”

Willow wasn’t sure if that’s true, but she started to see what Ryan meant as Barry pointed out a mistake that Brook made on her notes. Something that looked funny and playfully as she scoffed and scribbled out her mistake and corrected it. “You might have a point.” Willow said before turning back to Ryan, “But will it matter? You don’t think this is a waste of time?” Willow felt worried for poor little Barry spending his days, months, even years learning this useless stuff when someday he would end up like her. Outside in the wild and horrible world.

Ryan was silent for a long time, Willow almost thought he wasn’t gonna answer. Yet just when she was gonna change the topic or switch the conversation, he spoke. “Brook is a good girl. I think that with her around, Barry has a shot at having a decent life. With someone like her, Barry could do anything,” Ryan smiled. “Well almost anything.”

Willow looked at the two being a couple, Barry and Brook being a thing throughout class. Playfully bickering and teasing each other. Something that only two people in love could do. Brook was Barry’s support and he was her’s. Maybe Ryan was right. Maybe they could do what she could never do, and have some form of relationship, mutual or more.

As the class started to wrap up, Willow heard the jarring sound of the class bell going off. Everyone started to move and get up from class and head out. Brook was gathering her stuff as her classmate Josh started to chat.

“Sooo, Brook, You like watching movies right,” Josh asked.

Willow watched Brook roll her eyes and make a noise, “Who doesn’t Josh…”

“Right right,” Josh laughed, “So I was thinking maybe we could go watch a film together, you know as friends… and if you want I could sneak in BB for you too.”

Willow watched Brook glance down to Barry who was obviously having a fit right now at the flirty way Josh was acting. Brook rolled her eyes once again and looked back at Josh, “Thanks but no thank you, I know Barry doesn’t mind paying for his own ticket when we go.”

Josh smiled wider, “Well why don't you let me buy you both a ticket and we can go watch that new film that comes out this weekend? I’m sure you’re gonna love it.”

Brook let out a tired sigh, “You’re really pushing it aren’t you Josh?”

“What,” Josh said smirking, “I just want us to hang out after school, just you me… and BB.”

It didn’t take a genius to know that Josh didn’t care as much about Barry hanging out with him more than having Brook there. Finally Brook sighed, “Sure, fine.”

Barry and Josh both looked stunned as they spoke at the same time, “What?”

“Yeah sure, we can go watch a movie together,” Brook said, picking up the last of her things. “We can go watch that new romcom, you’re okay with romcoms right, Josh?”

Josh was still stunned at the answer before he smiled all delighted, “Of course, that’s fine!”

“Greeeat,” Brook smiled, “I love watching them. Something about the humor and romance just… makes me want to kiss someone!” Josh looked excited as Barry looked horrified. Brook slowly looked down at Barry with playful eyes before she looked back at Josh, “So like if you can get us some drinks before the film starts, that would be great because I'm sure I’ll be parched making out with Barry throughout the film. I’d hate to get dry lips, no one likes kissing a dry mouth…”

Josh suddenly looked defeated at the news. “Uh yeah sure, let me just check my schedule and stuff. I think I remember I might have something to do this weekend...”

“That sounds great,” Brook said, still smiling as she put the last of her books in her bag, “I’m sure Barry and I will love for you to get us some popcorn too.”

Josh didn’t say much as he started to head out. Maybe it was just to get one last word in or just to be kind of funny. Josh quickly added, “I’m guessing your new friends will be there too.”

Brook looked at Willow and Ryan and snorted, “Hey that’s a good idea! Ryan and Willow, you want to join me and Barry for a double date?”

Josh froze for a moment before turning toward Brook and the others, “Sorry who?”

Brook gave Josh an annoyed look for not hearing her, “Willow and Ryan,” She said pointing toward them.

Josh seemed to focus on Ryan and Willow for longer than normal before he nodded, “Oh… oh yeah, uh sure… Oh shit, got to get going. Talk to you later,” Josh said hurrying out the door.

Barry looked confused for a moment before just shrugging, “That was weird… anyway we should hurry up to our next class.” Brook had no objection as she headed out of the classroom carrying everyone with her to the next class.

Willow wasn’t impressed for the next class. History, a subject that meant nothing to her. The impact of her past or forefathers didn’t change the fact that she was tiny and therefore had little to no effect on her life as it was. It also didn’t help that it was about some kind of war she never heard of or knew about. Willow didn’t know how boring school could be as she looked over at Ryan who was busy listening but wasn’t paying much attention past the slides and details the teacher was providing.

“Why are they teaching this stuff,” Willow asked quietly not to distract Barry.

“What, History?” Ryan asked, confused. “So we don’t repeat our mistakes.”

“What mistakes,” Willow asked sitting down.

“Well,” Ryan said, pointing to a diagram, “Like you can take the battle itself, not to be on the low ground during a storm… or the overall war, the purpose of maintaining stability in your nation. Or just…” Ryan paused as glanced at Willow and laughed, “You don’t care do you?”

Willow smirked as he caught her, “Not at all, just got bored. I don’t see how any of this would matter to me at all.”

Ryan opened his mouth for a moment and slowly closed it and nodded, “I guess you're right. These things can be a little redundant when it doesn’t apply to you, or I guess us.”

Willow looked back at Barry and asked Ryan again, “You still think he should be learning this stuff?”

Ryan slowly shrugged, “I think it’s less about, should, and more about trying to stay normal. He’s lucky that he’s got people attached to him at this size who still care for him.”

As true as those words might be, Willow couldn't help but feel upset that Barry had something she wanted but never got. A supporting and loving environment. Someone to care for her when she needed it. It was a bitter harsh reminder of her situation. A tormenting recollection of her past that her family discarded her quicker than she thought was possible. Willow was quiet for a while as she sat there recalling her childhood.

“Ohhh, shoot,” Brook whispered before she raised her hand.

Willow was puzzled at the gesture before the teacher called on her. Brook quickly spoke, “May I use the bathroom?”

“You may,” the history teacher responded before getting back to the lesson.

Willow watched as Brook stood up from her desk and turned toward them. Willow wasn’t expecting Brook’s hand to reach out for them, as she plucked each one of them up, starting with Willow. Willow started to protest as she was dropped into Brook’s pocket followed by Barry and Ryan. “What the heck is going on,” Willow called out expecting Brook to answer.

“Oh, uh, well… like I said,'' Barry nervously said, “You shouldn’t leave Brook’s side… and well … she needs to use the toilet. So it sounds like we're all taking a trip,” Barry weakly laughed.

“The bathroom,” Willow repeated as they were already moving. She couldn't’ do anything as she was stuck in the pocket of Brook’s jeans as they traveled with the giantess toward the forsaken restroom. “Great…”

“It’s not that bad,” Barry protested. “I mean… well, it beats being kidnapped that's for sure.”

Willow didn’t argue that but still being dragged to the bathroom so Brook could do her business wasn’t on the top of Willow’s bucket list. “So you don’t trust your classmates?”

Barry scoffed, “Obviously not. You don’t want to know how many people go,” There was a pause and Willow thought she saw Barry air quote in the dark pocket, “MISSING.”

It was clear that as friendly as most classes were, Brook and Barry didn’t take any chances. Something that she respected. They did make a good team together. As much as Willow doubted their capability to be together, it seemed they were on the same wavelength.

Willow leaned back into the fabric behind her as Brook rushed toward the restroom. The swaying and swinging Willow was doing, was like being in a hammock dorning a storm. The soft but strong jostling of the cloth under her wasn’t helping her relax too much. As Willow was sitting in the almost pitch black darkness, she suddenly saw a bright flash of red light up the dark pocket.

“What was that,” Willow asked, sitting up.

“Shit,” Ryan gasped.

“What,” Willow asked, startled at Ryan’s reaction.

“His communicator!” Ryan blurted out, as another flash lit up the dark.

“What,” Barry asked, confused and unsure about what Ryan was saying.

“Did you charge it?!” Ryan asked, still sounding intense.

“No, I don’t charge this, It takes a battery,” Barry explained.

“A fucking series three,” Ryan groaned. “Quick you need to tell-”

Before Ryan could finish, Barry’s neck flashed red twice before finally stopping, sending everyone into the darkness again. Everyone was quite in Brook’s pocket as Ryan let out a defeated sigh. He eventually spoke, but he sounded disappointed, “Tell Brook your communicator is dying… or dead. Now she won't be able to hear us for the rest of the day.”

“What, are you for real?! Why didn’t you say something sooner,” Barry argued with Ryan.

Willow couldn’t see it but she could feel Ryan turn to Barry as he spoke, “And why didn’t you put in a new battery?! You're supposed to put in a new one like every other day!”

Barry replied quickly, “I didn’t know it needed them. My mom and dad take care of it for me. Brook picked me up early this morning before they woke up.”

Ryan took a deep breath as he calmed down, “Sorry sorry, okay it’s fine. We just have to let Brook know that you can’t talk to her when we get back to class. It’s no biggie…” Ryan explained, but Willow felt it was more for calming himself than her or Barry.

As they sat in the dark pocket the sudden sound of a door being jammed opened filled the muted environment.

Willow didn’t expect much but the sudden jostling sensation of Brook slamming a door open shook the pocket for a bit. It wasn’t anything she was worried about, something that was expected. The thing that threw her off was her sliding somewhere and suddenly there was the sensation of her feet and legs moving and disappearing into a void of space. Willow felt her eyes open wide as her legs pushed through the empty floor and not finding something to touch, as her body soon followed after her feet into nothingness. “R-RYAN!” Willow called out as she felt her legs and hips hang in thin air, as the rest of her body was slowly following after them into this empty hole.

A startled Ryan was already diving toward Willow’s voice and flailing about to grab Willow in the dark, “WHERE ARE YOU!” Ryan called out, as Willow flung her arms out to grab something or someone. She grabbed Ryan’s hand and felt them connect, sadly she was already up to her chest as she felt her legs touching the emptiness and her body slowly sinking into the gap. Ryan let out a mighty sound as he tried to hold onto Willow, “SHIT SHIT, WHAT’S HAPPENING!?”

“I think I’m in the hole, the fucking pocket hole,” Willow expalined trying to keep her body up and out of the opening, but she was failing as each step that Brook took shook her and attempted to knock her free from the opening.

Willow was in full panic mode, but kept her body from flinging about. She didn't need to apply more pressure on Ryan. However she felt herself sliding down the pant legging each millisecond. “Ryan, I'm slipping,” she told him.

“I got you,” Ryan argued as he held tight. “BARRY!” Ryan called out for help, “Grab my fucking legs!”

“O-okay,” Barry answered somewhere behind Ryan.

Willow couldn’t tell if that did anything as she hung there as more sounds filled her ears. Another door swinging open on its hinges and slamming shut. A sound of something hard clattering down. A josting of things. And-

Suddenly Willow felt her whole world drop. The pocket and pants she was in dived down at an insane speed. Willow cried out as she flew downward with more force than she expected. Willow felt her hair whipping by her as she dropped faster than one of those amusement park rides. It was more sudden than she expected, but it stopped. Willow was jerked and jostled around from the mighty force of her speed. She swore her hands were gonna be ripped out of Ryan’s grip, but they didn’t. Instead they followed her. Willow heard the startled cry of Ryan and Barry as they followed after Willow from the mighty drop. Her vision soon grew darker and bloated out as Willow slammed and collided with something hard, knocking her out as she continued to tumble and fall to God knows where…

Ryan slowly woke up. He recalled falling and hitting a few things before passing out. His head was throbbing and aching as he sat up trying to get his bearings from the fall. He knew he wasn’t in Brook’s pocket anymore. The ground was way too hard to be a fucking jean pocket. Ryan slowly looked around and saw Barry and Willow thrown across the tilted floor. As Ryan was still recovering he was taking in the surroundings around him. He wasn’t even remotely near Brook, her sneaker covered feet were so far off. It looked like they were in the next stall after falling down Brook’s leg and bounced or slid across this damn slick floor.

“Shit,” Ryan groaned as he started to stand up. “Guys,” Ryan spoke softly, only to realize the others were still knocked out. “Shit,” Ryan repeated again as she started to slowly walk over to the nearest person, Willow. His legs were tired and his head was still shaky as he reached Willow. “Hey… Willow, wake up,” Ryan spoke as she softly shook her.

Ryan only had a moment to react, a fist came flying out toward his face. Ryan barely pulled back as Willow threw a haymaker at his jaw.

“AH!” She shouted glaring daggers around only to calm down after seeing it was Ryan.

“You know… I might just start leaving you asleep from now on, if you're gonna keep trying to hit me like that,” Ryan joked.

Willow looked away sounding apologetic as she said, “Sorry… just… bad memories.”

Ryan frowned as he was about to ask what she meant, only to hear Barry groaning as he started to wake up. “Can you walk,” Ryan asked Willow who was already standing up without his help. “Uh, Never mind. Let’s check on him,” Ryan told Willow as he gestured toward Barry.

Barry was splayed out like a dead fish. Something that didn't sit well with Ryan as he rushed over. It wasn’t till he was shaking him awake that he relaxed hearing the kid mutter and complain about sleeping for five more minutes. Finally Ryan got Barry to open his eyes, “Hey, hey, you good?”

“Ugh… what? Where… ohhhhh no,” Barry muttered, eyes widening at what he realized was an issue. “Where’s Brook?!”

Ryan pointed across the bathroom floor toward the familiar looking shoes that Brook wore. She was still sitting on the toilet doing her thing, as Ryan realized the long distance they would need to get to her. How they got so far was a mystery but he recalled the impact of Brook’s shoe. Turing Barry’s attention to him, Ryan said, “We fell, it’s not a big deal, we just have to get back to Brook-”

A startling sound of a door being slammed opened made Ryan spin around. He watched as the main bathroom door was opened and several feet wearing different kinds of footwear, came walking into the bathroom. Ryan looked at Willow who had the same look on her face. They were in trouble.

Barry looked confused, “What-”

That was all he got out before Ryan grabbed Barry’s arm and jerked him behind him. Willow and Ryan had the same thought as they were running to the same spot. Brook would be too far away, they would never make it in time, but the space behind the toilet and the wall in the bathroom stall was close enough for them to reach… maybe. Hopefully they would have enough time to get to Brook before she left, but safety was priority number one.

Ryan was hauling ass toward the back of the toilet as they hardly made it when the sound of the stall door slammed open and multiple giggling voices filled the room before the door slammed shut. Ryan peeked from behind the porcelain throne, and saw four sets of feet crammed into the small stall. “Shit,” Ryan muttered looking back at Willow and Barry, “There’s a lot of them here.”

“What does that mean,” Barry asked, confused and looking horrified.

“Barry, you need to calm down,” Ryan told him calmly. “It means we can’t leave without the chance of being spotted.”

“Ryan’s right,” Willow added. “There’s too many of them to try and sneak by. We just have to wait for them to leave.”

Barry slowly nodded but still looked worried. This must be his first time away from Brook or anyone to protect him. Something Ryan could empathize with, but it was only a matter of time before Barry would have experienced this. Better now with him and Willow than by himself.

“Okay, we stay put, quiet, and we head to Brook when they leave, yeah,” Ryan asked, seeing both of them agreeing with his plan.

Ryan peered past the toilet again as the teens in the same stall as them were still snickering and laughing. Ryan finally started to pay attention to the conversation as he waited for them to leave.

“I can’t believe you got her!” One of the teens said, sounding shocked.

“Oh please, I have like every class with little miss KNOW IT ALL,” Another laughed. Ryan caught a glimpse of the girl's hand as she held a struggling screaming shrinky girl between her fingers. “I just had to wait till no one was looking,” the giantess snickered, “or cared.”

Ryan looked at another girl who laughed and snorted as she examined the shrinky in her friend's hand, “Who would have thought you of all people, you would catch shrinkism?! Like you just killed a shrinky a few days ago, and now look at you! No bigger than he was. There has to be some kind of God or karma to end up like this, Lizzy,” Ryan watched the giantess flick the tiny Lizzy in the stomach, silencing her cries and words. “Oh man… all the shit you put me, no US, through,” The other girls in the stall made agreeing sounds, “You should have saw this coming.”

Barry’s voice behind Ryan almost made him jump when he said, “LIZZY?!”

“Jesus… shhh, they might hear us,” Ryan said, not sure if that was true.

“Sorry…” Barry said as he tried to get a glimpse. “Lizzy was like the top cheerleader. She had everyone following her on her social accounts, and God forbid you upset her. She practically runs the school,” Barry explained. “And she got shrinkism??!! No way,” Barry peered over Ryan’s shoulder past the toilet to see for a fact it was true. “Holy shit…” Barry muttered before adding, “maybe there is a God after all….” Ryan didn’t comment as he felt a jab at himself, how he shrank after the deadline for some freaky weird reason. If there was a God like Barry said, he wanted to punch them in the face if he ever met them.

Ryan’s attention went back to the four teens in the same stall talking and chatting. They were commenting, insulting, and joking at Lizzy’s expense. At this distance it was hard to make out what the shrinky was saying but it wasn’t anything good or helpful as it was ignored by everyone. Finally after a few moments of taunting and teasing one of the girls finally asked the big question, “So now what?”

“What do you mean,” The girl holding Lizzy replied.

“I don't know… like sooo now what,” She asked again, not sure where this was going.

“Now what,” another, more athletic looking girl repeated. “Now we show her what happens when you're a shitty person! She never treated any of us like decent people, almost like we were the shrinkies! I say, let her get a taste her own fucking medicine!”

Ryan watched the small crowd nod and agree. It seemed everyone was against Lizzy, and Ryan couldn't help but feel bad for the poor (even if she was as mean as everyone was making her out to be) shrinky. The athletic teen was the one acting in charge at the moment as she took Lizzy into her palm as she walked closer to Ryan. Ryan couldn't see much at the angle he was looking from, but there was a watery sound of something plunking into something wet. There could only be one thing that would make that sound in the bathroom.

One of the girls spoke for Ryan as she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Lizzy was always bitching and complaining to me to do whatever she wanted, it fuckign pissed me off… so,” The larger girl spoke, “I think I'm gonna show her how I feel, by PISSING HER OFF!”

Ryan couldn’t see anything past the rim of the toilet and upward, but the moment he saw the pair of shorts come flopping down to those shoes, he knew what was happening out of sight. Ryan didn’t look as he pulled back, but he could hear the sound of a massive weight of a giantess sitting down on the hollow seat.

“What is she doing,” Barry asked, not able to see.

“You don’t want to know,” Ryan spoke just before the sound started to fill the bathroom stall.

The ominous sound of pee splashing into the toilet and echoing around was all that could be heard, for a moment. Then a group of giggles and laughs filled the bathroom as the girls knew what was happening. “OH MY GOD NICKY! ARE YOU…” giggled one of them.

The one peeing just snickered, “Oh you know it, was standing at the water fountain drinking for like ten minutes just to save up something for now.”

“Ewww,” Laughed another one, “That’s so disgusting… Let me go next!”

Ryan was disgusted as now there seemed to be a queue forming in the bathroom to piss on Lizzy. As horrible and foul as this was, Ryan was more worried about how long they were gonna stay here. Rayn, Bary, and Willow couldn’t go anywhere with so many people crowded in here, especially if they were all looking at the freaking toilet. Just one side glance and they could be spotted. Ryan sighed as he did his best not to listen to the tormenting teens torturing their fellow friend.

The downpour of piss continued to drench the inside of the toilet as Ryan couldn’t help but wonder how many gallons of urine was being dumped on the poor shrinky. It had been what he thought was five minutes at the least as the giantess didn’t sound like she was stopping anytime soon-

“Brook,” Barry hissed out loud as he started to hurry past Ryan. Ryan reacted before Willow as he stopped Barry and pulled him back. “What are you doing,” Barry asked Ryan, shocked and alarmed.

Ryan looked confused, “I should be asking you that.”

Barry quickly pointed to the stall next to them, “Brooks leaving!” The sound of Barry’s voice was loud and alarming, but the news was even worse. Ryan jerked his head toward Brook and noticed that her jeans were starting to be pulled up. Ryan watched with horror as Brook was done using the bathroom. Her shoe covered feet turned around for a moment and a flush could just be heard over the group of monsters mocking Lizzy.

Barry tried to get past Ryan again, but he stopped him and this time Willow helped, “We have to get to her before she leaves!” Barry told them in a panicked state.

“Barry,” Ryan said sternly, “Calm down. If you go rushing over to her, you're not only putting yourself in danger but also us.”

Barry protested as Brook’s feet started to turn around yet again and started to head toward the door to her stall. “But, she’s leaving-”

“I know,” Ryan said, calmer than he should be. “But we’re trapped here till these people leave.”

Barry still wasn’t listening as he shook his head, “You don’t understand if she leaves without us, we're gonna be lost! If we don’t catch up to her now we’ll- we’ll-” The panic in Barry was real. The look of dread showed that being away from Brook was never something he imagined happening. Willow was looking more concerned at how loud Barry was getting. Even if they couldn’t be easily heard, Willow wasn’t one to take chances like that. Ryan watched Willow coming up from behind Barry to do something, Ryan quickly cut Barry off and to stop Willow.

“BARRY,” Ryan hissed to quiet him down. “You need to calm down,” Ryan repeated, calmer than he felt at their conundrum. “Look, there's no way we can get to Brook now,” Ryan said as Brook was already out of her stall walking to the sinks. “Now, I need you to get a grip and stop panicking, okay? You know Brook better than anyone here, right?”

Barry frowned as he slowly nodded at the assumption.

“So that means you know what classes she’s going to. What routes or halls she's gonna take. You know her routines, you know where even her locker is. I bet you even know how she thinks. I’m gonna need your help to guide us back to Brook when this,” Ryan gestured toward the sounds of a new girl taking a seat on the toilet and taking her turn to pee on Lizzy, “horror show is over. Can you do that Barry? Can you keep it together for a few more minutes and help me get us back to Brook?” Ryan watched it sink into Barry for a moment before he nodded looking more composed.

“Yeah…” Barry replied calmer. However Ryan saw the worry in his eyes. He was looking past Ryan and most likely watching those sneakers walking toward the bathroom door, leaving them all alone.

“Thanks,” Ryan said, giving Barry a gentle shoulder pat, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get back to Brook.” Barry nodded again before stepping away from where Brook used to be. Barry walked past Willow and further behind the shadow of the toilet. Willow gave Ryan an impressed look that he talked Barry down from commiting possible suicide.

Ryan didn’t say anything as he didn’t know how much he said was true or just bullshit to keep Willow from doing something to Barry to keep themselves safe. Ryan wasn’t sure if she was gonna restrain him or put him into a sleeper till he passed out. Neither would have been good for them.

Having nothing else to do, they all waited for everyone else to leave the stall, however long that might be…

It felt like fifteen minutes.

Heck, Ryan wasn’t even sure how many girls there were in the stall, it felt like the whole highschool was taking turns pissing on Lizzy. At this point, she had to be dead. How the toilet wasn’t overflowing with pee was a mystery.

They were all just sitting there in the dark shadow behind the toilet as they waited for these horrible hate crimes against Lizzy to finally be over. Eventually, after a deep sigh, the one using the toilet got up.

“Alright, is everyone done,” Nicky asked, sounding smug and delighted at what transpired.

Ryan perked up at the news that they were starting to get out of here. It was a good thing, because the stench of urine was starting to burn his nose. He was shocked none of the other girls mentioned the smell, but they were probably all too busy enjoying Lizzy’s pain.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Someone replied. Two more gave confirmation that they were done. Funny how four girls could take so long, but Ryan was just glad it was over. Ryan got up and peered out the side of the toilet to watch them leave.

“Good,” Nicky spoke as she stood there near the toilet. “where… oh shit, look,” Nicky spoke startled and pointed toward the toilet. Ryan jerked back petrified that he had been caught, but the next thing that Nicky said eased his worries but also sickened him, “There she is, she’s still alive! Hey Lizzy, how's it going? Swimmingly?” Everyone laughed except for the poor shrinky, at least Ryan assumed she wasn’t laughing at her own expense.

Suddenly there was another loud burst of laughter, as Nicky giggled, “Look she’s flipping us off! How cute.”

Someone eventually asked, “Well, so now what, should we flush her or like leave her in there for someone else to pee on her?”

Nicky chuckled, “You girls might want to say your goodbyes now and step out of here.”

“Why,” Someone asked, confused.

“Cause…” Nicky snickered, “I wanted to show Lizzy how shitty she’s been to us.” There was a silence in the air before Nicky went on, “Yeah,” The sound of a few pats on a belly could be heard, “I was gonna start with this but figured you girls would want to join in on the fun beforehand. But now that we all had a turn, I need to unload the docks if you know what I mean…”

Those words were all that were needed before the other three girls skittered out of the bathroom stall leaving just Nicky and everyone hiding behind the toilet.

“Finally, it’s just us…” Nicky whispered loud enough for Ryan to hear, but was sure the others outside couldn’t. “You shouldn’t have kissed Tyler when I told you I had a crush on him. This only serves you right for being such a bitch. Don’t worry… I’m sure he won't mind dating me now that I’m gonna be the new captain of the cheer squad. Anyway, I’d say nothing personal but… this is TOTALLY personal. You deserve this for everything you’ve done,” Nicky was letting out her anger as she sneered at the final word, “bitch.”

Ryan listened to Nicky proceed to do her business. Once again sat down on the toilet, this time there was no splashing or trickling noises. Just dead silence. The sound of someone doing a bowel movement filled the stall as soon a mighty splash echoed above Ryan’s head. Soon another and another followed by a few loud farts. Nicky proceeded to laugh and clean up her butt as she took several big handfuls of toilet paper. He wasn’t sure if she was purposely taking her time or it was that bad of a dump. It was so long that Ryan started to get the smell, as it lingered in the air from the amount of time left stewing in the toilet.

Ryan was starting to gag at the horrible smell, and was tempted to just risk it and run out from behind the toilet and into the next stall. However common sense told him to not.

Finally after the tenth wipe or so, Nicky finally got up. The sound of her shoes squeaking as she turned around brought Ryan’s attention back to the cruel giantess.

There was a long pause and soon a disbelievable sound came from Nicky, “Nooo way… you stubborn piece of shit. You’re still alive? Holy crap… well I will say, you were always a fighter down to the bitter end. Sadly this is the end for you, as shitty as you were to everyone, especially me, I don’t think I want to take the small chance that someone might help you if they see you in there with my…” There was a nasty laugh from Nicky, “well I doubt it. You look like a piece of corn or left over food, I doubt they will notice you, but still,” Nicky started to lean toward the handle to flush. Ryan stepped deeper into the shadows of the toilet as Nicky leaned toward the back of the toilet. “Any last words?” There was a long pause of silence. Nicky let out a snort, “Well if you did have any, didn’t hear a damn thing. I mean, not like a piece of crap like you would have anything nice to say. So enjoy living with the other shits I’ve flushed away, and the other worthless shrinkies I’m sure you're bound to be buried with. Bye bitch.”

There were no more words as the toilet made an eruptive roar as it was finally flushed, putting Lizzy out of her misery. Ryan stood behind the toilet with the other two, listening as the water filled in and replaced the old being drained. Ryan looked at the water pipes making noise… Just as the water was clearing out he swore he heard a high pitch scream from a girl as the fluid and contents of the toilet were sucked out of the toilet and into one of the pipes to be dragged to whatever sewer or drainage the school had.

Ryan was too terrified to move as he heard Nicky leave the bathroom, “Oh look at the time, art class is almost over. I’ll see you girls at lunch?”

She finished up washing and was heading out of the bathroom like she and the others didn’t just torture and kill someone a few seconds ago. Not even one spare thought for poor Lizzy being disposed of like any other piece of waste.

Ryan was stunned as he sat there petrified at the events he just witnessed.

It wasn’t till Willow gave him a gentle bump that jostled him out of his stupor, “Huh?”

“We should get going,” Willow told him in a very emotionless tone, as she helped him up. “You good,” She asked, sounding a little worried about him.

Ryan slowly nodded, “Uh… yeah, just… that was-”

Willow didn’t let him finish, “I know,” she said, sounding sadden at that fact. Ryan wasn’t sure if she witnessed something like this before, or something worse. However she went on, “But we need to get going. No telling when someone is coming, and I don’t want to sit here smelling that stench anymore.”

Ryan almost forgot the smell of the air, which was weird. Ryan used the smell as motivation to get up and leave. “Right.” Ryan headed over to Barry, “Alright Barry, like I said you know Brook. What’s her next class and how do we get there?”

“Uh…” Barry looked a little lost till he recalled quickly, “MATH… she’s got math next. Oh shit…” Barry muttered.

“Oh shit? Oh shit, what,” Ryan asked, not liking the tone Barry used.

“That’s like on the other side of the school. There’s no way we can make it there in time before it’s over,” Barry explained.

“Well… what about her next class after that,” Ryan asked as Willow was already leading the way toward the entrance of the stall and toward the bathroom’s entrance. She was just trying to get out of here, which Ryan understood. Better they talked and walked instead of staying still planning and losing a chance to get out of this enclosed death trap. Ryan walked over the large tile floor, stepping on the small little divots in the grout before getting back up on the tile.

“I mean… there’s only so many classes left,” Barry told Ryan, sounding more worried.

“Which is why we’ll head to the closest one and not the soonest, so,” Ryan asked, trying to keep Barry from having a breakdown. It was hard not to remember he was just a teen. He wasn’t used to living like this. Even Ryan wasn’t used to it, and yet after shrinking not so long ago, it felt like a lifetime ago.

“Well,” Barry went on as they started to get closer to the large swinging door to the bathroom. “Aftermath, it’s lunch, and then… well, it’s art, which is right past her math class.”

Ryan laughed, “So we’ll be heading toward her math class anyway? I doubt we can beat her to lunch and God knows how we get to her without the others seeing us. I think we should use the time during classes to head to her last period.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Willow said, already pulling ahead. Ryan wasn’t sure if she was agreeing with him or just trying to keep moving forward and not stay still.

Ryan, Willow, and Barry reached the swinging door… and waited on before the door that they couldn’t open.

“Uh, what are we doing,” Ryan asked Willow.

She slowly turned toward Ryan. “Oh I’m sorry… By all means go ahead,” She said, stepping to the side and presenting the door to him. “Just go ahead and open it.”

Ryan frowned at Willow’s attitude before heading over and pushing the push door open.

It didn’t move. Ryan gave one more harder push and turned around at Willow who gave him a, I told you so, look.

Ryan felt stupid for doubting Willow, why he thought they could push the door open was a stupid blunder by-

There were the brefist sounds of footsteps behind Ryan.

Before Ryan could react Willow grabbed Ryan by the shirt and yanked him out of the way just as the door busted open and a bunch of shoes came stomping in. Ryan gasped as he was moments away from becoming a living catapult from the impact of the door.

Ryan looked at Willow and said, “Th-thanks-”

“Let’s go,” Willow barked as she ran for the now open doorway. Her hand was still tugging Ryan by the shirt behind her as she dashed for the open exit.

Ryan was in no position to stop Willow as she took charge. She headed out of the doorway just as the last girl passed and the door was now slowly closing behind them. Willow was pulling Ryan behind her and Barry was right on his heels. The moment they crossed the door, Ryan took in the enormous hallways of the highschool. He forgot how big it was, compared to when he and Emily were-

Willow yanked him with her toward a trash can sitting just outside the bathroom. They quickly tucked themselves behind the plastic monolith. As soon as they were behind the half inch wide gap the trash can had from the wall, she let go of Ryan and looked past him, “Where do we head next.”

“Uh,” Barry thought, trying to recall what direction to go.

Suddenly the classroom bell rang. Willow, still looking startled at the noise like it was the bells of heaven calling the rapture, Barry pointed down the long hallway toward where they had to go. “That way,” Barry spoke over the sound. Willow nodded and started to head that way.

Ryan stopped her, “Wait!” Ryan told Willow.

“Why,” Willow turned on him quicker than he was expecting. “For what-”

As if the school was having a fire test, students poured out of random rooms and filled the hallways in less than a few seconds. Willow looked startled at the many people suddenly rushing and casually walking around. Many stomped past their trash can, a few depositing papers or food into it. “That,” Ryan finished speaking. “We should wait till the hallways clear. It’s usually what, five minutes between classes,” Ryan asked Barry.

“Yeah,” Barry nodded.

Willow slowly nodded but crossed her arms over her chest, “Fine. We’ll wait. But you guys better not slack off when we need to get to this room. I only have one speed, and that’s MY speed. If you can’t keep up, I’m leaving you behind.”