"JESS! I'M ON THE FLOOR! JESS, LOOK DOWN HERE!" I shouted up at my younger sister as she stepped ever closer to my makeshift home. I had been on the floor before, but that was when I was bigger. Everyone still looked massive back then, but now, looking up at Jess from this cursed new height...she barely even appeared human. Her bare foot slammed down onto the carpet floor seemingly miles away, but it was with enough force to shake my entire world. It was hard enough trying to stand atop carpet fibers, and even harder with tremors going on. Jess was only about 5'6" but from my position and height she was tall enough that I could barely make out the features on her face. "JESS!" I shouted in vain once more as she traversed miles in a second. Her bare foot smashed down to my left, near the shelf that housed my home. The resulting quake effortlessly knocked me off my feet and onto my back. At normal sized, have you ever laid down on the ground and see the new perspective of things? Even at my small size that still took effect. Even if in reality I was not that height, to my brain I was still just under six feet tall, so getting to the ground was a big difference. It showed, as Jess appeared even larger as she was now standing nearly directly above me. I would be fine, though. Jess or someone would know I wasn't inside of the home, and they knew if that ever happened I would wait as a predestined safe spot right next to the small shelf it was one. If I couldn't get seen, I would wait there. Problem solved. There was no danger at all...except for my own ignorance in forgetting one obvious fact: Jess has two feet.

I had just barely even gotten to me own two feet when I looked forward and saw a massive, 5-pronged fleshy object flying towards me: Jess' bare foot. "AHHH-" was all I managed to scream before Jess' heel planted itself on the carpet far ahead of me. I briefly had a millisecond to look up and see the pink flesh of Jess' foot above me. Various flecks of insignificant dirt stuck to the sweaty sole, completely unnoticed by my giant sister. The rest of her foot rolled downwards in a second, giving me no time at all to even register in my brain what was happening. My reflexes instinctively looked straight up to see two large digits situated directly above me, slightly spread apart, barely registrable to a normal sized human. Before I could comprehend anything else, the large digits exploded down on either side of me, sparing me from any horrific crushing, but placing me in a much more dire predicament. The two digits began to close around me, and I felt a damp squish around me as everything went dark.

***

I didn't used to be this small. Actually, this cursed miniscule height I was right now just happened today. I guess I should go back a bit. A few months ago I was feeling a bit sick, so my mom and I went to the doctor for a visit. After many tests and no answers, everyone was stumped until my doctor made an acute observation. "How tall are you?" she asked. After I told her my height, we measured again in the office. I had gotten shorter. It was only by a few inches, but something that big wasn't really normal for someone my age. She referred me to a specialist, which involved a whole new slew of questions and tests. This new doctor confirmed some grave news: I had developed a shrinking virus, an affliction that had been going around recently. As long as it was treated properly, it shouldn't be a big deal. Just a few inches lost that should grow back mostly after the virus runs its course. The key word there, was "shouldn't",  by the way. I took the meds, I did everything they told me. I still shrunk. I had gotten rather small, a few inches. Plenty big enough to be seen and heard.

Before all of this, it was just the three of us living at home. Me, my mom, and my 18 year old sister Jessica. Not long after I was diagnosed with this condition, my 26 year old sister Amy moved back in. Partly to help out with everything I was dealing with, and partly to get away from some troubled past relationship. I was glad to have more company. After a bit I had gotten to a few inches tall. My family had made a nice makeshift home for me to live in. Was it perfect? Hell no, but it was the closest thing to normal I had seen since all this began. Amy even made this figure that was the same height as me, to give me a kind-of friend to be with that I could relate to on a size scale. It was kind of degrading, but I enjoyed it to be honest. Seeing something that looked like an actual human was nice, even if it did look a bit too familiar to me. 

I had stayed that size for a while. I'm not going to sit here and tell you it was a good size, but it wasn't as bad as it may sound. I got a free excuse from my college work, I got to be waited on all the time, I got an entire house to myself...I'm not really doing a good job of selling this, am I? It was pretty bad. Regardless, I was inches tall for a while. I was still taking my meds, though they had to be crushed up and mixed with water for me to take. Any day now they would take effect, I would get bigger. I never imagined the opposite would happen. I never thought I would get smaller after being the same height for so long. Nobody thought that. Nobody expected me to get smaller. But I did. Much smaller.

***

 "Hey, I'm home!" Jess said as she came into the door. There was no response, which means probably only Adam answered, but she couldn't hear him from this far away. Jess walked to her room where she dumped her backpack onto the floor. She kicked off her converse shoes and proceeded to peel her socks off her sweaty feet. She planted her warm feet onto the carpet and carelessly discarded her socks randomly across her room. Flecks of lint spew from them onto the carpet below, too insignificant to ever be seen again. I guess I should go check on the small fry before I get comfy she thought to herself. "Hey Adam, I'm coming okay!" she called out to her brother, blissfully unaware of his current predicament.

She entered into Adam's room and looked towards the small house on a small shelf. It was wild to her that her older brother was just a few inches tall and living inside of that house, inside of their current house. Whenever Jess was the first one home, she was supposed to check up on Adam just to make sure he was okay and didn't need anything. She took a few steps into the room before stopping close by to the house. She was sure not to get anywhere near the small safety circle on the ground, which was empty right now. Jess peeked into the house, looking for signs of Adam in there. She was kind of curious how that must have appeared to him, a giant massive person standing above him. Probably terrifying. Jess looking into the small fry's bedroom and saw him tucked into bed, all cozy and asleep. Must be nice getting to sleep whenever he wants she thought to herself, not paying enough attention to realize that figure she saw was not her brother, but instead the little figure her sister had made for him. Thinking her brother was perfectly safe and fine, it was time for Jess to get comfy herself and enjoy the rest of her day.

***

I had gone to sleep the night before and everything was fine. I was still, not normal, but my recent height. Then everything was wrong when I woke up. Things were bigger than they had been. The bed I was sleeping is, I couldn't even reach it anymore. The walls stretched on higher and higher. I had experienced it before, so I knew exactly what had happened. I shrunk even more. "MOM!! JESS!! AMY!!" I called out, but I figured they had all already left anyway. They were usually all gone when I woke up. This was a problem, a serious problem. No. All I had to do was stay put. If I just stayed in my little home, someone would come home and see me eventually. That was the idea. That was the plan. Things didn't work out that way. 

For some time I walked around observing things at my new, smaller, height. I had no idea exactly how small I had shrunken down to, but it was much too small. The more I sat and thought the more I began to dwell on my predicament. Would my family even see me if they looked in here? Was I too small to even be noticed by them? I didn't want to think about that, think about what would happen, but the thoughts kept entering my mind. That was when tragedy struck. The air turned on from the vents as it usually does, but on this particular day, at this particular time, an object was pushed off due to the air current, causing it to fall and smack into my little house, causing just enough of a jolt to send me tumbling off the edge and down to the carpet below. Yeah, there were guard rails in place, but they were for a larger me. Miniscule me went right through. "AHHHHHHH!" I screamed the entire fall, before landing onto the soft, plush carpet below. I stood up and brushed myself off before taking in the now astronomically large world I found myself in. Even the carpet beneath my feet was difficult to stand on, I nearly feel between the threads if I wasn't taking each step carefully. There was no way I was getting back up to my house, so I had one option: get to the safety circle. I had managed all of two steps before a voice echoed out through the air. "Hey, I'm home!" Jess' voice floated into my room and into my ears. Jess was home, and I was on the floor, smaller than anyone knew or expected. My heart started beating rapidly, terrified about everything horrible running through my mind. That was when I heard the door creak open and witnessed Jess titanic form enter my room. 

You know what happened after that.

***

Jess walked out of my room and into the kitchen. The floor was a bit dirty so various pieces of dirt and hair and other stuff stuck to the sweaty, sticky flesh of her foot. She paced around the kitchen for a good ten minutes just deciding what snack she wanted to eat, before ultimately just grabbing some chips and a soda. Satisfied with her food of choice, Jess wandered over to the living room and took a seat on the couch. Once she was comfy sitting down, she took her comfort to a whole new level by planting her feet up on the coffee table. It was just the perfect distance away to stretch her legs out fully and give her feet a well-deserved break. She wiggled her toes as she snapped open her soda can and popped on the television to spend some time ignoring all the homework she had to do. 

She sat there for about thirty minutes until the front door opened and in came her sister Amy. "Yo" Jess called out, not taking her eyes off her phone. 

"Hey, did you check on Adam?" Amy asks once she's all done getting settled. 

"Yeah, he's hiding in his bed. I think he's in one of his little moods again," Jess said. She was referring to the times when I would get a bit grumpy of my situation. I had definitely had times where I just shut myself out from everyone, laid in bed all day and ignored anything anyone tried to say to me. It was a bit depressing being a few inches tall, you can't blame me! It happened regularly enough that my mom and sisters just knew about it, knew I did it sometimes...and worst of all, knew to leave me alone when it happened.

"Alright, I guess I'll just let him be for today," Amy said. "And don't forget about your chores, too."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to them," Jess retaliated. "Whenever you finish yours."

"Hey, I'll sweep up for you if you'll take out the trash for me?" Amy offered. "Sound good?"

"Huh? Yeah sure, whatever," Jess agreed, only half paying attention. 

A little while later and their mom came home. She entered, said hi, and settled in putting her stuff away before going into the living room where her daughters were. "Jess! Get your disgusting feet off the table," was the first thing she said. "How many times have I told you? You know your brother likes to walk around that table sometimes, and I doubt he wants to deal with anything from your feet."

"Sorry mom," Jess said, removing her feet from the table and planting them onto the ground. "I don't think they are that dirty," she said, lifting one of her feet back up to check out the sole. She saw all the filthy debris that had made itself home on her sole. "Oh," she said as she effortlessly and casually brushed most of it off her foot, watching it fall to the ground below. Then she shifted her vision to her toes real quick, splitting them apart for the briefest of glances. That was when she saw something between her toes that made her stop for a second.

***

I scream as Jess' foot comes down on me. Her third and fourth toe land on either side of me, and in an instant they close upon my being. Everything goes dark as I feel my body squish into a damp object. AHHHHH I scream internally as everything starts to dawn on me. I'm not dead, that's good. I'm between Jess' toes. That's bad. Very little light shone in from above, making it extremely difficult to see anything. I wish I could have said the same for my other senses. The overwhelming scent of foot and sweat assaulted my nostrils. The proximity made the scent worse, and all I could smell was the putrid scent of Jess' sweaty, unwashed feet. I made the mistake of opening my mouth, and droplets of sweat found themselves in there. The salty taste of sweat invaded my mouth and it took everything I had to not gag. To make it even worse, my entire body was soaking wet. Have you ever had a hot day outside, and you're moving about and you get all sweaty, and your clothes start to stick to you? It's kind of gross, right? Imagine that, but my entire body is drenched, and to make it worse, it's not even my sweat. Its Jess' foot sweat. 

Jess began to move and my world went wizzing by. I couldn't see much but I felt the hurricane force winds blowing by as Jess' foot moved at speeds unimaginable to my size. I wanted to scream but I didn't dare open my mouth if I could help it. Her foot slammed down into the carpet and the jolt kept me from even thinking about going unconscious. I was trapped in a hellish nightmare cycle of Jess simply walking. As she began her step, the toes were the last body part to leave, putting all the force on them. Her toes squeezed together to prepare for lift off, squishing me more into the sweaty flesh. An inaudible squelch let out each time as more sweat oozed out, drenching more and getting into my eyes, my nose, and even seeping into my mouth some more. Next came the wind, which was anything but a gentle breeze. It was some extreme force that felt like my flesh would be ripped off. The force made me almost black out, a welcome reprieve I would never get as Jess completing the step brought me back to my senses, only for the hell to restart with sweat oozing into my orifices once again.

Step after step after step after step it continued on and on relentlessly as Jess did something as simple as walking through our house. There was a time during my hellish experience that Jess shifted from walking on carpet to walking on the tile floor of our kitchen, but in my predicament it didn't make much of a difference. I'm not going to say being between her toes was good in any sense of the word, but it was a much more preferable location than, say, the sole of her foot. That would have been hellish indeed. After what felt like an eternity of being manhandled by my sister's toes, she return to the carpet and sat down, giving her feet a rest from the non-stop walking. My torture didn't stop though, and the extreme wind began again as Jess lifted her foot and slammed into onto the table on it's heel, rocking my world. Her other leg came crashing down crossing the leg, and for the first time since her foot came down on me, I had a second to just breath.

All the air I was breathing was tainted by foot sweat. Jess' foot was perched on its heel, sitting straight up, which oriented me sideways. It was a little awkward, but the position let more light shine in and finally give me a glimpse of my newfound environment. The first thing I did was look down at my body---It was gone!? No, that wasn't it. Where my body would be was instead a blob of black thread looking stuff. It looked familiar, and had a lot of frayed threads sticking out. It was soft and cushiony, it was...I knew what it was. 

"NOOOOO" I screamed when I realized what my body was stuck inside of. Lint. Fucking sock lint. You know what small stuff that gets stuck to your feet and between your toes after you take your socks off? Yeah, my body was lodged inside of that, stuck between my sister's toes. Not all of my body was encased within the confines of this lint hell. The lower part of my right arm was free to wiggle about, and my left leg was free to dangle there. And my head. Thank goodness my head wasn't buried within this lint. Jess scrunched her toes for a fraction of a second, squishing me more and causing sweat to ooze out of the lint...No, this wasn't just sock lint anymore, there was a name for it.

The normally soft, cushy sock fuzz had become imbued with Jess' salty, stench-ridden foot sweat. It absorbed it and leaked it, turning it into a mushy, putrid ball of toejam. I won't lie, I got embarrassed pretty easily. Even back when I was a few inches tall, it was kind of obviously degrading to be so small compared to my family who I stood equally with, but they always did their best to treat me as equal, to treat me like I was still the same as them. I was embarrassed, but I still felt normal sometimes. This was different. This was not normal at all. This was the single most humiliating, demeaning thing I have even been through since I was first diagnosed with this damned shrinking thing. I was trapped inside of toejam between my sister's toes, and the worst part about it was she didn't even know I was here. This wasn't just some cruel prank she was playing, where I knew she wouldn't do anything to hurt me, no. This was real, I was truly trapped here between her toes, helpless, unable to move, unable to do anything. I was at the complete mercy of her dirty, sweaty feet. Jess had complete control over me, forcing me to deal with whatever she decided to do, all without even knowing she was doing it to me. My point was proved at Jess' very next action.

I craned my neck upwards to look back towards Jess sitting on the couch. She appeared so far away. I knew the distance in reality was only a few feet, whatever the length of her legs to her waist was. To me, it was beyond far. At least I wasn't on the floor anymore, for once Jess propping her feet up was a good thing. At least for a second. My view was obscured as Jess moved her other foot closer to my prison. Jess didn't have small feet, but she also didn't have large feet. They were pretty average at size 8.5, she would say. From my view, I'd say they were size 800 or so, and the entire sole was covered with various pieces of dirt, dust, and other assorted crap she had stepped on without even knowing. Maybe it was just my pessimism, but I swore some of the stuff stuck to her foot was bigger than me. Jess was stepping on things larger than I was right now. That didn't make me feel any less humiliated. 

The foot soared above me, all the way up to Jess' big toe, what seemed like a few hours hike away to me. The sole reached the nail of the toe, and they a horrific scraping sound exploded out, assaulting my ears, and I had no way to cover them. I know the sound of scratching skin isn't that loud from far away, but when you're this close, and this small, it sounds like something horrific was going on. And it was. As Jess scratched her foot, a torrential downpour of dust, dirt, and dead foot skin rained down from above. "AHHHHH!!" I scream as a fleck of dirt that had been trampled on repeatedly falls directly onto my face. My only free arm was incapable of knocking it off, so I had to shake my head to get it off, which just broke apart the fragile dirt. Bits and crumbles of the dirt fleck landed in my eyes, got inside my mouth. I continued to shake off the debris, only to look again and see a dozen more flecks of dirt and dust heading right for me. All of it lands all over me and the toejam I was stuck inside, sticking to the sweaty layer. To add even more insult, Jess took this time to briefly scrunch her toes, causing a wave of sweat to ooze out all over me and the dirt, turning it all to mud. The dirt melted all over my face, running into my eyes, my nose, my mouth, every orifice being filled with sweat-soaked mud from her foot. By the time I can even see again, all I see is more debris falling all over me, just for Jess to squeeze out more sweat all over me. 

All she was doing was scratching her foot.

After I finished dealing with the last of the onslaught, I hesitantly looked up and saw Jess' gigantic foot still above, but no longer scratching a waterfall down upon me. Thank goodness. Then her foot started to lower, until it was right on top of me. The scent doubled as the sole of her foot sat inches from my position. I was already covered in foot gook, I didn't want to deal with anymore. 

"JESS!" I heard a powerful voice shake my body to its core. "GET YOUR DISGUSTING FEET OFF THE TABLE." I did my best to adjust my view to get a good look, and saw the source of the powerful sound. Mom had come home. I missed what she said next as Jess hastily removed her foot from the table, sending me and the rest of her foot rushing towards the carpeted floor below. 

This was great news. Now that my mom was home, she would notice I wasn't in my little house anymore. She would take notice of my absence, notice I wasn't in the safety circle, and know something went wrong. All three of them would go into this hyper search mode, and look for me everywhere. Jess had been in my room, they would be smart enough to know to check her for any signs. Yeah I might be small and covered in dirt and trapped inside sock lint toejam, but they would still notice me. They had to. Then I would be safe, they'd keep me safe and this would be a funny story to tell later.

I had visions of happy times in my head when a huge rush of wind brought me back to reality. My view twisted around as Jess flipped her foot to check out the dirty sole. "OH" I heard her voice boom as her giant hand took over my sky. I heard a familiar scraping sound as her hand brushed tons of debris off of her foot and onto the floor below. Most of it landed off the floor, but of course of small bits got launched right into my position, bounding into my head and splatting me with more nasty foot dirt. I thought it was over, that Jess would return her foot to the ground where I would spend some more time until my family decided to look for me. I was wrong. Jess spread her toes apart, making an abundance of light flood in and make me feel the most vulnerable I had felt in some time. My heart started to beat faster and faster and her massive face leaned in closer. In reality her face was probably a good foot away from her toes, but at my size all I could see was her mansion sized eyeball looking directly at me. 

She saw me! This was it, I was getting rescued! I wiggled my one free arm and one free foot and moved my head about as much as I could, doing anything to give her the best view she could of my position. For the first time a smile was beginning to form on my face, but that wasn't the case for Jess. Her otherwise bored and disinterested face quickly turned into one of disgust. "EWWW" her voice boomed in front of me, shaking me world and chilling me to the spine. "NASTY," she said, crushing any little sliver of hope I had remaining. She didn't see me. She saw the disgusting glob of toejam I was stuck inside of. My body covered with lint and mud just obscured any chance she would recognize me within the mess. Jess had no idea she was looking directly at me, she just thought there was some nasty gunk between her toes, oblivious to fact her own brother was inside of it. And that gunk had to get out of there. Jess' massive index finger invaded the space between her toes. 

"JESS NOOO!!" I scream and wiggle as much as I can as her finger crashes into her toe and begins to scrape along the flesh. I was effortlessly taken along with the rest of the debris lodged there, mushed and mashed into a nice little ball of toejam lint. My arm and leg were buried within the mound of sweaty, putrid gook as I was rolled around as I was pushed around like an insignificant piece of dirt to my sister. When she was finished, I was fortunate enough to still have my head free, but the rest of me was buried and unable to even move. I was picked up and carried along between her thumb and index finger. I was completely and utterly helpless. I couldn't move any part of my body, I was covered in sweaty foot mud, and my sister had control over my life right now, all without even knowing the very toejam lint ball she was looking in had her brother encased inside of it. She held the ball of lint near her face, giving me a terrific view of her massive face, and I was staring right towards her mouth. "YUCK," she said directly at me. I wasn't human to Jess anymore. I was too insignificant to be seen as a person. I was nothing but a disgusting, nasty piece of toejam to her. I began to sob as her index finger positioned itself. I screamed as my tears went spreading all over the floor. She had flicked the ball of toejam I was stuck in, and I was going flying a million miles an hour, and I had no idea where. 

***

"Eww," Jess said while looking at the small bits of gook between her toes. "Nasty." Was that stuff really on her feet? No wonder mom didn't want her putting them up on the table. She was going to have to take a shower soon, that was just unacceptable. For now though, she had to get rid of this gross stuff. She took her index finger and began to scrub it between her toes, effortlessly scooping up all the gunk that had built up there. She rolled it into a neat little ball and held it close to her face. It looked like a tiny little black ball, with even smaller points sticking out. "Yuck," she said. Without a care at all, she flicked the worthless scrap of toejam away. Before it even left her finger, she had stopping giving it a second of her attention and had no idea where it landed. With that done, Jess went back to her phone. She pulled a stick of gum out of her pocket and popped it into her mouth and began chewing. 

"Did you check on your brother?" Mary asked. 

"Yeah he's fine," Jess said, still focused on her phone. "He's in one of his moods though, didn't want to talk."

Mary let out an audible sigh. "Alright, I'll go check on him," she said as she walked through the kitchen. She stopped and took a brief glimpse all around. "And don't forget your chores, this place is filthy," she said with finality and walked away.

"I should get started cleaning then," Amy said, heading to the kitchen closet.

Mary walked into her son's room. It looked gloomy and depressing with the lights off. It wasn't uncommon where he would get into a sad mood and shut everyone out. She understood, it couldn't be easy having to deal with his condition. "Hey Adam," she said, thinking she was speaking her son, likely curled up in bed trying to hide from the world. She was actually speaking to nobody. "You don't have to say anything, it's okay. I know it's hard with your...condition, but don't forget that we're all here to help you. Me, Amy, Jess, we all want to help you and make sure you're as comfortable as you can be." She reached over to a small table and grabbed a small cup with some crushed up pills in it. She dropped some water in the cup and mixed it around. "Here's your medicine. I know it might not seem like anything is going to happen, but we have to try, okay? Please, just take it. I love you, Adam. Get some rest, honey." Mary walked out of the room, thinking her son was safe and sound in his bed. She had absolutely no idea of the horrible fate her some was truly about to go through.

Amy opened the kitchen closet and swiftly removed the broom that was hung up on the wall. She would much rather sweep up some dirt than deal with some nasty garbage, so switching with Jess was the absolute right idea. Before shutting the closet, she took a small glance down at the trash. It looked pretty full, and smelled pretty bad. Well, that's Jess' problem now. Amy shut the closet and turned around to glance at the kitchen floor. It was cleaning time.

***

My eyes were shut but I knew I was spinning around very rapidly. You ever sit in a chair that spins, and spin it around really fast? Even with your eyes closed you can tell your moving. It was like that, but I was spinning much, much faster than a stupid chair could move. It felt like I was in the air for hours, constantly moving. I wanted to puke, and for all I know I might have. As I soared through the air, I felt my body being torn apart from the blob of toejam. There was so much force it was simply sliding out of the ball. After the horrific flight, the ball I was encased in slammed onto a hard ground and bounced. 

The first bounced rocked my body and dislodged my miniscule form from its grasp. By now the speed has slowed drastically so I was "gently" tossed onto a hard cold floor. The ball slowly came to a stop right beside me.  The brief second that came after was a calm before the storm. I wasn't moving, but my head was spinning. My eyes were still shut, but I felt more comfortable. When I felt everything even out, I opened my eyes and was assaulted by the light shining down above. I took a second to look where I was. It was a tile floor, covered with a layer of dust, dirt, and various crumbs. Right beside me was the glob I used to be stuck in. It was larger than me, making me feel pretty damn pathetic. I was in the kitchen. Jess had flicked me all the way to the kitchen, and now I sat out in the open on this dirty floor. That was when the brief second of peace was over.

The ground trembled. It jolted me to my feet as I looked for the source. Just outside the kitchen was my mom. Without even thinking about it, I took off running towards her, shouting and waving my hands for her attention. My mom would help me, she would I know it! "MOM!! MOM!!" I yelled, but she made no indication she heard me. Of course she didn't. That's when she started walking into the kitchen. She was wearing some small dress heels she often wore for work. The sound of them clapping against the tile floor of the kitchen sent chills down my spine. This wasn't my mother anymore. Within a second she was above me, utterly dwarfing me like the specks of dirt on the ground. Her heel flew right over me, the wind knocking me flat onto the dusty floor. I looked at the ball of toejam I was stuck in before as the heel of my mom's shoe landed on it, and smashed it flat. As her heel lifted again, the sticky glob went up along with her shoe, only to be crushed more and more each step. Fate must have smiled on me to not be in there anymore.

I lay on the floor and watch as my mom walked away, leaving me face first on the dirty kitchen floor. She walked right over me, nearly stepped on me. I was that insignificant. And my troubles were only just starting. I heard a terrible thwacking sound coming from behind me. Before I could even look, a giant object crash landed to my left, sending my heart into a beating mess. I looked over and saw a dirty wall of foam soaring into the air. I recognized them, they were Amy's flip flops she wore around the house. She always said the floor was too dirty and she didn't want her feet to touch the filth. From my perspective, she was right, the floor was covered with filth...

I was also that filth on the floor she didn't wan to touch. The flip fop rose into the air, I couldn't even see her feet perched above them. Just as soon as Amy's shoes appeared, they were gone ahead, miles away from my location. It looked like she was heading towards the closet... I watched her with curiosity, wondering what she was doing. I had my answer when she turned around, and I saw her holding the broom in her hand. She was about to sweep the floor.

I leapt to my feet in an instant and began running towards her. "AMY!! NO, DON'T SWEEP THE FLOOR!!!" I shouted, doing anything I could to get her attention. I knew it was useless, but I had to try. I had to do something. "AMY, DON'T DO IT!!" She took a step forward, a step closer to me. Her flip flops making contact with the floor stopped me in my tracks. The bristles of the broom slammed down onto the ground and sent dust sprawling everywhere. I had to hide, I had to get away. I looked around, and saw with terror that I was right in the middle of the kitchen. There was no where to run, there was no where to hide. I was screwed.

Amy started sweeping. The sound of the bristles scraping against the floor made me shiver in fear. "AMY, STOP!!" I yelled out once more. It wasn't doing anything. I knew there was nowhere to hide, but I had to run anyway. Just standing here was idiotic. So I began running. Amy was sweeping fast, stroke after stroke she brushed piles of dust, dirt, and crumbs into a small pile. It was chaos. I had barely gotten anywhere when she stepped down near me, sending me tumbling down into the filth on my back. Amy stood above me, reaching into the heavens like some kind of goddess. "AMY!!" I yelled, sobbing as I spoke. I got back to my feet, but it was too late. Amy set the broom down a few feet in front of me. The bristles towered over me, reaching dozens of feet into the air. Bits of dust were tangled up in them. It was a massive wall of strands, and it was approaching me. 

"AHHH!" I screamed as broom rushed up at me, brining along a wave of dust and dirt. I was impacted instantly and pushed along with all the filth. I started rolling along the floor, the static getting dust coated all over my body. I was sobbing the whole time. My sister was brushing me along the floor with a broom like a piece of dirt. This couldn't be happening! The broom stopped and left me in a line of dirt. In an instant a massive object slammed down within inches of me, jostling my world and displacing a good amount of the dust. Right in front of me was the wall of Amy's flip flop...that was my escape!

I rushed to the foam of her flip flop and dug my hands in to get a grip. If I held on to her flip flop, I wouldn't get swept up. It was my only chance. Just as I was about to get off the ground, Amy lifted her foot and I was instantly tossed back to the ground. I landed on my back and watched as the sole of her flip flop rose into the air above me. Parts of the sole were black, stained from all the dirt and grime she has stepped on in all the uses. Small ridges in the sole were filled with tiny bits of dirt that looked bigger than me. It rose several feet into the air, and was hovering right above me, threatening to come crashing down at any moment. I had to move. 

I got up and ran, I didn't know where, I just ran where her shoe wasn't above me. I barely made it. Amy's flip flop slammed down on the ground, and a brief look back showed me I was mere centimeters from being beneath the filthy sole. And then she walked away. "AMY, COME BACK!!" I shouted, actually wishing she got closer to me. Grabbing onto her flip flips was the only chance I had at safety, and now that was gone. She moved so fast, I had to look around to where she was. All I saw was a tidal wave of dirt heading straight for me being pushed by Amy's broom. "AHHH!!" I screamed and ran away from it. She was simply too fast, and I was overtaken in the wave of dust, sent rolling along the floor, getting pelted with crumbs and getting dust in my mouth and eyes. When she finished her stroke I thought I was going to have a minute to regain my composure, but I was wrong. My body got tangled up in some of the dust, so when the broom lifted, I was taken with it. "AMY!!!" I screamed in terror as I watched the floor get further away from me. It was terrifying being so high up, but it was worse when we started to go back down. 

The broom slapped down onto the tile floor, dislodging me from the dust, but not saving me from it's onslaught. Again I was brushed along like common dirt by the broom, dragged through dust. I rolled and tumbled along, getting smacked by all the bits and pieces left behind. The wave of dust was deposited into an ocean of filth Amy was collecting in the middle of the kitchen. I was buried beneath tons of it, preventing me from being able to move much. I struggled for quite a long time to get myself out from under the dust, and managed to break my head free and see the outside world. Standing above the pile of dirt, standing right above me, was Amy, looking down seemingly at me. "AMY!! PLEASE, HELP ME!!" She didn't react, except to get the dustpan and set it down on the floor right behind the pile and me. It was time.

***

Amy quickly swept up the dust and dirt on the ground into a nice neat pile. She didn't pay much attention to what she was sweeping up, it was just a bunch of crumbs and stuff. Looked like there might have been a dead bug as well. Gross. When it was all swept up, she stood over the piled and looked down at the filth. Satisfied with her work, she set the dustpan down and began to brush the whole pile onto it. It took a few swipes, but she got most of it, aside from a few specks of dirt. She lifted the dustpan and carried it over to the trash can. Without a second thought or care, she dumped the contents into the nearly full bag. It was just trash, after all.

"Well I cleaned up, so if you want to take out the trash, now's the time," Amy said, heading to the living room where Jess was.

"What?" Jess asked. "That's your job, why would I do it?"

"Because we switched, remember? I sweep for you, and you take out the trash for me," Amy said, adding a fine layer of sass.

"Ugh, I don't remember that," Jess complained. "Fine, whatever." Jess put her phone in her pocket and got up to get this demeaning task done with already. She took one look at the trash can in the kitchen and recoiled. Oh my god, this smells awful. Dammit Amy. The trash in the kitchen was full, so Jess went around and collected all the other waste from around the house and stuffed it into one bag. The kitchen would have to be its own bag. She return and was instantly reminded of the awful scent. And now my gum is ruined with how bad this smells, ugh. Jess spit her saliva coated gum into the trash and watched it slip into the cracks. She just wanted to get this over with, so she grabbed the edges of the bag and began to remove it from the can.

***

"AMY!!!" I shouted, tears streaming down my face. I was full on crying now. This couldn't actually be happening, could it? I kept waiting for her to stop and say it was all a joke, to rescue me from this place and put me back safe and sound. She didn't stop, this wasn't a joke. Amy thought I was safe and sound in my bed, and now she was just cleaning the floor. She didn't think for a second I was down in the pile. The broom slammed down right in front of the pile, and with a great deal of force, swept into the pile. I was instantly blown onto the dustpan alongside hundreds of fellow bits of dirt. I was getting buried all over again. The onslaught continued as Amy swept again, tossing hard bits of crumb and some dead ant carcass at me, pelting me in the gut with them. 

She finished sweeping, but I now found myself half buried beneath dirt, dust, crumbs, strands of hair, and other assorted stuff I didn't really want to know what it was. Amy took a step closer and stood directly above the dustpan. She had stood near me before at my small size, but it was different then. She would try and make me feel normal, treat me like a human. That wasn't the case now, I was not a human to Amy right now, I was not equal. All she saw was dirt, that's what she was treating me as right now. She bent down to pick up the dustpan and I used the time to call for help. "AMY!!! PLEASE, I'M RIGHT HERE!!!" No response.

My world lifted up as Amy picked the dustpan and carried it at her waist level. She didn't even look down at it, making my chance of getting seen basically zero. The countdown was nearly as zero as well. I heard the sound of the closet door opening, then the sound of the trash can opening. "AMY!! NO!!!" Then the world started to tilt. I was completely helpless as gravity took over and before long I felt the ground vanish beneath me as I entered free fall. "AHHHHH!!" I screamed out as I looked down to the dark, dank depths of the trash can below. I landed on something soft and sticky with a plop as more dirt rained down from above on top of me. I turned back towards the light and saw one last glimpse of Amy standing above me, before the lid of the trash can closed, plunging me into pitch darkness.

I had to come to terms with just happened. My sister had just tossed me into the trash. It didn't sound real, it didn't sound possible, and yet it was my reality. My own sister, who had always been there to take care of me, make sure I was safe, and help with anything ever since I had this condition, had just tossed me into the household garbage like I was a common piece of dirt. My whole family thought I was safe, none of them had any idea I was lying in the kitchen trash. 

I couldn't see anything. The lid apparently closed so well, hardly any light as seeping in. The smell was atrocious. It was the kitchen trash, so there was some food down in the depths that was surely rotting by now. The scent assaulted my nostrils, sending me into a coughing fit, but no matter what the smell didn't vanish, it was here to stay. I had landed on something slimy as well. No idea what, it was too dark to tell, but I felt sticky, and it was an awful feeling. I didn't move, I didn't want to risk anything happening, but I also had to get out of here, so I needed to think of a plan fast. Light flooded the area, blinding me instantly as I covered my face to attempt to block out the brightness. 

Standing above the now open trash can Jess. A look of absolute disgust was on her face. "JESS!!!" I shouted and screamed, waving my arms frantically. "JESS, PLEASE HELP!!!" It was useless, the lid shut again and I was plunged back into the darkness. All my commotion had caused me to slip as well. I fell from wherever I was to somewhere a but deeper into the trash. I landed on something soft but a bit wet. Everything I've touch in this damn place has been disgusting, this was not where a human should be. I had to get out of this place, right now, but I can't even see where I'm stepping. And one wrong step means...ending up deeper down. No, I had to do something! Mom, Amy, Jess...they couldn't help me right now, I had to do it myself right now. I wiped the tears from my eyes, stiffened up, and prepared to take a step towards what I thought was the edge, to begin my climb.

That's when the light returned and blinded me. Standing above the trash can was Jess again, and despite the relatively short height I feel, she looked even larger than when she peeked in before. Tears started pooling in my eyes as I looked up. She was just standing there, normally to anyone else, but to me it was the most menacing stance. I was too scared to even shout for help. The look of disgust on her face contorted as her mouth formed some shape..? Next I saw this giant, wet glob of pink escape from her mouth and come plummeting down towards the trash. Gum. Jess had just spit her gum out into the trash. The giant glob ricocheted off some stuff a few inches from me, disrupting the entire layer of filth I was on as it tumbled deeper. "JESS!!! HELP!!" I shouted now, in pure terror. That's when the true horror began. Her arms moved and reached for the sides of the bag, and once she took hold, the entire place started shaking...Jess was taking out the trash. "JESS!!! NO, STOP!!" I pleaded. "DON'T TAKE THE TRASH OUT, I'M IN HERE!!" I begged. 

I couldn't keep my footing as the entire trash bag shook. Jess looked down the entire time with complete disinterest as I fell flat on my back. Dirt from above rained down and trash from below crept up as the entire contents were displaced by Jess' actions. "AHHHHH!!" I screamed as I was tossed back and forth as Jess struggled to get the bag out of the can. I was sent down another level and landed in some rotten, mushy food from days ago. I took my face out of the mush and looked up at the opening, Jess felt even farther away now as the quakes continued. An avalanche of trash rained down, covering me in even more rancid filth my family had deemed was worthless garbage. The trash shuffled more as Jess used one last heave to get the full bag out of the can. As she pulled the last bit out, all of the contents got tossed up and mixed around. I ended up staring at the opening of the trash bag, half buried under some discard potato peels and a layer of mush. Jess stood over the opening with the only hint of an expression on her face being disgust. She had no idea what she was doing to me, no idea the hell she was putting me through. "JESS!!" I shouted in vain one last time. The light inside the putrid bag extinguished as Jess closed up the only way out of this trash bag. There was no way out now.

***

Jess grabbed the edges of the bag and started lifting it up out of the can. It was a bit full so she had to put a small bit of effort into getting it unstuck, but nothing a little wiggle couldn't solve. She planted the bag on the ground and didn't give the contents a second thought. Adam's lucky, she thought to herself as she tied the garbage up tight. She didn't want anything getting out of it. He doesn't have to deal with gross stuff like garbage. Jess picked up both bags of pure garbage and brought them downstairs where the garbage can was. She jostled the bags a bit as she walked, unconcerned with what was inside. It was trash, it didn't care if it was tossed a bit. Once downstairs she got to the can and tossed the bag from the kitchen in first. She wasn't gentle about it either, it's not like it was going to hurt anyone to just chuck the thing in there. It landed on it's side with a plop before she dropped the other bag on top. It was a tiny bit too full to put the lid on fully. Ugh, just great of course she thought as she began to press down on the bags with her hands, smashing the bags to get them to fit. "OW!" she yelped. A tiny little prick in the can had broken her skin. "Stupid trash," she said, giving it a little kick. Jess forced the lid onto the garbage can and wheeled it outside to the curb. It was garbage day, so tomorrow morning it would be somebody else's problem.