It was shrinking day, three weeks ago. The world was complete chaos those first few days following the event. I had heard of horrible things. The government was in shambles trying to figure out what to do with millions of citizens who were now no larger than four inches, with most people hovering around 3-ish.
In those first days, there were so many deaths. Una-
A hand covered my page. “Why you always gotta be so gloomy, Don?” My friend Dan spoke. “That last part is not even factually correct. We are pretty much invincible, remember?”
I scoffed. “Can you think of anything good that happened around shrinking day?”
“Uh, yeah! My birthday! It was the best. It was right after I had shrunk. My parents gave me my cake they had prepared a week earlier. You should have seen it man, it was awesome. Best cake I’ve had in my life. It was great until… until they tried to pawn me off to someone who would ‘take care of me’.”
I nodded my head. “Well there you go. Even the best perks of being small still don’t make slavery sound any better.”
Dan shrugged, and looked towards the road.
Idly, I tugged at my ‘clothes’. As it turns out, most cloths aren’t that comfortable when you are as small as we were. It was mostly just rags tied together with string, as most clothing for shrinkees is shockingly expensive, and can only be bought by regular sized people.
We were both a part of a small group of shrinkees who opted to live on the streets instead of under the possession of another person, despite the government’s wishes and advice.
We were walking down the road towards a house we had heard was empty from the grapevine. Pretty much any empty house is a cause for celebration when a few grapes is enough to keep you satisfied all day.
Life in the group was difficult at first, but there was certainly something to be enjoyed in this lifestyle. It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was terrifying. But I would be lying if I didn’t gain a lot of pride by living like this as opposed to being someone’s pet.
“Hey, Jamie!” I spoke to a man near the back of the group. “What’s the address of that house we’re headed to?”
“4654 cherry street” a voice answered from the crowd. I did not see who spoke. The location sounded… familiar. Perhaps it was a family member? A friend I fell out of contact with? Or perhaps I was just going mad. Being this size does that sort of thing to you. As it turns out, the brain doesn’t really know what to do around a squirrel multiple times your size.
Checking the house numbers, I saw we still had a ways to go, although we were on the right street. I think. No better time to looks around and take in my surroundings.
We were walking along the sidewalk today. I liked the sidewalk. Things were much easier to see, and the grass tends to scratch up your legs.
The street was relatively average. The houses were small (not to us, of course) and of average quality. I would have loved to live in a house like these before I was the size of a thumb.
The blooming trees far above were rustling in the wind, their leaves drifting out of sight. The noon sun casting golden rays between the branches.
…
After an hour or so of walking, we finally arrived at the house. It was just like the others on the street. Grey brick, yellow door on a small home.
Being on the right side of the street, we simply had to make it into the house. I had done this part a good few times before. Most houses have a hole or two just around. Worst case scenario, we end up going down the chimney.
We each scanned our own area for possible entry as we approached the steps to the porch. Each one of us had an assigned spot to scout. Dan and I were on holes. We would circle the foundation, and see if we could find anything worthwhile.
Holes was, without a doubt, the easiest job. It was all just walking around. It was dirty sometimes, but we didn’t really have to climb anything like the poor guys on windows.
I made eye contact with Dan, him responding with a knowing nod. We hopped down off the walkway away from the group and began making our way around.
“Hey, Dan.” I began, “did you have your own house before this?” I asked, investigating a crack in the wall.
“I was saving up a bit but I never got the chance to move out. I was actually looking at a place around here, two blocks down.” He responded solemnly.
“Damn. That sucks, dude.” I said, sticking my hand into the crack in the wall. I felt my hand hit a hard surface, the crack having not made it through all the way. “Nothing over here. Let’s keep going”
Dan spotted another hole near the side of the house, behind some taller grass. He spent a few minutes in there. I could hear him grunt occasionally.
“We got one!” I heard his voice echo from inside the hole.
“Sweet! I’ll go grab the others.” I exclaimed, already running towards the porch.
I rounded the corner with a slide across the dirt. I took a deep breath, putting my hands around my mouth in a cone shape and shouted:
“WE HAVE A HOLE!”
The others immediately turned their heads towards me and making their way over, practically climbing over one another to get over.
I spun on my heel and began making the jog back to Dan. Speed was our quality, despite most of our runs not taking that long.
Upon arrival at the tall grass, I skidded to a halt, catching my breath. “Hey Dan” I panted, “you there?”
A muffled “mhm” and the rustling of the grass was all the confirmation I needed. I gestured for the group to come to me.
As they arrived I pulled apart the grass to reveal the hole in the wall. Dan must already be on the other side. Almost immediately, the group began crawling inside, one after another.
I was the last to go. After the final shrinkee entered I stepped towards the crevice. I put my hands on either side. The concrete was cold, and scratched my fingers a bit. I leaned down and stuck my head inside. I could see the exit. How the owner of this house missed a crack like this, I have no idea.
I made my way in, pulling myself along with my arms and crawling on my stomach. The brick surrounding me was unpleasant on my arms, and I could feel my rags tearing. I would need to find some more after this.
I eventually made it past the brick and to the inside of the wall, behind the plaster. This area was dusty, but at least it wasn’t the uncomfortable brick. I pulled myself out onto the floor of the house.
I let out a sigh, and picked myself up from the floor. I looked down and brushed myself off. Lifting my head up, I looked around the room.
We were in the kitchen. Perfect. It was probably built in the 80’s, apparent from the wallpapers and dark wood cabinets. Of course, we weren’t here to inspect the house. We were here for the goodies around the house, mostly food and water.
Clearly everyone was already going about with that. A few had already managed to crack open the fridge, while others were searching the cupboards or headed to different rooms.
Before I could even join my comrades looting, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway entered my ears.