Chapter 2

I was back on the desk, after a harrowing ride two hundred feet straight down on Sarah's finger. My legs were still shaking. After an hour or so of close brushes with death, the last thing I needed was a thrill ride.

Sarah was taking this pretty well. I had expected her to freak out, maybe to suspect herself of insanity. Instead she was acting calmly, rationally. Just like a good scientist should.

"How did this happen?" Sarah whispered, peering down at me even though her head was just inches off the desk. She had already grasped that talking normally might damage my hearing.

"No idea," I replied honestly. "It could have been any number of things."

"Do you think... could it have been the teleporter?" Sarah and I had been working on it cooperatively via the link for a year or so, although I didn't think she shared my personal reasons for inventing it. All the same, I understood her concern.

"I doubt it. However, I did have a strange feeling, almost like being compressed and pulled apart at the same time."

"We'll have to look into it." She said quietly, with a note of worry in her voice. "More importantly, are you okay?"

"Fine," I said. I was having some trouble finding where to look while I talked with her. I couldn't see her entire face as a whole, it was on simply too grand a scale. So my eyes moved back and forth between her mouth and her eyes. Both beautiful sights, but a bit wearying to concentrate on. "Sess kept me from getting hurt."

"Sess?"

"It stands for Synapse Enhancing Symbiotic Suit. Made it myself." Most girls would have fallen asleep halfway through the acronym. Sarah, on the other hand, seemed genuinely interested. "It's a combination of 'smart' nanotech and polycarbon, linked directly to my central nervous system. It enhances most bodily functions, and also provides substantial protection." Her eyebrows had raised on the words "bodily functions", although she quickly tried to hide what I realized was a look of interest. What was she thinking about?

"So that's what the silvery stuff covering you is." I nodded. She paused for a moment. "You know, it's kind of hard to hear you when you talk."

I had been yelling the entire time. My throat was already extremely hoarse. "I was afraid of that," I mumbled to myself.

"We'll think of some way to fix that," she said confidently. "We'll make this work." It seemed almost like she was trying to convince herself.

"Make what work?"

"This living arrangement." The words shocked me. Living in this gigantic world? I hadn't had time to think about it, although I doubt that the thought would have even crossed my mind. She must have noticed my look of shock, even at my microscopic size. "I can't teleport you back, mine isn't up and running yet," she sighed.

"I thought you said that you had a finished model."

"I lied," she said with an easy, pleasant smile. "I've had a whole bunch of other things to work on. The government is really cracking down on me." I sighed softly. Working for the government. I'd already made that mistake once, and was lucky that I lived to regret it. I reminded myself that this was a different world. The government here was more than likely to be completely different as well.

"I guess you're stuck then." She finished.

"Yeah." She was right, there was no way around it. I was stranded on this gargantuan, familiar yet alien world.

"You'll need a place to sleep, I'll go fix a bed..." She then remembered the size issue, and wrinkled her brow. "Well, I'll get you somewhere to sleep tonight. Stay put." As if I had a choice about that.

I watched her walk off, the floor shaking beneath me, her behind swinging slightly as she moved. She walked with a very deliberate gait, her foot coming down softly and slowly on the tile floor. Her heels clicked as they hit the ground, a sound that would be soft if heard by normal ears, but sounded to me like each footstep left a crater.

Then she was gone, and I had nothing to distract myself. I was faced, suddenly, with the complete knowledge of my predicament. How would I eat, sleep, survive in this strange place? Danger lurked everywhere, even in forms which seemed benign. I knew that even Sarah, who had so far shown me nothing but kindness, could accidentally hurt me with a careless movement.

I felt terribly sorry for myself, but managed to pull it together after a few minutes. I needed to look at the positives. I had someone to look after me, a protector against anything which would cause me harm. I knew Sarah could help me out if I ever got into serious trouble, but I simultaneously worried: what if I got into a major mess when she wasn't around? Also, wouldn't having to constantly look after and watch out for a person smaller than most insects be a bit of a trying job? I sincerely hoped I wouldn't be too much of a burden, or at least that she wouldn't mind.

The distant rumbling told me that Sarah was returning. I looked up to see the slightly worried look on her face replaced by a broad smile. I could detect no falseness, she seemed genuinely happy. It was a strange contrast to the desperation I felt. "Okay, I rigged up something that'll work temporarily. I've also got ideas for how we can work out food and water."

How long did she think I would be staying? "Sarah, do you have any idea when the machine will be finished?"

Her smile dimmed a little. "I don't know. I'd guess that by myself it would take me a month. But with you here, I think it could definitely go faster. Maybe even cut that in half."

Two weeks. I'd be staying here at least two harrowing weeks. I shuddered, and instantly hoped she didn't see. I was already imposing on her, the last thing I wanted to do was come off as ungrateful. "We should probably get started, then." I was anxious for any distraction from pondering my fate.

"Great. I'll get working on the actual machine. You should probably try and find out just what made you shrink. We'll need to get it fixed, and hopefully reversed, if you want to get back home."

The rest of the afternoon Sarah spent fiddling with the machine and poring over blueprints, while I worked out some complex mathematics on a (literal) scrap of paper and a tiny piece of lead broken out of a pencil. I was getting frustrated, and hadn't had any breakthroughs. There seemed to be no logical cause for my shrinking.

I started sneaking glances at Sarah. She was so lovely. I just wanted to hold her, be able to talk with her like a normal person, be able to get close to her. I tried to snap out of it. Hell, I didn't even know if she shared my feelings. For all I knew, she thought I was a freak, and this image of me, half an inch tall and utterly pathetic, was the only one she'd ever know, no matter what size I was.

I realized that I was depressed enough without thinking of my total lack of a chance with Sarah. It would be better just to concentrate on my work. But her image was practically burned in my brain. It could have been because she was beautiful, because she was smart, or because she was kind. But I think it had more to do with the fact that she was the only safe, friendly thing in that huge, hostile world. I was dependent on her, and somehow that dependency translated itself into a weird sexual energy.

I got back to concentrating on the math. It made no sense whatsoever. My calculations, which I had done repeatedly, were perfect, I no longer had any doubt. There was no reason for size change in the process, nothing that would indicate that it should happen. It seemed an impossibility. I stared at the paper so hard and long that my eyes began to ache and water. I worked furiously, trying every possible combination, even ones that I knew wouldn't allow the device to work, just hoping for a flash of inspiration.

Finally, once I thought my brains were about to literally sizzle, Sarah called down, "Dinner is served." I hadn't even realized that she was gone.

I started heading for the door, and was about to walk straight off the desk when I caught myself, remembering my new size. Sarah obviously remembered as well, because I could hear her stomping ever so gracefully down the steps.

My jaw dropped as she descended the stairs. Sarah had changed into a dress. But not just any dress. This dress was perfectly attuned to her figure, accentuating every curve of her body perfectly, fancy without being formal, revealing without being immodest. It was made of soft black silk, and ended just above the knee, allowing me to get a panoramic view of two gorgeous, creamy thighs that had just the right amount of tone without being overly muscular. She was beaming at me, saying words which I could not seem to comprehend. I felt like I had short-circuited.

If there had been any doubt, it was erased. I was head-over-heels, maddeningly, absolutely and completely in love.

She put her lovely hand down right next to the desk, allowing me to climb on with only minor difficulty. I sat down in her soft, warm palm and, feeling like I was on some sort of bizarre magic carpet, watched as we ascended the steps. It felt like gliding. Sarah had to be extremely graceful, extremely careful, or both.

We rounded the corner into a dining room that was decorated in a striking blend of classic and modern styles, all polished maple and chrome. She had exquisite taste. On the table there were two towering, softly flickering candles that lit the room. Sarah set me down on one side of the table, then sat down on the other. There was just enough space between the candles that we could see each other through them.

Sarah already had food on her plate. Looking in front of me, I saw that I had a small, flat piece of plastic in front of me, about the size of a poster. Obviously, this would be serving as my plate tonight. Sarah carefully cut a tiny piece of chicken, speared it on her fork, and then moved the fork and knife closer to me. Up close, the hunk of chicken appeared to be about the size of a computer monitor. I'd have to pull pieces off with my hands, there wasn't any alternative. Sarah brought the knife over on top of the hunk, and pressed down gently. The huge, sharp blade had a thin sheen of oil along its edge, and as it moved down the fork there was a loud scraping noise. I guessed that it was completely imperceptible to Sarah.

Sarah uncorked a bottle of wine taller than most skyscrapers at one end of the table. She poured out a cup for herself. I wondered how I would ever be able to drink. I was feeling incredibly thirsty, as it had been quite an exhausting day and I hadn't had any fluids. But the only foreseeable way I could drink would be to swim in a cup and gulp down as much as I could.

Sarah found a better alternative. She dipped her pinky in the wine, and delicately placed a massive drop right next to the meat. "I made sure to wash my hands," she offered. "This was kind of the only way I could think of doing it."

I tried not to make a mess of myself, but it's hard when you're not sitting at a table, have no utensils and have to lap your wine off your plate. The surface tension made it so I actually had to bite into the wine, as it had what seemed like a skin over it. It was certainly an odd sensation. Still, the food brought some strength back into me. It was only as I began to recover that I realized how exhausted I was, in every possible way.

Remembering my manners, I yelled out as loud as I could, "It's very good food!"

Sarah furrowed her brow for a second, then got the gist of what I said, smiled and nodded. "Thanks. I hope you're not having too much trouble eating it."

"Well, it took some getting used to, but I'm managing quite well." I replied.

As dinner went on, I lost the wonder I had at eating immense portions of food, and started watching Sarah. She was spearing chunks of meat larger than sofas on her fork, and only some serious study made me see that proportionally they were quite small sizes. When she chewed, I got glimpses of the massacre unfolding behind her shapely pink lips, as the pearly, slick, shiny white teeth mashed the chicken into oblivion. She didn't even seem to think about it. I reflected that when I was her size, neither did I.

I started picking at my food again, but seeing Sarah chew made me lose my appetite. I suddenly had a vision of what it would be like to be within those massive jaws, and it both titillated and horrified me at once. I looked up from my thoughts to notice that Sarah was staring straight at me. Was I doing something wrong? Had she noticed I wasn't eating and taken offense? No, she had another grin on her face, although it was as subtle as possible. I began to understand that she couldn't see any details of my body language unless she was quite close. Clearly, she was simply staring at what she thought she could see, just as someone can stare at an insect and fill in imaginary details.

Soon enough, Sarah finished up as well, unceremoniously lifting my tiny platter up into the air and flicking it into a garbage bin. She washed off her own plate as well, then sat back down at the table.

We then had one of the best talks I've ever had in my life. I don't even remember any specifics, just that the conversation moved fluidly, and I felt like I could talk about anything I wished. We let out some of our most personal stories, and I began to feel comfortable even around this immense, gorgeous giantess, who although she was gentle as could be was still intimidating. Even though I'm pretty sure she missed some of what I said, it seemed like she understood everything I wanted to say.

Soon enough, the hour was late. Sarah carried me over to the bathroom and placed me on the counter. She picked up a massive pillar with masses of large quills sticking out of one end. I blinked. A toothbrush. It was still hard to get used to the difference in perception at this new size. Sarah uncapped a tube of toothpaste longer than a whale, and pressed a glob of green gel over the bristles. I imagined being stuck within those bristles, watching in horror as the mint toothpaste welled down among them, then being slowly, inexorably carried toward a gaping, wet hole lined with straight, huge white teeth that were as tall as I... I shuddered.

Scraping a little of the excess toothpaste onto my finger and brushing my teeth with that was the best I could do. At least it left a minty taste in my mouth. With that, Sarah lifted me off to the bedroom.

Sarah's room was painted a cozy robin's egg blue, and was lit softly by a small lamp on her bedside table. She gently lowered me down to the base of the lamp. Then, with a flourish, she set a massive building down beside me.

"Here's your new bedroom," she said, grinning proudly. "It isn't much for now, but we'll have to make do."

It was a tremendous matchbox cut in half. One side was fashioned so that it slid open and shut. The pasteboard was light enough that I could move it, although it felt about the same as manually opening a garage. Inside was a heaped pile of some silky clothing. "I picked out the softest bedding I could find. It'll still be a bit rough at your size, but it'll do." Sarah head was just a few of her inches behind mine, and as she spoke a breeze smelling strongly of mint tugged at my hair.

I turned. "Are you sure it'll be safe?"

She nodded. "It's right next door to me. If you have any trouble, just wake me up. I'm a light sleeper. Now, if you'd care to please enter your new home?"

I disliked her calling it a "home". It was a place to stay, impermanent, nothing more. I entered, and she easily closed the lid behind me. There was enough light seeping through the cracks that I could see. A few minutes later, she opened it, and my eyes went wide. I thought her dress was amazing. Now she was wearing nothing more than a bikini-style outfit, made of red satin. I could see miles of smooth, soft flesh rippling and moving before me. I fell to my knees. I'm surprised I didn't faint.

"Sorry to shut the door on you. Even though I'm sure you're a gentleman I couldn't take any chances." She smiled crookedly, a glint in her eye. "Now, it's time to sleep. I'm sure you're dead tired, and I'm ready to get some shut-eye." She slowly closed the lid, affording me one last look at my heart's desire.

I settled down on the fabric. She was right, it did feel pretty coarse because of my small size. The light above me flicked off, and I was in complete darkness. My heart began pounding, and a strange animal panic gripped me. A strange place, different sleeping area. In a world that was alien to me. Then, sounding far away and yet quite near, I heard "Good night, Eric."

I fell asleep quiet and content.